An incredible collection of 70s soul, jazz, and funk – all brought together with the kind of soaring, positive vibe we remember from the classic Free Soul collections! In case you don't recognize the term, it emerged in the late 90s Japanese scene as a way of identifying older American grooves that have a really upbeat sort of sound – a style that's a lot like the cuts that were dug by the rare groove scene, but even groovier and more progressive overall – with a subtle sort of righteous energy that really gives the cuts a lot of power. This set brings together that Free Soul vibe from a host of American indie tracks recently reissued on the P-Vine label – a rare groove treasure trove, with titles that include "Hunk Of Heaven" by Lemuria, "Never Did I Stop Loving You" by Alice Clark, "Loveland" by Spanky Wilson, "Love Means Everything" by Touch Of Class, "Love Oh Love" by Vince Andrews, "A Perfect Day" by Bobby Cole, "In This World" by Billy Wooten, "Inner City Blues" by Placebo, "It's You" by Joyce Cooling, "Keep It Up" by Milton Wright, "Ray Of Hope" by Soul Generation, and "Rainbow In Your Eyes" by Judy Roberts. CD

Mid 60s magic from a record label that only lasted a few short years – yet one that's gone on to have as much prominence for real soul collectors as the music of Atlantic and Motown! Loma Records was a small offshoot of Warner Brothers on the west coast – yet one that worked far from the hit territory of its parent company, and instead captured all these wonderful groups and singers who might never have gotten exposure otherwise – a few of whom would go on to record later for bigger labels, but most of whom lost the chance for fame once Loma closed its doors! The quality of the music here is incredible – really top-shelf productions, at a level that rivals some of the best Detroit studios of the time, mixed with some of the cool class of Chicago soul as well – served up in a style that works equally well for vocal groups and solo singers. And while Loma recorded some deep soul cuts during this period, this set focuses on the more upbeat numbers – as you'd guess from the "Northern" in the title – served up in a collection that not only features rare singles, but also a few unissued tracks too! CD set features 25 tracks in all – and include "Mean It Baby" by Carl Hall, "You Can't Outsmart A Woman" by Kell Osborne, "I'm Getting Weaker" by The Soul Shakers, "My Heart Needs A Break" by Linda Jones, "Bright Lights" by Delilah Kennebreuw, "Runnin Around" by Tony Amaro & The Chariots, "Baby Don't Look Down" by Billy Storm, "The Big Jerk (part 1)" by Clyde & Teh Blue Jays, "Better Think Of What You're Losing" by Tommy Starr, "The Man With The Golden Touch" by Charles Thomas, "Got A Thing Goin" by The Invincibles, "It's Your Love That I Need" by The Marvellos, "Just A Little Longer" by The Enchanters, "I'll Find A Way" by Bobby Reed, "Go For Yourself" by Larry Lester, "See The Silver Moon" by The Apollas, "Lies" by Bobby Freeman, and "If You Should See Her" by Ben Aiken. (Soul, Funky Compilations) CD

A fantastic explosion of funk, soul, and club – put together at a level that may well even top the first Supafunkanova collection! As before, the cuts here are all super-rare and obscure – but all kick heavy ass when it comes to tight rhythms and catchy clubby grooves – never straight disco or mainstream boogie – but borrowing plenty from the mainstream to turn out cuts with a really raw, underground vibe! There's a slight touch of hip hop in the mix – more that old school skating mode – and the whole thing definitely shows Joey's decades in cutting great cuts for the dancefloor – and his big love of the best groups from the hinterlands. 2LP set features the titles "Drive Me Insane" by Airplay, "Betcha Got A Dude On The Side" by Star Quality & Class, "Cool Out" by Magnum Force, "Spunk In The Funk" by Blue Denim Band, "Walk" by Sam Culley Band, "Sound Reason (Joey Negro edit)" by Splash, "Making Love Will Keep You Fit" by Brenda Harris, "Let's Get High" by Nice & Tight Band, "Easton Assassin" by Sunburst Band, and "Super Stimulus" by Stimulus. LP, Vinyl record album

A wealth of rare funky 45 and album cuts – served up here in a selection that really lives up to the "rare soul" promise of the title! Some of these cuts are rare groove classics from back in the day – the big years when UK DJs first started playing older 70s cuts – and some of them are numbers that have been discovered in more recent years, showing that the field for rare soul collectors is always wide open, if you know where to dig! Titles include "Smooth Sailing" by Three Shades Of Soul, "Look What You've Done For Me" by Al Jarreau, "Every Day's A New Day" by Teresa Graves, "Take My Best Shot" by Liberation, "Be Your Man" by The Harmonics, "If We Don't" by 94 East with Prince, "You Put A Hurtin On Me" by Mary Mundy, "I'm Walking Away" by Gene Townsel, "I'm Crazy About You" by Brief Encounter, and "I Love You Pretty Baby" by Touch Of Class. (Soul, Funky Compilations) LP, Vinyl record album

A Philly soul legend finally gets his time in the spotlight – as drummer Earl Young played on countless classic sessions back in the day, but rarely even got his name in the liner notes! That lack of recognition is corrected here – in a great package that puts Young's face on the cover, details his genius on the drums in the notes, and then presents a motherlode of killer soul tunes from the late 60s through the 70s! Young's maybe best known for his work at Sigma Sound Studios, and on famous sessions for the Philadelphia International label – but here, he's heard on an even wider range of cuts – including late 60s Northern Soul numbers, and great album work by artists you might not normally associate with Philly. Titles include "Storm Warning" by The Volcanos, "Silly Silly Fool" by Dusty Springfield, "Hit & Run" by Loleatta Holloway, "I Just Can't Say Goodbye" by Philly Devotions, "Please Give Me One More Chance" by Clyde McPhatter, "Do The Hand Jive" by Archie Bell & The Drells, "Penguin At The Big Apple/Zing" by The Trammps, "I Can't Fight Your Love" by The Modulations, "Touch & Go (12" mix)" by Ecstasy Passion & Pain, "I Like To Live The Love" by BB King, "I'm Doin Fine Now" by New York City, "Ain't Got The Love Of One Girl" by The Ambassadors, "Just Can't Get You Out Of My Mind" by The Spinners, "Do It Again" by Charles Mann, and "Be Truthful To Me" by Billy Paul. CD

A massive assortment of tracks that go way past the familiar – not a collection of standard classics from Blue Note, Impulse, or Prestige – and instead a whole host of jazzy groovers that we'd never have discovered otherwise! This volume of the series does a great job mixing in contemporary cuts with rare nuggets from years past – in ways that never make you notice the passage of years, as almost all of this work is rooted in a solid blend of tight rhythms and inventive improvisation – heavy on acoustic instrumentation, but with occasional electric moments too! Imagine the kind of groove that Gilles Peterson used to turn us onto years back, when he was spinning rare jazz records, and you'll get the vibe here – served up on titles that include "Tape Your Beat" by Born 74 & Onj, "Still In Love" by GeeW, "46 To Somewhere" by The Sultan's Swing, "Unreachable Galaxy" by Stefano Di Santis, "Movin" by Charro Band De Emilio Guerro, "Caught In A Fever" by Moreen Meridian, "Mr Fool" by Alonson Gonzalez & Jazz Latino, "Cla Samba" by Juju, "I Face East" by Mary Greer Mudiku, "Mende" by Jacques Schwarz Bart, "Mother Of The Future" by Venus Dodson, "Wanting Touch (inst)" by Juju, "Mambo De Papi" by El Caballo Y Su Orquesta, "Ponteio" by Miho Nobuzane, "Samba De La Cruz" by Tres Men, and "I'll Bet You Thought I'd Never Find You" by Lifetime. CD

A massive assortment of tracks that go way past the familiar – not a collection of standard classics from Blue Note, Impulse, or Prestige – and instead a whole host of jazzy groovers that we'd never have discovered otherwise! This volume of the series does a great job mixing in contemporary cuts with rare nuggets from years past – in ways that never make you notice the passage of years, as almost all of this work is rooted in a solid blend of tight rhythms and inventive improvisation – heavy on acoustic instrumentation, but with occasional electric moments too! Imagine the kind of groove that Gilles Peterson used to turn us onto years back, when he was spinning rare jazz records, and you'll get the vibe here – served up on titles that include "I Face East" by Mary Greer Mudiku, "Mende" by Jacques Schwarz Bart, "Mother Of The Future" by Venus Dodson, "Wanting Touch (inst)" by Juju, "Mambo De Papi" by El Caballo Y Su Orquesta, "Ponteio" by Miho Nobuzane, "Samba De La Cruz" by Tres Men, and "I'll Bet You Thought I'd Never Find You" by Lifetime. LP, Vinyl record album

A stunning collection of psychedelic funk from all over the world – incredible material that mixes the free spirit of the psychedelic scene and the furious sense of groove learned from the funk movement! The collection is a bit of a genre-starting compilation – as it brings together global funky bits that had been bubbling underground with collectors for years – all resonating even more strongly together here in the company of each other – fantastic cuts from Istanbul, Athens, Paris, Beirut, Cairo, Paris, Lagos, Moscow and beyond! Many of the tracks mix familiar funk elements with more exotic instrumentation – nice fuzzy touches around the edges, and deep beats at the bottom – on titles that include "Su Derenin Sulari" by Husnu Ozkartal Orkestrasi, "Respect" by Kukumbas, "Alemiye" by Mulatu Astake, "The Man Who Must Leave" by Kim Sun, "What You Can Do In Your Life" by Petalouda, "Ghabileh-Ye Lily" by Mehr Pooya., "The Feed-Back" by The Group, "Circuito Chiuso" by Armando Sciascia, "Mevlana Boyle Dede" by Metin H Alatli, "Dagon" by Eskaton, and "Rakset El Fadaa" by Omar Khorshid. CD

Sublime soul from the great Thom Bell – one of our favorite arranger, producer, songwriters of all time – and a talent who really helped push the Philly soul scene much farther than most during the 70s! Bell was trained as a classical pianist as a kid – which might explain part of his ear for a special sort of tune – but by the time of this work, he was neck-deep in the soul scene – and working with a fantastic track record for bringing the best out of a very wide variety of artists! Bell was especially great with groups – he helped more than a few really stretch out their wings and grow – but as you'll hear here, Thom also handled a fantastic range of music in Philly studios – all with magnificent touches that really set the tunes apart from the rest – French horns, harpsichord, and especially that twangy sitar sound that worked so well with a harmony ballad. The set's got 23 tracks in all, and a massive set of notes on the man and his music – with titles that include "What I See" by Three Degrees, "Here I Go Again" by Archie Bell & The Drells, "You've Been Untrue" by The Delfonics, "Moody Woman" by Jerry Butler, "Something For Nothing" by MFSB, "One Man Band" by Ronnie Dyson, "Close The Door" by Teddy Pendergrass, "Life Is A Song Worth Singing" by Johnny Mathis, "Look The Other Way" by Lesley Gore, "What Kind Of Lady" by Dee Dee Sharp, "It's The Same Old Love" by The Courtship, "Do You Remember Yesterday" by The Intruders, "Track Of The Cat" by Dionne Warwick, and "I Wanna Be A Free Girl" by Dusty Springfield. (Soul, Funky Compilations) CD

The resurgence of one of the most groundbreaking periods in recent groove history – the almost-forgotten post-punk years in England, a time of incredible musical convergence! In the heady days of the early 80s – a time when much music was being lost under a gloss of big hair, tinny keyboards, and wispy vocals – a small underground of British musicians were bringing together bits of funk, punk, disco, reggae, and 70s electronica – crafting dark and funky little tunes the likes of which we've barely heard since! A number of these groups went onto do much larger (and weaker) recordings – but this package brilliantly documents the edgy brilliance at the beginning of the post punk years: a nihilistic horizon on the other end of punk – no longer angry, caustic, and shouting, on one hand with the wind knocked out of its apparent sails, on the other, slowly fomenting in secret places, coming up with music far more powerful than punk ever was. And for some strange reason, much of it was pretty darn funky – thanks to a heavy use of simple electric bass, scattershot (sometimes primitive) drum parts, and nice electronic touches, almost in an inverse to American electro. The music more than speaks for itself – and the set's as classic a batch of tunes from the time as we'd ever heard. Titles include "Shack Up" and "Knife Slits Water" by A Certain Ratio, "In The Beginning There Was Rhythm" by The Slits, "20 Jazz Funk Greats" by Throbbing Gristle, "Vegas El Bandito" and "Coup" by 23 Skidoo, "She Is Beyond Good & Evil" by The Pop Group, "Being Boiled" by The Human League, "To Hell With Poverty" by Gang Of Four, and "24 Track Loop" by This Heat. LP, Vinyl record album

The resurgence of one of the most groundbreaking periods in recent groove history – the almost-forgotten post-punk years in England, a time of incredible musical convergence! In the heady days of the early 80s – a time when much music was being lost under a gloss of big hair, tinny keyboards, and wispy vocals – a small underground of British musicians were bringing together bits of funk, punk, disco, reggae, and 70s electronica – crafting dark and funky little tunes the likes of which we've barely heard since! A number of these groups went onto do much larger (and weaker) recordings – but this package brilliantly documents the edgy brilliance at the beginning of the post punk years: a nihilistic horizon on the other end of punk – no longer angry, caustic, and shouting, on one hand with the wind knocked out of its apparent sails, on the other, slowly fomenting in secret places, coming up with music far more powerful than punk ever was. And for some strange reason, much of it was pretty darn funky – thanks to a heavy use of simple electric bass, scattershot (sometimes primitive) drum parts, and nice electronic touches, almost in an inverse to American electro. The music more than speaks for itself – and the set's as classic a batch of tunes from the time as we'd ever heard. Titles include "Shack Up" and "Knife Slits Water" by A Certain Ratio, "In The Beginning There Was Rhythm" by The Slits, "20 Jazz Funk Greats" by Throbbing Gristle, "Vegas El Bandito" and "Coup" by 23 Skidoo, "She Is Beyond Good & Evil" by The Pop Group, "Being Boiled" by The Human League, "To Hell With Poverty" by Gang Of Four, and "24 Track Loop" by This Heat. CD

Incredible funk from an almost-unlikely source – the legendary P&P family of record labels, mostly known for their groundbreaking disco work – but also home to some excellent funky tracks in the late 70s! Given that most of the focus on P&P reissues has often been on the label's club tracks, nearly all the tunes on this CD are reissued here for the first time – offering a completely fresh look at the sound of P&P – making the collection a totally essential set, and long overdue! Many of the tracks are instrumental, and have touches that clearly mark them as coming from the hands of Peter Brown or Patrick Adams – nice spacey bits in the keyboards, wickedly snapping rhythms at the bottom, and an overall sense of groove that's always yearning for something new. Titles include "I've Been Working" by Wild Honey, "Hooker (parts 1 & 2)" by Peter Brown, "I'm Gonna Fool" by Ella Hamilton, "Do The Funky Donkey" by Otis Turner, "Hitch Hike One More Time" by King David, "Long Time Ago" by Smokey Brooks, "New York Apple Jack" by Scott Davis & The Movements, "Solid Funk" by Flame & The Sons Of Darkness, and "Determination" by Eddie Owen. CD

Rare Caribbean funk from the 70s – the second volume of West Indies Funk – once again delivering a stylistically diverse take on the classic funky soul from groups such as The Troubadours, Boo & The Tru Tones, Roosevelt Johnson & His Spice Islanders, The Cassanovas, Blue Rhythm Combo and others! All the things we dug about the first volume are in the mix once again – and ultimately the set goes even further with the range and boundlessly funky styles. Includes numbers that could just as easily come from the funky underground of the regional US and others that roll out grooves that are purely indicative of the Caribbean – with steel drums, tropical rhythms and all around breezier, sunnier touches. Even better than the first one! Includes "Funk Good Feeling" by The Troubaodours, "Have A Party" by The Esquires Now", "Don't Blame This Joint" by Boo & The True Tones", "Shango!" by Steel Image, "Something's Definitely Going On" by Mamwaw, "Look-Ka-Py Py" by L Charmers, "Funky Crookie" by Exile 1, "Sing A Simple Song" by The Cassanovas, "The Big Pay Back" by Kenny & The Beach Boys and more. (Global Grooves, Funky Compilations) LP, Vinyl record album

Genius work from one of the most soulful production teams ever – brothers Larry and Fonce Mizell, a pair who really helped transform the sound of funky jazz in the 70s! The Mizell touch is a tricky thing to sum up adequately – a sublime blend of keyboards, splashy rhythms, vocal choirs, and fuller backings – all set in a way that still allows plenty of space for a main jazz soloist to do their thing. And even if you don't know the brothers' work by itself, we can bet you've heard its influence in a range of modern hip hop, electronica, and dance music over the past few years – because the Mizell influence is still burning strong, many long decades after their initial work in the studio. This excellent collection really goes out of its way to bring together some of the best Mizell-produced tracks for Blue Note and Capitol from the mid 70s – in a way that sits classics alongside some lesser-remembered numbers, and which nicely excludes a few tracks that have already been over-compiled in recent years. Titles include "Wind Parade", "Dominoes", "Change", and "Design A Nation" by Donald Byrd, "Reason To Survive" by Rance Allen, "Uno Esta" and "Black & Blues" by Bobbi Humphrey, "Funked Up" by Gary Bartz, "N R Time" by Mizellstory, and "Think Twice (Mizell Brothers 2005 rmx)" by Donald Byrd. CD

A killer collection of rare bossa nova from the 60s – all put together by Nicola Conte, whose work on the Schema label has done a lot to continue the tradition of the classics! Here, though, Nicola's set loose on the RGE label, and other indies from 60s Brazil – super-rare records that almost never made it to our neck of the woods back in the day, and which always had a super-sharp sound that was even harder and groovier than American work on labels like Verve and Capitol! The cuts here are all wonderful – many of them new to our ears, and filled with great vocals, driving percussion, and plenty of jazzy touches. Titles include "Fora De Hora" by Dalmo Castello, "Voce Que Nao Vem" by O Triangulo, "Sem Fim" by Marisa Baroso, "Chegar De Brigar" by Henrique Benny, "Macumba" by Claudia, "Copa 70" Brasil 40 Graus, "Litoral" by Werther, "Tema Em Do" by Bossa Trio, "Canto Do Quilombo" by Luiz Carlos Sa, "Faz De Conta" by Aizita, "Tokyo Blues" by Octons, and "Samba De Negro" by Carlos Sodre. CD

A stunning collection of psychedelic funk from all over the world – incredible material that mixes the free spirit of the psychedelic scene and the furious sense of groove learned from the funk movement! The collection is a bit of a genre-starting compilation – as it brings together global funky bits that had been bubbling underground with collectors for years – all resonating even more strongly together here in the company of each other – fantastic cuts from Istanbul, Athens, Paris, Beirut, Cairo, Paris, Lagos, Moscow and beyond! Many of the tracks mix familiar funk elements with more exotic instrumentation – nice fuzzy touches around the edges, and deep beats at the bottom – on titles that include "Su Derenin Sulari" by Husnu Ozkartal Orkestrasi, "Respect" by Kukumbas, "Alemiye" by Mulatu Astake, "The Man Who Must Leave" by Kim Sun, "What You Can Do In Your Life" by Petalouda, "Ghabileh-Ye Lily" by Mehr Pooya., "The Feed-Back" by The Group, "Circuito Chiuso" by Armando Sciascia, "Mevlana Boyle Dede" by Metin H Alatli, "Dagon" by Eskaton, and "Rakset El Fadaa" by Omar Khorshid. CD

Athur Baker was a producer with a slightly bumpy path in the 80s, but there's no denying his impact on music at the time – particularly the way he had of funneling sounds from the streets to the dancefloors in the mainstream! Baker was one of the first to really have an ear for both hip hop and other styles of grooves – super-sharp on the right electro elements, yet with a richer understanding of soul, R&B, and club – all of which he brings to work here, on versions of tracks that have all the excitement of a special take on the tune from the clubs back in the day! This 4CD set comes in a huge book-style package, with plenty of notes – and features 43 classic mixes by Baker, with titles that include "Big Love (ext rmx)" by Fleetwood Mac, "Sun City (last rmx)" by Artists United Against Apartheid, "Running Away (Arthur Baker rmx)' by The Colourfield, "C'Est La Vie (ext rmx)" by Robbie Nevil, "Out Of Touch (club version)" by Daryl Hall & John Oates, "Living In A Box (dance mix)" by Living In A Box, "IOU (mega mix)" by Freeez, "Walking On Sunshine (12" version)" by Rockers Revenge, "Soweto (rmx)" by Jeffrey Osborne, "A Love Supreme (jazz in the house rmx)" by Will Downing, "Message Is Love (cupid mix)" by Arthur Baker & The Backbeat Disciples with Al Green, "Ever Fallen In Love (club senseless)" by Fine Young Cannibals, "Buffalo Stance (1/2 way 2 house mix)" by Neneh Cherry, and "Planet Rock (12" voc version)" by Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force. CD