Hammering stuff! This is one of the hardest of the Goldmine compilations – with a heavy-duty garagey mix of soul, R&B, and beat-heavy tunes that fit perfectly together. The overall sound is super-mod, with the kind of grooves you'd expect to find at some wonderful underground party in London during the late 60s – where original soulboys are dancing all night long to a color-blind mix of storming chunes. Titles include "The Snake" by Al Wilson, "Jump & Dance" by Carnaby, "Exus Trek" by Luther Ingram, "Alligator Boogaloo" by Sandy Nelson, "These Boots Were Made For Walkin" by The Happy Cats, "Charley" by The Soul Runners, "Coffee Pot 2" by Bo Junior, "Crawling Up A Hill" by John Mayall, "Wobble Legs" by Tommy Dark, "Chain Gang" by The Powerhouse, and "Baby You Got It" by The Truth. 20 cuts in all – and all hardcore! LP, Vinyl record album

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A searing set of vintage soul cuts – brought together in honor of the legendary Wigan Casino – one of the most important clubs in the UK Northern Soul scene of the 70s! For the uninitiated, Wigan was a hotbed of upbeat rare soul cuts – overlooked American goodies from both the previous decade and more recent years – often with a strong focus on deeper soul vocals, which meant some strong entries from the southern scene as well! This well-done package comes with a heavy book-style cover, notes on the club and its music – and a whopping 28 tracks in all – including "I Can't Hide It" by The Appreciations, "Baby What Has Happened To Our Love" by The Ringleaders, "The Night The Angels Cried" by Johnny Dynamite, "I'm A Teardrop" by The Jerms, "Your Love Makes Me Lonely" by The Chandlers, "Watch Yourself" by Tony Hester, "Does Anybody Know What Time It Is" by Copper & Brass, "Can I Be Dreamin" by The Young Savages, "She's Fire" by The CODs, "Could It Be" by Mikki Farrow, and "Your Wish Is My Command" by The Inspirations. LP, Vinyl record album

A rare album of group soul from the New York scene – work from The Harptones, The Genies, Willows, Nutmegs, Fidelitys, and The Eternals! LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most comprehensive collections of work we've ever seen on Eddie Bo – a really well-done set that finally gets at the full range of his massive funky talents – including a host of rare singles done for a variety of other artists as well! Despite the dates in the title, most of the music here is from the 60s and 70s – music from those glorious years of New Orleans soul and funk – when it seemed like the Crescent City groove could never stop, thanks to the efforts of Eddie and some of his contemporaries! There's a massively heavy groove to most of the numbers here – an emphasis on the funkiest side of Eddie Bo's sound, especially when he's working in the studio with other singers in the lead – and even if you've got some other Eddie Bo reissues in your collection, there's plenty fresh stuff here that makes this one well worth owning. LP notes are great too – a full history of Eddie's long career and all its different chapters. 30 tracks in all – including "Funky Yeah" and "Shelly's Rubber Band" by Curley Moore & The Cool Ones, "What's Good To You (part 1)" and "The La La Man (part 1)" by Oliver Morgan, "Horse With A Freeze (part 1)" by Roy Ward, "Timber (parts 1 & 2)" by Candy Phillips, "Can I Be Your Main Squeeze" by Chuck Carbo, "I'm A Carpenter (part 1)" by David Robinson, "Garden Of Our Trees" by The Explosions, "Reborn" by Marilyn Barbarin, "Live It Up" by James K-Nine, "Mama Here Comes The Preacher" by Doug Anderson, ""Something You Got" by Barbara George" – and the tracks "Chained", "When The Fingers On The Funk", "Rubber Band", "Getting To The Middle", "Check Your Bucket", "Lover & Friend", "Can You Handle It", "Fallin In Love Again", "Gotta Have More", and "We Like Mambo" all by Eddie Bo. LP, Vinyl record album

Great work from this wonderful duo – almost as much deep soul as roots rock – arranged and produced by Delaney Bramlett, with some great help in the studio! Titles include "Groupie", "Only You Know & I Know", "Country Life", "I Know Something Good About You", and "Comin Home". LP, Vinyl record album

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Later work from Otis Clay, but also one of his greatest albums ever! The record features him with some fuller arrangements than usual – in less of a bluesy mode than during the Hi years, with a smooth sound that really brings out a whole new side of his style. The set was recorded in Chicago for the Japanese market – and the arrangements are by Benjamin Wright, Bill McFarland, and Clay himself. Includes the massive groover "The Only Way Is Up", an anthemic modern dancefloor number that later yielded a bit hit for Yazz – plus the tracks "Cheatin In The Next Room", "All I Need Is You", "Special Kind Of Love", "Messin With My Mind", "Turn Back The Hands Of Time", and "Check It Out". LP, Vinyl record album

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A sweet little collection of Ahmad's work for the 20th Century label – an oft-overlooked period, and one of his greatest! At the time, Ahmad was moving into a sweet R&B-influenced style – using electric piano as well as acoustic, and working with larger arrangements that were perfect for his flowing keyboard style. The set's got some really great tracks, a number of which were produced and arranged by Richard Evans – titles that include "Black Cow", "Soul Girl", "Dynamo", "Genetic Walk", "Sawhililand", and "Don't Ask My Neighbors". LP, Vinyl record album

Fully-formed genius from the amazing Rodney Franklin – one of the best keyboard stars to emerge from the late 70s scene! Franklin's got a great talent for balancing influences from jazz and soul in ways that are similar to contemporaries George Duke and Bobby Lyle – and like both of those players, he still stands strong in jazz, but makes some key nods to soul music on this set – adding in a bit of vocals where needed, and moving into some R&B-drenched fusion lines that all sound pretty darn hip! As on previous records, Rodney plays both acoustic and electric keys – blending them wonderfully for a very deep sound – and the group behind him features some especially nice work on reeds, which bring sharper edges to some of the best tracks on the set. There's a wonderfully deep feel to the whole thing – way more than you'd expect for a major label release at the time – and titles include "Felix Leo", "The Watcher", "The Groove", "Journey", "You'll Never Know", "Return", and "Parkay Man". LP, Vinyl record album

Buddy Guy reached much bigger fame on later labels, but he sounds pretty darn great here in a set of early recordings done for Chess – all sides recorded in the first half of the 60s, when Buddy represented one of the best talents in a new generation of bluesmen rising up in Chicago! The style here is tighter and a bit more urban than some of the Chess work of the 50s – less rootsy overall, with saxophone often sliding next to the guitar – in a wickedly soulful mode that's got elements of R&B in the mix. Titles include "My Time After A While", "Ten Years Ago", "Watch Yourself", "Stone Crazy", "I Found A True Love", "First Time I Met The Blues", and "No Lie". LP, Vinyl record album

Sublime LA R&B from Amos Milburn – a tasty compilation of singles that features some of his best drinkin' songs! Titles include "Good Good Whiskey", "One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer", "Let's Have A Party", "Rocky Mountain", "Bad Bad Whiskey", and "Bewildered". LP, Vinyl record album

An early gem from trumpeter Tom Browne – a set that not only firmly established Browne as one of the best young players of his generation, but which also paved the way for a whole new direction for jazz funk in the 80s! The record is a perfect example of how great the mix of R&B rhythms and jazz fusion instrumentation could be – groovy enough to capture a whole new audience from the soul market, but still more than respectful of the solo talents of the leader – but all without any attempt at smooth jazz commercialism at all! There's some great hard funk moments on the set – and Browne approaches the music in a way that's nicely different than Donald Byrd or Freddie Hubbard, two older players who first helped forge this sound in the 70s – and whose path Tom's clearly taking, but with new directions of his own. There's almost more of a street-worthy vibe to the set – quite a surprise if you only know later records on the GRP label – and the arrangements are by Tom, Weldon Irvine, Lesette Wilson, and Dave Grusin. Titles include the funky classic "Funkin' For Jamaica", plus "Her Silent Smile", "Moon Rise", "Nocturne", "Forever More", and "Weak In The Knees". LP, Vinyl record album

A key collection of work by Larry Williams – the 50's R&B artist who's too-often written off as a rocker, but who actually went onto have a key influence in the early years of soul! Like Johnny Guitar Watson, another contemporary with whom Larry sometimes recorded, Williams had a style that took the bluesy sounds of the 50s, and brought them into a slower, deeper groove – often with an approach that had a lot of deep soul overtones. LP, Vinyl record album

An amazing step forward for the young Etta James – a singer who was delivering a raw, shouting form of R&B just a few years before – but who here ascends into soul music heaven with her famous work on the album! The title cut is the stuff of legend – played and played, again and again over the years – but the whole record's wonderful, and handled with this new level of soul sophistication by arranger Riley Hampton – the great Chicago talent who'd reach similar heights in his charts for singers that include Lorez Alexandria and Walter Jackson. Hampton's dark use of strings brings out a whole new side of James' brilliance – a quality that raised Etta James up out of the R&B ghetto, and forever put her into the legions of legendary 60s soul stars! Titles include the perennial classic "At Last", plus "All I Could Do Was Cry", "Tough Mary", "Sunday Kind Of Love", "Anything To Say You're Mine", and "Trust In Me". LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic R&B work from the great Roy Brown – one of the most hard-hitting vocalists in the early years of King Records! LP, Vinyl record album

One of a handful of amazing early records from Bobby Blue Bland – genre-setting material that was partly blues, partly soul, and still had some of the fuller currents of the earlier R&B years too! Bobby's voice is incredible – one of the most distinct in soul, and up there with Solomon Burke or Otis Redding for its unique sense of power – on titles that include "Jelly Jelly Jelly", "You're The One (That I Adore)", "You're Worth It All", "Your Friends", and "Ain't That Loving You". Fantastic all the way through! LP, Vinyl record album

Classic work from Texas R&B pianist Lloyd Glenn – a great talent with a heavy-handed style that cut some sublime mellow groovers during the 50s. The album features tracks from Glenn's Aladdin and Score recordings – all cut with small group backing, and featuring players like Jack McVea on tenor, Jessie Erwin on guitar, and Bob Harvey on drums. Includes a two-part version of "After Hours", plus "Blue Ivories", "Strollin", "Rompin Rhumba", "Still Waters", and "Chick A Boo". LP, Vinyl record album

Although Roy Brown had a slightly softer edge than some of his R&B contemporaries – he could definitely rock and wail when he wanted to, as you'll hear on this set! The set does good job of digging through Roy's work from the late 40s and early 50s, pulling together 15 tracks that mix Wynonnie Harris-ish rockers (no surprise, as King often had Brown and Harris splitting "Battle Of The Blues" albums together), with mellower soulful tunes. Tracks include "Black Diamond", "Mighty Mighty Man", "Long About Midnight", "Miss Fanny Brown Returns", "Butcher Pete part 2", "Brown Angel", "Grandpa Stole My Baby", and the original version of "Good Rockin Tonight", which is a lot rawer than you'd expect! 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 have a punch that few others could match – making for a record that feels mighty darn unified, despite the stretch of time between a few of the recordings. Titles include the funky gems "Ain't That a Groove (pts 1 & 2)", "The Scratch", "Is It Yes or Is It No", and James' great version of "The Bells" that's always been one of our favorites – plus Just You & Me", "I Love You Yes I Do", "Come Over Here", and "I Don't Mind". The cover also comes with an "autographed" photo of James on the back with the text "James Brown Fans – Frame This 8 x 10 Picture" – and an image that says "Soul Brother #1 Is Peeking At You Thru The Key Hole"! LP, Vinyl record album

Essentially early Stones! 12 X 5 is The Rolling Stones at a very early, hard grooving peak, way back in '64. It's ground breaking stuff, in they they truly pave the way for so much of the soul, blues and R&B loving Anglos to come out of the Brit and US scenes in the months and years to come. It's a covers-heavy set, given that they were just beginning to do doing original material at this early point – and the tracks include the Jagger/Richards penned "Good Times, Bad Times", "Congradulations" and "Grown Up Wrong" – plus "Time Is On My Side", "Around And Around", "2120 South Michigan Avenue", "Susie Q" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Maybe the strongest solo project ever from Phil Alvin – a late 80s effort dedicated to the romping R&B sounds of the 50s – done with great help from both the Dirty Dozen Brass Band and the Sun Ra Arkestra! A number of cuts are from the glory days of the R&B single – and the approach moves between tracks with Alvin's combo, one with the Dirty Dozen, and three especially nice tracks with the Arkestra! Given the way that Sun Ra's 80s material was often dipping back into earlier generations of jazz, the group make for a very strong fit with Phil's approach – on titles that include "Someone Stole Gabriel's Horn", "Titanic Blues", "Collins Cave", "Death In The Morning", "Next Week Sometime", and "The Old Man Of The Mountain". LP, Vinyl record album

Quite possibly the first truly great Lou Rawls album for Capitol – an all-out swinging jazz session done with arrangements by Onzy Matthews, in a mode that firmly helped put the Lou Rawls sound on the map! The tracks are mostly older numbers from a long lineage of blues and R&B – but with hipper 60s touches by Matthews in the backings, Lou really swings the work into a whole new territory – moving older, clunky compositions into more adult, more mature modes that aren't nearly as sad or downtrodden as their roots! Titles include "I'd Rather Drink Muddy Water", "Roll Em Pete", "Kansas City", "World Of Trouble", "Trouble In Mind", "Strange Fruit", and "Six Cold Feet Of Ground". LP, Vinyl record album

Ashford & Simpson don't need to ask at this point – their in full 70s soul stride here, and it's not good, it's great! By this point in the late 70s, Nick and Valerie are firmly holding the foreground as artists in their own right after many years of acting as songwriters for other soul and R&B hitmakers – writing, singing, and producing their own work in a now-established tradition of sophisticated soul and uptempo grooves! What they had not done to this point was produce a number of big hits for themselves, and that tide started to turn this this excellent album that's among their best ever! Includes a number of singles that would help them begin to break through to later huge chart success, which was by now richly earned. Titles include "Is It Good To You", "Ain't It A Shame", "It Seems To Hang On", "Flashback", "The Debt Is Settled", and "Get Up And Do Something". LP, Vinyl record album

An obscure late 60s session that has R&B genius Roy Milton fronting a small group led by Johnny Otis, and featuring a young Shuggie Otis on guitar! The set's packaged in a "roots of rock" sleeve to cash in on the kids, but it's a pretty nice little set with a stoner R&B sound. Johnny wrote a number of tracks – like "Hush", "Whiskey Drinkin Woman", and "Charleston Boogie" – and the group reprises some of Roy's standards like "So Tired", "Early In The Morning", and "RM Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the all-time classics from Jr Walker & The All Stars – key proof that Motown could groove even when nobody was laying down vocals! As you might guess from the title, the album features the group's huge hit "Shotgun", plus lots of other cool funky little tracks like "Cleo's Back", "Tune Up", "Monkey Jump", "Do The Boomerang", "Shake & Fingerpop", "Shoot Your Shot", and lots more! The album's one of the group's strongest for Motown – and features that tight snapping groove that helped Jr take the tenor out of the R&B sound of the 50s, and place it into a whole new mode for the soulful 60s! LP, Vinyl record album

A nice little collection of Bo Diddley's earlier work for Chess – put together in the early 70s, when Bo was in his Black Gladiator phase, as pictured on the cover – but featuring the rawer, rougher grooves of his initial recordings in the late 50s and early 60s! The Bo Diddley groove hardly needs an introduction from us – and the 24 tracks on the set are a perfect illustration of his blinding mix of fast rhythms, choppy guitar, and comical vocals – a sound that made Bo's work some of the most striking R&B of the time! Titles include "I'm Man", "Pretty Thing", "Before You Accuse Me", "Who Do You Love", "Hey Bo Diddley", "Say Man", "I'm Looking For A Woman", "Road Runner", "Cops & Robbers", "Story Of Bo Diddley", and "Hush Your Mouth". LP, Vinyl record album

A real classic from blues giant Joe Turner – a singer who burst back to the mainstream on 50s Atlantic Records, thanks to a host of R&B singles that burned up the charts – but who here returns to his roots, and lays down a great set of jazzy tunes that get back to his roots in the Kansas City scene of the 30s! The shift is a bit like that Ray Charles made at the end of the 50s on Atlantic – R&B to more of a jazz-based groove – and Joe works here with great help from Pete Brown on alto, Pete Johnson on piano, Joe Newman on trumpet, and Lawrence Brown on trombone. After the raw hard R&B of Joe's bigger hit sides for Atlantic, the album's a compelling change – a reminder that Turner had roots that went much deeper than his rock and roll fame – and a depth of delivery that would keep his career strong, long after some of his 50s R&B contemporaries faded! The mix of modes – R&B and jazz – is a bit like some of the later Ray Charles albums on Atlantic – and tracks include "Low Down Dog", "Roll Em Pete", "Cherry Red", "How Long Blues", and "Morning Glories". LP, Vinyl record album