Although there's much fine early-'60s soul music on this CD, it's a curious and rather arbitrary pairing of two albums by different artists, the slender common bond being that they happened to have been issued in the U.K. by the Ember label. The first 12 tracks are the ones that comprised James Brown's early-'60s LP The Amazing James Brown, which was retitled Tell Me What You're Gonna Do when it was issued in the U.K. in 1964 (as the first of Brown's studio albums to become available in Britain). Under whatever title it was released, this was about as good as an early-'60s soul album got, catching Brown just at the point where he was moving from gospel-fired R&B to dynamic, jazzy, and rhythmically innovative soul. The ballads "I Don't Mind" and "Lost Someone" were pretty big hits, but the rest of the tracks are in same ballpark of quality and cover a lot of ground. Covers of jump blues (Roy Brown's "Love Don't Love Nobody") and doo wop (Billy Ward's "The Bells") are homages to Brown's roots, but the funky jazz licks and eccentric tempos in "Dancin' Little Thing" and "And I Do Just What I Want" are clear signposts to the singer's mid-'60s funk breakthroughs. The eight Eddie Floyd tracks were recorded circa 1962-1964 (the lengthy liner notes are frustratingly cloudy about the exact dates) for the LuPine and SAFICE labels, and collected for an LP release by Ember in the U.K. in the mid-'60s. Nowhere in the notes or cover, mind you, is it divulged what the title of that LP was, though a scan of available discographical references indicates that this was probably the LP titled Looking Back. Anyway, these are decent, though not great, early Floyd sides that show him, like many singers of the era, moving from group vocal doo wop-soaked sounds to early soul, sometimes awkwardly, but sometimes with considerable elan. The up-tempo early Motown-like numbers ("The Whip," "Bye Bye Baby") are quite good, and the ballads less impressive. This isn't the optimum package for collecting either the Brown or Floyd music, but if you're not too fussy about what shape it arrives in, there are some very good sounds here, particularly in the Brown portion. ~ Richie Unterberger

Pop/soul legend Withers was one of the most important figures in '70s R&B, but most of his catalogue remained shamefully unavailable throughout the '90s. Fans who followed Withers into the CD age (and those who weren't around during his glory days) were forced to content themselves with this short but definitive anthology. Withers' smooth '80s hit "Just The Two Of Us" kicks things off, but it's the '70s cuts that are the meat of his catalogue. Withers' gift for marrying lyrical simplicity, soul, and an undefinable freshness of presentation sets his early work apart. "Use Me", with it's angular, funky clavinet line and unabashedly sexual lyrics, is prime Withers. The moody, minor-keyed lost-love lament of "Ain't No Sunshine" demonstrates his ability to articulate loss without resorting to sentimentality. The classic "Lean On Me" adds a touch of Gospel for an unpretentious anthem of emotional solidarity. Listening to this collection, one can't help but marvel at the fact that Withers' original albums have remained out of print for so many years.