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"…Down At The
Shack…"
Arthur Conley is one of the
great unsung-heroes of Atlantic's extraordinary Soul Music roster – unfairly
overlooked as a poor man's Otis Redding or Wilson Pickett clone. It's true that
vocally and stylistically he was the same (Redding discovered and mentored him)
– but what's also true is that his albums and singles contained some blistering
Sixties Soul – and this cheap and cheerful compilation is a great way of
accessing a fair dollop of them.
He made 4 albums for
Atlantic/Atco and issued over a dozen UK and US 7” singles. Unfortunately this
compilation sticks with the albums only – a shame that as he had many non-album
B-sides (some A’s too) which are unavailable anywhere. But there's so much to
love on here and its dirt cheap too. The inlay is a useless gatefold slip of
paper but the sound is lovely – very clean and clear - typically excellent
Rhino remasters. So here are the details…
UK released March 2007 -
"The Platinum Collection" by ARTHUR CONLEY on Warner/Rhino
8122-79994-6 (Barcode 081227999469) is a CD compilation that breaks down as follows (56:47 minutes)
1. Sweet Soul Music
2. Funky Street
3. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
4. Shake, Rattle & Roll
5. Aunt Dora's Love Soul
Shack
6. Hear Say
7. People Sure Act Funny
8. Who's Foolin' Who
9. I Got A Feeling
10. I Can't Stop (No, No, No)
11. Something You Got
12. Stuff You Gotta Watch
13. That Can't Be My Baby
14. Run On
15. Shing-A-Ling
16. I'm A Lonely Stranger
17. Is That You Love
18. Speak Her Name
19. Take A Step
20. Take Me (Just As I Am)
21. This Love Of Mine
22. Otis Sleeps On
His four albums were…
"Sweet Soul Music"
(Tracks 1, 8, 10, 16 and 20)
1967 USA Stereo LP on Atco SD
33-215 and UK LP on Atlantic 587 069
"Shake, Rattle &
Roll" (Track 4)
1967 USA Stereo LP on Atco SD
33-220 and UK LP on Atlantic 587 084
"Soul Directions"
(Tracks 2, 6, 7, 21 and 22)
1968 USA Stereo LP on Atco SD
33-243 and UK LP on Atlantic 588 128
"More Sweet Soul"
(Tracks 3, 5, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18 and 19)
1969 USA Stereo LP on Atco SD
33-276 and UK LP on Atco 228 019
There are times when it all
goes horribly wrong like the awful soul cover of The Beatles
"Ob-La-Di…" and the heavy-handed out-of-place rock guitar in
"Speak Her Name" - but these are countered by fantastic
brass-chopping workouts like "Funky Street" and "Hear Say".
In the UK "Aunt Dora's Love Soul Shack" b/w "Is That Your
Love" was issued as a 45 on Atco 584 224 in November 1968 and sank without
a trace. But it's a truly superb Sixties Soul 7" single – a perfect funky
A-side with a slow meaningful flip (they reversed its running order in the USA
on Atco 6622). You get great discoveries like that on here…
For just a few bucks - this
2007 Rhino remaster is a tremendous introduction to the man. For those wanting
more his 4 albums and some of his non-album single tracks are out there on
other CDs (but often at a cost). In the meantime the budget-priced CD
compilation "The Platinum Collection" is highly recommended…
PS: the other Atlantic artists in "The Platinum Collection"
series are: LaVern Baker (see REVIEW), Archie Bell & The Drells (see REVIEW),
Brook Benton (see REVIEW), Booker T & The M.G.'s, Ruth Brown, Solomon
Burke, Clarence Carter (see REVIEW), The Clovers (see REVIEW), Don Covay, The
Detroit Spinners, Eddie Floyd, King Curtis, Barbara Lewis (see REVIEW), The
Mar-Keys, The Persuasions, Sam & Dave, Percy Sledge (see REVIEW), Carla
Thomas, Rufus Thomas, (Big) Joe Turner (see REVIEW) and Betty Wright
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