Eccentric Soul: The Capsoul Label

Short for 'Capital City Soul,' the Columbus Ohio Capsoul label's history spans only five short years throughout the 1970's. Founded by Bill Moss, a local singer and DJ at WVKO in Columbus, Capsoul released just a dozen 45's and one highly sought after LP resulting in a few regional hits. Numero 001 is a compilation of 19 tracks spanning the label's all but forgotten history. The album features Johnson, Hawkins, Tatum & Durr, The Kool Blues, Ronnie Taylor, the Four Mints, Bill Moss, Elijah and the Ebonites and Marion Black. The soul is there by the bucketful -- sweet '70s gems by such little-known artists as Marion Black, Bill Moss, and the staggering Johnson, Hawkins, Tatum & Durr -- but there's nothing particularly esoteric or unusual about the music. To the contrary, it goes down as smoothly as that of Marvin Gaye, the JBs, the Four Tops, and other R&B legends.