A mindblowing solo set from Curtis Mayfield – a record that not only foregrounds all the subtle politics he'd been forging in the Impressions during the 60s – but one that also really has Mayfield exploding as a force to be reckoned with in the studio! The album's a personal masterpiece – to the career of Curtis what the early solo albums of Issac Hayes were to his own genius – a bold, unfettered statement of pride and power – of the sort that would both make Mayfield and the Curtom Records label forces to be reckoned with in the 70s. Every cut is a classic – and titles include "Move On Up", "If There's a Hell Below We're All Gonna Go", "Miss Black America", "Wild & Free", "Give It Up", "The Makings Of You", "The Other Side Of Town", and "We the People Who Are Darker Than Blue". LP, Vinyl record album

A mindblowing solo set from Curtis Mayfield – a record that not only foregrounds all the subtle politics he'd been forging in the Impressions during the 60s – but one that also really has Mayfield exploding as a force to be reckoned with in the studio! The album's a personal masterpiece – to the career of Curtis what the early solo albums of Issac Hayes were to his own genius – a bold, unfettered statement of pride and power – of the sort that would both make Mayfield and the Curtom Records label forces to be reckoned with in the 70s. Every cut is a classic – and titles include "Move On Up", "If There's a Hell Below We're All Gonna Go", "Miss Black America", "Wild & Free", "Give It Up", "The Makings Of You", "The Other Side Of Town", and "We the People Who Are Darker Than Blue". Extra tracks include demo versions of "Power to the People", "Underground", "Readings in Astrology", "Suffer", and the single version of "(Don't Worry) If There Is a Hell Below We're All Going To Go". CD

A mindblowing solo set from Curtis Mayfield – a record that not only foregrounds all the subtle politics he'd been forging in the Impressions during the 60s – but one that also really has Mayfield exploding as a force to be reckoned with in the studio! The album's a personal masterpiece – to the career of Curtis what the early solo albums of Issac Hayes were to his own genius – a bold, unfettered statement of pride and power – of the sort that would both make Mayfield and the Curtom Records label forces to be reckoned with in the 70s. Every cut is a classic – and titles include "Move On Up", "If There's a Hell Below We're All Gonna Go", "Miss Black America", "Wild & Free", "Give It Up", "The Makings Of You", "The Other Side Of Town", and "We the People Who Are Darker Than Blue". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the greatest albums ever from the legendary soul singer Curtis Mayfield – even though it's different than most of the rest as well! Curtis is captured here in a small club, with a tight band, spinning out these extended readings of some of his best tunes – both tracks he sang with The Impressions, and as a solo act – completely transformed here in the righteous energy of the setting! The vibe is similar to the classic Donny Hathaway Live album from the same time – save for the fact that this set is double-length, and maybe even more powerful as Curtis sings and plays guitar in a small group with additional guitar, bass, and drums – and some very hip percussion from Master Henry Gibson, of Pharoahs fame. Tracks include "We the People Who Are Darker Than Blue", "Stare and Stare", "Check Out Your Mind", "Stone Junkie", "I Plan To Stay A Believer", "If There's A Hell Below We're All Going To Go", "Mighty Mighty", and "The Makings Of You". LP, Vinyl record album

A mindblowing solo set from Curtis Mayfield – a record that not only foregrounds all the subtle politics he'd been forging in the Impressions during the 60s – but one that also really has Mayfield exploding as a force to be reckoned with in the studio! The album's a personal masterpiece – to the career of Curtis what the early solo albums of Issac Hayes were to his own genius – a bold, unfettered statement of pride and power – of the sort that would both make Mayfield and the Curtom Records label forces to be reckoned with in the 70s. Every cut is a classic – and titles include "Move On Up", "If There's a Hell Below We're All Gonna Go", "Miss Black America", "Wild & Free", "Give It Up", "The Makings Of You", "The Other Side Of Town", and "We the People Who Are Darker Than Blue". CD

Mindblowing work from Roberta Flack – an album that should be in the collection of any fan of righteous soul music! Forget all the wimpier modes of Flack's later years – because here, the young Roberta is a vision of positive power and spiritual soul – a singer with roots in jazz, which helps to transform some of the album's very surprising song choices – and a depth and sensitivity that goes way past the usual female soul modes of the time. Donny Hathaway handled half the arrangements for the record – a perfect choice for Flack – and Deodato handles the other, with some large arrangements that still have just the right sort of gentleness to go with her voice. Titles include a version of "Reverend Lee", penned by Eugene Daniels – and the great "Gone Away", written by Curtis Mayfield, Leroy Hutson, and Hathaway – plus the tracks "Just Like A Woman", "Do What You Gotta Do", "Business Goes On As Usual", and "Until It's Time For You To Go". LP, Vinyl record album

A classic collaboration between 2 of the godfathers of Chicago soul – recorded at a time when both of them had emerged as proven big-sales artists, and were given the freedom to experiment in different styles with side projects like this. Here, they're singing in almost a Curtis Mayfield-esque vein, with more of a political edge than their usual stuff from this time – and the album's a righteous batch of soul cuts that shows the growing sophistication and social conscience of the Chicago scene. Arrangements are by Tom Tom Washington and Richard Evans – and tracks include "Ten & Two (Take This Woman Off The Corner)", "You Just Can't Win", "One Hand Washes The Other", "The World Keeps Changing", and "Sho Is Groovin". LP, Vinyl record album

Mindblowing work from Roberta Flack – an album that should be in the collection of any fan of righteous soul music! Forget all the wimpier modes of Flack's later years – because here, the young Roberta is a vision of positive power and spiritual soul – a singer with roots in jazz, which helps to transform some of the album's very surprising song choices – and a depth and sensitivity that goes way past the usual female soul modes of the time. Donny Hathaway handled half the arrangements for the record – a perfect choice for Flack – and Deodato handles the other, with some large arrangements that still have just the right sort of gentleness to go with her voice. Titles include a version of "Reverend Lee", penned by Eugene Daniels – and the great "Gone Away", written by Curtis Mayfield, Leroy Hutson, and Hathaway – plus the tracks "Just Like A Woman", "Do What You Gotta Do", "Business Goes On As Usual", and "Until It's Time For You To Go". CD

A very cool 2CD set that's one of the hippest collections of work by Curtis Mayfield that we've ever seen! Like other titles in the Free Soul series from Japan, this one digs past the obvious bits to include some overlooked album gems that you might have missed, and which are great to discover amidst the better known titles by Curtis. A fair portion of the tracks are more famous numbers, but the overall collection of tunes is great together! 32 tracks in all – and titles include "Never Stop Loving Me", "Tripping Out", "Hard Times", "Billy Jack", "Love To The People", "We Got To Have Peace", "Beautiful Brother Of Mine", "Future Song", "Keep On Trippin", "You're So Good To Me", "When We're Alone", "Back To The World", "No Thing On Me (Cocaine Song)", "Cannot Find A Way", "Ain't No Love Lost", "Love Me (Right In The Pocket)", "The Makings Of You", and "So In Love". CD

51 tracks in all – including a dozen early numbers with The Impressions, plus loads of gems from his solo years on Curtom! CD

18 classics – including "Kung Fu", "Do Do Wap Is Strong in Here", "Makings Of You", "If There's A Hell Down Below", "Superfly", "Pusherman", "So In Love", "Future Shock", and lots more! CD

Includes tracks by Laura Nyro, Santana, Billy Butler, Major Lance, Walter Jackson, the Opals, Al Kooper, Fishbone, and Queen Latifah. (Funky Compilations, Soul) CD

Sweet 70s grooves, and a few key contemporary cuts too – a really wonderful set that's full of overlooked modern soul gems and a great mix of mellow groovers! The package really serves up some of our favorite sounds from the 70s – tracks that are upbeat, yet never uptempo – and find a way of stepping along a midtempo groove that leaves plenty of room for the vocalist to really soar in the lead – hitting these rich, righteous lines that sparkle strongly throughout! The set list is superb, and features even a few surprises to our ears long-trained on modern soul – and tracks include "There I Go" by The Notations, "I Hate Hate" by Razzy, "Pour Your Little Heart Out" by The Drifters, "Daylight" by Bobby Womack, "Got To Find Ms Right" by Buddy Miles, "Tripping Out (Featurecast 2013 re-edit)" by Curtis Mayfield, "What Do You See In Her" by Inell Young, "You Made A Believer Out Of Me" by Betty Lavette, "This Side Of Heaven" by Gavin Christopher, "Spoiled Like A Baby" by Mystique, "If You Really Need A Friend" by Bobby Foster, "Smoothie Pie" by Sky Hi, and "I Don't Know" by Glen Anthony Henry. (Funky Compilations, Soul) CD

Includes music by Parliament, Chakachas, Curtis Mayfield, Funkadelic, Sound Experience, Cameo, Salsoul Orchestra, Marva Whitney, Leon Huff, the Jones Girls, and more – 30 tracks total. (Funky Compilations, Soul) CD

Tracks include "Why Can't We Live Together" by Timmy Thomas, "Love Jones" by Brighter Side of Darkness", "Lonely Man" by The Chi-Lites, "Superfly" by Curtis Mayfield, "One Night Affair" by Jerry Butler, "World Is a Ghetto" by War, "Stir It Up" by Johnny Nash, "Ain't No Woman (Like the One I've Got)" by The Four Tops, "Armed and Extremely Dangerous" by First Choice, "Leaving Me" by The Independents, "Pillow Talk" by Sylvia, and "I'm Doin' Fine Now" by New York City. CD