Bear Family's SWEET SOUL MUSIC 1966-1970 (2009)

So you scrimped and saved then wisely invested your small nest egg in the first five volumes of Bear Family's most excellent Sweet Soul Music series and instantly made life worth living again. Now what? You better think of something because the label did the world a favor when they extended the line with five more volumes in 2009, covering the years 1966-1970. Here's a taste of that second flight of discs to get you hooked.

On a scale of 10, 1966 is a solid 8½ maybe even a straight-up 9 if the wind is blowing just right. Your mileage may vary. Marvin Gaye, Joe Tex, Lee Dorsey, Stevie Wonder, Wilson Pickett, The Isley Brothers, James Carr, Sam & Dave, Percy Sledge, Robert Parker, the Purify brothers, Carla Thomas, Four Tops, Eddie Floyd, Aaron Neville, The Supremes - and I'm just cherry-picking artists here - all on one disc. We're not worthy!

As great as the 1966 disc is, I prefer 1967. I count just four artists that appear on both discs and which is a testament to the vein of soul this series mines. James Brown nabbed the cover photo and is represented on the disc on track 21 with "Cold Sweat Part 1" and THAT groove. 

If this was the music my folks were listening to in 1968, it's little wonder I got a sister in 1969. The songs on 1968 give off a palpable heat. Take necessary precautions. You have been warned!

1969 is just as good or better than any other disc in this amazing series thus far. I freely admit to not being familiar with a handful of tracks on this disc but that minor setback was easily remedied after just a couple of listens. In a series stuffed with killer tracks, William Bell's soulful apology "I Forgot To Be Your Lover" stands out for this listener.

And then comes 1970 with but 24 Scorching Classics onboard because artists were recording longer tracks by 1970 but take my word these two-dozen tracks live up to their billing. It will be interesting to see if the next wave of five discs, covering 1971-1975, continue to have fewer and fewer tracks or if the number levels off.

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As you may have noticed at the top of this post, the spines on the cases of the first ten discs in the series form an image when arranged side by side.