Soul — All Formats  

A wonderful midtempo club number from Geraldine Hunt and Daniel Joseph, a minor hit with a chunky 80s groove beat and those smurph sounding voices in the chorus!

A killer set from one of the most unique acts of the 70s – the legendary Hot Chocolate, a group with a sound unlike anyone else at the time! Hot Chocolate's groove was a bit soul, a bit rock, and often nicely funky underneath – and the British group really won lots of new ears on this side of the Atlantic with their bad-stepping approach to 70s pop! This self-titled album's one of the greatest ever from the group – and the cool compressed production further pushes their sound into really great territory – mushing the guitars up alongside the keyboards, squeezing the hip vocals of Errol Brown into a badass edge, and glamming things up ever so slightly. Arrangements are by the great John Cameron – a talent we've loved since his late 60s work with Donovan – and production is by the legendary Mickie Most, who's still burning strong here in the 70s. The album features the group's huge hit "You Sexy Thing", plus "Lay Me Down", "Amazing Skin Song", "Hello America", "The Street", "Call The Police", and "A Child's Prayer". CD is overflowing with bonus tracks too – including the b-side version of "You Sexy Thing", and the cuts "Sexy Lady", "Blue Night", "Cheri Babe", and "Everything Should Be Funky".

An obscure girl group soul album from the early 70s, recorded in LA with arrangements by such folks as Gene Page and The Paris Brothers – and with a sound that's similar to Love Unlimited, or other West Coast combos like that. Page's work is probably the best on the album, and his titles include "Touchdown", "Last Call For Love", and "Cherish What Is Dear To You".

Mellow modern soul from the early 80s, with a nice smooth sound.

Sure, they're a funk act – but Kool & The Gang also have a great way with a ballad, too – and as the 80s moved on, the laidback mode worked just as great for the group as their groovers! This mellow set features a dozen Kool & The Gang ballads – some gentle love songs that still seem to hold onto the compression we love in their funk – yet turn the energy towards different ends, often without being overly commercial. Tracks include "Strong", "Think It Over", "Jones Vs Jones", "September Love", "No Show", "Cherish", "Broadway", "Too Hot", "Just Friends", and "Special Way".

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 drummer, with a good talent for the funky break, but also a jazzy flourish that works well on SOUL's mellower numbers – and apart from the usual bass and guitar riffing, the album also features some great funky flute, in a mode that's similar to some of Jeremy Steig's excellent early work. Some tracks have vocals and some have instrumentals – but the whole album's great, and is an undisputed funky classic. Titles include "Can You Feel It", "Do What Ever You Want To Do", "Peace Of Mind", "Love, Peace & Power", and "My Cherie Amour".

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 drummer, with a good talent for the funky break, but also a jazzy flourish that works well on SOUL's mellower numbers – and apart from the usual bass and guitar riffing, the album also features some great funky flute, in a mode that's similar to some of Jeremy Steig's excellent early work. Some tracks have vocals and some have instrumentals – and both albums are great! ACE put together both these masterpieces of heavy funky grooves and laid them back to back on one CD of super-heavy funky tracks. The set's a great deal, and both albums are winners all the way through! Tracks include "Down in the Ghetto", "Burning Spear", "Soul", "Tell it Like It Is", "Peace Of Mind", "My Cherie Amour", and "Sleeping Beauty".

A really great, oft-overlooked album from the best period of Quincy Jones! This album is quite possibly Quincy's most farthest-reaching – as he works in an array of styles that really shows his growing genius in the studio – not just jazz and soundtrack modes, but more soul-based ones, handled with work from a great array of guest stars who really expand the sound. There's loads of nice bits – like a version of "My Cherie Amour", done with vocals by Leon Ware and Minnie Riperton; a new take on "Bluesette", redone with Toots Thielemans; and the original "Beautiful Black Girl", which features rapping by The Watts Prophets! Other tracks include "Paranoid", "Cry Baby", "Tryin To Find Out About You", and "Listen (What It Is)".

Sade's last LP from the early 90s before she went into her brief recording and performing hiatus. Like the preceding records, the approach is heavy on the jazz side of things, with a crisp, spare touch on the production and a wonderfully soulful feel to the songwriting. At this point she no longer had to work to break into the charts, but that didn't stop her and her band from coming up with a great batch of material that managed to be easily accessible without losing any of the sublime grace that set her apart. Includes "No Ordinary Love", "Cherish The Day", "Feel No Pain", "I Couldn't Love You More", "Like A Tattoo", "Kiss Of Life", "Pearls", "Bullet Proof Soul" and "Mermaid".

This Dells LP was cut around the time ABC was having some great luck with the Detroit soul of The Dramatics – so they brought the Dells over to Detroit to record, with production work by the likes of Al Perkins, George Clinton, and Eli Fontaine. The tunes have a smoother approach than the group's work at Chess/Cadet – but their vocals are still top notch, with that raspy soul quality that has made them sound consistently strong over the years, no matter what the setting. Includes versions of Clinton's "I Just Wanna Testify" and "All Your Goodies Are Gone" – plus the tracks "Cherish", "Tripped, Slipped, Stumbled & Fell". Lots of nice ballads!

A lost gem from Donnie Elbert – and a record with some really unusual touches! The style here has a bit of the spareness of some of Stevie Wonder's work from the time, but it's also got a skittish kind of groove that seems to have picked up a bit of a Jamaican influence – all of which makes for a great setting that brings out the best in Donnie's paper-thin vocals. Unlike other records, which seem to overwhelm him sometimes, this one's got a floating feel that glides Donnie nicely along! Titles include "Stop In The Name Of Love", "My Cherie Amour", "I Wanna Be Where You Are", "Never Can Say Goodbye", and "We Got A Good Thing Going".

A really great, oft-overlooked album from the best period of Quincy Jones! This album is quite possibly Quincy's most farthest-reaching – as he works in an array of styles that really shows his growing genius in the studio – not just jazz and soundtrack modes, but more soul-based ones, handled with work from a great array of guest stars who really expand the sound. There's loads of nice bits – like a version of "My Cherie Amour", done with vocals by Leon Ware and Minnie Riperton; a new take on "Bluesette", redone with Toots Thielemans; and the original "Beautiful Black Girl", which features rapping by The Watts Prophets! Other tracks include "Paranoid", "Cry Baby", "Tryin To Find Out About You", and "Listen (What It Is)".

Still beautiful, even in the early 90s. In fact, at this point, Sade gets a nicely updated style that borrows a bit from the NuSoul groove of some of the British groups that were hitting the scene – adding in some warmth on the percussion that works perfectly with her vocals. Some of that warmth is a bit undone on the remixes, but there's more than enough here to take you over the top.

A wonderful testament to songwriting mastery of Don Covay – one of greatest singing and songwriting double threats ever – and if you didn't already know that, this excellent compilation will set you straight! No tribute to Covay the songwriter would be complete without Aretha Franklin's "Chain Of Fools" – but the set actually goes a lot deeper, with straight-up classic soul treasures, raucous R&B, stirring vocal tunes, some funk and funky rock. The reach is impressive, with the aforementioned Aretha hit, plus songs recorded by Wilson Pickett, Etta James, Joe Tex, The Staple Singers, Wanda Jackson, The Wailers, Little Richard, Gene Vincent, Dee Clark, Connie Francis and more! 26 tracks in all, completed by a great set of notes: with "Three Time Loser" by Wilson Pickett, "You’re Good For Me" by Lena Horne, "Don't Drive Me Away" by Ben E King, the funky gem "Sookie Sookie" by Tina Britt, "She Said Yeah" by Joe Tex, "Watch The One Who Brings You The News" by Millie Jackson, "Long Tall Shorty" by The Graham Bond Originization, "Mon Cherie Au Revoir" by Arlene Smith and more.