Compiled and annotated by Dean Rudland and Tony Harlow.
This compilation was first published in 2013. Any and all copyright in this compilation is owned by Warner Music Australia Pty Ltd. Artwork (C) 2013 Warner Music Australia Pty Ltd. Manufactured and marketed in Australia by Warner Music Australia Pty Limited, a Warner Music Group company.
It's rare to see an Australian major record company creating a retrospective compilation off its own bat, but Warners have put together an excellent compilation here, reviving the old Festival label (which they bought in 2005) for the purpose, though why they did that when they already have the Rhino label for reissues is beyond me! The only problem is the compilation title, as several tracks here are neither "soul" nor particularly "heavy", so the purists will have a field day, but it hits the spot with Jeanie Greene's super-rare "Sure As Sin" (later covered by both Laura Lee and Candi Staton) and The Allman Brothers Band's "Whipping Post", which amazingly, I hadn't heard before. Anyway, there's much to enjoy on this, and also on the companion volumes "A Different Kind Of Blues" and "Cosmic Country", which I'll add in the next day or two. This can be ordered from the following sites: