Eccentric Soul

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there are like 12 or more of these now! i've never even heard one of them. are they really eccentric or just sorta rare? anything stand out from the bunch? what do they sound like?

― jaxon, Thursday, 1 March 2007 06:54 (nineteen years ago)

i don't think they're eccentric at all. just dusty.

― moonship journey to baja, Thursday, 1 March 2007 08:15 (nineteen years ago)

One NPR reviewer labeled one of 'em her cd of the year and NPR also ran this story. That's all I know, alas.

Capsoul Ohio Eccentric Soul release story and songs

― curmudgeon, Thursday, 1 March 2007 16:12 (nineteen years ago)

But yea, rare seems more accurate than eccentric.

― curmudgeon, Thursday, 1 March 2007 16:13 (nineteen years ago)

some of it's actually eccentric. just now listening to the latest one, on the Chicago Twinight label (home to Syl Johnson, who's not represented here), two discs, and really good shit, fairly standard commercial soul music circa 1970. The Deep City comp they did had its moments--proto-Miami funk. The gospel comp, the Belize comp (which is Numero--is it Eccentric Soul? I forget) and the Twinight comps strike me as the best of the bunch. There's one from Phoenix that has some great moments. I dunno, I love soul, so I find most of it really fascinating. (But I got these two discs of Detroit stuff from late '60s from Mr. Finewine, and man! that's almost all great, sometimes sublime shit, about as "eccentric" or unheralded as anything Numero has done, full of amazing stuff like The New Holidays doing "Maybe So, Maybe No," which is about as beautiful and bonkers as the Parliaments' material from around the same time.)

― whisperineddhurt, Thursday, 1 March 2007 16:49 (nineteen years ago)

I like Soul Jazz's Miami Sound comp better than the Eccentric Soul Miami disc, but the latter opens with an absolutely stunning record called "Am I a Good Man" by Them Two, co-written by Clarence Reid.

― If Timi Yuro would be still alive, most other singers could shut up, Friday, 2 March 2007 02:36 (nineteen years ago)

yeah, the Soul Jazz Miami comp is good, worth it for the Little Beaver track. (anyone out there invested in the two Little Beaver CDs I see avail. on amazon? and since I'm talking about this, anyone out there got the ultra-rare Clarence Reid LPs Running Water and On the Job[i]? I got the [i]Dancing with Nobody but You reissue, and some of the Alston singles collected on one disc. Apparently, Henry Stone owns most of that stuff and won't put it out in any reasonable form, so the Alston singles CD I have is basically a bootleg.
And, after several listens, disc 2 of the new Eccentric Soul Twinight comp is just awesome.

― whisperineddhurt, Saturday, 3 March 2007 16:57 (nineteen years ago)

Edd, I don't have the Little Beaver CDs, but I am fond of Rhino's Latimore comp Straighten It Out.

― If Timi Yuro would be still alive, most other singers could shut up, Saturday, 3 March 2007 21:45 (nineteen years ago)

And my fave on Miami Sound is truly eccentric -- James Knight and the Butlers' "Fantasy World" uses feedback as a hook.

― If Timi Yuro would be still alive, most other singers could shut up, Saturday, 3 March 2007 21:47 (nineteen years ago)

yeah, I need me some Latimore, so good suggestion Timi. I probably will invest in that Little Beaver stuff. I love his cut on the Soul Jazz Miami comp. I actually talked to Clarence Reid on the phone last year, did a piece on him for the Nashville Scene. That was as big a thrill as I've ever had, and it's just something to call up Clarence and the first thing you hear is this crazed guy going, "Ya pussy-eatin' motherfucker!!" It's criminal that you can't get all his Alston material.

― whisperineddhurt, Monday, 5 March 2007 14:57 (nineteen years ago)

I've got Little Beaver's Party Down on vinyl, it's some chill Geo Benson goes to Miami groove. nice.

― m coleman, Monday, 5 March 2007 15:00 (nineteen years ago)

http://www.hhv.de/images/cover5/44457.jpg

― m coleman, Monday, 5 March 2007 15:04 (nineteen years ago)

I think it's a great series... I would fall short of calling it "eccentric" though, it's all a bit off the beaten path and you might have to be a bit eccentric to pay the $20 for them (although they do try to make it worth your while!).

I am really jamming on The Birmingham Sound - The Soul of Neil Hemphill vol. 1 CD, which is in a similar niche but to me is much more consistent (and with a more compelling story behind it) than most of the Eccentric Soul volumes. I got it on eMusic...

― Saxby D. Elder, Monday, 5 March 2007 17:02 (nineteen years ago)

OK bitches... Cough up those DL points!

http://www.emusic.com/album/10998/10998984.html

― Saxby D. Elder, Tuesday, 6 March 2007 04:08 (nineteen years ago)

for edd:

http://www.henrystonemusic.com/store/reid.htm

― Stormy Davis, Tuesday, 6 March 2007 04:45 (nineteen years ago)

two years pass...

I finally got Volume 7, Deep City Label, and it's great. I'm hoping for the sake of my wallet all 25 or whatever collections aren't essential.

― Fastnbulbous, Monday, 21 September 2009 19:47 (seventeen years ago)

sixteen years pass...

RIP Latimore , soul keyboardist and singer/ songwriter of “Let’s Straighten it Out “ fame . Saw him live once or twice at small arenas. I remember him on a bill in late 2000s with Marvin Sease , and Clarence Carter and others . WPFW in DC soul & blues shows used to play him regularly.

I posted more about Latimore over the years on the Chitlin Circuit Soul thread

― curmudgeon, Sunday, 23 August 2026 15:08 (one month ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdB_UW421Sw

― curmudgeon, Sunday, 23 August 2026 15:31 (one month ago)

Latimore had a #1 r&b hit with Straighten it Out in 1974 . He was part of Florida soul scene for a long time and later on Malaco

― curmudgeon, Sunday, 23 August 2026 15:33 (one month ago)

"Let's Straighten it Out" is such a great song

― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 25 August 2026 04:57 (one month ago)

O.V. Wright's version is also a killer

― Cattedrale metropolitana di Santa Maria de Episcopio, Tuesday, 25 August 2026 13:12 (one month ago)

always just thought it was an obscure album cut for OV, never realized it was a hit for somebody else. RIP Latimore, thanks for the beautiful tune

― Cattedrale metropolitana di Santa Maria de Episcopio, Tuesday, 25 August 2026 13:14 (one month ago)

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Eccentric Soul - s/d