V.A. Win Or Lose

Welcome to Soul4Real’s second album, a collection of originally unreleased tracks which feature a whole host of soul royalty.

First off are two songs from the inimitable Bobby Bland, both of which hail from his prolific period at Duke Records.

Sandwiched between two stunning Chicago recordings by Etta James is the later “I Never Meant To Love Him”, taken from a Philly session she recorded with Bobby Martin.

Fontella Bass brings this side to a close with a mysterious Chicago recording of which, to this day, hardly anything is known.

Side two transports us to Detroit, when Motown was at the peak of its output. 1966 was not a good year to secure the approval of quality control, as proven in the rejection of this wonderful Velvelettes´ version of “Your Heart Belongs To Me”.

It was in that same year that Ashford and Simpson arrived at Hitsville as both singers and songwriters. Their “Love Woke Me Up This Morning” was recorded by Brenda Holloway and produced by Norman Whitfield. Despite being overlooked at the time, its appeal was undeniable, and it later resurfaced on albums by Marvin & Tammi, Valerie Simpson, and the Temptations.

As an integral member of the Motown family for over 14 years, it is surprising that to date only three songs recorded by Johnny Bristol have surfaced. In collaboration with ‘Mickey’ Stevenson “Tell Me How To Forget A True Love” was completed in May 1964.

“One Lucky Day I Found You” was inexplicably not included in the ‘David’ project. Ruffin´s later work with Van McCoy is also featured on this album.

From almost the start of his career, Marvin Gaye had endeavored to project himself as a great balladeer, and nothing could illustrate this better than his rendition of “I Wish I Didn’t Love You So”, which brings this chapter to a perfect end. - Chris Forrest