RECOMMENDED
Some stories have to be discovered before they can be told. In most cases, when reaching back forty or fifty years in search of the right pieces that make a story whole, this means getting creative. For nearly ten years, the gents from the Chicago-based archival record label Numero Group have found success tracking bountiful amounts of long-lost musical antiquity. We can all thank Tom Lunt, Rob Sevier and Ken Shipley (Numero Group founders) for a world with more soul, R&B and gospel that otherwise would’ve most likely remained overlooked. Their desire to find these hidden recordings and the stories that go along with them have led them to an assortment of towns and cities across the United States. In their business, travel tends to be the easy part. Most of us would deem searching for what is no longer there a near-impossible feat. Equipped with a sixth sense, luck and the pursuit of the truth, Numero
Group follows up with every lead, from the band members themselves and studio engineers to, in some cases, their next of kin. They seek out buildings long since demolished—places that had once housed the soundproof walls of small-time recording studios and in-home basement record labels. All for the sake of giving those who made the music a better experience within the industry and the rest of us the long-awaited chance to appreciate it.
Numero Group has had the most success with their sub-label, Eccentric Soul. In honor of its forty-fifth release, the “Eccentric Soul: Omnibus” release party is being held at the Hideout. DJs will preview tracks from the Omnibus collection as well as other rare soul, funk and R&B records. Eccentric Soul: Omnibus is a collection of forty-five 45s, all small soul and R&B labels from around the country. Each record features a very rare A and B side from the artist. One of the groups featured is South Side Chicago’s The Intentions, who made two singles in a Gold Coast recording studio in 1971. A disagreement between the young band members—which included future renowned flutist Derf Reklaw and Soul Messenger Thomas Whitfield—and their unofficial manager, Art Dubois, over wearing stage outfits at parties, prevented the band from ever moving past this one-time recording. Numero Group recounts this and many other anecdotes in a 108-page clothbound hard-cover book of liner notes. Each platter is branded with a replica of the 45s original label sticker. The collection also includes a sturdy carrying case, available in various color combinations, and a downloadable version. (Jessica Burg)
October 27 at Hideout, 1354 West Wabansia, (773)227-4433, 11:59pm. $5.
Related Stories
Last Punks Standing: A Preview of Mekons at Hideout Mekons have endured by refusing to adhere to anyone's ideas regarding what is and isn't punk rock (which is in and of itself a defiantly punk attitude).
Beyond the Bayou: A Preview of Jon Langford’s Four Lost Souls at The Hideout Four Lost Souls have an infectious energy and diamond-cut professionalism.
Shock Value: A Preview of Last Fantastic Nasty at Quenchers I get the sense that Last Fantastic Nasty are still in that “figuring who we are” phase, where you’ve realized you can get attention by shocking people, but you start thinking long and hard about whether or not you want to. And they do have the musical chops to do well: the songs are metallic and complicated and compelling, even…
Still Breathtaking: A Preview of Sting at Ravinia Festival Sting's solo catalog boasts more than a dozen studio albums. He may not rack up the hit singles like he once did, but he remains a compelling writer, musician and performer.
Match Set: A Preview of Tennis at Metro Moore and Riley have defined an identity that—while still built upon sounds and styles of decades past—now leans in a more timeless direction.
Do It Again: A Preview of Brian Wilson at Horseshoe Hammond While today former bandmate Mike Love leads a group calling itself the Beach Boys, that band features no Brian Wilson. Wilson’s group, on the other hand, includes original Beach Boys member Al Jardine as well as late-prime-era Beach Boy Blondie Chaplin, and is jaw-droppingly facile at recreating the Beach Boys sound.
