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An overlooked gem from Dexter Wansel – a mid 80s set recorded after his famous albums for Philly International, and a record that offers a nice transition of his earlier groove! The set's got a keyboard-heavy vibe – similar to the mode that Wansel brought to the studio in the late 70s, but with a different 80s spin overall – especially given the use of drum programs in most of the rhythms, and a mix of other instruments from electric sources as well. Yet given Dexter's ear for a tune, the whole thing comes together with a nice degree of warmth, and a sense of soul that's deeper than you'd expect – especially given that Virgin Records were clearly trying for a crossover hit on this one. There's some great vocals on the leadoff track by The Jones Girls – and other vocals are by Meeta Gajjar, Dr Pearl Williams Jones, and Cynthia Biggs El – who co-wrote most of the record with Wansel. Titles include "Captured", "Do What You Wanna Do", "Nam", "In The Wind", "East Meets West", "Heart On The Line", "Conversations", "Turn Me On", and "Year Of Living Dangerously". CD also features a bonus 12" mix of "Captured".

A sweet debut from soul singer Regina Belle – a nice dose of class and sophistication in the world of mid 80s R&B! Regina's got a well-developed style right from the start – the kind of poise that you might hear from someone like Phyllis Hyman, especially on the mellower cuts – with nice undercurrents of jazz that really help send the whole thing home – and really keep the album away from cloying commercial styles too! The set features some mighty nice instrumental elements alongside the vocals – including keyboards from Dexter Wansel and alto from Don Myrick – and titles include "Show Me The Way", "Intimate Relations", "Gotta Give It Up", "So Many Tears", "Please Be Mine", and "You Got The Love". CD features lots of bonus tracks – "Without You", "Show Me The Way (ext)", "You Got The Love (rmx)", "How Could You Do It To Me (rmx)", "So Many Tears (cool mix)", and "Show Me The Way (inst)".

Smooth modern duets from one of our favorite ladies in soul music! Jean Carne's a heck of a singer – with a career that stretches back to early soul jazz recordings with (then) husband Doug Carn, to solo recordings on Philly International in the late 70s, to appearances on records by other artists – sessions from the 70s, 80s, and 90s in which Jean lent her vocals to a wealth of great recordings! This great collection focuses on work in that category – uncollected sides from a three decade period, brought together in one album that shows just how great Jean can sound when she's singing with other artists. Many of these titles are quite hard to find otherwise, and haven't even shown up on other collections of Jean's work – and tracks include "Good Thng Goin On" with Billy Paul, "Holdin On" and "Dreams Of Tomorrow" with Dexter Wansel, "Keep In Touch" and "The Look Of Love" with Grover Washington Jr, "Lean On Me" with Nathan Heathman, "If You Don't Know Me By Now" with The Temptations, "Love Is Beautiful" with Universe, "Star Flower" with Lonnie Liston Smith, "Let's Stay Together" with Bobby M, "I'm Back For More" with Al Johnson, "You Might Be Surprised" with Roy Ayers, "Mother Of The Future" with Norman Connors, and "Valentine Love" with Michael Henderson. Also features the bonus solo track "Trust Me" – never on CD before!

A pair of post Philly International gems from Lou Rawls on Epic – Now Is The Time from '82 and Close Company from '84 – in a single set! Now Is The Time is a solid soul effort from Lou, still working wonders here in the early 80s on a record that stands the test of time surprisingly well! The production doesn't overdo it with period production flourishes, with some sweeping arrangements on some numbers and more of an easygoing vibe on others. Titles include "Kiss Me One More Time", "Let Me Show You How", "Ain't That Love Baby", "This Love" and "Back To You". Close Company features a fair bit of production from Dexter Wansel, in a way that continues the groove from a few years before! The sound's got a smooth, sophisticated feel that works great with Lou's maturing vocals – and the overall feel is right up there with the best classy soul coming out on Epic at the time – work that's really stood the test of the time because it never gave in too much to commercial trends. Titles include "Close Company", "All Time Lover", "In The Middle Of The Night", "Pretty Eyes", "Forever I Do", "Ready Or Not", and "Say It Again". 17 tracks in all on the CD.

Heavy grooves from Suff Daddy – but augmented with lots of great guest work too – the kind of collaborative effort that always seems to stem from his great inspiration in the studio! Core grooves are nicely diverse – and filled with funky stuff that draws heavily from 60s and 70s roots – especially on the keyboards, which seem even more magical this time around – and range from piano to Hammond to moog, and more! Guests include Miles Bonny, Flat Pocket, Hulk Hodn, Phat Kat, Vertual Vertigo, and Fleur Earth – and titles include "Jimmy Smith Interlude", "KC Vodka", "Dexter Wansel Interlude", "Det2bin", "Gimlet, "Elephant", "Bo Break", "Cold Lampin", and "Pattern Select".

A great take on the sound of Philadelphia International – a double-length set of re-edits of Philly gems from years back – but all done in ways that are completely respectful to the originals! The approach here is wonderful – as warm and soulful as the Philly grooves from back in the day – but often extended and reworked slightly – the way you might have heard on a vintage 12" promo – which is even more impressive once you consider that some of these tracks never came out in that format! The choice of tracks is totally right on the money – and a great demonstration of that old school edit mode that never tried to mess with the track at all – just increase the pleasure it brought to the dancefloor – and the set features 21 very long tracks, including "Satisfaction Guaranteed (Morning Star re-edit)" by Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, "Only The Strong Survive (J*Ski re-edit)" by Billy Paul, "Free Love (Victor Rosado re-edit)" by Jean Carn, "Life On Mars (DJ Mila re-edit)" by Dexter Wansel, "Ain't No Stoppin Us Now (The Noodleman re-work)" by McFadden & Whitehead, "Nights Over Egypt (Womack & TOT re-edit) by The Jones Girls, "Strategy (Touchsoul re-edit)" by Archie Bell & The Drells, "Let The Dollar Circulate (Scratch N Sniff's ext re-reub)" by Billy Paul, "Darlin Darlin Baby (Deep & Disco re-work)" by The O'Jays, and "Be For Real (Tim McAllister re-edit)" by Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes.

Jazzy vibes – and jazzy sax, trumpet, and keyboards too – all heard in a host of rare cuts from the 70s – pulled together in one massively great batch of music! The set does a great job of digging around the edges of the 70s – moving past too-familiar jazz funk classics, and coming up with numbers that really get at the more sophisticated side of the genre! Most of the work is by relatively well-known artists, but the whole thing's still a nice change from the mainstream, and features loads of rare groove classics – including "In Good Faith" by Norman Harris, "Latin Spirit" by Leon Huff, "Latin Love" by Dexter Wansel, "Cisco Kid" by Reuben Wilson, "Red Beans" by Jimmy McGriff, "Out On The Coast" by Larry Willis, "Give Me Your Love" by Funk Incorporated, "Killing Time" by Natural Essence, "Like A Thief In The Night" by Mike Longo, "Them Changes" by Lionel Hampton, and "Killing Me Softly" by Hysear Don Walker.

An overstuffed package of funk – filled with classics from the 70s, all brought together in celebration of the legendary Pulp Fusion series! Hard to believe it's been 15 years since the first Pulp Fusion volume, but during that time the collections have brought us plenty of joy, and plenty of grooves – and have built a well-deserved reputation for coming up with some of the grooviest cuts around! This double-length collection is all-solid all the way through – a great mix of cuts that go past obvious 70s hits, and include the kind of funky nuggets that have really gotten some fame in later years – thanks to collectors and heavy sample usage. Titles include "Get Down With The Get Down" by Melvin Sparks, "2 For 1" by Pleasure, "Always There" by Willie Bobo", "Captain Connors" by Norman Connors, "We All Got A Mission" by Billy Paul, "Lope Song" by Eddie Russ, "Yellow Sunshine" by Yellow Sunshine, "People Make The World Go Round" by Milt Jackson, "A Time & A Place" by The Heath Brothers, "Tragic Magic" by Nathan Davis, "Jungle Strut" by Gene Ammons, "It's A Trip" by The Last Poets, "La Botella" by Joe Bataan, "Life On Mars" by Dexter Wansel, and "The World We Live In" by The Politicians.