Soulman Syl Johnson gets done up right by Numero Group

Four years in the making, Numero Group's blockbuster Syl Johnson chronicle Complete Mythology is finally done and has been submitted to the guitar-slinging Chicago soul great for inspection. Judging by the thrilled look on Johnson's face as he cracked open a preview copy of the elaborate box set to give the six LPs and four CDs a critical once-over, it looks like Numero have another winner on their hands.

Comprehensively covering Johnson's productive first 15 years of recording (prior to signing with the Memphis-based Hi Records label in 1971 for a nine-year stint), the meticulously researched companion to the Numero Group's Eccentric Soul: Twinight's Lunar Rotation set includes tracks from 25 of his frequently sampled singles cut for various labels including the aforementioned Twinight, Federal, Shama, Cha-Cha, Special Agent, Zachron and others, along with his two albums for Twinight, 1968's Dresses Too Short and 1970's Is It Because I'm Black. 

The 10 additional unreleased tracks which date from the same era doesn't make for a huge percentage of "new discoveries" by typical Numero standards but the set seems to be more directly aimed at soul music fans and hip hop heads seeking a one-stop introduction to Syl Johnson's early work rather than hardcore collectors who'll already be familiar with just about everything here. 

The lavishly packaged Complete Mythology also boasts a 52-page book which includes a novel-length essay (35,000 words!), loads of unpublished photos, song annotation, a comprehensive discographical listing and yes, there's a sampling index too. Syl likes to boast about being the "most sampled R&B artist of all time" which James Brown's publisher might dispute but nevertheless, Johnson was able to buy himself a fancy house just from the royalties earned off of Different Strokes notably flipped by BDP, Eric B & Rakim, Kool G Rap, Geto Boys and the Wu-Tang Clan. Watch an "unboxing" video with Syl Johnson right here.  

Those quick to place their orders for the reasonably priced Complete Mythology box through the Numero Group site also get a bonus covers seven-inch (while supplies last) with the only two recordings in the massive compendium not performed by Johnson. 

Evidently after the Numero crew diligently dug up every last worthwhile Syl Johnson track they could find for the box, they realized they didn't have anything left for a giveaway single so they decided to go with covers instead. There's no shortage of great versions of Is It Because I'm Black? so they had their pick between Ken Boothe's popular reggae take, the lesser-known rendition by Lloyd Williams that inspired Boothe's one-drop revision or even Larry "T-Bird" Gordon & The Soul Blenders crack at it for the Movin' label (which now goes for c-note) but for some reason they went with the creaky one The Royal Revue cut for the San Antonio-based Garu label. 

Personally, I'd take the  clavinet-enhanced groover Oscar Toney Jr. put out on Contempo over the entire lot but then again it's understandable why the Numero boys made the choice they did. You can't blame them for not wanting to show up Syl on his own retrospective salute by throwing in a more powerful interpretation of one of his best loved tunes. You can compare a couple of sweet reworkings by Oscar Toney Jr. from 1974 – nicely arranged by Gerry Shury – and Hammond tweaked recut by The Royal Revue following Syl's original below.  For the flip, they decided against doubling up on Is It Because I'm Black? and chose an instrumental rip through Come On Sock It To Me by The Deacons from 1968. The connection being that the Deacons' party joint was originally released on Syl's own Shama label and the Deacons featured his guitar-playing older brother Jimmy Johnson. Sweet.

“For decades I’ve regarded Syl Johnson as the absolute uppermost among the soul voices whose names wouldn’t be recognized except by cognoscenti—the “lost” voice that cut the deepest, burned the hardest, and kept the best pace with the hall-of-famers (Green, Gaye, Hathaway, et al). Now, not only has he been given belated sonic justice, but I’m amazed to learn that the aggrieved outsider passion of his voice is matched by the absurd ferocity of the life lived by the man himself, inside and outside the verifiable histories of our time.”

Jonathan Lethem 

 

LINKS
Numero Group http://www.numerogroup.com/catalog_detail.php?uid=01178
Numero blog  http://numerogroup.wordpress.com/category/syl-johnson/