Think you know the sound of Atlantic Records in the 60s? Think again – because this stunning series opens the vault to a huge amount of rare treasures from the legendary label! The package is amazing – and offers up rare tracks that were mostly only issued by Atlantic on singles – including some on the other imprints associated with the company – some by names we never even knew recorded for the label, others by bigger names, but represented here by obscure material that goes way past their hits – and which is ultra cool because of that. There's also a fair bit more deep soul than you might expect from the usual Atlantic mix – tremendous vocals, and often in less hit-heavy modes – which makes the whole thing a great revelation – and just one more reason to bow down and give even more expect to one of the key companies who helped soul music find a home in the 60s. Plus – as if that's not enough – the whole thing comes in a very cool 7" gatefold package – which emphasizes the from-singles nature of the collection. Volume 3 is overflowing with amazing sounds from the heart of the 60s – rare 45rpm tracks by Atlantic stars, Stax artists, and a few lesser-knowns too. Titles include "Hello Stranger" by The Capitols, "Help Me (parts 1 & 2)" by Ray Sharpe, "Long Distance Love" by Ted Taylor, "Lonely Soldier" by Mike Williams, "How Can You Babysit A Man" by Ned Towns, "Keep Looking" by Solomon Bourke, "I'm Sorry" by Fred Lowrey, "Please Uncle Sam" by The Charmels, "Share What You Got" by William Bell, "Reputation" by The Four Shells, "Me & My Baby" by Mary Wells, "Got No One" by The Delcardos, "Weak Spot" by Ruby Johnson, "Good Love Bad Love" by Eddie Floyd, "Bingo" by Ned Towns, "I Had A Dream" by Johnny Taylor, "I Can't Take It" by Ray Sharpe, "You Can't Love Them All" by The Drifters, "Believe It Or Not" by Rex Garvin & The Mighty Cravers, "Patch My Heart" by The Mad Lads, "She's The One I Love" by The Delcardos, "Find Me Somebody" by Bobby Womack, "Hello Stranger" by The Capitols, "So Much Love" by Ben E King, "Help The Bear" by Ted Taylor, and "I Feel A Sin Coming On" by Solomon Burke. CD

Includes music from the Persians, Decoys, Four Bars, the Hippies, Lenny Dean & the Rockin' Chairs, Nancy Carole, the Fidelities, Leisure Lads, Harptones, and more – 26 tracks total. CD

One of those key cases where Miles Davis took a familiar song and made it his own! The set's a live one, and features a famous 15 minute version of "My Funny Valentine" – played by Davis in a spacious, open sort of way – and one that has key hints of the modernism to come in his music, yet still rings out with some of his more easygoing late 50s appeal. The group here features George Coleman on tenor alongside the rhythm section of Herbie Hancock piano, Ron Carter bass, and Tony Williams on drums – all three of whom help Davis edge into darker territory, even when things are ostensibly sweet! Apart from the version of "My Funny Valentine", other titles include "All Blues", "All Of You", "I Thought About You", and "Stella By Starlight". Four & More is breakneck live work from Miles Davis – and proof that his famous 60s quintet wasn't only just about mellow and spacious sounds! The set was recorded at the same concert as the album My Funny Valentine – and while that one's mostly ballads, this one's mostly high tempo numbers that skip along with incredible ease – crackling with modern touches on the rhythm from Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams – and featuring some really excellent work by George Coleman on tenor sax! Titles include "Four", "So What", "Joshua", and "Seven Steps To Heaven". CD

Breakneck live work from Miles Davis – and proof that his famous 60s quintet wasn't only just about mellow and spacious sounds! The set was recorded at the same concert as the album My Funny Valentine – and while that one's mostly ballads, this one's mostly high tempo numbers that skip along with incredible ease – crackling with modern touches on the rhythm from Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams – and featuring some really excellent work by George Coleman on tenor sax! Titles include "Four", "So What", "Joshua", and "Seven Steps To Heaven". CD

Breakneck live work from Miles Davis – and proof that his famous 60s quintet wasn't only just about mellow and spacious sounds! The set was recorded at the same concert as the album My Funny Valentine – and while that one's mostly ballads, this one's mostly high tempo numbers that skip along with incredible ease – crackling with modern touches on the rhythm from Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams – and featuring some really excellent work by George Coleman on tenor sax! Titles include "Four", "So What", "Joshua", and "Seven Steps To Heaven". CD

A pair of albums from this overlooked Detroit soul group – back to back on a single CD! On Got To Have Your Love, Fantastic Four are a hell of a harmony group – and one who still hold strong through this second chapter of their career – by avoiding any of the cheaper cliches of some of the groups of the disco generation! Instead, the album focuses on their vocals first, and any sort of grooves second – which makes for some wonderful mellower cuts that really follow the spirit of some of the hippest 70s group soul from Chicago or the east coast – followed by a few upbeat tracks that get handling by Tom Moulton at Sigma Sound in Philly! The balance is great – almost more like some of the best group sides from a few years before, especially Blue Magic – and the ballads really take center stage, and blow us away with the group's deeper currents of soul. Titles include "Mixed Up Moods & Attitudes", "There's Fire Down Below", "I Got To Have Your Love", "She'll Be Right For Me", "Cash Money", and "Disco Pool Blues". On BYOF, the Fantastic Four definitely bring their own funk – thanks to tight help from arranger Dennis Coffey, who also produced the set with a heavy groove that's like his own work of the time! The basslines are stronger than before for the FF – but their harmonies are very firmly intact – and, if anything, the blend of funk and great vocals really makes the album a charmer right from the get-go – especially as they aim more for midtempo steppers than too-upbeat disco tunes that might have them losing some of their charm. The overall vibe is maybe more 1974 than 1978 – and titles include "I Just Want To Love Ya Baby", "BYOF", "Cold & Windy Night", "Sexy Lady", "Shout", "Super Lover", and "Realize". CD

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 for heartbreaking ballads! The album was the only one ever issued by the tiny Capsoul label – probably best known for their volume in Numero's Eccentric Soul series – and it features all of the group's singles for the label, plus one rare track – all wrapped up in a beautiful little cover. The sound is wonderful – a must-have set for any fan of group soul from the 70s – and titles include "You're My Desire", "In A Rut", "Row My Boat", "Why Did I Go", "Do You Really Love Me", and "Keep On Loving You". Plus, the CD also features 3 bonus tracks – rehearsal takes of "Too Far Gone" and "In A Rut", plus an instrumental of "In A Rut". CD

An incredible collection of lost recordings by the Four Tops – culled from the groups earliest days with Motown in the early 60s and through the rest of the decade – a mighty testament to the pioneering group's amazing track record! Most of their sessions with Holland-Dozier-Holland actually saw the light of day (there are only a couple here), so this set runs pretty deep, and it honestly sounds as great to our ears as most of their biggest hits do! Many of the earlier tracks on disc one stand up very well with the best soul of the era, with the glorious harmonies and sterling sound you know they laid down – even on the b-sides! Disc one features tracks from '63-'68, with productions by Mickey Stevenson, Smokey Robinson, Ivy Joe Hunter and others. Tracks include "Get My Hands On Some Lovin'", "I Can't Believe You're In Love With Me", "Baby Baby Come Home", "Fantasy", "Sweeter As The Day Days Go By". "Lost For Words", "I'm So Afraid Of Losing You" and many more! Disc two features the tracks we love the most on the set – late 60s numbers in which the lead vocals get grittier, the drums clap harder, the guitar and bass gets fuzzier – looser, funkier stuff – along with straighter soul ballads, so you know they could still do it all! Producers include Raynard Miner, Ron Miller, Pete Moore, Johnny Bristol and others. Tracks include "Same-O", "Clip My Wings", "No Time", "My Love Keeps On Growing", "Never Say No To Your Baby", "Magic Mary", "Rocks In My Bed", Which Way Is The Sky", "You're My Kind Of Woman", "Lost Without You" and more. 41 tracks in all! CD

Strong tenor work from the mighty Clifford Jordan – in a quartet with Kevin O'Connell on piano, Ed Howard on bass, and Vernell Fournier on drums! CD

Four early 80s classics from Johnny Mathis – presented here in a single 2CD package! Different Kinda Different is a tremendous start to the 80s for Johnny Mathis – and a set that really continues that strong shift into soul-based territory he begun in the 70s! Gene Page handles a lot of the arrangements here, and gives the whole thing that strong blend of strings and soul that he worked on other 70s classics for different artists – a perfect approach for that magnificent Mathis voice, especially when the tunes have a bit of a groove! Two of the best numbers here – "Different Kind Of Different" and "I'll Do It All For You" – are duets with Paulette McWilliams, who'd recorded on her own, but who really seems to hit her stride with Johnny, and in a way that's different than any of his other soul partners in duets. Other titles include "Never Givin Up On You", "With You I'm Born Again", "I Will Survive", "The Lights Of Rio", and "Love Without Words". Friends In Love is mature 80s work from Johnny Mathis – a set that features two duets with Dionne Warwick, plus some other nice material that shows that Johnny wasn't going to be left behind in the shadows of his older work! At some level, the approach of the 80s, and the rise of a new sort of adult contemporary scene, really helped Mathis find a new audience – especially when teaming with Dionne, who was also having a rebirth at the time! Titles include the classic duet title cut "Friends In Love", and another duet on "Got You Where I Want You" – plus other titles that include "What Do You Do With The Love", "When The Lovin Goes Out Of The Lovin", "I Remember You & Me", and "Somethin's Goin On". Special Part Of Me is a sweet 80s set from Johnny Mathis – one of those great later albums when he brought a good deal of soul into the mix! The feel here is almost more modern R&B than the vocal jazz mode that first brought Johnny fame – and it turns out that the Mathis mode is wonderful for such a setting – rich and full of feeling, and arguably better than some of his younger contemporaries on the charts! The ballads are beautiful, but there's also a few surprising midtempo numbers – and titles include a sublime remake of "Love Won't Let Me Wait", done with Deniece Williams – plus "Love Never Felt So Good", "Simple", "Priceless", "One Love", "Right Here & Now", and "Lead Me To Your Love" – plus "You're A Special Part Of Me", a duet with Angie Bofill. Live is a later live album from Johnny Mathis, and one that brings together classics, newer cuts, and a few titles he'd never sang before – all served up with a sound that shows the continuing strengths of the legendary singer! There's a variety of arrangers used on the set – including Gene Page and Michel Colombier – and titles include "Orange Colored Sky", "When A Child Is Born", "Begin The Beguine", "I Believe In Love", "Fly Away", "99 Miles From LA", and "A Certain Smile". CD

One of Archie Shepp's most fragile and most beautiful albums – a set of mellower tunes dedicated to John Coltrane, played on tenor and soprano sax with support from a trio that includes Albert Dailey on piano, Reggie Workman on bass, and Charlie Persip on drums! The album's a real standout in Shepp's aging stretch – a session that's much more straight ahead than his earlier work, but which also benefits from his years of more exploratory blowing – experience that echoes out here in powerful notes and phrasings that he brings into the tunes at delightfully unexpected moments. As with Shepp's earlier Four For Trane album for Impulse, the sound here is not a copycat of Coltrane at all – but a fresh new vision that takes inspiration from the creativity of the master, and works with the same sense of soul and striving. Titles include "Soul Eyes", "You Don't Know What Love Is", "Wise One", "Where Are You", and "Theme For Ernie". CD

McCoy Tyner's definitely "reaching forth" here – stretching past obvious piano trio modes, thanks to hip help from Henry Grimes on bass and Roy Haynes on drums! The groove is very open and freewheeling – yet all without being avant or outside – those hip modal-inspired sounds that you'd be likely to hear on some of Haynes' excellent early 60s sessions, cast here in beautiful tones and colors that show Tyner already stretching past the core sounds he was laying down with John Coltrane. Even the ballads have a nice sort of edge – as familiar numbers are recast in some darker clothing – and titles include the originals "Reaching Fourth" and "Blues Back" – plus versions of "Theme For Ernie", "Have You Met Miss Jones", "Old Devil Moon", and "Goodbye". CD

Dionne Warwick steps out strongly with some great production help from Luther Vandross – who gives the lady a groove that's possibly even tighter than on her other Arista albums, really shaking off some of her more familiar modes, and going for a powerful 80s sound. There's still some good ballads to balance out the upbeat cuts, too – and these really glow with the classy Vandross touch. Titles include "So Amazing", "Got A Date", "I Can Let Go Now", "What Can A Miracle Do", "How Many Times Can We Say Goodbye", and "I Do It Cause I Like It". CD features lots of bonus tracks – including "Two "Ships Passing In The Night (inst)", "How Many Times Can We Say Goodbye (inst)", and four mixes of "Got A Date". CD

Pure magic from saxophonist Barney Wilen – captured here at a point when his powers were really back in full force, and when he seemed to be at his most soulful when handling a gentle, easygoing sort of tune! The ballads in the title are definitely out in full force – served up in a mixture of famous French melodies, past and present – so that older postwar melodies are mixed with more contemporary moments from Michel Legrand – with a lyrical vibe that's really emphasized by the superb work on piano for the set by Michel Grallier! The rest of the group is great, too – and players include Sangoma Everett on drums, and Riccardo Del Fra on bass – the last of whom you might know from some fantastic albums with Chet Baker in later years. Wilen blows tenor and a bit of soprano – and titles include "L'Ame Des Poets", "Une Ete 42", "My Way", "Once Upon A Time", "Sous Le Ciel De Paris", "Syracuse", and "What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life". CD features new mastering, and four bonus tracks – alternate takes of tunes on the album! CD

Features great mellow work from Love Unlimited Orchestra, Cameo, The Dells, Starpoint, Ohio Players, Four Tops, Randy Brown, and Kinsman Dazz! CD