More From The Other Side Of The Trax

Stax-Volt 45rpm Rarities 1960-1968 (Kent Records) – Various Artists (Stax)

Two dozen rare B-sides from Stax Records’ “blue” period, many reissued for the first time.

An enormous and impressive undertaking, “The Complete Stax-Volt Singles 1959-68” box set was issued in 1991. While pleased with its content, hardcore collectors were nevertheless disappointed that it was not as “complete” as it claimed to be, as it featured all the A-sides and only selected B-sides. While highly welcome, its release left more than 100 of approximately 225 “blue period” Stax and Volt B-sides un-reissued in any form. Several of those sides have since featured on CD compilations, either as individual tracks here and there or on Kent’s recent “The Other Side Of The Trax”, but that still left many awaiting reissue. Fortunately, the success of “The Other Side Of The Trax” has warranted this second volume. The 24 tracks here span almost the whole of Stax Records’ blue period, as far back as when the label was still called Satellite. Continue reading More From The Other Side Of The Trax →

Linda Jones

Precious – The Anthology 1963-72
Soul music has never had a singer with the extraordinary vocal power of New Jersey’s Linda Jones. Her arsenal of vocal shrieks, wails, passion, sanctity and full-on fire has enthralled soul fans since she burst onto the scene with her breakthrough hit ‘Hypnotized’ in 1967. Those who know and love her work will vociferously tell you she is, simply, the greatest female soul singer of all time. At the very least, she is up there with any of her internationally famous peers, yet her catalogue remains largely unrecognised outside of soul’s inner sanctum.

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Super Duper Love

Mainstream Hits & Rarities 1973-76 Various Artists (Mainstream Records)
For a few years in the mid-70s the Mainstream label and its subsidiaries offered a constant stream of high quality black American music. Veteran record man Bob Shad’s company quickly established itself with soul collectors and sold lots of singles in a relatively short period of time. Only a handful of those 45s were issued in the UK but import specialists did brisk business with Mainstream repertoire until Shad suddenly closed down the label in 1976.
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Rozetta Johnson

A Woman’s Way – The Complete 1961-1975

Birmingham, Alabama singer Roszetta Johnson created marvellous southern soul, particularly when collaborating with songwriter Sam Dees, also from that city. (Note the spelling of her name; her records were usually issued as by Rozetta or occasionally Rosetta.) This CD features all her known recordings from the 60s and 70s; only some much later CD tracks are absent.

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