Home Schooled: The ABCs of Kid Soul

The first track (“Trust Your Child”) on Numero Group’s new compilation Home Schooled: The ABCs of Kid Soul takes on one of the most prevalent teenage gripes, the apparent lack of freedom. The song makes me think of my teenage late nights out, sneaking out and sneaking back in, sometimes successfully, most of the time not. As I got reprimanded and sent off to my room, I thought, “why can’t I be trusted” which is exactly what Patrizia & Jimmy call for with the chorus, “Trust your child / We wanna be trusted.” To be perfectly honest, if I were in my parents shoes, I wouldn’t have trusted me either.

That’s what makes this record such a fun listen, I can’t remember when the last time I noticed that it was “back to school” season as September draws ever closer and another summer comes to an end. The much dreaded first day of school is preceded by getting ready to impress your friends as you go school shopping for the coolest new shit; clothes, shoes, notebooks, crayons, pens, pencils, etc. On the contrary, 3 Simmons takes an upbeat approach to going back to school on “You Are My Dream (School Time).” The singer buzzes with innocence about a girl he’s smitten on, telling her “In the morning / Just a little past eight / I’ll wait for you baby at our meeting place / I’ll carry your books and lunch bag too / I’ll do anything baby to stay close to you.”

Other standouts on Home Schooled include the only recorded output from Quantrells, the single “Can’t Let You Break My Heart” and “Jersey Slide Pt 1” by 3 Stars, who were two New Jersey brothers and another boy from Delaware.

For their 16th release, Numero scoured the lost and unknown side of early 70s kid soul music. You won’t see any Jackson 5 or Osmonds on the compilation; although most of these groups and their parents were inspired by Michael and his brothers at the end of the 60s. The label has hand-picked seventeen rare tracks from the phenomena, most of which were released as 7” singles back in the day.

Numero put it best in their promo blurb for the record, stating that the “disc straddles the line between historical artifact and wild mix tape.” The package comes with a detailed booklet that breaks down the history of the music and early 70s kid soul scene. Part history lesson and tons of fun, this record should not be missed.

Stream the entire record over at Numero.

[MP3]: Quantrells  ”Can’t Let You Break My Heart”