Soul of Sue: The UK Sue Label Story, Vol. 3

Liner Note Author: Ady Croasdell.
Photographers: Phil Smee; Steve Richards ; Ady Croasdell; Brian Peters.
Arrangers: Garry Sherman; Gene Page; Larry Fallon.
Like the first two volumes in this series, this collects a bunch of singles issued on the British Sue label in the 1960s -- some, but far from all, of them licensed from the American Sue label. This is more soul music-centered than its predecessors, and indeed it's a pretty wide, if somewhat haphazard, sampling of American soul singles from 1959-1967. There's no real theme to the anthology other than the appearance of all 25 tracks on the U.K. Sue label, which might make it a little bewildering, except to those British listeners with nostalgic memories of the original Sue releases. There's just one big American hit here, Shades of Blue's "Oh, How Happy," though there are a good number of minor/cult hits that are as good, or nearly as good, as most classic high-charting soul smashes: Bob & Earl's "Harlem Shuffle," Lee Dorsey's "Do-Re-Mi," James Brown's "Night Train" (presented in the slightly sped-up version on the original 45), the Soul Sisters' "I Can't Stand It," and Ike & Tina Turner's "Am I a Fool in Love." Then there are a few items by big names that weren't such big hits either, like Irma Thomas' "Don't Mess With My Man," Jerry Butler's "Believe in Me," and Bobby Bland's "That Did It." Filling out the disc are numerous, pretty obscure cuts by names both mid-sized and little-known, and in truth not many of these are too ear-catching, with exceptions like the Anglos' "Incense" (long incorrectly rumored to feature Steve Winwood on lead vocals), O.V. Wright's haunting "What Did You Tell This Girl of Mine," and the underrated Baby Washington's uptown soul goodie "I Can't Wait Until I See My Baby's Face." Certainly there's a lot of stylistic ground covered, from New York, Chicago, and Memphis to New Orleans and elsewhere, with even a bit of R&B-tinged jazz for good measure. It's too scattered in both focus and quality, however, to be recommended as a solid building block for a '60s soul library. The liner notes have some very interesting memories of the U.K. Sue label and memorabilia reproductions relating to it, however. ~ Richie Unterberger