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A soulful set of swinging jazz vocals – and one of a handful of rare albums cut by singer Joan Shaw in the 60s! The set's got some great backings from the Herman Foster Trio – who give the whole thing a Chess/Argo sort of vibe – with plenty of soul jazz undercurrents beneath the... read more

An excellent set of sophisticated soul cuts from Marlena Shaw – and a album that more than lives up to the title! Marlena really sparkles here – thanks to impeccable arrangements by Wade Marcus that perfectly mix together jazz and soul – finding that unique space that Shaw and a... read more

Soaring soul from Marlena Shaw – her last recording for Blue Note, and a set that points the way towards her bigger fame to come at Columbia Records! Like some of her previous sets, there's definitely still some jazzy elements in the mix – yet the overall sound is much more fully... read more

A classic! This is one of the best-ever albums by the legendary Marlena Shaw – and it's a tremendous live set that really lives up to the righteous promise of her earlier work on Cadet Records! The album was cut with a small combo, and the overall feel is incredibly hip – a mixture of... read more

A classic! This is one of the best-ever albums by the legendary Marlena Shaw – and it's a tremendous live set that really lives up to the righteous promise of her earlier work on Cadet Records! The album was cut with a small combo, and the overall feel is incredibly hip – a mixture of... read more

A brilliant return to form for Marlena Shaw – one of the first albums in years to truly capture her wonderful sound from years back! The album's a simple, no-nonsense set that has Marlena singing with a small combo that includes some great piano and Fender Rhodes from David Hazeltine –... read more

At last! Someone's finally gone and put together a real collection of Marlena Shaw's fantastic jazzy soul work! Sure, there's been other compilations out on the market – but this one's the real deal, and spans her years at Chess/Cadet, Blue Note, and Columbia – years that saw Marlena... read more

Marlena Shaw's first-ever album – and while not as all-out righteous as some of her later work, still a really unique record that quickly put Marlena head and shoulders above the rest of the pack! The record's a mix of jazzy vocal numbers and heavier soul tunes – arranged by Richard... read more

An amazing batch of sophisticated soul tracks – and a favorite with the righteous groove scene! On the surface, the record's a combination of jazz and soul tracks in the same mode that you'd find on some of Nancy Wilson's albums for Capitol during the same time – but digging deeper,... read more

A great record from the mid 70s – one that has Marlena Shaw further developing her style as a sophisticated soul diva with a sharp modern edge! Although already great in the 60s, Shaw emerges here as an all-adult, all-woman singer – dealing with issues that never would have gotten... read more

Beautiful early 70s Muscle Shoals recordings from Bobby Sheen – songs cut at Fame, Widget and Broadway Sound studios in the famed city – material that sounds as great to us as much of the best southern soul of the era! Bobby had been cutting terrific material as far back as the 50s,... read more

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The first album by Shotgun – one of the many major label funk groups who flourished briefly at the end of the 70s. The group have a harder sound than most of this nature – with plenty of guitars in the mix, and an overall heavier sound than you'd expect from an effort of this type. In... read more

Quite possibly the greatest album ever from Side Effect – a wonderful set that mixes their soulful harmonies with some killer jazz funk from Wayne Henderson! The album may be the most perfect realization of the groove that Henderson was going for during his At Home Productions years –... read more

Quite possibly the greatest album ever from Side Effect – a wonderful set that mixes their soulful harmonies with some killer jazz funk from Wayne Henderson! The album may be the most perfect realization of the groove that Henderson was going for during his At Home Productions years –... read more

One of Ben Sidran's biggest records from the 70s – a smooth combination of jazz, fusion, soul, and a bit of New Orleans groove! There's still a very unique feel to Sidran's music here – a sense of personality that really makes the whole thing sparkle – and which keeps the record... read more

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A bit smoother than Ben's earlier albums – but a great little set all the way through – and about as classic as you can get for Sidran in the 70s! The album's got a bit more soul in the mix, but still has some jazzy elements in the backings – and where things were sometimes... read more

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... read more

Spare genius from the legendary Labi Siffre – a record without categorization, and one that sits beautifully between soul, folk, and singer-songwriter styles of the early 70s! The record balances perfectly between simple tunes that just feature voice and guitar, and more complicated ones... read more

An incredible record from Labi Siffre – spare, simple, and totally beautiful – in a space beyond category! The album is the sort that should have been a real standout in the 70s – early work by one of the freshest songwriters to hit the British scene, sung in a style that's a bit... read more

From what we can remember, Bunny's been singing since the late 60s. Still, perhaps he forgot about his career for labels like Philly International, which might explain the title of this album. The tracks here follow on that earlier work, but they do have more of the uptempo disco sound that... read more

One of Bunny's earliest, and one of his best. Although some of the tracks have an uptempo pre-disco feel, there's none of the excesses of his later albums for Gold Mind. Instead, there's a solid Philly soul groove, and great production by Bunny, with arrangements by Norman Harris and Ronnie Baker.... read more

One of the best of Bunny Sigler's disco albums – a classic pairing with a the group Instant Funk, and a record that helped define the second generation of the Philly groove! Bunny's still got some of the sweeter touches of earlier years, but he also comes across with a much fuller vocal... read more

Great uptown early Philly soul album from the late 60's, featuring the talents of a young Bunny Sigler before he got tied up making too many uptempo records. The record features arrangements by Joe Renzetti – in a sweet uptown style that brings out a lot in Bunny's young vocals. Includes... read more

Great work by Bunny Sigler – and a perfect bridge between his earlier Philly soul from the late 60s, and his later disco from the end of the 70s! Bunny's in perfect form vocally – and the record is a super-strong batch of tracks that deserves to be well up there in the Gamble/Huff... read more

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The Silver Convention are still recording in Germany here, but they're getting some great help from John Monster Davis – who seems to warm the grooves up a bit more than before, and give the album a nicely needed dose of soul! The song format is similar to their hits – three lead... read more

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This is the kind of Italian disco we can get our ears around! Bebu Silvetti is on keyboards, and at the helm of the orchestra – working here like an Italian Barry White, on a groove that's very similar to the best work of the Love Unlimited Orchestra. The tracks have a harder focus on the... read more

Soaring grooves from Bebu Silvetti – a set that definitely has the disco touches you'd expect on the Salsoul label, but which also seems to pick up a few soundtracky styles as well! Some tunes are upbeat and grooving, with a great blend of strings and beats – the kind that Silvetti... read more

One of the best collections of work by Joe Simon we've ever seen – a well-done 26 track set that really pulls together the best cuts from his years at Sound Stage Seven! Joe was unusual in that he was a country singer working out of Nashville, not Memphis, at the end of the 60s – but... read more

A real standout 70s set from Nina Simone – a one-off date for CTI Records, done with a sound that's different than her earlier work for RCA, Philips, and Colpix! The groove here is often as soul-based as it is vocal jazz – thanks to arrangements from David Matthews, who brings a... read more

Quite possibly the greatest music that Nina Simone ever recorded – brought together beautifully in one compact yet complete set! Nina Simone recorded some great music before she hit the RCA label in the late 60s – but her time at that company really saw a flowering of her unique... read more

Wonderful work by Nina – the kind of record that once made purists turn up their noses, but which is now being rediscovered as a unique jazz/soul crossover album, filled with loads of nice moments! The instrumentation's pretty darn interesting – and includes sitar, harp, Spanish guitar... read more

One of Nina's first for RCA – a mixture of jazz and soul tunes handled with some classy arrangements by Sammy Lowe, most of which feature nice electric bass work at the bottom by Gene Taylor! Taylor's bass gives the tracks a nice "dip" that's not exactly funky, but does provide a... read more

A landmark album from Nina – one that broke down countless barriers with the classic tune "Four Women" – a righteous portrait of 4 different women and their struggles, unique for its time, and a key part of the early Women's Liberation movement! The rest of the album has a... read more

A sweet early album from Sister Sledge – a great transformation of an earlier girl soul sound into a fuller, more mature disco mode for the 70s – all served up with a freshness that's quite appealing if you only know their later hits! Production is by Tony Silvester and Bert De Coteaux... read more

The first-ever full length collection of work by The Sisters Love – an ultra-hip female soul group who cut some incredibly funky singles, but never issued a full album – finally given their due in this amazing batch of singles from the late 60s and early 70s! The Sisters Love sound is... read more

Skyy are soaring high at this point – they've dropped the space suits, but still have the heavy bass, and all those cosmic production touches that put them at the forefront of the new sound of 80s funk. The album's prehaps not as strong as some of their others for Salsoul, but still keeps... read more

A stone classic from Skyy – one of those groups who virtually helped invent 80s groove! Like the best of the genre – such as Slave, BB&Q Band, and others – Skyy have a soulful approach that goes way past the simple cliches that other groups were so content to only muddle... read more

A stone classic from Skyy – one of those groups who virtually helped invent 80s groove! Like the best of the genre – such as Slave, BB&Q Band, and others – Skyy have a soulful approach that goes way past the simple cliches that other groups were so content to only muddle... read more

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A key early classic from Slave – as the set features the group's first work with drummer Steve Arrington, who not only opened up their rhythmic concept, but also gave them a great new sound on lead vocals! Arrington's approach here is very much in the spirit of Slave's first 2 records –... read more

A bit later than classic vintage for Slave – although most of the group's best elements are still in place! The combo's down to a quartet by this point – one that relies a bit more than before on electric percussion for their rhythms – but the overall focused Slave sound is still... read more

Non-stop grooving from Slave – a record that has them losing the lead talents of Steve Arrington, but not missing a beat! As with Showtime, the sound here is a nicely smoothed-out approach to the bassy funk the group helped forge at the end of the 70s – a more soul-based sound that... read more

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Warm and tender, but pretty darn rootsy too – a beautiful illustration of the sound that made Percy Sledge one of the deepest soul singers to record for Atlantic in the 60s! Sledge has this raspy power that grabs us right from the start – that quality that made his music resonate... read more

A stone classic from Percy Sledge – and a set that really put southern soul on the map! Along with the familiar title hit – one of those tunes you'll recognize instantly – the album's a treasure trove of deep soul numbers – done under the supervision of Quin Ivy, in... read more

One of the many Philly-based, club-oriented projects that centered around Butch Ingram and the Ingram family during the late 70s – Slick have an approach that takes long grooves, builds them out instrumentally, adding in a fair bit of keyboards and moog, like some of the Canadian groups of... read more

Features two tracks from Higher – the upcoming box set – one of them previously unreleased – plus a previously unreleased instrumental medley created for the band’s appearance on the Merv Griffin show! Includes "Medley Music Lover/I Want To Take You Higher/Music Lover... read more

Sly Stone's definitely back on the right track here – returning to the heights of his earlier powers in this late 70s comeback album for Warner Brothers! The record's got a lot of touches of the old Sly funky sound, but it's done in a slightly tighter style too – a bit more polish than... read more

Hard to find a stronger early album by Sly – as this one has him still funking hard, but also getting his soul bag together a bit more, hitting some really righteous vibes that mix together politics and partying in an incredibly seductive way. The album's filled with anthemic numbers like... read more

A nice little album from the enigmatic Sly Slick & Wicked – a soul trio who recorded for James Brown on the People label, but who are probably best known for this one-off album on Ju-Par! The group's got a great sound that's in the Detroit mid 70s mode – raw vocal touches, ala... read more

Early work from Smash – a group that included the core of DeBarge before they went onto bigger fame! Oddly, the album was first issued in Germany in 1977, but made its US debut here on Source – about time, too, as the record's a nice blend of funky tunes and the sweeter pop soul you'd... read more

A rich document of the talents of Huey Piano Smith – a set that not only features some of his classic work for Ace Records in the US, but which also includes some key performances on other folks' records too! Huey's piano is at the forefront of most of the tracks here, even when the vocals... read more

Great late 70s work from Jimmy Smith – two albums back to back on a single CD! One of our favorite later albums from organist Jimmy Smith – and a set that cooks heavily in a wicked blend of jazz, funk, and soul! The style's a bit like the groove that Johnny Hammond hit during his... read more

Righteous jazz, with plenty of soul – a killer collection of the mid 70s work of Lonnie Liston Smith – all based around his legendary recordings for the Flying Dutchman label! Lonnie got his start on the hippest side of the jazz spectrum – including work with Pharoah Sanders on... read more

Lonnie Liston Smith grooves it hard here with his Cosmic Echoes group – mixing in a stronger dose of soul than ever before, yet still giving tracks a righteous feel overall! The approach here is a bit like that of Roy Ayers work from the 70s – still jazzy at its core and conception,... read more

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A bit bluesy, a bit funky, and pretty raunchy all the way through – as you might expect from the name of the group! The group are a Johnny Otis side project from the late 60s – and the record's got lots of the weird funky touches of Johnny's own work of the time, all done at a nicely... read more

A 70s classic from Phoebe Snow – one of those records that it seemed like everybody had to own back in the day – and for good reason! Phoebe's vocals are wonderful – laidback, but inflected with plenty of personality – at times kind of hovering in a 70s space between Minnie... read more

Fairly mainstream disco influenced grooves from poducer/session musician Gino Soccio. This album's got his big hit "Try It Out", plus five other stretched out grooves, in the same vein: "Street Talk", "(It's Been) Too Long", "Hold Tight", "Love Is"... read more

Sweet east coast harmony group soul, in a classic 70s style, and with nice backing by Van McCoy. The vibe's the same as some of the best Stylistics records from the time, and this one's an essential complement to any collection of records in that style. The Softones later made stuff with more of... read more

An unusual split album – and one that features excellent work from two great vocal groups from the east coast scene – both of them working here in a great mix of groovers and laidback mellow cuts! Both The Softones and First Class issued albums on their own – but their cuts here... read more

Late 70s dancefloor soul from Soiree – a rare disco set featuring clubby revisions of huge hits of the day and earlier, with massive talent in the group! The sound is bright and grooving, and heck of a lot more endearing than so many of the disco era remake projects, and most impressively,... read more

A beautiful, beautiful little record – as righteous and soulful as some of the best spiritual jazz classics of the 70s – and arguably even rarer, as it was only issued on a tiny label from Atlanta! Solar have a sound that uses 3 female lead vocalists in chorus formation – one... read more

A beautiful, beautiful little record – as righteous and soulful as some of the best spiritual jazz classics of the 70s – and arguably even rarer, as it was only issued on a tiny label from Atlanta! Solar have a sound that uses 3 female lead vocalists in chorus formation – one... read more

Group soul album with male vocals and a sound that's a bit like some of the stuff on Buddah or Philly International. The album's a mix of midtempo cuts and ballads, with the tracks "I'm The Real Thing", "Just Another Song", "Woman In My Life", and "Magic In My... read more

Beautiful material from this legendary Bay Area soul jazz combo! The Sons & Daughters of Lite have an incredibly spiritual sound – one that sounds sort of like the best groups on the Strata East label, with touches of Roy Ayers or James Mason-esque soulfulness, but with a little less... read more

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The seminal first album from the SOS Band – a record that really showcases the new sound of soul for the 80s, yet still holds onto all the best elements of the previous decade too! These guys have a great ear for groovers – well-demonstrated by the play they got on the dancefloor... read more

A surprisingly nice little album by the SOS Band – with better soul vocals than some of their earlier releases, in a way that pushes past the usual slap-bass funk! The best tracks have a sweetly jazzy sound to them – thanks in party to producers Ricky Sylvers and Gene Dozier, who... read more

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Incredible work from a group who've definitely earned their name! Naming a group SOUL might be suicide for a band that can't carry off the groove – but these guys are funky monsters, with a real talent for a hard heavy sound that was rarely matched by other combos. The band have a great... read more

Quite possibly the best album ever from this fantastic funky combo! The band grooves hard and funky – with incredible drum work from Paul Stubblefield, tasty guitar from Walter Winston, and some famous funky flute and sax work from Gus Hawkins. Tracks on the album are rough and raw –... read more

Incredible work from a group who've definitely earned their name! Naming a group SOUL might be suicide for a band that can't carry off the groove – but these guys are funky monsters, with a real talent for a hard heavy sound that was rarely matched by other combos. The band have a great... read more

Essential! When this one came out at the end of the 80's, it not only restored our faith in modern soul music, but it also drew the world's attention to the rich rich talents that had been bubbling under in London's mid 80's rare groove scene. The record's a classic, and most of the tracks still... read more

One the all time great funky albums of the 70s – a mad little record with a sense of rhythm and timing that was years ahead of its time! The Soul Searchers (along with Chuck Brown) later became known for their heavy-hitting Go Go work at the end of the decade – but here, they're a... read more

One the all time great funky albums of the 70s – a mad little record with a sense of rhythm and timing that was years ahead of its time! The Soul Searchers (along with Chuck Brown) later became known for their heavy-hitting Go Go work at the end of the decade – but here, they're a... read more

One of those "studio groups play instrumental versions of soul hits" albums that were so popular at the time. Most of the stuff's fairly standard soul instrumental material – like "Soul Man", "Sidewinder", "Pata Pata", and "Cold Sweat" –... read more

A surprisingly nice record by the group who scored big in the late 60s with "Expressway to Your Heart" – and who continued to be one of the best blue eyed soul acts working on the east coast! This album's the group's second, done for Gamble & Huff at Philly International –... read more

A great little record – and perhaps the most soulful outing by this white rock band with a great talent for crossing over! The record was partially produced by Gamble & Huff, and partially produced by Rick Hall at Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals – and it's a wonderful blend of the... read more

Hip hip stuff from Richard Evans and the gang at Cadet Records! The record is the second outing by The Soulful Strings – a group that kind of started as a studio side project, but who became a surprisingly popular act during the late 60s. The album includes some excellent original tunes by... read more

Seminal instrumental groovers from the Chicago Chi-soul scene! This great group was led by Chess/Cadet soul arranger Richard Evans, and it featured many of the instrumentalists who made Chess records so great – like Cleveland Eaton, Charles Stepney, Morris Jennings, and Phil Upchurch. The... read more

Given that the Soulful Strings were really just a studio side project of the Chi soul arranger Richard Evans, it seems sort of strange to have them cut a live LP, but the session, recorded at Chicago's London House, works quite well, and has a bit more lively feel than some of their classic studio... read more

One of the grooviest albums ever cut by Richard Evans' Soulful Strings, and a tasty batch of tracks written by Gamble & Huff, years before they started the Philly International label. The tracks are great, with the kind of arrangements that made Evans a legend in the Chi soul scene – and... read more

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Pre-Philly magic from The Spinners – a wonderful early album recorded for Motown – done with a heady Detroit sound that's quite different than their later work in the 70s! The album already has the group sounding amazing on the harmonic tip – definitely a cut above the groups... read more

The group's past the true glory of their early Philly days, but they are still working here with Thom Bell – who's keeping up the strident groove approach that always worked well with the group's harmonies. Includes the tracks "One Man Wonderful Band", "Once You Fall In... read more

An album in the kind of "between the hits" years for The Spinners featuring lead vocalist Phillipe Wynne. The sound here isn't as right-on or soaringly confident as in earlier years – but there are some nice moments. Titles include "You're All I Need In Life", "Toni... read more

A sweetly grooving set from The Spinners – one that moves along nicely at the midtempo clip the "trippin" in the title might imply – thanks to production and arrangements from Michael Zager! Zager nicely puts aside some of his more disco-oriented modes here – keeping... read more

About as classic as you can get for The Spinners – and one of the group's marvelous 70s collaborations with the mighty Thom Bell! Before hooking up with Philly, The Spinners were already a wonderful vocal group – but here, in the hands of Bell, they hit a sound that's completely... read more

A sweet sweet set from The Spinners – and a record that's more "today" than "yesterday", given the tight 70s arrangements from Thom Bell! Bell's Philly approach is still perfect for the group – unlocking their harmonies in very different ways than back in their... read more

An incredible relic of the righteous underground of the late 60s from the Spirit House Movers – and one of the few classic albums on the Jihad label! The group was a vocal group of sorts – sometimes singing, sometimes rapping in a Last Poets-styled way – often doing both at the... read more

Totally great – and a record you probably know nothing about! The album's one of the greatest ever to come out of the Hotlanta scene of the 70s – a tight batch of funk tracks with a heck of a lot of guitar. The set was produced by Tommy Stewart, of "Bump and Hustle" fame... read more

Rare soul from singer Bill Spoon – an artist who only ever issued a few singles, but steps out here with a wealth of previously-unissued tracks! Bill hails from Alabama, but also ended up in Memphis and LA – and the styles here definitely showcase that journey – an evolving... read more