Various Artists - Eccentric Soul: The Shiptown Label (Various Artists) - VINYL LP

Operating in a basement studio at the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, pipeline man Howard Neal and his appropriately named Shoestring tag was Alton, Illinois' answer to a question no one asked. Pressed in minuscule numbers and barely outside the 62002 zip code, the singles by The James Family, Jimmie Green, Pete & Cheez, and Carletta Sue are prime examples of cosmic midwestern disco in search of a break. This heavy weight 10-song LP is housed in a tip-on sleeve, and includes an essay and imagery that complete the picture of this pure expression of small-town soul. Album Tracks 1. We've Got It Made 2. Let Yourself Go 3. You and Me 4. A Broken Heart Will Mend 5. Disco Fever 6. Dance (Part 1) 7. So Smooth 8. You Keep Holding Back on Love 9. I Need You So 10. You're All the Woman I Need 11. Radio Promo

From 1967-1980, Kansas City's Forte Records captured nearly every iteration of popular Black music; basement beehiver-y from The Ray-Ons and Four Darlings, funky soul from Gene Williams Lee Harris, Louis Chachere, and The Fantastiks, downtempo disco ballads from James Whitney and Sharon Revoal, and the newly independent work of James Brown's former Soul Sister #1 Marva Whitney. Compiled here are 28 of the tag's enduring sides, con- textualized with copious photos, ephemera, and essay, all housed in heavy weight gatefold jacket. Who knows how to do InchThe HenInch? Album Tracks 1. Don't Let Your Love Fade Away 2. I'm Gonna Get Your Thing 3. I'm Gonna Get You 4. The Hen Part I 5. Cry Night and Day 6. I've Lived the Life 7. Mini, Mini Afro Twist 8. I'll Never Be Satisfied 9. You Confuse Me Baby 10. Baby Your Love Is Amazing 11. Lookin' Good 12. Daddy Don't Know About Sugar Bear 13. Whatever You Do (Do It Good) 14. Is It Really That Bad? 15. Baby Be Good 16. All Along I've Loved You 17. I've Got to Have Somebody's Love 18. Super Black 19. With Fun in My Life 20. Reaching for Our Star 21. Nothing I'd Rather Be (Than Your Weakness) 22. Give Me Love 23. Dearest Lover 24. Live and Let Live 25. You Gotta Be Doing It 26. Skate Boogaloo and Karate Too 27. Don't Fade Away 28. We Need More

Townies, homecoming queens, and big men on campus manifest a homegrown and revolutionary sound in Civil Rights-era Greensboro. Among presidential hopefuls and future astronauts, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State Universiary, located in Greensboro, was a hotbed of black excellence, activism, and raw talent. Album Tracks 1. Dreams for Sale 2. Fussin' & Cussin' 3. Don't Laugh in My Face and Steal My Man 4. Day and Time 5. You've Blown My Mind 6. Nothin' But a Party 7. Boy and Girl 8. Baby You Got It 9. Life Ain't Easy 10. Guess I Better Move on 11. Stop (Watch What You Doing to Me) 12. You Know I Love You 13. Could This Be Love 14. Let Me Be the One 15. Super Party 16. They Call Me the Man 17. People Get Down 18. No Communication 19. Disco Spirit 20. I Can't Go on (Without Your Love) 21. Don't You Need Someone Like Me (I Can Set Your Love Free) 22. Stick Your Finger in the Ground (And Turn the World Around) 23. Blood City Funk 24. Noah 25. What's Happening to My Word 26. She Makes My Temperature Rise (Because She's Bad)