Finally Together: The Ru-Jac Records Story, Vol.3: 1966-1967

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Liner Note Author: Kevin Coombe. Never the most prolific of independent soul/R&B labels, Ru-Jac slowed considerably in 1966, largely due to co-owner Rufus E. Mitchell being consumed with other projects. This is the point where Finally Together, the third volume of Omnivore's four-part Ru-Jac Records Story, picks up. If 1966 was slow, 1967 proved to be a prolific year for the Balitmore-based imprint, both in terms of 45s that made it into the stores and the recordings that wound up tucked away in the vaults. Finally Together unveils these 45s and the unreleased material, spending a fair amount of its 25 tracks on demos from Winfield Parker -- one of the label's mainstays -- and cuts from unknown artists. Throughout the disc, it's possible to hear the times shifting -- the rhythms get a little grittier, the soul gets a little churchy -- but there are also evident remnants of the early part of the '60s: Rita Dorsey specializes in supper-club soul, while the Shyndells gin up a teenage sock hop on their instrumentals, Leon Gibson cranks out some good-time R&B, and Sir Joe flirts with the uptown Motown sound. If Finally Together can sometimes feel a bit ragged and unfinished -- a result of all the demos and uncredited musicians -- that's a feature, not a bug. Maybe Ru-Jac had a hard time scoring a hit or even creating a cohesive identity, but the fun in listening to Finally Together is hearing them attempt to do those very things. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine