![\"\"](\"http:\/\/musoscribe.com\/images\/soul_street.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Not meant to diminish in any way the staggering contribution Stax made to popular music, but that Memphis label was not the be-all and end-all for quality Southern soul music of the 60s and 70s. And while every time a compilation of previously-overlooked music comes out \u2013 Los Nuggetz<\/em><\/a>, for example, or the deep-archival comps curated by Keb Darge<\/strong><\/a> or Kris Needs<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 I find myself thinking that the well will have run dry, here we are yet again.<\/p>\n Founded in 2010 \u2013 yes, mere months<\/em> ago \u2013 Omnivore Recordings has already staked out its reputation as one of the few go-to label for thoughtful compilations and reissues. Forty sides from tiny Valparaiso, FL-based Minaret Records are collected on the peerless 2cd set, The South Side of Soul Street: The Minaret Soul Singles 1967-1976<\/em>.<\/p>\n The indie label based in Florida’s panhandle had access to a stable of singers, players and writers who \u2013 at their best \u2013 rivaled Memphis’ Stax in terms of quality. What Minaret didn’t<\/em> have, critically, was access to a national distribution network. So soul-shaking sides by the likes of Doris Allen<\/strong> (\u201cA Shell of a Woman\u201d) and Big John Hamilton<\/strong> (\u201cThe Train\u201d) went unheard and unappreciated by the record-buying public of the era.<\/p>\n The uninitiated might assume that Minaret singles were made-on-the-cheap affairs featuring third-string musicians and arrangers. But that’s simply not the case. Often availing themselves of Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, AL, Minaret produced some very high quality recordings. Apparently the 700-mile round trip wasn’t too daunting a prospect for Minaret recording artists. Label head Finley Duncan<\/strong> and renowned producer Shelby Singleton<\/strong> (best known for his 1960s productions at Smash Records) guided their artists through sessions with ace players from across the South.<\/p>\n And even the Minaret b-sides are strong: Gable Reed<\/strong>‘s flip \u201cWho’s Been Warming My Oven\u201d is a lyrical cousin to Detroit’s 100 Proof (Aged in Soul)<\/strong> and their 1970 stomper \u201cSomebody’s Been Sleeping.\u201d Big John Hamilton \u2013 a soul shouter with nuance in the Otis Redding<\/strong><\/a> tradition \u2013 paired with Doris Allen for several singles (all excellent) including a reading of Buddy Miles<\/strong>‘ \u201cThem Changes.\u201d Few of the other songs on this set will be familiar to most listeners, though Hamilton’s 1969 b-side \u201cBefore the Next Teardrop Falls\u201d would be a hit when recorded some five years later by Freddy Fender<\/strong>. Likewise, most hearing these tracks for the first time won’t know much (if anything) about such artists as The Double Soul<\/strong>, Willie Cobbs<\/strong> or Johnny Dynamite<\/strong>, but Bill Dahl<\/strong><\/a>‘s excellent liner notes hit the high points in his signature clear and concise style. The South Side of Soul Street<\/em> is that rare set that works both as historical document and highly enjoyable listening experience.<\/p>\n Note<\/strong><\/em>: in 2006, Sundazed released their own Minaret compilation, with the similar title A Fine Time: The South Side of Soul Street<\/em> (named after Genie Brooks<\/strong>‘ 1969 b-side). That single-disc set contains eighteen tracks, fourteen of which appear on the Ominvore set alongside 26 others.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/musoscribe.com\/images\/icon_twitter_small.jpg\"){kind=icon}
Twitter<\/a> and get notified