One of the few albums cut by this oft-overlooked southern soul diva – and one that mixes Muscle Shoals production with some nice uptown touches! Produced by Jerry Williams, Jr., aka Swamp Dogg! While the title comes of a bit flamboyantly, in truth, this record is an honest, personal, and earthy southern soul should-be classic. It's not only a personal triumph for Doris Duke, it's also one of greatest Swamp Dogg-produced records! Includes "I Wish I Could Sleep", "It Sure Was Fun", "He's Everything I Need", "Since I Fell For You", "Let Love Touch Us Now", "Bad Water", and a cool cover of "By The Time I Get To Phoenix". LP, Vinyl record album

Messed-up funky jazz from an obscure early 70s UK group – and an album that really lives up to its trippy cover! The tracks are all long and stretched out – with lots of organ, sax, and spaced out drums – and the overall style is a mix of dub-heavy funk, Afro jazz, and a bit of jazz rock jamming! There's a bit of vocals on the album, but overall most of the set is instrumental – in a really right on and progressive style that we totally love. This is the kind of record that always got passed by in the 80s when everyone was looking for hard James Brown grooves, but which is very much in fashion now with the blunted funky crowd. Cuts include "Hymn To Mother Earth", "Another Country", "Disillusioned Man", and "Mercy (Variation No. 1)" – plus bonus tracks "Fuzz Oriental Blues", "I Put A Spell On You", and "Message To Mankind". CD

A holy grail of funky music – and a rare gem from the DC scene of the 70s! Keyboardist Hilton Felton cut this wicked killer for his own tiny label – Hilton's Concept – and it's a very unique blend of jazz and funk modes, done with help from members of The Blackbyrds and Three Pieces! Felton plays Fender Rhodes, vibes, organ, and even some percussion on the record – grooving in this stretched-out, easygoing way that's unlike anyone else we can think of – often with fuller backings that might be at home on a soundtrack, but which have a much more open flow overall. Most tracks are nice and long, with plenty of sweet electric solo space – and titles include the classic "Bee Bop Boogie", a 9 minute groover with a monster break on the intro – plus "The Light Of Mankind", "Man For All Reasons", "Tell Her Love Has Felt The Need", "Love's Losers", and "Blues For a Weary Man". CD

Bold tones from the Music Revelation Ensemble – a group that's heavy on guitar work from James Blood Ulmer, but which also features some great guest reeds from Arthur Blythe, Sam Rivers, and Hamiett Bluiett! The core trio features Amin Ali on electric bass and Cornell Rochester on drums – moving in somewhat harmelodic formation – echoing Ulmer's styles of the decade before, but perhaps pushing his sound with a more forceful feel, possibly to showcase his crossing over to bigger audiences at the time. But the real charm here is the reed work – contributions that include alto from Blythe, baritone from Bluiett, and either soprano, tenor, or flute from Rivers – players that are heard separately from track to track, but who really help bring a deeper sense of spirit to the record. Titles include "The Dawn", "Mankind", "Purity", "Abundance", "In Time", and "Non-Believer". CD

You might know these guys under their previous name of Kutimangoes – one that's dropped maybe in part because there's a shift in the music here to a slightly different style! Where Kutimangoes explored a heavy dose of Afro Funk on their records, Sunborn take off from the roots and move things into a much more fluid sense of expression – often percolating rhythms that have both acoustic and electric elements, in support of a superb hornline that moves with a sense of majesty that really makes the album stand out – giving the whole thing an instant sense of power and pride! Guests include Caio Marcio and Bigyuki – and titles include "Mankind", "Apple Blossom", "Night Sweats", "Dancing In The Dark", "Metropolis", "Beach Chase", "Echoes", and "Under The Same Sky". LP, Vinyl record album

Rare Detroit soul from OC Tolbert – late 60s and 70s material, most of which we've never been lucky enough to hear before this great compilation on Kent! OC is a gritty vocalist with a rough-hewn, heavily soulful voice that's served wonderfully by the material. The productions are fairly stripped down and raw, guitar, bass, drums and organ. Some of some sweet female backing vocals and some tasty horn arrangements that are great, too. Tolbert has roots with a family gospel group out of Selma, Alabama before moving on to the soul scene in Detroit, and that emotional intensity does inform the later work. Titles include "Let Me Be Your Only Man", "Goodness", "Rough Side Of The Mountain"., "Fix It", "Ride The Gospel Train" with The Tolbert Family Singers, "Somebody Is Here With Me", "Back To Dust", "Where Were You", "All I Want Is You", "Message To Mankind", "I'm Shooting High (I Reach For The Sky" and more. 22 tracks in all. CD

A holy grail of funky music – and a rare gem from the DC scene of the 70s! Keyboardist Hilton Felton cut this wicked killer for his own tiny label – Hilton's Concept – and it's a very unique blend of jazz and funk modes, done with help from members of The Blackbyrds and Three Pieces! Felton plays Fender Rhodes, vibes, organ, and even some percussion on the record – grooving in this stretched-out, easygoing way that's unlike anyone else we can think of – often with fuller backings that might be at home on a soundtrack, but which have a much more open flow overall. Most tracks are nice and long, with plenty of sweet electric solo space – and titles include the classic "Bee Bop Boogie", a 9 minute groover with a monster break on the intro – plus "The Light Of Mankind", "Man For All Reasons", "Tell Her Love Has Felt The Need", "Love's Losers", and "Blues For a Weary Man". LP, Vinyl record album

Mighty nice grooves from a series that might be better named as "Prog Rock Underground" – as most of the work here is from the 70s, and most from those great years of the German scene where it also seemed like there was plenty of jazz in the music as well! A few of these cuts are downright funk, and all are filled with great instrumentation – in an approach that's a nice change from some of the more familiar Brit prog modes of the same generation. Vocals are often an afterthought to the impeccable instrumentation – and titles include "My Dear Groovin" by Sunbirds, "Thoughts" by Exponent, "Space Guerilla" by Missus Beastly, "Kollektivtat" by Gila, "Kassiopeia" by Reaktor 4, "Tiflis" by Embryo, "Teppich" by Panko, and "Mankind Where Do You Go To" by Virus. CD

A holy grail of funky music – and a rare gem from the DC scene of the 70s! Keyboardist Hilton Felton cut this wicked killer for his own tiny label – Hilton's Concept – and it's a very unique blend of jazz and funk modes, done with help from members of The Blackbyrds and Three Pieces! Felton plays Fender Rhodes, vibes, organ, and even some percussion on the record – grooving in this stretched-out, easygoing way that's unlike anyone else we can think of – often with fuller backings that might be at home on a soundtrack, but which have a much more open flow overall. Most tracks are nice and long, with plenty of sweet electric solo space – and titles include the classic "Bee Bop Boogie", a 9 minute groover with a monster break on the intro – plus "The Light Of Mankind", "Man For All Reasons", "Tell Her Love Has Felt The Need", "Love's Losers", and "Blues For a Weary Man". CD

A classic set from one of the original kings of the dancehall, nicknamed for his sweet vocal style! While "River Jordan" and "Hard Time Pressure" were big singles in a singles-driven genre, this set's solid all the way through, with great backing harmonies from Don Carlos & Lacksley Castell among others, supporting Minott's groovy lead, that wouldn't be out of place on a Windy city soul side from the 70s. The rhythms are laid out by a crack young band including Gladdy, Bingy Bunny, Steelie & Horsemouth Wallace at Channel One, under Minott's crisp production, with half of the finishing touches laid on by Barnabas at Channel One and the other half by Jammy at Tubby's. 10 tracks of prime early 80s reggae representing the best of a key transitional period fro Jamaican music, including "Mankind", "Jail House", "I'm Gonna Hold On", "Opressors Oppression", "Two Time Loser", "Black Roots", "Clean Runnings" and "Mr Babylon Man". CD

Beautiful work from Michael White – one of the few musicians who can actually make us love the sound of the violin in jazz! White's working here in a style that's very much in line with some of the post-Coltrane spiritual soul jazz in Impulse in the early 70s – an approach that's free-thinking, yet never as far outside as some of the avant work on the label during the 60s. Instead, there's a gentle, almost contemplative groove here – one that has echoes of some of Alice Coltrane's more meditative recordings, yet which also breaks out with some of the more modal jazz of Michael White's roots. Players on the album include Prince Lasha on reeds, Ed Kelly on piano, Cecil McBee on bass, and Kenneth Nash on percussion – and the album's filled with organic textures and beautifully flowing grooves! Titles include the beautiful "Land Of Spirit & Light" suite in three parts, plus "Fatima's Garden", "Fiesta Dominical", "O Ancient One" and "Lament (Mankind)". LP, Vinyl record album

Warmly stepping grooves from James Vincent – an under-acknowledged genius of the 70s crossover scene! Vincent works here in a title that's smooth and compressed – a bit like more popular AOR work of the time, but with some surprising soulful touches too – especially in the rhythms, which are extra-nice, given that drums are by Harvey Mason and Clyde Stubblefield! Instrumentation often has a warm 70s California glow – keyboards and guitar all wrapped up nicely together, with vocals folded in nicely – kind of a late 70s extension of the wonderful style of Nick DeCaro's album on Blue Thumb. There's a few great grooves in the mix, and titles include "Moonday", "Firefly", "Drifting Into Love", "Mankind", "Song For Jayme", and "Stepping Up". LP, Vinyl record album

Sweet early 80s tracks from the legendary Bunny Striker Lee – work that shows him stepping effortlessly into the dancehall modes of the time – still a master of rhythm, and of finding the right sort of talents to add to his sound! The package features a nice mix of bigger names and up-and-coming talents – and also includes a number of unissued tracks from Bunny's archives, which fit perfectly alongside the singles in the set – music that's mostly in a late roots-into-dancehall mode, instead of some of the bigger, more commercial work that would circulate under the dancehall name a few years later. As always with Pressure Sounds, the presentation, sound quality, and notes are great – and titles include "Gun Fever" by Frankie Jones, "People Cruel (12" mix)" by Cornell Campbell & Errol Scorcher, "Lay Down Flat" by Devon Edwards, "Revolution Fighters" by Simple Simon, "Too Popular" by Trevor Castell, "Babylon No Badda Haul & Pull Me" by Devon Edwards, "A Place Called Zion" by The Paragons, "The Right Time (12" mix)" by Neville Brown & John Wayne, "Bandulo (12" mix)" by Cornell Campbell & Scientist, "Know Yourself Mankind" by The Paragons, "Lazer Beam (12" mix)" by Don Carlos & Papa Tullo, and "I Man Come Again" by Johnny Clarke. LP, Vinyl record album