Jackson 5, move over – because the folks at Numero Records have uncovered a whole host of rare kid soul acts from the 70s – most of them a fair bit funkier than their Motown contemporaries! The tracks here all clearly follow the lead started by Michael and his brothers at the end of the 60s – but the music is way more than just a simple copycat of Jackson modes – as each of these artists have a really individual approach, and a heck of a lot of personality in their music – despite their youthful years. In true Numero fashion, most of the cuts here are from tiny little labels – issued only as singles back in the day, but produced with a great deal of enthusiasm for the music – and a confident, competent sound that's quite striking, given the age of the performers. The package comes with complete notes on the music – opening up a whole world of lesser-known kid soul acts – and titles include the amazing "Trust Your Child" by Patrizia & Jimmy, plus "I'm Not Ready For Love" by Promise, "One Is Enough For One" by Jack & the Mods, "Now That School Is Through" by Cindy & The Playmates, "Jersey Slide (part 1)" by 3 Stars, "You Are My Dream" by 3 Simmons, "Can't Let You Break My Heart" by Quantrells, "If You're Looking For Love" by Triads, "Yellow Ribbons" by Atons, "Sweet Pea" by Altyrone Deno Brown, "Time After Time" by Step By Step, "Time" by Otis The 3rd, and "Little Girl" by Michael Washington. 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

Stunningly great compilation of rare jazz tracks from the East German state-run Amiga label. The tracks, which span the dates in the title, were selected by the group Jazzanova for Compost Records, and the material has the same sort of uptempo jazzy sound as some of the best records on Compost. Far from the heavy dirgey sound you might expect from East Germany in the 60's, most of this stuff's surprisingly light, lyrical, and very groovy. There's loads of wonderful modal tracks that you'll never find on original release, and the album is an essential peek at a jazz culture that's even fairly hard to approach by serious collectors! The notes are good, and the compilation includes work by Manfred-Ludwig Sextett, Theo Schumann Combo, Werner Pfuller Quintett, Modern Jazz Big Band '65, and Orchester Klaus Lenz. You may not know the names, but trust us, this stuff's great, and well worth dipping into! CD

One of the hippest sets ever in the Pulp Fusion series – an amazing collection of rare funky tracks that goes past the obvious 70s classics on other volumes! This double-length volume is the work of Monk-One – who's clearly willing to dig a bit deeper than most, and come up with fresh tunes that really re-ignite the series, and show us why it's been one of the most trusted funky collections around for years. There's loads of rare nuggets here – and cuts include "Shack Up" by Banbarra, "Keep On Dancing" by Alvin Cash, "Up Above The Rock" by Ray Bryant, "El Jardia" by Johnny Pate, "Hercules" by Aaron Neville, "Inner City Blues" by Sarah Vaughan, "Take Me With You" by Lyn Christopher, "Keep It Up" by Milton Wright, "Gengis" by Chico Hamilton, "Fried Chicken" by Rufus Thomas, "Submission" by Tyrone Washington, "Through It All There's You" by Robert Palmer, "Senga" by Manu Dibango, "Black Water Gold" by African Music Machine, "Reach Out" by Lee Moses, and "Happy Man" by Latin Blues Band. CD

A brilliant encapsulation of the modern psych, freak folk, tripped out indie pop, and all around uncategorizable grooves of the Twisted Nerve label – a 10th anniversary celebration – doubling as both a label retrospective and a fantastic, riveting mix set by DJ Andy Votel! This approach works incredibly well, with Votel crafting a heady, exciting interconnective groove out of some fairly diverse material, and also includes some rare remixes Includes bits that sound like they were plucked from some spacey late 60s/early 70s style pharmaceutical fever dream, to more blissed out and dreamy avant pop moments, to some acoustic centered freak folk and electronics peppered experimentalism – in an excellent continuous mix by Votel. The CD has 13 tracks that each blend a couple or more Twisted Nerve tracks from over the years, a blend of more than 30 tracks in all, including "Say Your Prayers" and more by DOT, "Riding With Gabriel Greenburgh" by Badly Drawn Boy, "Sad Tail" by The Liftmen, "Fire In My Head" by Voice In The Seven Woods", "Pretty Pretty" by Mum & Dad, "Hag Door Mountain" by Samandtheplants, "Gone" by Sirconical, "Rusty Human" by Jukes, "CPU Song" by Little Miss Trinitron and much more! CD