An essential look at the key years of the Chicago house scene – the time when the city's musicians were carving out a whole new space in sound! Although early house first began as an extension of some of the later modes of disco and 80s club, influences from European post-punk and post-disco work soon crept into the mix, and pushed the Chicago artists to work in a darker, edgier sound that was completely unique! The work from this period is filled with stark, spare electronics – not the cheesy kind that showed up often in New York electro records, but intense analogue bits that had a really dark, dystopic space age sort of quality – laid out over harsh beats and bass, and often presented with no additional vocals at all. For the collection, Soul Jazz do a great job of picking out the best of the early acid house scene in Chicago (the key recordings before the term got picked up overseas, and used to make some very dodgy dance music at the end of the 80s) – and then they go on to pull together some of the best strands of the house revival in Chicago in the early 90s, including key work from the Cajual label. 2 CD set features 17 tracks in all – including "This Is Acid" by Maurice, "Do You Want To Percolate" by The Sweat Boyz, "Beyond The Clouds" by Mr Fingers, "Go Wild Rhythm Track" by Virgo, "Acid Crash" by Tyree, "Dum Dum (part 2)" by Fresh, "Acid Bass" by Roy Davis Jr, "Phuture Jacks" by Phuture, "I've Lost Control" by Sleezy D, "Take Me Higher" by Virgo Four, "Acid Over" by Tyree, "Box Energy" by DJ Pierre, "Video Clash" by Lil Louis, "Explorer" by Green Velvet, "Like This" by Two Of A Kind, "Acid Tracks" by Phuture, and "Downfall" by Armando. (House Music, Funky Compilations) CD

Genius work from one of the greatest Southern Soul studios ever – Muscle Shoals' legendary Fame Studios – the start of a huge wave of great music in the 60s, and a genre-changing sound that's still going strong today! The package is the best we've ever seen to look at Fame – not just a killer selection of the studio's music – 75 tracks that bring together rare singles, hits, and some lesser-known gems – but also a beautiful hardcover book, filled with pages and pages of great notes, vintage images, and more – really telling the unique take of Fame, producer Rick Hall, and all the mighty talents who helped make Muscle Shoals one of the most important sites for soul music in the 60s and 70s. Titles include "Ten Miles High" by David & The Giants, "Search Your Heart" by George Jackson, "Let Them Talk" by Dan Penn, "Two In The Morning" by Spooner's Crowd, "Lady In The Rain" by Lowell Fulson, "Wanted Lover" by James Govan, "Grits & Gravy" by The Fame Gang, "Get Involved" by George Soule, "What Color Is Love" by Roscoe Robinson, "Laugh It Off" by The Tams, "Thief In The Night" by Ben & Spence, "Take Me Just As I Am" by Mitty Collier, "I'm Just A Prisoner" by Candi Staton, "Thread The Needle" by Clarence & Calvin, and "Slippin Around With You" by Art Freeman. CD

Not much of a cover photo, but one of the most amazing collections so far from the Numero Group – a richly archival project that finally brings to light the lost efforts of the short lived Tap Records label! Tap was the brainchild of Jeremiah Yisrael – an ambitious producer, and legendary perfectionist – so much so that he often put more effort into these indie productions than you'd find at bigger label projects of the time! Most material here dates from the years 1981 and 1982, and the music is a mix of club, modern soul, boogie, and a bit of hip hop – nearly all of which hardly got any exposure at the time. The booklet not only tells the tale of the label and Yisrael's career, but also Numero's efforts in resurrecting these lost tapes from a very moldy near-death experience – a narrative that's almost as exciting as the music in the package. And the package is pretty great too – not only because of the 24 page, full color booklet – but also because of the supplemental book that reproduces lost sheet music and studio notes from the Tap sessions. Amazing stuff throughout – well worthy of another deep bow for the Numero team – with a total of 14 tracks that include "Breakout" and "We've Had Enough" by Arnie Love & The Lovettes, "Invisible Wind" and "Guilty" by Jackie Stoudemire, "Missy Missy Dee" by Missy Dee & The Melody Crew, "So Nice" by Annette Denvil, "Rub A Dub Dub" by The Fabulous 3 MCs, "Don't Stop Dancin" and "Run Away Hide From Love" by Jackie Stoudemire, and "Breakout" by Magnetism. Also features two tracks from 1971 – "Does He Really Mean It" and "Love Which Way" by Bonnie Freeman. CD