Stickers!

Various artists - We're Gonna Make It, Parts 1 & 2
MRC-003 and MRC-005

An interview with Jason Pierce first turned me onto Mississippi Records. Said Pierce, "You just think, where does it all come from? Why does it never end?" Mississippi is a reissue label—as I'm sure you gleaned from Pierce's words—that specializes in American blues, country, and gospel, as well as world music (always a fun term).

Some people aren't particularly fond of Mississippi Records, citing copyright infringement or musicians not pocketing royalties they rightfully deserve or—and this may be the most egregious sin of all—a total dearth of liner notes. Personally, I'm persuaded by the argument that goes like this: "None of this material is particularly easy to find on a 12-inch LP or particularly cheap, and since I am fond of 12-inch LPs, I want to buy this material on a 12-inch LP, but also because a 12-inch LP is the most similar format to the one this music was originally released on." There are other arguments, of course: "This is just a case of reissuing what is already public domain material"; "The label sets aside money should any lineal descendants come sniffing for royalties"; "This type of obscure blues or gospel isn't profitable at all—not today, not when it was reissued during the 1960s on labels like Yazoo and Herwin, and with a few exceptions (Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Leroy Carr, Lonnie Johnson, etc.), not when it was first released in the '20s and '30s."

Whatever. Aside from pressing vinyl, Mississippi Records has a tape series that compiles shit from a variety of genres: R&B, folk, gospel, doo-wop, ska, etc. Nobody makes mix tapes anymore, which is okay because you can always get your mix fix with SoundCloud and Spotify. But maybe you’re the type that buys wholesale into the idea that mix tapes trump digital playlists because mix tapes are compiled with so much more love and affection and contemplation and deliberation and STICKERS—LOOK! HE PUT STICKERS ON THE SLEEVE!—and because upon its completion, the creator will present the mix tape to the recipient in an intimate exchange that will cosmically link the two from that day forth until time's whimpering end.

So We're Gonna Make It, Parts 1 & 2 are mix tapes. Just imagine you told a friend that you wanted a soul mix tape that featured the following: a girl group-inspired break-up jingle (Bessie Banks, "Go Now"); a song that fetes the good guys (James & Bobby Purify, "You Can’t Keep a Good Man Down"); a Motown tribute that kicks dirt in your eye (The Ikettes, "Here's Your Heart"); infectious piffle (J.J. Jackson & the Jackals, "Ooh-Ma-Liddi"); a candidate for the first dance song at a wedding (The Mighty Hannibal, "We're Gonna Make It"); a from-the-gut slow-burner (Betty LaVette, "Let Me Down Easy"); a tune that conveys what it feels like to come down from a manic episode (Nina Simone, "Break Down & Let It All Out"); an example of how nature and women have it in for us (James Carr, "These Ain't Raindrops"); exuberant call-and-response vocals (Amos Milburn, "Gloria"); a how-to manual on properly expressing complex sentiments with simple language (Eddie Floyd, "I've Just Been Feeling Bad"); and a display of massive vocal emotion (Beverly Ann Gibson, "Love's Burnin' Fire").