Ace Think

John Lee Hooker - House Rent Boogie (2001) {Ace Records CDCHD 799}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 212 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 152 Mb
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© 1940s-50s, 2001 Ace Records | CDCHD 799
Blues / Delta Blues / Acoustic Blues / Detroit Blues / Blues Revival

A cross-section of hot Hooker at his prime with great solo performances and small combo recordings, when he was making sides exclusively for the black audience in the late 40s-early 50s. Here is a new CD of vintage Hooker recordings culled from the private tape vaults of Bernie Besman and Joe Bihari. At this stage, you might think it safe to assume that there is nothing left unissued from Hooker's early years in Detroit. Wrong! Ace researcher, the intrepid Ray Topping, has put together a release that combines classic early Hooker recordings many of which have never been available on CD before together with a total of FIVE previously unissued recordings.

Various Artists - Cold Cold Heart: Where Country Meets Soul Vol. 3 (2014) {Ace Records CDKEND 422}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks) +CUE+LOG -> 416 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 185 Mb
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© 2014 Ace Records / Kent Records | CDKEND 422
Country / Soul / R&B / Southern Soul

If the release of Cold Cold Heart proves anything, it's that Where Country Meets Soul is one of Ace Records' most popular series of the 2010s. If this third volume proves anything else, it's that the well of country-soul has hardly been tapped dry by compiler Tony Rounce and the label. Apart from a handful of tracks cut in the early '60s right in the wake of Ray Charles' groundbreaking Modern Sounds in Country & Western Music plus a few sides cut in the disco era or later, Cold Cold Heart is firmly grounded in the late-'60s heyday of soul music.

Various Artists - The Complete Goldwax Singles, Vol. 1 1962-1966 (2009) {2CD Set Ace Records CDCH2 1226}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 466 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 321 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 39 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1962-66, 2009 Goldwax / Ace Records | CDCH2 1226
R&B / Soul / Deep Soul

The Memphis-based Goldwax label has a cult following among deep soul fans, especially for its recordings of James Carr. Still, it's fair to say that there aren't a whole lot of people fanatical enough to want a single-by-single retrospective of the company's entire 45 output, as has been produced for a couple of bigger soul labels with much bigger followings, Stax and Motown. Ace Records takes pride in tackling projects for niche collector markets, however, and for those Goldwax aficionados out there, this two-CD, 58-track set will be heartily welcomed. To be technical, some of these were issued on Goldwax subsidiaries, or labels in which Goldwax founder Quinton Claunch was involved before Goldwax started; there are also a couple of Spencer Wiggins 1968 tracks that came out on a collector-targeted bootleg single, though they didn't appear on a Goldwax 45 at the time.