Funky Compilations — All Formats  

A second great look at Italy's legendary Baia Degli Angeli disco – presented in a package that's possibly even better than the first! As with that volume, this one's delivered in a book-style format – hardcover, and filled with color pages that contain images of the club in the 70s, a recent revival series, and a host of wonderful artifacts used for promotion – flyers, t-shirts, and other giveaways that are all pretty darn cool! Plus, there's notes on the club, scene, and music in both Italian and English – making for a whopping 60 pages that offer us a look at a key musical force from many years back. But the CD alone is pretty great too – filled with 16 great club classics that played well at the Baia Degli Angeli – including "You Are The Star" by Jakki, "Shu Dig Dancin" by Inner City Express, "Sing Sing" by Gaz, "Dr Doo Dah" by Kongas, "Funky Road" by The Invitations, "Crocos Dance" by Revelation, "Everybody Dance" by Bumblebee Unlimited, "I Think I'm Gonna Fall In Love" by Skyline, "Block Party" by Anthony White, "Rock Spank Freak" by High Voltage, and "Mary Hartman Mary Hartman" by The Sound Of Inner City.

The title definitely gets it right – as the set's filled with post-Motown gems from Detroit – a wealth of wonderful sounds from the Hot Wax/Invictus labels – almost all of it produced by the Holland-Dozier-Holland team! The music here represents the next evolution of Detroit soul in the years after the initial wave of Motown – music that still carries a lot of the spirit of before, and some of the style (given that HDH were working for the company) – but which also pushes things forward with a prouder, more righteous sound as well! The CD features a heady 23 tracks in all – with titles that include "Trapped In A Love" by Barrino Brothers, "Something New About You" by Silent Majority, "Let's Change The Subject" by Satisfaction Unlimited, "Tighten Him Up" by Eloise Laws, "Nothing Sweeter Than Love" by 100 Proof, "Only Time Will Tell" by General Johnson, "Deeper & Deeper" by Freda Payne, "Just As Long" by The 8th Day, "You've Made Me So Very Happy" by Honey Cone, "Two Can Be As Lonely As One" by Danny Woods, and "Bright City Lights" by Satisfaction Unlimited.

Raw mod and gritty funk rock grooves from team Le Beat Bespoke – the fourth set in the series – bubblegum garage, fuzzed out pop, funky percussion and wailing organs – this just might be the best in the series to date! Compiler Rob Bailey out does himself here, once again digging deep for obscure mod singles, groovy slabs of garage rock, with a few left turns such as a heavy Latin gem and a more psych-steeped number or two – propulsive, exciting numbers regardless of genre affections and fiery dancefloor ready rock tunes all the way! 20 tailor made cuts on the CD – a brief notes on each tune, all of which are exciting and groovy as can be! Titles include "Voodoo Medicine Man" by Jerry & Jeff, "False Alarm Love" by Peaceful Coalition, "Eg Veit Ao Pu Kemar" by Trubrat, "Feelin" by Joy Unlimited, "No Thank You Mr Pusher" by Big Tom, "King Of Siam" by East Of Eden", "Comin On Down" by The Twilights and more.

Stellar soul singles on Brunswick – nearly all of which come from the prime mid-to-late 60s period at the legendary Chicago label – with Jackie Wilson, Billy Butler, Barbara Acklin, Gene Chandler, Erma Franklin, Lavern Baker and many more! There's a tight focus here on mid-to-late 60s Brunswick – all of them great – and many are quite rare. There are some modest or regional hits in the set, but most might have been forgotten if not for the devotion of the Northern Soul scenes to come. It's got a number of uptempo stormers, midtempo groovers and some sweet surprises. Soul galore, indeed! Includes "Soul Galore" by Jackie Wilson, "Have More Time" by Marvin Smith, "Oh Linda" by Leroy Taylor, "I'll Bet You" by Billy Butler, "There Was A Time" by Gene Chandler, "Sweet, Sweet Revenge" by Alvin Valentine, "A Strange Way" by The Loreleis, "Just Ain't No Love" by Barbara Acklin, "I'm The Only One To Do It" by Lavern Baker, "California Montage" by Young-Holt Unlimited and many more.

A killer batch of rare funky tunes – pulled from a host of tiny labels, and put together with a quality level that would blow away a crate full of of funky 45s! This 3rd volume in the Super Funk series seems to dig even deeper than the first 2 – and it also includes few incredible little nuggets that were never officially released in any format! Includes "The Tramp (From Funky Broadway)" by The Showmen Inc, "Put It In" by Johnny King And The Fatback Band, "Cissy Popcorn" and "Funky Chicken" by Preston Love, "Soul Livin" by Everyday People Unlimited, "Brother Brown" by Camille Bob, "At The Soul In" by Count Yates And The Rhythm Crusaders, "Cat Scream" by Li'l Buck, "Bending Soul" by the Soul Blenders", "Ain't It A Groove" by Chico & Buddy, "Soul Brothers Testify" by Soul Senders, "Fat Man" by TKOs, "Sweet Potato Gravy" by Maurice Simon And The Pie Men, and lots more! 20 tracks in all.

A killer batch of rare funky tunes – pulled from a host of tiny labels, and put together with a quality level that would blow away a crate full of of funky 45s! This 3rd volume in the Super Funk series seems to dig even deeper than the first 2 – and it also includes few incredible little nuggets that were never officially released in any format! Includes "The Tramp (From Funky Broadway)" by The Showmen Inc, "Put It In" by Johnny King And The Fatback Band, "Cissy Popcorn" and "Funky Chicken" by Preston Love, "Soul Livin" by Everyday People Unlimited, "Brother Brown" by Camille Bob, "At The Soul In" by Count Yates And The Rhythm Crusaders, "Cat Scream" by Li'l Buck, "Bending Soul" by the Soul Blenders", "Ain't It A Groove" by Chico & Buddy, "Soul Brothers Testify" by Soul Senders, "Fat Man" by TKOs, "Sweet Potato Gravy" by Maurice Simon And The Pie Men, and lots more! 20 tracks in all.

Funky cuts that have gotten plenty of spins in recent years – the kind of great grooves that were first dug up by the sampling crowd, but which have also gone onto have a rich new life in the hands of DJs around the globe! Some of the tracks here were hits back in the day, then fell into obscurity – others were almost-rans that have probably gotten even more attention in the past decade or two than they did back in the 70s – and together, all the work here sounds totally great – an overflowing bounty of rare funky numbers, all served up at one mighty nice price! Titles include "Seeing You Through The Eyes Of A Blindman" by Satisfaction Unlimited, "Ain't No Time Fa Nothing" by The Futures, "Don't Let It Go To Your Head" by Jean Carn, "Work To Do" by Average White Band, "Ali Shuffle" by Alvin Cash, "Shake A Leg" by Jackie Wilson, "Sittin On A Time Bomb" by Honey cone, "You Can't Have My Love" by The Jones Girls, "Picnic In The Park" by MFSB, "Don't Leave Me (inst)" by Holland Dozier Holland, and "That's All A Part Of Loving" by Strutt.

Clubby takes on classic themes – mostly famous film numbers from the 70s, with a few other great cuts mixed in for good measure! The package is definitely heavy on the disco promised in the title – and features some killer cuts that really take off from the original tunes – stretching out the melody over longer readings that rely on heavy rhythms, sweet strings, and lots of other great elements to forge the groove! Meco are the clear stars of the package – as they virtually invented the genre – and the set features their versions of "Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band", "The Empire Strikes Back Medley", "Love Theme From The Black Hole", "Love Theme From Star Trek", and "Theme From Close Encounters". But the set also features "Theme From King Kong" and "Theme From Superman" by Love Unlimited Orchestra, "Moonshine" by Philharmonic 2000, "Three Days Of The Condor" and "Lipstick" by Rhythm Heritage, "Also Sprach Zarathustra" by Galactic Light Orchestra, "Bolero" by Lalo Schifrin, and "Battlestar Galactica Medley" by Giorgio Moroder.