Various

Twinight is not as unfathomably obscure as some other soul labels resuscitated by the Numero Group, having been a moderate player in the Chicago soul scene from 1967 to ’72. Their biggest hit maker, Syl Johnson, is left off this collection entirely to spotlight the lesser-known talents. If you’re at all familiar with the comparatively lighter, orchestral sound of Chicago soul, as epitomised by the Impressions and the Chi-Lites, you’ll find some gorgeous lower rent productions from Renaldo Domino, the Perfections and Annette Poindexter to join that pantheon. Twinight also mined the grittier side of Chi-Town, most notably in Johnson’s productions, featuring the backing band Pieces of Piece, who also contribute a number of boundary stretching funk pieces. The blues gets its due — the chilling slide guitar intro to "Temptation Is So Hard To Fight” by George McGregor and the Bronzettes is a song in itself. This was an operation that had links to tastemakers in Chicago and around the country but never totally succeeded at the same level of some of the major regional indies. The painstakingly researched liner notes detail the interrelationship of label executives, artists, DJs and distributors to tell the whole story of this beautiful music and its cultural climate.