"Funk Drops: Breaks, Nuggets And Rarities From The Vaults Of Atlantic, Atco, Reprise And Warner Bros. Records 1968-1974" by VARIOUS ARTISTS (September 2001 UK Warner Strategic Marketing United Kingdom - Rick Conrad CD Compilation - Giovanni Scatola Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Sexy Coffee Pot..."

Between 2001 and 2005 and using their Warner Strategic Marketing United Kingdom wing (often simply abbreviated to WSM) - the major label WEA were hammering the British and European markets with visually and audibly cool compilations to satisfy the then burgeoning need for Soul Breaks and especially Rare Groove Funk from the 60ts and 70ts. 

The fabulous WEA compilation series called "Funk Drops: Breaks, Nuggets And Rarities From The Vaults Of..." was one of those temptresses. Three volumes eventually covered 1968 to 1977 – laying into singles and deep LP cuts that were costing collectors a fortune on bidding sites (there was talk of a Volume 4 for Funk Drops, but it never materialised). 

WSM UK also gave us "After Hours" for Northern Soul (3 volumes) - "Natural High" for 2-Step Soul (3 volumes) - "Right On!" for Funk and Soul (5 volumes) - "The In Sound" series (11 or so volumes for covers, lounge music that crossed over into Soul, Eastern vibes, Psych in Soul) - "You Better Believe It" (2 volumes of rare Soul), "Creme De La Creme" (2 volumes for Philly Soul and Funk), "Blues And Soul Power" (1 volume of Funky R&B Crossovers 1964-1972), "From Burbank To The Bay Area..." (1 volume of Barrio Breaks, East-Bay Grease, Folk Funk and more from WEA's vaults) and so on. It was a deluge of goodies. Back to the first volume of "Funk Drops..." 

Remastered by GIOVANNI SCATOLA and compiled with smarts by RICK CONRAD at WSM UK - much to the pleasure of collectors - each playing-time-heavy CD also came in a 2LP VINYL SET complete with detailed inner sleeves that pictured all those sexy and sought-after American Funk 45s on labels like Alston, Atco, Atlantic, Cotillion, Josie, Reprise, San Francisco and of course - Warner Brothers. In fact, in the case of the Vinyl Double-Album for 'Volume 1' – it boasted one bonus track at the end of Side 4 - "Funky To The Bone" by Freddi Henchi & The Soul Setters (see list below for Barcode to locate it). 

But let's get back to the CD that first appeared in September 2001. Long forgotten and criminally so - Volume 1 of "Funk Drops" can be picked up dirt cheap in 2021 - for about four quid including P&P. The equally brilliant (if not actually better) Volume 2 from August 2002 is still out there for about nine pounds but June 2004's Volume 3 currently pushes an extortionate ninety quid or so! I loved the lot and actually bought both variants – CD and VINYL. Time to explore the Sexy Coffee Pot of dark musical delights sloshing aromatic in Volume 1...

UK released 3 September 2001 - "Funk Drops: Breaks, Nuggets And Rarities From The Vaults Of Atlantic, Atco, Reprise And Warner Bros. Records 1968-1974" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Warner Strategic Marketing UK 0927-40712-2 (Barcode 809274071224) is a 20-Track CD compilation of Remasters (the first of three) that plays out as follows (72:55 minutes): 

1. You Gotta Know Whatcha Doin' - CHARLES WRIGHT (September 1972, US 45-single on Warner Bros WB 7630, A-side)

2. Sexy Coffee Pot - TONY ALVON & THE BELAIRS (May 1969, US 45-single on Atlantic 45-2632, B-Side of "Boom-Boom-Boom")

3. Soul Machine - THE METERS (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED recording made during the sessions for "The Meters" LP issued April 1969 on Josie LP 4010. "Soul Machine" issued Stateside on the 'Expanded Edition' CD of "The Meters" by Rhino in 2001 and by SoulMusic in 2020 on the "Gettin' Funkier All The Time..." 6CD Box Set)

4. Dirty Red - THE FABULOUS COUNTS (April 1969, US 45-single on Moira 45-105, B-side of "Scrambled Eggs" - also on the June 1969 Stereo LP "Jan Jan" on Cotillion SD 9011)

5. Cold Bear - THE GATURS (January 1972, US 45-single on Atco 45-6870, A-side - featuring Willie Tee)

6. Nobody But You Babe - CLARENCE REID (May 1969, US 45-single on Alston 45-4574, A-side - also on the 1969 US Stereo LP "Dancin' With Nobody But You Babe" on Atco SD-33-307)

7. Pop, Popcorn Children - ELDRIDGE HOLMES (August 1969, US 45-single on Atco 45-6701, A-side - Produced Allen Toussaint)

8. Engine Number 9 [6:26 minutes] - WILSON PICKETT (September 1970, US 45-single on Atlantic 45-2765, A-side. The original US 7" single had only the 2:46 minutes of Part 1 on the A-side with "International Playboy" as its B-side. This CD offers the full album version of 'Part 1 and 2' running to 6:26 minutes. It was also called "Get Me Back On Time - Engine Number 9" in the UK when it was issued there October 1970 on Atlantic 2091 032) - hence it is given that title on this CD.

9. What So Never The Dance (Pt. 1 &2) - HOUSE GUEST RATED X (November 1971, US 45-single on House Guests 28205 - offers both A&B-sides at 3:58 minutes)

10. C'mon Children - EARTH, WIND & FIRE (January 1972 US 45-single on Warner Brothers WB 7549, B-side of "I Think About Lovin' You" - also on the 1972 US LP "Earth, Wind & Fire" on Warner Brothers WS-1905)

11. Back On The Streets Again - TOWER OF POWER (January 1971, US 45-single on San Francisco 45-64, A-side edit of 3:16 minutes - full version on the "East Bay Grease" LP on San Francisco 204)

12. Getting Uptown (To Get Down) - UNITED 8 (June 1972, US 45-single on Atlantic 45-2896, A-side - Instrumental)

13. Love The Life You Live - BLACK HEAT (from the 1973 US LP "No Time To Burn" on Atlantic SD-7294 - full album version 6:33 minutes - Kool & The Gang song)

14. Come Little Children - DONNY HATHAWAY (from the June 1973 LP "Extension Of A Man" on Atco SD 7029 - full album version at 4:33 minutes, single edit was 3:38 minutes - Phil Upchurch Guitar Solo - Produced Arif Mardin)

15. 65 Bars And A Taste Of Soul - THE WATTS 103rd STREET RHYTHM BAND (July 1968, US 45-single on Warner Brothers 7222, B-side of "Bottomless")

16. Don't Come Around Here Anymore - MARK PUTNEY (April 1969, US 45-single on Atlantic 45-2617, B-side of "Today's Man")

17. It's Your Thing - COLD GRITS (August 1969, US 45-single on Atco 45-6709, A-side - Isley Brothers cover) 

18. Ridin' Thumb - KING CURTIS (from the 1972 US LP "Everybody's Talkin'" on Atco SD 33-385 - features Billy Preston on Organ and Richard Tee on Piano - written by James Seals)

19. Same Old Thing - THE METERS (from the June 1970 US LP "Struttin'" on Josie LP 4012)

20. Shop Talk (Version No. 1) - COLD BLOOD (from the Various Artists "San Francisco Fall 1970 Sampler" LP on San Francisco SD-158 - differs from the version of their 1971 "Sisyphus" album on San Francisco SD-205)

Compiled and Annotated by RICK CONRAD - the 12-page booklet gives you track by track info followed by the discography info you would want. But if I'm honest, the booklet is visually dire, letting the side down by not picturing those tasty 45 labels or even the colourful album sleeves you never see like the completely forgotten King Curtis "Everybody's Talkin'" and Clarence Reid "Dancing With Nobody But You Babe" albums. They would rectify this in further 'Funk Drops' issues and on the "After Hours", "You Better Believe It" and "Right On!" compilations. What isn't a let down are the fantastically muscular GIOVANNI SCATOLA Remasters - bringing to life each and every entry. To the grooves...

Any compilation which acknowledges that Donny Hathaway was Funky as well as a beautifully expressive Soul singer gets my vote - "Funk Drops" cleverly featuring the full album cut of "Come Little Children" from his fabulous "Extension Of A Man" album. It's typical of so many cuts on this CD - a tune that surprises by an artist you think you have pegged. The great groove opens with a James Brown-ish growl followed quickly by Phil Upchurch on Lead Guitar - Arif Mardin providing the tasty Production. There are also those obscure B-sides like the Brass and Guitar Meters-like flick of "65 Bars And A Taste Of Soul" - a neck-jerking instrumental from The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band that is certain to lively-up any dancefloor. 

Obscure but worthy comes in the shape of "Sexy Coffee Pot" by Tony Avlon & The Belairs - an upon-my-soul uh-huh-huh sure-feels-good chugger that again hits you with brass first, then cements the butt-wiggling deal with those so-want-to-sample drums and guitar flicks (Rhino would give it pride-of-place too on their award-winning "What It Is!" 4CD box set in 2006). Also included on that Box Set is the getting down and hanging around of United 8 – essentially a guitar-flicking instrumental with some man/woman to-and-fro scat vocals at either end. In a similar vein is the irresistible instrumental cover of The Isley Brothers signature groove "It's Your Thing" by Cold Grits – an obscure bunch of musicians who some say turned out to be members of John Fred's Playboy Band mixed up with Wayne Cochran's backing group. Conrad's liner notes advise that there is an entire album of the same still in the vaults awaiting release. 

Before they went full-on commercial Soul – Earth, Wind & Fire had a sort of Tower of Power vs. Prog Funkadelic feel to album cuts like "C'mon Children" – a hard-driving Funky workout. Speaking of forgotten album stints, Clarence Reid gets a truly brilliant groove to "Nobody But You Babe" – a big and brassy doing my thing 1969 A-side on Alston Records that Bear Family of Germany featured on their "Sweet Soul Music" Series of CDs for that year. And I have never heard the alternate Version 1 of Shop Talk by Cold Blood – darlings of the Soul-Funk discovery trail. There are loads more where they came from...

It probably shouldn't come as any real shock that a record label as genre-wide reaching as Warner Brothers would have Funk, Soul and Rare Grooves galore in their vaults. But that it would come as a surprise that thrills like this CD does – is – well a surprise. And Volume 2 of "Funk Drops" trumped the opening salvo, as far as I'm concerned. 

Cheap and cheerful - I'll drop either Volume of "Funk Drops" in my sexy black coffee any day of the week...

The "Funk Drops" CD and 2LP Series of Compilations

From Warner Strategic Marketing United Kingdom

Volume 1 - released 3 September 2001: 

CD: "Funk Drops: Breaks, Nuggets And Rarities: From The Vaults Of Atlantic, Atco, Reprise and Warner Bros. Records 1968-1974" on Warner Strategic Marketing 0927-40712-2 (Barcode 809274071224) - 20 Track CD

VINYL: Warner Strategic Marketing 0927-40713-1 (Barcode 809274071316) – 21-Track 2LP set with One Bonus - "Funky To The Bone" by Freddi Henchi & The Soul Setters (last track on Side 4)

Volume 2 - released 5 August 2002: 

CD: "Funk Drops 2: Breaks, Nuggets And Rarities: From The Vaults Of Atlantic, Atco, Reprise and Warner Bros. Records 1968-1975" on Warner Strategic Marketing 0927-48413-2 (Barcode 809274841322) - 23 Track CD

VINYL: Warner Strategic Marketing 0927-48413-1 (Barcode 809274841315) - 23-Track 2LP set (no bonus tracks)

Volume 3 - released 21 June 2004:

CD: "Funk Drops 3: Breaks, Nuggets And Rarities: From The Vaults Of Atlantic, Atco, Reprise and Warner Bros. Records 1968-1977" on Warner Strategic Marketing 5046-66295 2 (Barcode 5050466629524) - 25-Track CD

VINYL: Warner Strategic Marketing 5046-66295-1 (Barcode 5 050466 629517) - 25 Track 2LP set (no bonuses)

"Strange Brew: Weird & Wonderful Covers From The Warner & Atlantic Vaults" by VARIOUS ARTISTS (Part of 'The In Sound' Series) – featuring Mary Wells, Johnny Harris, Herbie Mann, King Curtis & The Kingpins, Clarence Carter, Ella Fitzgerald, Arif Mardin, Ananda Shankar, Brother Jack McDuff, Shirley Scott, Carmen McRae, Marion Williams and more – Guests Include Nicky Hopkins, Barry Beckett, Eddie Hinton, Members of The Crusaders, Miroslav Vitous of Weather Report, The Dixie Hummingbirds and more (September 2004 UK Warner Jazz/Warner Strategic Marketing CD Compilation of Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...A Walk On The Wild Side..."

What's that inside of you? A "Strange Brew"...

I'm a sucker for a Rhino CD compilation and this little weirdo is right up my far out alley. Part of their 'The In Sound' Series (see list of 9 titles below) - "Strange Brew"...is a very cool if not entirely successful trawl through the murky depths of dodgy cover versions. 

Mostly centring around deep LP cuts from 1969 and 1970 on Atlantic, Atco, Reprise and Warner Brothers Records – you get like-minded musical bedfellows seeking out that 'yeah man, let's get down with the kids hipster-choice' moment by doing the songs of contemporary Rock acts like Bob Dylan, The Stones, Cream, Led Zeppelin, Tony Joe White and so on - in a Jazz-Soulful way. 

Sat beside those were old hands like singer Ella Fitzgerald doing Eddie Floyd or flautist Herbie Man tackling Sam and Dave - and so on. The idea was of course to make terminally unhip Jazz accessible to a younger audience by tapping into those songs that allowed a body to reinterpret – create a groove - maybe even bag a commercial hit along the way. To this end - "Strange Brew"... offers 22 eclectic choices of rarely heard music from WEA combined with quality remastered audio and a pleasingly chockers playing time - a hair's nadge short of 80-minutes. It isn't all 24-Carat Gold as I say, but with guest names like Nicky Hopkins, Barry Beckett, Eddie Hinton, Members of The Crusaders, Miroslav Vitous of Weather Report and The Dixie Hummingbirds sat alongside the Sitar of Ananda Shankar and the Brian Auger arranged keyboard grooviness of Johnny Harris – I'm in like a Prog-Stoned Flynn baby (and that Flynn likes to be in). 

Much to shake a joss stick at, so let's prepare the beany cushions and pick those wild mushrooms (if you know where I'm coming from man)...

UK released 20 September 2004 - "Strange Brew: Weird & Wonderful Covers From The Warner & Atlantic Vaults" on Warner Jazz/Warner Strategic Marketing 5046743432 (Barcode 5050467434325) is a 22-Track CD Compilation in 'The In Sound' Series that plays out as follows (79:21 minutes):

1. Satisfaction - MARY WELLS (Rolling Stones cover from her December 1966 US LP "The Two Sides Of Mary Wells" on Atco SD 33-199 in Stereo)

2. Hold On I'm Comin' (Edit, 4:08 minutes) - HERBIE MANN (Sam & Dave cover from his May 1969 US LP "Memphis Underground" on Atco SD-1922 in Stereo - features Bassist Miroslav Vitous later with Weather Report)

3. Knock On Wood - ELLA FITZGERALD (Eddie Floyd cover on her September 1969 US LP "Ella" on Reprise RS 6354 in Stereo - Pianist Nicky Hopkins guests)

4.  You Showed Me - PHIL MOORE, Jr. (Turtles cover from his September 1969 US LP "Right On" on Atlantic SD 1530 - features Wilton Felder and "Stix" Hooper of The Crusaders with Keyboardist Clarence McDonald and Guitarist Steve Khan)

5. My Girl Sloopy - KILLER JOE (McCoys cover from his June 1965 US LP "International Discotheque" on Atlantic SD-8108 in Stereo, LP credited to The Killer Joe Orchestra, real name Joe Pira)   

6. Wicked Messenger - MARION WILLIAMS (Bob Dylan cover from her 1971 US LP "Standing Here Wondering Which Way To Go" on Atlantic SD 8289 - featuring David Spinnoza on Guitar, Paul Griffin on Keyboards and The Dixie Hummingbirds on Backing Vocals)

7. Whole Lotta Love - KING CURTIS And THE KINGPINS (Led Zeppelin cover, September 1970 US 45-Single on Atlantic 45-6779, A-side, 2:42 minute instrumental) 

8. I Heard It Through The Grapevine - ELLA FITZGERALD (Marvin Gaye cover from her 1971 US LP "Things Ain't What They Used To Be (And You Better Believe It)" on Reprise RS 6432) 

9. Willie & Laura Mae Jones - CLARENCE CARTER (Tony Joe White cover, from his fourth studio album "Patches" issued October 1970 in the USA on Atlantic SD-8267)

10. Strange Brew - ARIF MARDIN (Cream cover, from his July 1969 US LP "Glass Onion" on Atlantic SD 8222, features Barry Beckett on Keyboards and Eddie Hinton on Lead Guitar, Harmonica and Vocals) 

11. I Thought I Knew You Well - CARMEN McRAE (Tony Joe White cover, from her 1970 US LP "Just A Little Lovin'" on Atlantic SD 1568)

12. Blowin' In The Wind - BROTHER JACK McDUFF (Bob Dylan cover, from his 1967 US LP "Tobacco Road" on Atlantic SD 1472 in Stereo) 

13. Jumpin' Jack Flash - ANANDA SHANKAR (Rolling Stones cover, from his 1970 US LP "Ananda Shankar" on Reprise RS 6398) 

14. Sympathy For The Devil - ARIF MARDIN (Rolling Stones cover, from his July 1969 US LP "Glass Onion" on Atlantic SD 8222, features Barry Beckett on Keyboards and Eddie Hinton on Lead Guitar, Harmonica and Vocals)  

15. People Are Strange - LEA DeLARIA (Doors cover, from her 2003 CD compilation "Double Standards" on Warner Brothers with Seamus Blake on Saxophone)

16. My Girl - RAHSAAN ROLAND KIRK (Miracles cover (with Smokey Robinson), from his 1972 US LP "Blacknuss" on Atlantic SD 1601)

17. Respect - THE FREEDOM SOUNDS featuring WAYNE HENDERSON (Aretha Franklin cover, from their 1967 US LP "People Get Ready" on Atlantic SD 1492) 

18. I Want You - CARMEN McRAE (Tony Joe White cover, from her 1970 US LP "Just A Little Lovin'" on Atlantic SD 1568)

19. I Want You Back - SHIRLEY SCOTT (Jackson 5 cover, from her 1970 US LP "Something" on her 1970 US LP "Something" on Atlantic SD 1561 featuring Eric Gale and Billy Butler on Guitars)

20. Walk On The Wild Side - HERBIE MANN (Lou Reed cover, from his 1979 US LP "Yellow Fever" on Atlantic SD 19252)

21. I Shall Be Released - MARION WILLIAMS (Bob Dylan cover, from her 1969 US LP "The New Message" on Atlantic SD 8228 in Stereo)

22. Paint It Black - JOHNNY HARRIS (Rolling Stones cover, from his 1970 UK LP "Movements" on Warner Brothers WS 3002)  

Compiled by FLORENCE HALFON and featuring liner notes from CHAS CHANDLER - each song gets a small paragraph of explanation in the packed 8-page booklet - the text alongside album covers by people like Marion Williams, The Freedom Singers and Arif Mardin that you don't really see every day of the week. As you can see from the detailed list above, 1969 to 1972 is featured heavily with the odd foray into the earlier part of the 60ts - while comedian Lea DeLaria gets one of her 'wicked' covers featured from a CD album as late as 2003 on Warners (her fab take on The Doors and their witty "People Are Strange"). 

Transfers are care of experienced Audio Engineer GIOVANNI SCATOLA and all of it sounds storming - period Stereo recordings done in quality studios with Arrangers and Producers who knew what was what. Scatola did the Remasters for both of the 2008 2CD Deluxe Editions of Elton's John's early albums from 1970 - "Elton John" and "Tumbleweed Connection" - both of which had truly exemplary audio too. Time to feel those movements, to the eclectic music... 

You may feel you've spent your precious few bob on the wrong compilation when you get an earful of the first three insipid interpretations - all three Mary Wells, Herbie Mann and Ella Fitzgerald covers being the kind of elevator music you'd rather avoid. But then you get where I start this CD - Track 4 and Phil Moore's Clavinet and Melodica instrumental version of "You Showed Me", a Top 10 hit for The Turtles revisited by England's The Lightning Seeds in 1997. It's vibes and funky clavinet backbeat set up the 'Melodica' - every teenager’s musical toy - and suddenly you have a take that actually feels cool and even sort of innovative in a way. Changing back to the mid-60ts, you get a Watusi Cha Cha Cha from Killer Joe sashaying across your speakers as he urges Sloopy to hang on. It's fun and full of cleverly organised Trombone breaks designed to keep the dancefloor full. 

Next up is a genuine discovery to us predominantly Rock-types - the Eartha Kitt vs. William Shatner vocal delivery of Marion Williams. Her Gospel High voice and exaggerated mannerisms of delivery take the "John Wesley Harding" Dylan LP track "Wicked Messenger" into a fantastically cool place. Then it’s cleverly onto the 'heavy heavy' guitar-riffage of the Zeppelin II monster "Whole Lotta Love" given a Rock 'n' Sax update by King Curtis. Although I would have to admit right here and now that as good as it is, Curtis' version will not replace the C.C.S. cover from 1970 on their self-titled debut album (on RAK Records) that was used as the Theme Music to "Top Of The Pops" every Thursday night in England as we sat glued to the gogglebox for our musical fix. 

Back to schlock where Ella Fitzgerald does a dreadfully cheesy cover of Marvin's glorious "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" - that poor man's version thankfully saved by the gruff and gravel Clarence Carter turning Tony Joe White's "Willie And Laura Mae Jones" into a Country-Soul masterclass. Speaking of "...another man's colour..." - Tony Joe's song also addresses racial issues in a subtle humanitarian way without every getting preachy. Clarence Carter made a damn good song choice there and not surprisingly, Tony Joe White's endlessly adaptable, sexy and inherently funky tunes are featured twice more on this compilation - both by Carmen McRae and her lovely renditions of "I Thought I Knew You Well" and "I Want You". 

Speaking of highlights - there are two genuine monsters featured - the Ananda Shankar Sitar-dripping cover of The Stones classic "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and Johnny Harris taking on "Paint It Black". When I worked in Reckless Records in Soho's Berwick Street throughout the 90s and 00s - the "Ananda Shankar" and "Movements" albums were the very epitome of collectability - DJs going crazy trying to find the Indian-cool vibe of Ananda Shankar or the David Axelrod Strings vs. the Brian Auger Organ feel of Johnny Harris. I can vividly remember bootleg copies of both albums showing up in West End shops such was the demand for them when the originals were pushing fifty quid at times. All this and the hero-worshipped Eddie Hinton playing Lead Guitar on the Arif Mardin cover of "Sympathy For The Devil" before going into some weird vocal growls towards the end. And on it goes...

For sure when I play the 1979 Herbie Mann Disco/Funk cover of Lou Reed's sexy and beautifully clever "Walk On The Wild Side" - I can't actually decide whether it's abomination incarnate of a genuine masterpiece or interpretive genius (I'd opt for the first frankly). 

So like myself, when you come to sequence this CD - you may only play 10 or maybe 12 tracks and skip the rest. But costing less than a pound online from some auction-sites (it's cheap in other words) - I'd say take on chance on the gurgling cauldron that is "Strange Brew..." because there is more 'In' Sound than out...

"The In Sound" CD Series

From The Atlantic & Warner Vaults 

UK CD Compilations from 2001 to 2004 - A List 

        

1. Eastern & Hip: Eastern Jazz Grooves From The Atlantic & Warner Vaults

4 March 2002 UK CD on Warner Jazz/Warner Strategic Marketing 9548-39530-2 (Barcode 9548395302)

2. Glass Onion: Songs of The Beatles From The Atlantic & Warner Jazz Vaults

28 Feb 2003 UK CD on Warner Jazz 5050466149626 (Barcode 5050466149626)

3. Modal And Jazz Waltz: Modal Jazz And 3/4 Time From The Atlantic Vaults

January 2002 UK CD on Warner Jazz/Warner Strategic Marketing 9548395292 (Barcode 095483952922) 

4. More Psychedelic Jazz And Soul From The Atlantic & Warner Vaults

9 August 2004 UK CD on Warner Jazz/Warner Strategic Marketing 5046736382 (Barcode 5050467363823)

5. Psychedelic Jazz And Soul From The Atlantic & Warner Vaults 

12 November 2001 UK CD on Warner Jazz/Warner Strategic Marketing 9548391142 (Barcode 095483911424)

6. Soul Bossa Nova: From The Vaults Of Atlantic & Warner Bros.

14 October 2002 UK CD on Warner Jazz/Warner Strategic Marketing 5050466048127 (Barcode 5050466048127)

7. Stoned Soul Picnic: Illicit Grooves From The Atlantic & Warner Vaults 

13 October 2003 UK CD on Warner Jazz/Warner Strategic Marketing 5050466-8018-2-1 (Barcode 5050466801821)

8. Strange Brew: Weird & Wonderful Covers From The Warner & Atlantic Vaults

20 September 2004 UK CD on Warner Jazz/Warner Strategic Marketing 5046743432 (Barcode 5050467434325)

9. The Word From The Pulpit: Spiritual Grooves From The Vaults Of Atlantic & Warner Bros. 1963-1974

18 October 2002 UK CD on Warner Jazz/Warner Strategic Marketing 5050466040725 (Barcode 5050466040725)

"This Is Soul" by VARIOUS ARTISTS – March 1968 UK Compilation LP on Atlantic Records in Stereo featuring Wilson Pickett, Carla Thomas, Arthur Conley, Percy Sledge, Sam & Dave, Ben E. King, Otis Redding, Eddie Floyd, Solomon Burke, Aretha Franklin and more (April 2007 and June 2018 Reissue UK Rhino/Atlantic Expanded Edition CD Reissue with 17 Bonus Tracks in Gatefold Card Mini LP Repro Packaging with Atlantic Records Inner Bag Sleeve and Matching Booklet – Giovanni Scatola Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Got Everything I Need..."

Sometimes the enormity of an album can elude the public, even with 52 years of hindsight.

1968's "This Is Soul" was a HUGE LP and not just for 60ts Soul Music but for Atlantic Records specifically. This simple 12-track compilation enamoured the hugely hip American record label to a whole new generation of English buyers - and let’s face it, Rock Bands too (Zeppelin would sign with them in 1969). A little history first on this mighty hunk of knock on wood...

Released Stateside in late March 1968 as "This Is Soul" on Atlantic SD-8170 – that variant also had 12-tracks but a boring titled-sleeve (no pictures front or rear) and US-centric song choices. It hit Billboard's R&B charts on 30 March 1968 and rose to a height of No. 22 with a 9-week stay. But apart from the name - its similarity to the more famous and wildly influential British issue ends.

Atlantic UK dropped eight of its American choices and replaced them with British tastes. So out went the more R&B bop and stroll orientated songs like "Release Me" by Esther Phillips, "Cool Jerk" by The Capitols, "What'd I Say" by Ray Charles, "On Broadway" by The Drifters and "Hold What You've Got" by Joe Tex - to be replaced with Carla Thomas, Sam & Dave, Otis Redding and Eddie Floyd – none of whom were on the US LP. The mid-tempo "Spanish Harlem" by Ben E. King was also replaced with the more upbeat "What Is Soul?" while the Wicked Pickett (gracing the English sleeve in that supercool live pose with jigsaw design around him) got to keep his version of "Land Of A Thousand Dances" but blagged one more on the British album. His mule-kicking let's-get-the-party started "Mustang Sally" set the pace of the LP as Track 1 on Side A. So - when played side to side (as opposed to the US variant), the British Atlantic Plum Label LP worked like a dream. This lethally good sequencing did not go unnoticed as UK students and hipsters dragged the reasonably priced 13 schillings and 11 old pence album along to parties and social gatherings (where more than Smarties were on offer) - its sexy laminate colour sleeve acting as a badge of cool. 

And it sold - big. Issued late March 1968 in the UK on Atlantic 643 301 in Mono and Stereo variants (both had the same catalogue number) - its first sales appearance was 23 March 1968 on the NME LP charts – in at No. 5 with a bullet. The following week (30 March 1968), it gathered momentum and went to No. 2. Continuing to sell bucket-loads for another four weeks (stayed at No. 2 for all four of them) but kept off the top slot by Dylan's eagerly awaited "John Wesley Harding" – it finally ascended to the mountaintop of No. 1 on the 4 May 1968. The thing is that it stayed there (at number one) for a storming further eight weeks only to be dislodged in July by that other Number one giant of 1968 – the Small Faces and their mind-blowing and beautiful "Ogden's Nut Gone Flake" on Immediate Records.

So for March, April, May and June of 1968 – this LP was smashing it at the top of the British LP charts and in fact didn't leave the NME Top 15-20 until 28 September 1968 (and would of course bubble under for the remainder of that mercurial year). Trojan would mimic the "This Is Soul" formula of gathering together winning singles on one compilation with their ground-breaking "Tighten Up" (Volume 1) LP in January 1969, Island Records would offer their first Rock LP sampler in June 1969 with "You Can All Join In", followed by "Nice Enough To Eat" in October 1969 and so on. "This Is Soul" cast a long shadow. Now let’s get to the music and this stunning CD reissue of it.

There are two variants of the UK CD – first up came 2 April 2007 with "This Is Soul" by VARIOUS ARTISTS was on Rhino/Atlantic 5144-20123-2 (Barcode 5051442012323) – A Card Digipak with 17 Bonus Tracks.

What we have here is a reissue of that – 22 June 2018 on Rhino/Atlantic/Warner Music (UK) Ltd 0603497859139 (Barcode 0603497859139). It sports the same 29 tracks (see below for order), a gatefold card sleeve, an Atlantic Records inner bag for the CD, a 12-page-booklet (themed artwork like the bag) with specific liner notes from Mojo Magazine's CHARLES WARING and the same GIOVANNI SCATOLA Remasters of 2007 mostly in STEREO. 

LP fans should also note that 22 June 2018 saw a reissued VINYL copy of the 12-Track British LP in repro'd original artwork on Rhino/Atlantic 643 301 (Barcode 0603497859122). 

Back to digital - at 79:29 minutes, the CD plays out as follows...

1. Mustang Sally - WILSON PICKETT [Side 1]

2. B-A-B-Y - CARLA THOMAS

3. Sweet Soul Music - ARTHUR CONLEY

4. When A Man Loves A Woman - PERCY SLEDGE

5. I Got Everything I Need - SAM & DAVE

6. What Is Soul? - BEN E. KING

7. Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song) - OTIS REDDING [Side 2]

8. Knock On Wood - EDDIE FLOYD

9. Keep Looking - SOLOMON BURKE

10. I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Loved You) - ARETHA FRANKLIN

11. Warm And Tender Love - PERCY SLEDGE

12. Land Of A Thousand Dances - WILSON PICKETT

BONUS TRACKS:

13. Hold On I'm Coming - SAM & DAVE (1965)

14. Soul Finger - THE BAR-KAYS (1967)

15. Memphis Soul Stew - KING CURTIS (1967)

16. Hard To Handle - OTIS REDDING (1968)

17. Save Me - ARETHA FRANKLIN (1967)

18. Tighten Up Pt. 1 - ARCHIE BELL & THE DRELLS (1967)

19. Funky Broadway - WILSON PICKETT (1968)

20. Tramp - OTIS REDDING & CARLA THOMAS (1967)

21. Get Out Of My Life - THE MAD LADS (1968)

22. You're Losing Me - BARBARA LYNN (1968)

23. Some Kind Of Wonderful - SOUL BROTHERS SIX (1967)

24. Soul Girl - JEANNE & THE DARLINGS (1967)

25. Funky Street - ARTHUR CONLEY (1968)

26. Big Bird - ARTHUR CONLEY

27. That's How It Feels - SOUL CLAN

28. Ain't That Lovin' You (For More Reasons Than One) - JOHNNIE TAYLOR (1967)

29. (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay - OTIS REDDING (1968)

The Audio is absolutely punching – the moment you get that Wicked Pickett wham in "Mustang Sally" – it feels like this CD is out to prove something. The same applies to the Percy Sledge weepy "When A Man Loves A Woman" – a song you may feel you've heard too many times, but here the Audio is going to grab you again. And I never get over the sheer power of Solomon Burke as his massive frame rips through "Keep Looking". Clear as World Health Organisation conscience too is the brass and drums intro to Sam & Dave as they laugh/plead that you 'listen to me' on their sexy smoocher "I Got Everything I Need". The whole LP is like this - such a great listen. As Wilson would say – huh! – alright! – mashed potato – do the Watusi – nah nah nah nah – need somebody to help me…feel pretty good y'all…watch me work…yeah baby!

Bonuses: Atlantic Records fetishists like me have long since fantasised as to what "This Is Soul Volume 2" would have looked like - another 12-tracks of the same. It never did get issued, so Rhino have instead supplied a fantastic set of 17 Bonuses that they say are in 'the spirit of the original LP'. And listening to dancefloor cookers like Aretha's "Save Me" beside Otis Redding's hip-swaying "Hard To Handle" itself next to the truly ace Arthur Conley gem "Funky Street" - and few would disagree with their assessment. They open bonus proceedings with the perfect 60ts Soul bopper - "Hold On I'm Coming" by Sam & Dave. But there is also the discoveries of lesser heard names like The Mad Lads with their bass and piano thumping "Get Out Of My Life", the sexily cool Barbara Lynn with her 'you don't do right/I know you got someone else' tune "You're Losing Me" or the genuine slow-ache-soul of "That's How I Feel" by Soul Clan – a front name for an Atlantic five piece vocalist supergroup containing Solomon Burke, Ben E. King, Arthur Conley, Don Covay and Joe Tex.

The Soul Brothers Six nugget "Some Kind Of Wonderful" has been covered by loads including Grand Funk while Jeanne & The Darlings also throw in the hugely hooky "Soul Girl" - all piano shots and brass jabs aimed at your hips. The only one I don’t quite dig is the Johnnie Taylor version of "Ain't That Loving You (For More Reasons Than One)" because the Luther Ingram version on Koko Records (Stax in the UK) from 1970 is infinitely more touching (see my review for Bear Family's beautifully rewarding "Sweet Soul Music - 1970" CD). And the bonuses end of the posthumous number one - Otis Redding's "(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay" - a tune I've probably heard one too many times now.

I also love the way it looks, that clever spread of Atlantic Records sevens and cover memorabilia on the inner gatefold, the Atlantic Records inner paper bag to house the CD that apes the colouring of the original British LP and the detailed booklet. The only thing that is missing from the original LP is the rear artwork that advertised twelve other Atlantic Records LPs - but that's been repro'd exactly on the 2018 VINYL variant.

"This Is Soul" is a brilliant and cleverly presented CD reissue that can be picked up for under six quid in 2020 - and Soul Brother/Soul Sister - that's a six-pack well worth splashing out the talcum powder for...

PS: I'm probably going to be hung up by some private part for saying this by men in white coats, but I think the Guinness Book Of Hit Albums is wrong in credited the LP with a 14 June 1969 charting (climbed to a peak of No. 16 on a 15-week run) and therefore as some have presumed – a belated June 1969 release date. It should read June 1968 for the Official Pop Charts and is an error that’s ben compounded over the years.