ECCENTRIC SOUL - THE TRAGAR AND NOTE LABEL

Despite Atlanta's reputation as the "Black Mecca," until recently it had produced just a small batch of black records. But in the tradition of any soul-subgenre ringleader you care to name, Jesse J. Jones had once been quite busy building a private empire of sultry singing, tear-jerking strings, strident brass, and articulate soul songwriting like nothing else on offer in the American South around him. Sprawling over a pair of CDs, Eccentric Soul: The Tragar & Note Labels is an exhaustive survey of the twin imprints' Atlanta output from 1969 to 1977. Lost for 30 years amid the kudzu and Coke bottles of steamy central Georgia, 50 of Tragar and Note's best sides have been dragged lovingly from the underbrush, wrapped around a 10,000-word essay, and elegantly presented for an audience well outside the perimeter. Disques et pochette sont neuf