Here's a nifty compilation from Sanctuary Records that will have connoisseur soul fans clambering to their local music store to place an order for what must me an essential purchase for 2004. Let's be fair the CD's compiler, journalist David Nathan is no stranger to these shores when it comes to hearing, and choosing a class selection of soul tunes to tickle anyone's taste buds.

Before getting too excited at the thought of a brand new selection of soul delight's one should check your existing CD's especially if you have been following Sanctuary's impressive re-issue programme of Invictus/Hot Wax product over the last few years to ensure that you don't already own some of these tracks - that said however - the shop price of the disc will not break anyone's bank balance so don't let that put you off ordering a copy from the 5th April.

The set kicks off with a fabulous tune from one of the all-time great soul diva's Ms Aretha Franklin (who I heard today has been admitted to hospital) with a tune entitled 'One Step Ahead' taken from her pre Atlantic days at CBS records and what a gorgeous song it is too. A gentle arrangement that allows Aretha to deliver a blinding soul ballad of the highest order and was a blue print of what was to come in the following ten years at Atlantic. Whilst the song is comparable to many other pop/soul tunes circa 1965 it takes someone very special to give it the personal touch it has. I have to admit that I hadn't heard it before and have been hooked from the very first play and I just know you will be too.

The delightful Laura Lee is a name familiar to most having joined Holland Dozier Holland's new company in the early seventies having worked with them back in Detroit during the middle sixties where she cut some superb sides for Ric-Tic and Chess (she and her mother sang background vocals on Edwin Starr's 'SOS')  It was however during the early seventies that she enjoyed more commercial success initially in the US before being picked up by the ever expanding UK soul audience with some fine sides for Hot Wax and an album entitled 'Woman's Love Right's' in 1971 from which the evocative and string laden song 'Her Picture Matches Mine' will melt your heart at 100 yards, and will touch a nerve with many of the ladies who will pick up on Laura's powerful lyrical content.

If by now your getting a taste for this CD then we've only just begun. Thelma Jones may or may not be a name you instantly recognise but when we mention a song entitled 'The House That Jack Built' and tell you that she recorded this great song before the hit version by none other than Aretha. Thelma recorded some material for Columbia during this period and 'Salty Tears' featured on this compilation must surely be the jewel in the crown. Released on CD for the first time ever in the world the opening intro sent shivers down my spine and has resulted in me playing this non stop whilst in the car. A stellar soulful performance from a lady who surely should have been a bigger star than she was.

Next up Carolyn Franklin, the late sister of Aretha (and she had a lot of her attributes when it came to delivering a fine vocal performance) and her passionate delivery of 'You Really Didn't Mean It' sounds a very Muscle Shoals type of song perhaps associated with Candi Staton and whilst it doesn't sound commercial enough to have made it as a '45' it did however make a damn good album track.

Any compilation featuring Freda Payne is good enough for me (an even more so if the Funk Brothers are providing the backing). It is a sad fact of life that Freda Payne's best work never made it onto 45's and whilst 'Band Of Gold' remains her all-time glory moment further examination of her album's reveal an immense talent that put her amongst the best female vocalists ever to grace this earth. 'Come Back' could have almost been a 70's Motown track and I suspect that the aforementioned Funk Brothers were responsible for the backing and yet proving that not all great songs have to be tailored for the dancefloor. This has a great typical HDH/Hot Wax/Invictus feel to the whole thing - wonderful.

Speaking of Motown we find none other than Brenda Holloway who recorded for Music Merchant (another label subsidiary) and 'Some Quiet Place' finds her in just as good a form as she was back at Hitsville in 1965, a nice mid tempo affair that has some very catchy backing harmonies that were so evident amongst those big Motown hits. My first encounter with The Honeycone was back in 1969 when I was sent a review copy of a single entitled 'While Your Out Looking For Sugar' a frantic piece of post Motown dancefloor mayhem that was quite a local hit around the clubs in Manchester at that time, but it was the other singles 'Want Ads' 'Girls It Ain't Easy' and 'One Monkey' that really made this trio a force to be reckoned with and 'Whose It Gonna Be' is a joyous downtempo performance featuring a sweet and passionate song, and could these girls sing. This group featured Sandy Wynn's whose 'A Touch Of Venus' is a massive northern soul anthem from 1965.

I have always admired the New Jersey sound and in particular the songs from the All Platinum/Stang group of labels of which the Moments were possibly the most commercially successful. I am not a big fan of cover versions often preferring the originals but Lezli Valentine's version of 'Love On A Two Way Street' is well worthy of close inspection and dare I say it is a equally as soulful as the original version. Back in 1975 the nation's dancefloors were on fire and All Platinum were up there amongst the best with hits from the likes of The Moments/Chuck Jackson/Retta Young whose disco flavoured 'Sending Out An SOS' is worthy of inclusion on this CD as the vocals and arrangement remain intact preventing the usual disco beat from taking centre stage.

You'll find plenty of other great tunes on this set for your listening pleasure including performances from Mattie Moutrie, Debbie Taylor, Carrie Lucas, and PP Arnold whose 'Life Is But Nothing' track from 1967 on Immediate records reminds us all of where her roots lie.

This is a very powerful CD indeed and can't be recommended enough.

Rating 10/10

PS Check out my other Hot Wax/Invictus CD reviews on this site.