All Categories — CDs  

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An incredible debut – and the birth of a genre! India Arie burst upon the Neo Soul scene with this sweet little set a few years back – and her career's been burning up ever since! The set's got all the best elements of some of the best indie soul of recent years – sweet beats,... read more

A great second album from India Arie – sweet, smooth, soulful, and one we like even better than the first! The style is wonderful – a mix of warm vocals, spare production, and acoustic guitar – which gives the set a folksy quality that really offsets the smooth backings nicely. ... read more

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Gentle-going genius from the later years of Satchmo's career – a session that has Louis on trumpet and vocals, backed by the Oscar Peterson Trio! Peterson's usual group with Herb Ellis and Ray Brown is expanded slightly for this outing – bringing in Louis Bellson on drums to syncopate... read more

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One of the few ECM sides recorded by the Art Ensemble Of Chicago – easily some of the hippest work the label issued at the time, and a key way for the avant collective to get a bit of large audience exposure! The sound is still very much in the best AEC style here – and if anything,... read more

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A landmark set from the German prog scene – the first amazing utterance of Ash Ra Tempel, and a standard-setting album that few others could ever hope to match! The sound here builds beautifully – coming out of abstract, noisy territory, then finding shape as the record goes on –... read more

Near-perfect work from Ashford & Simpson – really grooving in full powerhouse mode here, and never missing a beat! By all rights, the team should have run out of steam by this point, but the album's another winner from their sublime Warner years – caught in a unique space between... read more

Great stuff! From Motown songwriters to world-class superstars, the trip was a well-deserved one for Valerie Simpson and Nick Ashford – and this album's perhaps their crowning achievement in sophisticated club soul! The record's got a great groove that offers a more soulful version of disco... read more

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Excellent live work by The Association – quite different than their earlier pop hits, but still with the same great harmony feel! The style here is in the rougher, more guitar-based mode of albums like Birthday and Stop Your Motor – and the band really sounds great in this live setting... read more

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Norwegian progressive metal.... read more

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Brian Auger's first album with The Oblivion Express – a harder-rocking ensemble than his initial Trinity trio, but one who also really pushed things with a really jazzy edge! Like many of Auger's contemporaries on the UK scene, Brian was making the shift from Brit beat group jazz and soul,... read more

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Nice "best of" comp that brings together loads of the hard to find 80's club tracks that Aurra recorded for Salsoul. The CD's got 13 cuts in all, with a number of 12" mixes that differ from the LP versions of the tracks. Titles include "Make Up Your Mind", "A Little... read more

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A relatively recent set from Patti Austin, but a great one too – an album that has her working in warmly jazzy arrangements that are much more restrained than her soul work of a few years before! There's a relaxed, easygoing feel to the set – one that's somewhat smooth, as you might... read more

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One of a few records cut by this surprisingly popular Australian group – temporary ex-pats to the US scene, featuring Errol Buddle on tenor and Bryce Rhode on piano, two of the country's greatest jazz players of the 50s and 60s. Given the sympatico between the Aussie and LA mode of the 50s... read more

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Mariana Aydar's really blowing our mind since the last time we heard her on record – stepping forth here with her deepest, most complex material ever – an album as rich in sounds and styles as some of our favorite Brazilian material from the 70s! There's this confidence to the... read more

A landmark recording – Albert Ayler's first album for the ESP label, and a record that hit the jazz world like a bullet! Spiritual Unity sets the stage for a format that would become huge in the European avant scene of the 70s, 80s, 90s, and even today – the sax-driven power-trio,... read more

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The third album from Maya Azucena and here debut for the Half Note label – brilliant true soul from one of our favorite voice of the past decade – really at her best here! Maya may be drawing from a more diverse stylistic spectrum here – there's some classic brass backed soul... read more

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The beginning of an empire! This was the first solo album cut by the now-famous Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds – cut after years of work in the music business that included stints in the groups Manchild and The Deele, and lots of production work for other LA soul acts. The record's kind... read more

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The punk-metal crossover classic. Very nearly as deserving of watershed status as the unbridled Rock For Light set. Burning jams from top to bottom: "I Against I", "House Of Suffering", "Re-Ignition", "Secret 77", "Let Me Help", "She's... read more

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A strange title for a first record – but quite fitting, given the impact that Erykah Badu has had on soul music! The record defines a whole new style of expression – "Baduizm", if you will – one in which Erykah sings with a depth that stretches back through a century's... read more

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Joan Baez, back when she was really pretty darn amazing – a young, fresh, powerful force in 60s folk music! The set features Baez on vocals and guitar – with additional electric guitar on a few tracks, a bit of mandolin, and some bass. Includes great readings of Dylan tunes "Farew... read more

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A big breakthrough for Philip Bailey – and a record that was kind of a second-level explosion for the Earth Wind & Fire sound in the 80s! There's a definite crossover feel to the record – a style that takes Bailey's soulful vocals, and mixes them with lots of catchy hooks –... read more

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Killer work from the late 50's by Chet! Although Baker's trumpet playing in the early part of the decade became known as one of the trademark "cool" sounds of the west coast, he started to move towards a sound that was a lot more hardbop at the end of the decade – as you'll hear on... read more

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Officially sanctioned live material from Ginger Baker's archives – jamming hard in 1976 with his African Friends in Berlin – including Fela & Tony Allen! Baker lived and worked in Nigeria as far back as the early 70s, as famously documented in the classic Fela/Ginger Baker Live set... read more

A treasure trove of work from this overlooked southern soul singer – recordings that Sam Baker cut down in Nashville for the Sound Stage Seven label – all brought together here in one very comprehensive package! Sam's got a voice that's pitched slightly higher than some of his... read more

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One of those King Records collections that manages to pack a heck of a lot of tunes on a single LP – yet manages to make the whole thing still sound great! The work here is all from the early years of Hank Ballard's career – the kind of hard rocking and R&B tunes that first brought... read more

Mindblowing work from the legendary Hank Ballard – a set cut years after his initial fame with The Midnighters, when he was working with James Brown in some very hip, funky, territory! James produced the record, and penned most of the tunes – and he does a really great job of bringing... read more

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