A classic album from one of our favorite jazz singers ever – a set that really set a whole new standard for a generation! Even at this early stage, Lorez Alexandria was an amazingly accomplished vocalist – as you'll hear on this excellent selection of tunes from the Lester Young ... (Vocalists, Soul)read moreCD
Ernestine Allen —
Let It Roll ... CD Tru Sound, Early 60s. Used ...
$3.99
Tasty R&B material, recorded on Prestige's short-lived Tru-Sound subsidiary. Ernestine had some earlier fame under the name Anisteen Allen, and this record's got a similar sound to her late 40s work – with lots of smoky vocals, touched by a warm jazz sensibility that gives the material a ... read moreCD
(Out of print.)
Ernestine Anderson —
Big City ... LP Concord, 1983. Very Good+ ...
$2.99
Ernestine Anderson at the height of her powers – caught during a very successful run at Concord Records, where she was easily one of the hippest things going down at the time! The group here is a trio, and very tight – Hank Jones on piano, Monty Budwig on bass, and Jeff Hamilton on ... (Vocalists, Soul)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Sure, their name marks them as part of that big world of prepackaged soul groups, and yes, their costumes on the cover may look a bit goofy – but over the years, this debut's got maybe a bit more staying power than some of their contemporaries! There's plenty of hip hop production in the mix ... (Cassettes, Soul)read moreCassette
Near-perfect work from Ashford & Simpson – really grooving in full powerhouse mode here, and never missing a beat! By all rights, the team should have run out of steam by this point, but the album's another winner from their sublime Warner years – caught in a unique space between ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Includes the printed inner sleeve. Cover has a cutout notch and is bent a bit at the top left corner.)
Darn solid work from Ashford & Simpson – one of the duo's biggest albums for Capitol Records, and a great set from their 80s run for the label! The groove here is a bit more heavy on keyboards and beats than before, but the pair still keep things plenty soulful with their positive, ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Includes the printed inner sleeve.)
Ashford & Simpson with Maya Angelou —
Been Found ... CD Hopsack & Silk, 1996. Used ...
$2.99
... CD
(Out of print, digipak has marks and light edgewear.)
Havana Candy, indeed – as singer Patti Austin's in her sweetest mode of the 70s – stepping off of years of background vocals for others, and really emerging as a great soul star on her own! Patti got the chance to cut some soul singles back in her early days – but work like this ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
No honking here, as Sil Austin takes his deeply soulful tenor sax, and turns it to a set of creamy late-nite tracks – all done over some very "pretty" backings, ala the Verve strings work of Ben Webster or Lester Young. Most cuts have voices in with the orchestrations – and ... (Jazz, Soul)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(60s mono red label pressing with deep groove. A nice copy.)
The pinnacle of classy crossover soul at the end of the 80s – and a landmark album that's probably still helping Anita pay her bills! The feel is mellow and laidback without being too cheesy or too adult contemporary – drawing from mellow soul traditions of the 70s, and filtering it ... read moreCD
A mega-hit, but for good reason – as the record brought sophistication back to chart soul at the end of the 80s – proof that well-done, deeply-voiced records could still beat the schmaltz of the geri-curl generation! Anita's working here in territory that draws from the classics, but ... read moreCD
Anita Baker —
Rapture ... CD Elektra, 1986. Used ...
$2.99
A classic album of classy vocals – one that helped set a whole new tone in 80s soul music! Anita had already gained a bit of experience on the soul scene before this set, but with this record she emerged as a full-formed diva who could effortlessly blend jazz and soul into a magnificent new ... read moreCD
Anita Baker —
Songstress ... CD Beverly Glen/Elektra, 1983. Used ...
$5.99
From the female singer in the obscure group Chapter 8, Anita went onto become one of the biggest selling soul music acts during the 80s – and this album's her first effort as a solo act. The record's a smooth sophisticated batch of soul tunes, with lots of nice jazzy touches, and a classy ... read moreCD
Soaring disco work from Celi Bee – one of the flashiest divas of the late 70s club years! The style here is a bit more straightforward and soulful than some of Celi's other work – especially her campy "Superman" hit – and the tracks often mix a strong bassy undercurrent ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Jessie Belvin's often talked about in reverent tones as a bridge between a number of different styles of 50's R&B and vocal soul, but it's not until you hear a great compilation like this one that you realize how fantastic his stuff really is. This excellent Ace set compiles tracks from his ... read moreCD
(Out of print, small cutout notch through spine.)
George Benson —
In Flight ... LP Warner, 1977. Near Mint- Gatefold ...
$4.99
Benson plays his guitar and also sings on some of these tracks, joined by Phil Upchurch on rhythm guitar, Ronnie Foster on electric piano & mini-moog, Jorge Dalto on clavinet & acoustic piano, Stanley Banks on bass, Harvey Mason on drums and Ralph MacDonald on percussion. Claus Ogerman ... (Jazz, Soul)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Includes "Hey Girl", "Nassau Day", "Livin Inside Your Love", "Welcome Into My World", "Before You Go", "Unchained Melody", "Love Ballad", "Prelude To Fall", and "Soulful Strut". (Jazz, Soul)LP, Vinyl record album
(Cover has light ringwear and a light stained spot in back.)
Titles include "Twice The Love", "Good Habit", "Tender Love", "Let's Do It Again", "Until You Believe", and "Stephanie". (Jazz, Soul)CD
(Out of print.)
Brook Benton —
Home Style ... LP Cotillion, 1970. Near Mint- ...
$5.99
Wonderful work from Brook Benton – and the kind of record that always gets overlooked in discussions of southern soul, but which is proof that Benton's always been a key force in the genre! Brook virtually invented the style with his earlier country soul recordings – and by the time of ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Raucous, rumbling and hard-charging Chess rhythms, rock and roll by Chuck Berry – his legendary After School Session – and possibly his greatest album ever! It features not only some of Chuck Berry's most famous material, but some of the best early rock songs, period –particularly ... read moreCD
20 tracks including "Roll Over Beethoven", "Maybellene", "Thirty Days", "Havana Moon", "Reelin' and Rockin", "Beautiful Delilah", "School Day", and "Johnny B. Goode". CD
Two classic Chess albums from Chuck Berry – issued here on a single CD! First up is One Dozen Berrys – the fresh fruits of the labors of a young Chuck Berry – heard here at his raw, early best! The sound here is stunning – a version of Chuck that gets way past any oldies ... read moreCD
A later gem from Bobby Blue Bland – done in a smooth style that fits the later approach of the Malaco label, but with a vocal style that hasn't dimmed a bit over the years! Bobby's still got that incredible rasp in his voice – that approach that easily made him one of the most soulful ... (Blues, Soul)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
The second comeback effort from Booker T Jones for Anti-! All around, it's a more sharply-honed and classics-steeped set than its solid, but more southern rock-inflected predecessor – one the finds the Stax organ titan backed by co-producers ?uestlove & Rob Schnapf, Dennis Coffey and ... read moreCD
Fantastic work from the great Charles Brown – an equal mix of jazz and blues, delivered with a smooth, sophisticated touch that really helped move things forward in the postwar years! 20 classics from his years at Aladdin Records. CD
Massive – and one of the best James Brown compilations ever, filled with rare and unreleased material! This completely essential set features tracks pulled from James' best years ever – the mighty early 70s, when he was working with the JBs, and laying down tracks that would forever ... read moreCD
A landmark album that forever changed the face of live recordings – and soul music too! As has been told and retold often, King records not only had the genius idea of bringing recording equipment into the Apollo Theater to catch James in a smoking live setting – the sort of show that ... read moreCD
One of Oscar Brown's great ones, recorded live at the Cellar Door in Washington before an enthusiastic crowd of hipsters! The record's a beautiful mix of soul, jazz, and folk – in the same Chicago tradition that spawned Terry Callier (although Brown's style has a bit more of a "show" ... (Vocalists, Soul)read moreCD
Great early work from Oscar Brown Jr – a hip mix of jazz and soul, working in Brown's unique sense of showmanship, and his almost beat-like flair with a lyric! Ralph Burns and Quincy Jones handled the arrangements – and the album's filled with great original tracks by Brown, including ... (Vocalists, Soul)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(70s pressing. Cover has partially split seams, light wear, aging, and sticker spots.)
The cover has a 70s photo, but the set features key postwar work from this early king of R&B – titles that include "Gamblin Man", "I Feel That Young Man's Rhythm", "It's A Cryin Shame", "Cryin & Singin The Blues", "Deep Sea Diver", ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
An 80s classic from guitarist Hiram Bullock – a fusion set with a lot more smooth edges than the gritty surface of Hiram's well-played guitar on the cover! The set's quite polished, but still pretty great – never too overdone, and still based mostly around instrumentation by a core ... (Jazz, Soul)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
A nice set from the recent comeback years of Solomon Burke – a record that has him taking on tunes from Dylan, The Rolling Stones, and Van Morrison – plus other bits from more soul-based sources! The material's recorded with a heavy emphasis on roots, but produced with a partly ... read moreCD
One of the great albums of trippy soul that Jerry Butler cut with his Fountain Productions group of players, arrangers, and engineers – a group that borrowed a lot of talent from the Chess/Cadet studios of the late 60s. Jerry produced with Gerald Sims, and the arrangements were handled by ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(In the textured cover, with a small cutout hole and small splits on the corners of the opening.)
Very weird soundtrack to this spooky 70s film starring Peter Boyle! Bobby Scott did the score, and it's hipper than most of his other stuff – with a mixture of jazz, groovy, and straight orchestral scoring. Jerry Butler sings vocals on the tracks "Where Are You Going?" and "Yo ... (Soundtracks, Soul)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Cover has wide clear tape on the top & bottom seams, some surface wear, tiny cutout hole.)
Gene Chandler —
Get Down ... LP Chi Sound/20th Century, 1978. Near Mint- ...
$5.99
The legendary Gene Chandler gets down, and gets down good – in this classic late 70s set of clubby numbers and upbeat groovers! The set's one of the best moments on the Chi-Soul series from producer Carl Davis – and features a nicely evolved version of earlier Chicago soul modes from ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
An odd collection of tracks, but they're all great, and the set's an excellent batch of some of Chandler's harder-to-find material from the mid and late 60s! The tracks are pulled from his years at Chess, Brunswick, and Mercury (one of the advantages of the recent Universal/Polygram merger!) ... read moreCD
(Later black label stereo ABC/Tangerine pressing. Cover has a small cutout hole, ringwear, heavy edge wear, and wide center splits in the seams and spine.)
A title that seems to take off from Chubby Checker's bit trademark hit, but the overall groove is a lot better than you might expect – set for twisting, sure, but in a nicely rough and ready style that's almost equal parts soul and R&B! Some tunes are familiar, but twist-ified – ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Orange label pressing with deep groove. Cover has surface wear & aging, light edge wear.)
Much later than classic vintage for Chic, but still pretty darn great – and a record that was relatively overlooked at the time! The style here steps off strongly from the Chic sound of the early 80s – and the team of Edwards and Rodgers still definitely have their funky sense of ... read moreCD
(Out of print, small cutout hole through case spine.)
A soaring set from the later years of Detroit funk powerhouse Westbound Records – a record that has the label moving into clubbier territory, but with all the sharpness they brought to their earlier releases! Detroit producers Mike Theodore and Dennis Coffey are at the helm of the record ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Cover has light wear, application wrinkle down the front, and a small blemish near the opening.)
Post Funkadelic and Parliament work from George Clinton – an assortment of tracks from a variety of Columbia and Sony-related albums by artists who include Sweat Band, Mutiny, Junie, Bootsy Collins, Mico Wave, Philippe Wynne, and the P-Funk All-Stars! Most of the material here has an early ... read moreCD
Lots of Midnight Magic from The Commdores – still nice and funky at the start of the evening, but also chilling out in the wee hours too – really finding a great way to follow the trajectory of the night with the tracks in this set! The album sparkles with strong arrangements and ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Includes the printed inner sleeve. Cover is great!)
Although The Contours will be forever known for their perpetual oldie "Do You Love Me (Now That I Can Dance)", they're also an excellent soul group with a hard raw sound, and a lot more to offer than you'd expect! This 25 track compilation of the group's sublime Motown work really ... read moreCD
(CDr release.)
Sam Cooke/Joe Simon/Lou Rawls/Joe Tex —
La Grande Storia Del Rock ... LP Curcio (Italy), 1960s/1970s. Very Good Gatefold ...
$2.99
Long before Hunchback achieved broadway musical status, disco orchestrator Alec R Costandinos recorded this trashed-up soundtrack for Casablanca, part of their weak and short-lived attempt to break in on film work. Titles include "You Are Accused Before Us", "The Pope Of Fools" ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Without a doubt, Alec R. Costandinos was one of the strangest disco arranger/producers of the 70s! He had a very baroque vision that took full advantage of the disco industry's heavy cash to turn out these mini disco symphonies filled with full orchestral strings, funky beats, and very high ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
A great little album cut by Randy during the height of her career! She'd just broken big with her vocals on "Street Life" by the Crusaders – and although that track's not on here, the Crusaders team of Wilton Felder, Stix Hooper, and Joe Sample produced the album, and have given it ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Includes the printed inner sleeve. Cover has light wear and some splash stains on the back.)
A double-length disco symphony – and a surprisingly good one at that! The set was put together by DJ Frankie Crocker – but we're guessing the real talent lies elsewhere, most likely in the talents of the session players – an all-star group that includes Billy Mitchell on piano, ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
A surprisingly charming album from Scatman Crothers – recorded during his big comeback stretch in the 70s! Although Scatman's role during this time was often reduced to being the colorful old guy in an assortment of comedies and action films, he'd actually had quite a bit of experience as a ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Delfonics —
Delfonics ... CD Buddah/Philly Groove, 1970. Used ...
$4.99
The third album in an amazing early run from The Delfonics – the kind of work that set a whole new standard for group soul in the 70s! A number of the tracks here had already risen to fame before the album's release as singles – and these are mixed with some additional tracks that are ... read moreCD
Forget Dionne Warwick, and think Burt Bacharach – because on this sublime little set, The Dells are singing some of Burt's greatest tunes ever – all set to impeccable arrangements by the legendary Charles Stepney! The album's more wonderful than you might even expect – a true ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Orange label pressing. Cover has a cut corner, spot of wear on the bottom.)
A later effort from the Dells, cut around the time ABC was having some great luck with the Detroit soul of The Dramatics – and also recorded in Detroit, with production work by the likes of Al Perkins, Rudy Robinson, and Calvin Carter, the Dells' old boss at Vee Jay. The tunes have a ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album