The Topics

This is the first volume in a series that highlights some of the greatest and most overlooked soul of the 1970s. Of course, there's a romantic tenderness in the songs that is appealing, but there's also an underlying playfulness. In the second half of torch song "Clinton Park," the Bay Area's Masterplan reveal that their "baby" is only three years old, completely changing the meaning of the song. And Sly, Slick and Willie's track "Sho'Nuff" is a bouncy kiss-off number. True, many of the songs here sound like b-sides and rip-offs of more popular tunes, but that's part of the appeal.