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A mighty helping of music from the overlooked Mitty Collier – a 60s soul singer on Chess Records, and one who was every bit as great as bigger label stars like Etta James or Fontella Bass! Like both of those singers, Mitty's got a voice that grabs you right from the get-go – a deeply... read more

What can we say? Bootsy's on top of the world here – not only The Player Of The Year, but also the most soulful artist in the P-Funk stable, and a master of the smooth, sly, slinky groove that would forever be taken up by bands from LA – both in the immediate soul years and in later... read more

Solo guitar from Cal Collins!... read more

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The mellower of Lyn Collins' two albums for the People label – but still pretty darn fantastic! At some level, it seems like Lyn's taking on the rest of the soul industry – showing them that she can kick some major booty on her interpretations of hits like "Backstabbers",... read more

The funkiest album ever recorded by Lyn Collins – one of the few sock-soul divas working with James Brown who got a chance to cut a full LP! The album's got Lyn shifting between heavy funk numbers and mellower soul cuts – really pushing things to the max with an incredibly deep take on... read more

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Obscure spiritual avant garde material, recorded in San Francisco by the little-known sax player Ray Collins. One track on the album, "Catchin The NY Subway", is fairly straight, and played with a larger group. The rest are sparer, and more out – and include "Images of... read more

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Rare Afro Rock from Nigeria – a really cool fusion of African funk and dexterous guitar – served up with plenty of hypnotic touches! Although we've dug their tracks on compilations over the years, we've never been lucky enough to hear a full album by Colomach – and are blown away... read more

A rare score from French arranger Michel Colombier – penned for an equally-obscure film directed by the great Jacques Demy! The album follows the same musical style as some of Demy's better-known work from the 60s – like Umbrellas Of Cherbourg or Young Girls Of Rochefort –... read more

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Classic work from Willie Colon – the "payoff" of his youthful hoodlum routine, and a hard-hitting batch of salsa tunes pulled from earlier records – all in a package that defines his groove of the 70s! Hector LaVoe's on vocals with Willie's group – and he's also... read more

Great stuff – and a very sharp album cut by Willie during the Latin soul era, featuring a bunch of tracks that veer more towards the boogaloo side of things than his later albums! The groove is nice and hard – stripped down with the youthful energy that Willie brought to the scene at... read more

Great stuff – and a very sharp album cut by Willie during the Latin soul era, featuring a bunch of tracks that veers more towards the boogaloo side of things than his later albums! The groove is nice and hard – stripped down with the youthful energy that Willie brought to the scene at... read more

A roots-oriented 70s classic from Willie Colon – one of his standout albums of the decade! Willie continues his "life of crime" approach for the early 70s – moving into an old west look on the cover, and matching that with a slightly rootsier sound on the album! The real... read more

A roots-oriented 70s classic from Willie Colon – one of his standout albums of the decade! Willie continues his "life of crime" approach for the early 70s – moving into an old west look on the cover, and matching that with a slightly rootsier sound on the album! The real... read more

An amazing little record from Willie Colon – one that has him stepping forth into the limelight as both singer and leader – after years of working with better-known vocalists like Hector LaVoe and Ruben Blades! But even more than the vocals the thing we really love here are the... read more

A solid 70s session from Willie Colon – a combination of a few tracks from previous efforts, mixed with other new ones, all featuring lead vocals by the wonderful Hector Lavoe! The work on the album's the kind that was so influential at the time, it's almost hard to hear how important it was... read more

Nice work from Colonel Red on the Tokyo Dawn label – soul jazz inspired broken beats and a mix of grittier and spacier textures! Rumbling bass and compelling beats are at the center, with some percolating keys and wavy atmospherics giving it a nicely diverse feel – with some emotive... read more

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A killer set from Adegoke Steve Colson – easily some of the most spiritual music he ever recorded, and a standout gem in the second wave of Chicago's AACM! Colson's the pianist in the group, leading an ensemble in sounds that stretch from the open spirituality of the Strata East scene from... read more

Swirling spiritual work from Alice Coltrane – an incredible trio album that features her heavily on harp, plus a bit of piano – in a trio with Ron Carter on bass and Rashied Ali on drums! The sound is wonderful – lush, yet contemplative – in a personal style that really... read more

A perennial favorite in the John Coltrane catalog – a beautiful set of standards, handled in a warm laidback style – one that shows that Trane's groundbreaking group with Jimmy Garrison on bass, Elvin Jones on drums, and McCoy Tyner on piano could still express themselves with even more... read more

A perennial favorite in the John Coltrane catalog – a beautiful set of standards, handled in a warm laidback style – one that shows that Trane's groundbreaking group with Jimmy Garrison on bass, Elvin Jones on drums, and McCoy Tyner on piano could still express themselves with even more... read more

A beautiful name for a beautiful record – a classic set of hardbop material from John Coltrane's early years as a leader – and a session that has him working with Donald Byrd on trumpet, Red Garland on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Art Taylor on drums! The album's got a beautifully... read more

John Coltrane's classic – and only – recording as a leader for Blue Note! The album's no throwaway date, though – as it stands strongly with both Coltrane's other label work of the time, and with the best of the late 50s Blue Note scene – a time when the label was really... read more

The title may be a simple one, but the record really marks a key point in John Coltrane's development – an embrace of the newer freedoms allowed to him at Atlantic Records, but in a way that's a bit more subtle than some of his other work for the label! At one level, the record moves at the... read more

Coltrane plays the blues, but in a way like nobody else – stepping off of the deeply soulful sound of his late Prestige years, and moving into even more open and exploratory space for Atlantic! The setting is bare bones and simple – and many of these numbers begin with the sort of... read more

This is a repackaged version of an album that was originally issued under Cecil Taylor's name, under the title Hard Drive (and later Stereo Drive, or something like that). The record brings together two of the late 50's most promising modernists – Cecil Taylor and John Coltrane – in a... read more

One of the more obscure John Coltrane albums for Atlantic – but a beautiful batch of spiritual numbers that really show him pushing towards the sound of A Love Supreme! The date on the album's 1966, but the material was recorded earlier – in that key turning point year of 1960, when... read more

Recorded in 1965, but not released until 1977, this is an earlier version of Trane's extended Meditations suite played by the quartet that included McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison, and Elvin Jones – without the extra accompaniment that graced the later version. Beautiful stuff, with a sound that'... read more

Rare stuff from John Coltrane! The album features Trane playing tenor on only 4 of the album's 8 tracks – making it kind of surprising that they used his name in the title – but the album is a lesser-known batch of large group recordings that offer an interesting early chapter in his... read more

One of our favorite albums ever from John Coltrane – but a record that's sometimes eclipsed by the genius of A Love Supreme! The feel here is very similar to that one – long tracks that introduce a new mode of searching, spiritual jazz for the 60s – one that's performed by a core... read more

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John Coltrane returns to the Village Vanguard – but his sound here is a lot more far-reaching than a few years before! The album's a great counterpart to the first Vanguard session – as it takes all of the bold, soaring energy of that date, and balances it with the newly introspective... read more

A classic – and virtually the blueprint for all spiritual soul jazz recordings of the 70s! John Coltrane's at a perfect point here – balanced between the modal hardbop of earlier years, and the freer soloing of his last few recordings. He links the traditions together with a majestic... read more

A classic – and virtually the blueprint for all spiritual soul jazz recordings of the 70s! John Coltrane's at a perfect point here – balanced between the modal hardbop of earlier years, and the freer soloing of his last few recordings. He links the traditions together with a majestic... read more

Coltrane's last live show ever – in case you couldn't guess from the title – recorded in 1967, but never officially released! The set features a group with Pharoah Sanders, Jimmy Garrison, Rashied Ali, Alice Coltrane, Algie DeWitt, and possibly Jumma Santos on percussion. As you'd... read more

A pure statement of being and essence – and one of John Coltrane's spiritual masterpieces from the 60s! The 1965 recording was one of Trane's most adventurous so far – as it featured just one album-length track, building up out of relatively free expressions from Coltrane in the studio... read more

A long overdue testament to the live genius of the mighty John Coltrane Quartet – captured at the legendary Half Note club in NYC – disc 1 recorded on a date in March 1965 and disc 2 on a date in early May of the same year! The set finds Coltrane plus McCoy Tyner on piano, Jimmy... read more

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A bold early statement from a young John Coltrane – and an album that really has him expanding his talents as a tenor soloist! Coltrane's working here in open-ended quartet format – with backing from the Red Garland trio that includes Paul Chambers and Art Taylor – on a set of... read more

A mellow soulful classic by John Coltrane – and one of his best-remembered early albums for Prestige! The session has all the gentle glow that you might guess from the title – a laidback, open-ended approach that has Coltrane blowing long solos over rhythms from the trio of Red Garland... read more

Soaring work from the legendary John Coltrane Quartet – a session that was incredibly far-reaching for the time, and which originally was unissued until after the time of Coltrane's death! The record's got the group really pushing forward strongly – hitting a Love Supreme mode, but... read more

A landmark album of vocal jazz – and one of the few sessions that John Coltrane ever cut with a singer! In a way, the album's more Hartman's than it is Coltrane's – given that Johnny's warm, mellow style of singing isn't as free and open as Trane at his most adventurous – but at... read more

Some incredible early work from John Coltrane – 3 sessions recorded under the leadership of Paul Chambers, and even done before Coltrane's more famous work with Miles Davis! First up is material from the Imperial album Chamber's Music – led by Chambers, and one of the earliest small... read more

A various artist compilation Prestige put together to capitalize on the popularity of the Oscar-winning Elizabeth Taylor film Cleopatra with music that features Eastern and Egyptian themes. In spite of how you may feel about the concept, the set features some tracks that have become harder to come... read more

Ravi Coltrane's first album for Blue Note – put together here with production help from Joe Lovano, who also plays a bit of guest tenor too! The album's got a really dark edge – and really works strongly in those edgier sides of the spectrum – those modes that Coltrane's... read more

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An album that definitely lives up to the title promised by The Commodores – a record that takes all their raw funky energy of the early years, and fuses it into a new groove that would catapult the sextet to superstardom! The sound is commercial, but still has a pretty fresh sort of feel too... read more

The love jams, slow grooving ballads, and easy like Sunday morning sounds of The Commodores – a most deserving combo for an entry in Motown/Universal compilation series of Love Songs! 12 of the greatest, biggest hits and lesser remembered, but still completely lovable Commodores numbers in a... read more

By this point in their career, The Commodores have lost Lionel Richie and any sort of funk credibility they had from their early years – but they also somehow manage to reemerge with a great new talent for a sweet mellow groove! The title tune "Nightshift" was one of those tracks... read more

3rd LP by the man who put Chicago on the map as a hip hop center. 2 LPs strong, and with a lot of guest appearances by folks like De La Soul, Q-Tip, Chantay Savage, Erykah Badu, and Cee-Lo. No I.D. produced most of this, and a few tracks were done by Doug Infinite. Includes "1 '2 Many"... read more

In 1994 when everyone seemed to be turning hardcore, Common Sense wasn't having it. Introspective tales of growing up and living on the South Side that fit perfectly with No I.D.'s mellow production and spiced up with two guest appearances by Y-Not aka Twilight Tone. Classic LP, solid all the way... read more

A modern hip hop classic, the rhyme that really put Common on the map, that should need no introduction or explanation from us.... read more

A great 80s groove single, with a slightly more mainstream soul approach than we'd expect from Began Cekic, but without sacrficing any club appeal!... read more

Features the amazing non-LP b-side "Can-I-Bust" that's got all the energy of the tracks from the "Soul By The Pound" LP and even better vocals plus a dope, rare, appearance by Twilight Tone aka Y-Not with this three-mansions-and-a-yacht rhyming style. Plus a nice and mellow... read more

An excellent early 80s groover – and a cover of the Police hit, no less! The track takes the original song, and turns it into a space-infused club track – mostly instrumental on both sides, with the vocal chorus just floating around in the background.... read more

One of the most haunting albums we've ever heard from Perry Como – a session recorded in Italy during the mid 60s – featuring arrangements by Nick Perito, and backing vocals by the Alessandro Alessandroni Singers! The tunes include a fair bit of older Italian numbers – some sung... read more

Rootsy gospel from The Como Mamas – a tremendous trio of female singers, working here in an all-acapella mode that's completely sublime! The set's an offshoot of the Como Now project done by Daptone a few years ago, and has the same timeless feel – quite a difference from the heavy... read more

A sweet set of sounds from disco maestro Boris Midney – an artist who rarely recorded under his own name, but was the guiding force behind a great range of famous studio projects! The first half of the set features music from the Companion album – a set moves along in a way that's... read more

Con Funk Shun really hit a tight groove on this one – late 70s dancefloor funk at its finest – and a turning point for the group that set the scene for 80s grooves to come! The killer group vocals, thumping funk bass and punctuating horn blasts are in full effect, and the group is also... read more

Funky genius from Con Funk Shun – a pair of late 70s albums – together in a single set! Loveshine finds the group working under the production helm of Skip Scarborough, who seems to give them an even sharper edge than usual! The album's filled with those tightly compressed rhythms... read more

A great early album from Con Funk Shun – a mix of funkier tunes and some excellent smooth modern ones in step with the mellower work by Cameo or Maze – done with more soaringly emotional sounds that moves beyond their peers! A love for earlier 70s styles might be what pushes Secrets... read more

A trio of early 80s efforts from Con Funk Shun in a 2CD set – with bonus tracks! Touch is a killer from the group – one of the few mainstream funk groups who actually managed to sound better and better with each new record – and on this set, they really seem to come into their... read more

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A Chilean group with a really wonderful sound – one that mixes familiar folksy guitar and flute with some larger string arrangements – in a style that's quite sublime, and which echoes strongly with the British acid folk generation! Lyrics are all in Spanish, but there's a timeless... read more

A full length debut knockout for The Congregation – who had more-or-less been serving as the live soul house band on the north side of Chicago in the months leading up to Right Now Everything – and deservedly so! The group might take the most cues from classic raw soul and live show... read more

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A really dreamy little set from this hip Brazilian combo – a set that's got a bossa feel overall, but which also seems to draw a bit from folkloric roots too! The instrumentation is nice and warm – a great 60s blend of light percussion, acoustic guitar, and nice bits of jazzy flute and... read more

A deep deep deep collection of work from Arthur Conley – one that really shows the true spectrum of his mighty soul talents – and which goes way past his few overplayed hits of the 60s! The focus here is on slow-burners and mellow groovers – tunes that really bring out the depth... read more

Not Sweet Soul, but deep soul – courtesy of one of the best artists recording for Atlantic Records in the 60s! The album's way more than a similarly-titled follow up to Conley's debut for the label – and stands beautifully on its own with a host of great numbers that are right up there... read more

The second Arthur Conley album for Atlantic – and like the first, a record that really cooks with some great Otis Redding production! The sound and style is very similar to Otis' work for Stax during the 60s – but the album was recorded at Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, with... read more

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A nice 6 song mini LP/EP scorcher from Portsmouth, NH garage rockers The Connection! Seven Nights To Rock is a hook-filled blast – with a tight, no frills and no-nonsense style inspired by the greatests 60s garage sounds – and a tuneful delivery that's above and beyond so many of their... read more

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A great set of tracks that represents some of Chris Connor's first recordings as a solo act – a classic album originally issued as a 10" LP by the Bethlehem label – but expanded here with lots of extra tracks to make a full length record! Backing is by the trio of Ellis Larkins... read more

Chris' Craft is a great one here – beautifully simple and straightforward jazz vocals, served up at a level that few other singers can match! The album's one of our favorites from Connor's classic years with Atlantic – as it's got a mellow, moody approach that's filled with the darker... read more

Amazing stuff – and one of Chris Connor's greatest records for Atlantic! There's a depth to this set that passes some of her others from the time – partially because the album features a very hip set of tunes, written by Ornette Coleman, Norman Mapp, John Lewis, Peggy Lee, and others... read more

Rare radio work from vocalist Chris Connor – a number of performances recorded for the US military, and done as nicely as any of her classic studio albums from the 50s! Most of the tracks here are from 1959, and capture Connor at her best icy modern mode – singing with depth, but great... read more

Beautifully icy vocals from the amazing Chris Connor – the kind of record that set a new standard for vocal jazz back in the 50s! The session's a small group one – with Chris singing intimately alongside backing from Herbie Mann on flute and tenor, Kai Winding and JJ Johnson on... read more

Early genius from drummer Norman Connors – a sensational bit of righteous soul jazz – right up there with the best work on Strata East and Black Jazz from the time! The sound here is full, soulful, and spiritual – as Connors heads up a large ensemble that includes luminaries like... read more