Soul — LPs  

A repackaging of tracks put together in the late 70s, collecting some of War's "jazzier" moments. Although it was War's more succinct, funkier numbers and singles that we dug most about the band at first, it's these numbers where the group opens up a bit more that they really shine, if you ask us. There's still a great groove, with more than a little Latin influence creeping in here and there underneath, and all of the members of the group are more than respectable soloists, with solid playing throughout this collection. Titles include "LA Sunshine", "Platinum Jazz", "Slowly We Walk Together", "River Niger", "H2Overture", "City Country City", and "Deliver The Word".

Very raw, very rootsy stuff from Big Bill Broonzy, issued by Columbia (strangely enough) as part of their Adventures In Sound series. The packaging and the notes have the usual smug Columbia "serving up the best in roots culture for white liberals" tone – but the set's actually a pretty decent batch of material that includes nice numbers like "Texas Tornado", "Key To The Highway", "When I've Been Drinkin", and "Goobye Baby Blues".

A groundbreaking album of vocal group soul – right from the first note! The record kicks off with the sublime "Ready Or Not, Here I Come" – which starts with fierce stepping strings that are actually funky, then soars into some of the best harmonies the group ever put to record, superbly arranged by the great Thom Bell, who also wrote the track. As the album progresses, the sound expands further to encompass many elements that would become the blueprint for vocal groups over the next few years – like twangy electric sitar, cascading orchestrations, and pinched lead vocals that take a lot more chances than most group singers had been taking for years! There's still a bit of a 60s soul sound to some of the cuts, but the album's a watershed – not only for Thom Bell and the group, but for harmony soul as well! Titles include "Ready Or Not Here I Come", "My New Love", "Loving Him", "With These Hands", "Somebody Loves You", and "Everytime I See My Baby".

Quite possibly the best album ever from funky maestro Monk Higgins! The record's got some of his tighest work of the time – with plenty of tight breaks, nice keyboards, and soulful sax riffs – and Monk is going full-out on the arrangements, in the manner that he used for his best late Blue Note work with The Three Sounds or Blue Mitchell. The group's listed as "The Specialties" on the cover, and they vamp along nicely, like some of Monk's funky groups from the late 60s funky 45 days. Titles include "Gotta Be Funky", "Big Water Bed", "Up On The Hill", "Last Flight To Dallas", and "Libra's Way".

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", and "Reaching For The World".

As perfect a summation of the Teddy Pendergrass genius as you'll ever hope to find – a magnificent maturation of that incredible sound he first forged with Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, set forth in even more confident, sophisticated soul territory! As with the Melvin albums, there's a nice mix here of sultry ballads and groovers – the latter of which are changing with the Philly modes of the time, but still very much at the top of their game – light years from clunky commercial work, or easy dancefloor fodder. The album's stunner is "Love TKO" – a killer mellow soul track that's not only one of Teddy's best, but which has enjoyed recent popularity due to a heavy bit of sampling by hip hoppers – but the whole thing's great, and other titles include "Take Me In Your Arms Tonight", "Let Me Love You", "Girl You Know", "Is It Still Good To Ya", "I Just Called To Say", and "Can't We Try".

A post-Blue Note effort, and Donald's changing things up a bit with his 125th Street Orchestra and Uptown Singers – funking along in a way you'd expect from the longwinded title! Byrd loostens up the smoother backgrounds of his recent Larry Mizell helmed work, and in their place are grooves that have more of a heavy slap bass sound, punchier horns and guitars! There are lotes nice moments that are a bit more restrained than the comparably full-on funk approach – and these have a spacey fusiony soul quality that reminds us of similar work that Byrd was doing with The Blackbyrds at the time. One of the best cuts is "Your Life Is My Ecstasy", which has some great bubbling Moog behind it, which creates a sound that you've heard sampled famously by Tribe Called Quest. Other nice ones are "Loving You", which features vocals by Jim Gilstrap, and a remake of Duke Pearson's "Cristo Redentor", a big hit for Don in the 60s, which is redone here in an excellent slow funk mode that feels like Bob James' work on CTI. Others include "Have You Heard The News", "In Love With Love" and "Close Your Eyes And Look Within".

Wicked late 70s work from Ronnie Foster – a rare Columbia outing that's arguably better than his earlier sides for Blue Note! There's more of a soul vibe than before in the music – but in a way that's really foregrounded, and without some of the back/forth wavering that Foster had in his groove during previous sets. Jerry Peters produced the record, and gives it a solid, confident style that's right up there with the best soul/fusion sides on Columbia at the time – and the lineup of players features great contributions from Roy Ayers on vibes, Ndugu Chancler on percussion, Harvey Mason on drums, and Alphonso Johnson on bass. Foster himself did all the arrangements – and both sings and plays a mix of keyboards that come off sounding pretty darn great. Titles include "Midnight Plane", "Happy Song", "Why Don't You Look Inside", "I Want To Bring My Love Home", "Nassau Bay", "Shooting Star", and "Easier Said Than Done".