This box set is a companion piece to the 8CD set From Sacred To Secular: A Soul Awakening, which traced the history of soul music from its earliest antecedents in 1927 right up to the first true soul records released in 1962. This selection of CDs continues the story from 1962 up to the end of the decade, covering a large portion of soul music’s Golden Age with 100 tracks by soul’s greatest 60s superstars (from Aretha Franklin to Stevie Wonder) and a whole host of “lesser” names whose contribution to the musical genre shouldn’t be overlooked.
The CDs cover all of soul’s many styles from early doo-wop and R&B influenced music to the funk grooves which were to prove so popular in the 70s. Other harbingers of the coming decade can be found here in the first sweet-soul Philly sounds from the Delfonics and Intruders, early funk rock (Sly & The Family Stone) and Chicago’s renaissance via Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions.
But this Soul Chronology differs from almost every other soul selection in that all the tracks on it are taken from live performances rather than vinyl sources. These sounds are both more immediate and more personal than the records that may well be more familiar to listeners. The production values may be lower than original recordings due to the technological limitations of the period but in their place come the vibrancy of a live act, its intimacy and its raw impact, factors that don’t usually come through via vinyl or CD. And there is no place to hide in a live environment – the musicians and singers are able to show just how talented they were without any added tricks or enhancements that studio producers could offer. So if you want to know just how good the soul musicians and singers in the 60s really were, just check out these CDs. You may be amazed but you certainly won’t be disappointed!