I Want Sunday Back Again

Slowly, almost imperceptibly my tastes in soul music have shifted.  Where once I craved only the manic movers, I now yearn just as much for the swaying smoothies.  I guess this can be neatly summed up by saying that I can now appreciate some soul recorded in the 70s.  If I trace it back, this change of heart was prompted by hearing and adoring every single second of Honest Jon's' flawless Bettye Swann compilation cd a few years back.  That cd provided empirical evidence that soul music needn't only be about the spinning and high kicks of the numerous wonderful Kent and Goldmine Northern Soul cds and lps.  Were it needed, Go Ahead's (legendary Northern Soul DJ Richard Searling's current label) recent  7" reissue of Bettye's "I Want Sunday Back Again" provides further proof that there are treats to be had in the 70s output of 60s soul greats.  As ever with Bettye's records, it's all about her devastating vocals.  It scarcely matters what words she's singing when the tone and emotion in her voice can weaken your knees and moisten your eyes.  Only Glen Campbell ever matched her for non-mawkish yearning.  In the rush to bag Kent's Record Store Day exclusives I foolishly didn't buy a copy of it from Monorail.  Hopefully it's still there when I go back this weekend.  If it's not, I envy the person who bought it and who may even have it on their turntable right now. After all, YouTube is no match for vinyl is it?