Funky Compilations — All Formats  

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.

Revolutionary jazz from the era of the Civil Rights Movement and beyond – soulful and spiritual jazz as important as any of the era – an impeccably well chosen compilation of Freedom, Rhythm & Sound from Soul Jazz Records! The set is a tie-in with Soul Jazz's essential Freedom, Rhythm & Sound book – documenting the sounds and providing an aural portrait of a fertile creative period in African American music and cultural history – when the societal struggles were a counterpart to the heretofore unseen depth of creativity and empowerment in jazz music. Includes a nice booklet of notes, and songs from both the independent underground, and some that made it onto established labels like Verve and others, and material by Joe Henderson, Archie Shepp, Errol Parker, Mary Lou Williams, Art Ensemble Of Chicago, Horace Tapscott, Sun Ra and many more. Volume 1 of the vinyl version has 10 tracks on 2LPs, many running on the longer side, for a straight up incredible set of spiritual soul jazz: includes "Africa" by Oliver Lake/NTU, "Space A Nova" by Stanton Davis' Ghetto/Mysticism, "Miss DD" by Mary Lou Williams, "Old Time Religion" by Art Ensemble Of Chicago, "Drinking Song" by Gary Bartz NTU Troop and more.

A profoundly funky Message – a smoking set of early 70s funky jazz & heavy soul from the Mainstream Records vaults – a diverse set of incredible recordings from the label that may be fairly sprawling in style, yet holds together thanks to shared funky urgency! It's filled with Bob Shad productions for his stellar Mainstream roster, which at the time included a host of far reaching jazz veterans, soulful chanteuses, and killer funky combos – including Afrique, Blue Mitchell, Sarah Vaughn, Alice Clark, Charles Kynard and many more! The session players reads like a heavyweight jazz title card itself, with Don Pullen, Stanley Clarke, George Cables, Joe Sample, Victor Feldman and more. The set features a very well chosen 18 tracks, with solid notes on each by Dean Rudand. Titles include "House Of Rising Funk" by Chubukos, "Soul Makossa" by Afrique, "The Message" by Blue Mitchell, "Funky Butt" by The Delegates", "Never Did I Stop Loving You" by Alice Clark, "I Want You Back" by Bobby Shad & The Bad Men, "Grits Ain't Groceries" by Maxine Weldon, "The Spirit" by Curtis Fuller", "Bacon Butt Fat" by Charles Williams and more.

A massively expanded version of the original Sehorn's Soul Farm compilation – one that adds in a huge amount of bonus tracks, and makes for an even more essential batch of New Orleans soul! The cuts here all come from the original Sansu empire formed by Marshall Sehorn and Allen Toussaint – a key force in New Orleans soul of the 60s – thanks to Toussaint's amazing ear for new talent, and bold new styles of production in the studio! Toussaint went onto much greater fame on bigger labels in the 70s, but his work here is still his best – a hard-edged, uniquely rhythmic groove that forever changed the sound of soul in the Crescent City. The 2CD set brings together material that appeared on both original Sehorn's Soul Farm collections in the 80s – mostly culled from labels like Sansu and Deesu, plus bits from other sources – and it also adds in 18 more bonus cuts too, which makes for a whopping batch of 50 New Orleans soul classics. Cuts include "Sadie Mae" by Joe Haywood, "Did You Have Fun" by Willie West, "A Lady" by Warren Lee, "Chicken Strut" by The Meters, "Look Way Back" by Diamond Joe, "Man Of The Street" by Ironing Board Sam, "How To Pick A Winner" by Diamond Joe, "Lovely Woman" by Eldrige Holmes, "Hotcha Mama" by Ernie K Doe, "Mean Man" by Betty Harris, "Hercules" by Aaron Neville, "Sinner Girl" by Benny Spellman, "Blues Tears & Sorrow" by John Williams, and "Star Revue" by Warren Lee.

An amazing tribute to one of the best soul songwriters in the 70s – the mighty Phillip Mitchell, a key force in mixing together deep soul roots with more sophisticated styles for the time! Mitchell's got this mighty positive way of putting over a tune – lyrics that still hold onto the emotion of the past, yet also come through things with a forward-thinking style too – one that really helps get past obvious cliches, and which always seems to make a Mitchell-penned track stand out as the real gem on an album of 70s soul! Many of the artists here are from a southern soul background – no surprise, as Mitchell made most of his magic south of the Mason/Dixon line – and the set really brings together a great number of artists, and really shows the deep reach that Mitchell had at the time. Titles include "Hitch Hiking To Heartbreak Road" by Bobo Mr Soul, "Something New To Do" by Bobby Sheen, "Carry Me" by Ernie Shelby, "I Don't Do This" by Sidney Joe Qualls, "Free For All" by Mel & Tim, "Come Through Me" by Garland Green, "Here I Am Again" by Candi Staton, "You Made Me What I Am" by Erma Coffee, "Gonna Have A Murder On Your Hands" by JJ Williams, "Archie's In Love" by Archie Bell & The Drells, "Leftovers" by Millie Jackson, "How Can I Go On Without You" by Corey Blake, and "That's The Way I Wanna Live My Life" by Tommie Lee.

Blue Note Records plays the Beatles – on a great set of grooves that runs back to the 60s, and includes some other more recent performances of tunes first made famous by the Fab Four! The collection is heavy on soulful jazz numbers that really show off the sharp changes of Beatles tunes – the way they can be surprisingly great vehicles for jazzy expression, when in the hands of the right artists! Some cuts are from related Blue Note labels, some from the original – and titles include "Get Back" by The Jazz Crusaders, "Can't Buy Me Love" by Stanley Turrentine, "I Want To Hold Your Hand" by Grant Green, "Oh Darling" by Joe Williams, "Yesterday" by Lee Morgan, "Hey Jude" by Jazz Crusaders, "Eleanor Rigby" by Three Sounds, "Come Together" by Cassandra Wilson & Dianne Reeves, and "Day In The Life" by Grant Green.

Quite possibly one of the greatest funk compilations ever – and we're not just saying that because we're from the Midwest! The genius compilers at Jazzman spent years scouring the smaller cities of the American hinterlands – tracking down obscure musicians, long-lost labels, and nearly-gone master tapes – all to bring together 23 bits of rare funk that bristle with the same energy and excitement as the day they were first recorded! The package is incredible – not only filled with incredible tunes that somehow manage to push the boundaries and redefine our understanding of classic funk from the time, but also doing so in a package that's filled with liner notes that offer more information on the artists than probably their own mothers know! Plus, the set's also got some previously unissued numbers as well – making it a must-have for any funk fan, even if you've somehow managed to track down original copies of some of these choice bits! Titles include "Whip It" by The New Establishment In Soul, "Let's Do It Today (full version)" by The Us, "Pushin To The Top" by Markus Kelly & The Impassions, "Sissy Walk" by Billy Ball & The Upsetters, "Tell Her" by Fred Williams & The Jewels Band, "The Hatch" by The TMGs, "Boots Groove" by The Soul Tornados, "Po Boy's Dream" by Illinois Connection, "It's Not You For Me (live)" by Billy Joe Holloman, "Funky In Here" by Dayton Sidewinders, "Master Groove" by Henry Peters & The Imperials, and "A Day In The Life" by Chocolate Snow.

Spiritual sounds for the dancefloor – a completely compelling mix of disco and gospel modes, served up here with some of the best-ever examples of the style! Given the decades of crossing between the secular and spiritual worlds of soul music before the disco years, the blend is hardly a surprise – especially since so many disco singers had their roots in the church. But what is a surprise is how great the music works together – how the soaring spirit of one genre works perfectly with the tight rhythms of another – giving these tunes a lofty, righteous quality that goes far beyond the usual emptiness of disco lyrics. There's a mighty message on most of these numbers, and the groove is pretty damn great too – as you'll hear on cuts that include "I Need You (Joey Negro edit)" by Ricky Womack & Christian Essence, "I'll Keep Holding On" by The Young Delegation, "Awake O Zion" by Elbernita Clark, "I Am Gold" by Linda Evans, "Overdose Of The Holy Ghost" by The Clark Sisters, "No Cross No Crown" by Gloster Williams & Master Control, "He Lives" by The Young Delegation, "A Better Day" by Sharon Johnson, "Message To The People" by Shirley Caesar, "Lead Me" by Ronia La Vee, "He's My Friend" by Rahni Harris & Family Love, and "Love Is The Message (Joey Negro edit)" by Dan Greer.

Spiritual sounds for the dancefloor – a completely compelling mix of disco and gospel modes, served up here with some of the best-ever examples of the style! Given the decades of crossing between the secular and spiritual worlds of soul music before the disco years, the blend is hardly a surprise – especially since so many disco singers had their roots in the church. But what is a surprise is how great the music works together – how the soaring spirit of one genre works perfectly with the tight rhythms of another – giving these tunes a lofty, righteous quality that goes far beyond the usual emptiness of disco lyrics. There's a mighty message on most of these numbers, and the groove is pretty damn great too – as you'll hear on cuts that include "I Need You (Joey Negro edit)" by Ricky Womack & Christian Essence, "I'll Keep Holding On" by The Young Delegation, "Awake O Zion" by Elbernita Clark, "I Am Gold" by Linda Evans, "Overdose Of The Holy Ghost" by The Clark Sisters, "No Cross No Crown" by Gloster Williams & Master Control, "He Lives" by The Young Delegation, "A Better Day" by Sharon Johnson, "Message To The People" by Shirley Caesar, "Lead Me" by Ronia La Vee, "He's My Friend" by Rahni Harris & Family Love, and "Love Is The Message (Joey Negro edit)" by Dan Greer.

A much-needed look at the funky Miami scene of the late 60s and early 70s – the new powerhouse of southern soul, after the slowdown in the scenes in Memphis and Muscle Shoals! The Miami sound was harder, tighter, rawer, and faster than that of other southern outlets – based around a really strong ability to pick up a little riff, cook it up nicely, and create the perfect backdrop for sock-soul vocals. By the mid 70s, Miami was topping the charts with disco tunes that sprung out of this energy – but the tracks on this set are all heavy-hitters from the pre-disco years – kickass funky tunes that burn like a box full of rare funky 45s! Titles include "You Got To Be A Man" and "The Spanish Flyer" by Frank Williams & The Rocketeers, "Do It To Me One More Time" and "Somebody Done Took My Baby & Gone" by Joey Gilmore, "Cadillac Annie" by Clarence Reid, "You Got To Be A Man" and "A Woman Will Do Wrong" by Helene Smith, "Funky Cat", "Save Me", and "Fantasy World" by James Knight & The Butlers, "Funky Me" by Timmy Thomas, "Funkadelic Sound" by Little Beaver, "Don't Make The Good Girls Go Bad" by Della Humphrey, "I Get Lifted" by George McCrae, and "Cramp Your Style" by All The People.

The third in the Soul Of Disco series from Joey Negro and Z Records – and it's the best one yet! Vol 3 is filled with dancefloor jams with genuine soul – rare 12" track, long forgotten and hard sought gems by Jackie Stoudemire, Full Body, The J's, Loi, Project, Truth, Larry Hart, First Class and many more. It features few familiar names to folks outside of the funky dancefloor soul collector circles, but many of the players and producers worked with with superstars, and the material is fine as can be. There's a soaring soulfulness most of the tracks, with underlying funk in the basslines and overall groove. Great stuff! 22 tracks on 2CDs: "Invisible Wind" by Jackie Stoudemire, "You Got Me Dancing (Joey Negro Edit)", "Looking Ahead" by Park Avenue, "No Cross, No Crown" by Gloster Williams & Master Control, "Blow You Out Tonight" by The Hippolytes, "The Dip Drop" by Evans Pyramid, "Candy" by First Class and more.