A pair of later Maze albums – back to back in a single set, and with bonus tracks too! First up is Silky Soul – a late 80s album, but one that has the smooth soul genius very much at the top of his game! Frankie's work from the 70s inspired countless imitators in the next decade – but after so many other male singers trying to cop his game, Beverly can still do it better than the rest – with this easygoing, effortless style that's never commercial or cheesy – and which continues to raise the bar for sophisticated soul! Grooves are mostly in that perfect midtempo stepping style that seems to work best for Frankie – and the overall instrumentation and production are far more timeless than some of the other big records of the period – with a style that places the set very strongly in the best Maze tradition. Titles include "Can't Get Over You", "Silky Soul", "Just Us", "Love's On The Run", "Mandela", and "Songs Of Love". CD features bonus tracks – "Africa", "Mandela (radio edit)", and "Love's On The Run (rmx)". Next up is Back To Basics – a really well-titled set from Frankie Beverly & Maze – as the album takes the group right back to the mellow-stepping sound that first made them great back in the 70s! Production's a bit more updated, but still very laidback – and there's a smoothly-grooving glow to the record we totally love – a perfect format for Frankie's always-amazing vocals, updated just slightly for the 90s. The production values are never too polished, and the songwriting is still great – on titles that include "Love Is", "the Morning After", "Laid Back Girl", 'What Goes Up", "In Time", "All Night Long", "Don't Wanna Lose Your Love", and "Twilight". CD features bonus tracks – "Laid Back Girl (edit)", "What Goes Up (radio)", and "What Goes Up (smooth mix)". CD

A great back-to-basics solo album from the legendary David Axelrod – cut in the mid 70s for Fantasy Records, after higher-concept projects like The Auction and Messiah! This set gets right to the core – and focuses on the funk currents that were always part of Axelrod's larger arrangements, but which sometimes never got pulled to the forefront as strongly – and the approach is almost like some of the funky jazz albums that were issued by Fantasy/Prestige Records at the time – especially those that Axelrod produced for Cannonball Adderley. The whole thing has that great Axelrod sense of composition, with lots of space, and lots of spare cold bits that are nice nice nice for sample cuts – and titles include the classic track "Everything Counts", plus "Get Up Off Your Knees", "My Family", and "Mucho Chupar". (Jazz, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

A great back-to-basics solo album from the legendary David Axelrod – cut in the mid 70s for Fantasy Records, after higher-concept projects like The Auction and Messiah! This set gets right to the core – and focuses on the funk currents that were always part of Axelrod's larger arrangements, but which sometimes never got pulled to the forefront as strongly – and the approach is almost like some of the funky jazz albums that were issued by Fantasy/Prestige Records at the time – especially those that Axelrod produced for Cannonball Adderley. The whole thing has that great Axelrod sense of composition, with lots of space, and lots of spare cold bits that are nice nice nice for sample cuts – and titles include the classic track "Everything Counts", plus "Get Up Off Your Knees", "My Family", and "Mucho Chupar". (Jazz, Soul) CD