A record with a freaky sort of cover, but one that's got this very laidback, down to earth vibe – almost like a small funk combo taking on territory from 70s AOR, but serving things up with a much looser, easygoing sort of style! The vocals are great – blue-eyed soul, and compressed down into the instrumentation, which includes keyboards, guitar, and light strings – plus occasional flute and trumpet – all handled with this stripped-down vibe that almost makes you feel like you're sitting in with a big label act like America or Hall & Oates as they're cooking up some mellow soul tracks in the studio. Titles include "Rialto Winds", "Gift Of Life", "Peach Optimo", "Hanging On", "NyNy", "I Will Be", and "Too Yung". CD

A record with a freaky sort of cover, but one that's got this very laidback, down to earth vibe – almost like a small funk combo taking on territory from 70s AOR, but serving things up with a much looser, easygoing sort of style! The vocals are great – blue-eyed soul, and compressed down into the instrumentation, which includes keyboards, guitar, and light strings – plus occasional flute and trumpet – all handled with this stripped-down vibe that almost makes you feel like you're sitting in with a big label act like America or Hall & Oates as they're cooking up some mellow soul tracks in the studio. Titles include "Rialto Winds", "Gift Of Life", "Peach Optimo", "Hanging On", "NyNy", "I Will Be", and "Too Yung". LP, Vinyl record album

An album with a very classic look on the cover – and an equally classic sound to match – one that takes us back to some of the hippest, coolest work by early 60s singers like Sam Cooke or Marvin Gaye! Both artists are a good comparison here, as Leon Bridges is unabashedly in the same territory – cool, classy, yet undeniably soulful – at this level that never has to overstate itself, or try too hard to reach for facile funky parts, or any kind of party-moving sort of vibe. Leon's vocals are wonderful – clearly born to sing music this great – and the backings are a nice change from the usual retro soul modes, and instead have this deep soul vibe that's perfectly captured in a Texas small studio setting. Titles include "Better Man", "Brown Skin Girl", "Lisa Sawyer", "Pull Away", "Flower", and "Twistin & Groovin". (Neo Soul, Deep Funk) CD

Amazing work from Rickey Calloway – an overlooked soul singer with a resume that goes back to the 70s, and one who's definitely kept the spirit of James Brown alive and well with music like this! In a world of young singers trying for a classic vibe, Rickey's the real deal – and served up the goods not just with his fantastic way of putting over a lyric, but also with just the right sort of backup and production – qualities that keep all the tracks on here sounding like some vintage 45s from back in the days when Calloway first started hitting the studios down in Florida! The set's the first-ever vinyl album issued under Rickey's name, and is killer all the way through – with titles that include "Stay In The Groove", "Shed A Tear", "Jump Back (parts 1 & 2)", "That's On You", Tell Me", "Come On Home", "Get It Right", "Shake It Up Shake It Down", and "Work It". LP, Vinyl record album

The best record in years – maybe decades – from the legendary Dr John – and a set that stands up strongly next to the messed-up Crescent City vibe of his 70s classics! Big thanks are due to Black Keys' guitarist Dan Auerbach – who produced and supervised the whole recording – and helped create the kind of rootsy studio proceedings that make for just the right vibe to help the Doctor hit all his best classic modes! Leon Michels brings in some great keyboards, too – and an undercurrent of El Michels funk – and Dr John's vocals really sparkle in the setting – stepping out with all the weird raspy elements we love so much. Titles include "Ice Age", "Getaway", "Kingdom Of Izzness", "You Lie", "Eleggua", "My Children My Angels", "Locked Down", and "Big Shot". (Soul, Deep Funk) CD

If this is reality, lead us onward – as the set is a mindblowing batch of trippy psych-funk from The Heliocentrics – even more offbeat and experimental than before, in ways that make the combo the true heirs to the legacy first begun by Stark Reality! The album's definitely funky at the core, but it's also filled with loads of amazing sounds – instruments tuned weirdly, played weirdly, and produced weirdly – so that over the heavy drums, there's often lots of freaky, fuzzy bits and tripped-out sounds – in ways that make the record feel like some lost acid trip outtakes from the Westbound studios of the early 70s – or like some obscure funk band that dropped acid at Andy Warhol's loft! The packaging offers up a visual example of what your ears will be going through when you tune into the music – and titles include "Mysterious Ways", "Collateral Damage", "Black Sky", "Calabash", "Path Of The Black Sun", "Mr Owusu I Presume", "Eastern Begena", and loads of cool interlude tracks too. CD

The fourth album from Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings – solidifying what we learned pretty early on from the indomitable soul spirit that is Sharon and her impeccable combo the Dap-Kings – it's that this is not some retro soul revival novelty act, what they are is the greatest active embodiment of a true soul sound that will never go away! We've always loved that Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings recognize the studio and the stage as different worlds. On stage, Sharon is the possibly the most energetic, charismatic presence you'll ever see and the band brings heft and heat. In the studio, they stretch out and diversify wonderfully, bringing both raw, unpolished funky soul realness to some more stripped down numbers and a full on Stax or Hi level heaviness to the bigger ones. The songs are better and more memorable than ever on this record – with "The Game Gets Old" and "I Learned The Hard Way" (an astoundingly strong one/two punch for the opening minutes) plus "Better Things", "Give It Back", "Money". "The Reason", "Window Shopping", "I'll Still Be True", "Without A Heart", "If You Call" and "Mama Don't Like My Man". CD

A hell of a live set from Sonny Knight & The Lakers – a record that's twice as long as the group's studio session, and maybe twice as smoking as well! Sonny's an older soul singer from years back, but he's never sounded better than working here with funky backings from The Lakers – a combo who've fused a style with the singer that few other groups can match – one of those rare cases where an older artist can find a really fresh breath of life while still moving forward, and where the younger talents seem to really hit a level of mature focus in the presence of the older artist. The recording quality is great – very sharp and on point – at a level that captures all the spontaneous energy of the group as they really stretch out and do their thing! Some tracks are nice and long – and titles include "Juicy Lucy", "Get Up And Dance", "Through With You", "Sonny's Boogaloo", "Where Did You Sleep Last Night", "Day Tripper", "Baby Baby Baby", "It's You For Me", "Sock A Poo Poo", "When You're Gone", "Cave Man", "I'm Still Here" (parts 1 & 2), "Sugar Man", and "Hey Girl". LP, Vinyl record album

The original soundtrack to Trouble Man is nothing short of a masterpiece – a full-on moment of studio genius from Marvin Gaye, right in the middle of his classic 70s run – a record that's given a fantastic new treatment here by Lo Res, who delivers exactly what's promised in the title! The record's not a straight rehash of the original – as Lo Res clearly knows and loves, and has completely absorbed the original – so that he can take the whole thing and open it up with new arrangements, interesting instrumentation, and a mix of strings, jazz, and funky elements that are completely sublime. If anything, the set seems to more fully expand on the orchestrations of the original, while losing none of the sense of the soul – and apart from a vocal appearance by Blackwolf, most of the focus is instrumental – on titles that include "Cleo's Apartment", "T Plays It Cool", "Don't Mess With Mr T", "T Stands For Trouble", "Theme From Trouble Man", "Poor Abbey Walsh", "The Break In", and "Deep In It". LP, Vinyl record album

An ambitious little set from Christian McBride – one that brings together 3CDs of music recorded over 2 nights of performance – all in a mode that shows McBride picking up plenty of funky touches! The group here features Geoffrey Keezer on keyboards, Ron Blake on saxes, and Terreon Gully on drums – really hitting the kit with a pounding intensity to match McBride's pulsating work on both acoustic and electric basses – jamming here a lot strongly than we remember from other studio sides. The expanded package is presented (amazingly) at the same price as a regular CD – and offers plenty of long tracks to really hear this great band stretch out in a space that's nicely between conventional jazz and some of the looser modes of the jamband underground. Guest appearances include Charlie Hunter, DJ Logic, Scratch, Eric Krasno, and Jason Moran – and titles include "Say Something", "Clerow's Flipped", "Lejos De Usted", "Sonic Tonic", "Hibiscus", "Sitting On A Cloud", "Mwandishi Outcome Jam", "Lower East Side", "See Jam Hear Jam Feel Jam", "E Jam", and "D Shuffle Jam". Lots of jams! (Jazz, Deep Funk) CD