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One of Airto's most polished records, and an album that we've really grown to love over the years! There's a pretty strong modern soul/R&B component to the album – but at the core, there's still a strong feeling for Brazilian rhythms, and the record's got a wonderfully warm Brazilian... read more

A lesser-remembered album from America, and one with some surprisingly nice moments, too! The group here are still working with producer George Martin – but they're recording in Hawaii, with some tight studio help – and almost hitting that sound they helped inspire in so many others... read more

A well-titled album, given that the overall feel here is maybe a bit more stripped-down and almost rootsy at times – even though the trio's still working with producer George Martin! The set was recorded in just a week at Caribou Ranch – and it's almost a return to the core harmonies... read more

A mid 70s winner from Ashford & Simpson – one of their earlier efforts, and a record that finds them fleshed out as a top notch act of their end – even if it'd be yeas before they'd net the kind of huge chart success that they deserved! Come As You Are is filled with solid soul... read more

Near-perfect work from Ashford & Simpson – really grooving in full powerhouse mode here, and never missing a beat! By all rights, the team should have run out of steam by this point, but the album's another winner from their sublime Warner years – caught in a unique space between... read more

Sublimely satisfying work from Ashford & Simpson – a stone killer from the height of their late 70s glory days on Warner Brothers! The pair are working together wonderfully at this point – wrapped up in that blend of upbeat soul and righteous undercurrents that made them a real cut... read more

Ashford & Simpson may have gotten their start at Motown, but they really found their groove at Warner Brothers – as you'll hear on this massive collection of tracks from their landmark late 70s years at the label! Even many decades later, the strength of this music is undeniable –... read more

Great stuff! From Motown songwriters to world-class superstars, the trip was a well-deserved one for Valerie Simpson and Nick Ashford – and this album's perhaps their crowning achievement in sophisticated club soul! The record's got a great groove that offers a more soulful version of disco... read more

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Really great work by The Association – recorded a few years after their "Cherish" and "Along Came Mary" singles, and with a sound that's a lot more sophisticated and far-reaching! The band still has their sweet harmony sound in place, but the arrangements and songwriting... read more

Excellent live work by The Association – quite different than their earlier pop hits, but still with the same great harmony feel! The style here is in the rougher, more guitar-based mode of albums like Birthday and Stop Your Motor – and the band really sounds great in this live setting... read more

Mindblowing music from The Association – a heady double-length package that features every single the group ever cut for the Valiant and Warner Brothers label – which together make for an amazing evolution in sound! Although best remembered for their few soft rock hits, The Association... read more

Fantastic dreamy pop! Despite the fact that this one yielded the super-huge hits "Windy" and "Never My Love", the album's also filled with great 60s pop tunes that you've probably never heard before – all as fantastically well-crafted and delicately strung-out as the big... read more

A very groovy set of cop show jazz from the classic TV show 77 Sunset Strip – every bit as tasty as some of Henry Mancini's work for similar programs at the time! Warren Barker's got a really playful approach to the tunes on the set – mixing together straight jazz with some nice... read more

George Benson more than earns the title on this one – given that most of the tracks feature backings from the Count Basie Orchestra under the direction of Frank Foster – a great ensemble who really help keep things soulful throughout! Despite the date of the set, the feel here is a bit... read more

A super huge hit for George – the record that took him from being a funky jazz guitarist into an R&B superstar! The album features George playing and singing over arrangements by Claus Ogerman – some of Ogerman's best of the 70s, ones that mix together his trademark pillow of sound... read more

A super huge hit for George – the record that took him from being a funky jazz guitarist into an R&B superstar! The album features George playing and singing over arrangements by Claus Ogerman – some of Ogerman's best of the 70s, ones that mix together his trademark pillow of sound... read more

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A beautiful little soundtrack for this late John Wayne western – scored by Elmer Bernstein in a wonderfully expressive way – with a quality that goes way past the usual entries in the genre! There's almost a slight undercurrent of sentimentality to the music – not in a cloying... 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

Built To Spill at their late 90s live peak – on the Keep It Like A Secret tour! 2013 version includes the previously unreleased bonus tracks "Forget Remember When" and "Now and Then".... read more

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Smoking sounds from this legendary Brazilian flautist – a really stripped-down session that's easily one of the greatest documents of his talents we've ever heard! The performance was done for the TV show Ensaio, and has that wonderfully personal feel of most of the program's recordings... read more

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Lovely sounds from the legendary Nelson Cavaquinho – a rare TV appearance from the early 70s, presented here on record for the first time ever! The music's got that great personal feel of the Ensaio series – and mostly features a strong focus on Nelson's namesake instrument –... read more

Two great albums back to back in one set – with a full CD's worth of bonus material too! First up is The Glow Of Love – the classic debut from Change, and the start of an amazing run of groovers in the early 80s! The set's got a tight, jazzy feel throughout – a stripped-down... read more

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The third album from Alice Cooper and perhaps the first great one – starting the 70s sleaze show win streak with the massive "I'm Eighteen" –and a record full of great, gritty and grimy rock 'n' roll. Bob Ezrin's producing for the first time, and if the songs and the whole... read more

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A great mix of jazz and soul from Randy Crawford – and a 90s set that almost takes us back to the best sounds of her early career in the 70s! The work here is nicely relaxed – not trying for a hit, even when things are smooth or a bit uptempo – especially given the mis-steps that... read more

Rich, proud work from Randy Crawford – sung with the mature mix of jazz and soul that made her one of the more sophisticated mainstream singers of her generation! The album's heavy on mellower cuts, but it's never too sleepy – thanks to a slow-burning sensibility that Randy uses to... read more

One of those great records where Paulinho Da Viola wonderfully demonstrates why he's so different than some of his contemporaries – a samba singer at heart, but also a poet with a depth that goes way beyond the usual! The tunes here have a simple sort of start, but often unfold with a... read more

Wonderfully warm work from Paulinho Da Viola – an overlooked gem from the early 80s, and a set that bristles with all the classic energy of his music from the decade before! The overall sound is strongly acoustic – loads of great percussion underneath the guitar and vocals, with only a... read more

A record that acts just like its title – as the set really helps focus the brilliance of Paulinho Da Viola into bright rays of color – showing different tones and feelings with each new tune on the set! By that, we don't mean that the album's schizophrenic – just that it's got a... read more

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The first big Paul Desmond solo album of the 60s – and a standout set that's very much in the tradition of his best work on RCA! This rare side was cut for Warner Brothers during a time when they were taking a brief dip into jazz – and it's a rarely-heard set that features Jim Hall on... read more

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Titles include "Romeo & Juliet", "Skateaway", "Les Boys", "Hand In Hand", "Solid Rock", and "Tunnel Of Love".... read more

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One of the few larger group Bill Evans sessions from the later years – an album that features sax and flute from Larry Schneider and trumpet from Tom Harrell – in addition to core trio instrumentation from Bill on piano, Marc Johnson on bass, and Joe LaBarbera on drums. The added horns... read more

The Wild Bunch just got even wilder – with three full CDs of music – including the whole film score, plus alternate music, demo tracks, additional recordings, and the full 1969 soundtrack album too! The music is wonderful – a surprisingly poignant score – especially when... read more

Flaming Lips at their most gonzo – the 4 disc set Zaireeka – with each intended to be played simultaneously! Call your friends with portable turntables and make it happen!... read more

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One of our favorite Funkadelic albums ever – a tightly grooving classic that never lets up at all! There's a sense of perfection to everything here – one that really gets the group past their tripped-out early years, and firmly into the sublime territory George Clinton hit with... read more

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A sweet overview of work from the second stretch of the career of Gilberto Gil – and a set that's worth it alone for two of the five albums in the package! The set begins with Refazenda and Refavela – both fantastically funky albums that have Gilberto Gil hitting a soulful style that's... read more

A bold score for a famous 70s astronaut film – penned by Jerry Goldsmith with almost the same sort of drama he might bring to a war thriller! The story itself is pretty dark – as the astronauts don't make it to space, but are forced into a Air Force base – and Goldsmith's music... read more

A bold score for a famous 70s astronaut film – penned by Jerry Goldsmith with almost the same sort of drama he might bring to a war thriller! The story itself is pretty dark – as the astronauts don't make it to space, but are forced into a Air Force base – and Goldsmith's music... read more

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Quite possibly the best album to feature the talents of Chico Hamilton and Eric Dolphy – a set recorded at a time when Dolphy was an up-and-coming player on the west coast scene! Although Chico Hamilton had recorded with unusual reed players before, Dolphy brings a depth of soul and spirit... read more

Very interesting work from Chico Hamilton – one of his most compelling albums of the 50s! The three "faces" of Chico are as follows: his vocals, his solo percussion, and his quintet. Forget the vocals, because they're just OK (and Chico hardly embarked on a singing career after... read more

One of the best records that Chico Hamilton cut during the 50s – and one that features Eric Dolphy, who was with Chico's group for a short while! The record's got the quintet (which also includes the excellent Dennis Budimir on guitar) fronting larger string arrangements by Fred Katz (no... read more

The start of funky funky Herbie Hancock! This album's the first to feature Herbie really breaking away from his straight jazz work – moving into a groove that's nice and funky, using electric piano along with acoustic, to forge the sound that he'd develop famously over the 70s. The album's... read more

An essential set that brings together tracks from all of Herbie's key transitional recordings for Warner Brothers! Herbie started his years for the label playing in a more straight-ahead funky style – with perennial sample fave recordings like "Wiggle Waggle", "Lil... read more

Bizarre is right – and incredibly hip too! This was the group's second album – and while it has a lot of similarities with the first, it's also a lot deeper of an expression of their strange blend of harmony vocals, sweet 60s pop, and the nostalgia for the early 20th century that was... read more

A dream – and the fab first LP by Harpers Bizarre! The group were one of the strangest pop ensembles operating in the seminal LA scene of the mid 60s – ostensibly a sweet harmony vocal group, but with a strangely childish approach that also had an ear open for the mind-blowing... read more

A pair of classics from John Hartford – with bonus tracks too! First up is Aereo Plain – a groundbreaking album from the young John Hartford – not really folk, not really country – but a unique hybrid of both, and done with a good ear for unique sounds as well! Hartford's... read more

Two live albums and three studio classics – the near-complete Atlantic recordings of the legendary Donny Hathaway! Donny's one of our favorite soul artists of all time – not just because he hails from our hometown of Chicago, but also because his music is beautiful, brilliant, and... read more

A massively tripped-out set of guitar-based funk – played to perfection by the legendary Eddie Hazel, best known for his work in the George Clinton P-Funk empire! The album offers a different side of Eddie's talents – one that's produced with a smoothly compressed California groove, in... read more

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A bit more mature than Joelma's debut album – mostly still catchy pop tunes, but sung with a deeper sense of spirit overall. Some of the tracks are Brazilian originals, and others tunes given Portuguese lyrics for the set – and as before, arrangements are by Willy Join, a man with a... read more

Ahh, the glory days of the Native Tongues. Remember a time when dropping knowledge and keeping rumps bumpin' weren't mutually exclusive? This sophomore LP from the Jay Beez is a smorgasbord of funky breaks, jazzy samples and lyrical niceness from the golden era of hip hop. 16 tracks, including... read more

Ahh, the glory days of the Native Tongues. Remember a time when dropping knowledge and keeping rumps bumpin' weren't mutually exclusive? This sophomore LP from the J Beez is a smorgasbord of funky breaks, jazzy samples and lyrical niceness from the golden era of hip hop. An unimpeachable hip hop... read more

The last good Jungle Brothers LP? Depending on our mood, we might go as far as to say that. In any case, a solid early 90s hip hop album, from the waning years of the Native Tongues. They're peddling a little less knowledge this go 'round, and their sound doesn't come across as quite as... read more

The classic! This beautiful album showed that Chaka could stand very well on her own two feet without the help of Rufus, thank you. Of course, she's got some fantastic help from Arif Mardin, who works as much magic with Chaka here as he'd worked with Aretha Franklin a decade before. Includes the... read more

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A great album of mellow modern soul tracks recorded in Chaka's post-Rufus years! The record was produced by the great Arif Mardin, the man who made so many of the 70s Atlantic soul records work so well – and he handled Chaka's voice with a sweet sweet sound that you don't always get on her... read more

Later genius from Rahsaan Roland Kirk – a record of wonderful depth and soul, and a session that moves back to the straighter jazz focus of some of his work from the Mercury years – yet still keeps all the personality and charm of the best Atlantic sides! Roland's playing in a warm... read more

A beautiful late chapter in the jazz journey of Rahsaan Roland Kirk – and an album of subtle genius that's really opened up to us over the years! The setting here isn't as "hit you over the head" as on some of Kirk's Atlantic Records – because at one level, the tunes are... read more

A beautiful late chapter in the jazz journey of Rahsaan Roland Kirk – and an album of subtle genius that's really opened up to us over the years! The setting here isn't as "hit you over the head" as on some of Kirk's Atlantic Records – because at one level, the tunes are... read more

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The third album from Little Feat – and one that brings a bit of Crescent City rock and soul into the mix – but it's still Little Feat, so it's got a restless creative energy that's beautifully tough to classify! There's quite a bit of soul influences in the mix – especially the... read more

The last album of the 70s by Little Feat – and it's a strange one! On one hand, Little Feat is revisiting some of their country rock and New Orleans-inspired roots of years past – as well as the self-conciously oddball humor. But they're also working in a tighter, leaner and cleaner... read more

Little Feat's third, and maybe best their album – the adventurous country rock, soul, boogie blender Feats Don't Fail Me Know! Oh, this group wasn't going to fail anytime soon – not creatively, anyway. Nope! They really come into their own here – mixing up distinct styles into... read more

Of course, this is not the last record album – it's not even the last album by Little Feat – but it's a damn good one! The Last Record Album isn't as creatively restless as the previous few albums, with kind of a laidback groove, overall – and we actually really dig Little Feat... read more

The first album from the great, freewheeling, genre-defying Little Feat! This album, like all the others from Little Feat, isn't easy to pigeonhole – rolling from sun-toasted country rock to roadhouse-y blues and beyond – in a way that feels perfectly right and natural. It's not as... read more

A later album from Little Feat – and one that adds some new dimensions to their ever-searching vibe! On Time Loves A Hero, Little Feat takes some surprising steps – even for them – into a bit of a fusiony rock vibe some of the time. Still, the soulful boogie rock and stripped... read more

One of Jeff Lorber's mid 80s amalgams of tight fusiony keyboard grooves and r&b – probably his most r&b oriented albums ever – with soulful vocals on most tracks and a tight focus on a crisp groove! Lorber's synths and programming provide the fusiony foil for the soulful vocals... read more

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Wonderful 70s Latin soul from the legendary Bay Area combo that included Jorge Santana, Luis Gasca, and Coke Escovedo! This first album's a masterpiece in the California Latin Soul style – a sweet blend of Latin, jazz, funk, and rock that took up where the New York groups left off at the end... read more

Features a few moments with some nice Fender Rhodes – and even a piano solo by Dudley Moore!... read more

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The emotions may be intense, but they're never overdone – thanks to the great standards set by the legendary Ensaio TV show – easily one of the best ways to hear a Brazilian artist up close! The set's from the 70s, a time when Maysa wasn't recording as much as during her 60s fame... read more

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Brilliantly funky! This is the greatest album they cut for Warner Brothers – and it's one of the few that ever really approaches the genius of their early work for Josie. The record features the incredible breakbeat cut "Just Kissed My Baby" – worth the price of the album... read more

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A beautiful way to dive right into the some of best work ever by Joni Mitchell – a 10CD set that brings together her first 10 albums in a single set – including her great couple of early efforts for Reprise and her incredible Asylum work from throughout the 70s! These albums travel... read more

Zeze Motta sings songs by Rita Lee, Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso, and Chico Buarque. Arrangements were done Liminha. Songs include "Baba Alapala", "Pecado Original", and "Trocando Em Miudos".... read more

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