Soul — In Stock — LPs

No splashdown here – as Breakwater are every bit as soaringly soulful as they were on their debut set! The groove here is that perfect blend of jazz and soul that only a few groups in the 70s really got right – maybe Pleasure, or The Blackbyrds – and most certainly Breakwater, ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Funky keyboard tracks from Julius Brockington – a mad early 70s figure who not only cut some wild funk, but who also ended up doing a fair bit of gospel work in later years. This set's a good bit of stoner funk tracks – in the wilder mode of the Perception/Today label – and it's ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Wild funky keyboards from Julius Brockington – a player who worked a bit on both soul and gospel albums during the early 70s, and one of the odder talents in the funky music business. The album's got a nicely off-kilter sound – and most of the tracks are original compositions. Julius ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

A really weird little soul set from Julius Brockington and his wife – and one of the most messed-up albums on the always-crazy Today label! The sound here is kind of a more soul-based take on the mode explored by Julius on his albums United Chair and Sophisticated Funk – one that takes ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

A really amazing project – and a totally righteous little record – a set of songs all penned by Bob Dylan in the 60s, sung by a hip spiritual choir that includes performances from soul singers Clydie King, Merry Clayton, Edna Wright, and Gloria Jones! The mix of soul and gospel here is ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

A great double-length album from James – filled with a wide range of cuts that are brought together only by his genius, creating an insane mix of grooves that's totally entertaining throughout! Features a long version of "Get On The Good Foot", plus other excellent bits like "T ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

A set put together as the soundtrack for the James Brown bio-pic – but one that features mostly original recordings by The Godfather himself, and a few older cuts altered a bit for the film! The groove runs from early 60s soul to early 70s funk – and there's a fair bit of live tracks, ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Reissue of one of the grooviest of the James Brown instrumental albums recorded for Smash. Unlike some of the other weaker albums on Smash, this one's got a great batch of material, most of which are originals, and not weak covers of pop stuff. Plus, the tracks are longer than usual, which gives ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Massive – and one of the best James Brown compilations ever, filled with rare and unreleased material! This completely essential set features tracks pulled from James' best years ever – the mighty early 70s, when he was working with the JBs, and laying down tracks that would forever ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Great reissue of James' second set of tracks recorded live at the famous Apollo Theatre! We like this one way better than volume one, and find it to be a much heftier set of tracks – with a stunning array of sheer raw showmanship. This one's in a 2 LP format, with lots more room for The ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

A tremendous turning point in the career of James Brown – and an album that points the way strongly to the even deeper funk of the 70s! The album's a hard-wailing batch of instrumental tracks played by the legendary James Brown Band of the late 60s – the pre-JBs ensemble that's gone ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

One of the last great albums from James Brown! Not as totally sublime as Payback or some of the others from the 70s – but James is still working here with Fred Wesley and Dave Matthews – and many of the cuts retain the funk of a few years past. Case in point is the sublime "Funky ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Subtitled "Live At the Apollo Vol 3", but waaay better than any of the earlier volumes, this monster 2LP live set has James and the JB's wailing away in a freewheeling live set of hard hard hard funky grooves. Excellent work by the band, and a great way to see how sharp they were out of ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

James Brown cooking it live – recorded (as the cover says) "at home in Augusta, Georgia with his bad self"! The groove here is a nice extension of earlier Apollo modes – one that shows the increasing funkiness of the James Brown Band, captured with a raw power that few other ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

One of the wilder James Brown instrumental LPs from the late King period. The James Brown Band is fronted by a heavy fuzzy guitar sound, which gives the LP a sort of rock-break feel, with nice fuzzy electric tones. All tracks are by James and Dave Matthews, and the record is sort of a second ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Easily one of the funkiest albums that James Brown ever recorded – and one of his few entries into the blacksploitation genre of the 70s! James really outdid himself for this one – working at a hard burning pace that had the JBs cooking up some killer funk for just about every number ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Super Bad is right! This is hard-hitting funky James – from the badass cover right down to the extended tracks on the record, which point the way towards the hard live jamming of the classic Payback years! Everything wonderful is in place on the set – from the band's grooves at the ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Raw power and righteous energy from James Brown – a set that still has all the best funk elements of his longer-form albums of the time, but which also packs an even stronger political message too! The vibe of the record is clear from the image on the cover – the most powerful since ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

A spacey Patrick Adams/Greg Carmichael dance classic – and very much in the P&P disco mode! The record's filled with extended club cuts that have a lot of keyboards and electronics, and although the lyrics are a bit silly at times, the groove is rock solid – with that amazing funky ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Genius work from Solomon Burke – the kind of all-out, no-nonsense soul album that made Atlantic Records one of the strongest forces in the genre during the 60s! If you've ever bought one of Solomon's weaker recent albums, you owe it to yourself to check this one out – as it's a ... 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

Terry Callier's first album – recorded in 1964 when he was a wee teen hanging around Chicago's folk scene! As the title indicates, the album's definitely got a folk-styled sound – but also as the "new" implies, it's got a sound all it's own, fresh and free – and that ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Cerrone's second album – a swirling mix of disco beats and strings that follows very clearly on the spirit of his landmark first one! Like that album, this one's got a title track that runs well over 15 minutes long – building in a slowly dancing way that says everything about European ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

The fantastic first album by Cerrone – a landmark disco record that features the 16 minute long "Love In C Minor" – a swirling bit of strings, beats, and female voices – one of those tunes that forever went onto change the face of dance music in the 70s! Cerrone really ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderful package – a very limited set that includes the first three albums from Cerrone, with bonus CD versions as well! First up is Love In C Minor – the fantastic first album by Cerrone – a landmark disco record that features the 16 minute long "Love In C Minor" ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

This landmark live recording by the great Chicago soul singer Gene Chandler is one of the first-ever true live sets by a soul star, and a record that rival's James Brown's Live At the Apollo for true energy and excitement. Recorded live at Chicago's Regal Theater for the long-gone Constellation ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Seminal work from one of the 70s greatest groups! The band had always been great at love songs and uptempo numbers – but this record has them moving into more righteous area, picking up on some of the more socially conscious soul of their generation that had been working its way up the ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Excellent early material by The Chi-Lites – work that instantly soars above that of most of their contemporaries – with that incredible Windy City soul sound forged by the group's Eugene Record and producer Carl Davis! The groove is wonderful – free and easygoing, yet tight and ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

A lost Philly soul gem from the 70s – finally out after more than 30 years! The Coalitions weren't one of the biggest groups on the Philly scene, but they share a really great harmony soul approach – a warmth on the chorus vocals, but some nice bite on the leads – all served up ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

One of the best albums ever recorded by this legendary Bay Area funk combo – a key part of that city's crossover scene, and a group who always deserves a second listen! The album's a mixture of Sly Stone funk, Tower Of Power horns, and some of the hard-burning guitar/organ lines of groups ... 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

Seminal sounds from the early years of soul music – that time when spiritual recordings had a strong influence on the style of the secular world – as showcased in the album's cover shot of the great Sam Cooke! The collection brings together some of Sam's gospel recordings alongside ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

A damn great little record from Clifford Coulter – a set that's much tighter and more soul-based than his earlier funk albums for Impulse Records – but which comes together beautifully, too – thanks to help from Bill Withers in the studio! Bill produced, and the record has this ... 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

Quite possibly the most righteous work ever from The Counts – a move away from the heavier funk of their Westbound years, and a shift into some great jazz-based material! The vibe here draws heavily on the electric keyboard scene of the early 70s – with echoes of Lonnie Liston Smith's ... 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

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

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

A lost album from 70s funk diva Betty Davis – and one that's every bit as essential as her music released back in the day! The set was recorded hot on the heels of Betty's classic Nasty Gal album – but it's got a groove that's almost more in the territory of her first two records on ... 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

Sam Dees was one of the greatest unsung talents in 70s soul music – an important writer, arranger, and general background talent who helped so many other singers hit the heights – but who hardly ever issued much work under his own name! Apart from key singles and an important album on ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

The third album in an amazing early run from The Delfonics – the kind of work that set a whole new standard for group soul in the 70s! A number of the tracks here had already risen to fame before the album's release as singles – and these are mixed with some additional tracks that are ... 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

The Delfonics just kept on getting better and better! The longer the group recorded, the more they picked up this strange spacey quality that pushed them past some of their contemporaries of the early 70s. And on an album like this, they prove that they're way more than just Thom Bell puppets by ... 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

One of the coolest, funkiest records we've ever heard from Dr John – thanks to lots of guest help from The Meters! The vibe here is a bit tighter than some of Mac's previous records – not as trippy as his first few for Atco – but the sound is still nice and sharp, and Allen ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

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 ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Funky funky funky! The Duke Of Burlington were a lost Italian combo from the 70s – but on their best cuts, you'd swear they were an American group like The Meters or The Nite Liters! The band mix up hard heavy piano, funky drum breaks, choppy guitar, and some nice soulful flute solos – ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Kind of silly – but also pretty darn hip! Nancy Dupree was one of the most righteous music teachers you could ever have – and here, she's working with some young kids from the rough side of Rochester, in an album of simple tunes that have a surprisingly soulful edge to them. Nancy ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Sublime spiritual soul from Dyson's Faces – a mid 70s east coast group headed by singer/songwriter Clifton Dyson, an ensemble that was equally well suited to uptempo groovers and mellow harmony soul! The vocals here are especially great – handled beautifully by the group with an ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

The second incredible album from Dyson's Faces – one of those underground 70s groups that should have been huge! The set's got a soaring sound that's even more righteous than the group's debut – a quality that glows wonderfully with the quartet's mix of male and female voices – a ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

A mindblowingly good album from Earth Wind & Fire – one of the best we've heard from them in years, and a set that really lives up to all the faith we've had in the group over the years! The sound is right on the money – from performance to production – with a vibe that ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Heavy funk from the great Jimmy Ellis – billed here with a "preacher" in his name, which is a great indication of the spiritual soul going on in the music! Jimmy's grooves here are definitely secular, but there's a depth that definitely echoes some gospel roots too – mixed ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

A great album of sweet soul – and one recorded by a bunch of prisoners at the Rahway Correctional Facility! This was the group's second album, and by this point, three of the members had left prison – hence the "3 Down, 4 To Go" title – but that change in status doesn't ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

The title and cover may seem a bit strange – but they make more sense when you know that The Escorts were all prisoners at the Rahway State Prison in New Jersey, where they were discovered by sweet soul producer George Kerr! Kerr really gave the group a great chance with this album – ... 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

The notes claim that this one has a "Big Easy bounce" – and they're definitely not kidding! The set's a great batch of New Orleans funk – one of the many releases in the always-getting-better series from Funky Delicacies, and a long overdue look at this obscure heavy funk ... 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

One of three new vinyl reissues of long overlooked early 80s soul by the Fantastic Aleems – fronted by the great lead vocals of the legendary Leroy Burgess! The Aleems are so named for the songwriter brothers Tahar Qa & Tund-Ra Aleem, who briefly issued these early 80s soul groovers on ... 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

Incredible stuff – a never-issued funky soul record from the 70s – but one that you'll proudly stack next to your rare classics from Ramp, 24-Carat Black, and James Mason! Like work by all three of those acts, this early set by Father's Children is massive righteous – filled with ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible album of harmony soul – easily one of the best you could ever hope to find! The Four Mints were an obscure group, but they sound really wonderful here – just as great as some of the bigger proponents of the genre in the early 70s – with an especially great talent ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Lost funky work from one of the soulful sisters of Aretha Franklin! Erma's got a hard-hitting style that's right up there with Aretha's best for Atlantic – and on this album, she's working in Chicago with Johnny Pate, Sonny Sanders, and Willie Henderson – for a harder-hitting sound ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Funky organ, hard tenor sax, and plenty of choppy guitar make this another jazz funk gem in the crown of the legendary Funk Inc! The group are still totally at the top of their game here – stepping out with a deep, soulful Indy-bred blend of jazz and funk – a groove that was easily one ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

An oft-overlooked gem by Funkadelic – the group's last album for Westbound, and a record that really has them growing into a great new groove! Bootsy and Eddie Hazel have stepped aside for the set, but that gives Bernie Worrell plenty of room to work his magic on keyboards – in a way ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

A legendary record – and one that's well worth all the anticipation it's gotten over the years! The set features rare, previously unreleased material done by Funkadelic during their classic years at Westbound Records – some songs, and some studio jams – of the sort the group were ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

80s groove from the Ingram Family – a record that features the core vocals of Ron Aikens and Galaxy, plus plenty of great backing funk from the Ingrams! The style here is a great mix of boogie, street soul, and bits of electro – with a style that's a bit like Aleem from the same period ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Maybe the first-ever really good collection we've seen of the music of Don Gardner – a hell of a strong soul singer, and one who was often associated with Hammond combos – especially his group with organist Dee Dee Ford! And although that pair's hits have been reissued often, this set's ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

A legendary bit of jazzy soul – recorded by an obscure female singer from Milwaukee! Penny's got a warm style that's pretty darn nice on its own – but it's made even better by the great arranger Richard Evans, who helped out a lot on the session. The feel is very much in the Chicago ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Funky soul from Virginia's great Lenis Guess – best known as the leader of the Raw Soul combo, but also a hell of a singer on his own – as well as a producer, arranger, songwriter, and label owner too! This massive package showcases all of Guess' mighty talents – and brings ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Landmark stuff, and a beautiful album that mixes soulful tracks with Donny's nascent jazz sensibility! The set's a key chapter in the history of soul music – a record that has Donny emerging from shadows of the Chicago studio scene to become one of the most promising soul artists of the 70s. ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

A landmark album that hardly needs any introduction – as it's one of the most famous soundtracks, if not soul records, of the 70s! Isaac Hayes had already surprised music fans with the sophistication of his first few solo albums, which had been issued before this one – but with Shaft, ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Nice one! This obscure blacksploitation soundtrack features a hip Monk Higgins score for a Pam Grier film that's supposedly "Hotter than Coffey and meaner n' Foxy Brown". Having seen the film, we don't know if we'd totally agree with that assessment, but the music's strong enough, and ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

A Long Island group with a very groovy sound – a blue-eyed take on funk and disco, with a great small combo sound that must have been great in the clubs! These guys slide into a groove with a tightness that matches their leisure suits in the photo on the back cover – and serve up these ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

A funky holy grail – one of the rarest of the rare, and the only album ever cut by funky guitarist Carl "Sherlock" Holmes! Carl's work on the guitar is incredible – fast riffing and jazzy, with a style that's dirtier and messier than some of his 70s jazz funk contemporaries, ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Rare Memphis soul from David Hudson – work recorded at the Royal Studios with producer Willie Mitchell – issued here for the first time ever! The material is great, and really augments David's too-small catalog of recorded works – with a style that's kind of a modern evolution of ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

One of the greatest moments ever from Willie Hutch – and one of the greatest blacksploitation soundtracks too! Willie really knocks it out of the park with this one – and sounds funkier and heavier than on all of his other studio albums – with a deep sound that really matches the ... read more LP, Vinyl record album