Soul — All Formats  

A nice one from producer, songwriter, remixer and pop soul force of nature Jellybean – his first album for Chrysalis! It's actually not as out there and spacey as you'd expect from the title – but there really was no one quite like Jellybean in this planet in the 80s. Former Contortionists singer Adele Bertei sings on half of the record – and it's a pretty sweet and unique mix of pop, soul and dance! Includes "Little Too Good To Me", "Who Found Who", "Just A Mirage", "The Real Thing", "Walking In My Sleep", "Hypnotized By (Your Touch)", "Jingo" and "Am I Dreaming". This Cherry Pop CD edition has 5 bonus tracks – 7" and 12" mixes including "Who Found Who (US Club Mix)", "Just A Mirage (12" Remix), a dance mix of the earlier crossover smash "Sidewalk Talk".

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".

Greg's definitely showing off all his chops on this one – working with help from a huuuge array of famous guest stars – including The Pointer Sisters, James Ingram, Howard Hewett, Jackie Jackson, Michael Jackson, Robbie Nevil, and others. And while the bulk of the record really shows the influence of these mainstream 80s soul artists – and not always in a good way – the record also sports a brilliant tune done with Donald Fagan of Steely Dan, the sweetly grooving "Lazy Nina", which sounds like the best work off Fagan's Nightfly, and has Greg and Don duetting on vocals! Titles include "Behind The Mask", "Signals", "Shake It", "Countdown To Love", "Come As You Are", and "Playin With Fire". CD features lots of bonus tracks – "Only You", "Behind The Mask (12" version)", "Playin With Fire (12" version)", "Behind The Mask (inst)", "Behind The Mask (single)", and "Playin With Fire (inst)".

The Pointer Sisters were superstars before 1983's Break Out, and this appropriately titled album shot them to stratospheric heights in popularity – with good reason, as this is some of the catchiest, hookiest pop and/or soul of the past few decades! Stellar Pointer Sisters vocals and the unshakable synth heavy, dancefloor ready production by Richard Perry. What more can we say! Hit after hit on this set: includes "Jump (For My Love)", "Automatic", "I'm So Excited", "I Need You", "Neutron Dance", "Easy Persuasion", "Baby Come And Get It", "Telegraph Your Love" and "Operator".

A huge crossover moment for The Pointer Sisters – thanks to their mega-hit version of Bruce Springsteen's "Fire", which helped sell about a gazillion copies of the record! The sound of that hit pretty much sums up the overall style of the album – as the trio delivers a number of smooth mainstream takes on 70s numbers by other soul and rock artists – all produced with a tight, guitar-driven groove by Richard Perry. Titles include "Fire", "Everybody Is A Star", "Hypnotized", "Come & Get Your Love", "Happiness", "Angry Eyes", and "Echoes Of Love" – plus the trio's take on the Steely Dan cut "Dirty Work", a personal favorite of ours! Includes 3 bonus tracks – "Love Is Like A Rolling Stone", "Nothing But A Heartache", and "Happiness (12" disco)".

Amazing! This album is one of the great lost classics of East Coast harmony soul of the 70s – and it always leaves us breathless! Continental 4 may not have been as big as some of their contemporaries, but the cut "(You're Living In) A Dream World" is one of the most sublime soul tracks ever recorded – with stunning harmonies, fragile production, and some wonderful Philly ballad instrumental touches. The rest of the album is just as good – with slowly plucked electric sitar, soaring harmonies, and an amazing batch of orchestrations that are just out of this world! Titles include "Escape From Planet Earth", "Running Away", "I Don't Have You", and "How Can I Pretend". Dream work from Philly Maestros like Bobby Martin and Norman Harris!

A sweet solo set from Pointer Sister June – stepping out here on her own, but with a groove that's right up there with her family group's classics for Planet Records! As with those sets, Richard Perry is at the helm here – giving the set a nice mix of class and groove, with perhaps a bit more focus on the sort of sophisticated numbers that work best for June's wide-ranging vocals! And in fact, there's an overall feel here that's a tad less commercial than the Pointer Sisters – still plenty of catchy tunes, to be sure, but maybe not as obvious a move right for the charts. Titles include "Always", "Ready For Some Action", "I Will Understand", "To You My Love", "New Love True Love", and "You Can Do It". Also features a bonus track – a single version of "Ready For Some Action".

The last album ever from the amazing Minnie Riperton – and one of her greatest records as well! The album was sadly issued after Minnie's untimely early passing from this planet – but it's a heavenly batch of tunes that definitely shows that her love of music lives forever – thanks not only to a strong talent for songwriting and sublime production from husband Richard Rudolph – but also some important help from a variety of all-star guests who are all brought together out of deep affection for Minnie. George Benson, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Roberta Flack, Patrice Rushen, Peabo Bryson and others all make key appearances here – working with arrangements from Johnny Pate, and vocals the Minnie recorded for the record before its completion. Titles include the perennial favorite "Here We Go" – easily one of Minnie's greatest tunes ever – plus "I'm In Love Again", "You Take My Breath Away", "Strange Affair", "Island In The Sun", and " The Song Of Life (La-La-La)".

The last album ever from the amazing Minnie Riperton – and one of her greatest records as well! The album was sadly issued after Minnie's untimely early passing from this planet – but it's a heavenly batch of tunes that definitely shows that her love of music lives forever – thanks not only to a strong talent for songwriting and sublime production from husband Richard Rudolph – but also some important help from a variety of all-star guests who are all brought together out of deep affection for Minnie. George Benson, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Roberta Flack, Patrice Rushen, Peabo Bryson and others all make key appearances here – working with arrangements from Johnny Pate, and vocals the Minnie recorded for the record before its completion. Titles include the perennial favorite "Here We Go" – easily one of Minnie's greatest tunes ever – plus "I'm In Love Again", "You Take My Breath Away", "Strange Affair", "Island In The Sun", and " The Song Of Life (La-La-La)".

Rose Royce in perfect hit mode – blending older styles of harmony soul and rolling funk with some of the late 70s better advances in production. Norman Whitfield's really pushing himself here, and if he only did one thing on this planet, we'd give him a big award for his wonderful work on "Love Don't Live Here Anymore" – clearly the album (and possibly the band's) standout cut, and a masterpiece of spacey soul that still shocks us today with its greatness. Other tracks include "I'm In Love", "That's What's Wrong With Me", "Let Me Be The First To Know", and "First Come, First Serve".

Titles include "Go For It", "First Timothy Six", "I Miss Your Kiss", "Do The Guitar", "Planet Funk", and "You Sexy Thing".

Weird work from Wicked Witch – tunes that are half funky, half punky – with a mysterious sound that's all their own! At some level, Wicked Witch might be an offshoot of the P-Funk empire – a lost mission to a dark planet way out in the galaxy – trapped out there on their own, and slowly losing touch with the original groove of the Mothership as they mess around with heavy basslines, spacey keyboards, and some very stark rhythms – sometimes played live, sometimes from a drum machine. There's a bit of vocals in the mix, but they're usually second-tier next to the rhythms – which themselves take plenty of weird twists and turns. Billed as "evil psycho machine funk" – which is a pretty accurate description! Titles include "Fancy Dancer", "Erratic Behaviour", "X Rated", "Vera's Back", and "Electric War (inst)". CD features bonus tracks "Fancy Dancer (previously unreleased rmx)", and "Electric War (voc)".

Fantastic double CD set that includes 44 tracks of the Moonglows amazing doo wop sides recorded for Chess in the 50's. This is some of the best doo wop ever recorded on the planet, and the track list includes such great cuts as "Secret Love", "Most of All", "In My Diary", "Penny Arcade", "Twelve Months Of The Year", "She's Alright With Me", "See Saw", "Over And Over Again", "Mr. Engineer", "Blue Velvet", "Lover, Love Me", "Sincerely", and lots of other cuts that you may be less familiar with. Super stuff, with a nice set of notes!

Some of the most godlike soul music to be recorded on this planet, and two of the best-ever albums by this amazing Chicago collective that included the late Minnie Riperton, and who were arranged and produced by the great Charles Stepney! Both albums feature swirling complex arrangements, filled with strange time changes, chord passages, and nice jazzy bits. Inside it all, the group's cool male/female vocal sound rings out – with Minnie singing on some cuts along, and in duet on others. Includes the band's classic "I Am The Blackgold Of The Sun" (covered recently by NuYorican Soul), plus "The Sea & She", "Hey Love", "Song For Everyman", "The Weight", "Respect", "Salt Of The Earth", and "Vine Of Happiness". Imagine if Scott Walker met The Dramatics, and you've only got part of the picture!

Magnificent! Charles Earland may well be our favorite-ever jazz organist – and after you hear this set, he'll probably be yours too! Charles really didn't emerge as a name until the beginning of the 70s – and although that decade did some nasty stuff to some of the 60s best organ players, Earland managed to really get a heck of a lot out of the decade, twisting and turning his style with all the changes in arrangements and instrumentation, yet always keeping it real, laying down killer solos and funky grooves that rank with some of the best organ work of his generation! This 2CD set is the first to really pay tribute to Earland's genius – and it's a massive batch of tracks the spans his early years at Prestige Records, and moves into his work for labels like Mercury, Columbia, and Muse. Disc 1 features "funky organ grooves" – 10 tracks from Prestige and Muse with a straight heavy soul jazz funk groove, cut with monster players like Melvin Sparks, Idris Muhammad, Gary Chandler, and Virgil Jones. Tracks on the set include "Murilley", "Spinky", "Betty's Dilemma", "Sing A Simple Song", "Morgan", "My Favorite Things", and "Sing A Simple Song" – and the grooves are hard and funky all the way through! Disc 2 features "jazz funk and beyond" – beginning with Earland's spacier jam cuts on the Leaving This Planet session for Prestige, then moving into his jams on Arp and Electric Piano for Mercury, and some of his later R&B funk cuts for Columbia. Most of this work's never been on CD before – and the wealth of Earland's talent here will take you way past his early Black Talk years. Titles include "Phire", "Coming To You Live", "Red Clay", "Intergalactic Love Song", "Cosmic Fever", "Betty Boop", "Let The Music Play", and "Over & Over".

Weird work from Wicked Witch – tunes that are half funky, half punky – with a mysterious sound that's all their own! At some level, Wicked Witch might be an offshoot of the P-Funk empire – a lost mission to a dark planet way out in the galaxy – trapped out there on their own, and slowly losing touch with the original groove of the Mothership as they mess around with heavy basslines, spacey keyboards, and some very stark rhythms – sometimes played live, sometimes from a drum machine. There's a bit of vocals in the mix, but they're usually second-tier next to the rhythms – which themselves take plenty of weird twists and turns. Billed as "evil psycho machine funk" – which is a pretty accurate description! Titles include "Under Your Spell", "Fancy Dancer", "Erratic Behaviour", "X Rated", "Vera's Back", and "Electric War (inst)".

Maybe not dynamite, but an album that definitely has an explosive feel right from the start – thanks to some 80s grooves that really help re-ignite the solo career of Jermaine Jackson! Jermaine's soaring vocals are right at home in these beat-heavy arrangements – sparkling with a sense of soul and a great ear for a catchy chorus, yet somehow never sounding too commercial overall – really a great surprise, given what you might expect from the album! That trademark Jackson ear for a tune is right on the money – and the set features a few duet cuts – including "Tell Me I'm Not Dreaming" with Michael Jackson, "Take Good Care Of My Heart" with Whitney Houston, "When The Rain Begins To Fall" with Pia Zadora, and "Escape From The Planet Of The Ant Men" with Randy and Tito Jackson. Solo cuts include "Dynamite", "Sweetest Sweetest", "Oh Mother", "Come To Me", and "Some Things Are Private". CD features 5 bonus tracks that include "Sweetest Sweetest (US rmx)", "Come To Me (12" rmx)", "Do What You Do (12" rmx)", "Dynamite (12" rmx)", and "When The Rain Begins To Fall (12" voc with breakdown)".

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".

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".

Beautiful west coast vocal group soul by The Whispers! Although the material they had recorded for Solar and Epic around the time this compilation of earlier material was issued had earned them bigger fame, we just love this early stuff – and this album's pulls together many our favorites by them from their days recording for Soul Clock and Janus, darn tough records to find! The tracks have a soaring harmony sound, and titles include "A Mother For My Children", "Your Love Is So Doggone Good", "If You Feel Like Coming Home", "Can't Help But Love You", "Planets Of Life", "Seems Like I Gotta Do Wrong" and "I Only Meant To Wet My Feet".