Santana Soul Radio Vol. 1

Debut CD for the Santana Soul Radio show (tune in Friday nights on http://www.ustream.tv/channel/thesantanashow or http://mixlr.com/santanasoulradio/). This release features tracks from veteran soul collectors Gardena Soul and Parquero Soul. Right from the start you will get hit with some serious rare soul by Soul Explosion and Hillary McGinnis. The treats keep coming with jams by Step By Step, The Impalas, Lynn August, The Manhattans, Allison And Calvin Turner and Jay W. King. All tracks have been taken right off of vinyl sources so you will get all sound anomalies that come along with vinyl. Still, this is a solid release that belongs in your sweet soul collection.
8 out of 10

Ladies Choice

Early comp put together by the Northern Souleros before the likes of Shady Side Of Town or Gangsters Dedication hit the seen. This one is packed with beautiful female soul and very well compiled to keep a good flow going all the way through. These days pretty much every track here has appeared on other compilations. Very good tracks by Marion Butler, The Pearls, The Lovations, The Eight Minutes, Toni And the Harts and many others. Don't let this one pass you by. Sound quality varies.
8 out of 10

Soul Side Story

Underground release of rare soul taken directly off of vinyl records. Killer jams by The Victones, The Turbulations, The Circulations, The Summits, Unatural Funk Band, Family Connection and Joe Valentine. Sound quality varies as expected when sourced from vinyl. Many tracks have appeared on other compilations.
7 out of 10

Gilroys Soul

I was surprised that this CD was not full of MP3 rips or poor quality downloads. I thought it over a good while before picking up. Overall sound quality is good. You can find all tracks on other comps which lowers the rating. Nice jams by The Mighty Marvelows, Baby Love, Richard And Jerry, The Young Souls and The Players.
6 out of 10

Soul Queens

Odd ball promo featuring female soul from the Carnival Records label. Very good tracks by The Lovettes, Norma Jenkins, The Metrics and The Tren-Teens. You will be hard pressed to find this CD but, all songs are available on other compilations featuring this label.
6 out of 10

Song Cry

Local promo CD with a very limited pressing. Slow jams by Sir Joe, The Mark IV, Richmond International, Known Facts, Al Jones and Smoked Sugar Company. Sound quality varies a bit, mostly repeats.
5 out of 10

Rare Doo-Wop Teardrops

With Doo Wop and teardrops in the title you are nearly assured that there will be good ballads in the compilation. The draw for me was "Tears In My Eyes" by The Dreamers out of Philly. Other notable tracks include "Teardrops" by The Markeets, "One Teardrop Too Late" by Valentino And The Lovers, "Tears From My Eyes" by Nat Roman, "If My Teardrops Could Talk" by Sonny Ace And The Del Sharps and "Tears Of Love" by The Persians. Recommended for the Doo Wop fan.
6 out of 10

Teen Age Goodies

Not much packaging wise on this release featuring a couple of rare ballads and some nice standards. Highlights include "No No" by The Fabulaires, "The Loudness Of My Heart", by The Gay Knights, "This Love" by the Joytones, "My Baby Said" by The Ribbons, "You're Mine" by The Vibrations and "I'll Be True" by Johnny Maestro. A good pick up for the Doo Wop library.
5 out of 10

Wop Din A Ling, Classic New York Doo Wop

A couple of tracks made this a must have for me, "Blue Eyes" by The Big Five and "I Wish" by Bertha Tillman And The Killers. Other notable tracks include "Come Walk With Me" by The Spidells, "Where Were You" by The Wheels, "Come Back To Me" by The Holidays and "I'll Be Seeing You In My Dreams" by The Gardenias. Sound quality is solid.
5 out of 10

Guess Who? The Zirkon Records Story

Pretty standard tracks that be well know to even the casual oldies fan. Good music by The Shells, Little Anthony And The Imperials, The Butanes, Gladys Knight And The Pips, Maxine Brown, The Dubs and The Chimes.
4 out of 10

Dizzy Miss Lizzy, The Specialty Story

Early R&B sounds with a heavy blues influence. Standouts include "The Letter" by Don And Dewey, "Gone" by Jesse Belvin, "I" Tony Allen And The Champs and "Send Me Some Lovin'" by Little Richard.
3 out of 10

Don't Do It, The Smash Records Story

A couple if really nice ballads buried among uptempo rockers. "I'll Go On" by Bee Jay and "Maybe" by Rick And The Keens. If you dig the Chicano sound coming out of San Antonio you will also like the original "I'm A Fool To Care" by Joe Barry".
3 out of 10

I'll Go Crazy, The Federal Records Story

I picked this one up solely for "My Love For You" by The El-Deens. Unfortunately, about a minute into this track there is a little drop in sound which really killed this one for me.
1 out of 10

Bring Back Yesterday

A big batch of rare tracks on this collection. Lots of ballads but then the music jumps a bit years wise. Sound quality reflects the obscurity of some of the records used. Highlights include "Dear Heart" by Jesse Belvin And The Laurels, "Bring Back" by The Van Dellos, "Warm Summer Nights" by The Stimulators, "Don't Let Me Down This Weekend" by The Relations, "Darling I Do" by Sebastian And Group, "Such A Fool" by Frankie Ervin And Group, "Always I Have Loved You" by The Dynamics, "When You're In Love" by The Corvettes, "Your Touch" by Yvonne Vernee And Group and "Darling" by Phil And Harv. If you don't mind those real early sounds then this will be a good pick up but, if you do consider skipping this series.
3 out of 10

The Bow & Arrow Records Story

Highlights included here are "Heaven Knows (I Love You)" by The Encores, "Why Did You Go" by Rabbit And Gino, "A Faded Memory" by The Chimes and "Please Call" by Freddy Scott And The Chimes. Recommended only for those hardcore Doo Wop fans.
4 out of 10