Two record companies, Collectables and Kent, have taken it upon themselves to reissue everything cut by Joe Evans' Carnival Record label. Collectables has the best idea musically -- it includes six or eight tracks by one known artist and fills the rest of the CD with cuts by the real unknowns. However, Collectables doesn't include songwriters' credits, and the liner notes and artist information are either skimpy or missing. Kent's discs have more than 20 cuts each and extensive annotation, but no more than two or three tracks by any artist, so you get a potpourri of unfamiliar tracks that are average at best. Carnival of Soul, Vol. 1: Wishes, the first volume of Kent's Carnival Records compilations, consists of 24 tracks and one lone R&B hit: Lee Williams & the Cymbals "I Love You More." Two Manhattans tunes made the cut -- the unreleased "Til You Come Back to Me" and "All I Need Is Your Love," an obscure album track. Northern soul fans will love the inclusion of Phil Terrell's "Love Has Passed Me By"; the song went unnoticed in the States, but is considered a collector's item Europe. A female group called the Pets has the most interesting track here, an early production by George Clinton titled "I Say Yeah," originally released and forgotten in 1965. Tracks by the Metrics, the Topics, and the Lovettes are interesting, and the Pretenders cuts always demand attention, but the rest is mediocre at best. ~ Andrew Hamilton, All Music Guide