Rufus Thomas

Ninety-one tracks deep and five hours long, this may be the desert island comp for funk and soul fans. From the New Orleans ' R&B of Allen Trousie Toussaint," to the funk universalism of Earth, Wind and Fire, this comp touches nearly all the bases. There are seminal jams such as Bay Key's "Soul Finger," but much of this focuses on rare gems from many of soul's biggest names. Perhaps the disk's greatest virtue, though, is the attention paid to lesser known acts, which makes this collection as much a beginning as it is an end.

What this four-disc box o' bump is not: crate-digger academia. What it is: nonstop
late-Sixties-and-Seventies party time from the deep recesses of these major-label catalogs.
Big names on these dusty nuggets include the early, cosmic-jazz Earth, Wind and Fire,
Bootsy Collins (in his pre-Parliament band the Houseguests) and Sly Stone (making
electro-voodoo under the name 6ix). Getting rare spotlight time: the rotund Curt... More >