Searching for the Dolphins - The Complete Soul City Recordings and more 1967-1971 [Import]

Al Wilson | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 30, 2008)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Kent Records UK
• ASIN: B0010ZVOR2
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #153,729 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. The Dolphins

2. By The Time I Get To Phoenix

3. I Stand Accused

4. Summer Rain

5. Do What You Gotta Do

6. The Snake

7. Who Could Be Lovin' You (Other Than Me)

8. Poor Side Of Town

9. Shake Me, Wake Me (When It's Over)

10. This Guy's In Love With You

11. Brother Where Are You

12. When You Love (You're Loved Too) (bonus track)

13. Now I Know What Love Is (bonus track)

14. Gettin' Ready For Tomorrow (bonus track)

15. Lodi (bonus track)

16. Sometimes A Man Must Cry (bonus track)

17. Mississippi Woman (bonus track)

18. You Do The Right Things (bonus track)

19. Bachelor Man (bonus track)

20. I Hear You Knocking (bonus track)

See all 22 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

A 'lost masterpiece' of 1960s soul, by one of the finest vocalists of his generation, finally gets a long-overdue UK CD release.

Al Wilson's Searching For The Dolphins was one of the first albums to spotlight the work of renowned songwriter Jim Webb. It includes one of the earliest versions of Webb's By the Time I Get to Phoenix and the original version of Do What You Gotta Do, which Jim wrote especially for Al.

Also featured is Al's Northern Soul classic The Snake - as recently featured on UK TV in a campaign for a new alcoholic beverage called Lambrini.

As well as the complete original Dolphins album, Ace's expansion also contains all of A's non album A's and B's for Soul City Records - including another Northern Soul favorite Now I Know What Love Is - and his subsequent recording home of Carousel/Bell Records. With the exception of The Snake, we believe that none of these recordings have been on UK CD before.

Al Wilson went on to become one of the must successful Soul hitmakers of the mid 70s with hits like Show And Tell and I've Got A Feeling. As the recordings on this CD prove, the talent was there long before the big hits arrived and we're very proud to add it to the Kent catalogue.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An overlooked masterpiece, April 6, 2008

By 

Siriam (London United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Searching for the Dolphins - The Complete Soul City Recordings and more 1967-1971 (Audio CD)

In the UK, Al Wilson is best known for the popularity on the Northern Soul circuit of his recording of Oscar Brown's song "The Snake" and none of his later US recordings have meant much. Beyond that very few would have heard of the man as Soul City was a label never released in the UK. However Kent Records (part of the Ace label family) following on a series of articles in "Soul Express" magazine have put this all to right and in addition to the original LP of "Searching for the dolphins" have included the entirety of his Soul City and subsequent Bell records.

And what a masterpiece it is - the involvement of Johnny Rivers (who earlier has a hit in the US with "The snake" plus was part owner of the Soul City label) is usually a sign of quality in my eyes. In addition, Al's following of River's approach in choosing both a wide cross selection of songs to interpret brilliantly and then being backed by the cream of West Coast studio session men, produces a CD full of gems with not a bum track amongst them. In addition to being a very soulful interpreter (Fred Neil's title track, River's "Poor side of town" and Webb's "Phoenix" & "Do what you gotta do") there is a very wide range of styles to enjoy including some beautifully understated rockers (Fogerty's "Lodi" and Bartholomew's "I hear you knocking").

I just hope this is where the Al Wilson revival starts given it seems the man has continued to perform regularly across the years to date.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars al wilson soul city, February 27, 2008

By 

J. jones "DOCTORLUM" (MEMPHIS) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Searching for the Dolphins - The Complete Soul City Recordings and more 1967-1971 (Audio CD)

i actually have the vinyl from the late 60's, soul city was the domain of johnny rivers, and searching for the dolphins is a rare and under appreciated record. The record is worth the purchase just to get the song "do what you gotta do" a fantastic song that was unavailable for years. Al Wilson is more known for The song Show and Tell, which came later, I do recommend this record if you like good old heartfelt singing with a minimum of production you will love this record.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars For Al Wilson Fans Only, January 31, 2009

By 

Kim Wolf - See all my reviews

This review is from: Searching for the Dolphins - The Complete Soul City Recordings and more 1967-1971 (Audio CD)

Al Wilson fans will enjoy the real country vibe of this CD. I bought this CD for the tune "Do What You Gotta Do". I have a copy of the written music and had not heard the song since it played originally back in 1968. This album is interesting because I had not heard most of the tunes on it. Unless you like country or, are an Al Wilson fan, I don't recommend you buy it. Wilson's 1973 "Show and Tell" is still my all time favorite by him.