A pair of wonderful records from this legendary soul group – back to back on a single CD! First up is the Voices Of East Harlem album – masterpiece of sweet group soul! This was the first secular record cut by The Voices Of East Harlem – a group who'd had an earlier gospel-tinged album on Elektra, but who are soaring out here in a brilliant mix of righteous mainstream soul styles – courtesy of the Curtom power team of Rich Tufo, Leroy Hutson, and Curtis Mayfield! The album's an unusual non-Curtom effort by the Hutson and Curtom – who collaborated in producing the record with Tufo, who himself did most of the arrangements with Hutson – in a mode that's wonderfully in the same spirit as Leroy's seminal work for Curtom in the mid 70s. There's a depth here that makes the album one of our favorite-ever soul records from the 70s – brilliant not just for the overall sound, but also for the pointed lyrics and really personal feel of the songs. Lead vocals shift between the different tunes – but are mostly handled by Gerri Griffin and Monica Burress, with warm support by the rest of the group. Titles include "Giving Love", "Cashing In", "Could This Be Love", "New Vibrations", and "Wanted Dead or Alive". Next is Can You Feel It – amazing work from The Voices Of East Harlem – a group with roots in gospel, but working here in a wonderfully soaring secular soul style – complete with arrangements and production from the legendary Leroy Hutson! The style here is similar to some of Leroy's best work, and that of his contemporaries on Curtom – a sound that's righteous and often funky, but able to hit some sweeter, warmer notes as well. Individual voices step out from the larger ensemble and take key leads on some tracks – and the overall style is simply mindblowing, at a level that makes us easily rank this as one of our favorite soul albums of all time! A must-have album, and one we've treasured for years – with tracks that include "Just Got To Be Myself", "So Rare", "March Across This Land", "Amazing Love", "Take A Stand", and "Can You Feel It". CD

Maybe the coolest record ever put out by the Luaka Bop label – and that's really saying a lot, given all the amazing albums they've given us over the years! The set's a perfect musical tonic for the times – a set of underground singles from the 70s, most of which fall in a space between the secular and spiritual – message-oriented, but not entirely from the scriptures – with a humanist message of positivity that's completely timeless – as powerful now as it was when these gems were recorded! The source of most of these records is from a gospel perspective, but they work a lot more in the territory of righteous 70s soul – making the same sort of shift that The Staple Singers or Voices Of East Harlem did on a better-known scale. Titles include "Peace In The Land" by The Gospel IQs, "We Got A Race To Run" by Staples Jr Singers, "I'm Trying To Be Your Friend" by The Soul Stirrers, "Don't Give Up" by The William Singers, "Let Your Light Shine" by Willie Dale, "It's Hard To Live In This Old World" by Rev Harvey Gates, "Time For Peace" by The Little Shadows, "We Don't Love Enough" by The Triumphs, and a great reworking of Earth Wind & Fire in "Keep Your Faith To The Sky" by Willie Scott & The Birmingham Spirituals. CD