From The Soul

Founded in 1926 by Roy Crain, The Soul Stirrers were one of the preeminent gospel vocal acts in the U.S. over the next several decades. After many line up changes, a then-unknown Sam Cooke joined the group in 1951, a stint that lasted until his entry into the secular pop world as a solo artist in 1957. Cooke was replaced by Johnnie Taylor (later of “Who’s Making Love” fame), and by 1959 the Soul Stirrers found themselves without a label. Cooke and Crain, along with manager/songwriting partner J.W. Alexander reacted by founding SAR Records, whose first order of business was releasing Taylor-fronted Soul Stirrers recordings as well as selections on which Jimmie Outler took the lead.

Taken from recently discovered sources in The David Bowie Archive®, I’M ONLY DANCING (THE SOUL TOUR 74) was recorded mostly during David’s performance at the Michigan Palace, Detroit on 20th October, 1974, with the encores taken from the Municipal Auditorium, Nashville on 30th November, 1974. The only song missing from the full set on the 20th October performance is ‘Diamond Dogs’ which was unfortunately only recorded in part. To make up for that it was decided to include the encores from the 30th November performance which featured ‘Diamond Dogs’ but also enables a fuller representation of the set from The Soul Tour including such numbers as ‘Knock On Wood’ and the ‘Foot Stomping / I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate’ medley.

Two vintage albums by the Soul Children for the price of one CD. Half the productions are by their mentors Isaac Hayes and David Porter, the other half by Porter and his subsequent partner Ronnie Williams. Deep soul sagas the magnitude of "I'll Understand," "Move Over," and "Tighten Up My Thang" provided the paradigm for future Soul Children producers. The Porter/Williams productions are more consistent, but none are as brilliant as the few gems by Hayes and Porter. But whatever the Soul Children sing, their golden voices make even the most hackneyed cuts interesting.

Digitally re-mastered two-fer from the Soul trio containing a pair of their original albums on one CD: Finders Keepers (1976) and Where Is Your Woman Tonight (1977). The Soul Children are highly-rated among Soul collectors for their Gospel influenced ballad recordings. The group was originally signed by Stax to replace Sam & Dave when the duo moved to Atlantic in 1968, scoring with ten hit singles and three top-rated albums. On the demise of Stax The Soul Children, now a trio of Anita Louis, John 'J. Blackfoot' Colbert and Norm West, signed with Epic and continued with an output of top-quality Southern Soul recordings. R&B chart hits came with 'Finders Keepers' and 'Where Is Your Woman Tonight', both title tracks for the Epic albums featured in this package. There Always is a veritable feast of great music for the growing market of 'Southern Soul' fans.

One the all time great funky albums of the 70s – a mad little record with a sense of rhythm and timing that was years ahead of its time! The Soul Searchers (along with Chuck Brown) later became known for their heavy-hitting Go Go work at the end of the decade – but here, they're a really free-thinking outfit with a lot of jazz in their funk – and a willingness to change up the beats and timings in ways that push the record miles ahead from an average funk outing. Tracks swirl around with an amazing intensity – supported by guitar work from Brown, organ from Hilton Felton, and some really great horns from Don Tillery and Lloyd Pinchback.

Monika Mauch (Geislingen an der Steige, Baden-Württemberg) is a German soprano.Mauch specializes in early music, studied singing with Richard Wistreich at the Institute for Early Music of Trossingen conservatory where she obtained her diploma. She also studied with Jill Feldman in Paris and has been described as having a boyish agile voice.

"I have never read a more passionate and heartfelt expression of Colombian culture and cuisine in English. I've been waiting for years for a book like this to come out." – J. Kenji López-Alt, New York Times bestselling author of The Food Lab