** SISTER FUNK, SOUL-JAZZ and BLUE-EYED-SOUL - OBSCURE RARE GROOVES ALL THE WAY THRU! ** Countdown to...SOUL" is a compilation series that, much like Tramp Records' other critically-acclaimed comps such as Movements, Feeling Nice, and the Praise Poems Series' examines a unique facet of the Golden Era of Soul, Funk, Jazz and R&B. Perhaps, in this case the dawning of the Soul era, "proto-soul", "primitive soul", or even "pre-soul" if you will. When they were recorded, many of these tunes were still firmly ensconced in the Black Radical Jazz tradition, but there was a change in the air, something happening in the coming years that would revolutionize popular music forever. In fact, Soul had already taken over the world by the time many of these tunes were released on 45, but for various reasons, the artists and their music occupied the fringes of the idiom and therefore remained obscure. Countdown to...SOUL chronicles that beginning, that buildup, those heady moments before the lid blew off and American Black music would explode across the planet, while scouring the outskirts and tide pools for specimens that were emanating in their own respective neighborhoods and communities, so often overlooked by the American pop music machine. Side A features barrier-breaking pioneer Frankie Staton and her message of "Love One Another" to the world that is as fresh and vital today as it was when it first came out in the late seventies. In that spirit, Tenison Stevens' appeal "Don't Rip Me Off" reminds us to treat each other as brothers and sisters. Side B meets us at the altar of the formidable Hammond Organ with an Unknown and uncredited Organist found languishing on a one-of-a-kind unreleased acetate and moving on to explore the nexus of Soul, Bebop, and R&B with Don Patterson's "Paddy Wagon". Side C satisfies our hunger for the blaring horn sections, big beat drums, wailing Hammonds, pleading vocals and gritty guitars of authentic Soul music (both brown and blue-eyed) with Marva Josie, Shirley Wahls and The Echomen, among others, but then takes a hard left turn into undoubtedly uncharted territory with the hybrid folk/country/soul story of Sherrif Black and poor Sally who, though she is tragically met with a terrible fate, thanks to the careful and conscientious mastering of our German engineers, the song itself remains alive and is a genuine addition to the canon. 1 Tenison Stephens - - Don't Rip Me Off! 2 Leontine Dupree - - Standing On His Word 3 Frankie Staton - - Love One Another (feat. Speckled Rainbow) 4 Various Artists - Joe Washington & Wash - Blueberry Hill 5 Various Artists - Reno & the Chosen 3 - Soul Bagg 6 Don Patterson Trio - - Paddy Wagon 7 Bill Cole - - Bring It On Back To Me 8 Unknown Organist - - Untitled 9 Roy Long - - Mercy Mercy Mercy 10 McKinley Edmonds - - Hard Times 11 Marva Josie - - I'm Satisfied 12 Shirley Wahls - - Tell The Truth 13 The Echomen - - Talk Is Cheap 14 Unknown - - Damn You Sheriff Black 15 Rick Bowen - - Snake In The Grass 16 101 Gold Street Band - - You Came A Long Way From St. Louis 17 Bobbi Lane - - Black And White 18 Dave Stockwell - - I Can't Get Enough 19 Delores Eiler - - He Won't Love You