Soul — In Stock — CDs  

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Great stuff! From Motown songwriters to world-class superstars, the trip was a well-deserved one for Valerie Simpson and Nick Ashford – and this album's perhaps their crowning achievement in sophisticated club soul! The record's got a great groove that offers a more soulful version of disco... read more

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Great stuff from Eryka Badu – sweet, mellow, soulful, and with a very righteous vibe! The record's got some impeccable production – and the best cuts have a stripped-down groove that mixes keyboards and vocals in a way that's similar to recent work by D'Angelo and Jill Scott. Eryka's... read more

One of the original Dramatics, singer Ron Banks strikes out here on his own – a slept on gem from the early 80s! The set's in a similar modern soul mode to LJ Reynolds, who also worked with him in the group, and was having a bit of a solo career of his own at the time. It's got sort of a D-T... read more

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Titles include "Promises", "From Now On", "Freeze Thaw", "How Dare You", "Astrud", and "Miles Away".... read more

A super huge hit for George – the record that took him from being a funky jazz guitarist into an R&B superstar! The album features George playing and singing over arrangements by Claus Ogerman – some of Ogerman's best of the 70s, ones that mix together his trademark pillow of sound... read more

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Collected work by Blo – a hip Nigerian funk ensemble from the mid 70s! The group have a more complicated sound than some of their contemporaries – adding in dubbier stylings and bits of psychedelic guitar to the more common Afro-Funk percussion – in a mode that almost sounds like... read more

A landmark album from Boyz II Men – and a set that shows that the classic harmony style was alive and well into the 90s! Although the production and rhythms here are somewhat contemporary, the vocals have a classic approach all the way through – maturing masculine soul styles that are... read more

Smooth, chart R&B and new jack slow jams from one of the iconic groups of mid 90s urban radio in English and Spanish versions from the original album. Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Dallas Austin, Babyface and the Darp Inc crew provide syrupy backing for the Boyz's sweet 90s soul harmonies. ... read more

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15 classic tracks from Brass Construction – featuring mid 70s tunes lifted from the group's well-selling albums on United Artists! The tracks are a blend of disco, soul, and funk – with more than a bit of the horn-heavy groove that earns the group their "brass construction"... read more

More hit magic from the Brothers Johnson – still working with Quincy Jones at this point, and virtually setting up the blueprint for jazzy soul in the 80s! Backings are by an all-star team, and Rod Temperton's helping out Quincy with arrangements – going for that snapping groove... read more

Breakout brilliance from Bobby Brown – the album that really showed the world he could stand on his own strongly after leaving New Edition! Given the tight production from LA & Babyface, among others, the sound here is hardly cruel – and instead, the album's got a catchily... read more

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A massively soulful album from legendary producer Patrick Adams – and a key transitional set that bridges his earlier work on the east coast harmony scene, and his later club classics for P&P! Caress have a sweetly breaking vocal style that's simply wonderful – as great as any of... read more

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11 tasty numbers by Chic, all filled with the lively guitar work and tight production of Nile Rodgers – and the group's own strong talent for delivering a hook that won't miss. Sure, it's pop disco for the masses, but most of these cuts still sound surprisingly good these days. Includes the... read more

Sweet Miami funk from the team of George "Chocolate" Perry and Clay Cropper – one of the rarest TK albums from the time, and also one of the funkiest too! The sound here is slightly polished, but never too much – a bit more in the sound of bigger Florida groups, like Miami,... read more

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Great earlier stuff from Natalie Cole – actually her third great album in a row – a tremendous early creative and commerical winning streak for Natalie! Thankful has her sweet, soulful voice out from of prodcution by Chuck Jackson and Marvin Yancy of the Independents, and they give her... read more

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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

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

Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose were one of a handful of early 70s groups – like Chairmen Of The Board or 100 Proof Aged In Soul – who had a sound that was incredibly hard to peg. There were bits of southern rawness in the vocals, but the overall approach also had plenty of... read more

A crossover classic from Deborah Cox – a record that's filled with plenty of tuneful tracks, yet sung with a surprising depth of soul! Production is top-shelf on most numbers – and is often in that great 90s mode that's reintroducing warmer sounds that had slipped out of soul music the... read more

Rich, proud work from Randy Crawford – sung with the mature mix of jazz and soul that made her one of the more sophisticated mainstream singers of her generation! The album's heavy on mellower cuts, but it's never too sleepy – thanks to a slow-burning sensibility that Randy uses to... read more

It's easy to survive the 80s when you've got an army of future-suit cats behind you – and given the groove here, it's clear that Andre Cymone was doing way more than just surviving back in the day! The set's a super-tight batch of 80s grooves – with a sharp sound that comes from lots... read more

A later effort from James D-Train Williams, but still plenty darn great – and proof that his groove was still one of the strongest in 80s soul music! The style of the set follows from Williams' best earlier work – a bit of bounce at the bottom of most of the tracks, but never too much... read more

Sweet and gritty soul from D'Angelo – who takes a huge step into deeper territory on Voodoo – and it's one of the most monumental records of its time! On one level, Voodoo works as a nicely stripped-down session with a very classic soul feel. Gone are the overzealous flourishes that... read more

A stone pop soul winner from DeBarge – the kind of record that made the group a heck of a lot of money back in the 80s, and which sounds surprisingly great to our ears today! The record features lots of electro arrangements – fuzzy keyboards and bass pedals grooving around in a way... read more

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Delegation really hold onto their groove in this rock-solid second set – an album that burns with vibrant energy right from the start – but all in ways that are really a cut above the usual uptempo soul of the time! Rhythms are a key part of the sound, but it's the trio's vocals that... read more

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12 remixes: "No,No, No Part 2 (Wyclef Jean extended version)", "Emotion (Neptunes rmx)", "Bootylicious (Rockwilder rmx)", "Say My Name (Timbaland rmx)", "Bug A Boo (refugee Camp rmx)", "Dot (E-Poppi mix)", "Survivor (rmx feat. Da... read more

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An incredible full album from Dinosaur L – the legendary New York dancefloor project of Arthur Russell! The group's a punky, funky, chunky amalgam of bass thumping, guitar riffing, keyboard filling, and sax honking – all very much in the spirit of Russell's best quirky club work of the... read more

Funky dancefloor material – with production by Norman Whitfield, and vocals by Yvonne "Taka Boom" Brumbach. The groove is somewhere near the vein of late Undisputed Truth – and although the group is wearing these silly costumes on the front the album's less disco than you... read more

A dozen of the biggest numbers from the seminal vocal group, including "There Goes My Baby", "(If You Cry) True Love, True Love", "Dance With Me", "This Magic Moment", "Save The Last Dance For Me", "I Count The Tears", "Some Kind Of... read more

The third in The Drifters' early 70s revival run in the UK for Bell Records – and possibly the strongest album of the bunch! The lineup of the group has changed a bit, but the sound here is still the same – a nice 70s update of the group's earlier sound – in a way that still... read more

Genius, pure genius! It was hard for Earth, Wind & Fire to go wrong at this point – and the album's a stellar blend of jazz, funk, and soul, all done in that perfect style they'd hit by the mid 70s. And even though this one was a monster album, of the type that you see in everyone's... read more

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Amazing! Earth Wind & Fire's ultimate moment of the 70s – and a perfect blending of all their influences that stands as a lasting tribute to their super-huge effect on soul music! The record features all aspects of the band coming into perfect cohesion – bassy funk, mellow soul,... read more

Modern rock/funk, with sort of a New York downtown sound, and touches of the 80's days at Celluloid. The group has electric funky basslines, and some guest keyboards on tracks by Bernie Worrell, but the sound is mostly avant rock funk, instead of straight-on funky stuff. Tracks include "Flash... read more

A stunner of a record from the Fania All Stars – a tremendous attempt to move into a 70s soul vein, complete with Satin Soul arrangements from Gene and Billy Page! The record bubbles over with the funky orchestrations you'd expect from the best Barry White work at the time – strings... read more

A nice collection of Fatback's later work – featuring 14 tunes the group cut for the Event label, once they smoothed out some of the sharper edges of their earlier funky stuff for Perception. The tracks aren't the hardest the group ever cut – save for the breakbeat classic "Let's... read more

Incredible stuff – a never-issued funky soul record from the 70s – but one that you'll proudly stack next to your rare classics from Ramp, 24-Carat Black, and James Mason! Like work by all three of those acts, this early set by Father's Children is massive righteous – filled with... read more

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Nice mid 80s UK pop soul from Five Star – sweet family act that's kind of in the mode that's a bit of an unofficial British answer to the cheery family pop soul vibe of groups like DeBarge and New Edition at the time – and a sweet one! Lean, lightly thumping synth soul backdrops and... read more

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An early 80s gem from Aretha Franklin – one of the best of her years at Arista Records, thanks to solid help in the studio from the mighty Arif Mardin! Mardin's in perfect form here – the same blend of older soul and jazzier, more sophisticated styles that he was also bringing to Chaka... read more

Surprisingly great work from Full Force – a set that seems to only get better with the passage of time, set apart nicely from most of its 80s soul contemporaries with a good deal of homegrown charm! Sure, there's some pretty heavy beats here – and sure, the sound is a few notches... read more

A mix of post disco soul sophistication and laidback funky numbers from Gaston – a welcome approach from the early 80s era – a time when too many contemporary soul acts moved towards a more overly polished vibe! Gaston's self-titled LP is just polished enough – with a bright... read more

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Marvin Marvin Marvin – just when we thought you couldn't impress us any more, you took it to the next level! Trouble Man is a heck of a wonderful surprise from an artist that most folks really only knew as a singer – a fantastically funky blacksploitation soundtrack, conceived and... read more

The hippest comeback album to date from Al Green – a massively soulful set that we might well rank right up there with his classics from the 70s! Green's got some very hip help in the studio here – production help from James Poyser and Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson – both... read more

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All classics – with 15 cuts that include "The Ghetto", "Where Is The Love", "Giving Up", "Someday We'll Be Free", "To Be Young Gifted & Black", "This Christmas", "You've Got A Friend", "Back Together Again",... read more

A 70s soul genius – even if you've never heard of the guy! Ron Henderson's a real enigma – a totally great soul artist who recorded throughout the 60s and 70s, but never really cracked the big time – thanks to the fact that his work was spread out over a number of different... read more

An 80s groove classic – and a killer bit of Captiol Records soul from High fashion! Of all US major labels, Capitol was probably putting out the best soul in the early 80s – and this is a tight modern batch of up-tempo tracks, right up there with other contemporary classics on the... read more

Jennifer Holliday's strong '91 set – with material that's par for the course for Arista soul efforts of the late 80s and early 90s – but Holliday outshines it with her powerful, emotional and wonderful voice! Definitely an underappreciated set, particularly for fans of powerfully... read more

Landmark club grooves from the great Loleatta Holloway! Loleatta is mixing up the sound a bit here – working with a variety of arrangers and producers that include Bobby Womack, Norman Harris, Dan Hartman, and Tom Washington – but the overall sound is strong and clear, as dedicated to... read more

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Sparkling modern soul from the lovely Phyllis Hyman – and an album that has the singer picking up the wonderfully smooth groove that had become the Philly International sound of the mid 80s. This format works surprisingly well for Phyllis – quite possibly more so than it did even for... read more

The Isleys sure aren't out to prevent teen pregnancy with the title of this set – but given the strength of the album, we can easily forgive them for any lack of social consciousness! In an era when countless young artists are copping the Isley groove of the 70s, the Brothers are back to... read more

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Bold 80s soul from Jermaine Jackson – a set that's heavy on beats and keyboards, but which still leaves enough space for his gentler-toned vocals! The upbeat tracks here sometimes get a bit dramatic, which makes us like the ballads more – sweeter-styled numbers that are much better... read more

A smoking second album from Rebbie Jackson – a set that has Rebbie working with strong production help from two of the bigger aspects of the Columbia Records soul family in the 80s – Tito Jackson and Reggie Lucas, who each handle a handful of songs along with David Conley and Howie Rice.... read more

Wonderfully sophisticated soul from Etta James – a real departure from the raw shouting R&B of earlier years, and perfectly set to sparkling arrangements by the great Riley Hampton (who'd had similar success with Walter Jackson, Lorez Alexandria, and other Chicago soul stars.) Hampton's... read more

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The great Jesse James – still going strong! We've loved Jesse for decades – from his great 60s album on 20th Century, through his important 70s underground singles, and even into his later bluesy years – a great place for James' talents in the later generation! This album's... read more

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An 80s soul classic from Kashif – an artist who really helped transform R&B at the time, all without the benefit of a last name! The album's completely arranged and produced by Kashif himself – cementing the reputation he'd begun working behind other artists in the earlier part of... read more

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29 tracks in all, with quite a few guest appearances by rappers such as Keith Murray, Jay Z, Nas and others. Includes "Home Alone", "Did You Ever Think", "Ghetto Queen", "We Ride", "OnlyThe Loot Can Make Me Happy", "If I'm Wit You", "... read more

19 tracks in all, including "TP-2", "R&B Thug", "The Greatest Sex", "Like A Real Freak", "Fiesta", "I Wish", "I Wish (rmx – To The Homies That We Lost)" and"Feelin' On Yo Booty".... read more