Various - Lost Soul Gems: From Sounds Of Memphis

after five successful years working with the sounds of memphis catalogue, kent thought they had exhausted its supplies of superb soul. then label owner, linda lucchesi, informed kent that she had found a second store of tapes, full to the brim with top examples of memphis soul from the 1960s through to the 1980s. this is the first of two volumes drawn from this treasure trove. only four of these tracks have been issued, and of those the carl sims, george jackson and otis wheat 45s are all particularly hard-to-find releases. kent have found new recordings by louis williams and the ovations and by barbara brown: the two most prolific acts on the label. it was thought that kent had issued everything that both had ever made, so these high quality masters are important discoveries. memphis soul fans will love the new tracks by rudolph taylor and william bollinger from the 1960s and the 70s gems by billy cee & freedom express, dan greer, vision and others and there is a track by the under-recorded erma shaw and the highlight is from marjorie ingram which is a masterpiece. the sounds of memphis photo archive has been raided for fantastic pictures of the artists and record freaks will love the pictures of the rare barbara brown acetate in the generously illustrated booklet.