The vinyl resurgence has mainly been about albums, but for many record geeks the seven-inch, 45-RPM single remains the greatest format. Go for broke and give us your two best songs, hopefully under three minutes apiece and at an upbeat, danceable clip—and then make way for the equally great 45 that’s all cued up and ready to rip on turntable two. It’s a flawless, Zen-like medium that forms the booty-shaking backbone of Jonathan Toubin’s popular Soul Clap dance night and contest, which returns to BSP Kingston on February 13.”I guess it’s sort of a statement, but there’s a mixture of pragmatic reasons I only play original-issue 45s,” says Toubin, who specializes in gritty, grinding, and deep-digging ’50s and ’60s soul, R&B, and rock ‘n’ roll. “A lot of the music I play either hasn’t been reissued or, if it has, tends to be on rush-job compilations that don’t sound good. And mp3s, besides being intangible, sound even worse. A 45 that’s been done right can sound like the band is right there in the room.” Tickets are $8 in advance and $10 at the door. (845) 481-5158; Bspkingston.com
This article appears in February 2016.
