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Group soul titans The Manhattans – still going strong at the end of the 70s & beginning of the 80s – a pair of underappreciated albums together in a single set! First up is 1981's Black Tie – recorded in Chicago with producer Leo Graham – who brings a somewhat polished groove to the proceedings, no less soulful and lacking no depth of emotion from the mighty Manhattans! Titles include "Just One Moment Away", "You Stand Out", "Let Your Love Come Down", "Honey Honey", "I Wanta Thank You", "Deep Water", "When I Leave Tomorrow" and more. The earlier album is up next – 1979's Love Talk – a wonderful blend of mellow harmony tracks and fuller, more upbeat Philly-styled tunes! It's all very much in the spirit of the group's first few albums for Columbia, and handled with a similar level of skill. The group had one of the most compelling, richest harmony styles of any 70s mainstream group – and if anything, the more they recorded, the more they made magic in the studio. Titles include "Devil In The Dark", "After You", "Love Talk", "We Tried", "That's Not Part Of The Show", "New York City", and a surprisingly palatable version of "The Way We Were/Memories".

A stone classic from The Manhattans – still going strong long into the 70s with a classic harmony approach! The title tune sets the whole album up perfectly – and is the kind of a sad, slow ballad that the group was always perfect at – a number that grabs you with a compelling title, and follows up with a sublime lyric that holds on for the entire track! The rest of the set follows in a similar sweet ballad mode – served up with impeccable Bobby Martin production that's smooth, yet still lets the vocals come to the forefront in a classic harmony mode. Titles include "There's No Good In Goodbye", "Share My Life", "Am I Losing You", "Happiness", "You're My Life", "Goodbye Is The Saddest Word", "Everybody Has A Dream", and "Movin".

The Manhattans were one of those groups who knocked around for years in the indie soul world – cutting some fantastic material early on, but then losing direction for a number of years until they sprung forth as a huge act for Columbia during the early 70s. By that time, the band had more than polished their harmonies – coming up with an incredible style that was sweet and smooth, yet still undeniably soulful and human, especially on the ballads that were their specialty. Titles on this set include "Kiss & Say Goodbye", "It Feels So Good To Be Loved So Bad", "Shinging Star", and "Crazy".

Titles include "Don't Let Go", "I Won't Stop", "Why You Wanna Love Me Like That", "Try Love Again", "Just A Matter Of Time", and "Hot Like An Oven".

Great later work from The Manhattans – an album that's perhaps the group's last big commercial effort, but a set that also has all the depth of some of their older harmony classics too! There's a touch of 80s groove in the mix at points, but the vocals are mostly the main attraction here – still wonderfully crafted, with that "cut above" quality that helped The Manhattans set a whole new standard for male group soul during their Columbia years – especially on ballads! Things are tight, but never too slick – a balance that few older groups could ever hit this well during the early 80s – and titles include the single "Crazy", plus great slow jams that include "Just The Lonely Talking Again", "Start All Over Again", "Forever By Your Side", "Lover's Paradise", "Love Is Gonna Find You", and "I'm Ready To Love You Again" – plus the groover "Locked Up In Your Love".

The Enjoy Records Story – but from the early days, when the label was a powerhouse outlet for R&B, blues, and early soul music – years before they also started cutting hip hop as well! The tracks here are all a great illustration of the keen ear of the imprint, and their strong focus on a few key acts who could really knock it out of the park – music that made Enjoy a key player at the start of the soul years of the 60s – even though some of its best artists went onto later fame at bigger labels. The collection is the best we've ever seen on Enjoy during these seminal years – and features a whopping 36 cuts that include "People Sure Act Funny" by Titus Turner, "Hoop & Holler" by Riff Ruffin, "I Believe To My Soul" by Louis Jones, "What Ya Gonna Do" by Noble Watts & June Bateman, "Get It" by Jay Dee Bryant, "Let's Do The Boston Monkey" by Les Cooper, "Don't Lie" by Sammy Taylor, "Sad Song" by The Channes, "Long Time No See" by Ronnie & The Manhattans, "Hot Potato" by The Rinky Dinks, "Ain't Nobody's Business" by Mary B, "It Hurts Me So" by Elmore James, "Soul Twist" by King Curtis, and "What Shall I Do" by Gladys Knight & The Pips.

A pair of overlooked gems from Ronnie Dyson – both of which show there's way more to love than just his early hits! On Love In All Flavors, Ronnie's older than during his falsetto soul early years – and he's working here with some impeccably mature Chicago soul arrangements by Gene Barge, Gene Page, and Richard Evans. The album's produced by the always-great modern soul dynamic duo of Chuck Jackson and Marvin Yancey (ex-Independents), and it's got an approach that mixes deeply soulful vocals with smoother backings, kind of in the same mode that The Manhattans were using, but with a bit more of a modern tip that points towards the Capitol work by the Jackson/Yancey team. Tracks include "I Want To Be Where You Are", "Sara Smile", "Don't Be Afraid", "I Just Want To Be There", and "Ain't Nothing Wrong". On More You Do It, Dyson works with the 70s hit soul team of Chuck Jackson and Marvin Yancy – the pair who brought great sound to Natalie Cole, and who work some similar magic with Ronnie! The album was recorded in Chicago – partially at Curtom – and has arrangements from Gene Barge, Gene Page, and Richard Evans – all of whom bring a fullness to the record that's a nice change from Dyson's more fragile work of earlier years. Some of the best cuts have a gentle midtempo groove that's almost like Leroy Hutson – warm, and never slick – very personal, and stepping along nicely. Titles include "The More You Do It", "You & Me", "Jive Talkin", "Close To You", "Love Won't Let Me Wait", and "Lovin Feelin".

Harmony heaven – a pair of Little Anthony & The Imperials albums together in a single set, with some sweet bonus tracks too! On A New Street is wonderful work from Little Anthony – and a great update to his smooth 60s harmony sound with The Imperials! Anthony wisely employs the use of two of 70s top harmony arrangers on the album – using Thom Bell on one side, and Teddy Randazzo on the other – both of whom really help take the group to a whole new level! The Thom Bell material fits perfectly with his work with The Stylistics from the same time, and the cuts have a wonderfully mellow east coast harmony style that's quite different than Anthony's earlier work. Teddy Randazzo does a pretty nice job, too – but with a fuller sound too, almost in a Manhattans mode that makes for a nice change from the previous fragility of Anthony's vocals. Titles include "I Don't Have Time To Worry", "That's What Love is All About", "I'm Falling In Love with You", "Heartache Never Entered My Mind", and "The Loneliest House on the Block". Also features an alternate take on "La La La At The End". Hold On has Little Anthony & The Imperials really hitting some great Philly modes – working with help from Tony Bell and Phil Hurtt, and getting lots of sweet backing from the Sigma Studio team – all in a mode that rivals some of the bigger soul group work of the 70s! The vibe's got a bit of Spinners in the mix, but still also holds on to the more fragile style that made The Imperials so great – especially on the mellower cuts, which have Anthony's voice cracking in that completely wonderful, very human way. But like Eddie Holman on Salsoul, he can also really shine on the clubbier cuts too – and the blend makes for a mighty compelling album from the group! Titles include "Hold On", "You Are The World To Me", "Promise Me", "I've Got To Let You Go", and "Back Where You Belong". CD also features some bonus cuts – "Hold On (stereo single mix)", "I've Got To Let You Go (stereo single)", "I've Got To Let You Go (stereo)", and "I've Got To Let You Go (mono short version)".

A great step forward for The Main Ingredient – a record that's still got all the harmony soul charm of their earlier work for RCA, but with a tighter feel overall – one that has them moving into the same mature group soul mode as The Manhattans over at Columbia! Production and arrangements are by Cuba Gooding and Luther Simmons of the group, with some help from Rene Hall on arrangements too – and the sound is polished, but never slick – a tightening up of the early 70s group soul sound, but in ways that sparkle even more than before! Titles include "Shame On The World", "Let Me Prove My Love To You", "Over You", "Old Greyhound", "Jamaica", "Put Your Love In My Hands", and "Lillian".