Customer Reviews

Essential

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The title above, sadly, is an apt summation of the career of James Carr. You may know of his legend: he's probably the least accomplished singer, in terms of overall career earnings and recognition, that you'll ever hear mentioned as being the greatest soul singer of them all. But you hear this reference to Carr over and over again. The reason is in these grooves. "Pouring Water On A Drowning Man." "What Can I Call My Own?" "To Love Somebody." And no one can touch, "At The Dark End Of The Street" as performed by this tragic figure, though many have tried. James Carr was majestic in both delivery and interpretation. And that is nothing short of astounding, considering how confused he really was, and also the fact that he was totally illiterate. He couldn't even sign his own name. Somehow, the Lord above looked down on him and just took control, and sang through James Carr's voice. It's the only explanation I can think of for the greatness you'll find here.

Collections such as this are why this former vinyl snob now embraces the CD.In a year of hunting through thrift shops and auctions and used record stores you would never be able to compile all 20 deep,deep soul treasures available here. That means you might never hear James Carrs's version of "The Dark End Of The Street".I know of at least a half a dozen versions of this Dan Penn-Spooner Oldham classic and they range in quality from clueless ;(Linda Ronstandt," If they would just put a light down at the end of the street it would'nt be so dark"), to pleasant;(The Flying Burrito Bros. did a nice country barroom weeper cover of this song,but they missed the scarier implications lying beneath the surface). Until I heard James Carr I had always thought that Percy Sledge had done the definitive version but while Percy's cut is fine indeed it just can't touch James Carr.Example: when Percy Sledge sings the pivotal lyric "They're gonna find us..!", he seems to be implying "They're gonna find ME and I'M gonna get a fat lip outta the deal".James Carr on the other hand is genuinely heartbroken: "THEY; the devil,the preacher,your husband,my wife are gonna find us and we wiil never ever be together again..".So James Carr owns "...Street". While nothing else on this CD equals that high point there are wonderful deep soul treasures for you to unearth here.Let poor James Carr carry your burdens for you so that you might be uplifted. He's right over there, where there are no shadows.

There is no "fluff" on this album. This is a classic collection of soul, only the sound leaves something to be desired, but certainly not the performance. Southern soul doesn't get any better, and that includes Otis Redding. Buy this and I'll bet you'll agree. However, check out Rhino's Soul Shots series for an alternate version of Pouring Water On a Drowning Man. Man, what a difference in sound quality! Sure wish Rhino would have released this collection.

This is a superb collection from one of the greatest soul singers of all time. The short description of James Carr's voice is to take a little bit of Joe Simon or Percy Sledge's country twang and mix it with a dash of gruffness.

Whether yelping through an amazing number like "Love Attack" or turning the Bee Gees "To Love Somebody" into a deep soul killer, this is Southern Soul of the very highest order.

OK let's all be honest here. This is the internet, we're all anonymous so let's all just admit a little secret: we all secretly love having that one CD no one's ever heard of that makes people sit up and say "WHO is THAT?" Well if vintage soul is also your thing, then this is your perfect CD.

James Carr's mental challenges cruelly cut short one of the great careers in soul. Carr was the absolute equal of Otis, and many aficionados will tell you he was better. All I know is that whenever I play James Carr for someone who's never heard him, the usual reaction to his voice is something along the lines of "Oh. My. God. Who IS this?"

Carr's impossibly deep, bottomless voice could sing the phone book and absolutely destroy you. When he wraps his pipes around "You Got My Mind Messed Up" you KNOW he's got his mind messed up, even if you don't know his history. When he sings "Pouring Water on a Drowning Man" you feel his pain in every note. Carr's magnificent take on the standard southern-soul ballad "The Dark End of the Street" is not only the all-time best interpretation, it's one of the highest pinnacles in Soul music history. Timeless and stunning. Carr even makes the Bee Gees cool with his yearning version of "To Love Somebody" replacing the chipmunk vocals of the original with his up-from-the-church vocals makes the song an instant classic.

So buy this CD and you can impress people with your coolness while enjoying one of the all-time great soul vocalists at the same time.

This is great stuff--there are hardly any clinkers here (Timmy Shaw did "Gonna Send You Back to Georgia" better, though). Carr is up there with Charles, Redding, Green, Franklin, Tate and Brown as one of the great soul singers. I myself always liked Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman's strange take on "Dark End of the Street" but Carr's is the definitive version. R.I.P, James.

Worth the price of admission for the original version of 'The Dark of the Street' alone. Sang with such majestic resignation all other versions seem tepid in comparison. To quote Dann Pen, who co wrote this soul classic, there is no other version. High praise indeed when you consider even the likes of Areatha Franklin have had a stab at it. There is no flab on this record. They are all quality songs sang which such intensity you would swear Carr's life depended on it. It is no surprise he succumbed to mental illness later in his career, such are the demons that seem to drive the performances captured here. Though often compared to Ottis Redding not even the 'Big O' ever came close to capturing the yearning and despair found on some of these sides; he makes Ottis look like a mere pop singer. Unfortunately it's by no means a complete collection - 'Life Turned her that Way' and 'That's the way Love Turned out for me' are essential listening and both are missing here. But for any curious fan there is enough here to wet the appetite Listen to 'To Love Somebody.' If this doesn't stir something deep within you you're already dead. Classic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

JAMES CARR CAME TO US...VIA "A MAN NEED A WOMAN IN 1965." IT WASN'T UNTIL 1967'S; "DARK END OF THE STREETS", HE BECAME A HOUSEHOLD NAME IN THE URBAN GHETTO'S OF THE SOUTH. "DARK END OF THE STREETS" IS CONSIDERED AN R&B "OLDIE." RE-MADE BY SEVERAL ARTISTS...NO LESS THAN MAMA "1"...ARETHA FRANKLIN. ALSO, TRY; "YOU GOT MY MIND MESSED UP". THIS COLLECTION OF GREATEST HITS, IS A MUST HAVE FOR SOUTHERN R&B COLLECTOR'S.

I was very pleased with how quickly my CD arrived. It's in excellent condition and ALSO... this has to be one of the best compilations of music by one of the most AMAZING soul singers that ever was. EVER. Do yourself a favor World, and listen to such tracks like "Dark End of the Street", "Fool For You" and "I'm Going for Myself Now" (James kills it! KILLS it I say!)... You won't regret it.

EVEN TODAY HIS MUSIC TOUCHES MANY HEARTS WITH MUCH SOUL. MANY HAVE NOT YET DISCOVERED THIS LEDGEND. HITS SUCH AS A MAN NEEDS A WOMAN WOULD FIND ITS PLACE NEAR THE TOP EVEN IN TODAYS RATING.