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An even cooler record than before from Jungle By Night – a set that still has lots of Afro Funk elements at its core, but which brings them together in some really unique ways! Some of the rhythms are nicely offbeat – not straight, and sometimes moving in weird patterns that really start the tunes off well – getting past easy expectations as the group's instrumental flurry comes into play – tight horns, heavy percussion, and these keyboards that have ways of making sounds that are sometimes a bit unusual. All instrumental – and titles include "Rangda", "Cyclin", "Dawn", "Gallow Street 34", "Night Fight", "Ethiopino", and "The Past Is History".

An even cooler record than before from Jungle By Night – a set that still has lots of Afro Funk elements at its core, but which brings them together in some really unique ways! Some of the rhythms are nicely offbeat – not straight, and sometimes moving in weird patterns that really start the tunes off well – getting past easy expectations as the group's instrumental flurry comes into play – tight horns, heavy percussion, and these keyboards that have ways of making sounds that are sometimes a bit unusual. All instrumental – and titles include "Rangda", "Cyclin", "Dawn", "Gallow Street 34", "Night Fight", "Ethiopino", and "The Past Is History".

A key 70s moment of pride for the New York Latin scene – and one of a number of crucial live sets cut by the legendary Fania All Stars! The group were invited to play a three day music festival in Zaire in 1974 – timed to coincide with the Rumble In The Jungle Ali/Foreman fight – and after blowing the crowd away on the first night of the festival, they took the stage again for a massive encore on the last night – recorded here in all its glory! The energy of the set is amazing – as some of New York's greatest Latin artists of the time rock the house in front of a crowd of 80,000 Africans – creating a cultural exchange that should have made the State Department blush. Numbers include "En Orbita", "Guantanamera", "Quimbara", "El Raton", "Mi Gente", and "Ponte Duro". Package includes the full original film, plus lots of bonus footage that's extra-cool – including some great location shots in Zaire! Also features the full album on CD - but with more cuts than the film!

The 2 fantastic albums Shorty Long cut for Soul/Motown – '68's funky Here Comes The Judge & '69's soulful Prime Of Shorty Long – a perfect pair, put together with 2 bonus tracks and great notes by the rare soul-reverent heroes at Kent UK! The CD kicks off with the Here Come The Judge – a fantastic album of funky soul – actually only one of two albums he cut – and the only one that was issued before his untimely early death – a killer batch of tracks that mix together funk, Detroit soul, and a great sense of humor! The album kicks off with Shorty's hit single "Here Comes The Judge", a funky musical version of the "judge" routine that had been knocking around the Chittlin Circuit comedy scene for years, particularly in the work of Pigmeat Markham. The album also features Shorty's legendary "soul party" cut, "Function At The Junction", plus lots of other tasty numbers like "Night Fo Last" (done in vocal and instrumental versions)", "Here Comes Fat Albert", "Stranded In the Jungle", "Don't Mess With My Weekend", "Ain't No Justice", and "Sing What You Wanna". The Prime Of Shorty Long is a beautiful album from Shorty – issued shortly after his early death from drowning at the age of 29 – and an amazing document of the mighty soul powers he would have had in years to come! There's a depth here that Shorty never had before – a sense of power and righteousness that comes through not just in the vocals, but in the construction of the songs as well – very tight, with a musical vision that shows a sense of pride and power that was never present in Long's earlier singles. Paul Riser handled the arrangements, in a way that really illustrates that cresting Motown intensity at the start of the 70s – and titles include "Whiter Shade Of Pale", "Baby Come Home To Me", "When You Are Available", "The Deacon Work", "Give Me Some Air", "I Had A Dream", and "I Wish You Were Here". CD also features 2 bonus tracks – "Mobile Lil The Dancing Witch" (previously unissued stereo mix) and "Chantilly Lace" (previously unissued stereo alternative version).

Badass sounds brewed up in the border town of El Paso – amazing guitar-driven gems recorded for a handful of indie labels in the late 50s and early 60s – served up here with wonderfully great sound, and a full set of notes as well! The set's a stunning volume in Norton's deep-digging project on the El Paso scene – and it's really rich with discoveries throughout – loads of rough-edged rockers that lie somewhere in a space between rockabilly and 60s garage – every one a treasure. Titles include "Across The Bay" by Joe Richie, "Lonely Before Dawn" by Night People, "I Love You Baby" by The Ravons, "Cradle Rock" by Rhythm Heirs, "Long Grey Highway" by Frank Thayer & The Lyonals, "Sarah Jane" by Don Orr & The Original Rockets, "Lonely Teardrops" by The Fortunes, "Jungle Bunny" and "Bacardi" by Jerry Bell & The Original Rockets.

Badass sounds brewed up in the border town of El Paso – amazing guitar-driven gems recorded for a handful of indie labels in the late 50s and early 60s – served up here with wonderfully great sound, and a full set of notes as well! The set's a stunning volume in Norton's deep-digging project on the El Paso scene – and it's really rich with discoveries throughout – loads of rough-edged rockers that lie somewhere in a space between rockabilly and 60s garage – every one a treasure. Titles include "Across The Bay" by Joe Richie, "Lonely Before Dawn" by Night People, "I Love You Baby" by The Ravons, "Cradle Rock" by Rhythm Heirs, "Long Grey Highway" by Frank Thayer & The Lyonals, "Sarah Jane" by Don Orr & The Original Rockets, "Lonely Teardrops" by The Fortunes, "Jungle Bunny" and "Bacardi" by Jerry Bell & The Original Rockets.

A long-overdue collection of work from the legendary Jack Arel – one of the lesser-known sound library composers of the late 60s and early 70s – but a true giant in his funky field, as you'll hear by the great music on this set! Arel is French, but he often wrote for British sources – including the Prisoner TV show – so his music has a great blend of Parisian pop modes and chunkier London beats – a style that almost mixes together some of the funkier jazz sensibilities of the sound library generation with the tighter, more romping rhythms that were usually penned for TV and commercial use. The first half of this set features 25 originals by Arel – some in collaboration with Pierre Dutor or Jean-Claude Petit – and often done with trippier touches that include fuzzy guitar or funky flute! The second half features remixes of the originals – tunes that are often a bit longer, and almost restructured as whole new songs. Originals include "Shore Of Sumatra", "Sideral Rhythmic", "De Paris A Liverpool", "Jungle Soul", "Game Trap", "Picture Of Summer", "Train Bleu", "Strange Galaxy", and "Sundown". Remixes include "Drugstore Party" remixed by Le Tone, "Jungle Soul" remixed by Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra, "The Night Squad" by Danny Wild & Goldfinger, "Loco Robo" by Luke Vibert, "Chicago Girl" remixed by Barth, "Electric Railman" remixed Mowo, and "Crystal Abyss" by Telepopmusik.

Produced by Speech of Arrested Development. 15 tracks in all, including "A free Soul", "The Jungle", "Basement Music", "Ya Know", "Big Bowl Of Life" and "Last Night".

The dreamy vocals and exotica arrangements of Exotic Dream by singer Ethel Azama and the "primitive" sounds of Mganga! by Tak Shindo – back-to-back in a single set! Ethel is a Hawaiian native jazz and cabaret singer from the 50s onward, gamely rolling with the exotica style of the time for this, her first LP – a nice mix of material that ranges from dreamy jazz pop with exotica flourishes, to more percussive gems. There's lots of vibes in the arrangements, which is something we never complain about, and the titles include "Two Ladies In De Shade Of De Banana Tree", "Shady Lady Bird", "Green Fire", "Speak Low", "Mountain High, Valley Low", "Nightingale", "Lazy Afternoon", "Autumn Leaves" and more. Tak Shindo turns in some of his best work ever on this "primitive" album of percieved jungle music – rawly rollicking percussion, eerie wordless vocals, effective use of woodwinds, replicated nature sounds and other evocative touches! Titles include "Mombasa Love Song", "Safari To Kenya", "Nyoba Festival", "Mganga!", "Mwanza Market Palce", "Port Of Trinkitat" and more. 24 tracks in all!

Way more than you'd expect from the title and cover – not a batch of familiar disco hits, but a treasure trove of club classics from the early 80s! Sure, some of the artists here are familiar – but most of them are from the indie side of the spectrum, and even the few big stars are represented by either non-hit tracks, or hard to find remixes that make this collection well worth seeking out! And given the early 80s focus of the track selection, there's less disco here than 80s groove and boogie-styled rhythms – heavy on the beats and keyboards, and still filled with plenty of great vocals. 20 tracks on 2CDs – with titles that include "Dreamer (long vocal)" by BB&Q Band, "Nights Of Pleasure (Nick Martinelli mix)" by Loose Ends, "You Can't Run From My Love" by Stephanie Mills, "I'm Out To Catch" by Leon Haywood, "Just Another Lover (12" mix)" by Johnny Kemp, "Fall Down" by Tramaine, "I Feel For You (12" mix)" by Chaka Khan, "Got To Be Real" by Selection, "Garden Of Eve (long)" by Yvonne Gage, "The Rhythm Of The Jungle" by The Quick, "Burnin Love" by Con Funk Shun, "I Need You" by Network, "Love Take Over" by Five Star, and "To Be With You" by Maxx Traxx.