One of the rarest albums issued on the Crazy Cajun label – and a set that definitely doesn't have any cajun in the music at all! Instead, the South Funk Boulevard Band do a wonderful job of blending southern deep soul roots with some tighter funk ensemble modes – still nice and raw on the vocals, but with a sharpness of presentation that really holds the whole thing together! The album feels like the kind of funky soul that a label like Stax or Hi might have cut in the late 70s, had the Memphis scene still been going strong – and the whole thing's a further testament to producer Huey P Meux – sometimes shady, but always willing to let a hip group like this open up and get a chance to record something great! Allison provides vocals on a few tracks, the group's male singer is on the others – and titles include "It's Love", "You're All That Matters To Me", "I'm Gonna Love You Till I Die", "Mind Somewhere Else", "Blanket Of Love", "Pay Before You Lay", "Want You Back In My Arms", and "It's Love". LP, Vinyl record album

A record that's not only a landmark in Jamaican music – but also a set that was to reggae what Curtis Mayfield's Superfly was to 70s soul! In other words, the set not only raised the bar for all the competition, it also ended up in a lot more record collections than most of them too – maybe in part because it was a soundtrack, as was Superfly – but also because it has this global power that makes it a defining album of the genre! Jimmy Cliff is obviously the mainman here, but there's help from other key players in the growing reggae scene – and titles include Jimmy's classic "You Can Get It If You Really Want", in two versions – plus two takes on "The Harder They Come", "Many Rivers To Cross", and "Sitting In Limbo" – plus "Sweet & Dandy" and "Pressure Drop" by The Maytals, "007" by Desmond Dekker, "Johnny Too Bad" by The Slicers, "Draw Your Brakes" by Scotty, and "Rivers Of Babylon" by The Melodians. In addition, you get another disc of bonus material, much of it recorded in the crucial years before the film's release, giving you a wonderful portrait of the Jamaican music scene at the time, a dozen and a half of the finest rocksteady and reggae jams of the day, including Desmond Dekker's "Israelites", The Ethiopians "Reggae Hit The Town", Dave & Ansel Collins "Double Barrel", Jimmy Cliff's "Let Your Yeah Be Yeah" and "Wonderful World, Beautiful People", The Maytals' "Do The Reggay" and "54-46 (That's My Number)", The Melodians "It's My Delight" and Eric Donaldson's "Cherry Oh Baby". 30 tracks in all on this awesome 2 disc set, packaged up nicely with notes by Dave Katz, photos from the film and full lyrics and track notations! CD

One of the best of the blacksploitation scores of the early 70s – a masterpiece of music that we rate every bit as high as Shaft or Superfly – maybe even higher! The music here is incredible – a surprising funky turn for JJ Johnson, who most folks know for his straighter jazz work – and like Marvin Gaye, Barry White, and others who were surprising the world with their ability to score music for a full film during the early 70s, JJ really knocks it out of the park with this one – coming up with a batch of tunes that are a wonderful mix of sophisticated scoring, creative instrumentation, and some damn funky grooves! The title cut features Joe Simon on vocals, and Millie Jackson sings on the cuts "Love Doctor" and "It Hurts So Good". The rest of the set is instrumental, and other cuts include an instrumental take on "Cleopatra Jones", plus "Go Chase Cleo", "Goin To The Chase", "Wrap Up", and "Airport Fight". LP, Vinyl record album

A record that's not only a landmark in Jamaican music – but also a set that was to reggae what Curtis Mayfield's Superfly was to 70s soul! In other words, the set not only raised the bar for all the competition, it also ended up in a lot more record collections than most of them too – maybe in part because it was a soundtrack, as was Superfly – but also because it has this global power that makes it a defining album of the genre! Jimmy Cliff is obviously the mainman here, but there's help from other key players in the growing reggae scene – and titles include Jimmy's classic "You Can Get It If You Really Want", in two versions – plus two takes on "The Harder They Come", "Many Rivers To Cross", and "Sitting In Limbo" – plus "Sweet & Dandy" and "Pressure Drop" by The Maytals, "007" by Desmond Dekker, "Johnny Too Bad" by The Slicers, "Draw Your Brakes" by Scotty, and "Rivers Of Babylon" by The Melodians. LP, Vinyl record album

A record that's not only a landmark in Jamaican music – but also a set that was to reggae what Curtis Mayfield's Superfly was to 70s soul! In other words, the set not only raised the bar for all the competition, it also ended up in a lot more record collections than most of them too – maybe in part because it was a soundtrack, as was Superfly – but also because it has this global power that makes it a defining album of the genre! Jimmy Cliff is obviously the mainman here, but there's help from other key players in the growing reggae scene – and titles include Jimmy's classic "You Can Get It If You Really Want", in two versions – plus two takes on "The Harder They Come", "Many Rivers To Cross", and "Sitting In Limbo" – plus "Sweet & Dandy" and "Pressure Drop" by The Maytals, "007" by Desmond Dekker, "Johnny Too Bad" by The Slicers, "Draw Your Brakes" by Scotty, and "Rivers Of Babylon" by The Melodians. CD

A rare spiritual jazz session from the Full Moon Ensemble – a very groovy French group headed up by drummer Claude Delcloo – who was better known for his avant jazz work on sides for the BYG/Actuel series of albums! This time around, Delcloo is working in much trippier territory – a style that still shows some of the freedoms of the post-68 generation of French jazz, but which also takes on some strong spiritual tones too – mixing spoken passages with rich organic sounds on percussion – and these bold, snaking lines on Fender Rhodes and guitar that really help hold the whole thing together! The record works as one long suite on side one, and continues that groove on side two – and although the band's jamming great in the studio, there's still a sense of structure and purpose that really drives the music. In addition to Delcloo on drums, the group also features Jeff Sicard on alto and tenor, Gerard Coppere on tenor and soprano sax, Mratine Tourreil on Rhodes, and Joseph Dejean on guitar – and the vocals bits are by the enigmatic "Sarah". Titles include the side a suite "Tribute To Bob Kaufman" – plus "101 W 85th Street" and "King Kong". LP, Vinyl record album

Heavy Hammond from a time when the use of the organ in jazz was really changing up from the 60s – music that often had more of a funky current in the rhythms than some of the more soul and gospel-influenced styles of the decade before! All the work here was recorded for the Groove Merchant label – most by older heavyweights who'd recorded for Blue Note and Prestige, but were given a chance to hip things up a bit more for the 70s – as you'll hear in the great style of these tunes! Sonny Lester produced most of the music – and titles include "Cisco Kid" and "Superfly" by Reuben Wilson, "Afrodesia" and "Funk Reaction" by Lonnie Smith, "Groove Grease" and "Tailgunner" by Jimmy McGriff, "Good Vibrations" and "Out Of Nowhere" by Richard Groove Holmes, "Never Can Say Goodbye" by Reuben Wilson, "Preacher's Tune" by Richard Groove Holmes, and "Let's Stay Together" by Jimmy McGriff. CD

A smoking little set – an album of jazz takes on Curtis Mayfield classics, played by a hip combo that includes a few musicians from Mayfield's old band! The album's a straight jazz effort all the way through – and the interpretations are so soulful and swinging on their own, you might even forget that Curtis provided the inspiration for the tunes – thanks to work from Wallace Roney on trumpet, Ernie Watts on saxes, Phil Upchurch on guitar, Russ Ferrante on piano, Terri Lyne Carrington on drums, and Henry Gibson on congas! The album's one of the last that Gibson ever cut, and his percussion really helps the whole thing find its groove – providing a nice kick to the work of Roney, Watts, and Upchurch over the top. Titles include "Freddie's Dead", "Superfly", "Beautiful Brother Of Mine", "People Get Ready", "Amen", "Gypsy Woman", and "It's All Right". CD