VA - Down in the Basement: Soul From New York Vol.2 2CD (2014)

There was way too much great early soul, R & B and blues being produced in New York City to squeeze onto one double CD, so here we are again with another selection of the best. Several artists on this new compilation are very well known: Ray Charles, Little Willie John and Ike & Tine Turner for example, but many others less so. It speaks volumes about the wealth of talent in the Big Apple around the turn of the 60s that gifted singers such as Ruby Roberson, Bobby Long and Betty O’Brien never quite made the grade.

There is considerable variation in styles here too, from rough, untutored voices like King Coleman and Vernon Harrell to consummate stylists such as Chuck Jackson, Gladys Knight and of course Aretha Franklin. But alley blues and sophisticated uptown ballads alike played their part in the development of soul music. And therefore all the tracks on these CDs well deserve their inclusion in our History Of Soul series.

TRACKLIST

CD1
01. Dolores Johnson / What Kind of Man are You
02. Big Maybelle / I Still Care
03. Clyde McPhatter / Thirty Days
04. Lloyd Sims / I Want to Know
05. Sugar Pie DeSanto / Can't Let You Go
06. Kip Anderson / I Feel Good
07. Baby Washington / Let Love Go By
08. Doris Payne / You Better Mind
09. Little Frankie Edwards / Trouble
10. Marie Knight / To Be Loved by You
11. Billy Guy / Here I Am
12. Ray Charles / Who You Gonna Love
13. Ruby Roberson / Love is a Question
14. Erma Franklin / Don't Wait Too Long
15. Gloria Lynne / You Don't Have to Be a Tower of Strength
16. Johnny Darrow / Love is a Nightmare
17. Ann Cole / Don't Stop the Wedding
18. Aretha Franklin / Operation Heartbreak
19. Jimmy Ricks / Daddy Rollin' Stone
20. Sarah Vaughan / Smooth Operator
21. Jimmy Barnes / No Regrets
22. Little Willie John / Leave My Kitten Alone
23. Don Covay / See about Me
24. Wynonie Harris / Tell a Whale of a Tale
25. The Isley Brothers / Just One More Time
26. Jackie Wilson / You Don't Know What It Means
27. Ike & Tina Turner / Gonna Find Me a Substitute
28. Betty O'Brien / Why Me

CD2
01. Eloise Carter / I Need You
02. Gerri Granger / Ain't That Funny
03. Little Willie John / My Nerves
04. Dee Dee Warwick / You're No Good
05. Ray Charles / I Wonder
06. Barbara George / Send for Me
07. Mary B / Something for You Baby
08. LaVern Baker-Jimmy Ricks / You're the Boss
09. Curtis Knight / Voodoo Woman
10. Barbara McNair / He's a King
11. The Matadors / You'd Be Crying Too
12. Pearl Woods / Right Now
13. Titus Tee Turner / Sticks and Stones
14. Bobby Long / Did You Ever Dream Lucky
15. The Isley Brothers / Your Old Lady
16. Gladys Knight & The Pips / Operator
17. Joe Tex / My Biggest Mistake
18. Ruby Roberson / Rheumatism
19. Jackie Wilson / A Woman, A Lover, A Friend
20. Ted Taylor / She's a Winner
21. Kip Anderson / Till Your Love is Mine
22. Chuck Jackson / I Wake Up Crying
23. Birdie Green / Tremblin'
24. Mary Ann Fisher / Give
25. King Coleman / Down in the Basement
26. Vernon Harrel / Slick Chick
27. Ike & Tina Turner / Poor Fool
28. Timi Yuro / What's the Matter Baby