(New Grooves, Soul) 12-inch, Vinyl record

After Fred Wesley and Maceo Parker came head to head with James Brown in the mid 70s, they broke off and formed the Horny Horns contingent – a tight funky backing section that's featured on a number of late 70s funk sessions, and which also recorded some extremely nice numbers on their own! This first album has the group working with George Clinton and Bootsy, who was a friend of Fred and Maceo from the old days – and who could really use the tight playing of some James Brown-trained musicians to smooth out their groove. This album was the group's first – and it's still their best – forging a massive new funk sound with the best elements of the old JBs fused through Clinton and Bootsy's P-Funk filter. Includes the monster funk cut "Fourplay" – a standout classic that features a funky break, hard solos, and all the other elements you'd need to make a great funky instrumental. Other tracks include "Between The Sheets", "Peace Fugue", and a version of "Up For The Down Stroke". LP, Vinyl record album

(Jazz, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

An obscure later album from Lesley Gore – and a set that's far more mature and adult than you might know from her 60s girl pop hits! The album's cut for Motown's MoWest subsidiary, and has the same hip style as other albums on the label at the time – kind of a California singer/songwriter style, which fits well with all the original material penned by Gore for the album – arranged with kind of a gentle, glowing sound by Artie Butler and the team of Michael Omartin and Jimmie Haskell. The approach is laidback and warm on most numbers, with compressed orchestrations that would be right at home behind Dionne Warwick – and titles include "She Said That", "Out Of Love", "For Me", "The Road I Walk", "Someplace Else Now", "Mine", and "Be My Life". (Rock, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

A really unique record, and one with a very unusual pedigree – as the group features key members of some acts from the Ivory Coast in the late 70s, mixed with various Motown session players in the studio – all in a way that offers up a completely different take on Cali soul from the time! The African artists contribute a lot of vocals and work on kora that's especially beautiful – and the other players are led by Gregg Middleton on bass, who also does all the arrangements – and the combo features Ernie Fields on saxes, Nolan Smith on trumpet, and Fred Wesley on trombone! Every song has a nicely different flavor – and titles include "Fasso", "Sing A Happy Song", "Desire", "I Love All", and "Mogofindeou Sopeunte". (Global Grooves, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

The beautiful first solo album by Lani Hall – recorded after years of work with Sergio Mendes in the Brasil 66 group – and done in a style that certainly reflects her great vocals with that ensemble, yet which also expands her sound tremendously! The set was arranged and produced by Herb Alpert in a spare, almost folksy style that still has some sweet LA touches – and the album's worth it alone for the leadoff cut – a version of Lesley Duncan's "Love Song", done in a gently grooving mode that's got a real folk-funk feel! The set's also got a great version of "We Could Be Flying" – and other tracks include "Ocean Song", "Vincent", "Come Down In Time", and "You". LP, Vinyl record album

What can we say? Bootsy's on top of the world here – not only The Player Of The Year, but also the most soulful artist in the P-Funk stable, and a master of the smooth, sly, slinky groove that would forever be taken up by bands from LA – both in the immediate soul years and in later sampling hip hop ones. The record's got a sophisticated soul approach that moves the music way past slapped basslines and funny glasses – and thanks to top-line musicianship, including some help from Fred Wesley, Bootsy avoids any cliches that might have buried this one under the mountain of P-Funk albums hitting the market at the same time. Includes the monster track "Hollywood Squares" – plus "May The Force Be With You", "Very Yes", "Bootsy?", and "Bootzilla". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the more obscure albums by Albert King – and a surprisingly great little set! Given that the concept – hinted at in the title – has Albert performing songs made famous by Elvis Presley, you might think that the record is a bit of a sell-out, or somewhat gimmicky. But given that a good number of these tracks have roots in rougher R&B, King's almost returning these tunes to their forebears with his performance on the set. There's a nicely gritty undercurrent to the grooves – almost a bit of Stax funk at times – and titles include "Hound Dog", "All Shook Up", "That's All Right", "Heartbreak Hotel", "Don't Be Cruel", "One Night", and "Love Me Tender". (Blues, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

A real dancefloor set from Curtis – recorded with some sweet Philly production from the likes of Norman Harris and Bunny Sigler – in the sweeping, soaring, strings-heavy mode of the Philly disco records of the time! And yes, this isn't classic Curtis from the righteous years – but the surprising thing is how well his voice really holds up in the tracks – coming through with a strength that's fresh and surprising, given some of his disco contemporaries, and sounding pretty darn nice overall, thanks to some tight arrangements by the likes of Fred Wesley, Norman Harris, and Gil Askey. Linda Clifford does a duet with Curtis on "Between You Baby & Me", and the other cuts include "Victory", "Tell Me Tell Me", "You're So Good To Me", "You Better Stop", and "Over The Hump". LP, Vinyl record album

The seminal first album from the SOS Band – a record that really showcases the new sound of soul for the 80s, yet still holds onto all the best elements of the previous decade too! These guys have a great ear for groovers – well-demonstrated by the play they got on the dancefloor – yet they've also got a deeper sense of soul than some of their club contemporaries as well – heard not just on the ensemble vocals for the upbeat tracks, but especially on some of the album's great mellow steppers too! It's these laidback cuts that have always kept the album strong for us – showing that SOS are way more than just another fast funk band, and can really go deep, and stay with it for the long haul. Fred Wesley helped a bit on the arrangements – and titles include "Take Your Time", "Love Won't Wait For Love", "SOS (Dit Dit Dit Dash Dash Dash Dit Dit Dit)", "Take Love Where You Find It", and "Open Letter". LP, Vinyl record album

A tasty bit of late P-Funk! The album was recorded in 1980, on the wane of the main P-Funk groups – and it features Bootsy and Fred Wesley teaming up on the arrangements, in a set of bass-heavy, mostly instrumental tracks that groove hard like the best early work by Zapp! There's a great jazzy groove to the record – with loads of tasty keyboards, and less of the slapp bass funk that could sometimes ruin other efforts like this. Titles include "Love Munch", "Hyper Space", "Freak to Freak", "Body Shop", and "We Do It All Day Long". LP, Vinyl record album

Unusual work from the great George Benson – a wonderful session that was recorded by CTI during George's classic years for the label – but issued only briefly a number of years later, and slightly lost amongst the rest of his catalog! The material's great, though – and has George in top form for the sweet 70s funk years – working with arrangements by Ronnie Foster and David Matthews – on tunes that also include keyboards by Foster and Bobby Lyle, trombone from Fred Wesley, saxes from David Sanborn, Joe Farrell, Michael Brecker, and Ronnie Cuber – and even a bit of additional guitar from Eric Gale! There's a nice mix of modes here – some tight funky cuts, some more flowing numbers, and even one more traditional jazz tune with a great vocal by George – on the classic "Moody's Mood For Love". Other titles include "Melodia Espanol", "Pacific Fire", "Em", "Bandoleros Caballa", "Let Your Love Come Out", and "Knock On Wood". (Jazz, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

Forget the "hustle" and "bump" in the title – as the set's not a disco cash-in set by the Godfather – and instead is an overlooked funky gem from the 70s! The set still follows strongly in the best modes of the early 70s – with that sharp JB-styled groove underneath – and in a way, the record's bit like Breaking Bread was to that group's great run – maybe a bit more focused, and slightly more upbeat – but still with a righteous approach to funk overall! David Matthews conducts, and players include Fred Wesley on trombone, Maceo Parker on alto, St Clair Pickney on tenor, and both Charles Sherrell and Leon Pendarvis on clavinet – and a few tracks are remakes of older numbers, nestled next to some newer gems. The set features the standout funky cuts "Your Love", which has a great break at the beginning, and "Superbad Superslick" – and other titles include "Hustle", "Turn On The Heat & Build Some Fire", "Calm & Cool", and a remake of "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag". LP, Vinyl record album

Here's where it all happens – the huge culmination of all the years of heavy funk and psychedelic soul created by George Clinton and the P-Funk empire – fused into an amazingly tight groove that helped win over much bigger audiences than ever before! The album title and cover are very fitting – as George Clinton launches the mothership, forges his classic space-funk image, and blows the P-Funk empire into an arena-filling mega-star act – all with grooves that are still some of the tightest, sharpest funk you'll ever hear – all these many decades later. The instrumentation is razor-sharp – played by giants like Fred Wesley, Maceo Parker, Bootsy Collins, and Bernie Worrell – and the lyrics still have all the edginess and naughtiness of the earlier years – tied together wonderfully to make a very unified album, and one that's full of classics too! Titles include "Mothership Connection (Star Child)", "Night Of The Thumpasorus Peoples", "P-Funk (Wants To Get Funked Up)", "Handcuffs", "Give Up The Funk (Tear The Roof Off The Sucker)", and "Unfunky Ufo". LP, Vinyl record album

Trussel may have cut this one and only album at the end of the 70s – but they've got a strength that's kept them going for years – despite a lack of success at the time! The record's a sweet modern soul stunner – a record that picks up a sweet jazzy groove that's augmented with lots of great funky touches from Fred Wesley – all in ways that are a real precursor to the 80s groove generation! The album's not really disco, but more in the clubby funk territory of The Horny Horns – a mode that's got the ensemble coming down tight on the groove, and layering the sharp instrumentation with catchy vocal refrains that give the whole album a really infectious vibe. Titles include the classic "Gone For The Weekend" – plus "Love Injection", "Sweet Love", "I Love It", "Big City Rocker", and "If You Can't See It". LP, Vinyl record album