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A very cool set! This one comes in a hardcover book-like package – and not only includes the main record, but two full other records as well! Across 110th Street is one of the best blacksploitation soundtracks of the early 70's – not only for the great title cut by Bobby Womack, "Across 110th Street", but for the excellent hard-hitting instrumentals by J.J. Johnson, which are perfectly in the groove of the blacksploitation generation! Lots of wah-wah guitar, funky keys, and tight riffing by the band – especially on the cuts "Harlem Clavinette", "Hang On in There", and "Harlem Love Theme". Also features "Do It Right" and another vocal version of "Hang On In There", both by Bobby. Facts Of Life features Bobby Womack at the height of his powers – perfectly balancing southern soul roots and 70s soul polish – with an amazing sound that was unlike anyone else at the time! The set was recorded at Muscle Shoals, but has a quality that goes way beyond any of the standard modes from the studio – almost as if Bobby brought a special sort of magic to the sessions that made everyone rise above the sometimes too-familiar work they were giving to the bigger names who were traipsing through the studio. Of course, a big part of the success of the album comes from Womack's amazing vocal delivery – that style that's raspy, yet warm – and which is a perfect fit for the well-penned tunes on the set. Titles include "I'm Through Trying To Prove My Love To You", "Nobody", "If You Can't Give Her Love Give Her Up", and a very cool version of "The Look Of Love". Looking For A Love Again is perfect pivotal Bobby! The record still has the raspy southern soul edge of earlier albums, but it benefits from some great smooth funky backing, laid down at Muscle Shoals with a host of legendary studio giants like Clayton Ivey, Roger Hawkins, Jimmy Johnson, and Truman Thomas. Includes killer funky stepper "You're Welcome, Stop On By", which has been sampled and covered many times over the years – plus "I Don't Wanna Be Hurt By Ya Love Again", "Let It Hang Out", "Lookin For A Love", "Doing It My Way", and "Don't Let Me Down".

What can we say? When this record came out, everybody we knew thought they'd totally lost it, and stopped being funky. From the vantage point of this generation, though, the record's a jazz funk masterpiece, with a smooth R&B sound that's virtually flawless, and a perfect summation of all of the great studio work being done in 70s LA. Includes the massive extended version of "Street Life", with vocals by Randy Crawford, plus other great cuts like "Night Faces", "The Hustler", and "Rodeo Drive".

A blend of jazz funk and rawer informed grooves from Harold Alexander – and actually a step into more polished vibes thanks to some Arif Mardin arrangements and a new home at Atlantic Records! Although some of the earlier records cut by reed player Harold Alexander may have been more accurately described with the title Raw Root, this one stands up a lot better today than we remembered it! It has a pretty tight electric sound, and good Atlantic soul grooves running through it – with Alexander on flutes & saxes, Joe Boner in on keyboards, Ricard Davis on bass and Brian Beaks on drums on the bulk of it, with altered personnel on "De Black Musician" and "Lady Euphoria" (which also include vocals by Tequila). Soulful backing vocals credited to Something Different and some guitar by Junior Hanson and some spacey synth by Billy Allessi. Other tracks include "Country Soul", "Raw Root", "New York Sister", and "Street Life".

An incredible live recording by Burt Bacharach – and one that wasn't issued in the US! This early 70s concert is great proof that the Bacharach magic didn't come from any studio tricks – but from the genius of Burt himself – as the maestro's working here in a fantastic larger-than-life setting, one that offers slightly different takes on the magical tunes of his A&M years. The arrangements include a large instrumental group, plus strings and uncredited singers – and Burt himself delivers some wonderful vocals on a few tunes too. Titles include "Promises Promises", "The Look Of Love", "Walk On By", "Come Touch The Sun", "Bond Street", "Close To You", "A House Is Not A Home", and 2 nice medley tracks!

An obscure 60s rocker from Nashville – with a sound that's part Brit Invasion, part electric Dylan. We know little about the group, but the record's pretty darn nice – and reminds us of some of our favorite mid 60s Hollies albums – with some occasional warmer touches that are probably due to the Nashville Sound studio used by RCA for the session. Titles include "Honor The Hearse", "It Ain't No Big Thing, Babe", "High Life", "Ain't That Lovin", "Now's The Time", and "The Man On The Street".

Wonderful work from the little recorded Bronx Cheer – which combined uptempo acoustic jug band rock with an uncommonly catchy brand of unique tunefulness – tunes from their wonderful debut LP on Dawn Records, plus some very nice stuff from the unreleased second LP! Bronx Cheer has roots in the jug band groove, with chiming acoustic guitars, tight rhythm and vocals with a little bit of a good natured twang, but their recordings show a willingness to plug in and rock out once in a while. 19 tracks in all: "Barrelhouse Player", "Prison Wall Blues", "Adult Games", "Springdale Blues", "Round & Round", "Fourth Street Mess Around", "Back Door", "Won't Act Right", "Ballad Of Reg Purvis", "Same Again", "Wild Cat", "Long Lovin' Night", "Life Is An Empty Box", "Midnight Mover", "Tell Me" and more!

A post-Blue Note effort, and Donald's changing things up a bit with his 125th Street Orchestra and Uptown Singers – funking along in a way you'd expect from the longwinded title! Byrd loostens up the smoother backgrounds of his recent Larry Mizell helmed work, and in their place are grooves that have more of a heavy slap bass sound, punchier horns and guitars! There are lotes nice moments that are a bit more restrained than the comparably full-on funk approach – and these have a spacey fusiony soul quality that reminds us of similar work that Byrd was doing with The Blackbyrds at the time. One of the best cuts is "Your Life Is My Ecstasy", which has some great bubbling Moog behind it, which creates a sound that you've heard sampled famously by Tribe Called Quest. Other nice ones are "Loving You", which features vocals by Jim Gilstrap, and a remake of Duke Pearson's "Cristo Redentor", a big hit for Don in the 60s, which is redone here in an excellent slow funk mode that feels like Bob James' work on CTI. Others include "Have You Heard The News", "In Love With Love" and "Close Your Eyes And Look Within".

Randy Crawford and Joe Sample – a mighty wonderful combination who've made some great studio sessions together – working here in an even more organic live concert setting! The album's got a stripped-down, back-to-basics approach – Joe just playing acoustic piano and working with a trio – and Randy stepping out in some old school jazz vocals – of the sort she didn't even record in her earlier days! The approach is wonderful – a great reminder that both artists have some mighty deep, soulful roots – and the track list is a good mix of older standards and cool soulful numbers, really recast nicely in this mode. Titles include "Street Life", "Last Night At Danceland", "Every Day I Have The Blues", "Feeling Good", "Tell Me More & Then Some", "Me Myself & I", and "One Day I'll Fly Away".

A stone pop soul winner from DeBarge – the kind of record that made the group a heck of a lot of money back in the 80s, and which sounds surprisingly great to our ears today! The record features lots of electro arrangements – fuzzy keyboards and bass pedals grooving around in a way that's got traces of "street" electro, mixed with some super-smooth LA production, and used brilliantly by the group in a family-based pop harmony way that stretches back to some of the great 70s groups of the same style – like The Sylvers or the Stairsteps. A heck of a lot nicer than we remember, and pretty great all the way through – with tracks that include "I Like It", "I'll Never Fall In Love Again", "All This Love", "I'm In Love With You", "Can't Stop", "It's Getting Stronger", and "Life Begins With You".

A stone pop soul winner from DeBarge – the kind of record that made the group a heck of a lot of money back in the 80s, and which sounds surprisingly great to our ears today! The record features lots of electro arrangements – fuzzy keyboards and bass pedals grooving around in a way that's got traces of "street" electro, mixed with some super-smooth LA production, and used brilliantly by the group in a family-based pop harmony way that stretches back to some of the great 70s groups of the same style – like The Sylvers or the Stairsteps. A heck of a lot nicer than we remember, and pretty great all the way through – with tracks that include "I Like It", "I'll Never Fall In Love Again", "All This Love", "I'm In Love With You", "Can't Stop", "It's Getting Stronger", and "Life Begins With You".

The timeless sounding underground classic debut of Frank-N-Dank – which is a strong first full length statement for the duo – and a significant milestone in the J Dilla production canon! It has more of a straight up, street ready rhyme style than was typical for Dilla productions at the time – with smoky, pulsing production and unpredictable beats. The rhymes are stronger than we gave 'em credit for a decade or so back – and the raw electro funky bounce provided by Dilla really opened us up to how diverse his style could be outside of the jazzy/funky/soul beats he'd laid down in the preceding couple of years! Tracks include "Rite Bites", "Street Life", "Pimp Strut", "Where The Parties At?", "All Seasons", "Take Dem Clothes Off" and more.

The stripped-down core of the Frank N Dank debut – and a lasting tribute to the studio genius of Dilla! The beats here are really bassy – the kind that almost make you want to replace the back seat of your car with bigger speakers – just to enjoy them fully! (Heck, even on an iPod's earbuds, you could still probably shake your neighbor's boots with this record!) There's some great raw electro touches mixed in with the stark beats – and while the setting is perfect for the rhymes of the vocal record, it's almost even more haunting on its own. Titles include "Marijuana", "Street Life", "Where The Parties At", "Y'All Don't Want It", "Sex On The Beach", "All Seasons", and "Ma Dukes".

The timeless sounding underground classic debut of Frank-N-Dank – which is a strong first full length statement for the duo – and a significant milestone in the J Dilla production canon! It has more of a straight up, street ready rhyme style than was typical for Dilla productions at the time – with smoky, pulsing production and unpredictable beats. The rhymes are stronger than we gave 'em credit for a decade or so back – and the raw electro funky bounce provided by Dilla really opened us up to how diverse his style could be outside of the jazzy/funky/soul beats he'd laid down in the preceding couple of years! Tracks include "Rite Bites", "Street Life", "Pimp Strut", "Where The Parties At?", "All Seasons", "Take Dem Clothes Off" and more. This 2013 version features a second disc with Dilla's instrumentals.

A stone classic from the great Gwen Guthrie – a singer who forged some brilliant vocals in the backdrop of other folks' soul sessions – then really exploded forth as a star on her own, with a handful of key albums in the early 80s! This cooker really shows off Guthrie's ear for the clubs – and has this style that's not really 80s groove, not really street soul – but a great blend of both, and put together in ways that seem to prefigure so many other soul styles in years to come – even as far forward as the new jack years. Gwen's strong vocals work perfectly with the arrangements – which have a tightly produced electric sound that could overcome weaker singers, but which only push Gwen into bolder vocals than before! Titles include the classic "Ain't Nothin Goin On But The Rent", plus "I Still Want You", "Stop Holding Back", "Outside In The Rain", "Close To You", and "You Touched My Life". CD also features four bonus tracks – "Save Your Love For Me", a duet with Surface – plus "Close To You (7" mix)", "Ain't Nothin Goin On But The Rent (12" club mix)", and "Outside In The Rain (7" mix)".

One of the all-time great Rick James albums – a return to funkier sounds for Rick that worked both artistically and commercially – and actually got over far better than his more blatant attempts at crossover material on other records! The mix here is perfect – a true summation of all that made Motown great at the time, and the special sort of energy that made Rick one of the freshest mainstream talents at the end of the 70s! The record put a lot of money in Barry Gordy's pockets, and for good reason too – given that the set includes the classic hit "Super Freak" – plus "Give It To Me Baby", "Ghetto Life", "Make Love To Me", "Below The Funk (Pass The J)", and "Fire & Desire" – all done in that compressed pop-funky style that James kind of took from Bootsy Collins and manage to successfully soup up for the masses!

Bluesy soundtrack for this 70s film based on the life of Huddie Ledbetter – aka Leadbelly – featuring guitar by Brownie, harmonica by Sonny, and vocals by Hitide Harris in the place of Leadbelly. Art Evans also sings some vocals as Blind Lemon Jefferson – and the tracks are nearly all Ledbetter originals, including "Go Down Ol Hannah","Fannin Street", "Rock Island Line", "Silver City Bound", "Green Corn", and "Black Girl". Fred Karlin arranged and conducted.

A pair of classics from the great Bill Medley – pulled from his key early years on his own! Bill Medley 100% a surprisingly wonderful little record – and a real testament to the blue-eyed soul of Medley! The set's a solo outing that has Bill stepping away from his fame as a Righteous Brother – but almost sounding even better on his own, with a depth of soul to his vocals that's really amazing – echoes of Ray Charles, Jerry Butler, Chuck Jackson, and other 60s greats – served up with a surprising lack of cliche – at least in comparison to folks who tried this sort of thing in later years. Bill Baker serves up some sparkling arrangements for the set – and titles include "Brown Eyed Woman", "You're Nobody Til Somebody Loves You", "Let The Good Times Roll", "Show Me", "One Day Girl", and "That's Life". Soft & Soulful is a record that really has Bill Medley deepening up his groove – moving past some of the more standard soul music modes of earlier efforts, and stretching out in a rich tapestry of modes that clearly sets the scene for soul singers in generations to come! There's still a strong dose of 60s soul in the mix here, but the arrangements complicate things nicely – and bring in this "adult" approach to the music that no doubt went back from Medley's mainstream presence to have an influence on other soul singers as well – kind of a template for more mature modes that would show up more strongly in the 70s. Medley wrote some of the tunes on the set himself – which further deepens the personality of the record – and titles include "Winter Won't Come This Year", "Peace Brother Peace", "100 Years", "I'm Gonna Die Me", "Softly", "When Something Is Wrong With My Baby", "Any Day Now", and "Street Of Dirt".

Under-exposed genius from the legendary Raymond Scott – a set of straighter jazz material from the late 40s, but all of it with Scott's undeniable sense of madness still very firmly in place! Most of the work here is small combo – played by either a quintet or sextet – and although the styles aren't as dramatic as in some of Raymond's better-known cartoon work, there's still an undeniably fluid, playful feel to the music! Instrumentation includes Scott on piano and celeste, plus trumpet, tenor, clarinet, bass, and drums – and some tracks even feature great early vocals from Dorothy Collins, who seems much madder than usual in the context of the combo! The work appears to have originally been issued by the Master and Audiovox labels – and titles include "Street Corner In Paris", "The Penguin", "By Heck", "Who", "Bird Life In The Bronx", "Curley Cue", "Somebody Loves Me", "Little Girl", "Ectoplasm", "Question Mark", and "Dedicatory Piece To The Crew & Passengers Of The First Experimental Rocket Express To The Moon".

A killer batch of modern spiritual soul jazz – with a classic sound that reminds us a lot of the 70s work on labels like Tribe or Strata East! The New Composers Ensemble is led by vibist Paris Smith, an underground Chicago jazz artist who cut a few very enigmatic albums on his own – and he's working here with a group that includes guitar, piano, percussion, and bass. All the tracks on the CD are originals written by the players on the record – and most of them are strong modal grooves, with a spiraling strident sound that's filled with joy and life, but also a hint of darkness. The interplay of the instruments is unlike anything we've heard elsewhere, and it's the kind of underground treasure that you'd die to find on a rare 70s album – somehow even cooler that it's cut by an obscure group who are working in our generation! A few tracks have a vocalist that's a bit off-beat – and she also reminds us of some of the more spiritual contraltos that would show up on the Strata sets from the 70s – but her contribution to the record also kind of grows on you nicely after a while. Titles include "Tommy Tones", "Sonny's Song", "Lilith Came", "Introspection", "Psalm 37", and "53rd Street Ghost", dedicated to the street where Dusty Groove used to have its headquarters!

Uptempo east coast club soul – not entirely disco, and more like the indie work of the immediate generation before – a time when groups were picking up their groove a bit more than before, creating some lean, soulful tempos for the dancefloor! Arrangements are by Bert DeCoteaux and Charlie Cailello – both of whom bring a lot more professional polish to the record than you might expect – kind of a New York take on the Philly sound of the early 70s, and one that must have been mighty popular on the Boroughs dancefloors a the time! Titles include "Wanna Spend My Whole Life With You Baby", "Liberated Lady", "You're The Girl That I Love", "Flippin A Coin", "Never Get Enough Of Your Love", and "Gotta Get Back With You". CD features 12 tracks in all – including "Just Making Love" and "Why You Wanna Make Me Lonely".

A great British folk set from Steve Tilston – featuring all acoustic and all original material that gives it a pretty wonderful and timeless feel! Tilston has a warm voice and melodic style that's pretty darn great – which sounds to us like it'll have a pretty broadly reaching appeal. The songs are great, and really should appeal to fans of acoustic singer-songwriter records and deeper folk connoisseurs. Solidly rooted on Tilston's voice and guitar, but with accompaniment from Village Thing labelmates on guitar, picked and bowed bass, harmonica and violin. Includes "I Really Wanted You", "Simplicity", "Time Has Shown Me Your Face", "Train Time", "Sleepytime On Peel Street", "Normandy Day", "It's Not My Pace To Fail", "Show A Little Kindness" and more. 5 bonus tracks: "The Price Of Love"., "Show A Little Kindness", "Here You Go Again", "The Price Of Life" and "When I See Your Face Again'.

A killer assortment of funky leftfield grooves from the late 70s and early 80s – groundbreaking work that goes way beyond conventional club, funk, and disco! The music here was light years ahead of its time, and still sounds pretty darn fresh today – a weird mix of arty, punky, and experimental modes – but all filtered down into a groove that's still catchy and compelling enough to cross over to fans of mainstream club. Many cuts here had a huge influence on house and techno modes of the mid 80s, and continue to have impact today on some of the younger, more influential groovemakers around the globe – and this single CD set is sort of a re-casting of the previous Disco Not Disco collections on Strut Records, which themselves were influential enough at the start of the current decade. CD features the tracks "Mind Your Own Business" by Delta 5, "Crunch Cake" by Isotope, "Your Life (party mix)" by Konk, "Launderette" by Vivien Goldman, "My Spine Is The Bassline (12" edit)" by Shriekback, "Contort Yourself (August Darnell rmx)" by James White & The Blacks, "Love Tempo (rmx)" by Quando Quango, "Sharevari (inst)" by A Number Of Names, "Silent Street/Silent Dub" by Maximum Joy, "Shake It Right" by Six Sed Red, and "Los Ninos Del Parque (12" mix)" by Liaisons Dangereuses.

The best look at Chicago's legendary Twinight label that we've ever seen – a massive 2CD set that goes way past the obvious hits, and really digs into the heart and soul of this unique little record company! Twinight is best known as the home of Syl Johnson during his legendary run of funky soul singles at the end of the 60s – but the company was also home to a lot of other great talent during the same stretch – harmony vocal groups, sweet soul singers, funky combos, and more – all of which you'll hear in this incredible little set! (And in fact, the set does such a great job of presenting the other artists on Twinight, that it leaves out Syl Johnson entirely – so the package is a 100% non-Syl set – which is ok with us, because you can always get Johnson's work on other reissues.) The Numero Group have really outdone themselves this time around – using their careful ear to pull out the best lost bits from Twinight, remastered here with wonderful sound – and a brilliant 32 page booklet that tells the story of the label, and also includes loads of vintage photos. The set's a must-have for any fan of quality funk or soul – and the package includes a whopping 40 titles that include "Goin Man Huntin" by Jo Ann Garrett, "I've Made Up My Mind" by Josephine Taylor, "A New Day" by The Notations, "Nevermore" by Renaldo Domino, "Yesterday's Mistakes" by Jimmy Jones, "I'll Always Love You" by Velma Perkins, "Life Walked Out" by Mist, "Put Out The Fire by Mystiques, "You & Me Baby" by Kaldirons, "Rosemarie" by Dynamic Tints, "Remind Me" by Schiller Street Gang, "Is It Meant To Be" by Krystal Generation, "Pardon My Innocent Heart" by Nate Evans, "Package Of Love (part 1)" by Dynamic Tints, "The Devastator" by Stormy, "Mama" by Annette Poindexter, "Pass It On (part 1)" by Pipes Of Peace, "My Sunshine Girl" by Radiants, "Let Me Come Within" by Renaldo Domino, "Soul Strokes" by Sidney Pinchback, and "Can You Find Me Love" by Harrison & The Majestic Kind.

The best look at Chicago's legendary Twinight label that we've ever seen – a massive set that goes way past the obvious hits, and really digs into the heart and soul of this unique little record company! Twinight is best known as the home of Syl Johnson during his legendary run of funky soul singles at the end of the 60s – but the company was also home to a lot of other great talent during the same stretch – harmony vocal groups, sweet soul singers, funky combos, and more – all of which you'll hear in this incredible little set! (And in fact, the set does such a great job of presenting the other artists on Twinight, that it leaves out Syl Johnson entirely – so the package is a 100% non-Syl set – which is ok with us, because you can always get Johnson's work on other reissues.) The Numero Group have really outdone themselves this time around – using their careful ear to pull out the best lost bits from Twinight, remastered here with wonderful sound – and the heavy inner sleeves of the LPs have notes that tell the story of the label, and also includes loads of vintage photos. The set's a must-have for any fan of quality funk or soul – and the package includes a whopping 53 titles that include "Goin Man Huntin" by Jo Ann Garrett, "I've Made Up My Mind" by Josephine Taylor, "A New Day" by The Notations, "Nevermore" by Renaldo Domino, "Yesterday's Mistakes" by Jimmy Jones, "I'll Always Love You" by Velma Perkins, "Life Walked Out" by Mist, "Put Out The Fire by Mystiques, "You & Me Baby" by Kaldirons, "Rosemarie" by Dynamic Tints, "Remind Me" by Schiller Street Gang, "Is It Meant To Be" by Krystal Generation, "Pardon My Innocent Heart" by Nate Evans, "Package Of Love (part 1)" by Dynamic Tints, "The Devastator" by Stormy, "Mama" by Annette Poindexter, "Pass It On (part 1)" by Pipes Of Peace, "My Sunshine Girl" by Radiants, "Let Me Come Within" by Renaldo Domino, "Soul Strokes" by Sidney Pinchback, and "Can You Find Me Love" by Harrison & The Majestic Kind. 4LP set is beautiful – packaged in a special box, and with 13 bonus tracks not on the CD version – plus updated liner notes, more photos, and a full Twinight singles discography!

Number in the excellent Electro series of compilations on the UK Street Sounds imprint, a great batch of prototypical hip hop and beeping electronic funk from the days when this stuff looked like the sound of the future, and for all intents and purposes practically was! Nothing but classic early and mid 80s numbers with snapping synthesized production, this volume features 9 numbers in all, including "It's Time To Rock" by Great Peso & Mr Nasty, "Fast Life" by Dr Jeckyll & Mr Hyde, "Techno Scratch" by the Knights of the Turntables, "Egypt, Egypt" by the Egyptian Lover, "Breakers Revenge" by Arthur Baker, "Captain Rock To The Future Shock" by Captain Rock, "Release Yourself" by Aleem, "The Buck Stops Here" by Fantasy Three, and "B Boys Breakdance" by the High Fidelity Three.

Odd six track promo sampler from Epic. The best track here is "Rock On" from Funkdoobiest with a good combination of hyped vocals over mellow production. Also includes a short un-named verse from Kool G Rap. Other tracks: Mystidious Misfits "I Be", Vicious feat. Shyheim "Life Of A Shortie", Mista Grimm "Situation Grimm (acapella)", Dana Barros "Check It (acapella)".

One of the hippest sets we've ever seen on Spanish Harlem – a collection that goes way past the Latin Soul hits, to dig deep in the uptown underground at the end of the 60s! The package is compiled with gems from the Fania catalog, but rally moves past the obvious – going for some of the more obscure artists who recorded singles for some of the smaller Fania-held labels – and often focusing on tunes that drew more from late 60s soul and funk than they did from any Latin rhythms of the time. The singers are especially wonderful – and often hit a vibe that's right up there with some of Joe Bataan's best of the period – richly soulful, but often deeply personal too – never as polished as chart soul, and often showing a grittier, more realistic style that's totally great – especially when mixed with instrumentation as tight as this! Titles include "Reflections Of My Life" by 125th Street Candy Store, "On Old Broadway" by 107th Street Stickball Team, "Don't Be Afraid" by Lebron Brothers, "Central Park" by Harvey Averne Dozen, "Heaven" by Tito Ramos, "Your Smile" by Parris, "Some Lonely Heart" by Ronnie Marks, "There's No Girl" by Olivieri, "Maria Maria" by King Nando, "Already Satisfied" by Tony Middleton & Bobby Matos, "Nitty Boo Boo" by The Nitty Sextette, "Lonely Has Been My Day" by Ralphie & The Latin Lovers, "I'm Gonna Leave You" by Russell Cohen & The New Yorkers, and "Ain't No Big Thing" by Ralfi Pagan.

Bill Withers' second album – even more wonderful than the first! The record's a perfect summation of all that made Bill so great – warm raspy vocals, sweet soulful production, mature songwriting, and just the right use of acoustic guitar to accent all the best elements in the music! Withers was already great before this record, but Still Bill really pushed him over the top – and made sure that generations to come would never tire of his genius. The arrangements are wonderful – with just the right sort of punch to hammer things home – yet still very far from commercial, and able to let all the acoustic elements of Bill's roots shine through. The record includes the massive "Lean On Me" – but we love it even more for the funky "Use Me", the slinky "Kissing My Love", the righteous "Who Is He (And What Is He To You)", and the always-great "Lonely Town Lonely Street". Plus, CD features bonus live versions of "Let Me In Your Life" and "Lonely Town Lonely Street".

Pere Ubu captured in their early prime – here in a long-lost live show that's finally reaching the light of day! The group are brilliant right from the very first note – crackling with all that rawness that's always made their earliest releases some of the most striking from the American scene of the late 70s – not really punk, not really arty, and undeniably unique – thanks to frenetic instrumentation, and captivating work by frontman David Thomas! The recording quality is surprisingly great – clear enough to pull out the brooding basslines, while still allowing us to wallow in the fuzz of the guitars – and titles include "Cloud 149", "Modern Dance", "Real World", "Over My Head", "Life Stinks", "Final Solution", "Humor Me", "My Dark Ages", "Laughing", and "Street Waves".

An incredible record – far greater than we even expected! The setup is simple: King Britt and his crew remix the tapes from 2001's experimental jazz jam session by a trio of fellow Philadelphians – drummer Ahmir Thompson (The Roots), jazz bassist Christian McBride, and keyboardist Uri Caine. Britt's really blown his top here – taking the original album (great in its own right), and turning it into a set of cosmic grooves that bear almost no relation to the initial work, yet still keep its soulful heart. The depth of the project is stunning – way more than just simple remix tricks, and a whole new level of expression that shows why Philly is fast becoming the music capitol of the 21st Century. Includes work by Rob Yancey, Charlie Dark, Phillip Charles, Oba Funke, Vikter Duplaix, The Randy Weston Experience, DJ Ghe, and Britt himself – with titles that include "South Street", "Paul Edwards The Orange Line (lle lfe)", "(Re)Moved (Oba Funke Far Re-Moved dub)", "Diamond Street", "Philadelphia Experiment (rmx)", "Delaware Avenue", "Miles Hit (Rob Life mix)", "Broad & Cecil B Moore", "Brown Street", and "Groover The III (the theme to massagejawn.com)".

A post-Blue Note effort, and Donald's changing things up a bit with his 125th Street Orchestra and Uptown Singers – funking along in a way you'd expect from the longwinded title! Byrd loostens up the smoother backgrounds of his recent Larry Mizell helmed work, and in their place are grooves that have more of a heavy slap bass sound, punchier horns and guitars! There are lotes nice moments that are a bit more restrained than the comparably full-on funk approach – and these have a spacey fusiony soul quality that reminds us of similar work that Byrd was doing with The Blackbyrds at the time. One of the best cuts is "Your Life Is My Ecstasy", which has some great bubbling Moog behind it, which creates a sound that you've heard sampled famously by Tribe Called Quest. Other nice ones are "Loving You", which features vocals by Jim Gilstrap, and a remake of Duke Pearson's "Cristo Redentor", a big hit for Don in the 60s, which is redone here in an excellent slow funk mode that feels like Bob James' work on CTI. Others include "Have You Heard The News", "In Love With Love" and "Close Your Eyes And Look Within".

A brilliant return from the Hot 8 Brass Band – a New Orleans combo who take tradition into some great funky new territory! As you'd guess from their name, the instrumentation is heavy on brass – played with a gritty, soulful edge – in the way you'd find during some street performance in a corner far from the mainstream Quarter – sometimes accompanied by ensemble vocals, and almost always driven by these great rhythms at the bottom – more than funky enough to set even the heaviest horns on fire with their energy. Titles include "Bingo Bango", "Fine Tuner", "Steamin Blues", "Can't Hide From The Truth", "New Orleans (After The City)", and a nice remake of The Specials' "Ghost Town".

A later album from the Last Poets – recorded after their classic run in the 70s, but still pretty nice overall! The record's a bit of an unusual one, in that it shows a bit of the creeping "street" element that the Poets would absorb into their work after being dubbed as the "Godfathers Of Rap" during the early years of hip hop. The record's not really a hip hop set, but it's definitely got a bit more of a street soul vibe, thanks to Celluloid production from Bill Laswell – who certainly shows some of his association here with the hip hop related projects on the label. Laswell mixes in bits of street funk and electro with the Poets' older style of jazzoetry – and the lyrics are sometimes a bit more song-structured than before, with a few more choruses than in the earlier days of free-flowing lines. Titles include "Hold Fast", "What Will You Do", "Parting Company", and "This Is Your Life".

Nas hasn't put out a completely successful full length since this all time classic from 92/93/94 – and if his legacy is just a bit tarnished by the hit-and-miss quality of his subsequent albums, and his all too public slaying at the hands of Jay-Z, nothing can take away the impact of this damn near perfect slice of east coast street hop. Nasir, "World Is Yours", indeed. Other tracks include "NY State Of Mind", "Life's A B***h", "Half Time", "One Love" and the rest, with all of that great production by Primo, Pete Rock and Large Professor. Columbia has gone all out with the reverence on this double LP reissue, with remastered sound polish and a bonus LP with remixes of "World Is Yours", "Life's A B***h", "One Love" and "It Ain't Hard To Tell", plus bonus tracks "On The Real" and "Star Wars".

Pere Ubu captured in their early prime – here in a long-lost live show that's finally reaching the light of day! The group are brilliant right from the very first note – crackling with all that rawness that's always made their earliest releases some of the most striking from the American scene of the late 70s – not really punk, not really arty, and undeniably unique – thanks to frenetic instrumentation, and captivating work by frontman David Thomas! The recording quality is surprisingly great – clear enough to pull out the brooding basslines, while still allowing us to wallow in the fuzz of the guitars – and titles include "Cloud 149", "Modern Dance", "Real World", "Over My Head", "Life Stinks", "Final Solution", "Humor Me", "My Dark Ages", "Laughing", and "Street Waves".

Roxy Music's third album and the first one sans Brian Eno, making the record slightly less experimental, but still a wild avant pop masterpiece that finds the group at near peak perfection! The otherworldly elements aren't forgone in Eno's absence, with some spacey synthesizer washes and treated violin parts lending some otherwordliness – but the more focused songwriting and overall tunefulness make this one another classic! Titles include "Street Life", "Just Like You", "Amazona", "Psalm", "Serenade", "A Song For Europe", "Mother Of Pearl" and "Sunset".

A great album by Dinah, and one that cuts past the sleepy standards and doleful pop of her Mercury recordings. This one's a mature, smoky album of boozing and sorrow, with lush arrangements by Don Costa that perfectly offset the time-hardened quality of Dinah's unique voice. The title cut "Drinking Again" is a great one, and the album's got lots of other nice moments like "I Don't Know You Anymore", "On The Street Of Regret", "The Man That Got Away", and "I'm Gonna Laugh You Out Of My Life".

A sweet little package – with three classic albums from Bill Withers, each in a tiny LP-styled cover! Still Bill is Bill Withers' second album – even more wonderful than the first! The record's a perfect summation of all that made Bill so great – warm raspy vocals, sweet soulful production, mature songwriting, and just the right use of acoustic guitar to accent all the best elements in the music! Withers was already great before this record, but Still Bill really pushed him over the top – and made sure that generations to come would never tire of his genius. The arrangements are wonderful – with just the right sort of punch to hammer things home – yet still very far from commercial, and able to let all the acoustic elements of Bill's roots shine through. The record includes the massive "Lean On Me" – but we love it even more for the funky "Use Me", the slinky "Kissing My Love", the righteous "Who Is He (And What Is He To You)", and the always-great "Lonely Town Lonely Street". Menagerie is one of Bill Withers' greatest albums of the 70s – a set that has hip stepping off the acoustic sound of his Sussex records, into a warm and jazzy style that we like every bit as much as his earlier work! The album's got a wonderfully sophisticated jazzy vibe, and includes the excellent cut "Lovely Day" – a perfect midtempo track with some great electric keyboards behind Bill's raspy soulful voice, and a great hook on the chorus! Paul Riser handled a lot of the arrangements – and other titles include "Wintertime", "It Ain't Because Of Me Baby", "I Want To Spend The Night", and "Then You Smile At Me". Watching You is a sweet little 80s session from Bill Withers – a lot less acoustic than his soul of the 70s, but in a way that works surprisingly well! As always with Bill, the vocals are the main thing, and the passage of time has done nothing to take off his edge – that warmly raspy quality that's instantly recognizable, and which comes through with all of its original charm – even amidst the smoother, more electric approach of the album's backings. There's a number of tracks on here that hit a mellow, midtempo groove that works quite well – and Bill did most of the production himself, with help from collaborators who include Ralph MacDonald, Michel Colombier, and Denny Diante. Titles include "Watching You Watching Me", "Oh Yeah", "Something That Turns You On", "You Try To Find A Love", "We Could Be Sweet Lovers", and "Heart In Your Life".

One of the hippest sets we've ever seen on Spanish Harlem – a collection that goes way past the Latin Soul hits, to dig deep in the uptown underground at the end of the 60s! The package is compiled with gems from the Fania catalog, but rally moves past the obvious – going for some of the more obscure artists who recorded singles for some of the smaller Fania-held labels – and often focusing on tunes that drew more from late 60s soul and funk than they did from any Latin rhythms of the time. The singers are especially wonderful – and often hit a vibe that's right up there with some of Joe Bataan's best of the period – richly soulful, but often deeply personal too – never as polished as chart soul, and often showing a grittier, more realistic style that's totally great – especially when mixed with instrumentation as tight as this! Titles include "Reflections Of My Life" by 125th Street Candy Store, "On Old Broadway" by 107th Street Stickball Team, "Don't Be Afraid" by Lebron Brothers, "Central Park" by Harvey Averne Dozen, "Heaven" by Tito Ramos, "Your Smile" by Parris, "Some Lonely Heart" by Ronnie Marks, "There's No Girl" by Olivieri, "Maria Maria" by King Nando, "Already Satisfied" by Tony Middleton & Bobby Matos, "Nitty Boo Boo" by The Nitty Sextette, "Lonely Has Been My Day" by Ralphie & The Latin Lovers, "I'm Gonna Leave You" by Russell Cohen & The New Yorkers, and "Ain't No Big Thing" by Ralfi Pagan.

The Beatles had Abbey Road – and Booker T & The MGs had McLemore Ave, the main street running outside the Stax studios, and a fitting title for the album that has them playing tunes from The Beatles' incredible Abbey Road album. If you've ever thought that Abbey Road was a soft-rock lowpoint in the Beatles' career, consider how many soul and jazz artists either covered the whole album, performed songs from it, or referenced it in their album covers. This little gem is proof that the compositions already had a life of their own within a short time of the release of the record – as Book and crew take the Beatles' tunes to whole new heights, working them together into a complicated batch of grooves that really pushes past their earlier work on Stax. Who knows, perhaps The Beatles were just the kick that Book needed – we can't ever tell the whole story, but we can say that the record marks a strong turning point for the group, and is well worth having for a variety of reasons. Titles include "The End", "You Never Give Me Your Money", "Because", "I Want You/She's So Heavy", and "Polythene Pam".

A landmark moment in the New York scene of the 70s – and a mindblowing document of the energy and lifestyle of the city's growing Latin scene at the time! The film combines live performances from the legendary Cheetah nightclub with amazing street footage – woven together in a rich tapestry of music and culture that documents the reality of life in Spanish Harlem at the time. Musicians featured include a veritable "who's who" of the New York Latin world – such as Ray Barretto, Willie Colon, Larry Harlow, Johnny Pacheco, Bobby Cruz, Ricardo Ray, Bobby Valentin, and Hector Lavoe – but even without the music, the documentary footage alone makes the film an instant treasure! Approximately 86 minutes.

A super-huge album for the Kinks – thanks largely to the success of the tune "Lola" on both sides of the Atlantic! The album's got a number of tunes that share the darkness of that hit – pushing past the simple jokes and picture postcard simplicity of most of the groups' late 60s albums, into a more complicated critique on society, city life, and habits of modern life. Titles include "The Contenders", "Denmark Street", "Strangers", "Top Of The Pops", "A Long Way From Home", "Apeman", "Powerman", "Got To Be Free", and "Lola".

Near-peak material from T Rex – the still great Tanx – with the hard-charging heaviness, swaggery Bolan charisma and all around blazing rock & roll onslaught as crushing as ever! Includes "Tenement Lady", "Rapis", "Born To Boogie", "Life Is Strange", "Shock Rock", "Electric Slim & The Factory Hen", "Mister Mister", "The Street & Babe Shadow" and "Left Hand Luke".

Near-peak material from T Rex – the still great Tanx – with the hard-charging heaviness, swaggery Bolan charisma and all around blazing rock & roll onslaught as crushing as ever! Includes "Tenement Lady", "Rapis", "Born To Boogie", "Life Is Strange", "Shock Rock", "Electric Slim & The Factory Hen", "Mister Mister", "The Street & Babe Shadow" and "Left Hand Luke".

Smart rhymes by Trek Life & guests with solid Mello Music Group production by Duke Westlake. Includes "What's Real" feat Yu, "We Good" with Oddisee, Belvi and Funklogik, "Just The Music", "Eat More Chocolate", "Be Together", "Driving While Black", "Hello" feat GMK, "Name Game", "Street Casualty", "Happy Everyday" feat Richard Wright and Seanwyze, "Hometown Foreigner" and more.

Now a classic, and pretty tough to get a hold of on vinyl. Beats by Buckwild, Showbiz and Lord Finesse, rhymes by Harlem's finest. Big L didn't leave behind much recorded work, but if this LP has to stand as his legacy, it's a mighty fine statement. Alongside some of the latter day QB hip hop, probably the pinnacle of streetlife lyrics from the east coast. 12 tracks in all: "Put It On", "MVP", "No Endz, No Skinz", "8 Iz Enuff", "All Black", "Danger Zone", "Street Struck", "Da Graveyard", "Lifestylez Ov Da Poor And Dangerous", "I Don't Understand It, "Fed Up Wit The Bullsh#t", and "Let 'Em Have It L".

Mindblowing punk and free jazz collision from Dissipated Face – with alto sax behemoth Daniel Carter blowing fiercely out front – a fast, brutal, yet defiantly musical quartet of songs recorded live in 1986 at the legendary Bowery club! This great 7-inch, 33 1/3 RPM EP has four killer tracks – with fast, bashed out guitars, furious rhythms and angry, aggro vocals – really cool underground stuff just on that level, but Carter's brilliant sax truly blows it into on amazing level. Titles include "Rock Is Dead, S**thead", "Nazi With A New Name", "Streets Of New York" and "My Life Is Like An Alligator".

Loamy the Mole solves a problem! A man ventures outside into the frozen waste! Two men battle with swords! The Molees must try to escape from an encounter with a psychotic killer! Little Billie must survive the plague of the woken dead! An office worker becomes Hartlife's first street artist! This is an anthology series set in the post-apocalyptic world of Our Fair City, an audio drama that is available for free on the web at ourfaircity.com. It features work by members of the Dusty Groove staff as well as many other talented artists.

Oooooooh-weeee! Is this a funky monster, or what? The set's easily the best in this great series – a really hard and heavy batch of rare funk tunes that pushes past the cliches of the title to come up with an all-solid batch of tracks that's sure to please any fan of deep funk. Loads of great little groovers from a range of different labels – organ jazz meets heavy soul vocals meets dancing bassline funk, hard drums, heavy riffing, and beyond – all wrapped up together with a sound that never lets up. Tracks include "Mary Jane" by Bobby Rush, "Bustin Outta The Ghetto" by Carlos Malcolm, "I'm A Good Woman" by The Generation, "Dance Girl" by The Mighty Tom Cats, "Peace Love Not War" by Johnny King with The Fatback Band, "The Truth Shall Make You Free" by King Hannibal, "I'm Wishin" by Lorez Alexandria, "I've Known Rivers" by Gary Bartz, "Viva" by Jade, "Seeds Of Life" by East LA Car Pool, "Starvin" by Winfield Parker, and "He Called Me Baby" by Spanky Wilson.

A wonderful follow up to one of our favorite compilations in recent years! London Is The Place For Me compiles the stylistically varied music coming from the emergent West Indian and African communities of 50s and 60s London – far more than just the topical, and often quite whimsical calypso tunes of the era! Calypso is well represented, but the set includes strains of jazz, percussive instrumentals that veer towards native Tridad and Nigeria, and loads of Caribbean grooves! It's all exceptionally bright – with some lovingly, and knowingly, naive vocals that are as sweet as they are wise. A truly wonderful compilation. Essential! 20 tracks in all: "Calypso Be" by Young Tiger, "Yolanda" by Ambrose Campbell, "Calypso Blues" by Mona Baptiste, "My Wife's Nightie" by Lord Kitchener, "Ominara" by West African Rhythm Brothers, "Gerrard Street" by King Timothy, "ET Mensah's Rolling Ball" by West African Swing Stars, "West Indian Drums" by Russ Henderson, "Gbonimawo" by Rans Boi's Ghana Highlife Band and more!

A wonderful follow up to one of our favorite compilations in recent years! London Is The Place For Me compiles the stylistically varied music coming from the emergent West Indian and African communities of 50s and 60s London – far more than just the topical, and often quite whimsical calypso tunes of the era! Calypso is well represented, but the set includes strains of jazz, percussive instrumentals that veer towards native Trinidad and Nigeria, and loads of Caribbean grooves! It's all exceptionally bright – with some lovingly, and knowingly, naive vocals that are as sweet as they are wise. A truly wonderful compilation. Essential! 20 tracks in all: "Calypso Be" by Young Tiger, "Yolanda" by Ambrose Campbell, "Calypso Blues" by Mona Baptiste, "My Wife's Nightie" by Lord Kitchener, "Ominara" by West African Rhythm Brothers, "Gerrard Street" by King Timothy, "ET Mensah's Rolling Ball" by West African Swing Stars, "West Indian Drums" by Russ Henderson, "Gbonimawo" by Rans Boi's Ghana Highlife Band and more!

The first two volumes in this legendary series – back to back in one set! Volume 1 is an amazing collection – and one that really helped completely revise our understanding of Caribbean music! The collection features a fair bit of artists with roots in the West Indies, but who made a huge impact on London's postwar immigrant population – the new rise of non-native residents who were swelling the ranks of the city in the years after the way – bringing with them new cultures, new sounds, and new traditions – with all the requisite ideas and politics that might imply! The work here often has a subtle social agenda – working through themes important to these new Londoners, yet still echoing modes of the homeland as well – often with great musical backings that's heavy on percussion, jazzy instrumentation, and very upbeat rhythms. Titles include "London Is The Place For Me" by Lord Kitchener, "I Was There" by Young Tiger, "Some Girl Something" by The Lion, "No Carnival In Britain" by Mighty Terror, "Jamaica Hurricane" by Lord Beginner, "Birth Of Ghana" by Lord Kitchener, "Victory Test Match" by Lord Beginner, "Spanish Calypso" by The Lion, "Bulldog Don't Bite Me" by Timothy, "My Landlady" by Lord Kitchener, "If You're Not White You're Black" by Lord Kitchener, and "Aguiti" by Lord Invader. Volume 2 compiles the stylistically varied music coming from the emergent West Indian and African communities of 50s and 60s London – far more than just the topical, and often quite whimsical calypso tunes of the era! Calypso is well represented, but the set includes strains of jazz, percussive instrumentals that veer towards native Trinidad and Nigeria, and loads of Caribbean grooves! It's all exceptionally bright – with some lovingly, and knowingly, naive vocals that are as sweet as they are wise. A truly wonderful compilation. Essential! 20 tracks in all: "Calypso Be" by Young Tiger, "Yolanda" by Ambrose Campbell, "Calypso Blues" by Mona Baptiste, "My Wife's Nightie" by Lord Kitchener, "Ominara" by West African Rhythm Brothers, "Gerrard Street" by King Timothy, "ET Mensah's Rolling Ball" by West African Swing Stars, "West Indian Drums" by Russ Henderson, "Gbonimawo" by Rans Boi's Ghana Highlife Band and more!

Amazing sounds from the legendary Rodriguez – the brilliant 70s singer who had a groove that was equal parts soul, funk, rock, and folk – and an overall approach that was pretty darn unique! Most numbers here have some acoustic guitar over slightly funky rhythms – perfectly scored to work with Rodriguez's raspy soul vocals, which have an undeniably heartfelt style – somewhere in a space between Terry Callier and early Jose Feliciano, but very much its own mode too! This CD features great gems from Rodriguez's years at Sussex Records – including three tracks not on the albums – "Can't Get Away", "Street Boy", and "I'll Slip Away" – plus other titles that include "Sugar Man", "Cause", "I Wonder", "Like Janis", "Jane S Piddy", "I Think Of You", "Inner City Blues", and "Sandrevan Lullaby Lifestyles".

Oooooooh-weeee! Is this a funky monster, or what? The set's easily the best in this great series – a really hard and heavy batch of rare funk tunes that pushes past the cliches of the title to come up with an all-solid batch of tracks that's sure to please any fan of deep funk. Loads of great little groovers from a range of different labels – organ jazz meets heavy soul vocals meets dancing bassline funk, hard drums, heavy riffing, and beyond – all wrapped up together with a sound that never lets up. Tracks include "Mary Jane" by Bobby Rush, "Bustin Outta The Ghetto" by Carlos Malcolm, "I'm A Good Woman" by The Generation, "Dance Girl" by The Mighty Tom Cats, "Peace Love Not War" by Johnny King with The Fatback Band, "The Truth Shall Make You Free" by King Hannibal, "I'm Wishin" by Lorez Alexandria, "I've Known Rivers" by Gary Bartz, "Viva" by Jade, "Seeds Of Life" by East LA Car Pool, "Starvin" by Winfield Parker, and "He Called Me Baby" by Spanky Wilson.

Oooooooh-weeee! Is this a funky monster, or what? The set's easily the best in this great series – a really hard and heavy batch of rare funk tunes that pushes past the cliches of the title to come up with an all-solid batch of tracks that's sure to please any fan of deep funk. Loads of great little groovers from a range of different labels – organ jazz meets heavy soul vocals meets dancing bassline funk, hard drums, heavy riffing, and beyond – all wrapped up together with a sound that never lets up. Tracks include "Mary Jane" by Bobby Rush, "Bustin Outta The Ghetto" by Carlos Malcolm, "I'm A Good Woman" by The Generation, "Dance Girl" by The Mighty Tom Cats, "Peace Love Not War" by Johnny King with The Fatback Band, "The Truth Shall Make You Free" by King Hannibal, "I'm Wishin" by Lorez Alexandria, "I've Known Rivers" by Gary Bartz, "Viva" by Jade, "Seeds Of Life" by East LA Car Pool, "Starvin" by Winfield Parker, and "He Called Me Baby" by Spanky Wilson.

Rare rock from the deepest wells of UK obscurities – pop music from the post psyche scenes of the British Isles, with strange, tuneful and groovy, as beguiling as they may be! All of the material comes from the first few years of the 70s, with chiming or buzzing guitars, groovy harmonies and eerily hummable melodies. Rare numbers from Barlaston Down, Chopper, Music Motor, Dog Rose, Trane, Rich Fever, Asgard, Jawbone, Endaf Emlyn, Jonathan Gill, Hopestreet, Hollingworth, The Wake, Knocker Jungle, Toby Jug, Methods, Money Jungle, Esprit De Corps, Newmans and more! 20 tracks in all: "Always" by Barlaston Down, "Where Am I Going?" by Music Motor, "Goodbye 'Cherry Lil"" by Endaf Emlyn, "This Town" by Hollingworth, "And That Is Life" by Methods, "Do You Remember Me?" by Esprit De Corps, "A Million Tears" by Newmens and more.

An amazing set of funky 45s from New Orleans and other points deep south – with a mix of obscure bits and a few "classic" Crescent City grooves! Southern Fried Funk is a collection of singles originally issued on regional labels such as Tou-Sea, Deesu, Quinvu, Budd, Gold Cup, Malaco, Milk and more – corralled here on CD by the reverent revivalists at Grapevine Records – who respect the more famous numbers, but also include plenty of other rare ones to keep the interest of more hardcore collectors! What we really love about this particular comp is the deep soul feel of the tracks – with all of the raw, thundering, sweaty funk elements in full force – but the material still has a soul feel underneath. It's the real thing! 22 tracks in all: "Get Out Of My Life Woman", "Underdog Backstreet" by Warren Lee, "Everything I Do Gonh Be Funky (From Now On)" by Lee Dorsey, "It's A Hang Up Baby" by ZZ Hill, "Real Soul" by Ted Ford, "Make It Real (Right On)" by Betty Ford, "I'm A Carpenter (Parts 1 & 2)" by David Robinson, "I Tired it And I Liked It' by Jewel Bass, "You Made Your Bed" by Eddie Bradford and more!

Now a classic, and pretty tough to get a hold of on vinyl. Beats by Buckwild, Showbiz and Lord Finesse, rhymes by Harlem's finest. Big L didn't leave behind much recorded work, but if this LP has to stand as his legacy, it's a mighty fine statement. Alongside some of the latter day QB hip hop, probably the pinnacle of streetlife lyrics from the east coast. 12 tracks in all: "Put It On", "MVP", "No Endz, No Skinz", "8 Iz Enuff", "All Black", "Danger Zone", "Street Struck", "Da Graveyard", "Lifestylez Ov Da Poor And Dangerous", "I Don't Understand It, "Fed Up Wit The Bullsh#t" and "Let 'Em Have It L".

Great little compilation that mixes together a non-stop run of funk and soul singles from various Polygram labels of the early 70s – including People, Spring, and others! The record's got some excellent bits – like "Jungle Fever" by Chakachas, "Fencewalk" by Mandrill, "From The Love Side" by Hank Ballard, "I'm Gonna Love You Just A Little More" by Barry White, "Think" by Lyn Collins, "Doing It To Death" by The JBs, "It's My Life" by The Mainstreeters, and "Parrrty" by Maceo. Plus, the whole thing feels like a live party, with a funky 45 DJ putting all the tracks together!