All Categories — All Formats  

Incredible work from neo soul maestro Frank McComb – the kind of a record that will have you saying "dang, what's that classic jam" – and then being amazed that it's a brand new set from Frank! The record surpasses even the quality of Frank's amazing album The Truth – and sparkles with a deeply soulful approach that we'd rank right up there with the best work by Stevie Wonder and Donnie Hathaway! (And mind you, we're not making that comparison lightly – as we know the risks of ranking Frank so highly!) The keyboards on the set are every bit as great as the vocals, too – and dip, turn, and sneak around with all these seductive little touches – like bending notes that seem to "sing" of their own accord next to the vocals. We've got Frank to thank for finally letting this record free – and these copies come from the maestro himself, sent to the world on a pillow of soulful love. Titles include "I'd Be A Fool", "To The Left", "The Thing I Failed To Do", "Each Day", "King Of The Open Road", "Morning Glory", and "The Things That You Do".

Excellent lost funk tracks from the French studio scene of the 70s! We've never seen any of these on the original vinyl – and just about every cut is culled from a rare French jazz, soundtrack, or instrumental LP! There's a whopping 17 tracks in all, and the groove ranges from Blacksploitation funky to breakbeat moog to De Wolfe groovy – with lots of other grooves in between. Cuts include "Slag Machine" by Patrick Abrial, "Happy Smith" by Michel Gonet, "Exciting Mrs. Brown" by April Orchestra, "Coulc Ah!" by Francois Rolland, "Generique" by Philippe Sarde, "Aerospatial" by Janko Nilovic, "Afro-Disiac" by Bernard Estardy, and "Kiss This" by Claude Denjean. Lots more grooviness, and a very nice package that's filled with cuts we've never heard before!

Massively funky work from the Mainstream Records catalog of the early 70s – some of the grittiest, most hard-hitting tracks recorded by the label at the time! Most of the tracks here are short, but pack plenty of punch – that rock-solid approach to jazz funk that Mainstream was putting down heavier than most other labels at the time – thanks to a top-shelf array of leaders, studio players, and arrangers in the mix! There's a number of tracks here that haven't been reissued as part of P-Vine's single album program on the label – making the compilation even more essential – and the 19 track album features over 75 minutes of music, more than enough to warrant the higher Japanese price. Titles include "Sweet Emma" by Don Burrows, "Mustang" by Sonny Red, "Red Clay" by Jack Wilkins, "Witch Doctor Bump" and "Boogie The Devil In" by The Chubukos, "Spinning Wheel" by Phoenix Authority, "Fire & Water" by Charles Kynard, "Family Affair" by Dave Hubbard, "Signifyin Gemini" by Lamont Johnson, "Freedom Jazz Dance" by Night Blooming Jazzmen, "Mother McCree" by Reggie Moore, "Let's Take The Long Way Home" by Arbee Stidham, and "Never Can Say Goodbye" by Johnny Coles.

A pretty sweet compilation of Lloyd Campbell productions form the mid 70s on through the 80s – cuts made for the Jamaica's Spiderman label – featuring numbers by The Itals, Joy White, Junior Delgado The Terrors, Ronnie Davis, Freddie McGregor, Mallory Williams, Lone Ranger, Yellow Man and more! The earlier numbers have rootsier riddims and the later ones have a bit of an 80s drum machine vibe – but all have a love of soulful sounds at the core! 19 tracks in all: "Ina Disa Time" by The Itals, "Riot" by Bobby Ellis, "Over Me" by Yellow Man, "Promise Land" by Frankie Paul, 'Tribal War" by Lone Ranger, "Won't You Come Home" by Ronnie Davis, "Play Days" by Junior Delgado, "Only A Smile" by Gregory Isaacs and more.

A classic compilation of "oldies", put together back in the day when most of the tunes were only a few years old! The compilation was done by Chess in conjunction with Chicago pop powerhouse station WLS – and it's got a great goofy photo on the front that features all of the young rock DJs at LS in front of a large silver dollar! Titles include "But I Do" by Clarence Henry, "So Fine" by The Fiestas, "A Thousand Stars" by Kathy Young, "Money" by Barrett Strong, "Tonight I Fell In Love" by The Tokens, and "Oh Julie" by The Crescendos.

Bawdy beer joint stompers, raucous and rumbling proto rock rhythms and perfectly produced numbers from the hillbilly branch of Columbia Records in the 50s! These tales of hard livin' (and drinkin'), heart breakin' and train hoppin' by forgotten hillbilly combos and crooners – plus a handful of legends treasured to this day – will sound terrific until the end of time, thanks to the first wave freshness of the era's vintage – as well as the impeccable recording quality Columbia could provide. Great stuff from Rocky Porter, Rose Maddox (and The Maddox Brothers), Ray Price, Little Jimmy Dickins, "Freddie Hart, Jack Rhodes & His Lone Star Buddies, Bobby Lord and more. A whoppin' 32 tracks in all: "The World Is A Monster" by Rocky Porter, "All I Can Do Is Cry" by Johnny Bond, "No Parking Here" by Jimmy Littleton, "Buddy's Boogie" by The Country Boys, "When The Sun Goes Down" by Rose Maddox, "Red Hot Mama And An Ice Cold Beer" by Smiley Maxedon, "Me And My Big Loud Mouth" by Little Jimmy Dickens, "Much Too Young To Die" by Ray Price and many more.

The first album ever from The Chambers Brother – a much rootsier set than the psychedelic soul that later earned them fame in the 60s! The set's heavy on influences from folk, blues, and gospel – and pitches the group more towards the crossover college scene than the mainstream soul crowd – thanks to an appreciatively rootsy style of production that really has the vocals and acoustic instrumentation presented without any other augmentation. Tracks were recorded live at The Unicorn in Boston and the Ash Grove in LA – and most numbers are covers, with versions of "Summertime", "Your Old Land", "It's All Over Now", "Reconsider Baby", "People Get Ready", "Tore Up", and "Money".

Plenty of echoes of Chess, King, and Atlantic Records here – a late 60s live performance by the Chambers Brothers – but one that's already retro-styled towards modes from earlier in the decade, and styles from the R&B years of the 50s! As with all the group's Vault LPs, the sound here is much rougher than the more psychedelic soul of their Columbia albums – a mode that's plenty darn righteous, and which is presented on live tracks for side one, but which also features more studio material and a few original compositions on side two. Titles include "Blues Get Off My Shoulder", "I Got It", "Shout", "There She Goes", "Seventeen", "Rained The Day You Left", and "So Fine".

Funky, percussive dancefloor soul from Fantastic Souls – with production by Kenny Dope! It's riveting stuff that feels like it could have pulled from a 70s vault – the drums and percussion bring some pretty intense heat, with some tasty guitar, jazz funk flute and and horns! Part 2 is extra percussion happy, but it's killer on both sides!

A great collection of classic Gospel tunes – pulled from the catalogs of Chess, Vee Jay, Savoy, Vault, Jewel, and Peacock Records! The set was put together as an offshoot of the Chicago-based Steppin Muzak label – and it features the kind of timeless gospel tunes that have always held the hearts of those in the Chicago soul scene – classics that go way beyond church, and have become as important as soul tunes over the years! Titles include "Well Well Well" by The Swan Silvertones, "Teach Me" by The Highway QCs, "I Stood On The Banks Of Jordan (part 2)" by James Cleveland, "Behold The Beauties Of The Lord" by The Caravans, "Motherless Child" by Ben Branch, "We Need More Love" by Reverend Sammy Lewis, "I Must Tell Jesus" by Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church with Clay Evans, "Open Your Eyes" by The Gospel Clefs, "It's Gonna Rain" by The Sensational Nightingales, and "Christmas Joy" by The Soul Stirrers. 15 tracks in all.

One of the coolest collections ever put out by The Numero Group – and that's saying a lot, given the hipness of the label! Downriver Revival chronicles the story of a unique studio in Michigan – Double U Sound, a custom recording spot that captured a wonderful range of soul, funk, gospel, and other sounds from the local community – beautifully presented here in a full 2LP set, plus a bonus DVD that features the near-complete 200 song archive of the studio! The DVD's really unique – so we'll talk about it first: Done with an interactive menu that lets you literally comb through the boxes of tapes in the Double U vault – selecting each reel recorded by the studio, and sampling the rich array of wonderful sounds from this untapped Michigan scene – a huge amount of music, far more than you'd ever find on a 2LP compilation. The DVD also features a documentary on the studio and Downriver Revial project – and that alone would be worth the price of admission – but the 2LP set then features 24 key numbers pulled from the vaults – tracks that were either issued on rare 45s, or never issued at all – and which represent a wonderful array of soulful sounds that definitely lives up to the Numero standard! Titles include "There's A Light" by Shirley Ann Lee, "Take Care Of Us" by The Revelations, "Untitled Jam" by Bobby Cook & The Explosions, "Foot Stumping (alt)" by Organics, "While You Were Gone" by Combinations, "Heaven" by Deliverance Echoes, "Untitled" by Burgess Band, "Round N Round" by Junior Mays Group, and "Walk With Me" by Calvin Cooke.

60s soul treasures from a trio of New York labels reverered for so many great singles – Sceptor, Wand and Musicor – in a great collection from Kent UK! It's filled with group acts and solo stars, soaringly emotional cuts and rawer rumbling R&B, even some early strains of funk – and includes a number of previously unissued songs from the vault that are just as sweet as the regional hits of the time. The genuine love of the material that goes into these Kent and Ace compilations continues to impress! 24 tracks in all: "That's No Way To Treat A Girl" by Marie Night, "I Want A Guarantee" by Maxine Brown, "Stick By Me" by Ed Townsend, "Sweeping Your Dirt Under My Rag" by Ann Bailey, "Diamond Ring" by The Fabulous Dinos, "So Help Me Woman" by George Tindley, "Speed Up" by Betty Moore, "You Got It Baby" by The Toys, "Walking With Pride" by Dan & The Clean Cuts, "Ain't No Love Lost" by Patti Jo and more.

A treasure trove of deep soul – featuring rare and unissued tracks by some of our favorite artists of the genre! The set goes way way past the usual collections of southern soul – to bring together obscure singles, album tracks, and rare vault material – going past the obvious mainstream of Memphis and Muscle Shoals, to include some totally incredible material! There's a very sophisticated vibe here overall – almost heading towards the mellow soul of the 70s north, but still recorded with an earthier quality that's steeped in traditions borrowed from gospel, and infused with the best that the secular south had to offer. An impeccable set throughout – as pleasing to any collector of rare soul as it is to a newcomer – with tracks that include "Warm Loving Man" by Carolyn Faye, "Two Wrongs Don't Make It Right" by Patterson Twins, "Troubled Waters" by Sam Dees, "If You See That Girl Of Mine" by Hank Sample, "The Town I Live In" by McKinley Mitchell, "When A Man Cries" by Joe Wilson, "A Quitter Never Wins" by Jimmy Dobbins, "Why Oh Why" by J Count Hughes, "I Won't Be The Last To Cry" by Eddie Houston, "Bluer Than Blue" by Ruby Wilson, and "I Believe In Love" by Billy Cee. 23 tracks in all – with great production and excellent notes!

Wildness from J Dilla – a couple of gritty gems from the expanded Ruff Draft set! "Wild" is a flat out stunner – a previously unreleased cut that has us wondering how deep Dilla's vault goes – cause this s**t shoulda been ruling the underground for years now! It has these stuttering, thundering beats, and rolling rhymes augmented by a kid with a Brit accent riffing on "Cum On Feel The Noise" – sounds strange, but this a killer cut! "Make Em NV" is another classic – again with the thunderous beats, with some vibes sweetening it up over the top. Dilla at his dirtiest!

One of the greatest lost treasures on Motown – the rare third album from Ronnie McNeir, an artist who did plenty for the label back in the 70s, but only managed to ever get this one record released! The set's a gem – arguably his best record ever – and that's saying a lot, given the strength of his RCA and Prodigal sets. And like those records, this one's a sweet soul spectacular – written, arranged, produced, and performed by Ronnie – with the tight, warm, all-together quality that makes him an equal to Leon Ware back in the day – and which makes this record almost a great counterpart to Ware's Musical Massage set for Motown – another one-off album that's become the stuff of legend! The songs are amazing – totally fresh and deeply personal, but never in a cloying or commercial way – perfectly balanced on top of some gently grooving rhythms, spare keyboards, and soulful undercurrents that are a perfect example of the maturity that Detroit soul was hitting in the 70s. A young Ray Parker Jr plays lead guitar, but most other instruments are by Ronnie – and titles include "My Love Is Coming Down", "Funky Situation", "Selling My Heart To The Junkman", "Say You Will", "Goodbye After Sunday", and "It Won't Be Long". And while the core record alone would be enough to celebrate, Expansion's also done and dug out another 7 bonus tracks from the Motown vault of the 70s – material that Ronnie recorded for other albums that never materialized, every bit as great as the main stuff here! The discovery of this material is incredible – and makes for an overstuffed CD that's sure to get McNeir's name back out there again. Bonus tracks include "Start Over As Your Man", "Betcha I'll Prove", "Dream Come True", "For Those Who Don't Believe", "Just You Babe", and "I Can't See Myself Without You".

The first new solo effort from Wu Tang gamer Masta Killa in a few years – and a timeless bit of raw, soul sample-based hip hop from one the more underappreciated Wu MCs! It's thankfully light on guest rappers – save for an appearance by Kurpupt and a vault verse from ODB, Masta Killa is the only voice. Production by Mathrmatics, 9th Wonder, Koolade, Inspectah Deck and others. Includes "Soul & Substance", "R U Listening", "Things Just Ain't The Same", "What U See", "Divine Glory", "All Natural", "Wise Words", "Dirty Soul", "Cali Sun" with Kurupt and more.

The first new solo effort from Wu Tang gamer Masta Killa in a few years – and a timeless bit of raw, soul sample-based hip hop from one the more underappreciated Wu MCs! It's thankfully light on guest rappers – save for an appearance by Kurpupt and a vault verse from ODB, Masta Killa is the only voice. Production by Mathrmatics, 9th Wonder, Koolade, Inspectah Deck and others. Includes "Soul & Substance", "R U Listening", "Things Just Ain't The Same", "What U See", "Divine Glory", "All Natural", "Wise Words", "Dirty Soul", "Cali Sun" with Kurupt and more.

Finally – the complete story of The Ad Libs – a group known for their classic singles of the 60s, but one who never issued a full-length album of their own! This great little set more than corrects that fact – by bringing together 9 rare singles for the Blue Cat label, plus another 14 previously unissued tracks – including some rare acapella demos, alternate versions, and tracks that never made it onto vinyl back in the 60s! The issued singles alone are great – a beautiful blend of one gal and four guy singers, handled with a style that's on the rougher edge of the New York style of soul at the time. And when you hit the demo material, the vocals really take off – since there's no studio instrumentation at all, and the harmonies are left to handle all the rhythm and melody chores as well. These demo tracks are really wonderful, with a feel that's almost like old school vocal harmony soul – and have us respecting the group even more than ever. Titles include "Kicked Around", "Ask Anybody", "On The Corner", "The Slime", "Johnny My Boy", "I'm Just A Down Home Girl", and "The Boy From New York City" – plus "You'll Always Be In Style", and demo versions of "Strange Things", "The Tide Has Turned", "Santa's On His Way", "Oo Wee Oh Me Oh My", "Come On & Help Me", and "Kicked Around".

Fantastic funk from the Italian scene – penned for a cop movie that was also known over here as The Hired Gun! The style here is even more of a cut above than usual for Italian crime – really on a par with the best American work of the period, particularly some of the extra-hip stuff you might hear on TV – like some of those gems from Sunday Night Mystery Movie that would blend sophisticated strings, offbeat orchestrations, and some great funky basslines and keys! The keyboards are especially nice – snaking through over these bass bits that roll out wonderfully and there's some moody woodwind moments that further deepen the sound in ways you wouldn't expect. Plus, the whole package is totally great – full, well-written notes in English – almost at a Film Score Monthly level! CD features 15 tracks from the film – plus 5 more bonus cuts from the vaults.

A beautiful single from Bob & Gene on a funky 45 from Ever-Soul/Dapton ! "It's Not What You Know (It's Who You Know)" and "These Lonely Nights" are both apparantly from the Bob & Gene vaults, which gives us hope that there may be another album's worthy of great material that could pop up! The former kind off calls out social injustices in the lyricism, but it's a stripped down soul tune at it's core. "These Lonely Nights" is a nicely raw feel to it with great vocals and an insistent groove to it.

A Donald Byrd treasure – and an album that was almost left in the vaults by Blue Note, until they briefly released it at the end of the 70s! The cover and title are a bit unfamiliar, but the music is right up there with Byrd's classic sessions with baritonist Pepper Adams – a great player here, with a deftness on his horn that's incredible – matching all the sharp changes and soulful undercurrents of Byrd's sparkling trumpet! There's a nice hard sound to the whole thing – almost the raw power of the pair's albums for the Warwick label – and as with those, Herbie Hancock is on piano – giving the whole thing an excellent soul jazz groove that really kicks the main soloists into action! Titles include "Great God", "I'm An Old Cowhand", "That's All", "You're Next", and "Chant".

More amazing work from the legendary Bob Downes – the British reedman/arranger/composer who's getting really rediscovered these days – represented here in a host of previously unissued tracks! Bob put together the package from his vaults, and we've got to say that the music here is every bit as wonderful as anything Downes released back in the day – and is perhaps overall maybe even more striking, as most of it is played by a trio that features Bob on flutes, tenor, alto, and soprano saxes, with Barry Guy on bass and Denis Smith on drums! There's a great groove on many numbers – kind of a modal, soulful bounce that really has us appreciating Guy's bass work from a whole new direction – especially since we've mostly known him as a more avant player. And Downes is as creatively as compelling as ever – even playing "simultaneous saxes" at one point in the record! Titles include "Seashore", "West Eleven", "Walkin Runnin Man", "Funky Groove (parts 1 & 2)", "Brasilian Beauty", and "Wavelength".

We love Kim Fowley, and can never get enough of his genius – and no matter what the setting, Fowley always seems to move around the maddest corners of rock and pop music! This raw batch of gems is all pulled from the Fowley vaults – and features a host of indie singles recorded in LA between his bigger bursts of fame – some with Kim in the lead, lots more with lesser-known talents all given Fowley's forceful treatment in the studio – a push forward that makes just about every track here sparkle like some long-lost garage rocker or weird novelty number. Norton provides very detailed notes that are as much a musical journey as the cuts themselves – and titles include "The Knight In Shining Armor" by Knights Of The Round Table, "Kalani Honey" by John Paul Jones, "Young & Wild" by Renegade Five, "Big Bad Wolf" by Kim Garry & The Rhythm Kings, "Watch Your Step" by Larry Green & The Rhythmaires, "Goin Away Baby" and "Golden Apples Of The Sun" by Grains Of Sand, "Wanted Dead Or Alive" by The Rogues, "Moses" by Navarros, and "The Trip", "Astrology", and a rare radio spot all by Kim Fowley.

We love Kim Fowley, and can never get enough of his genius – and no matter what the setting, Fowley always seems to move around the maddest corners of rock and pop music! This raw batch of gems is all pulled from the Fowley vaults – and features a host of indie singles recorded in LA between his bigger bursts of fame – some with Kim in the lead, lots more with lesser-known talents all given Fowley's forceful treatment in the studio – a push forward that makes just about every track here sparkle like some long-lost garage rocker or weird novelty number. Norton provides very detailed notes that are as much a musical journey as the cuts themselves – and titles include "The Knight In Shining Armor" by Knights Of The Round Table, "Kalani Honey" by John Paul Jones, "Young & Wild" by Renegade Five, "Big Bad Wolf" by Kim Garry & The Rhythm Kings, "Watch Your Step" by Larry Green & The Rhythmaires, "Goin Away Baby" and "Golden Apples Of The Sun" by Grains Of Sand, "Wanted Dead Or Alive" by The Rogues, "Moses" by Navarros, and "The Trip", "Astrology", and a rare radio spot all by Kim Fowley.

A decade of Kim Fowley produced, arranged and recorded madness – proto garage, sleazy surf styled rumbles, pulpy vocal pop, and fuzzy tunes galore – some credited to Kim Fowley and more savage tunes from Bruce & Jerry, Renegades, Mo And Jo, Blue Bells, Althea And The Memories and more! It's fantastic stuff, some never before issued, and rare singles for labels and imprints like Kimco, Alsand, Arwin and American International. Seedy rockers galore! Includes "I Saw Her First" by Bruce & Jerry (Bruce Johnson, later Beach Boy), "Late Late Show" by Patterns, "Big Fat Alaskan" by Donnie And The Outcasts, "The Rebel" by Players, "Daybreaker" by Kim And The Skippers, "Music Is The Magic" by Kim Fowley, "Surf Pigs" by Kim Fowley And Mars Bonfire and more. 16 tracks in all.

Unreleased genius from the vaults of ECM – a double-length live set from the Magico trio of Jan Garbarek on reeds, Egberto Gismonti on guitar and piano, and Charlie Haden on bass! The trio have a wonderfully balanced sound – completely evocative and filled with soul – spacious, yet never sleepy – as the voice of each individual player is given plenty of room for expression, but also comes together in this rich new sound that's a great illustration of ECM at its finest. Garbarek's tenor and soprano sax seem to have a deeper sense of soul than usual in this setting, Gismonti's guitar lines are especially warm and personal, and the bass of Haden always shines in a format like this. Titles include "Folk Song", "Spor", "Carta De Amor", "Two Folk Songs", "Palhaco", "Branquinho", and "La Pasionaria".

An excellent set by Grant Green – recorded in 1964, but not issued until close to 1980, when Blue Note first pulled it out of the vaults, and dropped it on the world! The session's a great one – with an unusual lineup that features Green's guitar in a sextet, with McCoy Tyner on piano, James Spaulding on alto, Joe Henderson on tenor, Bob Cranshaw on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums – a really wonderful group who help bring something different to the proceedings – helping showcase the great change in Green's second chapter for Blue Note. The album's got a mix of modal grooving and piano-driven hardbop – with a harder groove than some of Green's other non-organ sides for Blue Note. Titles include "Solid", "Minor League", "Ezz Thetic", "Grant's Tune" and "The Kicker".

An excellent set by Grant Green – recorded in 1964, but not issued until close to 1980, when Blue Note first pulled it out of the vaults, and dropped it on the world! The session's a great one – with an unusual lineup that features Green's guitar in a sextet, with McCoy Tyner on piano, James Spaulding on alto, Joe Henderson on tenor, Bob Cranshaw on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums – a really wonderful group who help bring something different to the proceedings – helping showcase the great change in Green's second chapter for Blue Note. The album's got a mix of modal grooving and piano-driven hardbop – with a harder groove than some of Green's other non-organ sides for Blue Note. Titles include "Solid", "Minor League", "Ezz Thetic", "Grant's Tune" and "The Kicker". Also features the bonus track "Wives & Lovers".

Lost European jazz recordings from the vaults of producer Gigi Campi – and a stellar batch of non-US material with Johnny Griffin at the lead – working in the company of Clarke/Boland compatriots who include Benny Bailey, Sahib Shihab, Jimmy Woode, Idrees Sulieman, and Milt Jackson! Despite the "Bags" in the title, Milt's only on a few tracks – but that's fine with us, because Johnny Griffin is the main attraction – and the material is good small group sides with Griff soloing and trading lines with players like Sulieman and Bailey, or with some of the other players on their own. The recordings are different than the usual breed of Johnny Griffin European recordings – most of which have him soloing with a piano quartet on extended tracks. On this release, most of the tracks are short, hard, and very nicely swinging with a good hard bop groove – as with the best of Griffin's Riverside and Blue Note recordings. Kenny Clarke's on drums on nearly all the material, and he pulls out his bop chops to drive Griff's hard solos as fast as he can. The set's a great batch of work, with excellent notes and photos, and some great playing all around. Cuts include "Gamal Sady 'n Em", "Foot Patting", "Lady Heavy Bottom's Waltz", "Blues For K", "Muvaffak's Pad", "The Girl & The Turk", and "Gyson's Bag". 16 cuts in all, and none of them are from the Griffin/Davis LP on MPS (just in case you thought to ask!)

What? A brand new album from Jimi Hendrix? Didn't he, uh, check out a few decades ago? Well, turns out that the Experience folks have found some amazing work on the vaults – really incredible tracks that are way more than just a rehash of previous releases, aren't demo recordings at all – and are instead some wonderful work that really comes together well as a long-overdue full album! The set's a stunning smoker through and through – filled with the kind of deft guitar work that made Jimi a legend right from the start – and stuffed into tunes that pack as much of a punch as any of the famous Hendrix singles that have kept spinning for so many years. All tracks are studio recordings, all previously unreleased – and titles include new songs like "Somewhere" and "Hear My Train A Comin", plus studio takes of "Inside Out" and "Bleeding Heart" – and lots more great tracks that include "Earth Blues", "Let Me Love You", "Izabella", "Crash Landing", "Easy Blues", and "Mojo Man".

What? A brand new album from Jimi Hendrix? Didn't he, uh, check out a few decades ago? Well, turns out that the Experience folks have found some amazing work on the vaults – really incredible tracks that are way more than just a rehash of previous releases, aren't demo recordings at all – and are instead some wonderful work that really comes together well as a long-overdue full album! The set's a stunning smoker through and through – filled with the kind of deft guitar work that made Jimi a legend right from the start – and stuffed into tunes that pack as much of a punch as any of the famous Hendrix singles that have kept spinning for so many years. All tracks are studio recordings, all previously unreleased – and titles include new songs like "Somewhere" and "Hear My Train A Comin", plus studio takes of "Inside Out" and "Bleeding Heart" – and lots more great tracks that include "Earth Blues", "Let Me Love You", "Izabella", "Crash Landing", "Easy Blues", and "Mojo Man".

Funky madness from the mind of Galt MacDermot – the second volume of rare work from his deep deep vaults! Galt's best known to most of the world as the man who wrote the music for Hair, but to us beatheads, the best stuff is his rare work – a wealth of incredible drumbreaks, basslines, piano riffs, and quirky rhythms – recorded for years on his own, finally now getting out to the public! This album's almost better than the first volume – as it's filled with stripped down instrumental cuts that feature plenty of drums (by either Idris Muhammad or Bernard Purdie), electric keyboards, and other instrumentation like flute or guitar. A few cuts have vocals, but even those are nice and funky – and honestly, the album's maybe even better all the way through than most of Galt's classic albums from the old days! Titles include "Ba Ba Black Baby", "Lost Dreams", "Ghetto Suite Medley", "DD 2 03", "Wurly", "Water Fight", and "Cleanly & Pump".

A heck of a lot of music for one mighty nice price – a fan-selected collection of the best tracks from Frank McComb, packaged here with a bonus disc of rare material too! Frank's always been very plugged in to his followers – and for this collection, he went to his audience and asked them to pick their favorites – the kind of killer soul tracks that have made McComb one of the true underground soul legends of the modern age – a one-man powerhouse who's been able to create some of the best soul music we've heard in years, yet all without the help of a major label or distributor! The set features two full CDs of "favorites", plus a bonus CD with nine more cuts that are "shorties" and instrumentals pulled from Frank's vaults – all delivered with the sweet keyboard lines you'd expect. Titles include "The Bar On 55th & Hough", "White Line In The Sky", "Watching The One You Love", "King Of The Open Road", "Gotta Find My Way", "All You Need Is Love", "Morning Glory", "V 12", "Somebody Like You", "Cupid's Arrow", "Characters Of Our God", "Future Love", "Intimate Time", "Shine", and "The Thing I Failed To Do". 39 tracks in all!

One of our top 5 favorite Blue Note records of all time – a bold and powerful session from trumpeter Lee Morgan, but one that sat in the vaults for 15 years before release! The session was recorded around the same time as Morgan's hit The Sidewinder (which eclipsed its release at the time) – but it's got the soaring, searching energy of later Morgan work on records like Sixth Sense or Charisma – a whole new groove at the time, and one that's explored perfectly by a group that includes Jackie McLean on alto sax, Curtis Fuller on trombone, McCoy Tyner on piano, Bob Cranshaw on bass, and Art Blakey on drums. Modal lines come into play with older hardbop and soul jazz modes – and the result is an explosive batch of tunes that resonate with bold power throughout! Nearly all tunes are incredible originals by Lee Morgan – and titles include "Tom Cat", "Exotique", "Twice Around", and the completely captivating "Rigor Mortis". A treasure, and one not to pass up!

A treasure trove of rare funk – a massive package that not only includes the legendary Inspiration Information album by Shuggie Otis, but which also adds in four bonus tracks to that classic – plus a full other album of unreleased vintage work! Shuggie Otis is the son of Johnny Otis – the LA R&B maestro who was moving heavily into funk at the end of the 60s – and he has this tripped out, super-dope guitar style that he played to strong effect on Johnny's albums of the late 60s and early 70s, and on his first two solo albums, which were kind of bluesy in tone. But for Inspiration Information, he shocked the world by moving into a stripped-down mode that pairs his guitar with spare drum machine rhythms, flanged-out deeply soulful vocals, and one of the most laidback conceptions of funk you'll ever hear. The album's a landmark – one of those gems that's unlike anything else you can think of, but which will redefine your concept of what you want in a record for years to come. Every track's a winner – and the whole thing's a perfectly unified batch of tunes that includes instant classics like "Inspiration Information", "Island Letter", "Aht Uh Mi Hed", "XL 30", and "Rainy Day" – plus unreleased bonus tracks "Miss Pretty", "Magic", "Things We Like To Do", and "Castle Top Jam". Then – as if that's not enough – the set features incredible rare material from Shuggie – 14 more tracks as the Wings Of Love album, mostly recorded in the late 70s post-Inspiration years, plus a few tracks from later vintage too! The sound is great – the kind of extra bits we've been wanting to hear from Otis for many many years – finally unleashed from the vaults, and showing a style that really echoes the groove that others had copied from him – like The Brothers Johnson and some later contemporaries. There's plenty of great lost nuggets on Wings – and titles include "Trying To Get Close To You", "Give Me Something Good", "Wings Of Love", "Give Me A Chance", "Fireball Of Love", "Fawn", "If You'd Be Mine", "Black Belt Sheriff", and "Destination You".

A cool combat-themed country rock record by The Red Rippers – largely the work of songwriter and Vietnam veteran Lt. Edwin Bankston – and a pretty riveting obscurity from the early 80s private press vaults! The sounds range from breezy, Creedence-styled backdrops and 70s outlaw country inspired grooves, to more of a fuzzed out, slightly harder-edged feel – but it's the lyricism that really pushes Red Rippers into a different realm. It's full of war-wizened songs about forgotten soldiers, bloody jungle battles and other prideful and mournful tales from this veteran's point of view! The difference between the catchy, if quite raw tunefulness and the frank lyricism gives it a really dichotomous, intriguing feel! Includes "I Roll", "Soldier Of Fortune", "Firefight", "Who Remembers", "Vietnam Blues", "The Dark And Bloody Road", "She's Been Down", "Body Bag".

The incredible second album from Roxy Music – picking up right where the self titled album left off – ratcheting up the excitement even more thanks to Ferry's extra dramatic songs, Eno's unpredictable synthesizer and tape manipulations, and a driving approach to the performances by the rest of the group! The songs range from fairly straight forward fiery glam rock, to more complicated, evolving structural tension. We hear strains of this record in so many great rock albums that followed, from the punk era all the way up to post millenium indie rock – but as influential as it is, it's an amazing experience all its own! Titles include "Do The Strand", "Beauty Queen", 'Strictly Confidential", "Editions Of You", "In Every Dream Home A Heartache", "The Bogus Man", "Grey Lagoons" and "For Your Pleasure".

A pivotal moment for Shoes – demo material that pre-dates their classic Present Tense album – pulled from the vaults, and issued here as a wonderful pre-Elektra slice of their career! The tunes were originally cut in the basement of a bridal shop in Northern Illinois – yet already have Shoes sounding a lot sharper than their Black Vinyl album – a tightness that shows a tremendous growth on all fronts in a really short space of time – yet no too-commercial production to smooth out any of the bite of the music! Had these tunes come out in this format, the record may well have reached ears the big label debut had missed – and hat's off to the folks at Numero for finally bringing these gems to light. Titles include "I Don't Wanna Hear It", "Say It", "Three Times", "Tomorrow Night", "I Don't Miss You", "Cruel You", "Somebody Has What I Had", and "Now & Then".

Way more than just a simple reissue – because there's so many tracks on here, it's more like spending a day in the vaults of Sirocco Records! The core material here comes from Voyage 3 – a soaring third set from Voyage, – and one with a bit of a post-disco groove, as you might guess from the new wave look of the cover! The tunes still step out with plenty of clubby rhythms and keyboards, but also bring the guitars up a bit more – and almost give them a sharp edge at times – seeming to go for a crossover style that really works well with the lyrics. But the best cuts, as before, are mostly instrumental – and have that soaring, spacey sound that really lives up to the "voyage" name – a cool Euro-disco groove that works perfectly, even when the vocals drop out. Titles include "I Love You Dancer", "I'm Only Human", "Do It Again", "I Don't Want To Fall In Love Again", and "All The Way". Yet there's way way more, as promised – including 7 more tracks from Special Instrumental No 3 – an all-instrumental version of the album that's almost even better. Then, you also get the Sylvia Mason album – a project with a soulful singer fronting the same production lineup of Marc Chantereau, Slim Pezin, Pierre Alain Dahan, and Roger Tokarz! Sylvia's vocals really bring in a lot more soul than usual for Voyage material – sounding great on cuts that include "Shadow In The Sun", "Hello Superduper Star", "You're Like A Silent Movie", "Afraid Of Love", and "We've Gotta Dance". CD also features lots of bonus tracks too – including "I Love You Dancer" in 12" and 7" mixes, "We've Gotta Dance" in 12" and 7" mix , "I Don't Want o Fall In Love Again (7" mix)", and "Discotch" in 12" and 7" mixes!

Way more than just a sweet beat – because everything about these grooves is great – a rich array of jazzy tracks from Polish reedman Jan Ptasyn Wroblewski, cut in a style that rivals the best European jazz sides of the late 60s – but also done with an occasional soundtrack vibe as well! The core combo is backed with some fuller orchestrations – but always in a way that just augments the sharp instrumentation from Jan and the other players – a lineup that also features some great piano, organ, and harpsichord – alongside bass, drums, and percussion! At times, there's a Verve 60s groovy feel to some of the backings – but the sharpness of the musical ideas really keeps things interesting – and Jan's one hell of a soulful player when he wants to be. Titles include "Jesien", "Bitwa O Grzede", "Dziewcynha Tanczaca", "Sweet Beat", "300 Kilometrow Przed Nami", and "Nie Pozaluje Pan". CD also features 14 more bonus tracks added to the original album – loads more vintage gems from the Polish Radio vaults, including "Trawa", "Tata Lata", "Tylko Spokoj", "Tango Nieforme", and "Stopniowanie".

A far reaching triple platter of Afro Colombian grooves from the late 60s & 70s – propulsive percussion, bursts of brass, hot and heavy Afro Latin funk & soul, with some surprisingly heady and otherworldly sounds permeating some of material – all culled from the vaults of Colombia's Discos Fuentes label! Afrosound Of Colombia Vol 1 is one of best compilations yet from Vampi Soul – shining a much needed light on Discos Fuentes, but on top of that it's simply a great collection of funky Afro Latin sounds you may not have heard before! The numbers cover a lot of territory – salsa, cumbia, boogaloo, tropical funk, and chicha recordings abound – but the shared elements of killer percussion and feverish vibes overall make for a cohesive flow throughout. Excellent! 43 tracks on 2 CDs plus excellent liner notes, photos and artwork. Titles include "El Abanico" By Wganda Kenya, "Cumbia De Sal" by Cumbia En Moog", "Caliventura" by Afrosound, " El Ascensor" by Los Corraleros De Majagual, "La Negra Celina" by Los Golden Boys, "El Caminante" by Fruko Y Sus Tesos, "Nostalgia Campesina" by Rodolfo Con Los Idolos, "Rosalia" by Wganda Kenya, " Salsa Boogaloo" by Sexteto Miramar and much more!

In the tradition of the excellent other compilations on the Cosmic Sounds label – this set features some killer jazz and funk gems from Yugoslavia, the kinds of tunes that we might have missed otherwise, thanks to the Iron Curtain! Finding the set's like discovering a pile of great records in the back of some dusty bookshop in a neighborhood you've never visited before – as each one's got a different groove, mixing together electric funk with big band swinging and small combo modal grooving. Titles include "Quo Vadis Samba" by Dusko Goykovich, "Balkan Express" by RTB Big Band, "Memory" by Misha Blam, "Emina" by Lala Kovacev, "Bags Groove" by Milan Stojanovic, and "String Em" by Bora Rokovic.

Way more than just an introduction – and instead, an amazing collection of bossa nova gems – 48 tracks pulled from the vaults of the legendary EMI/Odeon label – home to some of the best bossa work ever recorded in Brazil! The package is a treasure through and through – filled with key classics, overlooked gems, and the kind of weird and wonderful bossa numbers that never made it here to the US – but which have made digging for Brazilian records a favorite pastime of ours for decades. Most tracks here are from the 60s, and the set runs from straight bossa numbers to others that use bossa as a starting point, then take off into great new territory. Titles include "Ao Amigo Tom" by Doris Monteiro, "A Resposta" by Marcos Valle, "Voce" by Milton Banana Trio, "Deixa Eu Dizer" by Claudia, "A Ra" by Joao Donato, "Eh Mundo Bom Tai" by Johnny Alf, "Agua De Beber" by Neco, "Onde Anda O Meu Amor" by Bossa Tres, "Fotografia" by Sylvia Telles, "Por Causa De Voce" by Marisa, "Outra Vez" by Elizeth Cardoso, "Inutil Paisagem" by Dick Farney, "Ho Ba La La" by Norma Benguell, "Estamos Ai" by Leny Andrade, "So Tinha De Ser Com Voce" by Eumir Deodato, and "Misturada" by Quarteto Novo.

Way more than just a beginners guide to French Pop – as the set digs way way deeper than you might expect – thanks to great track selection by Kid Loco! Loco's got a great ear for the kind of older French cuts that are plenty pleasing to modern ears – and as a collector and digger himself, he moves way past the obvious to come up with loads of tracks from the 60s that we've never heard before! All music here is from the EMI/Odeon vaults – and the set features a massive 45 tracks that include "Royal Madison" by Noel Chiboust, "Vienne La Nuit" by Francois Lubiana, "Dis Tu Reviendras" by Tichky, "Ne Pars Pas" by Les Dauphins, "Reveille Toi" by Alice Dona, "Bonjour Bresil" by Jacqueline Taib, "Fleurs De Pavots Blues" by Charlotte Walters, "Wraach" by Jacques Filh, "Une Fille Mais Quest Ce Que" by Les Anges, and "La Machine" by Dani.

Charlie Parker classics in a variety of flavors – a great collection of material from the 50s, 60s, and 70s – all showing the huge influence of Bird's songwriting on the sound of modern jazz! The recordings here offer up a variety of formats, in a variety of different settings – piano jazz, guitar work, and hardbop horns – all pulled from the mighty vaults of Fantasy Records. Titles include "Parker's Mood" by Eddie Jefferson, "Scrapple From The Apple" by Blue Mitchell, "Yardbird Suite" by Art Pepper, "Confirmation" by Gene Ammons, "Now's The Time" by Frank Morgan, "Steeplechase" by Hampton Hawes, "Repetition" by Wes Montgomery, and "Billie's Bounce" by Johnny Griffin.

Beautiful bossa from the vaults of Brazil's Elenco Records – warm, breezy treasures from the heart of the 60s with numbers by legendary singers and groups such as Edo Lobo, Quarteto Me Cy, Nara Leao, Baden Powell, MPB-4 and more! The independent Elenco label was founded in Rio in 1963 and aimed to bring the biggest names in bossa together under one roof. The label not only succeeded in that effort, but the artists brought out some of their best performances! Soul Jazz not only puts together essential material – compiled by Stuart Baker, who also contributes the exceptional sleeve notes – they manage to outdo themselves, which is honestly an incredible thing, considering that every compilation they put out is filled with treasures. The booklet features Baker's notes, some photos of the artists, and some original Elenco album cover art – the latter of which is nicely paid tribute to with Soul Jazz's own packaging for the set. 23 tracks in all: "Resolucao" by Edu Lobo w/Tamba Trio, "Consolocao" by Baden Powell, "O Canto De Ossanha" by Quarteto Em Cy, "Zanzibar" by Edu Lobo, "Maria Moita" by Nara Leo, "Enquanto A Tristesse Nao Vem" by Sergio Ricardo, "Negro" by Lucio Alves, "Sentinela" by MPB-4 and more.

Yeah, it's spectacular alright – a sturdy box set featuring 7 X 7" singles from the Channel One vaults – all in replications of the original sleeves! It includes mid 70s singles originally issued on Well Charge and Channel One, plus a trio of early 80s Hitbound singles – stellar original tracks by Delroy Wilson, Leroy Smart, John Holt and Sammy Dread backed by the Revolutionaries versions, plus Michael Palmer, Barrington Levy, Roots Radics and more! Includes "It's A Shame" by Delroy Wilson w/ "Fire Bun" by Revolutionaries, "Jah Jah" by Leroy Smart w/ the Revolutionaries version on the flip, "Up Park Camp" by John Holt (plus Revolutionaries version)", "Jah Will Work It Out" by Mighty Diamonds w/ "Masculine Gender" by Ranking Trevor, "M16" by Sammy Dread w/ the Revolutionaries version, "Pon Your Toe" by Michael Palmer w/ "Unmetered Taxi" by Sly & Robbie, Dean Fraser & Robbie Lyn and "Black Rose" by Barrington Levy w/ Roots Radics version.

Funky soul from Detroit – the second foray into the uber-rare and unreleased funk treasures recorded at Dave Hamilton's Motor City studio – and an even deeper look at what's turning out to be one of the greatest long-buried funk catalogs to come to light in recent years! The collection includes some singles released on Hamilton's own TCB and other imprints, some that were licensed to other labels, plus a wealth of unreleased material. There's straight ahead funk vocals and instrumentals, and numbers that have more of a freewheeling, adventurous vibe – albeit with a raw funk backdrop! Includes numbers by The Deacons, Prophet & His Disciples, Chico & Buddy, Billy Garner, OC Tolbert, Little Ann, Dave Hamilton himself, The Webb People, The Pepper and more. 22 tracks in all: "A Drop In The Bucket" by The Deacons, "You Fool, You Fool Pt 1" by Prophet & His Disciples, "A Thing Called The Jones" by Chico & Buddy, "The Bad Things (You Said To Me)" by The Barrino Brothers, "Ghetto Stride" by Dave Hamilton, "Who" by Jackie Dee, "Love Bandit" by OC Tolbert, "Simon Says' by The Future Kind, "Clap Your Hands" by The Tokays, "I'm Sending Vibrations" by The Webb People and more.

Goldmine's second great volume of rare Detroit soul, featuring extremely hard to find tracks like "Yes I Love You Baby" by The Dynamics, "We Still Have Time" by The Metros, "Candle" by Doni Burdick, "Looking For A Woman" by Brooks Bros, "Go Down" by Highlights, "Arabia" by Royal Playboys (vocal version), "Soul Food" by Johnny Rogers, and "We Go To Pieces" by Forest Hairston. Lots lots more, with 22 cuts in all!

Trippy grooves from the 1960s and early 70s! This groovy little set brings together 11 tracks – mostly from the vaults of Atlantic Records – all of them featuring the sort of exotic-inflected jazz stylings that were cropping up in a lot of work during the 60s. Many of the tracks have instrumentation that's relatively straight for small combo jazz – but the instruments (piano, guitar, sax, etc) are played in a way that has a bit of an Eastern flair – with lots of modal grooves, snaking lines, and sounds that are reminiscent of Indian or Middle Eastern music. The overall sound is great – a real meeting of world cultures – and the set features a surprising number of great tracks by artists that we already know, but who we might have overlooked in putting together this sort of package! Titles include "Ritual Of The Cobra" by Don Ralke, "Like It Is" by Yusef Latef, "The Lovers (edit)" by Les McCann, "If You Knew" by Hubert Laws, "Effi" by Max Roach, "The Oud & The Pussycat" by Herbie Mann, "Ameer" by Fred Kaz, "Moonbow" by Duke Ellington, and "Himalaya" by Charlie Mariano.

A killer batch of boogaloo and Latin Soul – and a set that even features 2 unissued gems from the vaults of Fania Records! As with the previous entry in this series, the sound here is plenty darn soulful throughout – lyrics that are often in English, and rhythms that borrow heavily from American funk and soul of the late 60s – mixing African-American musical styles with Puerto Rican and Cuban elements – all to come up with a groove that's as fresh today as it was back in the Spanish Harlem scene of the time! Previously unreleased tracks include "Evil Ways" by Pete & Louie, and the full length version of "O Elefante" by Ray Barretto – and other tunes include "Rise Up" by Orchestra Harlow, "Safari" by Tito Puente, "Revolucionando" by New Swing Sextet, "Times Are Changing" by Jimmy Sabater, "MC2" by Willie Colon, "Crystal Blue Persuasion" by Joe Bataan, "Musica Del Alma" by TNT Boys, "Here Comes The Judge" by Pete Rodriguez, "Ape Walk" by Al Escobar, and "Rat Race" by Ralfi Pagan.

A sprawling, double-sized set of Northern Soul singles – compiled by Richard Searling and with a focus on the pivotal mid 60s period – from the vaults of labels/imprints both big and small! It's got great singles issued at the time on Roulette, Capitol, United Artists, Sue, Veep, Minit, Liberty and more – mostly from '65-'68 – with some fairly famous names and comparably forgotten ones. Most of these tunes became rarities quite soon after they appeared – and it's s a massive set, too – with 50 tracks on 2CDs! Includes "Better Use Your Head" by Little Anthony & The Imperials, "Dance Dance Dance" by The Casualeers, "I'll Do Anything" by Doris Troy, "He Always Comes Back To Me" by Clydie King, "Movin' Away" by Kenny Lynch, "The Drifter" by Ray Pollard, "Breakout" by Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels, "My Dear Heart" by Shawn Robinson, River Of Tears" by by Barbara Banks, "She Blew A Good Thing" by The Poets, "I'm On My Way" by Dean Parrish and more.

A love letter to the legendary Fame Records – filled with unissued tracks and rare gems from the vaults! Fame was one of the great ones back in the day – the driving force behind Muscle Shoals soul music, and a company that helped really redefine the sound of the music in the 60s – thanks to incredible production, and a tight cast of studio musicians who knocked it out of the park on nearly every session! 21 of the set's 24 tracks have never been issued before – and, even more compelling, none were featured on the similar 7" box set from Ace – making the package a treasure trove of music, even for the serious soul collector. Titles include "Tell It Like It Is" by Big Ben Atkins, "Almost Persuaded" by Jackie, "You're So Fine" by James Barnett, "I Do" by June Conquest, "Your Helping Hand" by Otis Clay, "In The Heat Of Love" by Marjorie Ingram, "Steal Away 67" by Jimmy Hughes, "You Really Know How To Hurt A Guy" by Ralph Soul Jackson, "Let's Do It Over" by Travis Wammack, "For You" by George Jackson, "Baby Come Back" by Bobby Moore & The Rhythm Aces, "Keep On Talking" by Prince Phillip, "It Ain't No Harm" by George Byrd & The Dominoes, "Blind Can't See" by Richard Earl & The Corvettes, and "I Need Someone" by The Entertainers.

We can't get enough of Fame Records – that legendary powerhouse of southern soul in the 60s and 70s – and fortunately, the vaults of the studios have finally been opened after all these decades – and we're really getting the full picture of all the genius that went down in Muscle Shoals! This tremendous little package is essential southern soul listening for both the collector and newcomer – a whopping 24 tracks that virtually define the sound of the genre at its height – handled perfectly by producer Rick Hall and his core combo of crack musicians – working way past cliche to create some tremendous music on the set! A few of the artists here are names you'll know from Fame hits, a few more are lesser-knowns from the scene at the time – and a few more are even completely unknown – singers who weren't listed on the master tapes or studio records, but who are issued here because their vocals are so great. Titles include "Long Ago" by Ben & Spence, "It Tears Me Up" by James Barnett, "Take Me Back" by George Jackson, "Unfortunately" by Jackie, "Have Pity On Me" by Billy Young, "Don't Let It Be Sad" by June Conquest, "Fool For A Woman" by Prince Phillip, "Take It All Off" by Clarence Carter, "Are You Teasing Me" by Linda Carr, "I Can't Stop" by Big Ben Atkins, "Get In A Hurry" by Joe Simon, and "Midnight Affair" by George Soule.

A landmark collection of southern soul from the 60s and 70s – all of it pulled from the vaults of Excello Records, a label that didn't always circulate strongly at the time! The work here is buried in the depths below Stax and Atlantic, but echoes many similar themes – influences from blues, R&B, and country – and a presentation of the themes that's always in a newly proud, newly sophisticated mode for the era. There's some grittier funk in the mix too, and the set features a whopping 24 tracks in all – including "Letter From My Darling" by Kip Anderson, "My Love Grows Stronger" by The Kelly Brothers, "Look What I've Done" by Percy Wiggins, "Funky Little Train" by Stacy Lane, "Let's Try To Build A Love Affair" by The Exotics, "Seventh Son" by Lee Webber, "I Will" by Latimore Brown, "Don't Let Me Be A Cryin Man" by Johnny Truitt, "Way Cross Town" by Tiny Watkins, "No Brags Just Facts" by Stacy Lane, and "No Pity In The City" by Eugene Kemp.

Funky soul from the west coast – and a motherlode of tracks that you've probably never heard! Inner City Records was a small time funk powerhouse – owned and run by organ player George Semper, who cut some mighty fine records on his own! The label's not to be confused with the New York-based jazz label Inner City – because this one was a much more down-n-dirty funky one – and cut some killer work in a deep deep mode, much of which was never issued before – and is making a long-overdue first appearance here! The tracks have some seriously fine jazzy work in them – snapping funk, with a hard and dirty edge, played by performers that include Charles Owens, Rodney Franklin, and James Gadson – all of whom would later go onto become superstars in their own right. A number of tracks have vocals, too – and titles include "Plastic Situation" by Ron & Candy, "In One Peace" by In One Peace, "Funkorgy" by Funkafreek, "Tenderness" by Funkhouse with Candy, "Thank U" by The R&B Classic Funk Band, "It's Insane" by In One Peace, "Spread The News" and "Hands Of Time" by Perfect Circle, "Sticky Boom Boom" by United Soul Association, and "Funktime" by Funkproof.

Grooviness galore – and a wonderful selection of obscure psychedelic numbers from the deep deep vaults of EMI Records! The cuts here are mostly of British late 60s origin, and they feature a really fuzzed-up approach to pop – complete with odd production techniques, off-kilter arrangements, and a pretty heady brew of guitar, bass, drums, and tripped-out vocals – all served up with top-shelf sound, as proof that even on the bigger labels of the 60s, lots of younger artists were still taking plenty of chances! The package has complete track-by-track notes in a full color book with photos, labels, and album sleeve images too – and the CD features 25 tracks that include "Dandelion Seeds" by July, "Real Life Permanent Dream" by Tomorrow, "Hold On" by Ipsissimus, "Dog Presides" by Paul Jones, "Model Village" by Pennyh Peeps, "Towards The Skies" by The Gods, "Strange Walking Man" by Mandrake Paddle Steamer, "Mr Commuter" by Mike Proctor, "William Chalker's Time Machine" by The Lemon Tree, "Barricades" by The Koobas, "Please Leave My Mind" by Herbal Mixture, "World Of You" by The Aerovons, and "Monday Morning" by Tales Of Justine.

Great Latin grooves from Atlantic Records! It's a little known fact that Atlantic Records actually had a pretty hot Latin catalog at one time – and even though the label was best-known for their soul and jazz releases, they also took the time to cut a rare few Latin sides, all with the same high quality as their better-known output. The set only scratches the surface of that rich Latin tradition – but it does a great job of bringing out cuts from hard-to-find albums that we barely ever see on original vinyl. The general groove is Latin Soul and groovy Latin Jazz – and although a few of the cuts are by names that are more easily recognized, others are by artists you might be surprised to know recorded for Atlantic at all! Titles include "Stop & Go" by Willie Rosario, "Mambo Watusi" by Rene Bloch, "Tumbando Cana" by Louie Ramirez, "Baila Cinderella" by Hubert Laws, "Mambo Show" by Charlie Palmieri, "Motherless Child" by Luis Gasca, "Windjammer" by Mongo Santamaria, "Jumpin With Symphony Sid" by Louie Ramirez, and "Tell It" by Mongo Santamaria. 12 cuts in all.

Deep southern soul from the Sounds Of Memphis label – with some incredible stuff that for the most part never has seen official light of day before now – compiled by Dean Rudland for Kent UK! Kent has mined the vaults of Sounds Of Memphis for a series of solid compilations, and it's surprising how much more continues to be discovered considering the continual high quality! A solid majority of the tracks are prime 60s & 70s southern soul – with some early 80s records later on on the set that with a contemporary sound, though still committed to a true soul style! Includes "Pity A Fool" by Carl Sims, "I Don't Want No One Way Love" by Dan Greer, "Stop Boy" by Fran Farley, "So Cruel" by Barbara And The Browns, "Teardrops" by William Bollinger, "Play The Game (Pt 2)" by Version, "Make It Easy On Yourself" by Demetrius, "When I Look Inside" by Takelia Kelly, "It's Hard To Say No" by George Jackson & Linda Lucchesi, "Save My Love" by Billy Cee & The Freedom Express and more.

The RZA-curated Iron Fists Chronicles! This limited volume in the Man With The Iron Fists soundtrack series is a 2CD compilation of classic Stax deep soul – and it's not only the material that inspired the score for RZA's directorial debut – it's also the funky soul bedrock for his most legendary Wu Tang productions! It's got classics and relative rarities alike by The Dramatics, The Emotions, Soul Children, Mad Lads, Sweet Inspirations, Isaac Hayes, Mel & Tim, Booker T & The MGs, Johnnie Taylor, William Bell and many more! You know RZA isn't compromising or messing around when he's including Isaac Hayes' 15+ minute "Joy" in the set list – and the whole thing is great – really a top-shelf compilation from the Stax vaults! Nearly 2 1/2 hours of music on 2CDs! Includes "I Forgot To Be Your Lover" by The Mad Lads, "I Could Never Be Happy" by The Emotions, "All It Takes Is You And Me" by Sweet Inspirations, "Move Over" by Soul Children, "Steal Away" by Johnny Taylor, "Keep The Faith" by Mel & Tim, "Sing A Simple Song" and "LA Jazz Song" by Booker T & The MGs, "Poverty's Paradise" by 24-Carat Black and more.

A profoundly funky Message – a smoking set of early 70s funky jazz & heavy soul from the Mainstream Records vaults – a diverse set of incredible recordings from the label that may be fairly sprawling in style, yet holds together thanks to shared funky urgency! It's filled with Bob Shad productions for his stellar Mainstream roster, which at the time included a host of far reaching jazz veterans, soulful chanteuses, and killer funky combos – including Afrique, Blue Mitchell, Sarah Vaughn, Alice Clark, Charles Kynard and many more! The session players reads like a heavyweight jazz title card itself, with Don Pullen, Stanley Clarke, George Cables, Joe Sample, Victor Feldman and more. The set features a very well chosen 18 tracks, with solid notes on each by Dean Rudand. Titles include "House Of Rising Funk" by Chubukos, "Soul Makossa" by Afrique, "The Message" by Blue Mitchell, "Funky Butt" by The Delegates", "Never Did I Stop Loving You" by Alice Clark, "I Want You Back" by Bobby Shad & The Bad Men, "Grits Ain't Groceries" by Maxine Weldon, "The Spirit" by Curtis Fuller", "Bacon Butt Fat" by Charles Williams and more.

Amazing jazz from the Hungarian scene of the 60s and early 70s – some of the most obscure work from Eastern Europe at the time, as the Hungarian labels never got out to the west as well as those from other nations! Theoretically, the Cold War should have stopped jazz exports to the rest of Europe – but nations like Poland and Czechoslovakia managed to get their artists some good western exposure at the time. But Hungary was another story – and although Budapest is less than an hour from Vienna, most of this work has never made it out to the west before! This volume is a delightful treasure throughout – filled with jazzy modal tunes that share a lot with the Saba/MPS work of the time – all hand-picked by Tom Weiland of Les Gammas, with an ear for the same sort of jazzy grooves as his own work! The set's especially great for piano-driven tunes – which are often pushed along with some excellent warm, round, acoustic basstones – leaping along soulfully on the set's more extended numbers. LP features 9 tracks that include "Theme Of Ahmad Jamal" by Studio 11, "Dalia" by Pege Trio, "Night & Day" by Qualiton Jazz Ensemble, "Afro Cubano" by Balint Ensemble, "Hungarian Folksongs" by LDL Ensemble, "Song For My Father" by Csaba Deseo Ensemble, "Jarom Az Utam" by Grencso Kollektiva, and "Baby Car" by Pege Quintet.

A great counterpart to the first volume of rare 60s Hungarian jazz from Cosmic Sounds – as this one has more of a 70s focus, and an overall sound that's more concentrated in funk! During the 70s, the Hungarian scene picked up a lot of the heavier fusion influences from the rest of Europe at the time – but in a way that often had rock groups hitting a lot more jazzy overtones too, playing instrumentally and jamming nicely on some of the funkiest tracks on their albums. The cuts on this set really get at that sort of groove very well – and demonstrate the surprising amount of funky material that was coming out of Hungary at the time – work that was often driven by a more progressive jazz influence, but which came out stepping with a really in the pocket groove to rival the best American fusion work of the time! CD features 11 tracks in all – including the sublime modal groover "Bamba" by Dimenzio, plus "Ole" by Andor Kovacs, "Kemenysepro" by Kis Rakfogo, "Blue Light" by Bergendy, "Green Wave" by Aldar Pege, "K 14" by Csaba Deseo Quintet, "Stroll In Debrecen" by Debrecen Jazz Group, "Jaguars Humming Birds & Amazons" by Mini, and "Tropusi Laz" by Panta Rhei.

A great counterpart to the first volume of rare 60s Hungarian jazz from Cosmic Sounds – as this one has more of a 70s focus, and an overall sound that's more concentrated in funk! During the 70s, the Hungarian scene picked up a lot of the heavier fusion influences from the rest of Europe at the time – but in a way that often had rock groups hitting a lot more jazzy overtones too, playing instrumentally and jamming nicely on some of the funkiest tracks on their albums. The cuts on this set really get at that sort of groove very well – and demonstrate the surprising amount of funky material that was coming out of Hungary at the time – work that was often driven by a more progressive jazz influence, but which came out stepping with a really in the pocket groove to rival the best American fusion work of the time! LP features 9 tracks in all – including the sublime modal groover "Bamba" by Dimenzio, plus "Ole" by Andor Kovacs, "Kemenysepro" by Kis Rakfogo, "Blue Light" by Bergendy, "Green Wave" by Aldar Pege, "K 14" by Csaba Deseo Quintet, "Stroll In Debrecen" by Debrecen Jazz Group, "Jaguars Humming Birds & Amazons" by Mini, and "Tropusi Laz" by Panta Rhei.

A great compilation of rare soul from the dual vaults of Nashville's SSS International and NYC's GSF Records – a north-meets-south collection of brilliant late 60s to mid 70s soul put together by Outta Sight UK! Both labels released a pretty diverse mix of soul styles – from gritty and funk tinged, to sweeter and more soaringly orchestrated – and the set includes incredible stuff from some of our all time favorite acts from the period overlooked by the mainstream, as well as stuff that's was heretofore unheard by our deep digging selves! 20 tracks in all: "Lonely For You Baby" by Sam Dees, "Help Is On The Way" by Van McCoy, "Baby You Got Me" by Clarence Murray, "Give Him Up" by The Whatnauts, "Love Me" by Lloyd Price, "My Hang Up Is You" by Skull Snaps, "I Got The Place If You've Got The Time" by Allison, "Do I (Love You Like You Like It)" by Jackie Ross, "I'm Your Pimp" by Skull Snaps, "Lonely Man" by Johnny Soul and more.

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful girl group and solo sounds from vaults of Red Bird – that wonderful label founded by songwriting giants Lieber & Stoller in the 60s – stereo masters from '64-'66! The label came out of the girl group boom earlier in the decade, so some of the material blew up big on the charts while a great deal of it fell by the pop wayside. The thing is, ALL of it wonderful – sweet, soaring pop soul majesty from some of the best songwriters and loveliest voices of their time! Great singles by The Goodies, The Jelly Beans, The Ad-Libs, Ellie Greenwich, Evie Sands, The Butterflys, The Charmettes, The Young Generation and more – stuff that truly rivals The Wall Of Sound! Include "The Dum Dum Ditty" by The Goodies, "The Kind Of Boy You Can't Forget", "I Wanna Love Him So Bad" and "How Fine Can One Guy Be" by The Jelly Beans, "The Boy From New York City" and "I'm Just A Down Home Girl" by The Ad-Libs, "You Don't Know" and "Another Boy Like Mine" by Ellie Greenwich, "I Can't Let Go" and "Take Me For A Little While" by Evie Sands, "Gee Baby Gee" by The Butterflys, "The Hideaway" by The Young Generation, "He's So Easy To Love" by Roddie Joy and more..

The Cold War is over – and here's the reason why! These jazz funk gems were cut in the Soviet Union during the 80s – but they've got a richness that's right up there with the excellent work coming out of Eastern Europe during the 70s, particularly the jazz funk and fusion sides cut in Poland and Czechoslovakia during the time. They represent a rich culture that hasn't really ever been tapped over here – as all the sides were cut for the state-owned Melodiya label, and never issued strongly in the west – and it's almost hard to believe that these tracks weren't recorded in a culture that was more open to influences from other jazz scenes. Most of the best tracks have kind of a funk spacey quality – almost CTI-ish, but a bit more jamming – and titles include "Dervish" and "Ornament" by The Boomerang Band, "Perpetuum Mobile" by Marina Granovskaja, "Dance Of The Bees" by Dustar Band, "Ekstraversija" by E Straume Jazz Combo, and "Expectation" by Alexander Rjabov & Ensemble Synthesys.

Mighty recordings from the funk years of King Records – amazing grooves that follow the initial inspiration that James Brown gave to the label – but take things into wild new territory too! The late 60s & early 70s were kind of a strange and tumultuous time at the longtime Cincinnati operation – which was adapting to the changes in funk, soul and R&B music that James Brown almost single-handedly ushered in – at King and throughout the entire culture! What's most impressive here, beyond the exceptional quality of each song and performer, is the diversity – as the set's not all front-to-back JB-style funk – and also features some funked up bluesy soul, strains of gospel, the convincing move towards funk from veterans such as Hank Ballard & Bill Doggett – all topped off with righteous storytelling, sweet female soul leads, and some amazing grooves down at the bottom! Titles include "Getting Down (With Hoss)" by Kastle, "Love's Sweet Water" by Barbara Burton And The Messengers, "Baby Don't You Know" by The Brownettes, "Clay Tyson (Man On The Moon)" by Clay Tyson, "Cool Jerk" by The Coasters, "The Boo Boo Song" by King Coleman, "Unwind Yourself" by Hank Ballard, "Steal Away" by Leon Austin, "Peter Rabbit" by The Presidents, "Lookin For A Woman" by Robert Moore, "Push & Shove" by Willy Wiley, "Ball Of Fire" by Connie Austin, "Sad But True" by Elaine Armstrong, and "You Keep Me Hanging On" by Bonnie & Sheila.

The funkiest side of Stax Records – a treasure trove of funky nuggets, all hand-picked by RZA! As the title implies, these are some of the grooves that became the building blocks of the Wu-Tang sound – but even without that pedigree, these tracks are more than great enough on their own – a wonderful mix of album cuts and rare singles – some you'll recognize from famous hip hop samples, some you'll discover here for the first time ever! The triple-length package is overflowing with greatness – and titles include "I Could Never Be Happy" and "I Like It" by The Emotions, "I Forgot To Be Your Lover" by The Mad Lads and another "I Forgot To Be Your Lover" by William Bell, "Children Don't Get Weary" by Judy Clay, "All It Takes Is You & Me" by The Sweet Inspirations, "Poverty's Paradise" by 24 Carat Black, "I'll Play The Blues For You" by Albert King, "Why Marry" by The Sweet Inspirations, "Steal Away" by Johnnie Taylor, "Hang On Sloopy" by David Porter, "Ike's Mood 1" by Isaac Hayes, "In The Rain" by The Dramatics, "Don't Take My Kindness For Weakness" by The Soul Children, "Packed & Took My Mind" by Little Milton, "Sing A Simple Song" by Booker T & The MGs, "I'm Afraid The Masquerade Is Over" by David Porter, "LA Jazz Song" by Booker T & The MGs, "Walk On By" by Isaac Hayes, and "Keep The Faith" by Mel & Tim.

A collection of tracks that amount to some of incredibly deep audio archaeology – a wonderful, consciousness wakening collection of globe spanning 78s from the first half of the 20th Century – all from the darkest corners of the EMI Vaults! Honest Jons does an impressive job of collecting recordings that are first and foremost exciting pieces of music – and they reportedly spent a couple of years going through thousands and thousands of 78s and to put this thing together. It was worth the effort! The album includes recordings from China in the 10s, Bali and London in the 20s, Constantinople, Kenya and Spain in the 30s, Uganda & Trinidad in the 50s, and much more from each decade in many parts of the world. Cuban rumbas, Middle Eastern & African string tunes, more pop oriented British tunes, vocal and pop with a global focus. Wonderful stuff! Titles include "The English Sound Table" by GU Hsu, "Lagu Kebiar" by Gamelan Gong, "Rumba Negra" by Sacasas, "Laughing" by Vemngopal Chari, "Different Kind Of Motor Car Noises" by Vengopal Chari, "The Queen's Canary" by Mighty Sparrow and more.

An excellent compilation that's very much in the spirit of the 100% Dynamite sets on Soul Jazz! This time, Soul Jazz dig through the vaults of the legendary Studio One catalog – some of the most important reggae and rocksteady ever recorded, virtually all of it produced under the tutelage of Clement "Coxone" Dodd. Much of this material has been floating around over the years, but we'd be hard pressed to think of a better collection of it – especially when considering the excellent fidelity of the set, which is way better than an of Dodd's own reissues of the material. Plus, the folks at Soul Jazz have gone out of their way to put together the tracks as an extremely well-thought out introduction to the music, not just a scattered batch of tunes that happened to be available. The set also includes a recent interview with Clement Dodd, plus loads of great rocksteady and early reggae tracks. Titles include "Surfin" by Ernest Ranglin, "Real Rock" by Sound Dimension, "Feel Like Jumping" by Marcia Griffiths, "Greedy G" by Brentford All Stars, "Village Soul" by Lennie Hibbert, "Ethiopia" by Cedric Brooks, "Crabwalking" by Prince Jazzbo, "Hot Milk" by Jackie Mittoo, "Badder Dan Dem" by Lone Ranger, and "Bobby Bobylon" by Freddy McGregor.

The Cosmic Sounds label continues its rich exploration of the untapped Eastern European jazz scene of the 60s and 70s – finally set free in these post-Iron Curtain years, showing a wealth of wonderful music that's finally getting out to our western ears! This beautiful set focuses on Bulgarian recordings of the late 60s and early 70s – and like other volumes in the series, it's got a groove oriented approach that runs through a number of styles – from hardbop to soul jazz, funky fusion, and beyond! Titles include "Samba" by Jazz Quartet, "Sombrero" by Focus 65, "Sunday Afternoon Walk" by Jazz Quartet From The State, "For Goodby" by FSB, "Sunset Sunrise" by Simeon Shterev Quartet, and "A Trip" by Yordan Kapitanov.

Spacey, funky, and wonderful! During the 60s and 70s, the Iron Curtain prevented most of us from hearing some of the fantastic sounds that were cooking in Eastern Europe – where obscure jazz funk combos were grooving away in styles that were very different than those heard in the US and Western Europe. There's no easy way to describe the music, because it was so varied and inventive – but this excellent set of 10 rare Czechoslovakian tracks should go a long way to filling in some of the gaps in this lost history! Many of the tracks on the set have a fantastically baroque sound – sort of a mix of MPS crossover styles, and David Axelrod-type "big picture" production ventures – and they begin with wild washes of sound that soon settle into a harder funky groove. Keyboards collide with voices mix with guitars punctuated by drums sealed with basslines – and the whole thing's chopped apart by some funky frenetic sax work. That's only part of the picture, though – and although we can't come up with the words to describe the set adequately, it's one of the freshest compilations we've heard in years, filled with excellent grooves to take our listening to a whole new level! Titles include "The Lost Sheep" by SHQ, "Proklamation" by Milan Svoboda, "The Third Eye" by The Keyboard Conclave, "The Earth" by Jiri Stivin, "Nijana" by Jana Koubkova, and "Life's Little Games" by Karel Ruzicka.

Spacey, funky, and wonderful! During the 60s and 70s, the Iron Curtain prevented most of us from hearing some of the fantastic sounds that were cooking in Eastern Europe – where obscure jazz funk combos were grooving away in styles that were very different than those heard in the US and Western Europe. There's no easy way to describe the music, because it was so varied and inventive – but this excellent set of 10 rare Czechoslovakian tracks should go a long way to filling in some of the gaps in this lost history! Many of the tracks on the set have a fantastically baroque sound – sort of a mix of MPS crossover styles, and David Axelrod-type "big picture" production ventures – and they begin with wild washes of sound that soon settle into a harder funky groove. Keyboards collide with voices mix with guitars punctuated by drums sealed with basslines – and the whole thing's chopped apart by some funky frenetic sax work. That's only part of the picture, though – and although we can't come up with the words to describe the set adequately, it's one of the freshest compilations we've heard in years, filled with excellent grooves to take our listening to a whole new level! Titles include "The Lost Sheep" by SHQ, "Proklamation" by Milan Svoboda, "The Third Eye" by The Keyboard Conclave, "The Earth" by Jiri Stivin, "Nijana" by Jana Koubkova, and "Life's Little Games" by Karel Ruzicka.

A pretty cool little collection – a Japanese-only set that's filled with various versions of Burt Bacharach classics pulled from the vaults of Universal Music – including a rich array of 60s recordings we might have missed otherwise! The set appears to have been done in support of a 2008 Bacharach tribute tour, but all of the recordings are of older vintage – and the set includes a huge amount of rare numbers from the first years when Burt's music was getting out to the masses. Titles include "Forgive Me" by Babs Tino, "That's The Way I'll Come To You" by Jack Jones, "Rome Will Never Leave You" by Richard Chamberlain, "These Desperate Hours" by Mel Torme, "The Look Of Love" by Chris Montez, "Magic Moments" by Ronnie Aldrich, "This Guy's In Love With You" by Frankie Valli, "Alfie" by Dee Dee Warwick, "April Fools" by Vanessa Williams, "Promise Her Anything" by Tom Jones, "Who's Got The Action" by Phil Colbert, "Say Goodbye" by Pat Boone, "Waiting For Charlie To Come Home" by Marlena Shaw, "He Who Loves" by Lenny Welch, "Loving Is A Way Of Living" by Steve Lawrence, "With Open Arms" by Jane Morgan, "Ten Thousand Years Ago" by Rusty Draper, "Wishin & Hopin" by The Merseybeats, "For The Children" by Burt Bacharach, and "A House Is Not A Home" by Julie Rogers.

The Verve vaults are open again – and as with other Remixed sets, they've let in a host of hip talents to change up their classics! This time around, the results seem even better than before – thanks partly to a very strong array of mixers, including some of our own personal funky favorites – but also thanks to a change in remixing styles for this sort of work – an added complexity, and respect for the originals – so that the tunes aren't just simple smatterings of old vocals over contemporary beats! Titles include "Cry Me A River" by Dinah Washington remixed by Truth & Soul, "Everybody Loves The Sunshine" by Roy Ayers remixed by 9th Wonder, "Gimme Some" by Nina Simone remixed by Mike Mangini, "There Was A Time" by James Brown remixed by Kenny Dope, "California Soul" by Marlena Shaw remixed by Diplo, "Take Care Of Business" by Nina Simone remixed by Pilooski, "Bim Bom" by Astrud Gilberto remixed by Psapp, "Dilo Como Yo" by Patato & Totico remixed by Antibalas, "Evil Ways" by Willie Bobo remixed by Karriem Riggins, "I Get A Kick Out Of You" by Ella Fitzgerald remixed by Cinematic Orchestra, and "Tea For Two" by Sarah Vaughan remixed by Chris Shaw.

Excellent funky jazz work from Eastern Europe – very much in the spirit of recent compilations on the Jazzanova label, or similar sets on Cosmic Sounds. The album collects sublime material from the vaults of Supraphon, a hip Czech label that cut records so cool they're beyond description. The 8 tunes on the set are a mixture of Latin jazz, big band grooves, and funky electric fusion – but they all share a wonderfully fresh approach to arrangements, with modal bits hitting straighter jazz bits hitting choppy rhythmic grooving, in a blend so cool it'll have you digging through record shops for all things Czech. There's a lot of similar styles to some of the best 70s MPS work on the record – and you can also hear the influence of the music on some of the current European groove scene. Titles include "Presage" and "Wizard" by Jazz Q, "Memory" and "Dance For Two" by Gustav Brom, "Cubano Chant" by SHQ, "Dew Drop" by Kamil Hala & CZ Radio Jazz Orchestra, and "Wait For Me" by Milan Svoboda & Prague Big Band.

Great stuff – and one of the most interesting compilations we've heard in ages! The record blends together tracks from the rich jazz and gospel catalogs of Atlantic Records – shifting effortlessly between vocal and instrumental numbers in a spiritual package of tracks – slow and soulful, fast and funky, and with a change in mode at every new track! Titles include "Prayed & I Prayed" by Myrna Summers, "I Came To Praise Him" by The Stovall Sisters, "Young Man" by Oscar Brown Jr, "Rosalie" by Yusef Lateef, "Shiloh" by David Newman, "I'll Be So Glad When I Get Home" by Morning Star Gospel Singers, "Silver City Bound" by Clifford Jordan, "Live Humble" by Yusef Lateef, "Hang On In There" by Stovall Sisters, and "Witness" by Myrna Summers. Pretty darn fresh all the way through, and with a style that will really surprise you!

Not really a set of funky 45s – despite the title – but a good selection of instrumental numbers with a hard New Orleans groove. The style of most of this stuff predates the funk era by a few years, but Booker's touch on the organ is very tasty – and the cuts have a nice feel that's kind of like stuff on the Sue label from the same time. Unfortunately, many of the tracks seem to be mastered from vinyl (even though the whole set's on the up-and-up) – so you might think you're actually listening to a funky 45 – but the musical quality's strong enough to override that factor in most parts. Titles include "Tubby (parts 1 & 2)", "The Duck", "Big Nick", "Beale Street Popeye", "Kinda Happy", and "Smacksie".

An overlooked treasure from the Atlantic vaults – the first album by The Dynamics, and arguably a much greater record than the group's better-known set from the 70s! The Dynamics were a Detroit group from the late 60s, with that heavy harmony sound that was becoming a standard for the city's soul scene – and they were managed by Aretha Franklin's husband Ted White, who was probably responsible for getting them to record at Atlantic. Oddly, this session was recorded in Memphis, not Detroit – with production by Tommy Cogbill and Chips Moman – who give the group a deep soul bottom that adds a lot to their still-rough vocal style. There's a great mix of deep and smooth going on here – a style that reminds us a bit of the few great Memphis vocal groups of the period, but which also has a Detroit tightness at times too. The tracks are a great mix of originals by Don Mancha, Fred Baker, Ronnie Shannon, and others – and titles include "Ain't No Love At All", "I Don't Want Nobody To Lead Me On", "What Would I Do", "Fair Love", and "Murder In the First Degree". A killer, and the kind of record you started collecting soul for!

A Donald Byrd treasure – and an album that was almost left in the vaults by Blue Note, until they briefly released it at the end of the 70s! The cover and title are a bit unfamiliar, but the music is right up there with Byrd's classic sessions with baritonist Pepper Adams – a great player here, with a deftness on his horn that's incredible – matching all the sharp changes and soulful undercurrents of Byrd's sparkling trumpet! There's a nice hard sound to the whole thing – almost the raw power of the pair's albums for the Warwick label – and as with those, Herbie Hancock is on piano – giving the whole thing an excellent soul jazz groove that really kicks the main soloists into action! Titles include "Great God", "I'm An Old Cowhand", "That's All", "You're Next", and "Chant".

The legendary unreleased Motown recordings by The Contours – material that should have been issued as a full length LP in 1964 – but all but a couple tunes have languished in the vaults until now! The group simply kills on on these dancefloor ready stormers, with raucous, charismatic lead vocals and tight harmony backup – on a set of numbers that were no doubt ready and set to slay live audiences. We're sure The Contours were unbeatable live, but these recordings really should have made it out at the time. Better late than never, to say the very least! Includes the 60s singles "Can You Do It" and "Can You Jerk Like Me", plus the unreleased "Do The See Saw", "Foot Stomping Time", "Party Groove", "Okey Dokey", "Love Is Uncertain", "Wanted", "Boy Meets Girl", "You Hurt Me So", "Throw You Out Of My Mind", "Giant Steps", "Let's Do The Uncle Willie", "Tonight", "Nobody Fine As Dinah", "Somebody's Daughter Outta", "Let's Do The Uncle Willie" and more. 26 tracks in all!

Hard wailing! Poppa Lou's caught right at the height of his early Blue Note powers here – recorded in 2 different groups on this set of unreleased sessions from the early 60s! Both sets have Lou in a guitar/organ soul jazz setting – with backing by Grant Green on guitar, and either Jack McDuff or John Patton on organ. The McDuff set features the great Joe Dukes on drums, and the session sparkles like one of McDuff's best Prestige albums from the time. The other session has the classic Patton/Green lineup augmented by trumpeter Irwin Stokes, a lesser-known talent who really opens up the sound nicely. There's a total of 9 tracks in all – a number of them ballads, but done with a lively soulful tone that keeps the whole thing nice and fresh – even after sitting in the vaults for nearly 40 years! Titles include "Star Dust", "Hippty Hop", "Please", "Man With A Horn", and "Cherry Pink & Apple Blossom White".

One of our top 5 favorite Blue Note records of all time – a bold and powerful session from trumpeter Lee Morgan, but one that sat in the vaults for 15 years before release! The session was recorded around the same time as Morgan's hit The Sidewinder (which eclipsed its release at the time) – but it's got the soaring, searching energy of later Morgan work on records like Sixth Sense or Charisma – a whole new groove at the time, and one that's explored perfectly by a group that includes Jackie McLean on alto sax, Curtis Fuller on trombone, McCoy Tyner on piano, Bob Cranshaw on bass, and Art Blakey on drums. Modal lines come into play with older hardbop and soul jazz modes – and the result is an explosive batch of tunes that resonate with bold power throughout! Nearly all tunes are incredible originals by Lee Morgan – and titles include "Tom Cat", "Exotique", "Twice Around", and the completely captivating "Rigor Mortis". A treasure, and one not to pass up!

Funky library music from the KPM vaults – one side of raw, hard-driving action soundtrack-ready funk credited to New York Trouble – and one side of proggier and spacier funk credited to Electric Progression! The New York Trouble side has gritty feel – but it's not without its lighter touches – so along with the heavy drums, punchy horns, thick bass lines and fuzz-tone guitars are bits of vibes, xylophone, flute and piano – but it hits pretty hard for the most part! The Electric Progression side is spacier, but it's in the same universe. Moogs, synths and sound effects coming into the mix. It's still got a raw funk base, though! Titles on the New York Trouble side include "Barnyard Bam Bam", "Heavy Stakeout", "Where'd He Go?", "Light Stakeout", "Hustle Don't Hate", "Cool, Not Cold", "There's Your Man", "High Five Shakedown" and more. The Electric Progression side includes "Hong Kong Hang", "Non Sequensor", "Zen Furious", "Sonic Swarm", "Bionic Bassa", "Manhattan Moonrise", "Electric Procession" and more.

A cool combat- themed country rock record by The Red Rippers – largely the work of songwriter and Vietnam veteran Lt. Edwin Bankston – and a pretty riveting obscurity from the early 80s private press vaults! The sounds range from breezy, Creedence-styled backdrops and 70s outlaw country inspired grooves, to more of a fuzzed out, slightly harder-edged feel – but it's the lyricism that really pushes Red Rippers into a different realm. It's full of war-wizened songs about forgotten soldiers, bloody jungle battles and other prideful and mournful tales from this veteran's point of view! The difference between the catchy, if quite raw tunefulness and the frank lyricism gives it a really dichotomous, intriguing feel! Includes "I Roll", "Soldier Of Fortune", "Firefight", "Who Remembers", "Vietnam Blues", "The Dark And Bloody Road", "She's Been Down", "Body Bag".

Two takes on the classic soul tune "After Laughter Comes Tears" – the sublime original by Wendy Rene, from the vaults of Stax Records – and another version by Sweet Tea – done with an equally classic sound! The tune's a stone heartbreaker – and both versions are totally great – almost making the record feel like a two-part funky 45 from years back – instead of a limited contemporary offering!

Rare and unreleased instrumentals from the great French orchestral pop composer Jean Claude Vannier – amazing stuff from his personal archive that ranges from loosely haunting passes to more grandly orchestrated bits – funky psych rock backdrops to heavy, tribal percussion numbers! Vannier is as much of a master of setting a mood as he as an expert composer-arranger, and this great set is brilliant showcase of his talent and we'd even say a fine entry point if you're just now being introduced. He's greatly reknowned for the incredible work he did with Serge Gainbourg, as well he should be – but a standout artist on his own, as you're hear here! It's got previously unreleased numbers from his Vannier's own vaults, many from a fertile period in the early 70s, plus rare sound library recordings and more! Includes "Bombard Lamentation" (centered around the reed instrument used most often in Breton music), "L'Ours Peresseux – 1969", "La Girafe Au Ballon", "Claquez Klaxons", "Theme 504", "Road To Cuba", "La Douleur De L'Orchestre", "L'Elephant Equilbriste", "Je M'Appelle Geraldine", "Saturnin Vaca Vaca" and more.

A fresh serving of genius from Madlib – served up here in yet another manifestation of the Yesterday's New Quintet combo! Sound Directions have a groove that's quite similar to YNQ, but which focuses a bit more on the skittish percussion of Otis Jackson and "Sloppy" Joe Johnson – a live but spacey approach to rhythm, and one that often has the drums recorded in this gritty way that's nice and crunchy – and which is a perfect "bottom" to the tighter horns and electric keyboards of the set! Madlib's got help from guest players who vary from track to track – fleshing out his unique musical vision that includes new takes on Billy Brooks' "40 Days", Marcos Valle's "Wanda Vidal", Oliver Sain's "On The Hill", Lesiman's "Play Car", and David Axelrod's "A Divine Image" – as well as the original tunes "Theme For Ivory Black", Directions", and "Dice Game". Great stuff all around – with a groove that's as wild as Madlib's trip into the Blue Note vaults!

A far reaching triple platter of Afro Colombian grooves from the late 60s & 70s – propulsive percussion, bursts of brass, hot and heavy Afro Latin funk & soul, with some surprisingly heady and otherworldly sounds permeating some of material – all culled from the vaults of Colombia's Discos Fuentes label! Afrosound Of Colombia Vol 1 is one of best compilations yet from Vampi Soul – shining a much needed light on Discos Fuentes, but on top of that it's simply a great collection of funky Afro Latin sounds you may not have heard before! The numbers cover a lot of territory – salsa, cumbia, boogaloo, tropical funk, and chicha recordings abound – but the shared elements of killer percussion and feverish vibes overall make for a cohesive flow throughout. Excellent! 43 tracks on 3LPs plus excellent liner notes, photos and artwork. Titles include "El Abanico" By Wganda Kenya, "Cumbia De Sal" by Cumbia En Moog", "Caliventura" by Afrosound, " El Ascensor" by Los Corraleros De Majagual, "La Negra Celina" by Los Golden Boys, "El Caminante" by Fruko Y Sus Tesos, "Nostalgia Campesina" by Rodolfo Con Los Idolos, "Rosalia" by Wganda Kenya, " Salsa Boogaloo" by Sexteto Miramar and much more!

Lost soul from a massively overlooked source – the mighty LA indie Double Shot Records, best known for their fuzzy rock classics, but also a hotbed of tripped-out soul! Given that Double Shot's 2 biggest artists of the late 60s were Count Five ("Psychotic Reaction") and Brenton Wood ("Oogum Boogum Song"), you can imagine that the label would be equally well suited to handle mod 60s guitars and sweet soul vocals – and on most of the tracks on this set, you'll be hearing them at the same time! The set's a really massive batch of tunes – a wonderful discovery to our ears, as we'd only ever heard the odd rare single on the label, and had no idea that there was so much great work – nor that it would sound so great! The CD features a total of 26 tracks in all, pulled from the Double Shot singles of the late 60s – with tracks that include "Push Me Baby" and "Jelly" by The Bagdads, "What Is Soul" and "The International Love Song" by The Real Thing, "Four Piece Funky Nitty Gritty Junky Band" and "Everybody's Got A Hang Up" by Bobby Freeman, "Gotta Keep Talkin" and "Coming In Out Of The Rain" by Maurice Rodgers, "The Neck" and "Trouble" by Kent & The Candidates, "Sugar Sugar" by Shirley, and "Trouble" by Foxy.

Wow! A storming collection of funk and hard grooving soul from the furiously productive period between the late 60s & early 70s – incredible material spun out by NYC labels Scepter, Wand, Dynamo & Musicor – deep stuff, too, with names that we simply don't see often enough these kinds of releases! Dynamic Grooves is just that – with killer numbers by favorites of funk collectors, but relatively (and sadly) obscure figures when it comes to mainstream knowledge all these years later – along with a few bonafide legends. Great funky soul songs by Billy Clark & The Maskman, Warren Lee, Betty Moorer, The Endeavors, Allen Toussaint, Raw Meat, Chuck Jackson, The Soul Brothers, The Backyard Heavies and more! 21 tracks in all: "Soul Party Pt 1" by Billy Clark & The Mask Man, "It's My Thing" by Betty Moorer, "Ain't That Peculiar" by George Tindley, "Chitlin' Strut" by Backyard Heavies, "She's My Meat" by Harmon Bethea, "Horsing Around" by The Soul Brothers, "Fever In The Funk House" by General Cook and more.

No need to be a connoisseur to enjoy this set – because the tunes here are all plenty darn groovy – rare soul numbers with an instant appeal to our ears, thanks to their freshness and the quality of the work! The package features rare singles and a bunch of previously unissued tracks from the vaults of the Kent/Modern labels – most recorded at the end of the 60s, in a range of soulful styles! Some numbers have a sweeter feel, but many echo the headier sounds of the times – bringing in some funkier or psychedelic soul influences, even when the themes might be a bit more conventional, or the grooves a bit more mellow. As always with Kent, the package features loads of notes on the music – enough to help even a novice become a connoisseur after a few listenings – and the CD features 24 titles that include "Cut Me Loose" by Gene Taylor, "Beverly" by Billy Watkins, "If I'd Lose You" by Jackie Day, "That Righteous Feeling" by Marvin Phillips & The Spinners, "My Name Is Misery" by Al King, "I've Gotta Get You Back" by Mary Love, "I'm Guilty" by Vernon Garrett, "Can't Count The Days" by Jeb Stuart, "Baby Baby Baby" by Leon Peterson, "The Ta Ta Song" by Little Henry & The Shamrocks, and "It's OK" by Esther Williams.

Stunning stuff – and one of the few reissues we've ever seen to really do justice to this legendary New Orleans soul label! The Ric and Ron imprints were a key indie force in the development of Crescent City soul music – home to some of the better artists who didn't get scooped up by the bigger companies – still working for the hometown label to really serve up the real New Orleans vibe! This special package is put together by the joint forces of Rounder, Ace, and Numero – three labels that have already turned us onto a wealth of great music over the years – and it's a limited edition of 1500 copies, with a host of previously unreleased tracks – all pressed up as 10 funky 45s, in a sweet box with a booklet! Essential stuff for any fan of New Orleans soul – or 60s soul in general – with previously unissued tracks that include "Lena Come What May (demo)" by Al Johnson, "Found My Good Thing" and "Question Of Love" by Barbara Lynn, "I Won't Cry (audition)" and "Walking The Floor Over You" by Johnny Adams, "Blues Cha Cha" by Edgar Blanchard & The Gondoliers, "Goofer" by Paul Marvin", and "Nothing Withotu You", "Satisfied With Your Love", and "Ain't You Ashamed" by Eddie Bo.

They're not lying about the "impossibly rare" part of the title here – because most of the work on this set is previously unreleased – funky Bay Area gems recorded in the late 60s and early 70s, finally seeing the light of day on this collection! The music represents a much deeper current of soul than you might know from Sly & The Family Stone or some of the bigger bay area groups of the period – a really righteous batch of tracks that freak out nicely with a heady, jamming groove – one that's often heavy on the basslines and drums, but which also has a celebratory, party-hearty quality in the vocals and other instrumentation. A few artists here are familiar, but most are relatively obscure – and the biggest portion of this music has languished for years in the vaults of the Golden State Recorders studios of producer Leo Kulka. CD features 20 tracks in all – including "Super Chicken" by Ramona King, "Rock Steady" by Ruby Delicious, "Devil's Got Your Mind" by San Francisco TKOs, "Hearing Things" by Snooky & The Cosmic Flowers, "I've Gotta Groove" by Julio Zavalla, "Love Machine" by Alonzo Smith, "Poor Sad Child (parts 1 & 2)" by The Windjammers, "Are You Together For The New Day" by The Love Experience, "Can't Get Enough" by 87th Off Broadway, "House Party" by Wally Cox & The Natives, "I'm Glad I Got Over You" by Jeanette Jones, "Sweet Talk" by Marvin Holmes & The Uptights, and "Vida Blue (part 1)" by Jimmy Bee.

One of the more far-reaching compilations in the Jazz Club series – reggae covers by jazz mainstays and more from late 60s onward, with a focus on great stuff from the 70s! All of the material was culled from the vast Universal vaults – and it's a pretty sweet set of jazzy reggae and reggae jazz, from artists as diverse as Ernest Ranglin, Bernard Pretty Purdie, The Skatalites, Bill Fraser, Deodato and Medeski, Martin & Wood! 14 tracks in all: "54-46 – (Was My Number)" by Ernest Ranglin, "Jammin'" by Monty Alexander, "I Can See Clearly Now" by Junior Mance, "Natty Never Get Weary" by Dean Fraser, "Rock Fort Rock" by Skatalites, "Montego Bay" by Pretty Purdie, "I Shot The Sheriff" by Deodato, "Walking On Sunshine" by Bill Summers, "Pressure Drop" by Brass Fraser and more.

A buzzing collections of rare and previously unreleased garage rock singles – cut by the legendary Norman Petty at his Clovis Studios! Petty is being best remembered as a key figure in Buddy Holly busting the hillbilly/rock/r&b distinctions wide open in the late 50s, but Petty was was behind a ton of wonderful and comparably unheralded pulpy rockers throughout the 60s. This is a particularly searing and hard charging set – including the heavy Brits-influenced title track by the Holly-less Crickets, plus cuts by The Trolls, The Cinders, The Perils and many more! he 25 tracks in all: "Now Hear This" by The Crickets, "Three Minutes Time" and "Barbara White" by The Cinders, "I Don't Recall" by The Trolls, "Get Out Of My Life" and "It's Only Time" by The Chances, "Hate" by The Perils, "Sweet Sweet Sadie" by The Teardrops, "Say I Am (What I Am)" by Stu Mitchell & Doug Roberts, "Hey Little School Girl" by The Famous Last Words, "Love Me Again" by Barry Allen with Wes Dakus' Rebels and more!

Tripped out jazz and funk! This great little set features some gems from the late 60s/early 70s years at Atlantic, Warner, and Elektra – and has a focus on tunes that draw more than a bit of influence from the fuzzed-out, long-haired late 60s scene. You're bound to recognize a few of the names on the set – but what you'll really appreciate is the way the tunes come together, grooving hard with a mixture of heavy jazz and trippy elements – staying soulful in most parts, and even hitting a bit of funk at just the right moments! Titles include "Back Home" by Yusef Lateef, "Threnody For Sharon Tate" by Freddie Hubbard, "Smoke Signals" by Eddie Harris, "Sorcery" by Charles Lloyd, "Mirror" by Charlie Mariano, "Raymond Winchester" by Yusef Lateef, "Freaks For The Festival" by Roland Kirk, "Vibrafinger" by Gary Burton, and "Spontaneous Simplicity" by Sun Ra.

Amazing jazz from the Hungarian scene of the 60s and early 70s – some of the most obscure work from Eastern Europe at the time, as the Hungarian labels never got out to the west as well as those from other nations! Theoretically, the Cold War should have stopped jazz exports to the rest of Europe – but nations like Poland and Czechoslovakia managed to get their artists some good western exposure at the time. But Hungary was another story – and although Budapest is less than an hour from Vienna, most of this work has never made it out to the west before! This volume is a delightful treasure throughout – filled with jazzy modal tunes that share a lot with the Saba/MPS work of the time – all hand-picked by Tom Weiland of Les Gammas, with an ear for the same sort of jazzy grooves as his own work! The set's especially great for piano-driven tunes – which are often pushed along with some excellent warm, round, acoustic basstones – leaping along soulfully on the set's more extended numbers. CD features a total of 11 tracks that include "Theme Of Ahmad Jamal" by Studio 11, "Dalia" by Pege Trio, "Night & Day" by Qualiton Jazz Ensemble, "Afro Cubano" by Balint Ensemble, "Hungarian Folksongs" by LDL Ensemble, "Song For My Father" by Csaba Deseo Ensemble, "Jarom Az Utam" by Grencso Kollektiva, and "Baby Car" by Pege Quintet.