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

Jazzy 45s galore – and a huge dip into the vaults of Prestige Records! This tasty set brings together 18 classics recorded in the heyday of the jazz funk years at Prestige – the late 60s and early 70s, a time when the soul jazz sounds of previous years were being forged into a leaner, meaner, harder-hitting groove. And although the LP was the growing format during these days, there was actually a heck of a lot of great work issued on 45s – still spinning strong with the jukebox crowds in the clubs and tap rooms, and still getting major play on radio stations, where the single was still king. The set features many 45 mixes of funky classics that you might know from LPs – and intersperses them with some other more obscure numbers pulled from full albums – making for an all-solid, all-funky set of tracks from one of the hippest jazz labels ever! Titles include "Fire Eater" by Rusty Bryant, "Don't Knock My Love" by Idris Muhammad, "Jungle Strut" by Gene Ammons, "Express Yourself" by Idris Muhammad, "Right On" by Boogaloo Joe Jones, "Who's Gonna Take The Weight" by Melvin Sparks, "Sing A Simple Song" by Charles Earland, "Son Of Man" by Houston Person, "Listen Here (part 1)" by Freddie McCoy, "Black Talk (part 1)" by Charles Earland, "Message From The Meters" by Leon Spencer, "Reelin With The Feeling" by Charles Kynard, "I Want You Back" by Harold Mabern, and "Thank You (part 1)" by Melvin Sparks. CD

Fantastic sounds from 1967 – a year in which mainstream music saw plenty of heady changes – as you might guess from the title! The set's a wonderful follow-up to the 1966 set by Jon Savage – and like that one, it features a superb selection of tracks from this important year – served up in all the different strands and styles that were popping into place – soul, early funk, psych, hard rock, and lots more – in a blistering array of songs that steps beautifully between well-known classics and underground gems! The feel of the set is way different than the usual oldies package with a date on the front – as Jon Savage dedicated the whole thing to the groundbreaking mix of music he enjoyed from pirate radio at the time – and included his own fantastic writing in the notes to help explain what makes the music so great. Titles include "You Keep Running Away" by The Four Tops, "Lazy Life" by William E, "At The Third Stroke" by The Picadilly Line, "Try It" by The Attack, "I'm A Man" by Spencer Davis Group, "Western Union" by The Searchers, "So You Say You Lost Your Baby" by Gene Clark, "Feelin Reelin Squeelin" by Soft Machine, "So Sharp" by Dyke & The Blazers, "Mr Soul" by Buffalo Springfield, "Vacuum Cleaner" by Tintern Abbey, "Garden Of My Mind" by The Mickey Finn, "Love Power" by The Sandpebbles, "Look At Me I'm You" by The Blossom Toes, and "Psyche Rock" by Les Yper Sound. 48 tracks in all! (Rock, Funky Compilations) CD