Rosetta Hightower - The Walls Fell Down/ Captain's Army

Label: Philips

Year of Release: 1973

Now here's an obscurity. Rosetta Hightower was an American singer of some renown in the early sixties who hit big in the USA with the girl group The Orlons. Her solo career was perhaps less eventful, however, with numerous respected and beautiful sounding singles emerging - not least her fantastic cover of "Big Bird", of which I've been seeking out a copy for years - but very few crossing over to the mainstream.

This cover of The Bee Gees "The Walls Fell Down" is one example of a single so scarce that it almost never turns up for sale. It is, as you would expect, a soulful and gospel styled take on the Gibbs at their most melodramatic. Rosetta pours all her efforts into it and makes it sound as if it was always meant to sound this way, with a production and arrangement so lavish that it's almost a little bit frightening. 

Rosetta's recording career ploughed well into the eighties, and she based herself in England following her marriage to the musician Ian Green. She also delivered numerous notable session performances, not least singing backing vocals on John Lennon's "Power To The People". 

Sadly, she passed away in Clapham in 2014, aged seventy years of age. 

Reupload - Gaslight - Move/ And So To Sleep

Label: Jayboy

Year of Release: 1969

An odd and slightly mysterious one, this. "Move" has been picking up some attention lately as an otherwise largely ignored psychedelic obscurity.  Not without reason - this is slippery smooth psych, complete with close harmonies, grooving electric organ work, heavy basslines and slow dance floor beats. The chorus reverts to UK Beat type, urging us to "jump and shout" and momentarily disturbs the mood, but otherwise this slides along beautifully.  It's not wildly dissimilar to the work of The Dragons, another band who were utterly ignored at the same time the scented hippy candles were getting snuffed out but recently had their material issued on Ninja Tunes.  

Gaslight seem to have released this single then disappeared without trace, giving us absolutely no clues as to who they were or what else they did.  There is some speculation online that they may be another band signed to Jay Boy or their controlling label President operating under a pseudonym, but there are no clear indications.  Whatever the facts, their approach was largely wasted on the British public by 1969, and as everyone began to pick up their hard rock, blues and prog albums, there wasn't time for this kind of technicolour dancefloor action.  A shame - if it had been issued a couple of years before, "Move" may have made a much more significant impression, but even then I can't help but feel that this is a subtle little record which might not have ever had a chance of bashing its way through the radio to encourage the public to buy it in vast quantities.  Still, we can enjoy it now. Move, readers, and get yourself together. 

Ann C Sheridan - I Want You (She's So Heavy)/ I'll Be Gone

Label: Bradleys

Year of Release: 1976

You know how you all love Beatles cover versions? And you know how it's always the most unexpected covers that seem to turn up, for inexplicable reasons? Well, here's something for your lugholes - a disco cover version of the epic, sprawling piece of "Abbey Road" bluesiness "I Want You (She's So Heavy)". 

Obviously, it doesn't incorporate the "She's So Heavy!" elements of the track, where The Beatles guitars collectively explore doomy, descending chord patterns. That's too much for the average dancefloor to handle. Rather, it discofies the more sensual "I Want You" elements of the track, with the vocalist Ann C Sheridan purring sexily as the disco beats pulse behind her. 

It's an interesting experiment, but not one that quite comes off. The track never manages to find new or exciting places to go, and by lopping off the only melodic variant in the entire Beatles song, it restricts itself to being a piece of fairly minimal disco boogie. This might be fine on the dancefloor with the one you love or lust after, but it doesn't quite work at home.

Ann C Sheridan was actually the French singer Ann Calvert operating under another name. This track did manage to pick up some cult popularity in mainland Europe.

Anton - Shot Down In Action/ Mine All Mine

Label: Spark

Year of Release: 1975

It really does seem as if the vast majority of Spark's output throughout the sixties and seventies sold a few hundred copies (if, in some cases, even that) before being melted down. Their catalogue is littered with surprisingly good little singles which are astonishingly difficult to track down copies of now, and here's another example.

"Shot Down In Action" is a piece of dramatic seventies glam pop with a pounding intro, chiming piano lines, and an excess of drama. It's strident, catchy, flamboyant and has a surprisingly ambitious arrangement for a song of its type - this is no bonehead cruncher. If it's guilty of anything at all, it's perhaps being a little bit past its sell-by date by 1975, just as the spotlights were starting to dim on anything with a vaguely glam sound.

The flip "Mine All Mine" is a rather bland Barry Blue penned ballad, and not worth getting fussed about.

Anton appears to have been Anton Johnson, a man who later issued a cover of the deathless "Hey Baby" on Laser Records in 1980, though he failed to find the success with it that DJ Otzi later achieved. If anyone has any additional information, please let me know.

Mr Joe English - Lay Lady Lay/ Two Minute Warning

Label: Fontana

Year of Release: 1969

Now here's a bit of an interesting find - an obscure and, so far as I can tell, almost completely ignored soul cover of a Bob Dylan track. This version of "Lay Lady Lay" is mellow, atmospheric, and filled to the brim with basslines so fat you could fill a jar with the drippings from them. With a relaxed, smoky vibe around it which almost recalls the pace and atmosphere of Dusty Springfield's "Son of A Preacher Man", Mr English's voice is expressive and takes the song to new and blissful places - in all, a cover worth looking out for.

The B-side has picked up a few fans online already, but also remains obscure. "Two Minute Silence" sounds like a bit of a funky studio jam, but definitely shows what English and his studio guests were capable of as soon as some energy was injected into proceedings. 

I have absolutely no idea who Joe English was. A man of that name turned up in Paul McCartney's Wings as their drummer, obviously, but this almost certainly isn't the same person. Nor is it the J English who turned up on Count Shelly records in 1973, who was Junior English, aka reggae performer Errol English, operating under another name. 

If anyone has any clues, please let me know. This is a lovely little single, and one of those moments where I've found myself wishing I had more material by the artist to investigate.