One of the cookingest funky compilations we've ever carried – a monster batch of 10 funky Hammond organ tracks, all pretty darn obscure! The set was done under the supervision of New York Funk 45 DJ Mr Fine Wine – and features a stunning batch of tunes that are all plenty darn hard to find – and filled with heavy drums, roaring basslines, and super-smoking work on keyboards! Plus, unlike lots of other dodgy sets on the market, the whole thing's totally legit – and very well researched and thought out. Titles include "Cool Dad" by Ross Carnegie, "The Hatch" by The TMGs, "Every Time part 2" by Buddy McKnight, "Soul Power" by Jimmy Willis, "Foot Stumping" by The Organics, "Put Your Weight On It part 1" by The Filmore St Soul Rebellions, "Shimmy" by Toussaint McCall, and "Don't Give A Damn" by King Cain/Silvertone Band. Great! CD

A treasure trove of gospel from one of the greatest labels in the business – the early Excello Records, which later morphed into gospel powerhouse Nashboro, but already had a great ear for the best of the genre right from the start! Excello's roots in the south gave it key access to some of the best groups of the period – the kind of acts who were really pushing gospel forward with the same sort of inventive harmonies and richly expressive phrasing that secular acts were bringing to R&B and vocal group work at the time! The collection is wonderful – one of Ace's very well-done collaborations with Excello, still yet to be topped as a representation of that label's work – and titles include "On The Beautiful Shore" by The Hendrix Sisters, "Step By Step" by The Boyer Brothers, "In My Heart" by The Silvertone Singers Of Cincinnati, "I'm Waiting & Watching" by Sons Of The South, "After Awhile With Jesus" by Jewel Gospel-Aires, "One Day" by Sons Of The South, "Trust Him Today" by The Waldo Singers and "I Can Call Jesus Anytime" by The Young Gospel Singers. CD

A really cool collection – one that's maybe best summed up by the word "ecstatic" in the title – as the package presents a blend of work from artists who easily skirt both the spiritual and secular side of soulful music, united together with a very joyous, uplifting vibe in their sound! This isn't classic gospel from the years when you might hear a guitar or organ behind a small group of harmonizing vocals – and instead, much of this work was created at a time when soul music had already been going strong for years – and while gospel might have initially helped in the formation of soul, it's clear that things are also moving the other direction in these tracks – as many of these artists borrow from the power of righteous soul styles, and use it to inflect their joyous message with a great new energy! Titles include "Everything Is Gonna Be Alright" by Keith Barrow, "Is There Anybody Here" by The Alvin Darling Ensemble, "Trouble's Brewin" by The Meditation Singers, "Satisfied" by Andre Crouch & The Disciples, "Let Your Feet Down Easy" by Dorothy Norwood, "If You Believe Your God Is Dead" by Swan Silvertones, "The Upper Way" by The Violinaires, "Elijah" by Roscoe Robinson, "Till I've Got This Feelin Of Love" by Dyson's Faces, and "Nothing Can Stop Me Now" by Destiny. CD

A great collection of rare gems from the Studio One label – one that's filled with unusual material that we've not seen elsewhere! Some of the tracks are alternate mixes, some are unissued recordings – and there's also a nice range of material that goes past the more familiar early period of the label, which is normally the most reissued. Titles include "Hush Up (unreleased stereo mix)" by Larry & Alvin, "I Need You Girl (stereo mix)" by Larry Marshall, "Mr Moses (stereo mix)" by Lloyd Charmers, "I'm In Love With You (original JA mix)" by Lloyd Williams, "Freedom Justice Equality" by Alf & Teep, "Torture & Flames" by Jackie Bernard, "Mark I Word" by Winston Prince, "Give Me True Love (stereo mix)" by The Meditators, "Down In The Bone Yard" by The Three Tops, "Down By The Sore (7" version)" by The Silvertones, and "Jay Dip (stereo mix)" by Prince Jazzbo. CD

A huge collection of rare singles from the vaults of the legendary Treasure Isle label – a company who was home to some of the hippest tracks from the early days of ska – and also did a great job of getting the music to the UK scene as well! This package goes past the familiar Treasure Isle hits, as the 7" singles feature previously unreleased tracks and rare alternate versions – all packaged up in a great box set with a mighty sharp look. The whole thing is great – nice and raw, and very different than ska revival material of later years – and this 3CD set features all the material that was on the 7" box set done a few years back, plus 74 more bonus tracks! Core cuts include "You Wish Me Bad (take 6)" by The Spanishtonians, "Love Me Or Leave Me (take 1)" by Owen & Leon Silvera, "I'm All Alone (take 1)" by Frank Cosmo, "Oh Misery (take 2)" by The Duke Reid Group, "Thinking Of The Future" by Stranger Cole, "Fooling Around" by The Rio Grandes, "Renegade (take 1)" by The Zodiacs, "Smokey Ska (take 1)" by The Baba Brooks Band, "Practice What You Preach" by Owen & Leon Silvera, "My True Confession (take 1)" by The Silvertones, "Til My Dying Day" by Winston & Slim, "Road To Nowhere (orig mix)" by Lyn Taitt & The Baba Brooks Band, "What A Bailing (take 1)" by Duke Reid Group, The Army Is Searching (take 2)" by Basil Caral & Group, "Storm Warning (take 1)" by Lyn Taitt & the Boys, "Want Me Cock (take 1)" by Owen & Leon Silvera, and "How Know Your Friend (take 1)" by Derrick Morgan – with bonus material by Duke Reid, The Movers, Justin Hinds, Tommy McCook, Froggy, Lynn Tait, Eric Morris, Baba Brooks, Lloyd & Glenn, Derrick & Naomi, The Miracles, The Zodiacs, The Melodies, Sensations, and many many more. CD

A pair of very obscure Lee Perry recordings – back to back in a single CD set! Black Ark In Dub features a host of recordings done by Lee Perry right before his Pipecock Jackson implosion in the late 70s – but presented by former partner Pauline Morrison, who deserves a lot of credit for putting together a host of great dub tracks that might have been lost otherwise! The record first surfaced in the UK around 1980, with the usual very spare set of packaging that seems to mark some of the best dub records from the time – so there's little in the way of actual details about the recordings, but the quality of the bassy, echoey tracks definitely resonates with the strengths of the Black Ark studios at their height Titles include "Cool Rockers", "Jah", "Rasta Man", "Camp", "Dreadlock", "Guidance", "In The Valley", and "Money". Black Ark Vol 2 is a bit different – more of a various artists collection, put together by Pauline Morrison, with material rescued from the Black Ark studios before their implosion – all mixed by Lee Perry with his amazing mid 70s ear for sound – which makes for timeless magic on cuts that include "Ethiopia" by Carol Cole, "Give Praises" by The Silvertones, "How Deep Is Your Love" by The Inamans, "Got To Be Irie" by The Originals, "I Am I Said" by Bunny Rugs, "Jah Love Is Sweeter" by Lacksley Castell, and "Mumbling & Grumbling" by Junior Byles. CD

A really great little collection – one titled from a legendary studio jam that originally appeared on film, not record – a cut that begins this great array of cuts from the famous Black Ark studio of Lee Scratch Perry! Perry's on the cover, and has a strong hand on most of these tracks – but there's also a very nice mix of material going on here – some righteous roots vocals, other dubby cuts that are leaner overall – with a mix of groups and solo singers, all showing the keenly creative 70s Perry style at its best. Titles include "Play On Mr Music" by Upsetter Revue, "One More River To Cross" by Mystic I, "One More Dub To Cross" by the Upsetters, "People Get Ready" by Junior Mervin, "Give Me A Love" by Jimmy Riley, "Feel All Right" by The Silvertones, "Milte Hi Ahkhen" by Sam Carty, "History (dub plate mix)" by Carlton Jackson, "Rejoice Jah Children (dub plate mix)" by The Silvertones, and "Sugar & Spice" by Keith Rowe. CD