Benchmark 80s electro – and also part of the blueprint for the sound of west coast hip hop – the groundbreaking work of Arabian Prince! Perhaps one of the most overlooked innovators of the west coast scene, Arabian Prince played an integral role in shaping the LA hip-hop sound, from the early electro days of Uncle Jam's Army to the gangster rap explosion of the late 80s. With the current electro resurgence in full swing, now is prime time to look back at his contributions, which sound just as fresh today as the day it was made. 10 tracks total spanning from '84 to '89, including solo tracks "Strange Life" & "It Ain't Tough", a few tracks with The Shieks including "Innovator" & "Situation Hot", and production work for others like Professor X, plus the NWA classic "Panic Zone". 2 bonus tracks for the CD: "Simple Planet" and "Beatdabeat". CD

Excellent work by Dionne Warwick's soulful sister! Dee Dee is one of the great unsung heroes of 60s soul – and although she cut a fair bit of work back in the day, much of it is yet to be properly reissued. That situation has changed for the better with this excellent set – a 26 track compilation of Dee Dee's work for the Mercury/Blue Rock label, recorded during the years 1965 to 1973, and including the bulk of her rare albums Foolish Fool and I Want To Be With You, plus a number of even rarer singles! Arrangements are by the likes of Ed Townsend, Horace Ott, and others – and Dee Dee's approach is a hard soul take on the uptown groove, handled with an equal balance of poise and raw energy. Titles include "Locked In Your Love", "We're Doing Fine", "Next Time You Fall In Love", "Ring Of Bright Water", "All The Love That Went To Waste", "Don't You Ever Give Up On Me", "Girls Need Love", "It's Not Fair", "Foolish Fool", "Another Lonely Saturday Baby", and "You Don't Know What You Do To Me". CD

A great mix of jangle pop and female vocal numbers from 60s England – the 4th in RPM's great series of Dream Babes, and one of the best yet! The groove here runs along the lines of work by some of the more famous British singers of the era – Petula Clark, Shirley Bassey, Sandi Shaw, and others – but often has some nice left-field touches that make the tunes a bit more exciting and less familiar, thanks to some especially great production. Titles include "Gonna Give Him Some Love" and "I Want That Boy" by The Chantelles, "Gonna Make Him Mine" and "Love Hit Me" by The Orchids, "Love Is Wonderful" by Paula Parfitt, "Here I Am" by Linda Thorson, "When I Think Of You" by Twiggy, "That Lonely Feeling" by The McKinleys, "Reviewing The Situation" by Jacki Bond, and "I Can Hear Music" by The Breakaways. 22 tracks – and great notes! CD

A killer killer compilation – the sort we've been dying to own for years! It's a well known fact that there's plenty of funky nuggets hidden amidst 70s gospel recordings – massive grooves and break-heavy tracks that rank right up there with the best indie funk from the same time. Yet tracking down these tunes has always been plenty tough – given that most gospel records sold in different circles, had different distribution, and often are less easy to decipher for the crate digger than more conventional funk and soul. Enter the folks at Numero – who have really gone all out this time around, and dug through piles and piles of rare gospel records to come up with a whopping batch of great tracks! This set is definitely ground zero for getting into funky gospel – and it's filled with far more obscure work than the Soul Gospel set on Soul Jazz – all indie numbers from small labels that only got minor distribution at the time. As usual with Numero, the notes and package match the soulful depth and righteousness of the music – and the set is one of the most perfectly wrapped-up genre compilations we've ever seen! 18 tracks in all – with titles that include "I Thank The Lord" by Mighty Voices Of Wonder, "This Old World Is Going Down" by The Modulations, "Look Where He Brought Us" by The Apostles Of Music, "Thoughs (sic) Were The Days" by LaVice & Company, "Bad Situation" by 5 Spiritual Tones, "God Been Good To Me" by Mighty Walker Brothers, "O Yes My Lord" by Voices Of Conquest, "We Don't Love Enough" by Triumphs, "Heaven On Their Minds" by Sam Taylor, "God Will Dry My Weeping Eyes" by Horace Family, and "I Call Him" by Masonic Wonders. CD

The title's a fairly good one for this second set from British singer Jorja Smith – as the record's got this shift between soaring in the skies and standing on the ground as it shifts between different modes from song to song – joyous at points, but also brought back to earth at others – as Jorja works a vocal style that seems equally comfortable in both situations. Production is by Damedame, and has a richness, but always puts Smith's voice up front wisely in the mix – on titles that include "Try Me", "Little Things", "Feelings", "She Feels", "Go Go Go", and "Broken Is The Man". CD

The title's a fairly good one for this second set from British singer Jorja Smith – as the record's got this shift between soaring in the skies and standing on the ground as it shifts between different modes from song to song – joyous at points, but also brought back to earth at others – as Jorja works a vocal style that seems equally comfortable in both situations. Production is by Damedame, and has a richness, but always puts Smith's voice up front wisely in the mix – on titles that include "Try Me", "Little Things", "Feelings", "She Feels", "Go Go Go", and "Broken Is The Man". LP, Vinyl record album