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Almost an underground groove supergroup – given that the set features work from Earl Zinger (Rob Gallagher of Galliano) at the helm, production from 2 Banks Of 4, vocals from Valerie Etienne, and funky rhythms from Shawn Lee! The combination of talents come together here in a very new way – with a style that's much grittier and earlier than before, although still pretty darn groovy overall – almost putting a raspy old school touch on a scene that's definitely matured on its own, and may well be old enough to lay claim to the rootsy sound of this set! Rob's songwriting has definitely matured, and at some of the best moments, there's almost a British Tom Waits-y kind of quality to the set. Titles include "Below Sea Level", "Burial Blues", "Whip Of The Wind", "Laxfield Blasphemy", "Velvets Eleven", "Margaret Catchpole", and "Foggy Dew".

A killer album of Afro Funk – with a very unusual origin! In the wake of Manu Dibango's big hit (and some kind of failure to register the copyright), many many versions of "Soul Makossa" were recorded and released, some good, some bad. This album is a good example of that situation – kind of a quickie project issued by Mainstream Records to cash in on the hit – but it's also an amazing bit of lost funk, and a record that's lasted for years in the hearts of beatheads! The group's a studio combo headed by Richard Fritz – and includes funky drummer Paul Humphrey, organist Charles Kynard, and guitarist David T Walker – all players we can trust to keep things groovy. The record does include a version of "Soul Makossa" that's pretty great – but even better is the breakbeat classic "House Of The Rising Funk", apparently the same version of the track that was issued on a 45 under the name The Chubukos. Other nice ones include "Kissing My Love", "Hot Mud", "Get It", "Hot Doggin", and "Let Me Do My Thing".

A sweet funky set from the 70s – originally recorded as a sound library session, but handled by Italian soundtrack maestro Alessandro Alessandroni! You might know Alessandroni's music best from the 60s, and this set is a later updating of the same groove – one that brings in a bit more electric keyboards, some bouncier basslines, and drums that snap nice and hard on the funky numbers – then lay back on the sweet mellow moments. A few cuts have vocals – ala I Cantorni Moderni – and the whole thing has a warm, sexy 70s groove that's right up there with the best Italian work of the scene from the time. Titles include "Femminismo", "Collettivo", "La Metropoli", "Pubblica Informazione", "Prima Eta", and "Ultimo Soggiorno". Very groovy stuff! CD features 5 bonus tracks too – never issued before!

The only album ever from Allspice – but a hell of an incredible soul record – and one that's kept the group's name strong with collectors and rare groove fanatics for years! The album's on of the best Fantasy Records productions by Wayne Henderson and his At Home team – and like some of the others, is handled with a groove that's tight, yet plenty sophisticated too – light years from mainstream disco or common club of the late 70s, and instead informed by plenty of jazz and deeper ideas as well! The vibe is perfect – as heavenly and righteous as some of the best Roy Ayers club tracks of the time – which proves to be a perfect foil for the Allspice style of mixing male and female vocals – which again is often done in an Ayers-like mode. The sound is sublime throughout – one of those real treasures that should have been a huge record in the 70s, but was barely pressed up at all – and quickly forgotten about by the record company. Yet even after all these years, the whole thing sounds amazing – one of those albums we'd never part with at all! Titles include the groovy "Slipped Away", the funky stepper "Hungry For Your Love" – and loads of other great tunes that include "Love Fire", "Destiny", "She's A Lady", "I Don't Know", and "Give It Time".

A groovy little classic from Atlantic Starr – and a great example of the group's wonderfully catchy way of hitting a groove! The music's never pop, but has some captivating hooks all the way through – sweet little bits mixed in with the funky soul approach of the ensemble – made even better by the great way the vocals get traded back and forth! There's a careful approach to the whole set – a way of putting things together with a good degree of class – and definitely avoiding most of the cliches that would make a similar project sound a lot more clunky. Great stuff throughout – and titles include "Who Could Love You Better", "Second To None", "Touch A Four Leaf Clover", "Tryin", and "Island Dream".

One of the rarest and greatest Roy Ayers albums of all time – the sly, funky and spiritual masterpiece He's Coming from 1971 – really the beginning of the funk years from Roy Ayers Ubiquity! This one's a totally solid mix of soulful jazz, jazzy soul and righteous funk – and it's straight up wonderful all the way through – with a groove that's hugely influential to say the least! Includes the amazing track "We Live In Brooklyn Baby", which has a slow sample bassline in the intro that's just incredible – plus groovy cuts like the spiritual funk classic "He's a Superstar", "He's Coming", and "Sweet Tears". The lineup includes Sonny Fortune on soprano sax and flute and Billy Cobham drums and percussion, and the record's co-arranged by Harry Whitaker, who's also on keys and vocals – with other tracks include "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother", "Ain't Got Time", "I Don't Know How To Love Him", "Sweet Butterfly Of Love" and "Fire Weaver". Amazing stuff, really a beautiful encapsulation of Roy Ayers in peak form!

A brilliant funky soundtrack – with great work from a number of different artists! The Buddah soul stable came out in full force for this soundtrack, including Harvy Fuqua, The New Birth, Barbara Mason, and Horace Ott – as well as the little known group Badder Than Evil! They play on the great instrumental track "Hot Wheels", which is the chase theme in the film, and a great sample track! Also includes "Super Shine #9", sung by Sister Goose & the Ducklings, which is a very groovy, goofy, soulful number – plus the tracks "Child Of Tomorrow", "Harlem Dreams", "Child Of Tomorrow", and "Come On & Dream Some Paradise".

Sure it's a soundtrack, and sure it's got a number of songs that are just instrumentals from the film – but the record also features some excellent late Beatles tracks that can only be found here – including the killer tracks "Hey Bulldog" (almost a funky nugget), "Only A Northern Song", and "All Together Now". Also includes "Yellow Submarine" (natch) – plus "It's All Too Much" and "All You Need Is Love" – and side two features a number of groovy instrumentals from George Martin – including "Pepperland", "Sea Of Holes", "March Of The Meanies", and "Pepperland Laid Waste".

Sure it's a soundtrack, and sure it's got a number of songs that are just instrumentals from the film – but the record also features some excellent late Beatles tracks that can only be found here – including the killer tracks "Hey Bulldog" (almost a funky nugget), "Only A Northern Song", and "All Together Now". Also includes "Yellow Submarine" (natch) – plus "It's All Too Much" and "All You Need Is Love" – and side two features a number of groovy instrumentals from George Martin – including "Pepperland", "Sea Of Holes", "March Of The Meanies", and "Pepperland Laid Waste".

Eastern tinged jazzy funk rock from Dutch born Okko Bekker! "East Indian Traffic" has a totally wicked funky backbone and a spindly, dexterous sitar way out front. Some jazz funk horns kick in as it goes along, too. "Ganges Delta" as another gem, less sorta soundtrack pulpy styled as the A-side, still a great and genre straddling number. Groovy stuff that appeared on Okko's cool Sitar & Electronics LP.

A really cool little album – recorded by Detroit vibist Jack Brokensha at the end of the 60s, working with a combo called the Baroqe-Adelics, whose instrumentation includes electric harpsichord and fuzzy guitar! The album's the kind of small label jazz side we treasure – and includes a mix of funky and groovy numbers with some straighter tracks that demonstrate Brokensha's vibes in a more conventional jazz context. Includes the great original groovers "Boogaloo", "Opus Barokus", "Twistrist", and "Priscilla" – plus versions of "My Favorite Things", "On Green Dolphin Street", and "Tast Of Honey".

The second album by this lost East Coast funk act – and although not as totally excellent as their first, still a very nice record that's filled with choppy up-tempo grooves, and some nice dancefloor soul. There's plenty of funky keyboards in the mix – moog, clavinet, and Arp – and the ablum's got a few nice funky moments – like the cuts "Phattenin'" and the classic groover "Chance with You". Also includes the cuts "Joni", "Groovy Day", and "Visions".

A great little album by James Brown – and very different than his other work! He cut this one with the groovy Dee Felice Trio – a jazz-based combo that he recorded on their own for King, on another very rare, very excellent record. The band's in similar form here, although not necessarily as funky – and they do a great job of giving James' vocals a jazzy twist that they don't have on other albums – proving yet again that The Godfather can handle just about any sort of groove that he wants! Features a wonderfully groover version of "Sunny", which moves along very nicely – plus remakes of "There Was A Time" and "Cold Sweat", along with the tracks "Uncle" and "That's Life".

An excellent biker soundtrack – very different than the usual bag! For this one, Tony Bruno has come up with some great instrumentals – many of them jazzier than you'd think, and a few with some nice funky Capitol instrumental touches – not so much studio fuzz guitar, as they are groovy numbers that are a lot less hairy than the guys on screen in the movie! The change is a nice one – not as rockish as the regular biker soundtrack – although there are some vocal numbers too, done in the Tower/Sidewalk sort of style. Yet it's the instrumentals that really send us – and which make this album well worth seeking out! Titles include "Chase Of Death", "Goofin", "Bass Lake Run", "Hang On Tight", and "Al and Alice".

Heist films always provided some of the best soundtracks of the 70's, and this one (starring Robert Shaw and Richard Roundtree, and issued in the US as Diamond Shaft) is no exception! Roy Budd rises to the groovy occasion and scores some excellent moments that match a light orchestral sound with a throbbing electric bass and percussion underground – in a style that's like Lalo Schifrin's best work from the time. The LP's overflowing with tracks, including a few bonus mixes, and there's even 2 vocal numbers that feature The Three Degrees. Titles include "The Thief", "Beauty & The Bass", "Diamonds", "Party Piece", "Thief On the Prowl", and more! Nice notes, and some nicely funky crime themes, too! Nice gatefold cover, too!

This was one of the biggest-selling jazz albums of all-time in Australia – so it's no surprise that it was issued in the US, although in a slightly shorter form than the original double LP. The session features Australia's biggest (and best) reed player, Don Burrows, and his classic 70's quartet that featured the great guitarist George Golla. The music here is very nice, and the set includes a few groovy and funky tracks that perfectly sum up the Aussie 70's jazz sound. Titles include "Sweet Emma", "The Gentle Rain", "Velhos Tempos", and "Maybe Today".

A beautiful album by Ron Carter – and quite rare, too! The record features a group that's got a nice 70s modal soul jazz sound – with players that include Herbie Hancock on acoustic and electric piano, Hubert Laws on flute, Sam Brown on guitar, and both Billy Cobham and Grady Tate on drums – all working in sweet small group mode alongside Carter's excellent work on acoustic and Fender bass. The sound is sometimes spacey, sometimes groovy – and marks a key chapter in Carter's career, one that has him stepping out of the background into a great role as a leader – setting the stage for many more albums to come in the 70s! Titles include the very funky "Uptown Conversation", plus the tracks "Half A Row", "Doom", and "Einbahnstrasse". Very soulful, with a stone mellow moody groove!

Moody female vocals from Brazil – a great early 70s album with a dreamy feel and a nice electric touch! In a way, the album's a fair bit like the Ana Mazzotti album from the same period, with a mix of some funky scatting vocal numbers, and other tunes that are more laidback, but which fit very nicely next to the uptempo cuts. Arrangements on some of the best numbers are by Meirelles, with a sweetly groovy electric feel that's similar to some of his own albums from the early 70s. Titles include "Foi Assim", "Como Posso Saber", "Sinal De Solidao", "Teia De Aranha", "Po", "Serrado", "Sonhos", and "Ronda Tristeza".

Funky grooves from Basque country – an unlikely location, but one that turns up some surprisingly great work from this sharp-edged little combo! The Cherry Boppers have a name that might be a little hokey, but they hooked us in right from the start with their tight version of classic funk – one that swings nicely between the grit of the funky 45 generation, and some of the sharper modes of the mid 60s mod years – a blend the group uses to keep things fresh throughout the record, in a blend of heavy sax, flute, Hammond, and guitar! Things are almost all instrumental here – and titles include "Play It Again Funk", "Black Lolita", "Groovy Groovy", "Midnight Walkers", "Blues De Los Colores", "El Cairo", and "Four Little Catties".

A rare early soundtrack from Bill Conti – penned for an obscure Italian film in the years before his 70s blockbuster film scores – and done with a groovy groovy sound that's really outta sight! The style is much more mod than we've ever heard from Bill – funky in parts, and playful in others – with all the best range of instrumentation we're used to hearing from Italian composers of the time – a role that Conti fits perfectly with this sweet little score! The mood varies nicely from track to track – usually moving between upbeat numbers and mellower groovers – and there's a few great jazzy moments that stretch out longer than usual for this sort of score. 17 tracks in all – including a few renditions of the vocal number "Juliette"!

A surprisingly groovy little set – 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". CD features three bonus tracks too – single versions of "The Music Box", "A Gift Of Me", and "No Commitment".

Fantastically groovy bit of funky instrumental cuts, and probably the best thing that Dave Cortez ever did. Produced by the Isley Brothers, and featuring instrumental versions of lots of their great early T-Neck hits. Includes the massive version of "I Turned You On", with a great intro just right for samplin', plus lots of other nice nice goodies. A great one, and hard to find. Includes "I Know Who You've Been Socking It To", "Feel Like The World", "I Must Be Losing My Touch", "Somebody's Been Messin", "It's Your Thing" , and "Give Women What They Want"

The drums are definitely exciting here – really tight rhythms that drive most of these cuts into a funky frenzy – even if the groove is more based on American soul of the late 60s than the African rock promised in the title! Most of the tunes are covers, but remade here as really hip instrumentals – often with bold work from the Count on his drum kit – which then sets fire to the larger group's blend of tight horns and electric rhythmic instrumentation – all coming across with that perfect cusp of the 70s Japanese jazz sound we love so much! Most tracks are shortish, and very groovy – and titles include "The Cat", "Touch Me", "Amen", "Soul Limbo", "Hold Tight", "Otis Sleep On", "Sidewinder", "Going Up The Country", and "Windy".

Although Don's probably best known for his Atlantic stuff, we really love this album for Mercury from the early 70s. It's a nice bit of 70s soul, with a sound that's a lot more in place than that of his earlier recordings in the decade, which were a bit bluesy. The LP includes the great AM radio hit "I Was Checkin' Out She Was Checkin' In", plus the funky "Overtime Man", and "The Pinch Hitters". Groovy 70s soul, with a nice quirky twist.

One of the greatest Italian crime soundtracks of all time – a totally groovy little record that's done in a style that's quite different than American crime scores of the time, but still completely wonderful! Most of the instrumentation here is relatively spare – almost a small combo funk approach to scoring for a cop film, but done with the penchant for isolated focus on a key instrument that makes Italian soundtracks so great. There's no full horns nor funky orchestrations – and in their place are stepping bass bits, lightly dancing keyboards, and plenty of guitar parts – some jamming, some nicely spacey with a really eerie feel! The sound is great – never as cheesy as other Italian work from the mid to late 70s – and there's a grittier feel here than you'd expect, one that really keeps things interesting. CD features note in English and Italian, and a total of 23 tracks that include "The Reason Of A Just War", "The Punitive Justice", "The Other Face", "Undercover Investigation", "Gangster Story", "Casa Di Muda", and "Chicca".

One of the greatest soundtracks ever written by one of the maddest composers we've ever heard! Although Francois DeRoubaix never gets as much fame as some of the other big French composers, his work from the late 60s and early 70s is completely insane – as you'll hear on this groovy gem from 1970! The album's got a stunning array of great tracks – from funky groovers, to moody 60s numbers, to oddly-instrumentated numbers that show DeRoubaix as sort of a late 60s Raymond Scott! The reissue includes great notes and photos – and a total of 22 tracks that include "Muricette's Song", "Judo", "Audition", "Les Poupons", "Repetition", "Footing", "Claquettes", "Piti Piti Pas", "Generique Debut", and "Ballet Du Reve".

Incredible soundtrack work from one of the coolest composers of the 70s – the groovy Francois De Roubaix, equally at home with electronics and funky orchestrations! We've loved the music of Francois De Roubaix for years – and treasure it for its unique blend of electric and acoustic elements – often coming together in mad juxtaposition, but doing so in a way that always makes for a nice little groove, and often a strong undercurrent of funk! This set brings together a nice collection of rare electronic soundtrack work by De Roubaix – tracks from the films La Scoumoune, L'Antarctique, and RAS, as well as music from the TV series La Mer Est Grande, plus a few bonus tracks from other sources. Together, the tracks paint a rich picture of the electric side of Roubaix work – a side that's shown up a bit on other reissues over the years, but which has never been shown so strongly until now! The whole thing's incredible, and packaged with some great notes and especially cool vintage photos of Francois in action – showing him to be the consummate hipster of the French soundtrack scene in the early 70s! 20 tracks in all – all brilliant!

Groovy organ jazz session from the late 60's that has Bill's funky keyboards backed by a larger group that includes players like Billy Butler, Chuck Rainey, Jimmy Castor, and Ray Lucas. The set's got reprises of a few of Doggett's classics – like "Honky Tonk" and "Hold It" – but the sound has a lot more of a groovy feel than his late 50's sessions for King. The organ's got less of the "roller skate" sound that made some of the older sessions not as good, and the production is very sharp, with a good "mod" sound. Tracks include "Bueno", "C'Mon Git It", "Booga Man", "Ko Ko", "Mr. Man", and "Doctor Joy". A nice return to his soul jazz roots after some weaker sessions in the mid 60's for major labels.

Mad funky genius, a revolution in sound indeed! This lost album of funky piano craziness by the Duke of Burlington seems like it might be a sound library album or production music set, but it goes way beyond even the best of those! Lots of breakbeats, funky riffs, and groovy bass stuff with a heavy heavy piano sound, plus a nice dose of fuzzy guitar and some very hard driving drums that keep the whole thing nice and fresh! Some of these cuts have been sampled a lot over the years, and the best tracks are totally amazing little funky masterpieces, but even the ones that aren't as snapping are still great! A dozen tracks in all, including "Indian Fig", "Black Panther", "Flute For President", "Jungle Duke", "Hammer Strokes", "Metronome", and "Sensorial".

See the world the way we see it at Dusty Groove! This groovy little shirt features the Chicago skyline, as seen from the windows of the Dusty Groove corporate towers, wrapped around a record – summing up the way we view things around here! Chicago on the outside, funky music on the inside – the kind of pairing that's helped make us the way we are today – all pressed up on a heavy duty 100% cotton t-shirt!

See the world the way we see it at Dusty Groove! This groovy little shirt features the Chicago skyline, as seen from the windows of the Dusty Groove corporate towers, wrapped around a record – summing up the way we view things around here! Chicago on the outside, funky music on the inside – the kind of pairing that's helped make us the way we are today – all pressed up on a heavy duty 100% cotton t-shirt!

See the world the way we see it at Dusty Groove! This groovy little shirt features the Chicago skyline, as seen from the windows of the Dusty Groove corporate towers, wrapped around a record – summing up the way we view things around here! Chicago on the outside, funky music on the inside – the kind of pairing that's helped make us the way we are today – all pressed up on a heavy duty 100% cotton t-shirt!

See the world the way we see it at Dusty Groove! This groovy little shirt features the Chicago skyline, as seen from the windows of the Dusty Groove corporate towers, wrapped around a record – summing up the way we view things around here! Chicago on the outside, funky music on the inside – the kind of pairing that's helped make us the way we are today – all pressed up on a heavy duty 100% cotton t-shirt!

A feast of funky head sounds – laid out in beautiful silhouette! The image features a brain stuffed with all the groovy styles of music we carry at Dusty Groove America – held inside by a logo-emblazoned set of headphones – the kind of picture that looks great from a distance, and even cooler when you come up close! Our logo and website address are on the back – and the shirt is printed in brilliant white on a bold black – 100% cotton Hanes Beefy-T.

A feast of funky head sounds – laid out in beautiful silhouette! The image features a brain stuffed with all the groovy styles of music we carry at Dusty Groove America – held inside by a logo-emblazoned set of headphones – the kind of picture that looks great from a distance, and even cooler when you come up close! Our logo and website address are on the back – and the shirt is printed in brilliant white on a bold black – 100% cotton Hanes Beefy-T.

A feast of funky head sounds – laid out in beautiful silhouette! The image features a brain stuffed with all the groovy styles of music we carry at Dusty Groove America – held inside by a logo-emblazoned set of headphones – the kind of picture that looks great from a distance, and even cooler when you come up close! Our logo and website address are on the back – and the shirt is printed in brilliant white on a bold black – 100% cotton Hanes Beefy-T.

A feast of funky head sounds – laid out in beautiful silhouette! The image features a brain stuffed with all the groovy styles of music we carry at Dusty Groove America – held inside by a logo-emblazoned set of headphones – the kind of picture that looks great from a distance, and even cooler when you come up close! Our logo and website address are on the back – and the shirt is printed in brilliant white on a bold black – 100% cotton Hanes Beefy-T.

A feast of funky head sounds – laid out in beautiful silhouette! The image features a brain stuffed with all the groovy styles of music we carry at Dusty Groove America – held inside by a logo-emblazoned set of headphones – the kind of picture that looks great from a distance, and even cooler when you come up close! Our logo and website address are on the back – and the shirt is printed in bold black on brilliant white – a 100% cotton Hanes Beefy-T.

A feast of funky head sounds – laid out in beautiful silhouette! The image features a brain stuffed with all the groovy styles of music we carry at Dusty Groove America – held inside by a logo-emblazoned set of headphones – the kind of picture that looks great from a distance, and even cooler when you come up close! Our logo and website address are on the back – and the shirt is printed in bold black on brilliant white – a 100% cotton Hanes Beefy-T.

A feast of funky head sounds – laid out in beautiful silhouette! The image features a brain stuffed with all the groovy styles of music we carry at Dusty Groove America – held inside by a logo-emblazoned set of headphones – the kind of picture that looks great from a distance, and even cooler when you come up close! Our logo and website address are on the back – and the shirt is printed in bold black on brilliant white – a 100% cotton Hanes Beefy-T.

A feast of funky head sounds – laid out in beautiful silhouette! The image features a brain stuffed with all the groovy styles of music we carry at Dusty Groove America – held inside by a logo-emblazoned set of headphones – the kind of picture that looks great from a distance, and even cooler when you come up close! Our logo and website address are on the back – and the shirt is printed in bold black on brilliant white – a 100% cotton Hanes Beefy-T.

A groovy mix of funky jazz and vocals – with surprising appearances by Mark Lindsay and Steve Alaimo! Includes a version of "Get Out Of My Life Woman".

A killer album of soul jazz piano instrumentals – produced by James Brown! The Dee Felice Trio were a groovy combo from Cincinnati, and James Brown took a shine to them at some point in the late 60s. They backed James on one record, but their big moment was this album – which had James producing, and the group grooving nicely on some hard piano jammers! The sound's a lot more stripped-down than usual for James, but the groove is very nice! Includes an excellent funky version of "There Was A Time", a great cover of Marcos Valle's "Crickets Sing For Anamaria", and the tracks "Summer In The City", "In Heat", "Both Sides Now", and "Never". Darn hard to find, too!

A killer album of soul jazz piano instrumentals – produced by James Brown! The Dee Felice Trio were a groovy combo from Cincinnati, and James Brown took a shine to them at some point in the late 60s. They backed James on one record, but their big moment was this album – which had James producing, and the group grooving nicely on some hard piano jammers! The sound's a lot more stripped-down than usual for James, but the groove is very nice! Includes an excellent funky version of "There Was A Time", a great cover of Marcos Valle's "Crickets Sing For Anamaria", and the tracks "Summer In The City", "In Heat", "Both Sides Now", and "Never". Features 3 bonus tracks too – "Nightingale", "Little Liza Jane", and "There Was A Time (single version)".

A great bit of fusion from the start of the 70s – kind of a bridge between the late 60s "groovy" Japanese jazz, and some of the freer-thinking work to come! The group features excellent tenor from Takeru Muraoka, who plays with kind of a sharp edge that almost echoes more of the alto and soprano work of the generation – mixed with keyboards from Hiromasa Suzuki – who's plenty great on electric piano! Hiroshi Suzuki plays trombone, and the set's got some nice funky drums from Akira Ishikawa – who's always a treat. Overall, the set often has some of the same funky characteristics as some of the best late 60s electric jazz sets on Liberty Records in the US – on titles that include "Capricorn", "Something", "On A Sunny Day", "Some Other Night", and "Peaceful Planet".

A cooking little album from guitarist George Freeman – his first album as a leader, recorded during a brief initial period of fame at the start of the 70s! The album's got a stripped-down, very groovy feel – one that takes off from some of Freeman's 60s work with Groove Holmes – but which puts George center stage, and allows for plenty of examples of his amazing tone and phrasing on the guitar! The core group is a trio – with Sonny Burke on organ and Billy Mitchell on drums – and Freeman's more famous brother Von joins in on tenor sax on a good portion of the tracks – playing in a soul jazz mode that's arguably better than that used on his Atlantic debut, recorded right around the same time. One more track features an even more unusual lineup – with Lester Lashley on trombone, Robert Pierce on organ, and Kalaparusha Maurice McIntyre on tenor, making one of his few appearances on record of this type! But the real star of the set throughout is George Freeman – playing the electric guitar with a quality that's unlike anyone else we can think of – a nitty, gritty tone that's almost a direct heir of T-Bone Walker, but a lot jazzier overall! Titles include the great funky number "Must Be Must Be", plus "Hoss", "Cough it Up", "Mama Papa Brother", "Birth Sign", "My Ship", and "My Scenery".

2 of our favorite action soundtracks from French maestro Georges Garvarentz – the funky mid 70s Killer Force and the groovy late 60s Corrupt One – in one fantastic set! Killer Force is up first – and it's filled with strident grooves that are right up there with some of the best mid 70s cop/thriller soundtracks! We've never seen the film – which starred O.J. Simpson, Peter Fonda, and Telly Savalas – but with a cast like that, you can guess what the sound is like. You probably know George's work from some of the compilations we've stocked – and this soundtrack's right in keeping with the work on those sets. Tracks include "The Chase", "A Diamond Love", "Forget That Time", "Love Theme", and "Diamond Robbery". The Corrupt Ones is another pulpy gem – featuring a totally cool theme song by Dusty Springfield, with a great mix of funk, easy, and soul! The instrumental tracks range from orchestral/dramatic, to more of a crime jazz style – with some John Barry-like touches, and other more serious numbers. Titles include "Torture Room", "The Gambling Den", "The Bar", "Treasure Cave", "Illusion & Escape", "Man Hunt", "Jasmine's Dance", "The Mortuary", and "Suspense In The Sun". Includes 3 bonus tracks: "Riksha Ride", "Casino Fight" and "Finale".

A great little album of short groovy cuts from Dizzy – and actually quite hard to find on vinyl! Despite a title that sounds a bit flowery, the grooves are nice and hard – and Dizzy's playing here with a combo that includes James Moody, Kenny Barron, Billy Butler, and Candido. The sound isn't as funky as the records that Dizzy would later cut for Perception, but it's getting pretty close at times – especially on the tunes that have a nice Latin soul feel. Titles include "Summer Samba", "Bang Bang", "Mas Que Nada", "Tequila", "Winter Samba", and "Get That Money Blues".

A great lost chapter in the Larry Mizell story – a record that's not nearly as well known as Mizell-produced jams for Bobbi Humphrey or Johnny Hammond, but which is every bit as great! Roger Glenn's a funky flute player with a really great groove – California groovy, with just a touch of Latin – served up here with some great Mizell-infused touches – that rolling rhythm on the bottom, soaring instrumentation on the top, and some great Latin elements that are wrapped up warmly in the fusion! There's plenty of great keyboards, too – played both by Larry Mizell, and also by Mark Soskin – a range of Fender Rhodes, Arp, mini-moog, and more – all adding in the right sort of warmth to Roger's flute, and the album's rich array of percussion. Titles include "Kick", "Reachin", "Rio", "Gloria", "Overtime", and "Don't Leave".

Way way more than just bossa nova – a mighty groover from the great Nico Gomez! Nico's known for his harder pounding tracks that have become favorites with the funky crowd, but this stellar album shows that Nico could also work in jazzier territory when he wanted to – as the album's a wonderful batch of tunes that mix together Latin, groovy, and bossa styles! There's some very nice wordless female vocals on a few cuts, scatting along with a warm breezy feel – and other tracks feature vibes, or guitar, sax, and other strong instrumental elements – with more than enough punch to be funky at a few points. The whole thing's as groovy as groovy can be – with a sound that's past bossa, and way more than any fake easy instrumental attempt at the genre – a real peep into the mad mind of Nico Gomez, and proof that his albums are always worth tracking down! Titles include "Din Din Din", "Aquarela", "Samba De Rio", "Saudade Do Rio", "Agua", "Rio", and "O Barquinho".

One of Barry Gray's greatest moments – the ultra groovy soundtrack for Space 1999, the short-lived but well-remembered mainstream sci-fi show from the 70s! The title theme has a nice bit of a dancefloor bounce to it – pre-guessing the disco-copy mode that other space soundtracks were facing in the 70s by turning out its own original hit – and other tunes in the set follow a sometimes similar mode that makes the record far funkier than you'd guess for a soundtrack of this type! Some tracks are certainly more straightforward and dramatic, but there's plenty here in that funky Brit Easy mode of the mid 70s – lots of compressed instrumentation and some slight electronic touches – and often rhythms that are a lot harder than you'd expect! Highlights include "Breakaway", "Death's Other Dominion", "Black Sun", and a reprise of the theme.

A very groovy set of pop-jazz guitar tunes – originally recorded by Metronome Records in Sweden, but issued here by Atlantic. The core of the recording is Gustafsson's guitar trio, but the record also features some larger backing by Georg Riedel that have a nice airy feel to them. While the record isn't totally funky, it's got a nice slightly funky easy sound that's very nice. Includes a good version of "California Soul", plus "Waltz A Nova", "The Look Of Love", "Witchita Lineman", and "Me On The See Saw".

A legendary album – and for good reason too – a set that's as mysterious as it is funky, and a record that's stayed at the top of our crates for years! The album features a really unusual collective of musicians, pulled together under the guidance of producer Paul Winley – a group that features George Benson on guitar, Dave Baby Cortez on organ, Willis Jackson on tenor sax, and Earl Williams on some massively funky drums! The music's a mix of funky jazz and gritty soul – put together with some really weird studio touches – including an uncredited male voice that comes in and out of the tracks, bad-rapping along with some very hip commentary. Ann Winley sings the female vocals on the set – often egged on by the dude – but the real charm of the record lies at the bottom – the wicked drums, funky basslines, and choppy instrumental bits that have gotten the set sampled plenty over the years. Titles include the classic "Smokin Cheeba Cheeba" alone, the groovy "Finger In It", a great breakbeat version of "Ain't No Sunshine" with a tenor solo by Willis Jackson, and the slow bluesy talking cut "Fed Up", a baaaad rap about a couple splitting up – done here in both vocal and instrumental versions.

Killer stuff – and an amazing album that not only showcases the varitone sax talents of Eddie Harris, but also features some fantastic arrangements by Chicago soul genius Charles Stepney! Harris plugs in right from the start – blowing an electric sax that comes up with some groovy groovy sounds – perfect for Stepney to work with on the backdrops – mixing together funky orchestrations, off-kilter strings, and even some prepared piano, ala John Cage – similar to the mode he used with Ramsey Lewis at Cadet! Tunes are wonderful – offbeat, funky, and plenty darn soulful – and titles include "Live Right Now", "It's Crazy", "Winter Meeting", and "Theme In Search Of A TV Commercial".

Funky, soulful, and completely sublime work from keyboardist Gene Harris – working here with some great help from Jerry Peters on arrangement and production – in a style that makes the album one of Harris' most compelling sets of the 70s! The backings are full, but tight too – and in addition to Gene's own sweet work on keyboards, the set's also got some massive drums from Harvey Mason and James Gadson – both of whom really help things crackle at the bottom! Other instrumental highlights include more keyboards from Jerry Peters, tenor from Azar Lawrence, and trombone from George Bohannon – plus guitar from Lee Ritenour too. There's a bit of vocals on the set – mostly a soul chorus sort of mode that works perfect with Peters' groovy arrangements – and titles include "Love For Sale", "Theme For Relana", "Rebop", "Zulu", and "Soft Cycles".

The classic debut from one of the weirdest concept groups of the 60s – a mime rock band brought together by producer Lew Futterman – who'd also worked on some killer funky jazzy sessions with Brother Jack McDuff! The style here is psychedelic pop through and through – and although the group didn't speak, they do sing (is that really mime?) – and work in a groovy sing-song blend of reeds and rockish rhythms, one that definitely has some of the same sharp changes and funky undercurrents you'd find in Futterman's jazz projects – although honed down here into much shorter Sunshine tunes! The album's a very unique little record – and oddly the group flourished for years. But somehow this first record has a charm that's really undeniable – and is maybe still their best effort ever. Titles include "White Winged Doves","Dream Of Tomorrow", "Pray For Rain", "How Does It Feel To Be Free", "I Ride To Nowhere", "Come & See Me", and "Jelly Jam".

Groovy set of soul jazz organ tracks that has Groove playing with a large-ish group that includes George Freeman, Tom Scott, Anthony Ortega, Wilton Felder, and Paul Humphrey. The set's not totally hard and funky, but it's got a nice soulful swinging groove, with a tight LA 60s sound to it. Includes a nice version of "Madison Time", plus "Groovin Time", "Oklahoma Toad", "Upward Bound", and "The Odd Couple".

Sweet English vocals from this overlooked Dutch singer – a jazzy session recorded in the early 70s, but issued here for the very first time! The tracks have a great blend of jazz and groovy – in ways that recall some of the cooler singers on the Scandinavian scene of the time – or maybe work you might find on MPS from a few years before. Cees Schrama adds some great Fender Rhodes and Hammond to the backings – which also include the great Ferdinand Povel on tenor and flute. Titles include a killer funky version of "I Feel The Earth Move" – plus "The Fool On The Hill", "For Every Man There's A Woman", and "Mr Bojangles".

A very goofy image on the cover – and some wonderfully goofy music to match! The group's way more than just a rock combo – as they play in styles that draw on jazz, 60s groovy instrumental modes, and even other Euro soundtrack elements of the time – all wrapped up in a sound that's as witty as you might guess from the image on the front. Some tunes have vocals, some are all instrumentals – and although the combo has a core structure of a rock group, they often inflect their instrumentation with lots of weird twists and turns – plus some cool production touches too! One of the best of these is the backward tape used to start off the funky "Leave This Lesbian World" – and other titles include "Don't Know Baby If You Are Safe", "Brooklyn 1146", "Hoppe Hoppe Reiter", "Vienna 69", "Don't You Feel Any Pain", "Sao Paulo Most Exclusive", and "Get Your Kicks On the Hill". Also features a bonus 7" EP – with four more songs from other soundtracks from TV and film!

The drum method here is pretty darn funky – as Akira Ishikawa works with backing from a groovy big band – all at a level that's somewhere between funky MPS and some of the jazz rock coming out of the US at the time! The tunes are all instrumental, but borrow plenty of songs from American charts – reworked by Ishikawa and the ensemble into some sweet funky numbers that build up heavily from the bottom – and feature some great breakout solos too! Lots of keyboards and guitars, along with the horns and drums – and titles include "Black Night", "America", "25 Or 6 To 4", "Let It Be", "Come Together", "Spinning Wheel", "Lowdown", and "Questions 67 & 68".

One of our favorite albums of all times – and a legendary testament to the greatness of the Chicago music scene in the late 60s! Melvin Jackson was the bassist in Eddie Harris' very successful group of the time – and his playing on Eddie's trippy and funky records for Atlantic is one of the factors that made them so great. Here, he's working with an acoustic bass, amplified with electronics like a Varitone sax – and this strange-sounding instrument is set up in a hip group that mixes Cadet funky studio players (Phil Upchurch, Morris Jennings, Jody Christian) with some of the brighter young players of the AACM (Roscoe Mitchell, Lester Bowie, and Leo Smith.) Jackson's bass is looped through all sorts of crazy effects, and the result is this amazing blend of avant garde playing and groovy rhythms that is beyond compare! The album includes great reworkings of two Eddie Harris funk tracks – "Bold and Black" and "Cold Duck Time" – plus monster originals like "Funky Doo", "Say What", "Dance Of The Dervish", and "Funky Skull (parts 1 & 2)".

2 of Quincy Jones' groundbreaking 60s soundtracks on one CD! The material here isn't funky like his 70's work, and shows Quincy more in a dark brooding thriller vein. The Pawnbroker score has an orchestra filled with great jazz players like Freddie Hubbard, Anthony Ortega, Oliver Nelson, Elvin Jones, and others – and it also features a vocal performance by Sarah Vaughan on the bonus 45 rpm issue of the film's main theme. Other titles include "Harlem Drive", "Naked Truth", "Rack 'Em Up", and "Death Scene". Even better, though is The Deadly Affair – a sublime soundtrack from Quincy! The score has a great approach that mixes crime jazz tunes with breezier numbers – inflected with a nice bossa sound, and a cool "jazz over the top" style that makes the melodies linger nicely long after they're done! Astrud Gilberto sings the wonderful cut "Who Needs Forever" – and other tracks include "Blondie Tails", "Instrumental Main Theme 2", "Ridiculous Scene", "Bobb's At Gunpoint", and "Dieter's First Mistake".There's a total of 23 cuts in all, which makes for a nice full CD of groovy soundtrack material!

One of the coolest vocal groups of the late 60s – Germany's Gunter Kallmann Choir, presented here in a batch of tracks that includes some of their hippest tracks from the Polydor years! The group's sound is quite similar to that of the Horst Jankowski singers – a large ensemble of mixed male and female voices, often recorded with mod instrumental touches like electric bass, bubbling organ, funky flute, and sweet percussion – an approach that seems especially well-suited to the sorts of groovy 60s tunes presented in this package! Things are plenty sweet, but never sleepy at all – a cool blend of Anglo lyrics and German studio genius – on 24 cuts that include "Windmills Of Your Mind", "Daydream", "One Summer's Day", "Live For Life", "My Cherie Amour", "Wait Until Dark", "The Eyes Of Love", "A Time For Us", "Just A Dream", "Once In Each Life", and "The Colour Of My Love".

A short, but totally killer Ghanaian disco record from KG Band – which is led and produced by multi-instrumentalist Kiki Gyan – and recorded at Lagos' Decca Studios in 1980! Disco Train is a rare one – with one long grooving dancefloor stormer per side. Each cut is a really sweet blend of global boogie, funk and soul – with distinctly African elements, too! "Disco Train" rolls beyond the 10 minute mark without coming close running off the rails. The drums don't stop and the bass is nice and funky – with some groovy falsetto vocals sung in English, a nicely vamping guitar groove, horns and Afro percussion. "Loving You" runs just shy of 10 minutes on the other side – and while the title of the song and the quiet opening seconds might trick you into the thinking it's gonna be straight and mellow, it's actually got a surprisingly adventurous groove overall! The drums are a bit feverish, which is a nice foil for the easygoing vibe and romantic lyricism – and it's again anchored by some funky bass, guitar and African percussion.

An early pairing of composer Andrzej Korzynski and director Andrzej Zulawski – a Polish duo who show that groovy vampire films aren't just the stuff of the southern European scene in the 70s! Korzynski's music for the movie is really wonderful – starting with a wicked fuzzy funky theme that feels like it's lifted right out of Vampyros Lesbos – and followed by other groovy tracks that are often heavy on electric bass at the bottom – used to set a scary mood on the spookier numbers, and create an upbeat groove on the swinging ones! This limited 10" release only sports 9 tracks, but they're all pretty great – and the whole thing is almost like a condensation of the best elements you'd find in much longer soundtracks with a lot of filler in between. Titles include "Czolowica", "Tango", "Dworek", "Lapanka", "Szpital", "Na Strychu", and "W Instyucie".

The funky fusion classic from guitarist Volker Krieger – finally issued in a great CD edition! Easily one of Krieger's best albums, Spectrum was remarkably cut in just two days at MPS Studios in 1971 – with a group that includes Peter Baumeister on drums, Cees See on bongos and percussion, Peter Trunk on bass and cello, and John Taylor on Hohner electric piano. It kicks of with the amazing track "Zoom", a seriously funky maelstrom of groovy funky guitar and percussion that mixes in washes of sitar and Eastern effects here and there for a really trippy effect! The album doesn't try to duplicate the frenzy whipped up by the opener right away, and finds a much more relaxed groove in tracks like "So Long, For Now", "More About D", "Ach Kina", and "Instant Judgement" before flailing away in the exciting closer "Strings Revisited". One of the great ones from MPS – and a hugely influential one to the progression of 70s jazz funk. A really groovy record!

Hip work all around – 2 incredible albums from the mighty Charles Kynard! Afro-Disiac is the rarest of all Charles Kynard albums – and a real standout groover from the classic funk days of Prestige! The album's a really creative outing – with arrangements by Richard Fritz that take the usual small combo Prestige sound to new heights – twisting and turning the rhythms past the usual heavy foot on the bass motif! Fritz wrote the bulk of the tracks, and they've got a modal grooving mode – with a mixture of hard rhythms and dancing organ, guitar, and sax that's almost in the style of work on the label by Funk Inc. Bernard Purdie's on drums, Jimmy Lewis plays Fender bass, and solos are by Kynard on organ, Grant Green on guitar, and Houston person on tenor. Titles include "Sweetheart", "Odds On", "Afro-Disiac", "Trippin", and "Chanson Du Nuit". Wa-Tu-Wa-Zi is one of the best albums cut during the Prestige jazz/funk generation of the early 70s! The album's a super-heavy monster that has organist Charles Kynard working with a great group that includes Rusty Bryant on tenor, Virgil Jones on trumpet, Melvin Sparks on guitar, Jimmy Lewis on Fender Bass, and Idris Muhammad on drums – all cooking together with the sort of hard-grooving, high-wailing sound you'd expect from Bryant's or Sparks' Prestige albums of the time! The use of Lewis' bass on the bottom really leaves Kynard free to soar over the top – and in addition to his usual Hammond, he also plays some groovy electric piano on two of the album's tracks. Titles include "Change Up", "Zebra Walk", and "Wa-Tu-Wa-Zui" – and the group even manages to make a version of "Something" sound funky!

2 killers from the legendary Galt MacDermot – composer, jazz musician, and hero to beatheads and samplers everywhere! First up is Shapes Of Rhythm – a weird off-kilter batch of jazzy instrumentals, with Galt playing acoustic and electric piano – and with backing by a tight little combo that includes Pretty Purdie on drums, Snag Napoleon Allan on guitar, and Jimmy Lewis on bass. Lewis' bass is especially nice, and he lays out some very phat lines next to Galt's groovy piano solos. The record's not an all-out funk classic, but it's got some wonderfully warm rolling riffs in the typical Galt MacDermot style. Titles include "Coffee Cold", which was sampled by Prince Paul, "The Mouse Roared", "Mbabam", "Marsh Gas", "Alive In Dar Es Salaam", and "Spanish Night". Woman Is Sweeter is an excellent funky soundtrack – and features the totally cool sample for Buster Rhymes' big single last year, laid out in the track "Space". Lots of other cool spare funky tunes abound, and the set is a great record all the way through, with loads of weird flatly funky tunes and offbeat rhythms. Titles include "Tango", "Woman Is Sweeter", "Perfume Bottles", "Merry Go Round", "Princess Gika", and "Bathtub". CD also includes a bonus version of "Coffee Cold"!

A groovy little jazz mass – written by Galt MacDermot in collaboration with lyricist William Dumaresq – and done in a post-Hair style that's got plenty of subtle funky touches underneath the vocals! The work follows in the mode of similar albums from the time by David Axelrod, Howard Roberts, and even MacDermot – with a mass-like structure, but lyrics that are clearly contemporary – and music that's got plenty of nice bass at the bottom, and some nice Hair-like rhythms rolling through the mix. Vocalists include Salome Bey, Nel Carter, and the Howard Roberts Chorus – and from what we can tell, Bernard Purdie's helping out on drums!

Wonderfully groovy! This is the first-ever album by the legendary Marc 4 studio group – a funky Italian combo that featured Armando Trovajoli on keyboards, plus backing by guitar, drums, and bass. The keyboards vary from funky organ to jangly electric harpsichord to sharp-edged piano – and the group's sound is often augmented by some extra horn work. Things are nicely funk and nicely groovy throughout – and although you may have a few tracks by Marc 4 on other comps, this is a great complete release of their work, with plenty of tracks that we've never heard before. Titles include "Silouette", "Jockey", "To Pedal", "Trafalgar Square", "Soho", "Love Theme", "Mato Grosso", "Lua Linda", and "Gare". CD features 3 bonus tracks too – new versions of "Alex" and "Mato Grosso", and the track "Just Simple".

If you can forgive the title of this one, you'll find it to be a very groovy record! The album's a killer batch of funky instrumentals ("black sound") recorded in Italy in 1972 by Augusto Martelli ("white people") – and it's got the groove and swing of some of the best Italian soundtracks from the time, no surprise, as Martelli had his hand in a few from that era! The package is a nice one – with a thick booklet, notes in Japanese, but some good images of Martelli and album covers – and the music is really great, with some excellent sax and flute work that takes the tracks into a jazzier mode than usual for this sort of thing! Loads of great percussion too – and titles include "Loco Love Motor", "Mondo No", "Krypto Blues", "Ma ne Vale La Pena", "90th Compleanno", and "Sara Stato Il Futuro".

If you can forgive the title of this one, you'll find it to be a very groovy record! The album's a killer batch of funky instrumentals ("black sound") recorded in Italy in 1972 by Augusto Martelli ("white people") – and it's got the groove and swing of some of the best Italian soundtracks from the time, no surprise, as Martelli had his hand in a few from that era! The music is really great, with some excellent sax and flute work that takes the tracks into a jazzier mode than usual for this sort of thing! Loads of great percussion too – and titles include "Loco Love Motor", "Mondo No", "Krypto Blues", "Ma ne Vale La Pena", "90th Compleanno", and "Sara Stato Il Futuro".

"One Eye Open" is a funky 45 classic! It's got a nice hard breakbeat on the intro, and then it leaps into a cool groover with a funny story that runs through the track. Nice stuff, and "Yaw'll" is pretty groovy, too.

A landmark album from the Miami soul scene of the 70s – the record that put Gwen McCrae on the map, and showed to the world that the TK sound was about to dominate the charts! There's a really unique groove to the set – part older southern soul, part percolated electric modes – that funky groove that Little Beaver, Timmy Thomas, and some of Gwen's TK contemporaries had been cooking up at the time. Both Beaver and Thomas are working on the sessions – as are Willie Clark, Latimore, and George Perry – and even the backup vocals are hip – with help from George McCrae, Betty Wright, and KC of Sunshine Band fame. But throughout it all, Gwen's the real star – singing with an impeccable vocal approach that's full of soul, yet never overdone – heard to amazing effect on the classic track "90% Of Me" – and other gems that include "For Your Love", "He Keeps Something Groovy Going On", "It Keeps On Raining", "He Don't Ever Lose His Groove", "Move Me Baby", and "Let Them Talk". Also features the classic "Rockin Chair" – added to the self-titled Gwen McCrae album from 1974, and retitled here to get the hit on an album!

A monster record by Brother Jack McDuff, and one of his best-ever – in our humble opinion! At first glance, the album appears to be just a bunch of jazz covers of standards and pop tracks – like "Tobacco Road", "Shadow Of Your Smile", "This Bitter Earth", and "Teardrops From My Eyes" – but Jack's got some help from JJ Jackson on the arrangements, and the outwardly simple tracks are twisted into these amazing grooves that have Jack wailing away in strange choppy funky ways on the organ! The whole album must be heard to be believed, and the version of "Shadow Of Your Smile", which starts with a nice break, is worth the price of the album alone! Plus, the whole thing's packaged in a very groovy cover, too.

A monster record by Brother Jack McDuff, and one of his best-ever – in our humble opinion! At first glance, the album appears to be just a bunch of jazz covers of standards and pop tracks – like "Tobacco Road", "Shadow Of Your Smile", "This Bitter Earth", and "Teardrops From My Eyes" – but Jack's got some help from JJ Jackson on the arrangements, and the outwardly simple tracks are twisted into these amazing grooves that have Jack wailing away in strange choppy funky ways on the organ! The whole album must be heard to be believed, and the version of "Shadow Of Your Smile", which starts with a nice break, is worth the price of the album alone! Plus, the whole thing's packaged in a very groovy cover, too.

Funky sitar work – but recorded in pre-revolution Iran – a really amazing blends of scenes and sounds from the legendary Abbas Mehrpouya! Abbas' music has hardly been heard outside of his own nation – especially given the cultural crackdown of the past 30 years – and this set is a long-overdue look at the damn groovy sounds that came from his deft hands on the sitar! But in addition to Mehrpouya's own lines in the lead, the tunes have some really great arrangements and production too – styles that echo the Indian grooves of Ananada Shankhar, but which also have exotic elements that really groovy and funky experiments from the US and Europe as well. This package is stunning throughout – and hopefully, Abbas will finally get his due as an exotic groove visionary – on tracks that include "African Jumbo", "Ghame Tanhai", "Man Ke Mordehan", "To Kojaye", "Solenzara", "Sareban", "Sahrah", "Lotfeh Kodaye", "Asfanseye Eshgh", and "Soul Raga".

Funky sitar work – but recorded in pre-revolution Iran – a really amazing blends of scenes and sounds from the legendary Abbas Mehrpouya! Abbas' music has hardly been heard outside of his own nation – especially given the cultural crackdown of the past 30 years – and this set is a long-overdue look at the damn groovy sounds that came from his deft hands on the sitar! But in addition to Mehrpouya's own lines in the lead, the tunes have some really great arrangements and production too – styles that echo the Indian grooves of Ananada Shankhar, but which also have exotic elements that really groovy and funky experiments from the US and Europe as well. This package is stunning throughout – and hopefully, Abbas will finally get his due as an exotic groove visionary – on tracks that include "African Jumbo", "Ghame Tanhai", "Man Ke Mordehan", "To Kojaye", "Solenzara", "Sareban", "Sahrah", "Lotfeh Kodaye", "Asfanseye Eshgh", and "Soul Raga".

Fantastic sounds from one of our city's greatest groups of the past decade – the mighty Mucca Pazza, a darn funky band who are heavy on horns, but move with an incredibly lean groove! The label describes the group as "the marching band that thinks it's a rock band" – but we've always found these guys to be even more playful than that – not rock, but kind of a multi-instrumental "happening" – especially when they crop up at street performances – which are always as visually stimulating as they are musically groovy! This full album represents the group even better than we might have imagined – with a great focus on the harder-romping sound of their music. Titles include "Sexy Bull", "Marcia Anormale", "Boss Taurus", "Monster Tango", "Rabbits & Trees", "Last Days", "Sunday Showing (part 1)", and "Coolashell".

A nice blend of gritty old school funk and breakbeat hip hop production on Cold Busted! "Blessing Da Funk" is a blessing, indeed – raw beats, irrepressive bass line, funky guitar grooves and sampled bits of party rockin' vocals. "Mr Scream" is another winner – with similar elements to the other side, plus some groovy organ and succinct funky brass blasts. Nice stuff – and funky!

Why the heck don't they make records like this anymore? The whole thing's incredibly groovy – a blend of Sunshine Pop and vocal harmonies – put together with a high-art theory, but grooving with some really cool late 60s backings! There's a great drummer in the group who really makes the tunes kick – taking the mixed male and female vocals of the group and working them into tunes that sound way better than the Paul Klee inspiration might make you think. Things actually get a bit funky at times, and even when they don't, the whole album sparkles with the best Sunshine work from the time! Music is by Chuck Mangione and Roger Karshner – who also brings in some sweet electronic touches too! Titles include "Barbaric Classical Solemn", "Fear Of Becoming Double", "Self Portrait", "Long Hair Soulful", and "Pond With Swans". CD features 2 bonus tracks too – "Long Hair Soulful", in both vocal and instrumental versions!

2 long-overdue classics from New Birth – back to back on a single CD! Ain't No Big Thing captures the group near the beginning of their career – when they were sort of a funky soul army, featuring the instrumental talents of The Nite-Liters, the vocal strength of a number of excellent members, and the raw production skills of the great Harvey Fuqua! This album's one of their best-ever – and it features a great mix of soul and funk, with some sweet cuts, and other nice harder numbers, all done in the warm spirit of the group when they were in their prime. Includes "Honeybee", "Oh What a Feeling", "How Good It Feels", plus groovy covers, like "I Want to Make It With You" and "Never Can Say Goodbye". Coming Together is an excellent early album by New Birth – with a good straight ahead soul style, and some nice arrangements by Vernon Bullock, Harvey Fuqua, and Bert De Coteaux. The tracks are a mix of originals and covers, and the band is great throughout – grooving hard in a souful way that makes the record glisten with an honest intensity that's missing from some of the group's later work. With "African Cry", "Don't Knock My Love", "All the Way", "Two Kinds of People", "Yesterday I Heard The Rain", and "I Don't Want To Do Wrong". A tough one to find, and the album that will make you love the band!

A true pleasure indeed – easily one of the greatest records ever by the Ohio Players, and a perfect summation of all things great in their groove! The album's a landmark effort – even for the heady days of the early 70s – as the Players manage to bring together a fair bit of jazz with their famous guitar-driven funk – all in a blend that's a lot more sophisticated than most other funk combos of the time, from the rhythms at the bottom to the instrumentation on the top! There's a darkness here that's undeniable – but the album's also not just a head trip into the fuzziest reaches of the studio – as the jazzier inflections help illuminate the farthest corners, and really bring the whole album back to focus with a wonderfully redemptive groove! Psychedelic elements are still all over the place, but also used sparingly enough to be most effective – a brilliant balance that few groups of this type were ever able to muster. Titles include the classic "Funky Worm", with the wild moogy bit that's been sampled loads of times over the years by a gazillion hip hoppers – plus loads of other nice ones, like the slow bonking funker "Pride & Vanity", the wild "Walt's First Trip", and the groovy "Laid It" – as well as "Pleasure", "Paint Me", "Our Love Has Died", and "Walked Away From You". CD features amazing sound and a whopping 7 bonus tracks – including "Ruffell Foot", "What It Is", "Rooster Poot", "Gone Forever", "Dimensions In Time", and "Introducing The Players".

Deadlier than Dracula – and a lot funkier too! This is the original soundtrack for the classic blacksploitation horror flick starring the baaadest Drac ever to grace the screen of all those shabby downtown theaters that were still around in the 70s – a wicked batch of wah wah tunes penned by Gene Page – and featuring a lot of groovy keyboards as well! The set's got a few vocal numbers, sung by 21st Century Ltd and The Hues Corporation, but it's the instrumentals that really steal the show– and there's plenty of great ones here that rank with the best blacksploitation work of the decade – hard and funky groovers that have kept this one flying out of the crates for many many years. Titles include Blacula (The Stalk Walk)", "Blacula Strikes!", "Heavy Changes", "Movin'", "Run Tina Run!", "Firebombs", "I'm Gonna Catch You", "Finding Love, Losing Love" and "Good To The Last Drop".

Damn funky work from Wilson Pickett – maybe his hardest-hitting album for Atlantic Records in the early years – and that's saying a lot, given the punch of his other records! The set's sharp and tight right from the start – mostly recorded in Miami with that new approach to southern soul that was brewing up in the Criteria Studios at the time – lots of emphasis on the rhythms, in a mode that would later break big at TK, but which is still handled here by players who made the trip down from Muscle Shoals! Wilson gets a bit of backing vocal help from a group that features Judy Clay and Cissy Houston – but honestly, it's his vocals that are right out in front of the mix all the way through – sounding bold, proud, and loud on tracks that include "Funky Way", "Steal Away", "Hey Joe", "Groovy Little Woman", "This Old Town", "Lord Pity Us All", "Woman Likes To Hear That", and "Sweet Inspiration".

Funky vibes, electric sitar, and a madly tripped-out album – one of the best of the MPS psychedelic jazz sessions from the end of the 60s! Back in the US, Dave Pike was always a pretty straight vibist – but he's working here with his European combo that included the legendary Volker Kriegel – who plays both electric guitar and sitar on the record, giving it a really groovy "Eastern" sort of vibe! Drummer Peter Baumeister kicks the bottom of the set mightily – rolling in a modal groove one minute, picking up a heavier funk approach the next – and always inspiring the rest of the group to stretch out in the grooviest way possible. Tracks are shortish, but filled with great sonic touches – and titles include the legendary "Mathar", a well known bit of sitar funk – plus the tracks "Mother People", "I'm On My Way", "Regards From Freddie Horowitz", and "Walkin' Down The Highway In A Red Raw Egg".

An overlooked gem from the Japanese scene at the start of the 70s – a record that's got a great mix of funky and groovy touches, all of which come across like better-known work from the Japanese Columbia label! Reedman Richard Pine leads the group on soprano sax, tenor, alto, and flute – and other instrumentation includes guitar, drums, and bass – plus funky piano and electone – all used in ways that have a groovy/funky sort of vibe overall – somewhere near the coolest late 60s projects on Verve or Impulse, with maybe a bit of Cadet Records thrown in for good measure. We don't know Pine at all, but he's got the soulful edge of a young Tom Scott – and titles include "Left Right", "Cosmos", "Summertime", "Windy", "30 60 90", and "El Condor Pasa".

A great Jean Luc Ponty album – quite possibly his best, with a hip approach that's more MPS than World Pacific! The record has Ponty working under the supervision of George Gruntz, with an incredibly hip group that includes Carmell Jones on trumpet, Leo Wright on alto and flute, Daniel Humair on drums, and Gruntz himself on piano – a really great lineup that brings together late 60s Europea and Cali groovy styles! Tracks are skittish, jaunty, exploratory, and even a bit funky – in that groovy late 60s MPS/Saba way – and the album features some nice originals that include "Pacific Drove", "Fort Ord Canon", "Pebble Beach Walk", and "3 + 2 = 1".

An early 70s giallo soundtrack by Roberto Pregadio – who we know and love for some very cool and moddish jazzy soundtrack work a bit earlier on – and this is another groovy, yet necessarily seedy and sinister set from the under-appreciated composer! It revolves around a funky theme, with playfully-cooed female vocals – with some really sweet small combo, organ-flavored grooves throughout. The organ allows for some suspenseful and chilling moments when it's called for, but there's actually oddly breezy, early 70s kinda lounge funk vibe permeating this one most of the way through! 26 tracks in all – and all sequences on the title "Il Sorriso Della Jena".

Nice one! This is a groovy reissue of the soundtrack to Milano Violenta, written by Enrico Pieranunzi and Silvano Chimenti, and performed by the funky studio group Pulsar Music Ltd. The feel of the album is similar to that of some of the best tracks on the Stroboscopia comps – with lots of tight drums, rumbling basslines, and cool electric moments. The whole thing is very groovy all the way through – with no dead moments, and a good mix of cool themes that keeps changing all the time. Titles include "High Tension", "Subway", "Blue Funk", "Cat Theme", "Obsession", and "Dreamland".

Like the Beatles? Like jazz? Then here's a record for you! Don Randi plays tunes from Revolver – our personal favorite Beatles album – and he makes them swing with a hip 60s LA groove, often changing the rhythmic style of the songs to create a whole new groovy sound. Don plays piano, organ, and electric harpsichord – and the arrangements, inspired by (but not credited to) Jack Nitzsche, are sublime – as groovy as groovy can be for this sort of record! Titles include "She Said She Said", "Good Day Sunshine", "Love You To", "For No One", "I Want To Tell You", "Tomorrow Never Knows", and a surprisingly funky version of "Taxman"!

A great little soundtrack – even if it looks a bit snoozy from the outside! Don Costa's usually not our favorite arranger, but he does a great job with this one – laying out some hard blacksploitation grooves that have funky keyboards, sweet sitar, and lots of nice cop show grooves to them. The bulk of the record is instrumental – with some great funky cuts like "Main Title – Charley", "Main Theme to Water Tower", "Can You Dig It?", and "Train's Comin" – plus a few more "with chorus" tracks that are a bit more mellow. Lou Rawls sings on two cuts – the groovy "Sometime Day", which has a very strong "soundtrack theme" feel, and the mellower "Morning Comes Around", which ends the record with a nice soulful tone.

Funky soul from South America – groovy stuff from Usje Sukatma of Surinam! "Waiting For Your Love" is one of the rare few recordings he's sung in English, a sweet little stripped down disco styled number with guitar, bass, keys, drums, congas and more percussion – plus some groovy vocoder! "Pepundenku" is just as sweet, and feels a bit more tropically inflected.

Groovy late 60s work from Diana Ross & The Supremes – a record that has them breaking the Motown mold a bit, and hooking up with a nice variety of modder soul and pop modes! Tracks on the set include a few Motown-penned numbers, but the trio also tackle hits like "Everyday People", "Hey Western Union Man", "Let The Music Play", and a great Hair-inspired medley of "Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In"! But the Motown material here is almost even better – and titles include the slightly funky "No Matter What Sign You Are", which has a nice kick in the bottom – as well as "Discover Me", "The Composer", and "What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted".

2 of the best Rufus Thomas funky albums for Stax – back to back on a single CD! First up is Did You Heard Me – recorded in the early 70s with backing by The Movement and The Bar Kays, and with a good raw Stax sound on most cuts! Rufus is certainly in the "funky ___" mode here – doing a formulaic approach to funk that has him taking a theme for a song, and pushing it to the max by shouting and grooving it over and over again. Fortunately, the style still works well here – without the cliches of later albums, probably thanks in part to the album's tight funky backgrounds. The record features three tasty two-part single tracks – "The Breakdown (parts 1 & 2)", "Do The Push & Pull (parts 1 & 2)", and "Do The Funky Penguin (parts 1 & 2)" – all of which stand as some of Rufus' most-collected funky singles. Also features the groovy soul track "6 3 8", plus "Love Trap" and "The World Is Round". Crown Prince is a crowning achievement for Rufus Thomas – a set that bubbles over with funky intensity, and one of the last great albums he ever recorded for Stax! The funky Rufus mode is still in full full swing here – with loads of tunes that have the word "funky" in the title – basically jamming numbers that seem to let Thomas loose on vocals – coming up with whatever sort of catchy lyrics he can over the romping grooves underneath. Titles include two of his best funky tracks "Funky Robot" and "Funky Bird" – plus "I Wanna Sang", "Steal A Little", "I'm Still In Love With You", "Baby It's Real", "Steal A Little", and "Git On Up & Do It".

One of the coolest Italian soundtracks we've heard in a long time – a wonderful set of tunes that moves from slinky, to easy, to groovy, and beyond! The tunes start out bubbling very spare and slow – with floating piano, moog, and other nice bits – and as the record progresses, the sound gets heavier, with some nice funky elements thrown into the mix! The whole thing's a brilliant exercise in understatement – not only one of the best soundtracks by Umiliani from the 70s, but also a perfect example of why we dig Italian soundtracks so much! Titles include "Volto Di Donna", "La Prima Uscita", "La Rinuncia", "Senza Tregua", "Nostalgia", "The Party", and "Maryam".

Some of the most brilliantly baroque work ever recorded by Marcos Valle – an obscure 1970 album that collects together tunes from a few of his odd soundtrack experiments of the late 60s, plus a few others that are in a very similar vein! Marcos is really going over the top here – breaking way way out from his bossa roots, into a mode that has him pushing the envelope of Brazilian music to unheard of heights, with equal parts groove and sophistication, hardly ever matched by any other artist since! Things are funky one minute, groovy the next, and subtly sophisticated at other points – a completely captivating blend that's one of the best illustrations of Valle's genius we can think of. Titles include "Quarentao Simpatico", "Ele E Ela", "Dez Leis", "Freio Aerodinamico", "Os Grilos", "Suite Imaginaria", and "Esperando O Messias". Also includes the bonus track "Berenice"! New reissue features in-depth liner notes, song notes from Valle, and lyrics in English too!

A strange lost "comeback" album for Walter Wanderley – but a great one! The set was recorded recorded in the US in the early 70's, and with the same sweet electric sound that Wanderley was using on his last A&M/CTI albums! Walter plays organ and electric piano, and the group includes Fender bass and percussion – making for a smooth electric groove tha gets a bit funky at times. Tracks include "Camel Juice", "Angelique", "Nobody", and "Good Time". Very groovy!

An incredibly groovy album – filled with instrumental tracks that shift between funky big band and groovy 60s soundtrack – all arranged by Mike Nesmith and Shorty Rogers! The feel here is like that of some of Rogers' other groovy late 60s instrumental one-off albums – like his hot rod, dune buggy, or surf-orchestra sides – and Nesmith brings in a slightly cynical tone that manifests itself in the choice of some of the instrumentation for the tracks, and the overall setting of the record. Think Monkees instrumentals gone groovier, and you've got part of the picture – but there's also plenty of snippets of Sunset Strip hip and Warner Brothers longing for the past too! Titles include "While I Cried", "Don't Cry Now", "Tapioca Tundra", "Nine Times Blue", "Carlisle Wheeling", and "You Told Me".

Reuben Wilson changes up the groove from his previous Blue Note sets – and the result is one of his greatest albums to date! This smoking little set has an edge that you really wouldn't expect – rhythms that move past the simple Blue Funk mode – into a more complicated style of funky jazz that really has Reuben hitting the Hammond in a fresh new way – of the sort he'd explore on his later albums for the Groove Merchant label. The group's a simple quartet – with the unusual lineup of Earl Turbington on alto, Eddie Diehl on guitar, and Harold White on drums – but the sound is a lot fuller and richer, thanks to a free-spirited approach to the rhythms of the tunes. And even though a number of the cuts on the set are covers of 60s soul tracks – like "A Groovy Situation", "Happy Together", and "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" – they come off quite differently in Reuben's hands – and sit nicely next to strong original tracks like "Sweet Tooth" and "While The World Lies Waiting". A sweet little funky gem!