A great early collection of upbeat 60s soul from Ace/Kent Records – featuring 16 cuts by The Rocky Fellers, Benny Gordon, Rosco Robinson, Shirelles, Maxine Brown, Young Holt Trio, Jackie Wilson, Isley Brothers, Chuck Jackson, Artistics, Roy Head, and The Esquires! (Soul, Funky Compilations) LP, Vinyl record album

Funky nuggets from one of the greatest reggae labels of all time – a really wonderful collection that gets at some of the more hard-hitting material from Kingston powerhouse Studio One Records! Given the way that Studio One helped bridge the worlds of soul during the years of Jamaican ska and rocksteady, the funk is no surprise – and the package features both remakes of American funky numbers and plenty of homegrown cuts, all served up by some of the giants from the scene at the time. Titles include "Sidewalk Doctor" by Pablove Black, "007" by Soul Brothers, "Love Jah" by Sound Dimension, "Do Your Thing" by Leroy Sibbles, "Idleberg" by Cedric Im Brooks, "African Descendants" by Alton Ellis, "Reggae Feet" by Lloyd Williams, "Hang Em High" by Jackie Mittoo, "Beat Down Babylon" by Prince Frances, "Funky Broadway" by Delroy Wilson, "It's A Shame" by Alton Ellis, "Melting Pot" by Underground Vegetables, "Music Answer" by The Sharks, and a surprising remake of "Shaft" by the unlikely Cedric Im Brooks. (Reggae, Funky Compilations) CD

One of the coolest sets the Numero Group has ever released – and that's saying a heck of a lot, given their already-mighty catalog! Although the label issued a previous dip into the enigmatic Boddie Recording company of Cleveland, this massive package brings together a whopping 57 tracks from the Boddie studios and related labels – many of which have never been reissued before, even by Numero – and all of which offer up a mindblowing microcosm of the American scene in the 60s and 70s – a wealth of rare funk, soul, psych, gospel, and more – all of it the kind of gritty material that 45 collectors die for! But just as cool as the music is the box itself – a slipcover that fits around a hardcover book, which contains individual pockets with CDs that focus on the core labels from Boddie – then other pull outs that include a big booklet on the studios, another on the artists, and a third set of bonus inserts! Musically, the whole thing's right on par with other Numero releases – maybe even above them, given the wide range and depth of the collection – and artists include Bo & The Metros, Inter Circle, King James Version, Ricky Hodges, Jackie Russell, Angela Alexander, Frankie Pighee, Chantells, AC Jones, Harvey Hall, Headlines, Modern Detergents, Penny North, JC Akins, Little Anthony Mitchell, Gospel Fabulators, Royal Kings, Corinthian Singers, Brother Bill, Victory 5, and many more. This version includes a fourth "Boddie Bonus Disc" with 22 additional tracks! CD

A set with "modernity" as the title, but a batch of tracks that sound plenty old all the way through – mostly the kind of upbeat soul tracks that played big with the 60s mod scene in London! Yet this isn't the usual collection of mod classics – as the work here is very obscure, and served up in the mix of rare singles and unreleased material that we totally love on other Ace/Kent Records collections – presented with great sound, and very detailed notes that are as fun to read as the songs are to hear! All the artists are American, and look very different than the dapper British gents on the cover – soaring out in a set list that includes "Deuces Wild" by Gary & Gary, "Just Can't Help Myself" by Birdlegs & Pauline, "Oh Lady Be Good" by Charles Hodges, "The Hawg (part 2)" by Eddie Kirk, "See See Rider" by Byrdie Green, "Walk Home With Me" by Ike & Tina Turner, "Sundown" by The Merced Blue Notes, "Go Away With Me" by Hollis Dixon & The Keynotes, "I Found A Little Girl" by Eddie Bo, "The Bounce" by Jackie Lee, "Earthquake" by The Fashionettes, "Air Travel" by Ray & Bob, "That's All I Want" by King Carl, "The Warm Up (part 1)" by Clifton White & His Royal Knights, "Soul Grabber" by Willis Jackson, and "Who Knows" by Willie Tee. CD

Funky nuggets from one of the greatest reggae labels of all time – a really wonderful collection that gets at some of the more hard-hitting material from Kingston powerhouse Studio One Records! Given the way that Studio One helped bridge the worlds of soul during the years of Jamaican ska and rocksteady, the funk is no surprise – and the package features both remakes of American funky numbers and plenty of homegrown cuts, all served up by some of the giants from the scene at the time. Titles include "Sidewalk Doctor" by Pablove Black, "007" by Soul Brothers, "Love Jah" by Sound Dimension, "Do Your Thing" by Leroy Sibbles, "Idleberg" by Cedric Im Brooks, "African Descendants" by Alton Ellis, "Reggae Feet" by Lloyd Williams, "Hang Em High" by Jackie Mittoo, "Beat Down Babylon" by Prince Frances, "Funky Broadway" by Delroy Wilson, "It's A Shame" by Alton Ellis, "Melting Pot" by Underground Vegetables, "Music Answer" by The Sharks, and a surprising remake of "Shaft" by the unlikely Cedric Im Brooks. (Reggae, Funky Compilations) LP, Vinyl record album