Soul — LPs  

Truth is the power, but the power is also in the groove – and on this tight little classic, The Mighty Clouds Of Joy soar brilliantly into a space between gospel and soul! The record's easily one of the best efforts to bridge the two genres in the 70s – a record that probably even tops Rance Allen's best work, and which sparkles with a similar crackling "real soul" vocal amidst the tighter grooves of the backing. Frank Wilson produced, and the album bears all the hallmarks of his best 70s work, especially that for ABC. Titles include "There's Love In The World", "That's What Friends Are Made Of", "I'll Keep A Light In My Window", "Like A Child", "Listen People", and "The Truth Will Set You Free".

One of the last great 70s soundtracks on Curtom Records – a smoking little set that pairs the music of Curtis Mayfield with the vocals of Mavis Staples! Curtis is very much in charge of the record from the start, and works in a hard-stepping and righteous mode that recalls his earlier work on the Staples' soundtrack for Let's Do It Again – no surprise, given that Piece Of The Action was the next installment in the successful series of films that starred Bill Cosby and Sidney Poitier! The sound here is nicely full, hitting that rich mid 70s Curtom mode that sounded so great on Leroy Hutson and Natural Four albums of the time – a slightly more sophisticated approach that mixed in a bit of strings with the heavier funk at the bottom. Titles include "Chocolate City", written by Curtis with Keni Burke and Henry Gibson, plus "Getting Deeper", "A Piece Of The Action", "Orientation", and "Of Whom Shall I Be Afraid".

A wonderful album of southern soul – and the only full-length LP cut by Bobby Moore and his long-lived Rhythm Aces combo! The group's the sort that slaved away endlessly in live shows all over the south – playing on their own, or providing extra backup for countless big stars touring through the area. Bobby's on tenor, and the group has some incredibly rich vocal talents – unnamed, but with a group harmony style that's equally at home with sweet ballads or hard stompin party numbers. The latter style is the band's strongest suit, though – with an approach that's somewhere between the hard soul of Sam & Dave and the party grooves of Doug Clark & The Hot Nuts – and like that group, Moore's style was probably forged out of years of playing at beach dances, frat parties, and bar gigs, the real proving ground for a tight combo like this! A great little LP, with a fresh sound throughout – and tracks include "The Hamburger Song", "Follow Me", "Searching For My Love", "Hey, Mr. DJ", "Searching For My Love", "Jenny, Jenny", "Come Back Baby", and "We've Got That". Recorded at Fame in 1966 with Rick Hall, too!

Nancy sings a nice set of sophisticated jazz and pop tunes, with arrangements from the hands of Billy May, Olver Nelson, and Sid Feller. There's a bit less of a swing than on other albums, but Nancy's fragile and soulful voice comes through loud and clear – and the track list includes some nice lesser-known material like "River Shallow", "Free Again", "Only The Young", "The Right To Love", and "Over The Weekend".