‘Good’ Not Great Collection of Soul Hits of ‘70s

Can you put together a definitive “greatest soul hits of the ‘70s” series of albums without including any of the works of such seminal ‘70s soul figures as Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, the Jackson 5 or Al Green?

The answer is no.

But Rhino Records’ ambitious, 10-volume “Didn’t It Blow Your Mind! / Soul Hits of the ‘70s” series shows that you can produce a good collection of albums without those classic artists--a testimony to the vitality of soul music in an era when Top 40 pop was so largely uninspired. The budget-priced albums, which are sold separately, each contain 12 songs and come with helpful liner notes.

But why leave off the Wonders, Gayes and Greens in the first place?

Gary Stewart, vice president of artists and repertoire for Rhino Records, said the series is designed to supplement what was already widely available in compact disc.

“The reason Steve Wonder or Marvin Gaye or Al Green aren’t represented is that their work can already be found in CD--both in their own greatest-hits and on other compilations.

“We figured that anyone who loved soul music would already have most of those individual greatest-hits albums so we ought to give them something they probably don’t have. You might say it is the best of the rest--but there was a heck of a lot of the rest in this case.”

While there are excellent recordings in the series--from Curtis Mayfield’s “Superfly” to Betty Wright’s “Clean Up Woman,” the individual albums would have been stronger from an aesthetic standpoint by limiting the number of volumes to, say, seven.

That would have done away with such marginal recordings as R.B. Greaves’ “Take a Letter Maria,” the Winstons’ “Color Him Father,” the Friends of Distinction’s “Going in Circles” and the Flaming Embers’ “Mind, Body and Soul”--all of which are found on volume one.

Volumes 6 and 8 are especially appealing. Volume 6 offers Laura Lee’s “Women’s Love Rights,” Isaac Hayes’ “Theme From Shaft,” the Chi-Lites’ “Have You Seen Her” and the Staple Singers’ “Respect Yourself.”

Volume 8’s selections include Joe Tex’s “I Gotcha,” Frederick Knight’s “I’ve Been Lonely for So Long,” Luther Ingram’s “(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don’t Want to Be Right” and the Staple Singers’ “I’ll Take You There.”