Modculture.com - Singles A's & B's by Love Affair reviewed

Often cruelly dismissed as another late-60's manufactured band for teeny-boppers, this 25-track collection of all of Love Affair's singles from 1966 to 1969 (and Steve Ellis's early solo outings, too) will serve as a timely reminder to those cynics and doubters what an excellent group Love Affair actually were, what a fantastic voice Steve Ellis had/has and hopefully introduce a new generation of music listeners to them.

Ellis was gifted with a voice just as powerful and soulful as the likes of Steve Marriott, Steve Winwood, Eric Burdon, Chris Farlowe and other white UK blue-eyed Soul singers of that time. The power and rawness of his voice is no more evident than on Love Affair's earliest records - "Back In Your Life Again", "Woman Woman", the superb Mod-Pop of "Sweetness And Tenderness" and The Rolling Stones cover "She Smiled Sweetly" all show Love Affair (or The Soul Survivors as they were known in those days) to be a tight group with an exceptionally young and talented singer. Many Modculture readers will recognise the quirky 1967 single "Satisfaction Guaranteed" from "Empire Made: The In Crowd Volume 2", but that tunes appeal is stifled by the huge number 1 from the same year, "Everlasting Love", that follows it. Of course, little needs to be said about this song due to it's huge popularity, but spin it and be reminded of what an incredible tune it is - it's classic late-60's Pop; a huge intro, horns, big backing vocals, a clever yet simple arrangement and of course Ellis putting in a superbly passionate and gutsy vocal performance.

The singles that followed "Everlasting Love" were similar in feel and formula (to get a second number 1, no doubt), yet great songs nonetheless. "Rainbow Valley" is probably technically better than "Everlasting Love" (check out the Italian version of this track at the end of the CD, too!), and "A Day Without Love", "One Road" and "Bringing On Back The Good Times" aren't too far behind either. However, it's the b-sides to these tunes that are of most interest here. "Gone Are The Songs Of Yesterday", the flip-side to "Everlasting Love", is a tender and reflective piece of music, whilst "Someone Like Me" isn't a million miles away from The Small Faces emotional take on Brenda Holloway's "Every Little Bit Hurts". "Let Me Know" and "Accept Me For What I Am", two b-sides from 1969, are both fantastic slabs of soulful late-60's Rock, with some ballsy guitar solos, driving drumming and Ellis letting rip with some great vocal performances.

Following Love Affair's last single "Baby I Know" (which firmly broke the "Everlasting Love" formula, and unfortunately suffered chart-wise as a consequence) and having grown tired of pop stardom, Ellis quit the band to pursue a solo career. He quickly hooked up with Keith Mansfield and released a single, the beautifully arranged "Evie". As well as working on the soundtrack to "Loot" with Mansfield (see 'Film Soundtracks' section for that review), Ellis also hooked up with the likes of Zoot Money, Jimmy McCulloch, Johnny Steele and Caleb Quaye to record two more singles - "Take Your Love" and "Have You Seen My Baby", which are included here with their b-sides ("Jingle Jangle Jasmine" is a particular favourite of this reviewer - Ellis very nearly takes the paint off the walls when the chorus kicks in), before forming The Steve Ellis Band with Zoot Money in 1972.

Steve himself provides the excellent liner-notes to this set, and it's interesting to read his memories of being a Mod, buying clothes/records and playing gigs with The Soul Survivors at venues such as The Marquee, The Flamingo and various Northern Soul clubs in the mid-60's. If you can't get enough of The Small Faces, Spencer Davies Group, Amen Corner, The Herd, Marmalade, or late-60's soulful Pop in general then this is definitely for you. It'd be nice to see Steve Ellis and Love Affair get a little more attention and recognition beyond "Everlasting Love", such was their ability and the songs they recorded aside from their number 1 single.

Reviewed by David Steel (review posted on 8th December 2002)

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