A Place Where Your Vote Really Counts

One of the albums on my best reissues list this year was a live recording of Marshall Crenshaw from 1982. The label that released it is one that I have been meaning to tout for some time. Run Out Groove is a democracy in the truest sense. This lot actually listens to the people. In most cases, they dig around for some of the finest but most neglected releases from the last five decades. Sometimes, like in the case of that Crenshaw album, Run Out Groove finds a recording that has never been properly released. Once a few candidates are properly vetted, the label brings a ballot to the people for a vote. The album that receives the most votes becomes the label's next release. The number of albums pressed depends solely on pre-orders, and the album only gets one pressing. That's how, for example, you end up with 1,155 limited-edition copies of the Crenshaw album. You can tell the folks behind the scene have the same passion for records as we do. The vinyl is heavy and crisp, and the packaging is impeccable. Here is a quick look at what Run Out Groove has given us so far.

That brings us to why I'm writing about Run Out Groove today. They have an exciting ballot for their next album release out there right now, and time is running out to make your vote count. Earlier this year I was going on about Lorraine Ellison's "Stay With Me" being about the best song I have ever heard. That tune can be found on her 'Heart & Soul' album, but it's a pretty tough find these days. Maybe not for long, however, because that's one of the candidates for Run Out Groove's next release. The competition is stiff, however, and I must admit I voted for Solomon Burke's 'The Best of Atlantic Soul 1962-1965', an album that got to No. 22 back in '65. Little Richard deserves a mention too as his 1970 live album 'The Rill Thing' is also a worthy candidate made more exciting by the fact that this one would be blown out to a double LP.

Burke gets my vote because he has been on the ballot before, and each song on this compilation is gold. I'm such a fan of Burke's voice, but it's also his place in the history of Atlantic that makes him an artist worth remembering. It has been said many times it was Jerry Wexler and Ahmet Ertegun's signing of "King Solomon" that kept Atlantic afloat in the early '60s when Ray Charles and Bobby Darin jumped ship. In a move bound to be as controversial as a candidate's flunkies showing up at a polling place on election day to try and sway your vote, here is a little Burke (two words rarely seen together) to whet your appetite.

Solomon will be remembered as a soul man through and through, but he went down the country road a time or two too. Burke's second of 32 singles for Atlantic was his first hit for the label. "Just Out of Reach (Of My Two Open Arms)", reached No. 24 on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at No. 7 on the R&B charts. Time for a good ol' fashioned boot scoot. Then place your vote. Let's face it though. We are going to win no matter what.

"Just Out of Reach (Of My Two Empty Arms)"