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Funky big band work from Bill Pursell – a set that's got some of the disco charm you'd expect from the image on the cover – but one that also has some other jazzy elements too! There's not really a Nashville sound to the record – at least not in country music terms – and if anything, the record really reminds us of the way that some older New York big bands shifted up their groove during the disco generation – blending older jazz and Latin modes with elements more aimed at a contemporary dancefloor – including groovier rhythms, added strings, and female chorus vocals! Titles include "Sandwich Spread" – a nice original worth the price of the record alone – plus "Peter Piper Pumped His Pecks", "Deja Vu", "Now", "Every Day Of The Week", "Bump Me Baby", and "Hold My Hand When We're Going Home".

A tasty bit of late P-Funk! The album was recorded in 1980, on the wane of the main P-Funk groups – and it features Bootsy and Fred Wesley teaming up on the arrangements, in a set of bass-heavy, mostly instrumental tracks that groove hard like the best early work by Zapp! There's a great jazzy groove to the record – with loads of tasty keyboards, and less of the slapp bass funk that could sometimes ruin other efforts like this. Titles include "Love Munch", "Hyper Space", "Freak to Freak", "Body Shop", and "We Do It All Day Long".

Funky big band work from Bill Pursell – a set that's got some of the disco charm you'd expect from the image on the cover – but one that also has some other jazzy elements too! There's not really a Nashville sound to the record – at least not in country music terms – and if anything, the record really reminds us of the way that some older New York big bands shifted up their groove during the disco generation – blending older jazz and Latin modes with elements more aimed at a contemporary dancefloor – including groovier rhythms, added strings, and female chorus vocals! Titles include "Sandwich Spread" – a nice original worth the price of the record alone – plus "Peter Piper Pumped His Pecks", "Deja Vu", "Now", "Every Day Of The Week", "Bump Me Baby", and "Hold My Hand When We're Going Home".

A tasty bit of late P-Funk! The album was recorded in 1980, on the wane of the main P-Funk groups – and it features Bootsy and Fred Wesley teaming up on the arrangements, in a set of bass-heavy, mostly instrumental tracks that groove hard like the best early work by Zapp! There's a great jazzy groove to the record – with loads of tasty keyboards, and less of the slapp bass funk that could sometimes ruin other efforts like this. Titles include "Love Munch", "Hyper Space", "Freak to Freak", "Body Shop", and "We Do It All Day Long".

A great little album by James Brown – and very different than his other work! He cut this one with the groovy Dee Felice Trio – a jazz-based combo that he recorded on their own for King, on another very rare, very excellent record. The band's in similar form here, although not necessarily as funky – and they do a great job of giving James' vocals a jazzy twist that they don't have on other albums – proving yet again that The Godfather can handle just about any sort of groove that he wants! Features a wonderfully groover version of "Sunny", which moves along very nicely – plus remakes of "There Was A Time" and "Cold Sweat", along with the tracks "Uncle" and "That's Life".

Great reissue of James' second set of tracks recorded live at the famous Apollo Theatre! We like this one way better than volume one, and find it to be a much heftier set of tracks – with a stunning array of sheer raw showmanship. This one's in a 2 LP format, with lots more room for The Godfather and his band to stretch out and groove in the great way that they do when they play live. Tracks include "Bring It Up", "Let Yourself Go", "Think" (in duet form), a great version of "There Was a Time", "It May Be The Last Time", "I Feel Good (I Got You)", "Prisoner Of Love", "Out Of Sight", "Try Me", "It's A Man's, Man's, Man's World", "Lost Someone","Thanks", "Let Yourself Go", "Cold Sweat", "I Feel Alright", and "Please, Please, Please". Very nice stuff!

One of the rarest albums on the Groove Merchant label – and one of the best! Ramon Morris has a sweet tone on the tenor that works very well with the electric piano in his tight little combo – grooving with a style that's like the best Black Jazz funk records of the time – mixing together bright notes, funky rhythms, and plenty of great chord changes! Cecil Bridgewater's on trumpet, and the band has a really righteous feel – with lots of real soul and thoughtful playing mixed into the jazz funk grooves of the record. Massive – with titles that include "Sweat", "Lord Sideways", "Sweet Sister Funk", and a nice version of "People Make The World Go Round".

A great little album by James Brown – and very different than his other work! He cut this one with the groovy Dee Felice Trio – a jazz-based combo that he recorded on their own for King, on another very rare, very excellent record. The band's in similar form here, although not necessarily as funky – and they do a great job of giving James' vocals a jazzy twist that they don't have on other albums – proving yet again that The Godfather can handle just about any sort of groove that he wants! Features a wonderfully groover version of "Sunny", which moves along very nicely – plus remakes of "There Was A Time" and "Cold Sweat", along with the tracks "Uncle" and "That's Life".

James' second set of tracks recorded live at the famous Apollo Theatre! We like this one way better than volume one, and find it to be a much heftier set of tracks – with a stunning array of sheer raw showmanship. This one's in a 2 LP format, with lots more room for The Godfather and his band to stretch out and groove in the great way that they do when they play live. Tracks include "Bring It Up", "Let Yourself Go", "Think" (in duet form), a great version of "There Was a Time", "It May Be The Last Time", "I Feel Good (I Got You)", "Prisoner Of Love", "Out Of Sight", "Try Me", "It's A Man's, Man's, Man's World", "Lost Someone","Thanks", "Let Yourself Go", "Cold Sweat", "I Feel Alright", and "Please, Please, Please". Very nice stuff!

A killer from James Brown – and one of his best instrumental albums of the King years! The record has James working with the pre-JBs James Brown Band – a tight assemblage of players who really know how to craft an off-kilter groove. The guitar's popping on the beat here as much as the horns, making for a syncopated groove that's utterly fantastic – as tight as a drum, and as funky as one too! Includes some great long cuts – like the 9 minute, two-part versions of "Ain't It Funky" and "Fat Wood" – plus some great shorter funky 45 type material, like "Nose Job", "Use Your Mother", "Give It Up Or Turnit Loose", and a version of "Cold Sweat". All the work here is tremendous – the kind of inspirational funky material that makes the album a lasting classic decade after decade!

A heavily funky and far reaching collection of tunes written by the Godfather – eclectic 60s & 70s material from all over the globe – each with a unique approach, but perfectly connected in their displays of JB's boundless funky spirit! The set includes a few tracks familiar to global deep funk diggers – but the majority of the tunes are quite fresh to our ears, and all of it's excellent, anyway. A tight Italian take on the sound from the Showman, brassy fury from the University Of Illinois Jazz Band, Latin funk from Rabbits & Carrots, a group harmonies approach from The Impalas, and much more! Includes "I Feel Good" by Os Incriveis, "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag" by Jr & The Preludes, "Lickin' Stick" by Soul Sounds, "Give It Up Or Turn It Loose" and "Sex Machine" by Rabbits & Carrots, "Super Bad" by Kashmere Stage Band, "Think About It" by Esquires Now, "There Was A Time/Cold Sweat (Medley)" by Victor Olaiya & International All Stars, "Soul" by Impalas, "Get On The Good Foot" Harrison High School, "Mother Popcorn" by Les Watson & The Panthers and more! 19 tracks in all.

Perfect stuff for fans of 80s groove! This set features 12 killer modern soul cuts pulled from the catalog of the Capitol/EMI labels – home to some of the smoothest most soulful work in the early 80s, lots of which is pretty darn tough to get on reissue these days. According to the notes, all the tracks are taken from the original 12" single mixes – and the times for nearly all tracks is well over 5 minutes, perfect for groovers! Titles include "Just Can't Give You Up" by Mystic Merlin, "Love On A Summer Night" by The McCrarys, "Dancing In The Night" by Lanier & Co, "Working Up A Sweat" by Full Circle, "On The Beat" by BB&Q Band, "Joy & Pain" by Maze, "Rock Me Tonight" by Freddie Jackson, "There Ain't Nothin (Like Your Lovin)" by Paul Laurance, "Love's Comin At Ya" by Melba Moore, "Sound Of Music" by Dayton, and "Solid" by Ashford & Simpson.

A mix of spiraling psychedelia and grittier garagey rock from Chocolate Watch Band! No Way Out has a bit more grit than the more mystical follow up LP, but we wouldn't complain about that – the mix of more tripped out organ and atmospheric touches paired with harder hitting, sweaty r&b and fuzz rock influenced sounds match pretty well in our book! Groovy stuff from the late 60s Cali scene! Titles include "Let's Talk About Girls", "Midnight Hour", "Come On", "Dark Side Of The Mushroom", "Hot Dusty Road", "Gone And Passes By", "Expo 2000" and "Gossamer Wings".