Album Preview: Various Artists, Take Me To The River: A Southern Soul Story 1961-1977
The Independent's chief rock critic gives an exclusive preview of this month's releases
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Independent Minds
The “A” in the title is important, claim the compilers of this lavishly-annotated three-disc anthology, stressing that it’s not intended as the definitive account of Southern Soul, merely one which conforms to their own strict parameters.
Out-and-out dance tracks are shunned in favour of deep soul excavations, and while the contents are drawn exclusively from below the Mason-Dixon line, the substantial soul output of New Orleans, Texas and Arizona has been deemed stylistically incompatible.
For all that, it’s as close to definitive as any previous compilation, its biggest drawback being the Bobby Bland-sized hole left by that Memphis native’s having recorded in Houston.
Otherwise, it’s a thrilling mix of the familiar – Otis Redding, Percy Sledge, Wilson Pickett, Joe Tex, Sam & Dave, Al Green, OV Wright and William Bell, often represented by unfamiliar gems – and highly prized rarities from such as Jarvis Jackson, Marcell Strong, Bill Brandon, Jimmy Braswell and the criminally overlooked Eddie Hinton, one of the few white songwriter/musicians to step up from session duties and front his own soul recordings”.
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