Funky Compilations — All Formats  

An incredible peek into a near-lost chapter of Chicago soul – the tiny Bandit label, home to The Majestic Arrows, one of the greatest indie harmony groups of the midwest in the 70s – plus a few other excellent soul artists! As with the other Eccentric Soul volume from Numero, this one offers far more than just an assortment of rare singles – and instead really digs deep to tell the true story of this tiny indie soul label. The music alone is totally great – as the set features a wealth of harmony soul tracks by The Majestic Arrows, plus other funk and soul tracks by Johnny Davis, Altyrone Deno Brown, and Linda Balintine – but the package is equally noteworthy – filled with the storied details of the unusual and exotic practices and lifestyles of the Bandit Records posse. The set features 17 full tracks – including "One More Time Around", "Another Day", "Doing It For Us", "Love Is All I Need", "Going To Make A Time Machine", "We Love Together", "The Magic Of Your Love", and "I'll Never Cry For Another Boy" by The Majestic Arrows; "We Have Love" and "Bring Back The One I Love" by The Arrows; "If You Love Me" and "Sweet Pea" by Altyrone Deno Brown; "You're A Habit Hard To Break" and "Glad About That" by Linda Balintine; and "You've Got To Crawl To Me" and "Boogedy Boogedy" by Johnny Davis. Plus, the set also features 3 rehearsal takes of tunes by the Majestic Arrows!

Funky soul, righteous jazz, and hip production made the Flying Dutchman label one of the greatest imprints of the early 70s! The label was the brainchild of producer Bob Thiele, and was a post-60s project to bring together unheard voices in African American culture – recording heavily in a number of genres that included jazz, funk, soul, and Latin – cutting records that were destined to become instant classics, most of which are still pretty darn influential today! This set does a great job of starting to unpack the wealth of work on Flying Dutchman – bringing together tracks by a few familiar acts, and other lesser-known artists, a few who have rarely been reissued. Titles include "Carnavalito" and "Maria Domingas" by Gato Barbieri, "Mama" and "Chains Of Love" by Esther Marrow", "Baja Bossa" by Oliver Nelson, "Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get" by Pretty Purdie, "Save The Children" and "I Think I'll Call It Morning" by Gil Scott Heron, "The Creator Has A Master Plan" by Louis Armstrong & Leon Thomas, "Echoes" by Leon Thomas, and "Footprints" and "Astral Travelin" by Lonnie Liston Smith.

An absolute treasure trove of rare soul singles from Pied Piper Productions – a mid 60s Detroit soul operation that features Funk Brothers Jack Ashford, Joe Hunter, and Mike Terry – laying down sounds that rival the best Motown groovers of the period! The work is amazing throughout – soul cuts heavily focused on the groove and amazing lead vocals – recorded in ways that are similar to the best of Detroit at the time, but with some rawer aspects too – which makes for a massive package of Northern Soul gems! The package features both solo singers and great groups too – artists who include Lorraine Chandler, The Hesitations, September Jones, The Cavaliers, Willie Kendrick, Nancy Wilcox, and – heard here on rare singles and LP tracks that were originally released on labels like Karate, Kapp, Ruby and Giant – plus a number of recently unearthed titles that are seeing release for the first time ever! The set features 24 tracks in all, and the usual superb Kent notes and packaging – with titles that include "I Can't Hold On" by Lorraine Chandler, "Stuttering Sam" by September Jones, "Gambler's Blues" by Nancy Wilcox, "This Heart Is Lonely" by Rose Batiste, "Just Can't Leave You" by Tony Hesher, "Could It Be" by Micki Farrow, "I Fell In Love (Can't Help It)" by Freddy Butler, "He'll Be Leaving You" by The Pied Piper Players, "If Only You Knew" by Mike & Ray, "Time Changes Things" by Willie Kendrick, and "Lonely Too Long" by The Sandpipers.

Mellow soul galore – and a killer set of overlooked tracks, plucked from their recent revival on the always-great Chicago steppers scene! The package has a great late night soul feel that goes back to the late 60s and early 70s – very laidback and chilled out, with lots of ballad tracks and sweet, gentle groovers of the sort that really take us back! There's a few more modern tunes on the set, mostly from the early 80s – but overall, there's a really solid early 70s style to the compilation – with tracks that include "If" by The Lovehorn, "I've Got To See You Right Away" by Jeff Perry, "Tell Me What Cha Gonna Do" by General Crook, "Ain't That Love" by Infernal Blues Machine, "I Bet He Don't Love You" by The Intruders, "There's Another On Your Mind" by The Imaginations, "I Want You" by Wilson Pickett, "Pop" by The Limit, "What More Can I Ask For" by The Star-tels, and "You Know You Want To Be Loved" by Keith Barrow.

The world needs changing – and plenty of these tunes may well do it – thanks to infectious grooves and some very righteous message-oriented lyrics! The set's a great document of the positive, progressive energy going down in soul music during the heady days of the late 60s and early 70s – a time when the country was changing heavily, and the music was as well – moving into new styles, themes, and ideas – expressed here by a hip batch of cats who were working on some of the best indie labels of the underground! This set offers up a great mix of cool cuts from a variety of sources – a few gems from the Flying Dutchman label, some other obscure 45s, and even a few southern soul numbers that fit surprisingly well with the northern vibe of most of these numbers. Titles include "Walk Tall" by Esther Marrow, "Get Ready/Uptight" by Little Eva Harris, "All Power To The People (part 1)" by Joe Savage & The Soul People, "Soul Patrol" by The Original Soul Patrol, "Do It (inst)" by Johnny Griffith, "The World Needs Changin" by Hank Jacobs & Don Malone, "Sea Saw Affair" by Cesar 830, "Love Tones" by Melvin Sparks, "That's The Way It Goes" by Elaine Armstrong, "This Is The Me Me" by Brenda Jones with Groove Holmes, "Sissy Strut N American Woman" by The Willard Posey Reunion, and "Rudypoot" by Huck & The Soul Patrol.

A killer batch of funk from the RCA family of labels – long-neglected in the world of reissues, and finally stepping out with this ultra heavy set! The package does a really great job of pulling together disparate elements of funk from the RCA catalog – a bit of jazz vocals, electric fusion, cosmic soul, and rock breaks – all packed together in one nicely priced set that includes some really great surprises! Titles include "Plane Of Illusion" by Johnny Griffith, "Mama" by Esther Marrow, "No More Tears" by Loading Zone, "Afro Strut" by Nite Liters, "Save Me" by Nina Simone, "Tite Rope" by Harold Alexander, "Got To Get A Knutt" by New Birth, "This Is The Me Me" by Richard Groove Holmes & Brenda Jones, "What's Going On/Ain't No Sunshine" by Bernard Purdie, "Happiness Is Just Around The Bend" by Main Ingredient, and "We Getting Down" by Weldon Irvine. 16 tracks in all – and very nice!

Rough and raw grooves – way more than you might guess from the "twist" reference in the title! The sound here is more R&B than anything else – lots of heavy drums, honking sax, burning organ, and riffing guitar – but there's also some echoes of Latin rhythms, rockabilly raunch, and some 60s soul elements too – all percolating together wonderfully in a way that sounds like somebody blew the dust off a gritty pile of 45s, then filled them up to blast away in a decades-old jukebox in a tavern on the other side of the tracks! The CD version of Twistin Rumble Vol 1 collects many of the tracks from Twistin Rumble Volumes 1 & 2 vinyl – with plenty of rare gems – including "The Bonecracker" by Johnny & The Debonairs, "Sweet Bacon" by Julian Covey, "Swingin Drums" by Ronnie Kae, "King Cobra" by The Wildtones, "Driving Wheel" by Mac Sims, "Funky Onions" by Matthew Childs, "Where's My Pussycat" by Terry & The Topics, "A Little Bit Of Everything" by Jocko, "Classie's Whip" by Classie Ballou, "Do The Robot" by Marvulus Mickey, "Oh Yeah" by The El Cobras, "I Want To Know" by Merle Spears, "Carl's Dance Party" by Carl Lattimore, "Cruise" by The Ambertones, "Big Bo's Iron Horse" by Big Bo & The Arrows, "Sha Ba Dah" by Higgs & Wilson, "Rooster Knees & Rice" by Clarence & Calvin, and "Hornet's Nest" by Curtis Knight. 29 tracks in all.

Heavy funk from the deeper EMI catalog – packaged with a Blue Note label, but featuring gems from a wealth of related labels too! The assortment of styles here is really wonderful – and runs from gritty deep funk, to warmer soul jazz, to some sweet 70s groovers with a really slinky feel – all laid out in a way that really makes sense, and hardly lets you feel like you're jumping around from genre to genre! Titles include "Momma" by Ronnie Foster, "Keep Your Eye On The Sparrow (Baretta's Theme)" by Earl Klugh, "Bring Down The Birds" by Herbie Hancock, "Shack Up (parts 1 & 2)" by Banbara, "Funkier Than A Mosquito's Tweeter" by Ike & Tina Turner, "Daisy Mae" by Raul De Souza, "You Are The World" by Donald Byrd, "Movin" by Brass Construction, "Punch Bowl" by Alan Parker, "Ain't It Funky Now" by Jimmy McGriff, "Color Blind" by Maze, "Communication" by Bobby Womack, "Funky Sneakers" by Willie Bobo, "Funky In Here" by Willard Burton, and "Street Lady" by Donald Byrd. 18 cuts in all!

Funky nuggets from a vastly under-tapped source – the mighty holdings of Warner Music, which include some great funky singles from Atlantic, Atco, and Reprise – as well as even deeper gems on a batch of obscure labels like Kwanza and Clintone! The package is totally great – with a heavy, hard edge that goes way past the more famous soul tunes on Atlantic – into the deeper funky territory normally reserved for smaller indie labels at the time. A few tracks on here are by well-known acts, but there's a lot more that aren't – and this all-legit, well-noted collection kicks it far better than any old dodgy funky 45 set! 25 fantastic cuts in all, including "Improve" by Darrow Fletcher, "I'm Just Like You" by 6ix, "Rise Up" by The Commodores (pre-Motown!), "Help Me Make Up My Mind" by Joyce Jones, "Do The Funky Boogaloo (part 1)" by Barry Jones, "Mashed Potato Popcorn" by Freddie & The Kinfolk, "Get In The Groove" by The Mighty Hannibal, "Funky John" by Johnny Cameron & The Camerons, "The Memphis Train" by Rufus Thomas, "I'm On The Move" by Bobby Byrd, "Whatever's Fair" by Mark Holder & The Positives, "Hang On In There" by Stovall Sisters, "Won't Nobody Listen" by Black Haze Express, and "Your Love Is Certified" by Rasputin's Stash.