Funky 45's — All Formats  

A sweet later groover from The O'Jays – warm, mellow, and moving at a great midtempo clip – a groove that lets the harmonies soar out beautifully over the top! The hook is wonderful, with a slight undercurrent of righteousness – and "My Favorite Person" follows with an equally great feel – one of the group's best cuts of the time!

A stormer! "Get Down" is a killer from the Kay Gees – a cut that begins with a Kool & The Gang type riff, and which grooves with a sweet ensemble funk sound all the way through! "My Favorite Song" is a winner too – with a similar funky feel, and a mad love-oriented monologue over the top!

We've heard the original title version of "My Favorite Things" a million times – but it still blows our mind the way Coltrane hits this incredibly soulful modal groove, twisting and turning on soprano sax, always keeping things interesting, so that we're surprised that the cut's gone by so quickly!

A great spacey groove! "Your Best Friend" has an airy, spaced-out sort of feel – one that almost reminds us of some of the best Cali soul in recent years – a bit abstract, but right on the money – and with the vocals flanged out wonderfully next to the beats! "Look Around" has a bit more punch, but still some cool spacey modes too – a great cascading of sound that wraps up Lorett's vocals beautifully! When's the album coming? We're sure it's going to be a humdinger!

The first single from Mr. Day's Dry Up The Sun set! "Forgotten Realms" is a nice one, with some retro R&B touches, but it's got a really unique vibe. Gritty lead vocals and nice chorus back up, handclaps on the beat, some really nice use of organ and an all around insistent groover! "Follow You" has the feel of a lost 60s number, again with the killer organ groove, some tasty guitar and tight bass line.

Part two's of two great James Brown tracks! "Gittin' A Little Hipper" is one of our favorite instrumentals from JB late 60's period, and it's got a great rolling groove to it, with a very tasty sax solo by Pee Wee! "Let A Man Come In" is a real stormer from James, and one that you don't see on wax that much. Plus, it's another part 2 – with a rolling open ended groove, and lots of shouting by James!

Two great lost numbers from one of our favorite soul artists of all time! "I Can Take Care" is a rolling midtempo number, with that loping Chi soul groove that Gene was working in afer his early Vee Jay sides. Gene's vocals really send us – especially on the the chorus, when they go over the top! "Mr Big Shot" is a great cut too – with a strumming guitar underneath the beat, in kind of a hip mod style that's a real surprise to hear from Gene! There's some backup vocals on the chorus, but the verse has Gene rolling ahead full steam.

The Demures are totally great – a sweet female soul group, but one who work here with a solidly socking groove! "Raining Teardrops" may have a sad theme, but the rhythm's right up there with the best Chicago dancefloor soul of the late 60s – that romping style you'd hear most famously on Okeh or Brunswick records! Speaking of Brunswick, the Lost Generation fly on the flip – turning out one of our favorite Chicago soul tracks ever – the sublime "Sly Slick & The Wicked"!

A great single by this lost St. Louis guitar player! "The Third Cup" is a legendary classic in Chicago – and it's got this amazingly slow, amazingly dope groove that's always been a favorite with the jazz steppers. The flipside is great, too – and features Eddie going crazy in a much more uptempo funky way, playing hard over some tight loping arrangements. Paul Jackson's on bass, too!

A contemporary cut, but one with the older flavor you might expect from the cover – a sweet break-heavy rhythm with a nicely funky feel for the clubs – topped with keyboards and a soulful sampled spoken part! The non-Smoove version is actually our favorite here – even more stripped-down, with an acoustic guitar, acoustic piano, and no sampled vocals – creating lots of nice instrumental interplay!

A stone killer – filled with funky riffing, mad keys, and a wicked groove that's always made this one a favorite! The track begins with some off-kilter electric piano – then slowly backs into a soulful vocal that expands the groove – then the flipside breaks out with a funky flute instrumental, all supported by a really monster break!

A really righteous little number from Nicole Willis – one that comes across with the funky sophistication of the best work on early 70s Curtom Records! Funky grooves from The Soul Investigators mix with a nice bit of strings on the track – elevating the tune from straight deep funk mode into something far hipper – and showing us that Nicole's got all the vocal chops to meet the challenge! A really wonderful number that would have been one of our favorite tracks of the 70s, had it been issued so many years ago!

A howling classic by The Sonics! "Psycho" will always be one of our favorite Sonics' tunes – a scorcher with an R&B influence – done with a maniacal proto-punk urgency. That sax honking behind those bugged-out vocals – it's absolutely essential! "Maintaining My Cool" is, well, comparably quite cool – but still with a menacing edge – particularly via the sneering, swaggery lyrics.

One of our favorite tunes ever from Jethro Tull – a cool jazzy number that's almost more Herbie Mann or Harold McNair than the usual Tull groove! The bluesy bottom really drops out of the group's sound – and instead a hip bassline sets the tune up nicely for some sweet solo flute, and these catchy lyrics that are some of the most hook-heavy that Ian Anderson's ever sung! Limited pic sleeve EP also features "Witch's Promise", "Life Is A Long Song", and "Teacher (UK version 2013 mix)".

Massive Caribbean funk from the 70s – a killer collection of grooves from the legendary Blue Rhythm Combo! The sound here is way more US-funky than you might expect – as BRC really drew heavily from American acts of the time, especially on the rhythmic tip – which is always mighty heavy on the basslines, and filled with the kind of snapping drums that have made the group a favorite with crate diggers over the years! In fact, we'd dare say that most of these tracks feel more like east coast indie funk from the classic years – with only a hint of island elements to show the group's Barbados origins – modes that you might find in the grooves of a group like Beginning Of The End at the same time. This 7" package is ultra-cool – 6 of the best BRC tracks in a slipcover with full notes – titles that include "I'm Too Old", "BRC's Groove", "Take The Funky Feeling", "Sister Jeanie", and "Get Down".

A sparkling stormer from Jean Carn – and both cuts are great! "Don't Let It Go To Your Head" is one of the real Philly treasures from later years – a track that never charted big, but which has gone onto become a global soul favorite – thanks to a sublime jazzy groove, and vocals that just won't quit! "We Got Some Catchin Up To Do" has a similar lineage – overlooked at the time, but a bouncy groover filled with plenty of mature sophisticated soul!

A pair of strong tracks from one of the most restless creative spirits of the post millennium funky soul underground – and possibly the best single yet in the Mello Music Group series of limited 7-inches! "Akosua" and "In My Heart" both find Georgia at her recent best – with a bit of a 70s cinematic soul drive to the former and a more mellow and atmospheric vibe on the latter – and both are inventive and and unique, but quite accessible at the same time. A mix of beauty and soulful grit from one of our favorite voices and producers of the era.

A massive groove from Myron E – one of our favorite talents in the deep funk underground! "Pot Club" has a groove as dark as its title – kind of muddy at the bottom, which makes it a perfect match for the vocals – which have these slightly spacey quality, even though they're straightly soulful overall! There's plenty of punch at the bottom, much more so than you'd expect from such a pot-infused number – and production is by D, who we think is Didier – and if so, gives this cut some of his trademark messed-up funky touches!