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What can we say? This is one of the greatest soul soundtracks ever! In a market that was dominated by the big-selling Shaft and Superfly albums, Roy slipped in this masterful blend of jazzy vibes and wah wah funk that's easily one of the best-composed records of the blacksploitation genre! The... read more

One of the rarest and greatest Roy Ayers albums of all time – the sly, funky and spiritual masterpiece He's Coming from 1971 – really the beginning of the funk years from Roy Ayers Ubiquity! This one's a totally solid mix of soulful jazz, jazzy soul and righteous funk – and it's... read more

One of Roy Ayers' best-remembered albums of the 70s – a sublime blend of mellow numbers and some of his more club-oriented grooves of the time – all wrapped together with a genius that we can only describe as Ayers-like! The album's a beautiful example of the balance that Roy was... read more

An archetypal album by Roy – and one that really shows him at the turning point! Gone are the trippier jazz funk moments of earlier albums – and in their place are some tight grooves and wonderfully spacey soul. Roy hits the dancefloor with one of his first uptempo funk numbers "B... read more

One of the greatest Roy Ayers albums of all time – and one of the rarest! The record is right in the same vein as Roy's groundbreaking He's Coming LP – a righteous mix of soul jazz, subtle funk, and some of the cosmic wisdom that Roy was spreading among the jazz funk underground –... read more

A cool collection of work from one of our favorite artists ever – literally one of the guys whose music was so great, it inspired us to start Dusty Groove! The package brings together a really hip assortment of Roy Ayers' best work for Polydor in the 70s – really incredible tracks that... read more

One of Roy Ayers' greatest albums of the 70s – a set that tightens up the groove from previous Polydor productions, yet still keeps all the soul intact! The record picks up the style begun with the Mystic Voyage album, and pushes it to some slightly tighter territory – a more focused... read more

Talk about a meeting of the minds – a pair of ultra-amazing classics from the team of Roy Ayers & Wayne Henderson – back to back in a single set! At the time of Step Into Our Life, Henderson & Ayers were probably the biggest names in the jazz funk business – both with a... read more

Reissue of JB's wildest album, with a crazy cover that shows him running away from the devil, and great gatefold inner photo with him standing amidst a bunch of declarations of "Hell". The record was originally a double album filled with lots of different styles from James' funky bag. ... read more

Massive – and one of the best James Brown compilations ever, filled with rare and unreleased material! This completely essential set features tracks pulled from James' best years ever – the mighty early 70s, when he was working with the JBs, and laying down tracks that would forever... read more

A landmark album that forever changed the face of live recordings! As has been told and retold often, King records not only had the genius idea of bringing recording equipment into the Apollo Theater to catch James in a smoking live setting – but they also went out of their way to record and... read more

A lost treasure from James Brown & The JBs – a vintage live performance from the early 70s, and one that captures the group at the height of their powers! The format here is very similar to the excellent Revolution Of The Mind set – a totally funky, totally righteous live... read more

A stunning set of rare and unreleased grooves by James Brown – nearly all of which were cut during the classic early 70s years with the JBs, but never issued before this cool compilation! The set's got some essentials for any fan of JB – including the lost soul classic "She's The... read more

A masterpiece of funky soul – and one of the greatest albums of the early 70s! It all comes together on this one – funk, soul, politics, and production – and the record is still one of the clearest examples of James Brown's genius that you'll ever find! Recorded during the same... read more

Subtitled "Live At the Apollo Vol 3", but waaay better than any of the earlier volumes, this monster 2LP live set has James and the JB's wailing away in a freewheeling live set of hard hard hard funky grooves. Excellent work by the band, and a great way to see how sharp they were out of... read more

James Brown cooking it live – recorded (as the cover says) "live at home in Augusta, Georgia with his bad self"! The groove here is a nice extension of earlier Apollo modes – one that shows the increasing funkiness of the James Brown Band, captured with a raw power that few... read more

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Beautiful ballads from the mighty Don Byas – working here in a rare Paris session with backings from arranger Jacques Denjean! Denjean really brings a great spirit to the set – subtle strings that flow nicely in the background, in a manner that's similar to some of the best Verve "... read more

A legendary batch of funky rock tracks – noteworthy not only for production by Jimi Hendrix, but also for the group's insanely great groove! There's a bluesy undercurrent here, but sharpened much more strongly for the funk generation – which takes Cat Mother way past contemporaries... read more

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A great overseas meeting of two American traditionalists – a mid 60s date that has trumpeter Buck Clayton working in a relaxed studio setting with tenorist Hal Singer! Buck and Hal both come from an earlier period in jazz, but find some great appreciation for their enduring talents in Paris... read more

A very groovy take on the work of Jimmy Webb – a sweet instrumental set from German maestro Kurt Edelhagen – featuring a host of hip jazz players from around the European scene, and some great arrangements by Quincy Jones! The tunes are all hits by Jimmy – but they're redone... read more

A very groovy take on the work of Jimmy Webb – a sweet instrumental set from German maestro Kurt Edelhagen – featuring a host of hip jazz players from around the European scene, and some great arrangements by Quincy Jones! The tunes are all hits by Jimmy – but they're redone... read more

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Arguably one of the greatest German albums of the early 70s prog era – the stunning debut of Faust, and a record beyond compare! The group his hitting here amazingly on all burners – stretching out long, rhythmic jams – working out weird production techniques – and blasting... read more

Inimitable early greatness from Faust – a big step from from the freer early work into more of a song based structure – but hardly more accessible, and just as hypnotic and arresting! Faust So Far, to put simply, is one the great groundbreaking albums of the era – recorded in... read more

THE lasting classic from Gloria Gaynor – the record that contains her tremendous hit "I Will Survive", and a great batch of disco grooves overall! The album's got a simple, honest sort of approach, despite its release in an era of overblown dancefloor sets – and arranger... read more

Golden Earring's really opening up its groove here – getting past the straight jangle pop of their debut, and expanding their sound in ways that rival the changes going on with The Hollies or Hermans Hermits at the same time! A slightly soulful undercurrent emerges on a few tracks –... read more

A stone classic from the great Gwen Guthrie – a singer who forged some brilliant vocals in the backdrop of other folks' soul sessions – then really exploded forth as a star on her own, with a handful of key albums in the early 80s! This cooker really shows off Guthrie's ear for the... read more

Great later work by Isaac Hayes – working here in a post-Stax, post-ABC mode that has him forging a smooth soul sound that's really great! The album's not disco, but more of an extension of Ike's baroque approach to arranging – with subtle use of strings and keyboards, in a real Philly... read more

One of the rarest Lee Hazlewood albums ever – a mid 70s set recorded for Polydor in Sweden, and one that represents a really unique chapter in Lee's career overseas! At times, the album's got a very strong country feel – more so than even other Hazlewood records, which always had a bit... read more

An amazing bit of soul – and one of the rarest funk records of the 70s! This masterpiece was recorded by The Jackson Sisters, a semi-gospelly soul group that has a sound that's a bit like The Voices of East Harlem, but that's a lot harder, and that has a deeper soul sound overall! At times,... read more

Did power pop ever get any more perfect than this? It's hard to think so – and more than 25 years later, this album's got a raw power that's still undeniable! The album features The Jam at their early best – still with the rougher punky edges firmly in place, but also able to bring in... read more

The final proper album by The Jam! The Gift is a far more diversely soul-steeped set of tunes than anything they'd done up to this point – and in hindsight, it feels more like a starting point for Paul Weller's career to come than a final album for The Jam! While they're working more soul... read more

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Titles include "Pretty Green","Monday", "But I'm Different Now", "Start", "That's Entertainment", "Scrape Away", and "Music For The Last Couple".... read more

An incredible album – quite possibly our favorite record by the JBs, ever! The set starts with a wonderful conversational bit – rapping and musing on the idea of "Damn Right, I Am Somebody" – showing the group in a political and righteous mode for the first time ever. ... read more

An incredible album – a landmark piece of funk that nobody should be without, funk fan or not! The album is the second to feature James Brown's famous backing combo of the early 70s – and unlike their first one, which was really more of a collection of singles, this album has the group... read more

One of the most fantastic albums by the JBs – a masterpiece of funky jamming, tight instrumentation, and that free yet tight style of the James Brown 70s years! The tracks are longer than on some of the earlier singles – especially the 8 minute jammer "(It's Not The Express) It's... read more

Incredible funk, soul, jazz, post psychedelia and funk rock from the JJ Band – recorded in Brussels and featuring core players who were also integral members of Chakachas & El Chicles! The JJ Band find a hard grooving style steeped in horns, with heavy drums, bass and percussion, fuzzy... read more

One of the coolest vocal groups of the late 60s – Germany's Gunter Kallmann Choir, presented here in a batch of tracks that includes some of their hippest tracks from the Polydor years! The group's sound is quite similar to that of the Horst Jankowski singers – a large ensemble of... read more

An unabashedly 80s-styled set – one that makes heavy use of drum programs and keyboards, but in ways that come up with a surprisingly warm sound in the end! Kindness remind us of some of our favorite indie projects from decades back – especially some of the more intimate records from... read more

Often overlooked amidst the bigger early albums by Kool & The Gang – but a totally solid record of funky stuff that's right up there with their best work! The band is super-tight at this point, grooving along in a hard drum, heavy bass, wah wah guitar frenzy – and even the vocals... read more

A previously unreleased album from German maestro James Last – a special set designed for the American market of the late 60s – and one of James' grooviest records too! We're not sure why the set never came out at the time – because it's got a style that's not only better than... read more

A killer-diller bit of essential funk – the only full album cut by Maceo with James Brown production! The set's got Maceo coming back strongly into the JB fold, with a fierce array of funky cuts that kick it every bit as hard as the best JBs work of the time. No surprise, the JBs are... read more

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One of the greatest British jazz albums ever to feature the Blue Notes – the legendary South African jazz group who left their country in the mid 60s, and took up an expatriot home in London! The session's led by pianist Chris McGregor, but it features a sextet that includes Blue Note... read more

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Heavy fuzz from late 60s Brazil – a Tropicalia-era album, but one with a slightly more mainstream groove – one that mixes elements of regional music with psychedelic elements and bouncy, mod-styled backings! The approach is somewhat like the work going on over at EMI/Odeon during the... read more

A great self-titled set from Toncho Pilatos – the early 70s Mexican group's wild first album, cut for Polydor! The group has familiar influences, but they put those pieces together in a unique way, with a sound that's really something else! The vocals are echoey and tripped out, with raw... read more

Sweet silky harmony soul from the trio of Harry Ray, Billy Brown, and Al Goodman – the group's first album under a new name – after some previous indie work as The Moments! The album's got the group really stepping up with a rich new sound – drawing on all the best elements of... read more

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A double-length live set – with cuts that include "Sympathy For The Devil", "Around & Around", "Crackin Up", "Little Red Rooster", "It's Only Rock N Roll", "Mannish Boy", "Tumbling Dice", and "If You Can't Rock... read more

Dynamic jazz rock from the French scene of the 70s – combo with a strong penchant for stretching out strongly on organ and guitar – but one that also has a few more sensitive, folksy moments as well! The tracks shift nicely between longer numbers and shorter ones – the shorter... read more

Groovy genius from German arranger Peter Thomas – a sweet little follow-up to his soundtrack for Chariots Of The Gods! This time around, the setting's a bit more funky – a great mixture of mid 70s grooves with some of the trippier touches you'd know from Peter's previous space scores... read more

An early stunner from keyboardist Keith Tippett – served up with a punch and power that's missing from a lot of his later work! The music's a perfect blend of free-thinking jazz and some of the more progressive rock ideas of the time – not exactly jazz rock, not exactly avant jazz... read more

Great late 60s work from Ronnie Von – an under-appreciated Brazilian rocker, and one with a sound that sits nicely between the Jovem Guarda generation and some of the headier groups to come in the 70s! There's a nice array of psychedelic influences at play here – strong echoes of... read more

Pretty great stuff – two groovy albums from German maestro Kai Warner, back to back on a single CD! Warner Plays Wagner is exactly what it sounds like – Kai takes on a host of compositions from Richard Wagner – but the results sound even better on record than they do on paper... read more

Classic New Orleans funk featuring backing from the "New Orleans Project" that includes the Gaturs' Willie Tee, Earl Turbinton, and other Crescent City session stalwarts like Larry Panna and Julius Farmer. Includes lots of tracks that rocked the rare groove scene in the 80s, including... read more

A seminal jazz rock statement from drummer Tony Williams – one that has him stepping out quite far from his original "new thing" recordings of the mid 60s! The album's got a genre-forming sound that's incredibly fierce – a power trio churning of Williams drums, John... read more

The obscure second album from Emiliano Zapata – one of the coolest groups on the Mexican scene of the early 70s! Like the first, this one's got a quality that's right up there with the best South American psych of the time – fuzzy guitars mixed with funky rhythms, and some occasionally... read more

Early 80s funky soul from Zoom! Saturday, Saturday Night is crafted to be a good natured, party starting set – and it succeeds with charm to spare. It's a mix of uptempo club cuts and mellow modern soul ones with excellent harmonies by the group, and some nice hooks in all the right places!... read more

Volume one of the legendary compilation of James Brown produced stuff that taught us to love his other work back in the 80's when it was released. We're not going to pretend that we had all the original stuff when we were kids, but we did have this great comp – which includes monster stuff... read more

One of the best-ever compilations of James Brown work – and the second slammin' hard compilation of great tracks from the People label. This one's got some more obscure stuff (including 2 unreleased tracks), and material by Bobby Byrd, Vicki Anderson, Maceo, Marva Whitney, Hank Ballard, and... read more

Amazing – and the best yet in this legendary series! Like the other volumes, this is a collection of funky work produced by James Brown for other artists, most of it lifted from his legendary People Records imprint. However, unlike the others, or at least unlike the first volume, this... read more

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