Never the most prolific of independent soul/R&B labels,
Ru-Jac
slowed considerably in 1966, largely due to co-owner
Rufus E. Mitchell
being consumed with other projects. This is the point where
Finally Together
, the third volume of
Omnivore
's four-part
Ru-Jac Records Story
, picks up. If 1966 was slow, 1967 proved to be a prolific year for the Balitmore-based imprint, both in terms of 45s that made it into the stores and the recordings that wound up tucked away in the vaults.
unveils these 45s and the unreleased material, spending a fair amount of its 25 tracks on demos from
Winfield Parker
-- one of the label's mainstays -- and cuts from unknown artists. Throughout the disc, it's possible to hear the times shifting -- the rhythms get a little grittier, the soul gets a little churchy -- but there are also evident remnants of the early part of the '60s:
Rita Dorsey
specializes in supper-club soul, while
the Shyndells
gin up a teenage sock hop on their instrumentals,
Leon Gibson
cranks out some good-time R&B, and
Sir Joe
flirts with the uptown
Motown
sound. If
can sometimes feel a bit ragged and unfinished -- a result of all the demos and uncredited musicians -- that's a feature, not a bug. Maybe
had a hard time scoring a hit or even creating a cohesive identity, but the fun in listening to
is hearing them attempt to do those very things. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine