All Categories — All Formats  

Kenny Dope takes on the funkiest sounds of the Miami Soul generation – on a single that's got more heavy funk than most full albums! Side one features a great edit of Beginning Of The End's "Come On Baby" (aka "Come Down Baby") – a groove that's just as heavy as their famous "Funky Nassau", and done with a similar blend of choppy guitar, romping rhythms, and blasting horns! Next up is Willie Johnson's amazing "Lay It On Me" – a tune that's got a really amazing bassline – one that moves faster than anything in the tune – including the blasting horns and rip-shot drums! And last is "Till I Get My Share" – one of the funkiest tunes ever from Clarence Reid – a hard and heavy number that feels a lot like the best Syl Johnson work for Twinight!

First single from their second LP, "God Squad." Apocalyptic themes with an almost Hiero sound to the rhymes and production.

Features very early work with Chris Powell & His Blue Flames – on "Ida Red" and "I Come From Jamaica" – plus 3 longer Philly sides from 1956, with Billy Root on tenor and Sam Dockery on piano – on titles that include "Walkin", "Donna Lee", and "Night In Tunisia".

A great new chapter in the career of Jose James – and a record that really seems to take his already-amazing vocals to a whole new level! In a relatively short career, Jose's already been turning a lot of heads with his work on other projects, his jazz-based recordings, and his debut for Gilles Peterson's album – yet this Blue Note set may well be his best record to date – and a set that definitely seems to find just the right place for his classic-styled approach to soul music vocals! Backings are mostly live, with a cool small funk group feel – but a bit more laidback too, almost with the jazzy touches you'd hear on some of Gil Scott-Heron's best 70s work, inflected with hipper changes with a 21st Century vibe. The whole thing's great – as important to Blue Note's move into soul as the Robert Glasper Experiment album – and titles include "Vanguard", "Heaven On The Ground", "Come To My Door", "Trouble", "Sword & Gun", and "It's All Over Your Body".

A great new chapter in the career of Jose James – and a record that really seems to take his already-amazing vocals to a whole new level! In a relatively short career, Jose's already been turning a lot of heads with his work on other projects, his jazz-based recordings, and his debut for Gilles Peterson's album – yet this Blue Note set may well be his best record to date – and a set that definitely seems to find just the right place for his classic-styled approach to soul music vocals! Backings are mostly live, with a cool small funk group feel – but a bit more laidback too, almost with the jazzy touches you'd hear on some of Gil Scott-Heron's best 70s work, inflected with hipper changes with a 21st Century vibe. The whole thing's great – as important to Blue Note's move into soul as the Robert Glasper Experiment album – and titles include "Vanguard", "Heaven On The Ground", "Come To My Door", "Trouble", "Sword & Gun", and "It's All Over Your Body".

A monster bit of funk that's unlike anything else we can think of! Beginning Of The End hailed from The Bahamas, but don't hold that against them – because instead of being a Caribbean cliche, they took the best part of the island rhythms, and used them to forge an incredible approach to funk! They've got a choppy sound that's the result of some incredibly dexterous guitar, bass, and drums – and which you'll recognize instantly from their one-time hit "Funky Nassau", a killer funk track that never gets old, no matter how many bands cover it over the years! That gem kicks off the album, which then rolls into the monster funky "part 2", which is even better! Other titles are equally wonderful – and include "Come Down", "Surrey Ride", "Monkey Tamarind", and "In The Deep". Essential – and one that you'll be spinning for years!

A monster bit of funk that's unlike anything else we can think of! Beginning Of The End hailed from The Bahamas, but don't hold that against them – because instead of being a Caribbean cliche, they took the best part of the island rhythms, and used them to forge an incredible approach to funk! They've got a choppy sound that's the result of some incredibly dexterous guitar, bass, and drums – and which you'll recognize instantly from their one-time hit "Funky Nassau", a killer funk track that never gets old, no matter how many bands cover it over the years! That gem kicks off the album, which then rolls into the monster funky "part 2", which is even better! Other titles are equally wonderful – and include "Come Down", "Surrey Ride", "Monkey Tamarind", and "In The Deep". Essential – and one that you'll be spinning for years!

An ambition Black Opera – Libretto from Black Opera and producer Astronote – featuring guests Melody Betts, Mayer Hawthorne, Boog Brown,Lalibella, Rasheeda Ali and 14KT. Includes "End Of The Beginning", "Grand Endtrance", "Rich Blood", "Kings Ramsom", "Queen Of Hearts" with Mayer Hawthorne, "Peace And War" with flute by Rasheeda Ali and trumpet by 14KT, "Thorns", "Red Bills", "Shadows" with Boog Brown, "Black Lair" with Melody Betts and more.

Four classic albums by this hip UK group – all with rare bonus tracks too! First up is the wonderful Dad Man Cat – our favorite record by one of the best funk records to ever come out of England! On this great debut album, Corduroy are a tight funky combo, with an organ and clavinet mod sound that still holds up damn well over the years. Their songwriting is great, and the groove on the set push way past the stock acid jazz riffing of the early 90s. Best example of this is "Skirt Alert", a cut that begins with an amazing drum break, then grooves into a Brazilian-inflected funk number, in the manner of Earth Wind & Fire's use of the idiom. Other tracks include "Chowdown", "How To Steal The World", "Electric Soup", "Money Is", and "Six Plus One". CD also features six bonus demo tracks! High Havoc is a real shift for Corduroy, who are opening their sound a lot here from earlier releases – showing that the group was way more than just one of London's many retro funk combos at the beginning of the 90s. The set includes the sublime track "Something In My Eye", a breezy bossa number that would almost put Brasil 66 to shame, and which we can guarantee will have you hitting the repeat button on your CD player again and again! Other tracks include "The Corduroy Orgasm Club", "Breakfast In Love", "Nobody Move", "Very Yeah", "Clearing Up Music", "Lovely Lonely & Loaded", and "The Frighteners". CD features 9 more bonus tracks – some previously unreleased! Next is Out Of Here – a record that's still heavily steeped in the 60s territory of previous releases, but one with a bit more of a mod feel overall! There's lots of heavy Hammond and guitar in the mix, and the vocals have a warm appeal too – kind of a blue-eyed soul take on mod London modes – served up here with a sound that's arguably tighter and more soulful than lots of current work of this nature! Corduroy was always a group that never fully got its due – and with records like this under their belt, they were easily one of the hippest acts on the Acid Jazz imprint at the time. Titles include "Don't Wait For Monday", "Practice What You Preach", "Magic Carpet", "January Woman", "Mini", "Motorhead", "Along The Rooftops", "End Of The Rainbow", and "Red Mercury". CD features 7 more bonus tracks – a number of unissued demos! Last up is Quattro – Live In Japan 1994 – a great little live set from Corduroy – recorded late in their career, but with the stripped down funky feel of their best early work! The album was recorded in Japan – but the groove is pure London jazz funk all the way, with a tight mix of keyboards and riffing guitars, electrically grooving in a very soulful way. Includes versions of "Skirt Alert", "Something In My Eye", "Mini", "Money is", "London, England", "Electric Soup", "E Type", "The Frighteners", and "Chow Down".

Enigmatic folk rock and soulful bluesy vocals from Karen Dalton – her legendary lost 1971 album that's credited with inspiring some the most idiosyncratic work by folk rock superstars and contemporary freak folk heroes alike! Karen was a fixture on the 60s NY folk scene – Dylan even gives her props in his Chronicles Vol 1 memoirs – but she rarely recorded. Her voice carries a huge Billie Holiday influence – but the delivery is wholly unique in her earthy folk phrasing, a real dip back into Harry Smith territory. Her guitar and banjo picking is strong, too! In My Own Time was recorded for Paramount at the end of 1970 and beginning of '71, with really rich and surprisingly soulful backing on an interesting selection of material written or popularized by Dylan & The Band, George Jones, Paul Butterfield, and even a folksy soul take on "When A Man Loves A Woman". Light In The Attic shines a huge light for this reverential reissue – pristinely remastered, with a thick booklet of liner notes by Lenny Kaye, Nick Cave and Devendra Banhart. Other tracks include "Something On Your Mind", "In My Own Dream", the traditional "Katie Cruel", "One Night Of Love" and "Are You Leaving For The Country".

Enigmatic folk rock and soulful bluesy vocals from Karen Dalton – her legendary lost 1971 album that's credited with inspiring some the most idiosyncratic work by folk rock superstars and contemporary freak folk heroes alike! Karen was a fixture on the 60s NY folk scene – Dylan even gives her props in his Chronicles Vol 1 memoirs – but she rarely recorded. Her voice carries a huge Billie Holiday influence – but the delivery is wholly unique in her earthy folk phrasing, a real dip back into Harry Smith territory. Her guitar and banjo picking is strong, too! In My Own Time was recorded for Paramount at the end of 1970 and beginning of '71, with really rich and surprisingly soulful backing on an interesting selection of material written or popularized by Dylan & The Band, George Jones, Paul Butterfield, and even a folksy soul take on "When A Man Loves A Woman". Light In The Attic shines a huge light for this reverential reissue – pristinely remastered with notes by Lenny Kaye, Nick Cave and Devendra Banhart. Other tracks include "Something On Your Mind", "In My Own Dream", the traditional "Katie Cruel", "One Night Of Love" and "Are You Leaving For The Country".

The rare second set from First Class – and a set that's every bit as heavenly as the first! The album's a great slice of later New Jersey soul – still very much in the mode started by groups like The Moments or Whatnauts, but showing a stronger Philly influence on the groovers – which are mixed in here with gentler, mellower cuts that really show the group's great harmony talents! Although never as big as contemporaries like Blue Magic, First Class have a great approach that really holds on strong throughout the set – working here with production from George Kerr, Donnie Elbert, and Tommy Keith – all of whom know how to get the sound right for the feel of the tunes. Titles include "Give Me Lend Me", "Let's Make Love", "Coming Back To You", "Lucky Me", "Hypnotized", and "Going Out Of My Head". CD features four bonus tracks too – "It's Never Too Late", "Beginning Of The End", and "Don't Know What You're Doing" in both stereo and mono versions.

The great K Frimpong & His Cubano Fiestas self-titled set from 1976 – trailblazing work that helped cement Frimpong's legend! The singer is backed on it by the group Vis-a-Vis, as he would be on the equally great and similarly titled album from the following year, appearing as his Cubano Fiestas. The opening track, "Kyenkyen Bi Adi M'Awu" is positively revelatory, and pretty much the starting point for Frimpong discovery and fandom for many of us. Just for that, the full album can be considered something of a lost treasure, so it's wonderful to be able to say that it's just as great from beginning-to-end! Soul shaking lead and chorus vocals, funky drums and keyboards, feverish rhythms, guitar, percussion, sax and some flute. Other tracks include "Gyae Mensu", "Yaw Barimah", "Susu Ne Won Nka", "Baabi A Obi Awuo", "Afe Nkyere Ba", "Obi Nnim" and "Koforidua Nsuo".

One of the most obscure chapters in the career of Ennio Morricone – important avant garde work recorded in the mid 60s, just at a point when he was beginning to rise in soundtrack fame! The ensemble is a key Italian modernist group featuring Morricone, Giovanni Piazza, Mario Bertoncini, Egisto Macchi, Gualtiero Branch, Jesus Villa Rojo, and Francesco Evangelisti – mostly classically-trained musicians, but working here in a set of improvisations that are extremely spare, and which are very much at the lower end of the sound spectrum. Many of the sounds on the set are right at the frontiers of hearing – and others, while more present, disappear as quickly as they emerge – further enforcing the mystery and mood of the record. And while the overall style is quite different than Morricone's soundtrack work, the group was clearly a key testing ground for his ideas of sound and space that emerged later. Titles include "Soup", "Scratch", "Settimino", and "Eflot".

A killer set of R&B-loving rock & roll instros from Peter Jay & The Jaywalkers! The Jaywalkers arrived at the tail end of the greatest wave of popularity for this kinda instrumental combo – but there unique combo! Rumbing rhythms, searing guitars and honking horns – familiar tools of the trade – but they build their own sound out of it! There too rockin' to really flaunt the R&B, but they're also more enamored of rhythm & blues than the surf or twangier school. Cool stuff outta the Joe Meek scene. Includes "Can-Can '62", "Redskins", "Totem Pole", "Poet And Peasant", "Kansas City", "If You Love Me", "You Girl", "Where Did Our Love Go", "Tonight You're Gonna Fall In Love", "What's Eas For Two Is So Hard For One", "Before The Beginning", "Solitaire" and more. 18 in all.

The complete Tamla and Motown singles of The Satintones – the soul, R&B & popular music juggernaut's first male vocal group – and a treasure trove of rare post doo wop from the end of the 50s/beginning of the 60s! It's fascinating for the history herein – the group is hugely under-anthologized in a world of myriad Motown compilations – which is a real shame, as you'll hear in this sweet set – with numbers that rely on the doo wop influences as well as tunes more devoted to lead vocals – with a slew of early Berry Gordy productions and compositions. The set includes the then legally challenged Shirelles knockoff/answer song "Tomorrow and Always" plus "Motor City", "Going To The Hop", "Sugar Daddy", "A Love That Can Never Be", "Foot Stomping Time", My Kind Of Love", "Boogie Woogie Heart", "Because I Love You", "You Can't Beat My Lovin" and many more. 26 tracks in all.

Cream Of The Crop may not have been a huge hit for The Supremes, but the record has them handling a variety of interesting work – mostly done in modes that bring the best Motown styles of the 60s into closer contact with the label's more expansive sound to come in the 70s! There's a really nice balance here, handled by a cream of the crop set of arrangers that includes Wade Marcus, David Van DePitte, and Paul Riser – on titles that include "Someday We'll Be Together", "You Gave Me Love", "Can't You See It's Me", "Young Folks", "The Beginning Of The End", "Till Johnny Comes", and "Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever".

My Melody from Deniece Williams and it's definitely one of here most beautiful albums of the early 80s – the more we think about it, it may be one of her best ever from beginning-to-end! It's lush and beautifully produced set Thom Bell, providing such a lovely backdrop for Deniece's incomparably soaring vocals – but it doesn't skimp on the soulfulness, either. Really great stuff! Titles include "It's Your Conscience", "My Melody", "Silly", "What Two Can Do", "All That Matters", and "Suspicious". This Big Break UK remastered edition has bonus single versions of "It's Your Conscience" and "Silly".

Heavy funk from the Bahamas – a whole bunch of groups that will show you that Nassau had a lot more to offer than The Beginning Of The End! The groove here is totally wonderful – somewhat like American funk of the late 60s and early 70s, but served up with some very unusual rhythmic patterns too – a bit Jamaican at times, but certainly not reggae – and somewhat sunny and Caribbean styled, but not in a way that's cheesy or filled with any hokey island-styled stereotypes. Instead, the tunes are deeply funk and soulful – grooving with plenty of dark edges and gritty instrumentation that's often heavy on the guitar. Many numbers have vocals, and those are great too – and as usual with the Numero label, the whole thing's put together with amazing notes and packaging, so that you get a full history lesson and a heck of a lot of photos to support the music too! Titles include "Gonna Build A Nation" by Cyril Ferguson, "Mustang Sally", "I Am The Man For You Baby", and "Funky Fever" by Jay Mitchell, "Theme From Shaft" by Esquires LTD, "Gimme Some Skin (inst)" by Frank Penn, "Words To My Song" by Dry Bread, "People Won't Change" by Willpower, "Take Five" by Ozzie Hall, "Watcha Gonna Do Bout It" and "The Time For Loving Is Now" by Mustangs, "Honesty Is The Best Policy" by Gospel Chandeliers, and "Don't Touch That Thing" by Sylvia Hall. 2LP set also features a bonus instrumental version of "Don't Touch That Thing" by Sylvia Hall!

Kenny trips it large through a sweet set of rare 70s funk and soul tracks – magically blending together 25 tunes into a special limited edition mix! The range of grooves is really great – and features some excellent singles and funk tracks that we haven't seen on other reissues, all swept into the mix by Kenny's magical hands. Titles include "You Got It All" by The Blenders, "Honeydripper" by Deloris Ealy, "Come Down Baby" by Beginning Of The End, "Color Blind" by Frankie Beverly, "Born With A Headache" by Mary Love, "Modernization" by Modernization, "Pure Love" by Holzer & Pure Love, "Nothing Left Is Real" by Pure Funk, "You Gotta Be A Man" by Helene Smith, "Be Mine Tonight" by Lloyd Williams, "I Can't Forget About You" by The Lovations, and "If I'm Guilty" by Towanda Barnes.

Funky disco re-edits/reworks compiled by Russian DJ Kirill Sergeev, aka Saint Petersburg Disco Spin Club! The set pulls together tracks by other club soul, deep house and funk spinning producers on the contemporary Russian scene – including Lesca, Arsenii, Simple Symetry, Quick Soviet Cuts and others! Soulful dancefloor ready grooves from beginning to end – in a 2CD set – one unmixed and the other contiuously mixed. CD 1 (unmixed) includes "Let's Love" by Lesca, "Bennie's Deal" by Lay-Far, "Doesn't Really Matter" by Simple Symmetry, "Romeo 'N' Juliet" by Beard In Dust, "Be Good To Me Baby" by Lipelis & Sasha Lipsky, "Jozefino" by Quick Soviet Cuts and more, including 2 bonus tracks: "Can't You See Me (Dub Mix)" by Saint Petersburg Disco Spin Club" and "Sandworms" by Arsenii. CD2 is a contiuous mix of the material from the CD1 and more!

One of the hardest-hitting electric sets ever cut by Ramsey Lewis – a live performance from the start of the 70s, done with a really gritty groove! Ramsey's on both Fender Rhodes and acoustic piano – the former of which is played with even more forces than on his Cadet studio recordings – heard here in small group formation, without any added studio backings – just the guitar of Phil Upchurch, the bass of Cleveland Eaton, and the drums of Morris Jennings. The tracks are a bit longer than usual for Ramsey on Cadet too – and often hit these down-n-dirty modes that are similar to turn of the 70s work by Les McCann or Junior Mance. Tracks include "Do Whatever Sets You Free", "Them Changes", "Unsilent Majority", "Something", and "See The End From the Beginning".

Two soul classics from Jerry Butler! Moon River is an incredible album of sophisticated soul tunes – one that features Jerry's hit single of "Moon River", the first version of the song to chart after Mancini composed it – plus original tunes "I Found A Love" and "Butterfly", plus great renditions of "Where Do I Turn", "Lost Without You", "No End Or Time", "Couldn't Go To Sleep", and "The Challenge". Delicious Together features Jerry in a very big-selling set of soul duets with Betty Everett – some of the first male/female soul tracks recorded in the 60s, and the beginning of a sub-genre that would go on to become very popular. Titles include "Let It Be Me", "I Can't Stand It", "Fever", "Just Be True", "It's All Right", "Ain't That Loving You Baby", "The Way You Do The Things You Do", and "Our Day Will Come".

The great K Frimpong & His Cubano Fiestas self-titled set from 1976 – trailblazing work that helped cement Frimpong's legend! The singer is backed on it by the group Vis-a-Vis, as he would be on the equally great and similarly titled album from the following year, appearing as his Cubano Fiestas. The opening track, "Kyenkyen Bi Adi M'Awu" is positively revelatory, and pretty much the starting point for Frimpong discovery and fandom for many of us. Just for that, the full album can be considered something of a lost treasure, so it's wonderful to be able to say that it's just as great from beginning-to-end! Soul shaking lead and chorus vocals, funky drums and keyboards, feverish rhythms, guitar, percussion, sax and some flute. Other tracks include "Gyae Mensu", "Yaw Barimah", "Susu Ne Won Nka", "Baabi A Obi Awuo", "Afe Nkyere Ba", "Obi Nnim" and "Koforidua Nsuo".

Group soul titans The Manhattans – still going strong at the end of the 70s & beginning of the 80s – a pair of underappreciated albums together in a single set! First up is 1981's Black Tie – recorded in Chicago with producer Leo Graham – who brings a somewhat polished groove to the proceedings, no less soulful and lacking no depth of emotion from the mighty Manhattans! Titles include "Just One Moment Away", "You Stand Out", "Let Your Love Come Down", "Honey Honey", "I Wanta Thank You", "Deep Water", "When I Leave Tomorrow" and more. The earlier album is up next – 1979's Love Talk – a wonderful blend of mellow harmony tracks and fuller, more upbeat Philly-styled tunes! It's all very much in the spirit of the group's first few albums for Columbia, and handled with a similar level of skill. The group had one of the most compelling, richest harmony styles of any 70s mainstream group – and if anything, the more they recorded, the more they made magic in the studio. Titles include "Devil In The Dark", "After You", "Love Talk", "We Tried", "That's Not Part Of The Show", "New York City", and a surprisingly palatable version of "The Way We Were/Memories".

A fantastic session of Latin jazz – recorded by Ray Mantilla with a tight version of his Space Station combo! The album's a very percussive one – with percussion from Mantilla mixed with drums from Steve Berrios, who also plays percussion, and more drums from Joe Chambers, who also plays a bit of vibes on the date! Other players include Eddie Martinez on piano, Peter Barshay on bass, and Dick Oatts on saxes and flute – and there's a soulful groove here that makes the set run a lot deeper than other Latin jazz sides of its vintage – with an approach that's almost in an early 70s indie soul jazz mode, complicated rhythms dancing around searching spiritual solos that keep pushing onward as the album expands. A real treat from beginning to end – and with tracks that include "Ode To Vivian", "Gourdo Lobo", "Six For Kim", "Mariposa", and "En Nostros".

A great lost bit of funk – and a pretty mysterious record, too! The record came out hot on the heels of Manu Dibango's big original version of "Soul Makossa" – and while it's got a groove that definitely leans towards Afro Funk, it's also got plenty of Caribbean touches too – a wicked blend of funk and island styles that's almost like The Beginning Of The End at some of the best moments – but with a touch of New York underground as well! We've never been entirely sure if the group wasn't just a Winley Records studio project – maybe The Rimshots under another name – but whatever the case, the record's a damn funky classic – filled with lots of original-sounding grooves that make the whole thing well worth tracking down. Titles include a version of "Soul Makossa", with a groove that's harder than the original – plus "Skin N Soul", "Good Groove", "Mozambique", "Finger In It", "Dance Girl", and the extended "Bahamas Melody".

A sprawling classic from Prince – that tracks that perfect the pop, funk & soul kaleidoscope of his best 80s jams, and adding a remarkable, previously unexplored depth and breadth of styles! A lot of folks tried to designate Prince's massive, fearless, beginning-of-the-end-of-the-80s epic Sign O The Times as his What's Going On – which was never really fair to Prince, or to Marvin Gaye for the matter – but it's filled with great cuts – including the minimalist funky groover of a title track, with its superficial social consciousness that's very much of its 80s era, and all the more fascinating for that – plus massive hit "U Got The Look", "If I Was Your Girlfriend", "I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man", "The Cross", "Hot Thing", and "Starfish & Coffee". 17 tracks in all.

Heavy funk from the Bahamas – a whole bunch of groups that will show you that Nassau had a lot more to offer than The Beginning Of The End! The groove here is totally wonderful – somewhat like American funk of the late 60s and early 70s, but served up with some very unusual rhythmic patterns too – a bit Jamaican at times, but certainly not reggae – and somewhat sunny and Caribbean styled, but not in a way that's cheesy or filled with any hokey island-styled stereotypes. Instead, the tunes are deeply funk and soulful – grooving with plenty of dark edges and gritty instrumentation that's often heavy on the guitar. Many numbers have vocals, and those are great too – and as usual with the Numero label, the whole thing's put together with amazing notes and packaging, so that you get a full history lesson and a heck of a lot of photos to support the music too! Titles include "Gonna Build A Nation" by Cyril Ferguson, "Mustang Sally", "I Am The Man For You Baby", and "Funky Fever" by Jay Mitchell, "Theme From Shaft" by Esquires LTD, "Gimme Some Skin (inst)" by Frank Penn, "Words To My Song" by Dry Bread, "People Won't Change" by Willpower, "Take Five" by Ozzie Hall, "Watcha Gonna Do Bout It" and "The Time For Loving Is Now" by Mustangs, "Honesty Is The Best Policy" by Gospel Chandeliers, and "Don't Touch That Thing" by Sylvia Hall.

Tremendous tremendous grooves – hip, jazzy, and deeply soulful – all hand-picked by DJ Spinna, and way more than just the usual funk compilation! Spinna's not kicking back, letting the licensors do his work for him here – and he's really gone out of his way to select a batch of older tracks that match the hipness of his own current work – sublime tunes throughout, all glowing in a united love of soul, funk, fusion, Latin, and Brazilian modes! 2CD set is unmixed, and features 20 tracks that include "River People" by Weather Report, "Bail Out" by DJ Rogers, "When She Made Me Promise" by Beginning Of The End, "Tuane" by Hammer, "Movin On" by Outside, "The World Was Young" by Monika Linges, "Let's Rock" by Feel, "Nereci" by Djavan, "Too Late" by Junior, "Automan (dub)" by Newcleus, "It Ain't Whatcha Say" by Aquarian Dream, "Come Into My Life" by The Supremes, "Tell Me A Bedtime Story" by Herbie Hancock, and "Body Talk" by Eddie Kendricks.

A creative highpoint for The Mekons – even if too few were listening at the time! The greatest curse The Mekons have to deal with is their relative obscurity, outside of underground rock aficionados – and if you don't require the fieriness of their punkier earlier albums, we can't recommend Curse Of The Mekons highly enough. It includes the fierce "Authority" – one of our favorite Mekons songs ever – a that roars and mourns at the same time! The album's a stunner from beginning-to-end, though. Includes "The Curse", "Blue Arse", "Wild & Blue", "Secrets", "Nocturne", "Sorceror", "Brutal", "Waltz" and "100% Song". This CD edition also includes their great A&M EP Fun 90 – with "Makes No Difference", "Sheffield Park", "Having A Party" and "One Horse Town".

20 heavy tracks of soul from Atlantic's early 70s roster: King Floyd "Groove Me" and "Baby Let Me Kiss You", Brook Benton "Shoes", Little Sister "Somebody's Watching You", Jackie Moore "Precious Precious", Wilson Pickett "Don't Let The Green Grass Fool You" and "Don't Knock My Love - Part 1", Garland Green "Plain & Simple Girl", Tyrone Davis "Could I Forget You", Aretha Franklin "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and "Spanish Harlem", The Beginning Of The End "Funky Nassau - Part 1", Dede Warwicke "Suspicious Minds", Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway "You've Got a Friend", Barabra Lynn "(Until Then) I'll Suffer", the Persuaders "Thin Line Between Love & Hate", Clarence Carter "Slipped, Tripped & Fell In Love", King Curtis "Changes - Part 2", Sam & Dave "Don't Pull Your Love" and Betty Wright "Clean Up Woman".

Massive Caribbean funk from the 70s – a killer collection of grooves from the legendary Blue Rhythm Combo! The sound here is way more US-funky than you might expect – as BRC really drew heavily from American acts of the time, especially on the rhythmic tip – which is always mighty heavy on the basslines, and filled with the kind of snapping drums that have made the group a favorite with crate diggers over the years! In fact, we'd dare say that most of these tracks feel more like east coast indie funk from the classic years – with only a hint of island elements to show the group's Barbados origins – modes that you might find in the grooves of a group like Beginning Of The End at the same time. This 7" package is ultra-cool – 6 of the best BRC tracks in a slipcover with full notes – titles that include "I'm Too Old", "BRC's Groove", "Take The Funky Feeling", "Sister Jeanie", and "Get Down".

The rare second set from the Catch Up combo of the 70s – a cool German group with a very MPS-like groove – a nicely messed-up mix of funk and jazz elements, sorted out into a great new groove! The group's headed by bassist Milan Pilar – whose electric instrument really has a great way of bringing things up from the bottom – guiding the more freewheeling elements with a nice pulse that never lets the proceedings get too out of hand – but does allow for plenty of interplay between Herb Geller on alto and soprano sax, Ack Van Rooyen on trumpet, Max Greger Jr on piano, Rudi Wilfer on keyboards, and other group members on percussion. Things are pretty darn funky throughout – with a great sort of sound library groove – and titles include "Clown", "To Ali Cante", "End Of The Beginning Of The End", "Uru", "Bigosh", and "Birth Of The Second Life".

Killer Miami soul – re-edited by Kenny Dope! Funky Nassau have a groove here that's very much in Beginning Of The End territory (were they the same group) – a hard-riffing approach to funk that has guitar running up and down with the beats in a super-fast way that's clearly inspired by Caribbean influences, but which also has plenty of good ol' American funk! "Bahama Soul Stew" is simply incredible – a mix of "Funky Nassau" and "Memphis Soul Stew" that has plenty of hard drums and great bass – and "Look What You Can Get" is a wicked party cut that features some great raspy vocals and crowd noises!

A pretty brave batch of covers from Macy Gray – one that covers an entire album from beginning-to-end – and not just any album, either: Steve Wonder's immortal Talking Book! It actually works really well. No one, up to and including Macy Gray herself, would try to tell you that Talking Book needed to be updated – and to the well-earned credit of Macy, producer Hal Wilner and producer/keyboard wiz Zoux, they manage to freshly adapt each cut in a respectful way – while tailoring each one nicely to Macy's distinct voice and style. It rolls from spacey keyboards and bass flavored backdrops, to some with acoustic strings and percussion – and track-by-track, it works! Talking Book from start-to-finish: "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life", "Mayben Your Baby", "You And I (We Can Conquer The World)", "Tuesday Heartbreak", "You've Got It Bad Girl", "Superstition", "Big Brother", "Blame It On The Sun", "Lookin' For Another Pure Love" and "I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever)".

Killer soul from Franki Zhivago – a rare batch of Bahamian work from the early 70s, with a groove that's as soaring of The Beginning Of The End! The cover of the set proclaims a mix of soul, rock, reggay, and country – and while we can't hear the latter, we can definitely vouch for the former three genres – all nicely mixed up with these funky island rhythms underneath – soaring, leaping, and bouncing around with a great sense of groove that really makes the record cook – all with energy that's unlike anything you'd hear from a US soul record at the time! Titles include the massive break track "Someone Stole Your Love" – plus "Flying High", "All Around The World", "I'm Yours", "Unhappy Man", "Pretty Blue Eyes", and "My Eyes Adore You".

Maybe the greatest record we've ever heard from Beggar & Co – a set that sparkles strongly from a host of excellent guest work – not just from Incognito, but also from some key American musicians as well! The groove is tighter than ever – and very much in the 70s-inspired style that's always made us love the group – a wonderfully warm blend of jazz, funk, and soul that comes off with the feel of a lost treasure from way back! The set's got a positive, upbeat sound throughout – and titles include "If You Really Love Me", "Victoria Park", "Summer Is Here At Last", "While The City Sleeps", "New Beginnings", "Rise", "Yesterday's Gone", and "Changes".

A pretty sweet set of retro futurist synth from Chrome Canyon – which is essentially the solo project of Morgan Z and guests – and a mix of late 70s Krautrock-era synthy bombast and early 80s electro soundtracky styles! Overall, it's got sort of a Euro disco-tinged soundtrack vibe – think Giorgio Moroder, Wendy Carlos and 80s soundtrack-era Tangerine Dream – along with more starkly minimal tones and key, though used to maximum effect! There's also some twists and turns – like the cosmic post-fusion sax on the title track, bits of guitar, drums and other instrumentation. It's a very well structured batch of instrumentals – with a focused, song-based approach – as opposed to looser synthy experimentation. A leftfied win for Stones Throw! Includes "Beginnings", "Pluze", "Legends", "Branches", "Elemental Themes", "Cave Of Light", "Generations", "Chasing The Dead", "Sacred Mountain", "Signs From An Old World", "Carfire On The Highway" and more.

One of the first albums to ever issue recordings made at the Newport Jazz Festival – quite a big hit, and the beginning of a real trend in jazz! The set's also some great work by Duke – free to perform in a setting that's not bound by some of the time restrictions of earlier years, which lets him offer up three long tracks with a great deal of sophistication over previous recordings. Titles include "Jeep's Blues", "Diminuendo & Crescendo In Blue", and "Newport Jazz Festival Suite".

A sweet overview of the early years of Aretha Franklin's career – her formative days at Columbia Records, when she was working in a variety of styles before heading over to bigger fame at Atlantic! Even at this early stage, Aretha's one hell of a singer – and, despite what folks who listen to Jerry Wexler might say, this early Columbia work is pretty darn amazing throughout – steeped in a number of different modes, with bits of jazz, R&B, and early soul sewn together beautifully throughout. The double-length set is filled with key early moments from Aretha – and titles include "Don't Cry Baby", "Lee Cross", "Skylark", "One Step Ahead", "Evil Gal Blues", "Take A Look", "Runnin Out Of Fools", "People", "Try A Little Tenderness", and "Take It Like You Give It".

Bizarre is right – and incredibly hip too! This was the group's second album – and while it has a lot of similarities with the first, it's also a lot deeper of an expression of their strange blend of harmony vocals, sweet 60s pop, and the nostalgia for the early 20th century that was running through the Burbank Warner scene that included a young Van Dyke Parks, Randy Newman, Lenny Waronker, and other LA underground of the mid 60s. The whole record fits together beautifully – beginning with an old-timey radio kind of announcer, then sliding into sublimely crafted harmony tunes that include originals from the LA luminaries and the group, plus a few other surprising covers. Titles include the hit version of "Anything Goes", plus "The Biggest Night Of Her Life", "Milord", "Virginia City", "High Coin", "Jessie", "This Is Only The Beginning", and "You Need A Change".

One of the best albums ever by this legendary Chicago soul star! The album's masterful blend of spiritual soul tracks that plumb the depths of Donny's dark soul – done with a level of sophistication that you won't hear in other soul albums from the time! Classic cuts include "A Song For You", "She is My Lady", "Giving Up", and "Take a Love Song" – plus versions of "Put Your Hand In The Hand" and "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother". The record also includes the great funky cut "Magnificent Sanctuary Band", which has some nice haaaard drums at the beginning, and which has been sampled who knows how many times! Plus, this CD includes 2 bonus cuts – the great "Be There", and Donny's holiday hit "This Christmas", which we never tire of hearing!

One of the best albums ever by this legendary Chicago soul star! The album's masterful blend of spiritual soul tracks that plumb the depths of Donny's dark soul – done with a level of sophistication that you won't hear in other soul albums from the time! Classic cuts include "A Song For You", "She is My Lady", "Giving Up", and "Take a Love Song" – plus versions of "Put Your Hand In The Hand" and "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother". The record also includes the great funky cut "Magnificent Sanctuary Band", which has some nice haaaard drums at the beginning, and which has been sampled who knows how many times!

An amazing set throughout – not just for the musical growth of Coleman Hawkins, but also for the development of the tenor sax in jazz, too! These sides could very well be said to be THE seminal recordings for tenor – the records that helped transform the instrument from a bit of a trick noisemaker into one of the most dominant voices in jazz during the 20th century – the beginning of a rich legacy that went onto encompass Lester Young, Stan Getz, John Coltrane, and so many others! The package captures Coleman Hawkins right at the start of his career – with vital early 78rpm recordings that move from trad to swing to some of the modern combo sounds that Hawkins would blow in the postwar years. And the range of settings is amazing, too – not a loose collection or mish-mash of material, but a really thoughtful progression that has Hawkins working with Mamie Smith, Fletcher Henderson, Clarence Williams, The Chocolate Dandies, and McKinney's Cotton Pickers in the early years – then moving up to work as a leader on his own – as well as material with Lionel Hampton, Benny Goodman, Benny Carter, and Count Basie. Most of the later material is for small labels – like Baronet, Cont, Meritt, Neatwork, and others – and the early sides are for Okeh, Columbia, Vocalion, Brunswick, and other smaller imprints. Features 190 tracks in all, and very copious notes, too – an amazing package from Mosaic!

The final proper album by The Jam! The Gift is a far more diversely soul-steeped set of tunes than anything they'd done up to this point – and in hindsight, it feels more like a starting point for Paul Weller's career to come than a final album for The Jam! While they're working more soul influences into the formula, there's still a devotion to insistently catchy hooks that they'd sported since the beginning. A classic that really deserves a lot more respect than it gets in some circles! Includes "Happy Together", "Ghosts", the nice "Psychedelic Shack"-styled "Precious", "Just Who Is The 5 O'Clock Hero", "Running On The Spot", "Circus", "The Planner's Dream Gone Wrong", "Carnation", the great Motown-homage and superhit "Town Called Malice" and "The Gift". This great 2CD 30th anniversary edition has bonus disc of singles, B-sides and most excitingly a bunch of previously unreleased demos! 15 tracks on Disc 2: "Beat Surrender", "Shopping", "Move On Up", "Stoned Out Of My Mind", "Carnation (instrumental demo)", "Shopping (aka Paul's demo)", "Solid Bond In Your Heart (demo)" and more.

Great work from one of the grooviest pianists of the 60s – a player who could always keep things lively and swinging, even in a small combo session! The album's one of Pete Jolly's gems for the Ava label – a follow-up to his semi-hit Little Bird, and like that one, a record done with some slight additional help from Howard Roberts on a few tracks. But this time around, Roberts' work is only on a few of the titles – leaving Pete's core trio to take over most of the grooves themselves, building strongly from warmly rolling rhythms by Chuck Berghofer on bass and Larry Bunker on drums, topped by Jolly's surprisingly soulful lines on piano – all in a blend that reminds us of the great balance between lyricism and groove we always find in the best work of Vince Guaraldi. Titles include "Sweet September", "Can't We Be Friends", "Any Number Can Win", "Soft Winds", "Oleo", "Yours Is My Heart Alone", "I'm Beginning To See The Light", and "Kiss Me Baby".

An older bandleader takes on sounds from two different groovy sources of the 70s – both of them great! Plays Michel Legrand has Andre Kostelanetz serving up some sweet versions of tunes from some of Legrand's famous soundtracks of the 60s and early 70s – most of them done with fairly broad string arrangements, but underscored with some of the groovier tones and timings that make Michel's music so great. Andre never gets too overemotional, even when things are lush – and titles include "What Are You Doing For The Rest Of Your Life", "Summer Of 42", "Lady Sings The Blues", "Orson's Theme", "Once Upon A Summertime", and "Pieces Of Dreams". Plays Chicago is even weirder, but maybe even cooler too – as Andre Kostelanetz handles the music of Chicago – stripping the tunes of the heavy brass styles you might expect, and instead washing them heavily in strings, which then often get a similar dynamic range to the horns! Arrangements are from Don Sebesky, Torri Zito, Luther Henderson, Marty Manning, and Al Capps – and titles include "Fancy Colours", "Make Me Smile", "Questions 67 & 68", "Beginnings", "25 Or 6 To 4", "Flight 602", and "Wake Up Sunshine".

An older bandleader takes on sounds from two different groovy sources of the 70s – both of them great! Plays Michel Legrand has Andre Kostelanetz serving up some sweet versions of tunes from some of Legrand's famous soundtracks of the 60s and early 70s – most of them done with fairly broad string arrangements, but underscored with some of the groovier tones and timings that make Michel's music so great. Andre never gets too overemotional, even when things are lush – and titles include "What Are You Doing For The Rest Of Your Life", "Summer Of 42", "Lady Sings The Blues", "Orson's Theme", "Once Upon A Summertime", and "Pieces Of Dreams". Plays Chicago is even weirder, but maybe even cooler too – as Andre Kostelanetz handles the music of Chicago – stripping the tunes of the heavy brass styles you might expect, and instead washing them heavily in strings, which then often get a similar dynamic range to the horns! Arrangements are from Don Sebesky, Torri Zito, Luther Henderson, Marty Manning, and Al Capps – and titles include "Fancy Colours", "Make Me Smile", "Questions 67 & 68", "Beginnings", "25 Or 6 To 4", "Flight 602", and "Wake Up Sunshine".

Two of our favorite albums by The Main Ingredient – back to back on a single CD! Euphrates River is a wonderfully complex batch of tunes that shows that the group were taking a cue from some of their hipper contemporaries, and pushing past a stock hit formula. Bert DeCoteaux was still arranging, but the group produced themselves, giving the record a sexy funky feeling in the best parts, not that dissimilar from some of Marvin Gaye's work, or records by groups like The Isley Brothers or The O'Jays. Includes great versions of two Seals & Crofts songs – "Summer Breeze" and "Euphrates" – both a perfect example of this style, as is "Happiness Is Just Around The Bend" – plus a great reading of Willie Hutch's "California My Way", which has a super-dope sample at the beginning. Of course, the album still includes material like their hit " "Just Don't Want To Be Lonely", a sweetly style AM radio pop hit in the band's best style of earlier years. Afrodisiac is one of the most righteous albums ever from the Main Ingredient – as you might guess from its title and stylish cover! The group are really opening up here – and show a distinct Stevie Wonder influence throughout – not just because they perform their own hip takes on a number of tunes by Stevie, but also because Wonder himself plays a bit on the record! Rhythms are inventive, and grooves nice and complex – way past standard chart soul, into a heady mix that holds up beautifully over the years. Keyboards slide in great with the harmonies – and titles include great versions of Stevie Wonder tunes "Superwoman", "Where Were You When I Needed You", "Something Lovely", "Girl Blue", and "I Am Yours" – plus the great breakbeat track "You Can Call Me Rover", which has a very tight drum sound at the beginning, and tight soul harmonies all the way through. Also features a hip take on the Isleys' "Work To Do" too!

A slim little package, but a record that's overflowing with soul – one of the best full sets to date from the mighty Frank McComb – one of our favorite contemporary soul singers of the past few decades! Frank's got a joyous, soulful flow that's somewhere in a space between the 70s work of Donny Hathaway and DJ Rogers – with all the spiritual overtones that reference might imply – a sense of singing right from the roots on up, and blending his lyrics with sweet keyboard lines that help his music hit even greater heights! If you've ever thought "they just don't make 'em like they did in the old days", this is one set that will definitely change your mind – because after leaving Sony music almost two decades ago, Frank's gotten his sound just right on his own – as you'll hear in this excellent set of tracks that includes "Wishful Thinking", "Since The Day I Said So", "Inspire A Life", "Leading You On", "Jealousy & Envy", and "In My Heart".

An obscure second soundtrack for The Mack – one that's not nearly as well known as the classic Motown score by Willie Hutch, but which features some great work from Eugene McDaniels – and funky backings from Alan Silvestri! Eugene sings sweetly on the title theme "In The Beginning" – and funkily on the track "Party Time" – but our favorite tunes are actually the instrumental ones by Silvestri, done in a really wicked sort of groove – one that mixes traditional blacksploitation scoring with some jazzier touches – in a mode that's tight one minute, laidback the next, and filled with a great blend of jazz, soul, and electricity! Titles include "Play Ball", "We Can Beat This", "Slim", "Here Today", "Planetarium", and "Kill Fats".

Sweet spacey disco from Quartz – and a set that definitely lives up to the icy image on the cover! The set's in the best mode of the French club scene of the 70s – a groove that certainly draws complex instrumentation from the progressive moments of a few years before – but which also hones things into a much tighter, funkier groove for the clubs – really the beginning of the Euro Cosmic sound, especially given the great keyboards on the record! Rhythms almost have a pre-house approach at times – although once the instrumentation kicks in, things get a bit more complex – and the vocals are often merely there as another element in the mix – leaving most of the focus on the keyboards! Side one features the extended "Quartz", and other tracks include "Chaos", "For Geromine", and "Beyond The Clouds".

Mindblowing music from Sun Ra & The Arkestra – sounds recorded during the same marathon session that gave the world the records Other Planes Of There, When Sun Comes Out, and When Angels Speak Of Love – but titles that are much more obscure overall! The initial release of the material featured very misleading notes, but the true details of the session are even more impressive – as Ra plays a variety of unusual instruments alongside piano – including the piano strings, space organ, and clavioline – alongside some sublime straight horn work from John Gilmore on tenor, Marshall Allen on alto and oboe, Pat Patrick on baritone, Danny Davis on alto and clarinet, Walter Miller on trumpet, Robert Cummings on bass clarinet, and Ali Hasaan on trombone! The lineup here has that raw power the Arkestra first unleashed after their initial move to New York – almost a sense of new freedom in the new environment – even at a time when they weren't clicking on a financial level, but still continued to push forward with new ideas in music! Some passages have this great approach that links the cosmic ideas of the Arkestra with older traditions of jazz soloing – while others reflect the growing concern of the group with new textures and sounds – making for some very impressive elements on both the horns and percussion. The group is completed by Ronnie Boykins on bass, Art Jenkins on space voice and percussion, and Tommy Hunter on drums, percussion, and some mighty nice reverb – and titles include "Biosphere Blues", "Intergalactic Research", "Earth Primitive Earth", "New Planet", and "Continuation To Jupiter Festival". Beautiful 2CD reissue features sublime sounds from the original tapes, remastered – plus a full bonus CD of unreleased tracks that include "Blue York", "Conversation Of The Universe", "Red Planet Mars", "Cosmic Rays/Next Stop Mars", "The Myth", "Meteor Shower", "Infinity", "The Beginning Of", and "Endlessness".

Lots of Penderecki compositions – including his great "Cannon For Orchestra & Tape" – plus George Crumb's "Night Of The Electric Instruments", the great "Beginnings" from the Wind Harp record, and Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells" – the haunting theme of the film!

Early brilliance from The Small Faces – a set that perfectly sums up all the aspects that set them apart from their peers on the British scene of the 60s! Sure, there's the requisite mod touches in the music's influence from American R&B and garage – but there's also a winningly unique vibe in the way the whole thing comes together – almost a touch of nascent psych, yet used in very economical ways – to perfectly fuel Steve Marriott's lead vocals, and send them soaring where few others might dare to go at the time! There's a cohesion and focus of vision that grabs us right from the start – and holds strongly, even when the group are handling other folks' songs too. Titles include "Runaway", "My Mind's Eye", "That Man", "Hey Girl", "All Or Nothing", "Plum Nellie", "You Really Got A Hold On Me", and "My Way Of Giving". MASSIVE 2CD package features – full mono mix of the album – plus bonus tracks that include "Understanding", "I Can't Dance With You", "I Can't Make It", "Just Passing", "Picanniny", "My Minds Eye (stereo)", "Understanding", and loads more – including alternates, rare mixes, and more!

An excellent bit of LA pop with a nice bossa groove! Triste Janero were a lost combo that mixed Sergio Mendes-ish grooves with some nice vocalization that's slightly in the vein of Free Design. The overall mix of tracks includes some nice bossa groovers, plus other well selected pop material, given a great reworking with the Triste Janero sound. Light, breezy 60s sunshine pop buffed with a sweet bossa sheen – it's exactly the kind of thing we love around here, and a great big shout out has to go out to the wonderful people at the Rev Ola label for lovingly issuing this lost gem on CD – for the first time ever! It includes a stunning bossa version of Nilsson's "Without Her", plus "Rene De Marie", "A Beginning Dream", "In The Garden", "Today It's You", "Somba De Orphia" and the super-extended "TJ Blues", which is a long jazzy groover with nice Hammond. Wonderful!

A fantastic bit of space age funk – and maybe one of the greatest moments ever from Philly Soul maestro Dexter Wansel! The album goes way beyond any of Wansel's other work – and blends his warm soulful styles with some of the more keyboard-oriented funk that was coming out of the Herbie Hancock camp during the mid 70s – a vibe that's every bit as electric and spacey as you'd guess from the cover! Some cuts have a bit more of a soul focus, but others have loads of jazzy keyboards from Dexter – driven on by some great drums at points too. Titles include Wansel's legendary version of "Theme From the Planets" with the much sampled breakbeat at the beginning – plus the funky "Life On Mars", and the tracks "One Million Miles From The Ground", "You Can Be What You Wanna Be", "Prophet Named KG", "Rings Of Saturn", and "Stargazer".

A classic set from this massively underrated singer/songwriter! Paul Williams was definitely at the height of his mainstream popularity by the time of this set – with endless appearances on countless TV shows, not to mention work in The Planet Of The Apes films – yet the record's got a nicely personal feel at times – still that fragile intimacy that's always made Paul's recordings of his music so great! A few cuts definitely show a bit more swagger than before – the growing Williams public persona, although not yet at Paradise Phantom level – but it's the gentler tunes that really stand out best, including Paul's own readings of "Rainy Days & Mondays" and "You & Me Against The World". Other titles include "Born To Fly", "You Know Me", "That's What Friends Are For", "Inspiration", "What Would They Say", and "In The Beginning".

One of the first albums to ever issue recordings made at the Newport Jazz Festival – quite a big hit, and the beginning of a real trend in jazz! The set's also some great work by Duke – free to perform in a setting that's not bound by some of the time restrictions of earlier years, which lets him offer up three long tracks with a great deal of sophistication over previous recordings. Titles include "Jeep's Blues", "Diminuendo & Crescendo In Blue", and "Newport Jazz Festival Suite".

Lots of Penderecki compositions – including his great "Cannon For Orchestra & Tape" – plus George Crumb's "Night Of The Electric Instruments", the great "Beginnings" from the Wind Harp record, and Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells" – the haunting theme of the film!

Killer CTI work from Joe Farrell – with grooves so sharp you could cut your trousers on them! Farrell's angular reed style is in perfect form here – grooving with a small group that includes Herbie Hancock on piano, Joe Beck on guitar, Steve Gadd on drums, and Don Alias on percussion – a combo that's got a harder, tighter feel than most CTI groups – a key reason why Joe's records of this time are so legendary! The album features a fantastic version of Stevie Wonder's "Too High" – one that breaks all over the beginning with these riffs by Farrell, then grooves into a CTI electric funk mode for about 13 minutes. All tracks are long – and other tracks include "Hurricane Jane", "Geo Blue", "Penny Arcade", and "Cloud Cream".

Singer Cyrille Aimee gets help from some great "friends" here – a tight quintet with Roy Hargrove on trumpet, Joel Frahm on tenor, and Spike Wilner on piano – really helping set up her vocals with a solid instrumental footing! Aimee's got a slight Billie Holiday quality to her phrasing – at least in the way her tone comes across – but the set's a mix of numbers that move way past traditional jazz vocal numbers, thanks partly to the way the group is swinging the rhythms, and bringing in a more contemporary vibe overall. Titles include a nice Wilner original – "East Village Inamorata" – plus "Yesterdays", "Que Reste Il", "I Was Beginning To See The Light", "When I Was A Child", "I Mean You", and "Stand By Me".

A real turning point for Joe Bataan – and the beginning of his funky Latin sound of the 70s! The album was one of the first in Joe's "Salsoul" style – a sweet blend of Latin rhythms, late 60s Latin soul influences, and some of the hipper styles bubbling through the NuYorican scene. A few cuts are in the sweet soul ballad mode of Joe's earlier years – but there's others that pick up the groove nicely, and add in some guitar and vibes for a sweet electrified groove. Includes a great remake of "Theme From Shaft", plus the two-part "I Wish You Love", "If I Were A King", "Coco E", "El Regreso", and "Charangaringa".

Bizarre is right – and incredibly hip too! This was the group's second album – and while it has a lot of similarities with the first, it's also a lot deeper of an expression of their strange blend of harmony vocals, sweet 60s pop, and the nostalgia for the early 20th century that was running through the Burbank Warner scene that included a young Van Dyke Parks, Randy Newman, Lenny Waronker, and other LA underground of the mid 60s. The whole record fits together beautifully – beginning with an old-timey radio kind of announcer, then sliding into sublimely crafted harmony tunes that include originals from the LA luminaries and the group, plus a few other surprising covers. Titles include the hit version of "Anything Goes", plus "The Biggest Night Of Her Life", "Milord", "Virginia City", "High Coin", "Jessie", "This Is Only The Beginning", and "You Need A Change". CD includes the bonus tracks "Cotton Candy Sandman" and "Malibu U".

Although the Main Ingredient were best known for their early 70's singles, this album from '74 is a wonderfully complex batch of tunes that shows that the group were taking a cue from some of their hipper contemporaries, and pushing past a stock hit formula. Bert DeCoteaux was still arranging, but the group produced themselves, giving the record a sexy funky feeling in the best parts, not that dissimilar from some of Marvin Gaye's work, or records by groups like The Isley Brothers or The O'Jays. Includes great versions of two Seals & Crofts songs – "Summer Breeze" and "Euphrates" – both a perfect example of this style, as is "Happiness Is Just Around The Bend" – plus a great reading of Willie Hutch's "California My Way", which has a super-dope sample at the beginning. Of course, the album still includes material like their hit " "Just Don't Want To Be Lonely", a sweetly style AM radio pop hit in the band's best style of earlier years.

A Colombian album, but one with a heavy dose of African influence too – a sweet blend of modes that virtually defies categorization, and which makes the record bristle with energy all the way through! There's definitely a trace of more familiar Latin rhythms here – bits of cumbia, and some slight Caribbean elements – but the whole thing's pretty tripped-out too – with some of the Afro-psych production styles that were used more heavily on the other side of the Atlantic in the decade before – a far cry from the cleaner sounds that were beginning to emerge in the more mainstream Colombian scene in the 80s. Percussion is tight, and often very uptempo – and instrumentation mixes offbeat keyboard lines with lean guitar bits – but sometimes drops out so there's just percussion behind the vocals. Titles include "Calambre", "Lady Mankenwa", "El Platano", "Tamba", "Viva Africa", and "Amapondo".

Not the whole life of Ravi Shankar in music – and instead, a really cool concentration of work from one of his greatest periods ever – that magical late 50s/early 60s moment when he was completely transforming the sound of Indian music, and beginning to have an influence on the wider world as well! Most of the numbers here are long ragas, played in that complicated rhythmic style that made Shankar so great – and most numbers are quite extended, all going well over 10 minutes, and a few even pushing close to the half hour mark as well. One title – "Raga Palas Kafi" – features work with Ali Akbar Khan – and other titles include "Raga Jog", "Dhun In Mishra Mand", "Raga Rageshri", "Raga Desi", "Raga Charu Keshi", "Misra Piloo", and "Raga Ahir Bhairav".

A great little live set from Mel Torme – and one that features the same jazzy style as his studio albums for the Bethlehem label from the 50s! The combo behind Mel is a smallish one – Marty Paich on piano and arrangements, Larry Bunker on vibes, Don Fagerquist on trumpet, Max Bennett on bass, and Mel Lewis on drums – and the arrangements here all have that great mix of sensitivity and swing that Paich was first showing at the time – an approach that really helped Torme hit new levels in his music! Tracks include "Love Is Just A Bug", "Just One Of Those Things", "The Tender Trap", "I'm Beginning To See The Light", and "One For My Baby".

A lost 70s soul album with some nice moments! Odia Coates was a Paul Anka discovery in the 70s – but don't hold that against her, because the record was produced by the great Rick Hall at the legendary Fame Studios. And sure, it's got a bit of a Paul Anka pop touch to it – but there's a few nice cuts that have a good soulful groove. One of these is the excellent "You Come And You Go", which has a great sample riff at the beginning. Others are "Thief In The Night", "One Man Woman", and "Heaven & Hell". Skip the cover of "Havin My Baby", and you'll be in the clear!

Killer CTI work from Joe Farrell – with grooves so sharp you could cut your trousers on them! Farrell's angular reed style is in perfect form here – grooving with a small group that includes Herbie Hancock on piano, Joe Beck on guitar, Steve Gadd on drums, and Don Alias on percussion – a combo that's got a harder, tighter feel than most CTI groups – a key reason why Joe's records of this time are so legendary! The album features a fantastic version of Stevie Wonder's "Too High" – one that breaks all over the beginning with these riffs by Farrell, then grooves into a CTI electric funk mode for about 13 minutes. All tracks are long – and other tracks include "Hurricane Jane", "Geo Blue", "Penny Arcade", and "Cloud Cream".

One of the best albums ever by this legendary Chicago soul star! The album's masterful blend of spiritual soul tracks that plumb the depths of Donny's dark soul – done with a level of sophistication that you won't hear in other soul albums from the time! Classic cuts include "A Song For You", "She is My Lady", "Giving Up", and "Take a Love Song" – plus versions of "Put Your Hand In The Hand" and "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother". The record also includes the great funky cut "Magnificent Sanctuary Band", which has some nice haaaard drums at the beginning, and which has been sampled who knows how many times!

Although the Main Ingredient were best known for their early 70's singles, this album from '74 is a wonderfully complex batch of tunes that shows that the group were taking a cue from some of their hipper contemporaries, and pushing past a stock hit formula. Bert DeCoteaux was still arranging, but the group produced themselves, giving the record a sexy funky feeling in the best parts, not that dissimilar from some of Marvin Gaye's work, or records by groups like The Isley Brothers or The O'Jays. Includes great versions of two Seals & Crofts songs – "Summer Breeze" and "Euphrates" – both a perfect example of this style, as is "Happiness Is Just Around The Bend" – plus a great reading of Willie Hutch's "California My Way", which has a super-dope sample at the beginning. Of course, the album still includes material like their hit " "Just Don't Want To Be Lonely", a sweetly style AM radio pop hit in the band's best style of earlier years.

Incredible images from one of the most legendary reggae labels ever – the mighty Studio One, home to decades of classic music, put together with equally-classic images on the record covers! The book is maybe even more of a treasure than some other album art books you'll find – because over the years, many of the Studio One images were pretty watered-down on the market – either pressed up on poor paper that never stood the test of time, or cropped and cribbed from for mainstream reissue packages – but never with the same sort of beauty you'll find in these images! The book is done in the same totally great style as other Soul Jazz books – and features full album images on 12" by 12" pages – all in brilliant color, too. There's some helpful notes at the beginning, and throughout in a few spots – and the book is super-heavy, and 216 pages in all – with some smaller images at the back.

An excellent live performance from the 80s – recorded during a time when the Arkestra was extremely tight, and really beginning to break big with audiences like the enthusiastic one heard at this festival in Athens! Sun Ra and the group are at the height of their powers here – really commanding the set with tremendous presence – and effortlessly shifting between free improvisations, straighter tunes, and some especially rhythmic numbers that are almost worth the price of admission alone! Players include Marshall Allen, John Gilmore, Danny Ray, and James Jacson – and this 2LP set on 180 gram vinyl version on Vinyl Lovers includes 13 tracks: "Improvisation For Children Of The Sun", "Yeah Man!", "Mack The Knife", "Big John's Special", "Somewhere Over The Rainbow", "Days Of Wine & Roses", "Space Is The Place/We Travel The Spaceways/Outer Spaceways", "Carefree (Egyptian Fantasy)" and more.

A brilliant little compilation – despite the title – one that showcases some of the best work from the legendary Jackson scene of the 70s! As the Memphis and Muscle Shoals scenes were beginning to slow down after years of great soul records in the 60s, Jackson, Mississippi picked up the slack – thanks to the mighty might Malaco Studios! And while the Malaco name later became more associated with the label of the same name – and put out some great blues and soul albums in the 80s – back in the early years, the studio was more of an overall crossroads for many different styles of southern soul, and opened its gates to loads of excellent talent that wasn't getting recorded elsewhere. The depth of the set will really surprise you, as there's some tracks that have a straighter southern soul, but others with styles that are a bit more modern, sophisticated, and at times, even sound a bit like work coming out from east coast indie labels of the period. The set's got 21 tracks in all – filled with sublime work that represents some of the best of the indie scene of the south at the time, most of which you've probably never heard before, plus a few more modern numbers that are equally great! Titles include "Don't Matter To Me" by Billy Cee, "Calling For Your Love" by The Enticers, "All The Way In Love With You" by Ray Crumley, "Standing In The Wings Of A Heartache" by Ted Taylor, "I'm Gonna Love You More" by Richard Caiton, "Foot Loose & Fancy Free" by Carolyn Hudson, "Last Minute Plans" by Chuck Brooks, "Get Some Understanding" by Patrick Green, "When We Touch" by Floyd Taylor, "Kiss & Tell" by Stan Mosley, and "What Do We Have To Lose" by Sam Dees.

Vintage ska with stellar roster of prime era players in the early-to-mid 60s scene – led by The Skatalites and featuring production by King Edwards – with numbers by Otis Alphonso, Lord Briscoe, Baba Brooks, Hersans Combo, Cosmo & Denzil, Drumbago and more! The mighty Skatalites kick off both sides, beginning with the classic title track – and the set goes pretty deep here into the King Edwards vaults – and features material that's tends to get overlooked in ska overviews. 14 tracks in all: including "Spree Boy" by The Skatalites, Don't Be Ashamed" by Otis Alphonso, "Sweet Day" by Archibald Trott, "Cool Breeze" by Raymond Harper, "Strong Man's Weed" by Baba Brooks, "You've Been Drunk" by Drumbago, "Golden Way" by Hersans Combo and more.

Bizarre is right – and incredibly hip too! This was the group's second album – and while it has a lot of similarities with the first, it's also a lot deeper of an expression of their strange blend of harmony vocals, sweet 60s pop, and the nostalgia for the early 20th century that was running through the Burbank Warner scene that included a young Van Dyke Parks, Randy Newman, Lenny Waronker, and other LA underground of the mid 60s. The whole record fits together beautifully – beginning with an old-timey radio kind of announcer, then sliding into sublimely crafted harmony tunes that include originals from the LA luminaries and the group, plus a few other surprising covers. Titles include the hit version of "Anything Goes", plus "The Biggest Night Of Her Life", "Milord", "Virginia City", "High Coin", "Jessie", "This Is Only The Beginning", and "You Need A Change". This deluxe and expanded edition from Now Sounds UK includes the original mono album plus 9 bonus tracks: "Malibu U (Non-LP 45)", "Cotton Candy Sandman (Sandman's Coming) (Mono 45)", "The Biggest Night Of Her Life (Instrumental)", "Snow (Instrumental)", "Jessie (Instrumental)" and more.