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Seminal work from one of the 70s greatest groups! The band had always been great at love songs and uptempo numbers – but this record has them moving into more righteous area, picking up on some of the more socially conscious soul of their generation that had been working its way up the charts. The album features excellent production by Chi-Lite Eugene Record, who also wrote a lot of the material – plus arrangements by Tom Tom and Sonny Sanders. Great stuff all around, with the righteous social tunes "(For God's Sake) Give More Power to The People", "Trouble's A Comin", and "We Are Neighbors" – plus classic love songs "Have You Seen Her" and "Love Uprising", which are still kind of the band's strongest point. Loads more great stuff on this one, the album that helped the second wave of Chicago soul break out into the international market! CD features the bonus single version of "I Want To Pay You Back For Loving Me".

A great collection of tracks that features many hard to find tracks from the early days. Tracks include "Oh Girl", "Let Me Be The Man My Daddy Was", "I Found Sunshine", "24 Hours Of Sadness", "Give It Away", "Coldest Days Of My Life", "Have You Seen Her", and "We Are Neighbors".

A massive 2-fer from The Chi-Lites – 2 amazing post-Brunswick records on a single CD! Happy Being Lonely is beautiful beautiful work from The Chi-Lites – and a record that we might even say tops the best of their late Brunswick book! Despite the move from that label to Mercury, the group have a sound here that's still wonderfully fragile and harmony-focused – especially on the mellower cuts, which crackle with a sense of humanity that so many other harmony groups were losing at the time. But even the more upbeat tunes are great too – rolling along on some spacious arrangements by Tom Tom Washington, and showing that Chicago could come up with grooves to rival the sound of Philly! Titles include the great ballad "Love Can Be Hazardous", the Sam Dees number "Vanishing Love", and the titles "Don't Blame The World", "Message To The World", "Let Your Love Fall Like Rain", and "I Turn Away". The other album on the set is great too – and Fantastic Chi-Lites is right, because the group's still going strong even after their hit years on Brunswick – stepping forth with a sweet harmony sound that nicely fits the Philly arrangements they get on this set! There's a maturity here that gets past the fragile soul of earlier sets, and which has the group moving into a warmly adult mode that's a perfect shift from their more familiar hits. Includes the classic club groover "My First Mistake" – a stunning track that recalls the best work of groups like Blue Magic or Double Exposure – and other tracks include "I've Got Love On My Mind", "If I Had A Girl", "Who's In Love With Me", "Let's Touch", and "Love At Its Best".

Really sweet later work from The Chi Lites – 2 classics on a single set! The sound on Heavenly Body is less Brunswick Chicago soul than before – and the group step along in warm and sophisticated backings that sparkle in the best Chi-Sound style – uptempo at some times, but sweet and mellow at others. The vocals are superb – easily adaptable to both sorts of settings, but especially great on the ballads – which really seem to benefit from the move away from some of the more cliched styles that the Chi-Lites were falling into during their last years on Brunswick. Eugene Record produced, and titles include "Love Shock", "Round & Round", "Heavenly Body", "All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You", "Give Me A Dream", and a remake of "Have You Seen Her". Heavenly Body has the group hitting a whole new groove, but keeping things real in the vocal department! The album's got a great mix of ballads and groovers – similar to other Chi-Sound productions at the time – and the upbeat numbers follow nicely from the group's work on Mercury in the late 70s, more kicked up than their fragile ballads of the early 70s, but with great vocals nonetheless. Production is by Carl Davis with group leader Eugene Washington, and arrangements are by an old Brunswick crew who include Tom Tom and Sonny Sanders. Titles include "Whole Lot Of Good Good Lovin", "Tell Me Where It Hurts", "Me & You", "Never Speak To A Stranger", "Get Down With Me", and "Try My Side".

A stone stellar batch of tracks from the mighty Chi-Lites – and a record that really shows why the group were such a standout at the time! There's a freshness here that few other groups could ever hope to match – lots of new material, penned by group leader Eugene Record – and these wicked arrangements by Record and Sonny Sanders – often put together with this gentle undercurrent of funk that kicks things along from the bottom, yet still saves plenty of space up top for the group's sublime harmonies! The approach is quite different than modes that east coast vocal groups were using at the time – and even different than Detroit, too – a really sophisticated blend of styles that shows the Windy City soul scene at its best. The whole thing's great – no filler at all – and titles include "Give It Away", "I Like Your Lovin", "Are You My Woman?", "Let Me Be The Man My Daddy Was", and "You're No Longer A Part Of My Heart".

Although often eclipsed by their bigger hits, and lost in the shuffle because it didn't have a proper title – this is probably one of the finest albums ever by this legendary Chicago harmony soul group! The record has a very sophisticated soul sound, with harmonies that are even better than on earlier albums – and a great batch of tracks with some very unusual twists and turns that take them farther than the band's big hits. Includes the great groover "Go Away Dream", the hits "Marriage License" and "Stoned Out Of My Mind", and lots of other nice ones like "Homely Girl", "I Never Had It So Good", and "I Found Sunshine".

One of the biggest records ever from The Chi-Lites – thanks to the "Oh Girl" title hit that's referenced on the cover! But apart from that ballad classic, the record's actually got a heck of a lot more to offer – some incredible harmony soul tracks that show that even during their hit years, The Chi-Lites were one of those groups who could still stay true to their roots – and still come up with amazing tunes again and again! Mainman Eugene Record is at the helm producing and writing most of the tunes on the set – and some of the best numbers have that little gentle groove that was the best Chi-soul contribution to the sound of the 70s – that lilt or bounce from the 60s, turned towards slightly more sophisticated modes for the new generation. Titles include "Being In Love", "Love Is", "Coldest Days Of My Life", "Living In the Footsteps Of Another Man", "Ain't Too Much Of Nothing", and "A Lonely Man" – and a cover of "Inner City Blues".

Titles include "Do What You Want", "Stop What You're Doin", "Little Girl", "Runnin Around", and "Let Today Come Back Tomorrow".

Seminal work from one of the 70s greatest groups! The band had always been great at love songs and uptempo numbers – but this record has them moving into more righteous area, picking up on some of the more socially conscious soul of their generation that had been working its way up the charts. The album features excellent production by Chi-Lite Eugene Record, who also wrote a lot of the material – plus arrangements by Tom Tom and Sonny Sanders. Great stuff all around, with the righteous social tunes "(For God's Sake) Give More Power to The People", "Trouble's A Comin", and "We Are Neighbors" – plus classic love songs "Have You Seen Her" and "Love Uprising", which are still kind of the band's strongest point. Loads more great stuff on this one, the album that helped the second wave of Chicago soul break out into the international market!

Although often eclipsed by their bigger hits, and lost in the shuffle because it didn't have a proper title – this is probably one of the finest albums ever by this legendary Chicago harmony soul group! The record has a very sophisticated soul sound, with harmonies that are even better than on earlier albums – and a great batch of tracks with some very unusual twists and turns that take them farther than the band's big hits. Includes the great groover "Go Away Dream", the hits "Marriage License" and "Stoned Out Of My Mind", and lots of other nice ones like "Homely Girl", "I Never Had It So Good", and "I Found Sunshine".

Excellent early work by The Chi-Lites – work that instantly soars above that of most of their contemporaries – with that incredible Windy City soul sound forged by the group's Eugene Record and producer Carl Davis! The groove is wonderful – free and easygoing, yet tight and right on the money too – lighter than the dancefloor styles of Detroit, a bit more sophisticated too – yet never apt to fall into all of the overly-emotive styles of the east coast too. This balance is what makes the group so wonderful – and really comes through on this early album – a treasure trove of songs penned by Eugene Record too! Titles include "Let Me Be The Man My Daddy Was", "Give It Away", "What Do I Wish For", "My Whole World Ended", "24 Hours Of Sadness", and "To Change My Love".

A stone stellar batch of tracks from the mighty Chi-Lites – and a record that really shows why the group were such a standout at the time! There's a freshness here that few other groups could ever hope to match – lots of new material, penned by group leader Eugene Record – and these wicked arrangements by Record and Sonny Sanders – often put together with this gentle undercurrent of funk that kicks things along from the bottom, yet still saves plenty of space up top for the group's sublime harmonies! The approach is quite different than modes that east coast vocal groups were using at the time – and even different than Detroit, too – a really sophisticated blend of styles that shows the Windy City soul scene at its best. The whole thing's great – no filler at all – and titles include "Give It Away", "I Like Your Lovin", "Are You My Woman?", "Let Me Be The Man My Daddy Was", and "You're No Longer A Part Of My Heart".

Perhaps the most heavenly of all the Chi-Lites albums, with soaring harmonies leaping all over beautiful Chicago soul production, and loads of great heartbreaking stories unfolding as the whole thing spins away! A true masterpiece from the Chicago scene – and filled with loads of wonderful moments that almost seem to be the group's answer to some of the growing wave of harmony soul coming from the east coast at the time. Includes the excellent title track, plus "Just Two Teenage Kids", "Too Late To Turn Back Now", "Someone Else's Arms", "You Smiled The Same Old Way", "My Heart Just Keeps On Breakin'", and "Love Comes In All Sizes". Nice cover, too, with a skyline shot of Chicago around the same time that Bob Newhart was working there as a shrink!

Perhaps the most heavenly of all the Chi-Lites albums, with soaring harmonies leaping all over beautiful Chicago soul production, and loads of great heartbreaking stories unfolding as the whole thing spins away! A true masterpiece from the Chicago scene – and filled with loads of wonderful moments that almost seem to be the group's answer to some of the growing wave of harmony soul coming from the east coast at the time. Includes the excellent title track, plus "Just Two Teenage Kids", "Too Late To Turn Back Now", "Someone Else's Arms", "You Smiled The Same Old Way", "My Heart Just Keeps On Breakin'", and "Love Comes In All Sizes". Nice cover, too, with a skyline shot of Chicago around the same time that Bob Newhart was working there as a shrink!

One of our favorite Chicago soul sessions of all time – and the only album ever cut by Texas-bred singer Ginji James! Ginji's got a style that's both sweet and deep – which makes her a perfect fit for the sweeping, loping arrangements of the record – very much in the best Brunswick Chi-soul style of the time – and carried off perfectly by a team of studio talents that includes Carl Davis, Eugene Record, Willie Henderson, and Tom Tom! Ginji's vocals are really wonderful – every bit as great as that of labelmates like Barbara Acklin or The Chi-Lites – and the whole set sparkles with a warmth that's pretty darn hard to find, even in the best soul albums from the time! Titles include "Honey Babe", "I Knew It Was Love", "Until You Return", and "You Hurt Me For The Last Time.

One of the greatest harmony soul albums to ever come out of Chicago – a sublime batch of tracks that showed that the mighty talents of The Lost Generation could easily match the best vocal group work coming out of the east coast at the time! The sound here is somewhere in the moody, mellow territory of early Moments or Whatnauts – tunes that are steeped in older vocal group traditions, but turned towards a more badass mode for the 70s – a style that still keeps some sweet and fragile aspects in tact, but which also has a great undercurrent of darkness too! The group get some great help in the studio here from arranger Tom Washington, bandleader Willie Henderson, and producer Eugene Record – the last of whom was already figuring out how to record vocals wonderfully with his own group, The Chi-Lites. Titles include the group's amazing single "The Sly The Slick & The Wicked" – recorded with an amazing echoey feel that's worth the price of the album alone! Other tracks include a few remakes of tunes from their contemporary harmony competitors – with ttles that include "Love Land", "Love on a Two Way Street", "Someday", "Sorry I Can't Help You", "You're So Young But You're So True", "Wait A Minute", and "Give Me Just a Little More Time".

Soaring grooves from the mighty Brunswick Records – cuts pulled together from a time when the label was easily one of the greatest sources around for Windy City soul! The package features some of the bigger names from Brunswick, plus a few non-Chicago artists from later years too – all wrapped up in a collection that really gets at the charm and undeniably positive energy that Brunswick had when they were working at their best! Titles include "Higher & Higher" and "Let's Love Again" by Jackie Wilson, "Something You've Got" by Tyrone Davis, "There Was A Time" by Gene Chandler, "Funky Chicken" by Willie Henderson, "The Lovomaniacs" by Boobie Knight, "Keep On Dancin" and "Bohannon's Beat" by Bohannon, "I Like What You're Doing To Me" by Young & Co, "Are You My Woman" and "Too Good To Be Forgotten" by The Chi-Lites.

A funk and soul treasure trove – wicked rare work from the legendary Brunswick label – most of it only issued on 45s back in the 60s and early 70s, and not reissued on CD! The package is a stunner – a real surprise that shows us there's plenty to dig for at Brunswick when you get past the hits – some wonderful Windy City soul from the late 60s, and gritty New York cuts that balance things out nicely too – and which definitely show a harder-edged side of Brunswick than you'd guess from the label's better-known tracks. There's some great obscurities here – the kind of cuts that we'd normally only find on rare 45s – like "It's Gonna Be Good" by Johnny Jones & The King Casuals, "Baby It's Time" by Marshall & The Chi-Lites, "Just A Little Misunderstanding" by Johnny Williams, "You Are" by Bobby Reed, "I Want Something To Remember You By" by Marvin Smith, "How Can You Say Goodbye" by Sidney Joe Qualls, "Once You Fall In Love" by Eddie McLoyd, "Karate Boogaloo" by The Emperors, and "Talk A Little Louder" by Wales Wallace – plus rare Brunswick material by folks you'd normally associate with other labels – like "Sweet Temptation" by Isaac Hayes, "Easy Evil" by Walter Jackson, "Since You've Been Gone" by Major Lance, and "Try Some Of Mine" by Little Richard.

Nice one! Sure, it's a K-Tel compilation, but there's some nice stuff on here. The big highlight is "Bongo Rock" by the Incredible Bongo Band, which doesn't ever show up on reissues. It's as essential as "Apache" by them, and you get 21 other cuts on here – like "The Payback" by James Brown, "Love's Theme" by Love Unlimited, "Stoned Out Of My Mind" by The Chi-Lites, "Eres Tu" by Mocedades, "One Man Band" by Ronnie Dyson, and "Sexy Mama" by The Moments. Plus, there's lots of other classics by the likes of Tony Orlando & Dawn, Donny Osmond, and B.T.O.! Nice stuff, and an original copy with a cool 70's cover design!

A solid compilation of dancefloor soul from the early 80s – one of the best yet in the long-running Nighttime Lovers series from Vinyl Masterpiece – with tracks by Luther Vandross, The Brothers Johnson, Cool Runners, Carl Carlton, Mtume, Freddie Jackson, The Chi-Lites, Stanley Clarke and more! The entire series has done a nice job of putting together bigger names and comparably forgotten ones – but even with the more legendary groups and singers, they go way past the obvious hits. It's a very well sequenced selection on Vol 16 – dancefloor ready soul and a nice set of songs! Includes "I Wanted Your Love" by Luther Vandross, "Kick It To The Curb" by Brothers Johnson, "Private Party" by Carl Carlton, "Nobody Else" by Karen Silver, "I Don't Understand It" by Scott White, "Stop What You're Doing" by The Chi-Lites, "Heaven Sent You" by Stanley Clarke, "Shout For Joy" by Dunn & Bruce Street and more. 13 tracks in all.

We give up! Just when we thought the gravy train had stopped running, the last train to skaville pulls into the station with 16 jaunty numbers fusing ska and rocksteady with a healthy dose of Jamaican soul at the hands of Jackie Mittoo and the Soul Brothers under the guidance of Coxsone Dodd! After the Skatalites busted up in the mid 60s, Dodd set about assembling a new house band, bringing Mittoo and a number of the original members of the Skatalites, including Lloyd Brevett and Roland Alphonso, together with some of the new, younger talent, and the fine folks at Soul Jazz have assembled a mighty, mighty set of their finest moments. But as Coxsone says in the liner notes, let's "Cut the chatter and spin the platter"! Includes "James Bond", "Voodoo Moon", "Chicken & Booze", "Hpney Pot", "Mr Flint", "Dr Ring Ding", "Got My Boogaloo", "Home Made", "Sufferer's Choice" and "Hot & Cold".

A greatest hits two-fer – made even greater with the addition of 27 bonus tracks! First up is Invictus' Greatest Hits – heavy soul from the house of Holland-Dozier-Holland – some of the best bits from their Invictus powerhouse label of the early 70s – definitely a scene-setting imprint at the time! Invictus had some of the deepest grooves ever recorded by the trio – heavy, rumbling bottom sounds – soaring vocal passages – and production that took the Motown lessons of the late 60s to a whole new level. The package is overflowing with gems – and titles include "Crumbs Off The Table" by The Glass House, "Band Of Gold" and "Bring The Boys Home" by Freda Payne, "Give Me Just A Little More Time" and "Everything's Tuesday" by The Chairmen Of The Board, "You've Got To Crawl" and "She's Not Just Another Woman" by The 8th Day, and "I Had It All" by The Barrino Brothers. Hot Wax Greatest Hits is a great collection of some of the best numbers from the Hot Wax label of the early 70s – second generation Detroit soul that really set the standard for the 70s! The tunes here were massive back in the day – blasting out of juke boxes, car radios, and a fair bit of home stereos too – all for good reason, given the care and balance the Holland-Dozier-Holland team brought to their work in the studio, and their ears for selecting singers to handle the work. Titles include "Want Ads" and "Stick Up" by Honey Cone, "Somebody's Been Sleepin" and "Too Many Cooks" by 100 Proof Aged In Soul, "Westbound #9" and "Mind Body & Soul" by Flaming Ember, "Woman's Love Rights" by Laura Lee "Women's Love Rights", and "Frightened Girl" by Silent Majority. 2CD set also features 27 bonus tracks that include "Somebody's Gonna Hurt You" by Lee Charles, "Colors Of My Love" by The Silent Majority, "Love Machine" by The Politicians, "Touch Me" by Eloise Laws, "Hey There Lonely Girl" by Ty Hunter, "Wanting You" by Earl English, "That's Love" by The Hi-Lites, "Can't Get Enough Of You" by Tyrone Edwards, "I Need It Just As Bad As You" by Laura Lee, "VIP" by Scherrie Payne, "Guess I'm Gonna Cry" by New York Port Authority, "Something New About You" by Silent Majority, and "You Too Me From A World Outside" by Lee Charles.

A sprawling set that commemorates the Reggae Golden Jubilee– one that's beautifully put together by VP – and featuring 100 pivotal tracks from the early 60s to the late 00s! Selector Mr. Seaga does a pretty terrific job on the tracklist – which focuses as much on tracks that proved to be among the most trailblazing as it does on big hits. It touches on the styles and subgenres from throughout reggae's history – from ska, to rocksteady, reggae, dub, deejay, dancehall and beyond – with bellwether material by Theophilus Beckford, Higgs & Wilson, Skatalites, U-Roy, Peter Tosh, Jimmy Cliff, Yellowman, Third World, Dennis Brown, Maxi Priest, Sugar Minott, Beres Hammond, Sizzla, Shaggy and many, many more. "Dumplins" by Byron Lee & The Dragonaires, "They Got To Go" by Prince Buster, "Bring Home" by Justin Hines & The Dominoes, "Rough And Tough" by Stranger Cole, "Hypocrite" by The Heptones, "Occupation" by Don Drummond & The Skatalites, "Wear You To The Ball" by U-Roy & The Paragons, "The A Fi Get A Beatin'" by Peter Tosh, "Police And Thieves" by Junior Murvin, "Right Time" by Mighty Diamonds, "Uptown Ranking" by Althea & Donna, "Over Me" by Yellowman, "Pass The Dutchie" by Musical Youth, "Try Jah Love" by Third World, "Wild World" by Maxie Priest, "One Blood" by Junior Reid, "Murder She Wrote" by Chaka Demus & Pliers, "Putting Up Resistance", by Beres Hammond, "You Don't Love Me (No No No)" by Dawn Penn, "Untold Stories" by Buju Banton, "Black Woman And Child" by Sizzla, "Gimme The Light" by Sean Paul, "Pon De River, Pon De Bank" by Elephant Man, "Welcome To Jamrock" by Damian "Jr Gong" Marley, "The Harder They Come" by Jimmy Cliff and more.

One of many compilations advertised on TV, both during the broadcast of Soul Train and at other times, collecting the sort of hit tracks that people would shake their rumps to in the Soul Train line. 22 tracks in all, so we suspect they're edited just a touch, all with Don Cornelius' stamp of approval, including: the Moments "Love On A Two Way Street", Honey Cone "Want Ads", the Isleys "It's Your Thing", Five Stairsteps "Oooh Child", Betty Wright "Clean Up Woman", Archie Bell & The Drells "I Just Can't Stop Dancing", Shep & The Limelites "Daddy's Home", Edwin Hawkins Singers "Oh Happy Day", SLy & The Family Stone "Every Day People", James Brown "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag", Joe Simon "Drowning In The Sea Of Love", the Delphonics "La La Means I Love You", and more!

A massive collection of ska instrumentals – all the real deal from the initial 60s start of the genre – and all pulled from the legendary Top Deck catalog! There's a crisp, raw edge to these tracks that nobody else was able to ever match again – a sinister vibe that comes from the bold production style, cool compressed rhythms, and soulful sax and trumpet solos that really make these numbers cook! Given that the set's all instrumental, the vibe here is a lot different than most ska revival work too – almost more in a 60s soul instrumental mode – with great traces to the inspiration of the genre. Titles include "Shot In The Dark" and "Determination" by Roland Alphonso, "China Town" and "China Clipper" by The Skatalites, "Scattered Lights" and "Red Is Danger" by Tommy McCook, "Warlock" by Jackie Mittoo, "Love In The Afternoon" by Don Drummond, "Live Wire" by Lyn Taitt & Jackie Mittoo, "Yogi Man" and "Red Is Danger" by Johnny Moore, "Shock Resistance" by Baba Brooks, "Lawless Street" by King Sporty & The Skatalites, and "Ti Pi Tin" by Raymond Harper.

One of the more far-reaching compilations in the Jazz Club series – reggae covers by jazz mainstays and more from late 60s onward, with a focus on great stuff from the 70s! All of the material was culled from the vast Universal vaults – and it's a pretty sweet set of jazzy reggae and reggae jazz, from artists as diverse as Ernest Ranglin, Bernard Pretty Purdie, The Skatalites, Bill Fraser, Deodato and Medeski, Martin & Wood! 14 tracks in all: "54-46 – (Was My Number)" by Ernest Ranglin, "Jammin'" by Monty Alexander, "I Can See Clearly Now" by Junior Mance, "Natty Never Get Weary" by Dean Fraser, "Rock Fort Rock" by Skatalites, "Montego Bay" by Pretty Purdie, "I Shot The Sheriff" by Deodato, "Walking On Sunshine" by Bill Summers, "Pressure Drop" by Brass Fraser and more.

Early 60s greatness from The Skatalites – Kingston recordings from 1963 & '64 – peak era material, but perhaps not amongst the best remembered – produced by King Edwards! It was cut during various sessions during that year+ long period featuring the legendary players – Tommy McCook, Roland Alphonso, Don Drummond, Lester Sterling, Ernest Raglin, Jackie Mitto, Drumbago, Charlie Organaire and others. 14 ska scorchers: "Jones Town Special", "Red China", "Jazz Ska", "African Queen", "What A Skandal", "Shank I Sheck", "Kingston 11", "Collie Foot", "Man About Town" and more.

It just doesn't stop! The heavyweight selectors at Soul Jazz brew up another chubby batch of blazing Studio One jams, delivering nothing but the classics this go 'round, just like the title says! Another chapter from Coxsone Dodd and crew showcasing the label and studio that laid the foundation for a huge swath of Jamaican music for generations to come, this set delivers 18 mighty, mighty reggae jams of all flavors, including the Skatalites "El Pussycat Ska", Sound Dimension "Rockfort Rock", the Heptones "Pretty Looks Isn't All", Lone Ranger "Automatic", Horace Andy "Fever", Burning Spear "Rocking time", Alton Ellis "I'm Just A Guy", Don Drummond "Confucious", Michigan & Smiley "Rub A Dub Style" and Johnny Osbourne "Sing Jay Stylee".