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A raw, frantically-paced live set by boxer turned soul singer Freddy Mack – captured live at Toft's Club in the UK! It's rawly recorded, which is great, given the gritty soul style at play It's a batch of rollicking covers done with infectious energy, Freddy clearly doing his thing out front of a tight rhythm section, heavy horns and backing singers. The audience reaction is intense to say the least – kids screaming there heads off, and that's a vital part of the sound! Includes "Bare Footin'", "Funky Broadway", "Sock It To 'Em JB", "Long Tall Sally", "Three Time Loser", "Stand By Me", and 12+ minute finale medley.

Some of the tightest funky 70s jamming ever – a lost gem from Ray & His Musical Court, a group that perfectly fuses JB/Horny Horns funk with beat-heavy Afro-Cuban groove! Ray and the group are one of the more obscure funky combos of the era, and it's a damn shame, because the group's tight-as-can-be amalgam of JB's style horn riffing and thumping Afro-Cuban percussion is some of the absolute best of its kind. This group seriously smokes any of the current funk bands on the road! On these sessions Ray wrote, produced, played "organ flute" and provided some vocals in a large group that includes three trumpets, bass clarinet, sax, two drummers, congas, electric bass, and a line of mostly Spanish vocalists. Amazing 70s super funk with a very proud Latin edge – and featuring tracks that include "Sunny", "Soul Freedom", "Cookie Crumbs", "De Eso Nada Monada", "Lo Sabia", "Venimos Acabando", "La Pena", and "La Senorita Lola".

Further genius from James Brown at the start of the 70s – a record that's starting to show some of the more open-ended grooves he'd explore with the JBs on their own albums – longer, stretched-out tracks that are way more than simple funk and soul! There's a sense of freewheeling energy here that's totally great – dynamic, powerful calls from James at the top of most tunes – and incredibly sharp work on horns and rhythm from the band – cutting grooves and turning lines like no other combo in the business, all with a great mix of deep soul and hard funk! The album features the 7 minute killer version of "Let a Man Come In & Do The Popcorn", plus "World (parts 1 & 2)", "It's A New Day (parts 1 & 2)", "Give It Up or Turn It Loose", "If I Ruled The World", "The Man In The Glass (part 1)", and "I'm Not Demanding (part 1)". A treasure trove of funk and soul!

A masterpiece of hard and heavy funk – from one of the best bands of the early 70s! The Nite Liters were a legendary funky combo that provided the backing for some of New Birth's best albums – but on their own, they were even funkier, and had a sound that was part JBs, part Meters, and all funky! This album may well be the group's best – their last for RCA, and a set that really has them honing their edge incredibly. The drums are amazing, the keyboards great, and the horns have this quality that's both complex, yet right on the money – making for a richness in sound that really sets the group apart from their contemporaries. A few singers from The New Birth provide chorus vocals on a few tracks – but most of the set is instrumental, and the record's one we'd gladly stack next to our Meters albums on Josie or JBs classics on People. Every track's a gem – and titles include "Drumology", "Excuse Me While I Do My Thing", "Serenade for a Jive Turkey", "Happy Hooker", "Craaashing", "Damn", "Pee-Foul", and a sweet cover of "Valdez in the Country" that's been sampled at least once over the years!

A masterpiece of hard and heavy funk – from one of the best bands of the early 70s! The Nite Liters were a legendary little funky combo that provided the backing for some of New Birth's best albums – but on their own, they were even funkier, and had a sound that was part JBs, part Meters, and all funky! This album may well be the group's best – their last for RCA, and a set that really has them honing their edge incredibly. The drums are amazing, the keyboards great, and the horns have this quality that's both complex, yet right on the money – making for a richness in sound that really sets the group apart from their contemporaries. A few singers from The New Birth provide chorus vocals on a few tracks – but most of the set is instrumental, and the record's one we'd gladly stack next to our Meters albums on Josie or JBs classics on People. Every track's a gem – and titles include "Drumology", "Excuse Me While I Do My Thing", "Serenade for a Jive Turkey", "Happy Hooker", "Craaashing", "Damn", "Pee-Foul", and a sweet cover of "Valdez in the Country" that's been sampled at least once over the years!

Late work by The JBs – but pretty darn nice! The cut begins with fast and soft guitar riffing – very fast, just going on and on like a record stuck in the groove, creating a very cool beat while another guitar starts picking its way across the top, and some other horns come into the groove. The flip's got more of the same, with a nice little vamp at the beginning, and some shouted lyrics over the top!

Funky madness! This one's exactly what is says – a live mix, recorded by this hip funky combo, sort of a mixtape of classic funky tunes, all slammed together in one massive performance! Breakestra run through some of the biggest funky 45s of the 60s and 70s, jamming hard in one live to tape performance that takes us back to the classic days of the JBs grooving in the studio with James Brown. Plenty of choppy guitars, hot bubbly organ, sweet keyboard licks, and hard heavy horns throughout!

A killer from James Brown – and one of his best instrumental albums of the King years! The record has James working with the pre-JBs James Brown Band – a tight assemblage of players who really know how to craft an off-kilter groove. The guitar's popping on the beat here as much as the horns, making for a syncopated groove that's utterly fantastic – as tight as a drum, and as funky as one too! Includes some great long cuts – like the 9 minute, two-part versions of "Ain't It Funky" and "Fat Wood" – plus some great shorter funky 45 type material, like "Nose Job", "Use Your Mother", "Give It Up Or Turnit Loose", and a version of "Cold Sweat". All the work here is tremendous – the kind of inspirational funky material that makes the album a lasting classic decade after decade!

Wonderfully heavy funk from DeRobert & The Half-Truths – a tune that may be the group's best to date! "I Got Burned" has this wicked JBs-type groove right at the start – that sharp mix of downbeats and horns that combo did so well – all a perfect foil for DeRobert's soulfully trilling vocals! "Nashville Country Bump" has a great groove that's very much what you might expect – a hip blend of Tennessee roots and harder funk – all instrumental, and with lots of twangy guitar!