Now That's What I Call Classic Soul [2017]

You'd be hard-pressed to find a more anthologized genre of music than soul. There have been hundreds of collections issued, first on vinyl and then on compact disc, and arguably nowhere in the world is soul music more revered and fervently collected than in the United Kingdom. In response to this overwhelming and seemingly endless demand, the UK music industry has released, re-released and re-re-released multidisc collections spanning decades, labels and all types of soul, including a unique branch of classic soul known as Northern Soul. There are covers for forty-eight such collections blinking by above, including half a dozen from the seminal Backbeats series, yet a well-known label/brand has conspicuously stayed out of the UK classic soul anthology game for the past thirty-four years and is only now about to make its debut with a triple disc set of songs you probably already own on May 26, 2017.

Maybe you don't like soul music and therefore do not own any. But chances are if you are reading this, you own at least one soul collection, whether it be an early Seventies K-Tel compilation like Super Bad or Super Bad Is Back or a label specific multi-disc collection like Atlantic Rhythm & Blues 1947-1974, The Complete Stax/Volt Singles 1959-1968 or Hitsville USA: The Motown Singles Collection 1959-1971. Maybe you like a cross-label mix such as one of Rhino's or Time-Life's big sets. Let's say hypothetically that you own none of the outstanding soul compilations above. You could do worse than picking up Now That's What I Call Classic Soul which features 80 songs from 1959-1975 across three discs. It's got music from Motown, Stax, Atlantic, Curtom, Brunswick, King, Philadelphia International and other crucial labels so it includes just about every major soul artist you can think of, though the glaring omission of Ray Charles, one of the architects of the genre, makes it somewhat less than complete. But it's not titled Now That's What I Call Complete Classic Soul is it? Check the tracklisting disc by disc below before enjoying a listen.

		DISC ONE	UK	US	R&B
	1968	I Heard It Through the Grapevine - Marvin Gaye	1	1	1
	1969	I Want You Back - Jackson 5	2	1	1
	1970	Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours) - Stevie Wonder	15	3	1
	1964	Baby Love - Supremes	1	1	1
	1966	Reach Out, I'll Be There - Four Tops	1	1	1
	1967	Respect - Aretha Franklin	10	1	1
	1971	Move On Up - Curtis Mayfield	12
	1965	In the Midnight Hour - Wilson Pickett	12	21	1
	1966	This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You) - Isley Brothers	3	12	6
	1964	Dancing In the Street - Martha & The Vandellas	4	2	8
	1964	Saturday Night At the Movies - Drifters	3	18	8
	1970	The Tears of a Clown - Smokey Robinson & The Miracles	1	1	1
	1970	Ain't No Mountain High Enough - Diana Ross	6	1	1
	1964	My Guy - Mary Wells	5	1	1
	1967	Soul Man - Sam & Dave	24	2	1
	1965	Papa's Got a Brand New Bag - James Brown	25	8	1
	1962	Green Onions - Booker T. & The MG's	7	3	1
	1964	The "In" Growd - Dobie Gray	25	13	11
	1965	Shotgun - Jr. Walker & The All Stars		4	1
	1965	Rescue Me - Fontella Bass	11	4	1
	1967	Sweet Soul Music - Arthur Conley	7	2	2
	1964	Everybody Needs Somebody to Love - Solomon Burke		58	4
	1971	Tired of Being Alone - Al Green	4	11	7
	1972	Papa Was a Rollin' Stone - Temptations	14	1	5
	1966	What Becomes of the Broken Hearted - Jimmy Ruffin	8	7	6
	1971	Ain't No Sunshine - Bill Withers	40	3	6
	1966	It's a Man's Man's Man's World - James Brown	13	8	1

		DISC TWO	UK	US	R&B
	1968	(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay - Otis Redding	3	1	1
	1961	Stand By Me - Ben E. King	27	4	1
	1964	My Girl - Temptations	43	1	1
	1971	Let's Stay Together - Al Green	7	1	1
	1960	At Last - Etta James	39	47	2
	1971	What's Going On - Marvin Gaye	80	2	1
	1970	Got to Be There - Michael Jackson	37	14	4
	1968	For Once In My Life - Stevie Wonder	3	2	2
	1965	I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch) - Four Tops	10	1	1
	1966	You Can't Hurry Love - Supremes	3	1	1
	1963	Heatwave - Martha Reeves & The Vandellas		4	1
	1970	ABC - Jackson 5	8	1	1
	1961	Please Mr. Postman - Marvelettes		1	1
	1965	The Tracks of My Tears - Smokey Robinson & The Miracles	9	16	2
	1970	War - Edwin Starr	3	1	3
	1970	Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today) - Temptations	7	3	2
	1959	Money (That's What I Want) - Barrett Strong		23	2
	1967	There's a Ghost In My House - R. Dean Taylor	3
	1970	Band of Gold - Freda Payne	1	3	20
	1963	Mockingbird - Inez & Charlie Foxx	33	7	2
	1971	Family Affair - Sly & The Family Stone	15	1	1
	1966	You Keep Me Hangin' On - Supremes	8	1	1
	1972	The Night - Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons	7
	1972	Love Train - O'Jays	9	1	1
	1974	Lady Marmalade - Labelle	17	1	1
	1971	Theme from "Shaft" - Isaac Hayes	4	2	1

		DISC THREE	UK	US	R&B
	1965	Uptight (Everything's Alright) - Stevie Wonder	14	3	1
	1965	I Got You (I Feel Good) - James Brown	29	3	1
	1968	Dance to the Music - Sly & The Family Stone	7	8	9
	1977	Lovely Day - Bill Withers	7	30	6
	1970	Stoned Love - Supremes	3	7	1
	1968	Cloud Nine - Temptations	15	6	2
	1967	Jimmy Mack - Martha & The Vandellas	21	10	1
	1966	(I'm a) Road Runner - Jr. Walker & The All Stars	12	20	4
	1970	Give Me Just a Little More Time - Chairmen Of The Board	3	3	8
	1975	Out On the Floor - Dobie Gray	42
	1964	How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) - Marvin Gaye	49	6	4
	1967	Piece of My Heart - Erma Franklin	9	62	10
	1975	Don't Leave Me This Way - Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes	5
	1966	When a Man Loves a Woman - Percy Sledge	2	1	1
	1970	Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand) - Diana Ross	33	20	7
	1968	I'd Rather Go Blind - Etta James		23	10
	1972	Help Me Make It Through the Night - Gladys Knight & The Pips	11	33	13
	1974	When Will I See You Again - Three Degrees	1	2	4
	1972	Me and Mrs. Jones - Billy Paul	12	1	1
	1972	Ben - Michael Jackson	7	1	5
	1971	You Are Everything - Stylistics		9	10
	1970	It's a Shame - Spinners	20	14	4
	1964	Where Did Our Love Go - Supremes	3	1	1
	1962	You've Really Got a Hold On Me - Miracles		8	1
	1964	He Was Really Sayin' Somethin' - Velvelettes		64	21
	1969	Too Busy Thinking About My Baby - Marvin Gaye	5	4	1