The Girls Got Soul

by N/A

Overview

This 25-track compilation consists solely of Atlantic female-sung soul from the 1960s, concentrating largely on cuts that weren't hits, even when the performers were famous (and not all of these singers were). The only hugely successful Atlantic woman of the 1960s was, of course, Aretha Franklin, and although she has a couple of songs here (the 1967 LP track "Save Me" and the 1968 B-side "Ain't No Way"), they're not among her more familiar ones. Still, the talent aboard this anthology is enough to fill a wing of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Mary Wells, LaVern Baker, Ruth Brown, the Sweet Inspirations, Patti LaBelle & the Bluebelles, Barbara Lynn, and Doris Troy, for starters. It's true that if you've been collecting soul CDs diligently for more than a decade, you might have a good deal of this, particularly on the Soul Classics label. Even if that's the case, though, this is a tremendous listen, just below the top cut of soul anthologies of any sort, and certainly one of the very best CD various-artist collections of obscure '60s soul. The brilliant producers and songwriters enlisted by Atlantic throughout the decade ensure a consistent high quality as do the talents of the vocalists themselves. Among the neglected treasures here are Doris Troy's West Indian-influenced "Whatcha Gonna Do About It" covered by the Hollies; LaVern Baker's ebullient original version of "Bumble Bee" covered for a hit by the Searchers; the Ikettes' sultry 1962 Top 20 hit "I'm Blue (The Gong-Gong Song)"; and the lush Bert Berns production of Baker's 1964 flop single "Go Away." As far as insanely rare things that will even whet the appetite of maniac collectors, there's the solid, somewhat Motown 1965 pop-soul single by the unknown Rozetta Johnson and Ann Mason's "You Can't Love Me (In the Midnight Hour)," a strange but impassioned "answer" record to "In the Midnight Hour." Barbara Lynn's version of "You'll Lose a Good Thing" on this disc, incidentally, is a 1967 remake not her original 1962 hit; if you're disappointed by her merely okay reworking of that classic, as compensation there's a previously unreleased 1968 outtake, "Unloved, Unwanted Me." ~ Richie Unterberger

Product Details

Release Date:	07/04/2000
Label:	Kent
UPC:	0029667218627
Rank:	124633

Tracks

1. Sweet Inspiration  - Spooner Oldham  - Dan Penn  -  Sweet Inspirations
2. Save Me  - Aretha Franklin  - Carolyn Franklin  - Curtis Ousley
3. You Can't Love Me (In the Midnight Hour)  - Steve Cropper  -  Little Mac & The Boss Sounds  - Ann Mason  - Wilson Pickett
4. What'cha Gonna Do About It?  - Gregory Carrol  - Doris Payne  - Doris Troy
5. Me and My Baby  - William Sanders  - Barrett Strong  - Mary Wells
6. You'll Lose a Good Thing  - Barbara Lynn  - Huey P. Meaux  - Barbara Lynn Ozen
7. That Hurts  - Rozetta Johnson
8. But I Love Him  - Larry Kusic  - Eddie Snyder  - Doris Troy
9. Ain't No Way  - Aretha Franklin  - Carolyn Franklin
10. I'm Still Waiting  -  Labelle  - Curtis Mayfield
11. Dear Lover  - Carl Davis  - Gerald Sims  - Mary Wells
12. (Until Then) I'll Suffer  - Barbara Lynn
13. Unloved, Unwanted Me  - Barbara Lynn
14. It's Nice to Know  - Rozetta Johnson
15. My Man, He's a Lovin' Man  - James Bennett  - Bettye LaVette  - Johnnie Mae Matthews
16. Hello Walls  - Willie Nelson  - Esther Phillips
17. Go Away  - LaVern Baker  - Bert Russell
18. Bumble Bee  - LaVern Baker  - Leroy Fullylove
19. Here He Comes  - Ruth Brown  - Mort Dixon  -  Glick  - Rose Marie McCoy
20. I'm Blue (The Gong-Gong Song)  -  Ikettes  - Ike Turner
21. Separation Line  - Homer Banks  - Bettye Crutcher  - Raymond Jackson  - Laura Lee
22. Let It Be Me  - Gilbert Becaud  - Manny Curtis  - Pierre Delanoe  -  Sweet Inspirations
23. I Can't Afford to Lose Him  - Baby Washington  - Bobby Womack
24. (Hey You) Set My Soul on Fire  - Mary Wells  - Cecil Womack
25. Take Your Love and Run  - Barbara Lynn  - Bob McRee  - Edward Thomas

Album Credits

Performance Credits

The Ikettes   Primary Artist
Baby Washington   Primary Artist
Barbara Lynn   Primary Artist
Esther Phillips   Primary Artist
Rozetta Johnson   Primary Artist
Mary Wells   Primary Artist
The Sweet Inspirations   Primary Artist
Ann Mason   Primary Artist
LaVern Baker   Primary Artist
Doris Troy   Primary Artist
Ruth Brown   Primary Artist
Aretha Franklin   Primary Artist
Little Mac & The Boss Sounds   Primary Artist
Patti Labelle & the Bluebelles   Primary Artist
Bettye LaVette   Primary Artist
Laura Lee   Primary Artist
Sonny Sanders   Conductor

Technical Credits

The Ikettes   Performer
Laura Lee   Performer
Barrett Strong   Composer
Curtis Mayfield   Composer
Barbara Lynn   Performer
Spooner Oldham   Composer
Mort Dixon   Composer
David Nathan   Liner Notes
Homer Banks   Composer
Huey P. Meaux   Composer,Producer
Johnnie Mae Matthews   Composer
Leroy Fullylove   Composer
Peter Gibbon   Cover Photo
Rozetta Johnson   Performer
Mary Wells   Composer,Performer
Nick Robbins   Mastering
The Sweet Inspirations   Performer
Manny Curtis   Composer
Willie Nelson   Composer
Tommy Cogbill   Producer
Cecil Womack   Composer,Producer
Gilbert Becaud   Composer
Dan Penn   Composer
Wilson Pickett   Composer
Steve Cropper   Composer
Ann Mason   Performer
Bert Berns   Producer
LaVern Baker   Composer,Performer
Curtis Ousley   Composer
Eddie Snyder   Composer
Carolyn Franklin   Composer
Doris Payne   Composer
Doris Troy   Performer
Ruth Brown   Performer
Rose Marie McCoy   Composer
Raymond Jackson   Composer
Aretha Franklin   Composer,Performer
Tom Dowd   Producer
Gerald Sims   Composer
Zal Schreiber   Transcription
Edward Thomas   Composer
Pierre Delanoe   Composer
Larry Kusic   Composer
Bob McRee   Composer
Elmo Glick   Composer
Carl Davis   Composer
Gregory Carrol   Composer
William Sanders   Composer
James Bennett   Composer
Barbara Lynn Ozen   Composer
Patti Labelle & the Bluebelles   Performer
Sonny Sanders   Arranger
Bettye LaVette   Performer
Bert Russell   Composer
Bettye Crutcher   Composer
Bob Gallo   Arranger,Producer
Bobby Womack   Composer
Baby Washington   Performer
Ike Turner   Composer