Soul — In Stock — LPs  

This is it! The record that helped put disco over in a huge way, with a sound that would go on to be heavily imitated for years to come. Sweeping disco production from Hugo & Luigi arranged and conducted by Van McCoy, already a studio mainstay by this point, coupled with a set of accessible... read more

An excellent album of smooth soul tracks, and maybe Van's best record of the 70s! The record shows Van sitting at the piano in an intimate setting – ala Barry White – and it's got a similar Love Unlimited Orchestra approach, with much large backing behind Van's voice, and a very full... read more

A Miami soul classic from the 70s – and a legendary pairing of George and Gwen McCrae – with results that soar past the individual work by the pair! Gwen's vocals are killer – deep, soulful, and still with the bite of her own TK albums – and the grooves here echo a bit more... read more

The record that forever put George McCrae on the map – and a crossover bit of Miami soul from the 70s with all the key elements of the TK sound firmly in place! George's vocals are nicely flanged out in that cool production mode that TK was using with its big acts of the time (an approach... read more

A landmark album from the Miami soul scene of the 70s – the record that put Gwen McCrae on the map, and showed to the world that the TK sound was about to dominate the charts! There's a really unique groove to the set – part older southern soul, part percolated electric modes –... read more

Sexy soul from the great Gwen McCrae – a key follow-up to her massive Rockin Chair, and an album that showed that she could go a lot deeper than just pop soul! Given Gwen's contribution to the early disco years, the record's got a surprisingly laidback feel – classic female southern... read more

Sexy soul from the great Gwen McCrae – a key follow-up to her massive Rockin Chair, and an album that showed that she could go a lot deeper than just pop soul! Given Gwen's contribution to the early disco years, the record's got a surprisingly laidback feel – classic female southern... read more

An obscure second soundtrack for The Mack – one that's not nearly as well known as the classic Motown score by Willie Hutch, but which features some great work from Eugene McDaniels – and funky backings from Alan Silvestri! Eugene sings sweetly on the title theme "In The... read more

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Obscure batch of jazzy pop originals by this obscure singer from Indianapolis. Jimmy's clearly trying for a Lou Rawls Capitol sort of style, but he's also got a voice that's a bit raspier and blusier than Lou. Most of the tracks are originals by Jimmy, and titles include "Searching",... read more

Great stuff from this famous Philly team – not nearly as well-known as their work on Philly International, but a strong batch of modern soul tunes and 80s groover that stands with the other excellent work coming out on Capitol at the time. McFadden & Whitehead wrote, arranged, and... read more

Sweet funky blues from the team of Junior Parker and Jimmy McGriff – coming together here in a way that's even groovier than some of their previous work! Junior's got a sweet approach to the lyrics that grooves nicely with Jimmy's Hammond – and the set's got some full and soulful... read more

Forget the "honky tonk" in the title – because this girl knows how to groove! Ellen McIlwaine's got to be one of the most unique talents of the past 50 years – a skilled guitarist, and great singer – working in a blend of folk, jazz, and soul that lies somewhere between... read more

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A sweet album of modern soul on Fantasy – with a sophsticated style that reminds us a bit of Phyllis Hyman in parts, especially on the album's mellower tracks. A few numbers are done in an uptempo groove – and Paulette's not really that great at these, as her subtle vocals tend to get... read more

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Titles include "Star Wars & Other Galactic Funk", "The Last Battle", "Cantina Band", "Throne Room & End Title", and "Other Galactic Funk".... read more

A non-Philly International, non-Teddy LP for the group – but still recorded in the City of Brotherly Love, with a classic 70's sound that's pretty similar to their work with Gamble & Huff. Titles include "Hostage", "He Loves You And I Do Too", "Stay Together"... read more

Nice! US reissue of one of the better post-Josie albums by the Meters, with a groove that's a little New Orleans, and a little 70's funky soul. Not all cuts are great, but there's some nice funky tracks on here that make this one worth having, and which keep it from being a disappointment, like... read more

Seminal work from The Meters – and an album that's essential for just about any collection of old school funk! The record's a blueprint for grooves that have been copied for generations to come – yet nobody does it better than these Crescent City kings – working here with a sound... read more

Brilliantly funky! This is the greatest album they cut for Warner Brothers – and it's one of the few that ever really approaches the genius of their early work for Josie. The record features the incredible breakbeat cut "Just Kissed My Baby" – worth the price of the album... read more

The rarest Meters record ever! This is one of the 3 classic funky albums they cut for the Josie label in their early years – and it's about as hard and heavy and funky as you could get! The group's trademark scratchy guitar funk sound is firmly in place, and the rhythm section is nice,... read more

Excellent work from Gamble & Huff – with a strong Philly groove on just about every track, and good instrumental moments that really keep the groove fresh and strong. Many tracks have background female vocals on the choruses, and the record's got good percussion by Leroy Bell and synth... read more

A seminal bit of funk rock from this well-connected group who bubbled under considerably during the late 60s and early 70s, but never seemed to cross over big. The best cuts on the album have a heavy funk sound, similar to the group's funky 45s – with the sax of leader George Patterson Jr... read more

One of THE psychedelic funk masterpieces of the early 70s – a guitar-heavy set with a very fuzzed up feel – one that's halfway between the work of Fugi and some of the best early sides on Westbound Records! But more than just guitar-heavy funk, Midnight Movers also have a fair bit of a... read more

Real 80s groove soul – with polished sound that's got a bit of a jazzy flavor in it, thanks mostly to the competent instrumentation of the band. Titles include "You Satisfy Me", "Just A Little Bit", "Heavy Rotation", "Start It Up", "Sweet... read more

Mike's come a long way from his early soul days with Dennis Coffey – working here to lay down a set of spacious disco tunes with a dreamy finish – really stretching out with the same sort of glide you'd find in the best Philly club at the time! The record's actually quite strong on the... read more

A dramatic disco classic from Detroit legend Mike Theodore – stepping out here with all the force you'd expect from the title! "High On Mad Mountain" is a symphonic disco classic – using strings, congas, and lots of percussion to set up the groove – as guitar and... read more

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A landmark crossover album – featuring Buddy Miles' mixed Freedom Express group, and a heavy jazz-rock sound that would soon dominate the charts with other groups. Buddy's drums are super-heavy, even if his vocals always get us the wrong way. Includes the original recording of "Them... read more

A masterpiece from SF rocker Steve Miller – and a perfect summation of the years of blues, soul, funk, and rock he'd been soaking up in the Bay Area scene! The album crossed over instantly with the massive cut "Fly Like An Eagle" – already great on its own, but supported here... read more

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A great, rare early album by The Miracles! The album features the group back when they still had a female member, who gives the band a beautiful high harmony sound in tandem with Smokey Robinson's falsetto vocals. The reissue includes the great original cover – and loads of nice original... read more

Jackson soul from McKinley Mitchell – more polished than his earlier work, but still with that Chimneyville/Malaco late 70s southern style that was the best heir to 60s work in Memphis and Muscle Shoals. Tracks include "Open House At My House", "You're So Fine", "The... read more

A righteous group soul classic from the 70s – the one and only album from The Modulations, and a lasting classic that almost beats the multiple album runs of some of their contemporaries! The group's a southern harmony quartet at their core, but they also get some really great backings on... read more

Sweet sweet sweet soul from The Moments, and one of their rare early albums for the Stang label! The tracks are all beautiful New Jersey harmony soul, of the sort that The Moments and others put on the charts in a large way during the early 70s – and the band's smoothing their act up a bit,... read more

Massive music from Monomono – and a set of Afro Funk put together with a wonderful criss-crossing of sounds! The style here isn't just the familiar grooves you might expect – and instead, there's almost a post-colonial vibe going on – an ear towards London, and another towards... read more

Melba Moore is on fire here – eschewing ballads altogether for the first time – and lighting up a scorching late disco vibe! Burn is a tight, club-ready soul set from '79 that finds Melba with more input on the songwriting than she had on previous records. It's also a nice step in a... read more

An excellent early Rudy Ray Moore album – with tasty musical backing on just about every number, and some great routines that are extremely tight. The backing's not totally funky, but it does give Rudy's party humor a really strong approach – especially on his classic presentation of... read more

Classic stuff – Rudy's first album, and a fitting launch to his famous career of party records and live club performances! The cover's got Rudy in front of a nude black model, laying back on the couch, and encouraging him to do the thing that's implied by the title – but the record... read more

Rudy Ray Moore's classic LP of funky drum breaks and very very explicit descriptions of "the proper way to make love to a lady". The music is slammin', and Rudy Ray Moore's at his worst as he describes different positions, techniques, and approaches to the art of love. This record was... read more

Quite possibly THE mother of all funky soundtracks – the legendary score to Rudy Ray Moore's classic first Dolemite film! The record's been referenced for years, and all the hype is totally right – because the whole thing's overflowing with funky tracks both vocal and instrumental... read more

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Early 70s ensemble funk from Mugo – a DC group made up of students from McKinley Tech High School – combining tightly energetic, fairly sprawling instrumentation and soulful vocals – a number of unreleased tracks from the sessions that also produced their rare 70s single, newly... read more

A self-titled set from the mighty Music Machine – a studio ensemble who were as important to the sound of European club music in the 70s as Instant Funk and MFSB were to the Philly scene in the US! The Machine features a host of players who'd previously backed Donna Summer and other Giorgio... read more

One of the more unusual records on Sue from the 60s – an all-instrumental outing, recorded by Juggy Murray in tribute to the late Dr Martin Luther King Jr! The music is done in a larger orchestral mode that's much more soundtrack-oriented than Juggy's other work – with less (or none)... read more

One of the last great funk albums from King Records – a set recorded in the early 70s, but done with a crackling sharp sound that's like the best late 60s James Brown albums for the label! Mickey Murray is from Augusta, GA – James Brown's hometown – and his approach is similar to... read more

Clearly riding on the success of the Memphis Horns' LPs of the mid 70s – but not a bad bunch of funky tracks! The famous horn section from Muscle Shoals takes the helm – or is at least taken to the helm by Barry Beckett, who played keyboards, produced, and arranged the LP. The tracks... read more

A great little album – even if it tries to promise too much! The set bills itself as "the swinginest Hammond organ album since the birth of psychedelia" – and while that sort of a claim is so high that nobody could ever match it, the album is a great batch of offbeat soul... read more

A funky session headed up by wayward P-Funkster Jerome Brailey – a cooking little record with a quality that's right up there with some of the other George Clinton projects of the time! George didn't have anything to do with this one – at least not from what we can tell from the notes... read more

Excellent electric 70s work from The Mystic Moods! The record moves way past the sleepy sexy easy sound of their early albums – and it's got some great keyboard work and a few great funk tracks. "Honey Trippin" is one of these – a great groover with a sound that's almost in... read more

A fantastic bit of spiritual jazz funk – and one of the rarest 70s albums on Fantasy Records! The group's headed up by Nat Adderley Jr (son of the famous Nat Sr) on keyboards and vocals – and the ensemble is a hip, young collective with an approach that reminds us of work by Oneness Of... read more

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Great early stuff by the New Birth – with a sound that's a lot funkier than some of their other records! The sound of the album shows how the band had a great formula for taking original tracks and covers, and redoing them with their unique group sound that gave them a good party feel. This... read more

A classic album by this righteous soul collective – and one that shows them taking a strong step away from their work at RCA with Harvey Fuqua. This one has the group (ever-enormous as always!) absorbing some of the other elements of modern soul that were floating around at the time –... read more

A wonderful package – a set that brings together two rare funk albums by Newban, an early version of Atlantic Starr – plus bonus tracks too! The first Newban record is one of the sweetest ensemble funk albums of the 70s – and a record that's gone on to become a classic, despite... read more

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Cold, hard, and funky! This might be the greatest album ever by this legendary 70s funk band – and it's got a killer sound that has the tightness of the JBs, the rawness of the early Meters, and the frenzy of a rare funky 45! Includes the incredible "Afro Strut" – worth the... read more

A great album filled with hard breaks, tight choppy guitars, and a deep funky sound. This is one of the best early albums by the Nite Liters, and it's filled with great grooves like "Funky-Doo", "Stinkin Charlie", and "K-Jee" – but just about every track is a... read more

Stone funky funky! This is an excellent reissue of the Nite Liters' classic first album, and a monster batch of funky instrumentals that we'd put up there with the great Meters records on Josie, or the classic JBs LPs on People! There's lots of hard drums, choppy guitars, and good funky grooves. ... read more

A funky instrumental classic – with a groove that was copied by a huge amount of other groups! Cliff and crew take the funky 45 sound into the mainstream – vamping and comping in tight choppy grooves that were perfect for dances like The Horse, The Jerk, and some of the other harder... read more

Laura Nyro's first album ever – originally issued by Verve/Forecast in the mid 60s, but brought back out on the market by Columbia, during the height of Nyro's early 70s fame for the label! Even at this early point, Nyro sounds wonderful – a fair bit more soulful than most other female... read more

A tremendous album from Laura Nyro – a real return to the soulful style of her roots, thanks to help from Labelle on backing vocals, and the team of Gamble & Huff on production! If Nyro only ever gave the world this record, that would more than be enough – because the whole thing's... read more

The overlooked collaboration between Human League singer Philip Oakey and producer Giorgio Moroder! The duo initially worked together on the outstanding "Together In Electric Dreams" single – a surprise hit from Moroder's soundtrack for a forgettable movie – and given The... read more

A crossover classic from the late 70s – a record that was born in the clubs, but bred in the mainstream – and the start of a very good relationship between Odyssey and RCA! The album will forever be known for its classic cut "Native New Yorker" – a seminal groover that... read more

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One of the biggest albums ever for Ohio Players – a set that took their earlier funk sound and targeted firmly at the mainstream with a lean, mean groove that a million other groups copied at the time! There's still plenty of the soul of the early years in the group's approach here –... read more

It's the mid 70s, and the Ohio Players were certainly turning out a lot of gold! Their move to Mercury Records from the smaller indie Westbound was a real winning move – as it gave them a smoother soul feel that only expanded their groove, not restricted it! This tasty "best of"... read more

Great work from the Ohio Players – and proof that moving to a big label could be a good thing for a funky group! This was the band's first album for Mercury – and although one might have the temptation to say that the label cut down the radical funk sound of the trippy Westbound years,... read more

A killer bit of crossover pop from the mid 60s – and the kind of groover that brought the Carolina beach sound to the top 40 charts! Includes the group's classic hit "Girl Watcher", a groover that we always enjoy hearing, plus other nice ones like "The Soul Clap", "Lo... read more

Babatunde Olatunji's two classic percussion ensemble albums for Columbia collected in one set. The first LP was recorded in New York with a mix of drums, chants, and afro grooves. Olatunji's joined by Montego Joe and Baba Hawthorne Bey on percussion, and they're backed by a large group of... read more

A great batch of harmony vocal tracks – nearly all of them with an upbeat, kind of silly approach – similar to The Coasters at their best! The Olympics owed a lot to the late 50s Atco recordings The Coasters did with Lieber & Stoller – and they had a similar tight-lipped... read more

The second LP by this obscure group from Chicago who never really managed to crack the big time, but who managed to be one of the bigger independent soul acts of the early 80's. Like their first, this one was recorded in Chicago with a sound that's similar to some of the other modern soul stuff... read more

One of the greatest albums ever from Al Hudson and One Way – a set that still has the group bristling with loads of funky energy – yet also hitting a groove that's wonderfully smooth as well! One Way were really one of the top of the larger funk combos of the time – and this set's... read more

The Originals are hitting more of a dance-oriented groove here – a mix of disco, soul, and uptempo funk arrangements, but still maintaining their harmony sound, in the manner of other Detroit groups at the time, like The Fantastic Four or Detroit Emeralds. Titles include "Call On Your... read more

Titles include "Baby I'm For Real", "I'm Your Man", "The Magic Is You", "Share Your Love With Me", "Let Me Dance", and "Waiting On A Letter/Mr Postman".... read more

The Orlons recreate the sound of yesteryear – singing a dozen older doo wop and R&B hits, but taking the tunes in their own sweet mixture of male and female voices! The backings are a bit sparer than on other Orlons albums of the 60s – and really allow the vocals to come forward... read more

Titles include "We Belong To Love", "Soweto", "You Should Be Mine", "Emotional", "A Second Chance", and "Love's Not Ready".... read more

This UK Afro Funk group is slicking things up a bit for this 1973 album – but not in a bad way, because it actually kicks up the groove considerably. In fact, it almost sounds like they've been listening to a bit of War – because the the best tracks on the album have lots of that funky... read more

Nice mellow LA funk, played by Lee Oskar with help from a lot of his bandmates in the group War. The sound is similar to some of War's Chicano funk grooves – but with some very nicely punctuated rhythms that have the drums snapping out more than on War's albums from the time. Oskar's... read more

Some of the greatest funky work you could ever hope to find by Johnny Otis! The package brings together tracks recorded by Johnny in his fantastic post-R&B years – the late 60s and 1970s, when he was scrappling around a variety of small labels, but also getting the chance to use that... read more

The second album from Shuggie Otis – a wild and wooly batch of grooves that really stretches out the sound from the first! Shuggie's got much more of a hand in the arrangements here – and the tunes are grooving in a sweet blend of funk, rock, and soul – really drenched in the... read more

A classic album of bluesy funk – one that features the guitar of Johnny Otis' young son Shuggie, in a slightly tighter setting than he'd been getting on some of Johnny's own LPs! Shuggie here is still very much under the guidance of his dad – working in a mode that really emphasizes... read more

A great compilation of classic Shuggie – with 10 of the best tracks from the Here Comes Shuggie Otis, Freedom Flight and Inspiration Information records – all pressed up beautifully, with heavy wax and a great cover too!... read more

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A cool collection of space-themed club tracks from Gene Page – and possibly one of his greatest albums of the 70s – dispite a gimmicky approach! There's a tightly soaring feel to most of the cuts that's Page at his best – arranging fully with styles borrowed from Barry White, but... read more

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Ray Parker steps out here with the other woman – with a groove that's somewhat different than his earlier sound with Raydio! There's a slightly sharper edge than before – almost a rockish influence in some of the instrumentation, which is a key factor in helping Parker's crossover in... read more

An oft-overlooked gem from Parliament – released during the year 1976, and sometimes hidden between monster LPs like Funkentelechy and Mothership Connection – but every bit as great as those two classics! The album's got that tightened-up P-Funk sound that was working so perfectly at... read more

Ahhhhh . . . By this point, George Clinton and the P-Funk team were on top of the world! The record is a masterful dose of slick mothership jamming – perfectly woven together with that tightly compressed style that really served Clinton's production work well. The tracks are long, but never... read more

Cool picture disc of the Motor Booty album, with a photo of George Clinton water skiing on two dolphins on one side, and a sketch of him fighting a bird on the other. Housed in a sleeve that lists the tracks on the album, but which doesn't have the same pop-up landscape as the non-pic disc version.... read more

The first album that Parliament cut after their trippy fuzzed-out headblast Osmium. The record features a much more stripped down sound – nice and funky, with a blueprint of the bass-driven groove that would dominate the P-Funk sound of the 70s. Bootsy's on bass, and the group features... read more

A funky treasure – finally unleashed! Bucktown was one of the best of the mid 70s indie blacksploitation films – thanks to some great starring work from Fred Williamson and Pam Grier – but for years, the soundtrack's never been available as an individual release. Now, this tasty... read more

An incredible funky soundtrack – one of the best of the blacksploitation generation, and one of the rarest too! Johnny Pate did the orchestrations for this excellent lost film, and he brought the same sort of energy to it that he did with his soundtrack for Shaft In Africa. There's some... read more

One of Kellee's smoother soul records, recorded after her initial jazz funk work, and with a more slickly produced vibe that's handled by Gene Russell. The record features a uptempo remake of "All The Things You Are", plus originals "Let Go, Let Go", "Nice Girl",... read more

An amazing early album from Billy Paul – the start of a rich career of sophisticated soul, and a record that really put Paul on the map right away – making him one of the most soulful interpreters of song in the 70s! There's a mix of modes going on here that's a bit similar to the... read more

An excellent early album from Billy that has him singing in a mixed jazz and soul vein, with a sound that's similar to some of Nina Simone's great live albums from the time! Billy's singing with a small piano trio, and his voice is rich and soulful in a way that you don't always get on his later... read more

A weird one, but pretty compelling. Cyril Paul is an African American folk singer – less in the mode of jazz/soul folkies like Terry Callier or Oscar Brown, than in the style of the New York/Boston new traditionalists of the early 60s. At most levels, the album's a straight folk one –... read more

A heck of a cool group – with a really wonderful sound! The Peddlers were a late 60s British trio, with a sound that's part soul, part jazz, part supper-club vocals – all done with a clean, clear, hard-grooving approach – and strong instrumentation that often includes a heavy... read more