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The sound of The Beatles, completely re-imagined by a host of hip acts from Brazil – a stunning lineup that includes some under-discovered talents from the younger generation, plus a few key artists from earlier years as well! As you'd guess from the "69" in the title, most of the tracks here are from the final years of the group – mostly numbers from Let It Be,plus some solo tunes too – opened up and given a whole new sort of energy here – showing the rich inspiration the fab four were still able to provide, even at the end! Beatles music has been a crucial influence on Brazil, from the 60s Jovem Guarda and Tropicalia scenes onward – and the work here really shows the range of influences, extrapolated through really creative instrumentation, vocal arrangements, and production techniques. The whole thing's hardly another "tribute to" session – and instead is more like an extended poem inspired by the work of John, Paul, George, and Ringo. Titles on this first volume include "Dig It" by Astronauta Pingium, "Let It Be" by Ivan Lins, "Two Of Us" by Leoni & Leo Jaime, "Dig A Pony" by Biquini Cavadao, "Across The Universe" by Rodrigo Santos, "Paul's Piano Intro" by Vitor Araujo, "Let IT Down" by Maria Gadu, "Wah Wah" by Tortu with Sergio Dias, and "The Long & Winding Road" by Raimundo Fagner.

The great second album from The Bo-Keys – the stellar Memphis combo that's a mix of younger players and veteran session musicians from of the vaunted Hi Records scene of the classic era – who deliver a straight up knockout with Got To Get Back! We dug the group's earlier work, but this one really raises the bar. It's not so much a throwback to the late 60s and 70s golden era of Memphis and other points southern soul as it is a modern statement on the sounds longevity – committed with the purest authenticity. There's funky and smouldering soul instrumentals and vocal numbers with an incredible lineup of guests – including the great Otis Clay, plus Percy Wiggins, William Bell and Charlie Musselwhite. They work equally great in a number of modes, too. Titles include "Hi Roller", "Jack And Ginger", "Sundown On Beale", "90 Days Same As Cash", "Cauley Flower", "Got To Get Back (To My Baby)" with Otis Clay, "Weak Spot" with William Bell, "Catch This Teardrop" with Percy Wiggins and more.

Francesco De Masi's soundtrack to the original Inglorious Bastards, aka Counterfeit Commandos – the seedy little 70s Italian-made war yarn with Fred Williamson and Bo Svenson that influenced Tarantino's not-really-a-remake! De Masi's symphonic suite and live orchestrations bring a triumphant sweep, as the best Italian soundtrack composers of the era did, just pulpy enough, and provide the right levels of dramatic sounds. Great stuff!

A rare session on BYG/Actuel – not jazz, but avant classical work, featuring two striking modern pieces! Side one features Terry Riley's "Keyboard Study 2" – performed by pianists Gerard Fremy and Martine Joste. Side two features Pierre Marietan's "Initiative 1" – performed by GERM, the Groupe D'Etude et Realisation Musicale, featuring a lineup that includes piano, cello, trumpet, violin, bass, and voice.

A killer 60s soundtrack! The score was written for a strange biker film that starred Marianne Faithfull and Alain Delon – and it's filled with lots of driving grooves, wailing organ lines, and jangly guitar parts. The whole thing's strung together with occasional sound effects, giving the album a cool spacey film-ish sound – and there's lots of moments that feel a lot like some of the great and groovy Italian or French 60s soundtracks. The theme is incredible – and other titles include "Dream", "Holiday With Raymond", "Surrender To A Stranger", "Dawn Idyll", "Big Bare Beat", and "Don't Ask Me".

Do you need a dollar? You just might get one with this stellar and soulful single by Aloe Blacc – rawly produced, memorably composed, and one of the finer underground soul singles of 2010! "I Need A Dollar" may sound familiar – it's the theme song to How To Make It In America on HBO – but that aside, it's a winning single and a sign of the great things to come on Aloe's Good Things LP. He takes a socially conscious tack on the A-side that serves the sound wonderfully. Co-produced and by Jeff Dynamite and Truth & Soul player Leon Michels – the latter providing tight horn arrangements. The flip "Take Me Back" is a more measured funky soul number that's just as excellent.

Way more than just an album with Gene Ammons as a leader – and instead, a set that truly earns the "all stars" listed on the cover – thanks to a great array of supporting players, and a very loose, open-ended jam session style that lets everyone get in plenty of solo space! Ammons' tenor is tremendous, but he's also a great collaborator here, too – working with Idrees Suliman on trumpet, Pepper Adams on baritone, Mal Waldron on piano, Art Taylor on drums, Doug Watkins on bass, and Ray Barretto on conga – in a mode that's maybe slightly tighter than some of the blowing sessions Prestige was doing at the time, but which still has that key longform creative energy that made the hardbop generation so great. Titles include "Blue Gene", "Scamperin", "Blue Greens n Beans", and "Hip Tip" – and all tracks are long, with plenty of focus on solos!

Very nice album by Jug that often gets overlooked because it's comprised of 2 different sessions, and can't get the "historical" writeup of being a single significant moment in the studio. Some tracks – including "Lascivious" and "Soft Winds" – are with a tight quartet that features the very soulful piano of Patti Brown. The others are with a larger group that has a whole horn section backing Jug up. The sound's a bit unusual for his records of the time, but it also gives him a great platform to work from, and he wails out of the group on his solos. Other titles include "Lullaby Of The Leaves" and "Things Ain't What They Used To Be".

Not Afrobeat, but Astrobeat – a unique hybrid of older funk modes and contemporary cosmic touches – all served up beautifully by Ariya! The album definitely echoes older modes from the Ethiopian scene of the 70s – particularly the chugging rhythms and tightly vamping instrumentation that you might know from the work of Fela or Tony Allen – but there's also some more 21st Century elements on the keyboards, which have a crackling bit of electricity that goes beyond the usual electric piano used back in the day – and which really helps give the record a different feel. Don't get us wrong – because nothing here is too slick, overproduced, or remix-heavy – the music is definitely Afro Funk at the core, just inflected in some really sweet ways – and served up mostly instrumental, on cuts that include "Blood In The Water", "Turncoat", "Future Ancestors", "New Frontiers", "Towards Other Worlds", and "Old Ground".

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 a few records cut by this surprisingly popular Australian group – temporary ex-pats to the US scene, featuring Errol Buddle on tenor and Bryce Rhode on piano, two of the country's greatest jazz players of the 50s and 60s. Given the sympatico between the Aussie and LA mode of the 50s – this Hollywood-recorded session fits right in with other styles of the Bethlehem catalog at the time. Tracks are short and tightly arranged – and tunes include "So Nice", "Few Get It", "That Old Feeling", "Koala", and "Lover Man".

A really wonderful back to basics session for Basie – featuring arrangements by longtime band members Frank Foster, Erick Dixon, Bobby Plater, and Thad Jones! The set also features vocals on 2 tracks by bluesy vocalist Richard Boone – a singer with a really great scatting approach – but overall, the real strength is the horn section, particularly Al Aarons, Dixon, and Eddie Lockjaw Davis – who all get in some very nice solo work. Tracks are mostly older numbers, Basie-ized – and played with a laidback tone that's a real contrast from the higher energy early 60s recordings. Titles include "Squeeze Me", "Frankie & Johnny", "Boone's Blues", "I Got Rhythm", and "Hey Jim".

Very righteous work from Fontella Bass – an album done after her time at Chess Records, and after her work in Paris with the Art Ensemble Of Chicago – in a heartfelt, southern soul mode that's totally great! Fontella's back working with producer Oliver Sain, who first brought her fame back in the 60s – but the sound is a bit more sophisticated than before, drenched with roots from gospel and country soul, but also inflected with some of the more righteous modes of the early 70s, too. Fontella's vocals are incredible – with a range that should have made her one of the leading ladies of soul in the 70s – and titles include "To Be Free", "I Need Love", "Wiping Tears", "Hold On this Time", "Talking About Freedom", and "My God My Freedom My Home". 4 bonus tracks on this CD edition: "It Sure Is Good", "I'm Leaving The Choice To You", "Home Wrecker" and "It's Hard To Get Back In".

An earlier classic from The Beach Boys – and easily one of their best records from the prime sun and surf era for the group – with rave up rockers and some sweet ballads! So much as been written about the foreboding behind-the-scenes circumstances in Beach Boys lore, even during these early years, it can steal away from the more innocent charms if you allow it to – but don't! This is all about soaring, groovy harmonies and impeccable production – on tunes that include "I Get Around", "All Summer Long", "Hushabye", "Little Honda", "Wendy", "Carl's Big Chance", "Girls On The Beach", "Drive-In", "Don't Back Down" and more. Includes the complete album in both the mono and stereo mixes.

Peter Bernstein really makes things kick here – thanks to a hip quartet that features Richard Wyands on piano, John Webber on bass, and Jimmy Cobb on drums! With a rhythm section like that, the session better cook – and it does so nicely, in the open freedom of the Smalls Live setting – with some long tracks that are awash in extended, exploratory solos from Bernstein – really showing off his skills on the guitar in a way you don't always get on some of his solo sessions, often with a nice raspy edge that reminds us of Kenny Burrell at his best from years back. Titles include the originals "Vida Blue" and "Sideburns" – plus "Say Little Mama Say", "Love Walked In", and "Stairway To The Stars".

Maria Bethania's one of those artists who just seems to get better and better with time – already mature in her youth, and tremendously powerful in these later years – working with a depth of feeling that few of her contemporaries can match! And yet through it all, Bethania's also very subtle – more subtle than in her early days, when there was always a touch of drama in her music – working here in some gentle instrumental backdrops that almost take her back past her roots, into an imagined territory that really works wonderfully for her evocative vocals – a space that's all her own, as you might guess from the title! Tracks include "Salmo", "Fado", "Barulho", "Casablanca", "Vive", "Calmaria/Nao Sei Quantas Almas Tenho", and "Lagrima".

Boy, does the heavy slab psychedelic sludge grooves of Blue Cheer ever sound wonderful, even more than 40 years since it originally walked the earth! Outsideinside hit not too long after the classic Vincebus Eruptem, and damned if we can determine why it's not as celebrated as the debut. That fuzzed out stomp of a sound is back in full effect, as are the titanic drums and an overall sound that uses an electric blues influence as a springboard into heavy cosmic space. Includes their ferocious cover of "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" plus "Feathers From Your Tree", "Just A Little Bit", "Gypsy Ball", "Come And Get It", "The Hunter", "Babylon" and "Magnolia Caboose Babyfinger".

A landmark set from a group who only ever gave the world two albums – but who've gone on to have a huge influence over the years! This initial offering from Breakwater is a masterful blend of jazzy fusion and mellower soul – a sound sifted together so perfectly, it really tops the rest of the combo's contemporaries – hitting a careful balance that never gets too cheesy or commercial, and which still manages to glow as strongly into the 21st century as it did when first released back in the day! The sound here is sublime – warm, but never sleepy – jazzy, but never cliched – and mixed in such a way that the vocals and instruments almost get center stage in the spotlight without trying to crowd one another out. Titles include the incredible "Work it Out" – worth the price of the record alone – plus "No Limit", "That's Not What We Came Here For", "Free Yourself", "Do It Till The Fluid Gets Hot", and "Feel Your Way".

A landmark set from a group who only ever gave the world two albums – but who've gone on to have a huge influence over the years! This initial offering from Breakwater is a masterful blend of jazzy fusion and mellower soul – a sound sifted together so perfectly, it really tops the rest of the combo's contemporaries – hitting a careful balance that never gets too cheesy or commercial, and which still manages to glow as strongly into the 21st century as it did when first released back in the day! The sound here is sublime – warm, but never sleepy – jazzy, but never cliched – and mixed in such a way that the vocals and instruments almost get center stage in the spotlight without trying to crowd one another out. Titles include the incredible "Work it Out" – worth the price of the record alone – plus "No Limit", "That's Not What We Came Here For", "Free Yourself", "Do It Till The Fluid Gets Hot", and "Feel Your Way".

Seminal work from The Brecker Brothers – 6 of the group's best albums, plus the two Blue Montreux live albums – packaged together in one very cool set, in tiny LP-like sleeves! The self-titled Brecker Brothers album is the first super effort from the team of Randy & Michael Brecker, whose twin-horn frontline forged a very popular sound in the mid 70s – some really well-crafted numbers, done with a strong smooth approach that still sits well after all these years! Back To Back features the twin horns of Randy & Michael Brecker, along with alto by David Sanborn, keyboards by Don Grolnick, and guitar by Steve Khan – but one of the things that really makes the album great is the vocal arrangements, which were handled by Luther Vandross, who also sung on the album along with Patti Austin. The set's got a great soulful feel – with some wonderful mellow groovers that have a sweet 70s sound! Don't Stop The Music is a stone classic from The Brecker Brothers – working with touches of club and disco grooves to give an even smoother edge to the jazz funk of the pair. And thanks to some solid soloing that's not afraid to go for the easy spots, the album's a lot more solid than an number of sound-a-like copycat LPs to come out at the time! Heavy Metal Be Bop is tight and funky jamming, with a bit more guitar here than on some of their other records – hence, possibly, the title! Keyboards and guitar jam strongly, but Randy and Michael still get in plenty of space for their solos – pushing their jazz licks with the jamming intensity that might normally be relegated to guitar heroes in the rock world. On Detente, the Brecker's are still rooted in jazz, but definitely step out with plenty of soul in the mix too – vocals from DJ Rogers, Carl Carlwell, Luther Vandross, and others – all of whom really add a lot to the set! On Straphangin, the BBs manage to groove with a sharpness and depth that most of their smoother fusion contemporaries just weren't hitting – an edge that reminds us of the deeper roots these guys had before they started hitting the mainstream! Last up are the live fusion classics Blue Montreux Vols 1 & 2 – both recorded as a unique live all-star outing by a group of Arista's best jazz players at the time! The group's an octet, but plays together in differing formations throughout the record – with Warren Bernhardt on keyboards, Michael Brecker on saxes, Randy Brecker on trumpet, Steve Jordan on drums, Steve Khan and Larry Coryell on guitars, Tony Levin on bass, and Mike Maineri on vibes – the last of which really make for some of the best numbers on the album!

James Brown screams at the beginning of the record – "I'm Back! I'm Back!" – which is his proclamation that he was ready to take on a whole new generation of funk music – grooving with a new sound that was guaranteed to hit as big as it did in earlier years! The approach is a bit more uptempo than previous albums, but still never at all in a disco/club mode – and James really does strike a strong new chord with the groove here – stretching things out and cooking things up nicely. Rhythms are still quite sharp, although possibly not as dynamic as before – and titles include the great title medley of "Get Up Offa That Thing/Release The Pressure", plus "This Feeling", "Home Again", "I Refuse To Lose", and "Can't Take It With You".

A great lost album from James Brown – and totally funky! The record's got a super-hip cover that shows James standing in a blue room with three fine foxy ladies, and the words "I Can't Stand Myself When You Touch Me" are emblazoned across the top – and the whole thing's as super funky as it looks! The record features many obscure King singles from the mid and late 60s, great little tunes that we always enjoy on funky 45s, and which are sewn together into one of the rawer James Brown LPs from the decade. James and the band are playing Vox instruments – as you can tell by the shameless ad on the back cover – and the record has a garagey funk sound that reminds us of the best Desco work by artists like Lee Fields & Joseph Henry. A prize in any funk collection – and with the cuts "The Soul Of JB", "I Can't Stand Myself When You Touch Me (parts 1 & 2)", "Get It Together (parts 1 & 2)", "Funky Soul #1", "Why Did You Take Your Love From Me", and "Baby Baby Baby Baby". Also features the funky hit "There Was A Time" – always a treat!

Surprisingly nice work from Peter Brown – a groover who still managed to hit on all burners after his early years at TK Records! Brown's definitely got a crossover feel here – clubby rhythms, but topped with vocals that belie his look on the front – and which, along with the catchy grooves, should have done more than enough to get Peter some wider play with early 80s audiences. Yet there's also some key dancefloor craft here – no-nonsense approach to the bottom of the tunes, and never too much cloying production up top – which serves to keep things nice and lean, and plenty clean too. Titles include "Give Me Up", "Heaven In Your Eyes", "Shall We Dance", "Danger", "The Love Game", "Satisfaction Guaranteed", and "Baby Gets High". CD features bonus tracks – "Baby Gets High (7" mix)", "Baby Gets High (12" mix)", "Overnight Sensation (12" mix)", and "Overnight Sensation (inst)".

The second album from disco superstar Peter Brown – and a batch of tracks that's a bit less clubby than before! Brown's emerging here more as a fully-fledged pop singer in his own right – showing at least a bit of confidence by putting himself on the front cover this time around, even though his back is to the camera! The tunes are catchy, and co-produced with Cory Wade – who'd helped so strongly with Brown's Fantasy Love Affair classic for TK Records – and there's plenty of that sweetly compressed production in this set too. Titles include the crossover classic "Love In Our Hearts" – which almost has a Queen-like chanting groove – plus "Penguin", "West Of The North Star", "Leadmeon", "Got To Get The Show On The Road", "It's Alright", and "Crank It Up".

The last-ever live performance of the legendary Dave Brubeck Quartet with Paul Desmond – recorded in 1967, but issued here for the first time ever! The group was the stuff of legend in the 50s and 60s – Dave's incredible approach to piano and time signatures, supported by amazing rhythm progressions from bassist Eugene Wright and drummer Joe Morello – topped by some completely sublime work on alto sax by the mighty Paul Desmond! Throughout the 60s, the group really expanded their sound wonderfully – through a set of richly exploratory albums for Columbia Records, taking their core approach into a wide range of new styles and formats that really made for some beautiful music. Here, they deliver a stellar swan song – working in a live performance that brings back a few classics, and also shows some of the new territory they'd taken too – all recorded beautifully, at a level that makes the record a perfect pairing with their studio albums for Columbia – almost as if the label had been holding back a gem after all these years. Titles include "For Drummers Only", "La Paloma Azul", "Three To Get Ready", "Someday My Prince Will Come", "I'm In A Dancing Mood", "Set My People Free", "Take Five", and "You Go To My Head".

A brilliant mix of Afro and deep funk styles – the kind of grooves you'd get if Fela Kuti hung out with The Meters in the late 60s! Budos Band recall the genius of 90s deep funk combo The Daktaris – and have a similar love of older African rhythms touched by a newer indie funk sound – a complexity in the group's well-arranged horn parts, but a simplicity to their rhythms that makes the album cook like some of our favorite classics from years back. Sax and trumpet lines are mixed nicely with heavy percussion and a fair bit of organ at the bottom – creating a murky groove that has a bit of New Orleans in the mix, but also has most of the instruments stepping along with the rhythm – in a very cool take on the Africa 70 sound. Tracks are all instrumental, and all incredible – and the record's one of the freshest we've heard from the deep funk underground in years – a second-generation set that gets way past simple copycat funk and into its own unique groove! Titles include "Budos Theme", "Ghost Walk", "King Charles", "Eastbound", "Across The Atlantic", "Up From The South", "TIBWF", and "Monkey See Monkey Do".

A pair of overlooked 70s gems from Jerry Butler – back to back on a single CD! Love's On The Menu is understated genius from Jerry – the kind of record that follows nicely off of his best strengths for Mercury in the early 70s – and which has him furthering the level of mature soul that was his greatest contribution to music in the decade! As before, the best tunes here are often the mellower ones – sung in a mode that's warmly soulful, and which often raises the bar for mainstream soul – to a level that would allow a lot more work to come from other singers a few years later. The title cut – "Love's On The Menu Tonight" – is a perfect illustration of this style – and other cuts include "The Devil In Mrs Jones", "Thank You Early Bird", "I'm Goin Left", "Don't Let This Smile Fool You", "I Don't Want Nobody To Know", and "This Is Your Life". Suite For The Single Girl is a great little concept album – and one that really shows the continuing sophistication and growth of Jerry Butler's music in the 70s! The record is dedicated to the "single girl" of the 70s (portrayed with the sad little photo of a brown bag lunch and a Gucci purse on the cover) – the new professional woman in the workplace – a surprisingly popular theme for many other singers of the period, but handled here by Butler with way more poise and class than any of his contemporaries! Arrangements are by James Mack and Paul Wilson, who often bring a great mellow mode to the best cuts – almost a Leon Ware style of laidback sensuality. A few other tunes are groovers, but still fit in just right – and titles include "Suite For The Single Girl", "I Wanna Do It To You", "Music In Her Dreams", "Only Pretty Girls", "Let's Go Get Out Of Town", "Chalk It Up", and "Ms Fine".

Donald Byrd's second foray into the "with voices" genre – done with the same arranging talents of Coleridge Perkinson, the lyrical modernist who made Donald's A New Perspective such a success! The group that plays with Byrd is excellent, and includes Freddie Roach, Herbie Hancock, Stanley Turrentine, and Grant Green – all of whom blend beautifully with the choir, and know when to lay back, and when to come out strong with hard rhythm playing and good solos. Donald Byrd and Duke Pearson wrote all of the tunes, and the set's got some beautiful shimmering solos by Byrd which just float dreamily over the album's gorgeous orchestrations. With the tracks "Pearly Gates", "March Children", "Brother Isaac", and "I'm Tryin' To Get Home".

Somebody's finally gone out and written a book about one subject we can really get behind – the Record Store – and not only that, they've done a beautiful job with the entire package too! The book takes a look at the importance of the record store – not just historically, but culturally as well – with an especially important focus on the need for stores in the digital age, as a way of keeping both the music, and interest in the music, alive and well for generations to come! As you might guess from the subtitle, authors Calamar and Gallo have a bit of an agenda in their portrait – but they really pave the way with some great recollections of record stores past, incredible bits not just from folks who owned and worked in stores, but also from famous shoppers, artists, and collectors too. And even cooler, the book is filled with lots of great photographs – wonderful images of old stores in color and black and white, plus lots of great sidebar bits that help draw a focus on key issues in record retail. If you, like us, get a bit of a rush every time you walk into a record store, then you'll be sure to get an equal rush from this book – a wonderful tome that's one we can send home to our parents, and finally show them we've got a career worth a bit of respect! 238 pages, hardcover, and really beautifully done.

An amazing full length collection of work from Rickey Calloway – an artist we've really only known from individual singles, but one who packs a hell of a punch in the space of this rock-solid CD! Rickey's groove is right out of the James Brown camp of the glory days – tight tight tight instrumentation, filled with lots of riffing grooves that are right on the beat – topped with Rickey's amazing vocals, which feel like they're lifted from some obscure funky 45s from back in the day! Production is nice and raw on most numbers and there's a few mellower deep soul tracks which help round out the sound wonderfully – giving the set the full scope you might normally expect to hear from Lee Fields. The packaging on this one's a bit slim, but the music's totally great – and the set features 16 killer cuts that include "Tell Me", "Lose It", "Shed A Tear", "Groove Master", "Get The Groove", "That's The Way", "Paying My Dues", "Get It Right", "A Letter", "I'm In Love", and "The Feeling".

A cool open-top plastic sleeve for storing your CDs! This one works like the LP and 45 sleeves we stock – in that the plastic hugs your CD package on the front and back, and on the sides and bottom – but the top is open, so you can slide out the jewel case for easy access when listening! There's no flap at all to get in the way – and the sleeves are great if you store your CDs on shelves vertically, and don't like the outside cases to get scratched up. This version fits a range of multi-disc packages – including older-styled jewel cases that handle 2 to 4 CDs, and most of the contemporary larger slipcover styled CD packages too.

A cool open-top plastic sleeve for storing your CDs! This one works like the LP and 45 sleeves we stock – in that the plastic hugs your CD package on the front and back, and on the sides and bottom – but the top is open, so you can slide out the jewel case for easy access when listening! There's no flap at all to get in the way – and the sleeves are great if you store your CDs on shelves vertically, and don't like the outside cases to get scratched up. This version fits a standard jewel case CD.

A cool open-top plastic sleeve for storing your CDs! This one works like the LP and 45 sleeves we stock – in that the plastic hugs your CD package on the front and back, and on the sides and bottom – but the top is open, so you can slide out the jewel case for easy access when listening! There's no flap at all to get in the way – and the sleeves are great if you store your CDs on shelves vertically, and don't like the outside cases to get scratched up. This version fits a digipack, CD single, or slimline case.

Otis Clay, still going strong – stepping out here on a sweet new recording from the Chicago scene – done with that warm mix of modern modes and deep soul roots we really love from his work of the late 70s! Clay's vocals have, if anything, only gotten better with age – really able to find the right notes and inflections to make the music sparkle – even more so than some of Otis records from back in the day! Instrumentation is relatively laidback – done in a mode that's a bit like some of the Jackson or Memphis styles at the start of the 80s, but without any of the bluesy inflections that might get in the way of the sort of solid soul performance that Clay delivers here. The legendary Tom Tom 84 handled many of the arrangements on the set – and although most of the material is new, Otis also tweaked a few older favorites for the set – to make for a nice long album, too. Titles include "Love's After Me", "All That's Missing Is You", "Walk A Mile In My Shoes", "Even Now", "I Thought You Knew", "Truth Is", "I Know I'm Over You", "Even When I Win", "I Keep Trying", "Steal Away To The Hideaway", and "The Only Way Is Up".

A landmark LP of guitar-based funk! Dennis Coffey had been playing, arranging, and producing all over the Detroit soul scene by the time this album came out – so it wasn't like he really needed a hit to get paid or anything – but the record forever marked him as a guitar player to be reckoned with, and it was a perfect showcase for Coffey's fuzzed-out funky style, instantly recognizable and still extremely popular today! The album contains the monster breakbeat cut "Scorpio" – kind of a seminal text of hip hop – plus plenty of other groovers like "Getting It On", "Garden Of The Moon", "Big City Funk", and "Sad Angel".

A great set from Chicago's Joan Collaso – one of the hippest vocalists working today in the Windy City! There's a soulful swing to the record that grabs us right from the get-go – thanks to a killer take on "My Favorite Things" – done in an open-ended spirit that owes plenty to the John Coltrane legacy! Other tunes are quite nice too – and really pick up a great sense of rhythm that keeps things fresh – a hip sort of swing that makes the whole record feel like some lost soul jazz treasure from years back. Tunes are familiar, but they're really recast nicely – and Joan and the combo take things into mighty lively territory – on cuts that include "My Favorite Things", "Ooo Whee", "Return To Paradise", "Peel Me A Grape", "You've Changed", "Here's To Life", and "In A Sentimental Mood".

A trio of early 80s efforts from Con Funk Shun in a 2CD set – with bonus tracks! Touch is a killer from the group – one of the few mainstream funk groups who actually managed to sound better and better with each new record – and on this set, they really seem to come into their own! Titles include "Too Tight", "Lady's Wild", "Give Your Love To Me", "Kidnapped", "Welcome Back To Love", "Touch", and "Play Widit". Includes 2 bonus tracks: "Lady's Wild (12" Version)" and "Body Lovers (12" Version)". 7 is not the group's 7th album, but a bold statement of the unity they feel as a 7 piece ensemble – perfectly lived up to in the record's well-crafted grooves! The album's one of Con Funk Shun's best overall – really solid, but never too slick, very tight in the bass department, but still soulful on the vocal tip, and never afraid to slip into a sweeter, more mellow tune. Titles include "Straight From The Heart", "Bad Lady", "Promise You Love", "I'll Get You Back", "A Song For You", and "California 1". To The Mix has snapping grooves and a sweet clubby sound. The bass is tight, the keyboards are electric, and the rhythms are great – never forced or stiff, and always flowing with a sense of soul that's head and shoulders above most of the group's contemporaries. Vocals are strong too – especially on the numbers that step things down a few notches – and titles include "Ms Got The Body", "Let's Ride & Slide", "Everlove", "Hide & Freak", "You Are The One", "Take It To The Max", "The Freak", and "Love's Train". Includes the bonus "Ms Got The Body (12" Version)" and an instrumental version.

A lost album from 70s funk diva Betty Davis – and one that's every bit as essential as her music released back in the day! The set was recorded hot on the heels of Betty's classic Nasty Gal album – but it's got a groove that's almost more in the territory of her first two records on the Just Sunshine label – very hard, heavy, freaky, and fuzzy – with lots of sharp-edged guitar licks wrapped up around Davis' badass vocals – which have just as much attitude as ever! It's not clear why the album never saw the light of day back in the 70s, but it's an essential follow-up to Davis key classics – undeniably funky music by one of the most unique figures ever in soul – the kind of set that would have been a bomb, had it dropped in the 70s – and which will have an even greater impact when let loose in the 21st Century. Titles include "Stars Starve You Know", "Bottom Of The Barrel", "Crashin From Passion", "Whorey Angel", "It's So Good", "Is It Love Or Desire", "Bar Hoppin", and "Let's Get Personal".

A lost album from 70s funk diva Betty Davis – and one that's every bit as essential as her music released back in the day! The set was recorded hot on the heels of Betty's classic Nasty Gal album – but it's got a groove that's almost more in the territory of her first two records on the Just Sunshine label – very hard, heavy, freaky, and fuzzy – with lots of sharp-edged guitar licks wrapped up around Davis' badass vocals – which have just as much attitude as ever! It's not clear why the album never saw the light of day back in the 70s, but it's an essential follow-up to Davis key classics – undeniably funky music by one of the most unique figures ever in soul – the kind of set that would have been a bomb, had it dropped in the 70s – and which will have an even greater impact when let loose in the 21st Century. Titles include "Stars Serve You Know", "Bottom Of The Barrel", "Crashin From Passion", "Whorey Angel", "It's So Good", "Is It Love Or Desire", "Bar Hoppin", and "Let's Get Personal".

Eddie Lockjaw Davis swings way out here – working in that cool cooking mode from the 50s, with organist Shirley Scott a very important partner on the date! The group's got a larger sound than usual – thanks to the addition of trombonist Steve Pullman – a player we don't know much, but who shifts the groove nicely away from some of Davis' more staid cookbook albums. Rhythm is by George Duvivier on bass and Arthur Edgehill on drums – and titles include "Bahia", "Foxy", "Bingo Domingo", and "Can't Get Out Of This Mood".

An incredible collection of work from the vastly-overlooked Geater Davis – and a set that definitely lives up to its title! Geater Davis is a tremendous singer from the south – but one who barely ever got his due back in the 70s – even though these recordings for the tiny House Of Orange label are every bit as amazing as work coming out for bigger labels like Stax or Hi Records! Although Davis didn't record nearly as much as his contemporaries, he's got a sound that matches or beats them – a raw, raspy quality that's a bit like Bobby Blue Bland, touched with the depth of feeling we love in James Carr, peppered with elements of other Memphis singers – all produced to perfection with a sound that's got a deep-burning soul that never lets up. This excellent collection features all tracks from Geater's rare album Sweet Woman's Love, plus additional singles from the time – all produced by Allen Orange, an overlooked genius in the southern studio scene of the 70s. Titles include "Don't Marry A Fool", "Cry Cry Cry", "I Love You", "I Know My Baby Loves Me", "I Can Hold My Own", "Cold Love (long version)", "I'll Get By", "I'll Play The Blues For You", "Breath Taking Girl", and a killer long take on "For Your Precious Love".

A much-needed look at the mighty Sugar Pie DeSanto – a singer who really rocked Chess Records back in the 60s! DeSanto came to the label already boasting one hell of a groove – a rock-solid sense of rhythm that made all of her tunes groovers right from the get-go – and a raw vocal power that easily rivaled, if not beat, that of Etta James – her labelmate at Chess, and partner on a few duet tracks here! The collection's a non-stop soul party throughout – as upbeat as Northern Soul, but with plenty of deep soul elements as well – and it's the first time many of these cuts have been brought together on CD, and certainly never before as wonderful as this. Kent serves up some great notes and vintage photos with the package – the latter of which show Sugar Pie in action on stage, clearly one of the sexiest singers to work the circuit back in the 60s! Titles include "In The Basement (parts 1 & 2)", "Soulful Dress", "Witch For A Night", "Ask Me", "Good Timin", "Mr & Mrs", "Mama Didn't Raise No Fools", "Crazy Lovin", "There's Gonna Be Trouble", "Jump In My Chest", "Somewhere Down The Line", "Use What You Got", "Never Love A Stranger", "I Love You So Much", "Go Go Power", and "I Don't Wanna Fuss".

A wonderful tribute to the mighty talents of trombonist Raul De Souza – a package that features individual DVD and CD performances by the musician, brought together in one cool little set! Both formats feature recent material, ostensibly recorded for this package – and all tracks on the CD are not on the DVD – and vice versa – which means that you'll get an even broader picture of Raul than you might expect! The performances are great, too – very jazzy, with a style that focuses heavily on De Souza's lead trombone lines and solos – without much other instrumentation getting in the way. Given the many styles that Raul's used over the years, it's great to hear such a back to basics jazz-based set – echoed by guest work on the DVD from Joao Donato on piano and Hector Costita on tenor sax. DVD titles include "Spiritual", "A Vontade Mesmo", "St Remy", "Funky Man", "Bossa Eterna", "Jumping Street", and "Violao Quebrado" – and CD titles include "Alibi", "Ligia", "10 Minutos", "Voila", "Viva O Rio", "Up Jumped Spring", and "Todas As Tribos". Comes in an oversize package – with notes in English and Portuguese!

A beautiful bit of funky rocking soul – and the one and only album by the Deirdre Wilson Tabac – a group whose name is as strange as their grooves are funky! The group are best known for their well-compiled track "I Can't Keep From Cryin Sometimes" – an uptempo jazzy gem that mixes skipping Hammond with soaring vocals and some really great horns – and the rest of this set has a very similar feel – one that blends jazz rock with more soulful vocals, in a groove that's totally unique! Sonny Casella wrote, arranged, and produced the record – and he's also the drummer in the group, so there's keen attention to rhythms on all tracks. Titles include "I Can't Keep From Cryin", "Magic One", "I Go To You", "Other Side Of Life", "Angel Baby", "Get Back", "The Last Thing On His Mind", and "Let's All Join Together". Includes two bonus tracks "Turn Around" and "Children Listen".

A sweet duo groover from Delegation – easily the group's most obscure album, but also one of their best! The set's got loads of great keyboards and basslines – much more electric than the mode used on the group's earlier records, but handled with a great deal of class – never clunky at all, and instead a lean groove that really holds onto the funky soul of previous years! There's a classy air to the album – as you might guess from the cover – and the set easily rivals some of the best of the leaner 80s soul mode of the time – and maybe even tops some of the best, too. A really great set overall – with tracks that include "Gonna Bring The House Down", "Tell Her", "I Figure I'm Out Of Your Life", "What Took You So Long", and "No Words To Say". CD features bonus tracks – "It's Your Turn (single mix)", "Can We Get It Back", "What Took You So Long (single mix)", "It's Your Turn (12" ext mix)", and "It's Your Turn (inst)".

Sweet keyboard soul from Deodato – a set that steps off nicely from the strengths of his big hits on CTI, hitting a similarly flowing groove that's really great! The instrumentation here is a bit more expanded than before, but never in a way that buries the keyboards – and Deodato's right out front on a range of electric keys that get some great support from John Tropea's finely-honed work on guitar! Titles include "Havana Strut", "Whirlwinds", "West 42nd Street", and a nice cover of Steely Dan's "Do It Again". And heck, even the album's version of Glen Miller's "Moonlight Serenade" manages to come off like a funk tune!

Two post-CTI gems from Deodato – back to back on a single CD! Whirlwinds is sweet keyboard soul from Deodato – a set that steps off nicely from the strengths of his big hits on CTI, hitting a similarly flowing groove that's really great! The instrumentation here is a bit more expanded than before, but never in a way that buries the keyboards – and Deodato's right out front on a range of electric keys that get some great support from John Tropea's finely-honed work on guitar! Titles include "Havana Strut", "Whirlwinds", "West 42nd Street", and a nice cover of Steely Dan's "Do It Again". And heck, even the album's version of Glen Miller's "Moonlight Serenade" manages to come off like a funk tune! Artistry is a live set from Deodato – but one that's very much in the mode of his best CTI studio sessions – with soaring, over the top keyboard work that's totally great – backed by some tightly compressed guitar, bass, and drums, with just enough funk in the mix to keep things interesting! As with other Deodato records from the time, there's a mix of moods here that comes together nicely – a range that goes past his easy hits, and shows Deodato to be one of the hippest, most soulful keyboard talents of his generation. Titles include a great version of "Super Strut" that grooves for over 8 minutes, and which has some firey guitar that really competes with Deodato's work on the keys – and other tracks include "Farewell To A Friend", "Pavane For A Dead Princess", "Rio Sangre", and "Jivin".

A triple-header from DeRobert and the Half-Truths – with plenty of punch in the grooves! "Too Busy" is a really raw number – riffing guitar with a darker edge than most funky tracks – topped with some off-kilter horns, all backing up DeRobert's vocals – which themselves have an edgey feel too! "Sucker Punch" has a wicked groove from the get-go – kind of a classic Memphis funk mode, as you'd find from early 70s Stax! "Cop Cars" has a great slow drum break at the start – just the sort that might have been sampled for some True School gem years back – and the whole tune builds very slowly, with snakey instrumentation, all very much in the best El Michels mode!

An underappreciated soul set from George Duke for Epic – his Rendezvous from '84 – an engagement worth keeping! Given the mid 80s release date, you might be expecting a whole lot of programming and drum machine action – there's a bit of it, but this is a really lively set with some great musicianship across the board – and the songs are pretty strong, too. Duke produced, sings and handles an array of instrumentation from keys to synths and programming, with Stanley Clarke, Paulinho Da Costa, Ernie Watts, Oscar Castro Neves and other great players in the mix. Titles include "Got To Get Back To Love", "Take It On", "She Can Wait Forever", "Stay Awhile", "Thinking Of You" (with some nice extended string arrangements), "Secret Rendezvous", and "Ipanema Lady"

Dylan & The Band's legendary Basement Tapes – those amazing late 60s Woodstock recordings – and an album that was a classic long before it was officially released in the mid 70s! Bootleg after bootleg of some these recordings might have sold enough copies on the grey market in the early 70s to go platinum back in the day, so there's little wonder that Columbia would finally get some kind of official release out there – and it lives up to the legend! Dylan's conversational, seemingly spontaneous lyricism stretches over a good portion of it, with some much more soulful numbers, too – and those are all the more effective with The Band's incredible instrumentation, backing and occasional lead vocals. Includes "Odds And Ends", "Million Dollar Bash", "Tears Of Rage", "Tiny Montgomery", "Nothing Was Delivered", "Too Much Of Nothing", "Clothes Line Saga", "You Ain't Goin Nowhere", "Open The Door, Homer", "This Wheel's On Fire, "Crash On the Levee (Down In The Flood)", "Long Distance Operator".

Ed OG's nice debut, with a slightly jazzy touch on the production and literate, intelligent lyrics. We really couldn't get with "Bug A Boo", but besides that, this first LP's solid from start to finish, from the days when that wasn't so uncommon. Drop the needle on this and head back in time to a day when backpacker wasn't necessarily a derogatory term, a beat wasn't a straight loop of a common sample, and rhyme skills included being able to follow the beat, which was typically at least a little bit funky. With the now classic "Be A Father To Your Child", plus standout tracks like "I'm Different", "Speak Upon It", "I Got To Have It" and "Life Of A Kid In The Ghetto". 12 tracks in all, also includes "Gotta Have Money", "Feel Like A Nut", "She Said It Was Great", "Dedicated To The Right Wingers", 'Let ME Tickle Your Fancy" and "Stop (Think For A Moment)".

The second album of heavy east coast funk and slow rolling rhymes from the brothers from Brentwood. Nice, fat trunk rattling production and Eric and Parrish's trademark back and forth rhymes keep this set fresh,even today. Loaded with classics: "So What Cha Sayin'", "Get the Bozack", "The Big Payback", "Please Listen to My Demo", "Snappin' Necks", and "You Had Too Much To Drink".

Eight soulful brothers of the Luckett family – all coming together here in a wonderful gospel set from the 70s! The harmonies are tremendous, and often balanced with great leads from Rev LC Luckett – creating the kind of interplay you might get in the front of a church, yet given a lot more soulful focus for the album – often with a vibe that takes us back to soulful interplay from rootsier records of the 60s! The album's a tremendous one – the sort of obscure gospel set that definitely gets you digging for more spiritual sides – and a key illustration that many male groups of this nature were almost more soul than some of their secular contemporaries. Titles include "Just Moving On", "Around This Altar", "Joy When I Think About", "Help Me To Carry On", and "Where He Leads Me".

A killer array of funky grooves from Fela Kuti – served up in a 6LP box set, with records chosen by Ginger Baker! Baker's a key choice to work on the set – given his famous recordings with Fela, heard here on the album's leadoff record – Fela & Ginger Baker Live! Next up is Roforofo Fight – an early full-length Fela LP, filled with 4 tight groovers that stand with his best work! "Go Slow" begins with this mad trumpet solo that you'll recognize from a famous sample, especially as it mixes in with keyboards; "Roforofo Fight" is a fast-time groover that has the drums working overtime to keep up with the political power of the cut. Confusion features a monster 26 minute track – and it begins with Sun Ra Arkestra-like washes of sound and spaciness, before leaping into a bass-heavy groove that provides a perfect platform for heavy jamming and vamping by the band. Alagbon Close is a lesser-known 70s session from Fela – but a great one too, and a record that captures the Africa 70 group at all their early raw best! Tracks are both very long – stretching for a side of the record apiece – and the title track "Alagbon Close" features some amazing keyboard lines on the intro, all tinny and thin – and done with this other-worldly almost Sun Ra-like quality! The other tune, "I Get No Eye For Back", also has some amazing electric piano too – but intertwined with some very strong horn work from the group! He Miss Road brings back Ginger Baker – who's producing the group, and gives them a sweet progressive vibe. Titles include "He Miss Road", "Monday Morning In Lagos", and "It's No Possible". Last up is the Na Poi album, with two long cuts cuts – "Na Poi" and "You No Go Die Unless"! Both have a freer feel than usual, with heavy percussion added into the usual mix of keyboards and sax solos. All records in original cover art, too!

A pair of dramatic action soundtracks, both for Don Siegel films – each with a slightly different feel! The CD begins with ten tracks from the 1962 military thriller Hell Is For Heroes – scored by Leonard Rosenman with a subtle sense of drama at points – the kind of different gentle instrumental passages needed to support the diverse personality in the cast – which includes Bobby Darin, Bob Newhart, Fess Parker, and Steve McQueen! Things are pretty restrained, but in a good way – mostly that sort of tense holding back you'd get in a 60s thriller, than any over the top military moments. Titles include "The Mine Field", "Back To The Line", "Off Limits Bar", "Reese", and "Homers Disappointment". Escape From Alcatraz is a great Jerry Fielding score for a late 70s Clint Eastwood film – almost a reverse heist, given the subject matter – with the sort of brooding, tense moments, followed by bursts of action – as you'd get in a heist score. Fielding's music has a great way of conveying the literal darkness and shadows in many of the scenes on the screen – and there's a few moments that have a weird crackle, almost an instrumental sound effect of sorts. Titles include "To The Finish Line", "Trial Run", "Nosey Cop", "The Pipe", "Carpenter Shop", "Cockroach", and "Welcome To Alcatraz".

A never-heard soundtrack for a never-seen film – and a record that's every bit as funky as better-known sets from the blacksploitation era! Final Solution were a small time group from Chicago's west side in the 70s, but on this wicked little soundtrack they sparkle just as brightly as Isaac Hayes, Willie Hutch, Curtis Mayfield, or any of our favorite soundtrack soul artists from the time – working in a really righteous approach to soul with lots of heavy rhythms on the bottom and rumbling bass in the mix – so that even when the tunes are mellow, there's still a bold, brash sort of power to the set! The vocals are mostly delivered in harmony style, again with a nice edge – a bit like The Impressions work on Three The Hard Way, but with more of an indie soul feel overall, given the production circumstances. Once again, our hats are off to Numero for unearthing this gem – and as usual, the full tale of the group, the movie, and the music is told at length in the accompanying 16 page booklet! Titles include "Brotherman", "Never Coming Back Again", "I Don't Care", "Girl In My Life", "Gotta Get Through To You", "One Day", "I'm Ready For Love", "Theme From Brotherman", "No Place To Run", and "We Can Work It Out".

A never-heard soundtrack for a never-seen film – and a record that's every bit as funky as better-known sets from the blacksploitation era! Final Solution were a small time group from Chicago's west side in the 70s, but on this wicked little soundtrack they sparkle just as brightly as Isaac Hayes, Willie Hutch, Curtis Mayfield, or any of our favorite soundtrack soul artists from the time – working in a really righteous approach to soul with lots of heavy rhythms on the bottom and rumbling bass in the mix – so that even when the tunes are mellow, there's still a bold, brash sort of power to the set! The vocals are mostly delivered in harmony style, again with a nice edge – a bit like The Impressions work on Three The Hard Way, but with more of an indie soul feel overall, given the production circumstances. Once again, our hats are off to Numero for unearthing this gem. Titles include "Brotherman", "Never Coming Back Again", "I Don't Care", "Girl In My Life", "Gotta Get Through To You", "One Day", "I'm Ready For Love", and "We Can Work It Out".

The rare second set from First Class – and a set that's every bit as heavenly as the first! The album's a great slice of later New Jersey soul – still very much in the mode started by groups like The Moments or Whatnauts, but showing a stronger Philly influence on the groovers – which are mixed in here with gentler, mellower cuts that really show the group's great harmony talents! Although never as big as contemporaries like Blue Magic, First Class have a great approach that really holds on strong throughout the set – working here with production from George Kerr, Donnie Elbert, and Tommy Keith – all of whom know how to get the sound right for the feel of the tunes. Titles include "Give Me Lend Me", "Let's Make Love", "Coming Back To You", "Lucky Me", "Hypnotized", and "Going Out Of My Head". CD features four bonus tracks too – "It's Never Too Late", "Beginning Of The End", and "Don't Know What You're Doing" in both stereo and mono versions.

A classic doo wop side, but perhaps more famous for the hard to get cover of the first edition, than the music, even though the grooves are about as great as you can get, whether it's smooth ballads or more up tempo rocking numbers! A dozen numbers in all, including "Just For A Thrill","Who Do You Know In Heaven", "Maybe You'll Be There","Tiger Lily", "C'Est La Vie", "Dream", "Let There Be You", "All I Need IS You", "The Gypsy", "From The Bottom Of My Heart", "To Each His Own" and "Boom-Boom".

A crucial piece of plastic that you'll treasure for years! This 45 adapter may be tiny, but it provides a key function when you're out spinning in clubs – as it easily allows you to slide 45s on and off a conventional turntable, thanks to its unique cone-shaped top! The adapter fits on the spindle of any regular turntable (even those old-fashioned ones with the drop-type in the middle) – and its size and design make it a lot easier to switch 45s back and forth than most other adapters on the market!

Massive music from one of the greatest Motown groups ever – served up here as a set of 78 singles from the 60s and early 70s – not just all the US releases for Motown, but also UK-only singles, Italian singles, and work with the Supremes as well! The lavish book-style set is done in the same mode as the excellent Complete Motown series from a few years back – with a heavy 7" cover, loads of color pages in the middle, and a wealth of information and photos – maybe the nicest set we've ever seen on the Four Tops! But the music here is more than enough, too – killer singles that mix big hits with more obscure numbers – on title that include "Sad Souvenirs", "Walk Away Renee", "The Key", "Still Water", "Together We Can Make Such Sweet Music", "You Keep Running Away", "If You Don't Want My Love", "I'll Never Change", "Can't Seem To Get You Out Of My Mind", "You Stole My Love", "Simple Game (UK version)", "Piangono Gli Uomini", "Gira Gira", and "Until You Love Someone".

A mix of pop and soul – but in the hands of the Four Tops, just about any song takes on a new soulful life! The record features their minor hit "Yesterday's Dreams" – plus groovy versions of "Sunny", "Never My Love", "Daydream Believer", and "By The Time I Get To Phoenix". Also includes nice lesser-known material like "Can't Seem To Get You Out Of My Mind", "Once Upon A Time", and "I'm In A Different World".

An early 80s gem from Aretha Franklin – one of the best of her years at Arista Records, thanks to solid help in the studio from the mighty Arif Mardin! Mardin's in perfect form here – the same blend of older soul and jazzier, more sophisticated styles that he was also bringing to Chaka Khan at the time – although Franklin's arguably more deserving of his talents, given her long relationship with the producer! There's a full, mature feel here – one that really gets Aretha back in gear as a singer, and shows off her talents to a new generation in new ways – yet all without trying too hard for a crossover hit. Tunes include a few originals by Franklin, and titles include "Kind Of Man", "Whole Lot Of Me", "Love All The Hurt Away", "You Can't Always Get What You Want", "It's My Turn", "There's A Star For Everyone", and "Hold On I'm Coming".

Amazing stuff – and arguably the greatest early Funkadelic album ever! The set moves past the simple fuzzy style of the group's debut, and the overly-stoned sound of Free Your Mind – and rockets into a heady funk style that's filled with sly social commentary and an incredibly dark vision of the future! The centerpiece of the album is the mindblowing "Maggot Brain" title track – a tune that begins with a chilling spoken intro, then slowly builds amidst washes and washes of post-Hendrix guitar. That cut then rolls into some shorter, funkier numbers that rank with some of the group's best ever – using the device of party-hearty energy to convey a sense of alienation and horror at the world. The whole thing's brilliant throughout – and apart from being a soul classic, the set should also rank as one of the greatest rock albums of all time! Titles include "Maggot Brain", "Super Stupid", "Back in Our Minds", "Can You Get to That", and "Wars of Armageddon".

Sweet fusion from the great Eric Gale – two late 70s albums back to back on a single CD! Part Of You is part of Gale's great run for Columbia Records in the late 70s, and a set that's got a nicely grooving bottom – thanks to production from Ralph MacDonald, and arrangements from William Eaton! The groove's uptempo at times, but always in a jazz-funk mode – and mostly played with smaller group instrumentation at the core – including keyboards from Richard Tee, bass from Anthony Jackson, and drums from either Steve Gadd or Harvey Mason – both cats who can hold up a groove on a date like this. Titles include "Let Me Slip It To You", "Part Of You", "Trio", "Nezumi", and "Holding On To Love". Touch Of Silk is a classic set that has the guitar of Eric Gale produced by the legendary Allen Toussaint! The cross of talents is pretty compelling – and although the album's not a New Orleans funk outing, it definitely shares some of the more creative elements that you'd get from some of Toussaint's other side projects at the end of the 70s. A few numbers definitely have a bit more bump than you'd expect from a fsuion date like this – and Toussaint himself plays piano and moog on the record, and even sings a tiny bit. Robert Dabon plays Fender Rhodes – and titles include "You Got My Life In Your Hands", "War Paint", "Touch Of Silk", "Au Privave", "With You I'm Born Again", and "Once In A Smile".

Marvin Gaye's last album for Motown – and a wonderful cap to a great run of sexy soul for the 70s – filled with great mellow grooves that rival the genius of his earlier work in the decade! There's a glowing, slow-burning feel to some of the best numbers here – a vibe that's right out of the I Want You era, with touches of Let's Get It On too. But there's also a slightly more mature approach too – a bit more cautious, even when confident – no doubt informed by the struggles of his Here My Dear album, which also echoes somewhat in this set. The record's more proof that even when not coming across with a classic hit, Marvin's still very much at the top of his game – an artist that stands head and shoulders above his contemporaries – with none of the too-commercial or too-dated modes that held other folks back! Titles include "Life Is For Learning", "Praise", "Funk Me", "Far Cry", "Love Party", and "Love Me Now Or Love Me Later".

Some of the most hard-edged work cut by Stan Getz in the early years – a great reminder that he could really open up with the best of the bop world – and not just lay back and get mellow with an electric guitar! The setting has Stan working with some key west coast talents – including Wardell Gray on tenor, Sonny Criss and Willie Smith on alto, Charlie Shavers and Howard McGhee on trumpets, and Red Norvo on vibes – all players who stretch out with Stan on some longer open-ended tracks that really echo the west coast jam session mode of the time! Titles include "Hot House", "How High The Moon", "I Got Rhythm", and "Groovin High".

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".

Wonderful work from Tyree Glenn – a trombonist like no other, and a player who really could get a great "voice" on the instrument! The set's a nicely earthy batch of tracks – small combo numbers, with help from Hank Jones on piano, Mary Osborne on guitar, Tommy Potter on bass, and Jo Jones on drums – all players who lay back in the groove nicely, and never dominate at all. Glenn also plays vibes on a bit of the record, which sound great too – and titles include "Teach Me Tonight", "Wonder Why", "Dear Old Southland", "Them There Eyes", "Sweet & Lovely", "Marcheta", and "All Of Me".

Al Green's first LP – with a very different feel than his later work on Hi. The record's got a harder southern soul groove – almost in a Wilson Pickett/Arthur Conley mode, but with some sweeter elements in the backing. Al's voice is still incredible, although different than later, in that he's singing with a really open vibe, letting himself go a bit more, and not keeping in that smooth sophisticated mode of later years. Originally released by the tiny Hot Line label, and issued later by Bell Records when Al started to hit big with Hi Records during the early 70s. Titles include "Back Up Train", "Get Yourself Together", "Don't Leave Me", "Let Me Help You", "Hot Wire", and "Stop & Check Myself".

Solo Burton Greene – beautifully recorded – in ways that have his already-wonderful lines on piano echoing out in the performance space, and almost folding back on themselves in waves of sound! Given Greene's striking touch on the keyboard – sharp, yet always melodic, which we really love – this presence of "room" really illuminates the record – and makes each statement seem even more forceful, and a more personal utterance that really sends the whole thing home. The whole thing's as tuneful as it is creative – a wonderful demonstration of Burton's talents in these later years – and titles include "Elevation", "Greene Mansions", "Freebop The 4th", "Space Is Still The Place", "Get Through It", "Little Song", and "Tree".

Man, it's been forever since we heard from Groove Stu – and during that time, they've really grown a lot! This excellent set is full of soul and charm right from the very first night – a very unique nu school harmony record – yet done without any chart cliches or some of the overdone styles you'd find in other male groups – thanks partly to the obvious maturity of these guys! The harmonies are great, and the vocal interplay is really fresh – upbeat, positive, and set to these slightly jazzy tunes that take off with a great deal of warmth. Titles include "Thing Called Love", "Back In The Day", "Ebony Superstar", "Places", "Get Right", "Come & Go With Me", and "Perfect Time".

Let's get this straight. Merle Haggard SINGS "Okie From Muskogee" but he is not THE "Okie From Muskogee". Nevertheless, this is the record that put the honky in honky tonk. Merle sure pretended to not like hippies back in '69, and story has it he even refused an invitation to produce Gram Parson's GP album on the basis that Gram was just another damn dirty hippie. Of course that's just a story – Merle simply didn't fancy himself a producer. Okie From Muskogee is pretty much the definitive portrait of the Hag at his most reactionary, and if the ignorant politics of the title track gives us a few goosebumps along the way, it's well worth it to hear him perform some of his best tracks at the very peak of his career. Besides, what's an outlaw if he doesn't scare you a little? Many of the great ones are here, including "Mama Tried", "No Hard Times", "In the Arms Of Love", "If I Had Left It Up To You", "White Line Fever", "Blue Rock", "Okie From Muskogee", and a medley of "Swinging Doors", "I'm A Lonesome Fugitive", "Sing Me Back Home", and "Branded Man".

A weird batch of folksy rock tunes – composed and produced by Harley Hatcher for Sidewalk Enterprises, and sounding a lot more like a Sidewalk or Tower soundtrack than something on RCA. The groups are the usual obscurities that would show up on a Mike Curb soundtrack – pictured on the back cover, but still leaving us to wonder if they really existed at all. Tracks include "Holiday Rider" by The Saturday Revue, "Jailer Let Me Go Home" and "A Hurt In My Heart" by Don Epperson, "Playin Hard To Get" by Billie & Blue, and "Wine Women & Song" by Terry Stafford.

Amazing stuff from Isaac Hayes! Although Ike had first appeared on LP with the album "Introducing", this was the first record to really expose his true soul genius – and it was also the first release on Ike's successful sub-label at Stax, Enterprise Records. The record shows that for all the years Ike was working away on other folks' songs for Stax, he was carefully cooking up his own style of soul that would forever change the way we think about the music. Back in 1969, the album must have blown more than a few minds for its incredibly baroque approach to soul music – taking common elements like strings, piano, and funky rhythms, and stretching them out into long waves of sound that cycle over and over, working a sly subtle magic along with Ike's super-sexy vocals, and his monologue-heavy approach to popular tunes. The album features incredible remakes of pop hits "Walk On By" and "By The Time I Get To Phoenix" – both of which run for over 10 minutes, and which completely transform the songs into something way more than simple radio fodder. Also features the psychedelic soul masterpiece "Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic", which has this crazy funky piano, and a messed-up sound that would make even George Clinton weep!

Eddie Henderson really lets his spirit flow here – working on some great long tracks in a sweet live setting – caught at a small club in Paris with backing from the trio of pianist Laurent DeWilde! Laurent really seems to get Henderson's groove here – and lays back with Eddie to let each tune take slow shape out of sound – then build tremendously with these sweeping, soulful lines that show that both players are still very much full of imagination on their solos. The group's completed by Gilles Naturel on bass and Simon Goubert on drums – and titles include "Lost", "Oasis", "On Green Dolphin Street", "Dubai", "Tender You", and "Sand Storm".

Seminal southern soul from the great Willie Hightower – a singer we'd rank right up there with Otis Redding, Al Green, and James Carr! Willie's got an incredible voice that grabs you right away – earthy and honest, yet also extremely well controlled – almost a down home take on the sound of some of the smoother soul singers of the 60s – in a manner that reminds us a bit of Garnett Mimms, and which really stands apart from other vocalists of the time. The 18 tracks on this set represent Willie at his best – and the collection features material recorded for producer Bobby Robinson (issued on both the Capitol and Enjoy labels), and Muscle Shoals maestro Rick Hall – brought together with beautiful fidelity, in a package that finally gives Willie his due, and which will hopefully get his name out there with the rest of his lendary contemporaries! Titles include "Walk A Mile In My Shoes", "You Used Me", "Back Road Into Town", "Nobody But You", "I Love You", "Poor Man", "Let's Walk Together", "Somebody Have Mercy", "You Are Mine", "It's A Miracle", and "Ooh Baby How I Love You".

Snap your fingers to a pair of great albums by ZZ Hill for United Artists! The Best Thing That's Happened To Me is one of his best of ZZ's albums – recorded with a really tight down-home feel, and a style that's maybe even a bit more straight southern soul than some of his albums on smaller labels! Arrangements are by Arthur Wright, and they've got lots of warm touches that really work perfectly with ZZ's vocals – pushing the whole album to a top-shelf level, and making it a lost treasure of southern soul that we'd rank with the best of the genre from the time! Titles include "Your Love Makes Me Feel Good", "Cause I Love You", "Friendship Only Goes So Far", "You Were Wrong", and "I've Got To Get You Back". ZZ is more standout l – another of the few albums he cut for United Artists in the early 70s, all of them great! The set's got a really tight tight feel – recorded at Fame Studios with a warm and lean style that pushes ZZ past the blusier roots of earlier sides, into a completely on top 70s southern soul sort of approach. The backing group is filled with great instrumentalists, the songs are all fresh and without cliché, and ZZ himself really steps up with some incredibly well-placed vocals. Titles include "You're Killing Me", "The Best I Ever Had", "Clean Up America", "It Ain't Safe", and "Let Them Talk".

An excellent collection of Billie's 30s work for Columbia Records – featuring 3LPs worth of material, represented with much better sound than the original 78 rpm release of the songs. Billie's in the company of a host of great jazzmen – including Count Basie, Lester Young, Teddy Wilson, Charlie Shavers, Artie Shaw, Cozy Cole, Roy Eldridge, Red Allen, and countless others. 48 tracks in all – with titles that include "Your Mother's Son In Law", "Riffin The Scotch", "Them There Eyes", "Without Your Love", "Swing Brother Swing", "Back In Your Own Back Yard", "You Go To My Head", "Long Gone Blues", "I Can't Get Started", "All Of Me", "God Bless The Child", and "Gloomy Sunday".

Post-Motown magic from the team of Holland-Dozier-Holland – a killer collection of their initial work for the Invictus label, including some of Lamont Dozier's greatest solo material! The set is smoking all the way through – a real high-point in 70s soul, with cuts that have gone onto be underground classics over the years – the kind of music we started Dusty Groove just to help promote! Lamont's vocals are tremendous, and even the instrumental tracks cook brilliantly too – thanks to a sharp punch that the trio never had this well back at Motown – kind of a 70s refinement of their previous groove, with a sound that's completely sublime all the way through. Titles include "Can't Get Enough", "New Breed Kinda Woman", "I'm So Glad", "Super Woman", "Where Did We Go Wrong", "Lady By Day", "Don't Leave Me Starving For Your Love (parts 1 & 2)", and both vocal and instrumental versions of the killer "Don't Leave Me".

A funky holy grail – one of the rarest of the rare, and the only album ever cut by funky guitarist Carl "Sherlock" Holmes! Carl's work on the guitar is incredible – fast riffing and jazzy, with a style that's dirtier and messier than some of his 70s jazz funk contemporaries, but which also lays back on a few tracks so that Carl can deliver a sweetly soulful vocal. The album's a real blend of styles, all handled pretty darn well – from the hard funk of "Black Bag" and "Investigation", to the Latin jamming of "Modesa", the fast grooving of "Get Down Philly Town", and the mellow soul of "Think It Over" and "Your Game". Great stuff – and a real treat to finally have reissued!

A funky holy grail – one of the rarest of the rare, and the only album ever cut by funky guitarist Carl "Sherlock" Holmes! Carl's work on the guitar is incredible – fast riffing and jazzy, with a style that's dirtier and messier than some of his 70s jazz funk contemporaries, but which also lays back on a few tracks so that Carl can deliver a sweetly soulful vocal. The album's a real blend of styles, all handled pretty darn well – from the hard funk of "Black Bag" and "Investigation", to the Latin jamming of "Modesa", the fast grooving of "Get Down Philly Town", and the mellow soul of "Think It Over" and "Your Game". Great stuff! This excellent 2012 CD version on Tramp includes one bonus track – "The Pot's Hot".

One of the more obscure stars in the TK Records constellation – a one-off club project, featuring the writing and production talents of Oscar Llord, and the vocals of Bobby Bushe – hence the title! The set's got a rough take on the Miami disco style of the time – a bit less polished than the usual TK record, with some earnest instrumentation and vocals that falter a bit at times, but which are all that much better because of that fact. In other words, the rougher edges make this one great – and a lot better than some of the too-smooth club of the time! Titles include "Rock Steady", "Get On Up", "Love Fuse", "Tell Me That You Will", "Get In The Groove", and "Flight 69".

A much-needed tribute to one of the greatest groups on Creation Records – one of the few to really get the label's aesthetic perfectly right – and a vastly overlooked group that's finally getting its due! House Of Love had a near-perfect revision of psychedelia going on in the mid 80s – a style that honed the 60s genre down to all its best bits, yet without any of the clunky or commercial leaning that you'd find in any other acts of the time – particularly the paisley underground from LA – and without any of the too-stoned traps that so many Brit groups fell into a few years later. House Of Love know that guitars are god – and use them here in some of the same echoey territory of Felt, but a lot more deftly too – sometimes pretty darn fuzzy, yet always a lot more tunefully focused than Jesus & Mary Chain too. And while the group only recorded for two short years, they really left behind an amazing legacy – served up here in the core House Of Love album, and augmented by a huge amount of important singles, b-sides, and compilation tracks – then further expanded by a wealth of unissued tracks and demos as well. The 3CD package is way way more than any of us got back in the day – and we're hoping that it will finally get these guys the appreciation they deserve. Titles include "Shine", "Love", "Real Animal", "Christine", "Destroy The Heart", "Blind", "Mr Jo", "Plastic", "Nothing To Me", "Man To Child", "Salome", "Read", and "Happy".

Thelma Houston's first album for Motown – and the start of a tremendous run of music in the 70s! The set's a great mix of modes – with vocals from Thelma that definitely show her roots in gospel – and rich, mature backings that give Houston the same sort of star treatment that Diana Ross would get during her early solo years – or which Dionne Warwick was getting over at Warner! Like the latter, Thelma's got a great way of being smooth, yet still keeping it real – and the set sparkles with warm soulful backings by Artie Butler, Gene Page, and Michael O'Martian. Tracks include "What If", "Black California", "Blackberries", "And I Never Did", "And I Thought You Loved Me", "There Is A God", and "I'm Letting Go". CD features an insane amount of bonus tracks – 9 more numbers from singles and non-LP tracks – with titles that include "Nothing Left To Give", "I Ain't Going Nowhere", "No One's Gonna Be A Fool Forever", "Pick Of The Week", "I Want To Go Back There Again", and "I'm Just A Part Of Yesterday".

James Hunter at the Daptone Studios – working here with Bosco Mann production, and a sound that's much rawer than before! James has always had one hell of a voice, but this time around he also gets a bit more bite in his music too – a funky undercurrent that's more late 60s soul than some of the earlier sounds of the decade on previous albums – almost representing the same righteous evolution in Hunter's music that so many artists themselves experienced back in the day! The new punch is wonderfully placed – and may well finally get Hunter the kind of exposure he needs – appreciation from the soul underground for his wonderful vocals, and a groove that's got plenty of deep funk and New Orleans soul elements. Titles include "Gold Mine", "Drop On Me", "Minute By Minute", "Chicken Switch", "So They Say", "If I Only Knew", "Look Out", and "Let The Monkey Ride".

A seminal collection of work from this legendary Philly group – a set that brings together some of their best singles from the early days – all in a hip 70s package! Despite mid 70s issue of the album, most of the work here come from the group's late 60s start – and they represent a new step forward in harmony soul from the Philly scene – a way of putting over a tune that set the stage for countless other sweet soul groups to come, but which is still handled best by The Intruders! Gamble & Huff produced these early gems, and arrangements are by Bobby Martin and Joe Renzetti – both of whom really know how to mix the mellow with the mighty. Titles include "Cowboys To Girls", "Sad Girl", "Me Tarzan, You Jane", "Love Is Like A Baseball Game", "Slow Drag", "Together", "(We'll Be) United", 'When We Get Married", "Sad Girl", "A Love That's Real", "Friends No More", "Gonna Be Strong", and "Check Yourself".

Damn! The first volume in this series of rarities cut by George Jackson for Fame Studios really blew our minds around here – and Kent has gone and somehow topped it with Volume 2! Let The Best Man Win features 2 dozen songs, most of which are originals by Fame staff writer Jackson – and not one of these was officially released back in the day. A bunch were cut to demo the songs for prospective artists, but it's truly hard to imagine anyone bettering these versions – not even Candi Staton or Wilson Pickett! The backing is top notch, too – with that unshakable Fame southern soul rhythm that's just raw enough – and each track feels fully-formed – not at all like a demo! As essential a trip into the Fame archives as any we've had to date! Includes "Mini Skirt Mini", "Get It When I Want It", "Forbidden Love", "Save Me", "Let The Best Man Win", "Soul Lovin'", "I'm Livin' Good", "Your Love Lifted Me", "You Got A Lot To Like", "Ain't That Some Good Lovin'L, "The Darkest Hour Is Before The Dawn" and many more.

An overlooked early session from multi-instrumentalist Michael Gregory Jackson, recording here with a trio of great horn players in a wonderfully sensitive sound! The record's approach is a perfect illustration of the maturity on the New York avant scene in the late 70s – a real change from the more frenetic modes that ESP was recording a decade before, with some thoughtful, almost pensive points that really round out the record beautifully. Jackson plays mostly guitar, but also vocalizes a bit and plays marimba, percussion, wood flute and other instruments – and he's joined by Oliver Lake on flute and saxes, Wadada Leo Smith on trumpets, and David Murray on tenor sax. Some tracks get nice and bold, while others hold back wonderfully – and titles include "Oliver Lake", "Clarity", "A View Of This Life", "Prelueoionti" and "Iomi".

A stunning 3LP set – featuring just about all the best stuff you'd ever want by the young Jacksons! Titles include "I Found That Girl", "Got To Be There", "Goin Back To Indiana", "I Want You Back", "ABC", "Dancing Machine", "I Am Love", "Body Language", "Forever Came Today", "Just A Little Bit Of You", "Whatever You Got, I Want", "The Boogie Man", "Get It Together", "Lookin Through Windows", "Ben", "Maybe Tomorrow", "The Love You Save", and "Mama's Pearl".

A brilliant batch of funk – featuring every single chart hit by the JBs, the best of their hot funky singles for the People label, all recorded during the early 70s, under the supervision of James Brown! All tunes are offered here in their shorter single versions (save for "It's The JBs Monaurail", which runs for over 8 minutes) – in tight edits that sum up the funk perfectly, and put it over the fence with some amazingly hard rhythms! Tracks include "The Grunt (part 1)", "Hot Pants Road", "Doing It To Death (part 1)", "Breaking Bread", "If You Don't Get It The First Time, Back Up & Try It Again", "Blow Your Head", "Gimme Some More", "Pass The Peas", "Same Beat (part 1)", and "Damn Right I Am Somebody (part 1) (7 inch single mix)".

A fantastic full length set from Deborah Jordan – a singer we know mostly for her wonderful work with Silhouette Brown on an album that was one of our favorites from the London scene a few years back! This set has all the cosmic crackles of Jordan's previous work with Dego & Kaidi Tatham – no surprise, given that she gets help on the album from Atjazz, Don Ray, Jneiro Jarel, and Simbad – each of whom take a crack at production, and help ensure that Deborah's vocals get the right dose of snapping beats, spacey keys, and sweet electric touches! And despite the range of producers, there's a really unified feel to the record – a deep soul that emanates strongly from Jordan's lyrics, tying the whole thing together beautifully. Titles include "Home", "Future Calling", "Get Through", "Want It Back", "Brought To Life", "Slipping Away", "One", "Want It Back", and "Get Through".

The heady life and even hipper music of Sly Stone – told here by an author who managed to get Stone's participation on the project! The book focuses most strongly on Sly's rise to fame and key late 60s/early 70s years – a time when his records not only changed the face of soul music, but also had a pretty big influence on rock as well. Kaliss also follows Stone through some of his more obscure years, and captures him during his recent comeback moment, too – although we'll be the first to admit that the vintage bits are the most interesting. The book features introductions from Stone and George Clinton, plus a nice photo section in the middle. 210 pages, hardcover.

Wonderful work from Ty Karim – a singer who definitely lives up to the "soul goddess" promised in the title! Ty might not be the biggest name in California soul, but she's a hell of a great talent here – starting out in the 60s with upbeat Northern Soul groovers – then moving into the 70s with material that's even deeper, and a bit more sophisticated – laidback numbers that really show a maturation in style, and which are filled with wonderful twists and turns! Ty's vocals have a burning quality that's quite surprising, given her kittenish look on the cover – and as the themes get hotter, her singing gets even more righteous – making the whole package a really wonderful journey in soul. And although most of these numbers were issued (or recorded, but unissued) by tiny indie labels, they often have a very full, spacious approach to production – one that's really trying to hit the heights of Detroit or New York at the time. A good number of these cuts weren't issued at the time, and together with the rare singles, they really go a long way towards filling in the gaps in Ty's too-short career on record – further illuminated in the detailed notes from Ady Croasdell. Titles include "Lighten Up Baby", "Help Me Get That Feeling Back Again", "Only A Fool", "All At Once", "Lightin Up", "I Ain't Lying", "You Just Don't Know", "Natural Do", "I'm Leavin You", "All In Vain", "After Your Love Has Gone", "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight", and "Don't Make Me Do Wrong".

Wonderful work from Ty Karim – an LA singer from the 60s, just waiting to be rediscovered! Ty might not be the biggest name in California soul, but she's a hell of a great talent here – starting out in the 60s with upbeat Northern Soul groovers – then moving into the 70s with material that's even deeper, and a bit more sophisticated – laidback numbers that really show a maturation in style, and which are filled with wonderful twists and turns! Ty's vocals have a burning quality that's quite surprising, given her kittenish look on the cover – and as the themes get hotter, her singing gets even more righteous – making the whole package a really wonderful journey in soul. And although most of these numbers were issued (or recorded, but unissued) by tiny indie labels, they often have a very full, spacious approach to production – one that's really trying to hit the heights of Detroit or New York at the time. A good number of these cuts weren't issued at the time, and together with the rare singles, they really go a long way towards filling in the gaps in Ty's too-short career on record. Titles include "Lighten Up Baby", "Help Me Get That Feeling Back Again", "Only A Fool", "All At Once", "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight", "Wear Your Natural Baby", and "Don't Make Me Do Wrong".

Japanese drum powerhouse George Kawaguchi leads a very hip band here – one that's filled with quick-thinking players who can really create strongly on the fly – matching George's boundless energy, but bringing plenty of their own elements to light as well! Kawaguchi's drums are back a bit in the mix, compared to some of his other albums of this time – but there's often a punch to the record that comes from the larger ensemble – a bit funky big band at points, but with more intimate qualities at others. Other musicians include Hideo Ichikawa on keyboards, Yoshio Ohtomo on alto, Hidehiko Matusmoto on tenor, and Isao Suzuki on bass – and titles include "Tappan Zee", "Feels So Good", "I Can't Get Started", "Isn't She Lovely", "Friends", "Fantasy", and a nice funky take on "Superstion".

Classic 80s soul from Johnny Kemp – a sweet-voiced singer who steps out beautifully on this Columbia debut! Johnny's got a sound that's somewhat informed by some of the crossover soul of a few years back – but although his music is commercial, it's still got plenty going on at the bottom – a catchy mid 80s approach to the dancefloor, with lots of bouncing basslines, stepping rhythms, and sweet keyboard bits! The mellow songs are almost as great as the groovers – thanks to the sensitivity of Kemp's vocals – and titles include "Just Another Lover", "Can't Get Enough", "Anything Worth Having", "All Night", "Cover Girl", "Bring Your Love Around", and "Penthouse Lover". Bonus tracks include "Cover Girl (voc 12")", "Cover Girl (7" version)", "Cover Girl (inst)", "Anything Worth Having (inst)", "Anything Worth Having (7" version)", "Just Another Lover (ext rmx)", "Just Another Lover (inst)", and "Just Another Lover (7" version)".