A killer collection of singles from the legendary Cotillion arm of Atlantic Records – all presented as individual 7" records with original labels, served up in a hip limited edition package! The work here would already be great as a CD compilation – but it's extra special when served up in this stunning format – like finding a pile of rare soul singles in the back of a rack in an overlooked record store – still in great shape, and ready to explode anew on your turntable! The music is very well-chosen – and includes cuts by some key artists who only worked briefly for Cotillion, and never cut a full album for the label – such as Baby Washington, Otis Clay, or Walter Jackson. Other artists are ones who really hit their height at Cotillion, but still remain relatively obscure – and the singles here easily represent some of their best work ever. All cuts are right from the hippest tail end of the 60s – and titles include "Do Right Woman" and "That Kind Of Lovin" by Otis Clay, "Keep On Striving" and "Come On Let Me Love You" by Moses Smith, "Night After Night" and "The Love That I Needed" by The Blendells, "The Love Of My Woman" and "I Wanna Go Home" by Darrell Banks, "I've Fallen In Love" and "You Are The Circus" by C & The Shells, "Any Way That You Want Me" and "Life Has Its Ups & Downs" by Walter Jackson, "I Gotta Get Back To Lovin You" and "LA/USA" by Hollywood Spectrum, "I Don't Know" and "I Can't Afford To Lose Him" by Baby Washington, "Don't Play That Song" and "People In Love" by Lou Johnson, and "Ain't No Sun" and "Murder IN The First Degree" by The Dynamics. (Limited edition of 2500 copies. Includes download for all tracks – plus a 45 record adaptor, a booklet, and stickers too!) ~ Dusty Groove
R&B singles, but plenty of soul as well – all pulled from that crucial point when the 50s was giving way to the 60s, and the older bluesy styles were changing into the socking soul of the new generation! Some tunes here have a harder groove that echoes the R&B style of the previous decade, but others soar forth in ways that clearly light the fuse for Northern Soul and other styles to come – all served up in a rich batch of rare singles that mixes some classic numbers with more obscure and expensive gems! Titles include "Just A Little Bit" by Tiny Topsy, "Chills & Fever" by Johnny Love, "Sugar In My Tea" by Piney Brown & His Blues Toppers, "Flaming Mamie" by Billy Hambric, "I'm Gonna Leave You Baby" by Willie Wright, "I'm Gonna Whale On You" by Little Arthur Mathews, "Undivided Love" by Eskew Reeder, "Come Here You" by Al Tamms, "Ammerette" by Benny Spellman, and "Honkey Tonk Woman" by Fabulous Playboys. ~ Dusty Groove
Great sounds from a very special place – that magical meeting point where country meets soul – a spot that was crossed surprisingly often in the southern soul scene of the 60s and 70s! The set's a great follow-up to the excellent first volume – and really does a wonderful job of showing the way that a country ethos could work equally well in soul music – with results that will definitely have you re-thinking your ideas of cultural separation in the south. Much of the work is from that great late 60s/early 70s point when the country soul genre was really maturing – moving past the earlier moments of Ray Charles or Brook Benton, and using the style to express a new level of lyrical sophistication – especially in songs of love lost. Titles include "Sweet Music Man" by Millie Jackson, "Don't You Ever Get Tired" by Bettye Swann, "I Hate You" by Bobby Bland, "Statue Of A Fool" by David Ruffin, "Tennessee Waltz" by Otis Redding, "Bad News" by Clarence Carter, "Sunday Morning Coming Down" by Hank Ballard, "But You Know I Love You" by Sweet Inspirations, "Please Help Me I'm Falling" by William Bell, "Sometimes" by Facts Of Life, "I'll Release You" by Ted Taylor, and "All I Have To Offer" by Eddie James. ~ Dusty Groove
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