Soulful Grooves: R&B Instrumental Classics, Vol. 1 (1996)

About this title: Hip-O's Soulful Grooves, Vol. 1: R&B Instrumental Classics is an entertaining 14-track collection that contains both familiar and obscure soul, funk and soul-jazz songs from the late '60s and early '70s. The song selection doesn't necessarily hold together -- it's weird to have Cannonball Adderley's "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" flow into Jimmy Castor's "Hey Leroy, You Mama's Callin' You" -- but it's an entertaining listen nonetheless, featuring cuts from the Crusaders ("Put It Where You Want It"), King Curtis ("Soul Serenade"), Cal Tjader ("Soul Sauce"), Jimmy Smith ("Midnight Special, Pt. One"), ... read more

Tracks:

1. Put It Where You Want It [Sample]
2. Soul Serenade [King Curtis/Dixon]
3. Soul Sauce (Guachi Guaro) [Gillespie/Pozo]
4. Wade in the Water [Lewis/Traditional]
5. Midnight Special, Pt. 1 [Smith]
6. Watermelon Man [Hancock]
7. Sweet Sixteen Bars [Charles]
8. Grazing in the Grass [Elston/Hou]
9. Misty [Burke/Garner]
10. Mercy, Mercy, Mercy [Zawinul]
11. Hey Leroy, Your Mama's Callin' You [Castor/Pruitt]
12. Killer Joe [Golson]
13. Viva Tirado, Pt. 1 [Wilson]
14. Hard Work [Handy]

Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is further described below.