Overview
The Numero Group is expert at finding, compiling and annotating the output of obscure independent R&B and soul labels, and they've done it again with this collection of tracks recorded between 1969 and 1973 at Clem Price's Columbus, OH-based Harmonic Sounds Studio for his fledgling Prix Records imprint. Price's label released less than a dozen singles in its history, none of which charted or made much more than a regional impact on the world, but thanks to Numero these delightful rarities are now back in circulation. Several of those singles are collected here, along with recently discovered master takes and assorted demos (and at least one extended remix), and the end result is like an alternate history of late-'60s soul. The very first track is truly stunning, a brilliant and exciting song called 'Wait a Minute' sung by lost soul man Eddie Ray, and in a fair and just universe, this one would have been a massive hit. Ray's 'Glad I Found You' is only a fraction less amazing, and both songs (and performances) qualify for great lost gem status. Nothing else in this anthology is quite so striking, but only by degree, and cut after cut exhibits impassioned singing and a suitably loose and appropriately ragged instrumental backdrop, usually anchored by saxophonist Chip Willis and/or guitarist Joe King. The promotion and distribution problems facing independent labels have always been daunting, and this is undoubtedly what led to Price closing the doors on Harmonic Sounds and Prix in 1974, but the music he preserved and which is re-preserved by the Numero Group on this fine and fun compilation show that none of it was in vain.
Eccentric Soul The Capsoul Label Rare
Eccentric Soul The Capsule Label Rare
Eccentric Soul: The Capsoul Label was Numero's first full-length release, issued in 2004. A decade and 49 additional full-lengths (and scads of 7 singles) later, Numero returns to Columbus, Ohio to dredge up 20 additional recordings - split roughly between. Case in point: Eccentric Soul: The Capsoul Label, documenting the tiny Columbus, Ohio label's output during the 1970s. The selections included here are closer to the gritty sounds of Stax than to high-polished Motown soul, but the musicianship and performances would not sound out of place next to the same era's familiar classics from Memphis. Get the guaranteed best price on R&B Vinyl like the Various Artists - Eccentric Soul: Capsoul Label / Various at Musician's Friend. Get a low price and free shipping on thousands of items. This wonderful collection might be seen as a follow-up of sorts to Numero's 2004 Capsoul compilation, a compilation that billed itself as a portrait of 'Columbus Ohio's answer to Motown' it turns out Capsoul wasn't the only label in town ploughing this sort of soulful furrow. The long-forgotten Prix imprint, based around Columbus' little known Harmonic Sounds studio, is here. Listen to Eccentric Soul: The Capsoul Label on Spotify. Various Artists Compilation 2005 19 songs.