VARIOUS

Most people on the soul scene know of Ian Levine’s youthful obsession with Motown and Detroit soul in general, and how it led to a 45-year (and counting) career as a tireless promoter of the music he loved as a teenager – whether behind record decks or, in more recent times, as a successful songwriter-producer. Less well known is the fact that the young Ian was almost as obsessive about Stax Records, collecting the blue and yellow Stax era 45s and those on the company’s many subsidiaries with the same level of single-minded intensity that he applied to acquiring rare gems on obscure Detroit labels.

I’ve known Ian since 1969. We met by chance in the Soul City record shop and immediately established a bond of friendship that has continued unbroken ever since. As far as I am concerned, my good friend Ian will always be a man with the most extraordinary passion for soul music, and a lifelong desire to share that passion with others.

When I first visited Ian’s family home in Blackpool in 1970, the broom cupboard-sized space that doubled as his record room boasted a wall full of obscure Stax-related 45s that he was as excited for me to hear as anything else in his already-formidable collection. I stayed for a week, and while I was there every day brought packages containing fresh new obscurities from the Memphis-based company.

I vividly recall that Reggie Milner’s ‘Habit Forming Love’ and the Stingers’ ‘I Refuse To Be Lonely’ were two 45s that Ian and I both heard for the first time during that memorable visit. 45 years later, they are among the selections he has chosen to include in “Solid Stax Sensations”, his first ever compilation for any Ace label and an essential purchase for anyone with an interest in the up-tempo side of Stax.

Many of Ian’s 25 choices are well known floor-fillers via the extensive play they have received from discerning DJs down the decades, but he’s also chosen a pile of lesser-known and equally great sides that deserve to be part of every soul DJ’s playlist. Ian’s notes fully convey the pleasure he still gets from this music after all this time.

1. HANG ON - Annette Thomas
2. THE STARS - Barbara Lewis
3. CAN YOU WIN - Charlene And The Soul Serenaders
4. COOL MY DESIRE - Cheques
5. CITY OF FOOLS - Collette Kelly
6. IF I GIVE IT UP, I WANT IT BACK - David Porter
7. YOUR LOVE WAS STRANGE - Dramatics
8. WHERE WOULD YOU BE TODAY - Ilana
9. (I BELIEVE) THE WHOLE DAMN WORLD IS GOING CRAZY - John Gary Williams
10. (LET HURT PUT YOU IN THE) LOSER’S SEAT - Joni Wilson
11. SINCE I LOST MY BABY'S LOVE - Major Lance
12. ONE MORE CHANCE - Margie Joseph
13. THE WHOLE WORLD'S A PICTURE SHOW - Newcomers
14. SPECIAL KIND OF WOMAN - Paul Thompson
15. IF YOU LOOK INTO MY EYES - Proud As Punch
16. AINT NO NEED OF CRYING - Rance Allen
17. GONNA MAKE IT ALRIGHT-Rance Allen
18. I KNOW A MAN WHO - Rance Allen
19. HABIT FORMING LOVE - Reggie Milner
20. YOU'RE MY ONLY TEMPTATION - Roz Ryan
21. I REFUSE TO BE LONELY - Stingers
22. PUT ME IN THE MOOD - Sylvia & The Blue Jays
23. I STILL LOVE YOU - Tsu Toronadoes
24. THE MAN IN THE STREET - William Bell
25. AND I LOVE YOU - Bobby Whitlock