Instrumentals Soul-Style? What do you mean Soul Instrumentals? How can an instrumental be soul? Hold on a minute – what’s the line-up? James Brown, Ray Charles, Allen Toussaint, Junior Walker, Booker T & the MGs, King Curtis, Ike & Tina Turner. What have we got here? Club Sounds. A bit of funk, a Latin groove, a slow jazz walk, uptown dancers, late night smoochers. Instrumentals Soul-Style. Got it?
Now here’s a crackerjack of a compilation with a lot of relatively rare instrumentals of a soul bias alongside many genre classics. It’s February as I write these notes but already this must be a contender for best compilation of the year.
Davy Peckett New Gandy Dancer
This is a wisely selected, carefully sequenced and beautifully presented collection of late 50s/early 60s instrumentals with a soulful feel and fronts an informative and attractive 28-page booklet. You’re really going to enjoy this. And the great thing is that apart from making several wonderful new finds, this is such a superb album for listening right through. Anyone who has any of the History of R&B or History of Soul label releases will be well aware of their quality and the care that goes into them and Instrumentals Soul-Style is a real gem for instrumental hounds – I love it!
Alan Taylor Pipeline
SOUL012
