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A greatest hits two-fer – made even greater with the addition of 27 bonus tracks! First up is Invictus' Greatest Hits – heavy soul from the house of Holland-Dozier-Holland – some of the best bits from their Invictus powerhouse label of the early 70s – definitely a scene-setting imprint at the time! Invictus had some of the deepest grooves ever recorded by the trio – heavy, rumbling bottom sounds – soaring vocal passages – and production that took the Motown lessons of the late 60s to a whole new level. The package is overflowing with gems – and titles include "Crumbs Off The Table" by The Glass House, "Band Of Gold" and "Bring The Boys Home" by Freda Payne, "Give Me Just A Little More Time" and "Everything's Tuesday" by The Chairmen Of The Board, "You've Got To Crawl" and "She's Not Just Another Woman" by The 8th Day, and "I Had It All" by The Barrino Brothers. Hot Wax Greatest Hits is a great collection of some of the best numbers from the Hot Wax label of the early 70s – second generation Detroit soul that really set the standard for the 70s! The tunes here were massive back in the day – blasting out of juke boxes, car radios, and a fair bit of home stereos too – all for good reason, given the care and balance the Holland-Dozier-Holland team brought to their work in the studio, and their ears for selecting singers to handle the work. Titles include "Want Ads" and "Stick Up" by Honey Cone, "Somebody's Been Sleepin" and "Too Many Cooks" by 100 Proof Aged In Soul, "Westbound #9" and "Mind Body & Soul" by Flaming Ember, "Woman's Love Rights" by Laura Lee "Women's Love Rights", and "Frightened Girl" by Silent Majority. 2CD set also features 27 bonus tracks that include "Somebody's Gonna Hurt You" by Lee Charles, "Colors Of My Love" by The Silent Majority, "Love Machine" by The Politicians, "Touch Me" by Eloise Laws, "Hey There Lonely Girl" by Ty Hunter, "Wanting You" by Earl English, "That's Love" by The Hi-Lites, "Can't Get Enough Of You" by Tyrone Edwards, "I Need It Just As Bad As You" by Laura Lee, "VIP" by Scherrie Payne, "Guess I'm Gonna Cry" by New York Port Authority, "Something New About You" by Silent Majority, and "You Too Me From A World Outside" by Lee Charles.

A smoking little set from Flaming Ember – a rock group at the core, but one who has plenty of blue-eyed soul in the mix – thanks to great production from Greg Perry, and strong arrangements from HB Barnum and McKinley Jackson – all of whom give the record a vibe that's right up there with the best Hot Wax/Invictus soul sets of the time! There's a nice amount of fuzz in the grooves – that post-Motown style that uses lots of great bass and guitar alongside core Detroit soul modes – and although the vocals have more of a rockish approach, the instrumental undercurrent is a great mix of funk, rock, and soul! Titles include the sweet soul ballad "Sunshine", plus the cuts "Ember Blues", "1200 Miles From Heaven", "Livin High Money Low", "Gotta Get Away", "Heart On Lovin You", "Stop The World & Let Me Off", and "Ding Need Dong". CD features bonus tracks – "Robot In A Robot's World", "If It's Good To You It's Good For You", "If It's Good To You It's Good For You (inst)", "Heart On Lovin You (long version)", and "Stop The World & Let Me Off (long version)".

A stone classic from Flaming Ember – a combo with a sound rooted in rock, but filled with plenty of soul too – making they a key funky crossover act in the early 70s! These guys borrow the best of Motown soul and the best of the jazzier rock groups of the time – and often use lots of raw congas in with their percussion – which keeps things grooving with plenty of soulful inflections. There's some nice psych production at times – a bit like the best Norman Whitfield modes at the start of the 70s – and titles include "Flashbacks & Reruns", "The Empty Crowded Room", "Going In Circles", "Westbound #9", "Spinning Wheel", and "Shades Of Green". CD features three bonus tracks – "Filet De Soul", "Don't You Wanna Wanna", and "Desert Village".

The last Honey Cone album for Hot Wax Records – and a set that's still very much at the top of their game! As with other artists from the Holland-Dozier-Holland stable of hits in the 70s, Honey Cone have a massive amount of force behind their groove – so much so, the record might still be great even if the vocals were nothing special – but fortunately, the trio of Edna Wright, Shellie Clark, and Carolyn Willis bring plenty to the table too – a great sense of individual soul and all-together harmonies! Titles include "Who's Lovin You", "Stay In My Corner", "I Lost My Rainbow", "Ace In The Hole", "Sittin' On a Time Bomb", and "A Woman's Prayer". CD features great bonus tracks too – "It's Better To Have Loved & Lost", "Ace In The Hole (single version)", "If I Can't Fly", "Somebody Is Always Messing UP My Good Thing", and "The Truth Will Come Out".

Tremendous sounds from Honey Cone – easily one of the most hard-hitting girl groups in soul music – thanks to some funky funky backings on these early 70s tracks! The trio work in a mode that was first forged by female soul groups in the 60s – yet really push things forward with a righteous groove that totally kicks ass – lots of funk at the bottom, burning soul at the core, and soaring vocals that really take off wonderfully throughout! And while there's been plenty of collections of Honey Cone work over the years, this one may well be the best – thanks to a massive 22 track set list, and a really well-chosen batch of tracks that includes "When Will It End", "Want Ads (long version)", "While You're Out Looking For Sugar", "Take Me With You", "If I Can't Fly", "Stay In My Corner", "Woman Can't Live By Bread Alone", "Innocent Til Proven Guilty", "Sitting On A Time Bomb", "Who's It Gonna Be", "Stick Up", and "The Feeling's Gone".

Definitely a soulful tapestry here – as the trio of Edna Wright, Shellie Clark, and Carolyn Willis are at the height of their 70s powers – soaring forth in a massive trio mode, and one that really rewrites the sound of girl group soul for the 70s! There's a bouncy, upbeat groove to the record – kind of a pre-disco approach, but one that's still strongly rooted in the best Detroit soul mode of the Holland-Dozier-Holland team too – balanced with just the right sort of force that makes the trio sound great, and all without any of the cliches that this sort of group might hit a few years later! Titles include the Honey Cone classics "One Monkey Don't Stop No Show (parts 1 & 2)" and "Want Ads", plus the tracks "VIP", "The Day I Found Myself", "Stick Up", "Don't Count Your Chickens", "All the Kings Horses", and "How Does It Feel". CD features the bonus track "We Belong Together (single version)".

The second album by Honey Cone – and the one that really broke them out of the box! The record's got a groove that gets going right from the start – a sense of upbeat, soulful energy that really shows why the Honey Cone approach was so different than most of the girl groups who came before them – a groovier, more righteous style that shows that the ladies are very much in charge – and able to send things over the top with their unified energy! Production is great – very rumbling and bold, which further helps the groove – and titles include the huge hit "Want Ads" – a pre-disco cut that pointed the way towards future female soul groups of the mid 70s – plus "Deaf Blind Paralyzed", "Sunday Morning People", "My Mind's On Leaving", "We Belong Together", and "Blessed Be Our Love". CD features two bonus tracks – "Want Ads (unedited version)", and "The Day I Found Myself (single version)".

A brilliant early set from Honey Cone – and a perfect illustration of the way the trio really moved past simple girl group modes of the 60s! There's a bold, proud, righteous tone to the record right from the start – thanks to these soaringly soulful vocals from the girls, and these fuzzy arrangements from Tony Camillo – who seems to borrow a bit from the more righteous modes of Norman Whitfield at Motown, then give things a bit more of a girl soul twist! The combination is amazing, and the album's rock-solid all the way through – filled with great original tunes that really keep a unified feel throughout – and titles include "Are You Man Enough", "Take Me With You", "Girls It Ain't Easy", "While You're Out Looking For Sugar", "The Feeling's Gone", "Sunday Morning People", and "Take My Love".

A standout set from the great Laura Lee – a deep soul singer with power to rival the greatness of Aretha Franklin, but one who's also got a funkier punch to her music too! The album's a great blend of late 60s female southern and tight 70s bad sister funk – a style that's a bit like that of Gwen McCrae at her early best, but handled here with a fuller vibe that's right in keeping with the best modes of the Invictus/Hot Wax scene from the Holland Dozier Holland team! Vocals are wonderful throughout – and the album features the breakbeat classic "Crumbs Off The Table" – plus "Guess Who I Saw Today", "If I'm Good Enough To Love (I'm Good Enough To Marry)", "Rip Off", "You've Got To Save Me", and "Workin & Lovin Together". CD features bonus tracks – "Crumbs Off The Table (single re-edit)", "I'll Catch You When You Fall", and "I Can't Hold Out Much Longer".

An excellent batch of hard soul grooves from the great Laura Lee! This one was her first for the Hot Wax label – and it's got the raw quality of her earlier singles for labels like Chess, with a hard vocal style that's very much in the Aretha Franklin/Fontella Bass camp – plus some arrangements that have that bouncing soulful quality that the Staple Singers were using on Stax at the time! There's lots of horns in the mix, and some congas as well, which gives the album a bit of a different twist – kind of an earthy undercurrent that works great with the vocals. Includes the great title cut "Women's Love Rights" – plus "I Don't Want Nothin' Old (But Money)", "Wedlock Is a Padlock", "Her Picture Matches Mine", and "Two Lovely Pillows". CD features a bonus track – "Since I Fell For You (mono commercial single edit)".

A stone burner from 100 Proof Aged In Soul – a group who really take off with this tight second record! The album's a classic from the days when soul music ruled AM radio on both sides of the tracks – and the rest of the album is equally great – packing that tight post-Motown punch that made the Hot Wax label one of the best proponents of Detroit soul in the 70s! Arrangements are by a huge amount of early 70s heavyweights – McKinley Jackson, Paul Riser, and HB Barnum – and the set was produced by General Johnson and Greg Perry, in a style that soars along with the Chairmen Of The Board albums of the time. Titles include "Words", "I Don't Care If I Never Get Over You", "Everything Good Is Bad", "Ghetto Girl", "Nothing Sweeter Than Love", and "Don't You Wake Me". CD features lots of bonus tracks – "I'd Rather Fight Than Switch", "If I Could See The Light In The Window (version 2)", "My Piece Of The Rock (vocal)", "My Piece Of The Rock (inst)", and "I'm Mad As Hell (parts 1 & 2)".

One of the best-remembered groups from the Detroit scene of the early 70s – thanks to the massive title track on this album, and a whole host of other wonderful cuts as well! The group features the great Steve Marcus on vocals – an artist who'd cut some key Northern soul singles for smaller labels in the 60s – but who really bursts out of the box here with great presentation from the Holland Dozier Holland empire! The record features some great songs by General Johnson and Greg Perry – and Perry also handled some of the production work for the record – really pushing the group with the sort of full, rich sound the Chairmen Of The Board brought to their own work. Titles include "Somebody's Been Sleeping", "Too Many Cooks (Spoil The Soup)", "One Man's Leftovers", "Love is Sweeter", "Age Ain't Nothin' But a Number", and "Back Track". CD features five bonus tracks – "90 Days Freeze", "Somebody's Been Sleeping (UK single edit)", "If I Could See The Light In The Window (version 1)", "Driveway", and "Somebody's Been Sleeping (US single)".

"Somebody's Been Sleeping" is a stone cold 70's soul classic! It starts with a nice high-pitched choppy bit, then rolls into a groove that has a great AM radio soul sound. Nice catchy hoo, too!

Incredibly messed-up funk – a 70s instrumental classic that's delighted our ears for years! The set's got a cosmic sound that mixes together conventional guitar-based funky with some weird electronic touches at times – going for a fuzzed-out moogy quality that really deepens the groove – and which goes even further on those tunes that push the basslines all the way into the red! The group's headed by McKinley Jackson, and features some ex-members of Parliament – all coming together in a full, rich sound that almost has traces of soundtrack sophistication at times – yet which manages to come across with the burning energy of a funky 45! The album includes the classics "Funky Toes" and "Psycha-Soula-Funkadelic" – plus the group's legendary take on "Free Your Mind", a sample classic from years back! Great stuff if you dig a fuzzy Westbound sort of funk groove – and other tracks include "Church", "The World We Live In", "Everything Good Is Bad", "Speak On It", and "Politician's Theme". Features bonus tracks "Love Machine (parts 1 & 2)".

A really compelling little set from Satisfaction Unlimited – a group we only know from this one corker of a record on the Hot Wax label! The style's a bit in some of the harmony modes of the east coast scene of the time – yet like most Hot Wax/Invictus work, there's also a bit of an odd twist too – a quality that's hard to peg in words, but which is sometimes slightly trippy, other times warmly soulful – almost a Cali indie sort of vibe – with a bit of sunshine that breaks through amidst some of the darker, heavier themes of the record. There's plenty of great numbers with a catchy vibe that could have almost gotten these guys the radio play of some of the RCA groups of the time – and titles include "Time For Us", "Think of The Children", "Bright City Lights", "Let's Change The Subject", "Come On Back", and "Why".

A wonderful little collection of Japanese female pop from the 70s – most of it pretty darn funky too! There's a sexy, slinky groove to most numbers here – a style that's somewhere between French pop of the late 60s, and the sorts of material we've come to love on Crippled Dick reissues over the years – and like tunes from both of those sources, the music here has plenty going on even if you don't understand the language – loping rhythms, cool production, and a catchy kind of groove that hangs on nicely well past the words! As with other titles on the Ultra Vybe label, most of the text here is in Japanese – including artists and titles – but we can promise that the CD is filled with 18 tracks you probably don't have in your collection elsewhere, and comes with a nice booklet full of vintage photos!

A stone burner from 100 Proof Aged In Soul – a group who really take off with this tight second record! The album's a classic from the days when soul music ruled AM radio on both sides of the tracks – and the rest of the album is equally great – packing that tight post-Motown punch that made the Hot Wax label one of the best proponents of Detroit soul in the 70s! Arrangements are by a huge amount of early 70s heavyweights – McKinley Jackson, Paul Riser, and HB Barnum – and the set was produced by General Johnson and Greg Perry, in a style that soars along with the Chairmen Of The Board albums of the time. Titles include "Words", "I Don't Care If I Never Get Over You", "Everything Good Is Bad", "Ghetto Girl", "Nothing Sweeter Than Love", and "Don't You Wake Me".

A brilliant early set from Honey Cone – and a perfect illustration of the way the trio really moved past simple girl group modes of the 60s! There's a bold, proud, righteous tone to the record right from the start – thanks to these soaringly soulful vocals from the girls, and these fuzzy arrangements from Tony Camillo – who seems to borrow a bit from the more righteous modes of Norman Whitfield at Motown, then give things a bit more of a girl soul twist! The combination is amazing, and the album's rock-solid all the way through – filled with great original tunes that really keep a unified feel throughout – and titles include "Are You Man Enough", "Take Me With You", "Girls It Ain't Easy", "While You're Out Looking For Sugar", "The Feeling's Gone", "Sunday Morning People", and "Take My Love". CD features a bonus 7" mix of "While You're Out".

From the title, to the cover, to the gritty grooves way down in the wax – this has got to be one of the funkiest Blue Note albums ever – a real landmark from the legendary Lou Donaldson! The set kicks off with a hard and heavy groove from the very first note – thanks to some super-tight drumming by a young Idris Muhammad – still billed under his birth name of Leo Morris on the sleeve, but already hitting the kit with that snapping post-Popcorn style that would revolutionize funky jazz in years to come! Donaldson's plenty smoking himself on electrified alto sax – played with that great mix of flatness and echo that you'd hear in Eddie Harris' albums of the same time – and the rest of the lineup is equally cooking, with Melvin Sparks on guitar, Charles Earland on organ, and Ed Williams blasting away on funky trumpet! Titles include killer remakes of "It's Your Thing" and "Who's Making Love" – plus Donaldson originals "Hot Dog" and "Turtle Walk" – all nice and long, and with a really raw sound!

The first album by 8th Day – a record with a bit of a complicated pedigree, but a massive amount of 70s Detroit soul as well! The set was supposedly compiled to cash in on the group's hit single "She's Not Just Another Woman" – reportedly recorded by 100 Proof Aged In Soul, but issued under the name 8th Day, so that it wouldn't compete with the group's other hits on the charts! But after that cut took off, Holland-Dozier-Holland needed a group to back it up, so they assembled some lesser-known, but strong, Detroit soul talents to record this album. Unlike the group's second album, which is a much funkier affair overall, this one sounds a lot like 100 Proof – with a raspy southern-tinged soul approach, filtered through some tighter, more full-on HDH arrangements that really give the whole thing a great sort of punch! A great album if you dig the Invictus/Hot Wax soul sound – and titles include "I'm Worried", "Enny Meeny Miny Mo", "You've Got To Crawl Before You Walk", "Just As Long", and "She's Not Just Another Woman". Features the bonus tracks "She's Not Just Another Woman (single)", "Eeny Meeny Miny Mo (inst)", "If I Could See The Light In The Window", and "If I Could See The Light In The Window (inst)".

Wonderfully weird sounds from Lucifer – a record cut during the powerhouse 70s soul years of the Invictus/Hot Wax label, but done with a sound that's much more bluesy and rootsy than any other work for the company! Vocals are by Eugene Smith, who has a cool sort of Bay Area vibe – laidback, and almost folksy at points – snaking easily over the album's backings, which often have this gentle funk approach – but again with a pretty laidback style! Tony Camillo handled some of the arrangements on the record – and brings in some fuller backings that are mighty nice, yet which still suit Lucifer's style strongly – and titles include "Have You Heard", "In A Garden", "Bloodshot Eyes", and "Don't You (Think The Time's A Comin')". CD features the bonus track "What I Am".

Probably the funkiest record ever by this landmark soul combo! The Rimshots are one of these groups that you always find their later work, but in their early days they were an absolutely killer combo – with a hard funky groove that virtually defined the funky 45 sound. In fact, their singles were the stuff that funky collectors were going for way back in the day – when nobody collected funky 45s – and this album may well be the only full-length piece of wax that comes close to matching the strength of those singles. 9 tracks in all: "Neighbor! Get Your Own", "Born Funky", "Soultrain (parts 1 & 2)", "Coastin & Crashin (parts 1 & 2)", "In Cold Blood", "Love, True Love! (Please Pass My Way)" and "A Hot Day In Harlem".

The title definitely gets it right – as the set's filled with post-Motown gems from Detroit – a wealth of wonderful sounds from the Hot Wax/Invictus labels – almost all of it produced by the Holland-Dozier-Holland team! The music here represents the next evolution of Detroit soul in the years after the initial wave of Motown – music that still carries a lot of the spirit of before, and some of the style (given that HDH were working for the company) – but which also pushes things forward with a prouder, more righteous sound as well! The CD features a heady 23 tracks in all – with titles that include "Trapped In A Love" by Barrino Brothers, "Something New About You" by Silent Majority, "Let's Change The Subject" by Satisfaction Unlimited, "Tighten Him Up" by Eloise Laws, "Nothing Sweeter Than Love" by 100 Proof, "Only Time Will Tell" by General Johnson, "Deeper & Deeper" by Freda Payne, "Just As Long" by The 8th Day, "You've Made Me So Very Happy" by Honey Cone, "Two Can Be As Lonely As One" by Danny Woods, and "Bright City Lights" by Satisfaction Unlimited.

Raw tunes from the late 50s and early 60s – a smoking collection of rare rockers, raunchy R&B, and some early soul numbers too – all served up in a totally sweet 10" vinyl package! The set's from the same folks who gave us the excellent Beat From Badsville series – and like those great collections, this one's got a vibe that takes us back to some of the Stompin sets from earlier years, and which also makes us feel like we've discovered some hipster jukebox from many decades back – stocked with vintage wax with a mighty nice edge! Titles on this volume include "Old Man Mose" by Rod Willis, "The Devil Sat Down & Cried" by Savannah Churchill & The Striders, "Action" by Lance Fortune, "St James Infirmary" by Otto Bash, "Shadrack" by Golden Gate Quartet, "Cross Over The Bridge" by The Chords, and "Snake Dance Boogie" by Roy Hogsed.

Tasty collection of funky soul tracks by this great singer who recorded briefly in the early 70s for the Hot Wax label. The set includes her legendary breakbeat track "Crumbs Off The Table", sample more than once over the years – plus other titles like "Woman's Love Rights", "Love & Liberty", "Since I Fell For You", "Rip Off", and "Guess Who I Saw Today".

Groovy big band material, with that very cool 60s Quincy Jones sound! The record has a global gimmick – as Quincy makes a trip around the world, playing tunes associated with various nations, like "Under Paris Skies", "Dear Old Stockholm", "Come Back To Sorrento", "Baia", and "Mack The Knife". Features 2 great originals – "Hot Sake" and "Africana" – and comes packaged in a gatefold cover with sexy images of ladies and globes!

From the title, to the cover, to the gritty grooves way down in the wax – this has got to be one of the funkiest Blue Note albums ever – a real landmark from the legendary Lou Donaldson! The set kicks off with a hard and heavy groove from the very first note – thanks to some super-tight drumming by a young Idris Muhammad – still billed under his birth name of Leo Morris on the sleeve, but already hitting the kit with that snapping post-Popcorn style that would revolutionize funky jazz in years to come! Donaldson's plenty smoking himself on electrified alto sax – played with that great mix of flatness and echo that you'd hear in Eddie Harris' albums of the same time – and the rest of the lineup is equally cooking, with Melvin Sparks on guitar, Charles Earland on organ, and Ed Williams blasting away on funky trumpet! Titles include killer remakes of "It's Your Thing" and "Who's Making Love" – plus Donaldson originals "Hot Dog" and "Turtle Walk" – all nice and long, and with a really raw sound!

38 tracks in all, spread out over 5 pieces of vinyl, including "You Don't Want To Go To War" and "The Party Don't Stop" by Mia X, "Break Em Off Something", "How You Do Dat", "Pass Da Green", "Hot Boys & Girls", "Plan B", "Let's Get Em", "Bounce That Ass", "Thug Girl", "War Wounds", "Soldiers, Riders, G's" and "Let My 9 Get Em" by Master P, ""Get High With Me" by Souljah Slim, "No Limit Soldiers", "I'm Bout It Bout It", "Freak Hos" and "There Dey go" by TRU, "Akickdoel" and "MakinMoves" by C-Murder, "Let Me Hit It" and "I'm A Soldier" by Silk the Shocker, "Down For My N's" by Snoop Dogg, "Murda Murda Kill Kill" and "Can I Ball" by Mac, "Big Timer" by Fiend, "Money Don't Make Me" by Magic, "I Ain't Playing" by Mystikal, "Head & Shoulders" by Mr Serv-On, "Watch Me" by Kane & Abel, "I'm A Baller" by the Gambino Family, and more. . .

Classic uptempo group material by this fantastic harmony combo! This one was recorded in Philly, with great arrangements and performances by the likes of Norman Harris, Vince Montana, Bobby Eli, Ronnie Baker, and Bunny Sigler. Includes the hot track "Bingo", plus "Once More With Feeling", "Will You Be Mine", and "A Mother For My Children". Tough to find on wax, too!

A massive exploration of the music of Kashmere Stage Band – the legendary Texas funk combo whose work has been pushed heavily over the years by Wax Poetics, Stones Throw, and many others! The double-length set goes even deeper than any of the vinyl reissues of work by the group – and features some previously unreleased tracks, alternate takes on their funkiest numbers, and a full 10 extra live tracks never heard before! The Kashmere groove is incredible – blasting horns, scratchy guitars, and funky drums – all wrapped super-tight around a range of original material and some more familiar numbers – all recast here in super-heavy funk mode! Studio tracks (Disc One) include "All Praises", "Thank You", "Scorpio (extended)", "Do Your Thing", "Headwiggle", "Do You Dig It Man", "Getting It Out Of My System", "Zero Point (parts 1 & 2)", "Boss City", "Burning Spear", "Take Five", and "Keep Doing It". Live tracks (Disc Two) include "Zero Point", "Don't Mean A Thing", "Thank You", "Ain't No Sunshine", and "All Praises" and more. – and the set also features a huge amount of detailed notes and photos. This expanded deluxe edition includes a bonus DVD featuring the short films Texas Jewels: The Making of Texas Thunder Soul and Prof and his Band: A Documentary by Charles Porter from 1973 – plus a performance by the Kashmere Stage Band on the 1972 special Jazz: Yesterday, Today, Forever. Also includes updated liner notes in a full color 40 page booklet.

Modern blue-eyed soul from Kendra Morris on Wax Poetics Records – and it delivers in full on the promising couple of Wax Po singles leading up to this solid full length! If the title Banshee brings to mind a shrill spooky cry, fear not – because Kendra is a natural, truly soulful singer! There's a nice live band feel to the record, too – with core backing of guitar, drums bass and spacey keys – plus occasional violin and other additional instrumentation. A win! Titles include "Waiting", "The Plunge", "Old Photos", "Right Now", "Today", "How You Want It", "If You Didn't Go", "Concrete Waves", "Here", "Banshee" and more.

Modern blue-eyed soul from Kendra Morris on Wax Poetics Records – and it delivers in full on the promising couple of Wax Po singles leading up to this solid full length! If the title Banshee brings to mind a shrill spooky cry, fear not – because Kendra is a natural, truly soulful singer! There's a nice live band feel to the record, too – with core backing of guitar, drums bass and spacey keys – plus occasional violin and other additional instrumentation. A win! Titles include "Waiting", "The Plunge", "Old Photos", "Right Now", "Today", "How You Want It", "If You Didn't Go", "Concrete Waves", "Here", "Banshee" and more.

One of the dueling cover story ssues of Wax Poetics – headed by great features on classic rap legend Big Daddy Kane, blue-eyed soul hero Daryl Hall, upstart hip hop gamer Joey Badass and progressive jazzy soul singer Jose James! Solid, worthy choices one and all – and pretty much every artist featured in Issue 54 could just as easily be on the cover! Includes interviews with Steely Dan's Donald Fagen, an extremely rare interview with Jimmy Spicer, plus pieces on Laura Nyro, Ghetto Brothers, Bobby Caldwell, Clams Casino, Nosaj Thing and Keyboard Kid. As always, it's got both both classic and comparably rarely seen photos, shots of old school cover and inner label art and more. Another essential issue!

A pretty great multiple cover feature issue for Wax Poetics – this one with Lenny Kravitz on the front and Dam-Funk on the back – plus equally prominent features on Sade and Flying Lotus! Wax Poetics has always been a celebration of soul, funk, hip hop, jazz and otherwise crate diggers fodder – be they underground of not entirely forgotten heroes – or pop culture takeover engineers – and this issue personifies that as strongly as ever! It's also got pieces on Betty Wright, Gary Bartz, Quantic & Alice Russell, Cody Chesnutt, Thundercat, Jamire Williams, Georgia Anne Muldrow and Jamire Williams – plus NYC's 70s Roller Boogie scene and more – and as always, it's filled with great photographs of each and every figure!

The Africa Issue of Wax Poetics – with Fela on the front cover and Tony Allen on the back – plus pieces on The Rail Band, Orchestra Baobob, Orchestre Poly-Rhythmo, Soundway's Ghana Special and so much more! You know Wax Poetics is going to go deep, and Issue 39 doesn't disappoint – from the pivotal Afro funk & soul of the cover artists to the Cuban-influenced vibe of Senegal's Orchestra Baobob, the griot sounds of the Rail Band and well beyond – loaded with photographs we've never seen before (always a big draw to Wax Po) – Re:Discovery items on Mams & Hart, Buari's Disco Soccer and more, plus pieces on African vinyl collector Voodoo Frank, Shafiq of Sa-Ra, a Record Rundown of from African rhythms champion DJ Rich Medina and lots more!

They're not kidding about "The Photo Issue" tag on the cover – because this issue of Wax Poetics is filled with a wealth of amazing music photos – so much so, it almost feels like one of those high-end art books, but at a fraction of the price! The issue seems much larger than before – almost 200 pages overall – and it's filled with current and classic photos of New Orleans musicians, Brazilian artists, and a fair bit of hip hoppers from back in the day! But even with all those pics, the Wax Poetics crew have still given us plenty to read here – as at least a quarter of the magazine still features text – with articles on funky Miles Davis, Max Roach, Sharon Jones, Numero Group Records, East Bay Funk, The Dragons, Beastie Boys, and others!

Funky Japanese soundtracks galore – served up by the legendary DJ Muro! Muro's a name we can really trust for mixes of rare American funk and soul – but this time around, he turns his talents towards his homeland, and comes up with an incredible blend of rare Japanese grooves pulled from film scores – the kind of cool cuts we've been digging in the Hotwax & Trax series we've stocked from Ultra Vybe – but all filtered down into one sweet little set by Muro! The package has a whopping 38 tracks in all – all funky, and filled with loads of great beats, basslines, keyboards, and guitar – kind of a perfect distillation of the best cuts from a wide range of rare soundtracks – many of which have been reissued on CD over the years, but which are now out of print. The notes and titles are all in Japanese – but take it from us, the grooves are more than enough – and the set features over 70 minutes of rare funk!

Sweet female pop from Japan – most of it recorded in the mid 70s, and pulled together in a package that's similar to some of the soundtrack-related collections that Hotwax & Trax have done for the Ultra Vybe label! The sounds here are a bit smoother than those on the soundtrack set, but equally compelling – a blend of Western pop modes of the time with some uniquely Japanese touches – often set to instrumentation that includes lots of keyboards and some occasional funky rhythms. There's a surprisingly soulful feel to a number of the tunes, one that gets past the Japanese-only lyrics – and speaking of that, the notes and titles are all in Japanese so we can't tell you more – but the music's pretty compelling!

A pretty great multiple cover feature issue for Wax Poetics – this one with Sade on the front and Flying Lotus on the back – plus equally prominent features on Lenny Kravitz and Dam-Funk! Wax Poetics has always been a celebration of soul, funk, hip hop, jazz and otherwise crate diggers fodder – be they underground of not entirely forgotten heroes – or pop culture takeover engineers – and this issue personifies that as strongly as ever! It's also got pieces on Betty Wright, Gary Bartz, Quantic & Alice Russell, Cody Chesnutt, Thundercat, Jamire Williams, Georgia Anne Muldrow and Jamire Williams – plus NYC's 70s Roller Boogie scene and more – and as always, it's filled with great photographs of each and every figure!

Surf guitar hits the drag strip – as Dick Dale makes the same move as most of his Cali contemporaries of the 60s – shifting his groove from waxed boards and woodies over to the world of hot rods! The sound's still pretty much the same, though – smoking instrumentals filled with Dale's amazing lines on guitar – a way of hitting the instrument that was a lot harder, heavier, and more frenetic than most other surf/instro players of the period – with a raw bite that arguably sets the scene for hard rock in the part of the decade to come! Vinyl version features 14 tracks rom Dale's hot rod recordings for Capitol – with cuts that include "50 Miles To Go", "Nitro Fuel", "Surf Buggy", "Firing Up", "Taco Wagon", "The Victor", "Mag Wheels", "Wild Wild Mustang", and "Night Rider".

One of the dueling cover story ssues of Wax Poetics – headed by great features on classic rap legend Big Daddy Kane, blue-eyed soul hero Daryl Hall, upstart hip hop gamer Joey Badass and progressive jazzy soul singer Jose James! Solid, worthy choices one and all – and pretty much every artist featured in Issue 54 could just as easily be on the cover! Includes interviews with Steely Dan's Donald Fagen, an extremely rare interview with Jimmy Spicer, plus pieces on Laura Nyro, Ghetto Brothers, Bobby Caldwell, Clams Casino, Nosaj Thing and Keyboard Kid. As always, it's got both both classic and comparably rarely seen photos, shots of old school cover and inner label art and more. Another essential issue!

Jazz's Mad Men get the full issue treatment from our friends at Wax Poetics – with a suave shot of George Benson on the front cover and funk era George Duke on the back – with pieces on Billy Cobham, Norman Connors, Tom Brown, Bernard Wright, Don Blackman, Lenny White, Marcus Miller, Weldon Irvine and Phil Cohran! That is one heck of an amazing issue – if we were to put together a list of legendary and overlooked jazz figures we'd want Wax Po to take a look at or revisit, it might look a whole lot like this issue! Plus, you get the always great Re:Discovery and Record Rundown, looks at Coltrane's Lost Recordings, Nostalgia 77 and more.

Curtis Mayfield graces the front cover – a film funk and soul focused issue #38 of Wax Poetics! This issue features a great piece on Curtis and the Superfly legacy, with Re:Discovery section profiles of soundtracks from Marvin Gaye's Trouble Man to John Carpenter's Assault On Precinct 13 and more, the resurrected Brotherman soundtrack to the never-made film from Chicago's Final Solution, a profile of Black Dynamite composer Adrian Younge, Gangs On Film from the South Bronx of 1979 documented in 80 Blocks From Tiffany's, articles on library music, Iceberg Slim, the funk era animation of Ralph Bakshi, Spike Lee, Numero's Light On The Southside and much more! This definitely going on our top shelf of favorite issues of Wax Poetics!

Damn – these guys never stop giving out the good stuff! Even 31 issues into their historic run, Wax Poetics still hits on more music that matters to us than anyone else – with features this time on Shuggie Otis, Grant Green, Os Mutantes, Patrick Adams, Larry Coryell, Slick Rick, and MF Doom! Few publications take the time to cover music like this, and none do it so well – with an always-thoughtful level of writing, and a beautiful set of photos and vintage images that make the articles almost as worth digging as a crate full of old vinyl! And as always, you get plenty for your money – over 125 full-color, journal-like pages – a high-quality testament to all things funky.

Guess who's back, and just in time for the much-needed seasonal funk fix? It's that most appealing tome of all things funky, the one-and-only funk bible! Need we tell you that the Wax Poets have once again outdone themselves? The centerpiece of this issue an ever so timely look at the legendary Wattstax show, a perfect piece for a politically charged season, featuring some of the best photos of the event we've ever seen. Other features include one on the increasingly prominent Antibalas, lost Floridian funk merchants Montgomery Express, Melvin Van Peebles, Eddie Fisher, Part 2 of the Texas Stage Bands piece, a refreshing look at the Beastie Boys (sans mass media hype) and lots more. Another indispensible issue!

Some of the grooviest work so far in the excellent Hotwax Trax series of soundtrack reissues from Japan – very cool grooves that go way past the "blues" you might expect from the title! There's a really badass feel to the record – lots of heavy drums, hip horns, and some cool guitar bits too – mixed with occasional touches of eastern instrumentation, and some mellower bossa-styled moments too – in ways that easily match the charm of American exploitation soundtracks from the early 70s, but with a slightly more exotic feel! We're only slightly bummed that there's no information in English – which we'd appreciate to help us understand the music a bit more – yet we're also totally digging the CD even without the help of that information, just because it's so darn groovy!