Soul — LPs  

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 the best cuts – often with an offbeat funky sound that's made the record a favorite for crate-diggers for years. Ben's on piano, grooving in a number of different hipster modes – from LA sleezy to New Orleans soulful – and his vocals, as always, are compelling and catchy. The set includes the nice long groover "Now I Live (And Now My Life Is Done)", a monster track with a great slow groove that's been sampled a number of times over the years – and other cuts include "Full Compass", "Play The Piano", and "Think Twice".

Plenty of darkness here from Phil Upchurch – those great tones and notes he worked so well back in the 70s – all with that near-perfect quality that made him one of the most in-demand players of his day! The style here is a bit different than some of Phil's previous work in Chicago – as the set was recorded on the west coast with support from players who include Joe Sample on piano, Arthur Adams on rhythm guitar, Chuck Rainey on bass, and Harvey Mason on drums. But that shift of locale hasn't dampened Phil's sound at all – and he's still getting a bit of hometown help from Donny Hathaway, who arranged a few tracks and also plays a bit of electric piano on the record. Other arrangements are by Nick DeCaro, and titles include "Love & Peace", "Darkness, Darkness", "Cold Sweat", and "Inner City Blues".

One of the greatest albums of all time – a masterpiece of moody soul, spacey vocals, and jazzy vibes – all produced by the legendary Roy Ayers! Ramp take their name from the anagram Roy Ayers Musical Productions – and in a way, the group's the summation of all the genius that Roy had been cooking up on his own albums of the 70s – served up at an even higher level than before! The group boasts a unique two-female vocal style – sung together in a mode that had been used on Roy's own albums, but never this fully – all supported by some complex jazzy instrumentation, very heavy on the vibes and keyboards! Nearly every cut is fantastic – and the album has a strange off-kilter vibe that's totally amazing, and which has captivated soul fans for years – a blend of mellow and upbeat, complicated and straightforward that's totally great. Titles include the massive cut "Daylight", sampled famously over the years, plus "American Promise", "Come Into Knowledge", "I Just Love You", and the band's great cover of "Everybody Loves the Sunshine", done in a way that's strangely both similar and different than Roy's own version!

One of the greatest albums of all time – a masterpiece of moody soul, spacey vocals, and jazzy vibes – all produced by the legendary Roy Ayers! Ramp take their name from the anagram Roy Ayers Musical Productions – and in a way, the group's the summation of all the genius that Roy had been cooking up on his own albums of the 70s – served up at an even higher level than before! The group boasts a unique two-female vocal style – sung together in a mode that had been used on Roy's own albums, but never this fully – all supported by some complex jazzy instrumentation, very heavy on the vibes and keyboards! Nearly every cut is fantastic – and the album has a strange off-kilter vibe that's totally amazing, and which has captivated soul fans for years – a blend of mellow and upbeat, complicated and straightforward that's totally great. Titles include the massive cut "Daylight", sampled famously over the years, plus "American Promise", "Come Into Knowledge", "I Just Love You", and the band's great cover of "Everybody Loves the Sunshine", done in a way that's strangely both similar and different than Roy's own version!

A brilliant debut from Sylvester – quite different than his later disco and club work – although still pretty upbeat and groovy overall! The album's a really unique sort of effort – one that's unabashedly gender-bending, but also wonderfully solid from a musical perspective – funky at points, rootsy at others – with an odd blend of 70s soul and older R&B elements, all filtered through the genre-bending sound of the Bay Area scene of the time! Arrangements are by Sylvester and The Hot Band, but Ben Sidran produced, and we're sure that the record's offbeat qualities are partly due to his own great style of the time – that weird, slightly messed-up groove you'd find on Ben's Blue Thumb album. The set features wild covers of "Southern Man" and "My Country Tis Of Thee" – plus "Whiter Shade Of Pale", "Gimme A Pigfoot", "God Bless The Child", "I'm A Steam Roller", "That Is Rock n Roll", and "Come Back Baby".

Excellent early 70s work from jazz guitarist Gabor Szabo – a super-dope album that's one of the best he ever recorded! Part of the success of the record has to do with the presence of Bobby Womack – normally a soul singer, but also a heck of a guitarist, playing here alongside Szabo in a very cool twin-guitar style that makes for an amazing sound. Both players have a hollow, warm tone to their work on the strings – stepping around a blend of soul and jazz that's nicely tripped out in a 70s Blue Thumb style. The highlight of the record is the massive track "Breezin", a sample track used by more than one group over the years – but the whole record's amazing, filled with slow, trippy grooves that were years ahead of their time! Titles include "I Remember When", "Just A Little Communication", "Amazon", "Fingers", and "Azure Blue".

One of the grooviest albums ever cut by Papa John Creach – a set that mixes his bluesy roots with some stoner funk and rock elements from the early 70s! Creach is on vocals and violin, and working here with a host of famous luminaries – including Grace Slick, Carlos Santana, Paul Kantner, and Jerry Garcia – each of whom definitely leave their mark on the record! Yet despite all these famous names, the record's got a pretty unified feel – and the best cuts have a nicely messed-up funk sound that we really like a lot – kind of in a Blue Thumb sort of blend, with a mix of rootsy elements and wilder electric ones and plenty of funky rhythms at the bottom. Titles include "Soul Fever", "String Jet Rock", "The Janitor Drives A Cadillac", "Plunk A Little Funk", and "Papa John's Down Home Blues".