Bell's Cellar of Soul

Some of the very best LP soul compilations of the 1960s were the three volumes of Bell's Cellar of Soul. Most of the material was unobtainable in the UK at the time and included tracks by such greats as Mighty Sam, Betty Harris. Lee Dorsey, the Ovations, James Carr, Benny Spellman, Clifford Curry, Al Greene (as was), the Incredibles, Spencer Wiggins, Allen Toussaint, the Showmen and Oscar Toney Junior. I've had volumes 1 and 3 for many years , but volume 2 always eluded me. I came across it at last at the market in Portobello Road - for a very reasonable price - and snapped it up. I also got a rare early Bill Haley LP on London, plus a couple of unusual and quite decent LPs by Nancy Sinatra and Nine Simone. So a pretty good day all in all.

It's less than two weeks until I go to the US for the festivals in Lafayette, Baton Rouge and New Orleans. And give up full time work at the same time. So interesting times, as they say.