All Categories — All Formats  

Forget everything you know about Chubby Checker – because this album's unlike any of his 60s hits – and instead shows the singer as a hipper, funkier, more soulful talent than before! As you might guess from the spelling in the title, the set's got overseas origins – and really only circulated in the European market of the early 70s – and unfortunately never helped Checker regain his fame over here on our shores. There's some nice tripped-out elements that really work well with the groove – a bit of psych mixed in with funk and deep soul – all kind of that hip London brew that has all the separate elements coming together wonderfully. Titles include "Stoned In The Bathroom", "How Does It Feel", "My Mind", "He Died", "Goodbye Victoria", "Love Tunnel", and "No Need To Get So Heavy". CD features the bonus track "Gypsy".

A great batch of driving, early 60s soul from the Vibrations – their complete recordings for the Checker label for the first time on CD! The Vibrations never really achieved the massive popular success of some of the soul groups of the era, but they could hang with the best of them – whether they were rolling out Northern Soul stompers, frenetic dance soul, or post doo wop romantic ballads. Great stuff – and a real joy to see collected on CD! Disc one features 18 tracks, including "Watusi", "Wallflower", "So Blue", "If You Should", "Doing The Slop","Sweet Slumber", "People Say", "Talk That Talk", "I Still Love You", "The Junkeroo" and much more. Disc two features another 18 tracks, including the great singles "Peanut Butter" and "Down In New Orleans" (both originally released under their pseudonym the Marathons) plus "Don't Say Goodbye", "Let's Pony Again", "The New Hully Gully", "Hamburger On A Bun", "May The Best Man Win", "Dancing Danny", "All My Love Belongs To You" and much more!

"Watusi" is a classic groover from The Vibrations – a slowly dancing number with a hard-sock groove, one of the group's best early cuts! "Wallflower" is more uptempo, tighter harmonies and a smoother groove – kind of a sing-song playful number, with raw vocals on the lead!

Raw blues from Sonny Boy Williamson – harmonica, guitar, and some rough drumming underneath the vocals – all in a mode that has plenty of early Chess Records grit! And despite the "down and out" title and cover image, Sonny's got a heck of a lot of punch here – an approach to the blues that is almost more vibrant than some of his Chess contemporaries, and which brings a bit of R&B "umph" to the mix! Tracks were recorded over a number of sessions in the late 50s – and titles include "Dissatisfied", "Don't Start Me To Talkin", "I Don't Know", "Wake Up Baby", and "99".

Sockin soul from one of the greatest 60s singers on Chess! "Soulful Dress" is a chunky dancefloor groover – Sugar Pie singing the lyrics nice and hard, as the track crackles along with a really catchy hook! "Use What You Got" is more of a bluesy tune – but still quite nice.

A wicked reinvention of the sound of Bo Diddley – a set that electrifies his groove even more than before – and takes him into the same mix of funk and blues that Muddy Waters and Howlin Wolf were exploring at the time! This album's right up there with the two Cadet/Chess classics by both of those artists – and is possibly even more messed-up too – with lots of jagged edges that push past the usual Bo Diddley groove – even though that classic sense of rhythm is still at the core to drive things along! We don't know who's playing drums, but they've got a nice heavy handed approach that makes these tracks really boom – and the set's in a massively funky style that's taken far too many years to be acknowledged for in the mainstream! Lots of nice ones, including "Shut Up Woman", "Funky Fly", "Power House", "Black Soul", "Elephant Man", and "I've Got A Feeling".

Forget the silly cowboy costume on the front cover – because this is a heck of a great album! Bo might have gotten saddled (no pun intended!) with a silly gimmick for the title and image of the set – but the album's one of his best from the early Chess years, and features a rip-roaring batch of tracks that really cut it up in his classic scratchy guitar mode of the time! Lyrics are great – nearly all originals by Bo himself, with that hip swinging, and hard-wailing approach that was always a lot of fun – and cuts include "Gunslinger", "Diddling", "Cheyenne", "Cadillac", and "Doing The Craw-Daddy".

Have guitar, will travel – and back in the day, Bo Diddley was going pretty darn far with great material like this! The album's a real standout, even in the classic Chess catalog of the early years –no filler, no covers, just all original material by Bo Diddley – done in that unique Diddley blend of fast riffing guitar, playful vocals, and odd rhythms that often chug along at a really frenetic pace, especially in these pre-funk years! A key influence on funky music for many years to come, and a record that explodes from the very first note – on a set of original tracks that include "Run Diddley Diddley", "Mumblin Guitar", "Say Man, Back Again", "Come On Baby", "Dancing Girl", "She's Alright", and "Cops & Robbers".

A classic Chicago crossover of blues and soul – a wonderful album from Little Milton, and one that's cut with some of the same sophisticated overtones as work by Bobby "Blue" Bland at the time! The backings here are superb – arranged by Phil Wright and James Carter with a fair bit of larger, jazzier horns – which stand in nice contrast to Milton's rougher-edged vocals – all in a blend that's completely sublime! The rhythms echo a fair bit of the Chicago soul modes of the time – nicely stepping along with a really slinky groove – and titles include some great originals, like "Ain't No Big Deal On You", "Life Is Like That", "Can't Hold Back The Tears", and "We're Gonna Make It".

A wonderful album of southern soul – and the only full-length LP cut by Bobby Moore and his long-lived Rhythm Aces combo! The group's the sort that slaved away endlessly in live shows all over the south – playing on their own, or providing extra backup for countless big stars touring through the area. Bobby's on tenor, and the group has some incredibly rich vocal talents – unnamed, but with a group harmony style that's equally at home with sweet ballads or hard stompin party numbers. The latter style is the band's strongest suit, though – with an approach that's somewhere between the hard soul of Sam & Dave and the party grooves of Doug Clark & The Hot Nuts – and like that group, Moore's style was probably forged out of years of playing at beach dances, frat parties, and bar gigs, the real proving ground for a tight combo like this! A great little LP, with a fresh sound throughout – and tracks include "The Hamburger Song", "Follow Me", "Searching For My Love", "Hey, Mr. DJ", "Searching For My Love", "Jenny, Jenny", "Come Back Baby", and "We've Got That". Recorded at Fame in 1966 with Rick Hall, too!

One of the only full LPs of work that was ever issued by the Flamingos on Chess – a collection of older singles, presented here in a later edition with a different cover and some bonus tracks! Tracks include "Would I Be Crying", "Whispering Stars", "The Vow", "A Kiss From Your Lips", "Chickie Um Bah", "Dream Of A Lifetime", and "Chick A Boom That's My Baby". Bonus tracks include the previously unissued "If I Could Love You", "I Really Don't Want To Know", and "I Found A New Baby" – plus an alternate take of "Dream Of A Lifetime".

A great example of why Little Milton was always one of the few Chicago blues artists who could also break strongly in the soul camp at the time – and a beautifully balanced set that perfectly shows both sides of the Chicago scene of the time! Production is by old Vee Jay maestro Calvin Carter, and arrangements by Gene Barge, who manages to slide effortlessly between blues and soul on the set – almost pushing Milton into Tyrone Davis territory, but keeping things a bit more rougher and down home on some of the other numbers. The sound is wonderful – very deep and rich, and with a sound that's head and shoulders above most other albums of this type in the late 60s. Titles include "Baby I Love You", "If Walls Could Talk", "Things That I Used to Do", "Let's Get Together", "I Play Dirty", "Blues Get Off My Shoulder", "I Don't Know", and "Poor Man".

Rare funk from the same Minneapolis scene that gave the world Prince – a legendary indie set from the end of the 70s, put together by Lewis brothers Pierre and Andre! Despite their French names, the duo have a mighty American groove on the set – a wicked approach to funk that's very much in the best ensemble mode of the period – but leaner too, given the smaller lineup, and relatively sparse production – which makes most of the record bristle like some rare boogie 45! Vocals are by the brothers, plus female singer Barbara Bolar, and later Prince-mate Sonny Thompson – and Prince himself even adds in some slight magic to one cut on the set. Titles include "Dynamic Duo", "Got To Be Something", "Get Up", "Higher", "Feel Good To Ya", and "Mr G". (And for the record, the group's name on the cover was originally the Lewis Conection – but our spell checker has the title listed with the regular spelling!)

A far-reaching look at soul, R&B, funk and proto rock legends covering the Lennon-McCartney songbook – as diverse and impressively put together as Ace's great previous entry in the Black America Sings series that covered Dylan! Come Together comes together terrifically – with early rock & soul stars like Chubby Checker, Fats Domino & Little Richard, stellar groups like The Vibrations, Main Ingredient & New Birth, the great ladies of the era including Aretha Franklin, Maxine Brown and Linda Jones and many more! None simply record Beatles' songs from a more soul-based perspective, there's real heart and unique touches across the board here. Great Stuff! "Back In The USSR" by Chubby Checker, "Ticket To Ride" by Wee Wee Walker, "Let It Be" by Aretha, "Lady Madonna" by Junior Parker, "Get Back" by Main Ingredient, "The Long And Winding Road" by New Birth, "Yesterday" by Linda Jones, "Day Tripper" by Otis Redding and more.

Chuck's classic work for Chess/Checker – featuring tunes like "Roll Over Beethoven", "Rock & Roll Music", "Johnny B Goode", "Nadine", "Maybelline", "Sweet Little 16", "Thirty Days", and "Memphis".

A killer follow-up to the earlier Nigeria 70 compilation on Strut Records – a second set that digs even deeper than before, and one that shows a huge range of Nigerian grooves from the 70s! The styles here go way beyond familiar Afro Funk – and the rhythms here are often quite complicated – rootsy at times, modern at others – and served up in a blend of acoustic and electric instrumentation that dances together wonderfully! Most numbers have vocals, but those are often delivered as rhythmically as the instrumentation – and the package is filled with under-reissued gems that make the package an essential addition to any collection of global grooves. As with other sets on the newly-revived Strut label, there's full notes on the music and track-by-track details – all supporting a set list of 16 titles that includes "Everybody Likes Something Good" by Ify Jerry Krusade, "Yabis" by Sir Shina Peters & His International Stars, "Onyame" by Ashanti Afrika Jah, "Ezuku Buzo" by Bola Johnson & His Eazy Life Top Beats, "African Dialects" by Peter King, "You Are My Heart" by Rex Williams, "Hot Tears" by The Immortals, "Dododo (Ekassa No 1)" by Sir Victor Uwaifo & His Melody Maestros, "Happy Survival" by Ifeanyi Eddie Okwedy & His Maymores Dance Band, "Tug Of War" by The Faces, "Ire Africa" by Chief Checker, and "Eddie Quansa" by Peacocks Guitar Band.

A great little record from Booker T and group – often overlooked amidst the range between Green Onions and Melting Pot, but a very strong album of soulful Memphis instrumentals all the way through! Book's organ is bubbling hot, and the band's tight rhythm style works in a perfect laid-back mode to push the group way past the stock grooves of earlier albums – thanks to great work from the rest of the combo too. There's some mighty nice rhythm changes on this one, and a good range of non-pop tunes like "Night Owl Walk", "Chinese Checkers", "Soul Dressing", "Tic Tac Toe", "Outrage", "Home Grown", "Big Train", "Jelly Bread", and "Plum Nellie".

A legendary night at Chicago's Checkerboard Lounge – when The Stones, in town for some shows out in Rosemont, sat in with their hero Muddy Waters! First and foremost – we're in Muddy's wheelhouse here – it's his show, and he sounds great, even this late in the game! The Stones, who are hardly ever better from the early 80s onward than when they're in hard blues homage mode, provide stellar support, and they may very well instigate Muddy and his band to bring their best, which they handily do! Also in action are Muddy's own great band and other guests, including John Primer, Rick Kreher, Earnest Johnson, Ray Allison and Mojo Buford – plus Junior Wells, Buddy Guy (who does some singing on the set, along with Mick and Muddy), Lefty Dizz and Nick Charles. The whole thing sounds great, and this 2LP edition also includes a DVD of the live show – and titles include "Sweet Little Angel", instrumental takes on "Country Boy" and "Baby Please Don't Go", "Hoochie Coochie Man", "Mannish Boy", "Got My Mojo Workin'", "One Eyed Woman", "Clouds In My Heart", "Champagne And Reefer" and more.

Dancefloor cookers from the prime Northern Soul years – all instrumental numbers on this sharp compilation on Kent – 45 sides from a labels like Money, Villa, Swan, King, Epic and Warner Brothers! For all the wonderful Kent soul compilations we've gotten our dusty fingers on over the years, it's a wonder they're never been one devoted to instrumentals – until now! Rhythms roll along at a tight tempo, the tight guitars punch it up, some strings soar, and a pounding Northern beat keeps it all stomping! Those core elements are key, but others weave in an out, from hand claps on the beat, to organ grooves, bursts of brass and more. 24 tracks in all: "Double Cookin" by Checkerboard Squares, "Make Me Yours" by Arthur Wright & His Orchestra, "Festival Time" by San Remo Golden Strings", "The Sounds Of Lane" by Tracks To Your Mind, "Champion Pt 1" by Willie Mitchell, "The Guys From Uncle" by The Spy, "Stirrin Up Some Soul" by The Mar-Ketts, "Hey America (Sing Along)" by James Brown, "California Montage" by Young-Holt Unlimited and more.

A great little discovery from the 60s – work from a teeny tiny Canadian label, but all of it pretty darn great! Not many groups recorded for the Gaeity Records label, but they all seem to be pretty well skilled at picking up on the best elements of 60s psyche pop and garage – all delivered here with a simple but effective groove that's almost a bridge between the LA and Chicago scenes of the mid 60s. CD features 24 tracks in all – broken into sections group by group – and titles include "World Of Dreams" and "Only In America" by The Plague, "Lies" and "Nature's Love" by Solid Reputation, "So Much In Love With You" and "My Time Is Comin" by The Checkerlads, "If You Can Dig It" and "Ode To A Cucumber, A Berry, & A Flower" by The Dewline, "Lexington Avenue" by Farmer John, "Yours Until Tomorrow" and "That's The Tune" by Flying Colours, "To Be Back Home" and "I Brought My Love With Me" by NRG/Merriday Park, and "Baby Get Out" and "Set Me Free" by Portland Street South.

A pretty obscure album by Grant Green – originally recorded in 1968, issued briefly on a small label, and then finally pressed for the larger masses during the early 70s by the Cobblestone label. Despite this checkered history, though, the album's one of Green's best small group recordings – and features a classic jazz organ trio sound, and features Green's guitar with the organ of John Patton and the drumming of Ben Dixon. We can't imagine a better combo, especially as the three of them were one of the best teams ever to put out soul jazz sessions for Blue Note! The record includes the version of "High Heel Sneakers" that has shown up on a few comps over the years, plus the tracks "Work Song", "Iron City", and "Old Man Moses". The feel is very similar to some of Green's Blue Notes, with a very classic sound.

Overlooked Northern Soul from the west coast – a great batch of burners from San Francisco, and proof that the city had almost as much going on as Detroit! As you might guess from the "hitsville" in the title, there's a sound here that owes plenty to Motown – tight instrumentation alongside real soul vocals – all wrapped up with production that helps bring out the best elements of both, and focus it into a soaringly uptempo groove! But unlike Motown, most of the work here is much more obscure – lesser-known west coast singers and groups who really shine brightly, and who make the set a great discovery in 60s soul. Many tracks are from the indie Villa label – and titles include "Is It All Gone" and "Trust In Me" by The Magicians, "I Can't Jerk" by Ozz & The Sperlings, "Is It Love Baby" and "Why Did Our Love Go" by The Tandells, "We Got To Keep On" by The Casanova II, "I'll Always Love You" by The Performers, "Double Cookin" by The Checkerboard Sauares, "You Gotta Git" by Lonnie Hewitt, "You Can Forget It" by Sisters Three, "Times A Wastin" by The Fuller Brothers, "Why Would You Blow It" by Claude Huey, "I Can't See Your Love" by The Ballads, and "You're A Winner" by Harold Andrews.