Soul — LPs  

A killer array of funky grooves from Fela Kuti – served up in a 6LP box set, with records chosen by Ginger Baker! Baker's a key choice to work on the set – given his famous recordings with Fela, heard here on the album's leadoff record – Fela & Ginger Baker Live! Next up is Roforofo Fight – an early full-length Fela LP, filled with 4 tight groovers that stand with his best work! "Go Slow" begins with this mad trumpet solo that you'll recognize from a famous sample, especially as it mixes in with keyboards; "Roforofo Fight" is a fast-time groover that has the drums working overtime to keep up with the political power of the cut. Confusion features a monster 26 minute track – and it begins with Sun Ra Arkestra-like washes of sound and spaciness, before leaping into a bass-heavy groove that provides a perfect platform for heavy jamming and vamping by the band. Alagbon Close is a lesser-known 70s session from Fela – but a great one too, and a record that captures the Africa 70 group at all their early raw best! Tracks are both very long – stretching for a side of the record apiece – and the title track "Alagbon Close" features some amazing keyboard lines on the intro, all tinny and thin – and done with this other-worldly almost Sun Ra-like quality! The other tune, "I Get No Eye For Back", also has some amazing electric piano too – but intertwined with some very strong horn work from the group! He Miss Road brings back Ginger Baker – who's producing the group, and gives them a sweet progressive vibe. Titles include "He Miss Road", "Monday Morning In Lagos", and "It's No Possible". Last up is the Na Poi album, with two long cuts cuts – "Na Poi" and "You No Go Die Unless"! Both have a freer feel than usual, with heavy percussion added into the usual mix of keyboards and sax solos. All records in original cover art, too!

Mindblowing – and a landmark recording that crosses all boundaries in the Chicago music scene of the late 60s! Philip Cohran was a visionary musician who'd played with Sun Ra during the 60s, but who left Ra to forge his own musical vision by the middle part of the decade. The Artistic Heritage ensemble was a crucially important group in Chicago – one that drew players from both the soul and jazz scenes, with a wealth of talents that later went onto work with groups like Earth Wind & Fire, The Pharoahs, Ra's Arkestra, and other ensembles. Talents on this set alone include players like Charles Handy, Don Myrick, Aaron Dodd, Henry Gibson, and Louis Satterfield – not to mention Cohran, who plays cornet (as he did with Sun Ra), plus two groovy instruments of his own invention: the violin uke and the great Frankiphone, a sort of electric thumb piano whose use on these recordings pre-dated the very famous Kalimba sound that Earth Wind & Fire would use to great success during the 70s. The album includes the driving conga funk track "Unity", the singing soulful track "The Minstrel", the incredibly haunting "On The Beach", and the track "Motherhood", which has a strong Abbey Lincoln type of feel. The whole thing's a beautiful batch of spiritual jazzy tracks with a good groove – and a perfect blend of soul and spirit, jazz and righteousness! Beautifully packaged, too!

A legendary album from Chicago – recorded by a group with ties to Sun Ra, Phil Cohran, and Earth Wind & Fire! The set's got a sound that more than lives up to all those references – a vibe that's jazzy and soulful, yet often quite righteous too – imbued with the sort of spirit you'd guess from the group's name and the album's cover image – but often served up with a tight enough groove to make the set a favorite for fans of funk as well! There's a really special mix going on here – and unlike other ensembles of the time, The Pharoahs never go too far out – and instead really have the great sort of focus you'd hear even more strongly with Earth Wind & Fire. The lineup features Louis Satterfield on bass, Willie Woods on trombone, Don Myrick on saxes, Black Herman on drums, and Derf Reklaw on percussion and flute – and titles include "Ibo", "Somebody's Been Sleeping", "Damballa", "Freedom Road", "Great House", and "Black Enuff".

A mid 80s classic from Atlantic Starr – at the height of their catchy commercial fame – bouncing along with rhythms that crossover nicely to the mainstream, yet still keep a bit of their previous funky edge intact! The groove here is almost in the style that Atlantic Starr inspired in so many other younger groups in the earlier part of the 80s – although it's also a bit more polished too. Most instrumentation is electric, and tunes are mostly written by the team of David and Wayne Lewis – both of whom sing on the record. Barbara Weathers also handles female vocals, and titles include "Once Lover At A Time", "Let The Sun In", "My Mistake", "I'm In Love", "Always", "Don't Take Me For Granted", and a version of Sam Dees' "All In The Name Of Love".

Seminal early funk work from Roy Ayers! The record catches him at that perfect point when he was turning from a straight jazz player into a sinister force in 70s funk – and the group on the session includes super-hip soul jazz giants like Charles Tolliver, Sonny Fortune, and Harry Whitaker, running through short hip soul tracks that were very different than the style of music they were laying out on albums of their own. Roy's on organ, piano, vibes, and vocals – and he also handles the arrangements, with extra help on strings by William S Fischer, whose usual dark touches come across very well here. The album features some great soul covers – like "Ain't No Sunshine" and "Day Dreaming" – plus the original tracks "Cocoa Butter", "Rhythms of Your Mind", and "Red Black & Green".

A brilliant funky soundtrack – with great work from a number of different artists! The Buddah soul stable came out in full force for this soundtrack, including Harvy Fuqua, The New Birth, Barbara Mason, and Horace Ott – as well as the little known group Badder Than Evil! They play on the great instrumental track "Hot Wheels", which is the chase theme in the film, and a great sample track! Also includes "Super Shine #9", sung by Sister Goose & the Ducklings, which is a very groovy, goofy, soulful number – plus the tracks "Child Of Tomorrow", "Harlem Dreams", "Child Of Tomorrow", and "Come On & Dream Some Paradise".

A pretty darn cool little record – even if it is a bunch of cover versions! As the title proclaims, the set presents the winners of a US Army competition for its members stationed in Europe in the early 70s – one that chose The Black Seeds for side one of the album, and Sound Trek for side two! The Black Seeds are a sweet harmony group with a really heartbreaking feel – very much in the New Jersey/Philly mode, and sounding great on a number of roughly-done covers that include "Go Outside In The Rain", "Black Magic Woman", "Do Your Thing", "Backstabbers", and "Ain't No Sunshine". The Sound Trek are a bit more groove-oriented – kicking off their set with an instrumental reading of "Kool & The Gang", but then rolling into a batch of vocal soul covers that include "Walking In The Rain", "Backstabbers" (again!), "Coldest Days Of My Life", and "I Love Everything About You".

Smooth ensemble funk – somewhere between Earth Wind & Fire and Average White Band – not bad on the vocals, which are mostly sung harmony style, but lacking a bit of an edge on the grooves, which never really seem to catch. Titles include "Top 40 Band", "Soul Power", "Funk Footin", "Cindy", "Mean Child", and "Let It Live".

A great little album by James Brown – and very different than his other work! He cut this one with the groovy Dee Felice Trio – a jazz-based combo that he recorded on their own for King, on another very rare, very excellent record. The band's in similar form here, although not necessarily as funky – and they do a great job of giving James' vocals a jazzy twist that they don't have on other albums – proving yet again that The Godfather can handle just about any sort of groove that he wants! Features a wonderfully groover version of "Sunny", which moves along very nicely – plus remakes of "There Was A Time" and "Cold Sweat", along with the tracks "Uncle" and "That's Life".

One of the stranger James Brown albums from the 60s! The record is one of the only vocal albums he cut for the Smash label – and it was issued during a time when James was strangely contracted to two labels – King and Smash. His dual contract situation was that he couldn't record any new original vocal material for Smash – apart from the title track "Out Of Sight", which had already been snuck on the market, and which is a sinister funky track built along the same lines as "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag" (not on this album.) Apart from that track, the rest of the material on the record is more traditional R&B and pop stuff – sung by James in a strong soul style. Titles include "Somethin Else", "Nature Boy", "Maybe The Last Time", "I Wanna Be Around", "I Got You", and "Good Rockin Tonight". The liner notes are great, too – with some pretty interesting information on Brown's career, and African-American politics.

These guys are still pretty darn great at this point – and the album's an updating of their uptempo funky club sound, one that still retains a lot of the best elements of earlier efforts. Horn arrangements are very strong, handled by Carlos Ward with a nice touch of jazz – and the added strings only broaden the sound, never overwhelm it, making for a well-composed batch of tracks that ranks with the best Philly dancefloor. Titles include "Funky Music", "Sunshine", "Star Gazer", "How Big Can You Dream", "Eyes", and "Scratch My Itch".

Sublime southern soul from one of the greats! James Carr is right up there with the best of the 60s – Otis Redding, Arthur Conley, Joe Tex, and others – but he never made it as big as them because of personal troubles and bad planning on the part of his label and management. Fortunately, his genius has been kept alive by record collectors everywhere – for whom this rare gem is a holy grail! The album features 11 tunes that sum up the best of the south in the 60s – all sung by James with his unbelievably heartbreaking voice. Titles include "The Dark End Of The Street", "You've Got My Mind Messed Up", "A Woman Is A Man's Best Friend", "I'm A Fool For You", "Stronger Than Love", "More Love", and "Sowed Love & Reaped A Heartache".

An excellent album of strident female soul tracks! Sure, the Clark Sisters were a gospel group – but their crossover single "You Brought The Sunshine" is a massive dancefloor track, with a stepping 80s groove that keeps on going strong, and which has the same crossover sense of righteousness that you'd find in later work by the Sounds Of Blackness. Other titles include "Center Of Thy Will", "He Keeps Me Company", "Crown Him Lord Of All", and "Walking In The Spirit".

A stunner! You'll probably never find this rare first Dennis Coffey album in the original, so you owe it to yourself to snatch up this funky funky reissue of stripped down guitar breakbeat jams! The record has Coffey playing his trademark fuzzy guitar, along with his early group that included the legendary Lyman Woodard on organ and Andrew Davis on drums. As the title implies, some tracks are versions of cuts from Hair – with great Galt MacDermot grooves like "Let The Sunshine In", "Sodomy", and "Aquarius" – plus other excellent covers and originals, like "Hair & Grits", "Hey Jude", "Do Your Thang", "Iceberg's Thang", "It's Your Thang", and "Electric Thang". Clearly, it's a very thang-heavy LP, with all the funkiness that might imply! There's some excellent drum breaks, and more than a boatload full of fuzzy guitar riffs to groove groove groove you away!

A weird little record from Bill Cosby – a set that's not as all-out funky as some of his other vocal albums, but still pretty nice overall! The style here is more bluesy than soul-based, but production is still by Fred Smith, of 103rd Street Rhythm Band fame – and the album has a sense of grit that's a lot stronger than you might guess. Many of the tunes are covers from an older R&B era, and Cosby takes them with an approach that's a bit tongue-in-cheek at times – kind of garbling the lyrics and muddying up the sound, even though we know he can sing a bit more clearly from other records! There's certainly a few tracks that have a nice gritty soul sound, and titles include the great "Little Ole Man" which is basically Bill doing a skit over the "Uptight" rhythm – plus "Bright Lights Big City", "Big Boss Man", "Hush Hush", "Baby What You Want Me To Do", "Mojo Workout", "Doncha Know", and "Place In The Sun".

Great early work from Andrae Crouch & The Disciples – just the kind of soulful set that made the group a big crossover act at the time! Although gospel at heart, the record's got a nicely secular feel in approach – a style that's a bit like some of the other larger group soul of the time – particularly the 5th Dimension, whose bright, sunny sound Crouch seems to be reaching for here! But there's also a slightly groovier feel too – that undercurrent of hip that was bubbling under on some of the best Light Records productions in the 70s. Titles include "I'm Gonna Keep On Singing", "I'm Coming Home Dear Lord", "Take A Little Time", "What Ya Gonna Do", "My Tribute (To God Be The Glory)", and "I've Got Confidence".

A lost album from 70s funk diva Betty Davis – and one that's every bit as essential as her music released back in the day! The set was recorded hot on the heels of Betty's classic Nasty Gal album – but it's got a groove that's almost more in the territory of her first two records on the Just Sunshine label – very hard, heavy, freaky, and fuzzy – with lots of sharp-edged guitar licks wrapped up around Davis' badass vocals – which have just as much attitude as ever! It's not clear why the album never saw the light of day back in the 70s, but it's an essential follow-up to Davis key classics – undeniably funky music by one of the most unique figures ever in soul – the kind of set that would have been a bomb, had it dropped in the 70s – and which will have an even greater impact when let loose in the 21st Century. Titles include "Stars Serve You Know", "Bottom Of The Barrel", "Crashin From Passion", "Whorey Angel", "It's So Good", "Is It Love Or Desire", "Bar Hoppin", and "Let's Get Personal".

Killer work from Betty Davis – one of the most impressive female funk talents ever! If you ever needed a definition of funk, this record may well be it – snapping drums, sharp-edged guitars, and sex-filled basslines that slink and slide all over the bottom of the grooves – a perfect setting for Betty's incredible vocals – which themselves have a smokey, raspy quality that's completely unique! At times, Davis is almost speaking, but at others she's practically screaming – belting out the lyrics in a way that makes you feel like you're sharing some space with her at the end of the bar as she gets more and more wound up about issues and people who are on her mind. And as if the vocals weren't enough, the backings are incredible too – filled with drum breaks and basslines that few other albums can match – all wrapped around badass tunes that include "Shoo-B-Doop & Cop Him", "He Was A Big Freak", "70's Blues", "Git In There", "Special People", "Don't Call Her No Tramp", and "Your Mama Wants Ya Back".

One of the few rare albums cut by Chicago soul jazz singer Jean DuShon, an artist that Chess really tried to push in the mid 60s, but who never really seemed to make it. This one's a nice set of intimate jazz vocal tracks, sung with the Herman Foster trio, and covering a range of material from blues to bossa. Includes versions of "Early One Morning", "More", "Baia", "Night Song", and "I'm Thru With Love".

A classic killer from The Fabulous Rhinestones – a group with a plenty soulful approach to their music, even if the group was probably more of a rock outfit than a funk-based one! There's some heavy rhythms on most of the tracks – kind of a gentle funky groove that's mixed in with great organ lines and sweet guitars – all to couch perfectly the lead vocals of Kal David, who sings with a raspy, earnest tune that really fits the grooves! The group are definitely lesser-known than some of the bigger funk rock acts of the time – but they're also one of the best, too. Titles include "Big Indian", "Positive Direction", "Nothing New", "Free", "Living On My Own Time", and "Easy As You Make It".

An amazing record! By all rights, this shouldn't be so good – but it's an incredible album of haunting tracks that really has us coming back again and again over the years. The formula is simple: Jose plays late 60s pop tunes on acoustic guitar, and sings them in his spacey soulful voice. Backings are by George Tipton, plus a jazz combo made up of Jim Horn, Ray Brown, and Milt Holland – but it's Jose that really makes the whole thing amazing! His style of presentation is like anything else we can describe – filled with sadness and soul, but enough joy to keep moving forward. He takes tracks like "Light My Fire", "In My Life", "Sunny", and "California Dreamin", and transforms them into an amazing document of the darkness hidden behind the sun of southern California. "California Dreamin" is especially amazing – and Jose's version is one of the best soul songs of all time!

An overlooked chapter in the Zapp/Roger story of the 80s – the only album ever issued by vocalist Bad Bobby Glover! Roger Produced, and there's plenty of Zapp talent on hand for the record, too – which means that the overall groove is heavy on the kind of funky basslines, electrified keyboards, and tight rhythms you'd expect – all put together at a level that's especially got the sharp focus of the first few Zapp albums! Glover's a great vocalist for the project – one who slides in perfectly with the groove, making his voice fit just like a key element in the rhythms – which makes for a very groove-heavy set overall. Titles include "What Kind Of Lady", "Bright Skies Sunny Days", "I Love You", "It's My Turn", "Your Spell", "So Mean", "Happy", and "I Can't Stand the Pain".

The classic jazz vibes of Lionel Hampton meets the soulful arrangements of the Chicago Brunswick studios – and the result is a great batch of funky instrumentals that have a similar sound to some of the classic Cadet albums from the same time. Willie Henderson and Tom Tom Washington did the arrangements – and nearly every track's an original by Eugene Record. Titles include "Please Sunrise", "Soulful Autumn", "It Must Be Love", "I Did It", and "I Call It Trouble". Tasty stuff, and tight Chicago soul grooves!

A legendary album – and for good reason too – a set that's as mysterious as it is funky, and a record that's stayed at the top of our crates for years! The album features a really unusual collective of musicians, pulled together under the guidance of producer Paul Winley – a group that features George Benson on guitar, Dave Baby Cortez on organ, Willis Jackson on tenor sax, and Earl Williams on some massively funky drums! The music's a mix of funky jazz and gritty soul – put together with some really weird studio touches – including an uncredited male voice that comes in and out of the tracks, bad-rapping along with some very hip commentary. Ann Winley sings the female vocals on the set – often egged on by the dude – but the real charm of the record lies at the bottom – the wicked drums, funky basslines, and choppy instrumental bits that have gotten the set sampled plenty over the years. Titles include the classic "Smokin Cheeba Cheeba" alone, the groovy "Finger In It", a great breakbeat version of "Ain't No Sunshine" with a tenor solo by Willis Jackson, and the slow bluesy talking cut "Fed Up", a baaaad rap about a couple splitting up – done here in both vocal and instrumental versions.

Easily one of the best albums by Sugarcane Harris – thanks largely to Johnny Otis, who produced and arranged the set with the same messed-up, genre-crossing style of his own work! Given that Harris both played electric violin and sung in a raunchy bluesy style, it would take a genius like Otis to make the sound work – and work he does, shifting the mood of the album from track to track, in an effort to showcase all the messed-up, down-and-dirty sides of Sugarcane's style! Includes the tracks "A Little Soul Food", "Funk & Wagner", "Do It Yourself", "I'm Unconscious", and "Take It All Off".

A landmark album that hardly needs any introduction – as it's one of the most famous soundtracks, if not soul records, of the 70s! Isaac Hayes had already surprised music fans with the sophistication of his first few solo albums, which had been issued before this one – but with Shaft, he did the inconceivable, as the album was one of the first times a pop musician had scored, not just sung on, an entire soundtrack. Plus, the soundtrack's super-huge – running as a double-length batch of tracks that was a rarity for the often-slim soundtrack market. Includes many great funky numbers – both vocal and instrumental – including "Theme from Shaft", "Cafe Regio's", "Walk from Regio's", "Bumpy's Lament", and "Do Your Thing", in the nice 19 minute long version!

Nice one! This obscure blacksploitation soundtrack features a hip Monk Higgins score for a Pam Grier film that's supposedly "Hotter than Coffey and meaner n' Foxy Brown". Having seen the film, we don't know if we'd totally agree with that assessment, but the music's strong enough, and the soundtrack's right up there with the best of its kind. Barbara Mason sung the title track and a few more vocal numbers – like "I'm In Love With You", "Good Man Is Gone", and "Sheba Baby" – all in the mode of her hipper work during the time, but the best cuts are the instrumentals, of course! Check out "The Shark", "Speedboat", "Heavy Shot", and "Breast Stroke", a necessary theme in any Pam Grier film!

Nice one! This obscure blacksploitation soundtrack features a hip Monk Higgins score for a Pam Grier film that's supposedly "Hotter than Coffey and meaner n' Foxy Brown". Having seen the film, we don't know if we'd totally agree with that assessment, but the music's strong enough, and the soundtrack's right up there with the best of its kind. Barbara Mason sung the title track and a few more vocal numbers – like "I'm In Love With You", "Good Man Is Gone", and "Sheba Baby" – all in the mode of her hipper work during the time, but the best cuts are the instrumentals, of course! Check out "The Shark", "Speedboat", "Heavy Shot", and "Breast Stroke", a necessary theme in any Pam Grier film!

A brilliant early set from Honey Cone – and a perfect illustration of the way the trio really moved past simple girl group modes of the 60s! There's a bold, proud, righteous tone to the record right from the start – thanks to these soaringly soulful vocals from the girls, and these fuzzy arrangements from Tony Camillo – who seems to borrow a bit from the more righteous modes of Norman Whitfield at Motown, then give things a bit more of a girl soul twist! The combination is amazing, and the album's rock-solid all the way through – filled with great original tunes that really keep a unified feel throughout – and titles include "Are You Man Enough", "Take Me With You", "Girls It Ain't Easy", "While You're Out Looking For Sugar", "The Feeling's Gone", "Sunday Morning People", and "Take My Love".

Nice one! This is the obscure first album by Rhetta Hughes – who's probably better known to the world for her later album on Tetragrammon. The tracks are a mix of pop and soul titles, but they're given some nice arrangements by Chicago soul great Tennyson Stephens, who also sings on the album a bit. Ralph Bass produced the whole session, and it's got a beautiful sort of jazz/soul vocal style that brings to mind the great Lorez Alexandria albums on Argo. The whole thing's very different than Rhetta's later deeper soul releases – and is a beautiful vocal album in the polished Chicago jazz vocal tradition. Titles include "Come On Home", "Back Street", "Music Makes Me Dance", "Lost & Lookin'", and "When Sunny Gets Blue".

A record that really lives up to its title, given the sweet Philly grooves of the set – a real surprise, given that the album was recorded in Germany! The session's a rare studio project in the early years of the German disco scene – and comes off with the best soulful styles that were bubbling up in the US at the time – clubby instrumental grooves that are filled with soaring strings and tight rhythms – yet served up in ways that are never too overdone! In fact, if you slapped some obscure US label on this one, folks would be more than willing to believe that the set's some underground corner from the New York scene – quite a surprise for a record that was initially cut just for sound library usage. Titles include "City Train", "Alaska Flight", "Skyline", "Night Shift", "Full House", "Star Shot", "Rush Hour", "Sun Ship", and "Flash Point".

Weird album that came out in the early 70s, when Stax was getting their hands into so many other styles of music besides southern soul and funk. Margaret Singana's the lead vocalist of this group that plays in a sort of Afro Pop/Afro Funk style, and she lays down the lyrics on tracks like "The Warrior", "Misunderstood", and "They Took Her Away From The Land" – all of which have a political bent that's obvious from the titles.

Hard soul genius from The Isley Brothers – a set that has the group sounding quite different than their smooth hits from later years – with a hard-burning quality that's mighty nice all the way through! The vocals are still tremendous – and in fact, given that these guys are usually moving at a pretty darn fast clip, the way they trade sounds is even more amazing – grooving to sounds that are even more upbeat than most Northern Soul – and presented with a great garagey edge! Titles include the familiar monster "Twist & Shout" – but all cuts are great, and include "Spanish Twist", "I Say Love", "Hold On Baby", "The Snake", "Don't You Feel", "Never Leave Me Baby", "You Better Come Home", and "Right Now".

What the what?!? Soul sides so great they'll blow your mind – even though none of them have ever been issued before! George Jackson is one of the great lost talents of southern soul – an artist who often stayed in the background, lending his talents to others in the studio, or as a writer – but a hell of a strong artist on his own – as you'll hear in this package of 24 recordings done at the legendary Fame Studios! Jackson's vocals are great – nice and gritty, plain and honest, and with just the right sort of focus to perfectly serve up the poetry of his lyrics. And the backings are wonderful, too – that simple, soulful groove that Fame did so well – often slow-burning on the rhythm tip, with production that lets George shine right out front in the mix. Why these cuts were never issued at the time is a mystery to us – as they could have made George and a few other folks a nice little fortune and a good deal of fame. But as with most discoveries like this, the obscurity of the tracks also makes for a freshness that we love too – as if we've taken a time machine back to a period we love, and found a way to hear the "real deal" right up close! Special LP version – featuring a dozen tracks from the Fame CDs – including "Greedy Over You", "Double Lovin", "Don't Count Me Out", "Save Me", "That From The Heart", "Add A Little Sunshine", "Let The Best Man Win", "I Bit Off More Than I Can Chew", and "Bite The Hand That Feeds You".

Early Michael Jackson at his best – a brilliant solo album that sparkles with honest warmth and sweet soul energy! There's a gentleness to the tunes that's quite striking, but never childish – a simple and effective approach to the material that's sung in a manner that's years beyond Michael's young age – produced to perfection by The Corporation, with lots of great 70s soul touches. Titles include nice versions of "Ain't No Sunshine", "Got To Be There", and "I Wanna Be Where You Are" – plus the nice Willie Hutch tune "Girl, Don't Take Your Love From Me", and the unfortunate novelty cut "Rockin Robin".

Massive massive Miami funk – and a record that seems to sound better and better as the years move on! Sure, KC and crew were a chart-topping act, but this first album's a stellar batch of heavy cuts – featuring great instrumentation on clavinet, conga, guitars, and horns – all bubbled into an extremely tight mix that riffs along madly on just about every cut! Sure, we grew up grooving to this stuff out of the AM radio in the car (hmmm. . . Maybe that was the problem), but honestly, it sure stands up to a lot more funk from the time than you'd expect! Includes all the big hits – like "Boogie Shoes", "That's The Way (I Like It)", and "Get Down Tonight" – plus some nice breaks and funky intros on "I Get Lifted" and "Let It Go".

Mega-hit material from KC & The Sunshine band – an album issued firmly into the disco years, but which still had the group hitting hard in their trademark Miami sound! The tracks here are a bit longer and more hook-heavy than before – and represent the kind of material that linked harder Kool & The Gang-styled funk with some of the crossover sounds that Miami was famous for at the time – a sound that was still largely pre-disco in its roots, but which also helped set the crossover scene for so many other groups of the 70s. The set is filled with loads of huge hits – like "Shake Your Booty", "I'm Your Boogie Man", and "Baby I Love You" – and other tracks include "I Like To Do It", "Come On In", and "Let's Go Party".

Classic 70s work from KC & The Sunshine Band – a record that's not as hit-heavy as previous efforts, but still a plenty great set that's filled with catchy dancefloor funk! KC's clearly feeling the heat of the disco fire he helped to ignite a few years before – and there's definitely an ear hear towards tracks that would boom out nicely on a heavier sound system – kind of a deepening of the sometimes bargain basement production the group got on earlier TK records. That approach doesn't dampen the groove, though, and there's still a nice mix here of soul, funk, club, and tropical modes – sometimes a bit off the mark, but still a heck of a lot better than most of the group's contemporaries! Titles include a remake of "It's The Same Old Song", plus "Who Do Ya Love", "How About A Little Love", "Sho-Nuff'" and "Come To My Island".

A short, but totally killer Ghanaian disco record from KG Band – which is led and produced by multi-instrumentalist Kiki Gyan – and recorded at Lagos' Decca Studios in 1980! Disco Train is a rare one – with one long grooving dancefloor stormer per side. Each cut is a really sweet blend of global boogie, funk and soul – with distinctly African elements, too! "Disco Train" rolls beyond the 10 minute mark without coming close running off the rails. The drums don't stop and the bass is nice and funky – with some groovy falsetto vocals sung in English, a nicely vamping guitar groove, horns and Afro percussion. "Loving You" runs just shy of 10 minutes on the other side – and while the title of the song and the quiet opening seconds might trick you into the thinking it's gonna be straight and mellow, it's actually got a surprisingly adventurous groove overall! The drums are a bit feverish, which is a nice foil for the easygoing vibe and romantic lyricism – and it's again anchored by some funky bass, guitar and African percussion.

Hardly the surf album you might expect from the title – although the set is a killer batch of guitar instrumentals – with more than enough power to blow any west coast groups right off the beach! At this early point in his career, Freddie King is way more than just a blues guitarist, and his style here was a definite precursor to funk – hard, heavy, and with the kinds of little tricks that would be taken up a lot by other players in the funky 45 era. The recording quality is great, and really brings out the deeper tones in King's instrument – creating a great link between the earlier T Bone Walker generation, and lots of heavy guitarists to come. Tracks are all nice, and titles include "San Ho Zay", "Side Tracked", "Wash Out", "In The Open", "Heads Up", "Just Pickin", and "Swooshy".

A funky classic from Galt MacDermot! The record is Galt's score for the blacksploitation film that starred Godfrey Cambridge and Raymond St Jacques – and it's a mix of vocal and instrumental tunes that takes off from the sound of his late 60s work. Melba Moore sings on a few cuts – and others have lyrics sung by George Tipton, Sakinah, Leta Galloway, and Denise Dillpena, mostly in a early 70s pop soul sort of mode. The instrumentals are actually the best bits, though – with those odd little rhythms that Galt could hit when he really wanted to! Titles include "Man In Distress", "Harlem Medley", "Black Enough", "Stockyard", "Deke", "Ed & Digger", "Coffin Ed & Gravedigger", and "Harlem By Day".

Transition is right, as the cover has Barbara floating above a Curtis Mayfield-ish scene of drugs, war, gambling, and Satan. The music isn't nearly as dope as the cover, but the album does include the odd track with a political message, like "World in a Crisis", "Trigger Happy People", and "The Devil is Busy". Arrangements are by Norman Harris, Richard Rome, and Bobby Eli – and the album's got sort of a "Philly consciousness" sound, similar to some of the semi-political vocal groups that were operating at the time. Other tracks include "Sunday Saint (Weekday Sinner)", "Half Sister, Half Brother", and "Time Is Running Out".

A landmark album from the Miami soul scene of the 70s – the record that put Gwen McCrae on the map, and showed to the world that the TK sound was about to dominate the charts! There's a really unique groove to the set – part older southern soul, part percolated electric modes – that funky groove that Little Beaver, Timmy Thomas, and some of Gwen's TK contemporaries had been cooking up at the time. Both Beaver and Thomas are working on the sessions – as are Willie Clark, Latimore, and George Perry – and even the backup vocals are hip – with help from George McCrae, Betty Wright, and KC of Sunshine Band fame. But throughout it all, Gwen's the real star – singing with an impeccable vocal approach that's full of soul, yet never overdone – heard to amazing effect on the classic track "90% Of Me" – and other gems that include "For Your Love", "He Keeps Something Groovy Going On", "It Keeps On Raining", "He Don't Ever Lose His Groove", "Move Me Baby", and "Let Them Talk". Also features the classic "Rockin Chair" – added to the self-titled Gwen McCrae album from 1974, and retitled here to get the hit on an album!

Mike's come a long way from his early soul days with Dennis Coffey – working here to lay down a set of spacious disco tunes with a dreamy finish – really stretching out with the same sort of glide you'd find in the best Philly club at the time! The record's actually quite strong on the disco side of the spectrum – well-crafted work with a sound that's full and rich, but never cliched – definitely Theodore's moment to shine in the 70s, taking the torch from his old partner Coffey, who had his time in the sun a few years before! Titles include "Cosmic Wind", "The Bull", "Moon Trek", "Brazilian Lullaby", and "Belly Boogie".

A spiritual jazz classic – one of the rarest albums of its type from the 70s! This legendary session was recorded by Roy Ayers' keyboardist Harry Whitaker – working here as the leader of the Black Renaissance group, a one-shot ensemble that featured Woody Shaw on trumpet, Azar Lawrence on saxes, Buster Williams on bass, and Mtume on percussion. The session was cut in New York in 1976, but only issued on a rare album that came out briefly in Japan. Yet somehow, the quality of the work and the depth of soulfulness have created a strong aura about the session – making it an oft-cited influence by a generation of DJs and soul jazz listeners. The album only features 2 long tracks – both of them strong ensemble numbers that build modally searching grooves in a Strata East-like style, peppered with voices, both sung and spoken, in a hip, socially conscious mode. Both tracks – "Black Renaissance" and "Magic Ritual" are excellent, on a par with the best 70s spiritual soul jazz!

A well-titled record, as Albert King here plays with the large sound and big tone that would make him one of the best up-and-coming bluesmen of the 60s – a key player in the already-electrified generation, and possibly the greatest example of the new confidence that was coming into the genre at the time! This early King Records session captures Albert at a great early point in his career – a bit free of some of the more standard modes that would come with his later fame – yet already a hell of a powerhouse on the scene. Titles include "Let's Have A Natural Ball", "Travelin To California", "Dyna Flow", "This Funny Feeling", "I've Made Nights By Myself", and "I Walked All Night Long".

A landmark album from the Miami soul scene of the 70s – the record that put Gwen McCrae on the map, and showed to the world that the TK sound was about to dominate the charts! There's a really unique groove to the set – part older southern soul, part percolated electric modes – that funky groove that Little Beaver, Timmy Thomas, and some of Gwen's TK contemporaries had been cooking up at the time. Both Beaver and Thomas are working on the sessions – as are Willie Clark, Latimore, and George Perry – and even the backup vocals are hip – with help from George McCrae, Betty Wright, and KC of Sunshine Band fame. But throughout it all, Gwen's the real star – singing with an impeccable vocal approach that's full of soul, yet never overdone – heard to amazing effect on the classic track "90% Of Me" – and other gems that include "For Your Love", "He Keeps Something Groovy Going On", "It Keeps On Raining", "He Don't Ever Lose His Groove", "Move Me Baby", and "Let Them Talk". Also features the classic "Rockin Chair" – added to the self-titled Gwen McCrae album from 1974, and retitled here to get the hit on an album!