Killer soul from Heatwave – a tight little group who definitely made the UK proud at the end of the 70s! The album's a bit more obscure than the group's first few, but the sound is very much the same – a warmly grooving approach that's neither too disco, nor too sleepy – always catchy on the hooks, and recorded with a nicely flanged style on the vocals – so that they're compressed a bit, and slide nicely in alongside the beats and keys! The mighty Rod Tempterton's still handling a good deal of the arrangements on the set, and some of the backings are orchestrated by Johnny Cameron – almost in a late 70s update of his earlier funky style. Titles include the funky cut "Gangsters Of The Groove", plus "All I Am", "Dreamin You", "Party Suite", "Posin Til Closin", "Turn Around", and "Where Did I Go Wrong", a sweet little ballad. LP, Vinyl record album

An incomparable soul vocalist finally gets his due – in a beautiful collection of work by the overlooked Lou Johnson! Johnson recorded in the same New York scene as Chuck Jackson and other smooth make singers in the mid 60s – but working on the relatively small Big Top label, his contributions to music haven't gotten nearly the exposure of others over the years – which is a damn shame, because Lou's got one hell of a fantastic vocal approach! His style's definitely a bit like that of Jackson – and not too far from Jerry Butler, Walter Jackson, Garland Green, and a few other sophisticated male singers of the 60s we can think of – soul music that's definitely a cut above, sung with careful class that you'd be hard-pressed to find in many other vocalists of the period. Lou's still got a nice sort of bite in his approach – which means that he's never too smooth, and certainly never poppy – and this full-length collection is really the first time that his incredible singles have ever been collected together in one place. Titles include "This Night", "Just Be A Woman", "Park Avenue", "Magic Potion", "The Panic Is On", "Reach Out For Me", "Time To Love A Time To Cry", "If I Never Get To Love You", "Unsatisfied", "No Other Guy", "Love Build A Fence", and "Little Girl". CD

The first album from Howard Kenney – and a set that may not have made him the superstar promised in the title, but a pretty nice record overall! Kenney's got this cool, classy approach to soul – a style you'd guess from his look on the cover, and which comes across without any too-commercial or crossover-y modes – thanks to production help from both Johnny Pate and the great Larry Blackmon of Cameo. The grooves definitely echo the best Cameo modes at times, but also have a wider-ranging quality too – marking Kenney as a modern man who's more than willing to reach out in new ways. Our favorite cuts have that cool compressed style of the best midtempo groovers from Blackmon at the time – and titles include "No Promise Of Tomorrow", "Superstar", "No Fun To Me", "Can't Wait To Make You Mine", and "Between The Lines". LP, Vinyl record album

A definite breakout from Louisa Mark – a set of smooth-stepping rhythms with plenty of Jamaican elements in the mix – yet served up in a warm London vibe that's plenty soulful too! The mix of modes is great – and makes the record a lovers' rock classic right from the get-go – and a great evolution of 70s reggae into some soulful styles for the 80s! Producer Clem Bushay does a great job with the music – keeping things tight, yet never in a way that's commercial at all – just compressed enough to let Louisa's vocals really sparkle in the lead. There's a heartbreaking quality to most tunes – an element that really furthers the soul music aspect of the record – and titles include "Reunited", "People In Love", "6 Six Street", "Even Though You're Gone", "Baby Simone", and "He Used To Be My Man". Also features bonus tracks – "Gone Out" by Louisa Mark with Bushranger, "Step It Brother Clem" by Trinity, and "Natty Go Dey Voluntarily" by Jah Son. (Reggae, Soul) CD

A trio of classic albums from The Muscle Shoals Horns – with bonus tracks too! First up is Born To Get Down, by a group who were definitely born to get down – as they'd proved before on countless funk and soul sessions in the south – and as they prove once again with this masterful album on their own! The style here is surprisingly well-formed – not just horn players getting to shine in the lead, but a soul group with a tightness that matches some of the hippest, most sophisticated groups of the time – working here with really well-crafted rhythms that often hit an excellent midtempo groove, and avoid any disco-era cliches. Muscle Shoals legend Barry Beckett helps the group out on keyboards, arrangements, and production – and trumpeter Harrison Calloway turns out to be a surprisingly great singer in the lead. Titles include "Born To Get Down", which has a nice keyboard break in the middle, plus "Bump De Bump Yo Boogie", "Give It To Me", "Open Up Your Heart", "Where I'm Coming From", and "Break Down". Doin It To The Bone is a killer album from the Muscle Shoals Horns – and way more than just a set of studio players stepping out for some time in the spotlight! Sure, the MSH had worked on hundreds of sessions by this point – but there's also a sense of ownership and leadership they never had before – a real sense of trying something fresh, and really making the album all their own! To that respect, they certainly use their horns – but also work in plenty of vocals, too – and definitely emphasize the rhythms, which often have this cool compressed vibe that's very much in the best Earth Wind & Fire style – especially on the midtempo numbers that really make the album a killer. Production is by Barry Beckett, who goes for a nicely modern soul approach – and of all the horns, Harrison Calloway is probably the lead talent here – handling most of the arrangements, songwriting, and vocals. Titles include "What's Goin Down", "Dance To The Music", "I Just Wanna Turn You On", "Addicted To Your Love", "Beware Of The Rip Off", and "Keep On Playing That Funky Music". Last up is Shine On – an early 80s set from the mighty Muscle Shoals Horns, but one that cooks every bit as much as their funk classics from the 70s! At some level, this album may well be the group's funkiest – but in a style that's got some of the best 80s qualities in the grooves – the kind of tight basslines and sweet keyboard lines that marked some of the best work of the time – mixed with the group's sublime horn lines, which provide these jazzy inflections that really warm things up in a brilliant way! Most of the rhythms are nicely right in the middle – neither too uptempo, nor too head-noddy – and the whole thing's a really overlooked gem that's a standout funky set from the time. Titles include "Celebrate Recreate Participate", "She Was Once My Woman", "Shoalin", "More Than Ever Now", and "Don't Bust Yo Bubbles". 2CD set features bonus tracks – 7" mixes of "Born To Get Down", "Bump De Bump Yo Boodie", "Where I'm Coming From", and "She Was Once My Woman" – plus "I Just Wanna Turn You On (12" mix)". CD

Minnie Riperton's first album for Epic – and the record that broke her from a hip Chicago underground artist into one of the seventies' biggest female soul stars! The record moves past the baroque soul of Minnie's early years with Rotary Connection and Charles Stepney – and hits a mix of mellow compressed LA styles and slicker funkier numbers that do the same thing for her Chicago-trained vocals that Rufus' backing did for that of Chaka Khan. Of course, it helps that she's got some superbly sensitive writing and arranging help by husband Richard Rudolph – and Stevie Wonder's definitely lurking in the background, too – not credited with production, due to contractual reasons, although he helped put most of the album together. Includes Minnie's huge crossover hit "Loving You", a perfect showcase for her beautiful 5 octave voice, plus the tracks "Our Lives", "Every Time He Comes Around", "Perfect Angel", and "Reasons". LP, Vinyl record album

Minnie Riperton's first album for Epic – and the record that broke her from a hip Chicago underground artist into one of the seventies' biggest female soul stars! The record moves past the baroque soul of Minnie's early years with Rotary Connection and Charles Stepney – and hits a mix of mellow compressed LA styles and slicker funkier numbers that do the same thing for her Chicago-trained vocals that Rufus' backing did for that of Chaka Khan. Of course, it helps that she's got some superbly sensitive writing and arranging help by husband Richard Rudolph – and Stevie Wonder's definitely lurking in the background, too – not credited with production, due to contractual reasons, although he helped put most of the album together. Includes Minnie's huge crossover hit "Loving You", a perfect showcase for her beautiful 5 octave voice, plus the tracks "Our Lives", "Every Time He Comes Around", "Perfect Angel", and "Reasons". This legendary album finally gets its proper treatment – with very detailed notes from Minnie's husband/co-creator Richard Rudolph – and 11 bonus tracks from the vault – including "Lovin You (single version with countdown)", "Reasons (ext version)", "It's So Nice (ext version)", "Take A Little Trip (duet with Stevie Wonder)", "Seeing You This Way (acoustic)", "Edge Of A Dream (ext version)", "Perfect Angel (ext version)", "Every Time He Comes Along (ext version)", "Don't Let Anyone Bring You Down (Perfect Angel version)", "Lovin You (alt band version)", and "Our Lives (ext version)". Really fantastic – great sound and the bonus tracks are beautiful! CD

Great later work from Rufus – working here without Chaka Khan on vocals, but sounding even jazzier as a result! There almost seems to be more emphasis on the instrumentation than before – and the album's got a warmly funky groove that definitely carries on the 70s Rufus tradition, but cleans things up a bit for the 80s generation – especially lean on the rhythms and the keyboards! Tony Maiden and David Wolinski handle the vocals, often in a compressed way that's mixed right down in the music – but the real charm here comes from the rhythms and the sweet jazzy licks in the grooves. Titles include "Tonight We Love", "Can I Show You", "What Is It", "Afterwards", "We Got The Way", "Party Til You're Broke", "Love Is Taking Over", and "Secret Love". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic entry in this excellent series – in part because more than half of the music here appears for the first time ever! Yet despite the unreleased status of the tracks, they definitely live up to the "masterpieces" promised by the title – great grooves from a time when more sophisticated production was coming into soul music, but never in a way that was too commercial or chartbound! Instead, these tracks mix all the raw vocals and righteous energy of the early 70s with some more sophisticated styles of arrangement and production – really taking soul music to a new level for the growing generation of the time – with results that were so ahead of their time, even the cuts here that got pressed on wax hardly got much circulation back in the day! The whole thing's wonderful – and titles include "Have A Good Time" by Maggabrain, "Don't Play Me Cheap" by Foxfire with Johnny E Adams, "I Want You" by Cynic, "Bedroom Eyes" by Betty Everett, "Happy Times" by Ramona King, "Higher Than High" by Joe Graham, "Let's Make A Move" by Ronnie McNeir, "Second Time Around" by The Exportations, "Must Have Had Company" by Elayne Starr, "Hobody" by Margie Joseph, "You Could Have Tried" by Karen Sanders Group, "I'll See You In Hell First (alt take)" by Phillip Mitchell, "You Done Let The Daylight Catch You" by Second Resurrection, "You & Me Baby" by Joe Hinton, and "Doo Doop Dee Deep Doot Doo" by George Semper. CD