Del-Fi Doo Wop

This collection brings you many of the well known Doo Wops by The Pentagons, The Gallahads and Johnny Flamingo. Other gems worth mention are "One Teardrop Too Late" by Valentino And The Lovers, "Tenderly Beloved" by Al McGee and "Gift Of Love" by The Van Dykes.
5 out of 10.

The Return Of The Del-Fi And Donna Story

Lots of rockers and pop sounds on this CD. I posted the first part of this collection earlier and finally got to picking this one up. As stated before "You're Mine" by Johnny Flamingo is the sole standout ballad here.
3 out of 10

Jungle Fever, The Del-Fi Records Story

Mostly rockers with a few ballads that are well known to Doo Wop fans. The stand out gem on this release for me is "It's Time To Go" by The Carlos Brothers. The sound quality is not as good as I would have hoped for on this track but is solid on the others.
4 out of 10.

I Put A Spell On You, The Okeh Story

A few very good ballads and a very good price on this series make it a must have for me. Excellent sound quality. High Lights include "Please Say You Want Me" by The Schoolboys, "Baby You're My Only Love" by Billy Stewart and "Don't Keep Our Love Hidden In The Dark" by The Smooth-Tones.
4 out of 10

Black Ivory

One of the best soul groups from the 1970's that definitely belong in any serious soul fans music collection. Out of the four releases featured here, Spinning Around has the best material. The Two later releases have a limited selection of slow jams such as "You Mean Everything To Me" and "Will We Ever Come Together". Big favorites include "Don't Turn Around", "Baby Won't You Change Your Mind", "You And I" and "Spinning Around".
8 out 10

Tears Full Of Soul

A good batch of solid slow soul jams! Highlights include the original  "Love on A Two Way Street" by Lezli Valentine, "Talk That Talk" by Odds & Ends, "I'm Glad" by Jimmy James, "Time Is Love" by Black Ivory, "I Wonder What She's Doing" by The Soul Generation", "Story Of Our Love" by The Carstairs, "What Can I Do" by Val Martin and "I'm So Lonely" by The Barrons. A must have for the soul music fanatic.
9 out of 10

The Smith Connection

Rare sweet soul release on The Smith Connection. They have a good sound but remain very much unknown to many. As with many good CDs coming out of Japan, the prices tend to be on the high side but this one is worth it. Highlights include "The Day You Leave", "I've Come To Stay", "I've Been In Love", "Angel Girl" and "Wish I Had You".
7 out of 10

All Platinum Girls

Nice rare material from the vaults of All Platinum records. Highlights include "I'm So Lost" and "I've Got To Keep On Loving You" by Lezli Valentine", "He Knows My Key (Is Always In The Mailbox)" and "That's What i'll Do" by Susan Phillips, "How Can I Love You" and "Fascinating Devastating Man", by Eleanore Mills, and "Every Little Thing Will Be Fine" by an unknown artist. A must for your soul collection.
7 out of 10

Sun

"I Had A Choice" was the driving force behind me picking up this release. Other ballads include "Time Is Passing" and "Baby I Confess".
5 out of 10

Soulful Sounds From Soulville

A very good collection of rare tracks by some lesser known acts.  Highlights include "Why Do You Treat Me So Bad" by The Mastermen, "Won't You Please Be My Girl" by The Soulville All-Stars, "It's Good To Be Lonely Sometimes" by Bobby Fulton and "Bring Your Love here To Me" by Donald Lee and The Executives. "The Way I Love You" by The Continental Four is a nice upbeat track worth mentioning. A recommended addition to your collection.
6 out of 10.

Windy City Soul

Another release focusing on the Chicago area and like the others the ballad selection is limited. Highlight is "Where Will You Be" by Beverly Shaffer. there are a couple other decent tracks by Liz Sans, Mary Silvers and Otis Clay.
3 out of 10

Beat Ballad Heaven

A few nice gems on this release, "There He Is" by Dream Team, "She's Not Ready" by The TNJ's and "If It's For Real Baby" by Porgy And The Monarchs. for me, these three tracks made this pick up well worth it.
5 out of 10

The Lost Soul Of Detroit

A nice, now rare release on the Goldmine label. It has it's fair share of upbeat tracks but you will get some very good ballads. Highlights include "She's Not Everybody's Girl" by The Metros, "Do You Want A Love" and "Somebody Help Me" by Reggie Milner and "That's Bad" by Lafayette Vaughan. "Up Hill Climb To The Bottom" has a great sound but the voice just does not do much for me.
6 out of 10

John Gary Williams

The voice of The Mad Lads solo album is featured here. Highlights include "I'm So Glad Fools Can Fall In Love", "Open Your Heart (And Let Love Come In)" and "How Could I Let Your Get Away". I would have personally loved to see "In Love With You" included as a bonus track as it is one of his nicest cuts.
5 out of 10

Mel & Tim

The title track is a must have for any soul fan. Other nice tracks are "Heaven Knows" and their cover of "What's Your Name". I did not care much for their take on "I'm Your Puppet".
4 out of 10

First Choice

A couple really nice cuts by First Choice on this 2 disc set. Highlights are "Don't Fake It" and "Love And Happiness". Lost of dance numbers for you disco fans.
3 out of 10

Chicago Soul Celler

"Let's Start Over" by The Ringleaders is a beautiful ballad and by far the best track on this CD. The Twilights' "No Greater Thing (Than Love)" is decent. The rest of the tracks are upbeat or have more of a blues sound.
3 out of 10.

The Solid Hitbound Story

This was a gamble that did not work out well for me. The material is uptempo with not one good stand out track that would have me playing this CD again.
1 out of 10

* New * Lost Love Oldies Vol. 2

Just released but, unfortunately another re-shuffle compilation. I must say the sound quality is better on these recordings. Highlights include "It's Just Like Magic" by The Gaslight, "Let's Get Involved" by The Movements and "Put The Hurt On You" by Inner Soul. The sound quality is good as mentioned but the amount of repeats bring the rating down.
6 out of 10

Soul Vocal Group Delights

     

A massive collection of rare soul cuts featuring tracks by The Notations, The Vanguards, The Indigos, The Delfonics, The Whatnauts and many others. I personally did not care much for the "Dancers Choices" volumes. Many of the good songs are found throughout other compilations with better sound quality. The sound quality does vary from good to pretty bad therefore I cannot give it a higher score.

8 out of 10.