Kent's Cellar of Soul

Performers include: Rodger Collins, Mighty Sam, Bettye Swann, Steelers, Falcons, O.V. Wright, Erma Franklin, Barbara Lynn, Lonnie Mack, Intruders, Moses & Joshua Dillard, Homer Banks, Tina Britt, Paul Kell, Dreamlovers.
Compilation producers: Ady Croasdell, Trevor Churchill.
Includes liner notes by Dave Godin.
Contains 26 tracks.
Liner Note Author: Dave Godin.
Unknown Contributor Roles: Clifford Curry; Danny White & Linda Nail; Little Richard; Mighty Sam; Roger Collins; The Spellbinders; Tina Britt.
Arrangers: Leslie Asch; Gene Miller ; J.J. Jackson; Jimmy Oliver; Jimmy Wisner; Moses Dillard; Ray Shanklin; Arthur Wright.
Like several '60s soul compilations on the Kent label, the concept is vague enough to elude the grasp of all but those who are quite immersed in the most dedicated corner of soul record collecting. It has "club and turntable hits from the golden age of American soul music," according to the back cover, though that really applies to British clubs and turntables, not American ones. The liner notes also intimate that soul compilations issued as part of the series "Bell's Cellar of Soul" in the 1960s served as an inspiration. They also claim that the 26 songs on this CD "are now entirely familiar sides," though that claim probably only holds water in some specialized British clubs and collector circles. None of these songs were big hits (with the exceptions of the Intruders' "Cowboys to Girls" and possibly James & Bobby Purify's "Let Love Come Between Us"), and most of them in fact weren't even small hits. Ultimately, it's a reasonably high-quality anthology of obscure (to the general listener) 1960s soul music, though one lacking the strongest of thematic linkages. The tenor tends toward the upbeat and danceable, though also, frankly, the generic and also-ran. Some cuts rise above that tag, like Rodger Collins' infectious "She's Looking Good," which has a Wilson Pickett-ish funky uptempo feel; Brooks O'Dell's "You Better Make Up Your Mind," which has an orchestrated moody drama that largely eludes these anthologies; Little Richard's 1967 single "Get Down With It," one of his best post-'50s sides; Tina Britt's "The Real Thing," one of the best Martha & the Vandellas sound-alike songs (though the Chiffons did a better version); and the Dreamlovers' "You Gave Me Somebody to Love," a highly credible Righteous Brothers imitation. On the other hand, some tracks are too imitative to even generate slight admiration, like Bob Brady & the Con Chords' transparent Miracles knockoff "Everybody's Going to the Love-In." Rounding up the call of the more notable inclusions are the quality blue-eyed soul of Lonnie Mack on "Save Your Money"; Clifford Curry's "She Shot a Hole in My Soul," which must be one of the songs most frequently cited as a lost cult gem; Barbara Lynn's smooth 1966 version of "You Left the Water Running"; and O.V. Wright's original 1964 version of "That's How Strong My Love Is," though the track is so different from the renditions by Otis Redding and the Rolling Stones that it sounds almost like another song altogether. ~ Richie Unterberger