Keb Darge is responsible for revitalizing innumerable old tyme records over the past few decades. Anything from gritty funk to laconic soul is the man’s stock and trade. By contrast, Paul Weller made a career of taking the influence from records that Darge and his cohort find interesting and attempted to distill it into some British rockisms.

On Keb Darge & Paul Weller Present Lost & Found (Real R’n'B & Soul) the two men dig deep to find a spate of unsung classics. The odd aspect to the entire endeavor, though, is the fact that there’re actually some pretty high profile singers on here.

Albert King crops up alongside Bobby Bland, Big Mama Thornton and even Slim Harpo. But what RnB aficionados crave is represented here as well. Tracks like “Tippin’” by Elsie Wheat are esoteric enough to sate any crate digger. The track’s all jumpin’ city blues and swing with Wheat crooning about creepin’, peepin’ and anything else that rhymes. While lyrically trite, Wheat’s vocals and her backing band render the track something that your grandparents could have danced to.

Elsewhere, “King Kong” represents the bridge from blues to a more modern conception of rock and roll. Again, what Big T. Tyler relates through his lyrics isn’t too heavy, but the groove that his band raves up is incendiary.

While compilations like this are becoming pretty common, the best of them are able to revel in some newly uncovered gems. And even if there are a few here on Keb Darge & Paul Weller Present Lost & Found (Real R’n'B & Soul), the inclusion of those aforementioned big names are a bit confounding. It’s worth picking, though.

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