South Texas: Rhythm 'n' Soul Revue

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Liner Note Author: Tony Rounce. Photographer: Gilles Petard. The first of what's promised to be many trips into Huey P. Meaux's deep vaults, Ace's 2013 compilation South Texas Rhythm 'N' Soul Revue is an unfettered delight, collecting 24 sides released on the Jet Stream, Tear Drop, Eric, Cascade, Pacemaker, Boogaloo, and Trinity imprints between 1962 and 1973, adding three previously unissued numbers for good measure. Hits aren't the name of the game here, nor are there too many household names: Big Walter Price (not Big Walter Horton), Johnny Adams, Johnny Copeland, and Barbara Lynn (the latter represented with a demo of "You'll Lose a Good Thing") are the names that could possibly spark recognition, but even these are better-known by aficionados, not trainspotters. Yet, that's the appeal of this collection: it unearths sides rarely heard outside of the serious collectors' purview, and there is plenty of deep soul to treasure here, some soulful slow grooves balanced by gritty workouts, bluesy vamps, and the occasional novelty, like the breakneck "Fat Man" by TV & the Tribesmen. Mostly, this is regional R&B music, playing to either the juke joints or crossover radio of the mid-'60s. There may be no outright knockouts here but every one of the 24 songs is easy to enjoy and some, like the relentless rhythms of Copeland's "Sufferin' City" and Jackie Paine's "Go Go Train," are so infectious they're hard to resist. That the rest is for serious R&B listeners -- the kind who enjoy how James Young reworks Lee Dorsey's "Ya Ya" or Sunny & the Sunliners' cover of Earl King's "Trick Bag" -- is hardly a detriment, as this is all grooving R&B, blues, and soul that defines the upper end of "generic." It may not transcend the genre, but it certainly embodies it, which is a good thing. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine