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Barbara Acklin's first album – and a landmark of Chicago soul that firmly established Acklin as one of the city's best writers and new female singers! Acklin had a classy sound that was different than some of her raw soul sisters in the city – but although she was classy, she also didn't have any of that little girl stuff that you might hear from singers like Denice Chandler or Barbara Mason. Instead, she had an approach that mixed a real soul vocal with more sophisticated material, in a manner that worked well with the evolving blueprint for the Brunswick Chisoul sound. Carl Davis and Eugene Record do a perfect job producing Barbara's songs, all forged nicely into the loping soul groove that set Chicago apart from other cities in the late 60s. Includes the big title track "Love Makes A Woman" – plus "Be By My Side", "Your Sweet Loving", "Come and See Me Baby", and a great cover of "The Look of Love"!

Easily the crowning moment of genius for the legendary Dave Brubeck Quartet – the moment when all things came together magically, and the group somehow elevated themselves to a whole new level in jazz! At the time of the set, Brubeck, Paul Desmond, and the rest had already been making plenty of waves with their creative yet swinging approaches to modern jazz – heard on a number of successful albums for Fantasy and Columbia in the 50s. But with this record, they really knocked one out of the park – blending Desmond's cool alto, Brubeck's unusual piano phrasing, Joe Morello's melodic drum work, and Eugene Wright's pulsating bass into a waltzing, almost modal groove that crossed over to many camps at the time! The classics "Take Five" and "Blue Rondo Ala Turk" were both hits on their own – but all titles are great, and include "Kathy's Waltz", "Strange Medow Lark", "Everybody's Jumpin", and "Pick Up Sticks".

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".

2 great later gems from The Dells – both essential sides of their later catalog! I Touched A Dream is an especially tremendous record – a bit smoother than before, but still much more daring vocally than most other harmony groups at the time, cutting through some smoother arrangements with a sublime approach to the material that's all-soul all the way! Arrangements are sometimes bit uptempo and modern, but they're still in a strong Chicago groove – with backings by Tom Tom 84 and Sonny Sanders – and production by Carl Davis and Eugene Record, making for a late 70s update of the classic Brunswick soul approach! Titles include "Look At Us Now", "All About The Paper", "So You Are Love", "Passionate Breezes", and "I Touched A Dream". Whatever Turns You On is another later winner from The Dells – a record that has the group mixing uptempo grooves and sublime mellow numbers – all of which are sung with heartbreaking vocals that show the group as still one of the best in soul music – even after more than 20 years on record! Arrangements are by Tom Tom 84 and Sonny Sanders, and production by Carl Davis and Eugene Record – all key factors in the success of the album, thanks to a long local history with the Chicago soul legends – and a respect that's very clear in their handling of the sound on this set. Titles include "Happy Song", "It Took A Woman Like You", "Whatever Turns You On", "Ain't It A Shame", "Stay In My Corner", "is It It", and "Heaven's Just Step Away".

The classic jazz vibes of Lionel Hampton meets the soulful arrangements of the Chicago Brunswick studios – and the result is a great batch of funky instrumentals that have a similar sound to some of the classic Cadet albums from the same time. Willie Henderson and Tom Tom Washington did the arrangements – and nearly every track's an original by Eugene Record. Titles include "Please Sunrise", "Soulful Autumn", "It Must Be Love", "I Did It", and "I Call It Trouble". Tasty stuff, and tight Chicago soul grooves!

The classic jazz vibes of Lionel Hampton meets the soulful arrangements of the Chicago Brunswick studios – and the result is a great batch of funky instrumentals that have a similar sound to some of the classic Cadet albums from the same time! Willie Henderson and Tom Tom Washington did most of the arrangements – and many tracks are originals written by Eugene Record, with that great loping Chisoul groove that he was perfecting at the time. Titles include "Please Sunrise", "Soulful Autumn", "It Must Be Love", "I Did It", "I Wake Up Crying", "I Wish It Was me", "It's Time For Peace", "This Must Be The Place For Love", "Turn Back The Hands Of Time", and "I Call It Trouble". Tasty stuff, and tight Chicago soul grooves!

Sublime soul from the mighty Laura Lee – one of the best deep soul singers of the 70s, even though she recorded with the mostly-northern team of Holland Dozier Holland! The set shows that the trio really knew how to change it up after leaving Motown – and although Lee had recorded for Chess in the 60s, she really finds her groove here – mixing southern soul with a dose of 70s funk – all of which really stands out from most of her contemporaries! Laura's voice is sweet and dusky, in the mode of some of the best underground singers of her day – but also rises above the rest, thanks crack arrangements by HB Barnum and Eugene Moore – who mix strings and soul into a stellar blend of styles! Titles include the breakbeat classic "Crums Off The Table", which begins with some great hard drums – plus the cuts "Every Little Bit Hurts", "I Can't Make It Alone", "Mirror Of Your Soul", and "I Need It Just As Bad As You". Features a bonus unedited version of "I Need It Just As Bad As You".

A really nice batch of early 80s soul from Loose Ends – one of the best remembered groups who were making strong soul music in Britain in the period – and who actually recorded this excellent first album at Philadelphia's Alpha Studios! Making the record in Philly was a wise decision – the sounds range from classic level slow jams, to solid modern soul to touches of electro and more dancefloor geared groovers – and it sounds like work of deft scene veterans rather than a full length debut for the group! The songs were written by the band who, at that time, included Jane Eugene, Carl McIntosh and Steve Nichol. Tracks include "Hangin On A String", "Choose Me", "Music Takes Me Higher", "Dial 999", "Tell Me What You Want", "A Little Spice", "So Much Love", and "Let's Rock". This great Soulmusic.com CD edition has wealth of bonus tracks: seven in all, including "In The Sky (UK Single – Long Version)", "Only A Day Away", "No Stranger To Darkness (UK Single)" and more.

An obscure second soundtrack for The Mack – one that's not nearly as well known as the classic Motown score by Willie Hutch, but which features some great work from Eugene McDaniels – and funky backings from Alan Silvestri! Eugene sings sweetly on the title theme "In The Beginning" – and funkily on the track "Party Time" – but our favorite tunes are actually the instrumental ones by Silvestri, done in a really wicked sort of groove – one that mixes traditional blacksploitation scoring with some jazzier touches – in a mode that's tight one minute, laidback the next, and filled with a great blend of jazz, soul, and electricity! Titles include "Play Ball", "We Can Beat This", "Slim", "Here Today", "Planetarium", and "Kill Fats".

Tosca have grown up a bit since we last heard them – getting a bit more subtle, and maybe even more soulful with their sound – maturing into a mellow groove that's a bit more textured than downtempo – peppered with vocals from a shifting array of singers who help further the sound. There's still plenty of the darkness you'd love from the group's previous records, and certainly none of the cheesiness you'd guess from the hat image on the cover – and titles include "Zur Gueten Ambiance", "Stuttgart", "In My Brain Prinz Eugen", "Cavallo", "Bonjour", and "Soda".

Tosca have grown up a bit since we last heard them – getting a bit more subtle, and maybe even more soulful with their sound – maturing into a mellow groove that's a bit more textured than downtempo – peppered with vocals from a shifting array of singers who help further the sound. There's still plenty of the darkness you'd love from the group's previous records, and certainly none of the cheesiness you'd guess from the hat image on the cover – and titles include "Zur Gueten Ambiance", "Stuttgart", "In My Brain Prinz Eugen", "Cavallo", "Bonjour", and "Soda".

A long-awaited follow-up to one of our favorite compilations of King Records soul music – a set that does a perfect job of showing the label's strong roots in R&B, and it's important force in 60s soul! The package offers up tracks with a really great sound – definitely the grittier edge than you'd expect from the R&B in the title, yet lots of "new breed" styles as well – a more mature, more soul-based approach to the grooves that offers up a great way to harness the raw energy at the core! The set's filled with rare gems from old King, Federal, and DeLuxe label singles – including some overlooked work by bigger name singers – and titles include "Two Hearts" by The King Pins, "I'm Tore Down" by Freddie King, "Send Me A Picture Baby" by Mel Williams, "Love Man" by Hal Hardy, "Geneva" by Eugene Church, "Wild Child" by Donnie Elbert, "Your Letter" by Willie Wright & His Sparklers, "Say Hey Pretty Baby" by Lula Reed, "Let Me Walk With You" by Eddie Kirk, "Stop Talking To Your Child" by James Duncan, "It Hurts Inside" by The 5 Royales, "Let's Have A Good Time" by The Hi Tones, and "When You Move You Lose" by Lee Shot Williams.

The headier sound of Blue Note Records – served up in a batch of tracks that focus on that late 60s period when the label started to open up into a much more righteous groove! The styles here are very much in step with the most progressive cultural movements in the US at the time – and traditional soul jazz and hardbop modes are broken down and recast with a new sense of positive energy and spirituality – all served up in styles that Blue Note hardly would have recorded a few short years before! Most of these tracks are instrumental – done in grooves that range from funky, to modal, to soaring and searching – but a few other great numbers have vocals by singers like Andy Bey or Eugene McDaniels, both artists who helped really hip things up nicely! 2CD package features a total of 18 tracks in all – including "Psychedelic Pi" by Lonnie Smith, "Hey Hey" by Andrew Hill, "The Emperor" by Donald Byrd, "Black Rhythm Happening" by Eddie Gale, "The Phantom" by Duke Pearson, "I Have A Dream" by Herbie Hancock, "Peace" by Horace Silver, "Slow Drag" by Donald Byrd, "Fulton Street" by Eddie Gale, "Message From The Nile" by McCoy Tyner, "Slow Change" by Bobby Hutcherson, and "Soul Soul Soul" by Jackie McLean.

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".

Fantastic group soul from Chicago – and the hardest to find of the two albums by The Lost Generation! The record is a killer batch of spacey soul cuts, with very dope arrangements by Tom Washington, Eugene Record, and Cliff Davis. The title cut's a monster, and a very fitting follow-up to their earlier "Sly, Slick, & Wicked" track – and the album features 2 versions (vocal and instrumental) of a cut called "This Is The Lost Generation", a very righteous soul groove with a heavy production tip. Other titles include "Sure Is Funky", "Thin Line Between Love & Hate", and "Tired Of Being Alone".

Barbara Acklin's first album – and a landmark of Chicago soul that firmly established Acklin as one of the city's best writers and new female singers! Acklin had a classy sound that was different than some of her raw soul sisters in the city – but although she was classy, she also didn't have any of that little girl stuff that you might hear from singers like Denice Chandler or Barbara Mason. Instead, she had an approach that mixed a real soul vocal with more sophisticated material, in a manner that worked well with the evolving blueprint for the Brunswick Chisoul sound. Carl Davis and Eugene Record do a perfect job producing Barbara's songs, all forged nicely into the loping soul groove that set Chicago apart from other cities in the late 60s. Includes the big title track "Love Makes A Woman" – plus "Be By My Side", "Your Sweet Loving", "Come and See Me Baby", and a great cover of "The Look of Love"! CD features the bonus track "Fool Fool Fool (Look In The Mirror)".

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 great funky number from Tony Drake – the kind of tune that builds beautifully in the first few seconds, then soars along on an unstoppable groove until the single runs out! "Suddenly" is the kind of tune that will drop you dead in your tracks – thanks to great arrangements from Willie Henderson! The Chi-soul vibe continues on "It Hurts Me More" – a tune that's slightly sweeter, but has that great Eugene Record/Brunswick mellow groove we love so much!

Great late 70s work from Jimmy Smith – two albums back to back on a single CD! One of our favorite later albums from organist Jimmy Smith – and a set that cooks heavily in a wicked blend of jazz, funk, and soul! The style's a bit like the groove that Johnny Hammond hit during his Gears period – arranged by Eugene McDaniels and Alan Silvestri, with an approach that's somewhere between Larry Mizell and Skip Scarborough – tight grooves, bits of vocals, yet plenty of room for Smith's keyboard solos to take off over the top! Players include Herbie Hancock on piano, Alan Silvestri on guitar, and Lenny White on drums – but the main star is Jimmy – who's grooving massively over the top of the album, with soaring solos that are some of his best work from the late 70s. Our favorite track on here is a masterful take of "Can't Hide Love", but there's a lot of other nice funky tracks like "Slippery Hips", "My Place In Space", and "Give Up the Booty". Unfinished Business is mighty soulful business from the great Jimmy Smith – a set for Mercury Records that updates his sound slightly, yet also hits some classic Hammond lines too! Jimmy plays a bit of acoustic piano and keyboards in addition to his classic organ – and works here in a setting that's tightly arranged, yet mostly small combo – with work from Ray Crawford on guitar, Nolan Phillips on tenor and flute, and added percussion from Buck Clarke and Stephanie Spruill. Rhythms step along nicely in kind of a 70s take on 60s soul jazz modes – leaving lots of room for Jimmy to open up on his solos – but there's also a few other more ambitious moments, including a great take on "Serpentine Fire" arranged by Ronnie Foster – and a warmly wonderful "Stevie" – which is a suite of tracks dedicated to Stevie Wonder. Other titles include "8 Counts For Rita", "Blues For Charlie", "Until It's Time For You To Go", and "Norristown PA".

Some of the hippest jazz tracks ever recorded by Atlantic Records – a great blend of numbers that mixes together modal groovers, funky jams, and hard-hitting soul jazz tracks. The set was compiled by London DJ Russ Dewbury – and he did an excellent job of dipping into all the right parts of the Atlantic catalog, and timed out the set so that the cuts fit together extremely well. Titles include "I Walk On Gilded Splinters" by Dr John, "Jagger The Dagger" by Eugene McDaniels, "It's Your Thing" by Shirley Scott, "See Line Woman" by Yusef Lateef, "Mean Greens" by Eddie Harris, "The Windjammer" by Mongo Santamaria, "Black Root" by Roland Kirk, "The Fakir" by Duke Pearson, "Witchi Tai To" by Jim Pepper, "Sufur" by Rufus Harley, and "Foxy Brown" by David Newman.

Easily the crowning moment of genius for the legendary Dave Brubeck Quartet – the moment when all things came together magically, and the group somehow elevated themselves to a whole new level in jazz! At the time of the set, Brubeck, Paul Desmond, and the rest had already been making plenty of waves with their creative yet swinging approaches to modern jazz – heard on a number of successful albums for Fantasy and Columbia in the 50s. But with this record, they really knocked one out of the park – blending Desmond's cool alto, Brubeck's unusual piano phrasing, Joe Morello's melodic drum work, and Eugene Wright's pulsating bass into a waltzing, almost modal groove that crossed over to many camps at the time! The classics "Take Five" and "Blue Rondo Ala Turk" were both hits on their own – but all titles are great, and include "Kathy's Waltz", "Strange Medow Lark", "Everybody's Jumpin", and "Pick Up Sticks".

Smooth stepping grooves from The Floaters – still very much in the nicely compressed mode of their more famous debut, and getting some nice production help here from Eugene McDaniels! There's a righteous punch to the record that really shows the influence of McDaniels – a way of keeping things hip, even when hovering near the mainstream – and although the groovers are great, we actually think that the best cuts are the mellow ones – tunes that move in a lightly gliding, almost spacey way – one that has the group's voices crackling nicely with an honest approach that we really love! There's a warmth to these tunes that's undeniable – and titles include "Levitation", "Woman Love/You Are My Lady", "Brand New Lite", "Made Up My Mind", "The Best Of Our Love", "Go Down To The Disco", and "Sweet Lady September".

A rare little straight ahead set from Cal – not nearly as Latin as some of his other sides for Fantasy at the time, and done in a gently grooving way that's mighty nice! The group's a quartet (in case you couldn't guess from the title!) – with Gerald Wiggins on piano, Eugene Wright on bass, and Bill Douglass on drums – all swinging along with Cal in a gently soulful mode that offers some great interplay between his vibes and Wiggins' piano. Titles include "A Fifth For Frank", "Miss Wiggins", "A Light Groove", "It Never Entered My Mind", and "Fancy Bea".