Sample funk spun from records rescued by The Numero Group – edited by white label production crew Shoes without Numero's consent – which was then seized by Numero at the pressing plant, they bootlegged the bootleg, and release it here legitimately as Eccentric Breaks & Beats! The breakbeat funk aware will recognize the packaging for its parody of the Ultimate Breaks & Beats series – and however you feel about the politics of grey market music – creatively, this thing is a total win! Numero takes such impeccable care with their reissues, from the masters to the notes and packaging, we actually never really thought of the music as sample material – funky as the funkiest of their ouvre is! That's a testament to the curators of Numero, as the singers, players and producers of the original material are of paramount importance and we think of them individually when we listen to those compilations. Shoes, on the other hand (. . .or foot), heard potential for hypnotic, swirling psych funk blends and spins an undeniably creative set to suit. Titles include "Give Me Another Day", "Not Ready For School", "John Goodman Is Too Cool To Cry", "Peopleibrium", "Feel What Lies Behind You", "Saving Mr Billy's Soul", "Cosmic Clock", "Which Jesus Am I", "Everything" and more. CD

A heavenly set of southern soul – a package that pulls together a wealth of rare and unreleased singles from the Malaco label – that important Jackson, Mississippi imprint that took on the deeper sounds of the 70s – after the Memphis and Muscle Shoals scenes were losing steam! Some of the artists here are ones who would have ended up on Stax or Volt, had the labels still been going at the time – and instead found a great home on Malaco, a company who also had a great legacy of work in southern blues, and really knew how to bring out the best in a strong-voiced singer! Yet despite that side of the label, the music here is all-soul all the way through – not some of the soul/blues hybrids that Malaco could do well, and instead amazing deep soul, handled with a new sort of sophistication for the 70s! The sound is wonderful throughout – and the set features loads of cuts we'd never heard before – 18 titles that include "Overflowing" by Jewel Bass, "Ain't No Love For Sale" by Tommy Tate, "Sour Love Bitter Sweet" by Joe Wilson, "Lovin On Borrowed Time" by Anita Mitchell, "Got To Find The Nerve" by Hank Sample, "Two Of A Kind" by Dorothy Moore, "Once Upon A Love Affair" by Chuck Brooks, "That's How Much I Love You" by Eddie Houston, and "Talkin About Love" by George Soule. (Soul, Funky Compilations) CD

Fantastic funky sounds from TK Records – a Miami soul powerhouse that most folks know for some big disco hits in the 70s, but a company that also cut some killer 45s in the years before that time! Much of the work here is from the earlier funky 45 years of the TK empire – including singles issued on the Glades, Alston, and Cat labels – plus a few later tracks that show just how committed the company was to more unusual, more developing styles of funk – even when they were making big cash on their disco hits. The whole thing is fantastic – and filled with plenty of rare funky breaks that you'll recognize from samples – with titles that include "Funky Yolk" by Arnold Albury & The Casuals, "Nobody But You Babe" by Clarence Reid, "Cramp Your Style" by All the People, "Mashed Potato Popcorn" by Freddie & The Kinfolk, "Let's Take A Break" by Milton Wright, "Cutting Room (Hot Pants)" by Oceanliners, "Miss Hot Stuff" by Clarence Reid, "Lay It On Me" by Willie Johnson, "Let Me Be Your Lover" by Jimmy Bo Horne, "Cosmic Funk" by Mad Dog Fire Department, and "Don't Waste My Time" by Jerry Washington. CD

Deep deep funk from the legendary Westbound label – the important early home to Ohio Players and Funkadelic, but also host to some other great funky groups too! In keeping with the name, the cuts here focus on the kind of Westbound tracks that have great drum breaks in their groove – or which stand out as great selections for sampling, too – but all presented with the same sort of care, research, and attention to detail that the Ace label brings to all of their famous soul collections! In other words, the whole thing's got all the sharp edges and funky beats as one of those dodgy sample collections – but the sound is better, the tracks are legit, and the whole thing features detailed notes as well. Titles include "Kissing My Love" by Spanky Wilson, "Funky Worm" by Ohio Players, "Suzie Thundertussy" by Junie, "You & Your Folks Me & My Folks" by Funkadelic, "Music Man (part 2)" by Pleasure Web, "Back From The Dead" by King Errisson, "You're Gettin A Little Too Smart" by The Detroit Emeralds, "Pack Of Lies" by The Counts, "Funk It Down" by Caesar Frazier, "Good Old Music" by Mgictones, "The Fuz & Da Boog" by Fuzzy Haskins, "Heartbreaker Of The Year" by Denise LaSalle, "Does He Treat You Better" by Unique Blend, "Baby Let Me Take You In My Arms" by Detroit Emeralds, "Mixed Up Moods & Attitudes (Tom Moulton mix)" by Fantastic Four, "Tightrope (single mix)" by Junie, and "I'll Bet You" by Funkadelic. CD

A stunning selection of highlife material from the Nigerian scene – a huge double-length collection that really offers up a vivid example of the music that was in place before the big wave of 70s Afro Funk and other new styles! The work here is different than some of the more commercial highlife recordings you might know – especially those from the big 80s years of world music – as the recording quality is often nice and raw, and the focus is mostly on acoustic percussion, electric guitar, and jazzier horn lines next to the vocals – with grooves usually moving at a mighty nice clip in a bold explosion of color! The bulk of the work on the 19 track set is from the 50s through the early 70s – and titles include "Yei Ngebewoh" by ET Menseh & The Tempos, "Akwanoma Hiahii" by Rambler Dance Band, "Muntie (Highlife Charanga)" by Ramblers International, "Eyaa Dudm" by Professional Uhuru Band, "Ogiobo" by Sir Victor Uwaifo & His Titibitis Of Africa, "Osondi Owendi" by Chief Stephen Osita Osadebe, and "Koko Ahataw Kur" by George Williams Aingo. (Global Grooves, Funky Compilations) CD

A masterful set of old school funk & soul put together by DJ Andy Smith – who also worked some magic a few years back for the BGP label on the Northern Soul tip – this time out doing his thing with prime funk from the late 60s & early 70s! Smith does a excellent job of mixing sample classics that helped build golden age hip hop, and many deeper tracks – funk nuggets from The Blackbyrds, Billy Garner, Funk Inc, Spanky Wilson and others! The CD version is a continuous mix, with some scratches and nods to the hip hop era – and it's a great one! Titles include "Cracklin' Bread" by Dave Hamilton, "It's My Thing"by Betty Moorer, "I Don't Know What It Is But It Sure Is Funky" by Ripple, "I Got Some" by Billy Garner", "Can't Get Enough" by 87th Of Broadway, "Skunk Juice" by Pazant Brothers, "I'm A Good Woman" by The Generation", "Tighten Up" by Roosevelt Matthews and more. 24 tracks in all. CD

A really wonderful entry in this excellent series – one that initially helped identify a really special strand in postwar music – then continue to provide rare and unique examples with new volumes like this! The music isn't really mambo or Latin at all – but the rhythms here are more sophisticated and modern than more blues-oriented work of the time – and pulled from a fantastic moment when things were really mixing up in the new indie recording scene of the postwar years! Bits of jazz, early soul, and other touches make these tunes really shine – all lively numbers that include both group material and solo singers too – in a killer set list that includes "Wanda" by The Heartbreakers, "You're So Good Looking" by Otis Smith, "Heartaches & Troubles" by Mr Bo, "Song Of Sadar" by Lawrence Peel & The Filatones, "Buddha's Boogie" by Dukes Of Rhythm, "Calvalry" by Marie Knight & Sister Rosetta Tharpe, "Evil One" by The Dundees, "Love For Sale" by Helene Polite, "Oscalypso" by Oscar Pettiford, "Mambo Blues" by Effie Smith, "Big Mary's" by Titus Turner, "Caldonia" by Monchito, "Ali Baba's Boogie" by Preston Love, "Canveral Rock" by The Blasts, "I Want You To Be My Baby Mambo" by The Royals, "Girl Of My Dream" by Frank Butler, and "My Beat Is 125th Street" by Eunice Davis. CD

Famous tracks from the legendary Miami Soul powerhouse TK Records – famous not because they were hits in the 70s, but because they were used in later years as hip hop samples – dug from the deep well of music that TK recorded back in the day, to lay the blueprint for a whole new generation! The set brings together 15 gems that are not only funky, and which have key elements that you'll know from hip hop songs – but which also stand pretty darn strongly on their own, as a fantastic overview of the care of creation that TK brought to its work in the studio. Titles include "Groove To Get Down" by T-Connection, "Dedicate All My Love" by Raw Soul Express, "Sweet Thang" by The 13th Floor, "Living Together Is Keeping Us Apart" by Clarence Reid, "Good Good Lovin" by Charles Johnson, "To Touch You Again/Lady Blue" by John Tropea, "Givin Me Your Love" by Facts Of Life, "Dance With Me" by Peter Brown, "Why Can't We Live Together" by Timmy Thomas, and both versions of "90% Of Me Is You" – one by Gwen McCrae, one by Vanessa Kendrick. Also features some J Rocc mixes – "I Get Lifted (J Rocc edit)" by George McCrae, "Keep It Up (J Rocc edit)" by Milton Wright, "I Love The Way You Love (J Rocc dub)" by Betty Wright, and "Clean Up Woman (J Rocc edit)" by Betty Wright. CD

More funky breaks than Evel Knevel after the Snake River Canyon jump! The groove hounds at BGP records were set loose on the Ace catalog – which includes holdings from Atlantic, Stax, Volt, Westbound, and other funky classic labels – and they managed to come up with a killer batch of funky cuts, even though this is their 3rd dip into the crates! If anything, perhaps they dipped even deeper this time – especially as some of the once-trusted sources for breaks, like the famous Ultimate Breaks & Beats series, are now disappearing from the market. Titles include "Soul Pad" by The Coasters, "I Walk On Gilded Splinters" by Johnny Jenkins, "T Plays It Cool" by Marvin Gaye, "Nappy Dugout" by Funkadelic, "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" by Jimmy Ponder, "Get Out Of My Life Woman" by The Mad Lads, "The Rose" by 50 Foot Hose, "Holy Ghost" by The Bar Kays, "No Strings Attached" by The Mad Lads, "After Laughter Comes Tears" by Wendy Rene, "River's Invitation" by Freddie Robinson, "This House Is Smokin" by BT Express, "Music Man (parts 1 & 2)" by Pleasure Web, and "I'm Afraid The Masquerade Is Over" by David Porter. CD

Sweet and smooth 70s soul – hand-picked with a freshness that should appeal to folks who found these sounds through the hip hop that these grooves laid the sonic groundwork for. The tracks on here aren't as beat or break-heavy as some of the material on other sample-driven collections – but that's fine with us, as the tracks move into a sophisticated soul range that's always a pleasure to hear, bringing together the kind of well-produced 70s tracks we love! Titles include "Sweet Taste Of Sin" by Dennis Coffey, "I'll See You In Hell First" by Phillip Mitchell, "Do It To Me Now" by Fatback, "Don't Risk Your Happiness On Foolishness" by Fantastic Four, "Killing Time" by Natural Essence, "Your Love Is My Desire" by Eramus Hall, "Baby Get Down" by Eddie McLoyd, "Set It Out" by The Detroit Emeralds, "Love Starved" by Shirley Brown, "I'm Gonna Have To Tell Her" by Isaac Hayes, "If I Had The Power" by Johnny Guitar Watson, and "I Got To Have Your Love Now" by Caesar Frazier. CD

A really well-done collection – filled with enough funky gems to grab the ears of any sample-conscious listener, but also packing plenty of unusual numbers too – including a few Latin tracks that fit in perfectly with the spirit of the sound! A number of these cuts have definitely been sampled over the years – but as is always the case, the fuller tracks are often a lot more interesting than the riff or drum part that was taken from them – and together, the titles here show that there's always plenty to dig when you know how to dig deep – as you'll hear on titles that include "Home" by Gloria Barnes, "I'm Moving On" by Chyvonne Scott, "Natural Beauty" by LJ Waiters, "Afro Funky" by Manteca, "Something Bad" by The Chosen Few, "What Happened To Yesterday" by Al Scott, "Los Feligreses" by Luis Santi, "Every Boy & Girl" by Lee Moses, "Man Of Value" by Tyrone Barkley, "I'm Sorry I Hurt You" by Nat Phillips, and "Cookie Crumbs" by Ray & His Court. CD