Mindblowing music from this always-great series – an incredible batch of tracks that we might never have thought to put together in one set – but which really sound wonderful together! This set features some of the odder moments in the Free Soul series – crossover tracks that actually played (and still play) with the soul crowd, even though the history books won't ever give them a mention! Titles include "Good Morning To You" by Lexia, "What Have You Done For Love?" by Hodges James & Smith, "Life It Up" by Jermain Jackson, "My Eyes Only" by Rare Earth, "Thank You" by Alma Faye, "Every Kinda People" by Robert Palmer, "I Like London In The Rain" by Blossom Dearie, "It's Great To Be Here" by The Jackson Five, "Never Knew Love Like This Before" by Stephanie Mills, "We Can Make It If We Try" by Alton McClain & Destiny, "Come On Eileen" by Dexy's Midnight Runners, "Do It Yourself" by Gloria Gaynor, "Throughout Your Years" by Kurtis Blow, and "I'm A Winner" by Smoke Sugar. CD

We love this set – and we don't care who knows it! As you might guess from the title, the collection brings together an assortment of key singles from the late 70s and early 80s post-punk years – but not the scratchy, arty, academic stuff we're supposed to remember fondly – nor the crossover hits that were a bit too tired even then – and instead a great smattering of catchy groovers in a range of different styles, really showing the musical diversity of the years through a blend of bigger hits and lesser-remembered gems! There's something of a focus on dancefloor-friendly tracks here, but that doesn't mean that all of the tunes are groovers – which is something we can appreciate, given the range of work included here. And at a total of 45 tracks in all, there's plenty of room for bits that we'd really overlooked at the time – or have forgotten in years gone by, even though they made something of a ripple way back when. Titles include "Cool For Cats" by Squeeze, "Echo Beach" by Martha & The Muffins, "You'll Always Find Me In The Kitchen At Parties" by Jona Lewie, "Da Da Da" by Trio, "A New England" by Billy Bragg, "If The Kids Are United" by Sham 69, "Back Of My Hand" by The Jags, "Johnny & Mary" by Robert Palmer, "Will You" by Hazel O'Connor, "Jilted John" by Jilted John, "Where's Captain Kirk" by Spizzenergi, "Babylon's Burning" by The Ruts, "I Am The Beat" by The Look, "Pop Muzik" by M, "Tom Hark" by The Piranhas, and "Girls Talk" by Dave Edmunds. CD