Posted on 10/07/2008
If you want to know the true power of soul, to discover how far the music traveled from the radio to the record player to the inner city and beyond, pick up Eccentric Soul: The Young Disciples The CD is a new installment in The Numero Group's series of compilations exploring the different soul and funk scenes of various American cities from the late 60's and early 70's, and for this one they devote attention to East St. Louis, Illinois, an area that was rough and almost devoid of enthusiasm in anything. If there was anything to look forward to, it was music, but before there's music you have to find the people to create the sounds. In time a community was created within a community, and from that a small handful of independent labels run by one man who encouraged them to do everything they could to make it happen. Local and regional success were dreams becoming a reality, and while national and international success didn't happened, listening to the 21 songs on this CD showed that they would have done anything in their power to share their anticipation with the world.

It was Allan Merry who put together a collective called The Young Disciples, composed of a number of different singers and musicians who, through music, wanted to make themselves happy. While Merry had been selected to become a youth director because of his education credentials (in truth his family were the teachers, he just happened to have a nice suit and tie during the interview), people discovered his musical roots which lead him to teach kids how to sing, play, and perform in front of an audience. The feedback from audiences motivated Merry to put his musicians into the studio to release records, even though there were no labels knocking at their doors. No problem, Merry not only created one label, but in a few years had three labels, at least in name. The Merry, YoDo, and Gateway labels would become the home for a combination of at least eighty different singers, duos, groups, musicians and dancers willing to put in the time and work to be seen and heard, and for a few years it seemed every dream could become a reality.

Like many local and regional scenes, the stories here eventually fade into obscurity, but what you hear in these songs is a sense of pride, honor, glory, and a willingness to let it all hang out. You will hear variations of what was hot at the time, so you'll hear someone doing their version of James Brown, or hear someone wanting to become the next Wilson Pickett, or a Peaches & Herb. With the music, initially you hear all of the flaws, off-beats, and wrong notes, but none of them are cringe worthy. Sometimes a singer will be overeager and hit a few notes that sound as if it's about to blow a speaker. The imperfections are raw and honest, especially to a generation who may not know how their favorite singers actually sound without the assistance of Auto-Tune. No plug-ins, no filters, no tape manipulation, these songs were probably done in one or two takes with little time for post-production. You may not know who The Debonettes, The Georgettes, Dauphine Williams, or Third Flight were, but after listening to this CD, you will never forget them.

As the disc goes on, the singing, musicianship, arrangements, and productions improve. One singer who was on the verge of becoming East St. Louis' own Freda Payne was Sharon Clark. Merry was able to get a distribution deal for one of her singles at a time when the future of his labels was unknown. A deal with ABC could have lead to bright futures for everyone, and ABC did indeed offer Clark an album contract, but knowing what eventually happened does not take away the hopes and dreams her voice carries in songs like "That's A Good Reason" and "It's Not Your Business." Perhaps most sad of all is that their stories aren't unique to them, this is just one forgotten story out of many dusted off and revived by those who seek more than what's on the radio.

Eccentric Soul: The Young Disciples is a step back in time, when it was about cultural pride, resisting the negativity from generations past, and establishing a sense of sanity and stability when both were once not options for you. The music here comes from the era when James Brown and Otis Redding were kings, Jimi Hendrix was an outsider rebel not afraid to share his stories, George Clinton was still wearing a tailored suit, and Sylvester Stewart was on the verge of getting higher than anyone could ever imagine. It's the sound of a community saying "this is me, and this is what I want to be", looking at the world wide-eyed with optimism, and the necessary nutrients for any rabid record collector. Wipe the foam off son, it's going to be alright.

- John Book