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Finally -- the long overdue release of one of the funkiest soundtracks ever! The music to Black Belt Jones has always been the stuff of legend -- mostly only issued as a promo single back in the 70s, but funky enough that it's ranked among the best soundtracks of the decade! The score was composed and performed by Dennis Coffey and Luchi De Jesus -- the former a funk star in his own right, the latter the composer of the ultra-hip Friday Foster soundtrack -- and together, the pair have crafted some killer grooves that mix guitars, congas, and blasting orchestrations that could plow Enter The Dragon into the dust! Plus, the soundtrack nicely mixes together bits of dialogue and sound effects from the film -- making things sound a lot like some of those cool Japanese Bruce Lee soundtracks that were floating around from years back. Titles include "Love Theme", "At The Beach", "Main Theme", "Opening Theme", "Drama", "Mafia Theme", and "Sexy".

The later years of Dennis Coffey at Westbound Records -- tunes that show a bit of a move away from the rougher funk of his roots, but which are still filled with plenty of sharp-edged work on guitar! Coffey's groove here is more in the club vein that Westbound hit in the mid 70s -- upbeat, uptempo rhythms that drew strongly on the label's earlier legacy in funk -- but pushed a groove more towards the popular disco styles of the time! Yet Coffey's tunes are never throwaway disco -- and from the perspective of these many decades later, they're really just fast funk numbers with a bit of strings -- still heavy on tightly snapping rhythms, and filled with loads of beautiful guitar lines from Dennis. This hip package from Ace goes out of its way to focus on the funkiest bits from these years -- and the set features 15 titles that include "Wild Child", "Live Wire", "Some Like It Hot", "Free Spirit", "Back Home", "Finger Lickin Good (7" version)", "Sweet Taste Of Sin", "Calling Planet Earth (12" version)", "High On Love", "Gimme That Funk (7" version)", and "Our Love Goes On Forever".

Mad funk from one of the heaviest cats on the early 70s Detroit scene -- guitar legend Dennis Coffey, finally given his due in a long-overdue collection of his best grooves for Sussex Records! Coffey's guitar has a sound that's been sampled countless times over the past 20 years -- a raspy way of laying over a groove that's unlike anything else you'll ever hear -- ringing out with a multi-tracked style that almost sounds like a mini-guitar section in itself! But even over and above the great guitar work, the rhythms here are equally great -- the kinds of breaks the first broke big back in the old school, and which have continued to fill the crates for many years to come! Essential tracks all the way through -- with a tremendous set list that includes "Son Of Scorpio", "Scorpio", "Taurus", "Theme From Enter The Dragon", "Chicano", "Lonely Moon Child", "Impressions Of", "Ride Sally Ride", "Getting It On", "Big City Funk", "Garden Of The Moon", "Whole Lot Of Love", "Capricorn's Thing", and "Guitar Big Band". CD features the bonus track "Outrageous".

Mad funk from one of the heaviest cats on the early 70s Detroit scene -- guitar legend Dennis Coffey, finally given his due in a long-overdue collection of his best grooves for Sussex Records! Coffey's guitar has a sound that's been sampled countless times over the past 20 years -- a raspy way of laying over a groove that's unlike anything else you'll ever hear -- ringing out with a multi-tracked style that almost sounds like a mini-guitar section in itself! But even over and above the great guitar work, the rhythms here are equally great -- the kinds of breaks the first broke big back in the old school, and which have continued to fill the crates for many years to come! Essential tracks all the way through -- with a tremendous set list that includes "Son Of Scorpio", "Scorpio", "Taurus", "Theme From Enter The Dragon", "Chicano", "Lonely Moon Child", "Impressions Of", "Ride Sally Ride", "Getting It On", "Big City Funk", "Garden Of The Moon", "Whole Lot Of Love", "Capricorn's Thing", and "Guitar Big Band".

A stunner! You'll probably never find this rare first Dennis Coffey album in the original, so you owe it to yourself to snatch up this funky funky reissue of stripped down guitar breakbeat jams! The record has Coffey playing his trademark fuzzy guitar, along with his early group that included the legendary Lyman Woodard on organ and Andrew Davis on drums. As the title implies, some tracks are versions of cuts from Hair -- with great Galt MacDermot grooves like "Let The Sunshine In", "Sodomy", and "Aquarius" -- plus other excellent covers and originals, like "Hair & Grits", "Hey Jude", "Do Your Thang", "Iceberg's Thang", "It's Your Thang", and "Electric Thang". Clearly, it's a very thang-heavy LP, with all the funkiness that might imply! There's some excellent drum breaks, and more than a boatload full of fuzzy guitar riffs to groove groove groove you away!

Nice batch of up-tempo funk -- recorded for Westbound during their Atlantic years, and featuring some very strong production by Mike Theodore & Dennis Coffey. CJ & Co were one of these groups that skirted between funk and disco -- in a style that was similar to T-Connection's early records -- and they had a nice instrumental sound that had a lot of tight playing, even if the overall approach was towards the club dancefloor. Earl Van Dyke and Dennis Coffey play on the album -- and tracks include "We Got Our Own Thing", "Free To Be Me", "Get A Groove In Order To Move", and "Sure Can't Go To The Moon".

70s disco classics from Detroit soul legend Mike Theodore -- back to back on one CD! On Cosmic Wind, Mike's come a long way from his early soul days with Dennis Coffey -- working here to lay down a set of spacious disco tunes with a dreamy finish -- really stretching out with the same sort of glide you'd find in the best Philly club at the time! The record's actually quite strong on the disco side of the spectrum -- well-crafted work with a sound that's full and rich, but never cliched -- definitely Theodore's moment to shine in the 70s, taking the torch from his old partner Coffey, who had his time in the sun a few years before! Titles include "Cosmic Wind", "The Bull", "Moon Trek", "Brazilian Lullaby", and "Belly Boogie". High On Mad Mountain is a dramatic disco classic that steps out here with all the force you'd expect from the title! The extended title tune is a symphonic disco classic -- using strings, congas, and lots of percussion to set up the groove -- as guitar and keyboards come into the mix to bring out a nice degree of funk. The rest of the album follows in a similar feel -- with a bit of moogy solo work, and some female vocals on the choruses -- and titles include "Disco People", "Dragons Of Midnight", "High On Mad Mountain", and "Wonder Man". CD features 11 tracks in all.

There's no knocking Wilson Pickett here -- as his funky groove is still right on the money, set up in some sweet Muscle Shoals arrangements, at a level that's right up there with his first recordings for Atlantic Records! Production is by Brad Shapiro and Dave Crawford, who bring in a few slight 70s southern soul touches -- but overall, the whole thing's got all the raw, heavy-grooving energy you'd expect from The Wicked Pickett on Atlantic. Some cuts slide into each other nicely -- which makes for an album that's really unified -- and Dennis Coffey plays some great guitar on the set, alongside keyboards from Crawford and Barry Beckett, drums from Roger Hawkins, and percussion from Jack Ashford. Titles include "Don't Knock My Love (parts 1 & 2)", "Fire & Water", "Call My Name I'll Be There", "Hot Love", "A Mighty Long Way", and "You Can't Judge A Book By Its Cover".

One of a handful of enigmatic albums cut in the early 70s by Sixto Rodriguez -- a Latin-tinged singer with a style that's a bit like that of Jose Feliciano, but trippier, and with more rock and folk touches! This set's probably his best one -- thanks to arrangements and production by Dennis Coffey and Mike Theodore, both of whom give the album a stoned-out feel that sets it up nicely with other work on the Sussex label at the time. The album's got a lot of "deep" cuts with semi-political lyrics -- including "Inner City Blues" (not Marvin's version), "Like Janis", "This Is Not A Song, It's An Outburst", and "Crucify Your Mind" -- and Rodriguez seems like he must have been one hip cat back in his day!

The complete recordings of early Detroit rockers The Royaltones -- pretty much the blueprint of r&b learned Detroit rock & roll to come! The Royaltones were a gritty instrumental combo that made waves in the Motor City club scene in the late 50s & early 60s -- with a raw, almost menacing edge to their r&b based groove -- we can definitely sense that later rockers of the region sprouted from the seed of the Royaltones. Small combo of drums, guitar, bass, keys and sax -- and a group that included future heavyweights Dennis Coffey on guitar, Bob Babbitt on bass, and George Katsakis on sax! 30 tracks in all, with Royaltones cuts and numbers by affiliated acts: "Poor Boy", "Wail", "Big Wheel", "Ginchy" (The Cool-Tones), "Little Bo", "Short Line", "See-Saw", "Tacos", "The Yea Yea Song", "Clip Clop", "Secret Love" and lots more!

A heck of a great little guitar funk album -- one of two rare sides cut by the amazing Eddie Senay! The record's all-instrumental -- and Eddie's fuzzed-out guitar takes center stage over tripped-out arrangements that recall the best psychedelic funk of the early 70s -- bubbling along with just enough drums, bass, and keyboards to make for a chunky bottom groove -- while Senay wails over the top on guitar! The record reminds us of similar guitar funk albums from the time -- including the work of Dennis Coffey, Eddie Fisher, or Donald Austin -- but the groove's even more laidback and trippy, with a few nice breakway moments from the rhythm section. Tracks include "Jubo", "Hot Thang", "Message of Love", and great covers of "Ain't No Sunshine" and Donny Hathaway's "Zambezi".

Hypnotic organ funk from Lyman Woodard -- an old bandmate of Dennis Coffey, and one of the shining lights of the 70s Detroit scene! This is amazing, amazing stuff -- Woodard's electric piano, organ and occasional mellotron and Norma Bell's alto saxophone lend a cosmic funk aspect throughout, very much like Death Wish-era Herbie Hancock! Ron English accents the thing perfectly with his languid guitar and bass groove, while Leonard King and Lorenzo Brown's drumming and percussion can keep the groove adrift, or tear it up in a funky maelstrom depending on the mission of the cut. It's totally essential Strata jazz funk -- and a record we've rarely seen in the original pressing. Tracks include "Saturday Night Special (Parts I & II), "Joy Road", "Belle Isle Daze (Parts I & II), "Creative Musicians", "Cheeba Cheeba (Parts I & II)", "On Your Mind", "Help Me Get Away" and more.

A blistering set of psychedelic soul, jazz, funk and Latin grooves -- from the superior collections mined by Vampi Soul -- featuring some of the hardest charging rare grooves of the late 60s & early 70s! Movers is about as fine a sampler we could have asked for from the funky archaeologists at Vampi -- an all inclusive, cross cultural collection of nuggets that all sounds great together thanks to a shared love of an overall funky approach! 23 tracks in all: "I Want Love And Affection (Not The House Of Correction)", "Guitar Big Band" by Dennis Coffey, "Chicken Thighs" by Andre Williams, "Respect" by Soul Survivors, "Soul 70" by Lolas, "Na Palma Da Mao" by Banda Uniao Black, "Guayaba" by Lucho Macedo, "Zoologico Negro" by Orquesta Aragon, "Think Drink" by New Swing Sextet, "Eterno Pecado Horizontal" by Che and much more!

16 tracks of sweet and smooth 70s soul -- hand-picked with a freshness that should appeal to the modern hip hop fan as much as the older soul collector. The tracks on here aren't as beat or break-heavy as some of the material on other sample-driven collections we stock -- but that's fine with us, as the tracks move into a sophisticated soul range that's always a pleasure to hear, bringing together the kind of well-produced 70s tracks that have shown up on series like Strange Games & Funky Things or Mellow Mellow, both of which have been longtime favorites with the DGA crowd! Titles include "Sweet Taste Of Sin" by Dennis Coffey, "I'll See You In Hell First" by Phillip Mitchell, "Do It To Me Now" by Fatback, "Don't Risk Your Happiness On Foolishness" by Fantastic Four, "Killing Time" by Natural Essence, "Your Love Is My Desire" by Eramus Hall, "Baby Get Down" by Eddie McLoyd, "Set It Out" by The Detroit Emeralds, "Love Starved" by Shirley Brown, "I'm Gonna Have To Tell Her" by Isaac Hayes, "If I Had The Power" by Johnny Guitar Watson, and "I Got To Have Your Love Now" by Caesar Frazier.

5 Tom Moulton mixes of late 70s Westbound club tracks: a medley of the Fantastic Four's "Night People" and "Lies Divided By Jive", Dennis Coffey's "Wings Of Fire", CJ & Co "Devil's Gun", the Detroit Emerald's "Feel The Need" and the Mike Theodore Orchestra's "The Bull".

A killer 2CD set -- both of the Ruth Copeland albums for Invictus -- plus bonus tracks too! First up is Self Portrait -- a surprisingly groovy little set, and one of a few outings cut by singer Ruth Copeland -- kind of an enigmatic figure in the early P-Funk years! The approach here is more rock than soul, but there's definitely some funky undercurrents too -- of the sort that have always made Copeland a favorite with break freaks over the years -- thanks to help on the album from Dennis Coffey, Eddie Hazel, Bernie Worrell, and George Clinton! Ruth arranged, performed, and produced the core part of the album herself -- but the production style is surprisingly strong -- with a use of space and strings that almost shows a bit of Axelrod influence at times, although more skewed towards the Detroit soul scene that Copeland called home. Titles include the classic "Your Love Been So Good To Me", which starts with a very fuzzy electric break, and "I Got a Thing For You Daddy", which has some great spacey guitars on the intro -- plus "Child of the North", "No Commitment", "A Gift of Me", and "The Music Box". I Am What I Am is a second sublime set from Ruth Copeland! There's a bit more emphasis on soul here than the funk of Copeland's previous efforts -- but in a way that makes for an even more impressive record overall, especially when you realize that Ruth arranged and produced the whole thing. George Clinton and Eddie Hazel both had a hand in co-writing songs with Copeland -- and instrumentation features Hazel on guitar, plus Bernie Worrell on piano -- so there's still a key P-Funk link. Titles include the breakbeat track "Suburban Family Lament", the fuzzy stoner funk number "Don't You Wish You Had", and covers of the Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter" and "Play With Fire" -- plus "Crying Has Made Me Stronger", "Hare Krishna", and "The Medal". Bonus tracks include single versions of "Hare Krishna", "Gimme Shelter", "The Music Box", "A Gift Of Me", and "No Commitment".

A heck of a great little guitar funk album -- one of two rare sides cut by the amazing Eddie Senay! The record's all-instrumental -- and Eddie's fuzzed-out guitar takes center stage over tripped-out arrangements that recall the best psychedelic funk of the early 70s -- bubbling along with just enough drums, bass, and keyboards to make for a chunky bottom groove -- while Senay wails over the top on guitar! The record reminds us of similar guitar funk albums from the time -- including the work of Dennis Coffey, Eddie Fisher, or Donald Austin -- but the groove's even more laidback and trippy, with a few nice breakway moments from the rhythm section. Tracks include "Jubo", "Hot Thang", "Message of Love", and great covers of "Ain't No Sunshine" and Donny Hathaway's "Zambezi".

An excellent blacksploitation soundtrack -- and every bit as funky as any of Willie Hutch's work for other Motown soundtracks at the time! Larry Mizell and Dennis Coffey help out on the instrumentation -- giving the album an extra funky instrumental edge, one that takes it way past Edwin Starr's other work -- and the tracks are a nice mix of vocals and instrumentals. Titles include "Ain't It Hell Up In Harlem", "Airport Chase", and the massive "Easin' In", a stone sample classic!

A very sweet little album by this great Motown group! The record was produced by Norman Whitfield, and it's a perfect example of the rumbling funky soul sound that he was developing at the time -- a mixture of heavy bass, rumbling percussion, fuzzy guitars, and a stone righteous sound that pushed soul music firmly into the 70s! The songs are mostly all originals written by him and Barrett Strong -- and the band is filled with great players like Dennis Coffey, Earl Van Dyke, Johnny Griffith, and the great Melvin "Wah Wah" Ragin. Titles include "Ungena Za Ulimwengu (Unite The World) Friendship Train", "What It Is?", "Don't Let Him Take Your Love From Me", "What's Going On", and "You Make Your Own Heaven & Hell Right Here On Earth".

Possibly the best-ever collection of blacksploitation grooves we've ever seen -- a really comprehensive package that not only manages to cover the classics, but which also digs deep enough to come up with lots of fresh bits too! The set really sets a new level for the Soul Jazz label -- and is carried off with enough authority towards Black Action films as the label's legendary efforts towards a host of less mainstream genres -- truly an achievement for the label's crew, not to mention a heavier bonus for our funky listening pleasure! There's way more here than just a slapped-together batch of tunes from the early 70s -- as the set's very carefully put together to showcase a wide range of sounds, along with notes that really get at the social and political power of both the music and the films. 2CD package features a massive color booklet inside the slipcase -- and features 34 tracks that include "Shaft In Africa" by Johnny Pate, "Down & Out In New York City" by James Brown, "Wilford's Gone" by The Blackbyrds, "Run Fay Run" by Isaac Hayes, "Theme From Black Belt Jones" by Dennis Coffey, "Willie Chase" by JJ Johnson, "T Plays It Cool" by Marvin Gaye, "Charley" by Don Costa, "Brother's Gonna Work It Out" by Willie Hutch, "Blacula" by Gene Page, "Theme From Cleopatra Jones" by Joe Simon, "Pursuit Of The Pimpmobile" by Isaac Hayes, "Sweetback's Theme" by Earth Wind & Fire, "Aragon" by Roy Ayers, "Strung Out" by Gordon Staples, "Easin In" by Edwin Starr, "The Bus" by Solomon Burke & Gene Page, "Make A Resolution" by The Impressions, "Ed & Digger" by Cotton Comes To Harlem, "Las Vegas Strut" by Jack Ashford, "Lay It On Your Head" by Don Julian, and "Zombie March" by Nat Dove & The Devils.

Possibly the best-ever collection of blacksploitation grooves we've ever seen -- a really comprehensive package that not only manages to cover the classics, but which also digs deep enough to come up with lots of fresh bits too! The set really sets a new level for the Soul Jazz label -- and is carried off with enough authority towards Black Action films as the label's legendary efforts towards a host of less mainstream genres -- truly an achievement for the label's crew, not to mention a heavier bonus for our funky listening pleasure! There's way more here than just a slapped-together batch of tunes from the early 70s -- as the set's very carefully put together to showcase a wide range of sounds, along with notes that really get at the social and political power of both the music and the films. Vinyl volume 1 features an insert with notes -- and tracks that include "Shaft In Africa" by Johnny Pate, "Down & Out In New York City" by James Brown, "Wilford's Gone" by The Blackbyrds, "Run Fay Run" by Isaac Hayes, "Theme From Black Belt Jones" by Dennis Coffey, "Willie Chase" by JJ Johnson, "T Plays It Cool" by Marvin Gaye, "Charley" by Don Costa, "Brother's Gonna Work It Out" by Willie Hutch, and "Blacula" by Gene Page.

A blistering set of psychedelic soul, jazz, funk and Latin grooves -- from the superior collections mined by Vampi Soul -- featuring some of the hardest charging rare grooves of the late 60s & early 70s! Movers is about as fine a sampler we could have asked for from the funky archaeologists at Vampi -- an all inclusive, cross cultural collection of nuggets that all sounds great together thanks to a shared love of an overall funky approach! 23 tracks in all: "I Want Love And Affection (Not The House Of Correction)", "Guitar Big Band" by Dennis Coffey, "Chicken Thighs" by Andre Williams, "Respect" by Soul Survivors, "Soul 70" by Lolas, "Na Palma Da Mao" by Banda Uniao Black, "Guayaba" by Lucho Macedo, "Zoologico Negro" by Orquesta Aragon, "Think Drink" by New Swing Sextet, "Eterno Pecado Horizontal" by Che and much more!

Some of the most soulful rock ever to come from Detroit -- recorded by one of the most successful white acts to ever grace the Motown label! Rare Earth fall into the same crossover Detroit rock/soul territory as Dennis Coffey and Lyman Woodard -- and share a similar penchant for fuzzy guitars, tight rhythms, and some sweet use of organ and electric piano. Most of their tunes have vocals, but in a style that's got more than enough blue-eyed soul to come across with the hippest, trippiest style of Motown at the time -- often produced with a style that's a lot like that used by Norman Whitfield with the Temptations. This 18 track set is a wonderful overview of the group's work, and mostly concentrates on the funkiest tracks from their first few albums -- titles that include "Born To Wander", "In Bed", "Feelin Alright", "Get Ready", "Magic Key", "Hey Big Brother", "No 1 Man", "Here Comes The Night", "Satisfaction Guaranteed", "Long Time Leavin", and "We're Gonna Have A Good Time".

One of a handful of enigmatic albums cut in the early 70s by Sixto Rodriguez -- a Latin-tinged singer with a style that's a bit like that of Jose Feliciano -- but trippier, and with more rock and folk touches! This set's probably his best one -- thanks to arrangements and production by Dennis Coffey and Mike Theodore, both of whom give the album a stoned-out feel that sets it up nicely with other work on the Sussex label at the time -- and which has made this Rodriguez album a well-sought nugget for crate diggers! The album's got a lot of "deep" cuts with semi-political lyrics -- including "Inner City Blues" (not Marvin's version), "Like Janis", "This Is Not A Song, It's An Outburst", and "Crucify Your Mind" -- and Rodriguez seems like he must have been one hip cat back in his day! Wonderful reissue version -- with great sound and a huge booklet of notes that really gets at the details of the enigmatic Rodriguez story!

A set of some of the mightiest soul and funk from Detroit's Westbound Records -- a 40th anniversary batch that's filled with tracks that are as solid as any the Motor City ever offered up -- with Funkadelic, Ohio Players, Detroit Emeralds, Denise Lasalle, Fantastic Four, Dennis Coffey, Fuzzy Haskins and many more! Although the set celebrates 40 years as a functioning label, most of the tracks are from the anything goes funky soul 70s, with couple of earlier and later numbers -- with the wild-eyed psyche funk flourishes of Funkadelic and the Ohio Players, jazz funk from Robert Lowe, gritty group soul from Detroit Emeralds, the beauty of Denis LaSalle, disco era grooves King Errisson and so much more. Eclectic and wonderful! 20 tracks in all: "I'll Bet You" and "Cosmic Slop" by Funkadelic, "Trapped By A Thing Called Love", Everything's Gonna Be Allright" by Bill Moss, "If You Want My Love" by Melvin Sparks & Jimmy Scott, "Pain Pt 1" and the ever strange and wonderful "Funky Worm" by Ohio Players, "A Sweet Taste Of Sin" by Dennis Coffey, "You Brought The Sunshine (Into My Life) by Clark Sisters and more.