Doughty soul collectors will know all about the FANTASTIC VOYAGE label’s archive series of ‘Soul Breakout’ compilations. Each set focuses on a particular year and offers a rundown of the soul sounds that crashed the US charts in that year. They’re currently up to 1960 and the label has just issued a complimentary collection – ‘R&B Spotlight ’60’. Real soul fans know that in the early sixties there was little to distinguish between the arbitrarily imposed categories ‘soul’ and ‘R&B’ and this new 2 CD, 60,tracker is stuffed with tunes that could so easily have fitted on the ‘Soul Breakout’ album.
Featured artists include LAVERN BAKER, ROSCO GORDON, THE COASTERS, THE PLATTERS, ETTA JAMES, HARVEY FUQUA, LITTLE ANTHONY AND THE IMPERIALS, THE COASTERS and DEE CLARK. There’s also a great selection of doo-wop (from groups like THE FIVE SATINS and THE BLUE NOTES) and a sprinkling of blues (from artists like ELMORE JAMES and JOHN LEE HOOKER). There are also inclusions from two of popular music’s most influential innovators – CHUCK BERRY and BO DIDDLEY. R&B… Soul… Blues… Doo-Wop… it hardly matters…. it’s all great music – and for the collectors and anoraks hugely significant.
FANTASTIC VOYAGE’S ‘R&B SPOTLIGHT ’60’ IS OUT NOW.
