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Funky stuff from Detroit – and with a sound that's so P-Funk, that when you hear the first track – "Long Stroke" – you'll be hard pressed to believe that the record is not some Parliament album from 1977. The rest of the proceedings open up the groove a bit more, and... read more

Heavy dancefloor funk from ADC Band – grooving in a bass-heavy mode that almost seems like a mainstream take on P-Funk – but which also has some really great mellow soul elements on the mellower tunes! There's a great ensemble Detroit groove going on overall – and as an added... read more

A folk funk classic from the early 70s – and a weird little record that has a sound that's unlike anything else we can think of! The arrangements are quite soulful, almost funky at times – with a righteous undercurrent that reminds us of Richard Evans or Charles Stepney at Cadet... read more

A folk funk classic from the early 70s – and a weird little record that has a sound that's unlike anything else we can think of! The arrangements are quite soulful, almost funky at times – with a righteous undercurrent that reminds us of Richard Evans or Charles Stepney at Cadet... read more

Brook Benton comes full circle – and after helping to form the idiom that would later become known as southern soul, he gets a chance to appear on Atlantic's new Cotillion label – easily a showcase for some of the best up-and-coming southern work at the end of the 60s! Brook's warm... read more

Wonderful work from Brook Benton – and the kind of record that always gets overlooked in discussions of southern soul, but which is proof that Benton's always been a key force in the genre! Brook virtually invented the style with his earlier country soul recordings – and by the time of... read more

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A lost southern soul gem – cut at the end of the 70s, in that rare blend of southern and modern styles that few performers could really carry off well! Frederick Knight produced the album, and it really steps off of his own mellow work of earlier years – taking things even further,... read more

A lost southern soul gem – cut at the end of the 70s, in that rare blend of southern and modern styles that few performers could really carry off well! Frederick Knight produced the album, and it really steps off of his own mellow work of earlier years – taking things even further,... read more

The fantastic first album by Cerrone – a landmark disco record that features the 16 minute long "Love In C Minor" – a swirling bit of strings, beats, and female voices – one of those tunes that forever went onto change the face of dance music in the 70s! Cerrone really... read more

Hank Crawford slides into the electric 70s with this sweet little set of funky tracks – working in a tight small combo format with Richard Tee on electric piano and Cornell Dupree on electric guitar – and grooving in a laidback slinky funk mode that's perfect for his soulful tone on the... read more

Post-Blue Note, and not nearly as funky as Lou's earlier work. Lou hits more of an R&B sax groove, and the production's pretty slick overall. The record's not terrible, and it has some appeal in kind of a 70s easy soul sax kind of way – but there's not the breaks and grooves you'd... read more

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... read more

A stellar solo set from John Edwards – one of the tightest talents of the southern scene in the mid 70s, and a singer who would later break big with The Spinners! This album's got a really unique vibe – with some slight tropical touches hinted at by the cover image – and some... read more

Titles include "The Curse Of Baba Yaga", "The Old Castle", "Blues Variation", "Promenade", "The Sage", and "The Gnome".... read more

A stunner of a funk album – a must-have for any fan of all things funky! This is the one-and-only record cut by the Fabulous Counts, a version of the Counts before they recorded for Westbound – and nearly every cut is a funky 45-type gem! The group's got a hard and heavy sound that... read more

Fatback flying like the Phoenix – but hardly rising from the ashes, given that the group's always on top! The sound here is a bit different – slightly leaner than before, but in a good way – with lots of core keyboards from Bill Curtis, who also handles most of the lead vocals... read more

A sweet set of street soul from Fatback – delivered with a bit more electro influences than some of their classic funk, but a groove that's still always right on the money! Bill Curtis is at the helm of the group, laying down most of the rhythms via DMX – but even with the electronics,... read more

The Impressions first album for Cotillion, cut after a great 70s run on Curtom – but one that's done with a sound that still carries on the groove nicely! The more righteous tones of the earlier work are shaken loose a bit, to be replaced by a fuller approach to the music built from... read more

An incredible bit of southern soul – and one of the few records ever by deep soul singer Lou Johnson! The masterpiece was recorded at the Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, at a time when the outfit was at the height of its powers – capturing Lou with a sweet-burning style that matches (if... read more

Margie Joseph's really hitting on all burners here – thanks to sublime production from Lamont Dozier, working at the height of his mid 70s powers! Joseph's earlier deep soul vocals are given a nice sense of focus and righteous energy from Dozier's production – a fullness that somehow... read more

They got the title right on this one – and the album's a smoking batch of tunes that captures Freddie in all his guitar-driven glory! The set features Freddie working with a tight Atlantic studio group that includes King Curtis, David Newman, James Booker, and Billy Butler – but the... read more

One of the best-remembered moments from the mighty King Floyd – a southern soul singer who came into the game slightly later than some of his Atlantic Records contemporaries, but who still packs a punch that's right up there with the best of them! The album's best known for the huge hit... read more

His first album, and his best! After working as the silent talent on albums by David Bowie, Gregg Diamond, and others – Luther Vandross finally got the chance to cut an album on his own, and it's incredible! The record has a perfect sound – one that verges on disco, but never falls... read more

An incredibly captivating album of female soul – unlike anything else we can think of! Side one features a suite of tracks that details an ill-fated love affair in 4 modes: Introduction, Hoping, Final Attempt, and The Next Time – all done in a mode that mixes standard southern soul... read more

The one and only album from Detroit underground legend Ronn Matlock – but a modern soul classic through and through! By the time of this late 70s set, Matlock had spent nearly a decade working under Motor Town legends like Norman Whitfield and the Holland-Dozier-Holland team – and he... read more

A killer debut from Rasputin Stash – a funky group who work with all the long-haired inspiration you'd expect from their name! The groove is a mix of guitars and tight horns – undercut by the kind of heavy basslines that later made the group a good fit for Curtom Records, and lots of... read more

A key early classic from Slave – as the set features the group's first work with drummer Steve Arrington, who not only opened up their rhythmic concept, but also gave them a great new sound on lead vocals! Arrington's approach here is very much in the spirit of Slave's first 2 records –... read more

Far and away the band's best record! The album's got a fresh funk sound that takes an earlier 70s ensemble style and slicks it down a bit – but thanks to some great drum work by Tim Dozier (Steve Arrington had yet to join the band), and a subtle riffing bass style by Mark Adams, the band had... read more

We couldn't think of a better way to describe the sound of Slave than "stone jam"! The band's got a bass-heavy groove, mixed with a lot of soul, in a style that was often copied by many groups in the 80s, but never equalled. The real strength in the band was their songwriting –... read more

Non-stop grooving from Slave – a record that has them losing the lead talents of Steve Arrington, but not missing a beat! As with Showtime, the sound here is a nicely smoothed-out approach to the bassy funk the group helped forge at the end of the 70s – a more soul-based sound that... read more

The end of the road for the Velvets – but also one of the group's longest-lasting legacies! The sound is tighter than on earlier albums, with a bit more of a somber post-fix approach to rock and roll – one that really points towards the direction Lou Reed would take in his own work,... read more

Great smooth soul from Wee Gee – a wonderful little record from the dawn of the 80s! The album's a great one, thanks largely to Vernon Bullock, who wrote, arranged, and produced with that uptempo modern style that he brought to his best work of the 70s. The soaring title track is a 10+... read more

A wonderful stepper from the enigmatic Wee Gee! "Hold On" begins with a spare spacey intro, then sneaks into a warm midtempo groove – stepping along underneath some incredibly soulful vocals by Wee Gee that remind us of the best that Teddy Pendergrass had to offer. The real talent... read more

A soaring solo effort from the great Philippe Wynne – a vocalist who's probably best known for his hit 70s work with The Spinners, but one who also turns out to be a hell of talent on his own! Wynne's sweet raspy vocals click into place right from the start – stretching out over a host... read more

A soaring solo effort from the great Philippe Wynne – a vocalist who's probably best known for his hit 70s work with The Spinners, but one who also turns out to be a hell of talent on his own! Wynne's sweet raspy vocals click into place right from the start – stretching out over a host... read more

A killer collection of singles from the legendary Cotillion arm of Atlantic Records – all presented as individual 7" records with original labels, served up in a hip limited edition package! The work here would already be great as a CD compilation – but it's extra special when... read more

A nice compilation on the Cotillion subsidiary of Atlantic collecting spiritual soul tracks and gospel numbers performed by R&B artists from the late 60s. 11 numbers in all: "Let It Be" by Aretha Franklin, "Steal Away" and "Lord Pity Us All" by Wilson Pickett,... read more