Product Description:
Eminent record obsessives, the Numero Group, continue their lovingly researched reissue series focused on the rarest-of-the-rare vinyl obscurities, this time turning their attention to the Atlanta soul scene of the late `60s. ECCENTRIC SOUL. brings to light hitherto unknown artists who recorded for the Tragar and Note inprints. This 50-track two-disc collection documents the vitality and sheer variety offered by Atlanta's under-exposed local talent; from soul groups and funk combos to solo singers, nearly every facet of the era's major musical modes is represented. Much of the material presented is pitched stylistically between the urbane pop sophistication of Motown and the grittier, gospel-inflected southern idiom. However, some tracks, particularly the sides of soul songstress Eula Cooper, hint at the expansive, lush orchestral arrangements of an artist such as Isaac Hayes.
Entertainment Reviews:
Spin - p.120
3.5 stars out of 5 -- "[P]erformances by Tee Fletcher, folkie soulstress Alice Swoboda...[and] Eula Cooper sparkle."
The Wire - p.55
"Tee Fletcher's backwoods stomper 'Down In The Country' blends equal measures of Wilson Pickett and Otis Redding; meanwhile Alice Swoboda's 'Potter's Field' brings Terry Callier's gentle, folksy approach together with Rotary Connection's flower child psychedelia."
Living Blues - p.76
"Eccentric soul, indeed, and a tasty treat for the music's true connoisseurs."
