Right Track: The Very Best of and More

Marginal, the import label of release for the lengthy, quasi-legal Nuggets series Soul Cargo, as well as an excellent Billy Stewart collection, did Chicago soul fans yet another favor with this collection, a bulked-up version of the former Right Track: The Very Best Of. Adding eight more tracks makes it function as a complete-on-Okeh compilation, featuring both sides of each single plus all of Billy Butler's 1966 LP Right Track. Thanks to his sweet voice and the songwriting/production expertise of Curtis Mayfield, Billy Butler's songs were right next to the Impressions in terms of quality, and quite a few of these ("Found True Love," "My Sweet Woman") haven't been anthologized as much as they deserve. Fans of the early Impressions as well as good-time Chicago soul perennials like Major Lance or Bob & Earl will find much to love here, including "(You Make Me Think) You Ain't Ready" and "(I've Got a Feeling) You're Gonna Be Sorry." The early singles are much more enjoyable than the album tracks; OKeh was aiming Butler at the same audience that picked up on Major Lance's "Monkey Time," resulting in a few novelties like "Boston Monkey." With just a few exceptions, though, Butler's recordings for OKeh were of a very high quality.