Definitive collection of tunes from the frontrunners of the modern soul movement. Way back in the 90's, when most of us were digging backpack rap, grunge, or pseudo-soul, a group of German kids were studying the roots of funk music through the sound of old 45s. Those kids would eventually call themselves the Poets of Rhythm and would become a driving force in reviving the soul music scene and keeping it alive and healthy. The good folks at Daptone present this awesome anthology of Poets works that collects their best tunes from 1992 to 2003. From Daptone themselves - "It's been twenty years since their first recording session, and this anthology celebrates their decade-long journey from the raw exuberant rebellion of "Funky Train", to the moody hypnotic explorations of "Discern and Define", and for the first time EVER on wax, the eerie, relaxed groover "Path of Life" – A journey that truly earns them their name: The Poets of Rhythm." 18 tracks in all spread over 2LPs and housed in gatefold sleeve with free mp3 download. Recommended.

• music label: Daptone Records 2013

reviewed by Von Bee 11/2013