Compilations of old soul material are often an iffy affair, tending toward repackaged, tired hits on the one hand and scratchy, obscure, sub-par attic finds on the other. It is tougher than it should be to find collections that balance unreleased or rare tracks with the thoughtfully glossy production that helped defined the musical era of the late ’60s and early ’70s. Thankfully, Sample My Funky Groove: Volume One does just that, bringing together heavyweights like funk progenitor Lee Dorsey and bluesman Johnny Adams (of 1969’s “Reconsider Me” fame) alongside relatively unknown but equally talented vocalists like Ironing Board Sam and Ted Taylor.

Most soul fans will likely head straight for Dorsey’s two contributions here: the opening “Everything I Do Goh Be Funky (From Now On),” a terrifically loping, Hammond accented sing-along, and the considerably funkier “Give It Up,” with its Meters-style sassy lead guitar licks. Both are classic Dorsey–guaranteed pleasers which lay down the template for the other fourteen songs here.

At the top of the list of the many nice surprises here is Tommie Young’s “You Can Only Do Wrong So Long,” whose traipsing piano lead will ring familiar to fans of indie-pop act Belle & Sebastian’s “For the Price of a Cup of Tea.” Combined with Young’s high register vocals, its layered percussion and gleeful disposition also echo Motown’s last golden era, the time before funk crossed over into an indigestible tripe of pop music. Young’s soul output was limited to a record she released in 1973–a shame given this song’s appeal.

Jimmy Smith would bob his head in approval to Brian Auger’s “Compared to What,” the nearly eight-minute soul-jazz stomper that closes out the disc, while Backyard Heavies’ “Soul Junction” does an equally magnificent job delivering an electric organ haymaker. While African Music Machine doesn’t live up to their name, they do come through with a would-be Isaac Hayes theme on the virtually instrumental “Black Water Gold,” and Ted Taylor steals the show with his greatest chart success, 1970’s “Something Strange Is Going on in My House.”

From a quality standpoint, the music on Sample My Funky Groove is as consistently enjoyable as compilations come. However, the compact disc release is plagued by a poor remastering job that creates noticeably large volume disparities from track to track. The segue from Taylor’s song to Ann Sexton’s “Color My World Blue,” for instance, necessitates cranking up the juice. Ironically, on a more inadequate release the discrepancies would likely be less frustrating, but this record’s flow is so captivating that its disruption is all the more frustrating. It’s a small price to pay considering the overall merits of the album but something to amend when Volume Two rolls around.

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