Grandmaster Flash is best known for his work in the world of hip hop, not the sort of club scene that Salsoul helped feed back in the day – yet this surprisingly great package has Flash adding in some hip hop energy to the catalog of the legendary label – spinning tracks that emphasize the funkier currents of Salsoul, and drawing a link between disco singles and the sorts of rhythms that first helped feed the old school street party scene! Titles include "High" by Skyy, "Doctor Love" by First Choice, "Make Up Your Mind" by Aurra, "Runaway" by Salsoul Orchestra, "Let's Celebrate" by Skyy, "Slap Slap Lickedy Lap" by Instant Funk, "Love Sensation" by Loleatta Holloway, "Ten Percent" by Double Exposure", "I Got My Mind Made Up" by Instant Funk, "Spring Rain" by Silvetti, "Ooh I Love It" by Salsoul Orchestra, and "Checkin You Out" by Aurra. LP, Vinyl record album

A well-done look at a genre that kind of snuck in under the wire – music that carries some late traces of electro, touched with underground club styles, but also delivered in a way that's plenty darn catchy, with a great ear for a hook and a groovy sort of sing-song lyric! The music is heavy on beats, basslines, and keyboards – all bursting out with plenty of energy – maybe a brightened up take on street soul from the early 80s, but usually with a younger female singer, which helps the music bubble along in a really great way! The package is new territory for Ace Records, but they've done a great job of bringing together both key cuts and overlooked gems – all hand-picked by Bob Stanley, with a set list that includes "Two Of Hearts (12" version)" by Stacey Q, "Don't Be Shy (radio voc)" by Janelle, "Lover Girl" by Meg, "Let's Go (radio)" by Nocera, "Funky Little Beat" by Connie, "When I Hear Music" by Debbie Deb, "I Wonder If I Take You Home" by Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force, "Together Forever (radio)" by Lisette Melendez, "Dreamin" by Will To Power, "Take Me In Your Arms" by Lil Suzy, "Thief Of Hearts" by Cynthia, "Fascinated (12" version)" by Company B, and "Baby Talk" by Alisha. CD

A well-done look at a genre that kind of snuck in under the wire – music that carries some late traces of electro, touched with underground club styles, but also delivered in a way that's plenty darn catchy, with a great ear for a hook and a groovy sort of sing-song lyric! The music is heavy on beats, basslines, and keyboards – all bursting out with plenty of energy – maybe a brightened up take on street soul from the early 80s, but usually with a younger female singer, which helps the music bubble along in a really great way! The package is new territory for Ace Records, but they've done a great job of bringing together both key cuts and overlooked gems – all hand-picked by Bob Stanley, with a set list that includes "Two Of Hearts (12" version)" by Stacey Q, "Don't Be Shy (radio voc)" by Janelle, "Lover Girl" by Meg, "Let's Go (radio)" by Nocera, "Funky Little Beat" by Connie, "When I Hear Music" by Debbie Deb, "I Wonder If I Take You Home" by Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force, "Together Forever (radio)" by Lisette Melendez, "Dreamin" by Will To Power, "Take Me In Your Arms" by Lil Suzy, "Thief Of Hearts" by Cynthia, "Fascinated (12" version)" by Company B, and "Baby Talk" by Alisha. LP, Vinyl record album

A storming mix of R&B, early soul, and rare rockers – all hand-picked by the famous team of Keb Darge and Little Edith! We first knew Keb as an expert in raw funk over 20 years ago – back at a time when few DJs cared about the style – and you can definitely hear Keb's funk-trained ears at work here – as the tunes are all plenty raw and filled with sharp edges – way way different than any mainstream assumptions you might have about rock or soul from this time! The vibe is similar to some of the best Cramps-fueled compilations, or some of the hipper Norton titles – and titles include "Get Whiz" by The Dazzlers, "Jam & Jelly" by The Col-Lee Jets, "Shis Kebab" by The Black Albinos, "Dance Franny Dance" by The Floyd Dakil Combo, "Nervous Breakdown" by Gregory Dee & The Avanties, "Steady With Betty" by Benny Joy, "Please Give Me Something" by Bill Allen & The Back Beats, and "The Shake" by George Fleming. CD

One of the coolest collections ever put out by The Numero Group – and that's saying a lot, given the hipness of the label! Downriver Revival chronicles the story of a unique studio in Michigan – Double U Sound, a custom recording spot that captured a wonderful range of soul, funk, gospel, and other sounds from the local community – beautifully presented here in a full CD, plus a bonus DVD that features the near-complete 200 song archive of the studio! The DVD's really unique – so we'll talk about it first: Done with an interactive menu that lets you literally comb through the boxes of tapes in the Double U vault – selecting each reel recorded by the studio, and sampling the rich array of wonderful sounds from this untapped Michigan scene – a huge amount of music, far more than you'd ever find on a CD compilation. The DVD also features a documentary on the studio and Downriver Revial project – and that alone would be worth the price of admission – but the CD then features 24 key numbers pulled from the vaults – tracks that were either issued on rare 45s, or never issued at all – and which represent a wonderful array of soulful sounds that definitely lives up to the Numero standard! Titles include "There's A Light" by Shirley Ann Lee, "Take Care Of Us" by The Revelations, "Untitled Jam" by Bobby Cook & The Explosions, "Foot Stumping (alt)" by Organics, "While You Were Gone" by Combinations, "Heaven" by Deliverance Echoes, "Untitled" by Burgess Band, "Round N Round" by Junior Mays Group, and "Walk With Me" by Calvin Cooke. CD

An incredible collection – and one that fills in a crucially under-documented side of the New York dancefloor generation – the wealth of special mixes and edits that were made for that city's important DJs for their own use in clubs! The package sorts through a mountain of never-issued acetates, and goes way past conventional disco or rare club collections – to showcase the special mixing talents these DJs brought to their re-presentation of the material – which was usually done on tape, then pressed onto acetate discs for their own private use! Those rare treasures are brought forth here – in a beautiful package that's also overflowing with fantastic notes that finally give this lost history its due – all handled by Al Kent – who's a hell of a mixer himself, as well as an underground club historian. Vinyl part 2 features five full records – all with lots of space for the tracks to stretch out – and titles include "My Number's Up (Tee Scott rmx)" by The Salsoul Orchestra, "The Love Bug Done Bit Me Again (David Todd rmx)" by Skyliners, "LA Sunshine (Robert Ouimet rmx)" by Aura, "Love Has Come My Way (Jim Burgess rmx)" by Tony Valor Sound Orchestra, "Handsome Ma (Bobby DJ Guttadoro rmx)" by Sparkle Tuhran & Friends, "Love Thang (Tee Scott rmx)" by First Choice, "Burn Me Up (Jellybean Benitez edit)" by Kay Gees, "Love Is The Message (Tee Scott rmx)" by Brooklyn Express, "Changes (Jellybean Benitez rmx)" by Chain Reaction, "J'Ouvert (Frank Sestito rmx)" by John Gibbs & The Jam Band, "By The Way You Dance (Bobby DJ Guttadaro rmx)" by Bunny Sigler, "It's Good For The Soul (Walter Gibbons disco madness version)" by Salsoul Orchestra, and "It's A Better Than Good Time (Walter Gibbons rmx)" by Gladys Knight & The Pips. LP, Vinyl record album

The genius sound of the TK Records label, taken to a whole new level – as some of the coolest club classics from that legendary Miami label are served up here in a host of new edits by contemporary talents! The sound is great – all the funk and soul of the originals, but kicked up a bit here and there on the rhythms – and often edited in ways that the grooves are really expanded too! Titles include "Spank (Dimitri From Paris Classic Re-Edit)" by Jimmy Bo Horne , "Ghetto Music" by Ted Taylor, "I'm Your Boogie Man (Todd Terje edit)" and "I Get Lifted (Todd Terje edit)" by KC & The Sunshine Band, "Do What You Wanna Do (Kon's Keep It Moving Mix)" by T-Connection, "Why Can't We Live Together (Late Nite Tuff Guy No More War Rework)" by Timmy Thomas, "Move Me Baby (Danny Krivit edit)" by Gwen McCrae, and "Jam On The Groove (Danny Krivit Edit)" by Ralph MacDonald. LP, Vinyl record album

A really cool package, and one that goes past the easy old school hits from the early years of hip hop – and which instead brings together all these unusual strands of sound that really show how creative things were, right at the start! There's a number of tracks here that are a great surprise – nuggets we loved back in the day, and which spring to live here amidst other well-chosen tracks – all served up with the usual super-great notes and overall presentation we love from the Soul Jazz label. Many tracks have great basslines or boogie-styled grooves – from that moment when hip hop, funk, and soul were maybe more strong bedfellows than they would be a few years later – and themes are a nice mix of politics and partying, on titles that include "Get Live 83" by Carver Area High School Seniors, "Super Rock Body Shock" by Eye Beta Rock, "Street Talk" by Funky Constellation, "Do You Like That Funky Beat" by Kool Kyle The Starchild, "Jam To Remember" by Just Four, "Eei Eei O" by Silver Star, "Magic's Rap" by Magic's Trick, "Real Rocking Groove" by Chapter III, "To The Beat Y'All" by Sangrita, "Rappin & Rockin The House" by Funky Four Plus One More, "Do It Any Way You Wanna" by Mike T, and "Girls Of The World" by The Just Four. (Hip Hop, Funky Compilations) CD