Tuesday, October 28, 2014

New Releases: AL GREEN-Free Soul: The Treasure Of Al Green; WILLIE MITCHELL-The Hi Records Singles Collection; Good All Over: Rare Soul From The Westbound Records Vaults

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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