The second album from Kid Creole & The Coconuts – a mad mix of grooves with a very unique style! The album follows August Darnell's pattern of blending 20s retro styles with early 80s dancefloor trends, touched with elements of the exotic – in keeping with the record's title – but the set's also filled with tunes that show that Kid Creole had a more soulful side, with a lot more to offer than just a novelty act. Titles include "With A Girl Like Mimi", "Table Manners", "Dear Addy", "In The Jungle", "Going Places", "I Stand Accused", "Latin Music", and "Musica Americana". LP, Vinyl record album

The second album from the team of Wendy & Lisa – and a record that nicely gets past some of the more mainstream sounds of the first! The styles here move a bit more away from the mid 80s pop/soul modes the pair first forged with Prince – and there's a bit more variety in the arrangements and song structure overall – showing the deeper talents that always lurked behind the pair's more pop-tuned sensibilities. The overall sound is still pretty late 80s, but in a way that shakes off a fair bit of cliche – and titles include "Lolly Lolly", "Are You My Baby", "Satisfaction", "Always In My Dream", "Everyday", and "I Think It Was December". CD features 5 bonus tracks – including "Are You My Baby (single)", "Happy Birthday (single)", "Are You My Baby (my man's 12")", "Satisfaction (long)", and "Lolly Lolly (12" mix)". CD

Sweet funky work from Mtume – a set that's nicely heavy on the keyboards, and which really set a new standard in 80s groove at the time! The keyboards are great, and the basslines are too – and Mtume's jazz roots are still nicely in place here – bringing a bit more sophistication to the tunes than some of his contemporaries, and keeping things catchy and swinging throughout. The set's one of the mighty Mtume/Lucas productions of the time – and titles include the groovy "Juicy Fruit", plus "Hips", "Would You Like To Fool Around", "Green Light", "Hip Dip Skippedabeat", and "Ready For Your Love". LP, Vinyl record album

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

A classic album from Nina Simone's early period! The tracks feature prime work from Nina, caught at the point when she was turning her style from straight jazz into more of a folk-inspired soulful sound – filled with power, anger, and sheer raw emotion – played by a small combo of piano, bass, guitar, and drums, but in a way that opens up in so many different musical directions! There's a really strong genre-crossing approach at work here – and titles include "Rags & Old Iron", "I Love To Love", "Work Song", "No Good Man", "Gin House blues", "Memphis In June" and "Forbidden Fruit". (Vocalists, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

A certified 80s groove/slow jam classic, and one of our all time Mtume favorites, from the period where he'd really established himself as a force to be reckoned with in commercial soul production! 12-inch, Vinyl record

Muhammad Ali's in for the biggest fight of the decade – as he tries to knock out tooth decay! Fortunately, he's got some help from famous friends like Frank Sinatra, Richie Havens, Ossie Davis, and Jayne Kennedy – so the going isn't too tough. Supposedly, this is volume 1 of the series – as if the world could have stood for any more volumes! Howard Cosell sits in for some special announcing, too! (Children's, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

One of Roy Ayers' best-remembered albums of the 70s – a sublime blend of mellow numbers and some of his more club-oriented grooves of the time – all wrapped together with a genius that we can only describe as Ayers-like! The album's a beautiful example of the balance that Roy was striking in his work at the time – because alongside some of the more upbeat, catchy numbers, there's other tracks that are a fair bit more laidback, and almost abstract at times – a wonderful extrapolation of that sensitive Ayers blend of jazz and soul, with key emphasis on the vibes and keyboards. Titles include the massive groover "Running Away" – which you'll recognize from a key sample history over the years – and club cuts "Cincinnati Growl", "Fruit", "Sanctified Feeling", and "Stranded In The Jungle" – plus the more laidback cuts "Gotta Find A Lover", "I Still Love You", "Lifeline", and "This Side Of Sunshine". LP, Vinyl record album

Quite possibly the first truly great Lou Rawls album for Capitol – an all-out swinging jazz session done with arrangements by Onzy Matthews, in a mode that firmly helped put the Lou Rawls sound on the map! The tracks are mostly older numbers from a long lineage of blues and R&B – but with hipper 60s touches by Matthews in the backings, Lou really swings the work into a whole new territory – moving older, clunky compositions into more adult, more mature modes that aren't nearly as sad or downtrodden as their roots! Titles include "I'd Rather Drink Muddy Water", "Roll Em Pete", "Kansas City", "World Of Trouble", "Trouble In Mind", "Strange Fruit", and "Six Cold Feet Of Ground". LP, Vinyl record album

On the one hand, our jazz snob side wonders why Diana Ross would be picked to star as Billie Holiday, but on the other, it makes perfect sense, as this soundtrack to the film was made during the early 70s, when she was at the top of her career, and one of the highest profile female soul singers. And she acquits herself quite well, with a solid performance that's more than respectable, helped along the way by sympathetic orchestral arrangements from Benny Golson and Oliver Nelson. While we may not turn to this recording over any of Billie's originals, it's a pretty remarkable turning point for Diana, establishing her "diva" status and helping to launch her solo career to new heights. 34 numbers in all, though many of them are dialogue or musical bits lifted from the film. Includes "All Of Me", "the Man I Love", "Ain't Nobody's Business If I Do", "Fine & Mellow", "You've Changed", "My Man", "Strange Fruit" and "God Bless The Child". LP, Vinyl record album

Nina selected a very nice batch of standards and hip jazzy tracks for this classic Colpix release from the early 60s – and the set's a great example of her unique skill for blending folksy material with more sophisticated stuff, in an amazingly haunting style that has endured for decades. Titles include "Memphis In June", "Cotton Eye Joe", "Work Song", "Little Liza Jane", "Forbidden Fruit", "Rags & Old Iron", and "You Can Have Him". (Vocalists, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

Wonderful material from Nina Simone – working here still with one foot in the jazzier style of early days, but with haunting elements of the later progressive style to come! The "pastel" in the title shouldn't imply any sort of softness on Nina's part, because if anything, she's really sharpening up her game a lot here – packing a punch that wasn't allowed so strongly on some of her earlier recordings. The album features an incredible 10 minute version of "Sinnerman", arranged by Nina with complicated jazzy riffing and a nice breakdown in the middle that's completely sublime – and other tracks include "Be My Husband", "End Of The Line", "Chilly Winds Don't Blow", "Strange Fruit", and "Ain't No Use". (Vocalists, Soul) CD

At last! The work of this hard blowin' Chicago sax player's always been tough to get, but now this great comp by AVI pulls together 24 tracks of his best R&B sax work. Loads of great stuff, including "Tea Bird", "Fruit Boots", "Zip", "Red Speaks", "Paquino Walk", "What Next", and "Zip". We can't find this stuff on LP, and we're mighty happy to have it on CD. (Jazz, Soul) CD

2 early Capitol classics by Lou Rawls – back to back on one CD, and perfectly paired throughout! Black and Blues is quite possibly the first truly great Lou Rawls album for Capitol – an all-out swinging jazz session done with arrangements by Onzy Matthews, in a mode that firmly helped put the Lou Rawls sound on the map! The tracks are mostly older numbers from a long lineage of blues and R&B – but with hipper 60s touches by Matthews in the backings, Lou really swings the work into a whole new territory – moving older, clunky compositions into more adult, more mature modes that aren't nearly as sad or downtrodden as their roots! Titles include "I'd Rather Drink Muddy Water", "Roll Em Pete", "Kansas City", "World Of Trouble", "Trouble In Mind", "Strange Fruit", and "Six Cold Feet Of Ground". Tobacco Road was a real breakthrough for Lou – a set that again paired him with arranger Onzy Matthews, and which even more deeply explored the unique space between jazz, soul, and the blues that became Rawls' prime territory back in the 60s! Matthews' backings are hip and jazzy throughout – filled with bold horn touches from players that include Lou Blackburn, Curtis Amy, Sonny Criss, and even Horace Tapscott – who's playing trombone here instead of his more familiar piano. Ray Crawford's guitar underscores a good number of the tracks here with that clean, lean, single-note style of his – but Lou is the clear star throughout with his deeply-voiced lyrics of older familiar tunes. Titles include his landmark reworking of "Tobacco Road", plus "Summertime", "Stormy Weather", "Rocking Chair", "Ol Man River", "St Louis Blues", and "Sentimental Journey". CD also features 2 bonus tracks – "When It's Sleepy Time Down South" and the previously unissued "Gloomy Sunday". CD

A great little album from Jeannie Reynolds – and her lasting contribution to underground soul! Jeannie's vocals are nice and deep – with hints of southern diva phrasing, filtered through some of the tighter soul styles coming out of Chicago and other points north at the time! Detroit talents LJ Reynolds, Tony Hester, and Don Davis produce – save for one song by Michael Henderson – and the big highlight is the slow groover "The Fruit Song", a sly seductive stepper of a track, with rolling congas, sweeping strings, and a very catchy hook from Jeannie. That number runs for about 7 minutes long – and the album also includes a number of nice shorter cuts, like "I've Still Got My Pride", "The Feelin' Ain't There", and "You Want To Get Your Hands On A Woman" – all wonderful numbers that will have you loving Jeannie as one of your favorite new discoveries in 70s soul! LP, Vinyl record album

A huge collection of Nina's early years at the Colpix label – with the expanded editions of 8 original albums from the end of the 50s through mid 60s – including all the groundbreaking studio recordings and landmark live material of the era! Blackbird includes the complete original albums The Amazing Nina Simone, Forbidden Fruit, Nina Simone Sings Ellington and Folksy Nina, along with the live albums At Town Hall, At Newport, At The Village Gate and At Carnegie Hall. It's a truly epic collection of her early work for Colpix – a company that first allowed her to spread her wings and develop her own unique style. 107 tracks on 8CDs – and more than 30 bonus tracks! (Vocalists, Soul) CD

Mighty righteous work from Zulema – a singer who steps right out of the gate with a rich, full sound on this tremendous debut album – the kind of record that makes it seem as if she's going to become one of the most powerful forces in female soul for the 70s! Zulema draws on the new generation of soul styles that was coming from artists like Roberta Flack and Aretha Franklin, and serves up a style that's very much her own – vocals that soar with the energy of soul that goes back to the gospel roots, but nicely sophisticated arrangements that showcase the new level of pride and power that was bubbling over in the 70s! Titles include the great "American Fruit African Roots", plus "I Leave It Up To You", "This Child Of Mine", "If I Loved You", "Don't Be Afraid", "Ain't It Sad", and a surprisingly great version of "Maybe I'm Amazed". CD

Trend-setting vocal work from Oscar Brown Jr – one of the hippest singers of his generation, and a vocalist who really took things to the next level in the 60s! Brown's got a sound that's partially influenced by the vocalese of Eddie Jefferson, Jon Hendricks, and other singers of the 50s – but his groove here is also a bit more fluid and lyrical too – thanks to some great lyrics penned by Oscar, some of which went on to become classics over the years. Like his predecessors, many of the tunes chosen by Brown got their start as jazz instrumentals, but sparkle anew here with fresh lyrics that really liven them up a lot – tales of sin and soul and a lot more, often delivered with a good sense of wit. Titles include great vocal versions of "Dat Dere", "Work Song", and "Afro-Blue", plus some of his great original compositions, like "Brown Baby", "But I Was Cool", and "Rags and Old Iron". The arrangements are great, with a nice jazzy sound – and the group includes the excellent Floyd Morris on piano! CD features 5 bonus tracks that include "Straighten Up & Fly Right", "Forbidden Fruit", "World Of Grey", "Mr Kicks", and "Hazel's Hips". (Vocalists, Soul) CD

A classic self-titled set from The Commodores – not their debut album, but a record that really broke them out of the box and exposed the group to a huge new audience! The album hits perfectly on both sides of the group's strengths – the tight ensemble funk on which they were raised, and some of the sweeter aspects that were showing up as Lionel Richie emerged as the solo male singing star – not nearly as cheesy here as in later years, and a surprisingly nice element to offset the heavier funk. Titles include the funky classic "Brick House", the mellow hit "Easy", and the cuts "Squeeze The Fruit", "Zoom", "Funky Situation", "Won't You Come Dance With Me", "Funny Feelings", "Heaven Knows", and "Patch It Up". CD

On the one hand, our jazz snob side wonders why Diana Ross would be picked to star as Billie Holiday, but on the other, it makes perfect sense, as this soundtrack to the film was made during the early 70s, when she was at the top of her career, and one of the highest profile female soul singers. And she acquits herself quite well, with a solid performance that's more than respectable, helped along the way by sympathetic orchestral arrangements from Benny Golson and Oliver Nelson. While we may not turn to this recording over any of Billie's originals, it's a pretty remarkable turning point for Diana, establishing her "diva" status and helping to launch her solo career to new heights. 35 numbers in all, though many of them are dialogue or musical bits lifted from the film. Includes "All Of Me", "the Man I Love", "Ain't Nobody's Business If I Do", "Fine & Mellow", "You've Changed", "My Man", "Strange Fruit" and "God Bless The Child". CD

On the one hand, our jazz snob side wonders why Diana Ross would be picked to star as Billie Holiday, but on the other, it makes perfect sense, as this soundtrack to the film was made during the early 70s, when she was at the top of her career, and one of the highest profile female soul singers. And she acquits herself quite well, with a solid performance that's more than respectable, helped along the way by sympathetic orchestral arrangements from Benny Golson and Oliver Nelson. While we may not turn to this recording over any of Billie's originals, it's a pretty remarkable turning point for Diana, establishing her "diva" status and helping to launch her solo career to new heights. 35 numbers in all, though many of them are dialogue or musical bits lifted from the film. Includes "All Of Me", "the Man I Love", "Ain't Nobody's Business If I Do", "Fine & Mellow", "You've Changed", "My Man", "Strange Fruit" and "God Bless The Child". CD

Wonderful material from Nina Simone – working here still with one foot in the jazzier style of early days, but with haunting elements of the later progressive style to come! The "pastel" in the title shouldn't imply any sort of softness on Nina's part, because if anything, she's really sharpening up her game a lot here – packing a punch that wasn't allowed so strongly on some of her earlier recordings. The album features an incredible 10 minute version of "Sinnerman", arranged by Nina with complicated jazzy riffing and a nice breakdown in the middle that's completely sublime – and other tracks include "Be My Husband", "End Of The Line", "Chilly Winds Don't Blow", "Strange Fruit", and "Ain't No Use". (Vocalists, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

Wonderful material from Nina Simone – working here still with one foot in the jazzier style of early days, but with haunting elements of the later progressive style to come! The "pastel" in the title shouldn't imply any sort of softness on Nina's part, because if anything, she's really sharpening up her game a lot here – packing a punch that wasn't allowed so strongly on some of her earlier recordings. The album features an incredible 10 minute version of "Sinnerman", arranged by Nina with complicated jazzy riffing and a nice breakdown in the middle that's completely sublime – and other tracks include "Be My Husband", "End Of The Line", "Chilly Winds Don't Blow", "Strange Fruit", and "Ain't No Use". (Vocalists, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

Wonderful material from Nina Simone – working here still with one foot in the jazzier style of early days, but with haunting elements of the later progressive style to come! The "pastel" in the title shouldn't imply any sort of softness on Nina's part, because if anything, she's really sharpening up her game a lot here – packing a punch that wasn't allowed so strongly on some of her earlier recordings. The album features an incredible 10 minute version of "Sinnerman", arranged by Nina with complicated jazzy riffing and a nice breakdown in the middle that's completely sublime – and other tracks include "Be My Husband", "End Of The Line", "Chilly Winds Don't Blow", "Strange Fruit", and "Ain't No Use". (Vocalists, Soul) CD

An entry in this excellent series that's very near and dear to our heart – as the cuts here were all chosen by Chicgao DJ Rahaan, who's got a mighty nice ear for a rare clubby groove! The collection explores territory that the previous volumes have hit, but with a special sound that's a nice change too – less of the standard disco or boogie, and some nicely unusual tracks that really change things up, and show just how much fresh creative energy was happening in the underground, way past the bigger labels of the time! Many of these cuts are completely new to our ears, which is really saying a lot in favor of the strength of the collection – and titles include "Ticket" by John Lamkin, "Wanna Get Down With You" by Jaze, "He Loves You" by Wings Of Light, "Let's Get It On" by Marini, "Come & Get It" by Santrax, "Shoot Me With Your Love" by Venus Dodson, "One Of These Days" by The 21st Century Singers, "For You" by Cherish, "Super Disco" by Frank Hatchett Dance Explosion, "Count Of Monte Thisgo" by Ship Of The Desert, "Back Fire" by Time Unlimited, "Juicy Fruit My Love" by Boobie Knight, "Go Down Moses" by Porno Disco, and "Catch Your Glow" by Cousin Ice with Zack Sanders. (Funky Compilations, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

A great little album from Jeannie Reynolds – and her lasting contribution to underground soul! Jeannie's vocals are nice and deep – with hints of southern diva phrasing, filtered through some of the tighter soul styles coming out of Chicago and other points north at the time! Detroit talents LJ Reynolds, Tony Hester, and Don Davis produce – save for one song by Michael Henderson – and the big highlight is the slow groover "The Fruit Song", a sly seductive stepper of a track, with rolling congas, sweeping strings, and a very catchy hook from Jeannie. That number runs for about 7 minutes long – and the album also includes a number of nice shorter cuts, like "I've Still Got My Pride", "The Feelin' Ain't There", and "You Want To Get Your Hands On A Woman" – all wonderful numbers that will have you loving Jeannie as one of your favorite new discoveries in 70s soul! CD also features 4 non-LP bonus cuts – "Phone's Been Jumping All Day", "Unwanted Company", "Lay Some Lovin On Me", and "Love Don't Come Easy For Me". CD

There's plenty to love here, and the groove is way more than just the disco promised in the title – and instead this sublime array of funky soul, modern soul, and lots other soul styles too! The tunes are definitely upbeat, but they're not slavishly tied to disco – and instead really represent the great array of groove-centric work that was bubbling in the American underground in the late 70s and early 80s – as soul singers worked with a variety of different rhythms to come up with the kind of cuts that still sound plenty fresh all these many years later! Legendary collector/DJ Al Kent put the package together – and also contributed a few re-edits to a few tracks, to help extend their best elements. Titles include "I Found Love" by Lee Edwards, "Call Me" by Symbol 8, "If It Feels This Good" by Barbara Jean English, "Things Got To Get Better" by Genobia Jeter, "I'd Rather Leave On My Feet" by Emanuel Lansky, "Prophesy" by Betty Everett, "A Slong For You" by Fresh Fruit, and "Looking Over My Shoulder" by Marva Hicks – and the set also features Al Kent re-edits of "Equal Love Opportunity" by Clear, "Love Is Gone" by Mary Mundy, "I Wanna Give You Everything" by Hazel Rambaransingh, "Running Away From Love" by Skip Mahoaney & The Casuals, and "Keep On Loving You" by Perfect Touch. (Funky Compilations, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

Two classic Chess albums from Chuck Berry – issued here on a single CD! First up is One Dozen Berrys – the fresh fruits of the labors of a young Chuck Berry – heard here at his raw, early best! The sound here is stunning – a version of Chuck that gets way past any oldies cliches – and which reminds us that at the start, his music was coming from the same Chess Records fount as Bo Diddley's riffing guitar and Muddy Waters' Chicago blues! The tunes all work together perfectly – and the familiar numbers fit in perfectly with overlooked gems that really make the album great – especially when Chuck's guitar is really given a chance to step out and solo. Titles include "La Juanda", "Sweet Little Sixteen", "It Don't Take But A Few Minutes", "Rock & Roll Music", and "Low Feeling". Juke Box Hits is way more than a "hits" album – as it's filled with some great obscure material that always gets eclipsed by Chuck's big hits. Despite the idea that these would be "new jukebox hits", the material has an approach that was probably a bit too hard for radio, but that's ok with us! Titles include "13 Question Method", "Don't You Lie To Me", "The Way It Was Before", "Away From You", "I'm Talking About You", and "Stop & Listen". CD

Two classic Chess albums from Chuck Berry – issued here on a single CD! First up is One Dozen Berrys – the fresh fruits of the labors of a young Chuck Berry – heard here at his raw, early best! The sound here is stunning – a version of Chuck that gets way past any oldies cliches – and which reminds us that at the start, his music was coming from the same Chess Records fount as Bo Diddley's riffing guitar and Muddy Waters' Chicago blues! The tunes all work together perfectly – and the familiar numbers fit in perfectly with overlooked gems that really make the album great – especially when Chuck's guitar is really given a chance to step out and solo. Titles include "La Juanda", "Sweet Little Sixteen", "It Don't Take But A Few Minutes", "Rock & Roll Music", and "Low Feeling". Juke Box Hits is way more than a "hits" album – as it's filled with some great obscure material that always gets eclipsed by Chuck's big hits. Despite the idea that these would be "new jukebox hits", the material has an approach that was probably a bit too hard for radio, but that's ok with us! Titles include "13 Question Method", "Don't You Lie To Me", "The Way It Was Before", "Away From You", "I'm Talking About You", and "Stop & Listen". CD

A mindblowing collection of work from Marvin Gaye – tracks recorded in the space right after What's Going On – many of which were never issued at the time! All this incredible material from 1972 has been brought together to create a stunning double-length album – one that features a few tracks that only ever saw issue as 45s back in the day, others that only later turned up as bonus tracks on CDs or box sets, and still others that appear here for the first time ever – all to show the incredible talents that Marvin was working with during this incredibly fruitful time in his career! Much of the material has the same righteous, socially-conscious spirit as What's Going On – and, if anything, the whole set provides a much-needed missing link between that album and the more sensual territory of Let's Get It On. There's definitely some of the spirit of that later album in place here too, as well as the instrumental complexity that Gaye would display on his soundtrack for Trouble Man – and the set even features a few Christmas tunes too. Titles include two versions of "You're The Man" – a killer 45 cut that we've loved for years – plus "Piece Of Clay", "I'm Gonna Give You Respect", "Try It You'll Like It", "You Are That Special One", "We Can Make It Baby", "My Last Chance", "Symphony", "I'd Give My Life For You", "Woman Of The World", "The World Is Rated X", "Where Are We Going", "I Want To Come Home For Christmas", "I'm Going Home (Move)", and the killer "Checking Out (Double Clutch)" – one of the funkiest tunes that Marvin ever recorded! LP, Vinyl record album

A pretty cool compilation – one that features great grooves from Buddah records, packaged in a sweet dial-style cover – with inside information on the label and its staff too! Features work by The Impressions, 5 Stairsteps & Cubie, Elephants Memory, 1910 Fruitgum Company, Barry Boldberg, Smoke Ring, US 69, Loving Spoonful, Ohio Express, The Road, and others. LP, Vinyl record album

One dozen "berrys", all of them great – the fresh fruits of the labors of a young Chuck Berry – heard here at his raw, early best! The sound here is stunning – a version of Chuck that gets way past any oldies cliches – and which reminds us that at the start, his music was coming from the same Chess Records fount as Bo Diddley's riffing guitar and Muddy Waters' Chicago blues! The tunes all work together perfectly – and the familiar numbers fit in perfectly with overlooked gems that really make the album great – especially when Chuck's guitar is really given a chance to step out and solo. Titles include "La Juanda", "Sweet Little Sixteen", "It Don't Take But A Few Minutes", "Rock & Roll Music", and "Low Feeling". LP, Vinyl record album

Allen Toussaint's complete recordings for Warner – a trio of classic albums from one of the greatest forces in Crescent City soul, plus rare live tracks – in a perfect 2CD set! Includes the complete Life Love & Faith, Southern Nights and Motion albums – from a creatively fruitful 70s period when Toussaint was mixing a bit of funk into the heavy soul mix, and even some mellow LA soul touches – coming up with a blend of styles without ever betraying his New Orleans roots! New Orleans legends like Leo Nocentelli, Zig Modeliste, Art Neville and George Porter Jr factor in to the Life Love & Faith and Southern Nights sessions, along with LA sessions all stars like Richard Tee, Victor Feldman, Paulinho Da Costa, Larry Carlton and producer Jerry Wexler on the Motion sessions – this this excellent Rhino CD anthology also include 10 previously unreleased live records! Titles include Soul Sister", "Victims Of The Darkness", "Am I Expecting Too Much", "Out Of The City", "Goin Down", "Electricity", "Fingers & Toes", Southern Nights", "Basic Lady", "Last Train", "Worldwide", "You Will Not Lose", "When The Party's Over", Motion", "Night People", "Just A Kiss Away", "Declaration Of Love", "Viva La Money" and more from the studio recordings, plus "Touch Of Love", "Brickyard Blues", "What Is Success", "Shoo-Ra", "Last Train" and more live tracks! 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

Lakeside's first album for Solar – and the beginning of a very fruitful relationship for the band and the label! The record's a great one – cut long before the Solar funk sound had gotten cliched – and it includes a key early hit in the Solar sound, the band's "It's All The Way Live", a seven minute funky workout in the tight LA ensemble funk mode – a standard-setting cut that really helps the growing sophistication of the LA scene set itself apart from the sounds of New York and Philly! The whole album's a gem – and other tracks include "Given In To Love", "Time", "Visions Of My Mind", "One Minute After Midnight", and "Shot Of Love". CD features the bonus track "One Minute After Midnight (original single version)". 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