Archie Bell And The Drells

Best known for their upbeat dance numbers, Archie Bell And The Drells did cut more than a few nice soul ballads. Highlights include "Love Will Rain On You", "Right Here Is Where I Want To Be", "Just A Little Closer", "I Just Want To Fall In Love", "I Don't Want To Be A Playboy" and "You're Mine". Only track missing from these releases is "She's My Woman, She's My Girl" which I have yet to spot on a legit release.
5 out of 10

Funk From The Vaults of The Zodiac / Fungus Associated Labels

I was thinking sweet soul not funk when I was picking this one up. Highlights here are "That's How It Is" by Woman, "If" by Lovehorn and "Love Can Slip Away" by Chuck Bernard.
4 out of 10

Vietnam Through The Eyes Of Black America

Nice package of Vietnam war theme soul put together by the folks at Ace Records. By far better sound quality than the "A Soldier's Plea" release. Highlights include "Wait For Me" by The Brothers Of Soul, "Your Heart Belongs To Me" by The Velvelettes, "Please Wait For Me (My Darling" by The Masters Of Soul, "Please Uncle Sam (Send Back My Man)" by The Charmels and "Lonely Soldier" by Mike Williams.
5 out of 10

Serious Shades Of Soul

A killer track in "I'm In Love" by Larry Sanders is included in this release. "One More Chance" by The Four Tees is also nice. The rest of the material is upbeat. If you are looking for ballads then it is best to pick up the Larry Sanders track on another compilation.
2 out of 10

Sizzling Sirens Of Classic Soul

"I Want To Get Back" by Woman is the only reason I picked this release up. The rest I skipped through rather quickly. That song is a 10 for me but given it is the only standout I can't be so generous on the overall rating.
2 out of 10

Mandrill

"Love Song" is the sole highlight here. It seems to take a good while to get going but it is a nice slow jam.
2 out of 10

Bobby Taylor

Lots of tracks but besides "Malinda" and "Does Your Mama Know About Me" the only other track that caught my attention was "Two Sides To Love".
3 out of 10

Major Harris

A part from "Love Won't Let Me Wait" this CD brings us a nice slow jam in "Just A Thing That I Do".
3 out of 10

Mickey Murray

When I first heard the cover of "Pleading My Love" it right away had me thinking Sunny Ozuna as it has that Texas soul vibe. Great tune but nothing else really caught my attention.
3 out of 10.

The Monitors

Highlights here are "You Share The Blame", "All For Someone" plus their covers of "The Further You Look, The Less You See" and "Greetings (This Is Uncle Sam)"
4 out of 10

Dave Godin's Deep Soul Treasures

A few gems mixed in throughout this collection. Highlights include "It's So Hard To Break A Habit" by The Webs, "Is It Me You Really Love" by Black Velvet, "She Broke His Heart" by The Just Brothers, "Tried So Hard To Please Her" and "Temptation 'Bout To Get Me" by The Knight Brothers, "Let's Take A Change" by Lisa Richards and "Thanks For Yesterday" by Eddie And Ernie.
6 out of 10

West Coast Funk

I had to pick this one up just for "That's The Way It Is" by Love. Many years back I blindly picked up this 45 based on a recommendation and loved the track. I skipped through the rest of the material. This track was included on the original Soulful Thangs CD but never made it back when the collection was reissued.
3 out of 10

Curtis Mayfield's Chicago soul

A couple of nice tracks by The Opals in "You Can't Hurt Me No More" and "You're Gonna Be Sorry" plus "You'll Want Me Back" and "I'm The One Who Loves You" by Major Lance.
5 out of 10

Brent Superb 60's Soul Sounds

Besides "Someone (Who Needs You Like I Do)" by Bertha Tillman all other notable tracks are well known to most soul music fans. "One Little Dance" and "I Love You, Baby" by The Moovers and "I Want Love" by Brenton Wood. There is no strong, new to CD ballad here that would make me tell you to run out and pick this one up.
4 out of 10

Dave Hamilton's Detroit Dancers

The main reason for picking this set up was for the two killer tracks by The Mark-Keys, "Heavenly Thing" and "My Sweet Baby". Other notable tracks are "Challenge My Love" by Tobi Lark, "My Sweet Baby" by J T Rhythm and "Honest I Do" by The Tokays.
5 out of 10

Lute Records News

Hello Doo Wop N Soul fans,

The famous Lute Records based in Santa Monica, CA is releasing their catalog for digital download and streaming beginning this month. Make sure to check it out and help support this project that will surely bring to light some lost gems.

For more information on Lute Records visit below sites.

http://www.luterecords.com/
https://www.facebook.com/LuteRecords
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=he9vWdjNVPI

The Whatnauts

One of my favorite sweet soul groups! Picking up the double CD release (best sound on the Deep Beats release) and the "Corruption" CD will give you a complete look at this wonderful group. Highlights include "Try me (And I'll Show You)", "Friends By Day (Lovers By Night)", "I Wasn't There", "To See You Cry", "She's Gone To Another" and "What's Left To Give (After Giving It All)". An absolute must for any serious sweet soul music fan.
7 out of 10