Belle and Sebastian - Legal Man (Jeepster, 2000)

Indie Pop meets Northern Soul hipshaker.

This record passed me by first time round despite coming from Belle And Sebastian's golden period of dressing up and doing things their own unique way. I only discovered 'Legal Man's splendour when someone asked me to play it at their wedding a few years later.

So I gave it a spin and found that it was a perfect fusion of Northern Soul and Indie Pop with a sardonic lyric that borrowed heavily from the missives of the band's legal counsel.

Frug.

Download Belle and Sebastian 'Legal Man' (indie pop, Northern Soul, mp3 download) (Mediafire)

Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons - The Night (Pilooski Re-Edit) (Tamla Motown, 1973)

Awesome taut funk and harmony. Re-edited.

Great record on a Northern Soul tip. Rumbling, alomst threatening, bass. Insistent, slapback drums. Shaka-shaka-tambourine. Expansive harmonies.

Re-edit adds some extra layers of rhythm and the odd sound effect. Doesn't detract from the track.

Dancefloor magic.

Download Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons - 'The Night (Pilooski Re-Edit)' (Motown, Northern Soul, mp3) (Divshare)

Jerry & The Medicine Men 'Medicine Man Part II' (Lo Recordings, 1965)

Horn-led funky monster 45 action.

No idea whether this is an authentic piece of funky Northern Soul action or a pastiche. The compilation that brought it to me is billed as '21 Rare Funk 45s' so I can only assume it's a genuine nugget of crate-digger's delight.

It's a delicious, energetic, horn-driven monster that bursts straight out of the traps and is hand-tooled for the discerning funk-friendly dancefloor. The drums are frantic but syncopated, the horns deliciously arranged, perkily riding over the breakbeat fantasticness of the rhythm. It calls to mind Kenny 'Dope' Gonzalez's 'Can You Handle It' from a few years ago.

Irresistable.

Looks out-of-print to me, but the chaps track it down, the tracklisting is awesome.

Download Jerry & The Medicine Men 'Medicine Man Part II' (northern soul funk mp3) (Mediafire)