Classic funky soul from Five Special – tightly crafted throughout, and clearly with an eye on the charts – but also the kind of work that plays nicely on the dancefloor too! The record's got a groove that fits in nicely with some of the lesser-remembered groovers on Elektra at the time – like Shadow or Chameleon – with plenty of jazzy inflections in the rhythms, and a nice sense of 80s groove that keeps the uptempo tracks from being just copycat club. But the vocals here are especially nice, and sparkle even more on the ballads, which have a smooth and warm sound that's tight, yet never commercially cloying. Titles include "Do Something Special", "Heaven", "Who You Been Lovin", "Jam", "Choosin You For Me", and "Had You A Lover". CD

The legendary Headhunters are still in mighty great shape after all these years – different in lineup, but still a sublime showcase for the work of Mike Clark on drums and Bill Summers on percussion – two of the core Headhunters who first worked with Herbie Hancock back in the 70s! The rest of the lineup features alto sax from Donald Harrison, plus keyboards from Kyle Roussel and bass from Chris Severin – and as with other later iterations of the group, there's a fair bit of jazz in the mix, alongside the more familiar funk of the Headhunters' own records from back in the day – a quality that's probably even more pronounced here in the live setting, which features extended tracks with plenty of room for solos! Titles include versions of "Chameleon", "Headhunter Jam", "Four String Drive", "Butterfly", "Hey Pocky A Way", "Rocking At The Mole House", and "Watermelon Man". CD