SMOOVE AND TURRELL; Solid Brass (Jalapeno)

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Geordie collective Smoove and Turrell have been in business now for ten years and what better way to mark the anniversary than with a retrospective… so here it is! 16 of the band’s best alongside two brand new tracks… well not quite new. They’re in demand recordings that thus far have been hard to find.

The “newies” are a crashing ‘Give It Back’ and a blistering cover of the Spencer Davis Group’s ‘I’m a Man’. That latter, I believe, is a Smoove solo recording and pirate copies of the cut have been changing hands for big bucks. Stevie Winwood would, I’m sure, be pleased with the cover!

Fans will welcome familiar numbers like ‘Slow Down’, ‘Beggarman’, ‘In Deep’, ‘Have Love’ and ‘You Could’ve Been A Lady’… another cover, this time from the back catalogue of Hot Chocolate. All feature the band’s signature crashing, relentless electro funk sound and I have to say it was a relief to come to something a little lighter….. ‘You’re Gone’. With vocals from Izo Fitzroy, this is a proper soul cut that could find favour on the real Northern soul scene if you could just kid the punters about its provenance.

If you’re a fan you’ll also know that the band are touring this album throughout 2019 and for vinyl freaks the collection comes in a nifty double LP gatefold edition …. Limited numbers however!

(BB) 3/5