Customer Reviews

Soul Shots: 60's Soul Classics

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

You won't be able to sit still with this CD playing. Not only because of the 60's funk rhythms, but also because of the almost symphonic quality of some of these cuts. Like Lou Rawls "Love Is A Hurtin' Thing," or Lorranine Ellison's "Stay With Me Baby."
And Dyke & the Blazers! Bet you never thought you'd hear them again! And, oh man, "My Pledge Of Love" by The Joe Jeffery Group. Thrills and spills. You can't go wrong with this one!

How sad that only this, Volume 1, of the the Soul Shots series remains in print. This is an absolutely essential collection, even if you already have some of the songs in your collection. The selection, sequencing and particularly the sound are superb. Also worth noting, most of these are in stereo. Back when this was released, in 1988, stereo was still the preferable format, unlike the current trend which is to issue the way the original singles were released, i.e., mono. Regardless of that, I'll take the stereo versions anyday, even with the extreme separation.

This is a classic collection of 60s soul. So are volumes two, three and four, though they have sadly been discontinued. If you find any of them used, do yourself a favor and buy them.

If you're looking for a way to start a soul collection, this would be a fantastic disc to begin with. As noted by others, the sound quality here is excellent and all songs are the original performers in the original version. Most songs here will be well-known by oldies radio listeners but there are a couple lesser known tracks that will be wonderful finds for those who aren't already soul connoisseurs.

Phil Spector proteges Sonny Charles and the Checkmates turn in a great ballad on "Black Pearl". Larry Williams and Johnny 'Guitar' Watson take turns casting themselves as street smoothies in "Two for the Price as One" (imagine a more soulful version of Dion's "The Wanderer" but this time his buddy's doing his bragging for him...). King Curtis' "Soul Serenade" is a smooth sax instrumental. Lorraine Ellison's "Stay with Me" gives you a mental picture of a woman calmly trying to reason with her departing lover who, seeing it's not working, resorts to grabbing his leg to try and physically stop him. Her howl is one of complete desperation as the orchestra surges behind her to a climax. You'll wonder how you did without this one before.

Besides those, already familiar hits from J.J. Jackson, James Brown, Billy Stewart's trilling "Summertime", Fontella Bass, James and Bobby Purify, and the Delfonics make this a finely selected compilation. There are only a handful of tunes here I don't consider classics.

4 1/2 stars

I just received my copy of this CD. I had ordered it primarily for J.J. Jackson's "But It's Alright", "Cowboys to Girls" by the Intruders, Ramsey Lewis' " The "In" Crowd(this is the live version you'll remember from 60's radio with the crowd intro), and one of my favorites " Black Pearl" by the The Checkmates LTD with the incomparable Sonny Charles. There's not a weak cut on this. Billy Stewart's "Summertime", the late Lou Rawls,"Love is a Hurtin' Thing" and the Delfonics "La-La-Means I Love You"
just great. But wait til you hear the last song,"Stay with Me"
by Lorraine Ellison. It will knock your socks off!! I recognized it from when Bette Midler did it, which was great, but the Divine Miss M can't touch Ms. Ellison. BUY THIS!

i have lots of cds.this one is definitly on the short list of the cream of the crop.the song sellection and sound quality are excellent.i highly recomend grabing one of these before they go out of print.