Search - Various Artists :: Atlantic Soul: 1959-1975

A must for your soul library!

Josh P. | 06/19/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In 2007, Atlantic Records celebrated its 60th Anniversary and Rhino Handmade released a series of special edition box sets to commemorate this. All three seem to be supplements to perhaps the most revered box set issued from Atlantic or any other company: Atlantic Rhythm and Blues 1947-1974. With these boxes there is a bit of duplication of a handful of tracks. However, there are so many lesser known hits and rarities to subtantially make up for that, and many are making their CD debut!



Such is the case with this box: Atlantic Soul 1959-1975. 82 cuts in superb sound quality that really do depict the evolution of soul music throughout the time period it covers. Looking at the the multitude of artists is mind-blowing and several get more than one nod. This set really has everybody and all do some slammin' cuts.

Among the highlights are:

Disc 1:

The Isley Brothers' hilarious romp "Your Old Lady", The Falcons' "Darling", which is something no soul fan can do without (the lead singer is so awesome on this), Solomon Burke doing two cuts, "Stupidity" (about a dance; the horn section is tight and hot) and a cover of "He'll Have To Go", The Vibrations with the original "Hang on Sloopy" titled as "My Girl Sloopy", two great cuts from the Ohio Untouchables (they played on the Falcons' "I Found A Love", and later evolved into the Ohio Players), Esther Phillips with the original "Mojo Hanna" before later covered by Tami Lynn and 17-year old Bettye LaVette with a surprise hit for her: "My Man-He's A Lovin' Man."

Disc 2:

Speaking of Tami Lynn, her "I'm Gonna Run Away From You" appears and is a Northern soul classic. Tommy Hunt, Mary Wells, Ben E. King, Barbara Lewis and Don Covay all have fantastic cuts that make you cringe at the fact that they were largely unnoticed. Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles do the original "Groovy Kind of Love" one year before the Mindbenders along with "Over The Rainbow" which Patti has over the years made her own. The Soul Brothers Six have the original "Some Kind of Wonderful", Willie Tee has a "Teasin' You" answer song "Thank You John", and the Coasters have a first crack at "Let's Go Get Stoned" a year before Ray Charles does it and a husband-wife pop duo, Jo Ann & Troy, provide a chilling 12/8 ballad "I Found A Love, Oh What A Love" which made some impact in the R&B market. If that isn't enough, the Queen of Soul herself closes out disc 2 with a stirring and passionate rendition of "A Change Is Gonna Come"

Disc 3:

Harvey Scales blows it open with a ferocious dance track "Get Down" before offerings of some gutsy, deep soul appear from The Sweet Inspirations, Baby Washington, Judy Clay. Also, there's "Any Way That You Want Me" from Walter Jackson, a track in which he's never sounded so good before or since and the arrangement is just as perfectly constructed as his voicing. It may as well be the very definition of soul. Percy Sledge delivers a killer cut with "Kind Woman", the arrangement and backup singers give it a rather churchy feel to it; staggering! Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett and Clarence Carter each present two lesser known amazing sides but everyone seems to know Aretha's cover of "I Say a Little Prayer." Otis Redding gets one nod with his original "Hard to Handle"; there could have been more from him as one of his most famous in-concert photos graces the cover of the box: the visual definition of soul.

Disc 4:

When Etta James covered Otis' "Mr. Pitiful", it was called "Miss Pitiful", but Judy Clay prefers to go by "Sister Pitiful", an awesome cover. Along with Judy Clay, Baby Washington also at this time was backed up by what sounds like the Muscle Shoals band. She presents the original "Breakfast In Bed" more known by Dusty Springfield. The Sweet Inspirations provide a touch of the smooth Philly Sound with two Gamble-Huff tracks. Also heard are those rare sought-after selections from Howard Tate, Garland Green, James Carr, The Persuaders, The Spinners and Donny Hathaway. Bettye Swann has one of the best selections on disc 4 alone, "Victim of a Foolish Heart" and the instrumentalists all have cool parts to play include a punchy horn line, driving bass and drum parts and a wicked-cool sax solo. Bobby Womack's "I Can Understand It" is done hear as originally by the Valentinos, the evolution into polished disco from the Trammps with "Hooked For Life", and even Hall & Oates provide a slice of blue-eyed soul with "She's Gone" and an "Oh Happy Day" spin-off record called "God Gave Me a Song" that reflected the trend to commercialize on gospel music.



Billy Vera provides detailed and entertaining liner notes as well as appearing in two beautiful duets with Judy Clay on the album. The booklet has a rather unusual yet unique design to it. It's done in the manner of a scrapbook with a fuzzy or faded photograph look. Rare photos are in abundance complete with record labels and photos of nearly every artist who appears on this set along with release date and label information. The other wonderful thing about this set would have to be that there are the consistent roster of stars mixed in with artists you normally don't associate with Atlantic Records.



The discs are housed in cardboard sleeves bearing a tinted photo of an artist on the front and track listing on the back and are stored within a frame inside the slender LP-sized box.



This set is without a doubt what soul is all about: heartfelt lyrics set to music delivered in a way to express what could only be felt and brought out from deep within. Everything about this set is wonderful but it is a limited edition box. Though pricey, the investment will prove far more than rewarding!"

Great music, so-so packaging

korova | Varosha | 08/23/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Any serious soul music fan will dig this collection. Billy Vera, the compiler, and Rhino Handmade have put together a diverse, interesting, and well-balanced compilation.



However, I wouldn't recommend this as a "first buy" for casual listeners or people just beginning to build their music libraries. You will get a lot more of the kind of tracks that create the foundation of a good collection on boxes like The Complete Stax-Volt Singles 1959-1968, Atlantic Rhythm & Blues 1947-1974, and Can You Dig It? The '70s Soul Experience.



Bottom line: an outstanding set of rarities and deep vault tracks for anybody who wants to go beyond mainstream compilations. One star off due to a good, but not great, liner-note book and a dull box design--neither is up to Rhino's usual very high standard."