The internet has been a boon to collectors and music aficionados of all tastes, but few genres have been better served by the web than soul. Soul Sides, Vol. 1 bills itself as a blog, and as it's written and run by one man, Oliver Wang, the tag is correct but inaccurate: actually it's a plumped up illegal music download site dedicated to making soul rarities available to the general public.
Wang, a DJ and fanatical collector, doesn't just share the music, he also offers up his knowledge, which is as considerable as his record collection is immense. Enter Zealous Records, who were keen to bundle the best of Wang's records onto CD. Soul Sides, Vol. 1 is the first fruit of this new partnership, with more presumably to follow. And best of all, fans will be thrilled to find that about half the set features songs not available on the website. Wang annotates all the numbers, which is a good thing because it's a diverse group. Some of them are instantly recognizable, "Piece of My Heart" and "What a Man," but these are the original versions, not the better-known
Janis Joplin and
Salt-N-Pepa covers, respectively. Elsewhere, Wang claims not to have known that "Jealous Guy" was written by
John Lennon, but one listen to
Donny Hathaway's phenomenal version will explain why that's not so surprising. A couple of numbers here were originally only available on 45s, others were recorded by artists better known in other genres, like jazz singer Amanda Ambrose, risqué comic
Blowfly (aka
Clarence Reid), or funk-blues master
Johnny "Guitar" Watson. Even so, Wang and Zealous obviously weren't going strictly for rarity for rarity's sake, as all the track's included are of the highest caliber. From the virtual unknowns to stars like
William Bell (who had so many hits, the gem here was forced to await re-release for decades), and even onto a modern-day practitioners
Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, this compilation features a slew of classic songs that will thrill soul fans and hardcore collectors alike. One awaits the second volume with avid anticipation. ~ Jo-Ann Greene