VA - Double Shot Of Soul (2004)

Founded by songwriting veterans Hal Winn and Joe Hooven, Los Angeles indie Double Shot scored its biggest hit with the Count Five's 1966 garage rock classic "Psychotic Reaction," but the label's greatest legacy remains its roster of soul artists, most notably the great Brenton Wood. Favoring a breezy, sunkissed sound as plainly a product of its origins as the rootsy grit of Memphis R&B or the uptown sophistication of Chicago soul, Double Shot forged a buoyant, commercial aesthetic that nevertheless rarely found its footing on radio, and despite the volume and consistency of its output, the label is rarely if ever discussed among the great American soul imprints of the late 1960s. Kent's superb Double Shot of Soul promises to make great strides in rehabilitating Double Shot's legacy, assembling 26 forgotten gems from the label's creative heyday -- many of the cuts are the handiwork of house songwriter and producer Maurice Rodgers, also a recording artist in his own right ("Coming in From the Rain"), and as a result there's a consistency and continuity here absent from other label overviews. Which is not to suggest everything here sounds alike, however -- while acts like Foxy ("Trouble") and Kent & the Candidates ("The Neck") veer towards funk, the Bagdads "("Love Has Two Faces"") deliver sumptuous harmony-soul worthy of the Impressions. Extensive, insightful liner notes round out an excellent package.~Double Shot of Soul Review by Jason Ankeny