An essential look at the spiritual jazz legacy of Impulse Records – a set that's maybe a bit overdue in this series, given that Impulse first opened the door to these modes with their recordings of John Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders in the 60s! For some reason, Impulse had a perfect ear for this music – able to let players stretch out and be free, but also work some of the earlier modal jazz impulses into longer-form tunes that still had a pulse of rhythm – and which were often a bit different than the freer jazz styles on a label like ESP. Make no mistake, there's plenty of improvisation going on here – but it's also part of the larger, unified spirit of the tunes – a real message in the music, on selections that include "Sister Mamie" by Yusef Lateef, "Three Flowers" by McCoy Tyner, "7th Day" by Freddie Hubbard, "Half & Half" by Elvin Jones, "Groove Waltz" by McCoy Tyner, "The Blessing Song" by Michael White, "Turiya & Ramakrishna" by Alice Coltrane, "A Taste Of Honey" by Phil Woods, "Constant Trob (part 1)" by John Klemmer, "Hum Allah Hum Allah Hum Allah" by Pharoah Sanders, "Maimoun" by Marion Brown, "Lonesome Lover" by Max Roach, "Fantszm" by Elvin Jones, "Acknowledgement" by John Coltrane, "Thembi" by Pharoah Sanders, and "Journey In Satchidananda" by Alice Coltrane. And let us say that even if you have some of these tracks on other records, there's something completely sublime about the way the whole thing is put together – and the way the tracks sound next to each other! CD

Includes 64 tracks by Carl Douglas, Brass Construction, Dan Hartman, Heatwave, Three Degrees, Positive Force, Chic, The O'Jays, Gwen McRae, Shalamar, Anita Ward, Taste Of Honey, Sister Sledge, and more! CD

Lots of beats and breaks – and the groove is a lot less mellow than you'd guess from the title! Tracks are pulled from some of the coolest indie labels of the 70s – Brunswick, HDH, and Salsoul – and the focus is on tracks that have lots of heavy drums and sharp changes – of the sort that were sampled heavily back in the day, but which also make for a nice batch of upbeat soul numbers too! Yet the collection is way more than just a sample-based collection of soul – as most of these numbers are pretty unusual, and not the kind of soul tracks that show up often on other compilations – and they link together surprisingly well, given the different sources from Chicago, Detroit, and New York. Titles include "Girl I Need You" by The Artistics, "I'm Bugging Your Phone" by The Smith Connection, "Seeing You Through The Eyes Of A Blindman" by Satisfaction Unlimited, "Lovin You Is Killin Me" by Moment Of Truth, "Where Will It End (Walter Gibbons mix)" by Love Committee, "I Got It" by New York Port Authority, "Love Factory" by Eloise Laws, "Breakaway" by First Choice, "Taster Of The Honey" by The Jones Girls, and "You Don't Have To Go (edit)" by The Chi-Lites. CD