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Soul On The Real Side #11

It’s already the 11th “Soul On The Real Side” collection. Amazing how time flies. The guys at Real Side Records and Outta Sight have come up with 20 rare soul gems again. A lot of previously unfamiliar names, lots of tracks released on CD for the first time, and most of the recordings from the golden 70s. The Independents for example, a group which had meister songwriters and producers Chuck Jackson and Marvin Yancy as members, recorded Leroy Hutson’s anthem “Lucky Fellow” two years prior to Leroy himself (on the still extremely good-sounding “Hutson” LP from 1975.)

"Soul On The Real Side #11"

Linda Perry, who recorded just a couple of singles for the Mainstream label, is featured here with her 1974 soul gem “It’s All In The Back Of Me Now”. But it’s not all about the 70s here. The O’Jays can be heard with their modern soul jumper “I Got You”, from their 2019 album “The Last Word”. A fair-enough add to this collection. Whereas the Ernest Ernie And The Sincerities sound more like a nostalgic act on their 2019 release “My Eyes (Don’t Believe What I’m Seeing)”. I’d rather stick to the old stuff here, like Detroit group Innervision and their 1975 soul stomper “Honey Baby (Be Mine)”. Outta Sight released “We’re Innervision” back in 2010 – the group only released one album and a few singles before they split up due to lack of commercial success.

There is another Mainstream Records addition to the collection, a pretty rare B-Side of a single by The Fabulous Determinations called “Has Love Been Here Before”, a Northern Soul delight. There are some forgettable tracks as well, like the “la-la-la” of “This Is The Life” by Freddie Waters. Doo Wop star Sonny Munro, who recorded with The Falcons in the 50s and 60s, is featured with a beautiful, sunny soul dancer, “I’m Never Gonna Hurt You Again”, recorded in 1975. The Escorts can be heard again with their unique and very soul-drenched version of Jimmy Webb’s classic “By The Time I Get To Phoenix”, recorded for their debut LP “All We Need Is Another Chance” in 1973. Great stuff. The album closes with a graceful, melancholic “My Precious Love”, a 1971 recording by totally overlooked Gloria Walker who only released half a dozen singles between 1968 and 1976 and then disappeared.

You may also want to have a look at my reviews of previous Soul On The Real Side collection, like #3, #4, #5, #6, #8, #9, and #10.

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