"South Side Of Soul Street" The Minaret Soul Singles 1967-1976

Stax, American Sound, FAME, Hi and Muscle Shoals Sound are all rightly famous studios, as are the artists who recorded there and the records they produced. But Valparaiso, Florida's Playground Recording Studio and its associated Minaret label should be just as famous. From 1967 through the mid-70s, producer Finley Duncan waxed a series of soul singles that are as good as they are rare and highly prized by collectors. Incredibly, much like Leiber & Stoller's Daisy/Tiger labels, Minaret's soul sides failed to make even a faint mark on the charts. But the lack of commercial impact wasn't due to a lack of goods: Minaret had records that were the equal of Stax, Atlantic or Hi, including B-sides that were as good (or in some cases even better) than their plug sides. How these records have remained unknown to all but the most dedicated crate-diggers is a mystery......Minaret's artists won't roll off the average listener's tongue, but even a cursory spin of these archival treasures will alert your ears to something big that was missed the first time around. Otis Redding, meet Big John Hamilton; Wilson Pickett, say hello to Genie Brooks; and if you're one of the arranger-songwriters who brought life to Stax, you should probably get to know club member R.J. Benninghoff. Minaret's house band was even more obscure than the studio's performers (if that's really possible), but - amazingly - the musical equal of the bands found at FAME and Stax. Bill Dahl's detailed liner notes provides some detail on the players and their backgrounds, but it's so completely revelatory as to almost feel like a hoax; as if someone wrote fictional histories for a make believe Pebbles volume of soul.
A rundown of the set's best sides would list just about every track in the 2-CD collection. Though not every song, vocal or instrumental performance is equally strong, there's something in each and every recording that's worth hearing. Special mention must go to the B-sides, which include both vocal tracks and instrumentals; there were much more than throwaways meant to goose airplay of the A-sides. Omnivore's forty-track set collects both sides of twenty singles, all but three mastered from the original analog tapes. "Juanita," "I'll Love Only You" and "Don't Worry About Me" were mastered from original 45s, and sound fine. The twenty-page booklet includes liners, photos, label reproductions and discographical information. This is easily the year's greatest surprise so far, and leading the race for the best reissue. [©2013 Hyperbolium]

trax disc 1:
1. The Train - Big John Hamilton 2. Big Bad John - Big John Hamilton 3. I Have No One - Big John Hamilton 4. I Just Want To Thank You - Big John Hamilton 5. Fine Time - Genie Brooks 6. Juanita - Genie Brooks 7. Blue Diamonds - The Double Soul 8. I Can't Use You - The Double Soul 9. Big Fanny - Big John Hamilton 10. How Much Can A Man Take - Big John Hamilton 11. Pretty Girls - Big John Hamilton 12. Before The Next Teardrop Falls - Big John Hamilton 13. The Night The Angels Cried - Johnny Dynamite 14. Everybody's Clown - Johnny Dynamite 15. Helping Hand - Genie Brooks 16. South Side Of Soul Street - Genie Brooks 17. Breaking Up Is Hard To Do - Big John Hamilton 18. Love Comes And It Goes - Big John Hamilton 19. Suwannee Strut - Leroy Lloyd & The Dukes 20. A Taste Of The Blues - Leroy Lloyd & The Dukes
trax disc 2:
1. I'll Love Only You - Willie Cobbs 2. Don't Worry About Me - Willie Cobbs 3. If You're Looking For A Fool - Big John Hamilton 4. Take This Hurt Off Me - Big John Hamilton 5. A Shell Of A Woman - Doris Allen 6. Kiss Yourself For Me - Doris Allen 7. I'm Your Man - Gable Reed 8. Who's Been Warming My Oven - Gable Reed 9. A Place In My Heart - Big John Hamilton & Doris Allen 10. Let A Little Love In - Big John Hamilton & Doris Allen 11. Row, Row, Row - Willie Gable 12. Eternally - Willie Gable 13. Them Changes - Big John Hamilton, Doris Allen 14. Bright Star - Big John Hamilton, Doris Allen 15. Lift Me Up - Big John Hamilton 16. Just Seeing You Again - Big John Hamilton 17. I've Got To Tell You - Count Willie with LRL & The Dukes 18. Double Funk - LRL & The Dukes 19. I Got To Get Myself Somebody - Big John Hamilton 20. Free Me - Big John Hamilton
…served by Gyro1966...