... LP, Vinyl record album

12 mixes total, including remixes from The Beatnuts and Kenny Smoove. 12-inch, Vinyl record

Planet Mod is a pretty groovy place – a spot in the solar system where rock, blues, and soul effortlessly blend together – thanks to the mighty talents of the legendary producer Shel Talmy! The set here is a great dip into the farther reaches of Talmy's records of the 60s – way past the hits, to show the kind of magic that really made the studio genius such a key force in developing the sound of London at the time – often with a fair bit of influence from America, but in a way that was already shifting into fresh British modes for the new audiences overseas. As always with Ace, the package and presentation are stunning – and the set even features some rare tracks that truly come from the vaults, mixed with other obscure singles, and supported with a great deal of notes. 24 tracks in all – and titles include "Mai Lee" by John Lee Hooker, "Don't Let It Be" by The Tribe, "Goodbye Girl" by The Preachers, "Goodbye So Long" by The Soul Brothers, "Broken Truth" by A Wild Uncertainty, "Life's Too Good To Waste" by Tony Christie & The Trackers, "Stone Crazy" by Screamin Jay Hawkins, "Too Much Of A Woman" by The Corduroys, "Have You Ever Had The Blues (alt take)" by Ray Gates, "I'll Never Fall In Love Again" by John Lee's Groundhogs, "Unto Us (demo version)" by The New Breed, and "Think" by The Total. (Rock, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

What can we say? This is one of the greatest soul soundtracks ever! In a market that was dominated by the big-selling Shaft and Superfly albums, Roy slipped in this masterful blend of jazzy vibes and wah wah funk that's easily one of the best-composed records of the blacksploitation genre! The album's much more unified than your average funky soundtrack – and each track moves between styles that you'd hear on any of Roy's great albums from the time. There's heavy funk on the track "Brawling Broads", cool vibes and electric piano on "Aragon", off-beat jazz on "Coffy Sauna", and great soul on cuts like "Coffy Is The Color" and "Coffy Baby". Wonderful all the way through – and another jewel in the already-big crown of the great Roy Ayers! LP, Vinyl record album

There's never been a better bit of pop throwaway dancefloor fodder ever! Sure, these guys were blaring out of every cheap radio at the time, and it was just about impossible to walk into a shopping mall without hearing "Groove Is In The Heart" for about 5 years after the album came out – but to us, that was a great thing, and the record represents one of the high points in pop music of the past few decades. Thanks to some skillful sampling by Towa Tei, the group were grounded in a rich history of funk, house, disco, soul, and Brazilian influences – all of which they managed to blend with a postmodern perfection that other groups could only ever dream of! The big hits are certainly very familiar, but the whole album's a delight – and tracks include "Who Was That?", "Smile On", "Try Me On . . . I'm Very You", "World Clique", "ESP", and "Good Beat". LP, Vinyl record album

A bit one for Patti Labelle in the 80s – a set that crossed over big at the time, but which still has the lady in very soulful territory! Patti seems to sparkle most here on the mellower cuts – the gentle groovers and laidback ballads that helped open her up to a whole new audience, and which really give her a different sound than her 70s Labelle years. Titles include the Bacharach/Carol Bayer Sager title "On My Own" – sung as a duet with Michael McDonald – plus "Oh People", "There's A Winner In You", "Finally We're Back Together", "Beat My Heart Like A Drum", "Kiss Away The Pain", "Something Special", and "You're Mine Tonight". LP, Vinyl record album

A classic bit of Chicago house goes mainstream – and a suprisingly big hit from the late 80s. The main reason most folks bought this album was for Louis' "French Kiss", a sex-sound infused house cut with a "fast-then-slow-then-fast" groove that was endlessly dropped into mixes on radio and in clubs at the time. However, like late 80s house contemporaries Blaze, Louis actually turned out to be a pretty interesting soul talent when given a whole album to work with – and although "French Kiss" is on the beat-heavy "dance" side of the album, there's also a pretty interesting "romance" side that has some nice home-made late 80s soul tunes with great warm keyboard-heavy production. Titles include "Lil Tanya", "The Luv U Wanted", "6 AM", and "Brittany". LP, Vinyl record album

Lost work from a really obscure period in the career of Mavis Staples – post-Stax, but before her big revival of later years – and a date that has her working with the Holland Dozier Holland time in a mighty nice mode! The classic Mavis vocals are very firmly in place, but the record's also got a warmer glow than usual – great arrangements from Jesse Saunders, who again comes to the record as a bit of a surprise – but really helps make a setting that's very fresh for the Staples sound, especially if you've heard as many records by Mavis as us! The style is great – almost like some of the coolest southern/modern soul blends of the period – and titles include "Love Gone Bad", "Show Me", "Falling In Love", "Beat Well Done", "See What You Started", and "Holding On To Your Love". LP, Vinyl record album

Wow! This record takes all the directions that soul was heading towards in the early 80s, and wraps them into one record! System has it all – geri curls, bass pedal riffing, tinny synth drums, over-produced flanged-out vocals, and tinny but catchy little tunes that were designed to cross over with the "hot mix" crowd in a big way. Tracks include "It Takes 2", "Big City Beat", "I Don't Run From Danger", "My Radio Rocks", and "Did In By A Friend". LP, Vinyl record album

A funky treasure trove from Apple & The Three Oranges – a group we hardly know at all, but who really blow us away with the cuts on this collection! The groove is plenty hard right from the get-go – the best of the funky 45 underground of the early 70s – which means that there's more 60s rawness on the record than you'd get from bigger-label funk at the time – as Ed "Apple" Nelson still works here with a mostly underground vibe! Ed plays drums – which are mighty hard on most numbers – and his vocals have this offbeat, off-kilter, over the top quality that almost reminds us a bit of the Hank Ballard/James Brown recordings for late 60s King – particularly in the way that Nelson's completely unbridled with his energy. The whole thing's great – one of the best funky collections we've heard in years – and presented with a rich amount of notes and historical information too. Titles include "Free & Easy (parts 1 & 2)", "Moon Light", "Curse Upon The World", "What Goes Around Comes Around", "Down Home Publicity", "True Love Will Never Die", "Gotta Stand For Something (parts 1 & 2)", and "I'll Give You A Ring". Features a great 16 page booklet with extensive liner notes and photos! LP, Vinyl record album

Easily one of the funkiest albums that James Brown ever recorded – and one of his few entries into the blacksploitation genre of the 70s! James really outdid himself for this one – working at a hard burning pace that had the JBs cooking up some killer funk for just about every number in the set – and which also has James himself stepping out vocally for a few key tracks. The album features the massive groover "People Get Up and Drive Your Funky Soul" – a slamming track that beats nearly every number in the JB 70s catalog – plus other cuts that include "To My Brother", "Brother Rapp", "Sexy Sexy Sexy", "Slaughter Theme", "Transmogrification", "King Slaughter", and "How Long Can I Keep It Up". LP, Vinyl record album

The monumental debut of BT Express – and an excellent funk album that often gets overlooked by fans of the music because of the band's bigger fame as a disco group! This first record has the combo grooving hard and instrumentally – in the mode of a tight blacksploitation soundtrack, with plenty of tight wah wah guitar riffing, conga beats, and funky flute and sax – topped off by just the right amount of strings to make the set soar even more! The album's best known for the title track "Do It (Til You're Satisfied)" – which was a big hit, but is still an excellent groover – and the set also includes loads of other great cuts too – like "Express", which was the original song that the created the JBs' response track "Monorail"; "This House is Smokin'", which has lots of funky descending horn bits; and other great tunes that include "Mental Telepathy", "If It Don't Turn You On", and "Do You Like It". LP, Vinyl record album

Soaring vocals from Angela Clemmons – a set that really has an amazing range, and a depth of sound that goes way past the usual from Epic Records at the time! Angela's got a way of stretching out right from the start – inflecting the lyrics with a rich power that easily matches or beats some of her bigger-name contemporaries at the time – and which really help give an extra something special to the record. Production is by Paul Leka, and a number of songs were written by Michael Brown – and the pair really help give the whole thing a personal feel, and keep the set from being just another run of the mill mainstream soul album from the early 80s. Titles include "Giving It Away", "Fill You Up", "Uneasy", "When You're Through I'll Be Waiting", "Mine", and "Sure Thing". LP, Vinyl record album

Incredible work from Chocolate Star – less a group than a record label or project name used for some excellent underground club recordings from the late 70s and early 80s! Gary Davis is the real brainchild here – keyboardist, songwriter, and main spiritual force behind the music – but Peter Brown also played a big hand in some of the initial Chocolate Star sessions too, and there's a definite P&P groove to most of this work! The Chocolate Star touch is perhaps best known on the classic club track "Got To Get Your Love" by Clyde Alexander & Sanction – but it's even better on the more obscure work throughout the entire package – an array of tunes that run from funky club to other modes that include mellow soul, old school hip hop, and even some very spare tracks that mostly just have keyboards and beats! Titles include "Gee Dee", "Last Night", "Stay With Me", "Time For Love Is Now", "Super Jake", "Got To Get Your Love", "The Professor Here", "The Pop", "Gotta Get Your Love (Kenny Dope rmx)", "The Pop (12")", "The Professor Is Space Walking", and "Gee Dee (alt mix)". LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible collection of work from the vastly-overlooked Geater Davis – and a set that definitely lives up to its title! Geater Davis is a tremendous singer from the south – but one who barely ever got his due back in the 70s – even though these recordings for the tiny House Of Orange label are every bit as amazing as work coming out for bigger labels like Stax or Hi Records! Although Davis didn't record nearly as much as his contemporaries, he's got a sound that matches or beats them – a raw, raspy quality that's a bit like Bobby Blue Bland, touched with the depth of feeling we love in James Carr, peppered with elements of other Memphis singers – all produced to perfection with a sound that's got a deep-burning soul that never lets up. This excellent collection features all tracks from Geater's rare album Sweet Woman's Love, plus additional singles from the time – all produced by Allen Orange, an overlooked genius in the southern studio scene of the 70s. Titles include "Don't Marry A Fool", "Cry Cry Cry", "I Love You", "I Know My Baby Loves Me", "I Can Hold My Own", "Cold Love (long version)", "I'll Get By", "I'll Play The Blues For You", "Breath Taking Girl", and a killer long take on "For Your Precious Love". LP, Vinyl record album

Not the famous debut album from Deee-Lite, but a killer set of grooves that has the trio very much at the height of their powers! So many folks remember these guys as a bigger pop act, they tend to forget how much they brought back to dance music – a real embrace of warmer elements from the past, served up in samples and set to rhythms that were often more funk-based than a lot of the stark, stiff, house-inspired beats of the time! Lady Kier is completely charming in the lead – and the group get lots of help on production from Louie Vega and Kenny Dope, who really add in a Masters At Work level of soul. Titles include "River Of Freedom", "Bittersweet Loving", "What Is This Music", "Picnic In The Summertime", "call Me", "Stay In Bed Forget The Rest", "Music Selector Is The Soul Reflector", and "Sampladelic". LP, Vinyl record album

Heavenly soul from the start of the 80s – a sweet little indie set that's done as a tribute to Minnie Riperton and Kenneth Armstrong! The overall format doesn't have that much to do with Minnie, but the record's still pretty darn great – and the style is a mix of modern, mellow, and boogie – all served up with a real sense of earnestness that matches the cover of the album, and which makes the record stand strongly next to some of the bigger releases of the time. A number of tracks feature vocals by the lovely Pamela Morrison, and the group hails from the Oakland scene of the time – working here under the direction of Barbara J Trotter, who also wrote a good number of the titles on the set too. Titles include the dancefloor jammer "Sho Nuf Funky Beat", plus "We're Together Again", "I See Heaven", "Satisfaction To The Bone Nitty Gritty Naked Bone", "I'm A Lady", "Rapping With My Subconscious Mind", and "We're Together Again". LP, Vinyl record album

Early crossover work as a solo act from James Ingram – and a set that features some stellar production from Quincy Jones! The album's one of the best of Q's pop-styled efforts of the time – and although it played big at the time, it's got a sound that's much better than we remember, especially on the more upbeat numbers – rock-solid vocals from Ingram, sung with a youthful quality that's nicely shies away from some of his more clunky commercial modes. Titles include the big hit "Yah Mo B There", plus "She Loves Me", "Try Your Love Again", "Party Animal", "Whatever We Imagine", "One More Rhythm", and "There's No Easy Way". LP, Vinyl record album

Freddie Jackson was certainly one of the biggest new soul stars of the 80s – and this debut LP is still a treasure! Freddie's got a skill that transcends his age – with an approach that's decidedly 80s, but classic enough to last for years and years. The songs on the record are all extremely well-written, and although the arrangements have certain elements that might date – like DX7, drum machine beats, and floppy bass pedal riffing – the quality of the work is super-high all around, and Freddie's rich soul vocals hold everything together perfectly. Catchy tunes abound – and tracks include "He'll Never Love You (Like I Do)", "Rock Me Tonight (For Old Times Sake)", "Calling", "I Wanna Say I Love You", and "You Are My Lady". LP, Vinyl record album

A smoking second album from Rebbie Jackson – a set that has Rebbie working with strong production help from two of the bigger aspects of the Columbia Records soul family in the 80s – Tito Jackson and Reggie Lucas, who each handle a handful of songs along with David Conley and Howie Rice. The album's got a bubbly, perky approach to soul – almost more catchy and beat-heavy than Jackson's debut for the label, with cuts that include "Reaction", "Ticket To Love", "Ain't No Way To Love", "Lessons In The Fine Art Of Love", "Always Wanting Something", "You Send The Rain Away", and "If You Don't Call". LP, Vinyl record album

Evelyn King's still gliding high here – working with that upbeat, catchy style that really helped her hit big during the early 80s – a perfect fit for the hook-heavy sound of her vocals! The mode's a bit like Denise Williams at the time, although maybe a bit less commercial – and King brings in a host of different producers to help give different shape to different tracks in the set – almost in a way that tries to reach out towards a number of (then) contemporary soul modes – some mellow, some upbeat and grooving. Titles include "I'm So Romantic", "Till Midnight", "Out Of Control", "Just For The Night", "Heartbreaker", and "Talking In My Sleep". LP, Vinyl record album

A monster album that's gone onto influence a generation – but which was barely recognized at the time! Singer Eugene McDaniels had scored big with some pop hits in the 60s under the name Gene McDaniels – but here, he steps out in a righteous batch of offbeat funk tunes – filled with politics, offbeat rhythms, and some very weird instrumentation. The whole thing's awash in moody, jazzy changes – of the style that showed up often in samples by Tribe Called Quest, Beastie Boys, and other artists who drew keen inspiration from this record. Titles include the massive "Jagger the Dagger" – plus "The Lord Is Back", "Lovin Man", "Headless Heroes", "Freedom Death Dance", and "Supermarket Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

A big one for Billy Ocean – a set that's got some catchy beats on the bottom and plenty of sweetly crafted vocals over the top! The style's smooth, but never too much so – thanks to a nicely percolated sense of rhythm on most of the numbers – and in a way, the record represents a nice transition for Billy – a set that pushes him even further past his Caribbean roots into the mainstream of American soul. There's a bit of a quiet storm vibe on here, but one that's never too heavy or forced – and titles include "Love Zone", "Without You", "There'll Be Sad Songs", "Bitter Sweet", "It's Never Too Late To Try", "Showdown", "Promise Me", and "Love Is Forever". LP, Vinyl record album

A surprisingly strong set from Osibisa – one that's got a full, rich, soulful feel – much better than we might have expected for an album recorded at the Royal Festival Hall! The venue's no surprise, though, given that Osibisa were clearly on top of their game at the time – and able to draw a big crowd at a prestigious event. The band has been expanded considerably for this live set to include extra percussion and backing vocals – all coming together with a majestic sound that almost beats the style used on some of the studio versions of these tunes! Titles include "The Dawn", "Living Loving Feeling", "Music For Gong Gong", "Sunshine Day", "Beautiful Seven Y Sharp", and a nice take on Roland Kirk's "Spirits Up Above". (Global Grooves, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

A sweet bit of funky soul from the Florida scene in the early 80s – a completely charming modern soul effort that's quite different than the bigger Miami hits of the decade before! These guys have a sense of integrity that comes through in their look on the cover – unassuming, and very down to earth – which maybe gives the whole thing that nice indie vibe of New Jersey work from ten years before, but with some of the grooves and styles that might be more contemporary to 1981! Vocals are often harmonized, in ways that again go back to older New Jersey or Philly soul – and the album balances funky upbeat tracks with some mighty nice ballads. Titles include "I Need You Baby", "Strung Out On Your Love", "Waiting On A Sign", "I Need Your Love", and "All My Love For You". LP, Vinyl record album

Classic work from the legendary Alexander Robotnick – an artist who not only scored big on European dancefloors in the early 80s – but one whose electronic grooves also went onto really shape the sound of house music here in the US! Although a few of Robotnick's tunes were issued over here on an EP, this full length set was a European-only release – and offers up even more of him to love! "Problemes D'Amour" is the real winner here, and probably most well known cut – a classic blend of beatbox and keys, all percolating together with a "wikky wikky" magic that still really sends us, with nice vocoded vocals, too! The rest of the set's nothing to dismiss either, and includes "Computer Sourire", "Dance Boy Dance", "Hola Macci Kola", "Ce N'Est Q'Un Debut", and "Afrikan Kola". LP, Vinyl record album

Fierce funky work from this late 80s UK duo – contemporaries of Soul II Soul, Loose Ends, and some of the other big British acts of the time – but a pair who never fully got their due! The "street soul" title here is really well-placed – as the grooves have a style that's an evolution of earlier electro modes – warmed up nicely, in the style that Jazzie B and his generation were bringing to the scene – but maybe still lean enough in construction to still appeal to fans of the previous generation! Two tracks here get a bit clubby, but in a good way, and the others are more in a midtempo groove, nicely bouncing along with the beats – on titles that include "R U Available", "Change/Love", "In & Out Of Love", "It's All Over", "Waiting 4 Your Love", and "The Way Love Is". Great package – with a bonus booklet with an interview by Jeff Chairman Mao! LP, Vinyl record album

One of our favorites ever cut by Tex-Mex soulsters Sunny & The Sunliners – largely because it's got some really nice funk tracks! The album features a set of all English language tracks – with Sunny Ozuna singing in his best sweet soul style on the ballad tracks, and hitting a raw raw groove on the harder-hitting numbers, really nailing the groove on both fronts. One of the highlights of the album is actually an instrumental reading of "Soul Power" – done with a nice chunky groove – and other great tracks include sweet harmony readings of "Together" and "Cross My Heart", plus the upbeat tunes "Boogaloo Down Broadway" and "Hip Huggin Minnie". (Latin, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

A wicked bit of 80s electro soul – one that's heavy on Yamaha keyboards and beats, but which was also recorded in Gabon – which gives the whole record a very different sound than New York material of the time! The rhythms are definitely in the funky soul side of the spectrum, but have different inflections and directions than big city beats from the street – maybe more complexity at points, but also a willingness to step back and allow some spots of bluesier inflections in the other instrumentation, which is mostly guitar – an instrument that has less of a rhythmic role here than on the usual soul album. Titles include "Butter Fly", "Ogoue", "We Gonna Have Some Fun", "Believe Me", "Back To LBV", and "Will Be The Only One". LP, Vinyl record album