Atlantic (1978)
Recently, my wife and I were gifted a jukebox from the early 80's. It's a beast of a machine that holds one hundred 7"s. While we were plotting its delivery to our place, I started picking up a few 7"s for it. I wasn't going to put any records from my personal collection in it, the plan was to buy duplicates of some key records. I also figured it was a no brainer to put in a few Blues Brothers 7"s. I actually didn't own any of their singles, as I've had the full lengths for a millions years. Unfortunately, I put the cart before the horse and the movers weren't able to get the jukebox up the stairs. By luck, we do have a garage so it has been moved there for storage. We'll probably move out of our currently place in a year, so I'm hopeful this is just a temporary fix.
However, I've amassed a bit of a Blues Brothers singles collection (along with a couple of other odds and ends) so I'll write up a few of them here. "Soul Man" seems like an obvious place to start. This is probably the song most associated with the Blues Brothers, though as the years go by I think people are becoming more familiar with the songs from the movie rather than their big hit single from 1978. The version on this 7" is the same as on Briefcase Full Of Blues. It's simply a classic; one of my very favorite songs.
On the B side is a song that wasn't on the album, "Excusez Moi Mon Cherie." This is the only non album, Blues Brothers B side that exists. I had no idea that it was out there as a kid. The first time I ever heard the song was when I picked up a Blues Brothers CD that compiled every song they ever released about a dozen years ago. The main reason I bought that CD was for this song.
Despite not being a part of the full album, it's a song that is definitely of the era. As usual the band is absolutely on fire, with a driving Duck Dunn bassline, rag time piano and potent horn blasts. Jake/John whips through the song with his usual passion and it's just a thing to behold. While it's a little weird that I never heard this song as a kid, there's something really neat about finding a relic from that time to listen to with grown up ears. It's the closest thing the band has to a lost song and I'm really glad it's out there. I'm even more glad that it's in the collection properly now.
Blues Brothers - "Soul Man":
Blues Brothers - "Excusez Moi Mon Cherie":
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