Barbara Lynn - The Complete Atlantic Recordings

 With a silken voice, skintight capris and rockin' her Gibson guitar, Barbara Lynn is a soul icon that does not get the recognition that she rightfully deserves. I only discovered her a few years ago myself and her recordings are not all that easy to come by but our local library was hip enough to bring in this collection which I am certainly grateful for!

While not a recurring hit-maker, her tunes were still quite strong'n'soulful (even as she "borrows" from the Temptations' "The Way You Do The Things You Do" for "Sure Is Worth It") and she did hit is big with her teenage hit "You'll Lose a Good Thing" in 1962 (which has subsequently been covered by Aretha Franklin and Freddy Fender, among others). Besides her guitar playing, Lynn was unusual in that she wrote a good portion of her own material (although not everything, of course, as was the case for many artists in the 60's), she did have some minor hits and her "Oh! Baby (We Got a Good Thing Goin')" was even covered by the Rolling Stones! 

The material ranges from soul ballads to upbeat dance numbers, with a majority kinda hittin' right in between with mid-tempo signature soul tunes based on relationship troubles like "This Is The Thanks I Get", "You'll Lose a Good Thing", "Take Your Love and Run", "I'll Suffer", "Sufferin' City", "Multiplying Pain", "Why Can't You Love Me" and tons more! She even gets a bit funky with numbers like "(Daddy Hot Stuff) You're Too Hot To Hold" (definitely influenced by "Mr. Big Stuff") and the sexy "You Make Me So Hot". Interestingly enough, there is a previously unreleased cover of "Soul Deep" - the liner notes conjecture that this might be the original recording of this number - that was later a hit for the Box Tops.

She has gained more recognition as the years have gone by and continues to play'n'tour the world to this day. Really fine soul struttin'!