J.J. Barnes – I’ve Seen The Light b/w J.J. And Ortheia Barnes – Send Some Love – Livalot AT DJ 7″

Exclusive limited new ‘Motorcity’ 45 which originally only came out on 12″ in 1991, released on a limited first press 7″ single by Record Shack here in Vienna in 2016.

*LIMITED ‘WHITELABEL’ 7″ DEEJAY PRESS, ONLY 30 COPIES MADE!*

In our ‘fashion-free’ way of serving pure quality Soul music, listening to the Motorcity 12″ with it’s 8min long early 90s ‘zeitgeist’ mix again, our thought was that the time could be right for a different, 45’ed, slightly more ‘defined’ shorter mix on a 7″ single, actually this was the start of our fruitful Ian Levine/Record Shack collaboration.

And YES, we could see Ian’s production-genius by the dancer’s reaction on the dancefloor of the MASSIVE Modern Soul room at our SOUND of SOUL events here in Vienna.

This is a fantastic Modern Soul double sider recorded in 1990, co-written by Edwin Starr, produced by Ian Levine and put onto physical 7″ vinyl here in Vienna available on a limited Austrian first press 45 for Northern & Modern Soul deejays.

And there is something behind Ian’s chosen label name for this recording by Detroit legend J.J. Barnes relating to ‘Revilot’ he recorded on in the 1960s. People who know Ian might see the meaning of the imprint’s naming which is ‘Livalot’.

Ian Levine on the song:

“I’ve Seen the Light” was the outcome of myself and Edwin Starr’s co-writing. A piece of Luther Vandross type eighties style soul with a huge gospel influence throughout. J.J. loved it so much that he went back to Detroit and performed it on a local TV show there. Very few of the Motorcity releases had an extra appeal to the mainstream London soul crowd, but this one certainly did. I first met J.J. Barnes in 1971 when my first business venture with my Father, when I was eighteen, was to put him on at Blackpool Mecca. I had written an article about him when I was fifteen for Collectors Soul Magazine called “J.J. Barnes The Uncrowned King Of Soul” Eighteen years later he signed to Motorcity and recorded about twenty five songs, this being one of the stand out ones.