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Freaky spandex and a mighty nice groove – a record that sounds a lot better than you might guess from the group's outfits on the cover! Magic Lady are a trio of funky females – grooving in a style that's a bit like the Brides Of Funkenstein, but a lot more stripped-down – an 80s-tuned sound that's heavy on basslines and keyboards, and which vamps along tightly in clubby arrangements from producer Michael Stokes, who also plays keyboards on the album alongside Greg Phillinganes. The whole thing's got a nicely polished sound that's almost in the Kleeer mode, especially on the mellower and more midtempo numbers – and tracks include "When We Love", "Freaky", "Hold Tight", "Give It Up", "Shake", "Get Off", and "Red Hot Stuff".

One of the only early albums as a leader from pianist Ronnie Mathews – a player who recorded more often in later years, but who really sounds incredible in this rare session for Prestige! Although a lyrical player at heart, Mathews also has a very hard edge here – more of a soul jazz groove than you'd hear on his later records, and a great example of the sound he was picking up from some of his key 60s work as a sideman. The group is great overall – with Freddie Hubbard on trumpet and Charles Davis on baritone sax – both players who bring a Blue Note-like sense of imagination to their solos here. The rest of the group features Eddie Kahn on bass and Albert Heath on drums – and titles include the killers "The Thang", "Ichi Ban", and "The Orient" – plus "Let's Get Down", "1239A", and "Prelude To A Kiss".

Nice and stripped-down work from drummer Stanton Moore – a set that really does more with less, and allows plenty of focus on Stanton's grooves, and the album's sweet Hammond B3 and piano lines from Robert Walter! Will Bernard completes the trio on guitar, and although you'll still get a fair bit of jamming at times, there's also more of a funky core to the record than you might have gotten from Moore in years back. Titles include "Root Cellar", "Pot Licker", "Pie Eyed Manc", "Squash Blossom", "Aletta", and "Cleanse This House".

Switched On funk from Mr Chop! Here's an homage to the innovative Moog-based LPs of the late 60s and early 70s – though the the great UK analog studio wiz Mr Chop is also doing it hard and heavy – it's not a light, airy and bubbly keyboard groove experience – this is spacey, fuzzy avant funk at its modern finest! Produced and engineered by Mr Chop and the players are like-minded geniuses – Malcolm Catto on drums, Coz Litter on bass, guitar, vocoder and more, Glyn Williams on clavinet, Moog, Hammond and Rhodes, Johnny Pop on Hammond organ and Mark Brunley on modular synth. The set includes some covers of funk and avant rock like you've never heard them before, and it's great all the way. Titles include "Hung-Up", "Root Down (And Get It)", "Breakthrough", "Givin Up Food For Funk", "Blow Your Head", "Deep Gully", "Greedy G", "Happy Birthday", "Vitamin C" and "Cortex".

Clearly riding on the success of the Memphis Horns' LPs of the mid 70s – but not a bad bunch of funky tracks! The famous horn section from Muscle Shoals takes the helm – or is at least taken to the helm by Barry Beckett, who played keyboards, produced, and arranged the LP. The tracks have a nice smooth funk sound – with some vocals, and a lot of tight electric instrumentation and some good funky clavinet riffs! Titles include "Born To Get Down", which has a nice keyboard break in the middle, plus "Bump De Bump Yo Boogie", "Give It To Me", "Open Up Your Heart", and "Break Down".

There's almost no introduction needed to the New Mastersounds – given how much greatness the group has given us over the years – a perennial favorite here at Dusty Groove, both with customers and our own soundsystems as well! But even if you know these funky stalwarts, there's still plenty here to love – as the collection does a good job of bringing together some harder-to-find cuts – work the group has done with other artists over the past decade or so – and some singles and compilation tracks that are hard to find too – great stuff to track down if you missed the original releases! As usual, the guitar of Eddie Roberts smokes the grooves brilliantly – as does the organ, bass, and drums – and titles include "Kuna Matata", "Make Me Proud", "One Note Brown (original version)", "Can You Get It (rmx)", "I Mean It So", "King Comforter", "Talk The Talk", "Bring It On", "You Got It All", and "Wack".

There's almost no introduction needed to the New Mastersounds – given how much greatness the group has given us over the years – a perennial favorite here at Dusty Groove, both with customers and our own soundsystems as well! But even if you know these funky stalwarts, there's still plenty here to love – as the collection does a good job of bringing together some harder-to-find cuts – work the group has done with other artists over the past decade or so – and some singles and compilation tracks that are hard to find too – great stuff to track down if you missed the original releases! As usual, the guitar of Eddie Roberts smokes the grooves brilliantly – as does the organ, bass, and drums – and titles include "Kuna Matata", "Make Me Proud", "One Note Brown (original version)", "Can You Get It (rmx)", "I Mean It So", "King Comforter", "Talk The Talk", "Bring It On", "You Got It All", and "Wack".

Wild! The Nutty Squirrels were an obvious attempt to cash in on the success of Alvin & The Chipmunks during the late 50s – a studio-trickery session handled with the voices of Don Elliott and Sascha Burland – but to our ears, honestly, the album's a lot better! You see, both Elliott and Burland had their jazz chops down pretty tight – and the record is less an album of novelty pop numbers, than it is a set of jazz vocal tunes, scatted along over small combo backing, with the voices sped up on tape so that they sound like a pair of jazzy squirrels! The album's got none of the cloying aspects of The Chimpunks' work – and if you can get past the squeakiness of the vocals, you'll actually find the record pretty appealing from a jazz perspective. Titles include "Bob White", "That's Owl, Brother", "Yardbird Suite", "Flamingo", "Bird Watching", "Sparrow In The Treetop", and "Didee Bird". Imagine Jon Hendricks and Dave Lambert locked in a studio with a tank of helium – and you'll get the idea!

Great work from the Ohio Players – and proof that moving to a big label could be a good thing for a funky group! This was the band's first album for Mercury – and although one might have the temptation to say that the label cut down the radical funk sound of the trippy Westbound years, the move also taught the band to sharpen up their act, and get out of the repetitive sloppy groove into which they'd been lapsing during the past few years. The record's a lot smoother than earlier work – with a polished funky sound that would soon push the band right up there with Earth Wind & Fire at the top of the soul charts. And although there's familiar funky numbers like "Skin Tight", "Jive Turkey", and "Streakin Cheek To Cheek" – the best moment on the entire album is the wonderful spacey soul number "Heaven Must be Like This", a seven minute mellow groover that's got a sophisticated jazzy soul style, with voices and piano soaring into the heavens, in a way that always still sends chills down our spine! That cut shows the band's tremendous growth – and it's one of their best-ever!

Two funky classics – back to back on a single CD! Put The Music Where Your Mouth Is features some of the funkiest grooves recorded in the UK during the early 70s – the wicked first album by the Olympic Runners, a group who almost got their start by accident! The combo was booked to back up bluesman Jimmy Dawkins for a one-off session in London – but worked together so well in the studio, jamming before Dawkins showed up, that they decided to make it a go with a groove of their own – and this fantastic funky album is the result! The tracks are all instrumental, mostly short and midtempo – with tight changes, lots of guitar and keyboards, and a vibe that's almost in the spirit of Average White Band – but grittier and funkier overall. The title cut – "Put The Music Where Your Mouth Is" – begins with this riffed bass part that's virtually a blueprint for the BDP generation of samples – and other cuts include "Everyone A Winner", "Do it Over", "Taco Toes", "Grab It", "Sproutin Out", "Just Once Is Enough", and "Be My Main Squeeze". Out In Front features funky, fantastic grooves from this hip UK combo of the 70s – a set that's heavy on keyboards and guitars, all produced with this cool compressed feel by the mighty Mike Vernon! The sound is kind of a mix of 70s American funk from the mainstream, and some of those great British studio styles of the period – that way of comping all instruments down on a groove that you'd find in better glam and pop – turned here towards a much more soulful style for the Olympic Runners! Tracks include "Freeze on Funk", "Dump the Bump", "Panic Button", "Exit City", "Get This Thing Down", "Coucou N Flying Fish", and "Go No Further".

The first record in years from these Afro Funk giants – but don't hold it against them, as the whole thing's pretty darn wonderful! There's a rich, vibrant sound here that really lives up to the group's legacy from years back – and production is right on the money to keep things right – recorded in Paris with a relatively stripped-down quality – just right for bringing all the tight rhythms of the set right to the foreground, without any overdone mass market cliches to hold things back! Even the appearances of a few famous guest stars can't get in the way of the energy of the Orchestre – and this new album should be more than proof that the originators are still alive and well. Titles include "Pardon", "Von Vo Nono", "Oce", "Koumi Dede", "Tegbe", "Lion Is Burning", "Ne Te Fache Pas", and "Gbeti Madjro".

A batch of Parliament and Parliament related funk nuggets get a nice CD presentation of the original, rare, and or extended takes that were previously only available on the original vinyl! All told, more than an hour's worth of prime and/or rare P Funk! Tracks include "Aqua Boogie" (original 12" version), "Flashlight" (original 12" version), "Agony Of Defeat" (original promo-only 12" version), Parlet's "Ridin' High" (original 12" promo-only version), "Oh I" (original 12" promo-only version), "Up For The Down Stroke" (alternate version) and more.

An overlooked gem from the mighty Piero Piccioni – scored for a 70s comedy with Alberto Sordi, and served up with some nice global touches in the music! The best tunes have a bouncy sound that's almost samba – but inflected with a lot of Italian soundtrack charm – which makes for a mixing of modes that's completely charming, and almost a warmer bossa take on a batucada style! Some tunes get even more stripped-down, with elements that show the orchestral work from Berto Pisano – and I Cantori Moderni lend chorus vocals to a few moments too. Titles include "Pic Nic Calypso", "West Africa", "Sketch Notturno", "Safari Esquisito", and "Eexperanca Em Lab Com Rugido Do Leao". Features 3 previously unreleased bonus tracks too!

An undisputed funk classic – even back in the days before anyone ever said the phrase "funk classic"! This album must have been deleted the day it came out – because even though it's attained legendary proportions with groovers worldwide, it's always been hard to find – even back in the 70s! But unlike so many other "rare-but-not great" funk albums, this one's a killer – with a hard funky wah wah sound that we'd rank up there with James Brown's best work on Polydor from the early 70s, and which should have made Joe a millionaire, not a lost legend of soul music. The band is sharp as a knife – with hard drums, tight bass, and some simply amazing guitar riffing. But the best part is Joe – as his vocals are hard and emotional, with just the right touches of righteousness to carry off the album's political messages, but not too much as to spoil the party that the band's having in the background! Every single track is a winner, and if we were ever to make a list of the top five funk albums to own, this one would be on it! Titles include "The Way They Do My Life", "I Got So Much Trouble On My Mind", "The Trouble With Trouble", "Give Me Back My Freedom", "Live Like Brothers", and "Find Yourself". CD features a HUGE amount of bonus tracks too – titles that include "Thanks Dad (parts 1 & 2)", "This Girl Of Mine", "I'm Gonna Get You", "No", "Get Down Baby (parts 1 & 2)", "I'm A Young Man", "How High", "Let Me Be What I Am", "You Know It's True", and a 1969 version of "So Much Trouble In My Mind".

Quasimode are definitely cooking on this sweet little set – picking up a rich array of influences they've never had before – including bits of Latin rhythms, and some soul music as well! A few of the cuts feature vocals – but in ways that are more straight soul than the group's previous experiments with jazz singers – yet the backings are still tightly jazzy, and played mostly live, in a bold flurry of trumpet, tenor, trombone, piano, bass, and drums – plus some occasional Fender Rhodes as well! The Latin elements really help expand the sound, and flesh out the positive vibe of the record – a soaring, sunny vision that reminds us of the jazzy joy we first found in the music of Monday Michiru. Most of the album's still instrumental, and titles include "Febre Samba", "Summer Madness", "Another Sky", "Leaving Town", "Soul Cookin", "Let's Get Down Together", "El Paso Twist", and "Still In The Night". Also features a bonus DVD – with the video for "Summer Madness", and concert footage of the tracks "Relight My Fire", "No More Sadness", and "The Man From Nagpur" – plus bonus footage as well!

12 tracks in all, including "Housecall", "Telephone Love Deh Pon Mi Mind", "The Jam", "Girls Whine", "Get Up Stand Up & Rock", "Pay Down Pon It", "Ting-A-Ling" and "Roots & Culture". Less slackness on this volume and more crossover material, some more hip hop oriented.

Not just Jimmy Reed – as the album features work by Phil Upchurch on bass and Al Duncan on drums, plus some great uncredited organ too – but the album's still a great chance to hear the great one at all his stripped-down best! Jimmy really dominates on vocals and guitar, and some harmonica too – and most of the tunes have that seductively vamping style that made Reed's music such a huge influence on the 60s generation. Titles include "Good Lover", "Take It Slow", "Let's Get Together", "I'll Change That Too", "In The Morning", "Oh John", and "Back Home At Noon".

Sure, it's the 70s – but this album's still got some excellent moments on it, like the amazing track "Bless You", which is worth the price of the album alone! The cut was written by The Corporation, and it's got this incredible wall of sound arrangement, with Martha singing verse after verse about the religiosity of love. It's a great pop track, and you'll get it on the album along with other cuts like "No One There", "I Want You Back", "Hope I Don't Get My Heart Broke", and "Tear It On Down".

Funky club with jazzy touches – all served up in a stripped-down mode that takes us back to some of our favorite dancefloor experiments of the 90s! The groove here is somewhere in the house-y side of the Acid Jazz scene of early 90s London, or mid-decade work from the Tokyo club jazz crowd, or even a bit like "Hot Music" from Soho – a tune that would be a great comparison for the sound of this sweet little set! Rhythms are built from lots of sampled live jazz passages – so there's an acoustic warmth throughout, even when things are processed – and there's enough live jazz instrumentation to keep a spontaneous feel in the music as well. Titles include "Karabine", "Get A Wiggle On", "Voodoo Juju", "Black Milk", "Hip To The Jive", and "Solitaire".

Easy instrumentals and jazzy genius from the early 70s Brit scene – groovy, moddish jazz takes on pop and soundtrack hits of the time from the Harry Roche Constellation – with a vibe that betters the grooviest of sound library discoveries! There's a loungey charm to many of the tunes, but trombonist Roche and his Constellation get down and dirty in spots, too – such as on the priceless, tripped out fuzzy funk version of "Pinball Wizard" – and that's just one highlight of this should-be classic! Blasting horns, easy keys, chiming strings, jazz funk bass and grooves galore! Players include the cream of the crop of period British session players. Tracks include "Superwoman", "Tangerine", "That's Living", "Rhapsody In Blue", "Good Morning Heartache", "Pinball Wizard", "Lay Lady Lay", "Ludmilla's Theme", "Spiral" and more. Tracks from Sometimes include "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life", "Watch What Happens", "Moonlight Serenade", "You've Got Possibilities", "Sometimes", "The Prowler", "Marmalade Molasses And Honey", "Carnaby Chick", "My Romance" and more. 21 tracks in all!

Nile Rodgers is working here away from Chic – but his sound here is definitely in that classic lean, mean mode – lots of compressed guitar bits riffing over the rhythms, every bit as catchy and captivating as ever! The grooves break out nicely from the standard Chic mode – almost as if Nile is set free to explore new territory on his own – and although the lyrics on the set aren't the greatest you might find in soul music from the time, they're more than made up for by the album's catchy beats and guitar! Titles include "Beet", "Get Her Crazy", "Yum Yum", "Rock Bottom", and "Most Down".

Brilliant work – one of the records that not only broke Patrice out of the jazz funk ghetto, but which also had a pretty profound influence on the progression of soul in the early 80s – really pushing the use of jazzy elements that would help take R&B to a new level with bigger artists. Patrice plays keyboards and sings, and the sound's a sweet mix of funk and soul, smoothed down to get everything in the door at the same time. Titles include "Givin It Up Is Givin Up", "Call On me", "Haven't You Heard", and "Let The Music Take Me".

The first album by Shotgun – one of the many major label funk groups who flourished briefly at the end of the 70s. The group have a harder sound than most of this nature – with plenty of guitars in the mix, and an overall heavier sound than you'd expect from an effort of this type. In fact, there's almost a rock/funk kind of groove going on – one that would be more typical of early 70s crossover efforts on Epic, in the wake of Sly Stone and other artists like that. Tracks include "Concrete Jungle", "Get Down with the Get Down", "Mutha Funk", "Hot Line", "Dynamite (The Bomb)", and "Good Thing".

One of the best collections of work by Joe Simon we've ever seen – a well-done 26 track set that really pulls together the best cuts from his years at Sound Stage Seven! Joe was unusual in that he was a country singer working out of Nashville, not Memphis, at the end of the 60s – but Joe used this fact to his advantage, picking up some country touches that were often ignored by other artists, but not the audiences in the south, who were often taking equal parts country and soul in their diet. The set features most of Joe's best singles from the late 60s and very early 70s – all wrapped up in a great set of notes, with tracks that include "Long Hot Summer", "The Chokin Kind", "It's Hard To Get Along", "Moon Walk (parts 1 & 2)", "Yours Love", "Farther On Down The Road", "That's The Way I Want Our Love", "The Girl's Alright With Me", "No Sad Songs", "Come On & Get It", "Message From Maria", and "Travellin Man".

One of the greatest vocal albums of all time! Sinatra's never sounded better than on this album – one of the first truly cohesive albums of torch and ballad songs ever recorded – done by Frank at a time when his heart was really breaking, and sung with a depth you'd hardly ever find in his other work. The whole thing's sublime – one of the darkest, moodiest selections of material we've ever heard – and the record never fails to send chills down our spine, no matter how many times we hear it! Tracks include "Mood Indigo", "I See Your Face Before Me", "Deep In A Dream", "Ill Wind", "I'll Be Around", "This Love Of Mine", "Dancing On The Ceiling", "Glad To Be Unhappy", and "I Get Along Without You Very Well".

Righteous jazz, with plenty of soul – a killer collection of the mid 70s work of Lonnie Liston Smith – all based around his legendary recordings for the Flying Dutchman label! Lonnie got his start on the hippest side of the jazz spectrum – including work with Pharoah Sanders on Impulse – but by the time of these tracks, he'd found a way to beautifully mix the righteous energy of his roots with some sweet mid 70s jazz funk touches – all served up in a sublime blend of electric keyboards and acoustic piano, and often expanded with lyrics that helped Smith cross over into a soul audience too! Few artists ever handled the balance as well as Lonnie – although this work certainly inspired dozens of others to try – and the set's a beautiful testament to his lasting power, with 15 great tracks that include "Visions Of A New World", "Cosmic Funk", "Get Down Everybody", "In Search Of Truth", "Expansions", "Beautiful Woman", "Golden Dreams", "Astral Traveling", "Meditations", "Devika", "Shadows", and "Sunbeams".

Lonnie Liston Smith grooves it hard here with his Cosmic Echoes group – mixing in a stronger dose of soul than ever before, yet still giving tracks a righteous feel overall! The approach here is a bit like that of Roy Ayers work from the 70s – still jazzy at its core and conception, but often featuring vocals to deliver a wider message for the tunes – plus some nicely snapping rhythms that are enough to get a fe cuts good play on the dancefloor! The record's still got plenty of great mellow tracks too, though – the kind of floating spacey numbers that Smith virtually invented during the 70s, and which stand here as a more strongly jazz-voiced contrast to some of the soul tunes in the set. Donald Smith and Dave Hubbard are still working here with Lonnie to give the work a really solid sound, and tracks include groovers like "Get Down Everybody", "Peace & Love", and "Beautiful Woman" – mixed with spacier fusion numbers like "Quiet Dawn", "Golden Dreams", and "Goddess Of Love".

Forget the preview, because Leon Spencer is already the main attraction on this key early album for Prestige! The date may well be one of the organist's greatest – and is a lean, mean session cut with that stretched out funky style that Prestige was really laying down at the time – open-ended tunes that take off from the Lou Donaldson late 60s style at Blue Note, with plenty of room for all players to do their thing! Idris Muhammad plays plenty of funky drums on the record, alongside trumpet from Virgil Jones, tenor from Grover Washington Jr, and guitar from Melvin Sparks – plus some kicking conga at the bottom from Buddy Caldwell. Spencer's sound on the Hammond is full and mighty – burning up from the get-go with a round, wall of sound sort of approach. The vibe is quite similar to Melvin Sparks' albums from the same time for Prestige – and titles include "The Slide", "Sneak Preview", "Message From the Meters", and "First Gravy".

The Supremes take on the classy Copa nightclub – and really bring down the house with a stunning mix of warmth, charm, and soul – especially on this incredible expanded edition from Hip-O Select! The original album is perhaps one of the "livest" of Motown live albums from the time – done in a spread-out style that features a lot more songs than some of their other live records, really giving the full scope of the show at the club. Plus, there's lots of crowd noise, bits of speaking from the girls, and an overall approach that's fluid and natural – very much a concert on record! The folks at Motown and Hip-O Select clearly have the deep love and respect for set that it deserves – they really go all out here! Disc 1 kicks off with the original stereo LP tracklist, including "The Boy From Ipanema", "Put On A Happy Face", "I Am Woman", "Baby Love", their wonderful Sam Cooke medley, "Queen Of The House", and "Back In My Arms Again", "You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Loves You" and more. Those are followed by 10 bonus tracks: alternate mono mixes of standouts from the original album, plus some that were left out, including "Nothing But Heartaches" and "Enjoy Yourself (It's Later Than You Think)". As great as the original album is, and as fully formed as it feels, it's not the compete show – and that's what you get on Disc 2 – all 21 tracks (more if you count the medley) and 61 minutes of it. Beautiful packaging and detailed booklet, too!

Swamp Dogg's on the cover, riding a giant rat out of the ghetto – an image that definitely hints at some of the politics on the record! The album's one of Swamp's key classics from the early 70s – recorded at a time when he was still super-sharp – and when the character was a great focus of all the indie soul energy that Jerry Williams had forged on the scene in the 60s! In fact, the record's so great, they made it twice – recorded once down at the TK studios in Miami, then scrapped – and re-recorded here at Muscle Shoals, with some wicked Quinvy touches that really hold the whole thing together. The Muscle Shoals approach works beautifully for the Swamp Dogg aesthetic – and really gives it the right sort of southern soul punch to send home the tunes – as you'll hear on "Creeping Away", "Predicament #2", "Do You Believe", "Got To Get A Message To You", "I Kissed Your Face", and "Do Our Thing Together".

A classic set of psychedelic soul from this fantastic 60s group! The record is one of the groundbreaking albums the Temps cut with producer Norman Whitfield – and it's a landmark session that perfectly showcases what Whitfield's full-on, guitar-heavy, bassy-bottom style could do for the group! A few mellow cuts hearken back to earlier days – but there's some excellent moments that really let the new sound shine – soaring out with trippier touches that are totally great! Highlights include the storming cut "I Can't Get Next To You", a trippy remake of "Hey Jude", the original "Don't Let The Joneses Get You Down", and the haunting "Message From A Black Man" – one of the most righteous moments ever in late 60s Motown!

During the late 60s, the Temptations career really started to take off – and the group emerged to become a landmark vocal ensemble with a groundbreaking effect on the history of soul and funk. Working with Norman Whitfield, they forged a righteous heavy soul sound that was quite different than that of their Motown contemporaries – filled with politics and social consciousness, laid out in a blend of heavy basslines and full fuzzy guitars that really kicked ass. This second volume of the Temps' greatest hits dips heavily into those key years – and it includes killer cuts like "Cloud Nine", "Ball of Confusion", "I Can't Get Next To You", "Run Away Child, Running Wild", "Don't Let The Joneses Get You Down", "I Wish It Would Rain", and "Psychedelic Shack".

A fantastic record, and one of our most treasured Latin Soul albums from the late 60s! Ray Terrace leads a totally sharp little Latin combo through a host of originals and soulful covers, and the real highlight of the record is Willie Torres, who sings English vocals in a very deep soulful style that groovers perfectly with Ray's tight arrangements. The whole thing swings, and there's never a dead minute. We love this one all the way through – and it's a treasure to finally see reissued on vinyl! Tracks include "You've Been Talking 'Bout Me Baby", "Half Way Down", "Listen To Me", the totally great "I Make A Fool Of Myself", "Wade In The Water", "Get On Up", "Wiggle, Waggle", "There Is A Mountain" and more. Nice!

The complete series of singles singer BJ Thomas cut for Scepter from the 1966 to 1972 – a pretty great overview that not only serves as a terrific anthology – it also shows the depth of styles managed to cover with resounding creative success, whether the singles charted or not! BJ is best remembered by the mainstream for the electric sitar-flavored pop treasure "Hooked On A Feeling" and inescapable "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head" – but overall, his approach is a great combination of 60s pop, soul and cosmopolitan country – with down home charm anchoring his soaring voice. 46 tracks on 2CDs! "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry", "Your Tears Leave Me Cold", "Hooked On A Feeling", "Human", "The Eyes Of A New York Woman", "I'ts Only Love", "Pass The Apple Eve", "Everybody's Out Of Town", "Never Had It So Good", "I Get Enthused", "The Mask", "Mighty Clouds Of Joy", "Long Ago Tomorrow", "I Get Enthused", "We Have Got To Get Our Ship Together" and many more.

One of the best Rufus Thomas albums from the 70s – a key record from his comeback years, and one that has him trading in his older R&B mode for a harder, funkier Memphis groove! Rufus was 52 at the time, but thanks to a never-dying fire, and some great youthful arrangements, the set crackles with a raw intensity that put him at the top of the funky Stax for the time! The set includes the massive comeback hit "Funky Chicken", plus a sublime remake of "Sixty Minute Man" – done in a slow and funky mode that rolls on for lover 7 minutes in all! Other tracks include "Soul Food", "Rufus Rastus Johnson Brown", "Turn Your Damper Down", and remakes of "The Preacher & The Bear" and "Bearcat". And dang! There's a huuuuuge amount of bonus tracks here too – funky Stax singles from the early 70s – including "Funky Mississippi", "So Hard To Get Along With", "Funky Way", "I Want To Hold You", "Itch & Scratch (parts 1 & 2)", and "Boogie Ain't Nuttin (parts 1 & 2)".

Beautiful, strange – and strangely beautiful stuff from Tony Dore, Caroline Dore and John Clark – who are best-remembered by 70s rare folk diggers as Tony Caro & John! The trio's All On The First Day is one of greater private press records of the early 70s to a get some love much later down the road – and as hard to find as that record was before some reissue action, it turns out that some of their completely unreleased recordings are just as sweet! Most of the songs are from a bit later in the 70s, but they carry on with the psych folk spirit and vocal harmonies of their earlier craft – and with a bit more keyboard experimentation here and there. Strong lead and harmony vocals and a mix of acoustic and electric instrumentation. 11 great songs: "Forever And Ever", "Bye Bye I Love You", "Home", "Sally Free And Easy", "Where The Elephants Go To Die", "Ton Ton Macoutes", "Swirling Sphere", "Pretty Saro" and "Children Of Plenty", plus 2 live tracks from London in '74: "There Are No Greater Heroes" and "The Road To Avalon".

A pair of late Ike & Tina albums in a single package! Workin' Together is a pivotal album – one that has them still retaining some of the earthiness of earlier years, yet also honing their groove for the crossover audience that was digging them big at the end of the 60s! The best results of this shift is the increasing funk component in their music – a move away from R&B into a tighter 60s groove, one that often featured very strong guitar parts in its best incarnation. The set includes the classic "Funkier Than A Mosquito's Tweeter", plus "Ooh Poo Pah Doo", "Let It Be", "Goodbye So Long", "You Can Have It", "The Way You Love Me", "Get Back", and "Workin Together". Let Me Touch Your Mind is a fairly loose set of diverse material from the tumultuous duo, from the tender, lovely chorus backed and string accented grit of the title track to more stripped down, kinda country funk accented number. Includes "Annie Had A Baby", "Don't Believe Her", "Early One Morning", "Up On The Roof", "Heaven Help Us All" and more.

One of our favorite funk combos take on a host of gems from the past – all classic soul and funk numbers that really expand the sound of Osaka Monaurail! The group first got their start doing a great riff on the sound of James Brown – but here, they move into Memphis soul, Chicago funk, and more – working their well-honed instrumental talents over a host of killer cuts that explode in fresh new versions! Unlike other records, where Ryo Nakata sings, this time around he's just leading the group and playing keyboards – but that shift is OK with us, as it gives the horns and guitar lots more space to do their thing. Titles include "Cafe Regio's", "Supershine #9", "Chocolate Buttermilk", "Amen Brother", "Get Down", "Get Ready", "Little Old Money Maker", "Message To Love", "Divertissement", and "Hey Jude". CD also features 3 bonus live tracks – "Tighten Up", "Truck Turner", and "Soulful Strut". Note: This is a different package for the album Amen Brother – which was issued under the Osaka Monaurail name.

Standouts from Glenn Underground's peak-level Forgotton Art (Music)! "Shiloh (A King's Return)" pretty well encapsulates what we love most about Glenn's work from this period. It's got an unshakable dancefloor rhythm and a heavy bass groove – and kicked to a higher level with a beautiful jazzy horn passage. "We, The Party (Let’s Get Down)" is the equally hypnotic cut on the flip.

Allen's on the front cover in a white turtleneck that makes him look like a bit of a square, but the session's a nice jazzy fusion outing, in the best tradition of some of the excellent work from the time on the short-lived Headfirst label! Vizzutti plays trumpet in the lead, often in a brilliantly brassy style that's clearly inspired by some of Freddie Hubbard's electric work of the early 70s – but which also takes off in an even more jamming mode on a few of the album's more frenetic numbers, which get past the gentler soul of the rest of the set. Other players include Chick Corea, Grant Geisman, and Joe Farrell – and titles include "Zig Zag", "Skyrocket", "Down At Sunset Sound", "Sunflower Fields", and "In The Pocket".

Barry White at the height of his powers – soaring out here with that amazing groove that never lets us down! The album's a mini-soul symphony throughout – tight beats, soaring strings, and that rock-solid Barry White vocal approach – that warm, fluid sound that's instantly recognizable, and which sparkles forth to really tie the whole album together! There's less standout singles here than some of White's other albums from the time – but that's the great thing about the album, too – as it encourages you to take the whole thing together at once – as such a masterpiece should be enjoyed. Titles include "If You Know Won't You Tell Me", "Baby We Better Try To Get It Together", "I Don't Know Where Love Has Gone", and "Let The Music Play". CD features some bonus variations on the title track – a single version, instrumental b-side, "M+M throwback mix", "Funkstar's club deluxe", and alternate version of "Let The Music Play"!

Betty Wright explodes with soul on this sweet 70s classic – really stretching out past the simpler grooves of her roots, and showing the world she's got more than enough talent to be one of the standout soul divas of her generation! The record's also a great illustration of the way that Miami soul was growing up at the time, too – and sparkles with Willie Clarke production that help balance some of the new smoother modes with Betty's core down-home energy – captured perfectly here with a quality that makes the record southern enough to appeal to longtime fans, yet hip enough to get plenty of play up north too. Vocals get nice and complicated at times, almost jazzy with a Rufus/Chaka touch – and titles include "Do Right Girl", "I Think I'd Better Think About It", "Smother Me With Love", "Open The Door To Your Heart", "Life", "If I Ever Do Wrong", and "Don't Forget To Say I Love You Today". CD features four bonus tracks – "To Love & Be Loved", "Ooola La", "Slip & Do It", and "If I Was A Kid".

Fantastic! Young and Holt lay down a monster set of grooves from Curtis Mayfield's Superfly soundtrack (all the good ones – like "Freddie's Dead", "Give Me Your Love", "Pusher Man", and "Superfly"), and they also get into some funky tracks of their own (like "Hey Pancho" and "Mystical Man"), and do a super-dope cover of "People Make the World Go Round". The album's nice and stripped down – perhaps closest to their Oh Girl LP on Atlantic in feel, with loads of cool electric piano by Ken Chaney, laid out over the group's harder funky grooves! One of their rarest in the original, too – and an essential bit of early G-funk!

A great later project from Zulema – one done in the years after her fame on bigger labels, but still pretty darn great overall! The groove here is quite different than the records she did back in the 70s – much more in the street soul mode you'd expect from the TSOB label – with lots of tightly popping basslines, sweet-stepping keyboards, and a set of rhythms that runs mostly in the boogie and 80s groove side of the spectrum! Turns out, Zulema's vocals are a perfect fit for the style – and where she might have overdone some tunes at points in the 70s, she's really fitting right in with the stronger backings here – kicking things very nicely with group co-member Al MacDowell. (Zalmac = Z + Al Mac) Titles include "What's In It For Me", "Dreamin", "See What Your Love Has Done", "Friends", "Whatcha Gonna Do About It", "I Get Down", "Happy Feelings", and "What Am I Doing".

A jam packed collection of classic funk that formed the bedrock of the hip hop revolution – iconic breakbeat material and straight up funky treasures – a 2CD set compied by Dean Rudland! This new set celebrates the great earlier Breaks series on Harmless with a nice mix of numbers that are as classic as can be to beat diggers, but only recoginizable for the sampled bits to younger and more mainstream listeners, plus better-remembered classics that are just as important . The set features tracks by Mohawks, Liquid Liquid, Al Green, Taana Gardner, Last Poets, Funkadelic, Cymande, MFSB, Brick, Syl Johnson, The O'Jays, Average White Band and many more. 31 tracks on 2CDs: "The Champ" by Mohawks, "Space Funk" by Manzel, "Get Down With The Philly Sound" by MFSB, "Love And Happiness" by Al Green, "The Message" by Cymande, "Groovin'" by Willie Mitchell, "Tramp" by Lowell Fulsom, "Here I Go Again" by Jean Plum and many more.

Possibly the best-ever collection of blacksploitation grooves we've ever seen – a really comprehensive package that not only manages to cover the classics, but which also digs deep enough to come up with lots of fresh bits too! The set really sets a new level for the Soul Jazz label – and is carried off with enough authority towards Black Action films as the label's legendary efforts towards a host of less mainstream genres – truly an achievement for the label's crew, not to mention a heavier bonus for our funky listening pleasure! There's way more here than just a slapped-together batch of tunes from the early 70s – as the set's very carefully put together to showcase a wide range of sounds, along with notes that really get at the social and political power of both the music and the films. 2CD package features a massive color booklet inside the slipcase – and features 34 tracks that include "Shaft In Africa" by Johnny Pate, "Down & Out In New York City" by James Brown, "Wilford's Gone" by The Blackbyrds, "Run Fay Run" by Isaac Hayes, "Theme From Black Belt Jones" by Dennis Coffey, "Willie Chase" by JJ Johnson, "T Plays It Cool" by Marvin Gaye, "Charley" by Don Costa, "Brother's Gonna Work It Out" by Willie Hutch, "Blacula" by Gene Page, "Theme From Cleopatra Jones" by Joe Simon, "Pursuit Of The Pimpmobile" by Isaac Hayes, "Sweetback's Theme" by Earth Wind & Fire, "Aragon" by Roy Ayers, "Strung Out" by Gordon Staples, "Easin In" by Edwin Starr, "The Bus" by Solomon Burke & Gene Page, "Make A Resolution" by The Impressions, "Ed & Digger" by Cotton Comes To Harlem, "Las Vegas Strut" by Jack Ashford, "Lay It On Your Head" by Don Julian, and "Zombie March" by Nat Dove & The Devils.

Plenty of disco love here – a really heartfelt selection of rare club tunes – great little numbers that are as funky and soulful as they are obscure! These aren't the disco hits of the late 70s, but they're also not clunkers that are just rare either – and instead, they're great little tunes that hardly got discovered back in the day – but are brought together here in a wicked collection by collector Al Kent! There's a freshness to the material that takes us way past the obvious – funky basslines, snapping drums, and lots of wonderful keyboards and guitar – all wrapped up in a near-perfect way, and usually set to some smoking vocals too. Many of the cuts here are rare to even our crate-tuned ears – and titles include "Mighty Gents" by The Mighty Gents, "Hungry" by Sandy's Gang, "Oh Baby/Get On Down" by Bo Galigher & TSB, "Something About You" by Moses, "Disco Fever (part 3)" by Rhond Durand, "Disco Music" by Sil Austin, "Hustle On Down (part 3)" by Michael Legrair, and "I Want To Be With You" by Gregory Andre & Two Plus Three.

A mighty pairing of talents – one of the greatest DJs in the world and one of the hippest jazz labels – served up in a mindblowing mix of music that's way more than just another compilation! When DJ Muro puts together a set, he doesn't just choose the songs – he works hard to find the best ways to present them, and often creates a mix that unlocks hidden corners of sound – with a sensitivity for instrumental passages that few others can touch! His talents here really bring a new sort of light to the legendary Black Jazz catalog – making the music sparkle anew as each tune slides effortlessly into the next – often linked in ways we never would have expected. Titles include "BK" and "Aunt Lovey" by Calvin Keys, "Get Down" by Gene Russell, "Keena" by Cleveland Eaton, "Diswa" and "The Highest Pleasure" by Rudolph Johnson, "March On" and "Slinky" by The Awakening, "Blue Lights" and "Beauty & The Electric Tub" by Henry Franklin, "Soul Village" by Walter Bishop, "Magic Wand Of Love" and "See You Later" by Kellee Patterson, and "Higher Ground" by Doug Carn.

Massive sounds from the Dopebrother Studio – home to some of the funkiest Kenny Dope productions of the past few years! The grooves here are mostly older nuggets from the 70s – rare funk, soul, and club numbers – mixed by Kenny and the Undercover Brother in ways that really bring up the funkiest energy of the tunes – lots of hard drums, great breaks, and crisp instrumentation that actually sounds way more dope than if you were spinning a copy of an original funky 45! Most tracks on here have only ever been issued as singles, so the full length collection makes for a great way to dig into all these massive grooves in one place – at a price that's pretty damn hard to beat. Plus, there's even a few unreleased tracks on here too – sure to please even the folks who already own a few of the singles! Titles include "How You Gonna Do It (Undercover Brother edit)" by Lenis Guess & The Raw Soul, "Foxfire (Dopebrother rmx)" by Kenny Smith & The Fox Fire Band, "Party & Get On Down (Undercover Brother edit)" by BAB, "Creative Happiness" by Steve Marshall, "I Can't Dance (Undercover Brother edit)" by Jimmy James Thomas, "We Got To Get Together" by The Masterminds with Lady Bianca, "Your Chicken Ain't Funky Like Mine" by Dirty Red Morgan Group, "Skunkie (Undercover Brother edit)" by Kenny Smith & The Maximum Feeling, "Waiting At The Station" by Jimmy James Thomas, "Do What You Like (Undercover Brother edit)" by 400 Years Of What, and "It's Over Now (Undercover Brother quiet storm mix)" by Manzel.

Some of the best funky singles of recent years released on one CD! The Soul Fire label is probably the most dedicated flag waver around for the classic funk sound – producing limited edition funky 45s by classic artists and newbies working in a classic mode – artists like Sugarman Three, Lee Fields, and Detroit Sex Machines. Many of the singles are now out of print on vinyl forever – and they are collected here, and on Grazing In The Trash Volume 1, with both the a & b sides! Titles include "Don't Think. . .Do" and "Get Up In Your Hot Pants" by Bama & The Family, "Soul Dig Part 1" and "Soul Dig Part 2" by Soul Diggers, "Solid Funk" and "Funky Moon" by Sugarman Three, "Soul Dynamite" and "Ain't It Funky Now" by Lee Fields & The Explorers, "Funky Crawl" and "Rap It Together" by Detroit Sex Machines, "Get Down" and "Moon Mission" by Joseph Henry & The Soul Command, and "In The Raw" and "The Bastard" by Whitefield Brothers.

Seminal club tracks from the start of the 80s – a dozen great boogie numbers pulled together for the second installment in this excellent series! The package is really the cream of the crop from the era, and the set mixes together a few minor hits with other lesser-known numbers for a really fresh array of music – the kind of collection that goes way past the obvious, and which is bound to re-illuminate your understanding of dancefloor grooves from the time. Titles include "Share The Night" by World Premier, "Our Hearts Will Aways Shine" by Ozone, "Bizzaare" by Rhyze, "You Need A Change Of Mind" by Brooklyn Express, "Can't Get Away" by Carol Williams, "Seventh Heaven (Larry Levan rmx)" by Gwen Guthrie, "Still In Love" by Rose Royce, "Help Is On The Way" by The Whatnauts, "Got To Be Real" by Cheryl Lynn, "This Time Baby" by Jackie Moore, and "Stay Tonite" by Mandrill.

We can't get enough of Fame Records – that legendary powerhouse of southern soul in the 60s and 70s – and fortunately, the vaults of the studios have finally been opened after all these decades – and we're really getting the full picture of all the genius that went down in Muscle Shoals! This tremendous little package is essential southern soul listening for both the collector and newcomer – a whopping 24 tracks that virtually define the sound of the genre at its height – handled perfectly by producer Rick Hall and his core combo of crack musicians – working way past cliche to create some tremendous music on the set! A few of the artists here are names you'll know from Fame hits, a few more are lesser-knowns from the scene at the time – and a few more are even completely unknown – singers who weren't listed on the master tapes or studio records, but who are issued here because their vocals are so great. Titles include "Long Ago" by Ben & Spence, "It Tears Me Up" by James Barnett, "Take Me Back" by George Jackson, "Unfortunately" by Jackie, "Have Pity On Me" by Billy Young, "Don't Let It Be Sad" by June Conquest, "Fool For A Woman" by Prince Phillip, "Take It All Off" by Clarence Carter, "Are You Teasing Me" by Linda Carr, "I Can't Stop" by Big Ben Atkins, "Get In A Hurry" by Joe Simon, and "Midnight Affair" by George Soule.

Some of the funkiest, grooviest tunes ever from the MPS label – all brought together in one double-length set at an incredible price! These are the tracks that first got MPS re-noticed by a younger generation of groovers a decade or more ago – tunes that offer up an amazing blend of soul jazz, Brazilian, modal, and vocal styles – all done with genre-crossing genius, and some of the best production an artist could ever hope for in the studio! The collection's sort of an amalgamation of the essential (and now-deleted) compilations by Gilles Peterson that appeared on the Talkin Loud label – a filtering down of all the best bits into a 19-track CD that runs for over 75 minutes in length. Titles include "Sunshine Of Your Love" by Ella Fitzgerald, "Color" by Erwin Lehn, "Just Give Me Time" by Mark Murphy, "Little Bird" by Elsie Bianchi, "Waldmadchen" by Gustav Brom, "Espresso Loco" by Francy Boland, "That Ol Bus Smell" by Peter Herbholzheimer, "Get Out Of My Life Woman" by Dee Dee Barry & The Movements, "Big Schlepp" by Dave Pike, "Carmell's Black Forest Waltz" by Nathan Davis, "Upa Neguinho" by Edu Lobo, "Hold Me I've Got To Leave You" by Johnny Teupen, "Volcano's Daughter" by Nelson Riddle, "Monticello" by Monty Alexander, "Scratches" by Charly Antolini, and "Speech Craft" by Horst Jankowski.

Rare funk from one of the greatest labels in the business! King Records is known to many for its classic work with singers like James Brown, Hank Ballard, and Wynonie Harris – but during the later years of the label, they also pressed up a great amount of excellent funky 45s, including many that are some of the rarest you'll ever try to find. This 24 track set is the first to really try to document King's rich funk legacy – and it's got some amazing tracks that blend together raw southern soul, hard northern rhythms, and sweet James Brown-produced grooves. Any one of these tunes would set you back at least $50 on a single – not just because they're rare, but because they're some of the best funk cuts ever recorded. Titles include "Mr Tuff Stuff" by Toby King, "Gold Walk" by The Presidents, "Butter Your Popcorn" by Hank Ballard, "Your Thing Ain't No Good Without My Thing" by Marie Queenie Lyons, "Down Home Girl" by The Coasters, "Don't Get Funky" by Gloria Walker, "Funky Lady (parts 1 & 2)" by Soul East, "From The Back Side (parts 1 & 2)" by The Sons Of Funk, "Camelot Time" by J Hines & The Fellows, and "Papa's Got The Wagon" by Gloria Walker.

Frantically funky club from Lagos – an amazing collection of post-Fela work from the Nigerian scene, lots of it with the kind of uptempo grooves you'd expect from the "disco" in the title! Yet the sound here is hardly the type you'd find over at Studio 54 – as most cuts here still veer more strongly towards Afro Funk than glittery disco – lots of heavy percussion, bumping basslines, and rough production – the kind of gritty grooves that makes tracking down records like this so great! There's definitely a bit more tightness in the instrumentation than a few years before – but things are never slick or commercial – and the overall feel is almost like some of the Banda Black Rio or Uniao Black funk coming from Brazil at the same time. Titles include "Hang On" by Nana Love, "Boogie Trip" by Doris Ebong, "Bad City Girl" by Grotto, "Don't Put Me Down" by Pogo Ltd, "Everybody Get Down" by Asiko Rock Group, "Boogie Train" by Paradise Stars, "Take Life Easy" by Christy Essien, "Boredom Pain" by MFB, and "Rover Man" by Emma Dorgu.

Spiritual soul and spoken word with instrumental inflections – a perfect illustration of the righteous sound of the Flying Dutchman label at the start of the 70s! The imprint was famously home to Gil Scott Heron, Lonnie Liston Smith, Leon Thomas, and other hip cats at the time – but also recorded a fair bit of work that was even more progressive and political – including key records from forces helping to carry the legacy of Civil Rights well into the 70s! This package offers up a perfect blend of those modes – great jazz tracks that carry the legacy of John Coltrane forth even further, and political records that were often more powerful than anything in the press at the time. Titles include "Sais" by Lonnie Liston Smith", "Nevertite" by The Esoteric Circle, "The Creator Has A Master Plan" by Louis Armstrong and Leon Thomas, "Lament For John Coltrane" by Bob Thiele Emergency, "Friends & Neighbors" by Ornette Coleman, "Sit Down" by Carl B Stokes with Oliver Nelson, "Echoes" by Leon Thomas, "The Giant Is Awakened"b y Horace Tapscot, "Gonna Get Some Right Now" by Chico Hamilton", and "We're Threatening The Oppressors" by Angela Davis.

A wicked little collection that really lives up to its name – a set that's filled with warmth and good energy throughout – not to mention a great array of overlooked soul tracks too! Most of the numbers here are lesser-known gems from the late 70s and early 80s – upbeat, but not in a disco way – and usually somewhere in a space between modern soul and boogie, which works perfectly for the positive vibes of the tunes! There's a soaring feel that definitely takes off from an Earth Wind & Fire sort of style – and although most of the artists here are familiar, you'll really be surprised at the tracks chosen for the set. Titles include "Love Vibes" by The Emotions, "Something On Your Mind" by Melba Moore, "Razzle Dazzle" by Heatwave, "Better Things" by Sylvia St James, "Riding" by Michael Henderson, "Can You See Where I'm Coming From" by Instant Funk, "All In The Way You Get Down" by Ray Parker Jr & Raydio, "Sweet Fire" by Mighty Fire, "Here I Am" by Dynasty, "No One" by Flakes, "Love Is Such A Crazy Thing" by The Spinners, "Wonderful" by GQ, and "When I'm Dancin" by Lenny Williams.

Hard-burning soul from the great stretch of the 60s – that magical latter half of the decade when the genre really exploded – and turned out thousands of amazing tracks on smaller indie labels! This package pulls together some of the best groovers of that generation – all hand-picked by Northern Soul expert Kev Roberts, and served up here with fidelity that's a lot better than most of the beat up 45s we've got in our collection! And with a massive 31 tracks on the set, the whole thing's a heck of a great deal too – with cuts that include "Do You Love Me Baby" by The Masqueraders, "Change Your Ways" by Willie Kendrick, "I Need You" by Shane Martin, "I Got My Heart Set On You" by The Toys, "Let's Get Back Together" by The Honeybees, "You Can't Keep A Good Man Down" by The Gentlemen Four, "Tightrope" by Inez & Charlie Foxx, "In The Long Run" by Curtis Blandon, "I Got What It Takes" by Brooks & Jerry, "One In A Million" by Maxine Brown, "Walk Like A Man" by Johnny Moore, and "I'll Always Need You" by Dean Courtney.

A sweet and long overdue second set of Mo' Jazz from the Acid Jazz label – who made us wait just about 20 years for it – and much like the early 90s collection, it's a fresh take on timeless jazzy sounds that'll stand the test of time! It puts together nice contemporary numbers by Laurent Doumont, Filthy Six, Derek and Jodi Chai, The Cavemen, Max Middleton, G's Way and others – with riffs on classic post bebop jazz, organ funk, boozy jazzy soul ballads and more – with nicely cooking instros and vocal numbers alike. Classic-schooled, fresh sounds from artists we hope to hear much more from in the future. Bring on Vol 3! Includes "Everything I Do's Gonna Be Funky" by Laurent Doumont, "Live Again" by Derek Chai feat Jodi Chai, "Pedalo" by Riley Stone-Lonergan, "Wine Cups" by Richard Bundy, "Get Down" by Filthy Six, "Booze Blues" by Nigel Price Trio, "Return Of The Prodigal Son" by The Cavemen, "Treehouse" by Sam Q's Night Patrol, "Catch Me If You Can" by G's Way and more, 12 in all.

A sweet and long overdue second set of Mo' Jazz from the Acid Jazz label – who made us wait just about 20 years for it – and much like the early 90s collection, it's a fresh take on timeless jazzy sounds that'll stand the test of time! It puts together nice contemporary numbers by Laurent Doumont, Filthy Six, Derek and Jodi Chai, The Cavemen, Max Middleton, G's Way and others – with riffs on classic post bebop jazz, organ funk, boozy jazzy soul ballads and more – with nicely cooking instros and vocal numbers alike. Classic-schooled, fresh sounds from artists we hope to hear much more from in the future. Bring on Vol 3! Includes "Everything I Do's Gonna Be Funky" by Laurent Doumont, "Live Again" by Derek Chai feat Jodi Chai, "Pedalo" by Riley Stone-Lonergan, "Wine Cups" by Richard Bundy, "Get Down" by Filthy Six, "Booze Blues" by Nigel Price Trio, "Return Of The Prodigal Son" by The Cavemen, "Treehouse" by Sam Q's Night Patrol, "Catch Me If You Can" by G's Way and more, 12 in all.

Seminal soul from one of Chicago's greatest labels in the 60s – the One-Der-Ful/Mar-V-Lus imprints, plus tracks from related Toddlin Town too – home to some of the best indie work at the time! The quality here is right up there with the best you'd hear from Chess, Okeh, or Brunswick in the 60s – no surprise, since the pair of labels shared lots of similar talents with the bigger companies – as well as session men, songwriters, and producers too! The full scope of Chicago soul is really covered here – upbeat groovers for the dancefloor, heartfelt ballads with great harmonies, and some of the harder-edged bluesy numbers that really helped put One-Der-Ful on the map! There's also some key early examples of funk – proof that in the 60s, Chicago was one of the hippest scenes in the world – and the set comes with 2 CDs, nestled in a hardback booklet of notes and photos – with a whopping 50 tracks in all. Titles include "Tired Of Being Lonely" by The Sharpees, "Without You" by The Ulti-Mations, "That's How It Is" by Otis Clay, "Keep On Dancin" by Alvin Cash, "The Funky Judge" by Bull & The Matadors, "I Get A Groove" by Thomas East & The Fabulous Playboys, "Damper Down" by Bobby Davis, "The Town I Live In" by McKinley Mitchell, "Come Back Home" by Beny Turner, "Master Key" by Harold Burrage, "If I Could Live My Life All Over" by Dorothy Prince, "You Told A Lie" by Johnny Sayles, "New Girl" by The Accents, and "Don't You Worry" by Joe & Mack.

One of the best compilations of New Orleans funk we've ever seen! Sure, the reissue market is always filled with stuff from the Crescent City – but so many New Orleans compilations are cheapo knock-offs, designed to cash in on the drunk Jazz & Heritage crowd, or they're simplistic sets with the same 10 tracks over and over again. This wonderful batch of tunes was put together by the folks at Soul Jazz – legendary for their work in putting together serious compilations to please the novice and expert alike – and it's got some of the best overall work we've ever seen in trying to pin down New Orleans funk. Sure, there may be a few cuts on here that you've got on other sets – but there's also a lot that you won't have, and the quality of the production makes even the familiar material sparkle again. Titles include "Hercules" by Aaron Neville, "Big Chief (part 1)" by Professor Longhair, "Tell Me What's On Your Mind" by Cyril Neville, "Who's Gonna Help Brother Get Further" by Lee Dorsey, "Hand Clapping Song" by The Meters, "Here Come The Girls" by Ernie K Doe, "Free, Single, & Disengaged" by Huey Piano Smith, "Dap Walk" by Ernie & The High Notes, "Mama Roux" by Dr John, "Love Lots Of Lovin" by Lee Dorsey & Betty Harris, "I've Got Reasons" by Mary Jane Hooper, "Gatur Bait" by The Gaturs, "Hip Huggin" by Robert Parker, and "Can I Be Your Squeeze" by Chuck Carbo. 24 tracks in all!

An excellent collection of tight modern soul and funky uptempo numbers – cuts that aren't really disco, but which are smoother than the usual funk you'd hear on the Jazzman label – a really unique hybrid that's hand-picked by the mighty Fryer! Lots of the grooves here have a cool indie feel – a bit like Fantasy Records funky soul of the late 70s, and a bit like some of the more soulful club of the east coast scene at the time – and given the tightness of the instrumentation, there's often some nice jazzy touches in the mix – making some of the solos as appealing as the vocals! Most tracks here are of late 70s vintage, although there's a few bits from other years too – and titles include "People" by Elipsis", "Simple Song" by Zebra, "Life Goes On" by Freak, "Rollercoaster" by George Smallwood, "Mellow Feeling" by Barbara Lynn, "Funktown" by Nate Calhoun, "I've Got It" by Tolbert, "Party & Get On Down" by Big Apple Band, "Give Me One More Chance" by Target, "You're The One" by Kings Go Forth, "You're The Best" by Larom Baker, "What About The Child" by Gold, and "Keep Her Happy" by Phillip Wright.

An excellent collection of tight modern soul and funky uptempo numbers – cuts that aren't really disco, but which are smoother than the usual funk you'd hear on the Jazzman label – a really unique hybrid that's hand-picked by the mighty Fryer! Lots of the grooves here have a cool indie feel – a bit like Fantasy Records funky soul of the late 70s, and a bit like some of the more soulful club of the east coast scene at the time – and given the tightness of the instrumentation, there's often some nice jazzy touches in the mix – making some of the solos as appealing as the vocals! Most tracks here are of late 70s vintage, although there's a few bits from other years too – and titles include "People" by Elipsis", "Simple Song" by Zebra, "Life Goes On" by Freak, "Rollercoaster" by George Smallwood, "Mellow Feeling" by Barbara Lynn, "Funktown" by Nate Calhoun, "I've Got It" by Tolbert, "Party & Get On Down" by Big Apple Band, "Give Me One More Chance" by Target, "You're The One" by Kings Go Forth, "You're The Best" by Larom Baker, "What About The Child" by Gold, and "Keep Her Happy" by Phillip Wright.

Incredible southern soul work from Sound City – a lesser-known studio operating out of Shreveport in the 70s, with a groove that's a bit different than some of its bigger contemporaries on the scene! The Sound City approach is a bit leaner than Hi, Jewel, Malaco, or other outfits running at the time – and this collection of tracks issued on its tiny Alarm label show a growing sophistication that moves past some of the more familiar southern soul modes. There's a bit of funk on some of the tracks – almost more New York influenced in approach than down south –and there's also some more personal, mature ballad numbers too – really great tracks that make great use of the more heartbreaking qualities of the vocalists featured here – Ted Taylor, Reuben Bell, and Eddie Giles. The set has a really unified sound – given that there's only these three singers featured on the set – and that all vocalists have a good way of hitting both high notes and rootsier modes. Titles include "Somebody's Getting It", "Steal Away", "I'm Gonna Hate Myself In The Morning", "Looking Back", and "Everybody's Stealing" by Ted Taylor; "I'll Be Your Woman", "Superjock", "One Sided Love Affair", and "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye" by Reuben Bell; and "Swearing Out A Want", "There Must Be A Place", "You're My Sweet Inspiration", "How Many Times", "I Can't Get Over You", and "Married Lady" by Eddie Giles.

Smoking soul from 60s Texas – a tremendous amount of rare tunes from obscure little singles – pulled together to showcase the Lonestar State as a musical powerhouse to rival Motown, Philly, or the Windy City! The tracks here are all from various labels headed by the legendary Huey P Meux – and unlike other Texas work you may know from the time, lots of these numbers are bubbling over with the kind of soul elements you'd normally hear from east coast indie work of the time – and in that way, are almost like some of the other 60s material cut by southern transplants on the LA scene of the time – familiar, but a little offbeat too – with odd little twists and turns that really keep things interesting, and which make the package a really fresh musical discovery. There's some nice deep soul elements at times, particularly on the mellower cuts – and titles include "Go Go Train" by Jackie Paine, "That Is Why The End Must Begin" by Joe Masters, "Irene" by Rockin Dave Allen, "Time" by Charles Barry, "Get To Gitten" by Big Walter, "Doggin Around" by Jean Knight, "Friends In Show Business" by Joe Melvin, "Neighbor Neighbor" by Alton Valier, "You'll Lose A Good Thing (demo)" by Barbara Lynn, "Let Them Talk" by Johnny Adams, "If You're Looking For A Fool" by David King Thomas, and "Pick Me Up On Your Way Down" by Margo White.

Heavy heavy funk from the Louisiana scene of the late 60s and 1970s – and a great collection that really gets past the dominance of the New Orleans sound! The set moves way past the Crescent City to uncover a wealth of great bits recorded in smaller studios located in Shreveport, Lake Charles, and a variety of tiny scenes in the southwest side of Louisiana – and the result is a great batch of tunes with a really gritty, down-n-dirty sound! There's a wealth of great funky styles in the set – including James Brown-inspired jammers, southern soul burners, and some other great modes that show that Louisiana's got a heck of a lot more to offer than just New Orleans funk. Titles include work from the Anla, Murco, Soul International, Goldband, and Tic Toc labels – a total of 22 cuts that include "Soul Time" by Ernest Thomas, "Soul Feeling (parts 1 & 2)" by Eddy G Giles, "Soul Brothers Testify (part 1)" by Chester Randles Soul Senders, "Soul Power" by Abraham & The Casanovas, "Put It On" by Count Rockin Sidney with The Dukes, "Fix It" by Clifton White & His Royal Knights, "Miss Hard To Get" by Dennis Landry, "No Sad Times" by Johnny Truit, "Black Water Gold" by African Music Machine, and "I Got A Groove" by JJ Callier.

Heavy heavy funk from the Louisiana scene of the late 60s and 1970s – and a great collection that really gets past the dominance of the New Orleans sound! The set moves way past the Crescent City to uncover a wealth of great bits recorded in smaller studios located in Shreveport, Lake Charles, and a variety of tiny scenes in the southwest side of Louisiana – and the result is a great batch of tunes with a really gritty, down-n-dirty sound! There's a wealth of great funky styles in the set – including James Brown-inspired jammers, southern soul burners, and some other great modes that show that Louisiana's got a heck of a lot more to offer than just New Orleans funk. Titles include work from the Anla, Murco, Soul International, Goldband, and Tic Toc labels – a total of 22 cuts that include "Soul Time" by Ernest Thomas, "Soul Feeling (parts 1 & 2)" by Eddy G Giles, "Soul Brothers Testify (part 1)" by Chester Randles Soul Senders, "Soul Power" by Abraham & The Casanovas, "Put It On" by Count Rockin Sidney with The Dukes, "Fix It" by Clifton White & His Royal Knights, "Miss Hard To Get" by Dennis Landry, "No Sad Times" by Johnny Truit, "Black Water Gold" by African Music Machine, and "I Got A Groove" by JJ Callier.

Unhh!! Studio One plus funk, what more need we say?! Coxsone Dodd and company get down with the get down, and in this case, that's some pretty good company, with Sound Dimension, Cedric Brooks, Jackie Mittoo, Pablove Black, Alton Ellis, Vin Gordon and a whole mess of the baddest cats in Jamaica weighing in on this heavyweight batch of bouncing funk jams. The Studio One family delivers the funk in all flavors, whether it's covers of the jams that were getting rumps shaking stateside like "Melting Pot", "Shaft", "Funky Broadway" or "It's A Shame", or funkdafied rubs of established Studio One riddims and blazing originals like "007", "Music Answer", "Steady Beat", "African Descendants" or "Another Thing". 19 mighty tracks in all, wrapped up in the nice, nice Soul Jazz packaging, you know and love!

Unhh!! Studio One plus funk, what more need we say?! Coxsone Dodd and company get down with the get down, and in this case, that's some pretty good company, with Sound Dimension, Cedric Brooks, Jackie Mittoo, Pablove Black, Alton Ellis, Vin Gordon and a whole mess of the baddest cats in Jamaica weighing in on this heavyweight batch of bouncing funk jams. The Studio One family delivers the funk in all flavors, whether it's covers of the jams that were getting rumps shaking stateside like "Melting Pot", "Shaft", "Funky Broadway" or "It's A Shame", or funkdafied rubs of established Studio One riddims and blazing originals like "007", "Music Answer", "Steady Beat", "African Descendants" or "Another Thing". 19 mighty tracks in all, wrapped up in the nice, nice Soul Jazz packaging, you know and love!

16 tracks of sweet and smooth 70s soul – hand-picked with a freshness that should appeal to the modern hip hop fan as much as the older soul collector. The tracks on here aren't as beat or break-heavy as some of the material on other sample-driven collections we stock – but that's fine with us, as the tracks move into a sophisticated soul range that's always a pleasure to hear, bringing together the kind of well-produced 70s tracks that have shown up on series like Strange Games & Funky Things or Mellow Mellow, both of which have been longtime favorites with the DGA crowd! Titles include "Sweet Taste Of Sin" by Dennis Coffey, "I'll See You In Hell First" by Phillip Mitchell, "Do It To Me Now" by Fatback, "Don't Risk Your Happiness On Foolishness" by Fantastic Four, "Killing Time" by Natural Essence, "Your Love Is My Desire" by Eramus Hall, "Baby Get Down" by Eddie McLoyd, "Set It Out" by The Detroit Emeralds, "Love Starved" by Shirley Brown, "I'm Gonna Have To Tell Her" by Isaac Hayes, "If I Had The Power" by Johnny Guitar Watson, and "I Got To Have Your Love Now" by Caesar Frazier.

Sweet and smooth 70s soul – hand-picked with a freshness that should appeal to folks who found these sounds through the hip hop that these grooves laid the sonic groundwork for. The tracks on here aren't as beat or break-heavy as some of the material on other sample-driven collections – but that's fine with us, as the tracks move into a sophisticated soul range that's always a pleasure to hear, bringing together the kind of well-produced 70s tracks we love! Titles include "Sweet Taste Of Sin" by Dennis Coffey, "I'll See You In Hell First" by Phillip Mitchell, "Do It To Me Now" by Fatback, "Don't Risk Your Happiness On Foolishness" by Fantastic Four, "Killing Time" by Natural Essence, "Your Love Is My Desire" by Eramus Hall, "Baby Get Down" by Eddie McLoyd, "Set It Out" by The Detroit Emeralds, "Love Starved" by Shirley Brown, "I'm Gonna Have To Tell Her" by Isaac Hayes, "If I Had The Power" by Johnny Guitar Watson, and "I Got To Have Your Love Now" by Caesar Frazier.

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.

The world needs changing – and plenty of these tunes may well do it – thanks to infectious grooves and some very righteous message-oriented lyrics! The set's a great document of the positive, progressive energy going down in soul music during the heady days of the late 60s and early 70s – a time when the country was changing heavily, and the music was as well – moving into new styles, themes, and ideas – expressed here by a hip batch of cats who were working on some of the best indie labels of the underground! This set offers up a great mix of cool cuts from a variety of sources – a few gems from the Flying Dutchman label, some other obscure 45s, and even a few southern soul numbers that fit surprisingly well with the northern vibe of most of these numbers. Titles include "Walk Tall" by Esther Marrow, "Get Ready/Uptight" by Little Eva Harris, "All Power To The People (part 1)" by Joe Savage & The Soul People, "Soul Patrol" by The Original Soul Patrol, "Do It (inst)" by Johnny Griffith, "The World Needs Changin" by Hank Jacobs & Don Malone, "Sea Saw Affair" by Cesar 830, "Love Tones" by Melvin Sparks, "That's The Way It Goes" by Elaine Armstrong, "This Is The Me Me" by Brenda Jones with Groove Holmes, "Sissy Strut N American Woman" by The Willard Posey Reunion, and "Rudypoot" by Huck & The Soul Patrol.

One of the most excellent records ever on Prestige, and one of our favorite LPs ever! The great reed player George Braith lays down a set of moody dark tracks with backing by a group that includes a lot of percussion, electric guitar, electric bass, and, on one track, backing by a choir of female voices. Braith get's an excellent sound from his assortment of horns (C-melody sax, alto, and soprano), and his playing here is unlike that on any of his other records (although all of those are great as well!) He's moved past the Roland Kirk vibe he had, and isn't playing that funky. Instead, he's got this great moody sound, with a really searching quality to his solos, and an emotional tone throughout. The set is filled with incredible tracks that have a nice laidback groove, assorted percussion, and haunting edgey solos by Braith. Cuts include "Del's Theme", "Musart", "Evelyn Anita", and "Splashes Of Love".

A really old school jam from guitarist Larry Coryell – one that takes us back to some of the most tripped-out sounds of his early years! Given the cover, you can definitely expect a psychedelic influence to the music – and the group here really helps Larry get back to his roots – finding a sound that's still plenty jazz, but which mixes in some funky and progressive elements too – that genre-stepping quality that really helped Coryell break down a lot of barriers back in the day. Coryell plays both acoustic and electric on the date, and the lineup features some especially nice Fender Rhodes – plus trombone, saxes, bass, and plenty of percussion. Titles include "Torchlight", "Cobalt", "Terco", "The Last Drop", "Return Of Shirtless", "December Blues", "Honey Dijon", and "Dream Scene".

This one continues the sound of the group's previous album on Tabu – lots of slap-bass funk, touched with electro bits, coming off surprisingly nicely overall! The instrumentation's mostly from keyboards and bass pedals – and the vocals are a bit buried in the mix, but there's some mellower tunes that have some honest leads with an indie sound. Titles include "Upside Down", "Ooh Ahh", "The Bus", "Get Closer", "True Love", and "By My Side".

Todd Rundgren in all of his great early glory – a record that's filled with simple, honest pop tunes – and one that also takes on a few experimental touches as well – but only in ways that further the earnest charm at its heart! There's a really upfront, unpretentious feel to the record – one that matches Todd's indie rock look on the cover, and which comes through beautifully in the balance of material in the set. Some tunes are a bit harder rocking, but they're always offset by gentler moments that really stand out. Titles include "We Gotta Get You A Woman", "The Last Thing You Said", "Broke Down & Busted", "Who's That Man", "Birthday Carol", "Believe In Me", and the great medley of "Baby Let's Swing/The Last Thing You Said/Don't Tie My Hands".

David Byrne brings his love of funk and soul to the forefront – tightening things up a bit from before, but still staying strongly in a classic Talking Heads groove! The record's possibly the last of the group's initial classic run, and has a surprisingly soulful feel at times – a hybrid of early 80s funk and club modes, played by guests who include Wally Badarou on synth, Bernie Worrell on keyboards, and Steve Scales and David Van Tieghem on percussion. Nona Hendryx sings a bit of backing vocals too – and Byrne really steps up to the grooves without ever going too far over the top. Titles include "Burning Down The House", "Making Flippy Floppy", "Girlfriend Is Better", "Slippery People", "I Get Wild/Wild Gravity", "Swamp", "Moon Rocks", "Pull Up The Roots", and "This Must Be The Place (Naïve Melody)".

The final Warner Brothers album from Dionne Warwick – and a smooth, sophisticated affair done with full arrangements from Michael Omartian! The sound's still not as pop disco as you might expect from the time, and Dionne's gentle vocals are often cast in backings that step along nicely with a mellow, midtempo groove – one that's a bit like some of the best Philly soul of the period, yet still with a bit more California polish overall. The album works surprisingly well as a soul record – and really puts Warwick in the company of a whole generation of younger singers who'd risen above her by this point in the 70s. Titles include "One Thing On My Mind", "Don't Ever Take Your Love Away", "Livin It Up Is Startin To Get Me Down", "Since You Stayed Here", "A Long Way To Go", and "Keepin My Head Above Water".

The second LP from Cypress Hill, and as far as we're concerned, the last great one. Muggs' beats get a bit darker on this album, but are still sharp enough to cut through even the thickest clouds of smoke. 14 tracks in all, including "I Wanna Get High", "I Ain't Goin' Out Like That", "Insane In The Brain", "When The Sh** Goes Down", "Hits FromThe Bong", "A To The K", "Hand On The Glock" and "Break 'Em Off Some".

Sublime soul through and through – 2 classics from The Delfonics, back to back on a single CD! First up is self-titled record The Delfonics – the third album in an amazing early run from The Delfonics – the kind of work that set a whole new standard for group soul in the 70s! A number of the tracks here had already risen to fame before the album's release as singles – and these are mixed with some additional tracks that are woven together in a near-perfect symphony of sound! The mighty Thom Bell arranged most of the numbers here – save for 2 by Anthony Dorsey – and the group's heavenly harmonies are in amazing form on both mellow ballads and a few more righteous numbers. Titles include "Didn't I Blow Your Mind This Time", "Funny Feeling", "Over & Over", "Baby I Love You", "When You Get Right Down To It", "Delfonics Theme", "Trying To Make A Fool Of Me", "I Gave To You", "Down Is Up Up Is Down", and "Think About Me". Tell Me This Is A Dream has The Delfonics just getting better and better! The longer the group recorded, the more they picked up this strange spacey quality that pushed them past some of their contemporaries of the early 70s. And on an album like this, they prove that they're way more than just Thom Bell puppets by showing that they have a rich talent for a wide variety of complicated arrangements that really push the vocal group sound of the 70s. They take many stylistic risks, coming up with really sinister new harmonies, and always managing to stay clear of the cliches that buried some of their mates on the charts. Bell still arranges some of the material, but the record also features work by Norman Harris and Caldwell MacMillan, who did the real genius work on the record. This masterpiece includes the sublime "Hey, Love", plus "Walk Right Up to the Sun", "I'm A Man", "Too Late", "Love You Till I Die", "Looking for a Girl", and "Round & Round".

A fantastic anthology of Flint, MI soul great Regional Garland – 70s soul empires were built on lesser talent than you'll find on this set put together by Egon & Now Again! Garland is a performer, producer, songwriter and arranger of whom we were most familiar with for his work with the group Hunt's Determination – a taste of which is included here, along with Regional's recordings with The Perfections, 21st Generations, Mixed Sugar, Brilliance and others. Even the few Hunts Determination records we were familiar with show a fairly staggering stylistic range, while holding together as a tight whole – and that's all the more impressive with a broader collection of work with varying personnel here. The heart of the collection is early-to-late 70s recordings, from dancefloor soul, funk and strains of disco later in the decade – revelatory stuff for us. We knew the man was good, but, damn! The set also features several mid 80s recordings with that era's synth textured sound with the 70s soul vocals surprisingly well. Includes "I Need Love" & "Hey James" with 21st Generations, "Get On Down" & "Girl You Better Hurry" with The Perfections, "I Need Love" and "Are We Through" with Hunts Determination, "15 Ain't Young No More", "It's A Bad Feeling" and "Disco Jam Bam Bam" with Mixed Sugar, the previously unreleased "Gangster Girl" and "I'm Sad We've Broke Up", "I'm Falling In Love" with Vann & Reggie, "Hit Girl" with Brilliance and more. Nice notes with personnel, and a couple bonus versions "I Need Love".

Amazing! This fantastic album by Jack McDuff is one of his best from the late 60's, and it almost never turns up on vinyl anymore. The album's a massive set of grooves that pits McDuff's funky organ against some very heavy soul jazz arrangements by Richard Evans. Evans provides a beautiful set of grooves for McDuff to solo over, and the arrangements never get bogged down in any hokiness, or any sort of predictable sound. The set sparkles with imagination, and while it brings to light a lot of the whimsy and humor that McDuff adds to his solos in a live setting, it also adds a tightness that doesn't always show up on other records by him. Nearly every cut's a winner, and titles include "Let My People Go", "Who Stole My Soul?", "Funky Guru", "Ain't It?", "The Natural Thing", and the most amazing version of "Con Alma" you'll ever hear!

A fantastic collection of unreleased material by mid-to-late 60s psych pop songwriter genius Tandyn Almer – who's probably best know for penning the eternally great "Along Comes Mary" for The Association – but we sure didn't know how great of a performer he was on his own! The 15 track record was cut for his publisher Davon Music, who circulated it to insiders at the time, looking to sell the songs – but what they should have done was found a label and released it. Fuzzy guitars, raw drums and great keyboards, excellent background harmonies – and the good-natured, melodic quality that attracted groups like the Association to Tandyn! Sundazed has long been a favorite source of rewarding 60s and 70s reissues, but they really deserve some bigger love for releases like this one – which is a first-ever commercial release. It feels like a complete, finished production for the most part – and not at all like a bunch of demos. Psych pop greatness! Includes "Find Yourself", You Turn Me Around", "Anything You Want", "About Where Love Is", "Face Down In The Mud", "I Get High", "Bring Your Own Self Down" (by The Purple Gang)", "Where Will They Go", "Sunset Strip Soliloquy" and more.

Fantastic! The lost link in the Chicago soul scene of the 60s was Baby Huey – and he was a pretty darn big link too, if you've ever seen him in pictures! Weighing in at about 300 pounds, Baby Huey was sort of a rockin' soul star who played clubs on both sides of the city, to audiences of all types – working in a party-styled blend of funk, rock, and soul that was one of the most powerful grooves going down in the Windy City at the time! Huey sadly passed away at a very young age, leaving only this full album as his legacy – a great batch of hard-hitting soul tracks that are among some of the funkiest work ever recorded for the legendary Curtom label! The set includes Huey's classic version of "Mighty, Mighty", a club favorite from the live shows – plus the excellent Curtis Mayfield tune "Hard Times", famous as an oft-used sample track! Other titles include "A Change Is Going To Come", "California Dreamin", "Running", and "Mama Get Yourself Together".

A lost Burt Bacharach treasure – a bit later than classic vintage, but a wonderful album from the mature maestro – and sometimes overlooked, due to its status as a soundtrack! The work here is totally great – that mellow, easy-flowing style that Burt really perfected around the time of Living Together – served up here in a batch of sweet instrumental tracks, plus a few key vocal numbers with lyrics sung by Jackie DeShannon, Libby Titus, and Michael McDonald – all of whom slide down more into the Bacharach ethos than stand out as their usual selves – and we mean that in a good way! Titles include "I Don't Need You Any More", "In Tune", "If We Ever Get Out Of Here", "On The Beach", "I've Got My Mind Made Up", "Find Love", "Luisa", and "I Think I'm Gonna Fall In Love".

Proof that even a move to a major label couldn't keep the Bar-Kays down – as the group are working here in a great groove that's wider, fresher, and stronger overall than any of their Stax albums! Sure, the whole thing's not guitar-based funk all the way through, but the group are also maturing, and really opening up a lot – working equally well on ballads and mellower midtempo numbers, as they were on the still tight funkier tracks. The overall sound is almost that of the Ohio Players when they moved to Mercury, but without the chart hits, and more of a focus on working at a level that's even higher than before! The band still jams it hard on the funky cut "Give It Up", but also kicks back with some beautiful harmony vocals on "I Lean On You/You Lean On Me", get some great pop hooks in on "Shine", and come together nicely on the tracks "We're The Happiest People In The World", "Angel Eyes", "Are You Being Real", and "Love's What It's All About".

What can we say? The Beasties continue their manic trio hip hop style mixed with the live jazz/funk/garage (as in rock, not house) sound and keyboards by Money Mark – featuring a bunch of their classic material, and underappreciated album cuts. The Beasties could really do no wrong at this point in their unlikely long career. Includes the great cut "Get It Together" featuring a very sharp Q-Tip stealing the show And you can't go wrong with any LP that samples Ramelzee and K-Rob's "Beat Bop." Other tracks include the unstoppable "Sure Shot" and "Sabotage", plus "Futterman's Rule", "Shambala", "The Scoop", "Do It", "Heart Attack Man", "Bodhisattva Wow", and "Root Down".

10-track e.p. including three different recordings of "Root Down" from Ill Communication, based on the Jimmy Smith's jazz/funk of the same name – the "Free Zone" mix, LP version and "PP Balloon" mix. Also some live versions of tracks from Check Your Head – "Time For Livin", "The Maestro", "Somethin's Got To Give", plus a live version of "Time To Get Ill" the rock track "Heart Attack Man", the funky instrumental "Sabrosa" and "Flute Loop".

Pure greatness from Brand Nubian at their early best! The Nubes' have made a handful of solid-to-great albums, but none could top this essential debut. Grand Puba, Sadat X and Lord Jamar are on point with the politicized rhymes over classic early 90s jazzed up, funky beats, built from now well known breaks – and truly raising the bar for classic east coast production. With the classics "All For One", "Slow Down", "Drop The Bomb", "Concerto In X Minor", and 2 mixes of "Wake Up" (Stimulated Dummies mix and the penultimate reprise), plus "Who Can Get Busy Like This Man. . .", "Ragtime", "To The Right", "Dance To My Ministry", "Step To The Rear", "Try To Do Me", "Grand Puba, Positive & LG" and "Dedication".

The crown prince of reggae meets the heir apparent to the dub throne on these two classic and hard to get late 70s dub LPs collected by the folks over at Blood & Fire on one nice reissue disc! Prince Jammy gets to work in the now famous Tubby's lab on some heavy duty Dennis Brown produced rhythms, honing the bouncing jams down to to their bare essentials, then spicing up the mix nicely with some tastefully executed dub sauce! 20 track sin all, with "Umoja", "Guidance", "Cry Of The Destitute", "Something Special", "Sons Of Dust", "Mercy For The Needy" and "Structure" off the Umoja Love & Unity set and "Cop's Spy", "Ting A Ling Style", "Thunder", "Dancing In The Streets", "Open The Gates In Rhodesia", "Robbery In The City", "Murder" and "Ragga Muffin Style" off 20 Century Debwise.

DJ Muro's digging James Brown – and we're digging the massive way he mixes together the music! The set's way more than another James Brown compilation – and instead, it feels more like a love letter to The Godfather – served up in music made by James himself, and some of his key sidemen too – all mixed together by Muro in these short blasts of funk and soul that bristle with energy throughout! The whole thing's got way more care than the usual mixtape – as Muro's been training his ears on JB nuggets for years, so knows just the right makes to cut and make a change – managing to get through bits of 43 tracks in just the course of 73 minutes. Includes work from "The Boss", "Down & Out In New York City", "Baby Here I Come", "Blues & Pants", "Nose Job", "A Talk With The News", "Funky Drummer", "Hot Pants Road", "Can Mind", "I Got Ants In My Pants", "The Drunk", "Give It Up Or Turnit A Loose", and "Funky President".

Beautiful live set from 1971, featuring a very stripped down set of stuff. Gal comes in at first accompanying herself on guitar, then the band slowly joins in, but never really gets in the way of her voice. The sound is spare, and the production rough, and this one has a dark moody feel to it that you don't always get with her LPs. Tracks include "Falsa Baiana", "Coracao Vagabundo", "Como 2 e 2", and "Hotel Das Estrelas".

Some of the rawest sounds coming out of the Portland scene of the early 90s – served up in a solid way that avoids most of the pitfalls of their contemporaries on the scene! Dead Moon have all the wild energy of other Northwest groups of the time, but hone things down to a core essence that's totally great – very punkish in presentation, yet also with lots of echoes of the earlier Northwest garage scene of the 60s – although kind of a very messed-up take on that sound as well! The album's primal sound holds up strongly throughout – and titles include "Get On Board", "Spectacle", "Jane", "Down The Road", "Pain For Pretty", and "Crazy To The Bone".

The third album in an amazing early run from The Delfonics – the kind of work that set a whole new standard for group soul in the 70s! A number of the tracks here had already risen to fame before the album's release as singles – and these are mixed with some additional tracks that are woven together in a near-perfect symphony of sound! The mighty Thom Bell arranged most of the numbers here – save for 2 by Anthony Dorsey – and the group's heavenly harmonies are in amazing form on both mellow ballads and a few more righteous numbers. Titles include "Didn't I Blow Your Mind This Time", "Funny Feeling", "Over & Over", "Baby I Love You", "When You Get Right Down To It", "Delfonics Theme", "Trying To Make A Fool Of Me", "I Gave To You", "Down Is Up Up Is Down", and "Think About Me".

A killer collection of work by The Dramatics – featuring their greatest tracks from the early Stax years – seminal work that helped redefine the group soul sound of the 70s! There's a great blend of southern and east coast harmony modes here – and the package is filled with the group's best moments from their Stax/Volt albums – mostly from the first two releases. Titles include "Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get", "Get Up & Get Down", "Hey You! Get Off My Mountain", "In The Rain", and "The Devil Is Dope". Who could ask for more?

One of Patti's excellent (and rare) soul albums for Capitol from the late 60s – proof that the uptown sound could come out of the Windy City! The album's got a great bouncy Chicago 60s soul approach – with that sort of pop swing feel that a lot of the Chi-town female singers were laying down at the time, less "little girl" than before, and with a sophisticated groove that really opened up the material. Titles include "Baby I Just Don't Feel It", "Without A Doubt", "Pee Wee", "I Get A Funny Feeling", and her great cover of "Workin On A Groovy Thing".

The final LP of the first round of EPMD, and the hardest to get on vinyl since it's not been made available in multiple pressings or reissues. 11 tracks of the LI hardcore boom bap with Eric and Parrish reppin' the East coast in fine style over their patented bass heavy trunk rattling beats. Non stop head nodders from start to finish including "Boon Dox", "Nobody's Safe Chump", "Can't Hear Nothing But The Music", "Chill", "Headbanger", "Scratch Bring It Back (Part 2 - Mic Doc)", "Cummin' At Cha", "It's Going Down", "Who Killed Jane", "Play The Next Man" and "Crossover".

E&A return with a new full length with a few dizzyingly strong cuts – and a slew of others that aren't quite so hot, but still register. DJ Abilities lays down some pretty rocking beats and Eyedea's flow is simply astounding on the best cuts – particularly the single "Now" . One of these days the boys will make a full length as tight as that track. "Reintroducing", "Kept", "Now", "Exausted Love", "Star Destroyer" "Get Along", "Two Men And A Lady", "Act Right", "Glass" and more.