Vol. 1 of the soul rarities by this small Los Angeles label at least included some names recognizable to many soul specialists, like the Larks, Bettye Swann, Johnny Adams, and Ted Hawkins. This follow-up, however, goes yet deeper into the label's holdings. Though Swann and the Larks do reappear, it's safe to say that only completists are going to know most of these names -- and some of those names will only be familiar through names in discographies, rather than as artists whose material has actually been heard. Point made that this is a special-interest compilation, it's reasonably decent period upbeat, danceable soul, most of it from the mid-'60s, though a few cuts stretch as far ahead as 1973, and a calypso-flavored one (by Lee Maye, better known as a major-league baseball player) as far back as 1958. The influence of Motown is felt, of course, but so is the cheerier side of Chicago soulsters à la Major Lance and -- even on the sides not by the Larks -- the high harmonies of ebullient vocal groups in the Larks vein. Henry Strogin's "Love Insurance" takes the emulation of Chi-town soul a little too far, in fact, quoting verbatim from the Impressions' "You Must Believe Me." A bit of sweet soul doo wop surfaces in cuts by the Question Marks and Toni & the Showmen's "Beware," and of Aaron Neville in Tommy & Eddie's "I Love My Baby." The name-that-influence game won't hold the attention of less dedicated soul fans, however, marking this as one for the back tiers of even large soul collections, despite the relative diversity of sounds it offers. Gwenn Stewart's midtempo 1968 ballad "I Thought It Over" does stand out for the more distinctively ambitious arch of the song and performance, particularly when it soars into the bridge. Half a dozen of the tracks were previously unissued. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide