Shady Side Of Town Chapter 4

It is always a much anticipated treat for me when we get another chapter in this series. Killer tracks in "Every Little Tear Drop" by The Surviving Hearts and "What Makes Me Feel This Way" by The Devastations make this a must have CD. Other notable tracks include "This Time" by Larry Dixon, "Give Me One More Chance" by Robert And The Excitements, "I Need You Eight Days A Week" by Jerry Tyrone and "Come Back" by The Lintons. Highly recommend that you pick this up as the production runs are getting smaller these days. Snooze and you will lose. Straight vinyl recordings with anomalies that come with it.

10 out of 10

Lynwood Soul Vol. 6

The latest addition to the Lynwood Soul series brings a mix of heavy hitting sweet soul, gospel and Latin soul tracks. A nice mellow jam in "Sad Sad Lover" by little known Washington DC artist Janet Helm which, alone the 45 rpm record will cost you considerably more than the asking price of this CD. Other nice tracks by Mickey Worley, The Jay Vons, Wisdom Hill, Jimmy Dockett and The Chances.Sound quality varies.

8 out of 10

Panama Sweet Soul

A different take on soul focused on the lost sweet sounds of Panama. A very heavy influence of American soul with a unique twist that you would be hard pressed to find anywhere else. Highlights include tracks by The Soul Fantastics, The Bakti Soul, The Beachers, Chuck Y Fernando and others. Rare music taken directly from vinyl sources. A must have for the sweet soul aficionado. Check out my post on Instagram for info on how to acquire. Sound quality varies.

9 out of 10

Parquero Soul

Lack of a track listing has some people thinking twice about picking up this CD. It is a solid CD with some hard to find tracks and others that collectors will recognize. The tracks are taken directly off of vinyl records so you will hear all anomalies associated with that. Highlights include tracks by The Vibrtations, Irma Thomas, Soul Attractions, Shades Of Brown, The Magictones, The Soul Sensations and These Gents. A nice treat for the dedicated soul music fans.

8 out of 10

Sunny And The Sunliners

A killer cover cover of The Chi-Lites' "Give It Away" is reason enough to pick up this recently released compilation. Standard, well known tracks in "Smile Now Cray Later", "My Dream", "Should I Take You Home" and a few others make up the rest of the material. Very good sound quality. Recommended addition to your collection.

7 out of 10

The Four Bars

One very nice track in "Come Back To These Arms" made this a must have for me. Other, not as strong tracks include "It's All Over", "Try Me One More Time" and "Poor Little Me". Nice pick up for the early R&B / Doo Wop fan.

5 out of 10

Great Googa Mooga

Sole decent track for the ballad seeker is "And I Need You" by The Pyramids. The rest of the material did not appeal much to me. Not for the dedicated sweet soul fan.

2 out of 10

Altar Of Dreams

Only a couple of nice tracks on this compilation. They are "Gee Baby, What About You" by The Montells and "Mary Don't You Cry" by The Delights. The rest of the material is upbeat or leans more towards pop than R&B. Sound quality varies a bit.

3 out of 10

Doowopin' With The King, Federal and Deluxe Vocal Groups

Highlights on this release include "Tell Me" and "My Days Are Blue" by The Five Chances, "Lonely Me" by The Carpets and "The Bells Are Ringing" by The Van Dykes. Best leave this one for the serious Doo Wop fans.
4 out of 10

Louie Lymon And The Teenchords

"Falling In Love" and "Please Tell The Angels" are the two OK ballads on this release. Recommended if you dig upbeat kiddie sounds.

3 out of 10