
Despite the recession, those tireless compilers at the specialist UK-based archive label, Ace Records, have put together another batch of mouth-watering titles aimed at soul aficionados this month.
Fans of the late Southern soul singer, LUTHER INGRAM, will rejoice at the reissue of the great man’s first two LPs, ‘I’ve Been Here All The Time’ and ‘If Loving You Is Wrong I Don’t Want To Be Right’ – both were originally issued in 1972 by the Stax-distributed Ko Ko label and appear back-to-back on a single CD on Ace’s Kent imprint.
Also on Kent is a third instalment of the label’s examination of Money, a small Los Angeles-based record company begun in the 1950s by husband and wife team, John and Ruth Dolphin. ‘The Soul Of Money Volume 3’ features a raft of soul-infused tracks recorded in the 1960s by the likes of Bettye Swann, Bobby Angelle, The Question Marks, The Larks and many more.
Following on from their acclaimed release of LITTLE WILLIE JOHN’S lost David Axelrod-produced album, ‘Nineteen Sixty Six,’ Ace have issued a 24-track collection that looks at the troubled singer’s final years with Syd Nathan’s King label called ‘Heaven All Around Me: The Later King Sessions 1961-63.’
Finally, fans of funky Hammond organ grooves will find much to savour on ‘A Few Useful Tips About Living Underground,’ a reissue by Ace imprint BGP of the JAMES TAYLOR QUARTET’S second album for Acid Jazz from 1995. The set includes four bonus cuts.
Look out for reviews of the above albums soon at www.soulandjazzandfunk.com