VA — Take Me to the River: A Southern Soul Story 1961-1977 (2008)

Disc 1 (01:14:59)

01. William Bell — You Don\’t Miss Your Water (02:59)

02. Arthur Alexander — Go Home Girl (02:18)

03. Otis Redding — These Arms Of Mine (02:31)

04. Jimmy Hughes — Steal Away (02:25)

05. Joe Simon — My Adorable One (02:44)

06. O.V. Wright — You\’re Gonna Make Me Cry (03:20)

07. Percy Sledge — When A Man Loves A Woman (02:48)

08. Eddy Giles — Losin\’ Boy (03:15)

09. Otis Redding — Try A Little Tenderness (Take 1) (03:59)

10. Jarvis Jackson — Something I Never Had (03:21)

11. Wilson Pickett — Ninety-Nine And A Half (Won\’t Do) (02:39)

12. Eddie Floyd — Got To Make A Comeback (02:36)

13. Charlie Rich — When Something Is Wrong With My Baby (02:46)

14. James Carr — The Dark End Of The Street (02:31)

15. Toussaint McCall — Let\’s Do It Over (02:16)

16. Aretha Franklin — Do Right Woman, Do Right Man (03:14)

17. Sam & Dave — I Can\’t Stand Up For Falling Down (02:40)

18. June Edwards — You Ain\’t Woman Enough (To Take My Man) (02:49)

19. The Masqueraders — Let\’s Face Facts (03:21)

20. James & Bobby Purify — She Ain\’t Gonna Do Right (02:44)

21. Al Johnson — Bless Your Little Sweet Soul (02:59)

22. Laura Lee — Dirty Man (02:51)

23. Eddie Hinton — Cover Me (02:52)

24. Reuben Bell & The Beltones — You\’re Gonna Miss Me (02:40)

25. Etta James — I\’d Rather Go Blind (02:33)

26. Oscar Toney Jr. — Without Love (There Is Nothing) (03:48)

Disc 2 (01:13:44)

01. Maurice & Mac — You Left The Water Running (02:40)

02. Don Bryant — I\’ll Go Crazy (02:01)

03. Bill Brandon — Rainbow Road (02:57)

04. Shirley Walton — The One You Can\’t Have (All By Yourself) (02:48)

05. William Bollinger — Tell Him Tonight (02:37)

06. Ollie & The Nightingales — A Smile Can\’t Hide (A Broken Heart) (02:47)

07. Spencer Wiggins — Uptight Good Woman (02:40)

08. William Bell — I Forgot To Be Your Lover (02:19)

09. Clay Hammond — I\’ll Make It Up To You (03:37)

10. Clarence Carter — Slip Away (02:27)

11. James Carr — That\’s The Way Love Turned Out For Me (03:14)

12. Tony Borders — Polly Wally (02:18)

13. Candi Staton — Another Man\’s Woman, Another Woman\’s Man (02:28)

14. Joe Tex — Buying A Book (03:24)

15. Doris Duke — To The Other Woman (I\’m The Other Woman) (02:57)

16. Paul Kelly — Stealing In The Name Of The Lord (03:35)

17. Z.Z. Hill — Faithful And True (02:35)

18. Chuck Brooks — Love\’s Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down (Pts 1 & 2) (06:38)

19. Kip Anderson — I Went Off And Cried (03:00)

20. Barbara & The Browns — If I Can\’t Run To You I\’ll Crawl (02:38)

21. Paul Thompson — What I Don\’t Know Won\’t Hurt Me (02:56)

22. Johnnie Taylor — Jody\’s Got Your Girl And Gone (02:59)

23. Thomas Bailey — Wish I Was Back (02:51)

24. Jimmy Braswell — I Can\’t Give You My Heart (03:09)

25. Gwen McCrae — Lead Me On (02:09)

Disc 3 (01:18:54)

01. Marcell Strong — Mumble In My Ear (03:19)

02. Denise LaSalle — Breaking Up Somebody\’s Home (03:26)

03. Al Green — Tired Of Being Alone (02:48)

04. Spencer Wiggins — I Can\’t Be Satisfied (03:33)

05. King Floyd — Groove Me (02:59)

06. Freddie North — She?s All I Got (02:39)

07. Bobby Newsome — Jody, Come Back And Get Your Shoes (03:15)

08. Mel & Tim — Starting All Over Again (03:48)

09. Sam Dees — We Always Come Back Strong (02:24)

10. Frederick Knight — I\’ve Been Lonely For So Long (03:19)

11. Luther Ingram — (If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don\’t Want To Be Right (03:33)

12. Ann Peebles — I\’m Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down (02:40)

13. Bobby Womack — I\’m Through Trying To Prove My Love For You (03:48)

14. Millie Jackson — It Hurts So Good (03:10)

15. Quiet Elegance — You\’ve Got My Mind Messed Up (02:48)

16. Bobby Patterson — I Get My Groove From You (03:25)

17. Tommie Young — Take To Know Him (03:14)

18. George Jackson — How Can I Get Next To You? (03:35)

19. The Soul Children — I\’ll Be The Other Woman (03:33)

20. Clarence Carter — Heartbreak Woman (03:13)

21. Chet Davenport — Take One Step (I\’ll Take Two) (04:01)

22. Al Green — Take Me To The River (03:41)

23. Tommy Tate — If You Got To Love Somebody (03:16)

24. Geater Davis — I\’ll Play The Blues For You (03:27)

Southern soul really was natural as rain, a mixture of blues, R&B, gospel and country that somehow managed to sound exactly like, well, soul, no matter how many ways it was spun, and from its first stirrings in the early 1960s until disco and synthesizers officially killed it off in the mid-\’70s, a case could be made that there was no more exciting music coming out of America. This wonderful three-disc, 75-track set traces that very arc in mostly chronological order, bning with William Bell\’s \»You Don\’t Miss Your Water\» from 1961 and ending with Geater Davis\’ last-gasp \»I\’ll Play the Blues for You \» from 1977. In between is some very exciting music indeed, including Otis Redding\’s stunning \»These Arms of Mine,\» Charlie Rich\’s \»When Something Is Wrong with My Baby\» (who says soul and country aren\’t two sides of the same coin?), James Carr\’s stark and desperate \»The Dark End of the Street,\» Etta James\’ powerful \»I\’d Rather Go Blind,\» Chuck Brooks\’ brilliant and dangerous-sounding \»Love\’s Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down,\» and a pair of Al Green classics, \»Tired of Being Alone\» and the title tune, \»Take Me to the River,\» and that\’s just a quick list of the gems found in this delightful set. Released by labels like Stax, Goldwax, Excello, Fame,

and Dial, southern soul was all about emotion and groove and always sounded rougher, sexier, and more dangerous than what northern labels like Motown were doing in the same period. Truthfully, southern soul was what it was because of the high mixture of passionate gospel in its DNA, as if these artists hoped to sing their way out of hell and into heaven. The subject was love, in all of its guises, and much like country, soul carried every bit as much sadness as it did joy. Love doesn\’t always work out right, whether you make it to heaven or not. That\’s the bottom line, and no genre has ever celebrated a more adult approach to such matters, or filled the world with so much passion for it, than southern soul. The story is here.