Rellies

The Relatives were a Dallas, TX group that recorded some of the roughest and rawest soul music you'll ever hear.

They were led by a preacher, Reverend Gean West, and while many of their songs deal with religious themes, I can see them appealing to even those who don't appreciate religious music. Partly it's the fact that the lyrics are more concerned with suffering and personal desperation than praise or the after-life, but also the music, from heavy ballads to psychedelic funk, is just so forceful. A new reissue collecting all three of their 45s and a handful of unreleased 1971-1975 songs is available on vinyl and mp3 from the Heavy Light Records website, which has soundclips. I was sold after hearing "Don't Let Me Fall" but just about all of the others are great, too.

Here's a video clip of the Relatives performing a song that might be my least favorite track from the release but which is still pretty good: