A seminal album from Parliament – one that's very very different than the freaky fuzz of their Osmium debut – and which has the tight ensemble really coming down on the money, in the best funky 70s George Clinton mode! The record features a much more stripped down sound – nice and funky, with a blueprint of the bass-driven groove that would dominate the P-Funk sound of the 70s. Bootsy's on bass, and the group features Eddie Hazel, Bernie Worrell, and other likely suspects – all working with a news sort of sharpness compared to earlier P-Funk material – virtually the blueprint for everything else to come. Clinton, Hazel, and Worrell produced – and titles include the monster jammer "Up For The Down Stroke", plus other goodies like "The Goose", "Testify", "Presence Of A Brain", and "All Your Goodies Are Gone", as well as bonus tracks "Up For The Down Stroke" (alternate mix), "Testify" (alternate mix), and previously unreleased track "Singing Another Song". CD

Includes 36 tracks on 2 CDs! CD

Was there a finer moment of 80s pop than this little gem? Maybe not – as the duo are at their most floppy-haired charming throughout – serving up some of the catchiest new romantic material of their generation, including the hits "Shout" and "Everybody Wants To Rule The World" – plus the tracks "Broken", "Listen", "Head Over Heels", "Mothers Talk", and "The Working Hour". (Rock, Soul) CD

(Rock, Soul) CD

Very nice 3 CD box set that includes just about every one of Barry's big hits, plus some nice extra bonus – like his duet with Lista Stansfield on "All Around The World", the "Sweet Seduction Suite" with Quincy Jones, the 12" single version of "My Sweet Summer Suite", and even a newly-recorded introduction. There's also a 32 page booklet, with full discography, rare photos, musician credits, and lots more! 40 cuts in all – with titles like "Never Never Gonna Give You Up", "Sho' You Right", "It's Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next To Me", "Love's Theme", "Playing Your Game, Baby", and lots lots more! CD

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A super-funky set – two vintage albums from Con Funk Shun – back to back on a single CD! The self-titled Con Funk Shun album is quite different than their later, better known hits! The group sure knew how to slap that bass, even back on this first album for Mercury – but then again, they – along with other big Mercury groups like The Ohio Players – were pioneering the bass-heavy sound that would influence countless bands over the next decade in soul. This first album's actually one of the group's best, with some nice rough edges that we like even more than the smoother sound of later albums. And oddly, some of our favorite cuts are the mellower ones – like the smooth jazzy instrumental "Foley Park", which has a nice moogy solo in the middle. Other good mellow cuts include "Another World", which almost has a "Summer Madness" quality to it, plus "Forever Just Ain't Long Enough" and "Never Be The Same". Secrets is a great early album from Con Funk Shun – a mix of funkier tunes and some excellent smooth modern ones in step with the mellower work by Cameo or Maze – done with more soaringly emotional sounds that moves beyond their peers! A love for earlier 70s styles might be what pushes Secrets above and beyond – honest, intimate, and at times just more focused in the vocals department than both the funky soul groups of the time and the quiet storm singers of the approaching early 80s – and still doesn't spare the bass, horns and funky interplay! High points include the closing instrumental "Indian Summer Love" and funky centerpiece "Ffun" –plus "Doowhachawannadoo", "Who Has The Time", "Secrets", "Tear In My Eye" and "I'll Set You Out OK". CD also features a bonus track – "Ffun (12" version)" – a clubby killer! CD

Funky genius from Con Funk Shun – working here under the production helm of Skip Scarborough, who seems to give them an even sharper edge than usual! The album's filled with those tightly compressed rhythms that Skip was so great in producing back in the 70s – grooves that seem to make more out of doing less – and which have a sense of space and timing that's totally impeccable. There's a few light jazzy touches at times too – bits of flute, sax, and organ that bring in a nice sense of depth, and which takes it far past easily classified funk! Titles include "So Easy", "Shake & Dance With Me", "When The Feelings Right", "I Think I Found The Answer", "Wanna Be There", "Can't Go Away", "So Easy", and "Magic Woman". CD

A killer soul set from Caroline Crawford – with production, arrangements, and songwriting by Hamilton Bohannon – soaring, beautiful, uniquely soulful sounds from the late 70s! Crawford's got a hell of a voice – equally well-suited to deeper soul ballads and uptempo groovers – and with Bohannon on board, there's plenty of groovers – although we like the mellow cuts just as much! Crawford was sort of Bohannon's big vocal discovery, and the Mercury efforts were a good use of his instrumental sound in a vocal driven framework – one that succeeds not just on the clubby soul level of his own records, but which also hits a more emotional tone than a lot of the dancefloor soul of the era. Johnny Allen contributed the string orchestrations – and titles include "Riding On Your Love", "Tell Me You'll Wait", "Coming On Strong", "It Rains Because" and "Caroline Breakdown". CD

22 tracks. CD

An incredible fusion of all the greatness that was going on in the Bay Area scene of the 70s – put together by Coke Escovedo – the brother of Pete and Sheila E, former leader of Azteca, and onetime member of Santana! Yet this set sounds like none of that previous work at all – and instead is great grooving soul, infused both with the sophistication of fusion and some of the Latin elements of Escovedo's roots – all produced to perfection by Patrick Gleeson – who most folks know for his own spacey keyboard work with Bennie Maupin and others! The mix of elements going on is really complex, but comes across with effortless ease – one of those rare fusions that could happen at a bigger label when all the right talents were brought together. The record kind of "out-Fantasys" the best of Fantasy Records in the Bay Area at the time – and makes great use of singers Linda and Calvin Tillery, plus the great Harvey Mason on drums. Titles include wonderful covers of Lamont Dozier's "Why Can't We Be Lovers" and Leon Ware's "If I Ever Lose This Heaven" – plus the tracks "What Are You Under", "No One To Depend On", "Easy Come Easy Go", and "Make It Sweet". CD

A lost classic from Father's Children – the group's only album ever, but an impeccably produced set – thanks to the efforts of Wayne Henderson's At Home Productions team! The groove here is similar to that forged by Henderson over at Fantasy – soul, but inflected with plenty of jazzy fusion touches – instrumentation that steps out riffing with a really great edge, and fleshes out the sound with a lot more creativity and imagination than mainstream soul at the time. The best grooves here have a midtempo boogie flavor – with plenty of righteous jazzy touches alongside the richer harmonies that flow out warmly on the lyrics! Titles include their landmark track "Hollywood Dreaming", plus other nice ones like "Got To Get Away", "Gone Bad", "You Can Get It", "Music For Your Mind", "Wild Woman" and "Shine On". 2 bonus tracks on this CD version: 7-inch edits of "Hollywood Dreaming" and "Shine On". CD

An overlooked gem from the 80s years of Fela Kuti – and a set that has the Afro Funk genius working with strong studio help from Wally Badarou! The vibe's still as fierce and frenetic as Fela's classic material – each track takes up a full side of the record, with lots of hard rhythms, long instrumental solos, and righteous lyrics – but Badarou has a way of fleshing out the sound without making things sound clunky or commercial – using the some of the subtle elements of his own records, in ways that really bring out the darkness in the tunes! These effects are subtle, but powerful – and maybe work better with Fela than any other producer in the 80s. Titles include "Teacher Don't Teach Me Nonsense" and "Look & Laugh". (Global Grooves, Soul) CD

Massive music in a wonderful package – three funky classics from The Gap Band! First up is the group's self-titled album from 1979 – the start of the legendary second chapter for the Gap Band – the point when the group had reemerged as the tight funky trio of the Wilson Brothers, with a groove that would really set them up nicely for the 80s! This first album in the new format has a wonderfully tight feel – still plenty of sharp edges that echo their earlier groove, but a leaner quality too – one that's got the bass and drums snapping together wonderfully, really setting the tone for the heaviest grooves. There's also a few mellower cuts too – which really sound great, and give the record the same sort of balance you might hear on work by Heaven & Earth at the time. War's Lonnie Simmons produced – and held the cash bag all the way to the bank! Titles include "I'm In Love", "Got To Get Away", "Messin With My Mind", "Shake", "Baby Baba Boogie", "Open Your Mind Wide", and "I Can Sing". Gap Band II features mean, lean grooves from The Gap Band – a legendary batch of mainstream funk from the end of the 70s – and a record that really has the trio working at the top of their game! There's a wonderful balance here between funky numbers and mellow ones – the latter of which really help pace the record nicely, giving it a depth that takes the group way beyond the cliches of some of their contemporaries, and firmly establishing the Gap Band as one to watch for the 80s! Titles include the massive "I Don't Believe You Want To Get Up & Dance" – with its classic "Oops Upside Your Head" refrain – plus "Who Do You Call", "No Hiding Place", "Steppin Out", "You Are My High", and "Party Lights". Gap Band III is sagreat one from the Gap Band – funky gems and sinister groovers – the best of both worlds for the group! Tunes like "Burn Rubber On Me (When You Want To Hurt Me)" and "Humpin" packed 80s dance floors for good reason, and put the band in steady rotation, while numbers like "Yearning For Your Love" showed the band could drop the tempo, stretch out a bit, and deliver the mighty mellow. This one's certainly at the top of the heap of 80s groovers, as far as we're concerned – a record that really took the Gap Band over the top! Other tracks include "Nothin' Comes To The Sleepers", "Are You Living", "The Way", "Gash Gash Gash" and more. CD

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5CDs, and a set that's overflowing with classic tracks from the legendary Stax Records – with an especially heavy emphasis on the label's genius moments from 1968 to the mid 70s! There's way too much here to list, but some of the more unusual tracks include "What A Man" by Linda Lyndell, "Gettin Funky Round Here" by Black Nasty, "Funky Robot (part 1)" by Rufus Thomas, "Circuit's Overloaded" by Inez Foxx, "Gettin Funky Round Here" by Black Nasty, "Sweetback's Theme" by Melvin Van Peebles, "Help" by David Porter, "Starting All Over Again" by Mel & Tim, "I Could Never Be President" by Johnnie Taylor, "How Can I Be A Witness" by RB Hudmon, "What Goes Around Must Come Around" by Sons Of Slum, "Harlem Heaven" by Rance Allen, "Mother's Day" by 24 Carat Black, "Bump & Boogie (part 1)" by The Wrecking Crew, "Chains Of Love" by Jimmy Hughes, "Itch & Scratch (part 1)" by Rufus Thomas, "What's Usual Ain't Natural" by Eric Mercury, "Lovin You Lovin Me" by Sandra Wright, "What Do You See In Her" by Hot Sauce, "The Creeper Returns" by Little Sonny, and "It's Worth A Whippin" by Shirley Brown. CD