25 tracks in all! (Blues, Soul) CD

54 tracks from this rare Chicago blues label – including some unissued material! Music from Otis Rush, the Clouds, Shakey Horton, Sunnyland Slim, Little Willie Foster, Harold Burrage, Magic Sam, Betty Everett, Shakey Jake & Willie Dixon Band, Ike Turner's Kings Of Rhythm, Buddy Guy, and more. (Blues, Soul) CD

Some of the most hard-edged, gritty material ever cut by the legendary Otis Rush – work done on the Chicago scene of the 50s for Cobra Records – a company who were even more low-fi than Chess Records at the time! Otis' vocals are as incredible as his guitar – and the groups here are often nicely full – not large ensembles, but well-crafted combos that feature plenty of work from key contemporaries on the scene – including Walter Horton on harmonica, Lafayette Leake and Little Brother Montgomery on piano, Harold Ashby and Red Holloway on tenors, and Willie Dixon on bass. All these cuts were originally only issued as rare singles back in the day – and the set features 16 tracks that include "Groaning The Blues", "Violent Love", "Sit Down Baby", "I Can't Quit You Baby", "Checking On My Baby", "She's A Good Un", "Three Times A Fool", and "Love That Woman". (Blues, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

Our favorite album by this Brit jazz rock combo from the mid 70s! The groove on this one is the most straightforward of any of the band's albums – and there's a number of nice cuts that have a strong funk sound with plenty of Afro soul influences – a great straightforward sound that gets past some of the more jamming modes of other work. The band's almost got a style that recalls Mandrill or Cymande, but with a bit more fusion overall – on titles that include "Mr J", "Mah Jong", "Spanish Fly", "Amuso Fi", and "Cobra Woman". (Jazz, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album