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Excellent work from Ashford & Simpson – with some modern soul groovers that are among the best they ever did! The album includes their original reading of "Top Of The Stairs", a great sexy soul duet that was later done by Collins & Collins – and it's also got a fantastic instrumental reading of "Bourgie Bourgie", a track that you may know from a more famous John Davis disco version. Other tracks include "By Way Of Love's Express", "Let Love Use Me", "Send It", and "Waited Too Long". More proof that leaving Motown was a great move for them! CD

Ashford & Simpson don't need to ask at this point – their in full 70s soul stride here, and it's not good, it's great! By this point in the late 70s, Nick and Valerie are firmly holding the foreground as artists in their own right after many years of acting as songwriters for other soul and R&B hitmakers – writing, singing, and producing their own work in a now-established tradition of sophisticated soul and uptempo grooves! What they had not done to this point was produce a number of big hits for themselves, and that tide started to turn this this excellent album that's among their best ever! Includes a number of singles that would help them begin to break through to later huge chart success, which was by now richly earned. Titles include "Is It Good To You", "Ain't It A Shame", "It Seems To Hang On", "Flashback", "The Debt Is Settled", and "Get Up And Do Something". CD

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 chart soul, ensemble funk, and disco – taking all the best elements of each, and really sending the whole thing home with some incredible vocals and impeccable production and arrangements! Titles include "Rushing To", "Love Don't Make It Right", "We'll Meet Again", "Get Out Your Handkerchief", and "I Ain't Asking For Your Love". CD

Sublimely satisfying work from Ashford & Simpson – a stone killer from the height of their late 70s glory days on Warner Brothers! The pair are working together wonderfully at this point – wrapped up in that blend of upbeat soul and righteous undercurrents that made them a real cut above in mainstream soul – getting great help from arrangers William Eaton, Paul Riser, and Al Gorgoni – all of whom know how to hit that perfect Ashford & Simpson balance between tightness, class, and soulful spontaneity! Backings are always filled with lots of jazzy touches, too – the kind of sophisticated soul elements other would cop from the pair in years to come – and titles include "Over & Over", "It's You", "If You're Lying", "Couldn't Get Enough", "Destiny", "So So Satisfied", and "Tried Tested & Found True". CD

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 than most of the competing albums on major labels at the time – a perfect summation of the care and craft that Ashford & Simpson had always put into their music right from the start! The pair handle all production on the record, and also contributed all the songs too – and the whole thing's so wonderfully tight, right, and on the money, the album soars to the top even before the vocals come into the mix. Titles include more than a few club classics, like "Found A Cure", "Stay Free", and "Nobody Knows" – plus the cuts "Dance Forever", "Crazy", "Follow Your Heart", and "Finally Got To Me". CD

Ashford & Simpson may have gotten their start at Motown, but they really found their groove at Warner Brothers – as you'll hear on this massive collection of tracks from their landmark late 70s years at the label! Even many decades later, the strength of this music is undeniable – a careful blend of soulful roots and upbeat rhythms – yet all in ways that never fall into standard disco cliches of the period! The Ashford & Simpson groove is a really unique one – always deeply soulful, even when well polished, and carefully put together with some of the best studio elements the pair could get their hands on – then produced to perfection with a sparkling sound that's years ahead of its time. This 2CD set offers up a full disc of 70s originals that includes some rare 12" mixes from back in the day – and it also includes a second CD of contemporary remixes that really pay tribute to the classics – the sort of modern re-edits and mixes that always keep the original sounds, styles, and rhythms intact. CD 1 features 14 tracks that include "Over & Over (12" disco mix)", "Have You Ever Tried It", "One More Try (12" disco mix)", "Send It", "Top Of The Stairs", "Don't Cost You Nothing (12" disco mix)", "It Seems To Hang On (12" disco mix)", "Found A Cure (12" disco mix)", "Bourgie Bourgie", and "Love Don't Make It Right (12" disco mix)". CD 2 features 9 tracks that include "Stay Free (Dim's club mix)", "Found A Cure (Tom Moulton mix)", "It Seems To Hang On (Tommy Musto re-touch)", "Bourgie Bourgie (Joe Claussell's classic rmx)", "One More Try (Dimitri re-edit)", and "Love Don't Make It Right (Joey Negro mix)". CD

A wonderful selection of work by the team of Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson – a batch of tunes that focuses on their tight 80s work for Capitol Records! The pair may be best known from this era for their mega hit "Solid" – but Nick and Valerie changed the face of duet soul forever long before that sweet, if ubiqitous number– the boy/girl soul sound into a strident, mature, tightly-grooving mode! This set splits the difference between uptempo, sophisticated soul and a more delicate, ballad mode. Titles include "It Seems To Hang On", "Found A Cure", "Street Corner", "Love It Away", "I'll Take The Whole World On", "High-Rise", "Solid", "Outta The World", "Count Your Blessings", "Nobody Walks In LA", "Cookies And Cake", "I'll Be There For You" and more. CD

Music from Shorty Ashford, Billy Nix, Bobby Sisco, Chuck Dallis, Harry Carter, Chuck Dallis, Ginnie Carter, Rem Wall, Lorenzo Smith, Mel Kimbrough, Bob Burton, and more. CD

This is the second of two live albums that Marvin Gaye cut during the 70s – and in many ways, it's the better one! The record features three sides of work recorded live at the London Palladium – mostly in these swirling medleys that are introduced by Marvin in a very soulful mode, then swing into well-arranged combinations of classic tunes with some excellent instrumentation. The album features a few straight cuts like "Since I Had You", "Let's Get It On", "Trouble Man", and "Come Get To This" – but the medleys are great, too, especially the second one, which features kind of a mini version of the album What's Going On! But then, even after all that, comes a slamming studio track – the extended funky groover "Got To Give It Up", which took up all of side four on the original LP, and has some great keyboards by Marvin and cool rhythm work by Jack Ashford. All very funky, and Marvin's big bid at a club cut – one that worked pretty darn well! CD

One of the greatest Northern Soul albums ever – completely great all the way through, and filled with songs that have been burning up dancefloors for years! The vocals are incredible – soaring harmonies that hold together perfectly, even when the grooves are hard and heavy – and the instrumentation is great too – handled by the Pied Piper team, who were kind of a Motown offshoot that featured Jack Ashford on vibes and percussion, Dave Hamilton and Ray Monette on guitar, and Joe Hunter on piano. Hunter and Ashford handled the arrangements – with a pitch-perfect sound that's completely sublime – sweet and grooving at the same time, and put together with the same kind of care you'd find at Motown – but with all the harder-edge qualities that always made indie work from Detroit so great. Every cut is a winner, and the set is the only full album ever done by the group – with cuts that include "Egyptian Love", "Till The End Of Time", "Since I Found My Baby", "Sweetest One", "Unlucky Sun", "I'll Never Forget You", "Do The Pied Piper", and "I'm With You All The Way". Great reissue – fully remastered from the original tapes – with new liner notes too! CD

Excellent work from Rene & Angela – the sweetly soulful duo who recorded some brilliant sides of modern soul at the start of the 80s! Most of Rene & Angela's work is long out of print – which makes this 12 track collection an essential way to start checking out their skills in the CD era. The selection of tracks is great – with a mix of uptempo groovers and some of the mellow bubbling numbers that set Rene & Angela apart from the rest of the post-Ashford & Simpson crowd. Titles include "Wall To Wall", "Secret Rendezvous", "Do You Really Love Me", "Turn It Out", "My First Love", "Keep Running", "Imaginary Playmates", and "I Love You More". CD

An overlooked gem from Diana Ross – a set that's got a great mix of smooth grooves and tight soul numbers – all handled by 70s superproducer Richard Perry – and set to arrangements from Gene Page! Ross has this confident way of serving up the vocals, but an approach that's not nearly as diva-centric as some of her other work of the period – this almost relaxed style at times, which is even more captivating than usual, and some of her most compelling material on record from the time. The title track "Baby It's Me" actually is a pretty funky number – almost in the funky Pointer Sisters mode – with heavy bass popping a break on the intro, and some nice Hotel Sheet work by Jack Ashford – and other titles include "Too Shy To Say", "You Got It", "Getting Ready For Love", "Top Of The World", "All Night Lover", and "The Same Love That Made Me Laugh". CD

A landmark record for Diana – her first solo effort after leaving the Supremes, and a well-conceived batch of tracks produced by Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson! The album's got a warm, mature approach that really separates the work from Diana's earlier girl group past – as Ashford & Simpson take her into territory that hints at many of the musical changes to come, but which still has a freshness that breathes new life into Ross' vocal approach. Includes the super-bit hit version of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", plus the tunes "Reach Out & Touch Somebody's Hand", "Now That There's You", "You're All I Need To Get By", "These Things Will Keep Me Loving You", "Dark Side Of The World", and "Where There Was Darkness". Plus, the CD features a huge amount of bonus tracks – including a previously unissued live version of "Something On My Mind", 3 alternate mixes of tracks from the record, and 4 previously unissued tunes produced by Bones Howe, including "Time & Love", "Stoney End", "The Interim", and "Loves Lines Angles & Rhymes". CD

Features songs by GQ, Ashford & Simpson, War, Grace Jones, SOS Band, Blondie, Thelma Houston, and others. CD

Includes 24 tracks from Freddie Jackson, Hi-Five, James Ingram, Kool & The Gang, Barry White, Ashford & Simpson, The O'Jays, Al Green, Evelyn Champagne King, and Bobby Womack. CD

An absolute treasure trove of rare soul singles from Pied Piper Productions – a mid 60s Detroit soul operation that features Funk Brothers Jack Ashford, Joe Hunter, and Mike Terry – laying down sounds that rival the best Motown groovers of the period! The work is amazing throughout – soul cuts heavily focused on the groove and amazing lead vocals – recorded in ways that are similar to the best of Detroit at the time, but with some rawer aspects too – which makes for a massive package of Northern Soul gems! The package features both solo singers and great groups too – artists who include Lorraine Chandler, The Hesitations, September Jones, The Cavaliers, Willie Kendrick, Nancy Wilcox, and – heard here on rare singles and LP tracks that were originally released on labels like Karate, Kapp, Ruby and Giant – plus a number of recently unearthed titles that are seeing release for the first time ever! The set features 24 tracks in all, and the usual superb Kent notes and packaging – with titles that include "I Can't Hold On" by Lorraine Chandler, "Stuttering Sam" by September Jones, "Gambler's Blues" by Nancy Wilcox, "This Heart Is Lonely" by Rose Batiste, "Just Can't Leave You" by Tony Hesher, "Could It Be" by Micki Farrow, "I Fell In Love (Can't Help It)" by Freddy Butler, "He'll Be Leaving You" by The Pied Piper Players, "If Only You Knew" by Mike & Ray, "Time Changes Things" by Willie Kendrick, and "Lonely Too Long" by The Sandpipers. CD