Sussex/Light In The Attic, 1970. New Copy LP (reissue)
One of a handful of enigmatic albums cut in the early 70s by Sixto Rodriguez -- a Latin-tinged singer with a style that's a bit like that of Jose Feliciano, but trippier, and with more rock and folk touches! This set's probably his best one -- thanks to arrangements and production by Dennis Coffey
...
|
Gordy, 1983. Sealed Gatefold
Not our favorite album by Rick James, but like all of his albums, with a couple of great tracks. Perhaps the drugs were getting to him by this point, or maybe he was spreading himself too thin and giving away a lot of the good material to groups he was producing, but after the first couple album's
...
|
Buddah, 1976. Good+
A great one by Michael Henderson, with a smooth mix of soul and jazziness that sounds similar to the stuff he was doing with Norman Connors. Includes a version of "Valentine Love" that is different from the one recorded with Connors -- plus the great original "Treat Me Like a
...
|
Prestige, 1973. Very Good-
One of the two albums issued in the US by Ice, also known as the Lafayette Afro Rock Band. As you probably know from the compilations on the group, the material by Ice is a bit more up-tempo than some of the slower Afro Funk material by the band -- but it's also still got a lot of their same
...
|
ABC, 1976. Very Good
A non-Philly International, non-Teddy LP for the group -- but still recorded in the City of Brotherly Love, with a classic 70's sound that's pretty similar to their work with Gamble & Huff. Titles include "Hostage", "He Loves You And I Do Too", "Stay Together",
...
|
Epic, 1974. Very Good+
Sly's still doing pretty nice for himself in 1974 -- with a sound that's perhaps a bit warmer than on the early records, but still nice and soulful -- and peppered with a good dose of funk! The groove is really great on the set -- bubbling with a more "deep down" feel than the skittish
...
|
Tamla, 1972. Good+ Gatefold
Marvin Marvin Marvin -- just when we thought you couldn't impress us any more, you took it to the next level! Trouble Man is a heck of a wonderful surprise from an artist that most folks really only knew as a singer -- a fantastically funky blacksploitation soundtrack, conceived and composed by
...
|
Tamla, 1976. Very Good- 2LP Gatefold
A sweet little double LP -- one that had some folks saying that Stevie should have stayed away from the "2LP syndrome", but for us a real treasure with lots of hidden gems. Besides the hits "Isn't She Lovely" and "Sir Duke", which were more than enough to carry the
...
|
Capitol, 1976. Good+
Excellent work -- and a surprisingly great album of modern soul tracks from this old Motown singer! Barrett arranged, produced, and wrote most of the tracks on this second album for Capitol -- and although a few tracks have a sound that's a bit too much in the fast-dance mode, there's some really
...
|
Westbound, 1972. Good+ Gatefold
A true pleasure indeed -- easily one of the greatest records ever by the Ohio Players, and a perfect summation of all things great in their groove! The album's a landmark effort -- even for the heady days of the early 70s -- as the Players manage to bring together a fair bit of jazz with their
...
|
MCA, 1982. Very Good-
A lesser-known album from One Way, but a great one -- and in some ways, even fresher and more appealing than some of their more famous work from the time! The set's still got plenty of the great One Way bounce in the mix -- but there's also a deeper, more sensitive soul sound going on here -- one
...
|
20th Century, 1975. Very Good+
Leon Haywood's best album from the 70s! After working as a keyboardist and sometimes vocalist for a number of years -- making some strong and some tentative entries into the soul genre -- Leon really exploded with this album, an electric funk classic that gave the world his fantastic "I Wanna
...
|
Blue Note, 1976. Good+
Although she's always known for her 60s soul classics like "Woman of the Ghetto", we think Marlena Shaw's 70's work is unjustly overlooked. This album's a smooth batch of soul tracks that has her moving pass the jazz-base styles of earlier Blue Note albums, into a tight modern soul
...
|
Atlantic, 1985. Very Good+
When the boys meet the girls, the hair gets pretty frizzy -- but the music's still plenty darn great! Sister Sledge are back again with producer Nile Rodgers for this mid 80s effort -- getting that trademark Rodgers groove that really helped the sisters pick up some new energy at the time! The
...
|
Motown, 1977. Very Good
Jermaine's going the way of most of Motown at this point -- popping the bass pretty heavily, and grooving in a smooth funky mode. The cuts that go too over the top with the funky stuff definitely lose us -- but there's a few decent mellow soul tracks that redeem the album, and which keep Jermaine
...
|
Ichiban, 1986. Very Good+
Although this one's the bane to Clarence's earlier reputation, it's also the album that has him earning waaaaay more money than most of his late 60s southern soul contemporaries! The record snuck onto the market in 1986, one of the many so-so releases of bluesy southern soul on the Ichiban label
...
|
Warner, 1977. Very Good+
Excellent work from Ashford & Simpson -- with some modern soul groovers that are among the best they ever did! The album includes their original reading of "Top Of The Stairs", a great sexy soul duet that was later done by Collins & Collins -- and it's also got a fantastic
...
|
MCA, 1986. Near Mint-
A surprisingly wonderful set from The Controllers -- recorded years after their late 70s classics, but with a great mellow 80s style that makes some great use of their harmonies! The style here is a mix of smooth quiet storm and mellow midtempo grooving -- and although some of the electric
...
|
MCA, 1981. Very Good-
A great little set from One Way -- post disco Detroit dancefloor soul of the first order! There a crisp, tight bubbling sound that's pretty wonderful -- and warm in the spots where so many records of the period and cold and mechanical. The tunes bounce along nicely with production from Al
...
|
RCA, 1978. Very Good-
The legendary Memphis Horns are still funking things up nicely on this one -- and they've got a lot of strong help from the likes of Jim Gilstrap, David T Walker, Michael McDonald, and others. Sonny Burke handled all the arrangements -- and the album's got a great smooth modern soul sound that
...
|
|
