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Massive massive work from Starship Orchestra – a trio of talents from the Norman Connors universe, but one who get some heavy help in the studio from arrangers Bobby Lyle, McKinley Jackson, and Jerry Peters! There's a real Aquarian Dream sound at play here – all the best energy of... read more

An interesting set of tracks that traces the roots of Candi Staton from a rough southern soul singer into a sophisticated diva whose transformation marked a similar path that was taken by many other artists from her generation. The 14 track compilation pulls together titles from Candi's albums on... read more

The best secular soul work in years from Candi Staton – and the first album in decades that recalls the strength and raw power of her early work on Fame Records! The set was done in Nashville with a rootsy, earthy feel – and a fair bit of country soul touches in the mix – an... read more

Later stuff by Candi, with a sound that's less rootsy than her earlier stuff with Rick Hall, and which shows her slowly transforming into more of a soul diva. Titles include "Victim", "Yesterday Evening", "So Blue", and "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me".... read more

A lost bit of mid 70s soul from Candi – an album that's often eclipsed by the Young Hearts hit before it, but which actually comes across stronger than that one! The groove is funky southern soul on the best cuts – tight and full, but still with a harder edge on the bottom, and rhythms... read more

Rougher and rawer than we're used to hearing Dakota Staton – and a tasty little session done with Groove Holmes on organ! The tunes are mostly standards, taken at a slower bluesier pace than on some of Dakota's earlier sides – and Groove gets in plenty of licks on Hammond, sneaking... read more

Bluesy vocals from Dakota – recorded for the Groove Merchant label, but with a stripped down and mellow sound that's more like her older recordings. Norman Simmons is on piano, leading a quartet that includes saxophonist Peter Loeb – and Simmons' piano really brings a wonderful aspect... read more

Back to back killers from the legendary Billy Stewart – two great albums for Chess in one sweet set! First up is Unbelievable – a truly unbelievable album from Billy – maybe his standout moment of the 60s, and a record that set him apart from every other singer of his time! ... read more

Rod Stewart steals from Jorge Ben – and gets the biggest hit of his career with this Brazilian funk-influenced disco tune that crossed over big! The single features a special disco mix by Jim Burgess.... read more

Two edits of rare cuts from Tommy Stewart – both of them great! "Practice What You Preach" is heavy on moogy moments – bubbling beautifully over the cut's funky club bottom – then getting sweetened by strings, and cut up and stretched out by this great edit! "Bump... read more

Amazing rare grooves from Tommy Stewart – the Atlanta studio wizard who cut some of the hippest club tracks in the south at the end of the 70s! This package digs way deeper than even Tommy's classic self-titled album – to feature some obscure and unreleased material that show the... read more

The incredibly rare underground funk of Stone Coal White – whose couple of raw, incendiary psych funk 45s have been furiously sought for years – fleshed out here with newly discovered and previously unissued tracks for this most amazing full length on DJ Shadow's Cali Tex label! Stone... read more

The incredibly rare underground funk of Stone Coal White – whose couple of raw, incendiary psych funk 45s have been furiously sought for years – fleshed out here with newly discovered and previously unissued tracks for this most amazing full length on DJ Shadow's Cali Tex label! Stone... read more

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Great work from this famous Italian maestro – sweeping, soaring instrumentals – but also a bit funky at times too! Ettore brings a real soundtrack approach to most numbers – fitting, given that most tunes here are film themes – and he uses full strings, plus some nicely... read more

Not to be confused with the Street People funk group who had one album out on Vigor, these guys are more of a rock/soul outfit – one who probably only existed in the studio for this one-off Pickwick project! The set compiles "spiritual" soul and rock tunes from the late 60s and... read more

Uptempo east coast club soul – not entirely disco, and more like the indie work of the immediate generation before – a time when groups were picking up their groove a bit more than before, creating some lean, soulful tempos for the dancefloor! Arrangements are by Bert DeCoteaux and... read more

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Late 70s soul fusion from masters of the groove – perhaps the best ever by the late 70s supergroup Stuff – featuring a core group that includes Cornell Dupree, Steve Gadd, Eric Gale, and Richard Tee! This time out the smooth sound is vibrantly top notch – all produced by Steve... read more

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One of the most obscure Stylistics albums of the 70s – a smooth late 70s modern soul effort, headed up by group soul maestro Teddy Randazzo! Teddy wrote, arranged, and produced the whole set – and the record nicely links together older group harmony styles, especially 60s uptown soul... read more

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A classic indie cooker from Sugar Billy – a bit funky, a bit clubby – and a really great batch of grooves done in a pre-disco mode! The tracks are all pretty darn upbeat – somewhat warmer than the funk of Fatback or Kool & The Gang, but still with a nicely rough-edged feel... read more

The greatest album to date from Sugarman 3 – one of the funkiest combos of the past 50 years! The group's organ/sax sound has never sounded so great – and it's pumped up even further here from some added guest instrumentation, including drums from Bernard Purdie, plus vocals on a... read more

A mid 70s classic from Donna Summer – and a follow up to her huge, chart-toppiong Love To Love You Baby – and once again produced by Giorgio Moroder! The record didn’t hit the commercial heights of the preceding one, though they did utilize the same sort of Euro-disco approach... read more

Ahh, the dancefloor soul perfection of the beautiful Donna Summer – and classic late 70s production by Giorgio Morodor and Pete Bellotte – songs that are played often, even to this day, but will never be played out! Was this the one that coined the phrase "shipped gold, returned... read more

A double-length, 4 act disco fantasy from Donna Summer and Giorgio Moroder – both very much at the height of their powers here – and able to keep up enough energy to make it through what was originally 2LP set! The work's a unified sort of story – kind of a disco opera of sorts... read more

Masterful funky soul jazz from the mid 70s – and one of the best solo albums recorded by Headhunter Bill Summers – a sunny batch of Bay Area funk that really grooves with the best of Fantasy Records from the time! The set was produced by Skip Scarborough, and has that great bubbling,... read more

One of the greatest records ever cut by Sun – the late 70s funk group who some excellent albums for Capitol Records – a group whose records never made the charts as strongly as their contemporaries, but not for lack of quality! This set's a great batch of heavy ensemble funk with an... read more

A pair of stormers from Sun – back to back on a single CD! Wanna Make Love is one of the greatest records ever cut by Sun – a group whose records never made the charts as strongly as their contemporaries, but not for lack of quality! This set's a great batch of heavy ensemble funk... read more

A great batch of lost funky club tracks – heavy moog in the mix, making some great wikki-wikki sounds over the album's smoothly grooving tunes! The group's got Gregg Phillinganes and Roger Smith in the frontline on keyboards – they also play Arp and Fender Rhodes next to moog –... read more

Obscure little disco record, issued on the Pi Kappa label, and with an uptempo east coast sound that's part disco, part Buddah-type soul of earlier generations. Paul Kyser handled the whole project – and wrote, arranged, and produced all the material. Most of the tracks have an instrumental... read more

Funky soul covers from a host of hit blacksploitation films – played in fresh new versions by the mysterious Super Dudes! Most of the tracks here follow the originals pretty closely, but have some different elements that we really appreciate – slight changes in rhythms or... read more

Cream Of The Crop may not have been a huge hit for The Supremes, but the record has them handling a variety of interesting work – mostly done in modes that bring the best Motown styles of the 60s into closer contact with the label's more expansive sound to come in the 70s! There's a really... read more

One of the great mid 60s Supremes album – at a time when they could really do no wrong – and featuring a couple of their bigger hits! I Hear A Symphony was produced by the team of Holland & Dozier – and Holland-Dozier-Holland are the credited composers for most of it –... read more

Groovy late 60s work from Diana Ross & The Supremes – a record that has them breaking the Motown mold a bit, and hooking up with a nice variety of modder soul and pop modes! Tracks on the set include a few Motown-penned numbers, but the trio also tackle hits like "Everyday... read more

Really one of the nicer late 60s efforts by the Supremes – now with Cindy Birdsong in the group in place of the departed Florence Ballard – with the now well known title track, and a number of other great pop soul numbers, with the classic Motown sound! The Supremes could arguably... read more

One of the later Supremes albums with Diana Ross as the headliner – and the final Supremes album with Holland-Dozier-Holland pulling the strings – and led of by the incredible title track! "Reflections" is a straight up incredible tune – one of those late 60s Motown... read more

The Supremes take on the classy Copa nightclub – and really bring down the house with a stunning mix of warmth, charm, and soul – especially on this incredible expanded edition from Hip-O Select! The original album is perhaps one of the "livest" of Motown live albums from... read more

A record that might be easy to write this off as a mistake or inessential session – but thanks to some great arrangements by HB Barnum, Paul Riser, and Gene Page, plus great vocals by the groups, the record shines as much as any other Motown set from the time! The vocals are traded back and... read more

Great waves of sound here from Surface – a set that has the trio sounding even tighter and more fluid than ever – perfectly blending midtempo rhythms with their warm and sweet harmony vocals! The vibe's a bit classier than the usual mellow soul of the time – almost with a jazzy... read more

A great bit of boogie from the Chicago scene of the early 80s – a set recorded with a nice jazzy bounce overall, and a strong ear for a catchy hook and tight groove – very much in the mode of Omni or Zoom from the same period! Alfonzo's got a warm vocal style that soars up to falsetto... read more

One of Swamp Dogg's roughest and rawest albums of the 70s – a real down-home affair that's probably one of the clearest expressions of what Jerry Williams was trying to do with his character! The album was produced by Jerry in collaboration with Miami soul maestro Steve Alaimo – and... read more

Swamp Dogg's on the cover, riding a giant rat out of the ghetto – an image that definitely hints at some of the politics on the record! The album's one of Swamp's key classics from the early 70s – recorded at a time when he was still super-sharp – and when the character was a... read more

Swamp Dogg's on the cover, riding a giant rat out of the ghetto – an image that definitely hints at some of the politics on the record! The album's one of Swamp's key classics from the early 70s – recorded at a time when he was still super-sharp – and when the character was a... read more

One of the earliest albums ever from Swamp Dogg – and one of the best as well! The set was cut down at Capricorn Studios in Macon, and has a wicked blend of southern funk and deep soul that Swamp never hit this well ever again – a quality that almost makes us think the album was more... read more

24 tracks of heavy deep soul from Bettye Swann – a great female soul singer from the 60s who's rarely ever gotten her due! There have been some cheaply done reissues of Bettye's work over the years, but this is the first time a full set of her best work has been put together with a good set... read more

We can remember a time when Keith Sweat records were pretty ubiquitous, but on vinyl at least, they're getting harder and harder to come by. This second album by Sweat may be largely commercial, but it's a solid affair all the way through, with Sweat turning in a consistently vibrant performance... read more

A supremely fantastic album, and one that's always woefully overlooked in discussions of James Brown's incredible People label! Sweet Charles, Charles Sherell, was a great lost soul vocalist who had a voice that was warm and mellow, with a sweetness that was often missing from James' singing... read more

A great back-to-basics set for the Sweet Inspirations – now working here as the trio of Estelle Brown, Myrna Smith, and Sylvia Shamwell – and working with David Porter in a strongly Memphis mode! The arrangements on the set are a bit more ambitious than usual for Stax at the time... read more

The Sweet Sweet Sweet Inspirations get the Gamble Huff treatment – and as it worked with Archie Bell, so it works with these guys – really well! The Philly sound gives the girls the right push that they need to keep from being just another snoozy Atlantic stable band, and it pushes... read more

Wonderful soul by one of the best female groups of the 60s! The Sweet Inspirations work here in a southern-tinged style similar to their classic backing work for Aretha Franklin – a sound that was already great behind Aretha, but which is even better here on its own – warm, spiritual,... read more

A sweet sweet groover from Switch – post-Motown, but still sounding great – and if anything, maybe finding a whole new groove in the process! The quintet have all the warm modes of their best previous tunes – a touch of funk at times, but a vibe that's even stronger on tunes that... read more

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A seminal bit of seventies soul from Switch, and a record that really helped set the tone for countless others to come in the 80s – no surprise, given that the group's got members from both the DeBarge and Ingram families! There's a warmth here that few others can match – an earnest,... read more

A seminal bit of seventies soul from Switch, and a record that really helped set the tone for countless others to come in the 80s – no surprise, given that the group's got members from both the DeBarge and Ingram families! There's a warmth here that few others can match – an earnest,... read more

Quite possibly the best album ever from Ohio funky soul combo Switch – and certainly proof that the hope of Motown in the 80s was in ensemble group funk! This second album holds up really well, and thanks to some sweet production by Bobby DeBarge and Jermaine Jackson, the record's got a warm... read more

A host of cool cuts from Dwight Sykes – an 80s soul artist, but one who clearly draws lots of inspiration from the laidback vibe of "Summer Madness"! There's a wonderful slow funk feel to these tracks – rhythms that strut around with an easygoing feel, while keyboards space... read more

A host of cool cuts from Dwight Sykes – an 80s soul artist, but one who clearly draws lots of inspiration from the laidback vibe of "Summer Madness"! There's a wonderful slow funk feel to these tracks – rhythms that strut around with an easygoing feel, while keyboards space... read more

How old was Foster Sylvers when he cut this record? Seven? Eight? Whatever the case, the little tyke forever changed the face of funky music with the incredible cut "Misdemeanor" – one of those chunky funky numbers that sounds like nothing else we've ever heard, and which has... read more

Two gems from The Sylvers – back to back on a single CD! Showcases is filled with great groovers from The Sylvers – a set cut when the group were firmly in their disco years – a great setting for their playful family-style vocals! In fact, moving to disco may well have been one... read more

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A great little set from Sylvester – 3 sides recorded live in San Francisco, one more recorded in the studio! All the sides have a complicated approach to the groove – larger orchestrations that really show Syl pushing his conception of soul to the max, sounding really wonderful, and... read more

An overlooked gem from Sylvester's years on Fantasy Records – a set that has him working strongly with soul maestro Harvey Fuqua, in a really great blend of disco and more laidback modes! There's a balance here that's like early Luther at his best – a way of being proudly poised, yet... read more

Includes the Larry Levan mix, and features cover art by Keith Haring.... read more

A massive double-header – one that features the first two Sylvester albums for Fantasy Records! First up is the self-titled Sylvester – a reworking of his older groove into one that we love more than any other that he ever used – a smooth modern soul style, not really disco, but... read more

Fuzzy, freaky early work from Sylvester – a hip little set that's part soul, part funk, and part rock – overflowing with all the strange genre-mixing sounds you'd find in the Bay Area scene of the early 70s! There's definitely a Sly & The Family Stone inspiration going down on some... read more

Strange stuff! "Automatic Lover" is a clear Kraftwerk rip off, complete with robotic vocals, and a cold German backing. Very different than anything else Sylvia ever did, and proof that she was certainly a nutter!... read more

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Beautiful spacey soul from Syreeta – and proof that she was one of Motown's great lost talents of the 70s! Leon Ware did the production, and Syreeta's high Minnie Riperton-esque voice is backed by a smooth set of mellow grooves with lots of cool electronic bits and weird moogy parts that... read more

One of Syreeta's deepest albums ever – proud, bold, and wonderfully righteous throughout – filled with a sense of message and purpose that was quite rare for Motown at the start of the 80s! Syreeta's really tapped back into that wonderful energy that made her so great when first... read more

A great bit of crossover dancefloor – and the one standout hit from The System! "In My System" has a groove that's electric and soulful at the same time – nicely percolated and a bit compressed – served up with a hook that won't quit! "Now I Am Electric" is a... read more

Plenty of Magic here from T-Connection – a clubby set of tracks, yet one that's still put together more like a funk combo record from the mid 70s! The instrumentation is mindblowing – impeccable guitar and basslines, set to snapping rhythms that really capture the best Miami funk mode... read more

T-Connection are definitely on fire with this smoking little set – a killer batch of late 70s club, done with almost equal parts funk, soul, and disco! As with their debut, the group here are right on the money instrumentally – playing with a dexterity that few other large funk groups... read more

Funky club from the always-great T-Connection – all extended numbers, served up in one dancefloor-packing set! T-Connection are easily one of our favorite groups from the late 70s club years – and although they played big in discos, the combo also had a core instrumental sound that was... read more

A soaring stormer from T-Connection – and a set that has them sounding even better than before! There's a perfection here the group didn't have with earlier releases – a quality that goes way past indie funk ensemble, into the realm of some of the best mainstream acts on the bigger... read more

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Ten years in for the Tabou Combo – and the group's sounding funkier than ever! The album's got a groove that's even tighter than some of their earliest records – and there's a definite funky feel to the music at times – not just Haitian styles, but a nice US influence too –... read more

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A Def Jam classic from Tashan – and a record that really helped bridge the gap between male soul and hip hop in the 80s! The style's still as warm and soulful as most of Tashan's contemporaries, but the record definitely shows a bit of street soul in the rhythms too – often just a bit... read more

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Twice as sweet, and mighty neat – a killer set from Taste Of Honey, and one that has the girls moving away from Mizell Brothers help in the studio, and getting some great grooves from George Duke! Duke brings in all his best jazzy soul to the duo – lots of keyboards stepping around the... read more

Grady's most obscure album – and one that's got much more of a jazzy tip than his other ones. Richard Tee plays electric piano, and the band includes Billy Butler, George Coleman, and Ron Carter – all of whom do their best to keep things hip, and not fall into some of the schmaltzier... read more

Although Howard Tate's work on Verve has gotten a lot of acclaim – thanks to an excellent CD reissue – this later album for Atlantic still remains in the ranks of soul obscurities. The album's perhaps not as great as Tate's Verve work – in that the arrangements don't fit as hand-i... read more

Incredible southern soul from Tommy Tate – work recorded in the 70s for the Koko label, a good deal of which was never issued at the time! Koko never released a full album by Tommy back in the 70s – just a smattering of singles – so although his talents are mighty, he's been... read more

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One of Capitol's biggest soul bands of the 70s – and a strong sweet group who made the shift from mellow soul to the disco years. Includes the band's massive "Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel", but we prefer their mellower stuff – like their sublime version of "She's... read more

Always-great work from Tavares – one of those groups who never seemed to miss, and who seemed to weather the disco era a lot better than most of their contemporaries! This 1980 album is key proof of that fact – a tremendous little set, done at a point when Tavares could have rested on... read more

An incredible album from Tavares – every bit as great on the uptempo end, as you'd expect from their bigger hits, as it is on the sweeter ballad tracks – which step out here as a tremendous surprise! The set was crafted with help from Philly maestro Bobby Martin – and begins with... read more

Tavares chill things out nicely, definitely heading for the "new directions" in the title, and going for more of a mellow sound that was clearly going to help them reach new audiences in the post-disco years. The harmonies are as great as they always were in the early days, taking a... read more

A smooth batch of modern soul from this great 70s vocal group! By this point in their career, Tavares have already had great fame on both the radio and dancefloor charts – moving effortlessly between sweet harmony tracks and more strident disco ones. This set has the group working in a... read more

A wicked little set from singer Debbie Taylor – a vocalist who really only shone brightly for this one album – but who's left more than enough of a soul legacy with its greatness! The record's an important early effort from Patrick Adams – and it's cut with a rough-edged style... read more

The early 80s debut from singer, songwriter Gary Taylor – also playing Rhodes, piano and synth on this set – filled with nicely grooving 80s soul! The songs are solid, and though he'd go on to write songs for a number of soul and R&B stars, he lets these numbers build slowly into... read more

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A landmark album from Johnnie Taylor – a set that not only gave his career a giant boost, but which also helped shift southern soul into hip new territory in the late 70s! The music's a great change from Taylor's previous work at Stax – and the set features warm production from Don... read more

Funky soul from Johnnie Taylor – a set that mixes tight core grooving with some larger arrangements from Bert Keyes and Rudy Robinson – a perfect blend that shows why Taylor easily stood out from some of his bluesy contemporaries! It's clear that Johnnie's just the right guy to handle... read more

Sweet, smooth, and bluesy – perhaps not as hard as some of Johnnie's earlier Stax work, but with an increasing sophistication that really shows his development as a soul singer. The record's a good bridge into Johnnie's modern soul work at Columbia – and it's got arrangements by Wade... read more

Johnnie Taylor's first album for Stax – and a tremendous little set that easily stands as one of his greatest records ever! Sure, we love Johnnie in all his incarnations – but there's a special sort of something here – a rawness and earnestness – that makes the whole thing... read more