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A nice live snapshot of a later P Funk incarnation, circa 1983 – with players like Dennis Chambers and Michael Hampton aboard the mothership with Clinton's family of funk all stars! The rest of the crew includes includes stalwarts Bernie Worrell, Eddie Hazel, Blackbird McKnight, Maceo Parker, Mudbone Cooper and George Clinton working hard to extend their legendary style of live funk into the 80s. There's a slow build up of energy that's works well – kicking off slowly but surely with a laidback intro and band intro before busts open in a big way, and from there it's one exciting classic after another 'til the very end! Includes lengthy live riffs on P-funk classics like "Cosmic Slop", "(Not Just) Knee Deep", "Maggot Brain", "Atomic Dog"and "Flashlight", "Give Up The Funk (Tear The Roof Off The Sucker)", "Do That Stuff", "Cosmic Slop" plus a medley of "Let's Take It To The Stage", "Mothership Connection (Starchild)" and "I Call My Baby Pussycat" in a nearly 100 minute set! CD

Blacksmith handled the remix and extra production work for this single – giving the track a nice strong London groove, circa 1990, which is about the best vintage we can think of! 12-inch, Vinyl record

A totally cool little record – and one that was so rare, it was initially only pressed up to give to the singers and performers who worked on its grooves! The music here is all from a talent show in Brooklyn, circa 1968 – headed by the Youth In Action charity, and filled with very strong performances by soulful, youthful talents right from the streets! The whole thing's got a very raw feel – like the funkiest of the funky 45s from the time – and the recording is also live, with an audience that's getting pretty darn wild as the set moves on. Tracks mix great group soul performances with gritty funk and soul instrumentation – and tracks include "I Want To Be Sweeter To You" by The United Souls, "Love Makes A Woman" by Carla & The Carlettes, "I Wish It Would Rain" by Channels 4, "Come & Get These Memories" by Sharon Seabrook & The Starlettes, "Cowboys To Girls" by The Destinations, and "Thrillers Band" by The Thrillers Band. (Funky Compilations, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

A pair of Capitol Records classics from Nancy Wilson – back to back with bonus tracks too! On Today My Way, Nancy Wilson takes on the sound of today – circa 1965 – singing her versions of songs by a host of other female singers of the time, and blowing away most of them in the process! Wilson is the consummate portrait of soul and class throughout – working well well-balanced arrangements that are mostly from Sid Feller, plus a few more from Oliver Nelson – often with a mix of syncopated rhythms and strings that echo Bacharach a bit, but which are much better fitted to Nancy's personal style! Titles include "Reach Out For Me", "Dear Heart", "Welcome Welcome", "I'm All Smiles", "Don't Come Running Back To Me", and "Take What I Have". Nancy Naturally is a great one from Nancy Wilson – a set that has the singer working with full arrangements from Billy May, who's got this surprisingly subtle approach at times that works really well with the soulful currents in Nancy's vocals! The approach is almost more like Oliver Nelson, especially with the bluesier currents that May brings into the horns at points – and the album scores equally well on the groovers and the more slinky numbers that are especially wonderful – almost an update of an earlier Dakota Staton mode, but a bit more hip – as we'd expect from Wilson! Titles include "Watch What Happens", "Smack Dab In The Middle", "I Wish I Didn't Love You So", "In The Dark", and "Ten Years Of Tears". CD features 6 bonus tracks too – including "Be True To Me", "Go Away", "The Power Of Love", "That Special Way", "Afterthoughts", and "Where Does That Leave Me". (Vocalists, Soul) CD

The complete Josie work from the mighty Meters in a 2CD set – including the self-titled '69 album, Look-Ka Py Py and Struttin' from 1970, plus a bunch of great singles and numbers with Art Neville and Cyril Neville! Disc 1 features Meters & Look-Ka Py Py – the former simply one of the greatest albums in the history of funk – and the latter an all time classic funky instrumental LP, with a choppy tight guitar groove. Includes "Cissy Strut", "Cardova", "Art", "Stormy", "Look-Ka Py Py", "Dry Spell", "Little Old Money Maker" and more. Disc 2 starts with Struttin' – about as hard, heavy and funky as you can get – with "Chicken Strut", "Go For Yourself", "Ride Your Pony", "Hand Clappin Song" and more. Also includes the singles "Message From The Meters", "Zony Mash", "I Need More Time", "Sassy Lady" and more, plus "Bo Diddley" (Pts 1 & 2)", "Heartaches" and "I'm Gonna Put Some Hurt On You" with Art Neville from '68, plus "Gossip" and "Tell Me What's On Your Mind" with Cyril Neville circa '70. CD

An early 90s contemporary hip hop-steeped street soul gem from Intro! Intro deftly introduce themselves with a style that was as timely as could be circa '93, and holds up with classic swagger today. While 90s hip hop soul styled beats and production finesse has a timeless shelf life in the best hands, some of the pop soul crossover efforts of the day didn't stay quite as fresh as Intro, whose affinity for their era with inspiration from groups like the Gap Band and the Isleys keeps it as fresh as ever. Includes the classic "Love Thang", "Let Me Be The One", "Anything For You", "Why Don't You Love Me", "It's All About You", "Ribbon In The Sky", "Don't Leave Me", "Come Inside", "One Of A Kind Love", and "So Many Reasons" – plus the New Life bonus tracks "My Love's The Way", "Feels Like The First Time" and "New Life". Production by Eddie "DJ Eddie F" Ferrell, Richard Nash and Kevin Woodley. LP, Vinyl record album