An obscure UK group, and one who blend together hard rock modes with some slightly more sensitive moments – all with production and arrangements from John Weathers, in his years before more progressive sounds with Gentle Giant! The music here is a lot more down to earth, and plenty earthy ... (Rock) read moreCD
A pair of Mercury Records gems from the Bar-Kays – back to back in a single set! First up is Too Hot To Stop – a pivotal album from The Bar-Kays – a key post-Stax set, but one that's still very firmly grounded in Memphis funk! The groove definitely shows a bit more polish than ... (Soul) read moreCD
Early early work by Paul Bley – years before he picked up the synthesizer, and years before he became the moody modernist he was in the 70s! The album's a relatively straight batch of tracks, but does have a touch of modernism – an early example of the sharp sounds that Bley would ... (Jazz) read moreCD
Two very unusual albums from the great Graham Bond – back to back in a single set! Holy Magick is quite spiritual, almost supernatural at times – very much what you'd expect from the cover and title! The record's light years away from Bond's British beat group work of a few years ... (Rock) read moreCD
A super-funky set – two vintage albums from Con Funk Shun – back to back on a single CD! The self-titled Con Funk Shun album is quite different than their later, better known hits! The group sure knew how to slap that bass, even back on this first album for Mercury – but then ... (Soul) read moreCD
Con Funk Shun —
Loveshine ... CD Mercury/PTG (Netherlands), 1978. New Copy ...
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Funky genius from Con Funk Shun – working here under the production helm of Skip Scarborough, who seems to give them an even sharper edge than usual! The album's filled with those tightly compressed rhythms that Skip was so great in producing back in the 70s – grooves that seem to make ... (Soul) read moreCD
Snapping grooves and a sweet clubby sound from Con Funk Shun – one of the best ensemble funk groups to make the transition from late 70s styles to the key years of 80s groove! The bass is tight, the keyboards are electric, and the rhythms are great – never forced or stiff, and always ... (Soul) read moreCD
A trio of early 80s efforts from Con Funk Shun in a 2CD set – with bonus tracks! Touch is a killer from the group – one of the few mainstream funk groups who actually managed to sound better and better with each new record – and on this set, they really seem to come into their ... (Soul) read moreCD
A record that's almost as wonderful as the cartoon on which it was based – thanks to Boris Karloff narration, words by Dr Seuss, and some mighty weird lyrics sung by Thurl Ravenscroft – all of which make the audio portion of this famous Holiday cartoon just as great as the visuals! ... read moreCD
Coke Escovedo —
Coke ... CD Mercury (Japan), 1975. New Copy ...
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An incredible fusion of all the greatness that was going on in the Bay Area scene of the 70s – put together by Coke Escovedo – the brother of Pete and Sheila E, former leader of Azteca, and onetime member of Santana! Yet this set sounds like none of that previous work at all – ... (Soul) read moreCD
A lost classic from Father's Children – the group's only album ever, but an impeccably produced set – thanks to the efforts of Wayne Henderson's At Home Productions team! The groove here is similar to that forged by Henderson over at Fantasy – soul, but inflected with plenty of ... (Soul) read moreCD
Massive music in a wonderful package – three funky classics from The Gap Band! First up is the group's self-titled album from 1979 – the start of the legendary second chapter for the Gap Band – the point when the group had reemerged as the tight funky trio of the Wilson Brothers, ... (Soul) read moreCD
A wonderful album by one of the all-time greats! The record is Joao Gilberto's best in years, and it was produced by Caetano Veloso – in a spare, stripped-down style that's very similar to Joao's classic self-titled album from 1973, with an equally moody sound overall! Veloso used some ... (Brazil) read moreCD
Heaven & Earth —
Fantasy ... CD Mercury/PTG (Netherlands), 1979. New Copy ...
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A crowning moment from the Chicago scene of the late 70s – the second Mercury album from Heaven & Earth, and a stunner all the way through! The set's an undisputed groover right from the start – thanks to the massive arrangements from the great Floyd Morris – an artist who ... (Soul) read moreCD
Heaven & Earth —
Heaven & Earth ... CD Mercury/PTG (UK), 1978. New Copy ...
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Excellent work from this smooth Chicago vocal group! The album may well be the best the group ever recorded – and it features some stellar ballad work produced with a nice spacey tone, almost in a Rose Royce mellow mode – by Jerry Butler's Fountain Productions team and by Clarence ... (Soul) read moreCD
An album that begins with a hip hop vibe at the start, but which soon moves into really warmly wonderful territory – at a level that marks the set as a hell of a debut for Joe! The singer has this raspy charm to his vocals that's really wonderful – the kind of individual voice that ... (Soul) read moreCD
LA Boppers —
Bop Time! ... CD Mercury/PTG (Netherlands), 1981. New Copy ...
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One of the later, post-Fantasy albums by the LA Boppers – a great one for Mercury! Bop Time has some of their nice smooth two step harmony vocals set amidst jazz-tinged arrangements – with plenty of funk in the mix, too – especially in those killer basslines! Augie Johnson ... (Soul) read moreCD
Two later records from 60s French easy maestro Paul Mauriat – recorded at a time when we're not sure we even knew Mauriat was still making music! The instrumentation and production are updated slightly, but Paul's still got that sense of melody and space that always made his music stand out ... (Now Sound) read moreCD
The McCoys really let their hair down and freak flag fly for this ultra-cool set at the end of the 60s – coming across in all sorts of really great ways that are light years beyond their early material! The set moves effortlessly between material that's groovy, bluesy, and sometimes warmly ... (Rock) read moreCD
Two very cool, very unusual albums from The McCoys! Infinite McCoys is really weird, wonderful work from The McCoys – a group who've definitely drunk deep of the psychedelic brew since the years of their more soulful "Hang On Sloopy" hit! There's a richly expanded set of ... (Rock) read moreCD
Two killers from drummer Buddy Miles – back to back in a single set! First up is Buddy Miles Live – a really searing set of live performances from 1971, often done in a way that has the band stretching out and jamming heavily! The core group seems a bit bigger than usual – with ... (Soul) read moreCD
Four heavy classics from Buddy Miles – all together in a single set! First up is Expressway To Your Skull – a super tripped-out blend of rock, funk, and soul – easily one of Buddy Miles' most mindblowing albums – and a classic that never lets up at all! Buddy's leading the ... (Soul) read moreCD
A trio of classics from this groundbreaking group! First up is Living With The Animals – fantastic early work from Mother Earth – one of those special late 60s groups who emerged out of the rock, folk, and blues scenes – but who somehow managed to make a very special sound of ... (Rock) read moreCD
Ohio Players —
Skin Tight ... CD Mercury/Elemental (Spain), 1974. New Copy ...
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Great work from the Ohio Players – and proof that moving to a big label could be a good thing for a funky group! This was the band's first album for Mercury – and although one might have the temptation to say that the label cut down the radical funk sound of the trippy Westbound years, ... (Soul) read moreCD
Ohio Players —
Skin Tight/Fire ... CD Mercury/BGO (UK), 1974/1975. New Copy ...
$14.9919.98
2 Ohio Players classics – back to back on one CD! Skin Tight is the band's first album for Mercury – and although one might have the temptation to say that the label cut down the radical funk sound of the trippy Westbound years, the move also taught the band to sharpen up their act, ... (Soul) read moreCD
It's a smooth smooth Christmas from The Platters – heard here in their wonderful 1963 Christmas album! The set follows in the style of the group's late 50s hits – but with a sound that's a bit more tuned to the season, and not as much in the late nite smoochy mode of some of their more ... read moreCD
The short but brilliant career of The Runaways, served up here in a really great box set – one that features all four of their studio albums (including one not released in the US at the time), and their more obscure live album from Japan! Together, the five records tell the tale of a group ... (Rock) read moreCD
A massive hit and creative triumph for Salt N Pepa – a record that was both maybe their biggest ever, and which had the duo working with Spinderella at a level that also bridged both hip hop and R&B! Although there were some younger up-and-comers on the scene at the time, Salt N Pepa had ... (Hip Hop) read moreCD
Four albums from this wonderful group – all brought together in a single set! First up is the self-titled Spanky & Our Gang – the first, and perhaps the most conventional album by the group, but still pretty darn insane! Spanky & Our Gang are a strange mix of 60s styles – ... (Rock) read moreCD
A really great groove from guitarist Gabor Szabo – a set that has the musician working with legendary producer Wayne Henderson, in a mode that moves into soul while still keeping all the best jazz elements intact! Szabo plays acoustic guitar alongside electric from Marlon McClain, with both ... (Jazz) read moreCD