Not rock n roll, but some great King Records R&B from the 50s – work by Titus Turner, Annie Laurie, Bill Jennings, 5 Royales, Otis Williams & The Charms, James Brown, Hank Ballard, Little Willie John, and others! LP, Vinyl record album

Includes selections by Bobby Bland, Johnny Ace, Junior Parker, John Roberts, Lamp Sisters, Ernie K Doe, Paulette Parker, Clarence Carter & Calvin Scott, OV Wright, Jeanette Williams, Roy Head, Willie Mae Thornton, and The Insights. LP, Vinyl record album

Nice collection of early 70's Gamble and Huff stuff, with a number of tracks that aren't too easy to find otherwise, like "Regina" by Bunny Sigler, "Stay With Me" by The Futures, "Super Groover" by Talk of the Town, "Slow Motion" by Johnny Williams, and "It's Forever" by The Ebonys – cuts that were more likely singles on the label. Also includes some more well known hits: O'Jays "Love Train", the Intruders "I'll Always Love My Mama", Billy Paul "Me & Mrs Jones", Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes "If You Don't Know Me By Now" and MFSB "Family Affair", 10 tracks in all. LP, Vinyl record album

A superb set of duets between Johnny Mathis and Deniece Williams – a set that's a key part of Johnny's rise into soul music during the 70s, and one that also forms a cornerstone of the early career of Deniece Williams too! Williams' soaring vocal range is a great match for the trademark Mathis modes – and the pair take on some great tunes that are mostly in a midtempo groove, which allows for all this fantastic interplay between the vocals – at a level that really shows what the duo can do together, and how they're not just two superstars who happened to be in the same studio. Titles include "You're All I Need To Get By", "Ready Or Not", "Touching Me With Love", "Me For You You For Me", and "Until You Come Back To Me". (Vocalists, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

A sweet 80s set from Johnny Mathis – one of those great later albums when he brought a good deal of soul into the mix! The feel here is almost more modern R&B than the vocal jazz mode that first brought Johnny fame – and it turns out that the Mathis mode is wonderful for such a setting – rich and full of feeling, and arguably better than some of his younger contemporaries on the charts! The ballads are beautiful, but there's also a few surprising midtempo numbers – and titles include a sublime remake of "Love Won't Let Me Wait", done with Deniece Williams – plus "Love Never Felt So Good", "Simple", "Priceless", "One Love", "Right Here & Now", and "Lead Me To Your Love" – plus "You're A Special Part Of Me", a duet with Angie Bofill. (Vocalists, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

Mellow magic from Johnny Mathis – a late 70s set that updates his older style for a crossover audience in adult contemporary! The style is smooth and polished, but never so much so that Johnny's amazing voice can't shine through – thanks to soulful arrangements from Gene Page, who'd done plenty of work with hipper soul artists in the 70s – and Deniece Williams makes a great guest appearance on a number of tracks – really bringing Mathis into that duet style that would hit even bigger for the singer in the 80s. Titles include "If You Believe", "To Much Too Little Too Late", "How Deep Is Your Love", "It Was Almost Like A Song", and "Till Love Touches Your Life". (Vocalists, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

An excellent early album form Johnny Nash – one that's quite different than his later hits, and which has Johnny singing in a jazzy sort of mode that reminds us a lot of Jesse Belvin! Like Belvin, Johnny's got a warmly sweet voice that's lighter than Billy Eckstine, Joe Williams, or other contemporaries crossing the bounds between jazz and R&B – and this album showcases that style especially well, by setting Nash up with some strong arrangements from Don Costa – all nicely bright, and with plenty of breakout jazz moments. Titles include "I'm Beginning To See The Light", "I Got Rhythm", "S Wonderful", "Baby Won't You Please Come Home", "Baby Baby Baby", and "It's All Right With Me". LP, Vinyl record album

A key collection of work by Larry Williams – the 50's R&B artist who's too-often written off as a rocker, but who actually went onto have a key influence in the early years of soul! Like Johnny Guitar Watson, another contemporary with whom Larry sometimes recorded, Williams had a style that took the bluesy sounds of the 50s, and brought them into a slower, deeper groove – often with an approach that had a lot of deep soul overtones. LP, Vinyl record album

An early treasure from a great tradition in soul music – one of the first few compilations from Ace/Kent Records – issued way back in the early 80s, and still a treasure trove of great 60s soul after all these years! As you'd guess from the title, the tracks here are all upbeat and uptempo – numbers brought together for the Northern Soul audience in the UK, but which also represent a great sampling of underground soul from the US in the 60s! Many of these numbers mix rough-edged vocals with more tightly-crafted instrumentation – and the collection features a total of 16 tracks that include "Lay This Burden Down" by Mary Love, "You Just Cheat & Lie" by ZZ Hill, "Good Taste Of Love" by Danny Monday, "Wanting You" by Jimmy Bee, "Can It Be Me" by Mel Williams, "Hole In The Wall" by The Other Brothers, "Talkin Woman" by Lowell Fulsom, "What Kind Of Man Are You" by Jackie Day, "Country Girl" by The Johnny Otis Show, "Everybody Needs Love" by Willie Gauff & The Love Brothers, and "My Baby Needs Me" by Yvonne Baker. LP, Vinyl record album