The Wedding Present + more across Manchester Academy.
Various Artists: From The Vaults of Atlantic, ATCO, Calla, Loma, Reprise, Stax, Volt & Warner Bros
Strawberry
3 CD box set
Out 23 May 2025
1966 was a turning point for soul with classics incoming from all over the United States and virtually every one of the 91 tracks on this box set is a dancefloor filling banger.
This boxset full of long forgotten gems argues that 1966 was not only a pivotal year for US rock acts but soul artists too. That might be stretching it a bit but given the consistent quality of the vocals and production on pretty much all of the 91 tracks it was certainly a vintage year for soul acts from big cities like Memphis, Detroit and New York, as well as some smaller cities.
The quality is high because this set plucks some incredible tunes from the vaults of the home of southern soul Stax, New York’s Atlantic Records and the Warner Brothers imprint Loma that became a favourite of Northern Soul aficionados. And if that wasn’t enough there are some bangers from Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, Wilson Pickett, Mary Wells and Carla Thomas.
Ben E. King opens the first CD with the catchy I Can’t Break The News To Myself and Loma was home to Supremes soundalikes The Apollas. Phil Spector favourite Darlene Love was lead vocalist of The Blossoms’ That’s When The Tears Start and Ray Sharpe’s Help Me (Get The Feelin’) Part 1 features Jimi Hendrix on guitar. Sam & Dave’s R&B number one Hold On I’m Comin’ features Stax house band Booker T. & The M.G.s, and Eddie Floyd’s Things Get Better (When I’m With You) was a favoured cover choice for.a number of British R&B acts. Lovely soul trio The Dolls hailed from Waco Texas and the sultry Cigarettes and Coffee was from the second Otis Redding album.
Northern Soul classics are dotted across all three discs and Darrell Banks’ Our Love (Is In the Pocket) is a guaranteed floor filler, but he never saw any of that as he was shot dead in 1970 aged only 31. Otis Redding’s Don’t Mess With Cupid might have only been a B-side but that voice elevates it, and Motown refugee Mary Wells found a home at ATCO doing work as least as good as she did in Detroit. Booker T. and The M.G.’s might have been Stax’s house band but they also made some glorious instrumental records between sessions, and My Sweet Potato led by some jazzy piano that is full of the effortless swing that marked the hallmark of that peerless quartet.
Arthur Conley was a great mate of Otis Redding and his uptempo stomper I Can’t Stop (No, No, No) on the final CD has some great horns on it. William Bell is often cited as the creator of Southern Soul adding Gospel to Never Like This Before and Somebody (Somewhere) Needs You is another Northern classic with that classic beat that fills floors all over the country. Soul legend Rufus Thomas offers a slow burner on the distinctly odd Sister’s Got a Boyfriend before all girl supergroup Patti Labelle & The Bluebelles finish it off with the sublime harmonies of Take Me For A While, which is not surprising the group also features Cindy Birdsong, Sarah Dash and Nona Hendryx.
Aside from the soaring vocals and beautiful song writing on even the most mediocre of the tracks it’s astonishing that most of these tracks are on regular rotation at greatest hits radio stations. If you love soul music, whether it’s Northern or Southern, then this is most definitely a box set that needs to be in.your collection.
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Words by Paul Clarke, you can see his author profile here.
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