Soul — In Stock — LPs  

A key album of 80s southern blues from Bobby – done in the slightly electrified, slightly modern style that was coming out of the Jackson scene at the time – in a way that helped find a home for so many artists after the decline of southern soul in the 70s! Material like this made... read more

Brilliant work – one of the records that not only broke Patrice out of the jazz funk ghetto, but which also had a pretty profound influence on the progression of soul in the early 80s – really pushing the use of jazzy elements that would help take R&B to a new level with bigger... read more

Nothing Posh about this one – as the album's an all-out all-access affair! Patrice is at the height of her powers here – equally magic on keyboards and vocals, and coming up with groove after groove in a sublime blend of 70s jazz funk and Minnie Riperton-esque soul! The whole album's... read more

A great set from Patrice Rushen – very different than her later R&B work from the 80s! The record's her first, and at the time, Patrice was much more of a jazz artist – working here with a cool west coast set of players (Joe Henderson on tenor, Hadley Caliman on alto and soprano,... read more

Music beyond description – a unique blend of disco, funk, avant garde, and dub – the wonderful world of the late Arthur Russell! Russell was a bass player by trade, but he was schooled in both classical and Eastern music forms – and brought an incredibly fresh vision to his work... read more

A beautiful late 70s effort from Brenda Russell, who seems to have been left by the wayside, perhaps because her wonderful almost Free Soul approach to modern, sophisticated, mellow grooves never quite fit into the commercial radio soul realm, or the slow jam scene, though it veered close enough to... read more

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The legendary Rinder & Lewis team headed up this Frenchy effort by the pop disco group Saint Tropez. The centerpiece is the album's cover of Serge Gainsbourg's classic "Je T'Aime", redone here with a distinct 70s feel, and a groove that's just right for the dancefloor. Other tunes... read more

Brillant work from the Salsoul Orchestra – some of their most sophisticated work ever, and right in line with a soulful orchestral style that runs back through the work of Barry White into the early experiments of the Soulful Strings! Unlike some of their other poppier efforts, this one's... read more

Brillant work from the Salsoul Orchestra – some of their most sophisticated work ever, and right in line with a soulful orchestral style that runs back through the work of Barry White into the early experiments of the Soulful Strings! Unlike some of their other poppier efforts, this one's... read more

Album of clubby, uptempo stuff, recorded in Rio, and with a bit of a Brazilian feel to it. The tracks are long and fast, and include medleys of "Girl From Ipanema/Manha De Carnaval" and "Chove Chuva/Mas Que Nada", as well as a few other Brazilian tracks. There's also a version... read more

Amazing funky jazz from the 70s – a completely rare little set recorded in the Bay Area scene of the time – featuring hip trumpet work from Woody Shaw, and lots of cool keyboards from Patrick Gleeson! The feel here is somewhere in the territory of work that Gleeson did with Herbie... read more

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A set that's a lot more soulful than you might expect from its cover – almost funky soul as much as the usual disco we're used to hearing on the Prelude label! The group has Moses Dillard and Jesse Boyce handling production and arrangements – and the cuts are shorter than their debut,... read more

Prelude disco at its best – a soulful side from the team of Jesse Boyce and Moses Dillard, formerly of the southern soul scene, and working here in an uptempo Hotlanta mode with lots of nice soul touches. Players on the set include Clayton Ivey on Fender Rhodes, Roger Clark on drums, and... read more

Blue-eyed soul from Boz Scaggs, with a decidedly Philly influenced sound to the production, which we'd hazard a guess comes more from the Hall & Oates side of town than the Sigma Sound axis. Still, this is a solid album with the irresistible hit "Lowdown", still a favorite around... read more

Beautiful set of polished soul tracks, sung by Freddie in his deep rich voice, amidst uptown arrangements by Gary Sherman. There's a great batch of cuts that includes Freddie's hit versions of "Hey Girl" and "I Got A Woman", plus "What Do I See In The Girl", "Wher... read more

An oft-overlooked jazzy gem from Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson – and a beautifully swinging session that has Gil toning it down a bit, and working into a nicely musical groove that gets past the heavy politics of earlier years! The record's a great showcase for the more upbeat side of... read more

A 70s soul classic – and the closest that Gil Scott-Heron ever came to having a hit! The album's best known for its anthemic classic "Johannesburg" – one of the first popular tunes to really push the cause of a free South Africa – but the whole album's a winner, filled... read more

A key crossover set from Gil Scott-Heron – still every bit as political as his earlier work, but with a stronger sense of soul as well! The great Brian Jackson is firmly in tow here – bringing warm keyboards and a nice little groove to most of the tracks – and the previous... read more

Sweet smooth grooves from Sea Level – a killer crossover 70s group, one with roots in the Allman Brothers, but a sound that's much more wide-reaching overall! This sublime album is an AOR classic – a set that graced countless collections back in the day, thanks to a warm blend of rock... read more

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One of their soul funk records from the late 70's, recorded for Casablanca's Parachute subsidiary, and with a mix of uptempo and slower modern soul grooves. Includes the funky sample track "Daisy Lady", plus "Do It With Your Body", "Climbin Higher", "Young... read more

Nothing too manic here, as the grooves are all nicely laidback – in that sweetly smooth Shakatak style! The album's definitely a bit more contemporary-styled than some of the group's earlier ones – rhythms that are mostly programmed, and keyboards that have a later 80s sound –... read more

A soulful set of swinging jazz vocals – and one of a handful of rare albums cut by singer Joan Shaw in the 60s! The set's got some great backings from the Herman Foster Trio – who give the whole thing a Chess/Argo sort of vibe – with plenty of soul jazz undercurrents beneath the... read more

A classic! This is one of the best-ever albums by the legendary Marlena Shaw – and it's a tremendous live set that really lives up to the righteous promise of her earlier work on Cadet Records! The album was cut with a small combo, and the overall feel is incredibly hip – a mixture of... read more

Marlena Shaw's first-ever album – and while not as all-out righteous as some of her later work, still a really unique record that quickly put Marlena head and shoulders above the rest of the pack! The record's a mix of jazzy vocal numbers and heavier soul tunes – arranged by Richard... read more

The first album by Shotgun – one of the many major label funk groups who flourished briefly at the end of the 70s. The group have a harder sound than most of this nature – with plenty of guitars in the mix, and an overall heavier sound than you'd expect from an effort of this type. In... read more

Quite possibly the greatest album ever from Side Effect – a wonderful set that mixes their soulful harmonies with some killer jazz funk from Wayne Henderson! The album may be the most perfect realization of the groove that Henderson was going for during his At Home Productions years –... read more

Quite possibly the greatest album ever from Side Effect – a wonderful set that mixes their soulful harmonies with some killer jazz funk from Wayne Henderson! The album may be the most perfect realization of the groove that Henderson was going for during his At Home Productions years –... read more

A mad bit of funk and jazz from Ben Sidran – much more tripped-out than his later work! Ben's got a great bunch of musicians on the album – with either Tony Williams or "funky drummer" Clyde Stubblefield on drums, and Phil Upchurch on bass, laying down a nice dark groove on... read more

From what we can remember, Bunny's been singing since the late 60s. Still, perhaps he forgot about his career for labels like Philly International, which might explain the title of this album. The tracks here follow on that earlier work, but they do have more of the uptempo disco sound that... read more

One of Bunny's earliest, and one of his best. Although some of the tracks have an uptempo pre-disco feel, there's none of the excesses of his later albums for Gold Mind. Instead, there's a solid Philly soul groove, and great production by Bunny, with arrangements by Norman Harris and Ronnie Baker.... read more

Great uptown early Philly soul album from the late 60's, featuring the talents of a young Bunny Sigler before he got tied up making too many uptempo records. The record features arrangements by Joe Renzetti – in a sweet uptown style that brings out a lot in Bunny's young vocals. Includes... read more

The Silver Convention are still recording in Germany here, but they're getting some great help from John Monster Davis – who seems to warm the grooves up a bit more than before, and give the album a nicely needed dose of soul! The song format is similar to their hits – three lead... read more

Wonderful work by Nina – the kind of record that once made purists turn up their noses, but which is now being rediscovered as a unique jazz/soul crossover album, filled with loads of nice moments! The instrumentation's pretty darn interesting – and includes sitar, harp, Spanish guitar... read more

One of Nina's first for RCA – a mixture of jazz and soul tunes handled with some classy arrangements by Sammy Lowe, most of which feature nice electric bass work at the bottom by Gene Taylor! Taylor's bass gives the tracks a nice "dip" that's not exactly funky, but does provide a... read more

A landmark album from Nina – one that broke down countless barriers with the classic tune "Four Women" – a righteous portrait of 4 different women and their struggles, unique for its time, and a key part of the early Women's Liberation movement! The rest of the album has a... read more

A sweet early album from Sister Sledge – a great transformation of an earlier girl soul sound into a fuller, more mature disco mode for the 70s – all served up with a freshness that's quite appealing if you only know their later hits! Production is by Tony Silvester and Bert De Coteaux... read more

Skyy are soaring high at this point – they've dropped the space suits, but still have the heavy bass, and all those cosmic production touches that put them at the forefront of the new sound of 80s funk. The album's prehaps not as strong as some of their others for Salsoul, but still keeps... read more

A stone classic from Skyy – one of those groups who virtually helped invent 80s groove! Like the best of the genre – such as Slave, BB&Q Band, and others – Skyy have a soulful approach that goes way past the simple cliches that other groups were so content to only muddle... read more

A key early classic from Slave – as the set features the group's first work with drummer Steve Arrington, who not only opened up their rhythmic concept, but also gave them a great new sound on lead vocals! Arrington's approach here is very much in the spirit of Slave's first 2 records –... read more

A bit later than classic vintage for Slave – although most of the group's best elements are still in place! The combo's down to a quartet by this point – one that relies a bit more than before on electric percussion for their rhythms – but the overall focused Slave sound is still... read more

Non-stop grooving from Slave – a record that has them losing the lead talents of Steve Arrington, but not missing a beat! As with Showtime, the sound here is a nicely smoothed-out approach to the bassy funk the group helped forge at the end of the 70s – a more soul-based sound that... read more

One of the many Philly-based, club-oriented projects that centered around Butch Ingram and the Ingram family during the late 70s – Slick have an approach that takes long grooves, builds them out instrumentally, adding in a fair bit of keyboards and moog, like some of the Canadian groups of... read more

Hard to find a stronger early album by Sly – as this one has him still funking hard, but also getting his soul bag together a bit more, hitting some really righteous vibes that mix together politics and partying in an incredibly seductive way. The album's filled with anthemic numbers like... read more

A nice little album from the enigmatic Sly Slick & Wicked – a soul trio who recorded for James Brown on the People label, but who are probably best known for this one-off album on Ju-Par! The group's got a great sound that's in the Detroit mid 70s mode – raw vocal touches, ala... read more

Early work from Smash – a group that included the core of DeBarge before they went onto bigger fame! Oddly, the album was first issued in Germany in 1977, but made its US debut here on Source – about time, too, as the record's a nice blend of funky tunes and the sweeter pop soul you'd... read more

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A bit bluesy, a bit funky, and pretty raunchy all the way through – as you might expect from the name of the group! The group are a Johnny Otis side project from the late 60s – and the record's got lots of the weird funky touches of Johnny's own work of the time, all done at a nicely... read more

A 70s classic from Phoebe Snow – one of those records that it seemed like everybody had to own back in the day – and for good reason! Phoebe's vocals are wonderful – laidback, but inflected with plenty of personality – at times kind of hovering in a 70s space between Minnie... read more

Fairly mainstream disco influenced grooves from poducer/session musician Gino Soccio. This album's got his big hit "Try It Out", plus five other stretched out grooves, in the same vein: "Street Talk", "(It's Been) Too Long", "Hold Tight", "Love Is"... read more

Sweet east coast harmony group soul, in a classic 70s style, and with nice backing by Van McCoy. The vibe's the same as some of the best Stylistics records from the time, and this one's an essential complement to any collection of records in that style. The Softones later made stuff with more of... read more

Late 70s dancefloor soul from Soiree – a rare disco set featuring clubby revisions of huge hits of the day and earlier, with massive talent in the group! The sound is bright and grooving, and heck of a lot more endearing than so many of the disco era remake projects, and most impressively,... read more

A beautiful, beautiful little record – as righteous and soulful as some of the best spiritual jazz classics of the 70s – and arguably even rarer, as it was only issued on a tiny label from Atlanta! Solar have a sound that uses 3 female lead vocalists in chorus formation – one... read more

Group soul album with male vocals and a sound that's a bit like some of the stuff on Buddah or Philly International. The album's a mix of midtempo cuts and ballads, with the tracks "I'm The Real Thing", "Just Another Song", "Woman In My Life", and "Magic In My... read more

While side 2 of this album was produced by Gene Dozier, the entirety of side 1 had Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis at the helm, and they came up with a couple of huge numbers for the group with "Just Be Good To Me" and "Tell Me If You Still Care", two prototypical 80s mellow grooves,... read more

For the longest time we'd look at this album and just figure the SOS Band were well past their prime here, but when we finally got around to dropping the needle on it, we were pleasantly surprised. Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis handle the production, and it's mostly mid and downtempo material, but all... read more

A solid smoker from the SOS Band – maybe one of the group's best-remembered albums, and for good reason too! The set's got a groove that's beautiful right from the start – 80s funk that's really a cut above, and touched with just the right mix of jazzy elements and warmer moments too... read more

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Incredible work from a group who've definitely earned their name! Naming a group SOUL might be suicide for a band that can't carry off the groove – but these guys are funky monsters, with a real talent for a hard heavy sound that was rarely matched by other combos. The band have a great... read more

Quite possibly the best album ever from this fantastic funky combo! The band grooves hard and funky – with incredible drum work from Paul Stubblefield, tasty guitar from Walter Winston, and some famous funky flute and sax work from Gus Hawkins. Tracks on the album are rough and raw –... read more

One the all time great funky albums of the 70s – a mad little record with a sense of rhythm and timing that was years ahead of its time! The Soul Searchers (along with Chuck Brown) later became known for their heavy-hitting Go Go work at the end of the decade – but here, they're a... read more

One of those "studio groups play instrumental versions of soul hits" albums that were so popular at the time. Most of the stuff's fairly standard soul instrumental material – like "Soul Man", "Sidewinder", "Pata Pata", and "Cold Sweat" –... read more

A surprisingly nice record by the group who scored big in the late 60s with "Expressway to Your Heart" – and who continued to be one of the best blue eyed soul acts working on the east coast! This album's the group's second, done for Gamble & Huff at Philly International –... read more

Hip hip stuff from Richard Evans and the gang at Cadet Records! The record is the second outing by The Soulful Strings – a group that kind of started as a studio side project, but who became a surprisingly popular act during the late 60s. The album includes some excellent original tunes by... read more

Seminal instrumental groovers from the Chicago Chi-soul scene! This great group was led by Chess/Cadet soul arranger Richard Evans, and it featured many of the instrumentalists who made Chess records so great – like Cleveland Eaton, Charles Stepney, Morris Jennings, and Phil Upchurch. The... read more

Given that the Soulful Strings were really just a studio side project of the Chi soul arranger Richard Evans, it seems sort of strange to have them cut a live LP, but the session, recorded at Chicago's London House, works quite well, and has a bit more lively feel than some of their classic studio... read more

One of the grooviest albums ever cut by Richard Evans' Soulful Strings, and a tasty batch of tracks written by Gamble & Huff, years before they started the Philly International label. The tracks are great, with the kind of arrangements that made Evans a legend in the Chi soul scene – and... read more

An album in the kind of "between the hits" years for The Spinners featuring lead vocalist Phillipe Wynne. The sound here isn't as right-on or soaringly confident as in earlier years – but there are some nice moments. Titles include "You're All I Need In Life", "Toni... read more

Totally great – and a record you probably know nothing about! The album's one of the greatest ever to come out of the Hotlanta scene of the 70s – a tight batch of funk tracks with a heck of a lot of guitar. The set was produced by Tommy Stewart, of "Bump and Hustle" fame... read more

Rare soul from singer Bill Spoon – an artist who only ever issued a few singles, but steps out here with a wealth of previously-unissued tracks! Bill hails from Alabama, but also ended up in Memphis and LA – and the styles here definitely showcase that journey – an evolving... read more

One of the greatest of all Dusty Springfield albums – a gem of a record that mixes British pop, soul, and some very groovy orchestrations! The whole session has that kind of strident bounce that Dusty had on her best records – but which was possibly never done nearly as well as on this... read more

Although this set was issued by Buddah in 1970, it's a great set featuring some of the earliest work that the Five Stairsteps recorded for Curtis Mayfield's Windy C label during the late 60s, under his production talents as well! We love all of the Burke brothers albums, both as a group and solo,... read more

Big bouncing soul from Lisa Stansfield – a record that almost rivaled the first effort from Soul II Soul for UK impact on the American mainstream! Despite a pasty-white cover, the record's got a hell of a lot of color – some rich rhythms that reintroduced a syncopated funky sound to... read more

About as classic as you can get with the Staple Singers! The record was cut at that perfect moment when the group was forging an electric soul sound that would bring them high in the charts in the 70s – filled with all the righteousness of their gospel years, but also touched with elements... read more

The Staple Singers are cooking on all burners at this point – and it's hard to stop them with that much power – a soaring, searing sort of energy that definitely earns them a place in the sky! The set's a totally strong batch of gospelly soul tracks – produced by Al Bell with... read more

Probably the best record the Staple Singers ever cut during the 70s – as it makes a genius move by taking their rich vocal style and laying it over some excellent tracks written by Curtis Mayfield! The record's quite different than their usual Stax numbers, and has a Curtom groove that's hip... read more

A lost funky soul LP by Starfire, billed here as "The Baddest Five Stars in the Galaxy", and hailing from Richmond, VA! This is a silver-covered repressing of the band's second album – done on the obscure Dynamic Artists label in Virginia – and it's a great collection of the... read more

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An excellent blacksploitation soundtrack – and every bit as funky as any of Willie Hutch's work for other Motown soundtracks at the time! Larry Mizell and Dennis Coffey help out on the instrumentation – giving the album an extra funky instrumental edge, one that takes it way past Edwin... 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

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

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

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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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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

6 numbers in all "Girls Out On The Floor", "Fire 121", "Do It To The Beat", "We Don't Need No Music", "Laugh The Night Away" and 'Rocko Laugh".... 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

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

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

Heavenly soul from the lovely Sweet Inspirations! The record was the group's first secular album for Atlantic – after recording one gospel album, and doing the backings on a number of fine Aretha Franklin sessions – and it's a gem of a female soul record, with the same classic sound... read more

A landmark soul album – and one of the first to break that acoustic-based Soul II Soul sound back into the American market. In a late 80s market of weak tinny soul albums, this one stood out as a deep rich wonderful gem, with a solid classic sound that's still pretty darn nice in any decade!... 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