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Fully righteous work from singer Maxine Weldon – working here with bigger backings from Ernie Wilkins that mix in a bit of blues, soul, and funk! The style's never too polished, and almost has a similar feel to some of Esther Phillips' work on the Kudu label during the early 70s – soulful vocals at the lead, backed by some hip jazz and electric instrumentation from players who include Blue Mitchell and Bobby Bryant on trumpet, Hadley Caliman and Ernie Watts on tenor and flute, George Bohannon on trombone, and Freddy Robinson on guitar. Titles include "Don't Make Promises", "Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye", "Country Son", "I'll Remember Today", "Fire & Rain", "I Who Have Nothing", and "Ain't Got Nobody".

Jazz, soul, and a whole lot more – even a rare psychedelic track from the vaults of Mainstream Records – all brought together in one of the most dynamic entries we've ever seen in the Free Soul series! The cuts here go way past the obvious, and way past the familiar – and the genre-hopping approach is a great reminder that the Mainstream label had a heck of a lot more to offer than just some of its famous funky jazz classics. And as always, Free Soul compiler Toru Hashimoto does a great job of digging up and bringing the music together in ways that really sets unlocks its magic – a whole new way of looking at Mainstream, and one that's really helped us get a new sort of appreciation for the label! CD features 23 tracks, and nearly 80 minutes of music – titles that include "Four" by Jeannie Trevor, "Fuit Of The Desert" by Orient Express, "I Want You Back" by Bobby Shad & The Bad Men, "My Heart Said" by Emily Yancy, "Inner City Blues" by Sarah Vaughan, "Soul Makossa" by Afrique, "The Sweetest Sounds" by Carmen McRae, "Down Yonder" by David Young, "Sound Song" by Barry Miles, "I Just Want To Be There" by Jay Berliner, "Hard Hard Promises" by Alice Clark, "Make It With You" by Maxine Weldon, "Moonlight Serenade" by Jeannie Trevor, "Fly Me To The Moon" by Gloria Coleman, and "What's Going On" by Charles McPherson.

A profoundly funky Message – a smoking set of early 70s funky jazz & heavy soul from the Mainstream Records vaults – a diverse set of incredible recordings from the label that may be fairly sprawling in style, yet holds together thanks to shared funky urgency! It's filled with Bob Shad productions for his stellar Mainstream roster, which at the time included a host of far reaching jazz veterans, soulful chanteuses, and killer funky combos – including Afrique, Blue Mitchell, Sarah Vaughn, Alice Clark, Charles Kynard and many more! The session players reads like a heavyweight jazz title card itself, with Don Pullen, Stanley Clarke, George Cables, Joe Sample, Victor Feldman and more. The set features a very well chosen 18 tracks, with solid notes on each by Dean Rudand. Titles include "House Of Rising Funk" by Chubukos, "Soul Makossa" by Afrique, "The Message" by Blue Mitchell, "Funky Butt" by The Delegates", "Never Did I Stop Loving You" by Alice Clark, "I Want You Back" by Bobby Shad & The Bad Men, "Grits Ain't Groceries" by Maxine Weldon, "The Spirit" by Curtis Fuller", "Bacon Butt Fat" by Charles Williams and more.