Think that white men can't do soul? Think that the country-soul thang started with 

Lambshop's 'Nixon'? Think that all the current compilations out there are just 

stuff you've already got, but in a different order?

Well, if you answered 'yes' to any of the above, then you need 'Country Got Soul',

a fantastic new compilation on Ross Allen's Causals Records, which has been compil-

ed by Jeb Lloy Nichols. If you love either soul or country (and let's face it, if

you think country is all Garth Brooks and line dancing, then you're a philistine),

or particularly both, then it's a dream ticket.

What it is, is a collection of tracks by a hole heap of artist (the likes of Tony

Joe White, Dan Penn, Donnie Fritts, Eddie Hinton), all of whom you've probably nev-

er heard from, who produced some amazing music back in the late sixties and early

seventies. There was a small scene happening in the likes of Mempis and Muscle 

Shoals, Tennessee, mixing up the twang of the country music coming from the mount-

ains and the blues coming from the Delta, with some real grit, fun and soul. The 

result is some of the best old music heard in a long time - from the funky reinter-

pretation of 'Hey Good Lookin' (Charlie Rich) to the rallying call of ' I Hate Hate

' (Razzy) to the euphoric soul of 'The Feeling Is Right' ( Bobby Hatfield), it's 

all a real treat. The perfect late summer record and the antidote to all the weak

r'n'b littering charts. These good ol' swamp white boys have a thing or two to 

teach us all.