Rave-up soul treasures from the late 50s through the 60s – one of the best compilations we've seen from Outta Sight! Age Of Northern Soul is what it says it us – pulling together great material that blends Northern Soul, Popcorn and R&B – all of it pretty wonderful. It's got lesser-remembered tunes from famous names that sound as glorious in our ears as some of the more beloved hits – including Etta James, Jimmy Ruffin, The Temptations and The O'Jays – as well as some great stuff from singers and groups most known to collectors. It's also jam packed with songs – 27 in all! Titles include "Seven Day Fool" by Etta James, "Don't Feel Sorry For Me" by Jimmy Ruffin, "Don't Mess With My Man" by Irma Thomas, "Mr Johnny Q" by The Bobbettes, "Oh My Soul" by Garlon Davis, "The Day Will Come" by Freddie Gorman, "Faded Letter" by Satintones, "Hard Times" by Royal Jokers, "Romance Without Finance" by The Temptations, "Heard Hearted Woman" by Eddie Burns, "Drip Drop" by The Drifters, "It Keeps Raining" by Fats Domino and many more.
One of Astor Piazolla's beautiful expanded tango albums from the 70s – really groundbreaking work that still holds up beautifully today! For the set, Piazolla's usual modern bandoneon tangos are augmented by a set of lush orchestral arrangements that have an excellent romantic feel to them – and the resulting sound is like something that might have been lifted from a great 70s Italian soundtrack – extremely evocative and inventive, with a haunting, other-worldly sound at times. This is the sort of stuff that used to get trashed when 80s fans of his work praised a return to "simpler" forms – but we've got to admit, we dig this stuff a lot more, especially because Astor's strength as an orchestral arranger is so fantastic, and the addition of flutes, electric bass, and organ really open his sound up. Titles include "Undertango", "Libertango", "Violentango", and "Novitango".
Those are some pretty sweet leisure suits on the cover of the record – and the album's got some equally sweet grooves to match – the bouncy blend of horns, percussion, and guitars we've come to expect from Skah Shak #1! The group's got Haitian origins, but there's a fair bit of Latin in the mix as well – especially in the way the horns come together over the top of the arrangements, often with jazzy flourishes that really help add a new level of melody to the tunes. Most numbers build in long, hypnotic grooves – and titles include "Message", "Aide M Rele", "Pour Demain", "Manman", "Yaveh", and "Zanmi".
~ Dusty Groove
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