Can't Be Satisfied: Xl And Sounds Of Memphis Story CD

As much soul music as was made by Memphis labels Stax, Goldwax, and Hi in the 1960s and 1970s, there was yet more produced by companies elsewhere in the city. This compilation gathers 22 such recordings, the common ingredient being the involvement of record businessman Gene Lucchesi. Most often, these particular cuts came out on the Sounds of Memphis label, though some found release on the XL, Roman, ERR Music, Chess, and MGM imprints, and seven appear here for the first time anywhere. While in a way this is a testament to just how much soul music was being made in the region at the time, you certainly couldn't put it on the same level as the best (or even typical) output of Stax, Goldwax, or Hi. Instead, it's simply representative, average-quality Southern soul of the period by an assortment of performers most soul fans haven't heard of, though some will recognize the names of the Ovations (who recorded quite a bit of material for Goldwax) and Barbara & the Browns (if only because they'd been previously honored with a CD compilation of their own on Kent). That's nothing to be ashamed of, and there are competent efforts in various styles here, the echoes of Stax ringing loudest in the earliest cuts (from 1967); Rudolph Taylor's "Tell Him Tonight," for example, is very much in the pleading style of numerous Stax ballads, though Taylor's not too similar to Otis Redding as a vocalist. Several of the early-'70s cuts show the influence of the sweeter, glossier production overrunning soul music everywhere in the U.S. at the time, and traces of Motown, Aretha Franklin, Sam Cooke, and others can be heard elsewhere, though it's usually a Southern soul sound at its heart. The micro-styles on display here are so disparate as to render it impossible to make any overall generalizations about what you'll hear on the disc, but the Jacksonians' funk-ballad cover of "California Dreamin'" is a standout, if only for the novelty factor. ~ Richie Unterberger

2007 compilation. For those looking for rare dance-floor records, we have plenty. Lou Roberts' 'Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Love' was big record at the Blackpool Mecca, while the obscure Ann Hodge 'Your Welcome Back' was also a big Northern record several years later. We also bring an unreleased Hodge record 'Shower Of Tears' which we believe may have beat ballad potential. The Minits' (a three piece girl group) 'Still A Part Of Me' has been selling regularly for three figures in the last year and is another one of Dan Greer's excellent early 70s productions. We have added a couple of Greer solo efforts as well as a couple by the legendary George Jackson, including the previously unreleased 'Walking The City Streets' The package benefits from the extensive Sounds Of Memphis photo archive and from a sleeve note that includes interviews with the usually reclusive Stan Kessler, label co-owner Gene Luchessi and Charles Chalmers.Mojo (Publisher) (p.121) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Think Memphis soul, think Stax and Hi..."