A great look at the mighty talents of Leroy Kirkland – not much of a lead star on his own, but a fantastic force in the worlds of soul, blues, and R&B in the postwar years! Leroy's one of these guys who really starts to show up when you pay attention to credits on older singles – a great songwriter, a hell of an arranger, and a sometime producer too – a talent who really finds a way to take older bluesy styles and modernize them for the growing urban postwar audience – often mixing raw vocals with jazzy instrumentation, at a level that brings forward some of the jump blues modes of the late 40s too. The set's overflowing with gems from a variety of different labels – 27 tracks in all – including "Sloppin" by Pearl Woods & The Gems, "When You Dance" by Billy Storm, "All In My Mind" by Maxine Brown, "Who's That Knocking" by The Genies, "Night Ride" by King's Henchmen, "Stay A Little Longer" by The Equadors, "Sentimental Daddy-O" by Brook Benton, "The Bear Hug" by Mr Bear & His Bearcats, "Stop Talkin & Start Walkin" by Annie Laurie, "I'll Be Sittin I'll Be Rockin" by Larry Darnell, "Give A Little Time" by Milt Trenier, "You Can't Stay Here" by Melvin Smith, "Flip & Skip" by Claude Cloud & His Thunderclaps, and "Mumbles Blues" by Big Connie – plus "Paramount Rock" by Leroy Kirkland himself. (Blues, Soul) CD

A fantastic tribute to the legendary Disco Spectrum series of compilations – a run of records that first burst forth at the end of the 90s, and showed the world that there was a huge amount of underground music to discover from the mainstream disco years! Disco Spectrum cuts aren't the ones you'll know from Saturday Night Fever – or from K-Tel compilations of the time – and instead, they represent the much deeper current of groove that was still burning bright away from the limelight, even while the more commercial disco crumbled into dust – music that was sometimes cut by artists who disappeared quickly, sometimes by older masters, and sometimes by talents who never fully got the respect they deserved. Both Joey Negro and Sean P have given us some great sets before, but this one is right at the top of their talents – filled with gems that include "Let Me Down Easy" by Rare Pleasure, "Spread Love" by Al Hudson & The Soul Partners, "Can't Shake Your Love (Larry Levan 12" mix)" by Syreeta, "Trinidad (special disco mix)" by John Gibbs & US Steel Orchestra, "Isabelle & The Rain" by Jo Boyer, "Don't Let My Rainbow Pass Me By (club 12" mix)" by Cloud One with Margo Williams, "Could Heaven Ever Be Like This" by Idris Muhammad, "I Don't Want You Back" by Ramona Brooks, "Hot To Trot" by Alfredo De La Fe, "Out Of My Hands" by Omni, "Under The Skin" by The Brothers, "Let Me Love You" by Bunny Mack, "Can You Get Down" by Universe City, and "I Want You For Myself" by George Duke with Lynn Davis. (Funky Compilations, Soul) CD

Harmony soul – our favorite kind of soul – served up in a sublime batch of 24 rare tunes from the late 60s and early 70s, presented in an all-legit package with great sound and well-done notes! As with the first volume, there's a strong influence here from mid 60s Impressions – a crackling vocal approach that's honest, personal, and heartfelt – and never too smooth, even when the sound is sweet and warm. There's also a few well-chosen female group soul tunes on the set – nicely offsetting the mostly-male approach to harmony with some key cuts that remind us that the girls could often go a deep in the genre as the guys. The whole thing floats along on a heavenly cloud of vocals and lightly-done backings – perfect late nite listening, and a must-have set for any fan of the genre! Titles include "Keep On Trying" by The Invincibles, "Chapel Bells Are Calling" by The Insiders, "You're Gonna Make It" by The Festivals, "Daydreamer" by CC & Company, "I Like The Way You Love Me" by Foxy, "So Glad You're Home" by The Superbs, "Things Will Be Better" by The Just Brothers, "I'm Still Here" by The Notations, "Never Will I" by The Magnificent Seven, and "Someone Else's Arms" by Channel 3. CD

The more stylistically sprawling of the 2 albums Prince released upon returning to Warner Brothers in 2014 – nicely recalling some of his better later 80s and early 90s material, post-Sign O The Times craft – but still moving forward, as opposed to reliving past glories! Art Official Age finds Mr. Nelson working in myriad strains of eccentric, 80s-learned pop, soul and funk – in a voice that's held up impossibly well over the years. This one is credited to Prince alone, but features backing by his 3rdeyegirl rock band, Marissa Jack, aka Golden Hippie, Paloma Ayana and others. Everything from tripped out cosmic soul pop, to electro funk and psych soul guitar jams – Prince will be Prince! Includes the title track, "Clouds", "Breakdown", "The Gold Standard", "Breakfast Can Wait", "This Could Be Us", "Way Back Home", "Affirmation" (parts I, II & III), "Time" and more. CD