1. When a man loves a woman - Sledge, Percy 
2. Born under a bad sign - King, Albert 
3. Think - Franklin, Aretha 
4. Going to a go go - Robinson, Smokey 
5. What I'd say - Charles, Ray 
6. My guy - Wells, Mary 
7. Under the boardwalk - Drifters (1) 
8. Smokestack lightning - Howlin' Wolf 
9. Dust my broom - James, Elmore 
10. I'm gonna tear your playhouse down - Peebles, Ann 
11. Private number - Clay, Judy & William Bell 
12. I'll take you there - Staple Singers 
13. Rainy night in Georgia - Benton, Brook 
14. Thrill is gone - King, B.B. 
15. Need your love so bad - Fleetwood Mac 
16. Drift away - Gray, Dobie 
17. High heel sneakers - Tucker, Tommy (1) 
18. I'll be the other woman - Soul Children 
19. Stand by me - King, Ben E. 
20. Midnight train to Georgia - Knight, Gladys 
21. Oh no not my baby - Brown, Maxine 
22. Chains of love - Turner, 'Big' Joe (1) 
23. If loving you is wrong I don't want to be right - Jackson, Millie

The compilation album just seems to go from strength to strength. Thanks for this can usually be laid at the door of a clever (or not so clever) marketing department, depending on your taste and gullibility. Once you can tap into a genre or give an old one a new spin, the compilation possibilities are endless - at least for the less-discerning music fan. Apart from tracking down lost underground gems on vinyl, there doesn't seem to be a point to them, except convenience.

So Warner had a poke around the archives (without getting too dusty) to furnish yet another compilation bereft of imagination. Sure there are plenty of classics here but if you guessed the track list before reading it you'd figure out most of what makes it on. For instance, did you get Booker T & The MG's 'Green Onions'? Muddy Waters 'Mannish Boy' or Otis Redding's '(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay'? No? What about Percy Sledge's 'When A Man Loves A Woman' or Ben E King's 'Stand By Me'. Probably the only good think about this album is that you get to hear some of last century's best divas belting out big soul hits like Nina Simone's powerful 'I Put A Spell On You' or Erma Franklin sounding like Janis Joplin on 'Take A Little Piece Of My Heart'.

Don't get me wrong; all are commendable classics but we're SICK of them. They've been done to death and who knows how many even more amazing tracks are gathering dust in the bowels of record company vaults. Why not tempt us with contemporary tracks we haven't heard before but are just as worthy? Warner Music must take credit for the excellent 'Natural High' compilations, so why not keep them coming? Most of the tracks here have been rotated more times than the earth - so why patronise listeners with jaded selections when this compilation could have exposed them to unknown music of the same or better caliber? And why no early James Brown? ---Sinéad Gleeson, rte.ie

download (mp3 @320 kbs):

yandex mediafire ulozto gett bayfiles

back

1. Soul man - Sam & Dave 
2. Respect - Franklin, Aretha 
3. Green onions - Booker T & The MG's 
4. I'd rather go blind - James, Etta 
5. I'm in the mood - Hooker, John Lee 
6. Take me to the river - Green, Al 
7. Piece of my heart - Franklin, Erma 
8. In the midnight hour - Pickett, Wilson 
9. Clean up woman - Wright, Betty 
10. Road runner - Walker, Junior 
11. Mannish boy - Waters, Muddy 
12. Knock on wood - Floyd, Eddie 
13. Sweet soul music - Conley, Arthur 
14. Everybody needs somebody to love - Burke, Solomon 
15. 5 10 15 hours - Brown, Ruth 
16. Memphis soul stew - King Curtis 
17. Walking the dog - Thomas, Rufus 
18. Crying in the chapel - Staples, Mavis 
19. Stormy Monday - Little Milton 
20. I put a spell on you - Simone, Nina 
21. Stay with me baby - Ellison, Lorraine 
22. Sittin' on the dock of the bay - Redding, Otis

This double cd is without a doubt one of the finest examples of the blues and soul era. Track after track just oozes with passion, and real musical talent.Anyone who enjoys blues and/or soul music has to have this as part of their collection. From the classic Otis Redding's Sitting on the Dock of the Bay to Tommy Tucker's High Heel Sneakers, there is a memory in everyone. A must buy. --- Ron D. Innes, amazon.com

download (mp3 @320 kbs):

yandex mediafire ulozto gett bayfiles

back