Soul — All Formats  

Kenny Dope takes on the funkiest sounds of the Miami Soul generation – on a single that's got more heavy funk than most full albums! Side one features a great edit of Beginning Of The End's "Come On Baby" (aka "Come Down Baby") – a groove that's just as heavy as their famous "Funky Nassau", and done with a similar blend of choppy guitar, romping rhythms, and blasting horns! Next up is Willie Johnson's amazing "Lay It On Me" – a tune that's got a really amazing bassline – one that moves faster than anything in the tune – including the blasting horns and rip-shot drums! And last is "Till I Get My Share" – one of the funkiest tunes ever from Clarence Reid – a hard and heavy number that feels a lot like the best Syl Johnson work for Twinight!

A monster bit of funk that's unlike anything else we can think of! Beginning Of The End hailed from The Bahamas, but don't hold that against them – because instead of being a Caribbean cliche, they took the best part of the island rhythms, and used them to forge an incredible approach to funk! They've got a choppy sound that's the result of some incredibly dexterous guitar, bass, and drums – and which you'll recognize instantly from their one-time hit "Funky Nassau", a killer funk track that never gets old, no matter how many bands cover it over the years! That gem kicks off the album, which then rolls into the monster funky "part 2", which is even better! Other titles are equally wonderful – and include "Come Down", "Surrey Ride", "Monkey Tamarind", and "In The Deep". Essential – and one that you'll be spinning for years!

A monster bit of funk that's unlike anything else we can think of! Beginning Of The End hailed from The Bahamas, but don't hold that against them – because instead of being a Caribbean cliche, they took the best part of the island rhythms, and used them to forge an incredible approach to funk! They've got a choppy sound that's the result of some incredibly dexterous guitar, bass, and drums – and which you'll recognize instantly from their one-time hit "Funky Nassau", a killer funk track that never gets old, no matter how many bands cover it over the years! That gem kicks off the album, which then rolls into the monster funky "part 2", which is even better! Other titles are equally wonderful – and include "Come Down", "Surrey Ride", "Monkey Tamarind", and "In The Deep". Essential – and one that you'll be spinning for years!

The rare second set from First Class – and a set that's every bit as heavenly as the first! The album's a great slice of later New Jersey soul – still very much in the mode started by groups like The Moments or Whatnauts, but showing a stronger Philly influence on the groovers – which are mixed in here with gentler, mellower cuts that really show the group's great harmony talents! Although never as big as contemporaries like Blue Magic, First Class have a great approach that really holds on strong throughout the set – working here with production from George Kerr, Donnie Elbert, and Tommy Keith – all of whom know how to get the sound right for the feel of the tunes. Titles include "Give Me Lend Me", "Let's Make Love", "Coming Back To You", "Lucky Me", "Hypnotized", and "Going Out Of My Head". CD features four bonus tracks too – "It's Never Too Late", "Beginning Of The End", and "Don't Know What You're Doing" in both stereo and mono versions.

The complete Tamla and Motown singles of The Satintones – the soul, R&B & popular music juggernaut's first male vocal group – and a treasure trove of rare post doo wop from the end of the 50s/beginning of the 60s! It's fascinating for the history herein – the group is hugely under-anthologized in a world of myriad Motown compilations – which is a real shame, as you'll hear in this sweet set – with numbers that rely on the doo wop influences as well as tunes more devoted to lead vocals – with a slew of early Berry Gordy productions and compositions. The set includes the then legally challenged Shirelles knockoff/answer song "Tomorrow and Always" plus "Motor City", "Going To The Hop", "Sugar Daddy", "A Love That Can Never Be", "Foot Stomping Time", My Kind Of Love", "Boogie Woogie Heart", "Because I Love You", "You Can't Beat My Lovin" and many more. 26 tracks in all.

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 nice balance here, handled by a cream of the crop set of arrangers that includes Wade Marcus, David Van DePitte, and Paul Riser – on titles that include "Someday We'll Be Together", "You Gave Me Love", "Can't You See It's Me", "Young Folks", "The Beginning Of The End", "Till Johnny Comes", and "Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever".

My Melody from Deniece Williams and it's definitely one of here most beautiful albums of the early 80s – the more we think about it, it may be one of her best ever from beginning-to-end! It's lush and beautifully produced set Thom Bell, providing such a lovely backdrop for Deniece's incomparably soaring vocals – but it doesn't skimp on the soulfulness, either. Really great stuff! Titles include "It's Your Conscience", "My Melody", "Silly", "What Two Can Do", "All That Matters", and "Suspicious". This Big Break UK remastered edition has bonus single versions of "It's Your Conscience" and "Silly".

Two soul classics from Jerry Butler! Moon River is an incredible album of sophisticated soul tunes – one that features Jerry's hit single of "Moon River", the first version of the song to chart after Mancini composed it – plus original tunes "I Found A Love" and "Butterfly", plus great renditions of "Where Do I Turn", "Lost Without You", "No End Or Time", "Couldn't Go To Sleep", and "The Challenge". Delicious Together features Jerry in a very big-selling set of soul duets with Betty Everett – some of the first male/female soul tracks recorded in the 60s, and the beginning of a sub-genre that would go on to become very popular. Titles include "Let It Be Me", "I Can't Stand It", "Fever", "Just Be True", "It's All Right", "Ain't That Loving You Baby", "The Way You Do The Things You Do", and "Our Day Will Come".

Group soul titans The Manhattans – still going strong at the end of the 70s & beginning of the 80s – a pair of underappreciated albums together in a single set! First up is 1981's Black Tie – recorded in Chicago with producer Leo Graham – who brings a somewhat polished groove to the proceedings, no less soulful and lacking no depth of emotion from the mighty Manhattans! Titles include "Just One Moment Away", "You Stand Out", "Let Your Love Come Down", "Honey Honey", "I Wanta Thank You", "Deep Water", "When I Leave Tomorrow" and more. The earlier album is up next – 1979's Love Talk – a wonderful blend of mellow harmony tracks and fuller, more upbeat Philly-styled tunes! It's all very much in the spirit of the group's first few albums for Columbia, and handled with a similar level of skill. The group had one of the most compelling, richest harmony styles of any 70s mainstream group – and if anything, the more they recorded, the more they made magic in the studio. Titles include "Devil In The Dark", "After You", "Love Talk", "We Tried", "That's Not Part Of The Show", "New York City", and a surprisingly palatable version of "The Way We Were/Memories".

A great lost bit of funk – and a pretty mysterious record, too! The record came out hot on the heels of Manu Dibango's big original version of "Soul Makossa" – and while it's got a groove that definitely leans towards Afro Funk, it's also got plenty of Caribbean touches too – a wicked blend of funk and island styles that's almost like The Beginning Of The End at some of the best moments – but with a touch of New York underground as well! We've never been entirely sure if the group wasn't just a Winley Records studio project – maybe The Rimshots under another name – but whatever the case, the record's a damn funky classic – filled with lots of original-sounding grooves that make the whole thing well worth tracking down. Titles include a version of "Soul Makossa", with a groove that's harder than the original – plus "Skin N Soul", "Good Groove", "Mozambique", "Finger In It", "Dance Girl", and the extended "Bahamas Melody".

A sprawling classic from Prince – that tracks that perfect the pop, funk & soul kaleidoscope of his best 80s jams, and adding a remarkable, previously unexplored depth and breadth of styles! A lot of folks tried to designate Prince's massive, fearless, beginning-of-the-end-of-the-80s epic Sign O The Times as his What's Going On – which was never really fair to Prince, or to Marvin Gaye for the matter – but it's filled with great cuts – including the minimalist funky groover of a title track, with its superficial social consciousness that's very much of its 80s era, and all the more fascinating for that – plus massive hit "U Got The Look", "If I Was Your Girlfriend", "I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man", "The Cross", "Hot Thing", and "Starfish & Coffee". 17 tracks in all.

Maybe the greatest record we've ever heard from Beggar & Co – a set that sparkles strongly from a host of excellent guest work – not just from Incognito, but also from some key American musicians as well! The groove is tighter than ever – and very much in the 70s-inspired style that's always made us love the group – a wonderfully warm blend of jazz, funk, and soul that comes off with the feel of a lost treasure from way back! The set's got a positive, upbeat sound throughout – and titles include "If You Really Love Me", "Victoria Park", "Summer Is Here At Last", "While The City Sleeps", "New Beginnings", "Rise", "Yesterday's Gone", and "Changes".

A sweet overview of the early years of Aretha Franklin's career – her formative days at Columbia Records, when she was working in a variety of styles before heading over to bigger fame at Atlantic! Even at this early stage, Aretha's one hell of a singer – and, despite what folks who listen to Jerry Wexler might say, this early Columbia work is pretty darn amazing throughout – steeped in a number of different modes, with bits of jazz, R&B, and early soul sewn together beautifully throughout. The double-length set is filled with key early moments from Aretha – and titles include "Don't Cry Baby", "Lee Cross", "Skylark", "One Step Ahead", "Evil Gal Blues", "Take A Look", "Runnin Out Of Fools", "People", "Try A Little Tenderness", and "Take It Like You Give It".

A sweet overview of the early years of Aretha Franklin's career – her formative days at Columbia Records, when she was working in a variety of styles before heading over to bigger fame at Atlantic! Even at this early stage, Aretha's one hell of a singer – and, despite what folks who listen to Jerry Wexler might say, this early Columbia work is pretty darn amazing throughout – steeped in a number of different modes, with bits of jazz, R&B, and early soul sewn together beautifully throughout. The double-length set is filled with key early moments from Aretha – and titles include "Don't Cry Baby", "Lee Cross", "Skylark", "One Step Ahead", "Evil Gal Blues", "Take A Look", "Runnin Out Of Fools", "People", "Try A Little Tenderness", and "Take It Like You Give It".

One of the best albums ever by this legendary Chicago soul star! The album's masterful blend of spiritual soul tracks that plumb the depths of Donny's dark soul – done with a level of sophistication that you won't hear in other soul albums from the time! Classic cuts include "A Song For You", "She is My Lady", "Giving Up", and "Take a Love Song" – plus versions of "Put Your Hand In The Hand" and "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother". The record also includes the great funky cut "Magnificent Sanctuary Band", which has some nice haaaard drums at the beginning, and which has been sampled who knows how many times! Plus, this CD includes 2 bonus cuts – the great "Be There", and Donny's holiday hit "This Christmas", which we never tire of hearing!

One of the best albums ever by this legendary Chicago soul star! The album's masterful blend of spiritual soul tracks that plumb the depths of Donny's dark soul – done with a level of sophistication that you won't hear in other soul albums from the time! Classic cuts include "A Song For You", "She is My Lady", "Giving Up", and "Take a Love Song" – plus versions of "Put Your Hand In The Hand" and "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother". The record also includes the great funky cut "Magnificent Sanctuary Band", which has some nice haaaard drums at the beginning, and which has been sampled who knows how many times!

Two of our favorite albums by The Main Ingredient – back to back on a single CD! Euphrates River is a wonderfully complex batch of tunes that shows that the group were taking a cue from some of their hipper contemporaries, and pushing past a stock hit formula. Bert DeCoteaux was still arranging, but the group produced themselves, giving the record a sexy funky feeling in the best parts, not that dissimilar from some of Marvin Gaye's work, or records by groups like The Isley Brothers or The O'Jays. Includes great versions of two Seals & Crofts songs – "Summer Breeze" and "Euphrates" – both a perfect example of this style, as is "Happiness Is Just Around The Bend" – plus a great reading of Willie Hutch's "California My Way", which has a super-dope sample at the beginning. Of course, the album still includes material like their hit " "Just Don't Want To Be Lonely", a sweetly style AM radio pop hit in the band's best style of earlier years. Afrodisiac is one of the most righteous albums ever from the Main Ingredient – as you might guess from its title and stylish cover! The group are really opening up here – and show a distinct Stevie Wonder influence throughout – not just because they perform their own hip takes on a number of tunes by Stevie, but also because Wonder himself plays a bit on the record! Rhythms are inventive, and grooves nice and complex – way past standard chart soul, into a heady mix that holds up beautifully over the years. Keyboards slide in great with the harmonies – and titles include great versions of Stevie Wonder tunes "Superwoman", "Where Were You When I Needed You", "Something Lovely", "Girl Blue", and "I Am Yours" – plus the great breakbeat track "You Can Call Me Rover", which has a very tight drum sound at the beginning, and tight soul harmonies all the way through. Also features a hip take on the Isleys' "Work To Do" too!

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 Beginning" – and funkily on the track "Party Time" – but our favorite tunes are actually the instrumental ones by Silvestri, done in a really wicked sort of groove – one that mixes traditional blacksploitation scoring with some jazzier touches – in a mode that's tight one minute, laidback the next, and filled with a great blend of jazz, soul, and electricity! Titles include "Play Ball", "We Can Beat This", "Slim", "Here Today", "Planetarium", and "Kill Fats".

Sweet spacey disco from Quartz – and a set that definitely lives up to the icy image on the cover! The set's in the best mode of the French club scene of the 70s – a groove that certainly draws complex instrumentation from the progressive moments of a few years before – but which also hones things into a much tighter, funkier groove for the clubs – really the beginning of the Euro Cosmic sound, especially given the great keyboards on the record! Rhythms almost have a pre-house approach at times – although once the instrumentation kicks in, things get a bit more complex – and the vocals are often merely there as another element in the mix – leaving most of the focus on the keyboards! Side one features the extended "Quartz", and other tracks include "Chaos", "For Geromine", and "Beyond The Clouds".

A real turning point for Joe Bataan – and the beginning of his funky Latin sound of the 70s! The album was one of the first in Joe's "Salsoul" style – a sweet blend of Latin rhythms, late 60s Latin soul influences, and some of the hipper styles bubbling through the NuYorican scene. A few cuts are in the sweet soul ballad mode of Joe's earlier years – but there's others that pick up the groove nicely, and add in some guitar and vibes for a sweet electrified groove. Includes a great remake of "Theme From Shaft", plus the two-part "I Wish You Love", "If I Were A King", "Coco E", "El Regreso", and "Charangaringa".

Although the Main Ingredient were best known for their early 70's singles, this album from '74 is a wonderfully complex batch of tunes that shows that the group were taking a cue from some of their hipper contemporaries, and pushing past a stock hit formula. Bert DeCoteaux was still arranging, but the group produced themselves, giving the record a sexy funky feeling in the best parts, not that dissimilar from some of Marvin Gaye's work, or records by groups like The Isley Brothers or The O'Jays. Includes great versions of two Seals & Crofts songs – "Summer Breeze" and "Euphrates" – both a perfect example of this style, as is "Happiness Is Just Around The Bend" – plus a great reading of Willie Hutch's "California My Way", which has a super-dope sample at the beginning. Of course, the album still includes material like their hit " "Just Don't Want To Be Lonely", a sweetly style AM radio pop hit in the band's best style of earlier years.

A fantastic bit of space age funk – and maybe one of the greatest moments ever from Philly Soul maestro Dexter Wansel! The album goes way beyond any of Wansel's other work – and blends his warm soulful styles with some of the more keyboard-oriented funk that was coming out of the Herbie Hancock camp during the mid 70s – a vibe that's every bit as electric and spacey as you'd guess from the cover! Some cuts have a bit more of a soul focus, but others have loads of jazzy keyboards from Dexter – driven on by some great drums at points too. Titles include Wansel's legendary version of "Theme From the Planets" with the much sampled breakbeat at the beginning – plus the funky "Life On Mars", and the tracks "One Million Miles From The Ground", "You Can Be What You Wanna Be", "Prophet Named KG", "Rings Of Saturn", and "Stargazer".

Although the Main Ingredient were best known for their early 70's singles, this album from '74 is a wonderfully complex batch of tunes that shows that the group were taking a cue from some of their hipper contemporaries, and pushing past a stock hit formula. Bert DeCoteaux was still arranging, but the group produced themselves, giving the record a sexy funky feeling in the best parts, not that dissimilar from some of Marvin Gaye's work, or records by groups like The Isley Brothers or The O'Jays. Includes great versions of two Seals & Crofts songs – "Summer Breeze" and "Euphrates" – both a perfect example of this style, as is "Happiness Is Just Around The Bend" – plus a great reading of Willie Hutch's "California My Way", which has a super-dope sample at the beginning. Of course, the album still includes material like their hit " "Just Don't Want To Be Lonely", a sweetly style AM radio pop hit in the band's best style of earlier years.

A brilliant little compilation – despite the title – one that showcases some of the best work from the legendary Jackson scene of the 70s! As the Memphis and Muscle Shoals scenes were beginning to slow down after years of great soul records in the 60s, Jackson, Mississippi picked up the slack – thanks to the mighty might Malaco Studios! And while the Malaco name later became more associated with the label of the same name – and put out some great blues and soul albums in the 80s – back in the early years, the studio was more of an overall crossroads for many different styles of southern soul, and opened its gates to loads of excellent talent that wasn't getting recorded elsewhere. The depth of the set will really surprise you, as there's some tracks that have a straighter southern soul, but others with styles that are a bit more modern, sophisticated, and at times, even sound a bit like work coming out from east coast indie labels of the period. The set's got 21 tracks in all – filled with sublime work that represents some of the best of the indie scene of the south at the time, most of which you've probably never heard before, plus a few more modern numbers that are equally great! Titles include "Don't Matter To Me" by Billy Cee, "Calling For Your Love" by The Enticers, "All The Way In Love With You" by Ray Crumley, "Standing In The Wings Of A Heartache" by Ted Taylor, "I'm Gonna Love You More" by Richard Caiton, "Foot Loose & Fancy Free" by Carolyn Hudson, "Last Minute Plans" by Chuck Brooks, "Get Some Understanding" by Patrick Green, "When We Touch" by Floyd Taylor, "Kiss & Tell" by Stan Mosley, and "What Do We Have To Lose" by Sam Dees.