Soul — LPs  

A fantastic album – with a really groovy approach! The record is the only one we've ever seen from arranger Jean Leccia – and it's got a two-vocal lead approach that's pretty darn great. Soul singer Pat Henderson joins up with male vocalist Ed Whiting – in a style that's part harmony, but which also has a focus on the solo leads from time to time. Leccia's arrangements are a mix of bouncy jazz and dreamy pop – sweet and slow at times, but with some majestically groovy moments at others – baroquely skipping alone in a style that reminds us of some of the best European vocal groovers of the time, mixed with a healthy dose of California sunshine pop! Titles include the killer "Lady Rain", plus "Lovelight", "Drop", "Love Is", "Carnival", "Lovely Bird", "Only A Dream", "Mother Of Us All", and "Good Morning To You".

Nice bit of soulful late 60's pop recorded under the baton of Clyde Otis. She sang with Walter Wanderley for a bit before this recording, and some of this stuff has a sort of bossa Latiny feel to it. Other tracks are more 60's soul sounding, but with a pop diva twist. Tracks include "Look at Me", "The Magic Door", "On Top of the World", and "We Could Learn Together".

One of Hugh's more poppy efforts, but still a nice batch of instrumentals with a good Afro soul groove to them, and the jaunty trumpet sound that was Hugh's stock in trade at the time. Tracks include "Actin' Like A Fool", "If I Needed Someone", "Sounds Of Silence", "Along Comes Mary", "It's Not Unusual", and "From Me To You".

An overlooked 70s gem from Lou Rawls – and a record that provides a great bridge between the style of his 60s Capitol albums, and his more sophisticated work at Philly International! The mode here is full and rich – with arrangements by Reg Powell that mix Lou's soul leanings with some larger orchestrations – often in a mode that's still quite groovy, but which also helps add a bit of maturity to some of the themes of the tunes. There's still a bit of homespun influence in Lou's style here, but there's also a grander style too – one that seems a bit influenced by Grady Tate's work at Skye Records, but which is delivered here by Rawls with a bit more punch! Really great stuff – and one of Lou's most unified and focused albums. Titles include "Goodbye's A Long Long Time", "Song For You", "The Politician", "Where The Wind Blows Free", "Walk On In", "Learning Cup", "Too Much Living To Do", and "Evil".

You came a long way from Motown baby! This is Kim's weird, oddly patriotic (and slightly reactionary) album with Marty Paich arrangements of tracks like "The House I Live In", "This Is My Country", and "This is America". Also with tracks like "Exodus" and "People". A strange, but not unpleasant mix of pop easy soul tracks – and it also features Kim's rendition of "Lift Every Voice", oddly placed in the record, but one of the most standard soul versions!

A landmark album that is perhaps the single most influential beat source in hip hop! The record was the brainchild of bongo player Michael Viner – who also happened to be running the Pride subsidiary of MGM at the time. Viner's got a meeeeeean touch on the bongo, hitting it hard and funky like the best 70s conga players – and his approach to the instrument is kind of like a funky update of popular instrumental styles laid down on guitar by The Ventures or on moog by Hot Butter. This album features the classics "Apache" and "Bongo Rock" – both with monster funky breakdowns that showed up on a heck of a lot of hip hop records over the years – plus loads of other goodies like "Last Bongo In Belgium" and "Bongolia". Excellent stuff – and for years, it was darn hard to find! (We can still remember how stunned we were when we found our first copy in a Canadian record store back in 1987 – and even then we had to pay plenty!)