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Quite an unusual little album from Graham Bond – quite spiritual, almost supernatural at times – very much what you'd expect from the cover and title! The record's light years away from Bond's British beat group work of a few years before – and has a quality that almost mixes headier rock influences with the spiritualism of the post-Coltrane generation – as the record almost goes farther in a direction that was somewhat initiated by Albert Ayler's more rock-like leanings at the end of his life. Many numbers have chorus vocals rising up behind Bond's lead – and while his own work on alto sax is somewhat displaced by strong use of guitar on many tracks, there's still a fair bit of jazzy elements going on in the mix – particularly on side two, which features Graham laying down some strong lines on the Hammond. Titles include "Aquarius Mantra", "Praise City Of Light", "12 GatesTo The City", "Invocation To The Light", "The Qabalistic Cross", "The Pentagram Ritual", "The Holy Words", "The Judgement", and "The Magician". CD also features bonus tracks – "12 Gates To The City (single b-side)", and "Water Water (single a-side)".

A really cool collaboration between Merry Clayton and Eugene McDaniels – a producer who really takes her music into new territory here! As with other perfect productions by McDaniels in the 70s, Gene really grabs the whole thing up and makes it his own – adding a lot more funk to the mix than you might expect, and electrifying the instrumentation in ways that bump up Merry's vocals nicely. Even better, though – he wrote a number of tunes for the set – the kind of offbeat soul numbers that we love from Eugene's own work, which help Merry move into a hip range of themes and topics. There's a righteous mix of funky jazz and soul on the record – a bit like the sound of Marlena Shaw's Blue Note albums – and McDaniels titles include "Gold Fever", "If I Lose", "Do What You Know", "Gets Hard Sometimes", and "Sink Or Swim". Also includes a great version of Baretta's theme – "Keep Your Eye On The Sparrow" - plus "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35" and "How'd I Know".

A perfect follow-up to Exuma's first album on Mercury – and like that one, a really rootsy blend of soul, funk, and other global sounds! Percussion and acoustic guitar dominate most of the instrumentation – just right for the rough-edged vocals on the set – in ways that help underscore some of the more righteous themes in the lyrics! The whole sound is a great summation of the musical journey that Exuma's taken from his Bahamian roots – and titles include "Damn Fool","Paul Simon Nontooth", "Fire In The Hole", and "A Place Called Earth".

The sweet second album from If – a Brit jazz-rock combo with a really great sound! The album was produced by Lew Futterman, the talent behind some of Jack McDuff's large-arrangement albums for Blue Note – and Lew seems to bring in a similar ambitious feel to the set that really brings the most out of the instrumentation. The group features some great organ and electric piano by John Mealing, and saxes by Dick Morrisey – and as always with this sort of thing, there's some vocals that sound a bit dated – but the overall feel is still quite strong, especially in the breakout instrumental passages. Titles include "Your City Is Falling", "Shadows & Echoes", "I Couldn't Write & Tell You", and "Sunday Sad".

Excellent early work from Giorgio Moroder – recorded in the pre-disco years, with a trippy rock style that mixes electronics and some surprisingly soulful guitar work! The overall style is almost a prog take on the beat group sound with some poppy touches – a cool blend that was shared briefly by other European groups of the time, before they stretched out and got a bit more trippy. The album's got some nice moogy touches, tight drums by Keith Forsey, and even a bit of keyboards from Max Gregor Jr. Most tracks have vocals, but also kick off with a strong foot instrumentally – making for some great rock break moments that are worth the album alone, even though the full songs are pretty nice too! Titles include the epic "Tears", "Lord Release Me", "Watch Your Step", "Pauline", "Son Of My Father", "Automation", "London Traffic", "Spanish Disaster", and "Underdog". CD features lots of bonus tracks too – including "Today's A Tomorrow", "Everybody Join Hands", "I'm Free Now", "Non Ci Sto", "Take It Shake It Break My Heart", and "Underdog (mono)".

An amazing collection of work from the legendary Graham Bond – a 60s Hammond player who was incredibly important to the London scene during the best mod years of the decade! Bond was way more than just a jazz musician – and like George Fame, Zoot Money, and a few of his other contemporaries – he had a way of mixing together jazz and soul with a strong touch of blues – almost a new British version of soul jazz, similar to the way that some of the bigger English rock groups were drawing from American R&B! Graham sings on most tracks – with these raspy vocals that are incredibly charming, and downright soulful – and in addition to his own work on organ, instrumentation features lots of pre-Cream work from Ginger Baker on drums and Jack Bruce on bass – plus plenty of tenor from Dick Heckstall-Smith too. If you dig the mod work of Georgie Fame, you'll find plenty to love here too – but Bond also really helps point the way towards more progressive jazz-rock experiments of the future – although this set features mostly tracks from 1966 and before, without any of Graham's later trippier music. The 4CD package is the best collection we've ever seen of Bond's music from these years – and includes rare singles, unreleased cuts, and even some side projects with Ernest Ranglin and Duffy Power too. 98 tracks in all, with a great booklet as well – and titles that include "Cabbage Greens", "Harmonica", "Early In The Morning", "Tammy", "Honey Bee", "Long Tall Shorty", "Soul Tango", "Down In The Valley", "Waltz For A Pig", "Like A Baby", "Please Don't Say", "Walking In The Park", "Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf", "Dick's Instrumental", and lots lots more.

A classic from Merry Clayton – and a record whose title follows from her big fame of singing on the original version of "Gimme Shelter" by the Rolling Stones! The sound here is a lot more soul-based, as you'd guess – arranged beautifully by Gene Page, with a really righteous feel that's perfect for Merry's deeply soulful vocal approach – and produced to perfection by Lou Adler, with some surprising help from Curtis Amy – one of our favorite saxophonists ever. Music is by a hip cast of top-shelf talents from the coast – including Billy Preston on organ, Joe Sample on piano, David T Walker on guitar, and Paul Humphrey on drums – all nice and tight, but totally right in the pocket with their grooves. Titles include Merry's classic version of "Gimme Shelter", plus "Tell All The People", "I've Got Life", "Here Come Those Heartaches Again", and "Good Girls".

Righteous and rocking soul from Merry Clayton! The set was done in LA with arrangements by insiders that include Jerry Peters, Carole King, and Billy Preston – and features some tight and sometimes funky backing from players that include David T Walker, Wilton Felder, Paul Humphrey, and Curtis Amy. Some of the tunes are a bit too rock-soul for our taste, but there are a few tasty bits on here that we really like – including a hip Leon Ware tune called "Whatever", a nice cover of Bill Withers' "Grandma's Hands", and Jerry Peters "Love Me Or Let Me Be Lonely". Other tracks include "Southern Man", "Same Old Story", "Walk On In", and "A Song For You".

One of the greatest jazz rock albums to come out of the British scene at the end of the 60s – a record that's filled with tight changes, bluesy overtones, and some wonderfully choppy moments – all played by a legendary lineup that includes Terry Smith on guitar, John Healing on organ, and Dick Morrissey and Dave Quincy on saxes and flute! Healing sings on a number of the tracks, but the vocals never dominate too much – and instead often let the instrumentation really take center stage, showing off the group's chops at their progressive best. Titles include some great long groovers like "What Did I Say About The Box, Jack?", "What Can A Friend Say", and "The Promised Land" – as well as shorter numbers that include "I'm Reaching Out On All Sides", "Woman Can You See", and "Raise The Level Of Your Conscious Mind". CD features 2 bonus tracks – 7" versions of tunes on the album!

Not disco Moroder, but schlager Moroder – great early recordings from German maestro Giorgio, done before his famous dancefloor hits of the later 70s – and with a very groovy sound throughout! The music here is more pop than soul, but often has these sweet and freaky little touches – a bit like the way that French pop artists of the late 60s would cop an American mode, then turn it around with some cool local touches of their own – or trip things out with a few inflections borrowed from psych or other new rock modes! Some tunes are playful and catchy, others are more ballsy and brash – especially as the set moves on, and the music hits those immediate pre-disco years that make for some of Moroder's most compelling. Massive 2CD package features 51 rare cuts from these early years – titles that include "Cinnamon", "Tempo D'Amore", "Underdog", "Watch Your Step", "Bla Bla Diddly", "Love's Morning Land", "Mah Na Mah Na", "Crippled Words", "Lie Lie Lie", "Collico", "Heaven Helps The Man", "Bricks & Mortar", "It's A Shame", and "Today's A Tomorrow".

A German disco classic from Munich Machine – and maybe the tightest album ever from the always-sharp studio group! Giorgio Moroder's at the head of the record on production, but the sound here is often a bit warmer than some of his own recordings – thanks to an ear for some of the more soulful instrumental sides of the dancefloor spectrum, particularly on the keyboard solos, which never have the coldness of Moroder's music – and thanks also to some well-placed vocals from soul singers Judith Jones and Yolande Howard, both of whom add a bit of personality to the record too! Yet that great Moroder ear for a dancefloor groove is still perfectly intact – as you'll hear on cuts that include "Let Your Body Shine", "Space Warrior", "Bolectro", "Easy", "Reputation", and "Fallen Angel". CD features two bonus tracks – "Space Warriors (blue eyed DJ rmx)", and "Giorgio Moroder Medley (blue eyed DJ rmx)".

Seminal early work from the legendary Joe Cuba – highly percussive Latin tracks, served up in a small combo mode that really helped pave the way for the Latin Soul generation! Joe's shaking off most of Latin tradition here – going for a tightly focused sound that features plenty of timbales and congas, and which also introduces a bit of English language to their repertoire – thanks to vocals by Jimmy Sabater on the track "To Be With You". Cheo Feliciano sings on a few other numbers, but a number of tracks are really cooking instrumentals! Titles include the great "Wabble Cha", plus "Oriente", "Callejero", "Salsa Y Bembe", "Cachondea", and "To Be With You", a big early hit for the group.

Three incredible albums from Marcos Valle – quite different than his 60s and 70s records, but really wonderful too! These 80s sets have Valle coming off of a brief stretch working in the US on soul music – particularly some sublime efforts with Leon Ware for Elektra Records – a great influence on the sound of the music here, as Marcos has picked up a cool, soulful vibe that's a surprisingly great addition to his repertoire! Most tracks often have a groove – kind of a sweet 80s extension of the complicated funk modes that Valle used a decade before – and there's a tight, hook-heavy groove to some of our favorite numbers – almost like the best modern soul of the 80s from the US, but with Portugese lyrics! All albums were only issued in Brazil – and from what we know, the Tempo Da Gente album is reissued here for the first time ever! 3CD set also features 3 bonus tracks – "O Sequestro", "Bicicleta", and "Beta Menina".