A really cool collection – one that's maybe best summed up by the word "ecstatic" in the title – as the package presents a blend of work from artists who easily skirt both the spiritual and secular side of soulful music, united together with a very joyous, uplifting vibe in their sound! This isn't classic gospel from the years when you might hear a guitar or organ behind a small group of harmonizing vocals – and instead, much of this work was created at a time when soul music had already been going strong for years – and while gospel might have initially helped in the formation of soul, it's clear that things are also moving the other direction in these tracks – as many of these artists borrow from the power of righteous soul styles, and use it to inflect their joyous message with a great new energy! Titles include "Everything Is Gonna Be Alright" by Keith Barrow, "Is There Anybody Here" by The Alvin Darling Ensemble, "Trouble's Brewin" by The Meditation Singers, "Satisfied" by Andre Crouch & The Disciples, "Let Your Feet Down Easy" by Dorothy Norwood, "If You Believe Your God Is Dead" by Swan Silvertones, "The Upper Way" by The Violinaires, "Elijah" by Roscoe Robinson, "Till I've Got This Feelin Of Love" by Dyson's Faces, and "Nothing Can Stop Me Now" by Destiny. LP, Vinyl record album

A great overview of work on the legendary Three Blind Mice label from 70s Japan – a crucial imprint that gave exposure to the new generation of Japanese jazz musicians who were forging a fresh sort of ideas apart from their counterparts in the US! Three Blind Mice was always a label that was dedicated to the best quality of sound – not just in the top-shelf recording techniques they employed, but also in the way they let their artists approach the material – often without any sort of concern for commercial potential or crossover appeal – a quality that's really kept the TBM material very fresh over the years! Most tracks are nice and long – far from short crossover fusion or pop jazz of the period – and titles include "Derrick's Dance" by Teruo Nakamura, "Tones For Joan's Bones" by Fumio Karashima, "New Shade Of Blue" by Naosuke Miyamoto, "Sunset On The Street" by Sunao Wada with Minoru Ikeno, "Feel Like Makin Love" by Isao Suzuki, "Lady T" by Isoo Fukui, "Sunday Thing" by Toshiyuji Miyama & The New Herd, "Maiden Voyage" by Tatsuya Takahashi & The Tokyo Union, "Ain't Nothin New Under The Sun" by Ayako Hosokawa, and "Nardis" by the trio of Masabumi Kikuchi, Hideo Kanai, and Masahiko Togashi. LP, Vinyl record album

Japanese club music from the disco years onward – but a set that's got a very universal appeal in the rhythms! The vocals are mostly in Japanese, but the arrangements, production, and instrumentation here resonate strongly with the best that New York or Philly had to offer during the disco generation – a well-done blend of funky grooves with some slightly larger instrumentation, all of which sends home the soulful vocals in a way that hardly makes you notice they're not singing in English! All of the tracks here are from rare albums – similar to the Wamono Jazz compilations – and titles include "Birth Of The Odyssey" by Godiego, "This Is Hot" by Ikue Sakakibsara, "I Will Give You Samba" by Soul Media, "Woman In A Man's World" by Hatsumi Shibata, "Disco Great Tokyo" by Pink Parachute, "Krishna" by Yumi Murata, "Ame Wa Knife No Ya Sa" by Yoshito Machida & Godiego, and "Purple Shadow" by Hatsumi Shibata. LP, Vinyl record album

Heavy funk from 70s Turkey – proof that the world of the groove knew no boundaries at the time! The tunes here are all pretty heavily influenced by American funk and jazz of the period – awash in heavy beats, tight riffing, and wicked instrumentation that's often produced with a nice gritty edge that really matches the intensity of some of the best funky 45s! But the work also features a fair bit of Eastern influences as well – either in use of specific instruments, sounds, and phrasing – or the occasional Turkish vocals which really help freshen the groove. Side one is all funk – and very dirty, nasty, and with beats a lot heavier than you'd expect – and side two is jazz, but not your usual Anglo jazz from the time – and more in the world/jazz crossover style explored by labels like MPS! The whole thing's totally great – a record you'll proudly stack next to your best Mulatu albums, but which will take you even further! Titles include "Hilal" by Durul Gence 10, "Senlik" by Erol Peckan, "Cecen Kizi" by Emin Findikoglu, "Sevemek Istiyorum" by Erkut Tackin, "Karli Daglar" by Erkin Koray, "Aybatti (edit)" by Fikret Kizilok, "Dolana Dolana" by Mustafa Okzent Ve Orkestrasi, "Bermuda Seytan Ucgeni" by Aksu Orkestrasi, and "Kopruden Gecti Gelin" by Ferdi Ozbegen. LP, Vinyl record album