Here in Portland, Oregon we’re fortunate to have a great deal of well-curated, friendly and varied record stores. From the psychedelic mecca that is Hawthorne’s Exiled Records to Discourage Records’ insanely meticulous punk rock collection and up to northeast Portland at one of my personal favorites, Beacon Sound, you can pretty much find anything you’re looking for with enough digging around the cities many shops. Those outside the city may have heard of one place in particular though: Mississippi Records. They’re not only a store, but a label as is Beacon Sound… and Exiled… and Jackpot, but that’s a whole other post. The point I’m driving at is that Mississippi Records is known around the world for their carefully curated compilations and reissues. They’ve released everything from early recordings of blues songs from the American south to music recorded in cell phones in the Saharan desert. Seriously, they’re all over the place.

Now that I’ve spent half the post introducing it, how about I talk about today’s mix? The label started a tape series a few years back where you pay as much as you want and they send you mix tapes until your budget it spent. If you want in on that, then head over to their site and sign up. One that has caught my attention through pure chance (I was searching for something else entirely and the name grabbed me) is Ghost Dance. It’s a great compilation of early American and Jamaican soul music (the latter of which I know absolutely nothing about). There’s some stuff you may have heard before (Wilson Pickett or The Wailers, for instance), but most of it is pretty obscure stuff. Obscure doesn’t always equal good, but with Mississippi Records, they seem to make sure they’re walking the line between really great music and stuff that’s hard to find. They accomplish that here. Some of my personal favorites are The Techniques’ “Wish It Would Rain” and Alton Ellis & The Flames’ “Why Do Birds Follow The Spring?”

Note: I’ve removed the links to the mixes as I feel they’re priced affordably by a label/record shop worth supporting. If you’re really set on downloading them, then a quick google search should help you out.

Side A

1. Doris Troy – Watcha Gonna Do About It?

2. Derrick & Patsy – Housewives Choice

3. Tammy McKnight – Stop These Teardrops

4. Sims Twins – Sooth Me

5. Debra Lewis – What You Gonna Do?

6. Justin Hinds – Why Should I Worry

7. Ernie K. Doe – Trying To Make You Love Me

8. Ken Boothe – Danger Zone!

9. Bobby Marchan – There Is Something On Your Mind (Part Two)

10. The Wailers – There She Goes

11. Ike Gordon – Your Close Old Friends

Side B

1. Bobby Moore – The Hamburger Song

2. Jivin’ Juniors – Over The River

3. The Techniques – Wish It Would Rain

4. Wilson Pickett – It’s Too Late

5. Alton Ellis & The Flames – Why Do Birds Follow The Spring?

6. Jackie Opel – Cry Me A River

7. Sam & Dave – That’s The Way It Is

8. Prince Buster – Ghost Dance

9. The Uniques – Tell Me What To Do

10. Bob Andy – I Got To Go Back Home

11. The Violinaires – The Salt Of The Earth