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A real dancefloor set from Curtis – recorded with some sweet Philly production from the likes of Norman Harris and Bunny Sigler – in the sweeping, soaring, strings-heavy mode of the Philly disco records of the time! And yes, this isn't classic Curtis from the righteous years – but the surprising thing is how well his voice really holds up in the tracks – coming through with a strength that's fresh and surprising, given some of his disco contemporaries, and sounding pretty darn nice overall, thanks to some tight arrangements by the likes of Fred Wesley, Norman Harris, and Gil Askey. Linda Clifford does a duet with Curtis on "Between You Baby & Me", and the other cuts include "Victory", "Tell Me Tell Me", "You're So Good To Me", "You Better Stop", and "Over The Hump".

If you're like us, you've probably been frustrated over the years at trying to find nicely remastered copies of many Studio One classics, which have been kicking around in one form or another for years and years, often seemingly out of print or available only on poor quality pressings. So we barely need to mention how satisfying it is that Heartbeat has issued this sweet and long awaited set of seminal Studio One sides from Burning Spear. These early recordings stand out as some of the finest primal work from Winston Rodney, soulful seeds of the heavy roots rock he'd later become known for, wrapped up in a nicely annotated package with numerous hard-to-get mixes, many of which were previously unreleased on CD! 20 tracks in all, including "Foggy Road", "Rocking Time (rare stereo mix)", "Down By The River", "New Civilization (rare stereo mix)", "Door Peeper (original single mix)", "This Race (rare stereo mix)", "This Population", "Bad To Worst (rare stereo mix)", "Pick Up The Pieces", "Zion Higher (rare stereo mix)", "Swell Headed", "Creation Rebel", "Ethiopians Live It Out", "Get Ready", "Weeping And Waiting (rare stereo mix)" and loads more!

A pair of very unusual albums – back to back on a single CD! The set's a bit out of order – and actually starts with Panic, the sequel to Creed Taylor's previous album for ABC, and like that one, a very weird mix of jazzy backings, odd sound effects, and cool production techniques! The record begins with a familiar core – jazzy instrumentals, of the sort that Taylor was already producing for other artists, and would go on to do even more famously for Verve. But here, the music's really played with too – changed up in the middle of a song, as the rhythms get weird, sound effects come in, and the whole thing gets turned into a batch of spooky little scenes that more than live up to the title of the record – and the titles of the songs, which include "Alpine Honeymoon", "Wreck Of Old 97", "A Shot In The Dark", "The Fastest Gun", "No Smoking", "The Operation", and "The Prison Break". Shock is very cool work from Creed Taylor – material cut when he was still a bandleader, and hadn't yet evolved into the role of super-producer! The session's a long way from the CTI sound of the 70s – and instead has Creed playing some very spooky stuff – compositions by Kenyon Hopkins that have a horror sort of theme – dark little tunes that would be a perfect soundtrack for a haunted house! The core instrumentation is jazz-based, but augmented with some great other touches as well – and there's two female voices that scream, groan, and make other odd noises on the record from time to time. Titles include "The Long Walk", "Jungle Fever", "Heartbeat", "Haunted House", "In Bedlam", "Time Runs Out", and "The Secret".

An overlooked soulful gem from Michael White – one of his smoother albums, but with a tight sound that really makes the whole thing great! The set was produced by George Duke, and it's got the same feel as some of Duke's best work of the time – soaring, soulful, with a style that blends fusion and soul – and which often features vocals. White plays his usual electric violin, and the album also features work by Patrice Rushen, Greg Phillinganes, and Duke himself performing as Dawili Gonga on keyboards. Titles include "Smile In Your Eyes", "You Are My Heartbeat", "Love Call", "The Red Planet", "Well Do It Then", and "Let Love Be Your Magic Carpet".

An overlooked soulful gem from Michael White – one of his smoother albums, but with a tight sound that really makes the whole thing great! The set was produced by George Duke, and it's got the same feel as some of Duke's best work of the time – soaring, soulful, with a style that blends fusion and soul – and which often features vocals. White plays his usual electric violin, and the album also features work by Patrice Rushen, Greg Phillinganes, and Duke himself performing as Dawili Gonga on keyboards. Titles include "Smile In Your Eyes", "You Are My Heartbeat", "Love Call", "The Red Planet", "Well Do It Then", and "Let Love Be Your Magic Carpet".

One of the greatest power pop albums ever recorded – a blistering batch of tight little rocking tunes that took pop music back to basics at the end of the 70s! The group have an almost Beatles-esque flair for the short catchy tune – but have also pumped up things nicely with a smoothly compressed 70s approach to production. There's an urgency to the work that seems to drive the whole thing with an uptight adolescent sense of horniness – a strange force that kicks most tunes into ultradrive by tapping into a virtually limitless source of energy! Titles include the mega-hit "My Sharona", plus "Heartbeat", "Lucinda", "Frustrated", "Good Girls Don't", "Selfish", "O Tara", and "Maybe Tonight".

At the time, KRS's best LP in a while, as he moved toward more radio and dancefloor friendy beats (And that's not a bad thing – at last he's left behind the self-indulgent style of songs like "100 Guns"). No one else could have done a better job of remaking the classic "Heartbeat", featuring Redman and Angie Martinez, and even the "Step into a World" remix with Puffy works. Don't worry, not everything is that uptempo. Other stand-out tracks include "The MC", "Real Hip Hop II", and "I Got Next."

Hip hop soul from Nneka – a fresh perspective given her diverse background, and a fresh sound, too – rolling from rhymes to soulful singing over gritty soul beats and live band instrumentation. The facts of Nneka's life, born in Nigeria and raised in Germany – are bound be the lead of most intro bio and reviews, and it’s a interesting stuff that should be noted – but we're just as impressed with her ability to mix rhymes and singing so deftly. She's a natural for both, and Concrete Jungle is well worth the trip. Titles include "Showin' Love", "The Uncomfortable Truth", "Mind Vs Heart", "Heartbeat", "Come With me", "Africans", "Suffri", "Fro Africa 2 U", "Walking", "Focus", "God Of Mercy" and more.

One of the biggest albums in War's career! The record includes the classic cut "Low Rider" – a hard-rolling Chicano funk number that's probably been their biggest legacy to day – plus the mellow reggae-tinged title cut, a huge AM radio hit back in the day. Other tracks include "Lotus Blossom", "Smile Happy", "So", and the extended "Leroy's Latin Lament". Also includes the funky cut "Heartbeat"!

Nice 12" version of this 80s groove number, with a tight "Heartbeat" type groove that's got a nice old school feel, some squelchy synths to give it electro authenticity, and a rolling almost stepper's piano line!

Funky mid 70s Herbie – one his funkiest of the era! Herbie plays a host of kool keyboards (like Fender Rhodes, Arp, Hohner Clavinet, etc), and he's joined by a group that includes just about all of the Headhunters (Paul Jackson and Mike Clark in the rhythm section), as well as Wah Wah Watson, Stevie Wonder, Wayne Shorter, Bennie Maupin, and Harvey Mason. In many ways, one of Herbie's more underrated albums, and worth it alone for the mad, uptempo "Hang Up Your Hang Ups". Other cuts include "Bubbles", "Heartbeat", and "Sun Touch".

One of Airto's most polished records, and an album that we've really grown to love over the years! There's a pretty strong modern soul/R&B component to the album – but at the core, there's still a strong feeling for Brazilian rhythms, and the record's got a wonderfully warm Brazilian fusion component. Marcos Valle arranged many of the tracks with Airto, and the record's similar to some of his excellent R&B-ish work from the early 80s, particularly the stuff he did after working with Leon Ware. Great players and singers on the sessions, too – including George Duke, Herb Alpert, Flora Purim and The Sweet Inspirations. Tracks include "Heartbeat", "Amajour", "Partido Alto", "Open Space", "Tempos Atras", and "And Then We Touched The Sky".

Really beautiful vocal work from Corinne Chatel – spare tunes that mostly feature overdubbed vocal passages, sung wordlessly, often with a very musical feel – yet one that's quite offbeat too! There's a quality here that really reminds us of some of our favorite Meredith Monk work from years back – really imaginative, and never gimmicky at all – with an approach that's very abstract, yet somehow all makes complete sense too – logic that's all its own, yet really beautiful overall! Titles include "Call", "Les Sirenes", "Heartbeats", "Berceuse", "Angels Vocalizing", "Awakening The Goddess", and "South India".

Sweet soulful flute from the great Hubert Laws – gliding high here in a great session from his post-CTI years! The album's a bit more soul-based than some of Hubert's earlier dates – but that change is a great one, and really helps Laws find some rich new energy – a focus in the grooves that also really seems to set his flute free on its solo lines too – wonderfully fluid in the company of other players who include Patrice Rushen on keyboards, Roland Bautista on guitar, and Ronnie Laws on saxes. Debra and Eloise Laws add in some sweet backing vocals – and titles include "Music Forever", "Land Of Passion", "We're In Ecstasy", "Heartbeats", "The Key", and "We Will Be". CD features a bonus single edit of "Land Of Passion".

One of the best compilations of Afro Funk titles we've ever stocked – one that goes way past the obvious titles and minor hits of the 70s! Every tune on here is a gem – and the package even includes a few tunes that were either previously unreleased, or which were only ever issued on cassette, a popular form in 70s Africa. The "rock" in the title should be taken lightly – because the groove here is more funky, with drums, guitar, and horns coming together in glorious rhythmic cacophony! The whole set's got a great raw sound – and titles include "Heavy Heavy Heavy" by Geraldo Pino & The Heartbeats, "Mabala" by Yahoos, "Onukpa Shawarpo" by Bokoor Band, "Sweeper Soul" by Super Mambo 69, "Yuda" by Dackin Dackino, "Envy No Good" by Mercury Dance Band, and "Fever" by Jingo. New version also features the previously unreleased bonus track "Keep On Holding On (Part 1)" by Jingo.

One of the best compilations of Afro Funk titles we've ever stocked – one that goes way past the obvious titles and minor hits of the 70s! Ever tune on here is a gem – and the package even includes a few tunes that were either previously unreleased, or which were only ever issued on cassette, a popular form in 70s Africa. The "rock" in the title should be taken lightly – because the groove here is more funky, with drums, guitar, and horns coming together in glorious rhythmic cacophony! The whole set's got a great raw sound – and titles include "Heavy Heavy Heavy" by Geraldo Pino & The Heartbeats, "Mabala" by Fathili & The Yahoos, "Onukpa Shawarpo" by Bokoor Band, "Sweeper Soul" by Super Mambo 69, "Yuda" by Dackin Dackino, "Envy No Good" by Mercury Dance Band and "Fever" by Jingo. New version also features the previously unreleased bonus track "Keep On Holding On (Part 1)" by Jingo.

Sweet soulful flute from the great Hubert Laws – gliding high here in a great session from his post-CTI years! The album's a bit more soul-based than some of Hubert's earlier dates – but that change is a great one, and really helps Laws find some rich new energy – a focus in the grooves that also really seems to set his flute free on its solo lines too – wonderfully fluid in the company of other players who include Patrice Rushen on keyboards, Roland Bautista on guitar, and Ronnie Laws on saxes. Debra and Eloise Laws add in some sweet backing vocals – and titles include "Music Forever", "Land Of Passion", "We're In Ecstasy", "Heartbeats", "The Key", and "We Will Be".