The liner notes for this collection won Alec Palao a Grammy upon its initial release, so rather than try and top him, I'll just copy and paste my favorite part of the original notes for Volume 1 of this collection as I think they sum it up nicely...In the early 1970s, one place where a hopeful soul or RnB act got to put down the sound was the funky East 14th locale of Ray Dobard’s Music City Recording Studios in Oakland. Dobard liked to advertise his facility as being in and of “the hood,” even if his reputation as an equal-opportunity exploiter was already old news amongst black musicians. He had recently reactivated his Music City label and was eager to draw talent to the studios, as much to sign them as to relieve them of their hard-earned dollars, in return for studio time. Dobard’s lack of technical expertise communicates a weird immediacy to the proceedings, which in combination with the occasional veracity of the musicians—drunk, high, inexperienced, or a combination of all—makes for a compelling listen.
This is hard hitting funk and soul that's on par with many of the best vinyl compilations we've seen in the past 7-8 years. It's only available in this 3LP set, but you're paying less than $11 per volume and you can't beat that!
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