Bill Spoon, or William Franklin Bell-Weatherspoon - which is his proper name - is a bit of an underground soul hero on the quiet. A Cleveland, Ohio, native, Bill was once a member of the Cleveland group The Soulmates on Way Out records in the mid 1960s. You may also recall a single, "Love Is On The Way", for Highland Records in 1979 and more notably in 1990 the "Talk To Me" album which was massively championed by the superb Voices From The Shadows and Soul Bowl amongst other fantastic indie stockists of the day. I have to say that the LP really didn't set my turntable on fire, but, pun aside, it definitely caused a stir here in the UK as opposed to the Swingbeat drenched US scene. I have to say, though, that unlike the 1990 album this double-header really does lay easy on my ears and is a very highly recommended release, even if it is on a quaint seven inch single!These two gems are from Bill's collection of unreleased gems from the 70s and 80s. On the basis of what I have heard by these two tracks, I am dying for the rest to be released - on good old CD - as soon as humanly possible. The A Side is given a title that I certainly spend a lot of time muttering myself..."I Can't Wait (Until The Weekend)"! This is a true '70s masterpiece uncovered, and a very huge round of applause to Soul Junction for picking up on this great, great little number. A fine example of midtempo niceness complete with strings and a Curtom-esque musical backing. Blinding. As for the flip - another great and memorable tune which owes more to Lamont Dozier in the mid 70s than anything else. This would not, musically, be far removed from what the great man was producing at the time for the Originals, Arteha Franklin or Ben E. King! A worthwhile collector's release - but please, guys, get these out on CD where they also belong!
Barry Towler
The Vibe Scribe
The Vibe Scribe
