Dig It The Most : The Complete Jackie Day

Los Angeles soul singer Jackie Day had some local action on some mid-'60s singles she issued on Modern, especially 1966's "Before It's Too Late," which sold almost 25,000 copies. She remains a pretty obscure name even to many soul collectors, however, despite issuing seven singles on a variety of labels. This 20-track collection assembles both sides of all of the 1965-1971 singles she put out on Modern, Phelectron, Specialty, and Paula, as well some alternate takes/outtakes from her Modern stuff and a couple previously unissued sides she did for Music City in 1962. Most of the material was co-written by Day with noted Modern A&R man Maxwell Davis. Particularly on the earlier cuts, it's sometimes in the straight-ahead mid-'60s midtempo/uptempo soul vein that's found much favor among obsessives in the U.K. Northern soul scene. If you're not part of that cultish crowd, it's a little hard to get terribly excited about it. The material's respectable, and Day has a decent voice, but it's lacking those special somethings. It's good to hear her stretching into deeper, gospel-tinged sounds on "Without a Love," the only song here she co-wrote with the more renowned fellow soul singer Leon Haywood, and another 1966 single, "If I'd Lose You." Perhaps it's no coincidence Davis wasn't involved in composing those two tunes; he favored a punchier groove as a writer, though another of the better ballads, "What Kind of Man Are You?," was penned by him and Day. So was "Free at Last," the clear standout owing to its Martin Luther King Jr.-inspired lyrics, soaring strings, and vocals (by both Day and backup singers) in which she seems to be reaching for something considerably deeper than she had in the past. The comprehensive liner notes fill in everything you'd want to know about Day (who was married to R&B saxophone star Big Jay McNeely for a while), and makes both sides of one of the rarest soul singles (her 1965 Phelectron 45 "I Want Your Love"/"Naughty Boy") widely available. ~ Richie Unterberger|