Bobby Powell

Into My Own Thing - WESTSIDE- I'm featuring a track, "Question", this week on Home of the Groove that appears on this CD. The cover kind of covers it, except for the fact that most of the sides were Whit releases, with just a couple coming out on Jewel. It collects good soulful to funky original tunes and interesting covers from Powell, a truly exemplary soul singer, who also plays piano on some of the tracks, at least. Lots of upbeat, groovin' material here. Bill Dahl's notes are worth reading. My only complaint is that no session players are listed. This CD is out of print but still avaialble at decent prices.



Especially For You - ACE (US) - This is a collection of sides Powell did for Senator Jones' Hep'Me label in the late 1970's in New Orleans. His vocals are impressive; but the material is all covers of slow-paced blues and soul ballads that can be snooze-inducing. The CD has been deleted (along with the label) for years now; but you still see it around (also on vinyl, as I recall). Only for the hard core fan/collector.



The Heart of Southern Soul - Various Artists - Excello



Funky Tales - Various Artists - Excello

These are both fine comps from the Excello vaults that demonstrate the label was not all about the blues. Bobby Powell has one cut on each CD; but for anyone interested in fairly obscure soul and funk from the South from in the late '60's to mid-70's, these are worth having in your collection.

Finally, there was a Charly LP out that I think had Powell's Whit and Jewel sides on it. I totally missed it at the time - never laid eyes on it. There is also the rare Excello LP, Thank You, an LP on Jewel, and two LPs on Hep'Me, I think. You can look for these, as well as for his singles at GEMM or over at MusicStack for starters, or hit the tables.