Classic Soul LPs - 2

A very happy New Year to all my readers (assuming there are a few!) I saw the new year in watching Jools Holland's Hootenanny which was, as usual, a good mixture of the old and the new. Among the excellent oldies taking part were Bettye Lavette and 80 year old Petula Clark (not one of my favourities, but you have to admire her staying power). Also on the show was the great Bobby Womack, who is enjoying a new lease of life with his new album The Bravest Man In The Universe. He seemed to have recovered from his recent illnesses but revealed this week that he may be suffering from the early onset of Alzheimers. Let's hope he keeps going for many years to come.
Having recently bought new racks for my LPs I have been able to access them properly for the first time in a couple of years. So I thought I would pick out a few classic soul LPs released in the US, mainly during the sixties, (including Bobby Womack's second album). Most of them weren't issued in this form, if at all, in the UK at the time and there are some crackers here. Details below:

Top row (left to right).
The Essex - A Walkin' Miracle. Released on Roulette in 1964 this was the group's second LP (after Easier Said Than Done). Members of the US Marines, the featured singer was Anita Humes. Released on Columbia in the UK.
Shirley Ellis - The Name Game. Released on the Congress label in 1965, Shirley had novelty hits with The Nitty Gritty, The Clapping Song and The Name Game. This LP did not get a UK release.
The Jive Five - I'm A Happy Man. This was released on the United Artists label a couple of years after their brilliant My True Story and featured their last significant hit, the title song. Unreleased in the UK.
Major Lance - The Monkey Time. This came out on Okeh and includes Lance's first hit and a batch of soul covers. Unreleased in the UK.
Middle row:
The Orlons - Not Me. Released on Cameo, this was named after their cover of the US Bonds hit and again didn't get a UK release.
Clyde McPhatter - Love Ballads. After he left the Drifters Clyde McPhatter made some sublime records for Atlantic and this 1958 album was his first solo LP on the label. Unreleased in the UK.
Freddie Scott - I Shall Be Released. This one came out on Probe in 1970, seven years after his stunning Her Girl. No UK release.
Dee Dee Sharp - Mashed Potato Time. Another Cameo LP, this one featured her first two hits - Mashed Potato Time and Gravy. Not released in the UK.
Bottom row:
The Shirelles - Sing With Trumpets And Strongs. Released on Scepter, this includes Mama Said and What A Sweet Thing That Was. It got a release on Top Rank in the UK.
The Tams - A Portrait Of The Tams. This came out on ABC and was produced by Joe South and Ray Whitley.  Unreleased in the UK.
Wilmer & The Dukes - Wilmer & The Dukes. A popular soul band in New York State, this was released in 1969 and featured their biggest hit Give Me One More Chance (released on Action in the UK) and later hits, including Living In The USA.
Bobby Womack - My Prescription. Released in 1969 on Minit, this was Bobby at his most soulful. Unreleased in the UK.