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An incredible package – and one that features three of the most important records ever cut by the Art Ensemble Of Chicago! All three albums were recorded at the Saravah Studios in the summer of 1969 – during a time when the Art Ensemble of Chicago were making big waves on the Parisian scene (including their work in the film Les Stances A Sophie) – and finding a way to refine their new Chicago sound in the world away from the Windy City! These were the albums that really put the Art Ensemble on the map – letting them find new freedoms, and reach new heights in expression – in a mode that even surpassed previous recordings by individual members back home. The lineup is very heavy on reeds – with a variety played by Roscoe Mitchell and Joseph Jarman – and features bold trumpet from Lester Bowie, warm basslines from Malachi Favors, and a range of percussion and other instruments by all members of the group! The set comes in a nice book-like cover, with a booklet inside – and titles include "Reese & The Smooth Ones (parts 1 & 2)", "Rock Out", "Brain For The Seine", "Dexterity", "Jackson In Your House", "The Waltz", and "Song For Charles".

The best collection we've ever seen on Ernie K Doe – a really massive set that not only features all the tracks from his early years on the New Orleans soul scene, but also includes his great comeback album from 1970 too – plus some killer cuts from the mid 70s as well! Allen Toussaint produced all the recordings – which makes for not only a really unified feel throughout, but also a nicely evolutionary one too – as the rough, gritty grooves of New Orleans are taken to hipper, more sophisticated territory as time moves on – those really complicated funky rhythms that have always made the title track a standout favorite from Ernie! The package features a hardcover book-style design, with notes, photos, and label scans in the middle – and cuts include "Come On Home", "Popeye Joe", "Here Come The Girls", "Stoop Down", "You Got To Love Me", "So Good", "Back Street Lover", "Talkin Bout This Woman", "A Long Way Back Home", "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye", "So Good", "The Fight", "Rub Dub Dub", "Hey Hey Hey", "There's A Will There's A Way", "Wanted $10,000 Reward", "Mother In Law", "A Certain Girl", "Reaping What I Sow", and "Penny Worth Of Happiness".

The complete Josie work from the mighty Meters in a 2CD set – including the self-titled '69 album, Look-Ka Py Py and Struttin' from 1970, plus a bunch of great singles and numbers with Art Neville and Cyril Neville! Disc 1 features Meters & Look-Ka Py Py – the former simply one of the greatest albums in the history of funk – and the latter an all time classic funky instrumental LPs, with a choppy tight guitar groove. Includes "Cissy Strut", "Cardova", "Art", "Stormy", "Look-Ka Py Py", "Dry Spell", "Little Old Money Maker" and more. Disc 2 starts with Struttin' – about as hard, heavy and funky as you can get – with "Chicken Strut", "Go For Yourself", "Ride Your Pony", "Hand Clappin Song" and more. Also includes the singles "Message From The Meters", "Zony Mash", "I Need More Time", "Sassy Lady" and more, plus "Bo Diddley" (Pts 1 & 2)", "Heartaches" and "I'm Gonna Put Some Hurt On You" with Art Neville from '68, plus "Gossip" and "Tell Me What's On Your Mind" with Cyril Neville circa '70.

A triple-length set – one that brings together two classic Charly Records compilations! The bulk of the set is from the great 2LP collection Mr Joe's Jambalaya – an amazing collection of New Orleans soul from the legendary Minit and Instant labels – both imprints under the guidance of producer Joe Banashak – the "Mr Joe" in the title! The work here includes a good number of lesser-known gems from the Crescent City – mixed in with a few key classics that are really well-chosen numbers that illustrate the kind of important influence that New Orleans would have on soul music for generations to come! Grooves are mostly gritty, with more than a few hints of funk in the mix – and there's plenty of tracks that are filled with that tripling rhythmic mode that was quite specific to New Orleans at the time. Titles include "I Need Money" by Lee Dorsey, "The Sad One" by Eddie Lang, "The La La Man (part 1)" by Oliver Morgan, "Go Back Home" by Allen Toussaint & The Stokes, "Pass The Hatchet (part 1)" by Roger & The Gypsies, "It Will Stand" by The Showmen, "I'm Gonna Put Some Hurt On You" by Raymond Lewis, "In The Night" by Chucik Carbo, "Green Door" by Eskew Reeder, "Something You Got" by Barbara George, and "Beverly Baby" by Allen & Allen. The remaining third of the package is from the collection Loaded Down With The Blues – another compilation of Joe Banashak recordings, but one that focuses a bit more on gritty, bluesy material – mostly from the late 50s and early 60s. Titles include "Tight Like That" by Edgar Blancahrd, "Loaded Down" by Matthew Boogie Jake Jacobs, "Way In The Middle Of The Night" by Nolan Pitts, "Ain't Broke Ain't Hungry" by Polka Dot Slim, "Moanin & Screamin" by Diamond Joe, and "Nervous Condition" by The Pitter Pats. 2CDs, and 46 tracks in all!

A stunning look at a legendary London club of the 60s – presented here in a really well-done book-style package – with a CD that's brimming over with the American soul that made it groove so great back in the day! The set does a great job of showing the roots both of Northern soul, and the UK mod scene – as most of the work here is from that early cusp of soul – when R&B still figured strongly into the mix, and the groove also had some strong inflections from blues and jazz as well! The photos and images in the book are totally great – laid out over a full-color 24 pages – and the CD features 28 smoking tracks – including "Ain't That Loving You Baby" by Jimmy Reed, "Jaywalking" by The Upsetters, "Who Can I Run To" by Geri Hall, "I'll Take One" by Harold Burrage, "Song Called Soul" by Gene Chandler, "Let The Good Times Roll" by Alvin Robinson, "Question" by Roscoe Shelton, and "I've Got A Claim On You" by Betty Everett.

The story of one of the most legendary soul clubs in the UK – home to the great wave of Northern Soul enthusiasm that burst big in the 60s – plus a fair bit of hanky panky as well! This collection shows a decidedly raw side of the club's roots – American soul from the 60s, plus a fair bit of R&B as well – a groove that's rougher than you might find on other Northern Soul collections – which often tend towards some of the tighter Detroit productions of the period. The CD features a whopping 28 tracks in all – with lots of tracks from Chicago and the Motor City – and the package is a cool book-style one, with 24 pages of full-color images and photos, plus notes as well. Titles include "Road Runner" by Bo Diddley, "Good Times" by Gene Chandler, "Turn On Your Lovelight" by Bobby Blue Bland, "Do The 45" by The Sharpees, "Get Down With It" by Bobby Marchan, "I Spy For The FBI" by Jamo Thomas, "And Get Away" by The Esquires, "I Can't See Your Love" by The Ballads, "Searchin" by Alvin Robinson, and "You Shot Me Through The Grease" by Alvin Cash.

A stone classic from Jimmy Reed – and one of the first few albums on the Vee Jay label! The sound is spare, rootsy, and bluesy – the kind of tunes that made Jimmy an instant favorite, and which were a key force in the Chicago blues sound of the 50s. The set features material recorded for Vee Jay in 1958 and 1957, with Jimmy on vocals, acoustic guitar, and harmonica. Titles include "Honest, I Do", "You Got Me Dizzy", "Can't Stand To See You Go", "Boogie In The Dark", "You Got Me Crying", "Little Rain", "Roll & Rhumba", his classic "Ain't That Lovin' You Baby" and more. Benchmark late 50s Chicago blues! This great 2CD remastered edition is loaded up – disc two featuring a whopping 22 bonus tracks of rarities – plus great little booklet with session notes, photos and more. Bonus disc tracks include "Jimmy's Boogie", "Rockin' With Reed, "You Upset My Mind", "Shoot My Baby", "State Street Boogie", "Come Love", "Meet Me", "Sugar, Sugar, "Lookin' For You, Baby", "Don't Think I'm Through", "Left Handed Woman" and many more.

One of the best Brit psychedelic rock albums of the late 60s – one that sounds incredible to this day! On Ogden's Nut Gone Flake the group really found a way to spin a heady, organ rich, drum heavy, and all around big sound into the structure of the 2 1/2 to 4 1/2 minute pop structure – with out sacrificing a bit of the bombast, or burying a genuine groove in superfluous noise cycles. Truly wonderful stuff – we'll listen to this more often than Sgt. Peppers in our lifetime! Tracks include "Ogden's Nut Gone Flake", "Afterglow Of Your Love", "Long Ago And World's Apart", "Rene", "Lazy Sunday", "Rollin' Over", "The Journey", "Mad John", "Happydaystoytown" and more. This great 2CD remastered edition a bonus disc of early and alternate versions, rare takes and instrumentals – in a heavy duty package with a nice booklet of notes, too! 26 tracks on 2CDs.

The first two Last Poets albums back to back in one great 2CD set! The Last Poets is the first album by the second group to call themselves the Last Poets – and as fierce a document of their rich talents as you'll ever find – bursting forth with anger and righteousness at a level as tight as Gil Scott-Heron's first album! The group here is the key second lineup of the ensemble of wordsmiths – comprised of Abiodun Oyewole, Alafia Pudim, and Omar Ben Hassan, plus the percussionist Nilaja – and most cuts feature only spare percussion backing over the spoken protest poetry – delivered with a brutal edge that really sums up the righteous politics of the time. Titles include "Run, N*gger", "On The Subway", "When The Revolution Comes", "Jones Comin' Down", "Black Thighs", "N*ggers Are Scared Of Revolution", and "Wake Up, N*ggers" – all of which should give you a good picture of what's going on with the record! This Is Madness is one of the Last Poets' greatest albums – and one of their most sophisticated as well! Gone are the rough-hewn rhymes of the group's first album, and in their place are better arranged, more thought-out tracks that mix in a wealth of musical influences – and which expand the group's verbal expression past simple protests, and into the realm of Jazzoetry that became their trademark during the mid 70s. Tracks include "Related to What", "Black Is", "White Man's Got a God Complex", "Black People What Y'All Gonna Do", and "This is Madness" – and a number of tracks are preceded by strong and forceful chants before the lyrics kick in! Deluxe package comes with 2 CDs – and bonus tracks that include "Sport" and "Spoon" by Lightnin Rod – plus "Doriella Du Fontaine", which features Lightnin Rod and Jimi Hendrix!

Fantastic female soul – and an incredible collection of work from the young Betty Lavette – easily one of our favorite female soul singers of the time! The set brings together late 60s tracks recorded for the Calla and Silver Fox label – and as great as her later work might be, this is the stuff that will really blow you away – the real deal, right-on-the-money sort of tracks that made Betty a legend right from the get-go! Backings are often nicely funky, and production has that great gritty way of unlocking the full depth of Lavette's vocals without going for any easy soul cliches – a kind of purity that's really kept these tracks at the top of our stack over the years. The set features a great book-style cover, with notes on the music – and the CD also features a few duets with Hank Ballard, too! Titles include "He Made a Woman Out of Me", "Do Your Duty", "We Got to Slip Around", "Love's Made a Fool of Me", "Let's Go Let's Go Let's Go", "Hello Sunshine", "My Train's Coming In", "Nearer To You", and "I'm In Love".

One of the greatest dancefloor jazz tracks of all time – Gil Scott-Heron's incredible "The Bottle", a tune that we never fail to love! The track's got a wicked groove that trips along with funky flute, warm Fender Rhodes, and vocals from Gil that are political, but still nicely catchy. It's an amazing number, as proven by key cover versions over the years – but we still like the original the best!

Four of their best singles from 1964-66 together with a bonus radio jingle!

One of the best Brit psychedelic rock albums of the late 60s – one that sounds incredible to this day! On Ogden's Nut Gone Flake the group really found a way to spin a heady, organ rich, drum heavy, and all around big sound into the structure of the 2 1/2 to 4 1/2 minute pop structure – with out sacrificing a bit of the bombast, or burying a genuine groove in superfluous noise cycles. Truly wonderful stuff – we'll listen to this more often than Sgt. Peppers in our lifetime! Tracks include "Ogden's Nut Gone Flake", "Afterglow Of Your Love", "Long Ago And World's Apart", "Rene", "Lazy Sunday", "Rollin' Over", "The Journey", "Mad John", "Happydaystoytown" and more.

2 side-long demo versions of tracks from The Raven That Refused To Sing (And Other Stories).

A treasure trove of Tennessee soul – a package that brings together two classic compilations on Charly Records, along with a host of rare bonus tracks too! The original release of Music City Soul and SSS Soul Survey were not only the kind of sets that first got Charly recognition as a key label for reissuing soul – but they also drew much-needed focus to the efforts of the Nashville labels working at the end of the 60s – surprising powerhouses for soul music, even though much of their efforts failed to chart at the time! As you'll hear in this set, labels like SSS International, Silver Fox, and Minaret were filled with deep soul gems – the kind of music you'd normally expect to hear from Memphis or Muscle Shoals – but which was coming out in droves from Music City during a brief musical moment at the end of the 60s. The 2CD set features a whopping 50 tracks in all – with titles that include "Baby You Got It" by Clarence Murray, "The Game Of Love" by Willie Hobbs, "I Have No One" by Big John Hamilton, "Action Speaks Louder Than Words" by Reuben Bell, "Soul Ranger" by Clifford Curry, "The Night The Angels Cried" by Johnny Dynamite, "Natural Soul Brother" by Danny White, "Shell Of A Woman" by Doris Allen, "Sundy Morning Coming Down" by Hank Ballard, "I Almost Called Your Name" by Johnny Soul, "Soulshake" by Peggy Scott & Jo Jo Benson, "Medley Of Soul" by Big Al Downing, "My Train's Coming In" by Betty Lavette, "All Night Long" by T Bone Walker, "My Ancestors" by Willie Charles Gray, and "The Pleasure Of My Woman" by Georgie Boy.

Massive music from the Northern Soul years of the 60s – American tunes that played heavily on British dancefloors – and went on to fuel the all-night energy of the scene! The sound is upbeat soul throughout – killer tracks from Detroit, Chicago, New York, and other US locales – most of which were overlooked at the time by most US audiences, but discovered and brought to life overseas. This massive 2CD package brings together two classic Charly Records compilations dedicated to the glory days of the scene – put together by collectors who really know their grooves, and expanded here with lots of bonus tracks that weren't on the original versions! There's a whopping 56 tracks in the set, packaged in a hardcover book-style cover, with great color notes and images in the middle – and titles that include "Sweet & Easy" by Van McCoy, "You're Gonna Need Me" by Ted Ford, "Why Don't You Write" by Lee Bates, "But I Couldn't" by Willie Harper, "Touch Me Hold Me Kiss Me" by The Inspirations, "That Other Place" by Wade Flemons, "Come On Train" by Don Thomas, "Lonely For You Baby" by Sam Dees, "Omar Khayyam" by The Rubaiyats, "I Can't See Your Love" by The Ballads, "So Blue" by Joe Murphy, "Gonna Take A Journey" by Barrett Strong, "Shake Off That Dream" by Eddie Billups, "Just Like The Weather" by Nolan Chance, "Mr Bang Bang Man" by Little Hank, "Young Man Old Man" by The Stokes, "Halos For The Angels" by Blanch Carter, and "Momma's Gone" by Little Johnny Blair.

A great little club set from the enigmatic Edwin Birdsong – a artist that we first came to love for his quirky early recordings on Polydor, and his later collaborations with Roy Ayers – but who sounds equally great here in a Salsoul setting! Birdsong's always had a great talent for spinning an offbeat sort of groove – one that stretches out with unusual rhythms, funky basslines, and odder-than-usual subject matter and lyrics. And here, he's taking the smoother Salsoul sound and infusing it with some of his own offbeat phrasings – in a mode that's got some great 80s groove old school funky touches! The set includes the classic "Rapper Dapper Snapper", a tune that's got a fair bit of Roy Ayers touches in the mix – plus the tracks "Funtaztik", "Win Tonight", "Two Faced Lover", and "Fortune & Fame".

Killer set that combines both of Johnny's rare albums cut for the tiny Tuba label in the mid 60s! The records both have a great funky vibes sound, with lots of tight drumming, and soulful bubbling organ grooves. These are very sought after in their original pressings, and both LPs usually fetch upwards of $40 when we get them in – and they fly right out the door as soon as they hit the web. Loop is the rarer of Johnny Lytle's two albums for the obscure Tuba label from Detroit. Johnny's classic trio, with Peppy Hinnant on organ, is backed by a larger group that features Wynton Kelly on piano and Willie Rodriguez on conga. New and Groovy is very nicely stripped down - and the focus of the album is on down-and-dirty groovers, perfect for the jazzy stepper set that still digs Lytle loads! Loads of short groovy steppin jazz vibes cuts, like "The Loop", "The Man", "The Snapper", "Selim", and way way more!

A great little club set from the enigmatic Edwin Birdsong – a artist that we first came to love for his quirky early recordings on Polydor, and his later collaborations with Roy Ayers – but who sounds equally great here in a Salsoul setting! Birdsong's always had a great talent for spinning an offbeat sort of groove – one that stretches out with unusual rhythms, funky basslines, and odder-than-usual subject matter and lyrics. And here, he's taking the smoother Salsoul sound and infusing it with some of his own offbeat phrasings – in a mode that's got some great 80s groove old school funky touches! The set includes the classic "Rapper Dapper Snapper", a tune that's got a fair bit of Roy Ayers touches in the mix – plus the tracks "Funtaztik", "Win Tonight", "Two Faced Lover", and "Fortune & Fame". CD also features the bonus instrumental of "Rapper Dapper Snapper"!