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.

A tremendous follow up to the first Spirit Of Philadelphia collection – released many years after that seminal set, and with an even farther-reaching selection of music! The first Spirit set focused on the best mellow and midtempo soul efforts of the Philly International label – but this one expands the groove even more to show the wide influence that Gamble & Huff had on the sound of Philly soul on other labels – especially the major labels, who'd begun following the indie lead in their productions by the mid 70s. There's a fair bit of work here by bigger names at the time, but all of it's got a stone Philly sound – and is either work by artists who first sprung out of the Philly scene directly, or others from different points around the country, and who'd made a trip to Philly in the 70s to record in a hipper groove! Titles include "Do You Remember Yesterday" by New York City, "Falling In Love With You" by Jimmy Ruffin, "It's Not What You Got" by Eddie Kendricks, "We Got Love" by Ben E King, "Don't Take Your Love" by The Whispers, "Can't Accept The Fact" by Gateway, "Straighten It Out" by Anglo-Saxon Brown, "Midnight Lady" by David Morris, "You Make Me Feel So Good Baby" by The Temprees, "It's Love" by The Persuaders, "In Love Again" by The Joneses, "Let's Go All The Way Down" by Brenda & The Tabulations, "Walk Away From Love" by Jackie Moore, "I Don't Have Time To Worry" by Little Anthony & The Imperials, and "That's What Love Does" by Vince Montana & The Philly Sound Orchestra.

Modern soul, R&B, and smooth grooves – the sound of the Stepper's scene that's been big in Chicago for years, and which seems to be having a bit of pull outside the Windy City these days! Tracks include "Rising Cost of Love" by Loose Change, "Sing A Simple Song" by Identiy Crisis, "The Joneses (12" Mix)" by The Temptations, "Sweet On U" by Lo Key, "Never Say Goodbye To Love" by Rene Moore, "Special Kind Of Fool" by Basic Black, "Mr Fix It" by Jeffree, "Love's Gonna Last" by Jeffree, "Don't Look Any Further" by Dennis Edwards, and "Don't Know Why" by David Ruffin & Eddie Kendricks.

Relatively recent soul tracks, but mostly with a classic feel – given that many of the tracks on the set were cut by artists who broke big in the 60s and 70s! The package is a really unique collection – titles from the past decade or two, recorded by older soul artists in a mode that mixes vintage styles with more contemporary production – yet all in ways that are light years from the mainstream R&B you'd hear on the charts! The set's great proof that a great voice never dies, and it also includes a few younger artists who definitely draw inspiration from the older crowd too – and many of the cuts are from the recent Motorcity recordings, showing a real UK love of classic Detroit styles. Titles include "Soul Searching" by Barbara Randolph, "Don't Wait Around" by The Elgins, "No Need To Explain" by GC Cameron, "Back In Circulation (metropolitan soul mix)" by Sweet James Epps, "Crying Shame" by Lynda Laurence, "Love Still Lives In My Heart" by The Originals, "Prime Time Lover" by Linda Griner, "Too Great A Price To Pay" by Bettye Lavette, "My World Will Never Be The Same" by Gina Foster, "Got To Win You Back" by The Contours, "I've Seen The Light" by JJ Barnes, and "Hurt The One You Love" by David Ruffin.

Warm groovers galore – an incredible package of uptempo soul tracks from the 70s – cuts that are deeper than disco, but every bit as tight – all brought together to showcase a tremendous generation in music! There's a great mix of classics and underground numbers here – and the package is overflowing with greatness, especially at this price – a whopping 23 tracks in all, including a fair bit we haven't turned up in years – some really rare singles that are great to finally have on CD! The set's easily one of our favorites in this excellent Backbeats series – and titles include "Talkin Bout Poor Folks" by Lou Edwards & Today's People, "Make Me Believe In You" by Patti Jo, "I'm In Need Of Love" by Lou Courtney, "Love Don't Come No Stronger" by Jeff Perry, "Am I Cold Am I Hot" by Bill Harris, "Keep On Trying" by LTG Exchange, "I Couldn't Believe It" by David Ruffin & Eddie Kendricks, "Are You Ready For This" by The Brothers, "Can We Share It" by Rick Shephard, "Lady In Red" by Ronnie Dyson, "Once I've Been There" by Norman Connors, "You Made A Believer Out Of Me" by Betty Lavette, "What About My Love" by Damaris, and "Get Out Of My Life" by Sharon McMahan.

Nobody fills a dancefloor like Philly – especially with a batch of 70s groovers this great! The set's a really well-chosen batch of classics from the City Of Brotherly Love – one that features a few hits and lots more overlooked nuggets from the Gamble & Huff universe on Philly International – plus some even more obscure bits from labels like Buddah or Epic – showing that there was lots of great Philly work going on in the 70s! The package was put together by Ralph Tee – the man who gave us the sublime Philadelphia Uncovered collections – and the set features 16 titles that include "I Just Can't Goodbye" by Philly Devotions, "I'll Always Love My Mama" by The Intruders, "Do You Like The Way I Love" by The Ebonys, "People Power" by Billy Paul, "Party Time Man" by The Futures, "Can't Accept The Fact" by Gateway, "Falling In Love With You" by Jimmy Ruffin, "Midnight Lady" by David Morris Jr, "Words Without Love" by City Limits, "All I Need" by Anacostia, "Make It Last" by Barbara Mason & The Futures, "Your Love Has Me Locked Up" by The Modulations, and "The Love I Lost" by Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes.