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Horace Silver's last record for Blue Note – and an amazing end to his decades of work for the legendary label! The set's a perfect summation of all the new directions that Horace took in the 70s – new territory that's deeply spiritual, and undeniably righteous – yet which also has a fully focused approach too – one that's showcased here wonderfully in an expansive suite of tracks with a really positive message! The "strings" in the title isn't really accurate – as the set's more of a large arrangement session that feels Strata East spiritual – done in collaboration with Wade Marcus, but with jazzier, more acoustic tones than most of Marcus' other music. In addition to Silver's piano, key core players include Tom Harrell on flugelhorn, Larry Schneider on tenor and soprano sax, Ron Carter on bass, and Al Foster on drums – who play beautifully together, with a very fluid vibe. The set also features some key vocal passages at points – sung by Brenda Alford, Chapman Roberts, Carol Lynn Maillard, and a young Gregory Hines – on titles that include "The Soul & Its Expression", "Self Portrait No 1", "The Conscious & Its Desire For Change", "Inner Feelings", "Expansion", and "The Creator Guides Us".

Weird work from Wicked Witch – tunes that are half funky, half punky – with a mysterious sound that's all their own! At some level, Wicked Witch might be an offshoot of the P-Funk empire – a lost mission to a dark planet way out in the galaxy – trapped out there on their own, and slowly losing touch with the original groove of the Mothership as they mess around with heavy basslines, spacey keyboards, and some very stark rhythms – sometimes played live, sometimes from a drum machine. There's a bit of vocals in the mix, but they're usually second-tier next to the rhythms – which themselves take plenty of weird twists and turns. Billed as "evil psycho machine funk" – which is a pretty accurate description! Titles include "Fancy Dancer", "Erratic Behaviour", "X Rated", "Vera's Back", and "Electric War (inst)". CD features bonus tracks "Fancy Dancer (previously unreleased rmx)", and "Electric War (voc)".

Marvin Gaye shows another wonderful side of his talents in the early Motown years – a classy, crooing approach that was perfect for this tribute to Nat King Cole! There's a great mix of jazz and soul going on here that's a bit different than some of Marvin's other Motown work of the 60s – and although some tracks are quite Cole-like at times, with a surprisingly accurate approximation of Nat's style – there's plenty others that almost seem to point towards the growing sophistication in Gaye's style that would emerge more strongly at the end of the 60s. Titles include "Straighten Up & Fly Right", "Nature Boy", "Unforgettable", "Send For Me", and a pretty great reading of "Calypso Blues", with a nice stepping groove!

Weird work from Wicked Witch – tunes that are half funky, half punky – with a mysterious sound that's all their own! At some level, Wicked Witch might be an offshoot of the P-Funk empire – a lost mission to a dark planet way out in the galaxy – trapped out there on their own, and slowly losing touch with the original groove of the Mothership as they mess around with heavy basslines, spacey keyboards, and some very stark rhythms – sometimes played live, sometimes from a drum machine. There's a bit of vocals in the mix, but they're usually second-tier next to the rhythms – which themselves take plenty of weird twists and turns. Billed as "evil psycho machine funk" – which is a pretty accurate description! Titles include "Under Your Spell", "Fancy Dancer", "Erratic Behaviour", "X Rated", "Vera's Back", and "Electric War (inst)".

A blend of jazz funk and rawer informed grooves from Harold Alexander – and actually a step into more polished vibes thanks to some Arif Mardin arrangements and a new home at Atlantic Records! Although some of the earlier records cut by reed player Harold Alexander may have been more accurately described with the title Raw Root, this one stands up a lot better today than we remembered it! It has a pretty tight electric sound, and good Atlantic soul grooves running through it – with Alexander on flutes & saxes, Joe Boner in on keyboards, Ricard Davis on bass and Brian Beaks on drums on the bulk of it, with altered personnel on "De Black Musician" and "Lady Euphoria" (which also include vocals by Tequila). Soulful backing vocals credited to Something Different and some guitar by Junior Hanson and some spacey synth by Billy Allessi. Other tracks include "Country Soul", "Raw Root", "New York Sister", and "Street Life".

Excellent work from Betty Carter – much more sophisticated than some of her 60s work! Betty's captured here in her hip trio format that she developed to fantastic heights during the 70s. Betty sings standards and originals with a warmth an imagination that we can hardly describe accurately – bringing emotion into the songs that we'd hardly heard in earlier recordings, and using a trio in ways that we'd never heard before with a vocalist. Incredible stuff all the way through, very much on a par with any of Betty's later work, with "Do Something", "My Shining Hour", "What's New", "Round Midnight" and "I'm Pulling Through".

Fantastic soul from Lamont Dozier – his first LP as a solo artist, and one of the best debuts of the 70s! The record has a quality that's impossible to describe accurately – but it's kind of a post-Motown full-on approach to soul that mixes strings, piano, and that wall of sound groove that was one of Dozier's biggest contributions to the Motor City. Surprisingly, the album's produced by McKinley Jackson – leader of The Politicians, who provided regular backing for Dozier's HDH productions of the time. The real strength, though, is Dozier's voice – which is produced here in a compressed way that brings up the better raspy qualities of his style, juxtaposing them with the tightness of the arrangements in a mode that's similar to Bobby Womack's work of the time. However, Dozier's songwriting is way way better than Womack's by this point – and the album's filled with anthemic soul cuts like "Fish Aint' Bitin", "Out Here On My Own", "Take Off Your Make Up", "Trying To Hold Onto My Woman", and "Let Me Make Love To You".

The return of a legend – or maybe more accurately, the first time this legend's ever really gotten his due! Ralph Jackson's been working in the Alabama soul underground for decades – yet this smoking album may well be the first time he's ever really gotten out front, and able to do his thing – working with a tight group of younger musicians who really respect the southern soul vibe that Ralph's going for – and help him hit a really great sound in the process! The set's a soul record through and through – not one of these modern funk workouts with an old singer thrown into the mix – but the kind of old school album you'd hear from Malaco or Criteria Studios – particularly during that point when deep soul was growing up in the 70s. Production and arrangements are right on the money – and all tunes are written by Jackson, save for one totally great cover of The Ides Of March classic "Vehicle"! Other titles include "You've Been Very Good To Me", "Searching", "For Just One Second", "I Can't Leave Your Love Alone", "I'll Take Care Of You", and "There Must Be A Reason".

The return of a legend – or maybe more accurately, the first time this legend's ever really gotten his due! Ralph Jackson's been working in the Alabama soul underground for decades – yet this smoking album may well be the first time he's ever really gotten out front, and able to do his thing – working with a tight group of younger musicians who really respect the southern soul vibe that Ralph's going for – and help him hit a really great sound in the process! The set's a soul record through and through – not one of these modern funk workouts with an old singer thrown into the mix – but the kind of old school album you'd hear from Malaco or Criteria Studios – particularly during that point when deep soul was growing up in the 70s. Production and arrangements are right on the money – and all tunes are written by Jackson, save for one totally great cover of The Ides Of March classic "Vehicle"! Other titles include "You've Been Very Good To Me", "Searching", "For Just One Second", "I Can't Leave Your Love Alone", "I'll Take Care Of You", and "There Must Be A Reason".

6 classics from Weather Report – presented in cool tiny LP-sleeve covers! First up is the original Weather Report album from 1971 – a massive session that took fusion to a whole new level for the 70s! Most of the players here had been associated with Miles Davis at some point in the year or two beforehand – and Miles' electric work is definitely a starting point for this group – but they quickly flow off in whole new directions, thanks to the mighty legacy of their own talents on previous records! Next is I Sing The Body Electric – one of the finest statements ever uttered by group, and a set that's got a bit more soul and warmth than their first album! The lineup's changed slightly at this point – still Wayne Shorter on reeds, Joe Zawinul on keyboards, and Miroslav Vitous on bass – but Eric Gravatt has replaced Alphonse Mouzon on drums, and Dom Um Romao's taken over for Airto on percussion – giving the record an even earthier feel at times! Then, you get the 2CD set Live In Tokyo – an album that was only ever issued in Japan at the time of recording, and which really shows a searing side of the Weather Report sound! Sweetnighter is one of our favorite albums ever from Weather Report – an album that has them picking up a bit more soul than before, and shaking off some of the experimental sounds of their roots – yet all in a way that still makes them one of the most revolutionary fusion combos of the time! There's an incredible sense of tightness between the reeds of Wayne Shorter, the keyboards of Joe Zawinul, and the bass of Miroslav Vitous – and even when things go a bit outside, there's always a sense of focus and groove that brings them back together – a style that's never entirely funky, but which has plenty of funky elements to please our ears! Mysterious Traveller brings a new sense of focus in the Weather Report sound – that building, soaring groove that would become the group's trademark in the mid 70s – offered up here in one of it's first and finest examples! The approach is one to describe accurately on paper – but which is instantly recognizable as the Weather Report sound of the time – a flowing, stretching, organic vibe that builds equally from the talents of all players, and turns it into a wonderfully righteous groove! And last up is Tale Spinnin – a beautiful title for a beautiful little record – one that really does have Weather Report spinning out musical tales in sound – with a free-flowing and soulful sense of energy! The groove's definitely tighter than the earlier years, but it's never slick – and Joe Zawinul handled the overall orchestrations for the record, with an approach that's often highly rhythmic, vamping, and building up nicely as the tunes roll on.

A new sense of focus in the Weather Report sound – that building, soaring groove that would become the group's trademark in the mid 70s – offered up here in one of it's first and finest examples! The approach is one to describe accurately on paper – but which is instantly recognizable as the Weather Report sound of the time – a flowing, stretching, organic vibe that builds equally from the talents of all players, and turns it into a wonderfully righteous groove! Senior members Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, and Miroslav Vitous are still at the core – alongside Dom Um Romaeo, Alphonso Johnson, and Ismael Wilburn. Tracks include "Mysterious Traveller", "Jungle Book", "Nubian Sundance", and "Cucumber Slumber".

The striking debut of Marianne Faithfull – a complicated mix of folk and pop styles, with a spooky other-worldly sound that's impossible to describe accurately! Marianne's voice has a trilling quality that makes it sound at once ancient and innocent – handled here with lightly drifting backings that create an eerie mood on some of the album's best songs. The set was arranged and produced by Jon Mark – and titles include "Come My Way", "Jaberwock", "Portland Town", "Spanish Is A Living Tongue", "Full Fathom Five", "Down In The Sally Garden", and "Black Girl".

A cheesy cover, but a rock-solid record – kind of a later version of the Five Stairsteps, heard here in groove that's much more grown up! The album's got a feel that really shows the evolution of the Burke family – way past their kiddie soul roots, and even some of their offshoot projects of the 70s – into a style that's pretty complex at times, and which really shows a mature approach to rhythms. The vibe is hard to describe accurately – because while there are some clubby elements, the overall sound is deeper and more complicated too – showing some of the quirkier elements of the Island Records contemporaries alongside which the group were placed for this debut. The feel is quite different than the second album from the group – which is much more straight ahead – and titles include "9 Times Out Of Ten", "Full Moon", "All Night Thing", "Rent Strike", and "Love Can't Come/Love Has Come".

A landmark album that changed a generation of Brazilian musicians – a sublime instrumental collaboration between Airto, Hermeto Pascoal, and 2 other great musicians of their generation! The sound is quite unique – almost a modern recasting of older rootsy modes – taken into the complicated jazzy territory of Airto and Pascoal's best work of the early 70s, but done in an even more stripped down mode! Airto plays percussion, Pascoal plays flute, Geraldo Vandre handles guitar, and Theo De Barros is also in the group – and there's a groove that's impossible to describe accurately, but which you'll instantly recognize as archetypal! Includes the legendary tracks "Misturada" and "Vim de Santana" – plus "Sintese", "Canta Maria", "Canto Geral", and "O Ovo".

The striking debut of Marianne Faithfull – a complicated mix of folk and pop styles, with a spooky other-worldly sound that's impossible to describe accurately! Marianne's voice has a trilling quality that makes it sound at once ancient and innocent – handled here with lightly drifting backings that create an eerie mood on some of the album's best songs. The set was arranged and produced by Jon Mark – and titles include "Come My Way", "Jaberwock", "Portland Town", "Spanish Is A Living Tongue", "Full Fathom Five", "Down In The Sally Garden", and "Black Girl".

A wonderful album from the great Gary McFarland – and completely sublime all the way through! The record's part jazz, part easy, and all McFarland, with a cool compressed breezy vibe that's just about impossible to describe accurately. Gary's vibes are wonderfully set in a small combo with reeds by Jerome Richardson, bass by Richard Davis, organ by Warren Bernhardt, and guitar by Sam Brown. The group play haunting, almost-invisible versions of 60s pop tunes, like "God Only Knows", "Here, There & Everywhere", and "O Morro" – plus a jaunty McFarland original called "Flea Market".

Really cool work from Guy Cabay – a singer who's a bit hard to describe accurately in words, but who definitely ranks right up there with some of the hippest French talents of the 70s! Cabay's got a breathy style of singing that's kind of post-Serge Gainsbourg, and a bit in the Saravah Records mode – especially as the small combo backings often feature some tenor or alto sax elements behind the vocals – a slight jazzy touches that helps underscore the hip singer/songwriter approach of Guy's music. There's a lyricality to his approach that comes through strongly – even if you don't understand French – and titlles include "Tot Reguede", "Julia L'Ote", "Julia Onk", "Li Harlake Et L'Djone Feye", "Li Nuleye E M'Payis", and "Camamele Et Cataplame".

A landmark album that changed a generation of Brazilian musicians – a sublime instrumental collaboration between Airto, Hermeto Pascoal, and 2 other great musicians of their generation! The sound is quite unique – almost a modern recasting of older rootsy modes – taken into the complicated jazzy territory of Airto and Pascoal's best work of the early 70s, but done in an even more stripped down mode! Airto plays percussion, Pascoal plays flute, Geraldo Vandre handles guitar, and Theo De Barros is also in the group – and there's a groove that's impossible to describe accurately, but which you'll instantly recognize as archetypal! Includes the legendary tracks "Misturada" and "Vim de Santana" – plus "Sintese", "Canta Maria", "Canto Geral", and "O Ovo".

Tight horns, wicked vocals, and a totally wonderful groove – the sort of tune that ends all too quickly, and which will have you dropping the needle right back at the start for another dose! It's hard to sum up the power of "So Much In Love" accurately in words – but it's kind of a hard-rolling blast of vocals and horns, with this upbeat pulse that's mighty nice! "You Move Me" has a unique groove too – this kind of skittish bit at the background – almost bubbling fast then stopping for a second – while tight guitar riffs alongside Roy's deep soul vocals!