A mouthwatering series in prospect, full of discoveries, but also charting every turn in the careers of giants like James Carr at this great Memphis label, as rhythm and blues turned southern soul.

James Carr and The Ovations to the fore, with some great southern soul from Specer Wiggins, Percy Milem, Eddie Jefferson, George Jackson and Dan Greer, and Barbara Perry, and a splash of country, and garage too.

Johnnie ‘Who’s Making Love’ Taylor, Jimmie Outler, Paul Foster, S.R. Crain and James ‘Love Is a Five-Letter Word’ Phelps; the albums Jesus Be A Fence Around Me and Encore!!, plus seven tracks recovered from singles and a label compilation, and four previously unissued — all recorded between September 1959 and July 1964. With an excellent essay, which traces the Stirrers’ story to their formation in 1926.
Stealin in the name of the Lord… this is a terrific bargain.

A Hamlet moment two hours long.

Killer diller guitar blues.
‘Rock and blues guitarists alike owe a gargantuan debt to Ike Turner. His ferocious whammy-bar hammering, choppy chording, and ultra-aggressive string-bending solos were way ahead of their time from the mid-1950s onwards.’

Singers like Jimmy Thomas, Stacy Johnson, Vernon Guy, Jessie Smith, Bobby John, Jackie Brenston, Venetta Fields, Tina Turner, Ernest Lane, Dee Dee Johnson — fronting a super-tough Kings Of Rhythm lineup.

Bobby Womack, with brothers Curtis, Harry, Friendly Jr and Cecil; produced by Sam Cooke between June 1961 and September 1964, for his own SAR label. Gospel as the Womack Brothers; R&B as the Valentinos, including the original version of It’s All Over Now. With seven previously unreleased tracks, and excellent notes, drawing on interviews with several members of the group.

Scott Walker’s interpretations of the nine Jacques Brel songs from his Scott, Scott 2 and Scott 3 albums, followed by Brel’s original French-language recordings.