Kent Compilations - A Soldier's Story

 

Our dear friend George turns 60 today and will be able to pick up the Portuguese equivalent of a bus pass. I know that he is quite chuffed that he is 4 days younger than another dear friend Ernie He is coming home for a few days in a couple of weeks (George not Ernie) and I will be catching up with him for the first time in a good few years. I know for a fact that he is a great fan of this album so this one is for him.

Three weeks ago in this series I posted Santified Soul and stated  It is very unlikely that you will hear a better Soul compilation this month or maybe even this year. I was wrong there. Both accolades in fact go to A Soldier's Sad Song - Vietnam Through the Eyes of Black America 1966-73 released in 2003 on the Ace/Kent label.

If you only ever buy one Kent compilation a) catch yourself on and b) this is the one. Over to the Ace website to give you some history and the tracklisting. Not only is it brilliant music it is also a fascinating history lesson which tells the tale of  the terrible tale of the ignominies suffered by many enlisted black men - often at the hands of their white colleagues as well as the enemy  

Of the 240,00 men recruited under Project 100,000 (the draft) between October 1966 and June 1969 41% were black, although black Americans represented only 11% of the US population. Something, I'm sure that doesn't come as a surprise to anyone reading this.

The track list reads like a who's who of 60s and early 70s soul - William Bell, James Carr, the O'Jay's and Curtis Mayfield to name but four. Artists you should have records by in their own right.

Four songs for you this week two of which are absolute stick ons. We will start with Joe Tex with I Believe I'm Gonna Make It who raises up from his foxhole and get's him two mo' enemies.

Freda Payne represents the girlfriends, wives and mothers left behind with an impassioned plea to Bring the Boys Home.

I Can't Write Left Handed by Bill Withers is his finest 5 minutes or so and is also a huge favourite of George and I will  be mortally offended if he does not wax lyrical about it in the comments.

Finally we have Swamp Dogg's brilliant rendition of  the John Prine song Sam Stone .As I think I have written before has there ever been a more poignant line of lyrics than There's a hole in daddy's arm where all the money goes? Even if he never wrote another line his place in history would  surely have been assured.

Joe Tex - I Believe I'm Gonna Make It

Freeda Payne - Bring the Boys Home

Bill Withers - I Can't Write Left Handed

Swamp Dogg - Sam Stone