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Heavy funk, all the way through – a brilliant batch of cuts from The Original Black Sheep Of The Family – and one of the only true testaments we've ever seen to their obscure funky work! The set begins with the massive "In The Forest" – a wicked, wangly groove that... read more

A weirdly great little record! At first glance, you might think that this album's just another version of the super-huge moog hit "Popcorn" – but it's a lot more than that! The group has sort of a sing-song funky feel – hard piano, some nice drums, and grooves that remind us... read more

The Originals are hitting more of a dance-oriented groove here – a mix of disco, soul, and uptempo funk arrangements, but still maintaining their harmony sound, in the manner of other Detroit groups at the time, like The Fantastic Four or Detroit Emeralds. Titles include "Call On Your... read more

Titles include "Baby I'm For Real", "I'm Your Man", "The Magic Is You", "Share Your Love With Me", "Let Me Dance", and "Waiting On A Letter/Mr Postman".... read more

The Orlons recreate the sound of yesteryear – singing a dozen older doo wop and R&B hits, but taking the tunes in their own sweet mixture of male and female voices! The backings are a bit sparer than on other Orlons albums of the 60s – and really allow the vocals to come forward... read more

A Philly soul treasure trove – two rare albums from The Orlons, back to back on a single CD! First up is Wah Watusi – a soulful classic from The Orlons – a wonderful vocal group that mixed together the sweet harmonies of three female singers, and one bass-heavy male! The result... read more

Munich disco, retooled for the Salsoul Sound – thanks to some great remixing for this US version by Tom Moulton! ORS aren't nearly as cold or cheesy as some of their Munich contemporaries – making them a great choice for Salsoul through their tight use of stripped-down rhythms, rolling... read more

Titles include "We Belong To Love", "Soweto", "You Should Be Mine", "Emotional", "A Second Chance", and "Love's Not Ready".... read more

A stone classic from Jeffrey Osborne – and a real standout in mainstream soul at the start of the 90s! Osborne's legendary vocals have never sounded better – as there's a warmth in the production that returns him to the grace and power he had when first going solo – a style that... read more

A really wonderful third album from Osibisa – and a record that really crystallizes the group's sound into a trademark blend of African roots and more progressive-styled jamming! There's a mode here that's perfect for the cross-cultural London of the post-colonial 70s – a style that... read more

Nice mellow LA funk, played by Lee Oskar with help from a lot of his bandmates in the group War. The sound is similar to some of War's Chicano funk grooves – but with some very nicely punctuated rhythms that have the drums snapping out more than on War's albums from the time. Oskar's... read more

Some of the greatest funky work you could ever hope to find by Johnny Otis! The package brings together tracks recorded by Johnny in his fantastic post-R&B years – the late 60s and 1970s, when he was scrappling around a variety of small labels, but also getting the chance to use that... read more

The second album from Shuggie Otis – a wild and wooly batch of grooves that really stretches out the sound from the first! Shuggie's got much more of a hand in the arrangements here – and the tunes are grooving in a sweet blend of funk, rock, and soul – really drenched in the... read more

A classic album of bluesy funk – one that features the guitar of Johnny Otis' young son Shuggie, in a slightly tighter setting than he'd been getting on some of Johnny's own LPs! Shuggie here is still very much under the guidance of his dad – working in a mode that really emphasizes... read more

A treasure trove of rare funk – a massive package that not only includes the legendary Inspiration Information album by Shuggie Otis, but which also adds in four bonus tracks to that classic – plus a full other album of unreleased vintage work! Shuggie Otis is the son of Johnny Otis... read more

A great compilation of classic Shuggie – with 10 of the best tracks from the Here Comes Shuggie Otis, Freedom Flight and Inspiration Information records – all pressed up beautifully, with heavy wax and a great cover too!... read more

Sublime southern soul from The Ovations – a group with a really unique approach to their music! Unlike other southern groups of the time, The Ovations had a somewhat sweet style overall – one that was informed by their great love of the older music of Sam Cooke, and turned onto a... read more

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A pair of killers from Ozone – back to back on a single CD! Jump On It is filled with jumping grooves from Ozone – a smoking little set that's tight and right – and completely wonderful throughout! The set's got that perfect blend of funk and groove that always made Ozone so... read more

The first two albums from Ozone – back to back on a single CD! Walk On is the great debut of Ozone – a group who'd worked previously as the backing band for Billy Preston – which should give you an idea of how great they are! The group have a razor-sharp way of putting things... read more

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Deadlier than Dracula – and a lot funkier too! This is the original soundtrack for the classic blacksploitation horror flick starring the baaadest Drac ever to grace the screen of all those shabby downtown theaters that were still around in the 70s – a wicked batch of wah wah tunes... read more

A cool collection of space-themed club tracks from Gene Page – and possibly one of his greatest albums of the 70s – dispite a gimmicky approach! There's a tightly soaring feel to most of the cuts that's Page at his best – arranging fully with styles borrowed from Barry White, but... read more

A pair of great albums from one of the coolest soul arrangers of the 70s – back to back on a single CD! Close Encounters is a cool collection of space-themed club tracks from Gene Page – and possibly one of his greatest albums of the 70s – dispite a gimmicky approach! There's a... read more

With Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes.... read more

Blacksmith handled the remix and extra production work for this single – giving the track a nice strong London groove, circa 1990, which is about the best vintage we can think of!... read more

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One of the funkier albums that Maceo Parker's cut in recent years – a set that's still done with his frequent partners the WDR Big Band, but handled with a much stronger emphasis on the soul roots promised in the title! The set hearkens back to Maceo's years with James Brown, and also... read more

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A completely unique little set from singer Steve Parks – a set cut in the Bay Area scene of the early 80s – but done with a righteous 70s vibe that mixes jazz, soul, and bits of Latin influences as well! The overall approach is definitely soul, but there's plenty of jazz inflections in... read more

A batch of Parliament and Parliament related funk nuggets get a nice CD presentation of the original, rare, and or extended takes that were previously only available on the original vinyl! All told, more than an hour's worth of prime and/or rare P Funk! Tracks include "Aqua Boogie"... read more

An amazing album that's probably one of the most unified albums that George Clinton ever recorded! The band's rawer style has been firmed up and economized – but a lot of the best elements are still in place, including a strange approach to vocals that has male and female voices interacting... read more

An oft-overlooked gem from Parliament – released during the year 1976, and sometimes hidden between monster LPs like Funkentelechy and Mothership Connection – but every bit as great as those two classics! The album's got that tightened-up P-Funk sound that was working so perfectly at... read more

An oft-overlooked gem from Parliament – released during the year 1976, and sometimes hidden between monster LPs like Funkentelechy and Mothership Connection – but every bit as great as those two classics! The album's got that tightened-up P-Funk sound that was working so perfectly at... read more

Ahhhhh . . . By this point, George Clinton and the P-Funk team were on top of the world! The record is a masterful dose of slick mothership jamming – perfectly woven together with that tightly compressed style that really served Clinton's production work well. The tracks are long, but never... read more

Ahhhhh . . . By this point, George Clinton and the P-Funk team were on top of the world! The record is a masterful dose of slick mothership jamming – perfectly woven together with that tightly compressed style that really served Clinton's production work well. The tracks are long, but never... read more

The Mothership goes under water – as George Clinton and crew groove away nicely on this water-themed set of tracks designed to raise Atlantis from the deep! The overall sound is perhaps not as totally perfect as some of the earlier albums, but the P-Funk machine is still in full effect... read more

Cool picture disc of the Motor Booty album, with a photo of George Clinton water skiing on two dolphins on one side, and a sketch of him fighting a bird on the other. Housed in a sleeve that lists the tracks on the album, but which doesn't have the same pop-up landscape as the non-pic disc version.... read more

An insane bit of fuzzed-out funk! This is Parliament's rare first album – a trippy batch of tunes that come off of Clinton's experimentation in the Detroit soul scene, infused by the rock-heavy energy of the city at the time – and probably a heck of a lot of cannabis, too! The record... read more

The first album that Parliament cut after their trippy fuzzed-out headblast Osmium. The record features a much more stripped down sound – nice and funky, with a blueprint of the bass-driven groove that would dominate the P-Funk sound of the 70s. Bootsy's on bass, and the group features... read more

A sweet disco set from the late 70s – the only one we've ever seen by the Partners, who we're guessing were some sort of European studio combo! The sound is mighty nice – exactly what you'd guess from the title – the best sort of funky Euro disco style of the time, with some... read more

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A funky treasure – finally unleashed! Bucktown was one of the best of the mid 70s indie blacksploitation films – thanks to some great starring work from Fred Williamson and Pam Grier – but for years, the soundtrack's never been available as an individual release. Now, this tasty... read more

An incredible funky soundtrack – one of the best of the blacksploitation generation, and one of the rarest too! Johnny Pate did the orchestrations for this excellent lost film, and he brought the same sort of energy to it that he did with his soundtrack for Shaft In Africa. There's some... read more

One of the greatest blacksploitation soundtracks ever – a massively beautiful record that goes beyond any cliches of the genre, and serves up a fantastically unique batch of tracks! Chisoul arranger Johnny Pate did the music for the film – and (dare we say it?) it's even greater that... read more

One of the best soul records to come out on the Paula label in the early 70s – one with a number of beautifully soulful moments – and a few surprisingly funky ones, too! Although Bobby did a lot of work for other singers, this is one of the few albums he actually cut under his own name... read more

Funky soul from Bobby Patterson – a smoking set of music that's easily some of the funkiest ever cut for the Paula label in the 70s! Bobby's a southern soul singer, but he's got a righteousness that feels much more Detroit or Chicago – and some of the best cuts here have this sharp,... read more

The most righteous album ever from Kellee Patterson – her first record, and a set that's way different from her more soul-based sides of later years! The album's got Patterson working in a wonderfully soulful approach to jazz – a style that's not unlike the earliest work by Dee Dee... read more

An amazing early album from Billy Paul – the start of a rich career of sophisticated soul, and a record that really put Paul on the map right away – making him one of the most soulful interpreters of song in the 70s! There's a mix of modes going on here that's a bit similar to the... read more

An amazing early album from Billy Paul – the start of a rich career of sophisticated soul, and a record that really put Paul on the map right away – making him one of the most soulful interpreters of song in the 70s! There's a mix of modes going on here that's a bit similar to the... read more

An excellent early album from Billy that has him singing in a mixed jazz and soul vein, with a sound that's similar to some of Nina Simone's great live albums from the time! Billy's singing with a small piano trio, and his voice is rich and soulful in a way that you don't always get on his later... read more

A stone treasure from one of the greatest soul singers of the 70s – and a set you'll regularly find in the coolest of record collections from back in the day! Billy Paul was always one of the hippest talents on Philly International – mixing together soul and jazz influences with a... read more

A weird one, but pretty compelling. Cyril Paul is an African American folk singer – less in the mode of jazz/soul folkies like Terry Callier or Oscar Brown, than in the style of the New York/Boston new traditionalists of the early 60s. At most levels, the album's a straight folk one –... read more

A landmark album from Freda Payne! Freda had been knocking around a bit as a more jazz-oriented singer, and had cut one album for Impulse and one for MGM before this one – but when she hooked up with the hitmaking Holland-Dozier-Holland team for this record, her career really went over the... read more

Killer early work from Freda Payne – an early album recorded for MGM many years before her later hit "Band Of Gold" – and a set with a great mix of soul and jazz modes, all arranged by the mighty Benny Golson! The record's got a really classy feel – one that has a lot... read more

It's a few years after Freda's big hit "Band of Gold", and she's recording here in a very different mode! The record is produced by Holland-Dozier-Holland, with arrangements by a number of different talents, like McKinley Jackson, Tony Camillo, and Michael Smith – and the overall... read more

A wonderful chapter in the career of Freda Payne – a gem of a set recorded for Capitol – and put together a sweet modern soul groove, thanks to tight production work from the legendary Skip Skarborough! Skip's getting a bit of help here from David Crawford on arrangements, who brings... read more

Mindblowing funk from one of the greatest combos on the New York scene of the early 70s – Pazant Brothers Eddie & Al, heard here on a host of their greatest recordings! The package goes way past any other Pazant reissues we've seen – and features not only work from the group's... read more

One of the best albums by offbeat jazz singer Annette Peacock – one with a loose, very innovative vibe in arrangements – with some pretty darn cool electronics! Annette not only has a strong voice, she's fearlessly creative in her use of it – and on this album, her vocals are... read more

A heck of a cool group – with a really wonderful sound! The Peddlers were a late 60s British trio, with a sound that's part soul, part jazz, part supper-club vocals – all done with a clean, clear, hard-grooving approach – and strong instrumentation that often includes a heavy... read more

Easily our favorite album ever by Ann Peebles – not just for the beathead title track, but also because it seems to be the one record where she brings a bit something extra to the studio! The sound is certainly in the classic Hi Records mode here – thanks to production by Willie... read more

Easily our favorite album ever by Ann Peebles – not just for the beathead title track, but also because it seems to be the one record where she brings a bit something extra to the studio! The sound is certainly in the classic Hi Records mode here – thanks to production by Willie... read more

A great litle early album from Ann Peebles – rawer than most of her more familiar stuff, with a gutbuckety soul quality that really keeps things fresh! Willie Mitchell produced and arranged (of course!), and the record's got some sweet backing vocals by Rhodes, Chalmers, & Rhodes –... read more

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As perfect a summation of the Teddy Pendergrass genius as you'll ever hope to find – a magnificent maturation of that incredible sound he first forged with Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, set forth in even more confident, sophisticated soul territory! As with the Melvin albums, there's a... read more

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A tremendous discovery in soul music – previously unreleased demos from the legendary Dan Penn – one of the key songwriters in the Fame Studios/Muscle Shoals scene of the 60s! Dan's tunes had an undeniable impact on southern soul for decades to come – yet Penn hardly issued any... read more

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A great bit of moogy madness! The Peppers were a bit like Hot Butter and other early 70s moog-based combos, but they also had a style that was a bit more funky – and was geared more towards the soul market, in which most of their singles usually travelled. This album's one of the group's... read more

A long-overdue collection of smooth 80s soul from the lovely Perri – a female vocal quartet who cut a few albums for MCA years back, and who have reemerged in recent years as Anita Baker's backup group! On their own, though, the Perri sisters are a heck of a great outfit – one of the... read more

Sublime vocals from the legendary Phil Perry – still sounding wonderful after all these many years, and getting some great contemporary help from producer Chris "Big Dog" Davis! The album's got a sweet-stepping vibe that really lets Perry shine – a warm sound that reminds us... read more

One of the best things to ever happen to The Persuaders – a wonderfully rich album that has the group still sparkling strongly, long after their early hits! The harmonies are wonderful – very much on par with the bigger names at Philly International at the time – and recorded... read more

One of the best things to ever happen to The Persuaders – a wonderfully rich album that has the group still sparkling strongly, long after their early hits! The harmonies are wonderful – very much on par with the bigger names at Philly International at the time – and recorded... read more

The second album by this sublime 70s soul harmony group – and a real treasure trove of under-discovered soul numbers all the way through! Most tracks are written by group member Bobby Poindexter – making for a fresh, unified batch of tunes – handled by the quartet in a style that'... read more

The second album by this sublime 70s soul harmony group – and a real treasure trove of under-discovered soul numbers all the way through! Most tracks are written by group member Bobby Poindexter – making for a fresh, unified batch of tunes – handled by the quartet in a style that'... read more

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Unlike a lot of the group's other records from the early 70s – most of which are all-acapella – this one features the group's rich harmony vocals backed by some heavier funk arrangements. Far from wrecking their sound, this approach actually makes them sound a lot better – and... read more

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George Clinton may have pretty well disbanded Parliament and Funkadelic by the time the 80s came around, but the Mothership is still soaring highly on this first album from the P-Funk All Stars project – featuring some (but not all) of George Clinton's better players from various groups! ... read more

The great Luv N' Haight album of unreleased material by legendary Chicago soul jazz group Pharaohs – live tracks that serve as a vital document of the group outside the studio! There's 5 long tracks here, 4 of them recorded live, plus an unreleased gem from the Awakening sessions. Standouts... read more

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... read more

One of the deepest soul sets from Esther Phillips' 70s years on Kudu Records – a set with some nicely gritty grooves and a surprisingly earthy feel at times – especially when compared to some of her other albums of the time! Backings are by James Brown's old reedman, Pee Wee Ellis... read more

One of the deepest soul sets from Esther Phillips' 70s years on Kudu Records – a set with some nicely gritty grooves and a surprisingly earthy feel at times – especially when compared to some of her other albums of the time! Backings are by James Brown's old reedman, Pee Wee Ellis... read more

A pretty amazing, and too long overlooked set from Esther Phillips – here final album for Kudu – and a beautiful mix of soaring soul sounds from one the most unique, emotionally inflected and diverse soul vocalists of her era! Esther's in prime Kudu mode here – working with jazzy... read more

Some of our favorite work ever by Esther Phillips – served up on a compilation that does a great job of sorting through her classic 70s sides for Kudu, CTI, and Mercury! Back in the 60s, Esther sung in a sad and bluesy sort of soul style – but in the 70s, at the time of these... read more

One of our favorite-ever albums from Esther Phillips – an album that really helped her transform her sound for the 70s! The approach here is a lot more jazzy than before – served up with a good dose of funk, thanks to arrangements from Pee Wee Ellis – fresh from his work with... read more

Not a live album – as you might think from the title – but a tight batch of tunes that shows the full funk and soul talents of the legendary Esther Phillips! The album's got a nicely dark undercurrent at times – a sound that's not as smooth as some of Esther's other Kudu albums... read more

Not a live album – as you might think from the title – but a tight batch of tunes that shows the full funk and soul talents of the legendary Esther Phillips! The album's got a nicely dark undercurrent at times – a sound that's not as smooth as some of Esther's other Kudu albums... read more

Not as completely sublime as some of Phillips' other records from the 70s, but with some jazzy touches that takes it past the hippy folk sound, into the farther reaches of the cosmic soul universe. Includes the jazzy instrumental "Planscape", which has a heavy fusion groove – plus... read more

Group soul from The Philly Devotions – a key group in the evolution of the Philly sound who were then and are to this day greatly overlooked in the city's soul heritage – but it's truly beautiful stuff! This is vocal group with talent that should have gotten them over in big way, but... read more

Featuring Mickey Oliver, Ralph Rosario, Pierre and others.... read more

One of the biggest 70s moments from underground club maestro Patrick Adams – an amazing talent who's best known for his work on his own P&P family of record labels – but who steps out here with an even tighter sound! The album's brimming with the sorts of sweet moogy touches that... read more

One of the biggest 70s moments from underground club maestro Patrick Adams – an amazing talent who's best known for his work on his own P&P family of record labels – but who steps out here with an even tighter sound! The album's brimming with the sorts of sweet moogy touches that... read more

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An overlooked gem from Wilson Pickett – recorded in the post-Atlantic years, and with some great funky moments mixed in with those undeniably soulful vocals from the Wicked Pickett! Arrangements are by Brad Shapiro, who works the same magic here with Wilson that he did with a handful of... read more

There's no knocking Wilson Pickett here – as his funky groove is still right on the money, set up in some sweet Muscle Shoals arrangements, at a level that's right up there with his first recordings for Atlantic Records! Production is by Brad Shapiro and Dave Crawford, who bring in a few... read more