Still Here: 1967-1973

Eight years after Numero released Eccentric Soul: Twinight's Lunar Rotation, a compilation that included a handful of songs by the Notations, the label presented a more concentrated look at the Chicago soul group's 1967-1973 phase. The earliest officially released songs here are "Trying My Best to Find Her" and "Gonna Get Ready," both sides of a 1968 single pressed in an edition of "about 500" by the Tad label. At that point, the group's ability was considerable, but the budget was low and the identity wasn't exactly distinctive. All the later material previously gathered on the Twinight set is repeated here, including "I'm Still Here," a doo wop-rooted ballad of devotion, produced by Syl Johnson, that entered Billboard's Soul Singles chart in December 1970 and peaked at number 26. It's signified, like some of the group's later material, by lead vocalist and songwriter Clifford Curry's stab-like yelps. The 1971-1973 sides are of roughly the same quality, despite no repeat commercial success. Uniformly sweet with a little surface grit, they include a cover of the Impressions' "I've Been Trying," as well as a weeping original titled "What More Can I Say," the latter of which was released on yet another small independent, C.R.A. The program stops short of the group's later output supported by Curtis Mayfield, whose attention was caught by the Impressions cover, but it's a thorough anthology of the period it documents. Moreover, the expectedly detailed booklet and liner notes deliver for followers of deep Windy City soul.