Even by the benchmark of obscure soul compilations, the music on this soul anthology is really arcane. Seventeen of the 24 tracks were previously unreleased, and what was released only appeared on tiny local labels. What it has in common was that it was all done at Leo Kulka's Golden State Recorders in San Francisco, mostly in the late '60s (although some was cut in the early '70s). The San Francisco area was not known as a beachhead of great soul music, and given that virtually all of these musicians are unknown and released little that saw the light of day, you might be suspicious that the results were distinctly minor-league. Yet this is actually one of the better collections of its kind (outclassing, for instance, numerous other obscure soul comps on the Kent/Ace labels themselves). While there was not a distinctly original top-gear soul sound for either the Bay Area or the acts on this disc, it's pretty enjoyable, and quite well-produced and well-arranged, period late '60s soul music. Nothing really classic, just a pretty solid listen, and rather more pop-soul (in a good sense) than might be expected from San Francisco soulsters, who were often in a more blues/R&B-hued vein. The San Francisco TKOs' "Make Up Your Mind" and George and Teddy's "Lover," for instance, are both tight polished swingers, while Blondell Breed and the Imports' "When I See My Baby" has slight girl-group and Jamaican influences. One future name of note does appear: white soul-rock singer Lydia Pense, known mostly as lead vocalist of Cold Blood, is heard on two previously unreleased items by one of her previous bands, the Generation. In fact she would record Barbara Lynn's "I'm a Good Woman" (one of the two Generation numbers, and one of the highlights of the CD) again with Cold Blood. Did the San Francisco TKOs really think their thin cover of the Miracles' "Ooh Baby Baby" (actually released as a 1971 single) was going to make anyone forget the original, though? ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide