A record that moves guitarist Melvin Sparks a bit more into soul territory from the funky jazz of his early 70s years – but still a heck of a great little record overall! The tracks are shorter than before and the backings are bigger – but Melvin's work on the strings still gets plenty of space in the arrangements, and there's more than a few funky instrumentals here that more than make the album great. Plus, Little Jimmy Scott sings vocals on a few cuts – "I Got To Have You" and "If You Want My Love" – both done in a style that's fuller and more soulful than any of the work cut under his own name! Other tracks are mostly instrumental, and include the funky numbers "Bump & Stomp", "Get Down With The Get Down", and "Get Ya Some" – plus "Looking For Love", "In The Morning", and "Mocking Bird". (Jazz, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

A never-issued album by funky guitar legend Melvin Sparks – recorded right after his final record for the Westbound label, and appearing here for the first time ever! Sparks first rose to fame via funky work with Lonnie Smith and Lou Donaldson in the late 60s, the cut some killer albums of his own and with organist Leon Spencer in the 60s – before disappearing a bit until a great revival in more recent years! This set represents Sparks right before he dropped off the map – a session that's done with a sweet jazz funk vibe that shows the way that labels like Westbound were picking up some of the style of the successful CTI/Kudu imprint – mixing some larger charts with the leader's solo strengths – allowing maybe some more soulful influences in the rhythms, while still going for a jazz funk approach overall. The set's much more instrumental than Sparks' last record for Westbound, which had more vocals – and although a few tracks have an upbeat clubby style, most of the music is more in a midtempo mode. Titles include "Love Tones", "I'm Funky Now", "I'm Gonna Funk You Up", "You're Gonna Make It", "The Truth Hurts", "Make It Good", and "Disco Booty". (Jazz, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

A never-issued album by funky guitar legend Melvin Sparks – recorded right after his final record for the Westbound label, and appearing here for the first time ever! Sparks first rose to fame via funky work with Lonnie Smith and Lou Donaldson in the late 60s, the cut some killer albums of his own and with organist Leon Spencer in the 60s – before disappearing a bit until a great revival in more recent years! This set represents Sparks right before he dropped off the map – a session that's done with a sweet jazz funk vibe that shows the way that labels like Westbound were picking up some of the style of the successful CTI/Kudu imprint – mixing some larger charts with the leader's solo strengths – allowing maybe some more soulful influences in the rhythms, while still going for a jazz funk approach overall. The set's much more instrumental than Sparks' last record for Westbound, which had more vocals – and although a few tracks have an upbeat clubby style, most of the music is more in a midtempo mode. Titles include "Love Tones", "I'm Funky Now", "I'm Gonna Funk You Up", "You're Gonna Make It", "The Truth Hurts", "Make It Good", and "Disco Booty". (Jazz, Soul) CD

A mighty great little record – a mixture of jazz and soul from the heavy talents of Hilton Felton – and a record that not only features some of his own great work on organ and keyboards, but some great contributions from other members of the DC scene of the 70s! In addition to help from The Blackbyrds in the core combo, and guest tenor from Andrew White, the set also features vocals from a young Angela Winbush on one track – singing backup on some others! But the core charm of the record comes from the grooves – the kind of upbeat, righteous sounds that we've always loved in Felton's keyboards – almost an extension of the Prestige Records jazz funk groove from the start of the 70s, with echoes of records by Funk Inc, Melvin Sparks, and Leon Spencer – but given a particularly hip east coast indie sort of spin! Titles include "Family & Friends", "Spreading Fever", "Never Can Say Goodbye", "Family Reunion", "Clay's Way", and "The Power Of Love". (Jazz, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

A mighty great little record – a mixture of jazz and soul from the heavy talents of Hilton Felton – and a record that not only features some of his own great work on organ and keyboards, but some great contributions from other members of the DC scene of the 70s! In addition to help from The Blackbyrds in the core combo, and guest tenor from Andrew White, the set also features vocals from a young Angela Winbush on one track – singing backup on some others! But the core charm of the record comes from the grooves – the kind of upbeat, righteous sounds that we've always loved in Felton's keyboards – almost an extension of the Prestige Records jazz funk groove from the start of the 70s, with echoes of records by Funk Inc, Melvin Sparks, and Leon Spencer – but given a particularly hip east coast indie sort of spin! Titles include "Family & Friends", "Spreading Fever", "Never Can Say Goodbye", "Family Reunion", "Clay's Way", and "The Power Of Love". (Jazz, Soul) CD

Tight funky instrumentals from Brother Jack McDuff – an Atlantic groover that's probably closer to his late 60s gems for Cadet Records than it is his earlier work for Prestige! The solos are shorter, but they're packed nicely around the rhythms – played by a combo that features a young Melvin Sparks on some mighty nice guitar – plus Leo Johnson on tenor and Ray Appleton on drums! The groove is tight and choppy, with little bits of funk, and McDuff's usual sense of humor and warmth – and for the record, Jack wrote loads of original tracks, including "Mush Melon", "Snap Back Jack", "Strolling Blues", and "Do It Now". (Jazz, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

A tight collection of uptempo funk and disco-driven soul tunes – with a selection that goes way past the usual dancefloor favorites! We're not sure how to read the title (which seems to have some sort of "inside take" on black culture in America) so we'll write that off to the overzealous imagination of the British compilers of the set – but we will say that the package includes some great numbers that we wouldn't have thought of otherwise, including a few previously unissued tunes by artists on the Westbound label! The groove is upbeat on most tracks, with plenty of jazzy flourishes and a soulful approach to disco. Titles include "Disco Booty" by Melvin Sparks, "Love Don't Come Easy" by New Jersey Connection, "I Need Somebody To Love Tonight" by Sylvester, "Free Man" by South Shore Commission, "Everything's Gonna Be Alright" by The Clark Sisters, "Latin Disco" by The Counts, "Alvin Stone (The Birth & Death Of A Gangster)" by Fantastic Four, "Moon Trek" by Mike Theodore, "Sadie" by Joe Bataan, "Sure Can't Go To The Moon" by CJ & Co, and "The Magic Man" by King Errison. (Funky Compilations, Soul) CD

A great lost album from Pucho & The Latin Soul Brothers – not classic vintage, despite the front cover image, but an excellent session from the early 90s that still has Pucho very much at the top of his game! The album's way heavier than some of Pucho's other material from the period – and only got slight circulation under the title Jungle Strut – as a record that really returns to the vibe of early 70s funky Prestige Records –w ith work from the legendary Pazant Brothers on horns, plus Melvin Sparks on guitar, Willie Bivens on vibes, and Bernard Purdie on drums! The sound is great – nice and raw, with a real emphasis on Purdie's funk – and titles include "Strange Thing", "Got Myself A Good Man", "Pucho's Descarga", "Soul Sauce", and "Bang Bang Lulu". (Latin, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

The world needs changing – and plenty of these tunes may well do it – thanks to infectious grooves and some very righteous message-oriented lyrics! The set's a great document of the positive, progressive energy going down in soul music during the heady days of the late 60s and early 70s – a time when the country was changing heavily, and the music was as well – moving into new styles, themes, and ideas – expressed here by a hip batch of cats who were working on some of the best indie labels of the underground! This set offers up a great mix of cool cuts from a variety of sources – a few gems from the Flying Dutchman label, some other obscure 45s, and even a few southern soul numbers that fit surprisingly well with the northern vibe of most of these numbers. Titles include "Walk Tall" by Esther Marrow, "Get Ready/Uptight" by Little Eva Harris, "All Power To The People (part 1)" by Joe Savage & The Soul People, "Soul Patrol" by The Original Soul Patrol, "Do It (inst)" by Johnny Griffith, "The World Needs Changin" by Hank Jacobs & Don Malone, "Sea Saw Affair" by Cesar 830, "Love Tones" by Melvin Sparks, "That's The Way It Goes" by Elaine Armstrong, "This Is The Me Me" by Brenda Jones with Groove Holmes, "Sissy Strut N American Woman" by The Willard Posey Reunion, and "Rudypoot" by Huck & The Soul Patrol. (Funky Compilations, Soul) CD