Various Artists - Eccentric Soul: The Forte Label (Black Vinyl)

From 1967-1980, Kansas City’s Forte Records captured nearly every iteration of popular Black music; basement beehiver-y from The Ray-Ons and Four Darlings, funky soul from Gene Williams Lee Harris, Louis Chachere, and The Fantastiks, downtempo disco ballads from James Whitney and Sharon Revoal, and the newly independent work of James Brown’s former Soul Sister #1 Marva Whitney. Compiled here are 28 of the label’s enduring sides, con- textualized with copious photos, ephemera, and essay, all housed in heavy weight gatefold jacket. Who knows how to do “The Hen”?