Various

Covering the years 1966 to 1976, the third volume of Vampisoul's Sensacional Soul series collects 28 tracks of Spanish soul sounds and, like its predecessors, showcases how young Spanish musicians absorbed and transformed (more seamlessly than not) American soul sounds, acid and Afro-rock, gospel and funk into an identifiable, if not wholly original, sound. Lone Star's "Africa" is a psychedelic funk rocker that, with its distorted guitar, bears more than a passing resemblance to prime Rare Earth, while the Pop-Tops' "Autumn Winds" is a charming mid-tempo confection with some touchingly plaintive vocals. There are some misfires and, interestingly, these are covers of American soul classics. Latin Combo's hilariously overwrought and misinterpreted take on James Brown's "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag" and Evolution's amateurish mash up of the Temptations' "Get Ready" and Santana's "Evil Way" are two prime offenders. It's not always Senscaional, but it's still an interesting listen.