Melvin Smith At His Best (2-CD)

A true obscurity from the R&B era, Smith probably gained more exposure in the mid-'50s with Doc Starks & His Niteriders than on his own solo recordings from the early part of the decade. Still, as annotator Billy Vera points out, Smith recorded some fine outings for RCA as a vocalist from 1952-1954, and this double-CD set reprises all 32 of 'em, and 10 previously unreleased cuts.