Eddy Giles was a Shreveport-based, gospel-influenced blues/soul artist who waxed a small clutch of inventive and catchy singles in the late ’60s.

A guitarist who primarily chorded his instrument, he led a tight band that featured a churchy organ and a small, but punchy, horn section. His arrangements were uncomplicated and vocally he can be compared to Johnny Nash.

Giles scored a minor hit with his initial Murco release—the pleading, minor-keyed “Losin’ Boy.”

Buoyed by spins on John R’s show on WLAC, “Losin’ Boy” was a best-seller throughout the South and in of all places Milwaukee.

However, like many Southern blues or soul releases issued on small labels at the time, though mildly profitable, it couldn’t crack the national charts. Its flip “I Got the Blues” was equally sullen—but no less attractive, as was the follow-up “Don’t Let Me Suffer.”

But Giles could also get down with it as “Eddy’s Go-Go Train” confirms, as it parodies James Brown’s version of “Night Train.” The same can be said for “Soul Feeling (Pts. 1 & 2)” which recalls the same approach of Curley Moore’s “Soul Train” and Chris Kenner’s “Land of a Thousand Dances.”

However, Giles really excelled on simple, mid-tempo material, best evidenced by “Love with a Feeling,” “So Deep in Love” and “Ain’t Gonna Worry No More.”

This is a surprising reissue considering the man’s short career and his relative obscurity. Still it’s a solid release as there’s not a bad track in the mix, and certainly worth consideration if you’re a Southern soul brother or sister.