Photo by Adam Wallcavage

thing Box of Soul What better way to school yourself in the coolest music in the universe - '60s soul - than with Rhino Records' new boxed set, Beg, Scream & Shout: The Big Ol' Box of '60s Soul? Inside an old-time 45 carrying case, you'll find six jampacked compilation CDs. The label artwork on each CD recalls the record companies (Atlantic, Stax, Motown, Atco, Tamla) that carried many of the biggest names in soul. Songs are divided into three different moods: Beg, Scream and Shout. Beg gives us The Delfonics' backseat make-out classic "La - La - Means I Love You" and Dionne Warwick's pleading "Don't Make Me Over." Scream has the fiery King Curtis stirring up a "Memphis Soul Stew" and James Brown's inciting "Out Of Sight." Shout gets hopped up with Don Covay's "Seesaw" and The Marvelettes' "Danger Heartbreak Dead Ahead. "Also included in the package is a "Li'l Ol' Box of '60s Soul Cards" with trading cards detailing each song's history. The Big Ol' Box is by no means definitive - Rhino producers admit that soul stalwarts like Sam Cooke aren't included due to legal and spatial considerations - but it combines obscurities with hits for a great primer of soulful singles. Sure this box set ain't cheap at $99.98, but think of it as a college-level course and it's relatively inexpensive. - Margit Detweiler