This is a terrific compilation of music from one of soul music's many under-the-radar names. Although Barbara Lynn was born and raised in Texas, she personified the lazy beats, greasy horns, and chiming piano that characterized early-'60s New Orleans R&B. These 15 singles, sequenced chronologically (with two unreleased rarities), capture the crack studio band (including a young, pre-Dr. John, Mac Rebennack) led by producer Huey P. Meaux. Only a few, such as the classic "You'll Lose a Good Thing" and "Oh Baby (We Got a Good Thing Goin')" troubled the charts but, like many similar collections, the songs are uniformly well played and sung with plenty of obscure gems scattered throughout. Although only in her early twenties when cutting these sides, Lynn's husky voice, somewhat like that of her peer Irma Thomas, shows a confidence belying her young age. She's equally at home with midtempo dance fare like the Motown-styled "I've Taken All I'm Gonna Take".