Having anthologized the early Stax singles of legendary soul man William Bell in the acclaimed collection “Never Like This Before” in 2022, Ace is delighted to follow up with the second volume of Bell’s solo singles for the label.
Its predecessor featured the A and B sides of every one of Bell’s 45s as originally issued on the blue Stax label between 1960 and early 1968. “The Man In The Street” does the same for every solo 45 that this well respected southern soul man released between late 1968 and early 1974, after the company had changed its label colour to yellow and rebuilt its catalogue from scratch.
Bell stayed with Stax almost until the label’s final demise in 1975. In the period covered by this collection he released some of his best known and best loved recordings, including his biggest Stax hit ‘I Forgot To Be Your Lover’ and long-time fan favourites ‘My Whole World Is Falling Down’, ‘Happy’ and his own version of his classic composition ‘Born Under A Bad Sign’.
All of those are featured here, along with 20 more tracks of comparable calibre.
As was the case with “Never Like This Before”, “The Man In The Street” offers the first all-embracing and chronological account of Bell’s solo activity during the period it covers. Extensive sleeve notes and a label shot for literally every recording featured herein seal the deal on a truly significant collection.
Tony Rounce
