One of the many 70s "children" of Earth Wind & Fire – and an obscure righteous soul combo from the east coast! The group's led by Osiris Marsh – who wrote all the tracks, and sings vocals over the group's bass-heavy keyboard-driven grooves. The record's not as great as some of its other ilk – despite a fair bit of promising references – but it does feature lots of slapp bass work by Tyrone Brunson, very much a precursor to Brunson's own work of later years, if you dig that sort of thing. Titles include "Damn", "Consistency", "Gamin", and "Almost (Never Gets There)". LP, Vinyl record album

Landmark stuff, and a beautiful album that mixes soulful tracks with Donny's nascent jazz sensibility! The set's a key chapter in the history of soul music – a record that has Donny emerging from shadows of the Chicago studio scene to become one of the most promising soul artists of the 70s. The album was recorded in Chicago, with a host of great players that had been gigging for years in the Chess studios – and the record is the rich culmination of talents that had been brewing in the Windy City for years. Includes the monster hit "The Ghetto" – one of Donny's best-known tracks and a rollicking funky number – in a full extended version with a good instrumental breakdown. Also features a remake of "Voices Inside (Everything Is Everything)", which shows Donny's strong ties to the Earth, Wind, & Fire organization – plus moody spiritual numbers like "I Believe To My Soul", "Thank You Master", and "To Be Young, Gifted, and Black". LP, Vinyl record album

Landmark stuff, and a beautiful album that mixes soulful tracks with Donny's nascent jazz sensibility! The set's a key chapter in the history of soul music – a record that has Donny emerging from shadows of the Chicago studio scene to become one of the most promising soul artists of the 70s. The album was recorded in Chicago, with a host of great players that had been gigging for years in the Chess studios – and the record is the rich culmination of talents that had been brewing in the Windy City for years. Includes the monster hit "The Ghetto" – one of Donny's best-known tracks and a rollicking funky number – in a full extended version with a good instrumental breakdown. Also features a remake of "Voices Inside (Everything Is Everything)", which shows Donny's strong ties to the Earth, Wind, & Fire organization – plus moody spiritual numbers like "I Believe To My Soul", "Thank You Master", and "To Be Young, Gifted, and Black". LP, Vinyl record album

Really mindblowing music from Lonnie Holley – not the first album from this important visual artist, but maybe the one where he'll be firmly established as an equally important recording force too! There's a genre-less quality going on here – as Holley provides this mystic blend of roots from jazz, gospel, blues, and even serious compositional music – yet refined into a sense that's all his own, with that deeply personal force that we love in his paintings. At times, there's almost a dreamlike quality to the way the elements progress – such that even the presence of contributors like Moor Mother or Michael Stipe seem to float into the mix of the music presented by Lonnie – woven into this complex tapestry that seems to join past and present with a view towards a more promising future. Titles include "Kindness Will Follow Your Tears", "Earth Will Be There", "I Am Part Of The Wonder", "Future Children", "None Of Us Have But A Little While", "If We Get Lost They Will Find Us", and "Better Get The Crop In Soon". (Vocalists, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

Sweetness from the legendary Roberta Flack – on this mid 70s set that really finds her settling into our laidback style that managed have massive across-the-board appeal without compromising on the soul! For too long we dismissed Roberta Flack out of hand because of her currency as a soft rock radio favorite, now that wizened up, we see that her mid 70s output had more than its share of sublime, soulful moments, and this album is no exception. Roberta's irresistible vocals are front and center, but the songwriting, arrangements and musicianship are outstanding, too – with contributions from Eugene McDaniels, Alphonze Mouzon, Bob James and other greats! 9 tracks in all, including the title track, plus "Feelin That Glow", "I Can See The Sun In Late December", "Mr Magic" and "Early Ev'ry Midnite". LP, Vinyl record album

Sweet soul from the husband and wife duo of Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis Jr – their second album since leaving The Fifth Dimension – and it sounds as warm and appealing as ever! Marilyn & Billy hit it pretty big right out of the gate on the preceding I Hope We Get To Love In Time – and if The Two Of Us didn't make as deep of an impact on the charts, it's ultimately just as strong of a record. Arranged and produced by Frank Wilson, it's one of those great mid-to-late 70s pop soul albums that delivers big hooks and broadly appealing sounds without compromising the soul at the heart of it! Titles include "The Two Of Us", "In My Lifetime", "Look What You've Done To My Heart", "My Very Special Darling", and "My Reason To Be Is You". LP, Vinyl record album

Roberta Flack still sounding great in the early 80s – co-produced with Ralph MacDonald, William Eaton, and William Salter – who all give the record a nice jazzy finish! The group's a small combo with Grover Washington Jr, Richard Tee, Eric Gale, and other 70s fusion talents – and the record's got a smooth jazzy groove that's almost in the mode of Sade's work from a few years later. A nice little step into and 80s modern vibe – without compromising here classic level jazzy soul! Titles include "I'm The One", "Til The Morning Comes", "Love & Let Love", "In The Name Of Love", "Making Love", and "My Love For You". LP, Vinyl record album

Hey, now – this is much more than merely Words & Music – it's a solid further step into a sweet 80s groove for the Tavares brothers! Their status as one of the great sibling vocal groups in R&B is on full display on this final album for RCA. The production is right at home in the keyboards-heavy 80s modern mode – but it's the vocals lead the way! Butch, Tiny, Chubby, Pooch and Ralph Tavares are such pros, and such a tight unit, there's really nothing they couldn't pull off! They still sound great here with a stylistic update of their sound – without ever compromising the classic R&B-styled vocal groove! Includes "Ten To One", "Deeper In Love", "Caught Short", "You're My All In All", "Baby I Want You Back", "I Really Miss You Baby", "Don't Play So Hard To Get", "Us And Love (We Go Together)" and more. LP, Vinyl record album