The first time the monkey heard Floyd James & The GTs’ Sweet Sweet Soul he was hooked. It was the perfect peak time set-ending slab of funky soul! And he has indeed ended every set with it for the last couple of years. Was it the fact that it opened with the singer hollering Hey Mr DJ! Play some of that sweet sweet soul! over a classic late sixties-style bassline? Or that it then launched into a full-on dancefloor assault replete with sixties fuzz guitar, organ stabs and a hectic drum break? Or was it the breakdown which strips everything right back to the guitar riff before the singer yells ‘Give the drummer some!’ and you get the dopest of drum n bongo solos? It’s all of the above of course! There was just one problem. It was the last track on side two of a four track EP. And with the best will in the world that was never going to be the loudest slab of vinyl. Nor was it going to be the easiest track to cue and back-cue with the needle that close to the centre of the platter. Cue (pun intended) the waging of a subtle but relentless campaign to get Original Gravity label owner Neil Anderson (who to all intents and purposes is the GTs – the voice of ‘James’ being supplied by a session singer) to release the track on a dedicated seven inch. After all, the track surely deserved a seven inch to itself? Not only was it dope but it had been released in the early days of the label before OG had the profile that it does now and so had not got the attention it deserved. A year or so later and whadya know? Pester power works and then some! On the A side, the original Sweet Sweet Soul remixed and remastered and on the flip, the extended four and a half minute plus ‘Mako Tribute Mix.’ Blimey! Thank you very much Mr Anderson, you’re a gent! The rest of you – you’re very welcome.
(Pre-order now/ Out late February on Original Gravity Records)
