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Recent grooves, but often done with a richly classic feel – one that recalls the waning years of the Chicago Soul scene at the start of the 80s! The package is an effort from the re-activated Chi-Sound label – and it takes up where Carl Davis modern soul imprint left off – a smooth, mellow approach to contemporary R&B that's served up with plenty of class, and pointed directly at the new wave of dancefloor steppers in Chicago! Vocals here are by a variety of different singers, but there's a unified feel to most of the music – an approach that stays mostly in the mellower side of the spectrum, but still maintains a good sense of groove – one that comes from gently stepping beats, warm keyboard parts, and some slight jazzy touches to class things up a bit. Titles include "Soul" by Barry J, "Steppin All Over The World" by Gold Boy, "1st Fruit" by Stephen Dawson, "Steppin Into Darkness" by Paris, "Hang Time" by Kozii, "Better Step Up "by Theresa Davis, "High Steppin" by Sherry Scott, and "Time & Time Again" by Nicole Steel.

Gone are the classic moves from the soul oldies years, and gone are even the very mellow, very slow steps from the 90s – and in their place are some more upbeat, full body-styled moves – showing a definite influence from the hip hop generation. Slides include the Turbo, Jamie Foxx, Wobble, El Stop, Wobble, Twist, James Brown, Cupid, Steppers, AKA Gangster, and the Woody Pop

The 5th volume in this well-chosen set of tracks – brought to you straight from the Chicago steppers underground! The set features a dozen tracks – running from smooth late 70s numbers to more recent titles, all reflecting the penchant for a sweet mellow groove that's kept the Chi-town stepping scene hot for all these years! Titles include "Sensually" by Raw To The Core, "I Was Wrong" by The Moonglows, "I'm Not In Love" by Dee Dee Sharp, "Easy To Love" by Body, "As You Are" by Pharoah Sanders & Phyllis Hyman, "Your Heart Belongs To Me" by The Supremes, "Nika" by Vicious, "Super Bad, Super Slick (part 1)" by James Brown, "House Party" by Fred Wesley, "Nyce & Slo" by Little Louis, and "Alone Without You" by Narada Michael Walden.

Smooth modern grooves – and a great collection of tunes that break big on the Chicago steppers scene! There's a really specific vibe running through the set – modern soul with a mellow feel, but plenty of emphasis on the groove, no matter how slow the tunes may be – all making for a perfect batch of tracks to glide onto the dancefloor, and stay until the late hours! Tracks span a few decades of vintage, but tie together nicely – and titles include "Cool Out" by Leroy Hutson, "All We Need Is A Place" by Freddie Cole, "If It Isn't Love (inst)" by New Edition, "All True Man (inst)" by Alexander O'Neal, "Everytime I See A Pretty Lady" by Gemini, "Love Ain't No Holiday" by Native, "Jus Reach" by Galliano, "Ms" by David Oliver, and "Suger Mama Baby" by Steve Arrington.

Mellow soul galore – and a killer set of overlooked tracks, plucked from their recent revival on the always-great Chicago steppers scene! The package has a great late night soul feel that goes back to the late 60s and early 70s – very laidback and chilled out, with lots of ballad tracks and sweet, gentle groovers of the sort that really take us back! There's a few more modern tunes on the set, mostly from the early 80s – but overall, there's a really solid early 70s style to the compilation – with tracks that include "If" by The Lovehorn, "I've Got To See You Right Away" by Jeff Perry, "Tell Me What Cha Gonna Do" by General Crook, "Ain't That Love" by Infernal Blues Machine, "I Bet He Don't Love You" by The Intruders, "There's Another On Your Mind" by The Imaginations, "I Want You" by Wilson Pickett, "Pop" by The Limit, "What More Can I Ask For" by The Star-tels, and "You Know You Want To Be Loved" by Keith Barrow.

A great mix of 70s grooves and later numbers – and a set that perfectly illustrates the move towards more contemporary work as the Chicago steppers scene moved on! The package has the usual great ear for under-discovered cuts that we love in the Steppin Muzak series – tracks that have strong appeal to Chicago steppers, but which are also plenty worth discovering for any fan of rare soul – particularly soul of the smooth, modern variety. Titles include "Be Happy" by Kellee Patterson, "Playing On You" by Jerry Butler, "Please Say You Want Me" by Johnny P, "TSOB" by Master Jay & Michael Dee, "Always Find A Way (Jay Dee mix)" by Nine Yards, "Key To The World" by Truce, "That's The Way I Feel" by Main Attraction, "What's Going On" by Bobby Jones, "Long Stroke" by ADC Band, "Sing A Love Song" by Norman Connors, "Heavenly" by Merge, "Change The World" by Alfonzo, "If I Was Your Man (rmx)" by Stephen Simmonds, and "I Destroyed Your Love" by Special Delivery.

Those Chicago steppers are at it again – working their way across the USA, and picking up a fresh range of grooves in the process! As on previous volumes, the tunes are a mix of older soul and a few contemporary numbers – with a heavy sprinkling of 80s cuts, showing a bit of a shift on the steppers scene as it moves away from the 60s! Titles include "Not Ready" by Con Funk Shun, "Love's A Merry Go Round" by Juicy, "Ride Your Pony Girl" by The Moments, "Still Got The Magic" by Michael Wycoff, "Love U 2 The Limit" by Mac Band, "The Show Is Over" by Evelyn Champagne King, "Walking With You" by East Coast Offering, "Can't Let Go (inst)" by Tony Terry, "Is This For Real" by O'Bryan, and "You & Me" by Jamm.

The vibe gets wider and wider with each new entry in this classic series – no surprise, given the depth of sounds the Chicago steppers have been getting into! Some of the cuts here are almost of vintage that hits the starting time of the collection, while others reflect the growing love of 80s and 90s grooves among steppers – the careful selection of tracks from those decades, with a definite ear for a sweet mellow sound! Titles include "Golden Girl" by Jakarta, "Love On The Line" by Janice, "Please Be True" by Sof Touch, "Lost In Loving You" by The McCrarys, "42nd & 6th" by Till Bronner, "Now You Know" by Billy Butler, "Forever Yours (rmx)" by 101 North, "Thief" by Lil Louis, "Something Real" by Mikki Blue, "Love High" by Jeff Redd, "Commitment" by Scott Scheer, and "Girl's Gonna Get'Cha (rmx)" by Steady B.

A massive treat from the Chicago scene – a dozen jazzy classics, put together with a feel for the kind of cut that's always played big on the Chi-town steppers scene! Lots of other stepping jazz CDs feature mostly newer tracks, but this one's great in that it includes a bunch of late 60s soul jazz tunes – some killer tracks from the Chess/Cadet scene, mixed with other smoother grooves from the 70s. Titles include "The Look Of Love" and "Who Dun It" by Monk Higgins, "Soul Vibration" by Dorothy Ashby, "The Stepper" by Soulful Strings, "Count Down" by Dave Baby Cortez, "Midnight Plane" and "Windy City" by Rodney Franklin, "The Love You Give To Me" by Webster Lewis, "I Feel Like Loving You Today" by Donald Byrd & 125th Street NYC, "Think About It" by Odell Brown, "Love's Victory" by Ronnie Laws, and "Hole In The Wall" by The Packers.

Some of our favorite sorts of soul tracks from the 70s – those mellow groovers that never get too over the top, and have a great slow-burning energy that goes on and on through the night! The tracks here are the sort that bubbled under during the disco generation – more laidback tracks that often used the same arrangers, producers, and studios – but came up with a groove that was much more gentle, and which was perfect for the soulful, sensual lyrics of the tunes! Thanks to efforts by the two-step scene in 80s London, and Chicago steppers in the 90s, lots of these tracks have had great staying power for years – and are perfectly put together in this sublime little compilation. Titles include "Take It Slow" by The Notations, "Trying To Get Next To You" by Arnold Blair, "Ain't It A Shame" by The Dells, "This Feeling's Killing Me" by The Jones Girls, "Sweet Music Soft Lights & You" by Ken Williams, "Love Sounds" by Intimate Strangers, "Let's Do It Again" by The Staple Singers, "Try Love Again" by Natural Four, "Lucky Fellow" by Leroy Hutson, "How Glad I Am" by Joyce Cobb, and "We Got Some Catching Up To Do" by Jean Carn.

The Steppin Muzak series goes strongly back to the 70s with this volume – throwing in a few cuts from later years, but mostly sticking with the great 70s mellow moments that first got us interested in the Chicago steppers scene many years back! There's some warm, wonderful moments here – including a number of cuts not easy to find on CD – and titles include "If It Takes All Night" by Soul Train Gang, "Countryside" by Fat Larry's Band, "Candy" by The Four Tops, "You're The One" by Ray Simpson, "I Found My Rainbow" by Touch Of Class, "Never Knew Love Like This Before" by Charles Earland, "Mutha's Love" by Bobby Franklin, "You Only Live Once" by Changing Tymes, "I Love The Way You Love" by Individuals, "Crazy About Your Love" by Robert Thomas, "Baby Take It Off" by Lenny Williams, and "Her Seedy Life" by Blue Zone UK.

One of the freshest soul sets we've heard from the Windy City in years – a great batch of mellow groovers from Mike James – an artist who knows how to put over a tune in just the right way – no cloying cliches, no overdone beats – just the right balance to hit the Chicago vibe right! Mike's a producer, and most of the cuts here are instrumentals – although some feature vocals by Kym Foxx – and tracks move between straighter soul tunes and some wicked midtempo cuts with a jazzy vibe – just right for the steppers scene that's bound to give James plenty of support! Titles include "Spaces", "Right Turn Only", "Steady Precision", "Imagine This", "Conversations", "Next Level", "Do With It", and "Speak To Me".

This volume of the Chicago-based Steppin Across The USA series goes farther back than previous volumes – to the 60s "dusty steppers" sound that first got the city grooving decades ago! The package includes a number of great singles from the Chess, Atlantic, and Motown catalogs – including many that aren't in print elsewhere! Titles include "Oh My Angle" by Bertha Tillman, "Dedicated To You" by Willie Tee, "Oh Cindy" by The Vibrations, "I'm Over You" by Jan Bradley, "Say You" by The Monitors, "Standing On The Dancefloor" by The Isley Brothers, "Let Love Be True" by The Naturals, "Write To Me" by The Isley Brothers, "I Want You I Need You I Love You" by Hector Rivera & The Latin Renaissance, and "I'll Do The Best I Can" by Jame's Phelps.

One of the most old school volumes of this always-great series – a set that features mostly obscure soul singles from the late 60s and early 70s – many of which we've never had on reissues before! The groove here is more in the style that Chicago Steppers used back in the day – the mellow soul that first burned brightly in the mid 60s, then continued to supply the scene with some great music as years went on. And because of that mode, many of the tracks here have a great late nite feel – not exactly sweet soul, but not too far away either – thanks to some great vocals. Titles include "I Made Up My Mind" and "I'm Not Ready To Settle Down" by The Cheers, "I Love You More" by Lee Williams & The Cymbals, "Feel Kind Of Bad" by The Radiants, "You've Said It All" by Steve Karmen Orchestra, "Pull Together" by Nite Liters, "Here I Am Baby" by Barbara McNair, "Stay A While With Me" by Sharon Ridley, "Here I Am & Here I Stay" by Sonji Clay, "Stealing Watermelons" by Chambers Brothers, and "Got No One" by Delcardos.

The rootsier side of the Chicago steppers scene – and a collection that shows the strong cultural ties between the Windy City and the south! There's plenty of bluesy currents going on here – even if all the music isn't blues – and the set's a great mix of soulful styles and modern modes that really shows the way that Northern scenes like Chicago helped take sounds from back home, and tighten them up for an urban audience. And by that, we hardly mean the kids in the north side blues clubs – we mean the folks down at places like Mr G's Supper Club or East Of The Ryan – both favorite haunts of ours, back in the day. Titles include "How Can I Say Goodbye" by Sidney Joe Qualls, "I Truly Love You" by Tony Troutman, "Good Lovin" by Otis Clay, "Tell Em I Heard It" by Sandra Feva, "Sugar" by Kenny Doss, "Leanin Tree" by Artie White, "Baby You're Ready" by Willie Clayton, and "My Money Ain't Long Enough" by Al King.