Eccentric Soul: The Young Disciples

Various Artists
Eccentric Soul: The Young Disciples

The Eccentric Soul series from the folks at Chicago’s Numero Group has set a new standard for reissue imprints worldwide thanks to the unimpeachable and undeniable quality of its releases. Numero’s compilations do more than simply compile obscure recordings; they uncover compelling histories of local music scenes and, in the process, create vivid portraits of forgotten corners of American life. Previous entries have documented the local soul scenes of Miami, Phoenix and Columbus. The Young Disciples focuses on the output of the St. Louis-based Merry and Gateway labels, both helmed by the ambitious producer and community organizer Allen Merry. Though St. Louis had once boasted a thriving music scene that produced legendary figures like Miles Davis and Chuck Berry, by the late ‘60s it had become an impoverished backwater, and thanks to the absence of competing labels Merry was more or less guaranteed his pick of the city’s musical talent. Though occasional off-key vocals and flubbed guitar lines betray flashes of amateurishness, these recordings boast superior arrangements and, most importantly a boundless exuberance that makes them the equal of the very finest soul music being released in the late ‘60s.

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