A really cool collection, and one that's got a very special focus – an imaginary soundtrack for the record-breaking British summer of 1976 – a searingly hot time that really pushed the nation to the brink! Bob Stanley's given us some great collections on Ace Records before – often with Pete Wiggs, or as Saint Etienne – and this set continues the very special vibe of those sets, by bringing together cuts that we never would have thought would work so well otherwise – a sublime mix of soul, rock, and pop – all glowing together with the warm vibe of the summer of 1976! Titles include "I'm Mandy Fly Me" by 10CC, "Walking So Free" by Spike Janson, "Sugar Shuffle" by Lynsey DePaul, "Liquid Sunshine" by John Cameron, "Not On The Outside" by Sylvia, "You Are My Love" by Liverpool Express, "You're The Song" by Hollywood Freeway, "Discover Me" by David Ruffin, "Stoned Out" by Simon Park, "Montreal City" by Azimuth, "Stay With Me" by Blue Mink, "Music" by Carmen McRae, "Rock N Roll Star" by Barclay James Harvest, "Fallin In Love" by Hamilton Joe Frank & Reynolds, "Inspiration Information" by Shuggie Otis, and "Miss My Love Today" by Gilbert O'Sullivan. Imagine the mixtape from Guardians Of The Galaxy, but done by a much hipper ear, and you'll get a good idea of this one! CD

An amazing collection – and one that really helped completely revise our understanding of Caribbean music! The collection features a fair bit of artists with roots in the West Indies, but who made a huge impact on London's postwar immigrant population – the new rise of non-native residents who were swelling the ranks of the city in the years after the way – bringing with them new cultures, new sounds, and new traditions – with all the requisite ideas and politics that might imply! The work here often has a subtle social agenda – working through themes important to these new Londoners, yet still echoing modes of the homeland as well – often with great musical backings that's heavy on percussion, jazzy instrumentation, and very upbeat rhythms. Titles include "London Is The Place For Me" by Lord Kitchener, "I Was There" by Young Tiger, "Some Girl Something" by The Lion, "No Carnival In Britain" by Mighty Terror, "Jamaica Hurricane" by Lord Beginner, "Birth Of Ghana" by Lord Kitchener, "Victory Test Match" by Lord Beginner, "Spanish Calypso" by The Lion, "Bulldog Don't Bite Me" by Timothy, "My Landlady" by Lord Kitchener, "If You're Not White You're Black" by Lord Kitchener, and "Aguiti" by Lord Invader. (Global Grooves, Funky Compilations) LP, Vinyl record album

The first two volumes in this legendary series – back to back in one set! Volume 1 is an amazing collection – and one that really helped completely revise our understanding of Caribbean music! The collection features a fair bit of artists with roots in the West Indies, but who made a huge impact on London's postwar immigrant population – the new rise of non-native residents who were swelling the ranks of the city in the years after the way – bringing with them new cultures, new sounds, and new traditions – with all the requisite ideas and politics that might imply! The work here often has a subtle social agenda – working through themes important to these new Londoners, yet still echoing modes of the homeland as well – often with great musical backings that's heavy on percussion, jazzy instrumentation, and very upbeat rhythms. Titles include "London Is The Place For Me" by Lord Kitchener, "I Was There" by Young Tiger, "Some Girl Something" by The Lion, "No Carnival In Britain" by Mighty Terror, "Jamaica Hurricane" by Lord Beginner, "Birth Of Ghana" by Lord Kitchener, "Victory Test Match" by Lord Beginner, "Spanish Calypso" by The Lion, "Bulldog Don't Bite Me" by Timothy, "My Landlady" by Lord Kitchener, "If You're Not White You're Black" by Lord Kitchener, and "Aguiti" by Lord Invader. Volume 2 compiles the stylistically varied music coming from the emergent West Indian and African communities of 50s and 60s London – far more than just the topical, and often quite whimsical calypso tunes of the era! Calypso is well represented, but the set includes strains of jazz, percussive instrumentals that veer towards native Trinidad and Nigeria, and loads of Caribbean grooves! It's all exceptionally bright – with some lovingly, and knowingly, naive vocals that are as sweet as they are wise. A truly wonderful compilation. Essential! 20 tracks in all: "Calypso Be" by Young Tiger, "Yolanda" by Ambrose Campbell, "Calypso Blues" by Mona Baptiste, "My Wife's Nightie" by Lord Kitchener, "Ominara" by West African Rhythm Brothers, "Gerrard Street" by King Timothy, "ET Mensah's Rolling Ball" by West African Swing Stars, "West Indian Drums" by Russ Henderson, "Gbonimawo" by Rans Boi's Ghana Highlife Band and more! (Global Grooves, Funky Compilations) CD

The first ever compilation of the best music made for MoWest – the eclectic, but still soulful cuts made when Berry Gordy Jr. relocated from Motown to the west coast in the early 70s – releasing cool and sometimes strange music with a soul background, yet toasted by LA sunshine! The MoWest subsidiary lasted just a few years, and gets overlooked in the canonization of Motown at it's most classic and revolutionary – but the legacy is pretty incredible. Funk, sunshine rock and soul fused adventurously by a stunningly diverse roster – late period Frankie Vallie & The Four Seasons (who's comp-opening track is a slept on sunshine pop-soul classic), breezy-jazzy-soul from Odyssey, the sister funk of Sisters Love, a stunning solo left turn from Spinners singer GC Cameron and more great stuff from Syreeta, The Commodores, Suzee Ikeda, Thelma Houston and others. We've been dying for a well selected MoWest comp like this for years, and Light In The Attic stepped to the plate and knock it right out of the park. The songs choices are great, the notes are great. . .everything about it is a win. Essential! Includes "You're A Song (That I Can't Sing)" and "The Night" by Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, "Our Lives Are Shaped By What We Love" and "Broken Road" by Odyssey, "Don't You Be Worried" by The Commodores, "A Heart Is A House" Nu Page, "I Ain't Going Nowhere" by Thelma Houston, "I Can't Give Back The Love I Feel For You" by Suzee Ikeda, "You've Got To Make The Choice" and "Give Me Your Love" by The Sisters Love and more. CD

Saint Etienne have brought us a number of wonderful compilations over the years – both in this format for Ace Records, and their work on their own great Croydon Municipal label – yet as much as we've loved all those others, we may well love this one the best – as it's a sublime blend of 60s soul, tear-stained pop, and cool numbers with a New York sort of sound! The focus is mostly on tracks from the mid 60s – and the work here often feels like the special sort of tracks the Brill Building talents might have been working on into the night, before stepping down to the Carnegie Deli for a snack – the kind of special songs that were often too sophisticated to make the charts, but which stand out all these many years later as true moments of genius from the 60s. As usual with a Saint Etienne set, there's a huge amount here we've never heard before – all given proper presentation by Ace Records, along with a full booklet of notes. Titles include "Night Hawk" by The Valli Boys, "Deep Dark Secret" by Dee Sharp, "Up On The Bridge" by The Chiffons, "Don't" by Marva Josie, "I'm Your Man" by Chuck Jackson, "Boy You Love Me" by Joan Moody, "Catch Me In The Meadow" by The Tradewinds, "He's A Lover" by Tutti Hill, "Let's Stop Fooling Ourselves" by Eddie Jones, "Is This The Way To Treat A Girl" by The Hesitations, "Summer's Comin In" by Little Anthony & The Imperials, and "Park Avenue" by Lou Johnson. CD

An incredibly cool collection – one that offers up all sorts of weird and wonderful soul music covers of mainstream mellow 70s hits – new versions of the famous tunes that pull them strongly over to the world of R&B, often with results that are better than the original versions! The set is both a great demonstration of how much soul there was lurking in the original AOR productions of the mid 70s, and how strongly those currents could be unlocked even more in the right hands – as you'll hear in these sublime takes on tunes by Hall & Oates, Toto, Seals & Crofts, The Doobie Brothers, and other 70s pop giants. Titles include "Dirty Work" by Pointer Sisters, "Minute By Minute" by Peabo Bryson, "Georgie Porgy" by Side Effect, "He's Gone" by Dee Dee Bridgewater, "Summer Breeze" by Main Ingredient, "Lazy Nina" by Greg Phillinganes, "In The Way" by Brothers Johnson, "This Is It" by Millie Jackson, "Takin It To The Streets" by Quincy Jones, "I Hope You'll Be Very Unhappy Without Me" by Tavares, "God Only Knows" by Betty Lavette, "Let Em In" by Billy Paul, and "A Love Of Your Own" by The Ebonys. CD