Funky Compilations — All Formats  

Rave-up soul treasures from the late 50s through the 60s – one of the best compilations we've seen from Outta Sight! Age Of Northern Soul pulls together great material that blends Northern Soul, Popcorn and R&B – all of it pretty wonderful It's got lesser-remembered tunes from famous names that sound as glorious in our ears as some of the more beloved hits – including Etta James, Jimmy Ruffin, The Temptations and The O'Jays – as well as some great stuff from singers and groups most known to collectors. It's also jam packed with songs – 27 in all! Titles include "Seven Day Fool" by Etta James, "Don't Feel Sorry For Me" by Jimmy Ruffin, "Don't Mess With My Man" by Irma Thomas, "Mr Johnny Q" by The Bobbettes, "Oh My Soul" by Garlon Davis, "The Day Will Come" by Freddie Gorman, "Faded Letter" by Satintones, "Hard Times" by Royal Jokers, "Romance Without Finance" by The Temptations, "Heard Hearted Woman" by Eddie Burns, "Drip Drop" by The Drifters, "It Keeps Raining" by Fats Domino and many more.

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.

A wonderful collection from the soul treasure hunters at Outta Sight – essential grooves from a pivotal period – late 60s and early 70s soul singles that bridge the raw, driving vibe of the previous era to the more sophisticated arrangements of dancefloor soul to come! It's got some legendary names and comparably obscure ones alike – a great, stylistically varied set of soul tunes by Bobby Womack, The Electrifying Cashmeres, The Carlettes, Philharmonics, Three Shades Of Soul, Johnny Adams, Deniece Chandler, The Identities and more. Superb soul singles all the way – a bunch of which we've never heard before now! 24 tracks in all: "What Does It Take (To Win Your Love)" by The Electrifying Cashmeres, "Lost Without Your Love" by The Carlettes, "Tried And Convicted" by Bobby Womack, "Mama, I Wish I Stayed Home" by Deniece Chandler, "I Can't Get Along Without You" by Judy Green, "When Love Slips Away" by The Identities, "Crying Time Is Over" by Tony Love, "You're A Bad Habit, Baby" by Johnny Adams, "Patience" by Rokk and more.

Classics and rarities from the Windy City Soul scene that gravitated around the great Curtis Mayfield and his studio! The set features tracks from Curtom, plus the Thomas, Mayfield and Gemigo labels along with Paramount and Polydor – with numbers by The Fascinations, Five Stairsteps & Cubie, The Mayfield Singers, Major Lance, Chuck Ray, Ruby Jones, Notations, Linda Clifford, Gene Chandler and many more! 26 tracks in all: "Girls Are Out To Get You" by The Fascinations, "Don't Start None" by The Mayfield Singers, "You Got The Power" by Mamie P Galore, "I Spy (For The FBI)" by Jamo Thomas & His Party Brothers Orchestra, "Lucky" by The Mayfield Players, "Don't Have To Be Lying Babe" by Gene Chandler, "You Better Run" by Ruby Jones, "Can't Get Enough" by Linda Clifford and more.

A soulful testament to the towering talents of songwriter, bandleader, producer and singer Richard Popcorn Wylie – a killer collection of singles that Richard had a hand in by Tommy Neal, Mighty Lovers, Luther Ingram, Betty Boo, Tony Hester, Mighty Lovers, Detroit Executives, Jimmy Soul Clark and Popcorn himself! A somewhat grittier, but still sweet as can be side of Motor City soul of the mid-to-late 60s. Includes "Goin' To A Happening" by Tommy Neal, "Get It Babe" by Stanley Mitchell, "Stop That Boy" and "Spellbound" by Betty Boo, "Hanky Panky" by Richard Popcorn Wylie, "Spaceland" by Tony Hestor, "Savin' My Love For You" by People's Choice, "Quit Twistin' My Arm" by Stanley Mitchell "Cool Off" by Detroit Executives and more. 25 tracks in all.

Some of the hippest Detroit soul of the 60s – a wealth of wonderful recordings done by legendary producer Don Davis! In the 70s, Don would make some huge marks in the mainstream with groups like The Dramatics, Dells, and others – but these sides represent the initial flowering of the Davis' genius in the Motor City – a magnificent melding of that scene's tightness with some rootsier, harder-edged vocals that really send the tunes home! We'd be hard-pressed to think of a better start to dig into the Detroit scene past Motown – and in addition to rare singles, the set also features some unissued tracks too. Titles include "Somebody Needs You" by Darrell Banks, "Love On A Lease Plan" by Johnnie Taylor, "Girl Crazy" by Sharon Soul, "A Love That Never Grows Cold" by Jackey Beavers, "I'm The One Who Loves You" by Melvin Davis, "Headache In My Heart" by Debonaires, "I Need You Like A Baby" by Andrea Henry, "Who's Kissing You Tonite" by Herman Lewis, "Has It Happened To You Yet" by Edwin Starr, "That's Why I Love You" by The Professionals, "Deeper In Love" by Robert Ward, "Friday Night" by Steve Mancha, and "When You Lose The One You Love" by Buddy Smith.

Rare soul galore, but great soul too – a smoking selection of rare nuggets from the late 60s, including a fair bit of cuts that have never been on CD before! The package seems to be nicely heavy on talents from the Chicago scene – which is A-Ok with our Windy City ears – but also features great bits from down south and out west too – and the tunes step and soar along with grooves that break way past obvious 60s modes, and show that there's a continued great run of music to be discovered from this really amazing time! The whole thing's great – not a bit of filler at all – and titles include "I'm Stuck On You" by The Poets, "Just What Do You Plan To Do About IT" by Little Jerry Williams, "You Never Do Right" by The Fi-Dels, "Soon As Darkness Falls" by Roscoe Shelton, "Wonderful Nite" by Ruby Andrews, "All I Need" by June Conquest, "I Can't Hear You" by Betty Everett, "New Guy" by The Dynettes, "My Love Is Gone" by The Shadows, "Good Lovin Man" by Delores Hall, "The Night The Angels Cried" by Johnny Dynamite, "If There's Anything Else You Want" by Roddie Joy, "That I Love You" by Paul Johnson, and "I'm Walking Away" by Denise Chandler.

Uptempo soul from Jewel, Paula and Ronin labels – the Shreveport, LA base of Stan Lewis – record store and label opener, distributor, and all around behind-the-scenes wizard of the 60s & 70s independent soul scene! The singles are wonderful throughout, bridging the mid 60s to the 70s very nicely – with tracks by Billy Joe Young, The Objectives, Cliff Wagner, Peppermint Harris, Montclairs, Barbara West, Jay Jay Taylor and many more. The liner notes have a reprint of a cool vintage feature on Stan's empire from Billboard in 1973 – and the titles include "Got You On My Mind" by Billy Joe Young, "I'm Waiting" by Bill Bush, "Love Went Away" by The Objectives, "Wait Until It Happens To You" by Peppermint Harris, "Not Too Long Ago" by The Uniques feat Joe Stampley, "I'm A Fool For You Baby" by Barbara West, "Fight Fire With Fire" by Shay Holiday, "Hung Up On Your Love" by Montclairs, "Sugar Coated Words" by Miki Honeycutt, "I'm Not Tired Yet" by Jay Jay Taylor and more.

A great compilation of rare soul from the dual vaults of Nashville's SSS International and NYC's GSF Records – a north-meets-south collection of brilliant late 60s to mid 70s soul put together by Outta Sight UK! Both labels released a pretty diverse mix of soul styles – from gritty and funk tinged, to sweeter and more soaringly orchestrated – and the set includes incredible stuff from some of our all time favorite acts from the period overlooked by the mainstream, as well as stuff that's was heretofore unheard by our deep digging selves! 20 tracks in all: "Lonely For You Baby" by Sam Dees, "Help Is On The Way" by Van McCoy, "Baby You Got Me" by Clarence Murray, "Give Him Up" by The Whatnauts, "Love Me" by Lloyd Price, "My Hang Up Is You" by Skull Snaps, "I Got The Place If You've Got The Time" by Allison, "Do I (Love You Like You Like It)" by Jackie Ross, "I'm Your Pimp" by Skull Snaps, "Lonely Man" by Johnny Soul 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 motherlode of rare Detroit soul – all pulled from the small Sidra label imprints, and put together here in a package that features nearly every Northern Soul groover from the company! This set goes way deeper than most Northern collections – and many of the cuts here are ones we haven't seen on other compilations, at least not in recent years – which makes the whole thing a massive discovery in music – maybe even more when you consider the nice notes and colorful package, which also features a load of rare label scans too! Titles include "We've Got Each Other" by Ronnie & Robyn, "I'm Sure" by Two Plus Two, "I Lost A Good Thing" by Gwen Owens, "So Real" by Barbara Mercer, "Please Stay" by Pearl Jones, "Let My Baby Go" by The Embraceables, "Baby You're Mine" by Lou Ragland, "How To Make A Sad Man Glad" by The Capreez, " Love's What You Want" by Marisa Gatti, "Keep On Going" by Gary Haines, "The Other Side" by 5 Of A Kind, "Open Up Your Heart" by Profonix, and "God Must Have Created Love" by Flery Bursey.

The heaviest side of the Chicago soul scene of the 60s – served up in a massive batch of rare tracks from the indie label underground! The collection is a great tribute to the depth of the Windy City scene back in the day – the huge range of local artists who were working hard to keep Chicago grooving – often with a style that was nice and gritty, with a bit less polish than work from Detroit – but with an equal sort of punch on the dancefloor! All tunes here are upbeat and grooving – and the range of artists is wonderfully representative, and includes a few rare tracks from singers who'd crack later fame on bigger labels. Titles include "I Can't Forget" by Bull & The Matadors, "I'm A Big Man" by Big Daddy Rogers, "Swing Your Love My Way" by No No Starr, "Disillusioned" by Marvin L Sims, "Check Her Out" by The Idols, "Spring Song" by The Accents, "All The Way" by The Danderliers, "Lovely Ladies" by Jimmy Hughes, "All Of My Life" by The Ringleaders, "I'm A Good Guy" by The CODs, "A Lonely Boy" by Lee Wilson, and "Speed Up" by Betty Moorer.