Buddha Machine III: Chan Fang Accessory

Personnel: Wu Na (zither). Track Listing of songs: Chun ?; Qiu ?; Xia ?; Dong ?;

Young Mississippi entrepreneurs Tommy Couch and Wolf Stephenson started the Malaco label in the late '60s, and over the decades they amassed an impressive catalog of soul, blues, and gospel, including stellar recordings by unknowns as well as by highly respected artists. THE LAST SOUL COMPANY is an attempt to sum up what Couch and Stephenson have done for the roots music of America's southern region. The breadth of material included on this label retrospective, spanning three decades of music, is nearly as impressive for its diversity as for its high quality. The collection moves from the stark, uncompromising blues of Mississippi Fred McDowell to the salacious, funky R&B of King Floyd to the string-laden soul balladry of G.C. Cameron. Malaco never got stuck in the past, so we also get the synth-driven R&B of Formula V and a Z.Z. Hill cut with a drum track that sounds suspiciously electronic, but it's all part of the soulful, idiosyncratic mise-en-scene that is Malaco Records. Includes liner notes by Rob Bowman.

Having Al Green on their artist roster was at once a blessing and a curse for Hi Records -- while Green was arguably the finest and most distinctive R&B vocalist of the 1970s, and a major hitmaker to boot, his work was both popular and unique enough that it tended to blunt recognition for the label's other artists, and this compilation makes it clear that Hi had plenty of other top-rank soul men recording for them. While the trademark studio sound that Willie Mitchell brought to Green's recordings pops up on a few other sides featured here -- most notably Syl Johnson's cover of "Take Me to the River" and Gene Anderson's title track -- there's a pleasing diversity of styles here, from the sweet soul of Willie Walker's "Love Makes the World Go Round" to the gruff heartache of Otis Clay's "That's How It Is," with the bluesy lament of Lyndon's "The Very First Time" and the dance-friendly groove of "Hitch-Hike to Heartbreak Road" sitting somewhere in between. This set also takes an open-minded approach to what makes a great soul record by including Charlie Rich's heartfelt rendition of "When Something Is Wrong with My Baby," and worthy unknowns such ...

Buddha Machine III: Chan Fang album With every release, the compilation series Nighttime Lovers is getting a bigger fan base of disco funk lovers who are looking for those compilations with more original content than average disco compilations. Highlights include Five Star 's 'Hide & Seek', Melba Moore's ''Love's Comin' At Ya'', Pink Rhythm's 'Can't ...

Buddha Machine III: Chan Fang songs Track Listing of songs: Come Home Early; Big Four Blues; Someday Baby Blues; Miss Lillie Brown; I Don't Want Nobody's Bloodstains on My Hands; Big Town Blues; Black Cat Blues; Racketeer's Blues; From Four Till Late; Packin' Trunk Blues; You Can't Get That Stuff No More; Diggin' My Potatoes; Preachin' the ...