VA - Rare Soul, Groove & Grind 1963-1973 [2015] (4 x CD's)

 

RARE SOUL

VA - Rare Soul, Groove & Grind 1963-1973 [2015] (4 x CD's)

Apparently there was a surfeit of acts all vying for their shot at the merry-go-round brass ring of R&B popularity during what is typically considered the golden age of soul. Add one more to the lot as this mammoth, four disc 8”x8” formatted book/set collects 112 singles, most of them so obscure they have never officially appeared on CD. Along with 128 pages of extensive notes by historian Bill Dahl and full color pictures of the 45 RPM labels all on heavy stock, this attempts to move to the front of the pack, if only in terms of sumptuous presentation. The CD's are divided thematically; Urban Soul, Vocal Groups, Southern soul and the final platter concentrating on more dance oriented (but pre-disco) material. The acts are as colorful as the music with such eye-catching names as The Flint Emeralds, Mad Dog & the Pups, Maskmen & the Agents, and the Tenth Dymentions all vying for your attention in bite size (most under three minutes) tracks of smoking, sweat soaked testifying. The mono sound and occasional pops and crackles inevitable when crate digging this deeply occurs, generally enhances the overall retro vibe. (americansongwriter.com)

This is a first ever collection of Rare Soul that assembles ultra, hard-to-find,Soul 45's. Highly collectible, and highly prized by those who love the genre. Virtually all of these songs have never been on CD before, and making their digital debut here in this deluxe collection. With encyclopedic liner notes by Bill Dahl, this book and CD release certainly raises the bar for this genre. The songs have been grouped in categories.  It blows my mind how many "deep soul" records were made in the 60's. I've just touched the iceberg, and I probably have hundreds of  "deep soul" collections, from the obvious, like Stax, Atlantic,Chess to VeeJay, Galaxy, Minit, King, Sue to labels like Call Me, and all sorts of obscure one-offs. This is a killer collection of rare soul, R & B, hidden gems that someone has mined from what must have been a quite vast collection. There is truly excellent music throughout the 4 CD's. This may well be one pf the greatest compilations of obscure soul tracks from the 63-73 period. Not only is it really well crafted and put on with wonderful songs, but the box's packaging and the liner notes from soul historian Bill Dahl really take you on a journey from which you might never return! This box set IS a must have. (Amazon)

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Track lists

CD1

01 Don Gardner My Baby Likes to Boogaloo 2:54

02 Jelly Beans I'm Hip to You 2:55

03 Danny Woods You Had Me Fooled 2:43

04 Gail Anderson They're Laughing at Me 2:52

05 Tyrone (The Wonder Boy) Please Consider Me 2:46

06 Jessie James Are You Gonna Leave Me 2:10

07 Bettye Lavette Almost 2:21

08 Donald Height My Baby's Gone 3:07

09 Little Charles & the Sidewinders Got My Own Thing Going 2:46

10 Joan Baker Everybody's Talking 2:25

11 Big Dee Irwin Follow My Heart 2:35

12 Cookie Jackson Suffer 2:30

13 Alvin Robinson You Brought My Heart Right Down to My Knees 2:52

14 Big Ella The Queen 2:12

15 King Floyd Walkin' and Thinkin' 2:31

16 Billy McGregor Mr. Shy 2:55

17 Hoagy Lands Do You Know What Life is All About 2:44

18 Tommy Hunt Searchin' for Love 2:27

19 Pat Lewis No One to Love 2:10

20 Lou Courtney I'm Mad About You 2:39

21 Lezli Valentine Love on a Two Way Street 4:08

22 Ike & Tina Turner You Can't Miss Nothing That You Never Had 2:03

23 Tony Mathews Don't Hurt Me No More 2:53

24 Theola Kilgore He's Coming Back to Me 2:14

25 Kenny Gamble & the Romeos Hard to Find the Right Girl 2:52

26 Soul Shakers Big Train 2:44

27 Jackie Owens Love That Guy 2:33

CD2

01 Tempos (Countdown) Here I Come 2:36

02 C-Quents It's You and Me 2:51

03 Exsaveyons I Don't Love You No More 2:22

04 Sounds Four A Memory Best Forgotten 2:50

05 Specials You Stood Me Up 2:43

06 Dynamics Bingo 2:07

07 Vontastics Peace of Mind 2:59

08 Holidays Loves Creeping Up on Me 1:56

09 Mandells There Will Be Tears Pt.1 3:10

10 Montclairs Never Ending Love 2:47

11 Four Pennies You're a Gas With Your Trash 2:33

12 New Young Hearts The Young Hearts Get Lonely Too 2:28

13 Down to Earth Forgive Me If I Cry 2:46

14 Sweet Things I'm in a World of Trouble 2:32

15 C.O.D.'s Cry No More 2:42

16 Ascots Miss Heartbreaker 2:38

17 Shades of Sensation But Then You Left Me 2:55

18 The Webs Keep Your Love Strong 2:39

19 Flint Emeralds Just Like a Baby (Mama's Rocking in a Cradle) 2:23

20 Pearlean Gray & the Passengers I Don't Want to Cry 2:26

21 Little Ben & the Cheers Beggar of Love 2:49

22 Versatiles You're Good Enough for Me 2:25

23 Vows Say You'll Be Mine 2:31

24 Delacardos She's the One I Love 2:39

25 People's Choice Savin' My Lovin' for You 3:01

26 Profiles Got to Be Your Lover 2:22

27 Pace-Setters Victim of Loneliness 2:33

28 Four Perfections I'm Not Strong Enough 2:33

CD3

01 Willy McDougal Don't Turn Away 2:32

02 Winfield Parker Mr Clean 2:38

03 Candi Staton Now You've Got the Upper Hand 1:51

04 Jay Wiggins Forgive Then Forget 2:18

05 Matt "Ti" Mattison & the Minit Men Don't Make Me Cry 2:36

06 Little Gene Brooks The James Brown Boogaloo 2:20

07 Betty Right Mr Lucky 2:41

08 Sam Hutchins I Can't Stop Crying 2:36

09 Sam Dees It's All Wrong (It's All Right) 2:44

10 Lee Edwards & His Continentals On the Re-E-B-O-U-N-D 2:24

11 Buddy Grubbs I'm Telling You 2:55

12 Eddie Floyd Hey Now 2:14

13 Patt Brown The Good Got to Suffer for the Bad 2:59

14 Little Frankie Lee I Gotta Come Back 2:03

15 Nat Hall With the Mellow 3 A Broken Hearted Clown 3:14

16 Ella Washington The Grass is Always Greener 2:22

17 Billy Young Still My Life Through 2:47

18 Carla Thomas Every Ounce of Strength 2:12

19 Ruby Winters I Don't Want to Hurt Nobody 3:02

20 Al "Tnt" Braggs I'm a Good Man 2:03

21 Sir Mack Rice Gotta Have My Baby's Love 2:21

22 Elijah & the Ebonies I Confess (Featuring Mary Sexton) 2:50

23 Jackie Avery Understanding 2:08

24 Margie Joseph Show Me 2:32

25 Moses Dillard & the Dynamic Showmen Pretty as a Picture 2:16

26 Jerry & Eddie & the Tornados Hurry Up Little Girl 2:44

27 Roy Arlington Everybody Makes a Mistake Sometimes 2:56

28 Bobby Parker Get Right 2:32

CD4

01 Pep Brown Can You Handle It 2:30

02 Jessie Hill Free and Easy 3:07

03 Richard Knight Show Stopper 2:36

04 Interpretations Soul Affection 2:07

05 King Earnest The Soul Stroke (Can You Handle It) 2:32

06 Rockie Charles & the Lavonics Riccasha 2:51

07 Reggie Smith Soul Walkin' 2:52

08 Bobby Rush Wake Up 2:43

09 Tenth Dymentions The Bushman 2:29

10 Essene Brotherhood Band The Funky Bandwagon 2:32

11 Noble Watts F.L.A. 2:49

12 Billy Sha-Rae Do It 2:24

13 Sonny Green People Are Talking About Me 2:39

14 Iron Man Sam Original Funky Bell Bottom 3:02

15 L.J. Waiters I'm a Lonely Man 2:47

16 Bobby Jones I've Got a Habit (Of Lovin' You) 2:32

17 Bobby Dunn Do the Bobby Dunn 3:13

18 Fantastic Epics We Do it All Up Here 2:50

19 Maskman & the Agents Ratty Ratty 2:53

20 Roy Hytower It Must Be Love 2:53

21 Isaac Clark Do the Dog Funk 3:02

22 Little Joe Mixon What You See is What You Get 2:30

23 Charles Lattimore Do the Thing 2:36

24 Lloyd Hendricks The Sno-Cone 2:35

25 Magic Sam I'll Pay You Back 2:17

26 Mad Dog & the Pups Hep Squeeze 3:12

27 Chet "Poison" Ivey & His Fabulous Avengers The Poo Poo Man 3:13

28 Dave Mitchell & the Screamers The Trip 2:19

29 Willie Smith I Got a New Thing 2:09

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