Benny Spellman is a major figure within New Orleans R&B, but he's never been properly represented on CD. Prior to this 2012 Shout! UK compilation, his only other CD was a budget-line Collectables comp from 1988, a haphazard but effective collection of his hits for Minit and Alon. Fourteen of the 16 cuts on the Collectables disc are on Fortune Teller: A Singles Collection 1960-1967 -- missing are "In the Night" and "Anywhere You Go" -- including some unreleased sides cut for Minit in the '60s. Shout! attempted to round up all of his '60s singles but were unable to secure licensing for a pair of 7"s released on Watch Records in 1964. Their absence is regrettable but hardly hampers a collection that has been sorely needed for a long, long time. And for as much as Fortune Teller is a showcase for Spellman's easy, graceful baritone, it is a showcase for the superlative Allen Toussaint, who had a hand in writing 24 or the 30 songs here. These naturally include the three hits at the beginning -- "Fortune Teller," "Lipstick Traces (On a Cigarette)," and "Mother in Law," the Ernie K-Doe single featuring Spellman in support -- but the real treasures for New Orleans aficionados are the lesser-known sides, ones like the joyous "10-4 Calling All Cars" or the grooving "I Feel Good." They not only offer some great unheard sides but help make the case for Benny Spellman being one of New Orleans' finest R&B singers.