Way more than just "hits" – given that this hip box set features tracks from every single 12" released by the legendary P&P family of labels – a massive amount of underground dancefloor work from the late 70s and early 80s, and a set that gives new meaning to the word discography! If you know even just a bit of the P&P sound, you'll know you've got a revolutionary listening experience in store – music that goes way beyond conventional club and disco, with lots of weird little twists and turns – in both the instrumentation and production, which often use these cool little homemade spacey touches! Vocals are often right in synch with the offbeat grooves – and just about every cut on here is massively funky, too. Package features work by Cloud One, Milton Floyd, Sons Of Darkness, Jesse Gee, Scoopy, Rudy Stuart, Little Scotty, Henry Brooks, Fly Guy, Ahzz, Super Jay, Otis Turner, Sherod, The Destiny Orchestra, Bobby Mann, and many others – from singles that originally appeared on labels like Queen Constance, La Shawn, Land Of Hits, Golden Flamingo, Heavenly Star, Clarence, Destiny, Mr Brown, P&P, Sound Of New York, and others. 185 songs, on 15 CDs, packaged in cool slim sleeves in a tight box set – over 18 hours of music, and all of it great! (Funky Compilations, Soul) CD

Prime symphonic disco from the mighty John Davis and his well-named Monster Orchestra! The set's got a dramatic flourish that still mixes in plenty of live instrumentation – including keyboards and flute from John, plus some nice congas from Larry Washington! John sings lead vocals on most cuts, but uses some cool processing to kind of space out the sound – making for a compressed and flanged-out sound that's poppy, but really compelling. And although the whole thing sounds hokey, the quality of the grooves is actually pretty great from an instrumental standpoint. Titles include "Once Upon A Time", "We Can Fly", "Up Jumped The Devil", "You Gotta Give It Up", "You're The One", "The Magic Is You", and "Recapitulation". LP, Vinyl record album

Very weird soundtrack to this spooky 70s film starring Peter Boyle! Bobby Scott did the score, and it's hipper than most of his other stuff – with a mixture of jazz, groovy, and straight orchestral scoring. Jerry Butler sings vocals on the tracks "Where Are You Going?" and "You Can Fly", which is a killer 11 minute workout with hard soulful drums, a tight driving groove, and lots of funky changes! Exuma sings on the cut "You Don't Know What's Going On", and other tunes include "Compton's Hangout", "The Expiration Of Frank", and "Send The Hippies To Hell". (Soundtracks, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

One of the few cases in the history of pop music where the record is worth all the hype! Marvin blew everyone's mind when he unleashed this amazing suite of political soul tunes – not only just because he'd moved past the simple love songs of earlier years, but also because he was working with an amazingly complicated approach to soul music, one that would touch the work of others for years to come. David Van DePitte arranged and conducted the whole album – with soaring orchestrations mixed with smooth modern soul, in a style that reminds us a lot of the work of Charles Stepney at Cadet, who'd been doing this sort of thing for years but with less success. In the hands of Marvin Gaye, though, the material has an amazing quality – and all the disparate elements of the album are fused together in one powerful message by Marvin's incredible voice. One that we never tire of, and a record to be listened to all the way through every time. Titles include "What's Goin On", "Save The Children", "Flyin High (In The Friendly Sky)", "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)", and "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the few cases in the history of pop music where the record is worth all the hype! Marvin blew everyone's mind when he unleashed this amazing suite of political soul tunes – not only just because he'd moved past the simple love songs of earlier years, but also because he was working with an amazingly complicated approach to soul music, one that would touch the work of others for years to come. David Van DePitte arranged and conducted the whole album – with soaring orchestrations mixed with smooth modern soul, in a style that reminds us a lot of the work of Charles Stepney at Cadet, who'd been doing this sort of thing for years but with less success. In the hands of Marvin Gaye, though, the material has an amazing quality – and all the disparate elements of the album are fused together in one powerful message by Marvin's incredible voice. One that we never tire of, and a record to be listened to all the way through every time. Titles include "What's Goin On", "Save The Children", "Flyin High (In The Friendly Sky)", "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)", and "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)". This fantastic 50th Anniversary version features new mastering by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes, an essay by Hanif Abdurraqib, and a full record of bonus material that includes "What's Going On (stripped)", "What's Going On (rhythm & strings inst)", "What's Going On (mix 1 with no strings or horns)", "Symphony (demo version)", and original mono single mixes of "What's Going On", "God Is Love", "Mercy Mercy Me", "Sad Tomorrows", "Inner City Blues", and "Wholy Holy". LP, Vinyl record album

A real landmark of bad-walking soul – one of two rare albums cut by vocalist Esther Marrow, easily one of the hardest singing sisters of her generation! Esther's got roots in gospel, but she's singing here in a righteous mode that features plenty of funky undercurrents in the backings – a style that hits harder than work by Aretha Franklin or any of the better-known female singers of the time – and which holds up beautifully over the years! Many tracks here are obscure ones, arranged tightly by Artie Butler and Gene Page, both of whom do a great job of blending fuller orchestrations with tighter drums on the bottom – giving the record a good kick on most tracks, but still shading in the tunes with enough sophistication to match Esther's interpretation of the work. As hard-hitting as Marlena Shaw during her best years at Cadet – with titles that include "No Answer Came", "Money Honey", "Walk Tall", "Peaceful Man", "Hello Brother", "Chains Of Love", "It's A Long Night", and "He Don't Appreciate It". CD

One of the few cases in the history of pop music where the record is worth all the hype! Marvin blew everyone's mind when he unleashed this amazing suite of political soul tunes – not only just because he'd moved past the simple love songs of earlier years, but also because he was working with an amazingly complicated approach to soul music, one that would touch the work of others for years to come. David Van DePitte arranged and conducted the whole album – with soaring orchestrations mixed with smooth modern soul, in a style that reminds us a lot of the work of Charles Stepney at Cadet, who'd been doing this sort of thing for years but with less success. In the hands of Marvin Gaye, though, the material has an amazing quality – and all the disparate elements of the album are fused together in one powerful message by Marvin's incredible voice. One that we never tire of, and a record to be listened to all the way through every time. Titles include "What's Goin On", "Save The Children", "Flyin High (In The Friendly Sky)", "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)", and "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)". CD also features the b-side bonus tracks "God Is Love", done in an alternate take, and "Sad Tomorrows"! CD

One of the few cases in the history of pop music where the record is worth all the hype! Marvin blew everyone's mind when he unleashed this amazing suite of political soul tunes – not only just because he'd moved past the simple love songs of earlier years, but also because he was working with an amazingly complicated approach to soul music, one that would touch the work of others for years to come. David Van DePitte arranged and conducted the whole album – with soaring orchestrations mixed with smooth modern soul, in a style that reminds us a lot of the work of Charles Stepney at Cadet, who'd been doing this sort of thing for years but with less success. In the hands of Marvin Gaye, though, the material has an amazing quality – and all the disparate elements of the album are fused together in one powerful message by Marvin's incredible voice. One that we never tire of, and a record to be listened to all the way through every time. Titles include "What's Goin On", "Save The Children", "Flyin High (In The Friendly Sky)", "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)", and "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the few cases in the history of pop music where the record is worth all the hype! Marvin blew everyone's mind when he unleashed this amazing suite of political soul tunes – not only just because he'd moved past the simple love songs of earlier years, but also because he was working with an amazingly complicated approach to soul music, one that would touch the work of others for years to come. David Van DePitte arranged and conducted the whole album – with soaring orchestrations mixed with smooth modern soul, in a style that reminds us a lot of the work of Charles Stepney at Cadet, who'd been doing this sort of thing for years but with less success. In the hands of Marvin Gaye, though, the material has an amazing quality – and all the disparate elements of the album are fused together in one powerful message by Marvin's incredible voice. One that we never tire of, and a record to be listened to all the way through every time. Titles include "What's Goin On", "Save The Children", "Flyin High (In The Friendly Sky)", "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)", and "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)". CD

A gospel set, but one with plenty of 80s soul touches too – sung by this cool female group who remind us a lot of The Clark Sisters, especially in the way they can crossover with their sound! The themes are spiritual, but the tunes are mighty soulful – orchestrated with styles that are more 80s modern soul than gospel – nice and warm, and really never overdone. Titles include "Sunshine", "Behold", "I'll Fly Away", "Can't You See The Light", and "One Always". (Gospel, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

Wonderful work from the later years of Brunswick Records – a time when the company briefly re-emerged as a surprising force on the hipper dancefloors of the time – thanks to a great run of funky club, soulful disco, and seminal boogie tracks! Brunswick didn't issue many albums at the time – and they were quite far from their hit years of the early 70s – but their 12" output from the period is wonderful, and way more than just the usual throwaway work for the discos – done with a real sense of quality, and a devotion to both funk and soul undercurrents that really keep things strong. Volume 1 includes the cuts "Do Those Little Things" and "Just A Little Timing" by Maryann Farra & Satin Soul, "Me & You" and "Energizer" by Touch, "Gotta Get It" and "Girl" by Tony Valor Sounds Orchestra, "How Can I Forget" by Realistics, "Mah Mo Ah (take two)" by Tony Valor, "Cravin Your Body", "Roller Skate", and "Bounce Rock Skate Roll (parts 1 & 2)" by Vaughan Mason & Crew. (Funky Compilations, Soul) CD

One of the few cases in the history of pop music where the record is worth all the hype! Marvin blew everyone's mind when he unleashed this amazing suite of political soul tunes – not only just because he'd moved past the simple love songs of earlier years, but also because he was working with an amazingly complicated approach to soul music, one that would touch the work of others for years to come. David Van DePitte arranged and conducted the whole album – with soaring orchestrations mixed with smooth modern soul, in a style that reminds us a lot of the work of Charles Stepney at Cadet, who'd been doing this sort of thing for years but with less success. In the hands of Marvin Gaye, though, the material has an amazing quality – and all the disparate elements of the album are fused together in one powerful message by Marvin's incredible voice. One that we never tire of, and a record to be listened to all the way through every time. Titles include "What's Goin On", "Save The Children", "Flyin High (In The Friendly Sky)", "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)", and "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)". This expanded edition includes the B-side tracks "God Is Love" and "Sad Tomorrow". CD