Various Artists - True Soul : Deep Sounds From The Left Of Stax

‘True Soul: Deep Sounds From The Left Of Stax’ is a collection of rare and unreleased 60s & 70s soul, funk, disco, party-rap and boogie from the fabled Arkansas indie label. Over 12 years in the making, this four LP box set anthology seeks to establish True Soul’s rightful place within America’s funk and soul pantheon. As much as this set is about the adventurous, always-funky and oh-so-rare recordings that True Soul made possible, it is also about label owner Lee Anthony, the man. A true, American “up-from-the-bootstraps” story, Anthony’s is one in which his frontiersman’s entrepreneurial spirit and vision remains undeterred as he sets up black-owned businesses in a post-Jim Crow South and succeeds in capturing recordings from the high water mark of America’s funk and soul movement. Anthony’s story intertwines with the renowned Sam Philips – an early mentor and patron – and Memphis’s Al Bell and Willie Mitchell – with whom Anthony collaborated as he tried to cultivate Little Rock’s funk and soul in the shadow of Stax and Hi Records. This anthology will make influence amongst the history of southern funk and soul is transparent, as his story of how he helped turn a stranded road band into the Gap Band. This comprehensive anthology – including a 10-page, booklet of photos, ephemera and extensive liner notes – not only carries the rare distributed funk and soul 45s that led the likes of renowned collectors DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist to Lee Anthony’s door in search of his fabled “treasure chest” but also includes previously unreleased boogie, disco and party rap recorded in True Soul’s early-80’s twilight. You can find this all contained in a one of a kind 4LP boxset, with each sleeve donning the True Soul logo that Anthony held so dear. All tracks have been remastered from the original tape reels.

TRACK LIST:
A1. Thomas East - Slipping Around (45 Version)
A2. Albert Smith - Come Together
A3. John Craig - Doing My Own Thing
A4. York Wilborn's Psychedelic Six - Wheezin'
A5. The Conspiracy - I Believe (Our Love Has Gone Away)
B1. Ren Smith - Smog (Full Version)
B2. Thomas East - Sister Funk (Original, Full Version)
B3. York Wilborn's Psychedelic Six - Funky Football
C1. York Wilborn's Psychedelic Six – Psychedelic Hot Pants (Full Version)
C2. Classsic Funk - Hard Times
C3. The Right Track - I Gotta Move With The Groove
C4. The Conspiracy – Conspiracy
D1. Thomas East - Funky Music
D2. The Conspiracy - The Real Thing
D3. The Leaders - (It's A) Rat Race (Instrumental)
D4. Thomas East - Follow The Rainbow (Alternate Mix)
E1. Albert Smith - The Thrill Is Gone
E2. Thomas East - Just A Trip
E3. Larry Davis - Down Home Funk (Full Version)
E4. The Right Track - You For Me And Me For You
F4. Thomas East - Sister Funk (Instrumental)
F5. Classic Funk - The Funk's Gonna Fly
F6. York Wilborn's Psychedelic Six - Thank You
F7. The Right Track - Maybe Yes, Maybe No
F5. Portrait - Love You For Now On
G1. The Leaders - (It's A) Rat Race (Vocal)
G2. John Craig - I Don't Want To Do It
G3. John Craig - Doing My Own Thing (Interlude)
G4. Portrait - Springtime Smile
H1. Le’Chance - Get Down
H2. Le’Chance - Gigolo
H3. Soul Mind And Body - I Took Your Love (To Be True) (Full Version)

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