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The second set for Columbia by evolving R&B great Raphael Saadiq – possibly the best album he's ever done! We were knocked out by the preceding The Way I See It, his neo throwback gem, especially for the way he so masterfully flaunted decades of soul/R&B influences on that album while still giving it a modern and timeless sense of urgency. He takes that superb craftsmanship even deeper on Stone Rollin'! Raphael rolls with raw, punchy rhythm & blues backdrops tricked out with mellotron and other unique twists – with strings and brass on some tunes – all with a tight, hooky accessibility that's so damn catchy! It's so immediately appealing on the surface level, you could roll through this a dozen times before the innovative, impeccable skill really sinks in. Truly brilliant material from one of the best of his generation! He gets some help from Taura Stinson, Amp Fiddler, Wah Wah Watson and other excellent musicians on the sessions, but Raphael handles a heap of the instrumentation himself – and the guests are utilized beautifully. Titles include "Heart Attack", "Go To Hell", "Radio", "Over You", "Stone Rollin'", Movin' Down The Line", "Day Dreams", "Just Don't", "Good Man" and "The Answer".

The incredibly rare underground funk of Stone Coal White – whose couple of raw, incendiary psych funk 45s have been furiously sought for years – fleshed out here with newly discovered and previously unissued tracks for this most amazing full length on DJ Shadow's Cali Tex label! Stone Coal White featured a core lineup of bassist Melvin Payne, drummer Joe Roddrick and guitarist Tommy Mundy (or is it Munday?) – busting out a hazy, raucous and fuzzed out groove that's steeped in both funk and psychedelia. It's got more of a raw edge than most of their contemporaries and the later 70s combos to come out of the fertile Dayton scene – really cool stuff that's a joy to see respectfully issued all these years later. Mucho thanks to Dante Carfagna and Josh Davis for seeing it through! There's a revolving cast of vocalists – Dennis Mundy on "You Know" and "Hell Below", King Solomon Prather on "People's", Robert "Dapp" Brown on the gritty cover of "Ain't No Sunshine" and a cat called Cookieman on "Move Your Hand". Also includes "Stone Coal White", "Warm Up" and "Free".

One of Antonio Carlos Jobim's greatest records – and a perfect blend of his subtle bossa genius with the moody electric sound of CTI! Jobim plays electric and acoustic piano, guitar, and sings a bit – and Deodato handled the arrangements with a breezy brilliance that matches all the magic of Jobim's wonderful compositions, but gives them a slightly more fluid feel too – in a way that's somewhat more sophisticated than the sound of Jobim's previous CTI outings – Tide and Wave. Other players on the album include Joe Farrell on soprano sax, Hubert Laws on flute, and Airto on percussion – and there's a great mix of Brazilian and American styles on the set – electric, sinister, breezy, and always wonderful! Includes the titles "Sabia", "God & The Devil In The Land Of The Sun", "Children's Games", "Stone Flower", "Brazil", "Tereza My Love", and "Choro".

One of the most hard-hitting albums ever cut by pianist Georges Arvanitas – an early effort that's all soul jazz all the way through! Although Arvanitas is best known as a committed modernist, especially in later years, this sweet early 60s session is a stone cooker in the best mode of Blue Note dates of the time – tight, swinging, and perfectly poised with just the right space for some excellent solos from Francois Jeanneau on tenor, Bernard Vitet on trumpet, and Arvanitas himself on piano – all grooving in a style that would make the Jazz Messengers proud, but also one that's got some key touches of postwar Parisian jazz too. Bass is by Michel Gaudry and drums are by Daniel Humair – and titles include "Oblivion", "This Here", "Poco Loco", "Bouncin With Bud", "Bohemia After Dark", and "Mister X".

A stone classic from Black Heat – the group's second album, and even tighter than their first! The group's size has dropped a bit between albums – but that only helps them cook even more – dropping a bit of the horn section from before, which allows even more emphasis on their razor-sharp rhythms! There's a slight hint of Afro Funk in some of the rhythms – and the keyboards cook with lots of sweet clavinet lines – mixed with a production style that features some bubbling electronic elements that remind us a lot of that crazy "magic bag" that was used by the Lafayette Afro-Rock Band. That group might be a good point of comparison, but the band also shares a lot of Kool & The Gang's ensemble funk style – especially on their cover of "Love The Life You Live" – which they burn here beautifully! Other tracks include "Super Cool", "M&M's", "Rapid Fire", "You Should Have Listened", "Times Have Changed", and "Check It All Out".

A stone classic from Brother James – a wonderful 60s album build around the incredible track "Cold Sweat", served up here in a massive two-part version, and surrounded by a good range of material that really show James in a great variety of styles! The Godfather's vocals burst out nicely with some wonderfully soulful overtones, no matter what the tune – and titles include "Fever", "Good Rockin Tonight", "Back Stabbin", "Mona Lisa", "Come Rain Or Come Shine", "Nature Boy" and "I Want To Be Around" – as well as "Cold Sweat (parts 1 & 2)".

Funky funky funky! A nice one on King that shows the direction James Brown would take in the 70s – a bit harder and more funky than before, with even more of a focus on the instrumental talents of the ensemble! The band here is super-sharp – playing with that tightly focused, highly funky groove that James virtually invented at the time – ringing out with pride and boldness that are undeniable! The album mixes a few older obscure numbers with the best newer ones – and the set's a no-filler package that's filled with great cuts! Titles include "Stone Fox", "Maybe Good – Maybe Bad (parts 1 & 2)", "Here I Go", "I Got The Feelin", "You Got The Power", and "Just Plain Funk".

A masterpiece of funky soul – and one of the greatest albums of the early 70s! It all comes together on this one – funk, soul, politics, and production – and the record is still one of the clearest examples of James Brown's genius that you'll ever find! Recorded during the same sessions as the JBs album Damn Right I Am Somebody – Payback has the group backing James with amazing intensity, playing on and on for very long stretches, improvising jams that perfectly match the vocals, which are often as improvised as the music. The most famous example of this style at work is "The Payback", which begins with a simple head arrangement, then has James riffing off on politics and power, letting the band come in at just the right moment, dropping solos that are still some of the best ever recorded on a funk album. The rest of the album's equally great, and even though most tracks run close to 10 minutes, and the album's a 2LP set, most of the material stays fresher than any 3 minute funk record we've ever heard. Some tracks are separated by these cool voices that rise up as seques – and titles include "Stone To The Bone", "Mind Power", "Take Some Leave Some", and "Shoot Your Shot".

Subtitled "Live At the Apollo Vol 3", but waaay better than any of the earlier volumes, this monster 2LP live set has James and the JB's wailing away in a freewheeling live set of hard hard hard funky grooves. Excellent work by the band, and a great way to see how sharp they were out of the studio, and proof that their funkiness was not the product of any clever editing tricks. Stone cold all the way through, with lots of great funky solos, cool rapping by James, and long versions of tracks like "Sex Machine", "Escape-Ism", "Make It Funky", and "Give It Up Or Turn It Loose".

A Latin classic from the word "bang"! This album was the one that busted Joe Cuba out of the Latin ghetto – into the sound of 60s soul, early funk, and beyond. The record's a stone winner – filled with boogaloo tracks delivered by Joe's firey young sextet, a killer ensemble that was setting the Latin world on its ear at the time. The title track – "Bang Bang" – is one of those tracks that you'll recognize from a million references, but which never sounds as good as it does on this impeccable version from Joe. The whole album follows in a similar suit – blending Latin, jazz, and soul with effortless ease – shifting between English and Spanish lyrics in a genre-busting style that really captures all the freshness of the era. The whole thing's great, and titles include "Asi Soy", "Alafia", "Triste", "Mujer Divina", "Oh Yeah", "Sock It To Me", and the "Bang Bang" follow-up, "Push, Push, Push". Great, hard, and a heck of a lot of fun!

A should-be Cali country rock classic by Chris Darrow – and a real rare gem of a record we'd put right up there with the best of its kind! Multi-instrumentalist Darrow might be best known to psych enthusiasts – as he was a founding member of Kaleidoscope – but as a session player, he's worked with an eclectic roster of major players that includes Frank Zappa, Gram Parsons, Leonard Cohen, Sly Stone, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and others. His solo work is akin to some other great, but better-known Cali country rockers, and honestly, we'd rate this record up against the aforementioned Mr. Parsons – it's really that good – but with more eclectic instrumentation. Catchy songs that are well sung and expertly-crafted – with Chris playing guitars, mandolin, dobro, fiddle and just about anything else with strings on it – and some light percussion, too! Other players include Ed Black, Loren Newkirk, Arnie Moore and Mickey McGhee – plus a sweet group of backing vocalists that includes Jennifer Warren. Titles include "Beware Of Time", "Lovers Of Sleep Abed Tonight", "Shawnee Moon", "Move On Down The Line", "Song For Steven", "Cocaine Lil", "Alligator Man", "Keep On Trying", "New Zoot", "The Show Must Go On", "The Sky Is Not Blue Today" and "We Can Both Learn To Say I Love You".

The first-ever release of this lost soul treasure – a rare session from a late 70s group from Tulsa, recording in LA at the studio of Sly Stone! The set's got a groove that's way more than you'd expect from any Oklahoma combo – a mature, modern soul sparkle that's totally great – almost the sort of vibe you'd find from some of the best groups of the time on labels like Elektra or Capitol, but handled here with a bit more indie charm overall! The tracks are all originals, and they balance out mellow steppers and tighter groovers nicely – which makes for an album that's amazingly deep in conception, and way more than just a slap-dash batch of tracks from the studio. We're sure that Sly would have been proud of the work here – and our hat's off to the folks at Lotus Land for finally getting this one released! Titles include "Funky Sounds", "Accept The Truth", "Keep On Smiling", "If You Dance Tonight", "I Love Everything About You", "On A Lovely Night Like This", "I Hope You'll Be", and an untitled track.

The instrumentals for the smoking soul set by the mighty Lee Fields! The record's billed as a follow-up to the previous My World – but it's got a style that's much more deep soul, much more southern-tinged than that great record – a beautiful indication of Lee's rich legacy in soul music – which stretches back decades, with rare releases on small indie labels! Yet the sound here is much stronger than Fields ever got back in the day – thanks to help from The Expressions, and some sublime Truth & Soul production – a combination that really has the record feeling as if it were recorded for Atlantic at Muscle Shoals at the end of the 60s. A stone home run throughout – with titles that include "Faithful Man", "Wish You Were Here", "Moonlight Mile", "Walk On Thru That Door", "Still Hanging On", "You're The Kind Of Girl", and "I Still Got It".

A stone classic in the post-Miracles career of Billy Griffin – solid 80s groove all the way, and a real showcase for his wonderful vocals! The album boasts the stellar tune "Hold Me Tighter In The Rain" – a snapping bit of boogie that never gets old, and which is one of the strongest standout cuts from the time! The whole album's pretty sweet, though – and other cuts include "Understand", "Stone's Throw From Heaven", "The Beat Is Getting Stronger", "Love Is Not A Word", "Be With Me", and "Breaking Out".

A stone killer from the early Blue Note years of tenorist Joe Henderson – a key example of why the label had so much faith in him right from the start, and why Henderson's horn was quite different than so many other players of the 60s! There's a sharp edge here, but there's also a soulful sense of swing – that balance that Joe had more than most of his contemporaries – and which he only continued to develop as the years went on. Echoes of "new thing" modes lie in the background of the record, but upfront things have a sharp 60s Blue Note punch – thanks in part to a great lineup that also includes Kenny Dorham on trumpet, McCoy Tyner on piano, Richard Davis on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums. Henderson's tone is rough and young – but in a great way, one that's perfect for the exploratory nature of his original tunes on the set, and which matches the mood of Dorham's compositions as well. Tracks include "In N Out", "Short Story", "Brown's Town", and "Punjab".

Not experienced? Well, this album will help push you over the top – as it's done for decades of listeners from the heyday of young Jimi Hendrix all the way up to the present! The set's a classic through and through – a blueprint not just for the genius of Hendrix, but for generations of guitar heroes to come – as you might expect with a lineup that includes "Hey Joe", "Manic Depression", "The Wind Cries Mary", "Fire", "Third Stone From The Sun", "Are You Experienced", and "Purple Haze".

Not experienced? Well, this album will help push you over the top – as it's done for decades of listeners from the heyday of young Jimi Hendrix all the way up to the present! The set's a classic through and through – a blueprint not just for the genius of Hendrix, but for generations of guitar heroes to come – as you might expect with a lineup that includes "Hey Joe", "Manic Depression", "The Wind Cries Mary", "Fire", "Third Stone From The Sun", "Are You Experienced", and "Purple Haze".

A really amazing live set from Jimi Hendrix – recorded in Berkeley at a very fervent time in that city's scene – which spins out in some amazing interplay between the musicians on the stage, and the rapturous fans in the audience! Hendrix is right on the money throughout – ripping through guitar lines that remind us that there's few out there who can still touch his genius in this stretch – and the show's recorded with just the right focus on Jimi to really make his power resonate strongly throughout! The set features the full second set of the May 30 performance from 1970 – presented in order, in its entirety, with beautiful mastering. Titles include "Pass It On", "Hey Baby", "Foxy Lady", "Purple Haze", "Star Spangled Banner", "Hey Joe", "Stone Free", and even an introductory part that's pretty compelling!

Damn damn damn – maybe the funkiest album ever from Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings! The group have always been great, but there's something here that goes even farther than usual – an especially funky snap on the drums at the bottom, even on more laidback tunes – and a stone classic approach to funky soul, one that's definitely been honed to a "T" through their important work on the road during the previous few years! And Sharon Jones is great – with vocals that are way deeper and much longer-lasting than any rehab outpatient wannabe – sending home these tunes with a quality that may well pass most of her classic female soul inspirations from back in the day. And even though the set brings together some older singles and other odd bits, it's got a rock-solid punch that makes it a very unified album throughout! Titles include "Settling In", "I'm Not Gonna Cry", "When I Come Home", "Ain't No Chimneys In The Projects", "New Shoes", "Without A Trace", and "Inspiration Information".

Crazy funk from a crazy-costumed geezer with an equally crazy name! Boobie Knight led an obscure 70's funk outfit that was somewhere between Sly & The Family Stone and The Jimmy Castor Bunch. His group has a definite guitar-heavy sound that's a bit blunted, and a bit fuzzed out at times – but which also has a nice soulful edge at it's best moments. The band here includes vocals by Al Johnson (who may well be the same Al Johnson who went onto later mellow soul fame) – and titles include the crazy "Earth Creature", plus "The Lovomaniacs", "Power Greater Than Man", "Feeling My Cheerios", and "Woman Will Make You Love".

Rough-edged blues from the west side of Chicago – a stone classic from the mighty Magic Sam – a player who was taken from us all too soon! On the west side, they mix plenty of soul in with their blues – and you can definitely hear that on this stone smoker – a record that has roots in the same scene as Syl Johnson, whose modes definitely creep into the groove at times! Sam's combo here is mighty nice – with Eddie Shaw on tenor, Lafayette Leake on piano, and Mighty Joe Young on guitar – and titles include "Stop You're Hurting Me", "Easy Baby", "What Have I Done Wrong", "It's All Your Fault", "You Belong To Me", "You Don't Love Me Baby", and "San Jose".

A Latin soul treasure from Bobby Matos – quite different than his straighter jazzy work of recent years, and a stone cooker to rival the best of the New York indies in the late 60s! Like cookers on Fania and Cotique, the set's got a groove that's rooted in descarga – with loads of great percussion and jazzy instrumentation – then mixed with a heady dose of late 60s Spanish Harlem soul, which means that there's some good boogaloo elements on the set that really start things on fire – a massive groove that goes way beyond standard Latin, and which has made the record a treasure for years! Nearly ever cut's a killer – and titles include "Raices", "Mambo Maxims", "Trailo A Casa", "Caliente Y Grasoso", "Up In Alfred's Pad", and "Ritchie's Boogaloo". Essential

A nice bit of funky organ work from Jimmy McGriff! The record's recorded with a slightly larger than usual band – but that's a good thing here, as players like Horace Ott, Cliff Davis, Richard Evans, and Everett Barksdale provide a strong bouncy groove, which Jimmy uses to solo over the top with some lean, mean funky Hammond solos! The album's got some excellent stone funky classics – like "The Bird", "Groove Grease", and "Plain Brown Bag" – plus some surprisingly funky readings of standards like "Canadian Sunset" and "Mr Lucky", both made to sound super-nice, thanks to excellent work on bass and drums!

Early work from Topeka, KS psychedelia and garage-tinged rockers Morning Dew – mixing hooky guitar rocker with a fuzzy sound and charisma to spare – a collection their mid-to-late 60s singles and unreleased material! We were hipped to the group via their fantastic At Last LP cut for Roulette a little later, but this earlier work cuts nearly as deep. There's just the right amount of grit to the recordings, balanced by a knack for catchy rockers and charismatic vocals. 19 tracks in all! Includes "No More" (unreleased alternate version), a cover of "I'm Not Your Stepping Stone", "Look At Me Now", "Be A Friend", "Go Away", "Sycamore Dreamer", "Sing Out", "Young Man", "Cherry Street" and more. 14 tracks in all.

Motorhead tearing it up in the early 80s and arguably hitting their absolute peak – the final album with the classic trio lineup of Lemmy, Fast Eddie Clarke and Philthy Animal Taylor – capping off one of the most trailblazing periods for any band in rock & roll history! Iron Fist is as unrelenting and stubbornly gruff as the preceding Overkill and Ace Of Spades LPs, a loud and clear statement that this band was committed in full to the sound they created. Includes "Iron Fist", "Hert Of Stone", "I'm The Doctor", "Loser", "Shut It Down", "Speedfreak", "(Don't Need) Religion", "Bang To Rights" and more.

A great little title for this stone cooker – as The New Mastersounds play with enough raw funk energy, the could easily crack the coast of northern California! We've loved these guys for years – and they still blow us away with their razor-sharp energy – a mindblowing sense of perfection that's still deeply funky and very spontaneous – not slick or smooth, as musicians of this caliber could easily be – but delivered as a socking punch to the rest of the deep funk underground – as proof that if you've been playing together this long, you can rise to the top of the heap with an amazingly funky sound! The guitar of Eddie Roberts is sublime, the drums of Simon Allen are nice and heavy, and the organ of Joe Tatton really cooks the whole thing together – on tracks that include "You Mess Me Up", "Yo Mamma", "Mission Creep", "Ding A Ling", "Turncoat", "Make Up Your Mind", "Each To Their Own", and "Welcome To Nola".

Stone funky funky! This is an excellent reissue of the Nite Liters' classic first album, and a monster batch of funky instrumentals that we'd put up there with the great Meters records on Josie, or the classic JBs LPs on People! There's lots of hard drums, choppy guitars, and good funky grooves. The tracks are short and hard, with the kind of raw funk groove that you buy rare funk LPs for. Tracks include "Itchy Brother", "Snap Your Twig", "Down & Dirty", "The Heckler", and "Stuff N It".

A classic album of bluesy funk – one that features the guitar of Johnny Otis' young son Shuggie, in a slightly tighter setting than he'd been getting on some of Johnny's own LPs! Shuggie here is still very much under the guidance of his dad – working in a mode that really emphasizes the fuzzier side of his guitar, in a style that was clearly an attempt to hook Shuggie up with the Hendrix audience. Not that that's a problem, though – as the record also features some stone funky playing too, as well as organ work by Leon Haywood, sax by Preston Love, and some other great studio work by members of The Crusaders! Tracks include "Hurricane", "Shuggie's Boogie", "Bootie Cooler", "Funky Thithee" and "The Hawks".

A classic of spiritual jazz! The album is one of the few rare pairings of Sonny Simmons and Prince Lasha from the 60s – and it's arguably the greatest album they ever cut! The set was recorded for the Contemporary label in LA, but it's far far different than the cool jazz that was the label's stock in trade during most of the 50s – done instead with a pulsating spiritual feel that really takes off as the album progresses! The lineup features the twin-reed frontline of Lasha on flute and Simmons on alto, plus an amazing rhythm section that includes 2 bass players (Gary Peacock and Mark Procter), who really give the tunes a pulsating feel overall – plus drums by Gene Stone. Titles include the famous groover "Congo Call", plus the tracks "AY", "Lost Generation", "Red's Mood", and "Green & Gold".

One of those funk classics that was a funk classic even back in the days when nobody was talking about funk classics! Ripple were an obscure little group of southern players, and although they later went onto cut a disco record for Salsoul, this first album is still their most enduring legacy. The record combines a sound that's a bit Meters, a bit Average White Band – with plenty of funky guitars, choppy riffs, and kine of a white boy soul vocal sound. Includes some stone classics – like "A Funky Song" and "I Don't Know What It Is, But It Sure Is Funky" – both of which were sampled more than a few times over the years – plus "Get Off", "Ripplin", "Willie Pass The Water", and "Dance Lady Dance".

A stone smoker from Rongetz Foundation – and a record that's even better than anything else we've heard from them! This time around, the sound is very live – recorded in the US, with help from heavyweights like Ronnie Cuber on baritone sax and Bruce Williams on alto – plus killer vocals from Gregory Porter on two tracks that are worth the price of the album alone! The sound is totally smoking – soul jazz, with a spiritual undercurrent – and on the cuts "Hard Bop Merry Go Round" and "Gogo Soul", Porter gets some of his best backing ever – a mode that almost sounds better than his already-great albums! A few other cuts feature vocals by other singers – and titles inclu de "Eunice K", "Sam's Intro", "A Composer Of Modern Day", "The Braggart", and "Freaking Sunshine".

One of Lalo Schifrin's greatest soundtracks ever – a gem of a TV score that's been lost for years – and not nearly as famous or well-reissued as Mission Impossible, Bullitt, or Enter The Dragon! The tunes are pure Schifrin all the way through – a mix of jazz, bossa, and funk – served up with a style that's always tight, and which makes for plenty of great groovers all the way through. Instrumentation includes vibes, flutes, guitar, and plenty of great horns – but the rhythms at the bottom are what really hold the whole thing together – romping along with lots of great 70s touches, in a groove that's much hipper than even most of the other cop show soundtracks of the time! Titles include "The Shadow", "Hunt Down", "The Edge Of Night", "Mannix", "Turn Every Stone", and "Fear".

Gentle, timeless folk songcraft from Cali singer/songwriter Mariee Sioux – lovely, lilting material rooted in the psych folk sound of the west coast at the end of the 60s/start of the 70s – though she also sounds right at home in the contemporary indie landscape! Acoustic guitar, mandolin, bass, a bit of pedal steel and some delicate keys and synth deliver the sound, though it's the angelic vocals and deft harmonies that really make the album the charmer that it is! Includes "Homepathic", "Ghosts In My Heart", "Old Magic", "Icarus Eye", "Swimming Through Stone", "White Fanged Foreverness", "Twin Song" and "Tule".

An excellent blacksploitation soundtrack – and every bit as funky as any of Willie Hutch's work for other Motown soundtracks at the time! Larry Mizell and Dennis Coffey help out on the instrumentation – giving the album an extra funky instrumental edge, one that takes it way past Edwin Starr's other work – and the tracks are a nice mix of vocals and instrumentals. Titles include "Ain't It Hell Up In Harlem", "Airport Chase", and the massive "Easin' In", a stone sample classic!

Hard and heavy funky jazz from west coast tenorist Fats Theus – and one of the rarest albums on CTI! This one differs strongly from the label's smoother electric output – as it's got the rough n ready feel of a classic Prestige jazz funk session. Fats is backed by an all star group that includes Hilton Felder on organ, Grant Green on guitar, Idris Muhammad on drums, and Chuck Rainey on bass – and it kind of sounds like Fats is playing an electric tenor, or a Varitone, which gives the set the feel of some of the Lou Donaldson funk albums on Blue Note! Cuts include "Black Out", "Bed Of Nails", "Stone Flower", and "Check It Out".

A very sweet little album by this great Motown group! The record was produced by Norman Whitfield, and it's a perfect example of the rumbling funky soul sound that he was developing at the time – a mixture of heavy bass, rumbling percussion, fuzzy guitars, and a stone righteous sound that pushed soul music firmly into the 70s! The songs are mostly all originals written by him and Barrett Strong – and the band is filled with great players like Dennis Coffey, Earl Van Dyke, Johnny Griffith, and the great Melvin "Wah Wah" Ragin. Titles include "Ungena Za Ulimwengu (Unite The World) Friendship Train", "What It Is?", "Don't Let Him Take Your Love From Me", "What's Going On", and "You Make Your Own Heaven & Hell Right Here On Earth".

An unstoppable groove from The Undisputed Truth – a group who worked with Norman Whitfield in the same psychedelic soul territory as The Temptations – and who arguably got the sound across even better than them! This set's not as much of a bit hit as the group's other records from the time – but that makes it sound even fresher and more fierce – loads of those hard-rolling basslines you'd expect from Whitfield's production – and some soaring arrangements from Paul Riser and David Van DePitte, both of whom give the album a sense of majesty to match its inherent righteousness. Titles include "Law of The Land" and "Mama I Got A Brand New Thing" – plus covers of Temps tunes "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" and "Just My Imagination" – and other covers that include "Love & Happiness", "If I Die", "Feelin' Alright", and "Killing Me Softly", done in the full soul mode of the group.

A perfect example groove that got The Undisputed Truth big hit fame in the early 70s – sort of a rumbling funk, full-on approach, using male/female vocals in kind of a "wall of soul" approach. Includes the huge hit "Smiling Faces Sometimes", plus lots of covers of cool tracks like "California Soul", "Like A Rolling Stone", "Ball Of Confusion", and "You Got The Love I Need". Norman Whitfield production all the way through, with a lot of nice twists similar to those he was taking with other Motown groups at the time.

Stone slamming boogaloo – and one of the greatest albums from a young Bobby Valentin! Bobby's really cooking on all burners here – mixing together a bit of Latin jazz with a headier, trippier style of Latin soul – one that features lots of sinister undercurrents in the rhythms, making for a sense of darkness that's really counterbalanced by the joyous feel of the grooves. This sublime mix can be heard to perfect effect in the amazing "Use It Before You Lose It", a monster track that's sure to fill any dancefloor – but the whole album's wonderful, and other tracks include "Boogaloo y Shingaling", "Keep the Faith", "Funky Big Feet", and "Descarga En Mozambique".

A stone smoking album from Nick Waterhouse – the first full-length we've ever heard from the singer, and a killer set all the way through! The backings are funky, but the sound is nice and gritty too – much more in an R&B mode than other contemporary albums of this nature – which is a perfect fit for Nick's sharp-edged way of handling the lyrics! Production is wonderful – very classic overall, but with a fresh feel that's all its own – a perfect illustration of the way that Waterhouse gets past easy generic classifications, or any sort of soul music cliches – and manages to come up with something fresh, unique, and all his own! Most instrumentation is vamping small combo soul, with occasional backup vocals – and titles include "Times All Gone (parts 1 & 2)", "Indian Love Call", "Is That Clear", "Raina", "If You Want Trouble", "Say I Wanna", "Some Place", and "Teardrop Will Follow You".

A classic full album that brings together some of Muddy Waters' earliest recordings for Chess – a great collection of early singles recorded in Chicago between 1950 and 1954 – most originally issued on 78rpm singles, and beautifully presented in this set! The work's relatively spare and rootsy overall – a great example of Chicago blues in its formative years, with some traces of a more southern style still in the mix – and titles include "Hoochie Coochie Man", "I'm Ready", "Rollin Stone", "Honey Bee", "She Moves Me", "I Can't Be Satisfied", "Standing Around Crying", "Long Distance Call", and "I Just Want To Make Love To You".

Contemporary guitar, circa 1966 – an amazing document of the acoustic innovations going on at the time – served up in a really free-thinking batch of tracks! The music here isn't really straight folk, and definitely isn't acoustic rock or blues either – and instead really represents the forefront of the acoustic underground headed up by John Fahey and the Takoma Records scene – music that's had an undeniable impact on the sounds of the past few decades – and which sounds as fresh today as when it was released 50 years ago! Most tracks are relatively long, with amazing phrasing, tone, and timing that really sets them apart from the pack – stone gems that include two "Raga" numbers by Max Ochs, "The Fahey Sampler" by John Fahey, "Water Verses" and "Children's Dance" by Harry Taussig, "The Thousand Incarnations Of The Rose" by Robbie Basho, and "Old Man Walking Blues" by Bukka White.

Incredible third coast salsa from the late 70s – amazing stuff from the orquestras of Carlos Ruiz and his Ebirac label – made by singers and players in Chicago's Puerto Rican community of the period that stands up just as well today! Chicago salsa, unlike more nationally popular styles, was rooted in the city's rich Puerto Rican community. They cover material adapted from traditionals and more, done with less pan-Caribbean derived sounds than the Cuban-rooted salseros of NYC and Miami. As fondly remembered as the players of the Chicago salsa scene are by the older Puerto Rican community, records by Orquestas La Justicia, La Solucion, Juventad Tipica '78, Tipica Leal '79 and others are terribly hard to find. Not only has Numero managed to compile a terrific batch of songs, the sound quality is impeccable, too! Titles include "Plena Matrimonial" by Ebirac All-Stars featuring La Calandria & Ramito, "Stone Flower", "Alegre Jibarito", "Guaguanco Coroco" and more by La Justicia, "Afro Theme" and "Ano Nuevo Y Reyes" by Juventud Tipica '78, "A Bailar Son Montuno", "El Gordo Y El Flaco" and "Mini Minoso" by La Solucion, "Mozambique" by La Solucion featuring Mongo Santamaria, "Donde Estabas" by Tipica Leal '79 and more, plus the bonus "Ebirac Radio Spot". The booklet is lavish, too – full of notes and photos that that make it all the more revelatory – providing a historical perspective that can't be overpraised!

Stormin soul – and a killer set of upbeat 60s numbers! The package was put together for the UK mod scene, but it's a great batch of American tracks from the classic years of soul – not really Northern, not really southern – but kind of a hard-swinging approach to the music that makes for a really lively package overall! The set's got 20 tracks in all, all thumpin, bumpin, and gruntin-type numbers – with titles that include "Do The Whoo Pee" by Sugar Pie Desanto, "Lay This Burden Down" by Mary Love, "Make Me Yours" by Bettye Swann, "I Keep Forgetting" by Chuck Jackson, "I've Got Papers On You Baby" by BB King, "Hole in The Wall" by George Stone, "Have Love Will Travel" by Richard Berry & The Pharoahs, "Keep My Woman Home" by Danny White, "Mama Julie" by Terry & Jerry, and "I Got A Woman" by Billy Hawks.

Great rockabilly sounds from a tiny Texas label – an imprint so small it only pressed up 300 copies of each of its singles – and never reissued them at all! This long-overdue package really digs deep into the Wolf-Tex label – to come up with a handful of gems that really illuminate the company's contribution to music at the start of the 60s – raw tunes that bring together the best elements of early rock, rough-edged country, and even a trace of Western swing at times. All tracks are pretty rare, and the set also features a few unissued numbers too – and titles include "How Much Do You Miss Me", "The Gospel Will Speak", and "Back To Old Wyoming" by Harold Montgomery; "Rock In My Arms" by Herman Stone, "Marguerite" by Ralph & Roy, "My Three Sorrows" by Col Ralph Red McKee, "Waves On The Bayou" by Ramblin Roy Cunningham, and lots more – including some songs by unknown artists, and even a bit of a radio show too!

Pre-Voidoids and Pre-Ramones hard rock band featuring Marc Bell, aka Marky Ramone – with their self-titled and Hard Attack records – together in a 2LP set! Dust's 1971 is a mix of pummeling, though accessible rockers and a suprising bluesy and psych folk nod here and there – particular in the slide guitar and pedal steel of Kenny Aarronson. It features a mix of those and pummeling rockers – with drums that are way faster than Marc would play after changing his persona to Marky! Titles include "Stone Woman", "Chasin' Ladies", "Love Me Hard", "From A Dry Camel" and more. The follow up Hard Attack – as the the title indicates – streamlines the approach a bit into more of a straight up hard rocking style. Titles include "Pull Away/So Many Times", "Learning To Die", "All In All", "Ivory", "I Been Thinkin", "How Many Horses", and "Suicide".

Beautiful early work by Al! The record is a haunting mix of tender soul tracks filled with love, warmth, and Al's sexy soul. It's hard to distinguish this one from other records of his at the time, because they're all so good – but we can tell you that the album features Al's stone classic "Love & Happiness", plus the tracks "I'm Still In Love With You", "I'm Glad You're Mine", "What A Wonderful Thing Love Is", "Look What You Done For Me", and his great remake of Kris Kristofferson's "For The Good Times", a country/soul classic if there ever was one!

A nice collection of early Bob Marley & The Wailers singles – all produced by Lee Perry! The music's a great meeting of two important reggae talents – quite different than both in later years, especially Marley – as the music has a great rawness that would get glossed over in Bob's years with Island, when he would go on to become an international star! The cuts were recorded at Randy's, and titles include "Soul Rebel", "Try Me", "It's Alright", "No Sympathy", "My Cup", "Soul Almighty", "Rebel's Hop", "Corner Stone", "Four Hundred Years", "No Water", "Reaction", and "My Sympathy".

The second volume of Selected Ambient Works by Aphex Twins – and for us, one of the earliest indications that he was more than a top notch electronic music, but a pretty pivotal composer! It's truly ambient music – and it's quite unlike his 90s records with more of a beat-heavy, post-techno vibe. The beats are quite spare here, and it's much more about elemental, textural atmosphere. That said, it's very compelling, hypnotic stuff – and quite beautiful! As loosely-paced and long as it is – it's involving the whole way through. One of faves from Richard D James. 3LP version includes "Cliffs", "Radiator", "Rhubarb", "Curtains", "Blur", "Weathered Stone", "Domino", "Tree", Grey Stripe", "Z-Twig", "Window Sill", "Lichen", "Spots", "Tassels", "Hexagon","Steel Plate", "Shiny Metal Rods", "Match Sticks" and more.

The third album by Black Sabbath – the album that put the heavy in metal – one of the most influential rock albums of all time and a record that finds Sabbath at absolute peak perfection! This is the one that set the Sabbath style in stone, honing in the the heavy riffs, thundering drums and eerie mood perfectly. Includes the ultra classics "Sweet Leaf" and "Children Of The Grave", plus "After Forever", "Lord Of This World", "Solitude", "Into The Void" and the instrumentals "Embryo" and "Orchid".

A pivotal moment for Bob Dylan – and maybe one of THE albums of the 60s! The newly-electrified Dylan really takes off here – putting more punch and bit into his already-strong lyrical approach – and twisting things in amazing ways that still leave us breathless all these many years later! And sure, the album gave Bob a few hits – which are nestled in here next to headier tunes that work together perfectly. Titles include "Like A Rolling Stone", "Ballad Of A Thin Man", "It Takes A Lot To Laugh It Takes A Train To Cry", "From A Buick 6", "Desolation Row", "Highway 61 Revisited", and "Queen Jane Approximately".

Smoking soul from the mighty Lee Fields – and a set that really has him getting back to his roots, as well! The record's billed as a follow-up to the previous My World – but it's got a style that's much more deep soul, much more southern-tinged than that great record – a beautiful indication of Lee's rich legacy in soul music – which stretches back decades, with rare releases on small indie labels! Yet the sound here is much stronger than Fields ever got back in the day – thanks to help from The Expressions, and some sublime Truth & Soul production – a combination that really has the record feeling as if it were recorded for Atlantic at Muscle Shoals at the end of the 60s. Lee's vocals really rise to the setting, and may well be some of his best in years – and that's saying a hell of a lot, given how great he always is! A stone home run throughout – with titles that include "Faithful Man", "Wish You Were Here", "Moonlight Mile", "Walk On Thru That Door", "Still Hanging On", "You're The Kind Of Girl", and "I Still Got It".

Not experienced? Well, this album will help push you over the top – as it's done for decades of listeners from the heyday of young Jimi Hendrix all the way up to the present! The set's a classic through and through – a blueprint not just for the genius of Hendrix, but for generations of guitar heroes to come – as you might expect with a lineup that includes "Hey Joe", "Manic Depression", "The Wind Cries Mary", "Fire", "Third Stone From The Sun", "Are You Experienced", and "Purple Haze".

The LA Turnaround from Brit folk tunesmith Bert Jansch – one of the few records he made for Charisma in the mid 70s – this one fresh from the break up of the seminal Pentangle! The UK folk sound is as noteable in Bert's voice as any other aspecet of this warm, wonderful set – but there's also some laidback, southern Cali sunshine in the acoustic picking as well as the more fleshed out instrumentation, with some electric bass, pedal steel and electric piano that shows up when the mood strikes. A really wonderful record, produced by Mike Nesmith, who often a part of some pretty inspiring things when free of any creativitely stifling Monkee business! Titles include "Fresh As A Sweet Sunday Morning", "Chambertin", "Travelling Man", "Stone Monkey", "Needle Of Death", "Lady Nothing", "One For Jo", "Open Up The Watergate (Let The Sunshine In), "The Blacksmith" and more. Vinyl version includes a bonus CD 4 bonus tracks: alternate versions of "Open Up The Watergate", "The Blacksmith" and "One For Jo", plus "In The Bleak Midwinter, plus the CD is enhanced, featuring the 13+ minute behind the scenes "LA Turnaround. . .The Movie".

An oft-overlooked gem from the JBs – their last album for People Records, and a stone funk classic that's every bit as essential as the others! The band is still in fine fine form – with none of the fast-funk or proto-disco of some later recordings – and they're working here in some really tight song formats that almost go back to the early days of the group's first few singles. The album's filled with great playing, wonderful grooves, and Fred Wesley's keen sense of humor – which sparks the whole set with a sense of warmth and creative play that show why the JBs are still the greatest funk band ever. Includes the excellent "Little Boy Black", which begins with some tasty James Brown vocals; the oft-sampled "Rockin' Funky Watergate"; plus "Step Child", "Makin Love", and "Rice & Ribs". Not as drawn out as Doing It To Death, but more complicated than Food For Thought, and still a totally essential bit of funk!

One of the first full albums on Motown – and a rockin batch of soul tracks from Martha Reeves and The Vandellas! The title cut – "Come & Get These Memories" – is a stone winner that virtually defines the sound of early Motown – and other tracks are all pretty great too, with nary any filler in the bunch, just great Holland/Dozier/Holland compositions to keep things going! Holland & Dozier produced, and titles include "Can't Get Used To Losing You", "This Is When I Need You Most", "A Love Like Yours", "Tears On My Pillow", "To Think You Would Hurt Me", "There He Is", "Jealous Lover", and "Old Love".

We think this may be his best album ever! Caught live at a small club, with a tight band, Curtis delivers extended, intimate versions of some of his best work, like "We the People Who Are Darker Than Blue" and "Stare and Stare". We can't recommend this highly enough, and there's 2 full LPs worth of stellar material that stands among some of the best soul of the 70s! Other tracks include "Check Out Your Mind", "Stone Junkie", "I Plan To Stay A Believer", and "The Makings Of You". Incredible!

Sublime work from one of the coolest funky combos around – a group who aren't content to just hit the same funky styles as other outfits – and one who really stretch strongly in their pursuit of new sounds! The set's definitely funky – especially on the drums – but there's also this amazing interplay between the horns, weird sounds from the organ, and cool extra touches on auto harp and ukulele – which gives the music these exotic elements that are simply mindblowing! The set's a stone smoker from the start – instrumental, but in ways that let the Menahan Street Band open up way more than when working with a singer – showing us that they've got some of the freshest ideas in the contemporary funky underground. Titles include "The Crossing", "Sleight Of Hand", "Three Faces", "Keep Coming Back", "Seven Is The Wind", "Driftwood", and "Ivory & Blue".

A stone classic from the young Johnny Osbourne – solo vocals over backings from the Roots Radics – all served up with some nice dubby touches in the production! Johnny's vocals have this almost innocent quality at times, especially on his frequent lyrics about the ladies – often a lot less posturing than some of his contemporaries, in a really compelling way. Titles include "Fally Lover", "You're Too Sexy", "No Lollipop No Sweet So", "Mushroom", "Love So Strong", and "He Can Surely Turn The Tide".

Stone funky Latin soul from the younger member of the Santamaria family! Black Out is one of Monguito's greatest – a hip album of groovy late 60s tracks that perfectly blend the Latin and soul sides of the Spanish Harlem scene. Marty Sheller handled arrangements on some of the album's best cuts, giving them the same tight funky feel as his best work with the senior member of the Santamaria clan – and Ronnie Marks sings English language lyrics on the tracks "All Your Talk", "I've Got To Find", "Crying Time", and "You Need Help". Other tracks are Latin, and titles include "Guarara", "Sueno Contigo", and "Todo Es Todo".

A beautiful contemporary project from these two British jazz legends – one that definitely lives up to all their genius from earlier years – while finding a whole new level of expression! The album was done in collaboration with the London Vocal Project – a large group who are used here in a manner that's similar to some of the Donald Byrd "with voices" albums on Blue Note, or some of the Max Roach choral projects of the 60s. Winstone comes forth as the key soloist on some tracks – singing lyrics with this amazing quality that hasn't dimmed at all, with all the darkness we've always loved in her approach – and on other numbers the full chorus rises with the rhythms, propelling things forward alongside Wheeler's lines on flugelhorn – and the work of Mark Lockheart on saxes and Nikki Iles on piano. A stone classic, and a real surprise – with tracks that include "Black March", "The Hat", "The Broken Heart", "Breughel", and "The Lover Mourns".

A fantastic collection of rare bossa material from Italy! The set's one of the best we've ever seen of this type, and it's a completely fresh batch of tunes that breaks past a lot of the other Italian compilations of recent years. Some of the artists are familiar names – like Morricone, Piccioni, and Trovajoli – but there's plenty of other artists that we've never even heard before! A few themes are reworkings of familiar soundtrack tunes, but most of the material is original – and done with a sparkling sound that's really great! The grooves are filled with loads of tight drums, bubbling organ, jangly piano, and sweet female vocals in sort of a Morricone-ish tradition. Great stuff, and with 20 excellent tracks that include "Amori Finiti" by Giancarlo Gazzani, "Relief" by The Black Fire, "Rossana" by Armando Trovajoli, "Sometime" by A Santisteban, "Tema Di Linda" by Franco Micalizzi, "Curriculum" by Franco Chiari, "Coronado 990" by Orchestra Henry Stone, "Meditation" by Romano Mussolini, and "Warm Blood" by Tullio Gallo.

A stone cooker from the Blues Project – a fantastic mix of blues, folk, and pretty darn hard rocking guitar – all recorded with a sense of freedom that really lets the group open up and do their thing! The album's overflowing with great original Al Kooper tunes – and the set's recorded with a great edge to the guitars, making for some wonderfully psychedelic moments – and a sheer raw power that's really let this one stand up over the years, without the kind of cliches you might expect from the group's name! Titles include "Fly Away", "Caress Me Baby", "Two Trains Running", "Steve's Song", "You Can't Catch Me", and "I Can't Keep From Crying".

A fantastic Serge Gainsbourg album – and the BB initials in the title belong to Brigitte Bardot! This rare gem from 1968 is a second set of tracks that Serge cut with Brigitte Bardot – and it's a doozy! The record repeats a few tracks from their other effort (Bonnie & Clyde) – but it's also got some incredible cuts that are exclusive to this album, and which have that stone funky groove that makes the best late 60s work of Serge so in-demand these days! The best tracks include "Ford Mustang", "Initials BB", and "Black And White" – all of which have incredible funky intros that are totally sampleable – and the set also includes "Bonnie And Clyde", "Qui Est In Qui Est Out", "Marilu", "Shu Ba Du Ba La Loo Ba", "Hold Up", "Torrey Canyon", "Dr Jeckyll Et Monsieur Hyde", "Comic Strip", and "Bloody Jack".

Fantastic French funk – a record that's unlike any other deep funk combo we can think of – because Caroline Lacaze sings in her native language instead of English! The grooves are stepped in the best funky 45 styles of the late 60s, but the vocals also echo the more soulful sound of the French pop of the time as well – making the record a sweet hybrid that really stands out from the pack – and which will certainly help freshen up any collection of contemporary funk! Caroline's sung before on projects with the Mighty Mocambos, and she gets strong support from them on this debut set of her own – a stone smoker that include "Soultempo", "Je Reste", "Toujours Lui", "Laisse Tomber", "Ici", "Minutes D'Insouciance", and "En Route Madame".

Killer funky organ – and 100% Dynamite! Jackie Mittoo is one of the all-time great organists – as essential to Jamaica as Booker T was to Memphis, or Jimmy McGriff was to New York. He's legendary these days as the player who completely transformed the Hammond sound with his unique Jamaican instrumental style during his early years with the Skatalites, and on his later solo recordings for Studio One. This set's probably the first time Mittoo's work has been properly packaged and remastered – and the folks at Soul Jazz have done an amazing job of selecting just the right tracks for such a project. The whole thing wails along with a stone rocksteady groove – with plenty of nice drum parts and funky rhythm bits underneath Jackie's soulful organ. If you dug the label's 100% Dynamite series, you'll really dig this one – and the whole thing's very much in the same vein. Tracks include "Drum Song", "Reggae Rock", "Hot Tamale", "Killer Diller", "Black Organ", "Stereo Freeze", "Wall Street", "Darker Shade Of Black", "Juice Box", and "Killer Diller".

Rare tracks from the Peruvian scene of the 60s and 70s – a hotbed of many musical styles – from hard rock, to soft rock, to Latin funk, to straight descarga – and everything else in between! We've carried some other Peruvian reissues from time to time in the past, but this set is really the most complete overview of the Peruvian scene that we've ever seen – a wealth of rare material that pushes past some of the more familiar groups who've made it into the global scene! There's an awful lot of hard rocking tracks on the set, and titles include "Bailemos" by Termits, "Abrazame Baby" by Los Yorks, "Pa Pa Pa" by Hot Butter Sound, "You Gotta Try" by Ringers, "Mi Cueva" by El Polen, "World Full Of Nuts" by Laghonia, "Holy's Psicodelicos" by Los Holy's, "Tema De Los Golden Stars" by Golden Stars, "Stone" by Texao, "Sonido Amazunico" by Los Mirlos, and "Funky Man" by Black Sugar. 35 tracks on 2 LPs!

Soul Jazz takes an open-eyed and open-minded look at swampy, funky, freewheeling southern rock – southern-by-nature or southern-by-inspiration grooves from the end of the 60s and well into the 70s! What we love most about the set, besides that it features one great song after another, is the Soul Jazz perspective. They don't simply put together Delta Swamp Rock from a purist's standpoint regionally, or as a sound – it's loosely-defined, which you could complain about if you want, but we love all of this stuff so it works for us! There's early phase southern rock, blue-eyed soul, soulful country and homey, swaggering pop. Volume 1 of the vinyl has 13 tracks on 2LPs: "The Seasons" by Lynryd Skynryd, "Smokies" by Barefoot Jerry", "Papa, Won't You Let Me Go To Town With You" by Bobbie Gentrie, "Stone Fox Chase" by Area Code 615, "Be What You Want To" by Link Wray", "I'll Be Long Gone" by Boz Scaggs, "God Rest His Soul" by Duane And Gregg Allman and more.

A magical blend of 60s French pop – one of the best compilations of its type that we've ever heard! The tunes here are incredible – a wild mix of guitars, organ, noisy percussion, and some wonderfully catchy vocals that make you want to hop in a plane and head straight for the Left Bank! Way way better than any of those drippy and romantic "Paris is for Lovers" type compilations that are clogging up the bins – and a great look at the real deal in 60s Paris! Titles include "Une Chanson Pour Mon Amour" by Rika Zarai, "Un Trou Dans Ma Chaussure" by Gregory, "L'Antiquite" by Stone, "Psyche Rock" by Les Yper-Sound, "Ne Me Marchez Pas Sur Les Pieds" by Michel Polnareff, "Flower Power" by Alan Stivell, "D'Etre A Vous" by Marie Laforet, "Chante" by Ronnie Bird, and "N'Hesite Pas Quand L'Amour T'Appelle" by Katty Line. 22 tracks on 2LPs!

The title's almost redundant – as the words "Westbound" and "Funk" mean virtually the same thing! From the late 60s through the mid 70s, Westbound was one of the key record labels in the sound of raw heavy funk – working with hit groups like Funkadelic and the Ohio Players to craft a sound that laid the blueprint for countless other groups of the time, and also featuring a wealth of obscurer artists with an even harder-hitting sound! The key styles of Westbound and related jazz label Eastbound were heavy and fuzzy ones – picking up off the heady and trippy styles of the late 60s Detroit scene, mixing things up with MC5 guitars, Norman Whitfield bass, and deep underground Tribe-styled jazz touches. This 20 track masterpiece is a brilliant summation of the important Westbound sound – and includes a few hits, some funky 45 classics, and an even bigger number of tracks we might not have heard otherwise! The notes are great, the tunes are super-funky, and the whole thing's one of the best funky collections you could ever hope to purchase. Titles include "You're Messing Up My Mind" by Albert Washington, "Back To Funk" by Robert Lowe, "You Caught Me Smilin" by The 19th Whole, "Conga Man" by King Errison, "Shake Your Head" by Spanky Wilson, "I Love You" by The Motivations, "I Don't Know What It Is But It Sure Is Funky" by Mighty Elegant, "Crazy Legs" by Donald Austin, "Stone Thing (part 1)" by Alvin Cash, "RPM" by Boots, "Funky World (part 1)" by Silky Vincent, "Get Funky Sweet A Little Bit" by Jackie Harris & The Exciters, "I'll Bet You" by Funkadelic, and "Why Not Start All Over Again" by The Counts.

The first album ever from The Faces – a mighty merger of half of the old Small Faces with the young Rod Stewart and Ron Wood, fresh from the Jeff Beck group! The meeting of talents really set The Faces on fire – bringing even sharper focus to the group's previous sound, and giving it a stellar frontman in the face of Stewart – who was still brilliantly soulful here, and way far from all the cliches he'd spew in later years! The guitars are fantastic, the rhythms very raw – and the whole record romps along with this messy blend of rootsy elements and garagey power – never letting up the sonic onslaught for a minute. In the US, Warner still tried to market the group by using "Small Faces" on the cover – but trust us, the sound is way different than before – as you'll hear on cuts that include "Stone", "Around The Plynth", "Looking Out The Window", "Nobody Knows", "Wicked Messenger", and the classic "Three Button Hand Me Down".

The classic batch of instrumentals from J Dilla – one that strongly transcends the hip hop genre – and perhaps his rawest, and most adventurous listening experience ever! The loopy soul samples, rich synth/electro shine, and thumping bass and soul beats that Dilla largely made his name on are laced throughout, but he also takes things a step into stranger territory – with spacey elements that buzz as much as they groove! The cuts are never less than soulful and funky, and never really steps into his peer Madlib's brand of the weeded out style, either. We love how raw this all feels, too! It's easily identifiable as the work of Jay Dee, but at the same time, wholly unpredictable! One of the best releases that Stone's Throw ever released – instrumental or vocal! Includes "Donuts (Intro & Outro)", "Workinonit", "Waves", "Light My Fire", "People", "Mash", "Airworks", "Lightworks", "Stepson Of The Clapper", "One Eleven", "Don't Cry", "Geek Down", "Thunder", "Gobstopper", "Walkinonit", "U-Love", "Last Donut Of The Night" and more.

An amazing set of music – two rare albums from Ohio funk legend Lou Ragland, plus bonus tracks, and a whole set of unreleased sessions too – a huge amount of new music, even if you've got some of the previous reissues! First up is the legendary Hot Chocolate album – one of the greatest lost funk records of all time! The group is not the British pop band, but an Ohio funk group led by the great guitarist Lou Ragland. The album's originally from Canada, which makes it super rare – and these guys are funky funky funky, and kick some major booty with a heavy guitar sound that's just great! Some of the cuts are instrumental, and some of them have some excellent soul vocals that are produced with a nice deep sound that's brought out nicely by the excellent quality of the reissue. The record's got a bit of Sly Stone, a bit of Grant Green, and a bit of Mike James Kirkland – with a tasty raw indie soul vibe – and the original album was only pressed up at 500 copies. Titles include "So Dam Funky", "Ain't That A Groove", "Sexy Moods Of Your Mind", "Messin With Sly", and "What You Want To Do" – plus 8 more tracks from the same vintage – "Good For The Gander" by Hot Chocolate, "I Travel Alone" and Big Wheel" by Lou Ragland, "Red Robin" and "I've Got Something Going On" by Volcanic Eruption, and "I Can't Take It" and "What The Doctor Prescribed" by Lou Ragland & Hot Chocolate. Next is The Conveyor – the second album from Lou Ragland, stepping out here in a great set of mellow soul tracks! The album's quite different from the heavy funk of the Hot Chocolate album – more of a message-oriented approach to soul, in the vein of similar 70s indie work by Mike James Kirkland. The arrangements are also bigger – not smooth, but ambitious, in a style that perfectly matches the higher vision Lou's going for in tracks like "Understand Each Other", "What Should I Do?", "The Next World", and "It's Got To Change". Conveyor also comes with bonus tracks too – "Tend To Your Business" by Wildfire, plus "Since You Said You'd Be Mine" and "I Didn't Mean To Leave You" by Lou Ragland. And last up is an incredible batch of unreleased material – maybe the biggest and best so far from Ragland – tracks that have this really ambitious quality that mixes soul, funk, and larger orchestrations – especially some light strings, which really expand the sound, and push the music into this righteous territory that reminds us a lot of the creative experiments in Chicago during the Cadet/Concept years! Lou's vocals are great, and the message is totally righteous – and even though the tape quality is slightly aged, the soulful vibe really comes through – on cuts that include "Understand Each Other", "It Ain't My Fault", "Could It Be I'm Falling In Love", "Spend My Life Loving You", "Until I Met You", and "Brother Louie". Lovingly packaged by Numero – with a huge booklet of photos and history!