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Incredible work from the obscure African Music Machine – a southern funk combo led by bassist Louis Villery – a legendary batch of funky singles, finally brought together as a full album! The band has a very unique sound that involves a lot of rolling bubbling basslines, spacey organ grooves, tight choppy guitar riffs, and punchy horn blasts – almost with the African elements promised in the title, but served up with a deeper funk sound all the way through! In a way, the group's a bit like Cymande or some of the other 70s hybrid ensembles – yet they've got a lot less dub, a much more direct funky groove, and plety of raw southern elements in the mix as well! This is the funky 45 material we first cut our teeth on back in the day – and the original singles are legendary! Includes massive cuts like "Black Water Gold (Pearl)", "A Girl In France", "Never Name A Baby (Before It's Born), "Making Nassau Fruit Drink", "Camel Time", "The Dapp", "Tropical", and "Mr. Brown".

Incredible work from the obscure African Music Machine – a southern funk combo led by bassist Louis Villery – a legendary batch of funky singles, finally brought together as a full album! The band has a very unique sound that involves a lot of rolling bubbling basslines, spacey organ grooves, tight choppy guitar riffs, and punchy horn blasts – almost with the African elements promised in the title, but served up with a deeper funk sound all the way through! In a way, the group's a bit like Cymande or some of the other 70s hybrid ensembles – yet they've got a lot less dub, a much more direct funky groove, and plety of raw southern elements in the mix as well! This is the funky 45 material we first cut our teeth on back in the day – and the original singles are legendary! Includes massive cuts like "Black Water Gold (Pearl)", "A Girl In France", "Never Name A Baby (Before It's Born), "Making Nassau Fruit Drink", "Camel Time", "The Dapp", "Tropical", and "Mr. Brown".

An excellent album of funky electric jazz – and possibly the best one that Phil Woods cut with his European group! The quartet's a very hip group that's way hipper than its clunky name – with Gordon Beck on electric piano and organ, Daniel Humair on percussion and drums, and Henri Texier on bass, flute, and African percussion – all instrumentalists who dip heavily into the deep bag of their mighty talents for the date, helping to push Phil's music into some very cool new territory! The album cooks a lot harder than Woods' previous MGM date with the Rhythm Machine group in Europe – and has a really freewheeling vibe, and a sound that's almost outside at points. All tracks are long, with a modal electric approach that's very nice – and funky in the best parts – and titles include "Chromatic Banana", "Ultimate Choice", "The Last Page", and "The Day When The World".

A smoking selection of seventies funk – a perfect introduction to the genre, and one that's overflowing with the kind of classics that got first got us started loving music like this! The set list is decidedly hip – cuts that didn't always get much play back in the day, but which have gone onto become huge over the decades – thanks to deep digging by serious collectors, or sampling by hip hop acts – or even by the raving reviews of funk fanatics like us! The package features a massive 19 tracks in all – with loads of heavy drums, sharp guitars, and raw soul vocals – on titles that include "Watts Breakaway" by Johnny Otis, "Got To Get A Knutt" by New Birth, "Afro Strut" by Nite-Liters, "The Dapp" by African Music Machine, "It's Alright" by Bobby Rush, "Good Thing (part 2)" by Casey Jones, "Ice Cold Daydream" by Shuggie Otis, "One Monkey" by Kim Melvin, "Get It Where You Find It" by Jesse Gresham Plus 3, "Pull My Coat" by Eddie Jacobs Exchange, "Toe Hold" by Al Kooper, "Soul Train" by Little Royal, "It's Not How Long You Make It" by Shay Holiday, "It's Just Begun" by Jimmy Castor, "Soul Drums" by Bernard Purdie, and "Funkier Than A Mosquito's Tweeter" by Nina Simone.

Heavy heavy funk from the Louisiana scene of the late 60s and 1970s – and a great collection that really gets past the dominance of the New Orleans sound! The set moves way past the Crescent City to uncover a wealth of great bits recorded in smaller studios located in Shreveport, Lake Charles, and a variety of tiny scenes in the southwest side of Louisiana – and the result is a great batch of tunes with a really gritty, down-n-dirty sound! There's a wealth of great funky styles in the set – including James Brown-inspired jammers, southern soul burners, and some other great modes that show that Louisiana's got a heck of a lot more to offer than just New Orleans funk. Titles include work from the Anla, Murco, Soul International, Goldband, and Tic Toc labels – a total of 22 cuts that include "Soul Time" by Ernest Thomas, "Soul Feeling (parts 1 & 2)" by Eddy G Giles, "Soul Brothers Testify (part 1)" by Chester Randles Soul Senders, "Soul Power" by Abraham & The Casanovas, "Put It On" by Count Rockin Sidney with The Dukes, "Fix It" by Clifton White & His Royal Knights, "Miss Hard To Get" by Dennis Landry, "No Sad Times" by Johnny Truit, "Black Water Gold" by African Music Machine, and "I Got A Groove" by JJ Callier.

Heavy heavy funk from the Louisiana scene of the late 60s and 1970s – and a great collection that really gets past the dominance of the New Orleans sound! The set moves way past the Crescent City to uncover a wealth of great bits recorded in smaller studios located in Shreveport, Lake Charles, and a variety of tiny scenes in the southwest side of Louisiana – and the result is a great batch of tunes with a really gritty, down-n-dirty sound! There's a wealth of great funky styles in the set – including James Brown-inspired jammers, southern soul burners, and some other great modes that show that Louisiana's got a heck of a lot more to offer than just New Orleans funk. Titles include work from the Anla, Murco, Soul International, Goldband, and Tic Toc labels – a total of 22 cuts that include "Soul Time" by Ernest Thomas, "Soul Feeling (parts 1 & 2)" by Eddy G Giles, "Soul Brothers Testify (part 1)" by Chester Randles Soul Senders, "Soul Power" by Abraham & The Casanovas, "Put It On" by Count Rockin Sidney with The Dukes, "Fix It" by Clifton White & His Royal Knights, "Miss Hard To Get" by Dennis Landry, "No Sad Times" by Johnny Truit, "Black Water Gold" by African Music Machine, and "I Got A Groove" by JJ Callier.

The funky side of the Jewel & Paula labels – surprisingly jazzy work for a company that's best known for its blues recordings! Most of the tracks here come from a creative early 70s stretch for the label – and there's a number of cuts that show a strong connection with the AACM and Chicago undergrounds of the time – mixed with other tracks that show more of the southern roots that you might normally expect from Jewel/Paula. Electric and acoustic sounds mix together wonderfully in the track selection for the package – and titles include "Just A Feelin" by Ronnie Kole, "Chi Congo" by Art Ensemble Of Chicago, "Tropical" by African Music Machine, "L&T" by Tony Valor Orchestra, "Ode To Billie Joe" by Ronnie Kole, "First Thing In The Morning" by James Moody, "I Love Every Little Thing About You" by Odell Brown, "Toussaint Shuffle" by Toussaint McCall, "Got To Get Over" by Sonny Stitt, "One For Bud" by Mal Waldron, and "Great Stone Bottle" by Ronnie Kole.

A great set of old school funky numbers – the kind of indie soul 45s that first helped define the sound of rare groove back in the 80s – still as brilliantly bumping all these many years later! Most tracks here are from small label 45s of the early 70s – tracks that weren't issued on LP, and were often by artists who didn't ever even get to cut full albums – but who hit some great underground fame for their sharp grooves and wicked approach to instrumentation and vocals! The set's got loads of classics we've loved for years, but which haven't been reissued often in recent sets – cuts that include "Mr Brown" by African Music Machine, "It's Your Thing" by Toddlin Town Sounds, "Keep On Dancing" by Alvin Cash, "Somebody Help The Beggar Man" by Jackie Beavers, "Right On Jody" by Bobby Patterson, "Gossip" by Cyril Neville, "Good Book" by The 8th Day, "Close Your Big Mouth" by The Politicians, "Hunk O Funk" by Scott Brothers Orchestra, "Ace In The Hole" by Honey Cone, "Miss Funky Fox" by Exit 9, "Gotta Get Away" by Harolyn Montgomery, and "Know What To Do When You Get It" by The Genies.

DJ Muro takes on the sound of P-Vine Records – serving up a sweet extended mix of music that's heavy on rare soul and funky jazz! Muro's got a really great way with the tracks here – not just choosing the best from the deep series of P-Vine reissues, but also finding ways to push things together in unexpected ways – really letting the music burst forth strongly, sometimes with a few manual touches of his own! Most tracks here are of American 70s origin, but there's a few global bits from other years too – and every cut on the collection is a winner – with titles that include "Humpty Dumpty" by Placebo, "Put Everything Together" by Plus, "Keep It Up" by Milton Wright, "What's Going On" by Penny Goodwin, "Loveland" by Spanky Wilson, "In The Rain" by The Wooden Glass, "Gift To The Sun" by The Sidewinders, "On The Hill" by Oliver Sain, "Ritual" by Nico Gomez, "Lady Day & John Coltrane" by Penny Goodwin, "Money's Funny" by Cecil Lyde, "Heaven" by Matthew Larkin Cassell, "Algo" by Ricardo Marrero, "Black Water Gold" by African Music Machine, and "LA Will Make You Pay" by Burton Inc.

A massive groover from Timmy Thomas – really hitting here on all burners, and moving with a groove that's much fuller than the drum machine fills of his early years! The sound is Miami club at its best – wickedly uptempo rhythms that are played with razor-sharp intensity – still mostly funk at the core, with lots of live instrumentation that moves at a precision that's hard to beat! Timmy still adds in some great sweet moments from time to time – reminding us of his skill with a ballad – but the groovers also push him into Bohannon territory – which is quite a compliment from us! King Sporty handled the arrangements and production – and definitely deserves credit for the grooves – and Betty Wright adds in a bit of sweet guest vocals too. Titles include "Touch To Touch", "When A House Got Music", "Game Of Life", "Africano", "Torrid Zone", "Love For The People", and "Sweet Music".

A damn classic entry in the Super Breaks series from BGP – one that's filled with crucial sample cuts from the old school – some really wonderful funky nuggets, brought together here as a great reminder of the tracks that first got us digging back in the day! There's less of the totally obscure numbers here than you might find on other Super Breaks volumes, but things aren't totally mainstream either – and the compilers have not only done a great job of pulling together tracks that were really important for hip hop, but have also managed to put a really fresh spin on the music altogether – reminding us once again that even in the age of digital music, nothing beats a well-done compilation! Titles include "Shifting Gears" by Johnny Hammond, "Mary Mary" by The Monkees, "Scratchin" by Magic Disco Machine, "It's Just Begun" by Jimmy Castor, "Africano" by Earth Wind & Fire, "Apache" by Incredible Bongo Band, "Got To Get A Knutt" by New Birth, "Get Up & Dance" by Freedom, "Super Sporm" by Captain Sky, "Who Is He & What Is He To You" by Creative Source, "Funky President" by James Brown, "Blow Your Head" by The JBs, "Johnny The Fox" by Thin Lizzy, "Let A Woman Be A Woman Let A Man Be A Man" by Dyke & The Blazers, "The Clapping Song" by Shirley Ellis, and "Get Ya Some" by Melvin Sparks.

A damn classic entry in the Super Breaks series from BGP – one that's filled with crucial sample cuts from the old school – some really wonderful funky nuggets, brought together here as a great reminder of the tracks that first got us digging back in the day! There's less of the totally obscure numbers here than you might find on other Super Breaks volumes, but things aren't totally mainstream either – and the compilers have not only done a great job of pulling together tracks that were really important for hip hop, but have also managed to put a really fresh spin on the music altogether – reminding us once again that even in the age of digital music, nothing beats a well-done compilation! Titles include "Shifting Gears" by Johnny Hammond, "Mary Mary" by The Monkees, "Scratchin" by Magic Disco Machine, "It's Just Begun" by Jimmy Castor, "Africano" by Earth Wind & Fire, "Apache" by Incredible Bongo Band, "Got To Get A Knutt" by New Birth, "Get Up & Dance" by Freedom, "Super Sporm" by Captain Sky, "Who Is He & What Is He To You" by Creative Source, "Funky President" by James Brown, "Blow Your Head" by The JBs, "Johnny The Fox" by Thin Lizzy, "Let A Woman Be A Woman Let A Man Be A Man" by Dyke & The Blazers, "The Clapping Song" by Shirley Ellis, and "Get Ya Some" by Melvin Sparks.