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2 great later gems from The Dells – both essential sides of their later catalog! I Touched A Dream is an especially tremendous record – a bit smoother than before, but still much more daring vocally than most other harmony groups at the time, cutting through some smoother arrangements with a sublime approach to the material that's all-soul all the way! Arrangements are sometimes bit uptempo and modern, but they're still in a strong Chicago groove – with backings by Tom Tom 84 and Sonny Sanders – and production by Carl Davis and Eugene Record, making for a late 70s update of the classic Brunswick soul approach! Titles include "Look At Us Now", "All About The Paper", "So You Are Love", "Passionate Breezes", and "I Touched A Dream". Whatever Turns You On is another later winner from The Dells – a record that has the group mixing uptempo grooves and sublime mellow numbers – all of which are sung with heartbreaking vocals that show the group as still one of the best in soul music – even after more than 20 years on record! Arrangements are by Tom Tom 84 and Sonny Sanders, and production by Carl Davis and Eugene Record – all key factors in the success of the album, thanks to a long local history with the Chicago soul legends – and a respect that's very clear in their handling of the sound on this set. Titles include "Happy Song", "It Took A Woman Like You", "Whatever Turns You On", "Ain't It A Shame", "Stay In My Corner", "is It It", and "Heaven's Just Step Away".

Funky Fatback – remixed! The album's a long-overdue tribute to the glory days of the Fatback dancefloor sound – the post-Perception years, when the group were working in a mix of funk, club, and disco – grooving the floor a lot harder than most of their contemporaries, and serving up a unique blend of bass and drums that went on to have an untold influence on the future of groove! The set features 10 classic tracks from the group's albums on Event and Spring, remixed by current DJs in a way that still maintains all the best bits of the originals, yet which draws out those cool rhythmic bits that have become so well-loved over the years. Titles include remixes of "Put The Funk On You" by Lightfoot, "Feed Me Your Love" by Lacarno & Burns, "Mister Bass Man" by Mike Nielsen, "Groovy Kind Of Day" by Tony Ben, "Boogie Freak" by Temple Of Sound, "Spread Love" by Spiral Music, "Yum Yum" by Transglobal Underground, "Backstrokin" by Rob Keyloch, and "Keep Your Fingers Out The Jam" by Mike Nielsen.

Seminal 70s southern soul from Millie Jackson – a record that's head and shoulders above most of what she recorded in later years! Before she got all naughty and raunchy, Millie Jackson was one of the best female soul singers to come out of the south – and this album's a work of understated brilliance that brings a new level of emotion and feeling to the music. The whole thing's conceived as a bit of a concept album – one in which Millie's a bit fragile at the start, due to unfulfilled love – then regains her confidence by confronting those around her, and eventually steps forth boldly as a proud, new woman. Jackson put together the record with producer Brad Shapiro – and the overall style is Muscle Shoals, but with a more sophisticated twist – thanks to inventive use of strings alongside the more standard soul rhythms. Highlights include a great remake of "If Loving You Is Wrong, I Don't Want To Be Right" (complete with a nice bit of spoken dialogue!) – plus "I'm Through Trying To Prove My Love To You", "It's Easy Going", "I'm Tired Of Hiding", "Summer (The First Time)", and the great "It's All Over But The Shouting". CD also features 4 bonus tracks – including alternate "live vocal" versions of "I'm Tired Of Hiding", "I'm Through Trying To Prove My Love To You", and "Feel Like Making Love" – and an instrumental called "A House For Sale" by The Muscle Shoals Swampers!

Millie Jackson's feelin bitchy – and letting a whole new side of her talents show! After the sweet southern soul sound of her early recordings, the Jackson style takes a sharp shift here – letting a bitchier side show up more strongly, and really setting the tone for the next great chapter of her music! Some of the set still features the older style production work by Brad Shapiro – but that's also pushed out by a smoother more modern soul feel on most of the record – one that has Millie emerging with a lot more pride, presence, and power than ever – all-woman, and all in control! Titles include the 10 minute Latimore cut "All The Way Lover", which has a great monologue that would even make Latimore blush – plus the tracks "A Little Taste Of Outside Love", "Feelin Like A Woman", "Angel In Your Arms", and the great "If You're Not Back In Love By Monday". CD also features 3 bonus tracks – "Lovin Your Good Thing Away (alt vocal)", "Angel In Your Arms (alt vocal)", and "If You're Not Back In Love By Monday (alt vocal)".

Ahhh . . . Great stuff! This Millie Jackson's tremendous debut album – and the work here is completely different from later records that have her more in a bitchy mode! Here, Millie's a heartbroken southern diva – right in the vein of Ann Sexton, Doris Duke, or Shirley Brown – and even though the arrangements are done north of the Mason/Dixon line (in New York by Bert DeCoteaux, and in DC by Tony Camillo), the record feels like it was lifted off the pressing plant in Muscle Shoals or Jackson! Titles include "I Ain't Giving Up", "I Miss You Baby", "Ask Me What You Want", "My Man, A Sweet Man", "I Just Can't Stand It", and "Strange Things". CD version features a whopping 11 bonus tracks – many of which were never issued before – and titles include the MGM numbers "My Heart Took A Licking" and "A Little Bit Of Something", plus "Ask Me What You Want (unedited master)", "Untrue Men", "I Don't Wanna Talk About It", "Strange Things (alt mix)", "My Man A Sweet Man (unedited master)", and "You're The Joy Of My Life (alt take)".

A great follow up to Mille Jackson's classic Caught Up album – but one that's also a key turning point too! The theme here is the same as the album before – with tunes that have a woman "caught up" in love and all of its tangles – but the sound is also bolder, more positive, and somehow more righteous than before – with Millie stepping from the weepy shadows very firmly into the mainstream – making a bold move forward for women in general in the process! Production is still by southern soul whiz Brad Shapiro – but he's also brightened things a bit too, in keeping with Millie's bolder spirit – shaking off some of the earthier tones of the music, and hipping things up slightly with some more modern instrumentation. Millie's vocals are completely wonderful throughout – rasping with that badass style that would later explode even more strongly – and there's lots of spoken bits that make the tunes sound even more personal – as if you're listening at the door, or tapping the phone while Millie's talking to her man! Titles include "Loving Arms", "Do What Makes You Satisfied", "Making The Best Of A Bad Situation", "The Memory Of A Wife", "Leftovers", and "Tell Her It's Over". Expanded CD features 2 bonus tracks – "The Memory Of A Wife (rehearsal version)" and "How Can I Make Sweet Love To You If You Won't Stand Still", which is an earlier version of "One Night Stand".

A long-overdue collection of work by one of the greatest funky soul groups of the 70s – the mighty mighty Side Effect, a combo who cut some killer albums for Fantasy at the end of the decade! Side Effect were unique in that they had a harmony style with its roots in jazz, yet worked in a mode that was clearly directed by the jazz funk styles of the time – particularly the funky At Home production sound of Crusaders member Wayne Henderson, who mentored the group heavily during their time at Fantasy. Together, Henderson and Side Effect crafted some really wonderful mellow soul grooves – sweet steppers with a nice midtempo bounce, and a warm feel for west coast soul. The 17 tracks on this set really represent some of the best work the group recorded at the time – all-great tracks from 4 different albums, compiled together with a good set of notes! Titles include "Open Up Your Heart", "Oh Baby", "SOS", "Always There", "Spend It On Love", "Keep That Same Old Feeling", "There She Goes Again", "Never Be The Same", "She's A Lady", "I Know You Can", "Cloudburst", "Watching Life", "Falling In Love Again", "I Like Dreaming", "Keep On Keepin On", and "Finally Found Someone".

A massive double-header – one that features the first two Sylvester albums for Fantasy Records! First up is the self-titled Sylvester – a reworking of his older groove into one that we love more than any other that he ever used – a smooth modern soul style, not really disco, but with a driving approach that would certainly have worked well in the clubs! You gotta give Syl credit here – as it would have been easy for him to turn up the camp a lot in the 1977 disco days – but instead he's sticking strong to his soul impulses, and has come up with a wonderful album of tracks that's like the first Luther album – one that you can enjoy whatever your take on the man, without any introduction to his person or persona. Of course, a big part of the credit also goes to Harvey Fuqua – who's reemerged here from his years at RCA to produce the record – showing his always strong ability to seek out new talent, and bring out the best in them. Titles include "I Tried To Forget You", "Tipsong", "I Been Down", "Loving Grows Up Slow", "Never Too Late", and "Over & Over". Step II is probably Sylvester's biggest album for Fantasy – and for good reason too! The set pushes onto the dancefloor a bit more than before – often with some slight keyboard touches that hint at the Patrick Cowley years, but with none of the coldness of those records at all. The great Harvey Fuqua's producing here with Syl, and the sound is rich and bold – an even more prideful statement than Sylvester's first album on Fantasy. Two Tons Of Fun deliver some great backup vocals, and Cowley lays down a bit of keyboards – and titles include the all-time disco classic "You Make Me Feel Mighty Real", plus "Dance (Disco Heat)", "Just You & Me Forever", "Grateful", and "I Took My Strength From You".

Killer funky reissue of this rare soundtrack by Don Julian & The Larks! You probably already know Don Julian's funky work from the Savage soundtrack, and this one's just as good – with even more cuts than the original, including a lot of tasty soul cuts and covers with a deep soulful sound. The plot of the film has Don and The Larks playing a cool little lounge funk band, caught up in sort of a mini gang war between 2 thugs who want to manage them. One of the thug's named "Shorty The Pimp", and his name provides Don with the funky title to the great theme of the film, which is a very tasty groover. Other tracks have the band covering other current soul hits, and playing some extra-dope instrumentals with a nice hard sound. Titles include "Schoolin & Foolin", "Vato's Brew", "Brother What It Is", "Super Slick", "Inner City Blues", "If There's A Hell Below", and "Message From A Black Man". On CD only!

An obscure soul group, but a great one – equally at home with a fragile harmony tune as they were with more uptempo groovers for the dancefloor! This one and only album from Act One is a perfect illustration of the best two sides of the east coast indie soul scene of the early 70s – because some tunes are spare, simple, and heartbreaking – really building off the best qualities of 60s harmony soul, but with a lot more sophistication – while others are bolder, more upbeat, and positive – really using the new studio modes of the time to send a few tunes really over the top! The mix is quite similar to Black Ivory at their best – although the album's more under-discovered treasure – and although it's the only record ever by the group, it's got a solidity that should have made them as big as any of the 70s stars on Atlantic or Philly International! Titles include "Goodbye Love", "Friends Or Lovers", "Tom the Peeper", "Party Hardy People", "I Don't Want To Know What You Do To Me", "Still Waters", "It's The Same Old Story", and "Love's Got Your Mind". CD also features the bonus tracks "I Never Had A Love Like Yours", "A Whole Love Of Love Makin", and "It Takes Both Of Us".

Amazing stuff from Brit folk music & guitar legend Davy Graham – material from a rare demo acetate seeing release for the first time – plus a great live club set from a decade later! First up demos, 5 early tracks from 1963 – culled from the Bob Monkhouse funded acetate: "Careless Love", "Take Five", "Southbound Train" and more. The bulk of material is from The Medway Folk Centre in August of 1973, a folk club set with some incredible guitar playing from Davy, less concerned with vocal performances than on the rare acetate material, for a great range of the talent that Graham was. Titles include "One Note Samba", "Sunrise, Sunset;', "Sarabande", "You've Got Afriend In Me", "I Get A Kick Out Of You" and more. 21 tracks in all!

A monstrous batch of instrumentals from the deep funk underground – and one of the best new funk albums we've heard in years! The Soul Investigators hail from the icy north of funky Finland – where somehow they've managed to carve out a sound that's harder, fiercer, and more kicking than most of the other funk acts recording in more southbound parts of the globe. The drums are hard, the guitars are scratchy, and the organ cooks like a space heater in a fire trap on a cold Chicago night! All tracks are instrumentals, and the album's recorded with a messed-up sound that makes the whole thing feel like you've found a box of rare funky 45s! These guys are truly the kings of dirty funk – as you'll hear on titles that include "Micro Popcorn", "Momma's Gravy", "Deep Fried Chitlins", "Good Food", "Greasy Pork", "Midnight BBQ", and "Greens Please".