American Soul Connexion (1954-1962) Chapter 1+5 [2019] (5 x CDs) | Butterboy

VA - American Soul Connexion (1954-1962) Chapter 1+5 [2019] (5 x CDs)

SOUL

VA - American Soul Connexion (1954-1962) Chapter 1+5 [2019] (5 x CDs)

Released in September 2019, American Soul Connexion (1954–1962) is one of those 

box sets that feels like a time machine. 

148 Tracks spread across five CDs, it dives deep into the early years of soul, 

before the genre had even settled on a name, 

and traces its roots through gospel, R&B, doo-wop, and the first flickers of 

what would become Motown and Southern soul.

It’s not just the big names, though they’re here in full force: Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, 

James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, Etta James, Jackie Wilson. 

You hear them in their formative stages, experimenting, evolving, and laying 

the groundwork for everything that came after. But what makes this set really 

shine is how it goes beyond the obvious. 

It pulls in regional hits, forgotten B-sides, and tracks that might’ve lit up a jukebox 

in Memphis or a dance floor in Philly but never made it into the mainstream spotlight.

Listening to it feels like flipping through a sonic scrapbook of postwar Black America, 

full of joy, heartbreak, swagger, and grit. You can hear gospel’s influence in the vocal 

phrasing, the blues in the emotional weight, and the pop sensibility 

that would soon explode in the ’60s. The sequencing is smart, too. It lets you hear 

the genre’s evolution, step by step.

If you’re curious about how soul music came to be not just the polished hits, but the raw, 

early moments, American Soul Connexion is a fantastic place to start.

 I t’s rich, vibrant, and full of stories waiting to be heard. (Butterboy)

THis is absolutely stunningly delicious! If you could write a track list of ALL the 

greatest Soul masterpiece classics it is THIS

Don’t believe me? Check the tracklist here