Release info:

A long time ago, I used to enjoy attending no-name suburban summer festivals, sharing bits of crispy funnel cake covered in powdered sugar with my busty high school sweetheart while we listened to burnt-out 70s one hit wonder rock acts as they struggled to eke out a 10-song set. Fast-forward to summer 2010, which I spent pushing the speedometer past 100 mph for hectic hours down long stretches of I-290 and I-88, my back seat jammed with empty audio tape boxes and 7×7 foam-core swatches as I cut off slow-lane saps to get the materials together for the release of theBoddie Acetate Box. It was the great, sweltering race to cool off Numero fans who were eager to hear the label’s newest, most-anonymous soul offerings.

The Boddie Acetate Box features three unreleased 45s pulled from acetates we unearthed during our excavation of the Boddie Recording Company. Between 1965 and 1987, Boddie gave Cleveland hopefuls an opportunity to both record and press their own recordings under one roof. Featured on these 45s are three unidentified soul groups that exemplify the kind of homegrown talent that graced the shores of Lake Erie and the greater Ohio River Valley. Lacking horn and string arrangements, the power of these sides is in their depiction of working-class musicians grinding out a meager side in search of a hit. Strong as these sounds are, the Boddie Acetate Box only offers a glance at the true diversity and obscurity of the Boddie Recording Company—pleasing, but also teasing you with the revelations bound to arrive in the comprehensive Boddie set we’ve got planned for 2011.—Zach Myers