S/D -- The Numero Group

dude

http://www.timeout.com/newyork/resizeImage/htdocs/export_images/620/620.x600.mr.abcsofsoul.jpg

Winight's Lunar Rotation is really good, for the most part (the impaled falsettoes etc are mostly at the beginning) You can still hear one of the better tracks, read a review of it and the whole set:
http://www.paperthinwalls.com/singlefile/item?id=688

Twilight's Lunar Rotation is ok, but it could've easily been one disc rather than 2.

Obviously you mean Twinight, no worries there... Thing is, Kent had already done a Twinight comp so it was imperative that this be as exhaustive as possible. It is a superb Chicago soul music collection for the real Shy collector. I wish I had the product itself but their discs are too dang expensive. I know they are nice etc etc but I just aint got that kinda scratch. (Plus I own that Kent rcd already so I wasn't about to buy all them trx again).

Big to the southside anyway...

They have two new discs either out now or on the way: Eccentric Soul: The Outskirts of Deep City, which is a follow-up to the fantastic Deep City label and Wayfaring Strangers: Guitar Soli.

Twilight's Lunar Rotation is ok, but it could've easily been one disc rather than 2.

Obviously you mean Twinight, no worries there... Thing is, Kent had already done a Twinight comp so it was imperative that this be as exhaustive as possible. It is a superb Chicago soul music collection for the real Shy collector. I wish I had the product itself but their discs are too dang expensive. I know they are nice etc etc but I just aint got that kinda scratch. (Plus I own that Kent rcd already so I wasn't about to buy all them trx again).

If you think you got it all on the Kent CD or that this could have been one disc, you're missing out. The booklet alone is worth the 25 bucks. Have you seen the photos? The Kent booklet had like three, this thing's got like 30. I mean, who else was going to track down the Mystiques?

Pick up those Twinight 45s if you get a chance. Can't imagine they'll be around long.

ok, you talked me into it!

(I did actually mean the Numero Group thing was a great collection, not the as-usual raggedy-ass Kent one. All I meant is I hadn't sprung for the actual CDs yet.)

Now we just need a Mar-V-Lus comp ... and make sure it includes Von Freeman's 45 ! my copy is sorta crackly.

Anyone heard the new one yet? I got it this week (I'm on The Numero Group's annual plan). So far, v. good (on limited, partial spins). Not sure it's as gripping as some of the label's prior releases, but they're all so solid that this isn't much of a criticism.

Very much hooked on the Jackie Stoudamire tracks.

Stoudemire -- excuse me.

I've been enjoying the Guitar Soli comp (vol. 2 of Wayfaring Strangers, I guess) -- some wild Fahey/Kottke/Etc kinda dudes on there. A cool glimpse into a weird little subculture of musicians, great liners, packaging, the whole shebang. I've always eyed the soul comps on Numero, but haven't made the plunge just yet. what's the one to start with?

I say the Eccentric Soul: Deep City Label disc is the place to start.

revive

nobody?

Hah I still haven't heard anything (and their packaging still bugs me.)

what would you like us to say?

x-post

"(and their packaging still bugs me.)"

you must be talking about CDs. cuz the vinyl packages are a fetishist's dream.

guitar soli double vinyl is sooooooo beautiful. and an amazing collection.

I am talking about the CDs. Everything is white with a grainy Jandek pic on the front.

I enjoy the soul stuff, etc, but I can live happily with just the Antena.

for real? weird. they put such care into the vinyl. the design of those soul comps should be winning awards.

x-post

they went cardboard and ink starting with #18. Not sure if this is just an interruption or a new paradigm.

scott, i would like you to SEARCH and DESTROY

http://i31.tinypic.com/ao0qxw.jpg

I love this label

also http://i31.tinypic.com/ao0qxw.jpg

not super-impressed w/ "wayfaring stranger: ladies of the canyon". i'm really enjoying the "bearded ladies" comp on finders keepers much more (although i guess that comps not as historically specific).

the two "cult cargo" comps are pretty awesome, even though i expected them to be much much more tropical and much less US-oriented.

i've only heard a few of the eccentric soul volumes. "kid soul" is pretty good but i don't think it really keeps up over the whole disk. but "capsoul" and "outskirts of deep city" are really fantastic.

very interested in hearing the "bandit", "big mack" and "twinight" volumes.

If you liked Outskirts Of Deep City, you should definitely consider the prior disc, The Deep City Label. It has even stronger material, especially from a group called The Moovers (e.g., Someone To Fulfill My Needs and Darlin I'll Go).

Curt1s, those promo pictures you posted above are for which Numero disc? I don't recognize them (and I think I have all but 3 of the label's discs).

sounds sort of amazing

Soul Messages From Dimona

Following a path blazed in Belize and the Bahamas, The Numero Group finds yet another stop on the soul diaspora tour: Dimona, Israel. Between 1975-1981, a group of American ex-pats took their native sounds of Detroit and Chicago and intermingled them with the messages of the Black Hebrew culture. The results are a heavenly mix of spiritual soul and jazz with an undercurrent of gospel psychedelia. Featuring the Soul Messengers, the Spirit Of Israel, Sons Of The Kingdom, and the Tonistics, Soul Messages From Dimona is the only living document of a thriving community at both the center and fringe of the world.

Yeah, it does. Thanks for the info! And the disc's release date is right around the corner: 05.06.08.

Are those guys not still over there? They were pretty popular. Speaking of Israel, do yall know about Numero's journey to Yisrael? Wild story on their site, and more here (with music)http://www.paperthinwalls.com/singlefile/item?id=1479

Just got the new disc today in the mail! (xp)

So glad to hear there's a new one and it sounds amazing. They've really been on a streak recently, as both Guitar Soli and Recording Tap are fantastic.

So early impressions on 021: As usual, great packaging and a very informative, interesting booklet. And Track Nos. 5 and 7 (Hey There and Equilibrium, respectively) are the jam. I really like the vibe on a lot of these songs, which blend jazz and funk and gospel and rock and 60s psychedelia.

BTW, am I right that the Numero Group discs -- which are all sequentially numbered -- jumped from 019 (Don't Stop: Recording Tap) to 021 (the new disc, Soul Messages from Dimona)?

BTW, am I right that the Numero Group discs -- which are all sequentially numbered -- jumped from 019 (Don't Stop: Recording Tap) to 021 (the new disc, Soul Messages from Dimona)?

Mystery solved. Numero Group is simultaneously working on Disc Nos. 020 and 021, and happened to finish 021 first. So 020 is forthcoming.

And 021 is sounding better and better to me. One song -- Daniel -- is fast becoming a standout, and not just because it has an awesome title.

track 2 is Steam lol

You mean Track No. 2 appears on that Steam soundtrack or album (whichever it is)?

Good review of 021 from Dusted Magazine.

i <3 the tap records set

Yeah, it's good. FWIW, the new one (tho from a totally different genre) is even better.

OMG "standing on the corner" from the "mighty mike lenaburg" comp is incredible!

Hmm. That song never worked for me. That comp wasn't my favorite to begin with, tho.

you don't like soul music as garage rock?

You mean Track No. 2 appears on that Steam soundtrack or album (whichever it is)?

no I mean it's basically the melody of "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye"

interview with the numero group founders at gapersblock.

heartwarming

oh duh, thanks Evan! i didn't see there was another tab on the website with the tracklist.

bummer though, i already know all of those songs inside-out

Gotta say I'm not a big fan of the move towards gimmicky packaging at the expense of actual liner notes. I understand the appeal of building an alternate reality with all the kayfabe stuff (Numero 95 and etc.), but context is one of the main things physical releases still have over browsing youtube or whatever.

Also if I'm reading the liner notes while listening that means I'm not on my phone.

yeah. the imaginary/conceptual releases are a fun idea in the abstract, an interesting take on how a reissue label continues and stays fresh in the 2020s, but I agree that I'm not terribly interested in reissue comps with fake liner notes or none at all.

It just bums me out so much that one of the few reissue labels that put so much time, care and thoughtfulness into their packaging is moving further and further away from physical releases. I mean, I get that physical media for reissues is a niche within a niche at this point, but if a label with the quality control and respect of Numero can't keep it up, it doesn't give me a lot of faith for other labels.

I'm not paying a ton of attention so I'm really asking here- is that what is happening? Or is it that they're expanding their catalog overall but most of the expansion is digital format?

I think it's the latter, so far, but they have explicitly said they aren't doing CDs anymore and hinted multiple times that they may be scaling back vinyl as well.

this gimmicky stuff is incredibly lame, did they determine that most people don’t read liner notes or something? depressing.

what release are y'all talking about?

xp ive always assumed its a combination of them looking at the decline in physical sales plus the idea of them prepping the 247th comp of local soul singles from Wichita Falls or w/e and thinking they need to find a different way forward

which i can relate to, but as a fan of lavishly notated historical reissues is still a drag

I remain totally baffled by this conversation

are the liners for that Reach comp fake or something?

Sorry, I was talking more generally wrt what they've been saying about physical releases in general. I'm not sure which comp has the fake(?) liners.

xp lack of geographic/contextual cohesiveness at the expense of packaging that looks like cigrette boxes

https://www.discogs.com/Various-NuLeaf/master/1781797

ah, thank you. that one makes more sense.

I do like the Reach comp, fwiw, and it has extensive liner notes that seem real to me.

this one rules and i quickly got over the fact there were no liner notes.

https://www.discogs.com/Various-Planisphere/release/13692923

yeah I mean I love comps like those, it’s just I really admired/enjoyed numero’s nerdiness/throughness/idk tbh they’ve been going this way for years idk what I’m complying about lol

speaking as a Light Sounds Dark fan, lol, hypocrisy

Ha ha. Light Sounds Dark take it to ridiculous degrees but then they are bootlegs pretty much so i guess they have to. i do love a dose of LSD too though.

i guess for Numero comps it depends on the comp. For some I'd want to know what time the drummer was born but some, like 'Planisphere' I'm happy to listen as a sort of anonymoys concept album.

plus the idea of them prepping the 247th comp of local soul singles from Wichita Falls or w/e

I LOLd

but probably because I'm in the key demo for such things

what release are y'all talking about?

The one brimstead posted is what prompted my post - doubly annoying because part of the gimmick there is it's a cigarette case so at the top there's a "seal" you have to rip to get at the actual record, so you're damaging the gimmick - but I was also thinking of stuff like Escape From Synth City and "imaginary soundtrack" You're Not From Around Here. They seem to all be part of the Cabinet Of Curiosities line:

http://www.numerogroup.com/d/the-cabinet-of-curiosities-a-numero-universe

I'm generally trying to buy less vinyl these days so I don't have any particular views on the packages here - but I think the point of these Cabinet of Curiosities comps is the rather abstracted, conceptual links they draw between things rather than it documenting a scene/period/genre/location. Tbh this approach will rise or fall on the music, but what I will say is that the extended essay thing about the Reach comp (linked further up the thread) had me adding the album to my basket without listening to a single note. (And I think Numero 95 is a great concept, though obviously the jury's out on whether it'll hold up as a listening experience.)

i guess the danger w/out the historical scene is it just becomes guys playlisting things. i trust them based on previous experiences with them but don't necessarily trust it as a permanent direction, and think there are lots of scenes and styles of music that could use this kind of curatorial ear that have been ignored

Their Spotify playlists are the only Spotify playlists I trust

I'm generally trying to buy less vinyl these days so I don't have any particular views on the packages here - but I think the point of these Cabinet of Curiosities comps is the rather abstracted, conceptual links they draw between things rather than it documenting a scene/period/genre/location.

Yes, but these links are interesting in and of themselves and thus worthy of liner notes instead of just telegraphing "you know, super mario" or "well it's like noir" via packaging. This is even more the case because the artists featured on these compilations are as obscure as anything Numero put out, so it's not like a playlist where some David Bowie b-side follows an Ebo Taylor track or whatever.

Fair point - I'm mainly thinking about the Reach comp here, where the online notes not only set out their stall well but persuaded me to actually buy it. (It's really good.)

"Santa Claus Ain't A Hippie", from the recently released Christmas Dreamers: Yuletide Country (1960​-​1972) is like a Marine Todd meme in song; totally baffling premise of hippies protesting against Santa and the song's protagonist righteously defending his honour.

It came out three years after "Okie From Muskogee" so was prolly riding the wave

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-MBp1V7WRs

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technicolor paradise 3LP repressed, your choice of four different colors. still regret selling the original so i went for “moon mist”

90s bands anniversary gig. Anyone go?