VA - Eccentric Soul: The Nickel and Penny Labels

It's been two and a half years since the last volume in Numero's Eccentric Soul series (Smart's Palace) was released; getting to now hear such stellar cuts as Little Ben & The Cheers' "I'm Not Ready To Settle Down" and Jerry Townes' "Three Sides To A Triangle," though, has made The Nickel and Penny Labels well worth the wait.

"Chicago’s Richard Pegue was one of the most intriguing figures to come out of the Chicago soul scene in the 1960’s and 1970’s. Raised during the city’s fertile Doo-wop era, Pegue immersed himself in music immediately. He cut his chops as a mobile dj, record store clerk and recording artist before stepping into the booth as one of Chicago’s most enduring radio personalities to grace the city’s airwaves. The Nickel and Penny labels featured in this compilation are twin sides of the same eccentric coin, Pegue himself. He was the writer, arranger and producer of some of the most beautiful Chicago soul records in the ’60s and ’70s; too bad they all went out of print weeks after being released." - Numero Group

"Little Ben & The Cheers’ “I’m Gonna Get Even With You” is hummable as hell, but spikes its classic Motown punch with a shot of ego-wounded nastiness, and the vigorous pulse and righteous back and forth singing on South Shore Commission’s “Shadows” are just two of a half-dozen earworms that the song will lodge in your brain." - Dusted