Tough call...
Zub | Forks Twp., PA | 02/16/2004
(3 out of 5 stars)
"In spite of nearly twenty years of CD reissues of pop/rock/r'n'b music, there are many tunes still languishing in the vaults. A not insignificant number of those tracks came out on the Bell and Bell-distributed family of labels back in the 60's - the catalog of which is now controlled by Arista/BMG. Sundazed Music has taken on the task of bringing these tracks to the digital domain in this two-disc compilation of mostly "lost" soul sides. While the notion of such a project grabs the attention of collectors, the execution here leaves one wondering. Granted, there are some rarely-found quasi-hits here from the likes of Gladys Knight and the Pips, Lou Johnson, the Emperors and others but sometimes the inclusion of b-sides, unreleased sides and other obscurities while overlooking the a-sides and charting singles leaves the initially-intrigued collector let down to some degree. And in some cases, some of the most prolific artists such as James and Bobby Purify and Oscar Toney are ignored completely. Perhaps the focus is indeed intended to be on the rare and obscure but when many of the charting songs of these labels are still unavailable on CD, this collection is more of a tease than a satiation. Content-wise this collection contains 50 tracks on two discs accompanied by a twenty-page liner notes booklet with track details, some pics and backround on the label and the included tracks. But even the liner notes are disjointed and leave the reader with an unclear sense of the the labels and the artists presented. The sound quality is decent, however all tracks are presented in mono, again making one wonder about the production, considering these are from the 60's, why none of these tunes came up in stereo. While this piece may miss the mark in some respects it does pique the interest of collectors and makes us wish for more, perhaps another volume focused on the pop sides still buried in the vaults of the Bell-family catalog. Sundazed, are you listening?"
Track Listings (25) - Disc #1