An 80s pop soul classic from Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force – insistent and irresistible to this day – and a solid album full of tunes that stand up strongly with their unstoppable hit singles of the period! Yes, the sound would get a bit too cutesy and played out by the end of the 80s, if you lived through those years, but it's amazing how nice it sounds all these years later! There's nice dose of electro and early hip hop creeping in, it's the breakout "I Wonder If I Take You Home" is, straight-up, one of our favorite mid 80s mainstream R&B jams. Also includes "Can You Feel The Beat", "You'll Never Change", "All Cried Out", "This Is Cult Jam", "Behind My Eyes", "Private Property" and "Take Me Home (Rap)". CD

Candi Staton returns to a great secular soul sound for Who's Hurting Now – her second album of new material for the Honest Jons label in the late 00s – and a solid, assured and irresistible one than we love even more than the previously winning His Hands LP! Candi's voice has a rawness to it and a grit that's paired masterfully with kind of loose, country soul tinged arrangements – timeless sounds that are relevant to Candi's earlier triumphs for Fame Records without attempting to replicate them, and very much of the here and now. Producer Mark Nevers continues to be a key figure behind the boards on excellent modern sets by pivotal figures in classic and cult classic country and soul, but this is Candi's show all the way! Titles include "Breaking Down Slow", "Who's Hurting Now?", "I Feel The Same", "Cry Baby Cry", "Dust On My Pillow", "Mercy Now", "Get Your Hands Dirty", "Lonely Don't", "I Don't Know" and "I Don't Want For Anything". CD

Sublime stuff! Sure, it's easy to sit back and say that you don't really dig Ray Charles albums that mix together country music and soul, and that you prefer his hard raw raunchy Atlantic recordings from the earlier days. But let's be honest, Ray really made his biggest splash with this stuff – and although it became extremely popular over the years, it's also part of a huge country soul tradition that's a very accurate representation of the rich crossover culture going on in southern soul, a tradition that for some reason always gets underplayed by folks who want to carve up the world in easy racial lines. Truth is, Ray was not the only soul artist to embrace country, and we can think of a host of others – including Solomon Burke, Ivory Joe Hunter, Joe Simon, Clarence Carter, Brook Benton, and Bobby Womack who all participated in this rich tradition. This set's essential if you're interested in checking out this side of Ray's career – and the price is pretty nice, considering that you get 4CDs, a great book, and 92 songs in all! Work is pulled from Ray's classic ABC sides in the format, plus others from before and after that generation. Titles include "A Born Loser", "I'm Movin On", "Busted", "Crying Time", "Teardrops In My Heart", "Half As Much", "No Letter Today", "Oh Lonesome Me", "Ring Of Fire", "What Am I Living For", "Let Your Love Flow", "Down In The Valley", and "Take These Chains From My Heart". CD

An unreleased live set from Rare Earth – done on stage in the Windy City in the mid 70s, and with a raw vibe that's maybe even more funky than some of their studio albums from the time! Instrumentation is nice and lean – with heavy drums and bass, and some great fuzz on the guitar that almost gives them a psychedelic soul style at points – as if Norman Whitfield were up there on stage, conducting the whole proceedings! Another great element is the strong use of percussion and congas – which create this Curtom sense of righteousness, and underscore the spontaneity of the live performance – on titles that include "Hey Big Brother", "Big John Is My Name", "Born To Wander", "Get Ready", "I Just Want To Celebrate", and a great two-part take on "I Know I'm Losing You". (Rock, Soul) CD

An overlooked album from the legendary Nina Simone – recorded in Paris in the early 80s, and not circulated as much as some of her records from the 60s and 70s – but every bit as compelling in its own sort of way! Nina's working here with a greater array of global elements than on previous recordings – very much in that way that the French scene was embracing sounds from the Caribbean and African cultures in these post-colonial years, and using them to forge a wealth of wonderful new styles in the studios of Paris. The approach is still jazz-based, but with lots of earthy percussion, including some handled by Nina with her own piano work – a mode that's not foisted on Simone by another producer, but arranged and conceived by the lady herself. Lyrics are in French and English, and titles include "I Sing Just To Know That I'm Alive", "They Took My Hand", "Stop", "Liberian Calypso", "Vous Etes SEuls Mais Je Desire Etre Avec Vous", "Fodder In Her Wings", "Thandewye", "Heaven Belongs To You", and "Le Peuple En Suisse". (Vocalists, Soul) CD

A great slice of New Orleans soul from the 70s – a record that replicates the "Indian" culture in the Mardi Gras scene – and which is most notable for featuring work by The Meters as well! The groove here is kind of Meters-styled funk, mixed with some fuller New Orleans mode – as the core Wild Tchoupitoulas group get a nice kick at the core – which makes their lyrics and calls come off even better than in a live setting! The album also gets kickass production from Allen Toussaint and Marshall Sehorn – and is one of the crowning funk jewels in Toussaint's crown for the 70s. Tracks include "Brother John", "Indian Red", "Hey Hey", "Hey Mama", "Meet De Boys On The Battlefront", and a version of "Hey Pocky Way". CD

A really funked-up batch of dancefloor tunes – produced with a uniquely cross-cultural approach! Ze Records diva Lizzy Mercier Descloux works here with influential post-disco, post-punk producer Steve Stanely – on a set of tunes cut in Nassau, with some great backing by a combo that includes Wally Badarou on keyboards. The resulting groove takes the skittish pan-club sound of the early 80s Ze Records scene, and infuses it with the hippest take on Jamaican rhythms of the time – resulting in a groundbreaking batch of tunes that were years ahead of their time! Titles include "Room Mate", "Sports Spootnicks", "Payola", "Funky Stuff", "Slipped Disc", "Lady O K'Pete", and "Bim Bam Boum". CD features bonus tracks "Maita", "Mister Soweto", "Sun Is Shining", "Don't You Try To Stop Me", and "Corpo Molli Pau Duro". CD

A lasting 70s classic from Frederick Knight – easily his best-remembered album, thanks to the legendary title track! The set's got a slow-burning, deeply soulful feel all the way through – one that takes Knight's high-end vocals, and backs them with some bottom-burning instrumentation that certainly owes something to the Muscle Shoals sound, but which comes off in a way that's a bit more organic, and less in the trademark style of the time. Organ features heavily on most numbers – matching Knight's vocals with a bubbling energy that cooks things up nicely – and tracks include the classic "I've Been Lonely For So Long" , plus "Trouble", "Now That I've Found You", "This Is My Song Of Love To You", "I Let Me Chance Go By", and "Your Love's All Over Me". CD

A record that gave Rare Earth one of their biggest hits ever – their hard-burning "I Just Want To Celebrate" – a killer classic that played big on both sides of the fence, and which definitely established the group as a soulful force that kept on going! At some level, the set almost seems to have them bringing in as much influence from the cultural crossroads of the Bay Area scene as the Detroit influences of their earlier work – maybe in part because the congas are really up in the mix on many tracks, which creates some slight Latin currents along with the Family Stone sort of energy that has the group rising up together on most of the cuts! Titles include "I Just Want To Celebrate", "If I Die", "The Seed", "Road", "Any Man Can Be A Fool", "Someone To Love", and very cool reworking of "What'd I Say". (Rock, Soul) CD

Jamila Woods already blew us away with her debut – but this second set has the singer ready to take on the world with a huge step forward in her style! Jamila caught us almost by surprise when she first emerged – a Chicago soul singer who wasn't on our radar, and who already had this fully-formed, completely unique style – but here, she embraces legacies of past musical and cultural inspirations, folding them into a instrumental settings created almost completely on her own, and which are topped by these shape-shifting lyrics that really live up to their references. The album shows a powerful, personal, and completely self-contained approach to the music – something that many of Jamila's contemporaries can hardly match – and titles include "Miles", "Baldwin", "Basquiat", "Eartha", "Giovanni", "Zora", "Betty", "Frida", "Sun Ra", and "Octavia". (Neo Soul, Soul) CD

A 2CD half-century mile marker set for Stax Records – one of the most vital and popular southern soul labels ever – as if you needed us to tell you that! The set features a selection of many of the most popular and most culturally important singles from the early 60s and on through the mid 70s – in a nice little box package and a thick booklet of essays, notes and photos! 50 tracks on 2CDs: "Gee Whiz (Look In His Eyes)", "Last Night" by Mar-Kays, "You Don't Miss Your Water" by William Bell, "Candy" by The Astors, "Let Me Be Good To You" by Carla Thomas, "Soul Finger" by The Bar-Kays, "I Got A Sure Thing" by Ollie & The Nightingales, "What A Man" by Linda Lyndell, "Who's Making Love" by Johnny Taylor, "Time Is Tight" by Booker T & The MGs, "So I Can Love You" by The Emotions, "Mr Big Stuff" by Jean Knight, "Theme From Shaft" by Isaac Hayes, "In The Rain" by The Dramatics, "If You're Ready (Come Go With Me)" by The Staple Singers, "Woman To Woman" by Shirley Brown and much more! CD

An amazing set of tracks from one of our favorite artists ever – a whopping 33 track, 2CD compilation of some of the best of Roy's work for Polydor! Given the title, you can expect a very hip bent to the tracks picked for the set – lots of righteous politics and hip cultural themes bubbling underneath the funky and jazzy grooves that were Roy's forte during the 70s. And while we treasure just about every single track that Roy recorded for Polydor (re-release all the albums – please!), we also have to say that we probably couldn't have come up with a better 33 tracks if we'd picked them ourselves! Titles include "The Old One Two", "Life Is Just A Moment (part 2)", "The Memory", "Hey Uh What You Say Come On", "Running Away", "Searching", "We Live In Brooklyn Baby", "Coffy Is The Color", "Sweet Tears", "Red Black & Green", "No Deposits No Return", "The Third Eye", "Sweet Tears (disco)", "Africa Center Of The World", "Our Time Is Coming", "Destination Motherland", "Fever", "What You Won't Do For Love", "Thank You Thank You", "Can't You See Me (12" mix)", "Baby You Give Me A Feeling", "Everybody Loves The Sunshine", and "Love From The Sun". CD

One of the nicer things about the global centralization of culture into the hands of a few giant companies is that you can at least get a "greatest hits" comp like this which spans the artists career on a number of different labels! As proof, you'll find killer stuff from Jean's best years, on Buddah, Philly Intl, and Columbia – with tracks like "Back For More" with Al Johnson, "Valentine Love" with Norman Connors, "Free Love", "Don't Let It Go To Your Head", "Was That All It Was", "When I Find You Love", and "Closer than Close". 16 cuts in all, and way better than we expected from a US major! CD

A wild cool album made by the once obscure, now legenday group! The ESG album was the group's long, long, long awaited return to the format after is filled with wild percussion tracks, occasional crazy vocals, and a sound that influenced abstract beatmakers, leftfield dancefloor gurus, and post rock acts alike! After ESG's early 80s classic, business and label dramas made it difficult for them to work as a steady concern, but this 1991 album with some classic 12" tracks and later material helped cement their reputation. CD

Early 80s clubby funk & soul from Freeez – a pretty sweet mix of period synth and boogie soul with far richer, live instrumentation and solid, hooky songwriting! Freeez recorded Gonna Get You in Manhattan – and you can certainly hear the NYC culture of the time flowing nicely in the groove. The songs are really good, and catchy enough to have caught on a much bigger level – with male and female lead and chorus backing vocals, and the synths and drum machines pulse and thump underneath congas, bongos and other percussion, Rhodes, piano and other elements. Includes "We've Got The Juice", "Can't Keep My Love", "Love's Gonna Get You", "Pop Goes My Love", "IOU", "Freezin'", "Can You", "Watch Me" and "Gonna Get You (Megamix)" – the 13 minute closer of disc 1. Disc 2 features 13 bonus tracks: "IOU (7" Version)", "We Got The Jazz", "Scratch Goes My Dub (7" Version)", "Love's Gonna Get You (7" Version)", "IOU – Megamix", "A Capella U" and more. CD

A really wonderful third album from Osibisa – and a record that really crystallizes the group's sound into a trademark blend of African roots and more progressive-styled jamming! There's a mode here that's perfect for the cross-cultural London of the post-colonial 70s – a style that brings many strands of music into the capital, and mixes them up with some of the headier styles going down at the time. Bits of highlife echo alongside more tribally-based percussion – but most of the instrumentation on the set also has a strong ear for jazzy changes, especially during the flute and keyboards passages that make the record so great. Titles include "Kokorokoo", "Che Che Kule", "Sweet Sounds", "Sweet America", and "Do You Know". (Global Grooves, Soul) CD

One of the great records that Rare Earth did in collaboration with producer Norman Whitfield – a set that continues the deeply soulful vibe of their earliest records, but also offers a nice update to the sound! The style's in the kind of well-crafted funk that Norman would soon issue on his Whitfield label – all the bass-heavy bottom of his late 60s Motown righteous recordings, but with some deeper 70s currents too – really pushing even the more rockish moments on the set into surprisingly soulful territory! As usual with Whitfield, all the arrangements are his own – and titles include "Midnight Lady", "Finger Lickin Good", "It's A Natural", "Do It Right", "He Who Picks A Rose", and "Ain't No Sun Since You've Been Gone". (Rock, Soul) CD

Very tripped out work from Melvin Van Peebles – the multi-talented artist who had a huge influence on African American film in the 70s! Melvin's working here in a a mode that combines soul, folk, funk, and lots of the more messed-up sounds that you'd hear on his own soundtracks for his films. And yes, he can't sing – but he has this wild way of muttering while singing, one that makes the album a really compelling document of culture and politics in the early 70s! The overall feel is sort of like Eugene McDaniels' work for Atlantic from the same time – but more messed up, disorganized, and rootsy! Titles include "Superstition", "Birth Certificate Ain't Nothing But A Death Warrant Anyway", "So Many Bars", and "Eyes On The Rabbit". CD

The debut of a legend – and a record that, we hate to admit it, must have actually had some political and cultural punch at the time – especially as the group had yet to go onto super-stardom, and were here stepping out with a butch camp, all-gay style that still had some power in the immediate post-Stonewall years. The approach here is similar to their later hits, but also nicely grounded in the standard disco mode of the time – thanks to some vocal arrangements from Phil Hurtt, and soulful string and horn backings from Horace Ott. Tracks are long, and as gay as you'd expect – but it's also not like the group's making fun of themselves as much yet either. Titles include "Fire Island", "Village People", "San Francisco", and "In Hollywood". CD

The fourth fantastic chapter in this wonderful trip through the 60s – headed up by author Jon Savage, as a great soundtrack to his documents of the time! If you know Savage at all, you'll know to expect something different and fresh – an unusual take on the period, and one that goes way past the chart hits and overplayed oldies – to instead uncover currents of cultural activity at a much deeper level! And sure, there's a number of familiar songs here – but they're mixed with lesser-known gems, and presented in this great double-length package that features 48 tracks in all – all with notes from Savage himself. Titles include "Talkin About The Good Times" by Pretty Things, "Eastern Organ" by Brother Dan All Stars, "Hard To Handle" by Otis Redding, "Freedom Train" by James Carr, "Say It Loud (part 1)" by James Brown, "Omnibus" by The Move, "Sunshine Help Me" by Spooky Tooth, "Everydays" by Buffalo Springfield", "How Does It Feel To Feel" by The Creation, "Dear Delilah" by Grapefruit, "Machines" by Lothar & The Hand People, "Tomorrow Street Puzzle" by Fairport Convention, "I Got A Line On You" by Spirit, "Kick Out The Jams (preview pressing)" by MC5, "World In A Jug" by Canned Heat, "Classical Gas" by Mason Williams, "Honey Chile" by Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, "Danse A La Musique" by The French Fries, "Israelites" by Desmond Dekker, and "Why Does It Feel So Right" by The Shades Of Jade. (Rock, Soul) CD