1978 seems a long time ago. Actually, it was a long time ago now that Bluesbunny thinks about it. It was about the time the Vinyl Vault actually came into being as those first vinyl prizes were added. It was also the time when disco was fading and punk was taking over the streets of Glasgow. However, Glasgow being what Glasgow is, we always have a legend or two hanging about and looking at this blue vinyl single, Frankie Miller came to mind.
Frankie had enjoyed a fair amount of success by this time with his rock meets soul sound. Underneath it all though, he could be viewed as the working class boy made good and that kind of explains why he has never really been forgotten. "Stubborn Kind of Fellow" is a good choice of cover, of course, but it was the A side as (probably) the result of record company pressure. Frankie handles the vocal duties with the feeling that you would expect and people often forget just how good an interpreter of songs he was (and no doubt still is). If a song is good enough for Marvin Gaye then it is good enough for our Frankie. Whilst pondering that very thought, Alan Parker's film The Commitments came to mind. As you will no doubt remember that film was about the trials and tribulations of a working class soul band from Dublin. Soul and that whole celtic (with a small c) thing make excellent bedfellows.
On the flipside is a song called "Good Time Love" which was actually written by Frankie and a certain Paul Carrack. It is handled in altogether more relaxed way but is equally as soulful as "Stubborn Kind of Fellow". As Frankie sells "… that's why I love you… for what you are" to us, you just buy it. It makes perfect sense.
As an additional bonus you even get a bit of pure hyperbole on the back sleeve indicating that his then current album was the best thing since chicken pakora. Record companies were more courageous in their marketing then than now when the best you can hope for is a list of the really important people who played on it and an assurance how it was recorded in the biggest, most expensive studio in the known universe. You know something? Glasgow could really do with someone to take over the reins from Frankie Miller, get back to basics and put some soul back into the music.