Soul — In Stock — LPs  

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Heavy dancefloor funk from ADC Band – grooving in a bass-heavy mode that almost seems like a mainstream take on P-Funk – but which also has some really great mellow soul elements on the mellower tunes! There's a great ensemble Detroit groove going on overall – and as an added... read more

They're not kidding with the name of this group – because the set's a masterpiece of 70s Afro Funk – totally great all the way through! The combo has African origins, but they're recording here in London – which makes for a really wonderful criss-crossing of cultural modes –... read more

A return to Stax by Rance Allen – his first album for the label after a stellar set for Capitol, and a much smoother set than before! Rance has learned from his work with Larry Mizell on Capitol, and is using a warmer glide on his tracks on this set – arrangements mostly done by... read more

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The major label debut of Amuzement Park – almost more obscure than the indie set that preceded it, and kind of in a different mode altogether! There's still a boogie groove to most of the set, but the group are also funking things up a bit more – possibly following a Minneapolis... read more

Righteous soul, but with a wicked groove too – a killer set from Aquarian Dream, made even better by some great Norman Connors production! In a way, Aquarian Dream were to Norman Connors what Ramp were to Roy Ayers – in that the group wasn't really that dominated by Connors, but they... read more

Bass heavy funk from Arrington – picking up where that Slave groove left off, moving into a mode that's also picked up bits of 80s groove and old school rhythms. Titles include "Nobody Can Beat You", "You Meet My Approval", "Speak With Your Body", "Weak At... read more

A mid 80s classic from Atlantic Starr – at the height of their catchy commercial fame – bouncing along with rhythms that crossover nicely to the mainstream, yet still keep a bit of their previous funky edge intact! The groove here is almost in the style that Atlantic Starr inspired in... read more

The first album by Atlantic Starr – a tight set of modern soul tunes with a very different feel than their later work! Part of the credit goes to Bobby Eli – who arranged and produced the set, giving it a feel that's almost late Philly – tight, sophisticated, and right on the... read more

No honking here, as Sil Austin takes his deeply soulful tenor sax, and turns it to a set of creamy late-nite tracks – all done over some very "pretty" backings, ala the Verve strings work of Ben Webster or Lester Young. Most cuts have voices in with the orchestrations – and... read more

If you need to own one album by Average White Band, this is it! The album features the band at their funky best – playing hard and chopping away with a strong crossover sound that put them firmly on the map during the early 70s. Loads of tight rolling basslines and hard drums – all... read more

What can we say? This is one of the greatest soul soundtracks ever! In a market that was dominated by the big-selling Shaft and Superfly albums, Roy slipped in this masterful blend of jazzy vibes and wah wah funk that's easily one of the best-composed records of the blacksploitation genre! The... read more

A great little album by Roy Ayers – one that features none of his hits, but which has great examples of both sides of Roy's talents at the time. The dancefloor side of Roy kicks in with "Love Will Bring Us Back Together", an extremely catchy groover that's very much in the mode of... read more

Roy Ayers in a seductive mid 80s mode – his first for Columbia – and a record with some incredibly nice moments that blow away most of his contemporaries! The synth soul and drum machine era might seem like an odd fit for Roy's jazzy vibes, but it actually works really well here! You... read more

Pure magic from the height of Roy Ayers' classic 70s run on Polydor – a record that's filled with warm, jazzy grooves – all served up in that unique style that Roy was forging at the time! The album perfectly balances dancefloor tracks with mellower numbers – stepping out one... read more

An archetypal album by Roy – and one that really shows him at the turning point of his sound! Gone are the trippier jazz funk moments of earlier albums – and in their place are some tight grooves and wonderfully spacey soul. Roy hits the dancefloor with one of his first up-tempo funk... read more

One of Roy Ayers' greatest albums of the 70s – a set that tightens up the groove from previous Polydor productions, yet still keeps all the soul intact! The record picks up the style begun with the Mystic Voyage album, and pushes it to some slightly tighter territory – a more focused... read more

Talk about a meeting of the minds! At the time of this album, Henderson & Ayers were probably the biggest names in the jazz funk business – both with a smooth soulful style that was pushing the genre onto whole new levels, while still keeping firm roots in jazz – a rare blend that... read more

JR's cut some records that have a rootsier feel – but this one features smooth modern arrangements and production by Phil Medley and Buddy Scott. The set begins with an uptempo clubby remake of "Taste of Honey", and also features a nicely grooving take on "Stella By... read more

Later Atlantic work by LaVern Baker – almost more traditional than her earlier sides! The album has LaVern singing with arrangements by Clyde Otis – lusher backings than in earlier years, giving the record a classic 60s bluesy sort of approach. Titles include "Endless Love",... read more

Funky stuff from this obscure rock band that played with more of a soul sound than a lot of their contemporaries! The live material's pretty darn great from an instrumental standpoint, with lots of heavy conga-driven grooves (thanks to King Errison), and plenty of guitar and sax work, very much in... read more

A great step forward for The Bar-Kays – an album that actually has them taking on a few mellower moments, amidst the heavy funk you might expect – yet all without softening their groove at all! The album's very much in the best spirit of the group's Mercury debut – still recorded... read more

Proof that even a move to a major label couldn't keep the Bar-Kays down – as the group are working here in a great groove that's wider, fresher, and stronger overall than any of their Stax albums! Sure, the whole thing's not guitar-based funk all the way through, but the group are also... read more

The Bar-Kays' last album for Stax – most likely recorded in earlier years – and a surprisingly funky set that still holds onto the group of the group's earlier 70s work, while also pointing the way towards the future! The overall sound isn't nearly as slick as in the Mercury years, and... read more

Quite an unusual record from New Orleans R&B legend Dave Bartholomew – arranger, producer, and trumpeter – coming off here with more of a jazz sound than on his usual records! Despite the "New Orleans" and "House Party" in the title, the album's actually set of... read more

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

The record that defined a generation, and a set with some surprisingly nice soul tracks, too – including "Open Sesame" by Kool & The Gang, "Disco Inferno" by The Trammps, "KJEE" by MFSB, "Calypso Breakdown" by Ralph MacDonald, "Fifth Of... read more

A really strong late 80s set from Regina – bringing in more smooth soul touches than the more dancefloor ready predecessor – which make for an even finer showcase for Regina's beautiful voice. Titles include "Baby Come To Me", "When Will You Be Mine", "What... 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

Yipes! This one made everyone a bucket of money – especially Quincy Jones, whose new Qwest imprint the record was one of the first to grace. George has come a long way from his roots with Jack McDuff here – but in a way that kind of has us impressed, as he's grooving away slickly on... read more

A great set of 70s indie blues – issued at the end of the decade, but with a sound that's much more old school overall! The album was cut at a time when Buster was a key underground figure on the Chicago scene – and it's got a solid, classic approach that's very much in the 60s... read more

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One of the wildest albums by the funky conga player. The title track, "Lion Walk" runs through all of side one, and has a weird, tripped-out sloppy funk feel, with guitar and sax solos over Big Black's moody congas. Side two has three long songs, with a groove that's not as good, but... read more

A dancefloor classic! The album's the second by Gregg Diamond's Bionic Boogie, and head and shoulders above the rest – a sublime blend of soul and club that's hardly been matched again! Diamond manages to make things groove, but never loses sight of the soulful styles that make the record... read more

A great little club set from the enigmatic Edwin Birdsong – a artist that we first came to love for his quirky early recordings on Polydor, and his later collaborations with Roy Ayers – but who sounds equally great here in a Salsoul setting! Birdsong's always had a great talent for... read more

A pivotal album for the group – released at a time when Black Ivory, like so many other east coast vocal groups, was making the transition away from an older sweet soul style to a more sophisticated club vocal sound. The group's producing themselves here – and we're guessing that most... read more

A great little sleeper from the Blackbyrds – a record that never gets as much due as their earlier records that have a hard funky feel, but offer instead a tasty batch of smoother jazz funk numbers that show the group still continuing to grow. Donald Byrd's still at the production helm... read more

A fantastic album from this legendary jazz funk combo – a bit smoother than their first, but that's the great thing about it! The record has the band getting even tighter than before – coming up with an amazing jazz-inflected funk groove that still leaves us breathless after all these... read more

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A lost southern soul gem – cut at the end of the 70s, in that rare blend of southern and modern styles that few performers could really carry off well! Frederick Knight produced the album, and it really steps off of his own mellow work of earlier years – taking things even further,... read more

A fantastic bit of soul and house that was woefully overlooked at the time of its release – and one of our favorite albums of the past 25 years! The Blaze production team had been hitting the underground club scene hard for a few years with their raw New Jersey house singles – then... read more

A killer late set by Bloodstone – one that holds on to all the excellent harmonies they brought to their 70s work, but which pushes their groove forward in a whole new direction! There's a warm modern glow to the set – one that works perfectly with the vocals – and the quintet... read more

It's the end of the 70s, but Blowfly's still going strong on this album! The record features his "Blowfly's Rapp" – billed as "the dirtiest rap ever heard", and certainly true in those pre-gangsta days! The rest of the tracks are a mix of boogie grooves, late 70s club... read more

Here's a record we wish they would have used for the soundtrack to Happy Days – Blowfly cashing in on the 50s craze in the 70s, and offering up his own off-color version of a number of classic oldies! The sound is pretty darn goofy, but also has links to Blow's roots as singer Clarence Reid... read more

Blowfly changes up his groove nicely for the 80s – taking on a tightly-stepping approach to funk that's clearly inspired by some of the changes on the west coast scene – using Zapp-ish rhythms in a mode that ends up working pretty darn well for his off-color spoken lyrics! There's... read more

An Arista winner from Angela Bofill – one that has her working strongly with Narada Michael Walden – who helps Bofill on production and songwriting for part of the album, and really helps bring a nicely solid feel to the set! The tunes are more in an 80s soul mode than before for Angie... read more

A righteous bit of soul – one of the only non-jazz albums we've seen on the Muse label, and a really great session that reminds us of work by Alice Clark and Esther Marrow – two other overlooked 70s soul singers who also recorded for jazz labels! Rickie's got a deep soul approach to... read more

A nice disco record from Hamilton Bohannon. The album mainly contains uptempo dance numbers but there are a few slower songs like "Daddy's Little Son" – a dedication to his son whose picture is on the cover of the album. The other tracks are "Andrea", "But What Is A... read more

One of the more guitar-driven groups on the West End label at the end of the 70s – an outfit with a really great approach to cutting longer dancefloor grooves! Tracks on the album have a nice tight feel that's echoed strongly by the guitar and keyboard work on the tracks – not as... read more

Titles include "Quarter To Three", "Dear Lady Twist", "School Is Out", and "New Orleans" by Gary US Bonds, "If You Wanna Be Happy" and "Twisting Matilda" by Jimmy Soul, "High School USA" by Tommy Facenda, "Working For My... read more

One of the greatest albums ever from Booker T & The MGs – and very different than their early work! The record has Book & Co taking off with a stretched-out jazzy sound – carving expanded grooves that are filled with sweet organ solos, choppy guitar riffs, and some incredibly... read more

A wonderful soundtrack from Booker T & The MGs – a record that's probably much better remembered than the film for which it was written! The tunes show a whole new depth for the group – a style that still has some of the charm of their previous hits, but which also takes off in... read more

Soaring work from guitarist Michael Boothman – a record that's probably more in a soul instrumental mode than a jazz one – but which is plenty darn great, thanks to help from a variety of top-shelf talents! Boothman's working here with Leon Pendarvis – who plays keyboards on the... read more

Bootsy's still keeping the P-Funk flag flying high at the end of the 70s – arguably stepping out here with a sound that's got more of the Parliafunkadelicment elements intact than some of George Clinton's other spinoff groups! The tracks are long, and plenty jamming – still with plenty... read more

A brilliant soul album! That's right, we said SOUL album! Bowie was at the height of his Ziggy Stardust fame when this one was recorded – a drastic left-turn in styles, forged during a point in his American tour when he could take a break, head to Philly, plug in at the Sigma Sound Studios,... read more

Our favorite album by this overlooked 70s soul group! The album's a real club stormer from the old days – a soaring blend of upbeat tunes with a sound that's righteous and smooth, and never cloying. These guys are kind of riding on the high of an Earth Wind & Fire kind of groove –... read more

Six albums in, and these guys still aren't losing their groove – and if anything, they seem to be getting even tighter and funkier with the 80s groove generation! Randy Muller's still the main man making things happen here – giving the group their trademark horn sound, and that... read more

A landmark set from a group who only ever gave the world two albums – but who've gone on to have a huge influence over the years! This initial offering from Breakwater is a masterful blend of jazzy fusion and mellower soul – a sound sifted together so perfectly, it really tops the rest... read more

That's Brenda & Herb, not Peaches & Herb – Herb Rooney and Brenda Reid of the excellent 60s group The Exciters – grooving together here in a really full-on vocal approach that's clearly inspired by the best aspects of Ashford & Simpson! Tracks have a lush, full feel –... read more

A killer debut from Brick – the start of a massive run at the end of the 70s, a time when the group was easily one of the biggest acts to come out of the up-and-coming Atlanta scene! Like some other Atlanta acts of the time, Brick had a way of fusing older funky soul on a tighter modern... read more

This one's a real shift from her earlier jazz-based work, or her recent recordings for Verve – and a sweet funky fusion album that Dee Dee recorded for Elektra in the late 70s. The set was produced by Stanley Clarke, and has a soul/fusion sound that's not that different than his own work of... read more

Late 70s grooves from Brooklyn Dreams for Casablanca – with the crossover hit "Heaven Knows" with Donna Summer – but overall it’sa pretty sweet set of late disco era numbers with slow building arrangements and harmony vocals that show a love and respect for the previous... read more

Smooth ensemble funk – somewhere between Earth Wind & Fire and Average White Band – not bad on the vocals, which are mostly sung harmony style, but lacking a bit of an edge on the grooves, which never really seem to catch. Titles include "Top 40 Band", "Soul... read more

Blam is right – an all-out batch of funky tracks from The Brothers Johnson – captured here right in the middle of their classic period with Quincy Jones! The Q's at the helm on production for the set, and the record's a great extension of their earlier efforts with the man – but... read more

Smooth jazzy soul from the Brothers – still sounding wonderful at this point, producing themselves for the record, and using the best parts of all those lessons they learned from Quincy Jones! The bass is a bit down in the mix for this album – a good move, considering that 1981 was... read more

Damn, is this a great record! The album's not only one of the best blacksploitation soundtracks ever recorded, it's also one of James Brown's funkiest outings of the early 70s! Nearly every cut's a winner, and James gets some very funky help from The JBs, who groove hard on the best instrumental... read more

A darn hard to find album by James – one with a tight soulful R&B groove that just about never lets up! Even on these early albums, James had a great raw sound, with a kind of funk that wasn't his trademark 70s sound, but which is still nice and tasty. Titles include "Shout &... read more

James Brown screams at the beginning of the record – "I'm Back! I'm Back!" – which is his proclamation that he was ready to take on a whole new generation of funk music – grooving with a new sound that was guaranteed to hit as big as it did in earlier years! The... read more

At the end of the 70s, James was combatting the disco movement by forging his own brand of dancefloor music – a super-heavy fusion of straight-on funk, but with a more up-tempo twist and extended in a style to compete with some of the hit 12" singles being issued at the time. This album... read more

One of the stranger James Brown albums from the 60s! The record is one of the only vocal albums he cut for the Smash label – and it was issued during a time when James was strangely contracted to two labels – King and Smash. His dual contract situation was that he couldn't record any... read more

A late 70s effort from James, perhaps not as all out funkdafied as the rest of that era's output, but not a total sleeper either, with a few pretty darn funky moments. Includes the tasty cut "If You Don't Give a Doggone About It", done with the JBs, one that has a nice choppy "Doin... read more

Subtitled "Live At the Apollo Vol 3", but waaay better than any of the earlier volumes, this monster 2LP live set has James and the JB's wailing away in a freewheeling live set of hard hard hard funky grooves. Excellent work by the band, and a great way to see how sharp they were out of... read more

Easily one of the funkiest albums that James Brown ever recorded – and one of his few entries into the blacksploitation genre of the 70s! James really outdid himself for this one – working at a hard burning pace that had the JBs cooking up some killer funk for just about every number... read more

A rare TK Records effort from James Brown – very much in the best uptempo funk mode of the later Polydor years! The groove here is quite similar to those better-known efforts – grooves that are a bit quicker than a few years before, but still played in a core JB funky style –... read more

The cover says it all: a painting of James, kicking back on a couch with a disco Godfather outfit on, while two topless girls dance in front of him – clearly, the old days are past! Still, despite this trashy effort to be a clubtime player, James still manages to funk things up a bit –... read more

Quite obscure later work from Maxine – done in a style that's partly like her classic uptown soul work for Wand, but which also has some more down-home and rootsy moments – in an approach that was clearly intended to make her come across as more of a hard soul singer! Arrangements are... read more

A sweet bit of funky jazz vocals from Oscar Brown Jr – recorded during his early 70s stay at Atlantic Records, in a style that's very different than his early work! The tracks are all still original numbers by Oscar – penned with that clever bad-rapping approach to the lyrics that... read more

A sweet, smooth stepper from the great Randy Brown – and a record that's got the same sublime mix of mellow grooves and earthy vocals that you might find on some of Tyrone Davis' best late 70s work for Columbia! Tunes are all plenty darn fresh – written by the team of Homer Banks and... read more

Easily one of the top 5 female southern soul albums of the 70s – a landmark record that Shirley Brown never matched again! The record's got an open, honest quality that's far deeper than even other work from the time on Stax Records – a style that's partly Memphis, but which also has... read more

Chicago "party" comic Tommy Brown lays down a second volume of his first hit LP of comedy "I Ain't Lying". Uncensored stuff, "For Adults Only".... read more

A key bit of jazz funk from trumpeter Tom Browne – still grooving strong here, with a sublime mix of modern soul, funky jazz, and some of the 80s groove touches that showed up on the best GRP titles from the time! The album's got a smooth compressed groove – kind of post-Donald Byrd,... read more

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One of the greatest albums ever from BT Express – tighter, smoother, and classier than the group's early funky disco sessions – and with a cosmic sound that shows them really growing at the time! The sound here steps off from both the group's own horn-heavy disco sides of the 70s, and... read more

These guys are still pretty darn great at this point – and the album's an updating of their uptempo funky club sound, one that still retains a lot of the best elements of earlier efforts. Horn arrangements are very strong, handled by Carlos Ward with a nice touch of jazz – and the... read more

A standout solo moment from the amazing Keni Burke – an artist who's come a long way from his youthful start in the 5 Stairsteps! Keni had recorded other adult work by the time of this early 80s set, but Changes is easily his best-remembered album – a masterpiece of 80s groove, all... read more

Surprisingly nice work! Like the rest of Solomon's post-Atlantic LPs, this one has a sound that's different than his classic work, but which also exposes a whole new side of his talent, and range of vocals that didn't always show up for Atlantic. Solomon arranged and produced here, and the sound... read more

Seminal work by one of our favorite soul singers of all time! Jerry first came to fame with The Impressions and on his own in the early 60s – singing dark moody easy tunes that well earned him the nickname of "Iceman". In the late 60s, though, he moved onto Mercury where he broke... read more

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Funky electric groove from Donald Byrd – a post Mizell effort that's still burning in a crisp groove similar to his classic 70s Blue Note work – one that's absolutely dripping with keys! Isaac Hayes produced this one, and also played a lot of those keyboards on the session with Byrd's... read more

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The debut from Rafael Cameron – a pretty soulful set for Salsoul produced by Brass Connection's Randy Muller! Cameron's got a nice deep soul sound to his vocals, and although the arrangements are uptempo and clubby on some tracks, they're not there to cover up the singing, and have a nice... read more

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Although Captain Sky was pretty much just a proto-P-Funk wannabe on most of his records, this one's actually a pretty decent batch of grooves – and it includes the excellent "Super Sporm", a killer extended track with a great conga break, and a tight old school sample sound! Also... read more

Captain Sky is sort of a bargain-basement version of Bootsy Collins. He plays lots of heavy bass riffs, lays down long funk tracks with wicked vocals and trippy space funk lyrics – but somehow he's never worthy of a ride on the mothership. The record's not a bad one, and it's an interesting... read more

Music by Walter Raim – with titles that include "Red Apple Juice", "Sing Out", "Seven Daffodils", "Writing On The Wall", and "Calumet City".... read more