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Lots of percussion – and loud! Slatkin's normally a bit sleepy, but this record's filled with drums and chimes and vibes and loads of exotic percussion instruments – and swings with a groove that's in the best of the Liberty easy styles from the late 50s. Titles include "Night Train", "Caravan", "Blue Tango", "Opus 1", and "The Happy Hobo". The tracks are less originals than they are oddly-worked (or worked-over) versions of more familiar tunes.

A surprisingly strong collaboration between Steve Cropper and Felix Cavaliere – both artists who have a long history working on the left side of the mainstream, often in some pretty soulful territory! Cropper's guitar lines still come across with some of that classic charm forged back on the Memphis scene – and Cavaliere's vocals aim for a crossover blend that almost makes the record feel like some rootsy rock effort from the mid 70s, especially given the relatively old school production used for the set. Many titles are originals, often co-penned with producer Tom Hambridge – and titles include "Chance With Me", "Midnight Flyer", "You Give Me All I Need", "Move The House", "Sexy Lady", "Early Morning Riser", "All Night Long", and "I Can't Stand The Rain".

A really wild little album – and exactly what it says in the title: hard rock from the Middle East! The album takes eastern instrumentation on oud, bouzoki, tamboura, and accordion – and fuses it with some hard grooving bass, guitar, and drums – all hitting heavy late 60s acid-tinged modes, and making for a perfect blend with the exotic instrumentation! The album's arranged and directed by Felix Pappalardi, and has some of the nice funky rock touches of his own work – not to mention a sound that's unlike anything else we can think of! Titles include "Wala Dai", "Kley", "Besaha", "Treea Pethya", "Hala Laya", "Selim Alai", and "Isme".

An incredible album from Dinosaur L – the legendary New York dancefloor project of Arthur Russell! – fleshed out and expanded more than ever before by Sleeping Bag and Get On Down Records! The group's core sound is a punky, funky, chunky amalgam of bass thumping, guitar riffing, keyboard filling, and sax honking – all very much in the spirit of Russell's best quirky club work of the time, but with the added sound here of a more expanded approach – one that takes the tunes in a whole new territory than the more famous 12" singles! The tracks on the original set were simply numbered – "1", "2", "3", and so on – and come across almost as free-jamming instrumentals – but this reissue appends the songs with their 12" titles, so "#1" gets parenthetically entitled "You're Gonna Be Clean On Your Bean" and "#5" as "Go Bang!", plus this disc adds several 12" versions that were not on the original LP release, like Francois K's mix of 'Go Bang!" and Larry Levan's mix of "In The Corn Belt". Totally great stuff – as experimental as it is funky! This 4LP box set edition is amazing – coming in a beautiful hand-pulled silkscreen box – and it includes more Arthur Russell collaborative and/or pseudonymous material for Sleeping Bag with or as Bonzo Goes To Washington, Felix, Sounds Of JHS Brooklyn and Indian Ocean. Other tracks include "School Bell/Treehouse" (Indian Ocean), "You Can't Hold Me Down (Extended Version)" (Felix), "5 Minutes (R-r-r Radio Mix)" (Bonzo Goes To Washington) and more. Also includes an oversized booklet of photos, artwork and artist testimonials – plus notes by Russell biographer Tim Lawrence.

Tremendous work from Rodney Franklin – one of our favorite soulful fusion players of the era – and 2 albums back-to-back! The Rodney Franklin album is a keyboard delight through and through – and Rodney plays both acoustic and electric piano, often on the same track – which creates this nicely expanded sound that works well with the album's tight arrangements! There's a fair bit of soul in the mix too – some rhythms that make a few numbers great groovers, courtesy of Tom Tom arrangements – and some other full moments handled by Patrick Williams. Titles include a wonderful version of "Windy City" – the cut you might know from a classic Carl Davis recording – plus "On The Path", "I Like The Music Make It Hot", "Life Moves On", "Creation", and "In The Center". You'll Never Know is more fully-formed genius from Franklin – one of the best keyboard stars to emerge from the late 70s scene! Rodney again plays both acoustic and electric keys – blending them wonderfully for a very deep sound – and the group behind him features some especially nice work on reeds, which bring sharper edges to some of the best tracks on the set. There's a wonderfully deep feel to the whole thing – way more than you'd expect for a major label release at the time – and titles include "Felix Leo", "The Watcher", "The Groove", "Journey", "You'll Never Know", "Return", and "Parkay Man".

Sweet jazzy grooves from this hip Italian duo – Enzo & Gianni Lo Greco, who've also recorded as Quintetto Lo Greco for Schema Records! The sound here is definitely in a Schema groove – lots of jazzy instrumentation on piano, sax, trumpet, and trombone – very much in the best 60s Italian jazz mode, but kicked up just a bit with some rhythms aimed at the dancefloor – never too over the top, and all acoustic all the way through – a club jazz groove that's perfect for anyone who also digs work on labels like DejaVu or Ricky Tick! There's a bit of vocals on the record – sung by guests Alice Ricciardi, Felix, Katharine Ruestow, Roxie Ray, and Dionne Charles – and titles include "Sam Blues", "Feelin Good", "Don't Cry", "Much More", "Broken Rose", "Iperbole", "Please Don't Go", "Sweet Love", "Changes", and "Goodbye".

The second outing from this west coast, tripped out, drugged up, funky jazz act – and arguably better than their first! The album's got a sound that will appeal to fans of the more progressive end of grooving – with plenty of long tracks that have the band jamming in a kick-back mode that's reminiscent of the style of some of the European jazz rock groups of the early 70s. Titles include "Sonia & Sony", "What's The Deal With Q?", "Brian Felix & The Trinity", "Are We Being Taped?", "Theme Song For Stereo Steve", and "4 Men With Beards".

A great little album of boogaloos and hard Latin tracks – one of the few rare gems on the long-lost Speed label. The set features the work of the Orquesta Olivieri, led by trumpeter Herbie Olivieri, and featuring more trumpet, piano, and percussion, plus lead vocals by Angelo Jiminez and Felix Pipe Pagan. About half the album is straight boogaloo – as you'd guess by titles like "Don't Be Shy", "African Guajira", "Wabble With Boogaloo", and "A Swingin Combination" – and the rest is driving Latin, with that great late 60s small combo sound!

The Rascals' last album for Atlantic Records – and a set that has the combo relying more than ever on the talents of organist Felix Cavaliere! There's a great New York blend of rock and soul going on in the set – a confident, soaring sort of approach to the tunes that's past caring what any simple genre conventions might mean, or which tracks might end up on radio – even though most of the tunes here are still plenty darn catchy. The piano and organ lines on the album snap along nicely, as do some of the drums (especially on the break cut "You Don't Know") – and although group member Eddie Brigati had left by the time the album was released, he still sings lead on a few tracks. Titles include the jazzy "Nama", which is a wonderful surprise – plus "You Don't Know", "Right On", "Ready For Love", "Fortunes", "Glory Glory", and "The Letter".

Mindblowing work from Vainica Doble – a Spanish group with a really unusual feel! The combo features dreamy vocals from singers Gloria Van Aerssen & Carmen Santonja – folded together in a style that's unlike any other female harmony work we can think of – hardly the sweet styles of Brasil 66, and instead a more sinister mode that has the voices kind of shifting back and forth against each other, working like twin sirens to draw the listener into the album! Instrumentation is equally compelling – a mix of psyche and folk modes, but with some fuller elements as well – making the fuzz sound a lot more special than usual, and creating an ambitious sound that reminds us of some of our favorite South American rock from the time. Titles include the funky "Quien Le Pone El Cascabel Al Gato" – plus "El Duende", "Dime Felix", "Caramelo De Limon", "Fulgencio Pimentel", "La Cotorra", "La Ballena Azul", and "Guru Zakun Kin Kon". CD features 8 bonus tracks and a huge booklet of notes!

One of the best titles in this great series from the Chicago underground – a dozen tracks from as many generations, all linked together by a sweet mellow groove, of the sort that's dug by those on the stepping scene! Titles include "It's You" by Locksmith, "Chasing The Wind" by Gregg Karukas, "Excusions Beyond" by Excursions Beyond, "Love Temptation" by Liz Torres, "Baltimore Oriole" by Pat Thomas, "Walking Away" by Flora Purim, "Angeline" by Tom Browne, "Felix Leo" by Rodney Franklin, "Chillin Out" by Fatback, "Phone Home (inst)" by Johnny Chingas, "Embrace" by Society Of Soul, and "Movin On" by Paul Taylor.

A double-length set from The Rascals – possibly their most stretched-out exploration of ideas, at least during their initial run for Atlantic Records! The 2LP set features a fair bit of shorter, catchier tunes on the first record – many with some righteous soul overtones – but on the second record, the group really open up – hitting some longer jamming tunes on side three, and moving into a 15 minute instrumental on side four! Vocals are great from all three singers – Gene Cornish, Eddie Brigati, and Felix Cavaliere – and the rhythms are rock-solid too, often augmented with a bit of Atlantic-styled backings by Arif Mardin, to further enforce the soulfulness of the set. Titles include the hit "People Got To Be Free", plus "American The Beautiful", "Any Dance'll Do", "A Ray Of Hope", "Look Around", "Boom", "Heaven", "Cute", "Baby I'm Blue", and "Adrian's Birthday".

Diverse soundscapes from Tokyo Dawn – with strains of hip hop, spacey soul and bouncy electro-styled grooves – sharing a love for the future funky vibe born of the 80s – but down with timeless contemporary feel! Includes tracks by Erik Rico, Coco Solid, Positive Flow, Martino, Reeno, Blacktroniks, Yellowtail, Wagon Cookin, J-Felix, Rakotep (Stacy Epps & Astronote), "Colonel Red & Yam Who, Amalia & Reggie B and more. 17 tracks in all: "Wow" by Coco Solid, "Night Falls" by Kris Mars, "Back To The Melody (Opolopo Remix)", "Get It" by DJ Vadim with Pugs Atomz, "Electromagnetic" by Erik Rico, "Disco Technic (Lay-Far Remix)" by Stam Smith, "Children Of The Sun" by Positive Flow with Heidi Vogel and more.

Heavy funk with a Latin groove – a wonderful mixing of modes that's completely fresh and unique! The set follows nicely off other El Barrio explorations of late 60s Latin Soul, and traces the groove that emerged in its wake – a blending of hipper funky styles in the 70s with some of the bolder, prouder Latin modes of the time! Unlike Latin Soul, which was concentrated enough to get strong attention at the time, Latin Funk was often a bit more dispersed – just a track here and there, scattered over albums by both older artists and lesser-known newcomers – some of whom gave more famous acts a real run for their money. This overstuffed collection does a great job of pulling together tracks from a variety of different albums over an 8 year span – and it's a perfect introduction to an under-compiled genre that's finally getting its due! Track selection and notes are by the mighty Adrian Gibson – and titles include "You Need Help" by Monguito Santamaria, "Identify Yourself" by Cafe, "Dynamite" by Harvey Averne, "I'm Satisfied" by Joe Bataan, "Together" by Ray Barretto, "Guajiro Bacan" by Azuquita, "Funky Felix" by Seguida, "I Got The Feeling" by Chollo Rivera & The Latin Soul Drives, "There You Go" by Fania All Stars, "I'm Gonna Get To You Yet" by TNT Boys, "Black Dice" by Mongo Santamaria, and "Hot Pants" by Gilberto Cruz.

The classic first volume in this series, put together back in the 80's, when loads of hip hop tracks were sampling things like "Inspector Gadget" and "Batman". Still classic now, though, and with loads of material, like The Flintsones, Batman, Lost In Space, Star Trek, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Green Acres, Mr. Ed, The Munsters, Popeye, Felix the Cat, Ironside, Mannix, The Man From UNCLE, Mission Impossible, and lots lots more! Classic stuff, with 65 tracks in all!

Amazing electro from the early 80s – a host of rare and wonderful tracks that even surpasses the greatness of the first Minimal Wave Tapes compilation! The set's awash in great keyboards, spare drum parts, and brooding basslines – all with a spare, stark quality that recalls the best moments of the Sheffield and Manchester scenes – with a dose of Italian Cosmic and German new wave thrown in as well! Most of the tunes here are totally new to us – and that's saying a lot, because back in the day, we were heavily into sounds like this – which means our hat's off to compilers Peanut Butter Wolf and Veronica Vasicka for doing such a great job with the collection – unearthing this secret history of electronica that bubbled in the global underground of the post-punk, post-disco years. Tracks include "Fire" by Ruins, "Cinnamon Air" by Antonym, "HSTA" by Das Ding, "What Happened To You" by Subject, "The Drum" by Ohama, "The Sleep Room" by Geneva Jacuzzi, "Japan Japan" by Felix Kubin, "Out Of Line" by Class Info, and "Dirty" by Hard Corps.

Classic dubs presented by Niney The Observer – rhythms and instrumentation laid down by Niney's go-to players – the mighty Soul Syndicate Band! The Soul Syndicate features the rhythm section of Santa Davis and Fully Fullwood on drums and bass, with Chinna Smith and Tony Chin on guitars, Keith Sterling and Gladdy Gladstone on keys, Felix Bennett on sax and other pioneering players. They bring solid, steady instrumental backdrop from the many tricked out dub versions here. Titles include "Fittest Of The Dub Fittest", "Dub In Heaven", "Ruff Gal Dub", "A Dub Revival", "A Dub Classic", "Obesrvers Dub", "The King & The Observer In Dub", "Runaway Dub",. "Rasta Man In Dub" and more. 14 in all.