All Categories — All Formats  

Definite gold from Liquid Blue – an obscure indie group from the 70s, but one with a tight sound that should have made them huge! The style here is partly soul and funk, partly smoother AOR crossover material – but served up with a nice indie vibe that still keeps things fresh, and which makes the album feel more like a blue-eyed soul effort than anything else! There's a warm So-Cal vibe to the whole thing – rhythms heavy with keyboards and tight guitar bits – and the vocals are often compressed down nicely into the mix, making for a mighty smooth groove overall. Titles include "Ain't That What You Want", "Papa Do Right", "Girl Of A Million Dreams", "Abuse Me", "Go For It", and "Big Money".

Easy listening, but done the KPM Sound Library way – which means that most of the cuts here have a great undercurrent of funk! Given that KPM often employed the same artists who recorded the style of funky easy featured on the famous Sound Gallery compilations, you can bet that this set's a wicked winner – none of the sleepy sounds you'd get from American easy listening, and instead plenty of cool keyboards, slinky rhythms, and sweetly jazzy instrumentation – the best modes learned by the sound library scene in the 60s, taken here to some warmer 70s territory! Titles include "Airport People" by James Clarke, "Finding My Feet" by Steve Gray, "Scenic Route" by Dick Doerschuk, "Scenic Journey" by Keith Mansfield, "Summer Setting" by Keith Mansfield, "Light Preparation" by Nick Ingman, "Natural Blonde" by David Gold, "Sun Goddess" by Keith Mansfield, "Just Another Day" by David Lindup, "Sweet Summer" by Alan Parker, and "Liquid Sunshine" by John Cameron.

A Shaolin hip hop essential! Heavy numerological rhymes, and the best production on any Wu project (still to this day, even). Probably our favorite LP in the entire Wu pantheon, and next to Enter The Wu Tang, one of the few that plays solidly from start to finish. 2013 Record Store Day edition includes a full chess set! 14 tracks in all: "Labels", "Cold World", "Shadowboxin", "Liquid Swords", "Living In The World Today", "Killah Hills 10304", "Investigative Reports", "Gold", "Duel Of The Iron Mic", "4th Chamber", "Hell's Wind Staff", "Unexplained", "Swordsman" and "I Gotcha Back".

A Shaolin hip hop essential! Heavy numerological rhymes, and the best production on any Wu project (still to this day, even). Probably our favorite LP in the entire Wu pantheon, and next to Enter The Wu Tang and a few of the other firstline efforts, it's a work of greatness from start to finish. 14 tracks on the original classic album: "Labels", "Cold World", "Shadowboxin", "Liquid Swords", "Living In The World Today", "Killah Hills 10304", "Investigative Reports", "Gold", "Duel Of The Iron Mic", "4th Chamber", "Hell's Wind Staff", "Unexplained", "Swordsman" and "I Gotcha Back". Chess Box edition also includes the full instrumentals on a bonus CD, plus extended liner notes – and a miniature chess set!

Legendary work from Goldwax Records – pulled from a stretch when the Memphis imprint was really going strong! By the time of these tracks, Goldwax was really coming into their own – picking up some of the best soul currents of the Memphis scene – and rivaling the Stax/Volt powerhouse in terms of quality – especially on the deep soul tracks that Goldwax seemed to do better than anyone else! This 2CD package is a wonderful overview of these golden years for the label – and it features every single single, both a and b-sides intact – presented with detailed notes on each release. Some of the work is the stuff of Memphis soul legend – mixed in with some more unusual, lesser-known bits from the scene – including a few rock, blues, and country numbers as well. 54 tracks in all – with titles that include "Anything You Do Is Alright" by Spencer Wiggins, "Don't You Believe Him" by Ivory Joe Hunter, "Cry Me A Hand Full" by The Terrys, "Say You Need It" by Barbara Perry, "Lovable Girl" by James Carr, "When You Look In The Mirror" by Eddie Jefferson, "What Time Ye Got" by Gene Bowlegs Miller, "Little Things" by Jeannie Newman, "Forgetting You" by James Carr, "Hello Daughter" by Leroy Daniel, "I Can't Forget You" by The Yo Yos, "Good Times" by George & Greer, "Walking Out On You" by Spencer Wiggins, "Qualifications" by The Ovations, "Liquid Mood" by Timmy Thomas, "Call On Me" by Percy Milem, "Me & My Imagination" by The Ovations, and "The Wife Of The Life Of The Party" by Kathy Davis.