Underground club from the New York scene of the 80s – a mix of late disco, early hip hop, and some prime boogie groovers! The tracks are relatively long – mostly pulled from 12" singles – and there's a nicely eclectic mix of tunes here, really showing the scope of styles that played on the 80s dancefloors in the Big Apple – the kind of creative cuts that never charted big, but had plenty of impact back in the day. Titles include "Somebody's Loving You" by Klassique, "Let's Do It" by Convertion, "Rapper's Revenge" by Mike Gee, "On The One" by Lukk, "Hold On" by Kremecicle, "Just How Sweet Is Your Love" by Rhyze, "This Beat Is Mine" by Vicky D, "Main Thing" by Shot, "Please Don't Break My Heart" by The Affair, and "Share The Night" by World Premier. CD

Classy soul and killer grooves – a great helping of rare New York sides from the late 60s – all of which show a great evolution of the Uptown style from a few years before! Things are polished, but never too smooth or commercial at all – and instead, the music's got this quality of coming right from the heart of the music scene of the time – the cream of the crop, right from the top – and that includes singers, songwriters, and session help too! Vocals are mighty deep throughout – and the tracks all have a strong indie pedigree, as they're pulled from the labels Wand, Scepter, and Musicor – all imprints we always check out when digging for rare singles. As usual, Kent's gone way beyond expectations – not just with the track selection, but with full notes too – for a total of 24 tracks that include "Runaway Slave" by Joe Perkins, "That Girl" by Porgy & The Monarchs, "Kiss & Make Up" by The Inspirations, "I Don't Want Nobody To Lead Me On" by The Masqueraders, "Horsin Around" by Benny Gordon & The Soul Brothers, "Lonely Weatherman" by The Premiers, "A Man A Woman" by Chris Bartley, "I Just Gotta Have You" by Nella Dodds, "Knick Knack Patty Wack" by Lou Lawton, "No Jealous Lover" by Lois Lane, and "I'm Gonna Have A Party" by Ed Bruce. (Soul, Funky Compilations) CD

Classic vocal group material from the 70s – a great little set that serves up the music in many different ways – mixing funky cuts with mellow moments, and interspersing some catchy numbers in between! The range of tracks here is fantastic – way more than a standard selection of this nature – as the work is from a number of different labels and a number of different scenes – a well-chosen array that really fits well together! Titles include "It's You Girl" by Universal Love, "That's Why" by Natural High, "Dancing To Your Music" by Archie Bell & The Drells, "Something New About You" by Silent Majority, "Just Realized" by Reflection, "Oops It Just Slipped Out" by The Courtship, "Satisfactorize Your Mind" by Africano, "I'm No Better Than You" by The Fiestas, "She Calls Me Baby" by J Kelly & The Premiers, "You Only Get Out Of Love" by The Lost Generation, "Hey Pearl" by Prime Cut, "I'm A Scorpio" by Imported Moods, "Let Me In Your Heart" by Rising Sun, and "You Knock Me Out" by Wildflower. CD

A killer set of rare club and underground disco – filled with lots of tracks we haven't seen on other collections! Andy Smith has given us many amazing compilations over the years – sets that have a special mix magic, made up of rocksteady, reggae, vintage funk, and even some rockabilly too! Yet as Andy says here in the notes, he first got hooked on music in the disco generation – and has always had a life-long love of unusual and underground grooves – which he definitely demonstrates here, in a stunning selection of cuts that focus on the funkier side of the disco generation – with a good number of tracks that have turned out to be sample cuts over the years. Titles include "For The Love Of Money" by Disco Dub Band, "Patty Duke" by Cloud One, "Times Are Tight" by Jimmy Young, "Share The Night" by World Premiere, "Is It In" by Jimmy Bo Horne, "Let It Flow" by Tamiko Jones, "Main Thing" by Shot with Kim Marsh, "Give It Up" by Neddy Smith, "Groove To Get Down" by T-Connection, "Holding You Tight (ext DJ mix)" by Sure Thing, "First True Love Affair (Andy Smith & Nick Halke reach up edit)" by Jimmy Ross, "Got To Have You (Whiskey Barons re-edit)" by Joanne Wilson, "I Wanna Be Myself" by Don Laka, "Get Up & Boogie" by Freedom, and "Take Me To The Top" by Advance. LP, Vinyl record album

Stax Records was so great at the start, the label kept on recording and releasing amazing music far past its familiar hits – so much so that the b-sides of their singles were often every bit as great as the better-played sides! This set looks at that huge legacy of music, and brings together two dozen b-sides from early Stax singles – many reissued for the first time ever – which makes the whole thing completely essential, even if you've got other Stax collections, or even the initial box set – which didn't includes many of these tracks! Keep in mind that the classic "Green Onions" was initially issued as a b-side by the label, and you'll get an idea of the quality level you're in for here – killer Memphis soul from the label's top talents, with titles that include "Deep Down Inside" by Carla & Rufus, "I Don't Want Trouble" by Barbara & The Browns, "Whatcha Gonna Do" by William Bell, "Raw Dough" by The Triumphs, "I Want You Back" by Carla Thomas, "The Dribble" by The Mar-Keys, "Good Love Bad Love" by Eddie Floyd, "All Night Worker" by Rufus Thomas, "Mini Skirt Minnie (inst)" by Sir Mack Rice, "I'm Waiting On You" by William Bell, "You Make A Strong Girl Weak" by The Premiers, "Reputation" by The Four Shells, and "Grab This Thing (part 2)" by The Mar-Keys. (Soul, Funky Compilations) CD