... 7-inch, Vinyl record

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

A mighty nice electro groove from Father Sheed – a cut that has a bouncing bassline that sets up a groove for keyboards to follow – while vocoded vocals are served up very far down in the mix, leaving most of the "singing" of the tune to the keyboards and bass! "Love Street" has a great percolated groove – a sharper drum machine line with a nicely bubbling rhythm, almost "Sexual Healing" in style – very 80s, as are the processed vocals on the tune! 7-inch, Vinyl record

Two obscure 70s cuts from Darrow Fletcher – both making their debut on 45! "Hope For Love" is the kind of slow-burning tune that Darrow does so well – a perfect showcase for his unique vocal approach, and set to a gentle groove that's perfect for the later hours! "No Limit" follows with a very similar vibe – and has almost a Teddy Pendergrass sort of intro, one that really gives Fletcher a great way to slide into the tune – before things take off and the groove picks up nicely! 7-inch, Vinyl record

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

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

One of our favorite ever singles from Chicago! "Chinatown" is a hilarous (and slightly racist) soul track about the asian community, with some great fake "Chinese" singing. Very much in the tradition of tracks like "Ling Ting Tong"! 7-inch, Vinyl record

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

Two great cuts from Clydene Jackson – a singer who works here with some great production work from Ray Charles! There's a romping piano line on "I Need Your Love", which sets a nicely soulful current for Clydene's soaring vocals – almost a Carole King sort of energy, but better! "We're In Love" has a nicely different vibe – a glowing, swaying, sophisticated style that really glistens in a mellow sort of way! 7-inch, Vinyl record

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

With Charlie Parker and Willie Smith on alto; Charlie Ventura and Lester Young on tenor; Al Killian, Dizzy Gillespie, and Howard McGhee on trumpet; Arnold Ross and Mel Powell on piano, Billy Hadnott on bass, and Lee Young on drum. 7-inch, Vinyl record

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

Produced by Willie Mitchell. 7-inch, Vinyl record

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

Two great cuts from 60s female soul singer Tobi Lark! "Challenge My Love" is a mid 60s Detroit groover from the hands of Dave Hamilton – nicely chugging beat underneath, sweet vocals by Tobi, and a bit of a brassy finish on the groove – all making for a nice midtempo dancer all around! "Sweep It Out" is a stone cooker from Tobi Lark – a romping Northern groove that has some weird harmony vocals shooby-doobing underneath Tobi's bold, raw lead – all on top of a rhythm that's completely infectious from the get-go! 7-inch, Vinyl record

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

Nice! We don't know if this is the same Love, Devotion, & Happiness that later recorded for RCA – but the single's an obscure one, on a tiny Chicago label, with arrangements by Tom Tom Washington. "Joy Sweet Joy" is a nice mellow mid-tempo track, with a dope production sound, and sweet soulful female vocals. 7-inch, Vinyl record

Great stuff from one of the 70s' best vocal groups! "Seems Like" is stone mellow east coast harmony soul, with a sweet ballad style. "Town Called Nowhere" is even better, and has a nice choppy guitar, and a good midtempo groove. Very nice! 7-inch, Vinyl record

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

Excellent work from this Chicago soul great! "More Power" is one of Cash's best songs – and it's got a hard-rolling funky sound that reminds us a lot of some of Syl Johnson's work on Twinight. Like those cuts, it's got a rolling bass at the bottom – pushing Cash's voice over the top, and keeping the track humming all the way through. "I'll Always Love" is great too – a slower ballad number, but done beautifully, with raw vocals from Cash! 7-inch, Vinyl record

Two versions of a great track by Joe McPhee – both of which have the saxophonist laying out some surprisingly soulful sounds! If you only know Joe from his later avant years, you'll be stunned to hear McPhee here – as "Cosmic Love" has Joe spinning out this soulful saxophone lead over organ, which burns very slowly in the background – as McPhee starts out first straight, then surprisingly outside once things get going – but with a vibe that's somewhere between Kalaparusha on Delmark, and Arthur Doyle a few years later. The second version of the tune really turns up the echo on the organ, which makes things even more cosmic – as McPhee's solo follows a similar way-out path! 7-inch, Vinyl record

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

Two sides recorded by Bobby with Cash McCall in Chicago – both original tunes by Bobby, handled with a deep soul approach. "Give Me Your Love" has a bit of a Tyrone Davis sort of swing to it – guitar working around the bouncing bassline, as Bobby's vocals swing out a bit more than usual, in a good way that makes the song nice and catchy! 7-inch, Vinyl record

The mellower side of Mystique – one of Chicago's more uptempo funk ensembles from the 70s! "Somebody Somebody" is a catchy little love tune – penned and arranged by Richard Rome, and produced by Bunny Sigler with a mellow sort of Philly feel. "It Took A Woman" is even better – more in a mellow Chicago soul mode, with a very laidback and slow-moving groove – and some great harmonies on the vocals of the tune! 7-inch, Vinyl record

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

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

Although James Phelps has a deep raw soul voice – he's matched here with some nice uptown arrangements courtesy of Phil Wright, for a sound that's a lot like some of the best solo Ben E. King solo stuff for Atlantic! "Love Is A 5-Letter Word" is a nice slowly-rolling track with a catchy chorus – and "I'll Do The Best" has an uptowny style that's wonderful – really one of those "shoulda been a hit" kind of tunes! 7-inch, Vinyl record

Nice two part version of his big hit! Recorded at Muscle Shoals, with a nice hard groove that only gets better on part 2. 7-inch, Vinyl record

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

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

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

... 7-inch, Vinyl record