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Oooooooh-weeee! Is this a funky monster, or what? The set's easily the best in this great series – a really hard and heavy batch of rare funk tunes that pushes past the cliches of the title to come up with an all-solid batch of tracks that's sure to please any fan of deep funk. Loads of great little groovers from a range of different labels – organ jazz meets heavy soul vocals meets dancing bassline funk, hard drums, heavy riffing, and beyond – all wrapped up together with a sound that never lets up. Tracks include "Mary Jane" by Bobby Rush, "Bustin Outta The Ghetto" by Carlos Malcolm, "I'm A Good Woman" by The Generation, "Dance Girl" by The Mighty Tom Cats, "Peace Love Not War" by Johnny King with The Fatback Band, "The Truth Shall Make You Free" by King Hannibal, "I'm Wishin" by Lorez Alexandria, "I've Known Rivers" by Gary Bartz, "Viva" by Jade, "Seeds Of Life" by East LA Car Pool, "Starvin" by Winfield Parker, and "He Called Me Baby" by Spanky Wilson.

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.

A really great album by Billy Eckstine – much more swinging and upbeat than some of his other 50s sessions, and with a strongly pronounced jazz flair overall! The album's supposedly recorded live in Vegas in the wee hours of the morning, and features Billy blowing a bit of trumpet as well as singing – all set to some nicely thumping orchestrations by Bobby Tucker, who really knows how to hit the right groove for this sort of a set. Titles include "Lady Luck", "Have A Song On Me", "Deed I Do", "Without A Song", "Moonlight In Vermont", and "Lush Life". CD features a huge amount of previously unissued bonus tracks – titles that include "Prelude To A Kiss", "Fools Rush In", "I Apologize", "Little Mama", "Prisoner Of Love", "Alright Okay You Win", and "In The Still Of The Night".

A killer compilation of late 50s and early 60s songs that were covered and popularized by British pop legend Cliff Richard – and Cliff not only heard them here first, but the man has impeccable taste! This is a stellar set of proto rock, pop and soul – with completely great, if lesser-remembered treasures by superstars and relative cult faves alike – including Bobby Helms, proto rock era Conway Twitty, Gene Vincent, Ruth Brown, Peggy Lee, Bobby Vee, Sonny James, Johnny Otis, Little Stevie Wonder and many more! Includes "Schoolboy Crush" by Bobby Helms, "I'll Try" by Conway Twitty, "Save My Soul" by Jack Scott with The Chantones, "The Night Is So Lovely" by Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps, "Somebody Touched Me" by Ruth Brown, "Tough Enough" by Johnny Otis & Orchestra with The Jayos, "D In Love" by Curtis Lee, "I'm Looking Out The Window" by Peggy Lee, "The Minute You're Gone" by Sonny James, It's All Over" by The Everly Brothers and more. 24 tracks in all.