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2 of the trippiest albums ever recorded by Paul Bley – both of which feature a good dose of electric work! By the time of these early 70s recordings, Bley had already made a name for himself through a spacious approach to modern jazz work on piano – introducing a new sense of time and location that made his playing part of a whole new generation of work that was radical, but not in the same free jazz mode of other players of the late 60s. Bley's open and gentle approach to the keys was never so perfectly captured as on these two sets – and the use of electric keys seems to hone his style to an even finer edge than on some of his later 70s work. The albums feature work on Fender Rhodes and Arp, alongside some acoustic piano – with players that include Dave Holland, Frank Tusa, Glenn Moore, and Barry Altschul. 13 tracks in all – with titles that include "Ictus", "King Korn", "El Cordobes", "Circles", "Nothing Ever Was Anyway", "Gary", "The Archangel", and "Gesture Without Plot". (Note: CD omits one track – "Mr Joy" – due to time restrictions.

"Step Off" may not have been as big of a hit as other work from Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five – but the cut's a great one nonetheless, with a darkly dipping "For The Love Of Money" bassline that's totally great! The O'Jays must have winced when Furious Five ripped off the tune – but the groove's so great, you can easily forgive them! (Oddly, for some reason, on this single Sylvia decided not to give Flash the top billing.)

A really unique funky gem – and a near-legendary single from Scorpio & His People! "Unforgiven" has a brilliant blend of deep funk and falsetto vocals – stepping slowly over the top with a surprising amount of power, while the band turns, dips, and chugs along heavily at the bottom – all with a bad-strutting groove that's heavy on the bassy end of the spectrum – which makes for a great contast to the lyrics! "Theme From Movietown Sound" has a similar blend, but a different groove too – thanks to these heavy piano lines that roll back and forth with the rhythms!

From Red Alert's dancehall/hip hop crossover comp.

Massive sounds from Scorpio – a group who've got just the right sort of sting you'd expect from their name! The album's got a Haitian music vibe at the start, but often shows some funkier American touches too – particularly in the way the rhythms come together on some of the harder tracks, in ways that get past some of the too-bright moods of other Caribbean records – with some excellent guitar and drums to sharpen things up! There's almost a 70s funk vibe to these best cuts – more than worth the price of the album alone – and titles include "Ensem Ensem", "Tacoumbe", "Min Cinga'Ou", "Pouissance Pam", and "Tande".

Great stuff from Gary – one of his more obscure albums, and a record dedicated to the signs of the Zodiac! The tracks are a mixture of Gary's usual easy jazz approach – with vibes, whistling, and bossa-style rhythms showing up a lot – plus a few more driving numbers that are more like his arranged work for other players, and which even include some nicely funky tunes! A real gem – lost amidst most of his catalog – possibly because the marketplace wasn't ready for such zodiacary! Titles include "Sad Eyes", "Long Live The King", "Close Your Eyes & Follow Me", "Can't Help Dancing", "Runaway Heart", "Thanks But No Thanks", and "Days Dipped In Dreams".

Pure genius from the hipper side of the LA scene – 2 rare early sessions from trombonist Lou Blackburn, both cut in collaboration with a young Horace Tapscott! The style here is quite hard to peg – a unique blend of soul jazz and modernism – handled with a key focus on unusual rhythms and timings. Blackburn's work on trombone is nicely matched with trumpet by Freddie Hill in the frontline – and the pair work together perfectly in a recasting of some of the modes explored by both instruments in the more mainstream side of the LA scene of the 50s. Tapscott's piano is not nearly as unbridled as in later years, but his presence here is clearly felt on the record – as there's a similar collaborative feel here to some of his later, larger, more spiritual groups. The albums are filled with great original tunes – and titles include "Harlem Bossa Nova", "New Frontier", "The Clan", "Scorpio", "Two Note Samba", "Grand Prix", "Jean Bleu", "Blues For Eurydice", and "Jazzanova". 19 tracks in all – and incredible throughout!

An obscure single taking off from a groove borrowed loosely off Zapp's "More Bounce To The Ounce" and adding a sort of quasi-rap vocal over top, that sounds more like George Clinton type vocalese than any sort of hip hop.

A landmark LP of guitar-based funk! Dennis Coffey had been playing, arranging, and producing all over the Detroit soul scene by the time this album came out – so it wasn't like he really needed a hit to get paid or anything – but the record forever marked him as a guitar player to be reckoned with, and it was a perfect showcase for Coffey's fuzzed-out funky style, instantly recognizable and still extremely popular today! The album contains the monster breakbeat cut "Scorpio" – kind of a seminal text of hip hop – plus plenty of other groovers like "Getting It On", "Garden Of The Moon", "Big City Funk", and "Sad Angel".

A Sugar Hill party in one sweet little package – 2CDs worth of music that features some of the biggest hits from the Grandmaster Flash generation, plus a few surprising bits from later years too! The package features a whopping 23 tracks in all – one disc that mostly hovers around the early Sugar Hill years, and another that takes off a bit in different directions. Cuts include "Freedom", "New York New York", "Scorpio", "The Message", "It's Nasty", and "Adventures Of Grandmaster Flash On The Wheels Of Steel" by Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five; "Internationally Known", "We Don't Work For Free", and "Beat Street" by Grandmaster Melle Mel & The Furious Five; "Showdown" by Furious Five Meets Sugarhill Gang, "Flash To The Beat" by Grandmaster Flash, "Message II" by Melle Mel & Duke Bootee, "White Lines" by Grandmaster & Melle Mel, "World War III" by Melle Mel, "Step Off" by The Furious Five, "Sign Of The Times" and "Vice" by Grandmaster Flash.

A massive exploration of the music of Kashmere Stage Band – the legendary Texas funk combo whose work has been pushed heavily over the years by Wax Poetics, Stones Throw, and many others! The double-length set goes even deeper than any of the vinyl reissues of work by the group – and features some previously unreleased tracks, alternate takes on their funkiest numbers, and a full 10 extra live tracks never heard before! The Kashmere groove is incredible – blasting horns, scratchy guitars, and funky drums – all wrapped super-tight around a range of original material and some more familiar numbers – all recast here in super-heavy funk mode! Studio tracks (Disc One) include "All Praises", "Thank You", "Scorpio (extended)", "Do Your Thing", "Headwiggle", "Do You Dig It Man", "Getting It Out Of My System", "Zero Point (parts 1 & 2)", "Boss City", "Burning Spear", "Take Five", and "Keep Doing It". Live tracks (Disc Two) include "Zero Point", "Don't Mean A Thing", "Thank You", "Ain't No Sunshine", and "All Praises" and more. – and the set also features a huge amount of detailed notes and photos. This expanded deluxe edition includes a bonus DVD featuring the short films Texas Jewels: The Making of Texas Thunder Soul and Prof and his Band: A Documentary by Charles Porter from 1973 – plus a performance by the Kashmere Stage Band on the 1972 special Jazz: Yesterday, Today, Forever. Also includes updated liner notes in a full color 40 page booklet.

When these guys say "stage band", they aren't kidding – as the group's got so many members, there's barely room left on the stage for the instruments! That doesn't stop the record from being plenty darn funky, though – as the sound is right, tight, and outta site – every bit as great as the group's famous funky 45s, and with a similarly hard Texas take on deep funk! The album's got some wonderful covers of famous soul hits, plus a few hip originals – and there's some great moments that show the group hitting a more ambitious jazzy feel, one that recalls some of the hipness of the Chicago sound of The Pharoahs! Titles include "Al's Tune", "Scorpio", "Masquerade", "Walk On By", "All Praises", "Thank You", "Do Your Thing", and "To All The Beautiful Black Women".

One of Gerald Wilson's hippest albums for World Pacific – and all of them are pretty darn hip! This set is one of Gerald's last for the label – cut in a run of very successful, and very strong big band soul jazz albums that brought together the cream of the crop of the LA underground. Like the other sets, this one's got a great lineup – with players that include Anthony Ortega, Hadley Caliman, Harold Land, Ernie Watts, and Bobby Hutcherson – but the real strength of the album lies with Groove Holmes, who cuts some pretty fantastic solos on the album's best tracks – bubbling his Hammond through the larger arrangements with the space and expression that Wilson allowed his individual players on these sessions. Titles include great versions of "Aquarius" and Coltrane's "Equinox" – plus the original tunes "Celestial Soul", "Scorpio Rising", "Pisces", and "Bluesnee".

Stones Throw does it again – with a massive batch of older funk rarities that tops most of the rest on the market! Cold Heat is a follow-up to the label's smoking Funky 16 Corners set – and like that one, it's overflowing with great bits that have barely (or never) been heard by the rest of the world at large. Compiler Egon has gone through a range of rare singles, masters, and demos – and has come up with tunes that burn with a brightness that's undeniable. The grooves are all on the harder end of the James Brown Funky People side of the spectrum – and some tracks are by names that are finally getting their due, thanks to the work of Egon, Wax Poetics, and some of the other funky forces doing the good work over the past few years. In a way, the collection's a summation of some of the singles and reissues coming out through the Now Again/Stones Throw imprint – but it also features some other bits and alternate versions that are totally great! Titles include "Don't Go" by Aristocrats Organization, "Loaded To The Gills (edit)" by Michael Liggins & The Supersouls, "Mr Chicken (alternate)" by The Soul Seven, "Slipping Into Darkness" by Dayton Sidewinders, "James Brown Medley" by The Apollo Commanders, "Scorpio" by Kashmere Stage Band, "Sad Chicken" by Leroy & The Drivers, "Street Scene" by Leon Mitchinson, "Free Your Mind" by Amnesty, "The Thing" by Carleen & The Groovers, "Go For Yourself (edit)" by Kenny Smith & The Loveliters, and "The Stretch (edit)" by Detroit Sex Machines.

They're not kidding about the title on this one – although they might have added "weirdest" to the name, too! The songs here are all familiar ones, especially if you dig rare grooves from the 60s and 70s – but the versions you'll hear are definitely unusual – often some pretty obscure takes on funk and soul numbers, plus a few bits from other styles too – done up in even funkier versions than before, partly because the production is even rawer, but also because the overall execution is too! Latin vibes mix up with soulful rhythms, deep funk solos, and even some freaky fuzzy psyche-inspired moments – and titles include "Purple Haze" by Johnny Jones & The King Casuals, "Jungle Fever" by Afrosound, "Bang Bang" by Fruko & Sus Tesos, "Pastime Paradise" by Ray Barretto, "Cloud Nine" by Mongo Santamaria, "I Turn My Camera On" by Williamsburg Salsa Orchestra, "Light My Fire" by Ebony Rhythm Band, "Scorpio" by Johnny Frigo, "Rat Race" by Antibalas, and "The Next Message" by The Mighty Mo & Winchester Seven.

Wild early work from Joe McPhee – and actually pretty darn funky! This rare 1970s release features 3 long tracks – two of which were recorded live, with a tight combo that includes a very funky drummer! The album kicks off with the hard wailing "Nation Time", which begins with a shout from Joe, and which rolls into a vamping modal groove (almost Pharoah Sanders-ish) filled with spiritual tenor work by Joe, and some nice electric piano, sounding very off-kilter. Next up is "Shakey Jake", an excellent 13 minute funk number – with bubbling organ, vamping rhythms, and a nice extended jazz dance groove! It's a killer cut, and is the kind of number that Dusty Groove fans will totally love. Last up is "Scorpio's Dance", a pretty raw and somber track, with a nice open-ended loft jazz quality to it. Great stuff – and very nicely packaged!

Nice laidback spiritual funky tunes, played by Eddie on trumpet with a group that includes Herbie Hancock, Bennie Maupin, Lenny White, Billy Hart, Buster Williams, and Pat Gleeson on cool Arp and Moog. The tracks are long, with a nice spacey groove, and the titles include "Spiritual Awakening", "Scorpio-Libra", and "Mars In Libra". (Gee, what did these guys do before the Zodiac became hip?)

One of Jubilee's excellent collections of earlier vocal group material – served up in a cool covered package with some nice Scorpio Rising overtones! Most material here has a style that's older than the cover image would imply – but the album, like others in the series, was a key format for presenting these older gems to a slightly younger audience. Titles include "Fine Fine Frame" and "Dear Lord" by The Continentals, "The Gleam In Your Eye" and "The Closer You Are" by The Channels, "Castle In The Sky" and "When I Woke Up This Morning" by The Bop Chords, and "If I Could Make You Mine" and "Tonight" by The Love Notes.

Funky breaks galore – mixed by a man who knows them better than anyone! Kenny Dope really came up with some choice bits for this set – and pulled together 37 different tracks that include 60s soul, 70s funk, and a few choice bits from the early years of hip hop – all sewn up into one mighty groove that never stops kicking! Great all the way through – and like having Kenny play his favorite jams for you, one after the other! Titles include "Uphill Peace Of Mind" by Kid Dynamite, "Engine #9" by Wilson Pickett, "Can I Get A Soul Clap" by Grand Wizard Theodore, "Be Black Baby" by Grady Tate, "Scorpio" by Hoctor Band, "2001" by Cecil Holmes, "Space Dust" by Galactic Force, "T Plays It Cool" by Marvin Gaye, "Super Sporm" by Captain Sky, "Get Up" by Vernon Burch, "Catch A Groove" by Juice, "The Guardian Angel" by Golden Flamingo Orchestra, and "Sessomatto" by Sessomatto.

Classic funky groovers from Dennis Coffey – with his hard guitar sound gettin' all fuzzy over some loud drums and funky Sussex production! This one's still very much on the "Scorpio" vibe, when the label was keeping things nice and hard – and before Dennis got a bit hooked into disco. Includes the cuts "Ride Sally Ride" and "Taurus", which was his similar sounding follow-up to "Scorpio". Also includes "Can You Feel it", "Midnight Blue", "Toast & Jam", "Man & Boy", "It's Too Late" and "Bridge Over Troubled Water".

Classic Rock chronicles the legacy of Deep Purple – with a feature that covers their 45th anniversary – and a whole lot more! This issue has an interview with Neal Peart of Rush, the story of the Tom Waits uber-classic Swordfishtrombones, plus pieces on Pete Way, Alice In Chains, the new wave of Australian rock 'n' roll, The Moody Blues and much more! Also includes a free CD – 24 Carat Gold – with tracks by Deep Purple, Black Star Riders, Big Country, Tracer, Helldorado, The Deafening, Peanut Butter Lovesicle, Alice In Chains, Reagan Brown, Mother Of God, SUN, Scorpion Child, Eureka Machines, Kadavar and more. 15 in all.

Now out of print, and a heck of a great little set of rare and unissued tracks from the glory days of the Blue Note funk scene! For most of the 80s and early 90s, Blue Note US used to bad mouth the stuff from this period – but by the mid 90s, demand for the funky stuff from collectors and DJs led Blue Note to dig back in the vaults, and come up with this tasty batch of goodies! Titles include "It's Your Thing" by Grant Green, "Brother Soul (alternate)" by Lou Donaldson, "You Want Me To Stop Loving You" by Stanley Turrentine, "Dancin In An Easy Groove" by Lonnie Smith, "Village Lee (alternate)" by John Patton, "The Scorpion (alternate)" by Lou Donaldson, and "Hold On, I'm Comin" by Reuben Wilson.

Rare work from funky Lou – unreleased for years! This is an excellent live set that was recorded in 1970, when Lou was at the height of his Blue Note powers, and working with a group that included Idris Muhammad (drums), Melvin Sparks (guitar), and Leon Spencer (organ). Recorded live at the Cadillac Club in Newark, New Jersey, this set's a perfect document of what a funky lounge gig was like in the era of the organ/tenor combos. The group swings hard and funky, with a sound that's like their best Blue Note recordings, and the track list includes "Peepin", "The Scorpion", "Alligator Boogaloo", and "Footpattin' Time".

Tracks by Boston, the Scorpions, Whitesnake, Cheap Trick & others.