This, the third instalment from After Hours, compiled, as always, by Richard Searling, is set to be unleashed on February 14. The CD features twenty-nine re-mastered tracks from the vaults of Atlantic, Atco, Loma, Reprise and Warner Bros. Records from the golden era of Northern Soul (mid-sixties to mid-seventies). Whilst a twenty-nine track album (all squashed onto one CD) seems unusual, it’s important to remember that today’s five/six minute records would seem like an epic back then when tracks were crammed onto 45s. Accordingly, the CD lasts seventy-five minutes in total and the shortest track is an astonishing but tiny 1:49 long.
What the tracks lack in length, they definitely make up for in quality. Many of the tracks themselves appear on CD for the very first time for this compilation and some are truly rare gems like Cajun Heart’s wonderful ‘Got to Find A Way.’ In some ways, the tracks sound a bit too clean, lacking the scratches and crackles that Northern Soul fans have become accustomed to hearing but as a compilation, After Hours 3 serves both as a great introduction to the genre for the Northern-Soul-uninitiated and as a party-starter for fans of the scene.
In summary, this is a valiant effort at chronicling the Northern Soul sound and owning the previous two compilations in the series would undoubtedly give an unrivalled education on the genre.
Rating: 4/5
Words by: Sarah Chapman
Release Date: February 14 2005
Record Label: WSM
