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A motherlode of mid-to-late 60s Killer – 5 whole albums for Smash Records – I'm On Fire, Return Of Rock, Memphis Beat, Soul My Way and Together (with Linda Gail Lewis) – in a 2CD set! The heart of the collection are the records Jerry Lee cut for Smash from '65-'67 – and they're classic to us, but actually quite overlooked in the canon – with some blistering takes on Memphis rock, soul and boogie woogie – great records that didn't sell a ton of copies at the time, leading up to his stellar run as a country music star. It also includes '69's I'm On Fire compilation of singles from the earlier 60s, and his decent country duets album with sister Linda Gail Lewis. 58 songs and almost 2 1/2 hours of vintage Jerry Lee Lewis! Includes "Memphis Beat", "I'm On Fire", "This Must Be The Place", "Hit The Road Jack", "Flip, Flop And Fly", "Baby, Hold Me Close", "Sexy Ways", "Mathilda", "Sticks And Stones", "Big Boss Man", "The Urge", "Shotgun Man", "I Bet You're Gonna Like It", "Secret Places", "Jackson", "We Live In Two Different Worlds" and many more!

Arizona funk from George Bowman and his Memphis Soul – recorded at Phoenix's Audio Recorders studio in the late 60s – completely unreleased until now by Numero! "Don't Down Me People" is purely funky on a couple levels, most notably via the JB-schooled vocals by guitarist/singer/songwriter Mr. Bowman, along with some horn blasts and staggering drums. Those drums purportedly come courtesy of Rodney Brown of Dyke & The Blazers, which certainly makes some sense. The guitar dynamic is what really stands out, though – the riff is unshakable!

A mind-expanding look at Memphis soul – one that gets way past common cliches about the city and its music! There's a heavy dose of funk in the mix on most numbers here – a gritty, fuzzy approach to the music that seems slightly borrowed from the Detroit scene at the end of the 60s – then mixed with some rougher, rootsier southern soul styles too! But other tracks take on a more sophisticated sound too – some of the righteous elements that hit Stax in the post-1968 period, especially as Isaac Hayes and David Porter were working on their own great solo work. Yet unlike Hayes and Porter, most of the artists here are much lesser-known – singers and groups who never charted big, but who got the chance to record for Memphis labels like XL, Stax, Select-O-Hits, and Sounds Of Memphis. CD features 20 tracks in all – and titles include "Dig It" by The Optimistics, "Mississippi Mud" by Smithsonian, "Two Paces Ahead Of Love" by Willie Walker, "Pullin" by The Minits, "It's Bump Time" by Gene Bowlegs Miller, "Blackrock Yeah Yeah" by Blackrock, "Keep The Faith" by Mel & Tim, "Watch Dog (alt)" by Barbara & The Browns, "Come What May" by John Gary Williams, "Strange Things" by Art Jerry Miller, "Shake" by The Ovations, "Tip Toeing" by Alvin Cash, "The Way Of Me" by Hannon, "Take A Giant Step" by LaCleve Milon, "Papa Killed A Chicken" by Willie Toliver, and "Don't Boom Boom" by Lillian Hale.

Deep southern soul from the Sounds Of Memphis label – with some incredible stuff that for the most part never has seen official light of day before now – compiled by Dean Rudland for Kent UK! Kent has mined the vaults of Sounds Of Memphis for a series of solid compilations, and it's surprising how much more continues to be discovered considering the continual high quality! A solid majority of the tracks are prime 60s & 70s southern soul – with some early 80s records later on on the set that with a contemporary sound, though still committed to a true soul style! Includes "Pity A Fool" by Carl Sims, "I Don't Want No One Way Love" by Dan Greer, "Stop Boy" by Fran Farley, "So Cruel" by Barbara And The Browns, "Teardrops" by William Bollinger, "Play The Game (Pt 2)" by Version, "Make It Easy On Yourself" by Demetrius, "When I Look Inside" by Takelia Kelly, "It's Hard To Say No" by George Jackson & Linda Lucchesi, "Save My Love" by Billy Cee & The Freedom Express and more.

More than a decade's worth of music from the legendary Hi Records – and a great little set that goes way past the hits – and uncovers some overlooked singles from the legendary Memphis label! The cuts were chosen by Jaffa – who makes this Backbeats series look so great – and he's definitely got a great eye for an obscure single, especially the sort that shows us that Hi was even still great right around the fringes! Titles include "Pour On The Loving" by Jean Plum, "You Brought The Sun Back Into My Life" by Quiet Elegance with Dan Greer, "Back Into Your Heart" by Majik, "Happy" by Al Green, "Love Makes The World Go Round" by Willie Walker, "Mama Said" by Quiet Elegance, "Still Around" by James Fry, "Stepchild" by Veniece, "Ain't That Sharing My Love" by The Melodics, "I'm Gonna Stay" by Jean Plum, "What Made You Change Your Mind" by Eddie McGee, "It's You That I Need" by The Duncan Sisters, "Slidin In & Out" by The Memphians, "Love Trap" by Bobby McClure, "You Gotta Have Love" by OV Wright, and "Where's Your Love Been" by Donna Rhodes.

One of the greatest and most historically important compilations ever put together by our friends at Light In The Attic – the first ever (!!!) anthology devoted to Stax sax great Charles "Packy" Axton! Packy was a founding member of the Mar-Keys and a cat who played with the best of them – Steve Cropper, Booker T, Teenie Hodges, Donald "Duck" Dunn and many more – all of whom can be heard on this mindblowing set of benchmark vocal and instrumental singles from the mid 60s – truly the blueprint material for the great Stax and all around Memphis soul to come! It features singles cut for labels such as USA, Bar, Hollywood and Pure Soul – soul/R&B vocal numbers and proto-funky instrumentals. Amazing, amazing stuff recorded at Royal and Ardent Studios with some of the greatest soul music players to ever come together – so highly recommended! Includes "Holiday Cheer", "Bullseye", "Hung Over", "I'll Always Love" and "Late Late Party" by The Martinis, "No Ending" and "No Love Have I" by Stacy Lane, "House Full Of Rooms", "Out Of Control" and "I'm A Fool (In Love)" by LH & The Memphis Sounds, "Stone Fox", "Hip Pocket" and "Greasy Pumpkin" by The Pac-Keys, and "Hole In The Wall" by The Packers. 17 tracks in all – treated beautifully by team LITA – with a thick booklet of notes (by Andria Lisle) and full of vintage photos of the players, shots of the inner labels of the original singles, details for each track and more.

One of the best instrumental records to come out of Memphis, and a real kicker by the funky band that went down with Otis Redding in the tragic plane crash in 1968! The leadoff track is the group's amazing hit "Soul Finger", a stormin' instrumental with a wailing brassy sound that influenced a generation with its "charge" kind of groove. Lots of other nice ones, too – like "Bar-Kays Boogaloo", "Knucklehead", "Theme From Hell's Angels", and "Pearl High". The best of the best of Stax helped out, too!

One of the earliest albums on Hi Records – and a full set of heavy instrumentals from the Bill Black Combo! The groove is more R&B than Memphis soul – and is especially heavy on the sorts of rolling rhythms you'd hear from New Orleans – a sound that had obviously filtered north, and which at this time was still helping the Tennessee scene find its groove. Yet there's some definite Memphis touches going in here too – especially in the basslines and guitar, and a bit in the tenor solos – which can be nice and biting, with plenty of soul! Titles include "Smokie (parts 1 & 2)", "Cyclone Boy", "Dee J Special", "Anytime", "Before Dawn", "Special Duty", and "Crankcase". CD features two bonus tracks too – "Smokie (part 2) (stereo)", and "Smokie (part 2) (alternate version)".

Sublime sounds from Booker T & The MGs – the group's first five albums, laid out in one totally package! The progression in Memphis soul here is wonderful – as the package starts with the initial Green Onions set – a record that grew out of a famous jam from Book and the group in the studio – then moves through Soul Dressing, And Now, Hip Hug Her, and Doin Our Thing – records that get funkier and funkier at each new spin – showing how the group really tightened up their style, and helped transform the sound of instrumental soul in the process! Loads of great Hammond from Booker T, mixed with killer guitar from Steve Cropper – and a motherlode of great cuts that include "Green Onions", "Comin Home Baby", "Can't Be Still", "Home Grown", "Think", "Soul Jam", "Taboo", "One Mint Julep", "Plum Nellie", "Outrage", "Night Owl Walk", "Double Or Nothing", "Sunny", "Pigmy", "Slim Jenkins Place", "Hip Hug Her", "Soul Sanction", "The Beat Goes On", "Blue Or Green", "Ode To Billie Joe", "Never My Love", and "I Can Dig It". All albums in tiny LP sleeves too!

A great little album from Booker T & The MGs – recorded in the post Green Onions years, at a time when the group was really coming together – with a tightness that perfectly illustrates their sublime Memphis instrumental groove! The album's heavy on guitar and organ, as you'd expect – that great Booker/Steve Cropper sound that can't be denied – and there's a rawness here that you don't get as much in later years – more of a funky 45 vibe that really keeps things fresh! Titles include a few nice originals – like "Soul Jam" and "My Sweet Potato" – but ever the covers sound pretty darn great, with a lot more imagination than the usual instrumental filler. As proof, there's a killer version of "Summertime", with a nice modal groove, plus nice takes on "Think" and "Working In A Coal Mine".

A legendary album of Memphis soul – and a full length set that helped redefine the sound of instrumental music in the 60s! The record's a monumental follow-up to Booker T & The MGs' huge hit single "Green Onions" – an extremely seductive organ-based instrumental that the band cooked up while just messing around in the studio – and it's filled with other organ-heavy grooves played by this tight Memphis quartet – a group who were just starting out at this point, but already had a sound that's unlike anyone else! The work of Booker T is especially nice – Hammond with a bit more punch than other combos of this nature – backed by some wicked guitar from Steve Cropper, bass from Lewis Steinberg, and drums from Al Jackson. The set features a nice mix of covers and original tunes – with titles that include "Green Onions", "I Got A Woman", "Twist & Shout", "Lonely Avenue", "Comin Home Baby", "Mo Onions", "Behave Yourself", and "Rinky Dink". CD features two bonus live tracks from 1965 – versions of "Green Onions" and "Can't Sit Down".

A great little record from Booker T and group – often overlooked amidst the range between Green Onions and Melting Pot, but a very strong album of soulful Memphis instrumentals all the way through! Book's organ is bubbling hot, and the band's tight rhythm style works in a perfect laid-back mode to push the group way past the stock grooves of earlier albums – thanks to great work from the rest of the combo too. There's some mighty nice rhythm changes on this one, and a good range of non-pop tunes like "Night Owl Walk", "Chinese Checkers", "Soul Dressing", "Tic Tac Toe", "Outrage", "Home Grown", "Big Train", "Jelly Bread", and "Plum Nellie".

Damn amazing work from Charles Bradley – an instant soul classic for all generations, as you'll hear from the very first note! Not only are Bradley's vocals incredible – the kind of once-in-a-long-time approach he brought to his debut – but the backings and production are completely sublime too – magical music from the Menahan Street Band, who sound here like some lost combo from 60s Memphis, but without any of the hoke that reference might imply – instead that really unique approach that you'd only find on one of your few favorite vintage soul albums – maybe Bobby Taylor & The Vancouvers, or Jesse James on his 60s album for 20th Century! Yet the sound here isn't just vintage for vintage sake, either – as there's an intensity that's very present, contemporary, and urgent – a sound that doesn't die – and which just gets better and better with each new listen. Tremendous stuff – even from the Daptone universe we've been loving for years and years – with titles that include "Strictly Reserved For You", "You Put The Flame On It", "Dusty Blue", "Love Bug Blues", "Hurricane", "Through The Storm", "Confusion", and "Where Do We Go From Here".

The only full album ever cut by Tina Britt – a great female soul singer who really should have scored big with work like this! Tina was a discovery of Juggy Murray – the Sue Records soul powerhouse who'd helped set fire in the careers of Inez Foxx, Baby Washington, and Tina Turner – and who seemed about to do the same thing with his great work producing this excellent little set. For the record, Juggy combines some of the grittier sounds of his work on Sue with the deeper soul touches that were coming from the southern scene of the time – and he sets Tina up with a great batch of material heavy on influences from Memphis and Muscle Shoals. One of the tracks are originals, but Tina sings them as if they were her own – and titles include "Key To the Highway", "Hawg For You", "My Lover's Prayer", "Who Was That", and "You Ain't Nothing But In The Way". CD adds in 8 more bonus tracks – 3 previously unreleased – with titles that include "It's My Thing", "He Put The Hurt On Me", "Look", "You're Absolutely Right", "Teardrops Fell Every Step Of The Way", "I Found A New Love", and "The Real Thing".

A smoking live set from the Butterfield Blues Band – and like all the group's work, as much of a jazz and soul album as a blues one! Butterfield drew his inspiration from the Chicago bluesmen, it's true – but his style also has plenty of echoes of New Orleans soul, Memphis R&B, and other strands of American work – in a mode that's quite similar to some of the changes that were going on in the British beat group scene at the end of the 60s. The lineup here features some really nice touches on sax from Trevor Lawrence and Gene Dinwiddie – and the live setting only seems to loosen all the players up even more than usual, and let them hit a few nice funky moments. Titles include "Losing Hand", "Gene's Tune", "Nobody's Fault But Mine", "All In A Day", "Except You", and "Love March".

Ten years since his underground Headphone Masterpiece and Cody Chesnutt is finally back with a proper follow up – one that has a more fully-fleshed out production – and it’s pretty damn great! There's some striking differences in approach, but thankfully, the idiosyncratic creative bent remains! Where Headphones Masterpiece was a mind-bogglingly ambitious low fi bedroom production, this one was at least partially recorded at Willie Mitchell's legendary Royal Studios in Memphis, with a great group of studio musicians. This one is also more focused – and features a tight batch of 12 songs – as opposed to the sprawling double album debut. Cody's ear for classic southern soul craft informs this one – but his raw lyricism and great voice are still the focus, and that ultimately makes it another near-classic! We hope it won't take 10 years to make another record, but we're sure glad we finally got this one! Includes "'Til I Met Thee", "I've Been Life", "That's Still Mama", "Don't Follow Me", "Everybody's Brother", "Love Is More Than A Wedding Day", "Under The Spell Of The Handout", "Don't Wanna Go The Other Way", "Where Is All The Money Going", "Scroll Call" and more.

Ten years since his underground Headphone Masterpiece and Cody Chesnutt is finally back with a proper follow up – one that has a more fully-fleshed out production – and it's pretty damn great! There's some striking differences in approach, but thankfully, the idiosyncratic creative bent remains! Where Headphones Masterpiece was a mind-bogglingly ambitious low fi bedroom production, this one was at least partially recorded at Willie Mitchell's legendary Royal Studios in Memphis, with a great group of studio musicians. This one is also more focused – and features a tight batch of 12 songs – as opposed to the sprawling double album debut. Cody's ear for classic southern soul craft informs this one – but his raw lyricism and great voice are still the focus, and that ultimately makes it another near-classic! We hope it won't take 10 years to make another record, but we're sure glad we finally got this one! Includes "'Til I Met Thee", "I've Been Life", "That's Still Mama", "Don't Follow Me", "Everybody's Brother", "Love Is More Than A Wedding Day", "Under The Spell Of The Handout", "Don't Wanna Go The Other Way", "Where Is All The Money Going", "Scroll Call" and more.

The legendary 1970 recordings Alex Chilton made at Ardent Studios – recorded in a brief moment after the bust up of the Box Tops and before the debut of Big Star – and a truly powerful precursor to that most iconic of soulful Memphis rock acts! For the longest time, the 1970 sessions were something of a rock & roll holy grail – having been oft-discussed, if rarely heard, by Chilton and Big Star diehards. In the mid 90s, Ardent Records finally released the heart of this collection as 1970 – and here it's done up with even more love and respect by Omnivore, which over the course of just a handful of releases has become one of the very best deep digging reissuers of great, should-be classic soul & rock treasures. The vibe swings from stripped down, soulful rock that sometimes flirts with country rock – those songs featuring gruff, bluesy vocals from Chilton that belie his actual youth, just as greatly as his vox for The Box Tops – to gentler soul pop numbers that truly prefigure the Big Star sound to come. The collection features 20 tracks: all of the material from the long out of print 1970, plus other songs from the period, including demos (these are raw in the right kind of way, as finished as we'd ever want to hear them) and some original mono mixes. Great liner notes by Bob Mehr, a living encyclopedia of Memphis musical knowledge. Includes "Free Again (Original Mono Mix)", "Come On Honey", "Something Deep Inside", "I Can Dig It", "The EMI Song (Smile For Me)", "Every Day As We Grow Closer/Funky National", "I Wish I Could Meet Elvis", "All We Ever Got From Them Was Pain", "Sugar, Sugar/I Got That Feeling", "All I Really Want Is Money", "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and more.

The legendary 1970 recordings Alex Chilton made at Ardent Studios – recorded in a brief moment after the bust up of the Box Tops and before the debut of Big Star – and a truly powerful precursor to that most iconic of soulful Memphis rock acts! For the longest time, the 1970 sessions were something of a rock & roll holy grail – having been oft-discussed, if rarely heard, by Chilton and Big Star diehards. In the mid 90s, Ardent Records finally released the heart of this collection as 1970 – and here it's done up with even more love and respect by Omnivore, which over the course of just a handful of releases has become one of the very best deep digging reissuers of great, should-be classic soul & rock treasures. The vibe swings from stripped down, soulful rock that sometimes flirts with country rock – those songs featuring gruff, bluesy vocals from Chilton that belie his actual youth, just as greatly as his vox for The Box Tops – to gentler soul pop numbers that truly prefigure the Big Star sound to come. 12 tracks on the vinyl version – plus great liner notes by Bob Mehr, a living encyclopedia of Memphis musical knowledge. Includes "Free Again (Original Mono Mix)", "Come On Honey", "Something Deep Inside", "I Can Dig It", "The EMI Song (Smile For Me)", "Every Day As We Grow Closer/Funky National", "I Wish I Could Meet Elvis", "All We Ever Got From Them Was Pain", "All I Really Want Is Money", "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and more.

A powerful single from the team of Chuck & Mac – and easily one of the deepest soul records we've heard on Twinight! "Powerful Love" has this beautiful slow-burning feel that's completely sublime – a stone mellow duet that has the vocals rising up together wonderfully – yet set to this raw production that's even more rootsy than work you'd hear from Memphis or Muscle Shoals! Almost accapella in approach – save for a bit of guitar, some occasional drum beats, and very light horns and organ. "The Bear" is heavier and funkier, but definitely has a deep soul feel too – raw vocals from the duo, yet set to the kind of funky backings you might hear on a Syl Johnson Twinight groover!

A great mix of modes – and a set that represents a real turning point in the career of Otis Clay! The rougher edges of Clay's Chicago soul are warmed up here substantially by producer Willie Mitchell – bubbling up some Memphis soul for Otis, in a style that's similar to some of his backings for other singers on the Hi Records label – in a style that makes for a great step forward from Clay's singles of the 60s! The shift is a big one – the sort that helped make Otis one of the standout singers of his generation – really knocking it out of the park on tracks that include "House Ain't A Home", "Slow & Easy", "Born To Be With You", "Home Is Where The Heart Is", "Pussy Footing Around", and "Too Much Mystery".

A great mix of modes – and a set that represents a real turning point in the career of Otis Clay! The rougher edges of Clay's Chicago soul are warmed up here substantially by producer Willie Mitchell – bubbling up some Memphis soul for Otis, in a style that's similar to some of his backings for other singers on the Hi Records label – in a style that makes for a great step forward from Clay's singles of the 60s! The shift is a big one – the sort that helped make Otis one of the standout singers of his generation – really knocking it out of the park on tracks that include "House Ain't A Home", "Slow & Easy", "Born To Be With You", "Home Is Where The Heart Is", "Pussy Footing Around", and "Too Much Mystery".

Otis Clay, still going strong – stepping out here on a sweet new recording from the Chicago scene – done with that warm mix of modern modes and deep soul roots we really love from his work of the late 70s! Clay's vocals have, if anything, only gotten better with age – really able to find the right notes and inflections to make the music sparkle – even more so than some of Otis records from back in the day! Instrumentation is relatively laidback – done in a mode that's a bit like some of the Jackson or Memphis styles at the start of the 80s, but without any of the bluesy inflections that might get in the way of the sort of solid soul performance that Clay delivers here. The legendary Tom Tom 84 handled many of the arrangements on the set – and although most of the material is new, Otis also tweaked a few older favorites for the set – to make for a nice long album, too. Titles include "Love's After Me", "All That's Missing Is You", "Walk A Mile In My Shoes", "Even Now", "I Thought You Knew", "Truth Is", "I Know I'm Over You", "Even When I Win", "I Keep Trying", "Steal Away To The Hideaway", and "The Only Way Is Up".

The second Arthur Conley album for Atlantic – and like the first, a record that really cooks with some great Otis Redding production! The sound and style is very similar to Otis' work for Stax during the 60s – but the album was recorded at Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, with engineering by Jimmy Johnson, and it's got a bit of a different sound from the Memphis soul of Otis' records. There's more horns, and less organ and guitars, and Conley's vocals are produced in a raw style that brings out the best of his work. Includes versions of the Otis Redding tracks "Ha Ha Ha" and "I've Been Loving You Too Long", plus Conley's own "Love's Got Me", "Hand & Glove", and "I'll Take The Blame".

The great lost Darondo album – amazing Bay Area funky soul from a singular talent – and material that we did not even know existed! It was cut for Ray Dobard's Music City label – purportedly in just a couple of marathon sessions – most of which we've never heard before now, which is mindblowing in and of itself, as we had thought Ubiquity Records mined what little was available of Darondo for their killer Let My People Go compilation. Lo and behold – here's some more, and it's just as incredible! Slinky, stripped down funk and some sweeter soul that's as much influenced by Memphis recordings as it is the Bay Area – but all with Darondo's distinctive, freewheeling gritty baritone and when the mood strikes, piercing falsetto vocals. A total treasure! 16 tracks on the CD version: "I Don't Understand It", "I'm Gonna Love You", "Didn't I", "Luscious Lady", "Saving My Love", "Gimme Some", "Do You Really Love Me", "Listen To My Song", "Sexy Mama", "The Wolf", "Kings Man" and more.

The great lost Darondo album – amazing Bay Area funky soul from a singular talent – and material that we did not even know existed! It was cut for Ray Dobard's Music City label – purportedly in just a couple of marathon sessions – most of which we've never heard before now, which is mindblowing in and of itself, as we had thought Ubiquity Records mined what little was available of Darondo for their killer Let My People Go compilation. Lo and behold – here's some more, and it's just as incredible! Slinky, stripped down funk and some sweeter soul that's as much influenced by Memphis recordings as it is the Bay Area – but all with Darondo's distinctive, freewheeling gritty baritone and when the mood strikes, piercing falsetto vocals. A total treasure! The vinyl edition has 10 tracks and approximates the album as it should have been issued in 1974 – with "I Don't Understand It", "I'm Gonna Love You", "Didn't I", "Luscious Lady", "Saving My Love", "Gimme Some", "Do You Really Love Me", "Listen To My Song" and more.

Forget blues, because Geater Davis is a soul singer through and through – a really incredible southern talent with a deep soul sound that few others can match! Although Davis didn't record nearly as much as his contemporaries, he's got a sound that matches or beats them – a raw, raspy quality that's a bit like Bobby Blue Bland, touched with the depth of feeling we love in James Carr, peppered with elements of other Memphis singers – all produced to perfection with a sound that's as classic as anything on Stax or Goldwax. This excellent collection features all tracks from Geater's rare album Sweet Woman's Love, plus additional singles from the time – all produced by Allen Orange, an overlooked genius in the southern studio scene of the 70s. Titles include "Don't Marry A Fool", "Cry Cry Cry", "I Love You", "I Know My Baby Loves Me", "I Can Hold My Own", "Cold Love (long version)", "I'll Get By", "I'll Play The Blues For You", "Breath Taking Girl", and a killer long take on "For Your Precious Love".

An incredible collection of work from the vastly-overlooked Geater Davis – and a set that definitely lives up to its title! Geater Davis is a tremendous singer from the south – but one who barely ever got his due back in the 70s – even though these recordings for the tiny House Of Orange label are every bit as amazing as work coming out for bigger labels like Stax or Hi Records! Although Davis didn't record nearly as much as his contemporaries, he's got a sound that matches or beats them – a raw, raspy quality that's a bit like Bobby Blue Bland, touched with the depth of feeling we love in James Carr, peppered with elements of other Memphis singers – all produced to perfection with a sound that's got a deep-burning soul that never lets up. This excellent collection features all tracks from Geater's rare album Sweet Woman's Love, plus additional singles from the time – all produced by Allen Orange, an overlooked genius in the southern studio scene of the 70s. Titles include "Don't Marry A Fool", "Cry Cry Cry", "I Love You", "I Know My Baby Loves Me", "I Can Hold My Own", "Cold Love (long version)", "I'll Get By", "I'll Play The Blues For You", "Breath Taking Girl", and a killer long take on "For Your Precious Love".

A triple-header from DeRobert and the Half-Truths – with plenty of punch in the grooves! "Too Busy" is a really raw number – riffing guitar with a darker edge than most funky tracks – topped with some off-kilter horns, all backing up DeRobert's vocals – which themselves have an edgey feel too! "Sucker Punch" has a wicked groove from the get-go – kind of a classic Memphis funk mode, as you'd find from early 70s Stax! "Cop Cars" has a great slow drum break at the start – just the sort that might have been sampled for some True School gem years back – and the whole tune builds very slowly, with snakey instrumentation, all very much in the best El Michels mode!

Fantastic early work from The Dramatics – an amazing blend of sweet soul harmony vocals, Memphis soul production, and some other-worldly songwriting that far surpasses later work of the group. This album's one of the band's most righteous, with a mixture of Curtom-type message cuts and sweeter love songs – and it includes the cuts "The Devil is Dope", "Beware of the Man (With The Candy In His Hand)", "Jim, What's Wrong With Him?", and "Hey You! Get Off My Mountain". Stellar soul sound, with a vibe that's unlike a lot of other stuff on the Stax/Volt label!

A great collection of deep soul work by singer Doris Duke – one of the lesser-remembered talents from her day, but an emotive diva who could sing with the best from Memphis or Muscle Shoals. The set features 12 tracks produced by Jerry "Swamp Dogg" Willams (who also arranged and plays on the record) – many in a classic Ann Sexton mode that have Doris singing in kind of a sophisticated deep soul mode. Titles include "I Don't Care Anymore", "He's Gone", "To The Other Woman (I'm The Other Woman)", "Divorce Decree", "We're More Than Strangers", and "The Feeling Is Right".

Raw funk from 70s Singapore – but a bunch of cats who really get their sound right! The album's got a surprisingly sharp edge – thanks to raspy guitars that work perfectly with the group's English language vocals – themselves sung with a nice sort of sharpness that makes the whole thing feel a bit more sinister and urgent than most of the US funk that clearly inspires these guys! Some of the guitar interplay is especially nice on more jamming tracks – never overdone, but more than you'd expect on an album with such strong rhythmic impulses. Titles include "Man With A Gun", "Once Upon A Time", "Memphis Soul Stew", "Everyday People", "I'll Take You There", and "Spill The Wine".

Al Green's first major album, and a killer batch of Memphis soul tracks with a sound that's a bit rawer than later years. The formula for the hits is firmly in place – and Al's beautiful voice is swept up wonderfully in very sympathetic production by the great Willie Mitchell. Although Mitchell had worked fine on his own before the record, it's his work with Green that really pushes him to the top of the soul hall of fame – as it's hard to imagine how anyone could have come up with a better showcase for Al's amazing voice. Proof of this can be heard on the record's great original tunes by Green – like "All Because", "I'm A Ram", "You Say It", and the classic "Tired Of Being Alone" – as well as on covers like "Driving Wheel", "Can't Get Next To You", and "Light My Fire".

A great little album of southern funk from the 70s – cut by the team that provided musical backing on many of the classic Hi Records sessions from the time! The groove is a bit different than usual for Hi – not compressed, burning deep soul – but tight, funky, and flanged-out – a bit like what classic P-Funk might have been like, had it been recorded in Memphis! The group's super sharp in their playing – with great bass and electric keyboards – but they've also got kind of a trippy feel that's very surprising, given the more restrained soul quality of much of the stuff on Hi. The album's all original material, and most cuts have cool vocals slinking in and out of the funk – and titles include "On The Loose", "Skinny Dippin'", "Superstar", "Purple Raindrops", and "You Got Me Comin".

A great little album of southern funk from the 70s – cut by the team that provided musical backing on many of the classic Hi Records sessions from the time! The groove is a bit different than usual for Hi – not compressed, burning deep soul – but tight, funky, and flanged-out – a bit like what classic P-Funk might have been like, had it been recorded in Memphis! The group's super sharp in their playing – with great bass and electric keyboards – but they've also got kind of a trippy feel that's very surprising, given the more restrained soul quality of much of the stuff on Hi. The album's all original material, and most cuts have cool vocals slinking in and out of the funk – and titles include "On The Loose", "Skinny Dippin'", "Superstar", "Purple Raindrops", and "You Got Me Comin".

The title's a bit misleading – as the set's not exactly the stuff of hits – but it is a wicked collection of material that ZZ Hill recorded for United Artists Records in the early 70s – sublime southern soul, finally getting its due in this reissue package! Hill's style here owes a lot to some of the Memphis singers of the 60s – especially Otis Redding and Bobby Blue Bland, both of whom would be welcome references here – although ZZ's also stepping out strongly with his own bad self as well – putting in a bit more punch, and hipping things up for a 70s market that had southern soul audiences stretching way up north and out west too. There's also none of the blues modes that Hill adopted in later years – which is great if you've only heard his Malaco dates – and titles include "Bad Mouth & Gossip", "I Created A Monster", "I Don't Need Half A Love", "Ain't Nothing You Can Do", "Am I Groovin You", "Look What You've Done", "That Ain't The Way You Make Love", "Snap Your Fingers", "Can I Get A Witness", and "Dream Don't Let Me Down".

One of the lasting classics on the Malaco label – and a key album in helping the company take control of the southern soul market in the 80s! ZZ Hill sounds just as great here as he did on earlier records – amazing vocally, with that trademark rasp that comes in at just the best moments – and working with some relatively traditional instrumentation overall. There's few of the contemporary touches that Malaco would later bring to their music – and most of the backings feature just organ burning along nicely in the background with a quality inherited from Memphis and Muscle Shoals. Titles include "Bring It On Home To Me", "Separate Way", "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry", "Rolling Stone", "Bump & Grind", and "Please Don't Make Me".

Rare Memphis soul from David Hudson – work recorded at the Royal Studios with producer Willie Mitchell – issued here for the first time ever! The material is great, and really augments David's too-small catalog of recorded works – with a style that's kind of a modern evolution of older southern modes, as Hudson still stays vocally strong in his roots, yet moves into some warmer modes too. Mitchell's production style is in a post-Hi Records sort of approach – and Willie also wrote all the tracks on the set, titles that include "When I'm Loving You", "The Best Is Yet To Come", "Ally My Love", "Be That Way Sometimes", "Let's Make Love", and "Something Good".

A sublime second chapter in the career of Memphis soul singer Luther Ingram – one of the greatest talents of his generation, represented here by some of his best work ever! Ingram first got his start doing rougher, more fragile soul tunes – but by the time of these 70s recordings, he'd really found his voice – and hit a more confident, more sensuous style that could easily go head to head with Al Green or any of his southern soul contemporaries. There's a key Stax connection to most of the material here, but the sound's a bit different too – thanks to the production efforts of Koko label head Johnny Baylor, who gives Ingram a sound that's nicely apart from the pack. The booklet features a really in-depth look at the music – 14 pages of track-by-track notes on the tunes – and the CD features 19 singles recorded over most of the mid 70s. Titles include "Missing You", "Puttin Game Down", "If Loving You Is Wrong I Don't Want To Be Right", "Always", "Help Me Love", "Love Ain't Gonna Run Me Away", "Ain't Good For Nothing", "These Are The Things", "Let's Steal Away To The Hideaway", "I Like The Feeling", "I'm Gonna Be The Best Thing", "Do You Love Somebody", "Get To Me", "How I Miss My Baby", and "You Were Made For Me".

A treasure trove of overlooked Memphis soul – the earliest work of the legendary Luther Ingram – brought together here properly for the first time ever! Although Ingram's probably best known for his mega-huge hits in the early 70s, he really sounds amazing here in the early days – a vocalist with a bit more grit than we remember, working with backings that have an underground, deep soul take on the Memphis sound of the time. There's a somewhat more down home quality to some of these tunes than on other Memphis work from the late 60s – a style that probably didn't play as big up north as some of the hitmakers from the scene, but which is really worth of rediscovery all these many years later. Unlike other over-cliched work on Stax and Hi Records, most of these tunes have a really fresh, new sort of feel – less-iconic, and all the more appealing because of that fact. CD features 19 tracks in all, pulled from Ingram's first 10 singles – including "You've Got To Give Love To Get Love", "Ghetto Train", "I Can't Stop", "My Honey & Me", "Missing You", "Looking For A New Love", "Pity For The Lonely", "Home Don't Seem Like Home", "To The Other Man", "I'll Love You Until The End", and a rare radio promo of "My Honey & Me".

The title track is one of the biggest hits ever from Jan & Dean – but the album's filled with other groovy numbers that really stretch out past familiar territory – including a number of other "city-based" tracks, all given the sweet Jan & Dean touch! The duo are great on lead vocals – and get some ripping studio help from members of the Wrecking Crew, plus great lead guitar from folks like Glen Campbell and Billy Strange – both of whom help keep a nice twangy sound on the tunes! Titles include "Surf City", "Soul City", "Detroit City", "Memphis", "Manhattan", and "Tallahassee Lassie".

Two overlooked female soul groups from the legendary Stax Records – both brought to light on this excellent CD! Neither act ever issued a full album at the time – and instead, each cut a handful of singles, and some unreleased gems – which are all brought together here, in a package that's like finding a lost album from each group! Jeanne & The Darlings have a massively heavy sound – that great Memphis soul bottom that really makes the tunes hit hard – way harder than most other girl soul from up north, with that burning southern sound that made Stax/Volt legendary in the late 60s – a perfect fit for Jeanne's great lead vocals, which are plenty deep soul themselves. The package features their classic "Soul Girl", the unissued "I'm In Love With You" and "Changes" – and other single cuts that include "How Can You Mistreat The One You Love", "That Man Of Mine", "Hang Me Now", "I Like What You're Doing To Me", and "It's Unbelievable". The Charmells are a group with a sweet sound up top, yet a way of turning over a tune that often makes for an undercurrent of funk – a quality that's had the group sampled more than a few times over the years! This mix of sweet and deep is incredibly captivating – and a quality that makes them one of the best Stax acts of the 60s – finally brought to full light here with tracks that include "Please Uncle Same", "Something Sweet About My Baby", "Loving Material", "As Long As I've Got You", "Sea Shell", and "Baby Come & Get It" – plus unreleased gems that include "Peace Maker", "Someone Made You For Me", "Baby Hurry", "Let's Exchange Hearts", and "I've Done It Again".

The great Syl Johnson – doing his thing for Hi Records on a record that's more shiny diamond than it is rough – his second album for the label and a truly underappreciated gem from the Chi soul great! Diamond In The Rough is a much sweeter set of tunes than Syl's Chicago work on Twinight, with warmer production by southern soul guru Willie Mitchell to keep his sound much more in the Memphis soul camp – but still a nice album of bluesy stoked sweetness, and proof that Syl was one of the better talents on the Hi label. Titles include "Keeping Down Confusion", "Let Yourself Go", "Could I Be Falling In Love", "Stuck In Chicago", and "I Hear The Love Chimes", "Please, Don't Give Up On Me" and "Diamond In The Rough".

The great Syl Johnson – doing his thing for Hi Records on a record that's more shiny diamond than it is rough – his second album for the label and a truly underappreciated gem from the Chi soul great! Diamond In The Rough is a much sweeter set of tunes than Syl's Chicago work on Twinight, with warmer production by southern soul guru Willie Mitchell to keep his sound much more in the Memphis soul camp – but still a nice album of bluesy stoked sweetness, and proof that Syl was one of the better talents on the Hi label. Titles include "Keeping Down Confusion", "Let Yourself Go", "Could I Be Falling In Love", "Stuck In Chicago", and "I Hear The Love Chimes", "Please, Don't Give Up On Me" and "Diamond In The Rough".

A wicked explosion from the legendary Syl Johnson – one of his smoking sets for Hi Records – done with solid soulful help from Willie Mitchell! Mitchell's familiar Memphis groove is firmly in place here – tightly compressed rhythms and horns, vamping perfectly for Syl's raw vocals – and the set also seems to feature Johnson smoking some grooves on harmonica too – but in a way that's still a lot more soul than blues! There's a few great funky moments on the set – a nice reminder of the Twinight years – and tracks include "I Only Have Love", "Take Me To The River", "Bustin Up Or Busin Out", "'Bout To Make Me Leave Home", "That's Just My Luck", "It Ain't Easy", "Steppin Out", and "Watch What You Do To Me".

A wicked explosion from the legendary Syl Johnson – one of his smoking sets for Hi Records – done with solid soulful help from Willie Mitchell! Mitchell's familiar Memphis groove is firmly in place here – tightly compressed rhythms and horns, vamping perfectly for Syl's raw vocals – and the set also seems to feature Johnson smoking some grooves on harmonica too – but in a way that's still a lot more soul than blues! There's a few great funky moments on the set – a nice reminder of the Twinight years – and tracks include "I Only Have Love", "Take Me To The River", "Bustin Up Or Busin Out", "'Bout To Make Me Leave Home", "That's Just My Luck", "It Ain't Easy", "Steppin Out", and "Watch What You Do To Me".

A wicked explosion from the legendary Syl Johnson – one of his smoking sets for Hi Records – done with solid soulful help from Willie Mitchell! Mitchell's familiar Memphis groove is firmly in place here – tightly compressed rhythms and horns, vamping perfectly for Syl's raw vocals – and the set also seems to feature Johnson smoking some grooves on harmonica too – but in a way that's still a lot more soul than blues! There's a few great funky moments on the set – a nice reminder of the Twinight years – and tracks include "I Only Have Love", "Take Me To The River", "Bustin Up Or Busin Out", "'Bout To Make Me Leave Home", "That's Just My Luck", "It Ain't Easy", "Steppin Out", and "Watch What You Do To Me".

They might be borrowing her band, but they sure can't dampen her soul – because Sharon Jones is strongly back in action, and sounding funkier and more deeply soulful than ever! Given that Sharon wasn't singing back in the 60s, it's hard to think we'd be calling her the real deal – but in a world of crossover classic-copping soul singers, or slightly rewarmed older acts, Jones is a true treat through and through – the kind of soul singer whose work still recalls the best era of the funky 45 underground! The mighty Dap-Kings are in full force here – snapping along the groove with a range of classic soul influences – styles borrowed from Memphis, Miami, Muscle Shoals, and more – all sifted down to some of the tightest grooves any singer ever had the chance of working with! The production is amazing – as sharp-edged as the music – and handled by Bosco Mann with a sound that's as faithful to the roots as the cover might imply. Titles include "100 Days 100 Nights", "Tell Me", "Be Easy", "Nobody's Baby", "When The Other Foot Drops Uncle", "Something's Changed", "Keep On Looking", "Answer Me", and "Humble Me".

Sweet electric blues from Albert King – recorded with some great full production, in a burning Memphis style that's got plenty of soul in the mix as well! The set's got a quality level that takes it past some of the cliche-ridden blues of the time – really soulful overall, with a sound that comes straight from the heart, and avoids any of the easy tricks that could mar such a session – proof that music like this could really sparkle in the hands of Stax Records – especially when the backing instrumentation features The Bar-Kays and Memphis Horns! Titles include "High Cost Of Loving", "Little Brother", "I'll Play The Blues For You (parts 1 & 2)", "Breaking Up Somebody's Home", "Angel Of Mercy", and "I'll Be Doggone". CD features four previously unissued bonus tracks – "Albert's Stomp", "I Need A Love", "Don't Burn Down The Bridge (alt)", and "I'll Play The Blues For You (alt)".

A 60s set from Memphis bluesman BB King – but one put together with a very distinct Chicago touch as well! The set's produced by Johnny Pate, and recorded live with a vibe that's similar to King's classic recording at The Regal – but it's almost got even more of a soulful punch, thanks to backing from a cool small combo that includes Bobby Forte on tenor, Kenneth Sands on trumpet, Duke Jethro on Hammond, and Louis Satterfield on bass! BB's vocals are great – in his best early form – and the tunes are bluesy, but also smoke with a nice degree of soul – and almost some jazzy touches at times from the tenor and organ. Titles include "Don't Answer The Door", "Blind Love", "Tired Of Your Jive", "Night Life", "Buzz Me", and "Waitin On You". CD features two bonus tracks – "Goin Down Slow" and "Sweet Sixteen (parts 1 & 2)" – both additional live numbers.

Surprisingly enjoyable record in which King Curtis runs through a number of C&W favorites, and turns them into R&B sax instrumentals. The album shows what a clear link there was between the two musical traditions, and includes classics like "Night Train To Memphis", "You're Cheatin Heart", "High Noon", "I'm Movin' On", and "Walkin The Floor Over You".

Very cool stuff – a rare European-only album that brings together some of King Curtis' funkiest tracks ever – and which really stands as one of the most perfect full records we've ever heard from the King! The sound here is more Stax Records than some of the mellower cuts that Atlantic issued under Curtis' name – and although some of his full albums for the label had hits mixed with filler material, lots of of the tracks here offer up the same sort of instrumental greatness you'd get from the b-sides of some of the best King Curtis funky 45s! Titles include "Last Night", "Sing A Simple Song", "Instant Groove", "Memphis Soul Stew", "In The Pocket", "Hold On I'm Coming", "I Was Made To Love Her", "Jump Back", and "I Heard It Through The Grapevine".

One of the best-remembered moments from the mighty King Floyd – a southern soul singer who came into the game slightly later than some of his Atlantic Records contemporaries, but who still packs a punch that's right up there with the best of them! The album's best known for the huge hit "Groove Me" – a slinky, catchy tune that's gotten King plenty of play over the years – but the whole thing is pretty darn great, and shows a new sound and style of southern soul coming into play – as Floyd's working in Jackson, at the Malaco Studios, with Wardell Quezergue producing – in a sound that's a bit free of some of the more obvious Memphis and Muscle Shoals modes, yet without any of the cliches that would later hold some folks back too. King balances things perfectly throughout – and in addition to "Groove Me", the set also features "Let Us Be", "Messing Up My Mind", "What Our Love Needs", and "Don't Leave Me Lonely".

Classic soul from Bettye Lavette – with some her best recordings ever – a batch of tunes cut in Memphis with Lelan Rogers for the Silver Fox label in '69 & '70! The Betty heard here is a lot harder than on her earlier soul sides – recorded with a raw power that could easily blow away Aretha Franklin or any of her hard soul sisters – and done with a unique crossing of southern, funky, and country soul modes! Amazing! Titles include "My Train's A Coming", "Do Your Duty", "Love Made A Fool Of Me", "At The Mercy Of A Man", "Piece Of My Heart", "Easier To Say Than Do", "He Made A Woman Out Of Me", "We Got To Slip Around", "I'm In Love", and "Games People Play".

Some rare early Memphis soul material by this legendary Stax combo! The sound of the recording is a bit rawer than most of the stuff we know by them, but their harmonies are great all the way through, with that hard Memphis soul sound that always made them so great! It features the earliest recordings of the group that we've heard, with a number of harmony soul covers of some of the hits and lots of great tunes. The album's got a weird, and somewhat sinister cartoon cover – which makes it an oddity, both for Stax and for the group! Titles include "Nothing Can Break Through", "You're My Inspiration", "Sugar Sugar", "Don't Have To Shop Around", "Michael The Lover", "Land Of 1000 Dances", "Come Closer To Me:, "I Want Someone", their nice cover of "Get Out Of My Life" and more.

Great early 70s work from Herbie Mann! By this point in his career, Herbie must have had a fleet of cars, a harem of ladies, and a golden flute. You can hear his success in the live material that makes up the album – recorded before very enthusiastic audiences at the New York and Montreux festivals in 1972. Who'd have thought jazz flute could go so far? All tracks are long and pretty darn lively – and Herbie's group still includes Sonny Sharrock on guitar, plus the groovy Pat Rebillot on piano, and David Newman on tenor and 2nd flute. Titles include "Soul Beat Momma", "Never Can Say Goodbye", "Respect Yourself", "Memphis Underground", and "Hold On, I'm Coming".

Herbie Mann's going for a bit of a Memphis soul groove on this album – but he handles the work with his own sort of flair, and takes the style in a whole new direction! Unlike other sessions of this nature, Herbie didn't just fly down to Memphis and cook up a standard batch of tracks in the studio – and instead, he produced the whole thing himself, and is working in a mode that uses southern soul as a starting point, but which also takes off in some of the headier, trippier directions of Mann's Embryo imprint on Atlantic. Players here include Roy Ayers on vibes, George Bohannon on trombone, Sonny Sharock on guitar, Miroslav Vitous on bass, and Larry Coryell on guitar – and the groove is plenty darn funky throughout, with lots of long tracks that almost seem to have a dose of 70s soundtrack funk in the mix! The cut "Memphis Two Step" is a great little funk track with a monster drum break at the beginning that really gets the track grooving – and other titles include "Soul Man", "Guinnevere", "Acapulco Rain", "Kabuki Rock", and "Down On The Corner".

Vintage Memphis instrumentals from The Mar-Keys – a record cut at a time when the group were still rising up with the same power as Booker T & The MGs! There's a very similar vibe going on here – tight rhythms and no-nonsense combo instrumentation that's heavy on organ and tenor, but used in ways that are quite different than jazz, and even from 50s R&B – a tighter 60s soul groove that sparkles throughout – thanks to a cooking batch of dancefloor rhythms! The set's billed as a "pop-eye" dance craze outing, but it's got way more to offer than that faddish moment in 60s styles – a range of great numbers that includes "Gonna Work Out Fine", "Pop Eye Stroll", "Straight From The Can", "Wimp Burger", "Squint Eye", and "Muscles A Comin Home".

The second Stax album from Mel & Tim – and even better than the first! Although the pair are probably best known for their soaring soul singles at the end of the 60s, by the time of this 1973 record, they'd matured wonderfully – hitting some deeper, more heartfelt modes that are mighty nice – and a perfect fit for the sophisticated level of production that Stax was putting down at the time! There's still some slight sweet soul undercurrents – but with an overall presentation that's much more Memphis than New York, the sound is nice and deep – lots of Muscle Shoals instrumentation that includes keyboards from Barry Beckett, guitar grooves from Jimmy Johnson, and some perfectly balanced rhythms that keep things on the downlow throughout! Titles include the break-heavy version of "Yes We Can Can", plus "Keep The Faith", "Making Love Is My Thing", "Forever In a Day", "That's The Way I Want To Live My Life", "Same Folk", and "Oh How I Love You".

A pair of killers from this legendary group! High On Music is one of the funkiest albums ever from The Memphis Horns – that super-tight instrumental combo headed by Andrew Love on tenor and Wayne Jackson on trumpet! Both players had years in the Memphis soul scene under their belt by the time of this set – and instead of just going for familiar modes, they wisely try to reach for a whole new groove – bringing in a bit of New York funk from the time, particularly the tighter ensemble sound of the Fatback generation. Booker T still handles production, which ensures a link to Memphis roots – and there's some great keyboards, which underscore the horns nicely. Titles include "Freedom Train", "Get It Up", "80 Proof Red", "Move Your Feet", "Keep On Doin' It", "Crystal Mellow", "Love's Mood", and "Beale Street Shuffle". On Get Up & Dance, The Memphis Horns expand their groove – still serving up their great blend of funky soul horns, but also adding in a bit of vocals too! The core focus of the album is still instrumental – based around that amazing sound led by Memphis soul legends Andrew Love and Wayne Jackson – but given the dancefloor orientation of some of the best tracks here, vocals are a perfect blend for the sound – lyrics that never dominate too much, but which have a great way of underscoring the groove! Singers include DJ Rogers, Lani Groves, Deniece Williams, and James Gilstrap all sing on the record – and titles include "Just For Your Love", a smooth mellow stepper that's pretty darn catchy – plus "Love Is Happiness", "Get Up And Dance", "Memphis Nights", "What The Funk", "Don't Abuse It", "Keep On Smilin", and "Waitin For The Flood".

Jackson soul from McKinley Mitchell – more polished than his earlier work, but still with that Chimneyville/Malaco late 70s southern style that was the best heir to 60s work in Memphis and Muscle Shoals. Tracks include "Open House At My House", "You're So Fine", "The Town I Live In", "You Know I've Tried", "Run To Love", "Dream Lover", "End Of The Rainbow", and "Follow The Wind".

The long-overdue full length debut from Phillip Mitchell – an artist who cut some great singles over the course of the 70s, and also wrote a fair bit of classics for other, bigger name acts! Phillip did some of his earlier work of the decade in both Memphis and Muscle Shoals – but he also had a key relationship with Norman Connors as well, who helped Mitchell take his southern roots into even more sophisticated soul territory! Mitchell produced the album himself – and arranged with Paul Riser and McKinley Jackson – and the overall sound is a wonderful blend of deeply personal vocals with smoother mellow soul grooves – a really top-shelf affair all the way through, and the kind of album that's only finally getting its due many years later! Tracks include "Star in the Ghetto", "You're All I Got In the World", "Falling From Heaven", and "If I Can't Be Your Man". CD features two bonus tracks – "One On One (long single version)" and "What Part Of Heaven Do You Come From".

A smoking selection of work from Memphis giant Willie Mitchell – some of the funkiest tracks he ever recorded, stuffed together in one mighty set! Willie's probably best know for his famous studio work for Ann Peebles and Al Green – but on his own, Mitchell can carve out a cooker like nobody's business – in this case with a great ear for the kind of harder instrumental soul sounds you might hear from Stax or Atlantic Records at the start of the 70s! These tunes have a way harder edge than the compressed, smooth sound of Willie's work with singers – and often feature a sharp solo instrument in the lead – such as tenor sax, riffing guitar, or soulful trumpet. Titles include "Breaking Point", "Six To Go", "Poppin", "Pearl Time", "20-75", "Leo's Mood", "The Champion", "Mercy", "That Driving Beat", "30 60 90", "Everything's Gonna Be Alright", and "Big Power House".

They definitely got the title right on this one – as the set's a solid batch of soulful instrumentals all the way through – one of our favorites from the great Willie Mitchell! Willie's got a lot more bite here than on some of his famous warmer productions in the 70s – a gritty Memphis soul instrumental style that's pretty close to the best of its kind over at Stax Records – complete with tight, punchy drums on the bottom – and a sweet mix of organ, tenor, guitar, and trumpet in the lead! Nothing's ever too forced, and there's a groove that's laidback, but right on the money – on titles that include "San Ho Zay", "Monkey Jump", "Strawberry Solo", "Hideaway", "Up Hard", "The Horse", and "Grazing In The Grass".

Willie's Soul Bag is pretty darn deep – a tight mixture of trumpet-heavy originals – all given sock-solid Hi Records soul production! The album's one of Mitchell's most smoking – and in addition to a few well-chosen covers, the set's also got some great originals – including some Jackson/Love numbers that have a definite Memphis Horns groove! There's some great Hammond at times – and in a way, the whole thing almost feels more like a Stax instrumental set than the sort of grooves we're used to hearing from Hi. Titles include "Apollo X", "Grand Slam", "Honey Pot", "Hawaii Five O", "Set Free", "Everday People", and "Young People".

A killer from Willie Mitchell – harder, funkier, and a lot more soulful than most of his other records from the 60s! The groove here is sock-soul, and most cuts have a hard and tight funky 45 approach. Willie was really cut loose on this one – freed from his usual standard of recording hits and pop songs, he wrote all the songs on the set – and they're heavy Memphis instrumentals with a sound that's much more like 60s Bar Kays work on Stax! There's a great sax player on the session, too – not named in the notes, unfortunately, but with a sound that really wails on the best tracks. Titles include "Fat Cat", "Pep Talk", "That Driving Beat", "The Champion (parts 1 & 2)", "Nick O Demus", "Everything Is Gonna Be Alright", and "Stone Face".

A Windy City classic – from Vee Jay Records! The MJT grooves like nobody's business, thanks to a core rhythm group that includes Harold Mabern on piano, Walter Perkins on drums, and Bob Cranshaw on bass! Add to the mix a young Frank Strozier on alto, fresh from Memphis (he made the trip to Chi-town with buddy Harold Mabern), and the smoking trumpet of Willie Thomas, and you've got one of the tightest combos to never make it in the big time – a killer little group that was almost a Chicago secret back in the day, but one that's well worth discovering if you've got any sort of a love for hardbop or soul jazz! This oft-overlooked gem is one of the best hardbop albums to ever come out of Chicago, and it's got some great originals by Mabern – like "Richie's Dilemma" and "Make Everybody Happy" – plus a nice version of Booker Little's "Sweet Silver".

Tight-stepping soul from the well-named Hank "Soulman" Mullen – a great groover that moves at a Northern pace, but has a deeper soul feel overall! Hank's vocals are totally great – warm and raspy, almost in the best Memphis tradition – and the rhythms of the track are tightly vamping with some nicely skittish guitar and horns blasting over the top! "Listen" is great too – a mellower number with a great southern soul feel – like a lost gem from the far-reaches of the Muscle Shoals recording scene!

A great little album – even if it tries to promise too much! The set bills itself as "the swinginest Hammond organ album since the birth of psychedelia" – and while that sort of a claim is so high that nobody could ever match it, the album is a great batch of offbeat soul instrumentals – recorded in kind of a tripped-out take on the Memphis groove! We're not sure who the mysterious "Mustang" is (although it could be Paul Griffin, who also recorded for the same label in a similar mode) – but we're guessing here that the name is also used to convey the fact that many of the tunes have a "Mustang Sally" sort of rhythm. Backing is in a hip small combo mode – with nice go-go drums, tight rhythm guitar, and soulful honking sax behind the organ – and although the sound is more straight soul instrumentals, the titles are nicely tripped-out – and include "The Acid Test", "California Time", "Joshua Got Busted", "Haight Ashbury Time", "Swing Low Sweet Truth", and "Golden Gate Freakout".

One of the best records ever from Don Nix – a legendary figure whose work on the Memphis scene of the 60s touched countless of rock and soul artists – recording here with a nicely tight sound at Muscle Shoals! Like some of his contemporaries, Nix made the move from Memphis to Muscle Shoals, and really helped push his music further – drawing on his strong southern roots on both sides of the fence, and turning out a set with the kind of depth and integrity that so many others would try at the time, but never get this well! Most songs are originals, and production and arrangements are by Nix as well – and titles include "Olena", "The Shape I'm In", "Going Back To Iuka", "Three Angels", "Mary Louise", "My Train's Done Come & Gone", and "Living By The Days".

Smoking soul from the Ones & Nines – recorded in Jersey, and topped off in Memphis – making for an intra-state pedigree that's mighty nice! The group have a feel that's different quality than most other funky soul combos out there – with a nicely garagey quality on "Tell Me" that has the guitar really stepping around nicely – working magic around the male lead and female backing vocals in a really cool way. "Make It Easy" has the guitar upfront again too – but lets female singer Vera Sousa take the lead – with this snakey style that's mighty nice, and even more soulful!

Sublime southern soul from The Ovations – a group with a really unique approach to their music! Unlike other southern groups of the time, The Ovations had a somewhat sweet style overall – one that was informed by their great love of the older music of Sam Cooke, and turned onto a hipper, more 70s-styled Memphis groove overall! Lead vocalist Louis Williams has a style that's as equally charming as Cooke, although with his own great touches overall – and the backings on some of the cuts add in a nice southern soul component, although still with the same sort of polish that Cooke might have appreciated. CD features 21 tracks in all – including their rare album for MGM, plus other singles for the Sounds Of Memphis and XL labels – as well as 6 previously unissued tunes, and one rare single for Chess! The package is a long-overdue tribute to this wonderful group, and titles include "Hooked On A Feeling", "One In A Million", "Touching Me", "So Nice To Be Loved By You", "I Can't Believe It's Over", "Having A Party", "Don't Say You Love Me", "I'm In Love", "Pure Natural Love", "Sweet Thing", "I Care For You", "Till I Find Some Way", "Hangin On", "You're My Little Girl", and "Gotta Get Free".

A great bit of soul from Clarence Reid – otherwise known as Blowfly – and a key album in the Miami scene at the end of the 60s! Clarence is working here in a very classic Atlantic records style of soul – with all the rootsy southern elements of the previous southern work at Memphis and Muscle Shoals, but handled with a well-produced sound that has elements of New York Atlantic. Most of the album's in a tight funky soul mode – with bits of Sly Stone or Charles Wright showing up a lot on the grooves – and cuts include the single "Nobody But You Babe", plus "Doggone It", "Get Back", "Tear You A New Heart", "Fools Are Not Born", and "Send Me Back My Money". There's also a goofy photo on the front – proving that Clarence Reid was better off behind a mask as Blowfly!

A great bit of soul from Clarence Reid – otherwise known as Blowfly – and a key album in the Miami scene at the end of the 60s! Clarence is working here in a very classic Atlantic records style of soul – with all the rootsy southern elements of the previous southern work at Memphis and Muscle Shoals, but handled with a well-produced sound that has elements of New York Atlantic. Most of the album's in a tight funky soul mode – with bits of Sly Stone or Charles Wright showing up a lot on the grooves – and cuts include the single "Nobody But You Babe", plus "Doggone It", "Get Back", "Tear You A New Heart", "Fools Are Not Born", and "Send Me Back My Money". There's also a goofy photo on the front – proving that Clarence Reid was better off behind a mask as Blowfly!

The only album we've ever seen by Johnny Robinson – a rare non-Hi Records set produced by Willie Mitchell, with a sound that's as deeply soulful as some of the best indie work coming out of the Memphis scene in the 60s! Willie's style here is rougher than that used with Al Green or Ann Peebles – and Robinson comes off wonderfully in a nice mix of funk, deep soul, and slower burning backings – all handled with a sense of poise, but also enough of a down-home sense to keep all the raw edges nicely intact! The album's a rare Memphis gem from an unusual source – and titles include "God Is Love", "We Are Gonna Make It", "Slip Away", "Reconsider Me", "Funky Feet", "Lady Doctor", and "Don't Take It So Hard".

In case you don't recognize him from his beard on the cover, Sam Samudio is Sam The Sham – of Sam The Sham & The Pharoahs fame – stepping out here in a badass mix of rock and soul, all served up in a heady brew that's more early 70s Capricorn than straight Atlantic Records! The album was recorded at Criteria Studios with the Dixie Flyers, The Memphis Horns, and The Sweet Inspirations backing Sam up – but the overall sound is much more of a rootsy rock one than the soul you might expect from the setting. But that's actually ok with us, given the soul in Sam's earlier work – as coming out with a rocking mode is actually much more of a departure in some ways. Tracks include "Goin Upstairs", "Sweet Release", "Lonely Avenue", "Let's Burn Down The Cornfield", "Homework", and "Relativity". Real Gone CD version includes a bonus cover of "Me And Bobby McGee".

One of the best collections of work by Joe Simon we've ever seen – a well-done 26 track set that really pulls together the best cuts from his years at Sound Stage Seven! Joe was unusual in that he was a country singer working out of Nashville, not Memphis, at the end of the 60s – but Joe used this fact to his advantage, picking up some country touches that were often ignored by other artists, but not the audiences in the south, who were often taking equal parts country and soul in their diet. The set features most of Joe's best singles from the late 60s and very early 70s – all wrapped up in a great set of notes, with tracks that include "Long Hot Summer", "The Chokin Kind", "It's Hard To Get Along", "Moon Walk (parts 1 & 2)", "Yours Love", "Farther On Down The Road", "That's The Way I Want Our Love", "The Girl's Alright With Me", "No Sad Songs", "Come On & Get It", "Message From Maria", and "Travellin Man".

A stone classic from Percy Sledge – and a set that really put southern soul on the map! Along with the familiar title hit – one of those tunes you'll recognize instantly – the album's a treasure trove of deep soul numbers – done under the supervision of Quin Ivy, in Sheffield, Alabama – with a sound that's a bit different than the more familiar Memphis and Muscle Shoals styles of the 60s – yet equally great! There's a slow-burning vibe here that virtually set the tone for a whole generation – energy that's more even-keeled than Otis Redding, with a subtle power that will haunt you for years – thanks to Percy's sweet crackling vocals. Titles include "When A Man Loves A Woman", "Love Me Like You Mean It", "You're Pouring Water On A Drowning Man", "Put A Little Lovin On Me", "Love Me All The Way", and "You Fooled Me".

Quite possibly the best album ever from this fantastic funky combo! The band grooves hard and funky – with incredible drum work from Paul Stubblefield, tasty guitar from Walter Winston, and some famous funky flute and sax work from Gus Hawkins. Tracks on the album are rough and raw – with plenty of breakbeats, and some very tasty funky basslines that work perfectly with their choppy instrumental groove. A few tracks have vocals, but even those boast a real strength in the instrumental department – and very nicely keep up with the rest of the material. Titles include "Down In The Ghetto", "Burning Spear", "Express Yourself", "Soul", "Memphis Underground", and "Message From A Black Man".

Rare soul from singer Bill Spoon – an artist who only ever issued a few singles, but steps out here with a wealth of previously-unissued tracks! Bill hails from Alabama, but also ended up in Memphis and LA – and the styles here definitely showcase that journey – an evolving approach to soul that's rooted in deeper modes, yet which takes on some great modern aspects as the music moves on – a quality that's not online the shift made by Lamont Dozier in the 70s! The package is only available on vinyl, and features some newly mixed versions of older singles, some previously unissued recordings, and some full length takes too – titles that include "I Can't Wait Until The Weekend", "Kick Back", "Watcha Doin With Your Time", "Be Concerned", "Love Is On The Way", "Thank You Baby", "No way To Live", "After All We've Been Through", and "I'll Always Love You".

A landmark album for Dusty Springfield – one in which she more than proves her soul music talents, by taking a trip to Memphis, and recording in a sweet Atlantic soul mode! The album's handled by stellar talents all the way through – arrangements by Tom Dowd and Arif Mardin, production by those two and Jerry Wexler, backing vocals by The Sweet Inspirations, and studio work from the likes of Tommy Cogbill, Bobby Wood, Bobby Emmons, and other talents that were huge on the Memphis scene at the time. Titles include Dusty's famous reading of "Son Of A Preacher Man", plus "The Windmills Of Your Mind", "So Much Love", "Just A Little Lovin", "In The Land Of Make Believe", and "No Easy Way Down".

The Staples and Curtis Mayfield – working together here in a very Curtom groove! This great little set picks off where the group's work on the Let's Do It Again soundtrack left off – taking The Staples far past their Memphis sound of the Stax years, into a hipper, more adult kind of mode – one that has plenty of modern soul and light funk touches. Arrangements are by Curtom maestro Rich Tufo, and the album's got some very full backings that seem to urge the group's vocals on even more than ever. Titles include "Making Love", "Pass It On", "Love Me Love Me Love Me", "Sweeter Than The Sweet", "The Real Thing Inside Of Me", and "Precious Precious".

The Sweet Inspirations move in the same musical direction as their once-labelmates in Memphis, the Emotions – and turn their soulful harmonies towards a sound that's clearly aimed a bit more at the northern dancefloors. However, despite the fact that the album might be thought of as a throwaway disco set (emphasized by the fact that the girls toured with the Bee Gees that year), it's actually a pretty nice little record – one that makes things more interesting than we could have expected for the group! The vocals are actually extremely strong, and very well suited to just about all the settings on the album – and it was a particularly great move for the group to title the album after Greg Diamond's "Hot Butterfly", as that tune is done wonderfully here – with a snapping groove and sweet female soul that puts it somewhere between versions by Diamond and Chaka Khan. Other tracks include "Love Is On The Way", "Face To Face", "Hot Fun", "Do It Right", and "Holding Back".

Johnnie Taylor's first album for Stax – and a tremendous little set that easily stands as one of his greatest records ever! Sure, we love Johnnie in all his incarnations – but there's a special sort of something here – a rawness and earnestness – that makes the whole thing shine right from the start – a crispy sort of Memphis vibe that has the Stax Records team really hitting their stride. The set's filled with great tunes from the team of Isaac Hayes and David Porter – including "I Got To Love Somebody's Baby", "Toe Hold", "Outside Love", "Little Bluebird", and "I Had A Dream" – and also features great versions of "Watermelon Man", "Ain't That Loving You", and "Where Can A Man Go From Here".

The queen of Memphis soul – caught "alone" after a some earlier hit recordings as part of a duo with Otis Redding – but now on her own in the years after Otis untimely early passing! The album has Thomas strongly returning to the sound of her first few albums on Stax – a bold, full-voiced sound that has her reemerging as one of the first ladies of soul at the end of the 60s, and coming across with a sound that's a fair bit more mature than her earliest singles. The tunes include a great batch of original Isaac Hayes & David Porter compositions – the strength of which really hold the album together, and make for a no-filler set all the way through! Titles include "Unchanging Love", "I'll Always Have Faith In You", "Lie To Keep Me From Crying", "Stop Thief", and "I Take It To My Baby". CD also features 5 more bons tracks – 4 of which are previously unissued – including "Same Thing", "Me & My Clock", "Your Love Indeed (alt)", "I Want To Know (take 2)", and "I Wonder About Love".

One of the best Rufus Thomas albums from the 70s – a key record from his comeback years, and one that has him trading in his older R&B mode for a harder, funkier Memphis groove! Rufus was 52 at the time, but thanks to a never-dying fire, and some great youthful arrangements, the set crackles with a raw intensity that put him at the top of the funky Stax for the time! The set includes the massive comeback hit "Funky Chicken", plus a sublime remake of "Sixty Minute Man" – done in a slow and funky mode that rolls on for lover 7 minutes in all! Other tracks include "Soul Food", "Rufus Rastus Johnson Brown", "Turn Your Damper Down", and remakes of "The Preacher & The Bear" and "Bearcat". And dang! There's a huuuuuge amount of bonus tracks here too – funky Stax singles from the early 70s – including "Funky Mississippi", "So Hard To Get Along With", "Funky Way", "I Want To Hold You", "Itch & Scratch (parts 1 & 2)", and "Boogie Ain't Nuttin (parts 1 & 2)".

One of the best Rufus Thomas albums from the 70s – a key record from his comeback years, and one that has him trading in his older R&B mode for a harder, funkier Memphis groove! Rufus was 52 at the time, but thanks to a never-dying fire, and some great youthful arrangements, the set crackles with a raw intensity that put him at the top of the funky Stax for the time! The set includes the massive comeback hit "Funky Chicken", plus a sublime remake of "Sixty Minute Man" – done in a slow and funky mode that rolls on for lover 7 minutes in all! Other tracks include "Soul Food", "Rufus Rastus Johnson Brown", "Turn Your Damper Down", and remakes of "The Preacher & The Bear" and "Bearcat".

One of our favorite funk combos take on a host of gems from the past – all classic soul and funk numbers that really expand the sound of Osaka Monaurail! The group first got their start doing a great riff on the sound of James Brown – but here, they move into Memphis soul, Chicago funk, and more – working their well-honed instrumental talents over a host of killer cuts that explode in fresh new versions! Unlike other records, where Ryo Nakata sings, this time around he's just leading the group and playing keyboards – but that shift is OK with us, as it gives the horns and guitar lots more space to do their thing. Titles include "Cafe Regio's", "Supershine #9", "Chocolate Buttermilk", "Amen Brother", "Get Down", "Get Ready", "Little Old Money Maker", "Message To Love", "Divertissement", and "Hey Jude". CD also features 3 bonus live tracks – "Tighten Up", "Truck Turner", and "Soulful Strut". Note: This is a different package for the album Amen Brother – which was issued under the Osaka Monaurail name.

One of the greatest moments ever from Dee Dee Warwick – and a set that definitely shows her to be one of the more soulful members of her famous family! The set's got a much deeper soul sound than some of Dee Dee's other material – as Atlantic has Warwick working down at Criteria Studios, with production by Dave Crawford – in a mode that's steeped in previous southern soul styles from Memphis and Muscle Shoals! In a way, Atlantic was probably hoping to do to Dee Dee what they did to Aretha Franklin – take an already competent, sophisticated soul singer, and give her a deep soul sound that really pushes the boundaries. And in this case, the session actually works, and works great – thanks in part to The Sweet Inspirations, who back up Dee Dee in the same way they backed up Aretha – supporting her strong lead with some wonderful harmonies. Titles include "I Ain't Got To Love Nobody Else", "If This Was The Last Song", "I'm Glad I'm A Woman", "Who Will The Next Fool Be", and a great southern soul version of "More Today Than Yesterday".

Dionne's certainly winning the "soulful" tag on this albums – working with Memphis producer Chips Moman, in a mode that's clearly designed to give her more credibility with the hipper soul scene at the end of the 60s! Burt Bacharach's still in the shadows, but Moman's the real genius on this set – working with Dionne to create a style that's got some of the same touches as Aretha Franklin's work on Atlantic, but a bit smoother overall – in keeping with the Warwick vocal mode. Dionne opens up amazingly in the set – hitting notes never heard on the Bacharach sides, and going for an almost gospel-inspired approach on a few numbers. Tracks includes "I'm Your Puppet", "You've Lost That Loving Feeling", "You're All I Need To Get By", "Do Right Woman", "People Get Ready", "We Can Work It Out", and "People Got To Be Free".

It's a little-known fact that Memphis had a huge influence on the sound of late 50s/early 60s soul jazz – probably because most of the city's best players had to leave and go either to Chicago or New York to make their name. This set's a great reminder of that fact, as it brings together an important batch of players, most of them only freshly departed from Memphis at the time of the session – an assemblage that includes Frank Strozier, Phineas Newborn, Booker Little, Louis Smith, George Coleman, and Calvin Newborn. The tracks are long open-ended blowing session tunes – very different than the usual format for just about every player involved, which also makes for quite a striking record. Titles include very long takes on "Blue N Boogie", "Star Eyes", "After Hours", and "Things Ain't What They Used To Be".

An under-discovered treasure trove of southern soul – incredible early 70s work from the Sounds Of Memphis label – arguably a hipper imprint than Stax Records at the time! Sounds Of Memphis, and related XL imprint, were a perfect showcase for the growing sophistication in southern soul at the time – the generation of artists who were shaking off the cliches of soul that played big with crossover crowds in the 60s, but which were holding back development of the music in the following decade. The styles here are every bit as rootsy as before, but they offer up new sounds, new styles, new subjects, and new singers – plus some older artists who shine even more brightly in this setting. The package is a great counterpart to the other Sounds Of Memphis set on Kent – that based on Barbara & The Browns – and the production, presentation, and care of this set is every bit as great as that one. Titles include "I Can't Be Satisfied" by Spencer Wiggins, "Last Mile Of The Way" by The Minits, "You're Welcome Back" by Ann Hodge, "Tell Him Tonight" by Rudolph Taylor, "Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Love" by Lou Roberts, "Talking About The Love I Have For You" by George Jackson, "Hook Like & Sinker" by Dan Greer, "You Can Lead Your Woman To The Altar" by William Bollinger, "Take It From Someone Who Knows" by The Ovations, "California Dreamin" by The Jacksonians, "Let the Movement Last" by Vision, and "Play Thing (alt mix)" by Barbara & The Browns.

An essential chapter of Miami soul – even if most of the work is appearing here for the first time ever! The set is a magnificent companion to Numero's Deep City collection of pre-TK Miami soul – but it's put together in such a way that it's almost a beautiful introduction to the south Florida sound on its own – served up in a batch of rare, unreleased tracks! The music is every bit as wonderful as you'd expect – Miami soul recorded at a time before cliches had started to hit that scene – and when the best artists down south were strongly resonating ideas from Memphis and Muscle Shoals with other elements borrowed from northern groups both funky and mellow. Numero have really outdone themselves with this one – and the collection is way more than a part 2 to their previous package – more of a brilliant set of soul tunes on its own, complete with a booklet that's as beautiful as the music. Titles include "One Little Piece" by The Rollers, "Don't Be Surprised" by Lynn Williams, "No Way Out" by Clarence Reid, "What's In The Lovin" by Helene Smith, "Mr Lucky" by Betty Wright, "There Goes My Baby" by James Knight & The Butlers, "Do What You're Doin" by The Rising Sun, "Do Your Stuff" by Perk Badger, "Masterpiece" by Deep City Band, "Nasty Dog (part 2)" by The Nasty Dog Catchers, "Thank You Baby" by Betty Wright, "Your Love Won't Let Me Leave You" by Snoopy Dean, "The Pot Can't Talk About The Kettle" by Helene Smith, "Show Me What You Got" by Frank Williams & The Rocketeers, "Don't Be A Fool" by Clarence Reid, and "Knockin At The Wrong Door" by The Rollers. 2LP version features a great 12 x 12 fold out color insert in the middle – and includes 4 bonus tracks – instrumental versions of "Play With Fire" by The Rollers, "True Love Don't Grow On Trees" by Helene Smith, and "There Goes My Baby" by James Knight & The Butlers – plus the cut "Frenchy The Tickler" by Johnny K Killens & The Dynamites.

The birth of Miami soul, and a beautifully done document of the rare Deep City label – home to Willie Clarke, Clarence Reid, and Betty Wright in the years before Alston and TK Records! Way before Miami soul started cracking the charts at the start of the 70s, Deep City was already putting the best parts in place – working with a tight roster of artists and an equally tight in-house band that rose from the ranks of Florida A&M's Marching 100 band – razor-sharp instrumentalists who helped forge a groove worthy to rival the sounds of Memphis, Muscle Shoals, and even the best of Detroit at the time – given that some of the work here has a much sweeter soul sound than other 60s southern soul. As usual, the Numero team have done an incredible job with the package – pulling out rare photos, personal stories, and just the right amount of information to breathe new life into the Deep City label and help it live anew. Titles include "Paralyzed" and "Good Lovin" by Betty Wright, "Am I A Good Man" by Them Two, "Someone To Fulfill My Needs" and "I Love You Baby" by The Moovers, "I Am Controlled By Your Love" and "Willing & Able" by Helene Smith, "Good Thing (part 1)" by Frank Williams & The Rocketeers, "It's My Baby" and "The Upset" by Paul Kelly, and "Stay Away From My Johnny" by Freda Gray & The Rocketeers. 2LP version features 6 bonus tracks – all instrumental – including "Good Lovin (inst)", "I Love You Baby (inst)", "Darling I'll Go (inst)", and "Am I A Good Man (inst)" by The Deep City Band – and "Stay Away From My Johnny (inst)" and "Good Thing (part 2) (inst)" by The Rocketeers.

A glorious batch of unearthed soul and funk from the early 70s central Ohio scene – the storming singles of Prix label – culled from ultra rare 45s plus previous unreleased gems! Prix was the imprint started to release work captured at Columbus's Harmonic Sounds studios commercially – pummeling funk, uptempo harmony soul, some heavy organ groovers and beyond – work by the Royal Esquires, Eddie Ray, Joe King, Marion Black and others. Most of the tracks were cut in the first few years of the 70s – at a time when when central Ohio was producing soul and funk as mighty as the bigger midwestern cities of Detroit, Memphis and Chicago – standing just as tall even if it didn't get over as well in the marketplace! Some tracks were issued as Prix 45s in the early 70s, and others were never officially released – culled from finished masters, demos and other studio material that was only recently discovered! Titles include "Wait A Minute", "You Got Me" and more by Eddie Ray, "Mystic" and "Mister Kidneys" by OFS Unlimited, "Speak On Up" and "Your My Everything" by Joe King, "Ain't Gonna Run" by Royal Esquires, "Listen Black Brother" by Marion Black, "Melon Jelly" by Soul Ensemble, "I'm Gonna Gitcha" by Chip Willis & Double Exposure and more. LP has 2 bonus cuts – 21 tracks in all!

An amazing look at the psychedelic scene in late 60s Memphis – music that's really mindblowing for the time, yet which often never got its due – given the stronger mainstream focus on Memphis as a hub for blues and soul! (In other words, had any of these cats hit the Sunset Strip in the late 60s, they would have been huge!) Given that Memphis already had a strong studio scene in place – where some of these musicians worked on other sessions – the recordings here are incredibly advanced – often full of cool production techniques and other little twists and turns – all elements that take already-great fuzzy, freaky, hairy rock and roll – and turn it into something even more incredible by the time it's caught on tape! Most of these names are new to our ears, and the package is definitely a historical treasure trove – as pleasing to our record collectors' sensibilities as the music is to our ears. Sound quality is excellent, and many numbers have not been issued before – titles that include "Eat Me Alive" and "We're In Town" by The Goatdancers, "Crazy Man's Woman" and "Shoo Shoo Shoo Fly" by Greg McCarley, "Blue Music Box" by Changin Tymes, "For Your Love" by the Honey Jug, "Rockin In The Same Old Boat" by Triple X, "Deja Vu" by Judy Bramlett, "Come On Along & Dream" by The Poor Little Rich Kids, "Flying Horse Of Louisiana" by Knowbody Else, "Dancing Girl" by The 1st Century, and "Ticket To Ride" by Mother Roses – plus an advertisement for The Goatdancers too!

The first full look at a near-lost southern soul label – the tiny Minaret Records imprint, based down in Florida, but part of the larger family of labels held by Memphis powerhouse Sun Records! Working down in the Florida scene, Minaret had a fair bit of independence – and managed to cut some great indie soul sides that borrow elements of 60s Memphis soul, but make the whole thing come out with a fairly different sound. There's a looser, more relaxed feel to these Minaret sides – one that comes from the comfortable studio setting, and the cohesive house band – which provided an atmosphere that most other southern labels were starting to lose by the end of the 60s. The whole package is a great discovery in southern soul – supported by some great notes on both the company and the artists, and a set of 18 tracks that includes "Money Man" by Johnny Dynamite, "Fine Time" by Genie Brooks, "Eternally" by Willie Gable, "Don't Worry About Me" by Willie Cobbs, "Shell Of A Woman" by Doris Allen, "Blue Diamonds" by The Double Soul, "The Judgement" by Candy & Billy, "South Side Of Soul Street" by Genie Brooks, "Bright Star" by John Hamilton & Doris Allen, "You Have Done Me Wrong" by Willie Cobbs, and "Who's Been Warming My Oven" by Gable Reed.

A stellar batch of smoldering gospel soul and good word funk – long underappreciated material released in the early-to-mid 70s on the Truth & Gospel Truth labels, imprints of the mighty Stax Records! The sound is often early 70s Memphis soul & funk to the bone – a few strings bring some soaring moments, but the groove is nice and gritty – with the gospel coming from the heart & soul of the singers. The set features a couple of numbers from The Staple Singers released on Stax proper back in the day, plus lesser known and equally great numbers from Clarence Smith, The Marion Gaines Singers, The Rance Allen Group, The Sons Of Truth, Joshie Jo Armstead, Louise McCord and many more released on Truth & Gospel Truth in the first half of the 70s. Titles include "Son Of The Deacon" by The Sons Of Truth, "Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child" by Clarence Smith, "(There's Gonna Be A) Showdown" by Rance Allen Group, "You Can't Stop Me Now" by The Marion Gaines Singers, "it Will Soon Be Over" by The Marion Gaines Singers, "Stumbling Blocks, Steppin' Stones (What Took Me So Long)" by Joshie Jo Armstead, "Brand New Day" and "Name The Missing Word" by The Staple Singers and more. 20 tracks in all.

The first-ever tribute to the legendary American Studios – the late 60s Memphis powerhouse that was as important to the sound of the south as Fame, Stax, and Hi Records! American did work for a number of different labels, and had their own brief imprint as well – and like their better-known contemporaries, they had a core house band who could provide killer backup to just about anyone – as you'll hear from the great range of music in this collection! Like Fame, who started in soul and picked up a lot of rock business as the 60s moved on, American had a great way of crossing barriers between music – and really helping unite the sounds of the time through their legendary production work and super-sensitive instrumentation. The CD's an accompaniment to the similarly-titled book by Roben Jones, but comes with almost enough great notes to make for a book itself – and titles include "Nine Pound Steel" by Joe Simon, "You've Got My Mind Messed Up" by James Carr, "I'm In Love" by Wilson Pickett, "More Than I Can Stand" by Bobby Womack, "Let's Do It Over" by LC Cooke, "Suspicious Minds" by Mark James, "Born A Woman" by Sandy Posey, "The Letter" by The Box Tops, "Shake A Tail Feather" by James & Bobby Purify, "Son Of A Preacher Man" by Dusty Springfield, "Skinny Legs & All" by Joe Tex, "Funky Street" by Arthur Conley, and "Suzy Do It Better Than You" by Clay Hammond.