Soul — In Stock — LPs

One of the hippest records ever to come out of Chicago – the sole recording by Boscoe, a group who was even more obscure and experimental than contemporaries like The Pharoahs or Artistic Heritage Ensemble! Like those groups, Boscoe has a very unique, very visionary approach – one that' ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Jaw-dropping work from Charles Bradley – a stunning album that's maybe his best so far – and that's saying a hell of a lot, given the quality of his previous work! There's a focus and power here that really puts Charles on top – from the bold statement at the start of the record, ... (Deep Funk, Soul) read more LP, Vinyl record album

The second set from St Louis funk combo Breakaway – and the album already shows a great deal of growth – especially in the territory of rhythm! Breakaway have definitely dug some of the best club modes from the New York scene – and work here in a jazzy disco style that's filled ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Rough and raw work from Big Bill Broonzy – well-done sides that feature Bill on vocals and acoustic guitar, recorded in Paris in the early 50s, and issued here in a US package on the Scepter label! There's a pretty earthy feel to most of the tracks – a real "crossroads" feel ... (Blues, Soul) read more LP, Vinyl record album

James Brown, proud and loud – a smoking 60s album that provides a great link between his earlier styles and his freer roots – with a brilliant blend of funk, soul, and a touch of raw R&B! Given the power of The Godfather at this point, there's no denying that even the older cuts ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

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 LP, Vinyl record album

A never-issued James Brown album from 1972 – a killer live performance from The Apollo Theater – and one that features a fair bit of help from other members of his People Records crew! James performs a bit on the record – but the set also features some great instrumental sides ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

The one and only album by this righteous funky combo from Ohio! Although Brute Force were an American group of the late 60s, they've got a sound that brings in traces of the African rhythms that were bubbling under at the time – similar to some of the best London groups of the post-colonial ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

The monumental debut of BT Express – and an excellent funk album that often gets overlooked by fans of the music because of the band's bigger fame as a disco group! This first record has the combo grooving hard and instrumentally – in the mode of a tight blacksploitation soundtrack, ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

A standout solo moment from the amazing Keni Burke – an artist who's come a long way from his youthful start in the 5 Stairsteps! Keni had recorded other adult work by the time of this early 80s set, but Changes is easily his best-remembered album – a masterpiece of 80s groove, all ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

One of Jerry Butler's funkiest moments of the 70s – served up in a fantastic soundtrack co-penned and arranged by the great Jerry Peters! Peters is best known for his hip work with a variety of soul acts in the studio, but he really steps out here for the score to Melinda – a lesser-kno ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

One of the smoothest sets to ever come from the Muscle Shoals scene – an early 80s gem that's as much an AOR charmer as it is a modern soul groover! Vocals are by Robert Byrne, with close help from Brandon Barnes – working here with hip production from Clayton Ivey and Terry Woodford, ... (Rock, Soul) read more LP, Vinyl record album

A long lost electric funk soundtrack for the grindhouse also-ran Bare Knuckles – full of wild, funky organ riffing, heavy drums and chicken scratch guitar! The flick is one of those sleazy 70s monstrosities full of motorcycle chases, bloody fist fights, and butt ugly guys who get the girls ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Terry Callier's first album for Cadet – and the kickoff of one of the greatest three album runs that any soul artist ever recorded! This one's got a different feel than the later two, as it takes songs by Terry, and structures them with these little musical "seque" tracks in ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Brilliant brown-eyed soul from Ray Camacho – an artist who was previously known for more border-styled work with his Teardrops band, but who steps out here with a surprisingly great blend of electric jazz and boogie! The approach is wonderful – a real re-direction of Ray's earlier ... (Latin, Soul) read more LP, Vinyl record album

One of Candido's funkiest albums! The record's got a similar sound to Candido's great albums for Blue Note and Solid State – with short, hard funky tunes that have a really great 70s edge! Chico O'Farrill did the arrangements, and the record chops along nicely with some very funky tracks ... (Latin, Soul) read more LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible bit of southern soul – one of two classic albums cut by James Carr for the Goldwax! At the time of release, this album virtually died in the racks – but thanks to the work of countless music writers over the past few decades, Carr has finally achieved legendary status in ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Wickedly fuzzy funk! Jimmy Castor recorded in a lot of different styles during the 70s – but the one he used on this album is still his best! The record's a non-stop guitar-heavy batch of classic funk tracks – and it features the storming break track "It's Just Begun", the ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

One of the hippest funky jazz combos of the 70s – stepping out here in their amazing debut for Cobblestone records! Catalyst had a groove that was unlike most of their contemporaries – a sound that was often jazzier than some of the tighter funk artists on labels like Kudu or Prestige, ... (Jazz, Soul) read more LP, Vinyl record album

A return to soulful disco for Cerrone – recording here in New York, with some killer lead vocals by the great Jocelyn Brown! A few cuts still retain the Euro disco approach of earlier records, but a number of the album's best cuts are much more in the style of early 80s New York club tunes ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

A near-perfect classic from the greatly under-appreciated Bobby Charles – a cat with who worked for Chess Records as far back as the 50s, but also managed to deliver this soul-drenched swamp rock gem in 1972! Bobby's got this great sense of delivery – a bit laidback and almost laconic, ... (Rock, Soul) read more LP, Vinyl record album

Ray Charles, the way he was meant to be heard – in this special all-mono version of his full length albums for Atlantic Records! This material represents a deepening of the territory that Charles had explored for the label on his early singles – extended album presentation of that ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

The great self-titled Alice Clark LP on Mainstream plus earlier singles for Warner Brothers and unreleased tracks – the complete studio recordings from '68-72 – in one great set! There weren't many vocal albums on the Mainstream label during the early 70s, and this rare soul side is a ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

The funkiest side of the amazing spacey disco group Cloud One – and that's saying a heck of a lot, given that all of their work is pretty darn funky! The tracks on the set are a lot less familiar than some of the more often-reissued and compiled Cloud One tunes – but they all have a ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

A stunner! You'll probably never find this rare first Dennis Coffey album in the original, so you owe it to yourself to snatch up this funky funky reissue of stripped down guitar breakbeat jams! The record has Coffey playing his trademark fuzzy guitar, along with his early group that included the ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Funky Latin breaks and very groovy grooves – the kind of record that you hear for only a second, and say "oh yeah, this is the stuff!" Coke were an obscure Florida combo who mixed together Latin, funk, and soul – served up in a crossover style that's halfway between the sound ... (Latin, Soul) read more LP, Vinyl record album

The funkiest album ever recorded by Lyn Collins – a stone solid set that really lives up to the legacy of her funky 45s! Like those gems, this one has Collins working with James Brown on production and the JBs in the background – creating a razor-sharp groove that's probably the ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

A massive collection of work by the great Sam Cooke – featuring 30 tunes in all, and spanning the range of his full career – from his early roots in gospel music, to the incredibly powerful soul tunes he cut shortly before his untimely death. The set's got most everything you'd ever ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

A great early RCA set from Sam Cooke – issued with the odd tag "Folk Favorites" in the corner – but done with that unmistakable soul vibe that Sam helped invent at the time! True, many of the tunes have folk music roots – but they're re-swung by Sammy Lowe with some ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Soaring soul from Googie and Tom Coppola – much more of an R&B-inflected album than their earlier rock work in the group Air – sublimely produced with help from Jerry Peters, who brings in a sweet LA groove! Googie's vocals are especially great – with a higher-pitch Minnie ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

A funky funky classic from The Counts – and an album that has the group tightening up their sound from the Westbound years, but still keeping the groove plenty nice! There's a tight, bad-walking feel to most of the cuts on the set – one that almost comes across with a blacksploitation ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Sublime sounds from The Crystals – one of the coolest, grooviest girl soul groups of the 60s – thanks to superb work in the studio from the legendary Phil Spector! The sound here is a pefect balance between pop and soul – definitely with vocals bold enough to warrant the latter, ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

A massive set from Nigeria's CS Crew – and a set that definitely lives up to its title! The bass is super-heavy on these grooves – way more so than on other Afro Funk records of the time, and in ways that easily match, if not beat, the early best by Fatback Band and Kool & The Gang ... (Global Grooves, Soul) read more LP, Vinyl record album

Nicely priced reissue of this classic first album by the legendary British dub funk outfit Cymande – done with that gatefold cover and everything! A key part of the crumbling British colonial network that produced some excellent music in the postwar years, Cymande was comprised mostly of ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Cymande hit some well-deserved heights on this massive third album – working with a complicated groove that's even more compelling than their earlier albums – in a righteous blend of heavy bass and tripped-out guitars that's unlike anything else we've ever heard! The music's a unique ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Heavy bass, tight percussion, and a wonderfully trippy groove – the stunning second album from Cymande, and one of our funk favorites from the 70s! These guys have a sound that's completely unique – a vibe that mixes African and Jamaican influences up in the heady London scene of the ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

The first album in many years from Cymande – that ultra-cool British group who gave us a run of great funk records in the 70s! The style here is surprisingly faithful to the original Cymande sound – especially the basslines, which have this head-nodding, slow-grooving style that's ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

D'Angelo comes back after many years awol from the studio – and the result is a stunning new step in his music! We've loved the man from day one – and some folks could well say that he really helped reinvigorate soul back in the 90s – and all his time away from the studio has ... (Neo Soul, Soul) read more LP, Vinyl record album

The first-ever full length presentation of a legendary live set from D'Angelo – recorded early in his career, and working through a host of classic tunes that really add in a nice layer to his own great music! D'Angelo's caught here in the legendary temple of groove – London's Jazz ... (Neo Soul, Soul) read more LP, Vinyl record album

Sweet and gritty soul from D'Angelo – who takes a huge step into deeper territory on Voodoo – and it's one of the most monumental records of its time! On one level, Voodoo works as a nicely stripped-down session with a very classic soul feel. Gone are the overzealous flourishes that ... (Neo Soul, Soul) read more LP, Vinyl record album

The great lost Darondo album – amazing Bay Area funky soul from a singular talent – and material that we did not even know existed! It was cut for Ray Dobard's Music City label – purportedly in just a couple of marathon sessions – most of which we've never heard before now, ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Betty Davis was one of the nastiest ladies in 70s soul – and this is one of her greatest albums – a killer batch of funky tracks all the way through! Betty has a sound like nobody else – and she takes heavy drums, throbbing bass, and ripping guitars – all as a hard and ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Killer work from Betty Davis – one of the most impressive female funk talents ever! If you ever needed a definition of funk, this record may well be it – snapping drums, sharp-edged guitars, and sex-filled basslines that slink and slide all over the bottom of the grooves – a ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

A great counterpart to the rare Stanton Davis Ghetto Mysticism album – and a set that was recorded right around the same time, with a number of previously unreleased tracks! The spiritual energy of that group has been well-loved by collectors for years – and enjoyed by others thanks to ... (Jazz, Soul) read more LP, Vinyl record album

The debut album from Tyrone Davis – a supreme achievement for the Chicago soul scene of the late 60s, and a record with a sound that would set the standard for years to come! Tyrone had been bumping around as a blusier singer before this set – but here, working with arrangements by Don ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Warm and tender work from the mighty Tyrone Davis – really singing here at the height of his early powers, in that wonderful blend of the rough and smooth that made him so unique! Davis has a gritty touch in his singing style, but the backings have that perfect Brunswick Chicago soul ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

A landmark album from Desmond Dekker – and a seminal slide of Jamaican music that really broke big on the global scene in the years before reggae! The set's a bit ska, a bit rocksteady, and completely sold all the way through – thanks to near-perfect production from Leslie Kong, who ... (Reggae, Soul) read more LP, Vinyl record album

A landmark album in harmony soul – one of those records that pushed the genre to a whole new level! The Delfonics emerge fully formed here as one of the most compelling groups of their time – a tremendous trio with a really unique approach to soul music – one that's heartfelt and ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

A groundbreaking album of vocal group soul – right from the first note! The record kicks off with the sublime "Ready Or Not, Here I Come" – which starts with fierce stepping strings that are actually funky, then soars into some of the best harmonies the group ever put to ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

A really funked-up batch of dancefloor tunes – produced with a uniquely cross-cultural approach! Ze Records diva Lizzy Mercier Descloux works here with influential post-disco, post-punk producer Steve Stanely – on a set of tunes cut in Nassau, with some great backing by a combo that ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

The amazing Lizzy Mercier Descloux adds one more global feather to her cap with this sweet little album – a set recorded in Rio, with help from a host of Brazilian musicians – and some special guest work from legendary trumpeter Chet Baker too! The record warms up the sound a bit from ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Quite possibly the hippest album ever recorded by Lizzy Mercier Descloux – a session done in South Africa, and featuring a variety of unusual rhythms! The sound here isn't conventional African pop, and like other gems from the Ze Records catalog, this set blends together a number of styles ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastically twangy! We never tire of Bo Diddley's incredible guitar work – and you'll get plenty of it in this early album he cut for Chess, a tasty batch of 12 tracks, all original tunes with a stripped-down gutbuckety sound – rough, raw rhythms that feature plenty of Bo's gritty ... (Blues, Soul) read more LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible full album from Dinosaur L – the legendary New York dancefloor project of Arthur Russell! The group's a punky, funky, chunky amalgam of bass thumping, guitar riffing, keyboard filling, and sax honking – all very much in the spirit of Russell's best quirky club work of the ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Funky funky Hammond – a rare late 60s album from organist Bill Doggett, done with some help from James Brown – and a set that's unlike anything Doggett ever recorded before – or since! There's a blasting groove to the record right from the start – thanks to help from The ... (Jazz, Soul) read more LP, Vinyl record album

A stunning album of raw New Orleans soul – recorded by the great Lee Dorsey, with production by Allen Toussaint and Marshall Sehorn! The record falls in the same camp as The Meters – and although Dorsey's work has vocals, the choppy instrumental backing is pure Crescent City all the ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Mac really steps out on this one – pushing past his usual hip studio take on New Orleans soul, to a more expansive style that includes performances by a host of surprise guests like Mick Jagger, Eric Clapton, PP Arnold, Graham Bond, and Doris Troy. That loping, trippy groove of John's is ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

The best collection we've ever seen of the work of funky soul legends Dyke & The Blazers – a double-length set that features full, unedited versions of their classics – plus a whopping batch of previously unreleased tunes! Dyke & The Blazers had a groove that was mighty solid ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic stuff through and through – and almost a "best of" best of collection from the 70s! The album's a key illustration of the genius of Earth Wind & Fire on Columbia Records – because by the time the set was released in 1978, most of the tracks were already well-know ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Earth, Wind & Fire's first album – recorded at a time when the group recently had ties to the Chicago soul and jazz scenes, and a range of experience that ran the gamut from work with Sun Ra, the Artistic Heritage Ensemble, The Pharoahs, Ramsey Lewis, and countless other influential ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

One of the two early Earth Wind & Fire LPs recorded for Warner – and the one that shows their amazing roots in the avant-garde jazz scene in Chicago! At the forefront, the record's a righteous soul album with an ensemble funk sound – but deeper in, there's a lot of jazz-based ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Righteous soul – and the only record ever cut by East Coast – a group led by Larry Blackmon, featuring early vocals by Gwen Guthrie! The style is very hip – a mixture of funk and progressive grooving, all held together with a sound that's young, proud, and which moves easily ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

One of the more obscure sides of work from the legendary Alton Ellis – but one of the best as well! The set features some cuts issued by Alton on his own Ellis label – and many of the numbers here feature the singer acting as a producer too – a surprisingly strong side of his ... (Reggae, Soul) read more LP, Vinyl record album

One of the last great soul albums on the Westbound label! Eramus Hall have a vague P-Funk connection – and according to legend, the band were given their name by George Clinton, who had seen a building in Chicago named Eramus Hall – but the sound is a lot smoother than any of the P-Funk ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

A gem of a full-length set from Executive Suite – a Philly quartet who are probably best known for their singles in the 70s, but who really find a great way to open up here in the course of an expanded album! Some of the tracks are nice and long – done in a two-part style that really ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

The one and only album by Exit 9 – an obscure funk combo who recorded this rare set for Brunswick in 1975! The group is extremely tight instrumentally – working at a very fast funky clip that's kind of similar to work by Bohannon or Sound Experience – both of whom shared Exit 9's ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

An early record by Experience Unlimited – better known to most of the world as EU, the DC funk outfit that went onto become pretty big in the GoGo scene, and who scored big with the 80s party cut "Da Butt". This one's nothing like that stuff – and instead catches the group ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

A lost harmony soul treasure – by an obscure family group from the Newark scene! The Family Circle have a fantastic style that mixes together sweet and deep soul styles into a darkly tinged approach that we'd rank with the best harmony soul of the early 70s – similar to work from ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

A fresh new groove from The Fania All Stars – one that definitely has them picking up some of the Spanish elements mentioned in the title – the fusing them into the tight mix of Latin, club, and jazz they were doing at Columbia Records in the late 70s! These new elements are often ... (Latin, Soul) read more LP, Vinyl record album

Easily the most soulful of all the albums by this legendary funk combo – and the one that features excellent vocals by Brother Johnny King! Included here are vocal and instrumental versions of Weldon Irvine's great cut "Feeling Mellow" – done in a version even better than the ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Quite possibly the last really hard-hitting funk album from The Fatback Band – and although their first record on the Event label, a set that cooks every bit as hard as their first few for Perception! The style here is funky 45 soul at its best – lots of hard crackling drums, funky ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Essential reissue of one of the greatest funk albums ever! This is the great LP of hard funky cuts that perfectly sums up the Fatback style that you've heard so much about – but which you can't find on much of their late 70s albums! The whole album is filled to the brim with loads of great ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

A great little record – with two brilliant side-long tracks! "Everything Scatter" is a stone 70s classic from Fela – and a cut that's maybe the blueprint for so much Afro Funk to follow – beautifully layered, with so many different elements coming into play at once, yet ... (Global Grooves, Soul) read more LP, Vinyl record album

A stunning set of work from the legendary Fela Kuti – seven full albums, served up in an ultra-limited box set – all hand-chosen by the equally legendary Brian Eno! Eno was a key supporter of Afro Funk in the 70s, and it's no surprise that just about every record here is one of Fela's ... (Global Grooves, Soul) read more LP, Vinyl record album

A really seminal album from Fela Kuti – searing live set that pairs him with drummer Ginger Baker – formerly of Cream, and a huge supporter of Fela's music on the UK scene! Baker had already picked up a lot of Fela's influence in his music – and rather than the record being one ... (Global Grooves, Soul) read more LP, Vinyl record album

A real classic from the great Fela Kuti – a seminal mid 70s record that not only shows his impeccable sense of rhythm, but also his sense of rage as well! The title track – "Expensive Sh_t" – is Fela's answer to the time that he got busted for dope, and was forced to ... (Global Grooves, Soul) read more LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible record from Fela – a set that's maybe even darker and more moody than some of his other records from the time – but still pretty darn funky overall! Side one features the tremendous title cut "Fear Not For Man" – a strong message, especially given Fela's ... (Global Grooves, Soul) read more LP, Vinyl record album

A gem of a set from the legendary Fela Kuti – a classic set of Nigerian grooves produced by Ginger Baker – who was already a frequent musical partner of Fela! The set's got a sharp groove right from the start, and possibly some slighty darker elements than some of Kuti's other records ... (Global Grooves, Soul) read more LP, Vinyl record album

An impassioned attack on police and army violence in 70s Nigeria – and easily one of Fela Kuti's best-remembered albums of the time! The lead track – "Sorrow Tears & Blood" – is really tremendous – a wicked groove that begins with a very long electric piano ... (Global Grooves, Soul) read more LP, Vinyl record album

A killer album of soul jazz piano instrumentals – produced by James Brown! The Dee Felice Trio were a groovy combo from Cincinnati, and James Brown took a shine to them at some point in the late 60s. They backed James on one record, but their big moment was this album – which had ... (Jazz, Soul) read more LP, Vinyl record album