Soul Siren: Part 2

When I was thinking of my top five soul sirens it was funny that at the end of it I had not really come up with a bunch of floor fillers but instead women whose music and vocals gave me the most joy at a 'lying on the sofa getting emotional level. Not going to give the other names up but you will that while you can dance it's not the automatic reaction you would expect to give up to these ladies.

Well, she is well known for telling people who have the love and more famous for letting young hearts freely run, but my first experience of Candi Staton was a compilation of her Southern Fried soul. And like so much of the literature and cinema that originates in the polar point of the US, it was filled with steamy, broken hearted tales of love lost, love forbidden and love rejected.

I think that these tracks of Candi are the most memorable and have a really unusual quality. At times its the fluctuating voice of young woman wishing to break free from her troubles and wanting the safety of age and experience while it can also be the memory of that wise woman looking back at the adventures and lessons of her youth.

The three tracks I have chosen below are all like that. I would like to make a special mention for track one, He Called Me Baby. I love this not only for its little story but all that bassline tumbling through the whole track and the brass that creeps in and steals the show with it regular toot-toot fashion. Maybe its the gas me but it really stands out for me. The other two tracks are love tales also. One on the merits of young studs vs older formats and the other of two secret lovers meeting for bittershort liasons. You've got the love.

Candi Staton - He Called Me Baby
Candi Staton - I'd Rather Be An Old Man's Sweetheart (Than A Young Man's Fool)
Candi Staton - Mr And Mrs Untrue