This 20-track CD compiles most of Senor
Soul's sparse recorded output, including most of the songs from their sole LP (from 1968) and 1967-1970 singles, along with a couple of previously unissued outtakes. Most of it's decent but second-level
instrumental soul music, and not quite among the best of the 1960s'
soul-
jazz or
Latin soul hybrids. Certainly, however, you can hear the seeds of some of War's future ideas, particularly in the
Latin R&B flavor and the flute parts of Charles Miller. A good portion of it is devoted to covers of contemporary
rock and
soul hits like "Psychotic Reaction," "Sunshine Superman," "Uptight (Everything's Alright)," and "It's Your Thing," though a little more personality and originality come through on the tunes penned by Miller or producer Maurice Rodgers. By far the most solid indication of Miller's future direction in War is the 1970 single "Don't Lay Your Funky Trip on Me"/"I Ain't Got No
Soul Today (What It Is, Y'All)," both because it has vocals and it most likely features the original lineup of War (most of whom get the songwriting credits for both numbers). In fact, those two slyly humorous tracks sound enough like War's early records that they could slot in on an early bona fide War album with little problem.
Tracklist---------
01. The Mouse (Maurice Rodgers) - 2:31
02. Don't Lay Your Funky Trip On Me (H. Brown, H. Scott, M. Dickerson, L. Jordan, L. Oskar, C.Miller, T. S. Allen) - 3:32
03. Psychotic Reaction (Kenn Ellner, Roy Chaney, Sean Byrne, John Michalski, Craig Atkinson) - 2:06
04. It's Your Thing (Ronald Isley, O'kelly Isley. Rudolph Isley) - 2:26
05. Pata Pata (Miriam Makeba, Jerry Ragovoy) - 2:22
06. Get On Up (Gilbert Moorer, Bill Sheppard, Johnny Taylor) - 2:43
07. Poquitosoul (Charles Miller) - 2:49
08. The Sneak (Maurice Rodgers) - 3:03
09. I Heard It Through The Grapevine (Norman Whitfield. Barrett Strong) - 2:44
10. Hypnotizer (Maurice Rodgers) - 2:04
11. I Ain't Got No
Soul Today (What It Is, Y'all) (H. Brown, H. Scott, M. Dickerson, L. Jordan, L. Oskar, Ch. Miller) - 3:58
12. Spooky (Mike Shapiro, Harry Middlebrooks, Buddy Buie, Jr Cobb) - 2:33
13. Uptight (Everything's Alright) - (Henry Cosby, Stevie Wonder, Sylvia Moy) - 4:40
14.
Soul Fiesta (Charles Miller) - 2:26
15. Lovey Dovey Kinda Lovin' (Alfred Smith, Joe Hooven, Hal Winn) - 3:15
16. Some Got It, Some Don't (Alfred Smith, Joe Hooven, Hal Winn) - 2:16
17. Sunshine Superman (Donovan Leitch) - 3:08
18. Make The Funk Jump (Maurice Rodgers) - 2:54
19. El Loco (Maurice Rodgers) - 2:38
20. I Dig
Rock & Roll Music (David Dixon, James Mason, Paul Stookey) – 2:24
Personnel:------
B.B. Dickerson - Bass
Charles Miller - Saxophone, Flute, Keyboards
Harold Brown - Drums
Howard Scott - Guitar
Lee Oskar - Harmonica
Lonnie Jordan - Piano, Organ
Papa Dee Allen - Vocals, Percussion, Keyboards
All thanks to original releaser