The and labels, working under the same umbrella that had been such a huge power in 1950s R&B and blues, really wasn't much of a force in the post-1950s soul era, the success of to the contrary. Nor was Los Angeles, where the majority of these two dozen tracks were cut, one of the more notable stables of regional soul music. Nonetheless, release a good amount of soul did, and this compilation gathers a lot of their obscure sides from the late 1960s and early 1970s (with two offerings by coming from 1975). Aside from , most of these names will be unknown even to soul specialists, with the arguable exception of perhaps (who appears as half the duo ). Much of what's here is bluesier than much soul of the era, and down-home enough in its vibe that a lot it could have been passed for having been cut in the South. As is the case with much second-line soul, a lot of it's plainly inspired by much bigger names, whether ( 's ), ), or with wah-wah pedal ( ). It's interesting to hear a downbeat soul-blues cut called (by ) that's actually an entirely different song than the famous tune of the same name with which had a hit. The CD's reasonably good low-key, earthy soul, without any standout lost gems, with four of the cuts previously unreleased. ~ Richie Unterberger