A sweet bouncy groover – one of the rare albums of modern soul cut by the group Delegation! The group in this incarnation are a trio – Ray Patterson, Ricky Bailey, and Bruce Dunbar on vocals – stripped-down harmonically, a perfect fit for the album's groove-heavy arrangements. The album's got the same warm finish, with a touch of jazz, that you might find in some of the Arista modern soul albums from the same era – infused with a bit more of a club approach on a few of the more uptempo cuts. Titles include "Blue Girl", "Heartache No 9", "One More Step To Take", "Sho Nuff Sold On You", "Darlin", "You & I", "Stand Up", and "Put A Little Love On Me". CD features lots of bonus tracks – "Heartache No 9 (12" special rmx version)", "Put A Little Love On Me (12" long)", "You & I (single)", "Heartach No 9 (single)", and "Put A Little Love On Me (single)". CD

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

... LP, Vinyl record album

A real turning point in the career of Japan – and a set that really shows David Sylvian coming into his own, both as a singer and a songwriter! The sound here is a complete change from the group at the start – these really wonderful tunes that mark Japan as one of the smarter, more sophisticated groups of the new romantic generation – and one that maybe is even better, as they never had the same sort of chart success, and only let the skills of David Sylvian deepen as they went on – instead of trying to sound more commercial, and grabbing for hits! John Punter produced, and does a good job of focusing on the more subtle elements in the mix – on titles that include "Quiet Life", "Fall In Love With Me", "Halloween", "Alien", "The Other Side Of Life", "Despair", and a nice remake of "All Tomorrow's Parties". LP, Vinyl record album

A great bit of indie soul from the mid 70s – and a record that's as wonderful as it is obscure! We don't know much about John, but he's got a spacious, soaring style of soul that's clearly influenced by Stevie Wonder – and which takes the sound into a fuller, richer groove – but which still has a lot of Stevie's greatness in the mix. The tunes are catchy, positive, and have some nice jazzy Wonder-ish changes – and although Valenti clearly never made it into the big leagues as a 70s soul star, the record's still a pretty tasty little set in the right moments. Titles include "Anything You Want", "Why Don't We Fall In Love", "Save Me", "Higher & Higher", "Was It Something I Said", "I Wrote This Song For You", "Morning Song", "I Love Her Too", and "That's The Way Life Goes". CD

A career-spanning look at the music of Delegation – one of the few UK soul groups of the 70s who could go head-to-head with the best American acts of the time! Delegation have this razor-sharp style that almost prefaces 80s groove – a mode that was born in the disco generation, but which is much leaner overall – and really well-suited to the vocal approach of the trio – who themselves are maybe tighter and hipper than a good deal of their contemporaries! By the time the 70s were drawing to a close, Delegation had really grown into something wonderful – and you'll hear a great evolution in sound and style on this massively-packed set – which includes early work for the State label, plus bigger sides for Ariola and Mercury – including a few single mixes too. 33 titles in all – with tracks that include "Turn On To City Life", "12th House", "It's Your Turn (12" mix)", "Heartache No 9 (12" mix)", "Oh Honey (12" mix)", "Stand Up", "Sho Nuff Sold On You", "Let Me Take You To The Sun", "Mr Heartbreak", "Gonna Bring The House Down", "Feels So Good", "Dance Prance Boogie", "Singing (12" mix)", "I Figure I'm Out Of Your Life", "I Wantcha Back", "Tell Her", "Welcome To My World", "We Can Make It", and "Someone Oughta Write A Song". CD