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No need for a leap of faith where Bluey's concerned – as we've been loving his music with Incognito for many many years, and we're more than happy to hear the man on his own! The vibe here is every bit as soulful and righteous as the best Incognito work – but there's also a more personal sound, too – especially since Bluey's on lead vocals on every track – quite a change from before, as he often lets other singers take the lead! Turns out, Bluey's a hell of a lead singer on his own – with this warm and slightly raspy style that really fits in wonderfully with the grooves – which are heavy on Bluey's own guitar, plus keyboards and other instrumentation from Ski Oakenfull and Richard Bull. If you like Incognito as much as us, there's plenty to love here – and titles include "Stronger", "Leap Of Faith", "Sky", "Keep Myself Together", "Ain't Nobody's Business", "Got To Let My Feelings Show", and "Live Like A Millionaire".

Soulful, not surreal – a sublime set of sounds from Incognito – one of the few groups who could ever stay this great for so long! The record's overflowing with everything we love about Incognito – that warm blend of soul, jazz, and funk – trained in the best 70s elements at its core, but served up with a lean, tight quality that not only belies the group's London roots, but their potent force in contemporary soul in the 21st Century! And although other recent albums have been great, there's really something special going on here – an extra-great element that we really can't put our finger on exactly, but which had us loving this one from the very first note. Vocals are great – sung by Vanessa Haynes, Natalie Williams, Mo Brandis, and the mighty Maysa – and titles include "The Less You Know", "The Stars From Here", "This Must Be Love", "Thoughtful Fantasies", "Restless We Are", "Rivers On The Sun", and "Above The Night".

A monstrous bit of jazz funk from drummer Alphonse Mouzon – spacey tracks in a choppy style that reminds us a bit of some of the best European fusion albums from the period, but with a harder groove overall! Mini Moog and ARP trip out the sound throughout, but the underlying rhythms are nice and heavy. Lee Ritenour's on guitar, and he gets a lot of play on the record – but the main groove is Alphonse's heavy funky snakefoot! Al's drums and percussion are furiously frenetic, and he also plays a lot of keyboards – and other players include Tom Scott on tenor, Dave Grusin on clavinet, Victor Feldman on bongos and congas, and Charles Meeks on bass. A few tracks have vocals – by Marty McCall, Jackie Ward, and Caroline Willis – as well as Alphonse himself and the album's also got two very nice break-oriented tracks – "Snake Walk" and "New York City" – both with nice hard drums! Titles include a number of other good fusion groovers, like "Without A Reason", "Just Like the Sun", "Before You Leave", "Just Like The Sun", and "Mouzon Moves On".

A monstrous bit of jazz funk from drummer Alphonse Mouzon – spacey tracks in a choppy style that reminds us a bit of some of the best European fusion albums from the period, but with a harder groove overall! Mini Moog and ARP trip out the sound throughout, but the underlying rhythms are nice and heavy. Lee Ritenour's on guitar, and he gets a lot of play on the record – but the main groove is Alphonse's heavy funky snakefoot! Al's drums and percussion are furiously frenetic, and he also plays a lot of keyboards – and other players include Tom Scott on tenor, Dave Grusin on clavinet, Victor Feldman on bongos and congas, and Charles Meeks on bass. A few tracks have vocals – by Marty McCall, Jackie Ward, and Caroline Willis – as well as Alphonse himself and the album's also got two very nice break-oriented tracks – "Snake Walk" and "New York City" – both with nice hard drums! Titles include a number of other good fusion groovers, like "Without A Reason", "Just Like the Sun", "Before You Leave", "Just Like The Sun", and "Mouzon Moves On".

A monstrous bit of jazz funk from drummer Alphonse Mouzon – spacey tracks in a choppy style that reminds us a bit of some of the best European fusion albums from the period, but with a harder groove overall! Mini Moog and ARP trip out the sound throughout, but the underlying rhythms are nice and heavy. Lee Ritenour's on guitar, and he gets a lot of play on the record – but the main groove is Alphonse's heavy funky snakefoot! Al's drums and percussion are furiously frenetic, and he also plays a lot of keyboards – and other players include Tom Scott on tenor, Dave Grusin on clavinet, Victor Feldman on bongos and congas, and Charles Meeks on bass. A few tracks have vocals – by Marty McCall, Jackie Ward, and Caroline Willis – as well as Alphonse himself and the album's also got two very nice break-oriented tracks – "Snake Walk" and "New York City" – both with nice hard drums! Titles include a number of other good fusion groovers, like "Without A Reason", "Just Like the Sun", "Before You Leave", "Just Like The Sun", and "Mouzon Moves On".

Do these guys ever lose their touch? We think not – as this album, the group's umpteenth, is pretty darn great! Jean-Paul "Bluey" Maunick pulled out all the stops on this set – working with a range of vocalists that includes Joy Rose, Kelli Sae, Tony Momrelle, Joy Malcolm, and Brazilian soul legend Ed Motta! The range of voices on the set really gives it a lot of depth – moving past the easy jazz funk moments of earlier sets, and going for an all-solid, all-soulful approach that really blows our mind! Great stuff all the way through – maybe their best album in years – and a record you'll be playing into the next decade. Titles include "Morning Sun", "Who Needs Love", "Stone Cold Heart", "Where Love Shines", "Blue", "Fly", "If You Want My Love", and "Cada Dia".

A seminal late 80s techno track from Kevin Saunderson, in the days before he adopted the Inner City name. Overall the sound is a bit less dark, and a bit less electro than what would become the genre's mainstay sound, but in a late night-driving vibe with a soulful undercurrent that still sounds fresh!

Maybe the greatest record we've ever heard from Beggar & Co – a set that sparkles strongly from a host of excellent guest work – not just from Incognito, but also from some key American musicians as well! The groove is tighter than ever – and very much in the 70s-inspired style that's always made us love the group – a wonderfully warm blend of jazz, funk, and soul that comes off with the feel of a lost treasure from way back! The set's got a positive, upbeat sound throughout – and titles include "If You Really Love Me", "Victoria Park", "Summer Is Here At Last", "While The City Sleeps", "New Beginnings", "Rise", "Yesterday's Gone", and "Changes".

The sun shines brightly on Mario Biondi – really making this record sparkle with a charm that goes way beyond Mario's previous albums – a quality that's less retro than before, and which shows Biondi as a growing soul star with really universal appeal! There's still some of the old school jazz in the mix that we love from Mario's Schema work – but the album's also got a fuller production style at times, one that really expands the palette of Biondi's colors, and which has him working here with help from key guests who include Omar, Leon Ware, Al Jarreau, Incognito, and Chaka Khan – and even a bit of organ from the James Taylor Quartet! Jean-Paul "Bluey" Maunick helped co-write a good number of tracks on the set – and titles include "Shine On", "Come To Me", "Woman Woman", "What Have You Done To Me", "Never Stop", "La Voglia La Pazzia L'Idea", "Girl Blue", "Light To The World", and "Catch The Sunrise".

Always-lovely work from Sabrina Malheiros – serving up a sublime blend of Brazilian roots and soulful overtones – a style that's easily made her one of the best artists on the Far Out label over the years! Sabrina's got a family lineage that traces back to Azymuth – and the music here has the similar blend of fusion instrumentation, earthy Brazilian percussion, and soaring American soul that you'll find in the best classics by that group – all with the added special spark that comes from her sweet vocals too! Production and arrangements are by Daniel Venom Maunick, who brings in a slight dose of Incognito soul too – really making for a record that's quite possibly the best we've heard from Sabrina so far – and that's saying a heck of a lot. Titles include "Lirio De Venus", "Bobeira", "Opara", "Candeia", "Fragil", "Can't Hide Love", "Primeira", and "Paranoia".

Timeless soul from Maysa – who here lends her sweet molasses vocals to numbers made famous by Stevie Wonder, Teddy Pendergrass, The Isley Brothers, Chaka Khan, The Stylistics, Roberta Flack and others! Maysa fully employs the sophisticated mellow soul approach on this set – befitting the material quite grandly with her sultry vocals, and tight band providing laidback keys, snapping drums & percussion, and some jazzy smooth horns and flute in spots. The most mature outing yet from the gifted vocalist whose roots helped plant Incognito! Tracks include "Wishing On A Star", "Don't Say Goodnight", "All I Do", "Love Won't Let Me Wait", "Come Go With Me", "Betcha By Golly Wow", "Playing Your Game, Baby", "Love Comes Easy", "Any Love" and "The First Time (I Ever Saw Your Face)".

A landmark of 70s Afro-styled jazz – and the first album by this famous underground collective! Oneness of Juju were a Washington DC-based group that grew out of the ashes of the Juju avant jazz ensemble – formed in the culturally rich African-American community of DC in the 70s, with spiritual and political aspirations that stretched far beyond the average funky combo. This first album is a masterful blend of percussion, jazz, and a slight bit of funk – alternating vocal tracks with harder-hitting jazz instrumentals, all held together under the leadership of sax player Plunky Nakabinde – a reedman whose work here alone is worth the price of admission – laid out nicely alongside some great percussion, Fender Rhodes, and wonderfully worm vocals on a few tracks. The album's one of the greatest independent soul jazz albums of the 70s – and it's filled with great tracks, such as the breakbeat classic "African Rhythms" and "Liberation Dues" – plus "Kazi", "Funky Wood", "Don't Give Up", "Poo Too", and "Incognito". CD features nice bonus tracks – "F#", "Don't Give Up (45 version)", "Got To Be Right On It (45 version)", "Nooky", and "Plastic (45 version)".

A tasty sampling of tracks from a label that's really starting to get our attention! Dome started out quite a few years back as one of the few strong UK indie soul labels, but early releases didn't grab us nearly as much as some of their excellent recent work – a range of tracks pulled from hard-to-find sources all over the globe, all unified in a real commitment to underground Neo Soul styles! The set features 17 tracks in all, with titles that include "Now You Know" by India T, "Can't Wait" by Kelli Sae, "If You Want My Love" by Incognito, "Keep On Blessing Me" by Donald Lawrence & The Tri-City Singers, "Hey Young World" by Andreus, "The Real Thing" by Avani, "Something Special" by Donna Gardier, "It's Over" by Sinclair, "Sad Days (acoustic)" by Angela Johnson, "Wherever Love Is Found" by Richard Darbyshire, "Nostalgia (VRS rmx)" by Hil St Soul, and "Stories" by Full Flava with Carleen Anderson.

There's a heck of a lot of great music here – a whopping 35 tracks of contemporary and vintage soul, all put together for the price of a regular single CD! The package is the latest in the excellent Luxury Soul series – based around artists who have worked the UK series of the same name – and who really come together here in a warm array of the best contemporary soul styles! There's plenty of Neo Soul numbers, a handful of classics, and a few more modern elements too – and titles include "I'm Not That Tough" by Ashford & Simpson, "Rubber Soul" by Live Tropical Fish with Omar, "Things That I Do" by Gianna, "Enough Is Enough" by Dennis Taylor, "Music & Love" by Victor Haynes, "Just A Simple Love" by Sheree Brown, "In The Meantime" by Johnny Britt, "Crystal Clear" by Howard Hewett, "Just Let Me Be Close To You" by Valentine Brothers, "I'll Come Running Back To You" by June Yamagishi with Bobby Womack, "So In Love" by Chapter 8, "Slow Down" by Al Olive, "Priority" by Kloud 9, "It's Just One Of Those Things" by Incognito, "I Want It" by Soul Talk, "Wake Up Everybody" by Eric Benet, and "Anything" by Angela Johnson.

The sun shines brightly on Mario Biondi – really making this record sparkle with a charm that goes way beyond Mario's previous albums – a quality that's less retro than before, and which shows Biondi as a growing soul star with really universal appeal! There's still some of the old school jazz in the mix that we love from Mario's Schema work – but the album's also got a fuller production style at times, one that really expands the palette of Biondi's colors, and which has him working here with help from key guests who include Omar, Leon Ware, Al Jarreau, Incognito, and Chaka Khan – and even a bit of organ from the James Taylor Quartet! Jean-Paul "Bluey" Maunick helped co-write a good number of tracks on the set – and titles include "Shine On", "Come To Me", "Woman Woman", "What Have You Done To Me", "Never Stop", "La Voglia La Pazzia L'Idea", "Girl Blue", "Light To The World", and "Catch The Sunrise". CD has a great package – hardcover book-style, with pages inside!

Rare British disco, club soul and jazzy funk from the late 70s & early 80s – compiled by Joey Negro – hard to find numbers from Mirage, Incognito, Hudson People, Intrigue and many more! Negro has long been a trusted compiler and he does a terrific job here – many tracks from the end of the 70s and start of the 80s that wonderfully blend the soaring, dancefloor soul and disco with masterful musicianship of jazz and funk steeped rhythms. It's not a DJ mixed set, the tracks are unmixed – but there are a number of nice Joey Negro edits. 23 tracks on 2CDs: "Summer Grooves" by Mirage, "Keep In Touch" by Freeez, "Trip To Your Mind" by Hudson People, "The Wiggle" by Stikki Stuff, "Zero One" by Surface Noise, "Sore Lip" by Ritual "Express" by 52nd Street, "Parisienne Girl" by Incognito, "Latin Dream" by The Antilles, "Bentley Boogie" by Ed Bentley, "I Wanna Dance" by The Cool Notes, "You Know Too Much" by MBT and more.

Nothing secret about The Sunburst Band – they're a group we've loved for years – and one that we love to rave about on these pages! This album's a tremendous effort – one that proves that our faith in the group has never let us down – and that they're one of the few acts that keep on burning with a serious fire and never-ending sense of soul! Joey Negro keeps things in a classic dancefloor mode throughout – lots of warm 70s club elements and funky soul undercurrents – all handled with just the right sort of vintage instrumentation and jazzy inflections that make these guys equally-trusted contemporaries of Incognito – yet even more disco-oriented too. And this time around, there's some great vocalists on board to really help keep the proceedings at a partyful level – Angela Johnson, Noelle Scaggs, Diane Charlemagne, Pete Simpson, Donna Gardier, and others – all singers who help spice things up between instrumental grooves. Titles include "My Way", "In The Thick Of It", "Jazz The DMX", "Caught In The Moment", "Educated Funk", "Trust Me", "Love One Another", "Easy Come Easy Go", "The Secret Life Of Us", and "Why Wait For Tomorrow".

A pretty great follow up to the previous hits package Retrospective – this one with many of the Tribe's OTHER hits, plus 2 previously unreleased nuggets! Alternate mixes, out of print soundtrack and 12-inch cuts, plus album tracks that weren't ingrained into the mainstream consciousness – cuts like "Oh My God", "Award Tour", "Can I Kick It?", "One, Two, S&!t" with Busta Rhymes, "Peace, Prosperity, and Paper" and "Glamour & Glitz". Of course, you also get the better known tracks like " I Left My Wallet In El Segundo", "Check The Rhyme", "Buggin' Out", "Scenario", "Jazz (We've Got)" and the rest. 2 rare unreleased cuts made it on: "Mr. Incognito" and "The Night He Got Caught". Now if the BMG folks would only be so kind as to release Q-Tip's lost Kamal The Abstract. . .

A wonderful record from Khari of Jiva – a set that's as warmly beautiful as you'd expect from the cover! Khari's got all the sweet, soulful touches we love in his music with Jiva – and the set's also got the Brazilian jazz elements that you'd expect from the Antonio Carlos Jobim homage on the cover – particularly the CTI-era Jobim, as there's some wonderful production to the set – and a vibe that's jazzier overall, and more sophisticated than even the great grooves of Jiva! Khari's got plenty of great guests, too – including India Arie, Russell Gunn, Monday Michiru, Sabrina Malheiros, and Incognito – all a perfect choice for the warm, sunny groove of the set! The whole thing's wonderful – maybe even the best thing so far from Khari – and titles include "Clementine Sun", "Coolamon Waltz", "Never In Your Sun", "Belle Of Byron Bay", "The Dove", "Ninos", "How Can We Go Wrong", and "Major Bossa".

A great batch of modern soul grooves galore – some from the more natural nusoul realm and others with a slightly clubbier of funkier feel, and really solid stuff all around – and a bargain at under $20!!! Soul Lounge 5 continues the tradition of presenting some of finer tunes from recent releases on Dome Records UK and other soul groove merchants in the UK label scene – with tunes by Incognito, Rahsaan Patterson, Conya Doss, Hil St Soul, Don E, Maysa, Sunburst Band, Seek, James Taylor Quartet and many more! 40 tracks on 3CD: "Oh Lord (Take Me Back)" by Rahsaan Patterson, "Play" by Angela Johnson & Frank McComb, "Stay Ahwile" by Don E, "Head To Toe" by Eric Roberson, "Come Over" by Conya Doss, "In Time" by Beverley Knight, "Step Aside" by Joey Negro, "The Bottle" by Maysa, "Cleo's Mood" by James Taylor Quartet and more.

Massive music at a marvelous price – 40 soulful grooves in one sweet little set, all part of this amazing series of Neo Soul! The package is put together by Dome Records, and the collection features tracks from that label, plus a few other key indies too – all with a great focus on the kind of groundbreaking American and British soul that has formed the core of the Neo Soul groove for years! There's plenty here you'll never hear on the radio – and titles include "I've Been Waiting" by Incognito, "Love You Yes" by Beverlei Brown, "Home" by Carmen Rogers, "Dealing" by Eric Roberson, "In My Fantasy (Jasks Thaisoul temptation mix)" by Tortured Soul, "Back For More" by Cool Million, "Can't Stop" by Reel People, "I Want You Back" by Sinclair, "Distant Lover" by Heston, "You Are" by Full Flava with Carleen Anderson, "Real Love" by Drizabone Soul Family, "Lover's Theme" by Avani, "Sometimes" by Rahsaan Patterson, and "Open Heart Open Mind" by Brenda Russell.

The second live set we've gotten to hear from Mario Biondi, and it's the second terrific and worthy one! Yes You Live is a double set that finds Mario working in both acoustic jazz and electric jazz modes – both with a lot of soul. There's a contemporary freshness to the whole thing, as well as a genuine love of classic soulful jazzy vocal performers – traits we've always loved about Mario's studio work and sounding all the more vibrantly alive in a live setting! CD Yes includes "Nature Boy", "Serenity",, "Black Shop", "Love Dreamer", "Winter In America", "Ecstasy" and more. CD You features a middle section of tracks with Incognito, including "No Mo' Trouble", "Lowdown" and "Can't Get Enough", plus "I Know It's Over", "Bom De Doer", "I Wanna Make It" and more.

The title's a bit clunky, but the grooves are wonderfully smooth – a great assortment of hard to find tracks from recent years, all brought together in one totally wicked set! The cuts here are pulled from a variety of sources – Japanese-only CDs, previously unreleased sessions, and now out of print albums – all with a warmly contemporary vibe, but one that's steeped in older soul modes from the 70s and early 80s. Many of the artists here are familiar, but they're represented by tracks you probably don't have in your collection – tunes that are definitely "desirables", both for their quality and rarity! Titles include "Bad Company" by Luther Vandross, "Dance" by Sara Devine, "Tell Me" by Tiffany, "For You" by Jack Herrera, "It's Good To Be Loved" by Ronee Martin, "For Goodness Sake" by K Fox, "Cloud 9 (DJ Spinna rmx)" by Donnie, "Dreamin Of One" by Trina Broussard, "Where Did We Go Wrong (so right mix)" by Incognito, "Days Like This (black sand mix)" by Kenny Lattimore, "No Matter What I'll Do" by Donald McCollum, and "Can't Get Over You" by Brigette McWilliams.

The sun shines brightly on Mario Biondi – really making this record sparkle with a charm that goes way beyond Mario's previous albums – a quality that's less retro than before, and which shows Biondi as a growing soul star with really universal appeal! There's still some of the old school jazz in the mix that we love from Mario's Schema work – but the album's also got a fuller production style at times, one that really expands the palette of Biondi's colors, and which has him working here with help from key guests who include Omar, Leon Ware, Al Jarreau, Incognito, and Chaka Khan – and even a bit of organ from the James Taylor Quartet! Jean-Paul "Bluey" Maunick helped co-write a good number of tracks on the set – and titles include "Shine On", "Come To Me", "Woman Woman", "What Have You Done To Me", "Never Stop", "La Voglia La Pazzia L'Idea", "Girl Blue", "Light To The World", and "Catch The Sunrise". CD has a great package – hardcover book-style, with pages inside!