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A pair of instrumental classics from Marty Gold – back to back on a single CD! Sounds Unlimited is filled with soaring sounds from RCA maestro Marty Gold – maybe not the totally unlimited record you might expect from the title, but definitely a key 60s entry in the genre of bachelor pad hi fi records! There's a fair bit of horns in the orchestrations, with solos by Don Butterfield, Joe Wilder, Phil Bodner, and Mel Davis – all of whom help to color the tunes with lots of nice jazzy tones – giving the whole thing a bit more depth than the usual instrumental outing. Titles include "Alone Together", "When I Fall In love", "Ballerina", "Skylark", "The Donkey Serenade", and "Tonight". For Sound's Sake has Marty Gold really pushing the needle into the red – using lots of jazzy inflections to expand the dynamic range of the instrumentals on the set – with key solo work by players who include Phil Bodner and Jerome Richardson on reeds, as well as Joe Wilder on trumpet. Titles include "Mood Indigo", "Memories Of You", "Yesterdays", "All The Things You Are", "I Love Paris", "El Cumbanchero", and "Baubles Bangles & Beads".

Barry White was always the victim of his own success – in that he cut so many excellent records early on, that folks always over look the great stuff he did in later years. This 1979 album is a perfect example of Barry's greatness in this respect – as it's still totally on the money, with strong songwriting, and a silky smooth modern sound that perfectly showcases Barry's vocals, which are sung more strongly than ever. The record's a nice one – and it includes the spacey steppers cut "You're The One I Need", which has a mellow loping groove, and a good midtempo dancefloor groove. Other tracks include "I Found Love", "It Ain't Love, Babe", and "Love Ain't Easy".

Sheet music – as in the sheets of a bed, get it? Well, if you can't, the cover image has a picture of a bed with sheets that have musical notes on them, just so you get the hint. Despite that cheesy joke, though, the album's a great batch of tracks from Barry – who's grown nicely here since his mid 70s hits, moving into a smooth modern soul style that he undoubtedly inspired, one that's filled with rich instrumentation, yet grooves along at an unbelievably light pace. Titles include "Lady Sweet Lady", "I Believe In Love", "Ghetto Letto", "Rum & Coke", and "Love Makin Music".

A lost treasure from Barry White – the one and only album recorded by Danny Pearson, one of the few singers that Barry did as "special projects" during the 70s! Like Gloria Scott and Tom Brock – two other White-produced singers of the time – Pearson's got a wonderful approach that's quite different than Barry's own work – a fragile, sensitive, sweet soul style that's a lot like indie work from the New Jersey/Philly scene of the early 70s, produced with a bit more of the Barry White flair. The sound is sublime – with magical orchestrations by White and Gene Page, wrapped lovingly around Pearson's great vocals. Titles include "Honey Please, Can't You See?", "What's Your Sign Girl?", "Is It Really True Girl", and "Walkin In the Rain With The One I Love".

Later than Barry's classic years, but some nice material that often gets overlooked! As the 80s approached, Barry changed his style slightly – and hit a smooth modern soul groove that was still closely related to a lot of trends he invented in the early 70s, but which also had a slicker production sound that compressed the grooves a bit. The result may not be as popular with beatheads, but it works great for steppers – as you'll hear on the mellow cut "Ooo . . . Ahh" on this album. Other tracks include "Tell Me Who Do You Love", "You're My High", "Let Me In & Let's Begin With Love".

Despite what was probably an easy temptation to go pop disco, Barry White and the girls here stick pretty closely to their classic 70's soul sound – the large part of which was a huge inspiration for disco in the first place. Barry's production, as always, is excellent, as is his songwriting, which graces most of the LP. Titles include "Never, Never Say Goodbye", "He's Mine", "I Can't Let Him Down", and "He's All I've Got".

A very cool little 45 bag – kind of a combination of canvas record bags and old-school handhelds! The bag is made out of heavy cotton, gusseted to form a box shape, so that the bag can hold about 50 45s when fully expanded – with a zipper on the edge, and a handle on the top – just right for compactly carting around your funky 45s! And not only that, but the handsome diamond PPU logo's on the front – in glorious gold on the bag's cream canvas.

The title definitely gets it right – as the set's filled with post-Motown gems from Detroit – a wealth of wonderful sounds from the Hot Wax/Invictus labels – almost all of it produced by the Holland-Dozier-Holland team! The music here represents the next evolution of Detroit soul in the years after the initial wave of Motown – music that still carries a lot of the spirit of before, and some of the style (given that HDH were working for the company) – but which also pushes things forward with a prouder, more righteous sound as well! The CD features a heady 23 tracks in all – with titles that include "Trapped In A Love" by Barrino Brothers, "Something New About You" by Silent Majority, "Let's Change The Subject" by Satisfaction Unlimited, "Tighten Him Up" by Eloise Laws, "Nothing Sweeter Than Love" by 100 Proof, "Only Time Will Tell" by General Johnson, "Deeper & Deeper" by Freda Payne, "Just As Long" by The 8th Day, "You've Made Me So Very Happy" by Honey Cone, "Two Can Be As Lonely As One" by Danny Woods, and "Bright City Lights" by Satisfaction Unlimited.

Dancefloor cookers from the prime Northern Soul years – all instrumental numbers on this sharp compilation on Kent – 45 sides from a labels like Money, Villa, Swan, King, Epic and Warner Brothers! For all the wonderful Kent soul compilations we've gotten our dusty fingers on over the years, it's a wonder they're never been one devoted to instrumentals – until now! Rhythms roll along at a tight tempo, the tight guitars punch it up, some strings soar, and a pounding Northern beat keeps it all stomping! Those core elements are key, but others weave in an out, from hand claps on the beat, to organ grooves, bursts of brass and more. 24 tracks in all: "Double Cookin" by Checkerboard Squares, "Make Me Yours" by Arthur Wright & His Orchestra, "Festival Time" by San Remo Golden Strings", "The Sounds Of Lane" by Tracks To Your Mind, "Champion Pt 1" by Willie Mitchell, "The Guys From Uncle" by The Spy, "Stirrin Up Some Soul" by The Mar-Ketts, "Hey America (Sing Along)" by James Brown, "California Montage" by Young-Holt Unlimited and more.