Various: Loma: A Soul Music Love Affair, Volume Three: Sad, Sad Feeling 1964-68 LP

From late 1964 until late 1968, Loma stood as the subsidiary of Warner Brothers Records aimed directly at the singles market. During its four year lifespan, the label released over 100 singles and a handful of albums, the vast majority of which reflected the collective taste of the men that guided Loma and thereby the evolution of a distinctive artform: soul music.

Viewed objectively, it would be incorrect to compare Loma to the other great R&B repositories of the mid-1960s. It was strictly an adjunct of a bigger label, a commercially-minded operation that threw product at the wall hoping for a hit to stick. But the choices made by those three main participants in charge of the Loma roster–Bob Krasnow, Russ Regan, and Jerry Ragovoy–have gone on to become cherished totems to legions of music aficionados around the globe, for whom chart statistics say little, while a simple 45 with a burnt yellow label can shake them to the very core. What was once regarded as failure has, in the years since, paradoxically become a story of soulful success.

Several years of in-depth research into the Loma vault provide the content of our third volume. It celebrates the many sophisticated uptown productions on the label, mostly cut in New York under the auspices of Ragovoy, Van McCoy, George Kerr, Richard Tee, and other soul notables. Loma goddess–and Aretha’s favorite singer–Linda Jones gets us “Hypnotized” while Bobby Freeman spooks with “Shadow Of Your Love.” Rarities include soulful items from The Realistics, Bobby Reed, Mary Lee Whitney, and Tommy Starr, along with several unreleased titles, including heart wrenching nuggets by The Enchanters and Carl Hall, and the never-before-heard Bob & Earl gem “Just One Look In Your Eyes”.

With full historical notes on artist and label history and many rare illustrations, Loma: A Soul Music Love Affair is a fresh and invigorating celebration of one of 60s soul’s most storied imprints.