Dorothy Moore

When Malaco Records started out in the late 1960s, the label that small Southern R&B companies looked up to was Stax. The Jackson, MS-based Malaco, like the Memphis-based Stax, focused mainly on deep-fried Southern soul in the beginning – only in 1968 and 1969, Malaco was a struggling young operation that was fighting to stay afloat. But ironically, Malaco would still be in business long after Stax's 1975 demise, and it would continue to favor classic soul long after most labels had moved away from it. When other black-oriented independents were putting out urban contemporary, rap and house music in the 1980s and 1990s.

"The greatest songs never grow old, they just get better as a select wine."

If You like old school, then this it the one for you. This collection has many years to choose from. Brings back all the old memories.

With Kent's Songwriter Series well established as a regular feature of the Ace catalogue, they felt it was time to salute more great tunesmiths whose success as writers has been largely confined to the soul/R&B market. Few are more deserving than Phillip Mitchell a cult hero to many soul fans as a writer and a singer, and a man whose catalogue of songs is as consistently good as it is prolific. His songs have been recorded by some of the biggest names in soul particularly during the 1970s, when his name appeared under the title of many high-profile 45s. A quick perusal of the artists featured here will demonstrate how highly Phillip's songs were rated by his peers. It was not easy to whittle the mountain of great versions of Mitchell songs down to a representative 23 and there s plenty of scope for a follow up if this one sells as well as Kent expect. In-depth annotation, copious illustrations and a value-for-money, near 80 minutes worth of music will make this a must for every serious soul enthusiast.

Various Artists - Sweet Dreams: Where Country Meets Soul Vol. 2 (2013) {Ace Records CDKEND 395}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks) +CUE+LOG -> 449 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 190 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 31 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2013 Ace Records / Kent Records | CDKEND 395
Country / Soul / R&B / Country Soul / Southern Soul

Sweet Dreams: Where Country Meets Soul, Ace's second dip into the country-soul well, is every bit as good as its 2012 predecessor. Basically, it's cut from the same cloth as the first volume, concentrating on recordings from the late '60s but stretching deep into the '70s (Millie Jackson's "Sweet Music Man" dates from 1977), with Ted Taylor's 1962 "I'll Release You" and Orquestra Was' 1996 "Forever's a Long, Long Time Ago" functioning as de facto ringers. "Forever's a Long, Long Time Ago" may fit aesthetically but certainly not sonically, as it's a crisp digital blast on a collection devoted to warm, lush, analog soul.