The Complete Ty Karim: Los Angeles' Soul Goddess

Ty Karim's lengthy if sporadic career is covered in depth on this 23-song compilation, which includes cuts she issued on singles on several labels between 1965 and 1980, as well as ten previously unissued tracks; her 1967 45 credited to Towana & the Total Destruction; and a duet with George Griffin on the two-part 1980 single "Keep on Doin' Whatcha' Doin'." Los Angeles Soul Goddess is overstating matters; yes, she was based in L.A., but her talent was more admirable than godlike. It's kind of a given that this release's appeal is largely limited to very committed soul collectors, and not just because there aren't any hits. Karim's somewhat deeper-than-average vocals are decent but on the ordinary side, and the material, mostly written by producer and onetime husband Kent Harris, reflects soul trends of the day without adding much of special note. Occasionally the Karim-Harris team got their hands on songs that she could make an impression with, and those — particularly "Wear Your Natural, Baby" (a simultaneous statement of fashion and African-American pride that was pretty cutting-edge lyric-wise for 1967) and "All at Once," which has a nice sad melody and Latin-influenced beat — are the highlights of this anthology. She seems to be letting it hang out more than usual on the 1965 single "All in Vain," too, which has a raspier, more gospel-influenced style (somewhat in the Etta James mold) than most of her other recordings, and is all the better for it. Karim would be better sampled via representation of such songs on various-artists collections than via a full CD, however, as this disc is weighed down by generic sorta Motown-ish numbers (on her 1960s sides) and some flawed attempts at more updated dance-influenced sounds, like "Keep on Doin' Whatcha' Doin'," which goes on way too long.