AL GREEN
– FREE SOUL: THE TREASURE OF AL GREEN
Over 80
minutes of magic from the great Al Green – a special entry into the
Japanese-only series of Free Soul collections! The series often mixes together
great tracks from different artists, but this volume features only music from
the godlike Al himself – a warm, mellow blend of Memphis soul nuggets – and one
that mixes together classic Hi Records hits with some lesser-known gems from
Green! Willie Mitchell's great production really ties the whole thing together
– as does the wonderful work of Free Soul maestro Toru Hashimoto, who still has
one of the greatest ears for grooves we've ever heard. Titles include
"Full Of Fire", "Let's Stay Together", "You Ought To
Be With Me", "Love", "Take Me To The River", "Sha
La La", "Love & Happiness", "Love Ritual",
"So Good to Be Here", "Loving You", "Your Love Is Like
The Morning Sun", "King Of All", "Look What You Done For
Me", and "I Think It's For The Feeling". ~ Dusty Groove
WILLIE
MITCHELL – THE HI RECORDS SINGLES COLLECTION
Pure
greatness from Memphis soul legend Willie Mitchell – maybe best known as the
studio force behind Hi Records work by Al Green and Ann Peebles, but a heck of
a recording artist on his own! Willie had a great ear for catchy, groovy soul
instrumentals – done in a style that echoes a bit of the genre over at
Stax/Volt at the time, but which often takes off into some of the fuller, more
flowing modes that Mitchell would use with singers. A number of Willie's
singles have his trumpet in the lead, but others have a variety of
instrumentation – and often put more emphasis on the gritty grooves at the
bottom. And like similar soul instrumental artists, some of Mitchell's best
moments were in the 7" format – not on full LPs – which makes this
collection essential, as it features 20 tracks that only appeared on 45s, not
on Mitchell's albums – including two with singer Don Bryant in the mix. Titles
include "Drippin", "Easy Now", "Empty Rooms",
"Check Me", "Secret Home", "20-75", "Buddy
Bear", "Crawl (parts 1 & 2)", "Aw Shucks",
"Lucky", "Last Tango In Paris", "The Champion (parts 1
& 2)", "My Babe", "Kitten Korner", "Six To
Go", "Beale Street Mood", "Teenie's Dream", and lots
lots more – a total of 48 tracks in all!
~ Dusty Groove
GOOD ALL OVER: RARE SOUL FROM THE WESTBOUND RECORDS VAULTS 1969-1975
Rare
tracks from one of the greatest soul labels ever – Detroit's legendary
Westbound Records, the famous home of Funkadelic – but a source for countless
many more grooves! This set features really rare singles and unreleased tracks
from Westbound – a flurry of great soul tracks that's surprised even our
Westbound-raised ears – with tracks that run from righteous soul to heavy funk,
to great group harmonies, and more! There's nary a big name in the set – and
instead, the whole thing really focuses on the hinterland of the Westbound
scene – including some especially rare gems that were issued as singles by the
even-smaller Eastbound label, who did some wonderfully groovy work in the early
70s. Titles include "Admit Your Love Is Gone" by Damon Shawn,
"Old Fashioned Woman" by Unique Blend, "I'm Falling In
Love" by Fantastic Four, "Tender Moments" by AC Tilmon &
Denise LaSalle, "I Love You" by The Motivations, "More
Love" by Emanuel Laskey, "What Am I Gonna Do" by Houston
Outlaws, "I Don't Know How" by The Superlatives, "Trying Real
Hard" by The Magictones, "You Can't Take This Love For You From
Me" by Bob & Harold, "I'm Loving You You're Leaving Me" by
The Magictones, "Does He Treat You Better" by Unique Blend, and "Rosetta
Stone" by AC Tilmon & Detroit Emeralds. ~ Dusty Groove
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