Funky Compilations — All Formats  

Stormin soul – and a killer set of upbeat 60s numbers! The package was put together for the UK mod scene, but it's a great batch of American tracks from the classic years of soul – not really Northern, not really southern – but kind of a hard-swinging approach to the music that makes for a really lively package overall! The set's got 20 tracks in all, all thumpin, bumpin, and gruntin-type numbers – with titles that include "Do The Whoo Pee" by Sugar Pie Desanto, "Lay This Burden Down" by Mary Love, "Make Me Yours" by Bettye Swann, "I Keep Forgetting" by Chuck Jackson, "I've Got Papers On You Baby" by BB King, "Hole in The Wall" by George Stone, "Have Love Will Travel" by Richard Berry & The Pharoahs, "Keep My Woman Home" by Danny White, "Mama Julie" by Terry & Jerry, and "I Got A Woman" by Billy Hawks.

Chicago house music really takes off – in this massive collection that really documents the most experimental years in the Windy City club scene! By the mid 80s, Chicago house had already had a few years under its belt – stepping strongly forward as a revolutionary new mode of club music – stripped-down from disco, borrowing some electronics from overseas, and giving the world a fresh new vision of dancefloor sounds that would have a huge influence for decades to come! And by the end of the decade, folks were really starting to play with the format – bringing in lots of older analogue electronic sounds, dubbed "acid" for the way they burned and tweaked – and garnering the city even more interest from the UK and European scenes – who thought the name referred to drug usage, and took the cue to ignite their own waves of house-based parties on the other side of the Atlantic. While back home, Chicago artists were spurred on to experiment even more – and things went from warm and clubby to downright sci-fi – an aesthetic that's really captured strongly in this set from Soul Jazz. LP part one features the cuts "Can You Feel It" from Mr Fingers, "Hallucinate" by Acid Wash, "151" by Armando, "The Jacking Zone" by Risque Rhythm Team, "I Can't Understand" by Pleasure Zone, "Rabbit Trax 1" by James Jack Rabbit Martin, "Freedom (Factory mix)" by The Children, "Ecstasy" by Mr Fingers, and "I Believe" by A Black Man, A Black Man, & Another Black Man.

They might well call this a Beginners Guide To Blue Note Jazz Funk – given that most of the tracks here are from the hip 70s run at Blue Note Records! The vibe is wonderful – funky and soulful, but definitely with jazz at the forefront – as older soloists were finding new ways to reach their audiences through electric grooves – and younger players were making a huge name for themselves through a very inventive approach to their work! The 3CD set is a hell of a deal for the money – with 33 tracks that include loads of Blue Note gems, plus some 70s Capitol funk and soul tracks too – titles that include "As" by Gene Harris, "Dominoes" by Donald Byrd, "The Genie" by Bobby Lyle, "Down The Way" by John Lee & Gerry Brown, "Chicago Damn" by Bobbi Humphrey, "Sassy Soul Strut" by Lou Donaldson, "Think Twice" by Donald Byrd, "Tidal Wave" by Ronnie Laws, "London Town" by Light Of The World, "Windy C" by 100% Pure Poison, "Daisy Mae" by Raul De Souza, "Movin" by Brass Construction, "Prance On" by Eddie Henderson, "Music Is My Sanctuary" by Gary Bartz, "Abdullah & Abraham" by Chico Hamilton, "Cheshire Cat" by Ronnie Foster, "Funky Sneakers" by Willie Bobo, "Sunshine" by Nancy Wilson, "People Make The World Go Round" by Bobby Hutcherson, and "Sky Islands" by Caldera.

Amazing grooves from a legendary pair of labels – the ultra-funky Perception and Today Records, home of some killer sounds from the New York scene at the start of the 70s! The labels had a great ear for up-and-coming soul – especially with some of the younger groups rising up at the time – and they also used their magic to refresh the sounds of some older artists, particularly jazz musicians, who took on an ultra-funky approach at Perception – one that's made their work for the label some of the most in-demand over the years! Drums are heavy, bass is nice and fuzzy, and many of the cuts have a righteous sound that really takes off from the most progressive soul, funk, and jazz of the late 60s – pushing hard with an even heavier 70s vibe. Titles include "Brother" by Adam Wade & Johnny Pate, "Too Sad To Tell" by Debbie Taylor, "Chitlins & Chuchifritos" by Joe Thomas, "Naturally Good" by Bartel, "You & I" by Black Ivory, "I Can't Get No Higher" by The Eight Minutes, "You Owe It To Yourself" by JJ Barnes, "Get Some Of This" by Madhouse, "Honey Buns" by Bobby Rydell, "Gingele" by Astrud Gilberto, "One Life" by The Albert, "Surrender" by Black Ivory, "Wishful Thinking" by JJ Barnes, "You've Just Been Bitten" by Bartel, "Every Brother Ain't A Brother" by Joe Thomas, "Submission" by Tyrone Washington, "Boogie" by Bartel, "Alligator" by Dizzy Gillespie, "Rock Steady" by Julius Brockington, "Find The One Who Loves You" by The Eight Minutes, "A Possibility" by Wanda Robinson, and "Heritage Hum" by James Moody.

The blueprint of a generation – a set that brings together a huge amount of rare singles from the start of the 60s – most of which helped form the groove for years to come! The set's got a great early soul feel – tracks that show a genre still in formation – as bits of R&B, vocal jazz, blues, and other styles are pulled together in the new groove of the time – not yet as upbeat as the Northern Soul you'd know from a few years later – but definitely cooking with a similar sort of energy. There's plenty of numbers here to appeal to a mambo soul crowd – and titles include "You Ain't So Such A Much" by Blanche Thomas, "Feelin Kind A Lonesome" by Willie J Charles, "She Knocks Me Out" by Harold Burrage, "My Heart's On Fire" by Billy Bland, "Good Enough" by Bobby Guy, "He's The One That Rings My Bell" by Sherri Taylor, "I Think I Love You" by Helen Troy, "Little Annie" by Anna Bell Caesar, and "You Don't Have To Go" by Sam Myers.

Fantastic funky soul! The Pama label was a London-based operation in the late 60s – and they cut and licensed some very groovy tracks that mixed funk, soul, and rocksteady, and which featured artists from America, Jamaica, and England! This first volume of the label's output features one of their best-known (and heavily-sampled) tunes, the breakbeat classic "The Champ" by The Mohawks! Other great cuts include "Broadway Ain't Funky No More" by Bobby Patterson & The Mustangs, "Jerking The Dog" by The Crowns, "Baby Hold On" by The Mustangs, "Oh Babe" by The Milwaukee Coasters, "Wet Dream" by Max Romeo, "Every Day Will Be Like A Holiday" by Roy Docker, "Honey Bee" by The Classics, and "Soul Man" by Rico. Very nice, and done with a faithful reproduction of the original cover, too!

Fantastic funky soul! The Pama label was a London-based operation in the late 60s – and they cut and licensed some very groovy tracks that mixed funk, soul, and rocksteady by a variety of artists from America, Jamaica, and England! This massive look at the label features both volumes 1 and 2 of the Black Is Soul sets – previously only on vinyl, now brought together into a massive 28 track CD that's overflowing with great grooves you'd have a hard time finding otherwise on this side of the Atlantic! The whole thing's great, and titles include the funky break classic "The Champ" by The Mohawks – plus "Broadway Ain't Funky No More" by Bobby Patterson & The Mustangs, "Jerking The Dog" by The Crowns, "Baby Hold On" by The Mustangs, "Oh Babe" by The Milwaukee Coasters, "Wet Dream" by Max Romeo, "Every Day Will Be Like A Holiday" by Roy Docker, "Honey Bee" by The Classics, "Soul Man" by Rico, "History Of Africa" by The Classics, "Feel Good All Over" by Betty Lavette, "Tip Toe" by Norman T Washington, "The Good Ol Days" by Bobby Patterson, "Black Is Soul" by The Imperials, and "Since You've Been Gone" by The Crowns – plus "Sound Of The Witchdoctor", "Pepsi", and "Mony Mony" by The Mohawks,

A funk and soul treasure trove – wicked rare work from the legendary Brunswick label – most of it only issued on 45s back in the 60s and early 70s, and not reissued on CD! The package is a stunner – a real surprise that shows us there's plenty to dig for at Brunswick when you get past the hits – some wonderful Windy City soul from the late 60s, and gritty New York cuts that balance things out nicely too – and which definitely show a harder-edged side of Brunswick than you'd guess from the label's better-known tracks. There's some great obscurities here – the kind of cuts that we'd normally only find on rare 45s – like "It's Gonna Be Good" by Johnny Jones & The King Casuals, "Baby It's Time" by Marshall & The Chi-Lites, "Just A Little Misunderstanding" by Johnny Williams, "You Are" by Bobby Reed, "I Want Something To Remember You By" by Marvin Smith, "How Can You Say Goodbye" by Sidney Joe Qualls, "Once You Fall In Love" by Eddie McLoyd, "Karate Boogaloo" by The Emperors, and "Talk A Little Louder" by Wales Wallace – plus rare Brunswick material by folks you'd normally associate with other labels – like "Sweet Temptation" by Isaac Hayes, "Easy Evil" by Walter Jackson, "Since You've Been Gone" by Major Lance, and "Try Some Of Mine" by Little Richard.

Country cats, southern rockers, and even some soul-singers too – all wrapped up in a heady brew of grooves that definitely lives up to the swamp rock in the title! The package is a rich discovery of tracks from the southern scene at the start of the 70s – an amazing place where sounds were really criss-crossing at the time – not just mixing up country and redneck rock styles, but also drawing a surprising amount of influence from soul and funk too – especially the latter, given some of the massive rhythms in the set! Like the first volume, the collection is a great illustration of the way that, in the right parts of the south, boundaries were constantly being broken – as you'll hear on great tracks that include "Ruby" by Area Code 615, "Houston" by Cowboy, "For What It's Worth" by Cher, "Touch Em With Love" by Bobbie Gentry, "Sufficiently Breathless" by Captain Beyond, "Deep In Kentucky" by The Box Tops, "Lonesome & A Long Way From Home" by Earl Scruggs, "Let The South Wind Blow" by Grinderswitch, "Midnight Rider" by Gregg Allman, "The Minstrel Is Free At Last" by Barefood Jerry, "Somewhere In Between" by Bobby Lance, "No Fence Around Me" by Joe South, and "Who's Making Love" by Tony Joe White.

Country cats, southern rockers, and even some soul-singers too – all wrapped up in a heady brew of grooves that definitely lives up to the swamp rock in the title! The package is a rich discovery of tracks from the southern scene at the start of the 70s – an amazing place where sounds were really criss-crossing at the time – not just mixing up country and redneck rock styles, but also drawing a surprising amount of influence from soul and funk too – especially the latter, given some of the massive rhythms in the set! Like the first volume, the collection is a great illustration of the way that, in the right parts of the south, boundaries were constantly being broken – as you'll hear on great tracks that include "Ruby" by Area Code 615, "Houston" by Cowboy, "For What It's Worth" by Cher, "Touch Em With Love" by Bobbie Gentry, "Sufficiently Breathless" by Captain Beyond, "Deep In Kentucky" by The Box Tops, "Lonesome & A Long Way From Home" by Earl Scruggs, "Let The South Wind Blow" by Grinderswitch, "Midnight Rider" by Gregg Allman, "The Minstrel Is Free At Last" by Barefood Jerry, "Somewhere In Between" by Bobby Lance, "No Fence Around Me" by Joe South, and "Who's Making Love" by Tony Joe White.

Not classic disco – but a wealth of 80s soul – packed into a double-length set that's overflowing with R&B gems from the years beyond disco! Most tunes are still pretty clubby – not in an underground way, but with some of the styles of the more important soul modes of the time – those ways of hitting a groove with plenty of midtempo rhythms, sweet stepping moments, and even a bit of boogie too! Titles include "Middle Of The Night" by Body, "Passion From A Woman" by Krystol, "In The Dark" by Roy Ayers, "Rock Steady" by The Whispers, "Ain't Nothin Goin On But The Rent" by Gwen Guthrie, "Don't Let Go Of Me" by Mike & Brenda Sutton, "If You Can Do It I Can Too" by Meli'Sa Morgan, "Strip This Heart" by John Adams, "Back To Love" by Evelyn King, and "Falling In Love" by Sybil.

Plenty of disco love here – a really heartfelt selection of rare club tunes – great little numbers that are as funky and soulful as they are obscure! These aren't the disco hits of the late 70s, but they're also not clunkers that are just rare either – and instead, they're great little tunes that hardly got discovered back in the day – but are brought together here in a wicked collection by collector Al Kent! There's a freshness to the material that takes us way past the obvious – funky basslines, snapping drums, and lots of wonderful keyboards and guitar – all wrapped up in a near-perfect way, and usually set to some smoking vocals too. Many of the cuts here are rare to even our crate-tuned ears – and titles include "Mighty Gents" by The Mighty Gents, "Hungry" by Sandy's Gang, "Oh Baby/Get On Down" by Bo Galigher & TSB, "Something About You" by Moses, "Disco Fever (part 3)" by Rhond Durand, "Disco Music" by Sil Austin, "Hustle On Down (part 3)" by Michael Legrair, and "I Want To Be With You" by Gregory Andre & Two Plus Three.

That's a sweet image on the cover – and the grooves inside are equally dynamic too – a really wonderful collection that's easily one of the most compelling in Numero's Eccentric Soul series! The work here all hails from the tiny San Antonio scene of the late 60s – but much of the music has a sound that's way different than you might expect from Texas soul – often with great harmonies that recall the best of the east coast groups of the time, and occasionally with a few brown-eyed touches that echo the style of East LA! There's a wonderfully heartbreaking feel to many of these tracks – and the set's heavy focus on mellower numbers is totally great – and gives the whole thing a wonderful late nite sort of vibe that's usually quite hard to find in compilations like this. As usual, Numero's done a great job with the notes and history of the label – but the music alone is more than enough – a heady brew of cuts that include "Little Girl Blue" and "Try Loving Me" by The Webs, "I Gotta Know" by Tonettes, "Give Your Love To Me" and "Ain't No Big Thing" by Little Jr Jesse & The Tear Drops, "Cry & Wonder Why" by Doc & Sal, "Must Be Alright" and "Hey It's Love" by The Commands, "She's Gotta Have Soul" by Bobby Blackmon & The Soul Express, and "I Can't Take No More" by Willie Cooper & The Webs.

That's a sweet image on the cover – and the grooves inside are equally dynamic too – a really wonderful collection that's easily one of the most compelling in Numero's Eccentric Soul series! The work here all hails from the tiny San Antonio scene of the late 60s – but much of the music has a sound that's way different than you might expect from Texas soul – often with great harmonies that recall the best of the east coast groups of the time, and occasionally with a few brown-eyed touches that echo the style of East LA! There's a wonderfully heartbreaking feel to many of these tracks – and the set's heavy focus on mellower numbers is totally great – and gives the whole thing a wonderful late nite sort of vibe that's usually quite hard to find in compilations like this. As usual, Numero's done a great job with the notes and history of the label – but the music alone is more than enough – a heady brew of cuts that include "Little Girl Blue" and "Try Loving Me" by The Webs, "I Gotta Know" by Tonettes, "Give Your Love To Me" and "Ain't No Big Thing" by Little Jr Jesse & The Tear Drops, "Cry & Wonder Why" by Doc & Sal, "Must Be Alright" and "Hey It's Love" by The Commands, "She's Gotta Have Soul" by Bobby Blackmon & The Soul Express, and "I Can't Take No More" by Willie Cooper & The Webs. 2LP version features 7 more tracks not on the CD set – and great heavy vinyl and cover!

The dancefloor just got a whole lot funkier – thanks to an incredible selection of rare disco and club tracks from the best years of the genre! The set list here is really amazing – the kind of tunes that rarely turn up this easily, and never in such a cohesive package – and our hats are off to compiler Al Kent for putting together such a wonderfully tasty set! Most numbers here are from the mid to late 70s – and showcase a soulfully grooving approach to disco – one that's free from the cliches of the mainstream side of the genre, and which features plenty of real soul vocals alongside uptempo funky instrumentation that usually features a few odd twists and turns! Most numbers are edited by Al Kent, sometimes in very subtle ways, and include "cover ups" billed to other artists – and the package essentially brings together material from Kent's previous CD series of the same name – but with revised track order, wonderful packaging, and a bonus poster! Limited vinyl 2 features the tracks "Dancing Free" by Hot Ice, "Doing Our Own Thang" by Al Tanner, "Fear" by Arthur King, "Party Together" by Superbs, "How Can I Tell Her" by Curtis, "Giving It All To You" by Cheryl Berdell, "We've Got It" by Sylvano Santorio, and "Sound Of Disco Rock" by Stringfield Family.

Mindblowing work from the Italian soundtrack scene of the 60s and 70s – a true treasure of tracks that more than lives up to the "psycho beat" promise of its title! The tunes are a heady brew of tripped-out styles – floating organ, slinking bass, stepping strings, fuzzy guitar, and bumping drums – all in a space that's just the right place between funky and easy – with a sublime kind of sound that's unlike anything else we can think of! If you've only ever dug funky groovers from the Anglo side of the spectrum, this is the kind of record that will definitely open up your ears – and even though the collection's an old one, it's still one of the best illustrations around of the genius of Italy at the time! Titles include "Fotomodelle" by Piero Umiliani, "Red Face" by Barigozzi Group, "Shake Psycho" by Mario Molino, "Schegge" by Lesiman, "Rapimento In Sicilia" by Nino De Luca, "Essere Donna" by Piero Umiliani, "L'Appartamento Vuoto" by Gianni Ferrio, "La Fine Di Cobb" by Stelvio Cipriani, and "Hurricane" by Cesco Anselmo.

Chicago house music really takes off – in this massive collection that really documents the most experimental years in the Windy City club scene! By the mid 80s, Chicago house had already had a few years under its belt – stepping strongly forward as a revolutionary new mode of club music – stripped-down from disco, borrowing some electronics from overseas, and giving the world a fresh new vision of dancefloor sounds that would have a huge influence for decades to come! And by the end of the decade, folks were really starting to play with the format – bringing in lots of older analogue electronic sounds, dubbed "acid" for the way they burned and tweaked – and garnering the city even more interest from the UK and European scenes – who thought the name referred to drug usage, and took the cue to ignite their own waves of house-based parties on the other side of the Atlantic. While back home, Chicago artists were spurred on to experiment even more – and things went from warm and clubby to downright sci-fi – an aesthetic that's really captured strongly in this set from Soul Jazz. 2CD set features the cuts "Can You Feel It" from Mr Fingers, "Hallucinate" by Acid Wash, "151" by Armando, "The Jacking Zone" by Risque Rhythm Team, "I Can't Understand" by Pleasure Zone, "Rabbit Trax 1" by James Jack Rabbit Martin, "Freedom (Factory mix)" by The Children, "Ecstasy" by Mr Fingers, "Washing Machine" by Mr Fingers, "The Night Calls" by Bizzy B, "Go Wild Rhythm Trax No 3" by Virgo, "World Turns Around" by Cool McCool, "House Nation" by The Housmaster Boyz, "Love Trak" by Acid Wash, "Strength Of Bass" by Devotion, "Abstract Expressionism" by The Unknown, "No Way Back" by Adonis, "Choice Of The Underground" by Rocky Jones, "The Juice" by Mr Fingers, and "I Believe" by A Black Man, A Black Man, & Another Black Man.

The dancefloor just got a whole lot funkier – thanks to an incredible selection of rare disco and club tracks from the best years of the genre! The set list here is really amazing – the kind of tunes that rarely turn up this easily, and never in such a cohesive package – and our hats are off to compiler Al Kent for putting together such a wonderfully tasty set! Most numbers here are from the mid to late 70s – and showcase a soulfully grooving approach to disco – one that's free from the cliches of the mainstream side of the genre, and which features plenty of real soul vocals alongside uptempo funky instrumentation that usually features a few odd twists and turns! Most numbers are edited by Al Kent, sometimes in very subtle ways, and include "cover ups" billed to other artists – and the package essentially brings together material from Kent's previous CD series of the same name – but with revised track order, wonderful packaging, and a bonus poster! There's a whopping 45 tracks in all – with cuts that include "Love Is All Around" by Sizzle, "I've Been Searching" by Arts & Crafts, "Get Ready" by Allan Harris & Perpetual Motion, "Sweet Jazz Music" by Panache, "To Be With You" by Jimmy Sabater, "Funkathone" by The People's Workshop, "Just Friends" by Silver Platinum & Gold, "Why In The World Do They Keep On" by Executive Suite, "Dancing Free" by Hot Ice, "Doing Our Own Thang" by Al Tanner, "Fear" by Arthur King, "Party Together" by Superbs, "How Can I Tell Her" by Curtis, "Giving It All To You" by Cheryl Berdell, "We've Got It" by Sylvano Santorio, and "Sound Of Disco Rock" by Stringfield Family.

A sweet little set that definitely aims to stake out its own little territory – with a groove that lives up surprisingly well to the title! The music here is way funkier than you might expect – and comes from a time when many popular singers were working in studios staffed by cats who were pretty darn cool – and had a great ear for picking up some of the best musical undercurrents from other scenes – including some of the best soul and funk that was really breaking out in the US at the start of the 70s! As a result, many of these tracks have unexpectedly funky rhythms at the bottom – way different than the kind of backings that you might have heard in country soul records from a few years before – and different too than the redneck rock that was becoming more popular with some of the bigger acts on the charts. You're bound to recognize a few bigger names here – as the set's not just country artists – and as usual, the Light In The Attic crew have done a stunning job of putting the whole thing together. Titles include "LA Memphis Tyler Texas" by Dale Hawkins, "Georgia Mountain Dew" by Johnny Adams, "Light Blue" by Bobby Darin, "I Wanta Make Her Love Me" by Jim Ford, "Hawg Frog" by Gray Fox, "Fire & Brimstone" by Link Wray, "Street People" by Bobby Charles, "Bayou Country" by Gritz, "I Walk On Gilded Splinters" by Johnny Jenkins, and "Studspider" by Tony Joe White.

Plenty of disco love here – a really heartfelt selection of rare club tunes – great little numbers that are as funky and soulful as they are obscure! These aren't the disco hits of the late 70s, but they're also not clunkers that are just rare either – and instead, they're great little tunes that hardly got discovered back in the day – but are brought together here in a wicked collection by collector Al Kent! There's a freshness to the material that takes us way past the obvious – funky basslines, snapping drums, and lots of wonderful keyboards and guitar – all wrapped up in a near-perfect way, and usually set to some smoking vocals too. Many of the cuts here are rare to even our crate-tuned ears – and titles include "Mighty Gents" by The Mighty Gents, "Hungry" by Sandy's Gang, "Oh Baby/Get On Down" by Bo Galigher & TSB, "Something About You" by Moses, "Disco Fever (part 3)" by Rhond Durand, "Disco Music" by Sil Austin, "Hustle On Down (part 3)" by Michael Legrair, "I Want To Be With You" by Gregory Andre & Two Plus Three, "How Long Is Forever" by Frank & James, "Human" by Neo Experience, "Waiting In the Wings" by Marion Javius, and "Is It Wrong" by Magnetic Force. 2CD version features a full mix of all tracks by Al Kent – plus an unmixed CD with 15 individual tracks.

Raw tunes from the late 50s and early 60s – a smoking collection of rare rockers, raunchy R&B, and some early soul numbers too – all served up in a totally sweet 10" vinyl package! The set's from the same folks who gave us the excellent Beat From Badsville series – and like those great collections, this one's got a vibe that takes us back to some of the Stompin sets from earlier years, and which also makes us feel like we've discovered some hipster jukebox from many decades back – stocked with vintage wax with a mighty nice edge! Titles on this volume include "Ain't Gonna Let You In" by Paul Gayten & Annie Laurie, "You Look Bad" by Danny Taylor, "Am I The Man" by Bobby Lester, "Stack A Lee (part 1)" by Archibald, "Bamalam" by Du Droppers, "Showdown" by Tony Casanova, and "You Ain't Got Nothin" by Connee Boswell.

An incredible compilation of dancefloor soul & disco from the early 80s – rare, extended and previously unreleased mixes by NYC legend John Morales – featuring essential material from Logg, Universal Robot Band, Tony Adderly, Class Action, Inner Life and more! Morales was a part of the DJ remix scene that made club ready soul gems out of a bunch of the pop and soul hits of the day, but this compilation on BBE goes deeper than that for the cream of the crop of the post disco grooves of the day, most running on the long side for that unstoppable dancefloor approach, while keeping the song based soul sound fully in place. Essential! CD version has 19 tracks on 2CDs: "Ain't No Mountain High Enough Part I" (JM 4AM mix), "Breaking Down (Sugar Samba)" (JM After-Session M&M mix) by Julia & Company, "Barely Breaking Even" (club version) by Universal Robot Band, "I Ain't Mad At You" (JM extended M&M mix) by Tony Adderly, "Never Can Say Goodbye" (demo version) by La-Rita Gaskin, "All Over Your Face" (JM After-Session M&M mix) by Ronnie Dyson, "(Knock Out) Let's Go Another Round" (JM After-Session M&M mix) by Inner Life, "You Got (That Something)" by Logg and more, "Down For Double" (JM After-Session M&M mix) by Cubie Burke and more.

An amazing look at the music of Leon Ware – one of our favorite soul artists of the 70s! Leon's got a warmly mellow style that's totally great – heard most famously in collaboration with Marvin Gaye on the classic I Want You album, but equally noteworthy on Leon's own records – and on a host of other projects he's done with top-shelf soul artists over the years! A good number of those projects are collected here – the cream of the crop of Ware-associated cuts from the 70s and early 80s – tunes penned, produced, arranged, or even featuring Leon himself – all brought together here in a really wonderful little collection. Each track is a treasure, and the whole thing is a sublime mellow soul masterpiece – filled with musical moments that sound even better in the company of each other – pulled from other records, and rewoven here in a new tapestry that stands as a rich tribute to Ware's mighty talents. Titles include "Everywhere Inside Me" by Norman Connors, "I Don't Know" by Syreeta, "You Do The Right Things" by Al Wilson, "Point Of View" by Rockie Robbins, "No Tricks" by Chuck Jackson, "I Can't Keep Holding Back" by Shadow, "Trust Your Heart (ext 12" mix)" by Bobby Womack, "Just Don't Make It Hurt" by Krystol, "I Came To Love You" by Booker T, "I Can Dream" by Themal Jones, "You Make Me Wanna Love Again" by Vesta Williams, "I Know It's You" by Donny Hathaway, "Can You Feel What I'm Saying" by Minnie Riperton, "Looking Up To You" by Michael Wycoff, "Thank You Early Bird" by Jerry Butler, and the tracks "What's Your World" and "Girl Girl Girl" by Leon Ware himself!

London's always been one of the hippest cities in the world – but back during the postwar years, there was an especially wonderful outpouring of music on the scene – a rich array of new sounds and styles pulled from around the globe – as so many residents from crumbling British empire came to live in the UK! Musicians and listeners arrived in London with plenty of cultural baggage on hand – influences from the Caribbean, West Africa, and India too – plus other smaller scenes that once fell under the British banner, all now the fuel for the cultural fire that was happening in England! The title here tells plenty about the music being made in this newly-formed scene – bits of African highlife, Jamaican calypso, American jazz, Cuban Latin, and more – all filtered into the modernism of the 50s, and given a new twist that was decidedly urban as well. The package may well be the most impressive so far in this legendary series – and is certainly the one that moves the farthest past any sort of easy expectations or cultural conventions. Titles include "Women Police In England" by Mighty Terror, "My Sorrow" by West African Swing Stars, "Cricket Umpires" by Lord Kitchener, "Jordhu" by Caribbean Swing Band, "Trumpet Highlife" by Shake Keane, "Calypso Mambo" by George Browne, "Cuban Nightingale" by Buddy Pipp's Highlifers, "Kitch" by The Quavers, "Tabu" by Mona Baptiste, "King Jimmy Foo Foo" by Tejan Sie with The West African Rhythm Brothers, "The Escape" by Dizzy Reece, "Mambo Contempo" by Ginger Johnson, "Life In Britain" by Mighty Terror, "Sway" by Buddy Pipp's Highlifers, "Song Of Joy" by Rupert Nurse's Calypso Band, "Joe Louis Calypso" by Lord Beginner, "Uncle Joe" by Fitzroy Coleman Quintet, "Me Donkey Want Water" by Tony Johnson, "Belly Lick" by Eric Hayden, "Nigeria Odowoyin" by West African Rhythm Brothers, and "Football Calypso" by King Timothy.

A treasure trove of rare grooves you've probably never heard before – all pulled from the tiny, but excellent, catalog of Montparnasse 2000, a super-hip French sound library label! Most of these tracks were never issued formally to the public – only recorded to serve as backings in radio, TV, and commercial use – but that doesn't stop them from being some really great funky grooves, especially as most of them were performed by some of France's best funky jazzmen of the time! There's a sweet 70s groove that bubbles through the whole set – lots of funky drums, choppy guitar, sweet keyboards, and other classic instrumental touches – and since the Montparnasse catalog has been virtually untapped until now, nearly every track is super-fresh to our ears! Titles include "Turn In Around" by Willy Albimoor, "SOS 17" by Guy Pedersen, "Violence" by Caiage, "OK Richard" by Sylvano Santorio, "Don't Be Cool" by Jacky Giordano, "Danger" by Rene Costy, "Grand Roque" by Maurice Vander, "Vision Pop" by JJ Rober & JM Guise, and "Catalepsy" by Eric Framond.

Massive mixes from the mighty Tom Moulton – a huge package that not only includes some classic lost and rare mixes from the 70s, but also previously unreleased Moulton mixes, appearing here for the first time ever! If there's anyone who's ever been well-suited to reworking a Philly groove, it's Tom – given his long standing association with the soul scene in the City Of Brotherly Love – and his crucial role in pushing soul tracks into the clubs during the 70s. As with most of Tom's best work, the mixes here are richly faithful to the originals – and never try to overstate themselves at all, just focus on the best elements, and bring them to the forefront of the groove! This totally cool package features 31 mixes in all – pressed up as eight 12" EPs – most with four tracks each, leaving plenty of room for very long mixes! Titles include Moulton mixes of "Jam Jam Jam" by People's Choice, "I Don't Love You Anymore" by Teddy Pendergrass, "Party Time Man" by The Futures, "Intro/My Love Don't Come Easy" by Jean Carn, "Trusting Heart" by The Trammps, "Don't Leave Me This Way" by Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, "Let's Groove" by Archie Bell & The Drells, "Dirty Ol Man" by Three Degrees, "Slow Motion" by Johnny Williams, "I'll Always Love My Mama" by The Intruders, "The Devil Made Me Do It" by Robert Upchurch, "Back Stabbers" by The O'Jays, "See You When I Get There" by Lou Rawls, and "Love Epidemic" by The Trammps.

Perfect stuff for fans of 80s groove! This set features 12 killer modern soul cuts pulled from the catalog of the Capitol/EMI labels – home to some of the smoothest most soulful work in the early 80s, lots of which is pretty darn tough to get on reissue these days. According to the notes, all the tracks are taken from the original 12" single mixes – and the times for nearly all tracks is well over 5 minutes, perfect for groovers! Titles include "Just Can't Give You Up" by Mystic Merlin, "Love On A Summer Night" by The McCrarys, "Dancing In The Night" by Lanier & Co, "Working Up A Sweat" by Full Circle, "On The Beat" by BB&Q Band, "Joy & Pain" by Maze, "Rock Me Tonight" by Freddie Jackson, "There Ain't Nothin (Like Your Lovin)" by Paul Laurance, "Love's Comin At Ya" by Melba Moore, "Sound Of Music" by Dayton, and "Solid" by Ashford & Simpson.

A massive set of underground club – 2CDs worth of rare disco and boogie put together by Joey Negro and Sean P – with nary a familiar track in the lot! Both Joey and Sean really know their grooves – and they've gone way past conventional club for this package – digging deep for records that were rare even back in the day, most of which were issued on tiny little labels, and received little or no distribution outside their local scenes – making us even more impressed that two blokes from London could come up with such a good set! The style here is joyous, buoyant, and very much in the soulful spirit of the new work coming out on Z Records in recent years – a groove that's often topped by really wonderful vocals, and not just some lyrics cooked up in the studio. 2CD set features 21 titles in all – including a few rare mixes – and titles include "Disco Party" by The Escorts, "Maintain" by Steve Marshall, "Summer Groove" by The Joneses, "Sho Nuff No Funny Stuff Love" by Charles Mann, "Giving My Love" by Janice McClain, "Love To Live" by Moses, "How Can I Tell Her" by Curtis, "Come Down To Earth (David Todd mix)" by Choice 4, "Feel The Reel" by Adrenalin, "Keep Me Dancing" by True Image, "When Your Jones Come Down" by Sugar Bear Johnson, "It's A Better Than Good Time (Walter Gibbons mix)" by Gladys Knight, "Slide Into Your Heart" by Time Spectrum, "Man For My Lady" by Sabatta, and "Can I Take You Home" by Mel Shepperd.

One of the hippest sets we've ever seen on Spanish Harlem – a collection that goes way past the Latin Soul hits, to dig deep in the uptown underground at the end of the 60s! The package is compiled with gems from the Fania catalog, but rally moves past the obvious – going for some of the more obscure artists who recorded singles for some of the smaller Fania-held labels – and often focusing on tunes that drew more from late 60s soul and funk than they did from any Latin rhythms of the time. The singers are especially wonderful – and often hit a vibe that's right up there with some of Joe Bataan's best of the period – richly soulful, but often deeply personal too – never as polished as chart soul, and often showing a grittier, more realistic style that's totally great – especially when mixed with instrumentation as tight as this! Titles include "Reflections Of My Life" by 125th Street Candy Store, "On Old Broadway" by 107th Street Stickball Team, "Don't Be Afraid" by Lebron Brothers, "Central Park" by Harvey Averne Dozen, "Heaven" by Tito Ramos, "Your Smile" by Parris, "Some Lonely Heart" by Ronnie Marks, "There's No Girl" by Olivieri, "Maria Maria" by King Nando, "Already Satisfied" by Tony Middleton & Bobby Matos, "Nitty Boo Boo" by The Nitty Sextette, "Lonely Has Been My Day" by Ralphie & The Latin Lovers, "I'm Gonna Leave You" by Russell Cohen & The New Yorkers, and "Ain't No Big Thing" by Ralfi Pagan.

Smoking soul from 60s Texas – a tremendous amount of rare tunes from obscure little singles – pulled together to showcase the Lonestar State as a musical powerhouse to rival Motown, Philly, or the Windy City! The tracks here are all from various labels headed by the legendary Huey P Meux – and unlike other Texas work you may know from the time, lots of these numbers are bubbling over with the kind of soul elements you'd normally hear from east coast indie work of the time – and in that way, are almost like some of the other 60s material cut by southern transplants on the LA scene of the time – familiar, but a little offbeat too – with odd little twists and turns that really keep things interesting, and which make the package a really fresh musical discovery. There's some nice deep soul elements at times, particularly on the mellower cuts – and titles include "Go Go Train" by Jackie Paine, "That Is Why The End Must Begin" by Joe Masters, "Irene" by Rockin Dave Allen, "Time" by Charles Barry, "Get To Gitten" by Big Walter, "Doggin Around" by Jean Knight, "Friends In Show Business" by Joe Melvin, "Neighbor Neighbor" by Alton Valier, "You'll Lose A Good Thing (demo)" by Barbara Lynn, "Let Them Talk" by Johnny Adams, "If You're Looking For A Fool" by David King Thomas, and "Pick Me Up On Your Way Down" by Margo White.

The Steppin Muzak series goes strongly back to the 70s with this volume – throwing in a few cuts from later years, but mostly sticking with the great 70s mellow moments that first got us interested in the Chicago steppers scene many years back! There's some warm, wonderful moments here – including a number of cuts not easy to find on CD – and titles include "If It Takes All Night" by Soul Train Gang, "Countryside" by Fat Larry's Band, "Candy" by The Four Tops, "You're The One" by Ray Simpson, "I Found My Rainbow" by Touch Of Class, "Never Knew Love Like This Before" by Charles Earland, "Mutha's Love" by Bobby Franklin, "You Only Live Once" by Changing Tymes, "I Love The Way You Love" by Individuals, "Crazy About Your Love" by Robert Thomas, "Baby Take It Off" by Lenny Williams, and "Her Seedy Life" by Blue Zone UK.

A crunchy batch of grooves from one of the hippest British soundsystems ever! The Wild Bunch were a Bristol-based collective dedicated to spinning the best in underground hip hop and club tracks – a group whose members included Roni Size, Tricky, Krust, and future members of Massive Attack, represented here by DJ Milo, who's come up with a fantastic batch of tracks that perfectly sums up their genius blend of styles and rough-edged groove! The CD version of the set features a continuous mix of tracks by Milo – 26 tunes laid out back to back, bumping and jumping through a set list that includes "It's Yours" by T La Rock, "Just Rhymin With Biz" by Big Daddy Kane & Biz Markie, "We Rap More Mellow" by Younger Generation, "It's Your Rock" by Fantasy, "Rock Shock" by BBCS &A, "Who Needs Enemies With Friends Like You" by Montana Sextet, "The Music Got Me" by Visual, "Dance Freak" by Chain Reaction, "DJ's Delight" by Ingram, "Love Rap" by Spoonie G, "Double Fresh" by The Wild Bunch, "Inside Out" by Odyssey, "I'm In Love" by Evelyn Champagne King, "Smurph Across The Surf" by Micronawts, "Dyin To Be Dancin" by Empress, "Can You Feel It" by Mr Fingers, and "It's Serious" by Cameo.