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A wonderful wonderful soul album from the great Gene Chandler – quite possibly our favorite work ever from this under-acknowledged Chicago singer! Chandler's way past his "Duke Of Earl" years on this record, and is hitting his stride as one of Chicago's best soul singers of the late 60s – working with a style that's harder than ever before – and a bit more sophisticated, too – with touches of that masculine maturity that Walter Jackson helped to bring to the scene. Carl Davis produced, and backings are by Sonny Sanders and Gerald Sims – providing a great Chicago groove over tunes penned by Curtis Mayfield, Billy Butler, and Otis Leavill – as well as Davis, Sanders, and Sims – all representing the unusual depth in Windy City soul at the time. Tracks include "To Choose", "Nothing Can Stop Me", "You Can't Hurt Me No More", "The Girl Don't Care", "Good Times", "Here Come The Tears", and "Fool For You".

Two great lost numbers from one of our favorite soul artists of all time! "I Can Take Care" is a rolling midtempo number, with that loping Chi soul groove that Gene was working in afer his early Vee Jay sides. Gene's vocals really send us – especially on the the chorus, when they go over the top! "Mr Big Shot" is a great cut too – with a strumming guitar underneath the beat, in kind of a hip mod style that's a real surprise to hear from Gene! There's some backup vocals on the chorus, but the verse has Gene rolling ahead full steam.

A soaring, burning set from Gene Chandler – completely different than his early hits, and a key point in the transformation of Chicago soul in the 60s! Gene's always had a heck of a great vocal range – and he really gets a chance to use it to best effect on this album of jaunty and groovy little tracks – tunes that bounce around with that majestic Chi-soul style of the late 60s, all produced to perfection by the great Carl Davis! The sound is sublime – a pulling together of so many different strands into one bold, proud sound – sophisticated yet soulful, and with a rhythmic component that really sets the album apart from the pack. And even when Gene's singing tunes that you may know from other singers' hits, he does a tremendous job of transforming them – recasting them into his more mature groove, and managing to funky them up in ways we wouldn't expect! Evidence to this is the album's great version of James Brown's "There Was A Time" – which is followed by loads of other great cuts, including "Cowboys To Girls", "Fooling Around", "Pit Of Loneliness", "Never Gonna Give You Up", and "Laughter To Tears".

Gene Chandler takes on James Brown – doing an amazing job with the Godfather's classic "There Was A Time" – served up at the same frenetic pace as the original! The tune's easily one of the hardest-grooving ever from Chandler, and really gets a new sort of spin from Gene's wonderful vocals too. "Those Were The Good Old Days" is a sweet Chicago swinger – done with that wicked rocking energy that you find in the best Brunswick soul of the time – an even better setting for the Chandler magic to unfold!

Killer stuff from Gene! After recording a few sadly overlooked albums for Brunwsick, Gene hit big big big with this killer record on Mercury! The record virtually defines the Chicago soul sound of the late 60s – with arrangements by Tom Tom, production by Gene, and a great loping soul groove – but the best part of all is Gene, who's an amazing singer with a maturity that stretches years beyond his earlier hits, and which put him in a camp with the best of his generation. The songwriting is excellent throughout, with a great mix of uptempo numbers and heartbreakingly personal ones. Titles include "Groovy Situation", "Simply Call It Love", "Not The Marrying Kind", "Give Me a Chance", and "Hey, Little Angel".

An unusual album from Arthur Louis – and a set that features some surprising guest work from Eric Clapton on guitar! Louis has this raspy style that's not far from Clapton's – and the presence of the famous guitar definitely helps shape the sound of the record too – giving it a compressed but rocking style that's at the sharper edge of the British scene in the 70s. Things are never too slick, but they're tight enough to not be gritty either – a surprising balance that's a bit different than more commercial albums of this nature. Gene Chandler provides guest vocals on "The Dealer" – and other titles include "Knockin On Heaven's Door", "Plum", "Been On The Road Too Long", "Train 444", and "It Feels Good".

Chicago Soul/New York Underground issue. Songwriter/manager Bernice Williams recalls the early days of Gene Chandler/The Du-Kays, and the true story of "Duke of Earl"; Northern Soul legends the Conquistadors tell tales of 1960s West Side Chicago teenage R&B (plus the first soul Jesus concept album); Do "The Chimp" with Chicago 60s garage rocker/R&B singer Jerry Mundo; H. Dwight Thompson tells tales of 70s NYC punk with the Heat and Klaus Nomi's first band! Relive the early Hip Hop parties of the Disco Fever nightclub; Nardwuar meets Jay-Z and N*E*R*D*; plus great interviews with Chris Montez and Doug Randle, and amazing tributes (by those who knew them) to Lux Interior, Michael Jackson, Billy Lee Riley, Sid Lavarents, Sky Saxon and (sadly) more. And amazing comix about Lennon, Danzig, Hagar, record store clerks, hot dogs, riots, and much more by the best underground cartoonists on earth! 120 pages.

The first-ever full length collection of work by The Sisters Love – an ultra-hip female soul group who cut some incredibly funky singles, but never issued a full album – finally given their due in this amazing batch of singles from the late 60s and early 70s! The Sisters Love sound is a great blend of funky rhythms, hard soul vocals, and soaring harmonies on the chorus – in a way that's almost a cross between the work of Lyn Collins at People Records with the best sounds of Sweet Inspirations over at Atlantic – but even more righteous overall, thanks to production work by the likes of Willie Hutch, Gloria Jones, Gene Chandler, and Monk Higgins! The set brings together singles recorded for Motown and A&M – all recorded over a period of 6 years, but tremendously unified overall – with a badass soul sound that rivals the legendary album by The Jackson Sisters. Titles include "Give Me Your Love", "My Love Is Yours", "The Bigger You Love", "Blackbird", "Ring Once", "Mr Fix It", "You've Got To Make Your Choice", "You've Got My Mind", "Now Is The Time", "Forget It I Got It", "Ha Ha Ha", "I Know You Love Me", and "Try It You'll Like It".

A massive overview of the genius Chicago scene of the late 60s – and a set that's overflowing with some of the heaviest music ever recorded! The collection focuses on the most groundbreaking work from the later Chess years – particularly the funky blues, psychedelic soul, and tripped out jazz that was coming out of the Cadet Concept studios in the hands of producers like Charles Stepney, Richard Evans, and Marshall Chess! The Chess groups were ahead of their time by decades – blending together styles without a thought of simple genre restrictions, often forsaking chart fame and record sales in pursuit of an adventurous groove. And while some of the artists on the set may be familiar names, we can promise that most of them are presented in styles that you may not have heard before – as the collection features many unreissued numbers that are making their first reappearance here! CD set comes with a 40 page set of notes – and features 20 tracks in all, including "Please Newsboy" by Eve Barnum, "Burning Spear" by Soulful Strings, "More & More" by Little Milton, "Baltimore Oriole" by Lorez Alexandria, "Soul Vibrations" by Dorothy Ashby, "Evil" by Howlin Wolf, "Stereo Freeze" by The Stereos, "The Way I Feel" by Phil Upchurch, "Mama's Got A Good Thing" by Laura Lee, "The Wailer" by Sonny Cox, "Leave It In The Hands Of Love" by Fontella Bass, "Why Am I Treated So Bad" by The Majestic Choir & The Soul Stirrers, "She Suits Me To A Tee" by Buddy Guy, "Memory Band" by Rotary Connection, and "In My Body's House" by Gene Chandler.

A massive overview of the genius Chicago scene of the late 60s – and a set that's overflowing with some of the heaviest music ever recorded! The collection focuses on the most groundbreaking work from the later Chess years – particularly the funky blues, psychedelic soul, and tripped out jazz that was coming out of the Cadet Concept studios in the hands of producers like Charles Stepney, Richard Evans, and Marshall Chess! The Chess groups were ahead of their time by decades – blending together styles without a thought of simple genre restrictions, often forsaking chart fame and record sales in pursuit of an adventurous groove. And while some of the artists on the set may be familiar names, we can promise that most of them are presented in styles that you may not have heard before – as the collection features many unreissued numbers that are making their first reappearance here! 2LP set comes with a great set of notes on the inner sleeve – and features 20 tracks in all, including "Please Newsboy" by Eve Barnum, "Burning Spear" by Soulful Strings, "More & More" by Little Milton, "Baltimore Oriole" by Lorez Alexandria, "Soul Vibrations" by Dorothy Ashby, "Evil" by Howlin Wolf, "Stereo Freeze" by The Stereos, "The Way I Feel" by Phil Upchurch, "Mama's Got A Good Thing" by Laura Lee, "The Wailer" by Sonny Cox, "Leave It In The Hands Of Love" by Fontella Bass, "Why Am I Treated So Bad" by The Majestic Choir & The Soul Stirrers, "She Suits Me To A Tee" by Buddy Guy, "Memory Band" by Rotary Connection, and "In My Body's House" by Gene Chandler.

Classics and rarities from the Windy City Soul scene that gravitated around the great Curtis Mayfield and his studio! The set features tracks from Curtom, plus the Thomas, Mayfield and Gemigo labels along with Paramount and Polydor – with numbers by The Fascinations, Five Stairsteps & Cubie, The Mayfield Singers, Major Lance, Chuck Ray, Ruby Jones, Notations, Linda Clifford, Gene Chandler and many more! 26 tracks in all: "Girls Are Out To Get You" by The Fascinations, "Don't Start None" by The Mayfield Singers, "You Got The Power" by Mamie P Galore, "I Spy (For The FBI)" by Jamo Thomas & His Party Brothers Orchestra, "Lucky" by The Mayfield Players, "Don't Have To Be Lying Babe" by Gene Chandler, "You Better Run" by Ruby Jones, "Can't Get Enough" by Linda Clifford and more.

A stunning look at a legendary London club of the 60s – presented here in a really well-done book-style package – with a CD that's brimming over with the American soul that made it groove so great back in the day! The set does a great job of showing the roots both of Northern soul, and the UK mod scene – as most of the work here is from that early cusp of soul – when R&B still figured strongly into the mix, and the groove also had some strong inflections from blues and jazz as well! The photos and images in the book are totally great – laid out over a full-color 24 pages – and the CD features 28 smoking tracks – including "Ain't That Loving You Baby" by Jimmy Reed, "Jaywalking" by The Upsetters, "Who Can I Run To" by Geri Hall, "I'll Take One" by Harold Burrage, "Song Called Soul" by Gene Chandler, "Let The Good Times Roll" by Alvin Robinson, "Question" by Roscoe Shelton, and "I've Got A Claim On You" by Betty Everett.

Stellar soul singles on Brunswick – nearly all of which come from the prime mid-to-late 60s period at the legendary Chicago label – with Jackie Wilson, Billy Butler, Barbara Acklin, Gene Chandler, Erma Franklin, Lavern Baker and many more! There's a tight focus here on mid-to-late 60s Brunswick – all of them great – and many are quite rare. There are some modest or regional hits in the set, but most might have been forgotten if not for the devotion of the Northern Soul scenes to come. It's got a number of uptempo stormers, midtempo groovers and some sweet surprises. Soul galore, indeed! Includes "Soul Galore" by Jackie Wilson, "Have More Time" by Marvin Smith, "Oh Linda" by Leroy Taylor, "I'll Bet You" by Billy Butler, "There Was A Time" by Gene Chandler, "Sweet, Sweet Revenge" by Alvin Valentine, "A Strange Way" by The Loreleis, "Just Ain't No Love" by Barbara Acklin, "I'm The Only One To Do It" by Lavern Baker, "California Montage" by Young-Holt Unlimited and many more.

They call it crossover, we call it great – a wonderful assortment of rare soul treasures from the late 60s and early 70s, most of them in a mellow midtempo groove! The term "crossover" isn't used as the way we'd use it here – in that these aren't commercial hits from the mainstream. Instead, they've got a great vibe that takes them past some of the harder dancefloor numbers of the period – warm enough to win the heart of just about any listener, with a sweet groove that really gets you from the start! Many of the tracks are from the east coast scene of the early 70s – but there's also some key Chicago and Detroit numbers too – and titles include "Crying Time Is Over" by Tony Love, "Without You Here" by Gene Chandler, "Who Will Do Your Running Now" by Marvin Smith, "It Could've Been Me" by Erma Franklin, "Ain't It Funny What Love Can Do" by Kenny Young, "Don't You Wake Me" by 100 Proof Aged In Soul, "I Don't Need Nobody" by Gloria Edwards, "Lovely Woman" by Eldridge Holmes, and "The Sweetest Thing" by Channel 3.

The story of one of the most legendary soul clubs in the UK – home to the great wave of Northern Soul enthusiasm that burst big in the 60s – plus a fair bit of hanky panky as well! This collection shows a decidedly raw side of the club's roots – American soul from the 60s, plus a fair bit of R&B as well – a groove that's rougher than you might find on other Northern Soul collections – which often tend towards some of the tighter Detroit productions of the period. The CD features a whopping 28 tracks in all – with lots of tracks from Chicago and the Motor City – and the package is a cool book-style one, with 24 pages of full-color images and photos, plus notes as well. Titles include "Road Runner" by Bo Diddley, "Good Times" by Gene Chandler, "Turn On Your Lovelight" by Bobby Blue Bland, "Do The 45" by The Sharpees, "Get Down With It" by Bobby Marchan, "I Spy For The FBI" by Jamo Thomas, "And Get Away" by The Esquires, "I Can't See Your Love" by The Ballads, "Searchin" by Alvin Robinson, and "You Shot Me Through The Grease" by Alvin Cash.

Curtis Mayfield, and a heck of a lot of greatness from the Chicago scene of the early 70s – music that comes from a rare TV special that also features guest appearances from Leroy Hutson, Jerry Butler, and Gene Chandler! Don't confuse this one with the 2LP Curtis Live set issued around the same time – as this record's got a tighter, fuller sound overall – a great illustration of Mayfield's growing fame as a solo act – although a set that's also generous enough to also feature appearances from both the new version of The Impressions, plus the original trio lineup too! Titles include "Superfly", "Love Oh Love", "Preacher Man", "For Once In My Life", and "I'm So Proud".

Soaring grooves from the mighty Brunswick Records – cuts pulled together from a time when the label was easily one of the greatest sources around for Windy City soul! The package features some of the bigger names from Brunswick, plus a few non-Chicago artists from later years too – all wrapped up in a collection that really gets at the charm and undeniably positive energy that Brunswick had when they were working at their best! Titles include "Higher & Higher" and "Let's Love Again" by Jackie Wilson, "Something You've Got" by Tyrone Davis, "There Was A Time" by Gene Chandler, "Funky Chicken" by Willie Henderson, "The Lovomaniacs" by Boobie Knight, "Keep On Dancin" and "Bohannon's Beat" by Bohannon, "I Like What You're Doing To Me" by Young & Co, "Are You My Woman" and "Too Good To Be Forgotten" by The Chi-Lites.

The mellower side of Brunswick Records – that slow-stepping, mid-tempo mode that worked perfectly for the hipper side of Chicago soul at the end of the 60s! The tunes here aren't as laidback as soul ballads from other labels – as Brunswick always found a great way to give things a groove, even when moving slow – a quality that really put the label years ahead of other soul imprints, and which really helped focus that loping style of Chicago rhythm that really set the Windy City apart from Detroit, Philly, and other soul scenes. The package features some key illustrations of this mode – plus a few slightly more uptempo numbers, too – all wrapped up in one mighty nice collection! Titles include "Light My Fire" by Erma Franklin, "Seven Days Of Night" by Barbara Acklin, "Because Of You" by Jackie Wilson, "Hope We Have" by The Artistics, "This Is The Lost Generation" by Lost Generation, "From The Teacher To The Preacher" by Gene Chandler & Barbara Acklin, "I'm Gonna Get You" by Lavern Baker, "Stoned Out Of My Mind" by Maryanna Farra & Satin Soul, and "Honey Babe" by Ginji James.

A sweet celebration of 30 years of Kent Records – a longtime home to rare soul from the 60s and 70s, with killer collections like these! The set is way more than a rehash of the label's work from the past three decades – as it also features a big number of previously unreleased tunes too, making the package essential to any longtime fan of the label – as well as any lover of 60s soul in general! All tunes are as upbeat and groovy as you'd expect from the Northern Soul reference in the title – and the whole thing's a smoking reminder of why we've trusted Kent with our record-buying dollars for so many years. Titles include "You Only Live Twice (orig take)" by Lorraine Chandler, "Faith & Understanding (alt mix)" by The Magicians, "What Should I Do (alt mix)" by Little Ann, "I'd Be A Millionaire" by Chuck Jackson, " Two Wrongs Don't Make A Right" by The Mayberry Movement, "True Love Is In The Heart" by Alexander Patton, "Changes" by Lilly Fields, "I'm Shooting High (alt mix)" by OC Tolbert, "I'm Stepping Out Of The Picture" by Johnny Maestro & The Crests, "Handwriting On The Wall" by Bobby Wisdom, "Baby Without You" by Gene & Gary, and "Have Faith In Me" by Sugar & The Spices.

Compilation put together by the GRT label in the mid 70s, who owned the chess/cadet group of labels, so it's heavy on the Chicago sound. There's a few cuts from ABC records too, like the Impressions "It's All Right" and Bobby Bland's "Turn On Your Love Light", but basically the track listing reads like the playlist from WVON or WBEE from the early 70s, loads of heavy hitting South Side R&B and soul numbers: the Dells "Stay In My Corner", Gene Chandler "I Fooled You This Time", Fontella Bass "Rescue Me", Pigmeat Markham "Here Comes the Judge" and Ramsey Lewis' "Wade in the Water" and 18 more!

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"!

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)".

Magnificent! Charles Earland may well be our favorite-ever jazz organist – and after you hear this set, he'll probably be yours too! Charles really didn't emerge as a name until the beginning of the 70s – and although that decade did some nasty stuff to some of the 60s best organ players, Earland managed to really get a heck of a lot out of the decade, twisting and turning his style with all the changes in arrangements and instrumentation, yet always keeping it real, laying down killer solos and funky grooves that rank with some of the best organ work of his generation! This 2CD set is the first to really pay tribute to Earland's genius – and it's a massive batch of tracks the spans his early years at Prestige Records, and moves into his work for labels like Mercury, Columbia, and Muse. Disc 1 features "funky organ grooves" – 10 tracks from Prestige and Muse with a straight heavy soul jazz funk groove, cut with monster players like Melvin Sparks, Idris Muhammad, Gary Chandler, and Virgil Jones. Tracks on the set include "Murilley", "Spinky", "Betty's Dilemma", "Sing A Simple Song", "Morgan", "My Favorite Things", and "Sing A Simple Song" – and the grooves are hard and funky all the way through! Disc 2 features "jazz funk and beyond" – beginning with Earland's spacier jam cuts on the Leaving This Planet session for Prestige, then moving into his jams on Arp and Electric Piano for Mercury, and some of his later R&B funk cuts for Columbia. Most of this work's never been on CD before – and the wealth of Earland's talent here will take you way past his early Black Talk years. Titles include "Phire", "Coming To You Live", "Red Clay", "Intergalactic Love Song", "Cosmic Fever", "Betty Boop", "Let The Music Play", and "Over & Over".