VA - Groovesville Review Volume 1-3 (1997-1999)

Here is one of the great grails of Detroit soul, 24 rare tracks that have been traded on tenth-generation bootleg tapes for decades until these masters were unearthed in 1996. And no, we are not talking Motown; check the title, folks: Groovesville Review, the name should say it all. Dig the names: Edwin Starr ("Has It Happened to You Yet" and "You're My Mellow"), Steve Mancha ("Let's Party," plus four more, including a killer duet with Melvin Davis on "I Need My Baby"), Barbara Mercer ("Happiness Is Here"), Joyce Vincent ("Solid As a Rock"), Robert Ward ("Pigfeet"), Darrell Banks ("I'm the One Who Loves You"), David Ruffin, ("Still in My Heart"), Andrea Henry ("Time Fades Away"), Spyder Turner ("Trying to Forget You"), and way, way more by acts such as the Professionals, J.J. Barnes, the Parliaments (yeah, those guys), and some in the groove instrumentals as well. There are few compilations that can touch this one for raw beauty, urban sophistication, and sheer verve. Listing a few of the cuts included is review enough. You shouldn't be reading this; you should be out beating on your CD shop's door to get a stack of these in the bins.