Various - Eccentric Soul: The Deep City Label 2LP

Willie Clarke, Johnny Pearsall, Clarence Reid, and Arnold Albury set up the city's first black record company, pumping out brassy proto-funk and echo-laden ballads by future hitmakers Betty Wright, Clarence "Blowfly" Reid, and Paul Kelly, plus a dozen can't-miss/did-miss sides by Helene Smith, as well as a slew of 45s bearing Deep City, Lloyd, and Reid labels. Them Two's "Am I A Good Man" must've simply been too damn good; it melted into Intercoastal waterways, alongside Four Tops-ified Moovers acetate "Darling I'll Go," and Clarke and company took separate roads toward Henry Stone's mighty TK empire. The first of Numero's twin Florida soul volumes, any Eccentric sojourn through the sunshine state begins with The Deep City Label. Our double-LP edition includes six bonus cuts and a plethora of photographs found nowhere else.