We've already filled you in on Ace's recent anthology collecting works by Philly soul maestro Thom Bell; now we're looking to the American South with another release! Way back in 2012, Ace Records collected the multifaceted sounds of Chips Moman and Don Crews' American Studios on Memphis Boys: The Story of American Studios. The 24-song tribute collection featured such visitors to Memphis as Dusty Springfield, Wilson Pickett, B.J. Thomas, and Solomon Burke as well as Elvis Presley, one of the
Nine volumes in, and Ace's Where the Girls Are series is still turning up hidden-gems from the girl group era! As is often the case with this series, the names behind-the-scenes are often more familiar than those headlining the record. Where the Girls Are Volume 9 , released earlier this year, features 25 more tracks from America in the 1960s - the golden age of girl groups and "girl pop" - in their original mono versions. Future Philly soul architect Leon Huff penned The Sweet Three's
What is “femme mod soul,” you might ask? Cherry Red’s RPM imprint has the answer with a new 3-CD box set, Looking Good: 75 Femme Mod Soul Nuggets. This set aims to chronicle the girl group sound “from and for the underground.” As Lois Wilson points out in an introductory essay, the box doesn’t paint a full picture of the girl group era. Not only have there been countless compilations on the theme, but Rhino’s four-CD box set One Kiss Can Lead to Another: Girl Group Sounds Lost and Found