Eccentric Soul: The Prix Label

(Part 4 of 10 of Funkstravaganza 2007!)

Those of you who are in/from Columbus, friends of mine, or aficionados of the funky stuff should remember Eccentric Soul: The Capsoul Label, a compilation of released and unreleased tracks from Bill Moss' Columbus-based Capsoul Records (In case you don't remember, here is something I wrote back then). That compilation is a treasure trove of (mostly) forgotten Columbus soul stompers, and I think it went a long way to open the eyes of many younger (and older) Central Ohio music buffs to Columbus' detailed soul music history. Eccentric Soul: The Capsoul Label was the first release from Chicago's Numero Group, a reissue label that has stood out over the 3 years since through its commitment to create lovingly-detailed reissues of some deserving music that the world as a whole has never heard. They now have 16 full-length compilations under their belts (as well as a handful of singles and t-shirts) that range from funk/soul to international to gospel to folk to rock. I need some more of these. This brings us to present day.

On June 5th, Numero released Eccentric Soul: The Prix Label. I was shocked when I heard about this, the story of another overlooked Columbus soul label. How could there be more? Well friends, there is more, and it's more good stuff. I've had it for a few weeks now (For the record: fellow Wooster Funk Posse founding member Michael "Chops" Oswald got his hands on this before I did) and I've been able to get into most of the tracks. Eddie Ray was the star of this label (five of his tracks are featured here), but there is male soul and a few funk instrumentals from a bevy of unknown singers/bands. Marion Black, who featured prominently on the CapSoul comp, also appears here with the beautifully admonishing "Listen Black Brother." A favorite of mine is OFS Unlimited's "Mr. Kidneys," which sounds like the recording will burst from exhaustion at any moment. Though it's sad that these tracks weren't highly acclaimed upon release (or, in some cases, released at all), it is great that the Numero guys have shifted some attention Prix's way. A great article about the label and compilation (featuring quotes from Marion Black and Eddie Ray) written by Aaron Beck at the Columbus Dispatch is here (as found here).