Search - Various Artists :: Southern Grooves

A lost gem! (until 1994)

metzmusic | Chicago, IL United States | 02/25/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is one of the FONKIEST soul comps I've heard in ages. Decent liner notes, decent mastering, and some killer lost tracks (very good for sampling, indeed). Unfortunately, a few of the artists have passed away since the tracks were cut (1968-1978), but this is one of the few southern soul comps to effectively bridge the gap between Stax and disco.Bobby Patterson's "How Do You Spell Love" should have been on a number of film soundtracks; ditto Mickey Murray's "Sticky Sue". Both are sexy mid-tempo stompers. In fact, much of the material on Southern Grooves plods along at that pace. Any comp that features a group called African Music Machine is worth checking out, just for curiousity's sake. If you're the sort of person that buys late 60s Warner Bros. comps just for the freaky looking hippie groups, check this out, and you'll actually hear some great tunes instead of proto-psychedelic pap."