EPS031 PRIME CUT A: I DON'T WANNA BE WITHOUT YOU (previously unissued) EPSILON RECORD CO.

BUY IT HERE:
(release date 26th of July 2024)
https://www.epsilonrecord.com
PRIME CUT
EPS031:
A: I DON'T WANNA BE WITHOUT YOU
(4:07)
(previously unissued)
WRITERS / COMPOSERS
STEVE RICHARD / JAMES COBBINS​
RE-MASTERED BY STEVE FUJI
B: ANGEL
(3:57)
(previously unissued)
WRITERS / COMPOSERS
STEVE RICHARD / JAMES COBBINS​
RE-MASTERED BY STEVE FUJI

I am very exciting to introduce EPSILON RECORD CO latest release EPS031

Prime Cut
Two fantastic and previously unissued tracks, perfect for the summer vibes.


In 2021, I was working on the T.A.X.I.E project with my good friend, the very talented Steve Fuji from Riverside CA, who later became Epsilon Record Co’s favourite sound engineer.

Back in the 70’s, Steve Fuji worked as sounds engineer for several major studios in the Los Angeles area.
He also made some appearances as an actor in a few movies and pursued his career as a solo artist, singing and playing guitar.

He worked on hundred of recording sessions with many bands.
Steve has always had a good ear for soul music artists.
He made mastertape copies of his favourite recordings for himself which he kept securely for five decades.

Four years ago I asked Steve if he had any interesting unissued material for Epsilon.
He sent me these two tracks from Prime Cut.
I was blown away by the quality of these recordings, both songs were originally about 6 minutes long.
But I knew Steve could easily edit them for me.

I started researching about Prime Cut Band and quickly realised that most of the members of the band were sadly no longer with us and put those projects aside hoping that one day I could find one of the remaining members.



The original members were:

James DavidCobbin
Steve Richards
Ronald Murray
Jerome Wilson
Fleming Williams

James, Jerome & Fleming were from Flint Michigan and were the original members of the 21st Generation.
They recorded ”I Need Love" / "Hey James" released in 1970 on the Tri-City label.

They moved in the mid-70s to Los Angeles and formed a new band called Prime Cut. They hired Steve Richards who later on became a permanent member of the band and was also a songwriter.

A few months ago, I saw a post from Si Murray mentioning a Prime Cut song in the Modern Soul forum on facebook. James Cobbin & Prime Cut – Caught In The Middle [Tuckwood Record] from1984.

This reminds me these two unissued songs that Steve Fuji gave me as a gift and I decided to upload on Facebook a short clip of I DON”T WANT TO BE WITHOUT YOU which is a much more early recording from 1978 by Prime Cut.
The response to my thread was amazing and many people suggested I should release it on Epsilon.

I had to think about it again, and in less than a week I managed to track down Steve Richards, one of the original members and actually co-writer of both sides of this new single.
Deal done and authorisation agreed, Steve kindly remastered both songs for the release of EPS031.


I hope you will enjoy these two amazing previously unissued tunes as much as I do!

I dedicate this project to all the members of Modern Soul forum. You wanted the songs to be released, now I need your support.

Best
Yann Vatiste

Quick note from Steve:

Steve Fuji
During the years I worked as a recording engineer, it was a constant source of frustration that most of the work I did was for demo sessions that never got heard by the public.
That was especially true of these 2 songs by Prime Cut, because I felt that they were extremely good songs and also represented some of my best work as a recording engineer. 
It's very gratifying that now, after 45 years, they are finally being released and can be heard by music lovers. I hope you like these songs as much as I did when I recorded them in 1978. 
Steve Fuji