Vocalists — LPs  

Wow, we never thought we'd see this one reissued! Andy Bey was originally a member of the jazz group Andy & The Bey Sisters – but by this time, he'd gone solo, and had done vocals on righteous political albums by Gary Bartz and Horace Silver. The groove here is nice and jazzy, with some funky stuff thrown in, and Andy's voice has a weird off-kilter sound that's very hard to describe, but which is extremely haunting! The album includes a remake of "Celestial Blues", which he did with Gary Bartz, plus the tracks "Being Uptight", "Tune Up", "Hibiscus", "Experience", and "The Power Of My Mind".

One of the deepest soul sets from Esther Phillips' 70s years on Kudu Records – a set with some nicely gritty grooves and a surprisingly earthy feel at times – especially when compared to some of her other albums of the time! Backings are by James Brown's old reedman, Pee Wee Ellis – and although there's some of the usual Kudu electric funk in the mix, there's also some deeper soul elements too – a vibe that's often a bit laidback and open, almost more Atlantic Records at points – which is a mighty good fit for Esther's wonderful voice! As usual for Kudu, the players are an all-star lineup – one that includes Richard Tee on keyboards, George Benson on guitar, Maceo Parker on tenor, and Bernard Purdie and Billy Cobham on drums – and Don Sebesky's also on deck a bit, to sweeten a few tracks up with light strings. The album's got a great version of Bill Withers' "Use Me" that features a tasty break in the intro – and other titles include a great version of "Alone Again (Naturally)", plus the cuts "Let's Move & Groove", "Cherry Red", "Let Me In Your Life", and "You & Me Together".