All Categories — All Formats  

The tenor sax here makes the album a standout – as John Coltrane still works with Miles Davis on 2 tracks for the record, but Blue Note stalwart Hank Mobley joins in on the rest! The approach is similar to that of the classic Coltrane/Davis years – and in a way, the record's kind of a swan song to that period – one of the last studio session that Miles would cut in such an unabashedly sweet and lyrical way. And while Mobley's always better known for his harder-blown notes at Blue Note, he sounds totally great here next to Davis – really keeping up the gentle spirit and spaciousness of the record, and working with a gentleness that surpasses even his work on the legendary Soul Station album. Rhythm is by the trio of Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, and Jimmy Cobb – and titles include Miles' classic version of "Someday My Prince Will Come", plus "Old Folks", "Teo", "Drad-Dog", and "Pfrancing".

Not necessarily the true story of house music – but a set that's mighty darn nice – and filled with a range of grooves that will definitely make you a fan of Elbee Bad right from the start! The music here is often way more complex than both standard dance and house – and certainly much more striking than the space where the two would often collide in too-commercial work from the start of the 90s. Instead, Elbee seems to echo some of the more experimental electronics of the German scene while also having an ear for Chicago and Detroit – completely confident in putting together his own version of modern music – yet also in ways that are not nearly as indulgent as the generation to come! The balance is key to the strength of this set – and titles include "Mr Terry Meets Mr Fingers", "I'm So Alone", "This Dream Is Real", "The Music Is Kicking", "S Shuffle", "Just Let Your Body Ride", "Just Don't Stop The Dance", "New Age House", and "I Like To Move (solid mixx)".

Tremendous work from the legendary Prince Lasha – a rare UK-only date from 1966 – and one that has the reedman working away from more familiar contemporaries like Sonny Simmons and Eric Dolphy! The approach on this session is very unique – as Lasha includes harp with the instrumentation, played by David Snell in a style that's right up there with Dorothy Ashby's best jazz work. Pianist Stan Tracey is also on board – playing beautiful notes that have a sharp modern edge, while still falling on the inside of the spectrum – and Lasha himself is especially great – blowing plastic alto sax and wooden flute, both of which have a slightly offbeat sound – but one that's surprisingly warm, which makes the album one of his most sensitive and soulful sessions ever! The tunes are a mix of standards and originals – and there's a wonderful sense of balance here – sounds that are sometimes more inside than other records from Lasha, but which have a really Dolphy-like sense of expression – right at home amidst a wider history of jazz, yet also reaching for new ideas at the same time. Pure genius throughout, and a record that was never made available to audiences in the US. Titles include "Nuttin Out Jones", "Impressions Of Eric Dolphy", "Out Of Nowhere", "Just Friends", "Body & Soul", and "Everything Happens To Me".

A full blown duets album by Bonnie Prince Billy and Dawn McCarthy of Faun Fables –co-headlining a straight-up beautiful set of tunes once sung by The Everly Brothers! They're not going for the hits here, rather taking on some of the more unusual Everly originals and covers – which include tunes written by Kris Kristofferson, Jackie Edwards, John Denver, King/Goffin and others. As longtime fans of The Everlys at their wierdest and most adventurous, we can't recommend this enough! Billy & Dawn clearly love the songs, and deliver with genuine warmth and affection – and go all in with the production, too! It's sweet and intimate, yet beautifully textured with steel, electric and acoustic guitars, mandolin, harmonium, flute, cello and keyboards – even a sousaphone and tuba! It's mostly got some leftfield country charm, but there's a chugging rocker or 2 in the mix, too. Titles include "Breakdown", "Empty Boxes", "Milk Train", "What Am I Llivng For", "My Little Yellow Bird", "So Sad", "Omaha", "Poems, Prayers And Promises", "Just What I Was Looking For", "Kentucky" and more.

A full blown duets album by Bonnie Prince Billy and Dawn McCarthy of Faun Fables – co-headlining a straight-up beautiful set of tunes once sung by The Everly Brothers! They're not going for the hits here, rather taking on some of the more unusual Everly originals and covers – which include tunes written by Kris Kristofferson, Jackie Edwards, John Denver, King/Goffin and others. As longtime fans of The Everlys at their wierdest and most adventurous, we can't recommend this enough! Billy & Dawn clearly love the songs, and deliver with genuine warmth and affection – and go all in with the production, too! It's sweet and intimate, yet beautifully textured with steel, electric and acoustic guitars, mandolin, harmonium, flute, cello and keyboards – even a sousaphone and tuba! It's mostly got some leftfield country charm, but there's a chugging rocker or 2 in the mix, too. Titles include "Breakdown", "Empty Boxes", "Milk Train", "What Am I Llivng For", "My Little Yellow Bird", "So Sad", "Omaha", "Poems, Prayers And Promises", "Just What I Was Looking For", "Kentucky" and more.

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 classic set of smooth 70s soul from an under-recognized genius! Phillip Mitchell is a bit like his Atlantic Records contemporary Sam Dees – in that he wrote a lot of material for other singers, recorded a handful of singles, and worked mostly in the southern scene – but he also had a sophisticated, modern style that sounded a lot more like work coming out of New York, Philly, or Chicago. This lost album for Atlantic is a great example of that fact – as it was recorded at Muscle Shoals, but also features some Philly elements too – creating a great mix of modes that's wonderfully unique! There's a feel here that's just like some of the best work from Leroy Hutson, Johnny Bristol, or Leon Ware at the same time – a majestic, mature approach to soul that's simply tremendous. Titles include "In Between Lovers", "Top Of The Line", "I'm So Happy", "Let's Get Wet", "Paying The Price", and "If It Ain't Love It'll Go Away". Also features the bonus track "Take Me Away".

A mad bit of soul psychedelia from Prince – a record that sounds better and better over the years, and which stands out from most of his 80s work thanks to some really unique production and songwriting! After Purple Rain, Prince did anything but wince in the face of living up to such a massive crossover smash – and if Around The World didn't move nearly as many units, it stands pretty tall these days. A mix of Revolution pop funk & soul, with a more swirling, self consciously psychedelic pop. Titles include the hit "Raspberry Beret", "Paisley Park" (with melody so strong, no wonder Prince held onto the name for other ventures) plus "Around The World In A Day", "America", "Temptation", "Pop Life", and "Condition Of The Heart".

"Shockadelica" did not appear on an LP.

Prince in near-peak form in the mid 80 – creatively, anyway! Parade is a brilliant stand-alone album, tough it doubles as a soundtrack to a film that flopped – standing today as one of our favorite Prince albums from the 80s! Includes the massively funky "Kiss", the closest Prince ever got to James Brown – and the whole album's got some great orchestral arrangements by Clare Fischer. Titles include "Christopher Tracey's Parade", "I Wonder U", "Under The Cherry Moon", "Girls & Boys", and "Anotherloverholenyohead".

An overlooked record in the grand scheme – which is unforgivable in our book! This self-titled album Prince's second LP, and already his vision is becoming a little more focused, and you could really hear the seeds of his later efforts – and really remarkable, unique, and fascinating record that stands up with some of his best work, and bucks all late 70s trends and cliches in pop, soul and funk. In some ways this is one of our favorite Prince LPs, as it has a kind of intimacy that was lacking on later LPs, or maybe it's because the hit "I Wanna Be Your Lover" has such a mad groove! "Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad" has the sly sound that would run throughout the rest of Prince's better work for years to come and Chaka Khan would later cover "I Feel for You" and hit large with it in the 80s. Also includes "Sexy Dancer", "With You" and "When We're Dancing Close And Slow".

Three tracks off Dirty Mind.

A rare little promo single – one that features 2 tracks from Prince's first self-titled LP, packaged up here for the dancefloor!

A later gem from Prince Buster – the early 70s Sister Big Stuff album – one that finds his voice as charismatic and soulful as ever! The record finds Buster not only adapting pretty nicely to the more upbeat reggae style on the period, but he's also successfully adapting some surprising numbers! It kicks off with "South Of The Border", a tune popularized by cowboy movie/country & western star Gene Autry – with thick bits of organ, a heavy rhythm, and Buster's easygoing vocals. There's more great numbers in a similar vein, plus takes on tunes made famous by Abyssinians, the title track, which is a riff on Stax soul heroine Jean Knight's "Mister Big Stuff" and more! Other tracks include "Still", "Why Not Tonight", "Wish Your Picture", "Sata A Masa Gana", "Stick By Me", "Young, Gifted And Black", "Stick By Me", "Cool Operator", "Stand Accused", "Protection" and more. 3 bonus tracks on the CD: "Police Trim Rasta" and "My Happiness",.

A classic of spiritual jazz! The album is one of the few rare pairings of Sonny Simmons and Prince Lasha from the 60s – and it's arguably the greatest album they ever cut! The set was recorded for the Contemporary label in LA, but it's far far different than the cool jazz that was the label's stock in trade during most of the 50s – done instead with a pulsating spiritual feel that really takes off as the album progresses! The lineup features the twin-reed frontline of Lasha on flute and Simmons on alto, plus an amazing rhythm section that includes 2 bass players (Gary Peacock and Mark Procter), who really give the tunes a pulsating feel overall – plus drums by Gene Stone. Titles include the famous groover "Congo Call", plus the tracks "AY", "Lost Generation", "Red's Mood", and "Green & Gold".

Prince Paul's first solo set – with the same dope production and sense of humor that have made all his other projects classics – even if this one's way overlooked in his canon! It's a bit of a concept album – with tracks that play out as chapters in the state of a messed-up hip hop mind state – over timeless beats with that slightly off kilter Prince Paul approach. 18 tracks in all, counting the interludes, including "Drinks (Escapism)", "Psycho Linguistics (Convergent Thought)", "Vexual Healing (Vacillation)" "Introduction To Psychoanalysis (Schizophrenia), "Beautiful Night (Manic Psychopath), "Open Your Mouth (Hypothalamus)", "That's Entertainment!? (Aversive Conditioning)", "In Your Mind (Altered States)" and "Booty Clap".

A crowning achievement for Rufus Thomas – a set that bubbles over with funky intensity, and one of the last great albums he ever recorded for Stax! The funky Rufus mode is still in full full swing here – with loads of tunes that have the word "funky" in the title – basically jamming numbers that seem to let Thomas loose on vocals – coming up with whatever sort of catchy lyrics he can over the romping grooves underneath. Titles include two of his best funky tracks "Funky Robot" and "Funky Bird" – plus "I Wanna Sang", "Steal A Little", "I'm Still In Love With You", "Baby It's Real", "Steal A Little", and "Git On Up & Do It".

2 of the best Rufus Thomas funky albums for Stax – back to back on a single CD! First up is Did You Heard Me – recorded in the early 70s with backing by The Movement and The Bar Kays, and with a good raw Stax sound on most cuts! Rufus is certainly in the "funky ___" mode here – doing a formulaic approach to funk that has him taking a theme for a song, and pushing it to the max by shouting and grooving it over and over again. Fortunately, the style still works well here – without the cliches of later albums, probably thanks in part to the album's tight funky backgrounds. The record features three tasty two-part single tracks – "The Breakdown (parts 1 & 2)", "Do The Push & Pull (parts 1 & 2)", and "Do The Funky Penguin (parts 1 & 2)" – all of which stand as some of Rufus' most-collected funky singles. Also features the groovy soul track "6 3 8", plus "Love Trap" and "The World Is Round". Crown Prince is a crowning achievement for Rufus Thomas – a set that bubbles over with funky intensity, and one of the last great albums he ever recorded for Stax! The funky Rufus mode is still in full full swing here – with loads of tunes that have the word "funky" in the title – basically jamming numbers that seem to let Thomas loose on vocals – coming up with whatever sort of catchy lyrics he can over the romping grooves underneath. Titles include two of his best funky tracks "Funky Robot" and "Funky Bird" – plus "I Wanna Sang", "Steal A Little", "I'm Still In Love With You", "Baby It's Real", "Steal A Little", and "Git On Up & Do It".

Ornette's masterpiece for Flying Dutchman – and a great set that features Charlie Haden, Dewey Redman, Ed Blackwell, and assorted unnamed "Friends & Neighbors". The majority of the tracks on the LP – "Let's Play", "Long Time No See", "Forgotten Songs", and "Tomorrow" – feature prime playing in the Ornette late 60s/early 70s mode, with a slight bit of a spiritual bent that marks the material from the rest of his work. The group is incredibly tight, and Blackwell and Haden have never sounded better. The title cut, though, is the real mind-blower. It's in 2 parts, with vocal accompaniment by the unnamed mass of "extras", and a tight pulsing groove, with what sounds like an electric bass, and Ornette wailing away on violin. Great stuff, and a record that we hardly ever see in the original!

One of the greatest crossover albums of the 80s – and the record that catapulted Prince very firmly into the mainstream! There's a tightness here that surpasses even that of Prince's early classics for Warner Brothers – an unabashed love of a pop hook that makes for some incredibly catchy tunes that are still delivered with a nice funky undercurrent. The whole Prince family is at the top of their game at this point – and titles include "Darling Nikki", "Let's Go Crazy", "I Would Die 4 U", "When Doves Cry", "Baby I'm A Star", and "Purple Rain".

The crown prince of reggae meets the heir apparent to the dub throne on these two classic and hard to get late 70s dub LPs collected by the folks over at Blood & Fire on one nice reissue disc! Prince Jammy gets to work in the now famous Tubby's lab on some heavy duty Dennis Brown produced rhythms, honing the bouncing jams down to to their bare essentials, then spicing up the mix nicely with some tastefully executed dub sauce! 20 track sin all, with "Umoja", "Guidance", "Cry Of The Destitute", "Something Special", "Sons Of Dust", "Mercy For The Needy" and "Structure" off the Umoja Love & Unity set and "Cop's Spy", "Ting A Ling Style", "Thunder", "Dancing In The Streets", "Open The Gates In Rhodesia", "Robbery In The City", "Murder" and "Ragga Muffin Style" off 20 Century Debwise.

John Carpenter's and Alan Howarth's creepy synth soundtrack to Carpenter's ominous Prince Of Darkness – and one of the coolest, most underrated of all of his classic soundtracks! This was a weird period for Carpenter's work as a director – having leaped from the gonzo, big budget action-fantasy-comedy Big Trouble In Little China to this one – a low budget, creepy-as-hell flick about cylinders of liquefied Satanic evil! The music is vintage Carpenter – sinister, minimalist synth bass and it's dark, dark, dark – in a foreboding, funky way! Includes "Team Assembly", "Darkness Begins", "A Message From The Future", "Hell Breaks Loose", "Mirror Image", "The Devil Awakens", "Opening Titles" and "Through The Mirror".

Mostly instrumental tracks from hip hop djs and producers including Rob Swift, Prince Paul, DXT, Invisible Scratch Pickles, Q-Bert, DJ Krush, New Kingdom, all overseen by Bill Laswell. Much better than your average Axiom stuff. Cover art by Rammellzee. 14 tracks in all, including "Reanimation" by Rob Swift, "ShinKi Row" by DJ Krush, "If 9 Was 6" by Prince Paul, "Invasion Of The Octopus People" by the Invisible Scratch Pickles and "Embryo" by DXT (formerly know as D. St).

Not necessarily the true story of house music – but a set that's mighty darn nice – and filled with a range of grooves that will definitely make you a fan of Elbee Bad right from the start! The music here is often way more complex than both standard dance and house – and certainly much more striking than the space where the two would often collide in too-commercial work from the start of the 90s. Instead, Elbee seems to echo some of the more experimental electronics of the German scene while also having an ear for Chicago and Detroit – completely confident in putting together his own version of modern music – yet also in ways that are not nearly as indulgent as the generation to come! The balance is key to the strength of this set – and titles include "Mr Terry Meets Mr Fingers", "I'm So Alone", "This Dream Is Real", "The Music Is Kicking", "S Shuffle", "Just Let Your Body Ride", "Just Don't Stop The Dance", "New Age House", and "I Like To Move (solid mixx)".

Here begins the period that Prince went from a fascinating, genre defying hitmaker to an unstoppable cultural force – bringing a bit of a new wave pop punch to the funky synth soul – and somehow crafting some of the most irresistible singles of the 80s! We can't imagine anyone being able to convince us that 2 better singles than "Little Red Corvette" and "1999" came out of the 80s, and both of those are on here – enough said. Titles include "Let's Pretend We're Married", "Lady Cab Driver", "All The Critics Love U In New York", "International Lover", "DMSR", and "Delirious".

A mad bit of soul psychedelia from Prince – a record that sounds better and better over the years, and which stands out from most of his 80s work thanks to some really unique production and songwriting! After Purple Rain, Prince did anything but wince in the face of living up to such a massive crossover smash – and if Around The World didn't move nearly as many units, it stands pretty tall these days. A mix of Revolution pop funk & soul, with a more swirling, self consciously psychedelic pop. Titles include the hit "Raspberry Beret", "Paisley Park" (with melody so strong, no wonder Prince held onto the name for other ventures) plus "Around The World In A Day", "America", "Temptation", "Pop Life", and "Condition Of The Heart".

Titles include "The Future", "Electric Chair", "Vicki Waiting", "Partyman", "Scandalous", and "Batdance".

Recorded in 1987, but never officially released until 1994, when Prince was trying to get out of his Warners contract. Prince's attempt to return to his more funky side after flirting with more straight pop songs was a Holy Grail amongst collectors for a time, and though we don't like it as much as his first couple of albums, there are more than a few good moments on here, and it certainly stands up better than most of what came after. 8 songs: "Le Grind", "Cindy C", "Dead On It", "When 2 R In Love", "Bob George", "Superfunkycalifragisexy", "2 Nigs United 4 West Compton" and "Rockhard In A Funky Place".

Prince in a grand groove – actually a better record overall than Around The World In A Day, and one of our favorite Prince albums! Sure, it was the soundtrack to a film that flopped – and that might be the reason this one can get slighted in discussion of his better albums. This one deserved better – and it includes the massively funky "Kiss", the closest Prince ever got to James Brown – but the whole album's got some great sweeping, pop psyche orchestral arrangements by Clare Fischer. Titles include "Christopher Tracey's Parade", "I Wonder U", "Under The Cherry Moon", "Girls & Boys", and "Anotherloverholenyohead".

A sprawling classic from Prince – that tracks that perfect the pop, funk & soul kaleidoscope of his best 80s jams, and adding a remarkable, previously unexplored depth and breadth of styles! A lot of folks tried to designate Prince's massive, fearless, beginning-of-the-end-of-the-80s epic Sign O The Times as his What's Going On – which was never really fair to Prince, or to Marvin Gaye for the matter – but it's filled with great cuts – including the minimalist funky groover of a title track, with its superficial social consciousness that's very much of its 80s era, and all the more fascinating for that – plus massive hit "U Got The Look", "If I Was Your Girlfriend", "I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man", "The Cross", "Hot Thing", and "Starfish & Coffee". 17 tracks in all.

One of Prince's biggest tunes ever – and a track that still sounds surprisingly great to our ears these days!

This is sort of a Prince Jammy riff on the format of the popular Junjo Lawes-produced Scientist dub series. Nonetheless, he steps up to bat, and indeed defeats the evil planet munchers, with the able help of the Roots Radics rhytnm section. Recorded at Channel One and mixed at Tubby's – and how can you argue with that!? Fat, heavy rhythms dubbed into deep, deep outer space by the heir to the throne! 8 tracks in all, including "Conspiracy On Neptune", "Saturn Bombardment", "Attack on Ganymede", "Martian Encounter", "The Great Red Spot", "Life On Uranus", "Final Destruction" and "War In The Asteroid Belt".

UK import 12" of what was released as a B-side in the US around the release of his Controversy LP, followed by by two of his hits from 2 previous albums, in the red tiger stripe cover.

While many listeners were first introduced to Horace Andy's beautiful falsetto singing through his more modern collaborations with Massive Attack, it's his original work for Studio One and some of these great sides cut in the mid 70s that we keep returning to. After he parted with Coxsonne Dodd, Andy worked with a handful of different producers, including NY based Everton DaSilva, for whom he cut this classic set of tunes, a more clear statement of his own personal vision. The backing and includes both Leroy Sibbles & Augustus Pablo, 2 of the heaviest songwriters in their own right, and the second half of this CD is a bonus dub LPs worth of material, cut by Prince Jammy, at the height of his knob-twirling prowess. Includes the essential title track, "Do You Love My Music", "Collie Herb" and "Problems".

A sweet little pre-Philly single from Archie Bell! "Dancing To Your Music" is produced by Prince Phillip Mitchell, and it's got a lightly swinging groove that brings out a really soulful side of Archie. The group's got some excellent harmony vocals in the background, and there's still a bit of the tight guitar from earlier records. "Count The Ways" is a great one too, with a heavy funk sound that's quite different for the group – and which gives them a really righteous groove, plus there's a nice psychedelic break towards the end too!

Ahhh. . . Nice! Wonderful intelligent, spiritual rhymes, full of Islamic prayer references, blunt antagonist rhymes, a battle with the ugliest of inner demons and broken artist poverty all hugged by catchy bouncing hook filled choruses. And all the production is handled by Ant, a true autuer akin to Pete Rock, now becoming more comfortable with his art with each release: tight organ loops, snapping drums, bright horns and nice upright basslines. "Soulful" is the key adjective here. Tracks include "Star Quality", "Pay Them Back", "Shadows On The Sun", "Forest Whitiker", "Room With A View", "Back Stage Pacin", "Missing Teeth", "Dorian", "Soul Whisper", "Champion", "Prince Charming", and more! Side F to this triple vinyl set has 4 added instrumental versions!

The last-ever live performance of the legendary Dave Brubeck Quartet with Paul Desmond – recorded in 1967, but issued here for the first time ever! The group was the stuff of legend in the 50s and 60s – Dave's incredible approach to piano and time signatures, supported by amazing rhythm progressions from bassist Eugene Wright and drummer Joe Morello – topped by some completely sublime work on alto sax by the mighty Paul Desmond! Throughout the 60s, the group really expanded their sound wonderfully – through a set of richly exploratory albums for Columbia Records, taking their core approach into a wide range of new styles and formats that really made for some beautiful music. Here, they deliver a stellar swan song – working in a live performance that brings back a few classics, and also shows some of the new territory they'd taken too – all recorded beautifully, at a level that makes the record a perfect pairing with their studio albums for Columbia – almost as if the label had been holding back a gem after all these years. Titles include "For Drummers Only", "La Paloma Azul", "Three To Get Ready", "Someday My Prince Will Come", "I'm In A Dancing Mood", "Set My People Free", "Take Five", and "You Go To My Head".

The best of a handful of albums that the one-time Prince bassist put out in the early 80s – a record that made a splash via the great Prince-penned "The Dance Electric" – possibly a blessing and a curse for AC, as Prince was so huge at the time that the record going public was too quick to dismiss him as a clone! But don't let that stop you – as Cymone's got a groove that's all his own – and an 80s soul star definitely worth rediscovering. The percussive vibe is similar to Prince, but Andre's got a leaner, funkier style overall – virtually working as a one man band here, and handling most instrumentation himself – which brings a compact feel to the record that really comes through in the tightness of the grooves. Titles include "The Dance Electric", "Lipstick Lover", "Pretty Wild Lover", "Book Of Love", "Vacation", "Satisfaction", and "Neon Pussycat".

It's easy to survive the 80s when you've got an army of future-suit cats behind you – and given the groove here, it's clear that Andre Cymone was doing way more than just surviving back in the day! The set's a super-tight batch of 80s grooves – with a sharp sound that comes from lots of keyboards, drum programs, and bass bits – performed almost entirely by Cymone himself, but with a fullness that rivals some of the bigger electro funk acts of the time! Vocals have the right sort of flash to match the rhythms – almost a Prince quality at times – and titles include "MOTF", "Make Me Wanna Dance", "Lovedog", "Body Thang", "Survivin In The 80s", and "What Are We Doing Here".

It's easy to survive the 80s when you've got an army of future-suit cats behind you – and given the groove here, it's clear that Andre Cymone was doing way more than just surviving back in the day! The set's a super-tight batch of 80s grooves – with a sharp sound that comes from lots of keyboards, drum programs, and bass bits – performed almost entirely by Cymone himself, but with a fullness that rivals some of the bigger electro funk acts of the time! Vocals have the right sort of flash to match the rhythms – almost a Prince quality at times – and titles include "MOTF", "Make Me Wanna Dance", "Lovedog", "Body Thang", "Survivin In The 80s", and "What Are We Doing Here". CD features 4 bonus tracks – both 12" mixes and instrumental versions of "Survivin In The 80s" and "Make Me Wanna Dance".

Classic 60s pop from Jackie DeShannon – served up here with a massive batch of bonus tracks too! The core album was issued after Jackie's successful run opening up for The Beatles during their first American tour – but more than that easy association with the Fab Four, the record's actually a surprisingly great batch of material with a sweet west coast pop groove – and one that includes a fair number of original tunes written by Jackie herself! Jackie's ability to write her own material really made her stand out amongst sweeter female 60s singers – and it ensured that on an album like this, she'd be working with a depth that went beyond simple pop, and which avoided the over-trodden filler that clogged up too many other albums of the genre. Bonus tracks follow in a similar DeShannon-penned spirit – and the CD features a total of 20 tracks that include "She Don't Understand Him Like I Do", "Should I Cry", "You Won't Forget Me", "Did He Call Today Mama", "When You Walk In The Room", "Oh Boy", "The Prince", "Over You", "Till You Say You'll Be Mine", and "Today Will Have No Night".

A cool jazz classic from altoist Paul Desmond and guitarist Jim Hall! The album was recorded under Desmond's name, but Hall's the guitarist throughout, and his playing lends an indescribably wonderful edge to the set, making the album a real team effort! Unlike other RCA sides by Hall and Desmond, this one features the pair with larger string backings by Bob Prince, which create a dreamy pillow for alto and guitar to solo across. Titles include the Desmond originals "Late Lament" and "Desmond Blue" – plus "Ill Wind", "My Funny Valentine", and "Like Someone In Love".

An infectious batch of soul tunes from Raheem DeVaughn – his long overdue debut for Jive Records! Raheem stands apart from many in the mainstream soul and neo soul, not because he wears his influences so proudly on his sleeve, but in the way he wears them. Raheem's soul style is born of love for singers from Marvin Gaye, to Prince, to D'Angelo, to the Isleys and beyond – but his approach to songcraft and recording is born of hip hop and mixtapes – in which he can appropriate a given groove into his own tunes. The album's full of peaks and valleys, and the peaks are worth the the climb! Tracks include "The Love Experience", the Kenny Dope-produced "Guess Who Loves You More", "Who", "Where I Stand", "Breathe", "You", "Sweet Tooth", "Ask Yourself", "Believe", "Is It Possible", "Catch 22", "You", "Cadillac", "Green Leaves" and more!

A trio of amazing albums – all of which really live up to the legend of Kim Fowley! First up is the well-titled Outrageous – one of the wildest albums ever from LA scenester Fowley – done in a very weird, very messed-up style that sort of sounds like The Stooges meet The Modern Lovers meet Alice Cooper! Fowley's fantastic on vocals – which are sort of of screeched and screamed, with revolutionary Riot On Sunset Strip-type lyrics, fused with a bit of Jim Morrison stoner spiritualism – a lot more compelling than you'd expect, and really mindblowing all the way through! The album's a perfect illustration of the genius that made Kim legendary, even when he wasn't having much of an impact on the mainstream – and titles include the incredible "Animal Man", plus "Hide & Seek", "Chinese Water Torture", "Bubble Gum", "Inner Space Discovery", and "Caught In The Middle". Next is Born To Be Wild – mindblowing organ work from the mighty Kim Fowley – a rare instrumental set that has Kim carving out amazing sounds on the organ that really match is vocal force on other records of the time! The set's a bit more soulful than usual for Fowley – a record that almost pushes a soul instrumental sound more strongly than Kim's usual Sunset Strip sleaze – although there is a nice fuzzy undercurrent to the record at times too! The set burns like some lost Tower Records soundtrack – and titles include "Born To Be Wild", "Soul Limbo", "Space Odyssey", "I Can't Stop Dancing", "Savage In The Sun", "Fresno1963", and "Pictures of Matchstick Men". Good Clean Fun is filled with awesome work from madman Kim Fowley – an album that offers hard rockers, some nice groovers, and even some trippier tracks that feature spoken or performed bits! The record's got a really wonderful approach that's a look at the lost genius of the LA scene of the late 60s – emphasized by an appearance on the record by Rodney Bingeheimer, the mayor of Sunset Strip, plus work by Motorcycle John and the Frog Prince! If you've ever heard about Fowley, but never found the record to truly convey his insanity on record, this is the one to check out – as it's as brilliant as it is insane! Titles include "Energy", "Baby Rocked Her Dolly", "Motorcycle", "One Man Band", "Good Clean Fun", "Search For A Teenage Woman", "I'm Not Young Anymore", "Lights The Blind & Lame Can See", and "Kangaroo".

A split single by some esteemed Billys – folkish indie mainstay Bonnie Prince Billy and Texas boogie rock great Billy F Gibbons of ZZ Top – and each covering Fleetwood Mac! Gibbons & company cover the very early Mac song "Oh Well" on the A-side, and honestly, it's pretty great! It's a loose, swaggery, bluesy thing, though not in a typical ZZ Top way – but Gibbons is Gibbons – with his charismatic, gravely voice out front of those signature electric licks. He's backed by Blake Mills, Danielle Haim and Matt Sweeney. Sweeney & Bonnie Prince Billy cover "Storms" on the other side – and it's another win – one that shows real respect for the Stevie Nicks-penned song, by furnishing it sparey and singing it well!

Joe Gibbs and Errol Thompson more than live up to their title as the Mighty Two just as this heavy compilation more than lives up to the title of nothing but scorchers! Gibbs and ET showcase their mastery of all styles here, veering from hard and heavy roots to sweet lover's numbers and even a few bouncing tracks aimed a the dancehall! Top notch singers and dee jays are all featured over throbbing rhythms at the hands of Gibbs' Professionals crew, with 28 tracks in all, including "Two Sevens Clash" by Culture, "Babylon Too Rough" by Gregory Isaacs, "Cool Out Son" by Junior Murvin, "Boxing Around" and "No Man's Land" by Cornell Campbell, "Just Like A River" by the Mighty Diamonds, Left With A Broken Heart" by George Nooks, "Funeral" by Prince Alla,"Rockers A Nuh Crackers" by Glen Washington, "Jah Bring I Joy In The Morning" by Bobby Melody, "Burn Babylon" by Sylford Walker, "Keep On Knocking" by Jaco Miller, "Virgin Girl" by Eek-A-Mouse, "Hello Carol" by Enos McLeod, and "UptownTop Ranking" by Althea & Donna.

With Dennis Gonzalez on trumpets, both acoustic and electric – plus Prince Lasha on reeds, Ed Smith on vibes, and James Zitro on drums and percussion!

Larry Graham's definitely got his groove back – and steps out here with his funkiest album in years! Graham's not content to just recall the glory days of Graham Central Station – as he really goes for a nice range of flavors in the set – including a taste of New Orleans, heard in the opening drumline on the record – then echoed by some of the tight horn parts in other sections – even though other numbers move into a tighter electric funky style. As before, the bass is definitely driving the bus on most numbers – and Larry's got help on the set from both Prince and Raphael Saadiq – whose vocals really help expand the sound too. Titles include "Throw N Down The Funk", "Raise Up", "Shoulda Coulda Woulda", "Higher Ground", "Welcome 2 Our World", "Movin", and "One Day".

How many different personalities does Dan the Automator have? Way better than we'd expected, but we were only expecting a sort of joke one-off project. We should have known better, given that Prince Paul's themed projects (like Prince Among Thieves) have been pretty dope. Guest spots by just about everyone: Money Mark, DJ Shadow, Del, J-Live, etc. etc. Tracks include "Metaphysical", "Waterworld", "Truth", "Projects", "Sunshine", "Runway Song" "Rock N Roll (Could Never Hip Hop Like This)" and more.

2 rare large group sets – back to back on one CD! First up is Saxes Inc – a unique sax-heavy session done by Warner Brothers, and a blaring batch of tracks played by an all-star all-sax group that includes Herb Geller, Phil Woods, Gene Quill, Al Cohn, Zoot Sims, Seldon Powell, Hal McKusick, and Georgie Auld! Bob Prince arranged and conducted, and the approach is surprisingly modernist, with the saxes carrying the bulk of the rhythm and melody, as well as the solos – a really great approach that makes for plenty of unique moments – all handled with a sound that's a lot more fluid than you might expect! Titles include "Four Brothers" (of course!), "The Gypsy", "Night In Tunisia", "Jumpin With Symphony Sid", and "Axmobile". The second album here is the even rarer 1956 set Trombone Scene – a session done with a much smaller group arranged by pianist Elliot Lawrence, and featuring the talents of four key trombonists – Eddie Bert, Jimmy Cleveland, Urbie Green, and Jimmy Knepper. The sound isn't nearly as full or wide as other records of the type – and there's almost a style that's similar to the JJ Johnson/Kai Winding four trombone project for Debut – except that this one's a bit more tightly arranged. Tracks are shortish, but feature plenty of personality from all players – and titles include "Plungin In", "Hackin Around", "Slim Jim", "Sorta Rumbish", "Hambone", "Sonny's Side", and "Up & Out".

Rick James fires it up at the end of the 70s – stepping out at full star power that has him rivaling the strength of Bootsy Collins at Warner, and paving the way for the rise of Prince in the early 80s! As with Prince, James' version of funk here is a bit offbeat – lots of riffing guitars in the mix, and a bad-strutting groove that's still conventional mainstream funk of the time, yet with some edgier elements that led Rick to label his music as "punk funk" (or was it "funk punk"?) Given the end-of-70s spirit, you might also say that some of the cuts were aimed at the dancefloor – although James was never really one to storm the discos as much as others. Titles include "Love Gun", "Fire It Up", "Come Into My Life", "Lovin You Is A Pleasure", and "Stormy Love".

Joy Division recorded live at The Prince Of Wales Conference Center, below the YMCA – and a pretty stunning document of the pioneering band's mix of raw intensity with heavy mood – in a rare live setting! It's a legendary set – one that kicked off a 4 night series of shows at the venue that also included Throbbing Gristle, The Teardrop Explodes, Echo & The Bunnyman, Scritti Politti and others. Joy Division brings an intensity that shows their roots in punk rock, but also hints at the moodier sounds to come. It's a soundboard recording and of much better quality than is often found in similarly captured performances by underground heavies of the era. Includes "Dead Souls", "Disorder", "Wilderness", "Autosuggestion", "Transmission", "Day Of The Lords", "She's Lost Control", "Shadowplay", "Atrocity Exhibtion" and "Insight".

Rare funk from the same Minneapolis scene that gave the world Prince – a legendary indie set from the end of the 70s, put together by Lewis brothers Pierre and Andre! Despite their French names, the duo have a mighty American groove on the set – a wicked approach to funk that's very much in the best ensemble mode of the period – but leaner too, given the smaller lineup, and relatively sparse production – which makes most of the record bristle like some rare boogie 45! Vocals are by the brothers, plus female singer Barbara Bolar, and later Prince-mate Sonny Thompson – and Prince himself even adds in some slight magic to one cut on the set. Titles include "Dynamic Duo", "Got To Be Something", "Get Up", "Higher", "Feel Good To Ya", and "Mr G". (And for the record, the group's name on the cover was originally the Lewis Conection – but our spell checker has the title listed with the regular spelling!)

Nice nice reissue of one of the greatest records to come out of Galt MacDermot's legendary Kilmarnock label! The album's a weird off-kilter batch of jazzy instrumentals, with Galt playing acoustic and electric piano – and with backing by a tight little combo that includes Pretty Purdie on drums, Snag Napoleon Allan on guitar, and Jimmy Lewis on bass. Lewis' bass is especially nice, and he lays out some very phat lines next to Galt's groovy piano solos. The record's not an all-out funk classic, but it's got some wonderfully warm rolling riffs in the typical Galt MacDermot style. Titles include "Coffee Cold", which was sampled by Prince Paul, "The Mouse Roared", "Mbabam", "Marsh Gas", "Alive In Dar Es Salaam", and "Spanish Night".

2 killers from the legendary Galt MacDermot – composer, jazz musician, and hero to beatheads and samplers everywhere! First up is Shapes Of Rhythm – a weird off-kilter batch of jazzy instrumentals, with Galt playing acoustic and electric piano – and with backing by a tight little combo that includes Pretty Purdie on drums, Snag Napoleon Allan on guitar, and Jimmy Lewis on bass. Lewis' bass is especially nice, and he lays out some very phat lines next to Galt's groovy piano solos. The record's not an all-out funk classic, but it's got some wonderfully warm rolling riffs in the typical Galt MacDermot style. Titles include "Coffee Cold", which was sampled by Prince Paul, "The Mouse Roared", "Mbabam", "Marsh Gas", "Alive In Dar Es Salaam", and "Spanish Night". Woman Is Sweeter is an excellent funky soundtrack – and features the totally cool sample for Buster Rhymes' big single last year, laid out in the track "Space". Lots of other cool spare funky tunes abound, and the set is a great record all the way through, with loads of weird flatly funky tunes and offbeat rhythms. Titles include "Tango", "Woman Is Sweeter", "Perfume Bottles", "Merry Go Round", "Princess Gika", and "Bathtub". CD also includes a bonus version of "Coffee Cold"!

We remember when this one came out, everyone sort of put it down and said that Prince was caught in a crisis of overproduction. Now, though, from the perspective of his crap work in the 90s, this album stands as a beautiful bit of 80's jazz funk – and a cool batch of instrumentals that have a very classic Prince sound, plus a jazzy tinge that's all their own. The cuts are titled simply "1", "2", "3", etc – and the cover is worth the price alone!

A classic set of soul jazz from Chicago – a rare indie date recorded in the early 80s, but with a tight and swinging feel that's more 70s jazz funk than you might think! Corky's on Yamaha keyboards, and he's backed by a hip group of Chicago players that includes Curtis Prince on drums, Artee Duke Payne on saxes, and Stephen Harris on guitars – all working together in a tightly rhythmic sound with some slight spiritual undercurrents – almost in the same territory as James Mason on his legendary record from a few years before! As with that set, there's a bit of polish here, but never too much – a balance that makes the record a wonderfully mature record with a depth that keeps it going for years. Byron Woods sings lead vocals on the album's jazz dance classic "Searching For Soul" – and a few other tracks feature Theresa Davis on lead vocals. Other titles include "Everything Must Change", "Open Wide", "Passion", "Jive Mama T", "Off C", and "Mirror Mirror".

A classic set of soul jazz from Chicago – a rare indie date recorded in the early 80s, but with a tight and swinging feel that's more 70s jazz funk than you might think! Corky's on Yamaha keyboards, and he's backed by a hip group of Chicago players that includes Curtis Prince on drums, Artee Duke Payne on saxes, and Stephen Harris on guitars – all working together in a tightly rhythmic sound with some slight spiritual undercurrents – almost in the same territory as James Mason on his legendary record from a few years before! As with that set, there's a bit of polish here, but never too much – a balance that makes the record a wonderfully mature record with a depth that keeps it going for years. Byron Woods sings lead vocals on the album's jazz dance classic "Searching For Soul" – and a few other tracks feature Theresa Davis on lead vocals. Other titles include "Everything Must Change", "Open Wide", "Passion", "Jive Mama T", "Off C", and "Mirror Mirror".

A key change for John McLaughlin – post-Mahavishnu, post-Shakti, and very much the electric guitarist promised in the title! The album's one of McLaughlin's more professional fusion outings of the 70s, but still has some of the earthiness of his roots – and despite a rather large lineup that includes players from both previous groups, plus some 70s fusion superstars, John still manages to make the album come across with a nicely personal feel. Guitars are acoustic and electric, six string and twelve – and titles include "Miles Davis", "Guardian Angels", "Singing Earth", "The Dark Prince", "The Unknown Dissident", and "Desire & The Contorter".

In A Word Or 2 remix produced by Prince.

One of the more electric projects we've heard from reedman David Murray in recent years – a collaboration with bassist Jamaaladeen Tacuma, who's still got the same righteous sound he had back in the 80s! The bass shades in the songs right from the start – as does the guitar of Mingus Murray too – but Murray's rock-solid and extremely soulful once he opens up, with tenor lines that are especially wonderful, plus a bit of bass clarinet – all heard here in a style that really takes us back to some of Tacuma's better moments of a few decades before. Other group members include Paul Urbanek on "recomposing keyboards" and Ranzell Merrit on drums – and titles include "How Sensitive", "Rendezvous", "Hotel Le Prince", "Theme On A Dream", "Bring It On", and "Yes We Can".

Pick any 10 words out of any Outkast album description on our pages at random, and you'll see how dearly we've loved these boys throughout the years – but truth be told, deep down we didn't think that they would be able to pull off the double album/solo album project(s). We were seriously wrong – Speakerboxxx/Love Below is HUGE in every way, and both halves are great all the way through! If you were worried Big Boi's Speakerboxxx half would be lazy southern hip hop without Andre's freaky presence throughout, you can put those fears to rest right now. Speakerboxxx is a deeply soulful electro hopping pounder from front to back – every bit as innovative as Andre's half! Tracks include "Ghettomusick" (which features one of just two appearances by A3000 on the whole disc), "Bowtie" with Sleepy Brown, "Bust" with Killer Mike, "Church", "Tomb Of The Boom" with Konkrete, Big Gipp and Ludacris, "Flip Flop" with Jay-Z, "The Way You Move" and more. A lot of press has been given to the assumption that Andre 3000 has largely forsaken hip hop on his half (The Love Below) and has instead dived head first into cosmic future funk. Well, the rumors are true. There's lots of straight up jazz piano and horn bits on the Love Below, with Andre's half serious, half tongue-in-cheek romantic soul cabaret croon way over the top. It's steeped in the classic Outkast party vibe, but with lots of Sign Of The Times-era Prince (complete with androgynous distorted vocals), Parliament and Cameo thrown into the mix. Sick, energetic genius! Tracks include the deliriously great "Hey Ya!" single, "She Lives In My Lap", "Love Hater", "Happy Valentine's Day", "Roses", "Good Day, Good Sir", "Behold A Lady", "Pink And Blue", "Spread", "Dracula's Lady" with Kelis, and more. Who the hell knows what they can possibly do to surprise us after this – but wherever Andre 3000 and Big Boi go from here, they each have yet another classic in the discography!

Title track from the Behind Bars LP produced by Prince Paul and released during Slick Ricks brief stay upstate.

A bit bluesy, a bit funky, and pretty raunchy all the way through – as you might expect from the name of the group! The group are a Johnny Otis side project from the late 60s – and the record's got lots of the weird funky touches of Johnny's own work of the time, all done at a nicely stoned-out style!. No players are named on the album – but vocals are by "The Mouth", guitar is by "Prince Wunnerful", and drums and piano are by "The Hawk", all of which leads us to believe that the record was cut by players with bigger status, who had something to hide! Titles include "Big John Jeeter", "The Signifyin' Monkey (parts 1 & 2)", "Hey Shine", and "Two Girls In Love (With Each Other)". Raunchy wraparound cover too – with a very Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers image!

A long-overdue compilation dedicated to the work of the great soul jazz vocalist Leon Thomas. If you don't know Thomas' own work, you might recognize him as the vocalist on some of Pharoah Sanders' great recordings, like "The Creator Has A Master Plan" and "Hum Allah Hum Allah". This beautifully packaged 2 LP set includes a bunch of tracks from his long out-of-print LPs on the Flying Dutchman label, plus tracks from other records in the 70's that he made appearances on, for a dozen cuts in all. The tracks are very well selected, and show the best side of Leon's soulful jazz style, with an emphasis on his more spiritual nature. Tracks include "Sun Song", "Balance Of Life", "Shape Your Mind To Die", "It's My Life I'm Fighting For", "Song For My Father", "Prince Of Peace", and a version of "The Creator Has a Master Plan". Nice set, and a much-needed tribute to one of the greatest jazz vocalists ever.

Classic! The third LP from the Time, and last before Morris Day went off and started his solo career – though by this point Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis had departed the group. Nonetheless, the sound is still tight modern funk, with Jesse Johnson and crew keeping things in the great post-Prince Minneapolis pop-funk sound, including some nice dance numbers like "Jungle Love" and "The Bird" – and Morris just being Morris on cuts like "My Drawers", "Chili Sauce" and "If The Kid Can't Make You Come".

A classic post-Prince project from the team of Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman – work that builds off the funky pop sensibility they first forged with the purple one, but which comes across a bit more mainstream overall! There's certainly some of the snappier rhythms that the pair worked in while with Prince & The Revolution, but there's also plenty of late 80s pop production on the keyboards, drums, and vocals – that kind of compressed approach that sounded great on mainstream radio, and which seems especially focused here on the hooks of the tunes. Titles include "Waterfall", "Sideshow", "Honeymoon Express", "The Life", "Chance To Grow", "Blues Away", and "Light". CD also features four bonus tracks – "Honeymoon Express (12" mix)", "Sideshow (ext version)", "Waterfall 89 (Alice & Sundial Seven mix)", and "Waterfall (psychedelic teepee 12" mix)".

One of the few funky albums ever cut as a leader by Larry Willis – a super-hip keyboard player who's best known for his work with Jackie McLean and Hugh Masekela, but who sounds even better as a leader! This album's a gem all the way through – with a free-thinking soulful sound that's head and shoulders above the rest of the work on Groove Merchant at the time. Players include Harold Vick, Roland Prince, and Eddie Gomez – and the overall groove is an incredible array of soulful rhythms, played by Larry on electric piano, in a mode that makes the record feel like a lost gem from Strata East or Black Jazz. Includes the cuts "Out On The Coast", "153rd Street Theme", "Inner Crisis", and "Bahamian Street Dance".

Rarities from the mighty Yabby You – with some remarkably strong, though little heard rootsy dub from Yabby and his extended brethren – including some recently discovered bits! The title Deeper Roots works on dual fronts. It's got pretty rare material, discovered by the always deep diggers at Pressure Sounds – but the material has deeper spiritual resonance, too – with a nice Rasta vibe running throughout! Yabby is joined by King Tubby, Barrington Spence, the rarely recorded Prince Pampidoo, King Manuel, The Prophets and others. Includes "Valley Of Joeasaphat" and "Joeasaphat Rock" with Smith & The Prophets, "Don't Touch I Dread" with Barington Spence", "Tutch Dub" with Prophet All Stars, "Dip Them Bedward" with Prince Pampidoo, "Dub Them Bedward" with Prophet All Stars, "Forward On The Track" with King Miguel, "Caymamas Rock" with King Miguel & The Prophets, "Cleo's Dub" with Hot City Allstars and more. Also includes some exclusive dub plate mixes with King Tubby – featuring Tommy McCook, The Prophets and others! 19 tracks in all!

We can't think of a better title for this excellent compilation from Peanut Butter Wolf. The Badmeaningood series is a personal hip hop chronicle from the compiler, and as you'd expect from PBW, the definition here is taking somewhat less than literally, though there's no shortage of back in the day old school classics, mixed side by side with some unlikely candidates, but in a way that makes more than perfect sense. Mixed continuously front to back like your favorite mix tape this set takes you from Grandmaster Flash's "New Adventures Of Grandmaster Flash" to Keni Burke's "Risin' To The top (Snowboy's acoustic mix)" and stopping at all points in between, whether it's Iron Butterfly's "Soul Experience", Johnny Hammond's "Fantasy", The Cold Crush Brothers "Punk Rock Rap", Prince Far I's "Black Man Land", the Jungle Brother's "I'm Gonna Do You", the 45 King's "Funk Box (We Want To Hear The Beat box)", Roy Ayer's "Can't You See Me", The Human League's "Hard Times" and Alicia Myers "Don't Stop What You're Doin" and many more!

A compilation of sorts, but one with a really unified groove – thanks to the fact that most tracks here feature work by all the same players! The album's a project headed up by Lance Ferguson of the Bamboos – and it's a collection of funky 45-styled tunes with a definite old school feel – all billed to different artists, in a mode that's similar to some of the "fake" compilations done by Poets Of Rhythm years back! Like those records, the grooves here are all played by the same batch of musicians, named differently on each track – a combo that features Lance on some super-sharp guitar, and which sounds a lot like the best funky 45 work of The Bamboos. Even cooler, though, is the fact that all the cuts here are older funk classics from the late 60s and early 70s – killer originals that are redone here in versions that are as good, if not better than, the originals. CD features 12 titles that include "Whatcha Feel Is Whatcha Get" by Prince Nafa & His Polynesians, "Yo Yo" by Alvarado Rodriguez Trio + 4, "Honky Tonk Popcorn" by Pacific Rhythm Combo, "Black Feeling" by Luther Harris, "Executive Party" by Zoltar, "Licking Stick Licking Stick" by Rusty Garnett, and "Ghetto Funk" by Queens Community Show Band.

Funky covers galore – mostly contemporary tracks, but a few classics as well – all pulled together in support of the Craig Charles Show on BBC! Craig's got a long-standing reputation as a soul collector, funk fanatic, and all around groovy guy – and over the past decade, his show has almost become to funk and soul what John Peel's was to rock back in the day – a great place to discover new talents and revisit old ones! This package has all the key Charles hallmarks – and features a range of grooves that includes deep funk, Afrobeat, dub, and a few more contemporary modes – all of them funky. Titles include "Rocket Man" by The Stiff Naked Fools, "Insane In The Membrane" by Prince Fatty, "Hard Work" by Smoove & Turrell, "The Clap Hands Song" by T Bird & The Breaks, "Wait A Minute" by the Excitements, "Amen Brother" by The Bamboos, "Singalong" by Treva Whateva, "Shaft In Africa" by Mighty Showstoppers, "The Snake" by Al Wilson, "Satisfaction" by Incredible Bongo Band, and "The Bump" by The Haggis Horns.

A love letter to the legendary Fame Records – filled with unissued tracks and rare gems from the vaults! Fame was one of the great ones back in the day – the driving force behind Muscle Shoals soul music, and a company that helped really redefine the sound of the music in the 60s – thanks to incredible production, and a tight cast of studio musicians who knocked it out of the park on nearly every session! 21 of the set's 24 tracks have never been issued before – and, even more compelling, none were featured on the similar 7" box set from Ace – making the package a treasure trove of music, even for the serious soul collector. Titles include "Tell It Like It Is" by Big Ben Atkins, "Almost Persuaded" by Jackie, "You're So Fine" by James Barnett, "I Do" by June Conquest, "Your Helping Hand" by Otis Clay, "In The Heat Of Love" by Marjorie Ingram, "Steal Away 67" by Jimmy Hughes, "You Really Know How To Hurt A Guy" by Ralph Soul Jackson, "Let's Do It Over" by Travis Wammack, "For You" by George Jackson, "Baby Come Back" by Bobby Moore & The Rhythm Aces, "Keep On Talking" by Prince Phillip, "It Ain't No Harm" by George Byrd & The Dominoes, "Blind Can't See" by Richard Earl & The Corvettes, and "I Need Someone" by The Entertainers.

We can't get enough of Fame Records – that legendary powerhouse of southern soul in the 60s and 70s – and fortunately, the vaults of the studios have finally been opened after all these decades – and we're really getting the full picture of all the genius that went down in Muscle Shoals! This tremendous little package is essential southern soul listening for both the collector and newcomer – a whopping 24 tracks that virtually define the sound of the genre at its height – handled perfectly by producer Rick Hall and his core combo of crack musicians – working way past cliche to create some tremendous music on the set! A few of the artists here are names you'll know from Fame hits, a few more are lesser-knowns from the scene at the time – and a few more are even completely unknown – singers who weren't listed on the master tapes or studio records, but who are issued here because their vocals are so great. Titles include "Long Ago" by Ben & Spence, "It Tears Me Up" by James Barnett, "Take Me Back" by George Jackson, "Unfortunately" by Jackie, "Have Pity On Me" by Billy Young, "Don't Let It Be Sad" by June Conquest, "Fool For A Woman" by Prince Phillip, "Take It All Off" by Clarence Carter, "Are You Teasing Me" by Linda Carr, "I Can't Stop" by Big Ben Atkins, "Get In A Hurry" by Joe Simon, and "Midnight Affair" by George Soule.

Massive music we've never heard before – a really heavy helping of grooves from the Ivory Coast – an African scene that's hardly been tapped by crate diggers and collectors! There's a really fresh feel to the grooves overall – not just the familiar Afro Funk modes, but a nice range of styles that moves between rootsy local numbers through some great crossover styles, through even a few of the African Disco modes that are better known from other scenes! The tracks here are all massively funky – scoured out over the course of a number of different crate-digging trips to the coast – and the package presents the music with great images of the original record covers, too – so that you can still retain some of the feel of the rarity of the work, even though the collection presents things in an easy to handle format. Definitely one for fans of Soundway and Analogue Africa titles – with cuts that include "True Love" by Rato Venance, "Yatchiminou" by Jimmy Hyacinthe, "Kalabuley Woman" by Pierre Antoine, "Mammy Nia" by Nguessan, "Wazi Doble" by Gougoumangou, "Zadie Bobo" by Ernesti Djedje, "Unite" by Moussa Doumbia, "Mon Falou Nan" by Soro N Gana Et L'Orchestre Guilana-na, "Onginwe" by Prince Dgibs, and "Essemon Moupoh" by Jean Guehi.

Luxury for the common man – a nicely-priced CD set that offers up 35 tracks on 3CDs – more than enough to make every pauper into a prince! The work here follows in the same spirit as previous Luxury Soul volumes – a rich array of contemporary soul from the Expansion family of labels, mixed with some key classics from earlier years too – all laid out in a warm array of wonderful music! If you've shopped our Neo Soul section over the years, you might own a few of these tracks – but at this price, you can more than afford a bit of duplication – especially with a set list this nice. Titles include "So Sexy" by Gary Jenkins, "So Lovely" by Frank McComb, "Set In Stone" by Adriana Evans, "Love Makes" by James Day, "Much Too Much" by Brigette, "Chill Out" by Adika Pongo, "The Good Times" by The Emotions, "My Everything" by Gianna, "Olive Branch" by Preston Glass, "We Had To Say Goodbye" by Ray Gaskins, "Treasure" by Leza, "Show Me Love" by Westcoast Soulstars, ""La La" by Solo, and "Simpatico" by Maysa.

Seminal soul from one of Chicago's greatest labels in the 60s – the One-Der-Ful/Mar-V-Lus imprints, plus tracks from related Toddlin Town too – home to some of the best indie work at the time! The quality here is right up there with the best you'd hear from Chess, Okeh, or Brunswick in the 60s – no surprise, since the pair of labels shared lots of similar talents with the bigger companies – as well as session men, songwriters, and producers too! The full scope of Chicago soul is really covered here – upbeat groovers for the dancefloor, heartfelt ballads with great harmonies, and some of the harder-edged bluesy numbers that really helped put One-Der-Ful on the map! There's also some key early examples of funk – proof that in the 60s, Chicago was one of the hippest scenes in the world – and the set comes with 2 CDs, nestled in a hardback booklet of notes and photos – with a whopping 50 tracks in all. Titles include "Tired Of Being Lonely" by The Sharpees, "Without You" by The Ulti-Mations, "That's How It Is" by Otis Clay, "Keep On Dancin" by Alvin Cash, "The Funky Judge" by Bull & The Matadors, "I Get A Groove" by Thomas East & The Fabulous Playboys, "Damper Down" by Bobby Davis, "The Town I Live In" by McKinley Mitchell, "Come Back Home" by Beny Turner, "Master Key" by Harold Burrage, "If I Could Live My Life All Over" by Dorothy Prince, "You Told A Lie" by Johnny Sayles, "New Girl" by The Accents, and "Don't You Worry" by Joe & Mack.

A killer set of funky raw soul from the early 70s Norfolk, VA scene – literally Raw Soul – as the excellent group is at the heart and soul of all the material in the set! It features tracks credited to Raw Soul plus singers & groups Lanis Guess, Shirley Johnson, Sir Guy, Josephine Jones, Lee Fields, Page One and others – all heavy burners from the Virginia scene. The tunes are raw, soulful and tightly funky – with the guitar, bass and drums of Barry Saunders, Maurice Glass and Grover Elliot nicely raw and gritty throughout and the excellent sax work of Dorsey Brockington all over the set. It ranges from hard and heavy funk to less frenetic, stilly nicely gritty southern soul. Totally excellent – here's hoping more compilations are coming down the road! Titles include "How You Gonna Do It", "Leave My Beat Alone" and "The Gig" by Raw Soul, "That Beat's Got The Devil In It" by Lenis Guess, "Feels So Good" by Shirley Johnson, "Candy Man" by Josephine Jones, "Wrong Crowd" by Prince George", "Thank Goodness Gotta Good Woman" by Page One and more. CD has 4 bonus tracks: "Conflict" by The Symbolics, "Superman" (alternate vocal take) by Bargara Stant, "We're Gonna Make Love" by Lee Fields and "The Dance Of Love" by 35th Street Gang.

A sprawling set that commemorates the Reggae Golden Jubilee– one that's beautifully put together by VP – and featuring 100 pivotal tracks from the early 60s to the late 00s! Selector Mr. Seaga does a pretty terrific job on the tracklist – which focuses as much on tracks that proved to be among the most trailblazing as it does on big hits. It touches on the styles and subgenres from throughout reggae's history – from ska, to rocksteady, reggae, dub, deejay, dancehall and beyond – with bellwether material by Theophilus Beckford, Higgs & Wilson, Skatalites, U-Roy, Peter Tosh, Jimmy Cliff, Yellowman, Third World, Dennis Brown, Maxi Priest, Sugar Minott, Beres Hammond, Sizzla, Shaggy and many, many more. "Dumplins" by Byron Lee & The Dragonaires, "They Got To Go" by Prince Buster, "Bring Home" by Justin Hines & The Dominoes, "Rough And Tough" by Stranger Cole, "Hypocrite" by The Heptones, "Occupation" by Don Drummond & The Skatalites, "Wear You To The Ball" by U-Roy & The Paragons, "The A Fi Get A Beatin'" by Peter Tosh, "Police And Thieves" by Junior Murvin, "Right Time" by Mighty Diamonds, "Uptown Ranking" by Althea & Donna, "Over Me" by Yellowman, "Pass The Dutchie" by Musical Youth, "Try Jah Love" by Third World, "Wild World" by Maxie Priest, "One Blood" by Junior Reid, "Murder She Wrote" by Chaka Demus & Pliers, "Putting Up Resistance", by Beres Hammond, "You Don't Love Me (No No No)" by Dawn Penn, "Untold Stories" by Buju Banton, "Black Woman And Child" by Sizzla, "Gimme The Light" by Sean Paul, "Pon De River, Pon De Bank" by Elephant Man, "Welcome To Jamrock" by Damian "Jr Gong" Marley, "The Harder They Come" by Jimmy Cliff and more.

One of the grooviest compilations we've ever seen – a collection of work by American expatriates living in Israel at the end of the 70s – a hip blend of US funk and Hebrew spirituality! Most of the work here sounds like the best spiritual funk of the 70s – very much in an Earth Wind & Fire tradition of joy, love, and life – played in righteous ensemble mode with a good deal of jazz in the instrumentation alongside funkier rhythms on the bottom! The artists on the set originally hailed from Chicago and Detroit – and there's still strong influence from those scenes, particularly the early 70s sound of the Windy City. If you dig The Pharaohs and Pieces Of Peace, you'll find plenty here to love – and as usual with Numero Records, the whole thing comes with an amazing booklet of notes – the full story of this unique musical diaspora, supported with some great images as well. Titles include "Go To Proclaim", "Equilibrium", "Prince Of Zeal", "Junky Baby", and "Savior In The East" by Soul Messengers; "Holding On" and "Dimona" by Tonistics; "Daniel", "Burn Devil Burn", and "A Place To Be" by Spirit Of Israel & Soul Messengers; and "Hey There" and "Modernization" by Sons Of The Kingdom.

One of the grooviest compilations we've ever seen – a collection of work by American expatriates living in Israel at the end of the 70s – a hip blend of US funk and Hebrew spirituality! Most of the work here sounds like the best spiritual funk of the 70s – very much in an Earth Wind & Fire tradition of joy, love, and life – played in righteous ensemble mode with a good deal of jazz in the instrumentation alongside funkier rhythms on the bottom! The artists on the set originally hailed from Chicago and Detroit – and there's still strong influence from those scenes, particularly the early 70s sound of the Windy City. If you dig The Pharaohs and Pieces Of Peace, you'll find plenty here to love – and as usual with Numero Records, the whole thing comes with an amazing booklet of notes – the full story of this unique musical diaspora, supported with some great images as well. Titles include "Go To Proclaim", "Equilibrium", "Prince Of Zeal", "Junky Baby", and "Savior In The East" by Soul Messengers; "Holding On" and "Dimona" by Tonistics; "Daniel", "Burn Devil Burn", and "A Place To Be" by Spirit Of Israel & Soul Messengers; and "Hey There" and "Modernization" by Sons Of The Kingdom.

An excellent compilation that's very much in the spirit of the 100% Dynamite sets on Soul Jazz! This time, Soul Jazz dig through the vaults of the legendary Studio One catalog – some of the most important reggae and rocksteady ever recorded, virtually all of it produced under the tutelage of Clement "Coxone" Dodd. Much of this material has been floating around over the years, but we'd be hard pressed to think of a better collection of it – especially when considering the excellent fidelity of the set, which is way better than an of Dodd's own reissues of the material. Plus, the folks at Soul Jazz have gone out of their way to put together the tracks as an extremely well-thought out introduction to the music, not just a scattered batch of tunes that happened to be available. The set also includes a recent interview with Clement Dodd, plus loads of great rocksteady and early reggae tracks. Titles include "Surfin" by Ernest Ranglin, "Real Rock" by Sound Dimension, "Feel Like Jumping" by Marcia Griffiths, "Greedy G" by Brentford All Stars, "Village Soul" by Lennie Hibbert, "Ethiopia" by Cedric Brooks, "Crabwalking" by Prince Jazzbo, "Hot Milk" by Jackie Mittoo, "Badder Dan Dem" by Lone Ranger, and "Bobby Bobylon" by Freddy McGregor.

Another essential batch of Studio One Soul, every bit as great as the first! 18 more astoundingly great Jamaican renditions of soul and R&B numbers from the hands of Coxsone Dodd and his extraordinary stable of artists, some deeply soulful, and others with a more rootsy, raw grain to them. All flavors of reggae get represented here, but never departing from the soul theme, with dee jay numbers and dark dubs rubbing up against straight up renditions of numbers that are unafraid to pledge their allegiance to the great originals! Tracks include "Swing Easy" by the Soul Vendors, "Choice Of Colours" by the Heptones, "People Make The World Go Round" by Hortense Ellis, "Choice Of Music (Part 2)" by Jackie Mittoo and the Brentford Disco Set, "Thinking" by Ken Boothe, "Get Out Of My Life Woman" by Tony Gregory, "Fool For Love" by Prince Jazzbo, "Fancy Pants" by Jackie Mittoo, and "Darker Block" by the Dub Specialist.

A beautiful illustration of the sound of Studio One Records – that unique quality that makes the legendary label one of the most soulful sources of Jamaican music ever! The package is a surprisingly great treat – one that's still amazingly essential, even if you've got other Studio One collections – as it really has an unusual approach – one that seems to get past all the sub-genres of Jamaican music, and focus on the core genius of Studio One! In that respect, there's a very deep soul vibe to most of these tracks – almost a Kingston echo of Memphis or Muscle Shoals, not in the style of music – which is usually early reggae or rocksteady – but in the way all the core elements of the tunes come together perfectly, even before the singer's great vocals come into the mix! Once again, Soul Jazz prove that they've got a magical set of ears – as you'll hear on this collection of tracks that includes "Happy Feelings" by Dub Specialist, "Live Up To Your Name" by Prince Lincoln, "Happy Valley" by Reuben Alexander, "There's A Fire" by Larry Marshall, "Rolando Special" by Roland Alphonso, "Homeward Bound" by Freddie McGregor, "Hip Hug" by Slim Smith, "Good People" by Ras Michael & The Sons Of Negus, "Keep On Moving" by Lord Tanamo, "Trouble Maker" by Wailing Souls, "Call To Me" by Rita Marley, and "Double Minded Man" by Anthony Ellis.

Rare soul from Minneapolis – a surprisingly great source for grooves in the years before Prince and Morris Day! Turns out, the Twin Cities were already funky, way before the Purple One came into being – as you'll hear in this wealth of rare singles from the late 60s on up through the 70s – all of them mighty darn soulful, and most of them pretty dang funky as well! The wealth of work is really surprisingly – with strong echoes of styles going on in the Chicago and Detroit scenes at the time, but maybe even more surprising, given that Minneapolis/St Paul didn't have nearly the same amount of resources. The package is easily one of the best ever done by the Secret Stash label – a set that really ups the level of their reissues – with a motherlode of killer cuts that include "Love Me Leave Me" by The Valdons, "Sweet Smell Of Perfume" by Maurice McKinnies & The Champions, "Work Your Flapper (part 1)" by Jackie Harris & The Champions, "She's A Whole Lot's A Woman" by Mojo & His Chi 4, "I Ain't Gonna Cheat On You No More" by Willie Walker, "Save Me" by Wanda Davis, "Saxophone Disco" by Morris Wilson, "Honey From The Bee" by Willie & The Bumblebees, "The Max" by Prophets Of Peace, "Get Up" by The Lewis Connection, and "Rusty McDusty" by Morris Wilson.

Rare funk from the same Minneapolis scene that gave the world Prince – a legendary indie set from the end of the 70s, put together by Lewis brothers Pierre and Andre! Despite their French names, the duo have a mighty American groove on the set – a wicked approach to funk that's very much in the best ensemble mode of the period – but leaner too, given the smaller lineup, and relatively sparse production – which makes most of the record bristle like some rare boogie 45! Vocals are by the brothers, plus female singer Barbara Bolar, and later Prince-mate Sonny Thompson – and Prince himself even adds in some slight magic to one cut on the set. Titles include "Dynamic Duo", "Got To Be Something", "Get Up", "Higher", "Feel Good To Ya", and "Mr G". (And for the record, the group's name on the cover was originally the Lewis Conection – but our spell checker has the title listed with the regular spelling!)

A blaring batch of tracks played by an all-star all-sax group that includes Herb Geller, Phil Woods, Gene Quill, Al Cohn, Zoot Sims, Seldon Powell, Hal McKusick, and Georgie Auld. Bob Prince arranged and conducted, and the approach is surprisingly modernist, with the saxes carrying the bulk of the rhythm and melody, as well as the solos. A surprisingly nice session for Warner from the time, and pretty tough to find. Titles include "Four Brothers" (of course!), "The Gypsy", "Night In Tunisia", "Jumpin With Symphony Sid", and "Axmobile".

Amazing stuff – one of those records you see for years, and always pass by – but which yields some real surprises once you dig in! The set features, of course, Mason's huge hit "Classical Gas" – an instrumental you'll recognize instantly – but next to that is the sublime "Baroque A Nova", a very cool scatting harmony track that's like some lost late 60s Hugo Montenegro gem – and the camp psych gem "The Prince's Panties" – done with all the wit of late 60s Warner – as is the whole album! Other tracks include "Wanderlove", "Overture", "All The Time", and "She's Gone Away".

Sweet electro funk from Civil Attack – a sweet project from the team of Sheila and Stephen Washington – the latter of whom was crucial to the hard-grooving sound of Aurra! The vibe here is almost pointing towards the Prince sound of the mid 80s – as the bass chops around with as much strength as the drums – popping out some very nice hooks as the tunes groove along, and going for a mode that's a bit more mainstream funk than earlier Salsoul disco – especially when the sweet keyboards start getting into the mix! Vocals are often second tier next to the rhythms, but fit into the set nicely – and titles include "One Love", "Just A Bore", "Plug It In", "On The Phone", and "Not Guilty By Reason Of Insanity". CD features a bonus track – "Not Guilty By Reason Of Insanity (original 12" short version)".

An amazingly unique little group – one that kind of stepped in the Impulse Records back door from the Coltrane galaxy, but which features some very unique aspects overall! As the cover states, the ensemble's led by bassist Jimmy Garrison and drummer Elvin Jones – and also features McCoy Tyner from Coltrane's quartet – yet the real charm of the record comes from the reed men, who include Prince Lasha on flute and clarinet, Sonny Simmons on alto and English horn, and Charles Davis on baritone sax! All players are free-thinking modernists, with ties to some of the farther reaches of 60s jazz – yet they work here in a beautifully inside mode, similar to Lasha's excellent Insight album on CBS UK – a vibe that takes all the most wonderful aspects of the Coltrane generation, but pushes them even further with some deeply personal expressions. Tracks include the seminal "Half & Half" – plus "Aborigine Dance In Scotland", "Oriental Flower", and "Nuttin Out Jones", and "Gettin On Way".

Another great Studio One collection from the folks at Soul Jazz, this time highlighting the DeeJays! While heavyweights like Big Youth & U Roy never voiced tracks for the groundbreaking label, there's no shortage of first class toasting on this selection, and it's Studio One, so you know the rhythms are hot! Dennis Alcapone, Dillinger and Prince Jazzbo all come hard with tracks like "Power Version" and "Natty Kung Fu", and there's a few sweet numbers by less well known names like Prince Francis & Jah Jesco, plus a nice slice of history with Count Machuki's "More Scorcha". 16 burning tracks in all.