... 7-inch, Vinyl record

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

Obscure little soul single from Chicago, and one that (we think) may have a Pharoahs connection. Burny Reynolds sings some nice deep soul vocals on this 70s uptempo funky groover. 7-inch, Vinyl record

One of the best singles from obscure southern soul singer Cliff Curry. "She Shot A Hole" is pretty good, with kind of a midtempo groove, and a catchy hook – but the better cut is "We're Gonna Hate Ourselves", which has a mellow vocal from Clifford, and a great compressed sound that's like early Muscle Shoals work, touched with kind of a New Orleans approach to rhythm. The hook will stay with you long after the track's over, too! 7-inch, Vinyl record

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

A great bit of funky blues from Chicago! "Lilly Mae" burns with a nice heavy bottom – horns and bass blaring together underneath Johnny's great vocals – hard, rough, and with a west side groove produced by Monk Higgins and Cash McCall. "I'm Just" is a sad sweet blusey number, almost in the vein of Toussaint McCall – with fantastic deep soul lead from Johnny! 7-inch, Vinyl record

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

(Rock, Funky 45's) 7-inch, Vinyl record

A sweet sweet classic from Prince – a tune that was hailed as a move to psychedelic modes at the time, but which was really just a way for the singer to open up a whole new side of his talents! "Raspberry Beret" is wonderfully catchy – but it's also got a groove that's maybe a bit less sexy than some other Prince material – almost as if he's more laidback and confident, he can just breeze into the tune in a mighty nice way. The flipside's equally nice – and the single's one of the classic pic sleeve 12" from Prince's huge 80s run! 7-inch, Vinyl record

Two sides from Irma's obscure Fungus recordings – both produced by Jerry Williams, and with a raw southern approach that lets Irma's stormin vocals come to the forefront. 7-inch, Vinyl record

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

Soul singer Marietta Smith steps out with a gentle glide over the funky stepping rhythms of "Tumblin Down" – really helping open up the motion of the tune as she works with a very distinct vocal approach! The flipside's an instrumental, "Return Of The Soul Sabre" – one that has the group really kicking it with great funky drums, a catchy organ line, and some cool spacey touches on the guitar that make the whole thing sound spacey and spooky – but funky too! 7-inch, Vinyl record

Connie Stevens is best known for pop work early in the 60s – but here, she sounds wonderfully soulful – grooving strongly over the gliding charms of the cool back/forth rhythms of "Tic Toc"! The tune's got strings over a romping groove – one that's maybe more late 60s mod than you'd guess from the date – and which has Connie sounding very different than usual. "Keep Going Strong" is soulful too, but in a slower paced mode – as the tune is a very early reading of the Thom Bell classic "Betcha By Golly Wow"! 7-inch, Vinyl record