To promote the CD release of oddities from the Elektra Records vaults (including the minor classic Wackering Heights by The Wackers), Collector's Choice is offering two compilations, What's Shakin' and Great Lost Elektra Singles , that summarize the era of light psychedelia, bluesy reverence, and spiderweb guitars. What's Shakin' is actually a reissue of a 1966 sampler that marked one of the label's first attempts to court the youth market, via previously unreleased tracks by budding pop stars The Lovin' Spoonful, Paul Butterfield, Al Kooper, and Eric Clapton. Great Lost Elektra Singles brings together rare A-sides and B-sides by The Beefeaters (featuring future Byrds Roger McGuinn, David Crosby, and Gene Clark), Judy Collins (serving up an enchanting cover of Bob Dylan's "I'll Keep It With Mine"), and The Stalk-Forrest Group (the band that would later evolve into Blue Öyster Cult)… B+
Modern gospel music tends toward the synthetic, but the 18 tracks of classic gospel on the simply titled compilation Gospel Music (Hyena) sound fully human, with minimal instrumentation and the voices of Sam Cooke, Mahalia Jackson, and The Staple Singers delivering songs of praise and comfort. This is a well-chosen, eclectic set, highlighted by The Golden Gate Jubilee Quartet's a cappella marvel "Go Where I Send Thee" and The Violinaires' funky, smoky "What He Done For Me"… A
The master archivists at The Numero Group have unearthed the output of another long-lost regional R&B label for Eccentric Soul: The Deep City Label, which samples the efforts of a short-lived Miami company that mixed the poppy Motown sound with some light tropical rhythms. Unlike the earlier "Eccentric Soul" installments, the Deep City set doesn't contain many outright oddities or charmingly amateurish cuts, but the smoothness and sophistication of just-missed-the-brass-ring acts like The Moovers and Helene Smith may make this the most historically valuable of a consistently essential series… A-
Finally, the respected crate-digging music blog Soul-sides.com collects some of the choicest tracks they've found for the 14-track disc Soul Sides: Volume One (Zealous). Highlights include Amanda Ambrose's brassy R&B show tune "(I Ain't Singing) No More Sad Songs," Erma Franklin (Aretha's sister!) doing a sultry take on "Piece Of My Heart," Donny Hathaway's barrelhouse rendition of John Lennon's "Jealous Guy," and William Bell's earnest, blue-shaded hit "I Forgot To Be Your Lover." A