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Killer Chicago soul from Jackie Wilson – with stone cold Brunswick production by Carl Davis, and lots of arrangements by Willie Henderson. The title cut "Beautiful Day" is a soaring original tune that's really great – and other tracks include "It's All Over", "What'cha Gonna Do About Me", "I Get Lonely Sometimes", and "Go Away".

A wonderful little album from Jackie Wilson – one that helped him redefine his sound and save his career! Jackie's earlier work for Brunswick was a mish-mash of styles that ranged from raw R&B to smooth supper-club jazz to silly novelty numbers, all of which had gotten pretty stale by the mid 60s. Elsewhere at Brunswick, though, things were really popping during the time – as Carl Davis was turning the label's Chicago offices into a hotbed of soul, forged in the newer hipper styles of the Chisoul scene. Davis got Wilson into the Chicago scene for this album – had him working with arranger Sonny Sanders and director Gerald Sims – to create a wonderful batch of strident soul tunes that perfectly embody the loping Chisoul groove that was Davis' real legacy in soul music during the 60s. The prime example of this is the title cut "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher & Higher" – which became a runaway hit that put Wilson back on the map I the soul business. The rest of the album's just as great, though, and includes loads of solid numbers like "Soulville", "I've Lost You", "Those Heartaches", and "I'm The One To Do It".

Classic soul from Jackie! The record's an 80s CBS collection of some of his best singles for Brunswick from the 60s – seminal Windy City soul numbers that include quite a few that were penned by Berry Gordy back in Jackie's early days. 12 numbers in all, with titles that include "Lonely Teardrops", "Reet Petite", "To Be Loved", "I'll Be Satisfied", "That Is Why (I Love You So)", "Baby Workout", "Whispers (Getting' Louder)", "I Get The Sweetest Feeling", "You Better Know It", "Talk That Talk" and "Doggin' Around".

Funky cuts that have gotten plenty of spins in recent years – the kind of great grooves that were first dug up by the sampling crowd, but which have also gone onto have a rich new life in the hands of DJs around the globe! Some of the tracks here were hits back in the day, then fell into obscurity – others were almost-rans that have probably gotten even more attention in the past decade or two than they did back in the 70s – and together, all the work here sounds totally great – an overflowing bounty of rare funky numbers, all served up at one mighty nice price! Titles include "Seeing You Through The Eyes Of A Blindman" by Satisfaction Unlimited, "Ain't No Time Fa Nothing" by The Futures, "Don't Let It Go To Your Head" by Jean Carn, "Work To Do" by Average White Band, "Ali Shuffle" by Alvin Cash, "Shake A Leg" by Jackie Wilson, "Sittin On A Time Bomb" by Honey cone, "You Can't Have My Love" by The Jones Girls, "Picnic In The Park" by MFSB, "Don't Leave Me (inst)" by Holland Dozier Holland, and "That's All A Part Of Loving" by Strutt.

A great introduction to the amazing hardbop work recorded by Blue Note in the late 50s and 1960s – served up as a massive 2CD set filled with some of the label's most cooking classics! The sound here is always tight, right, and to the point – a key illustration of the care and focus that Blue Note brought to the studio when recording jazz work of this nature, which always helped them get the best work out of all players on the session. The 19 track collection is beautifully packaged with full notes and album cover images for each track – and a set of music that goes way past the hits, to feature real gems that include "The African Queen" by Horace Silver, "After The Rain" by Duke Pearson, "No Room For Squares" by Hank Mobley, "Mosaic" by Art Blakey, "Nite Flite" by Lee Morgan, "Footprints" by Wayne Shorter, "Easterly Winds" by Jack Wilson, "A Little Busy" by Art Blakey, "The Black Disciple" by Donald Byrd, "Una Muy Bonita" by Bobby Hutcherson, "Hootnan" by Jackie McLean, and "Hobo Joe" by Johhny Coles.

Stellar soul singles on Brunswick – nearly all of which come from the prime mid-to-late 60s period at the legendary Chicago label – with Jackie Wilson, Billy Butler, Barbara Acklin, Gene Chandler, Erma Franklin, Lavern Baker and many more! There's a tight focus here on mid-to-late 60s Brunswick – all of them great – and many are quite rare. There are some modest or regional hits in the set, but most might have been forgotten if not for the devotion of the Northern Soul scenes to come. It's got a number of uptempo stormers, midtempo groovers and some sweet surprises. Soul galore, indeed! Includes "Soul Galore" by Jackie Wilson, "Have More Time" by Marvin Smith, "Oh Linda" by Leroy Taylor, "I'll Bet You" by Billy Butler, "There Was A Time" by Gene Chandler, "Sweet, Sweet Revenge" by Alvin Valentine, "A Strange Way" by The Loreleis, "Just Ain't No Love" by Barbara Acklin, "I'm The Only One To Do It" by Lavern Baker, "California Montage" by Young-Holt Unlimited and many more.

One of the deepest-digging entries in the Super Funk series so far – a blistering batch of underground singles that serve up some of the roughest funk of their generation! We'll be honest in saying that we'd only heard a few of the tracks here before – and our hats are off to BGP for taking this already-great series and making it go even deeper – far past familiar funk classics that usually get showcased on the label, and much more into the realm of the crate-digging underground, or the ebay-rarity stratosphere! A handful of cuts here are previously unreleased – never even issued on wax back in the day – and the rest are all pretty darn hard to find too, and all plenty darn great from a musical perspective. The package features a whopping 21 tracks in all – including a rare 1970 funky remake of "Twine Time" by Alvin Cash, plus "Home Brew" by Miles Grayson, "Just Sitting" by Smithstonian, "Can't Get Enough" by 87th Off Broadway, "Hi Off Life" by Eternal Flames, "Give Me Another Chance" by The Uniques, "Hold On" by Lorenzo Holden, "Free The Soul Man" by La May & Company, "Little Boy Blue" by The Phillips Brothers, "You'd Be Good For Me" by Jeanette Jones, "Who Done It? Who Drained The Pool?" by Big Daddy Green, "Low Rider (Deuce & A Quarter)" by Smokey Wilson, "Can't Buy Soul" by Hebrew Rogers, "Shake A Leg" by Jackie Wilson, "Face To Face" by The Explosions, and "Turn Around & Go" by Lee Bernard.

One of the deepest-digging entries in the Super Funk series so far – a blistering batch of underground singles that serve up some of the roughest funk of their generation! We'll be honest in saying that we'd only heard a few of the tracks here before – and our hats are off to BGP for taking this already-great series and making it go even deeper – far past familiar funk classics that usually get showcased on the label, and much more into the realm of the crate-digging underground, or the ebay-rarity stratosphere! A handful of cuts here are previously unreleased – never even issued on wax back in the day – and the rest are all pretty darn hard to find too, and all plenty darn great from a musical perspective. The package features a whopping 21 tracks in all – including a rare 1970 funky remake of "Twine Time" by Alvin Cash, plus "Home Brew" by Miles Grayson, "Just Sitting" by Smithstonian, "Can't Get Enough" by 87th Off Broadway, "Hi Off Life" by Eternal Flames, "Give Me Another Chance" by The Uniques, "Hold On" by Lorenzo Holden, "Free The Soul Man" by La May & Company, "Little Boy Blue" by The Phillips Brothers, "You'd Be Good For Me" by Jeanette Jones, "Who Done It? Who Drained The Pool?" by Big Daddy Green, "Low Rider (Deuce & A Quarter)" by Smokey Wilson, "Can't Buy Soul" by Hebrew Rogers, "Shake A Leg" by Jackie Wilson, "Face To Face" by The Explosions, and "Turn Around & Go" by Lee Bernard.

A great little compilation – with exclusive material! This looks like a Pacific Jazz best of – but it's actually a special collection that features some tunes that never appeared on other records, played by some of the label's hippest soul jazz artists. Titles include "One More Hamhock Please" by a group that includes Les McCann, Curtis Amy, and Bobby Hutcherson; "Blowin The Blues" by Harold Land, Jackie Davis, and Gerald Wilson; Red Shirt" by Teddy Edwards, Hampton Hawes, and Jimmy Allen; and "Oatmeal" by Bobby Hutcherson, Les McCann, and Ron Jefferson.

Rare soul from Minneapolis – a surprisingly great source for grooves in the years before Prince and Morris Day! Turns out, the Twin Cities were already funky, way before the Purple One came into being – as you'll hear in this wealth of rare singles from the late 60s on up through the 70s – all of them mighty darn soulful, and most of them pretty dang funky as well! The wealth of work is really surprisingly – with strong echoes of styles going on in the Chicago and Detroit scenes at the time, but maybe even more surprising, given that Minneapolis/St Paul didn't have nearly the same amount of resources. The package is easily one of the best ever done by the Secret Stash label – a set that really ups the level of their reissues – with a motherlode of killer cuts that include "Love Me Leave Me" by The Valdons, "Sweet Smell Of Perfume" by Maurice McKinnies & The Champions, "Work Your Flapper (part 1)" by Jackie Harris & The Champions, "She's A Whole Lot's A Woman" by Mojo & His Chi 4, "I Ain't Gonna Cheat On You No More" by Willie Walker, "Save Me" by Wanda Davis, "Saxophone Disco" by Morris Wilson, "Honey From The Bee" by Willie & The Bumblebees, "The Max" by Prophets Of Peace, "Get Up" by The Lewis Connection, and "Rusty McDusty" by Morris Wilson.

The title's almost redundant – as the words "Westbound" and "Funk" mean virtually the same thing! From the late 60s through the mid 70s, Westbound was one of the key record labels in the sound of raw heavy funk – working with hit groups like Funkadelic and the Ohio Players to craft a sound that laid the blueprint for countless other groups of the time, and also featuring a wealth of obscurer artists with an even harder-hitting sound! The key styles of Westbound and related jazz label Eastbound were heavy and fuzzy ones – picking up off the heady and trippy styles of the late 60s Detroit scene, mixing things up with MC5 guitars, Norman Whitfield bass, and deep underground Tribe-styled jazz touches. This 20 track masterpiece is a brilliant summation of the important Westbound sound – and includes a few hits, some funky 45 classics, and an even bigger number of tracks we might not have heard otherwise! The notes are great, the tunes are super-funky, and the whole thing's one of the best funky collections you could ever hope to purchase. Titles include "You're Messing Up My Mind" by Albert Washington, "Back To Funk" by Robert Lowe, "You Caught Me Smilin" by The 19th Whole, "Conga Man" by King Errison, "Shake Your Head" by Spanky Wilson, "I Love You" by The Motivations, "I Don't Know What It Is But It Sure Is Funky" by Mighty Elegant, "Crazy Legs" by Donald Austin, "Stone Thing (part 1)" by Alvin Cash, "RPM" by Boots, "Funky World (part 1)" by Silky Vincent, "Get Funky Sweet A Little Bit" by Jackie Harris & The Exciters, "I'll Bet You" by Funkadelic, and "Why Not Start All Over Again" by The Counts.

A sublime album by one of our favorite talents in 60s jazz – pianist Jack Wilson, making his second Blue Note appearance here amidst a group of other more likely label players that include Lee Morgan on trumpet, Jackie McLean on alto, and Billy Higgins on drums! Despite the presence of those superstars, though, the album's still very much Wilson's own – featuring 4 tracks penned and played in his modally soulful vision, plus a great version of one tune by Frank Strozier – a player we'd find to be a very good companion to Wilson's style! The group's also noteworthy in that it features some excellent work from trombonist Garnett Brown – a player with a deeply soulful approach that adds in new dimensions to the tunes, and offsets the lightly lyrical touch of Wilson on the keys. The whole set's great – and titles include "Do It", "On Children", "Easterly Winds", "Nirvana", and "Frank's Tune".

A brilliant testament to the righteous power of soul music in the civil rights era – and key proof that even a subtle message could do a lot back in the day! The package presents the work in roughly chronological order – starting from a time when politics had to be peddled softly, and moving towards a time when things could be a bit more explicit – showing a great evolution of themes of pride and power, offered up in tunes both familiar and obscure. The collection is way more than a "hip hits of the 60s" sort of set – and acts almost as a mini-documentary of the contributions of soul music to civil rights – supported by a great set of notes and photos in the booklet. We're especially happy to see the track "Have You Ever Seen The Blues" by Yaphet Kotto – alongside 22 more titles that include "Blues For Mr Charlie" by Lou Gosset & Joe Lee Wilson, "The Ghetto" by Homer Banks, "We're A Winner" by The Impressions, "When Will We Be Paid" by The Staple Singers, "Oh Lord Why Lord" by Parliament, "Message From A Black Man" by The Spinners, "Run Charlie Run" by The Temptations, "Cryin In The Streets (parts 1 & 2)" by George Perkins & The Silver Stars, "Free At Last" by Jackie Day, "Someday We'll All Be Free" by Donny Hathaway, and "The Prayer" by Ray Scott.

Another chapter in the Studio One story, as told by the top notch selectors at Soul Jazz, and as with the earlier editions in their Studio One series, this one's another mighty batch of Jamaican rhythm and blues. Like so many other Coxsone Dodd productions, you can hear the foundations of many future generations of Jamaican music running through these titles, 17 jaunty ska numbers laced with jazz inflected solos laid down by Tommy McCook, Roland Alphonso, Jackie Mittoo and the Skatalites, or harmonized vocals courtesy the Ethiopians, Maytals and others. As you've come to expect, this is an ace package with excellent notes and archival photos, loaded down with classic performances and hard to get nuggets, too! With Jackie Mittoo's "El Bang Bang", Ken Boothe & Stranger Cole "Arte Bella", The Wailers "Put It On", The Skatalites "Addis Ababa" and "Exodus", Joe Higgs "I'm The Song My Enemies Sing", Delroy Wilson "I Want Justice", Tommy McCook "Sampson" and "Freedom Sounds", The Maytals "Marching On", Don Drummond "Don Cosmic", Andy & Joey "You're Wondering Now" and more!

Rare soul from Minneapolis – a surprisingly great source for grooves in the years before Prince and Morris Day! Turns out, the Twin Cities were already funky, way before the Purple One came into being – as you'll hear in this wealth of rare singles from the late 60s on up through the 70s – all of them mighty darn soulful, and most of them pretty dang funky as well! The wealth of work is really surprisingly – with strong echoes of styles going on in the Chicago and Detroit scenes at the time, but maybe even more surprising, given that Minneapolis/St Paul didn't have nearly the same amount of resources. The package is easily one of the best ever done by the Secret Stash label – a set that really ups the level of their reissues – with a motherlode of killer cuts that include "Love Me Leave Me" by The Valdons, "Sweet Smell Of Perfume" by Maurice McKinnies & The Champions, "Work Your Flapper (part 1)" by Jackie Harris & The Champions, "She's A Whole Lot's A Woman" by Mojo & His Chi 4, "I Ain't Gonna Cheat On You No More" by Willie Walker, "Save Me" by Wanda Davis, "Saxophone Disco" by Morris Wilson, "Honey From The Bee" by Willie & The Bumblebees, "The Max" by Prophets Of Peace, "Get Up" by The Lewis Connection, and "Rusty McDusty" by Morris Wilson.

The title's almost redundant – as the words "Westbound" and "Funk" mean virtually the same thing! From the late 60s through the mid 70s, Westbound was one of the key record labels in the sound of raw heavy funk – working with hit groups like Funkadelic and the Ohio Players to craft a sound that laid the blueprint for countless other groups of the time, and also featuring a wealth of obscurer artists with an even harder-hitting sound! The key styles of Westbound and related jazz label Eastbound were heavy and fuzzy ones – picking up off the heady and trippy styles of the late 60s Detroit scene, mixing things up with MC5 guitars, Norman Whitfield bass, and deep underground Tribe-styled jazz touches. This 20 track masterpiece is a brilliant summation of the important Westbound sound – and includes a few hits, some funky 45 classics, and an even bigger number of tracks we might not have heard otherwise! The notes are great, the tunes are super-funky, and the whole thing's one of the best funky collections you could ever hope to purchase. Titles include "You're Messing Up My Mind" by Albert Washington, "Back To Funk" by Robert Lowe, "You Caught Me Smilin" by The 19th Whole, "Conga Man" by King Errison, "Shake Your Head" by Spanky Wilson, "I Love You" by The Motivations, "I Don't Know What It Is But It Sure Is Funky" by Mighty Elegant, "Crazy Legs" by Donald Austin, "Stone Thing (part 1)" by Alvin Cash, "RPM" by Boots, "Funky World (part 1)" by Silky Vincent, "Get Funky Sweet A Little Bit" by Jackie Harris & The Exciters, "I'll Bet You" by Funkadelic, and "Why Not Start All Over Again" by The Counts.

A heady batch of soul from the Nashville scene – music from a place normally associated with country and western, but a surprisingly great source for funky sounds in the late 60s! Most of the cuts here appear to come from the Sound Stage Seven family of labels – music that still holds its southern roots, but which also has a feel that's a bit more upbeat, and sometimes more northern than other work of the time – especially given that the set's heavy on groovers for the dancefloor! Titles include "That One" by Fantastics, "Just Another Heartache" by Little Richie, "Breakaway" by Valentines, "Me & You" by The Fantastics, "Lover Come Back" by Jackie Beavers, "Suzy's Serenade" by Bob Wilson, "You're Gonna Need Me" by Ted Ford, "I Still Love You" by Ann Sexton, "Til I Get It Right" by Willie Hobbs, "If You Really Need A Friend" by Bobby Foster, and "Shake Off That Dream" by Eddie Billups.