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The first full length from Rene & Angela for Capitol – a tight batch of modern soul that sounds great to this day! There's a mixture of sweet duet soul with the best kind of 80s grooving – clearly inspired by Ashford & Simpson, but also with a strong sound of its own. Skip... read more

The first couple Rene & Angela records for Capitol – together for the first time on this great CD from Expansion! First up, is the great self-titled debut from Angela Winbush and Rene Moore as a duo – a tight batch of modern soul that sounds great to this day! There's a mixture... read more

Hard to go wrong with Rene & Angela at this point in their career – as they're super tight, always upbeat, and plenty darn soulful – no matter what the groove! The album's a perfect example of 80s groove at its best – a reworking of mainstream soul modes with a slight modern... read more

Hard to go wrong with Rene & Angela at this point in their career – as they're super tight, always upbeat, and plenty darn soulful – no matter what the groove! The album's a perfect example of 80s groove at its best – a reworking of mainstream soul modes with a slight modern... read more

Hard to go wrong with Rene & Angela at this point in their career – as they're super tight, always upbeat, and plenty darn soulful – no matter what the groove! The album's a perfect example of 80s groove at its best – a reworking of mainstream soul modes with a slight modern... read more

A bit late in the game for Rene & Angela, though they're still pumping out some classic 80s groove numbers, with Angela Winbush's flair for great songs. There's a few numbers here that are moving a bit too far into the commercial radio slow jam territory for our tastes, but there's a couple of... read more

Wall To Wall grooves from the team of Angela Winbush and Bobby Watson – easily one of the duo's best records ever, and a masterpiece of jazzy 80s groove! The sound here is clean, lean, and very bouncy on the bottom – that best blend of keyboard riffs and jazzier basslines that Capitol... read more

A killer album of modern soul from ex-Dramatics singer LJ Reynolds! The album's in a modern Detroit mode all the way through – with top-shelf production by Reynolds, Don Davis, and Ronnie McNeir – and Ronnie, who'd been lost to the industry for a few years, also re-emerges as a writer... read more

A pair of classic early 80s soul albums from ex-Dramatics singer LJ Reynolds! The self-titled '81 set is killer material in a modern Detroit mode all the way through – with top-shelf production by Reynolds, Don Davis, and Ronnie McNeir/ Ronnie, who'd been lost to the industry for a few... read more

LJ Reynolds' sounding great on his own here – stepping strongly away from his work with The Dramatics, and emerging as one of the best male soul acts of the early 80s! The groove here is a nice extension of his earlier group work – still produced by Don Davis in a mode that's... read more

A killer album from Johnny Richards – possibly the best he ever cut! The album sparkles with all the intensity he brought to Stan Kenton's Cuban Fire album – with bits of Latin, jazz, and some of the modernist scoring that Kenton, Richards, and Pete Rugolo were using at the time. ... read more

The debut album from Trudy Richards – and honestly, maybe the only one we've ever seen from her – but a cooker of a set, thanks to great Capitol arrangements from Billy May! May brings along the nice subdued brassy styles he'd use with Sinatra at the time – maybe a bit more... read more

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After Minnie Riperton's heavenly first LP on Cadet – the sublime Come To My Garden – this one's got to be her most perfectly realized full LP. The album's sparkling work of jazzy soul, with touches of the heavenly production that Minnie got in years past, and lots of smooth mellow... read more

Tracks include "Moment With Minnie", "Perfect Angel", "Memory Lane", "Lovin You", "Here We Go", "Inside My Love", "Love & Friend (live)", "You Take My Breath Away", "Woman Of Heart & Mind" and "Adv... read more

The last album ever from the amazing Minnie Riperton – and one of her greatest records as well! The album was sadly issued after Minnie's untimely early passing from this planet – but it's a heavenly batch of tunes that definitely shows that her love of music lives forever –... read more

Minnie's last LP – or at least the last LP released while she was alive – and a wonderful batch of jazzy modern soul cuts that gives a good indication of the direction that Minnie might have gone in the 80s. The album's got plenty of great guest players – including Minnie's... read more

Minnie Riperton's first album for Epic – and the record that broke her from a hip Chicago underground artist into one of the seventies' biggest soul divas! The record moves past the baroque soul of Minnie's early years with Rotary Connection and Charles Stepney – and hits a mix of... read more

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A great little record – with some very groovy guitar! This is the kind of session that we used to pass up years ago because we never thought it was that pure. Now, though, thanks to beatheads worldwide, the great talents of Howard Roberts' Capitol years are finally getting recognized again.... read more

Very groovy! The record's a hip batch of jazzy tracks played by the great Howard Roberts, caught here at the height of his 60s groovy bossa style, and playing with his regular combo plus backing by a larger group of horns. Jack Marshall and Shorty Rogers helped Howard with the arrangements, and... read more

A relatively obscure chapter in David Axelrod's career at Capitol – a record of instrumental themes from the film The Bible, plus other 60s epics – like Spartacus, Ben Hur, and so on. Axelrod only produced the album, but you can definitely hear his influence on Rose's sound –... read more

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An incredible little record – and one that helped take the Capitol Records surf sound of the early 60s into much hipper territory for the 70s! The record is certainly a "surf symphony" – in that it features a larger orchestra conducted by Jan Rubini – set to groovier... read more

A wonderfully groovy score from Carlo Rustichelli – best known to the world for his famous score for Divorce Italian Style, and working here in a style that mixes tight jazzy numbers with sparer themes in kind of a Nino Rota mode! There's some nice organ in the background on some of the best... read more

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A lost bossa classic from Wanda De Sah – aka Wanda Sa, the wife of Edu Lobo, and a singer who worked with Sergio Mendes in his pre-Brasil 66 days! The album's got a wonderfully laidback feel – languid, yet jazzy, with the feel of some of Astrud Gilberto's best work on Verve, yet with... read more

A lost bossa classic from Wanda De Sah – aka Wanda Sa, the wife of Edu Lobo, and a singer who worked with Sergio Mendes in his pre-Brasil 66 days! The album's got a wonderfully laidback feel – languid, yet jazzy, with the feel of some of Astrud Gilberto's best work on Verve, yet with... read more

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Live in Detroit and Boston in 1980 – with tracks that include "Mainstreet", "Against The Wind", "Let It Rock", "Night Moves", "Betty Lou's Getting Out Tonight", and "Nine Tonight".... read more

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The George Shearing Quintet – with added orchestrations – all in a blend that's got that pillow-soft sound that Shearing did so well back in the 50s! Arrangements are by George and Billy May – the latter of whom is especially subtle here, bringing things in with the best ballad... read more

An overlooked 60s gem from George Shearing – mellow and jazzy, and done with a slightly different style than usual! Deep Velvet takes Shearing's piano and vibes and backs them up with a 12-piece woodwind choir – one that creates a shimmering backdrop of colors and tones for the core... read more

An unusual one for George Shearing – in that this Capitol session's a trio date, instead of Shearing's usual quintet mode – working in an Ahmad Jamal-like trio with drums by Vernel Fournier and bass by the late Israel Crosby! There's flowing, subtly soulful sound going on here –... read more

2 Latin lovelies back to back – some of George Shearing's best late 50s work for Capitol! Latin Lace may not be the hardest-hitting Latin jazz session you might find, but it's a wonderful record filled with complicated changes, and a mix of vibes, piano, and percussion that went onto inspire... read more

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A madly tripped-out little record – about as wild as you could hope to expect from a group named Shiva's Headband! There's a real San Francisco hippie feel going on here – a blend of rootsy rock and psychedelia, plus a few bluesy touches – done in a mode that's down-homey, yet... read more

Think what you want about Dinah Shore, she could serve up some pretty great vocals at her best moments – and this album is definitely one of those moments! The style here is laidback and late nite – with Dinah singing alongside backing from the trio of Andre Previn on piano, Red... read more

A surprising return to jazz by Dinah Shore – recorded with backings by the Red Norvo Quintet, and a swinging style that makes us like her more than we'd think! Titles include "Who", "It's Funny To Everyone", "Bye Bye Blues", "Lover Come Back To Me",... read more

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One of the greatest vocal albums of all time! Sinatra's never sounded better than on this album – one of the first truly cohesive albums of torch and ballad songs ever recorded – done by Frank at a time when his heart was really breaking, and sung with a depth you'd hardly ever find in... read more

One of Sinatra's last great ballad albums for Capitol – a sad and dreamy batch of tunes that kicks off with the incredible "Only The Lonely" – one of those Sinatra torch songs that's so great, so sad, nobody else has ever been able to record a better version, nor have they... read more

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This Is Sinatra indeed – a wonderful collection of singles, and a near-lost album to the shifting sands of time! The record wasn't one of Frank's "album concepts" for Capitol, and has since been dismantled in the catalog – but for many in the 50s, this was one of THE Sinatra... read more

A sad little album that has Frank still in the throes of the emotional loss expressed on The Wee Small Hours album – working here with Gordon Jenkins arrangements that use a fair bit of strings to well up the darkness that lurks in the songs on the set. The album kicks off with the sublime... read more

Skyy is still shining brightly in the mid 80s – delivering nicely thumping, dancefloor ready soul on From The Left Side! After a number of sweet sets for Salsoul, the group moved on up to Capitol Records for this one set – embracing the era's synth soul production sheen more than ever,... read more

A beautiful album of baroque soul from Verdelle Smith – a singer who was destined to score big in the mid 60s, but somehow only managed to cut a handful of records before dropping out of secular music forever! Verdelle's got an unusual style that's halfway between Dionne Warwick and Nancy... read more

The second album from The Sons Of Champlin – a record that actually has the group shortening their name to The Sons, but expanding their sound past the jamming bluesy roots of their debut! The record's got a tightness that brings a bit of jazz into the mix – not much, in a way that's... read more

Sweet Lucy, and mighty groovy – a wonderful album from Raul De Souza, cut during the height of his fame on the California scene! Like Raul's other work for Capitol, this record really sparkles from tight help from George Duke – who handles production, and some of the arrangements... read more

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A wickedly tight album from SRC – perfectly blended guitar, keyboards, and snapping drums – and the kind of a record that should have made them much bigger players at the time! The album is jamming, yet also lean and clean – almost a sunshine approach to hard rock, with some... read more

One of the greatest rock albums to come out of Detroit in the 60s – even if these guys aren't as well known as The Stooges or MC5! There's a similar brilliance here, though – a heady brew of ripping guitars, burning Hammond, and massively pounding drums – all recorded with a... read more

One of the greatest rock albums to come out of Detroit in the 60s – even if these guys aren't as well known as The Stooges or MC5! There's a similar brilliance here, though – a heady brew of ripping guitars, burning Hammond, and massively pounding drums – all recorded with a... read more

Three hard-grooving records from late 60s Motor City rockers SRC – self-titled, Milestones and Traveler's Tales – together in a 2CD set! The debut is straight-up one of the greatest rock albums to come out of Detroit in the 60s – even if these guys aren't as well known as The... read more

Beautiful work from Kay Starr – a set that's still got that remarkable vocal style in place, but which also comes across with a more mature sound too – a mode that's never too emotive, but which is full of feeling – and really makes great use of that classic Starr twang! The... read more

A 3 X 7" box set of early solo Ringo Starr singles – some of the best songs he ever recorded outside of The Beatles, actually – with standouts from the Ringo and Goodnight Vienna albums, circa the early 70s! Comes in nice lift-top box with each single in reproductions of the... read more

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If Hawaii was this funky, we'd move there in a minute – and honestly, we wouldn't be surprised if this record did a heck of a lot for the image of state back in the day! The soundtrack is one of our all-time favorites – a driving batch of larger orchestrations that is heavy on... read more

A cool Capitol quartet from the end of the 60s – every bit as Sunshine Pop sounding as you'd guess from their name and image on the cover! There's a style here that's a bit different than some of the sweeter pop of the time – a slight undercurrent of darkness that's hard to peg easily,... read more

Includes "Squeeze Me", "I Got It Bad & That Ain't Good", "It's The Talk Of The Town", and "My Silent Love".... read more

Includes "Memories Of You", "Deep Purple", "Moon Is Low", and "Reflections".... read more

One of the most obscure albums by vocalist Yma Sumac – and one of the most compelling too! The album has Yma working in the Andean style of her earlier 10" albums for Capitol – working with Moises Vivanco on a set of tunes that have a much more traditional and almost folkloric... read more

Quite possibly our favorite album ever by the enigmatic Yma Sumac – thanks to some lively arrangements by Billy May, who gives the set a swinging jazzy groove! As you might guess from the cover, the style here is more in a Latin jazz mode than some of Yma's other more ethereal work –... read more

One of the earliest Capitol albums by otherworldly singer Yma Sumac! As with Yma's other records, the album features many original tunes written by Moise Vivanco – her frequent musical collaborator at the time, and the force behind much of the stronger South American musical elements of the... read more

One of the greatest records ever cut by Sun – the late 70s funk group who some excellent albums for Capitol Records – a group whose records never made the charts as strongly as their contemporaries, but not for lack of quality! This set's a great batch of heavy ensemble funk with an... read more

A pair of stormers from Sun – back to back on a single CD! Wanna Make Love is one of the greatest records ever cut by Sun – a group whose records never made the charts as strongly as their contemporaries, but not for lack of quality! This set's a great batch of heavy ensemble funk... read more

Two gems from The Sylvers – back to back on a single CD! Showcases is filled with great groovers from The Sylvers – a set cut when the group were firmly in their disco years – a great setting for their playful family-style vocals! In fact, moving to disco may well have been one... read more

A near-lost 80s groover from T-Connection – recorded after their more famous albums for TK, but every bit as nice! By this point, the group have really sweetened their sound in a nice way – and are working in a Capitol Rare-styled 80s groove that's filled with rolling basslines, spacey... read more

Sweet and dreamy instrumental pop from John Andrews Tartaglia – an arranger we only know from a few late 60s sides at Capitol Records – all of which are pretty great! Tartaglia's got a style that's still heavy in mainstream 60s easy modes, but borrows a fair bit from the generation of... read more

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One of Capitol's biggest soul bands of the 70s – and a strong sweet group who made the shift from mellow soul to the disco years. Includes the band's massive "Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel", but we prefer their mellower stuff – like their sublime version of "She's... read more

The group's second album – and one that really shows them hitting their stride, harmonically. The album's got some impeccable vocals that really come together well – not as slick as on later albums, but with a polished perfection that shows Tavares as one of the 70s ultimate pop soul... read more

The group's second album – and one that really shows them hitting their stride, harmonically. The album's got some impeccable vocals that really come together well – not as slick as on later albums, but with a polished perfection that shows Tavares as one of the 70s ultimate pop soul... read more

Always-great work from Tavares – one of those groups who never seemed to miss, and who seemed to weather the disco era a lot better than most of their contemporaries! This 1980 album is key proof of that fact – a tremendous little set, done at a point when Tavares could have rested on... read more

An incredible album from Tavares – every bit as great on the uptempo end, as you'd expect from their bigger hits, as it is on the sweeter ballad tracks – which step out here as a tremendous surprise! The set was crafted with help from Philly maestro Bobby Martin – and begins with... read more

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Classic work by Teagarden – pop trad tracks, cut at the height of his popularity in the mid 50s. Teagarden sings and plays trombone – and other players include Gus Bivona, Nick Fatool, Harry Geller, Jack Marshall, and Manny Klein. Tracks include "After You've Gone", "I'm... read more

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Not sure how many new dimensions these guys actually hit in their music – but the record is a rare early David Axelrod production!... read more

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Easily the biggest-selling song ever on Blue Note – a groovy little number that was looped out of Herbie Hancock's "Cantaloupe Island", played out on radio, in clubs, and on countless TV ads. This is the original Capitol 12", after they decided to license the track instead of... read more

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A tremendous sophomore set from Donna Washington – working perfectly here in the hands of Capitol soul maestro Chuck Jackson! Jackson's touch is wonderful here – just the right blend of cool and class, groove and grace that he brought to some of the label's best at the time –... read more

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A pair of great Nancy Wilson albums from the mid 70s in a single set! All In Love Is Far is a sophisticated album of soul tracks arranged and produced by Gene Page, in a string-heavy, slightly-funky style that reminds us of Gene's work with Barry White at the time. The tracks are all pretty hip... read more

One of the greatest Nancy Wilson albums of the 60s – a small combo jazz date, done with a style that's different than some of Wilson's larger sessions of the time! The group has a relaxed, easygoing feel – and Wilson slides in with a style that's a lot more laidback and subtle than on... read more