A great album – made even better – as Louie Vega's heavenly Elements Of Life set gets "extensions" from a host of other producers and DJs! This isn't one of those "let's see how much we can mess up the original record" sort of projects – as the core sound and soul of Louie's beautiful record is still very firmly in place – and if anything, there's kind of an extended collaborative spirit going on – as the original record was already very much a group effort, and the added mixing talents here only expand the collaborations going on! The whole thing's wonderful – and almost feels like a fresh new album at times – a much-needed follow-up to the brilliant full length that Louie already dropped on us. CD features a total of 13 tracks that include "Cerca De Mi (Kenny Dope rmx)", "Jungle Fever (Atoj rmx)", "Let The Children Play (original mix)", "Ma Mi Mama (Freeform U Heirs vox mix)", "A Better Day (DJ Spinna rmx)", "Love Is On The Way (featuring Blaze)", "Sunshine (Sacred Rhythm mix)", and "Nos Vida (MAW rmx)". CD

Beautiful work from David Murray – a set that's perhaps a bit less polished than some of his other recent albums, but one that more than makes up for that with a richly soulful sound! The group has a loose, freewheeling feel at points – and Murray seems to ride their spirit strongly with some great tones on his tenor – those instantly-compelling sounds that first made his work grab us so many decades back, but which don't always show up in recent years. Murray plays bass clarinet too, but it's his tenor work that we really love here – and the quartet features Lafayette Gilchrist on piano, Jaribu Shahid on bass, and Hamid Drake on drums. Most tracks are quite long, and filled with beautifully-spun solos – creative, rhythmic, and filled with life! Titles include "Dirty Laundry", "Banished", "Sacred Ground", "Murray's Steps", and "Waltz Again". CD

Damn funky gospel soul – the sort you'd hardly expect from spiritual folks like these, but which flourished strongly alongside more standard church-related work in the 70s! The package is a stunning follow up to Numero's first Good God volume – and really digs even deeper than that great set – pulling out a mad flurry of rare funky 45s that easily match any hip secular soul at the time, at least in the spirit of the groove! The lyrics are definitely on the righteous tip, but never too much so – and the earthly rhythms at the bottom of most tracks is more than enough to help pitch the grooves strongly towards anyone who's never even set foot inside of a church. As usual, Numero do an excellent job with the notes and details on all cuts – showing they really put a hell of a lot of thought into the collection – and titles include "I Know I've Been Changed" by Victory Travelers, "Pray A Little Longer" by Lucy Sister Soul Rogers, "Packing A Grip" by Golden Echoes, "Like A Ship" by Pastor TL Barrett & The Youth For Christ, "Been Trying" by Chicago Travelers, "The Same Thing It Took" by Inspirational Gospel Singers, "Somebody Watching You" by Sacred Four, "Peter & John" by Andrew Wartts & The Gospel Storytellers, "I Thank You Lord" by Little Chris & The Righteous Singers, and "Share Your Love" by Sensational Five Singing Sons. CD