Percy Sledge, 'The Atlantic Recordings'

The 1966 No. 1 hit “When a Man Loves a Woman’’ not only made Percy Sledge an overnight success, it played a crucial role in bringing about the alliance of one of the biggest labels in ’60s soul music, Atlantic Records, with the Muscle Shoals wellspring of Southern soul. And it all came about in spite of the fact that, after Atlantic stipulated that Sledge re-cut “When a Man’’ to correct what it saw as problems with his original recording, the label mistakenly released the defective original anyway. Those two versions of the song are the first and last things you hear on this four-disc collection of Sledge’s work for Atlantic from 1966 to 1974, book-ending everything from the four albums he released domestically along with non-album singles, selections from LPs released overseas and from a 1970 live album recorded in South Africa, and the obligatory smattering of unreleased tracks. The cumulative effect, from hits like “Take Time to Know Her’’ through deeper cuts, simply confirms in spectacular fashion that Sledge was a deep soul balladeer without peer, and a premier exponent of the country-soul byway of Southern soul. (Out tomorrow)