A pivotal album for Gladys Knight and group – as the record features their super-huge hit "The Midnight Train To Georgia", a landmark track that not only had a catchy pop hook, but which spoke volumes about African-American migration in the postwar years. The track's one of those you've heard a million times, but it's got a strength that still holds up tremendously. Part of this is due to great production work by Tony Camillo – who handled arrangements and studio work on about half the tracks – and part is due to Jim Weatherly, who wrote the song, and about half the others on the album. The whole album's great – one of the best Buddah Records moments for the group – and titles include "I've Got To Use My Imagination", "Window Raising Granny", "Where Peaceful Waters Flow", "Once In A Lifetime Thing", "Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me", and "Storms Of Trouble Times". Includes three bonus tracks ; "We Don't Look For Trouble", "Alone Again" & "Rainbow Ride". CD

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Two great chapters of work from this legendary soul group – one that started out in the late 50s with an R&B vibe, rose to great fame on Motown, then really hit their stride on the material featured on this set! Gladys was always a great singer, but she really seemed to move onto greatness in the 70s – especially on the Buddah Records material that begins this collection – music that has the group moving past familiar group soul modes, to a sophisticated territory that really let Knight become the sort of diva that nobody would have expected a few years before! There's a richness in her voice that's really wonderful – and that continues strongly on the second half, which collects material for Columbia Records – including some great mellow groovers, and even a few hits from later years too. Package features 37 tracks in all – and titles include "The Way We Were/Try To Remember", "On & On", "To Be Invisible", "The Need To Be", "Little Bit Of Love", "The Makings Of You", "Make Yours A Happy Home (alt mix)", "Come Back & Finish What You Started", "Midnight Train To Georgia", "I've Got To Use My Imagination", "Landlord", "Taste Of Bitter Love", "I Will Fight", "Bourgie Bourgie", "Save The Overtime", "Hero", "Kiss Away The Pain", "You're Number One", "Seconds", "Add It Up", "I Will Fight", and "Still Such A Thing". CD

Tracks include "I Heard It Through The Grapevine", "I Wish It Would Rain", "Every Little Bit Hurts", "The Nitty Gritty", "If I Were Your Woman", "I Don't Want To Do Wrong", and "All I Need Is Time" – 22 tracks total. CD

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The second anniversary of Gladys Knight & The Pips on Buddah Records – an album that really shows the new level of depth the group were able to hit at the label! A key factor on the album is work by Eugene McDaniels – who produced the record, and wrote a good number of tracks too – really pushing Gladys and the group into righteous territory they wouldn't have touched a few years before – a deeper groove that really matches some of their best soundtrack material of the mid 70s! Gladys really stretches out wonderfully with her leads – and the Pips provide just the right sort of warm backdrop to hold things together. Titles include "Street Brothers", "At Every End There's A Beginning", "Summer Sun", "Feel Like Making Love", and "Money". After hitting big as a singer on the soundtrack for Claudine, Gladys Knight finally got her chance in front of the camera for Pipe Dreams – a record that featured her both as the star on film and on the soundtrack! The styles here are a bit more wider-ranging than the usual 70s soundtrack of this type – a bit of ballad soul, mellow numbers, and more – arranged by Dominic Frontiere and Michael Masser in styles that are a bit like some of Knight's own albums of the time. We like especially the jazzy vocalesey number "Pot Of Jazz", a nice number that deserves further discovery on a compilation – and other cuts include "Find A Way", "Follow My Dreams", "So Sad The Song", and "Alaskan Pipeline". CD

Titles include "Complete Recovery", "You", "Let Me Be The One", "Love Overboard", and "Lovin On Next To Nothin". CD

Titles include "Landlord", "Taste Of Bitter Love", "Hero", "Friend Of Mine", "My Time", "You're Number One", "Save The Overtime", and "When You're Far Away". CD

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A real lost gem from Motown – and a whole lot more! Greetings! We're The Monitors is the only full album ever cut by The Monitors – a 3-man, 1-woman vocal group who were in a popular Motown mixed harmonies mode. The quartet had a wonderfully strong vocal presence – blasting away at most tracks with a strength that groups like The Miracles or Gladys Knight & The Pips could never match – and like those groups, they bridge that key period between late doo wop-oriented harmonies, and tighter 60s group soul. The LP brings together singles the Monitors cut for Motown during the previous few years, but it also works extremely well as a unified album – and it's a refreshing change from some of the oft-heard Motown material. Titles include "Greetings (This Is Uncle Sam)", "Number One In Your Heart", "Bring Back The Love", "Step By Step (Hand In Hand)", and "Baby Make Your Own Sweet Music". This incredible anthologogy from Kent starts off with that album and includes 12 unissued tracks – a whole album's worth – plus 2 B-Sides. Unissued tracks include "Too Busy Thinking About My Baby" , "The Letter", "Poor Side Of Town", "Anything", "Guilty" and more. 26 tracks in all! CD

Here's a set that takes the "More" in its title very seriously – as the package is overflowing with way more rare work than we might have expected – six tracks from the Motown vaults that appear here for the first time ever, and many other that were unreleased at the time – showing just how much the Detroit soul powerhouse was able to capture some of the best female singers coming through its studios! If you're worried about these tracks being clunkers, put aside those fears – as even the lesser cuts at Motown are usually better than some of the hits at other labels – given the production strengths and studio talents, who do a great job here of making both the big names and the lesser-knowns sound wonderful. As always with Ace, there's a huge amount of detailed notes that really make the package great – alongside 25 tracks that include "Good Good Feeling" by Brenda Holloway, "Hold Me Oh My Darling" by Ann Bogan, "I Don't Want Your Promises" by LaBrenda Ben, "Don't Be Too Long" by Anita Knorl, "A Love So Deep Inside" by the Velvelettes, "Can't Figure It Out" by The Lewis Sisters, "I'm So Helpless" by Debbie Dean, "Nothing But A Fool" by Gladys Knight & The Pips, "My Daddy Knows Best" by Little Lisa, "Suck Up" by Oma Heard, "This Love I've Got" by Martha & The Vandellas, "Never Trust A Man" by Chris Clark, "When I Was In School" by Hattie Littles, and "All I Could Do Was Cry" by Yvonne Fair. CD

A great entry in this long-running series – one of the most trusted compilations of top-shelf 80s grooves over the years – and one that always does a really great job of balancing mainstream music with some under-discovered gems! Actually, to most ears, these tracks are probably all under-discovered – but even if you're an 80s soul completist, there's still probably some great discoveries here – as you'll hear on a set list of 13 tracks that include "Treasure Mind" by Trace Of Smoke, "Sweet Tender Loving" by Brief Encounter, "Call Me" by Josie James, "It's My Turn" by Chapter 8, "Love Is Trying To Get A Hold On Me" by Tavasco, "Love I Feel Inside" by Waldo, "You're So Jealous" by Jewel, "Hanging Out" by New Birth, "Can You Stay With Me" by Midnight Star, "Share My Love" by Bobby Broom, and "Reach High" by Gladys Knight & The Pips. CD

Curtis Mayfield is a hell of a singer – as most folks know from his work in the Impressions, and his later solo classics of the 70s – and he's also a hell of a songwriter too, one who was very generous with his magical material, right from the start! Back in the 60s, Curtis was sharing his songs with other up-and-coming soul singers on the Chicago scene – some of whom he was also producing in the studio, as well – and as the decade moved into the 70s, others were soon picking up Mayfield's tunes – both for their ability to deliver a personal message, and for the larger political agenda that was always in the music too! This really well-done collection brings together two dozen of Curtis' best songs, handled by other folks – mostly from the 60s and early 70s, but with a few surprises from later years too – all supported with a really great collection of notes and other information too. Titles include "Man's Temptation" by the Jackson 5, "Behind The Curtains" by Jan Bradley, "Rainbow (alt)" by Gene Chandler, "Monkey Time" by The Miracles, "I'm So Proud" by Main Ingredient, "Give Me Your Love" by Barbara Mason, "That's What Love Will Do" by The Gaylads, "Never Stop Loving Me" by Keni Burke, "I've Been Trying" by Jerry Butler, "Queen Majesty" by The Techniques, "It's All Over" by Walter Jackson, "Mama Didn't Lie" by The Orlons, "He Will Break Your Heart" by Freddie Scott, "People Get Ready" by Dionne Warwick, "Need To Belong" by Isaac Hayes, "Make Me Believe In You" by Patti Jo, "Let's Do It Again (single edit)" by The Staple Singers, "Look Into Your Heart (single edit)" by Aretha Franklin, and "The Makings Of You" by Gladys Knight & The Pips. CD

A sweet overview of the Van McCoy songbook from the early 60s to early 70s – and a stellar compilation from Ace Records – a label that's gone above and beyond in its efforts to shine a light on the songwriters and producers behind some of most moving songs of the era! The breadth ofMcCoy's talent is pretty amazing, all the more so given his huge disco era hit "The Hustle", a world away from the soaringly emotional soul songs he penned for top shelf singers like Betty Everett, Nina Simone, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Nancy Wilson, Donny Hathaway, Erma Franklin, Jerry Butler and more – many of the best of which are compiled here! 24 tracks in all: "I Got The Sweetest Feeling" by Erma Franklin, "Getting Mighty Crowded" by Betty Everett, "Baby I'm Yours" by Barbara Lewis, "Sotp And Get A Hold Of Myself" by Gladys Knight & The Pips, "So Soon" by Aretha Franklin, "Giving Up" by Donny Hathaway, "Nothing Worse Than Being Alone" by The Ad Libs, "I've Lost You" by Jackie Wilson and many more. CD

Way more than just a "cellarful" of Motown – a wealth of great tracks, all of which are previously unreleased! This incredible 2CD set is a landmark in the history of both Motown and Northern Soul – as it brings together 40 tracks that were recorded in the glory days of the Detroit scene, but never issued at the time. A number of cuts on the set have risen to fame over the years as bootlegs floating around the UK club scene, and they're issued properly here for the first time ever, along side other lost gems that will soon become new classics to a generation of soul fans – all wrapped up in one great package filled with notes on the music, and listing the origins of the tunes! Titles include "My Sugar Baby" by Frank Wilson, "Baby A Go Go" by Barbara McNair, "How Can I" by Brenda Holloway, "He Was Really Sayin Somethin" by Earl Van Dyke, "Until You Came Along" by Carolyn Crawford, "Before It's Over" by Sammy Ward, "Long Gone Lover" by Velvelettes, "If You Ever Get Your Hands On Me" by Gladys Knight & The Pips, "Lucky Lucky Me" by Jimmy Ruffin, "I Wish I Liked You" by Marvin Gaye, "You Made Me Feel Like" by Syreeta, "Don't Let Me Down" by Kim Weston, "Don't Put Off Till Tomorrow What You Can Do Today" by The Monitors, and "It Must Be Love Baby" by Chuck Jackson & Yvonne Fair. Lots lots more, and filled with wonderful tunes! CD

An amazing return to form for this legendary collection – filled with never-heard numbers, pulled from the 60s and 70s vaults of Motown Records! Even if you think you've got plenty of Motown in your collection already, you'll find plenty more here to love – totally fresh tracks by some of the label's biggest artists, plus some other gems by lesser-known stars – all of which have all the punch, power, and sparkle of classic Motown at its best! The 2CD set is brimming over with greatness – and we're honestly stunned that they can still come up with so many unreleased gems, even after three previous volumes in the collection. Titles include "Kidnapped" by The Blackberries, "Keep On Tryin" by The Fantastic Four, "My Baby Moves Me" by Brenda Holloway, "Your Kiss Kiss" by Marvin Gaye & Oma Heard, "Miss Lonely Heart" by The Vandellas, "You Gave Me Love To Live For" by Debbie Dean, "Head Over Heels In Love With You Baby" by The Spinners, "I'd Cry" by Chuck Jackson, "Twin Brother" by Eddie Holland, "Daddy Cool" by Oma Heard, "Three Time Loser" by Marvin Gaye, "The Girl I've Chosen To Be My Bride" by Joe Stubbs, "A Bird In The Hand" by Gladys Knight & The Pips, "Somebody's Waiting For Me" by The Contours, "Only A Lonely Man Would Know" by Ivy Joe Hunter, "The House That Jack Built" by JJ Barnes, "The Philly Dog" by Earl Van Dyke, and "Why Don't You Come Home" by Stevie Wonder. CD

Features Sting, Michael Buble, Gladys Knight, Jill Scott, Rosa Passos, and Paul Buchanan. CD

Music from Tom Jones, Nancy Sinatra, The John Barry Orchestra, Louis Armstrong, Shirley Bassey, Paul McCartney & Wings, Lulu, Carly Simon, Shirley Bassey, Sheena Easton, Rita Coolidge, Duran Duran, a-ha, Gladys Knight, Tina Turner, Sheryl Crow, Garbage, Madonna, Chris Cornell, and much more. CD

Themes from Monty Norman Orchestra, Matt Monro, Shirley Bassey, Tom Jones, Nancy Sinatra, The John Barry Orchestra, Shirley Bassey, Paul McCartney & Wings, Lulu, Carly Simon, Shirley Bassey, Sheena Easton, Rita Coolidge, Duran Duran, a-ha, Gladys Knight, and more/ CD

Includes 18 tracks by Teddy Pendergrass, Lou Rawls, Minnie Riperton, Tyrone Davis, Johnnie Taylor, Luther Ingram, Marvin Gaye, Al Green, Gladys Knight, The Chi-Lites and more! CD

Includes 25 tracks by Barrett Strong, Mary Wells, the Marvelettes, Miracles, Edwin Starr, Rick James, the Four Tops, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Gladys Knight, Diana Ross, Jr. Walker, and more! CD

Sam Dees is a hell of a singer, and he's a hell of a songwriter too – one who's worked not just with the southern soul stars of his roots, but also a much wider range of soul talents too! This wonderful collection really gets at the strength of Dees' amazing ability to pen a special soul tune – as it features work from a surprisingly huge array of talents from all sides of the soul spectrum – including a fair bit of vocalists we never knew worked with Sam's material. We love Dees' own records to death – and have enjoyed many of his demo recordings over the years, too – but a set like this really shows the important influence he had on soul music in the 70s – the way he touched so many folks, and helped them out with his meaningful lyrics. The set features great notes on Sam and his contribution – and 22 tracks that include "Where Did We Go Wrong" by LTD, "Vanishing Love (UK rmx)" by The Chi-Lites, "Girl Overboard" by Dorothy Moore, "So Your Love Finally Ran Out" by Les McCann, "Run To Me" by Sidney Joe Qualls, "Save The Overtime" by Gladys Knight & The Pips, "Seconds Of Your Love" by Johnnie Taylor, "One In A Million You" by Larry Graham, "Spoiled By Your Love" by Anita Ward, "What A Way To Put It" by The Temptations, "Good Guys Don't Always Win" by Ray Crumley, and "My World" by Sam Dees himself! CD

Music from Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell, Al Green, James Brown, The Temptations, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Billy Paul, Four Tops, The Impressions, Jerry Butler, Billy Stewart, Robert Knight, Gladys Knight And The Pips, Lee Dorsey, and more. CD

An all-star tribute to the great Curtis Mayfield – served up by a generation of artists who were influenced by his classic work! The set mixes soul singers and pop stars – in a really surprising lineup of tracks that includes "The Makings Of You" by Aretha Franklin, "Choice Of Colors" by Gladys Knight, "Gypsy Woman" by Bruce Springsteen, "I'm The One Who Loves You" by Stevie Wonder, "Woman's Got Soul" by BB King, "Keep On Pushin" by Tevin Campbell, "Fool For You" by The Impressions & Bradford Marsalis, "I'm So Proud" by The Isley Brothers, "Look Into Your Heart" by Whitney Houston, "Billy Jack" by Lenny Kravitz, "Amen" by Elton John & The Sounds Of Blackness, "If There's A Hell Below" by Narada Michael Walden, and "Let's Do It Again" by The Repercussions and Curtis Mayfield himself! CD

The complete recordings of a crucially overlooked deep soul singer – the amazing Rozetta Johnson, a voice that should have been as big as Aretha Franklin or Gladys Knight, if there were any justice in the world! And Johnson isn't just a great singer on her own – she gets incredible help here from Sam Dees – a hell of a songwriter, and a great producer that puts Rozetta in perfect territory – a mode that's often more righteous than traditional southern soul, with some funky currents at the bottom – and an overall badass vibe that fits her vocals perfectly! There was a previous collection of Rozetta's music about a decade ago – but this set supercedes that with excellent sound and some unreleased alternate tracks, too – plus the usual top-shelf Ace/Kent presentation, which makes the collection as much of a joy to hold as it is to hear. Titles include "Mama Was A Bad Seed (alt)", "You Better Keep What You Got (alt)", "I Can Feel My Love Coming Down", "It's Been So Nice", "Personal Woman", "Chained & Bound", "Holding The Losing Hand", "Who Are You Gonna Love (Your Woman Or Your Wife)", "Mine Was Real", "A Woman's Way", "Willow Weep For Me", "That Hurts", "For That Man Of Mind", "How Can You Lose Something You Never Had", and "To Love Somebody". CD

A stunning selection of female soul from Motown – all of it rare, and much of it previously unreleased! The set is a great reminder not only of how much we still have to learn about the biggest soul label in the motor city – but also of the exceptional quality that Motown brought to their recordings – so much so that even long-unissued tracks like these can easily stand with the biggest hits from other 60s soul labels! The package is wonderful if you dig female soul – and maybe even if you just like vintage soul in general – and in addition to rare cuts by big Motown names, you'll also hear some lesser-knowns that show the way the company was always trying to reach out for new talent in the fertile world of Detroit music. As usual, Ace has provided very detailed notes that offer as much history as information on the music – and the CD features 24 titles that include "It's Been A Long Time Happenin" by Rita Wright, "There Are Things" by Ann Bogan, "It's Crazy Baby" by Liz Lands, "Baby I've Got It" by Brenda Holloway, "Honey Don't Leave Me" by The Lewis Sisters, "It's All Right" by LaBrenda Ben, "When Someone's Good To You" by Oma Page, "In My Heart I Know It's Right" by Gladys Knight & The Pips, "Sweet Talkin Guy" by The Marvelettes, "Cookie Boy" by Thelma Brown, "I Up & Think Of You" by Kim Weston, "There Was" by The Lollipops, "Keep Away" by Little Lisa, "Playboy (first version)" by The Marvelettes, "I Know You Don't Love Me No More (orig mix)" by Yvonne Fair, "In Your Heart" by Patrice Holloway, "You've Got Possibilities" by Barbara McNair, and "Bad News" by LaBrenda Ben. CD

Music from John Barry, Shirley Bassey, Carly Simon, Duran Duran, Sheena Easton, Rita Coolage, A Ha, Gladys Knight, Tom Jones, Nancy Sinatra, Lulu, Tina Turner, Moby & more. CD