Rare work from the Circle City Band – the first-ever full length album from the group – and a set that brings together their few club singles and a host of previously unreleased tracks! The CCB are well remembered for the roller skating jam "Magic" – and the rest of this set is equally great – with lots of bouncing basslines, snapping beats, and warmly soulful grooves that really sparkle with lots of early 80s funky touches – from the sweet keyboards over the top right down to the crackling rhythms on the bottom! The package is a great discovery – one of those moments when you realize there's a lot more to a group than you'd ever heard before – and the album's way more than a reissue, given the treasure trove of previously unheard 80s grooves in the set! Titles include "Love", "Time Tunnel", "Hello Stranger", "Magic", "Gladiators", "My Place", "Party Lights", "Lonely", and "Hold On". CD

A cracklingly sharp bit of 80s pop from Company B – a trio of female singers who get some great help throughout from legendary Miami club producer Ish – an artist you might know for his famous contributions to Foxy, Oxo, and a range of other earlier projects! Ish has definitely updated his groove from the TK disco years – going more for a Miami club vibe from the hi energy years – lots of fast beats and catchy keyboards next to the vocals of the trio, who often trade leads throughout the set. Titles include the big hit "Fascinated", plus "Full Circle", "Jam On Me", "Signed In Your Book Of Love", "Perfect Lover", "Spin Me Round", and "Infatuate Me". CD features bonus tracks – "Full Circle (club)", "Perfect Lover (vocal club)", "Fascinated (club)", "Full Circle (sax & dog house mix)", and "Signed In Your Book Of Love (street mix)". CD

A great example of why Little Milton was always one of the few Chicago blues artists who could also break strongly in the soul camp at the time – and a beautifully balanced set that perfectly shows both sides of the Chicago scene of the time! Production is by old Vee Jay maestro Calvin Carter, and arrangements by Gene Barge, who manages to slide effortlessly between blues and soul on the set – almost pushing Milton into Tyrone Davis territory, but keeping things a bit more rougher and down home on some of the other numbers. The sound is wonderful – very deep and rich, and with a sound that's head and shoulders above most other albums of this type in the late 60s. Titles include "Baby I Love You", "If Walls Could Talk", "Things That I Used to Do", "Let's Get Together", "I Play Dirty", "Blues Get Off My Shoulder", "I Don't Know", and "Poor Man". (Blues, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

Baroquely beautiful work from the Stax soul master – one of Isaac Hayes' heaviest albums of the 70s – and a record so massive, they needed 2LPs to contain the whole thing! The record's a culmination of the rich, full style of soulful arranging that Hayes had pioneered in his early solo work at Stax – a sound that's incredibly rich, filled with added voices and instrumentation, but totally dominated by Ike in a powerful, masculine approach to soul. Some tunes are familiar – like the album's versions of "Never Can Say Goodbye", "Close To You", "Going In Circles", "Never Gonna Give You Up", and "Need To Belong To Someone" – but they're all completely transformed here by Hayes with a bad-rapping, personal mode that's totally great. Album also features some great "Ike's Rap" cuts too! LP, Vinyl record album

Baroquely beautiful work from the Stax soul master – one of Isaac Hayes' heaviest albums of the 70s – and a record so massive, they needed 2LPs to contain the whole thing! The record's a culmination of the rich, full style of soulful arranging that Hayes had pioneered in his early solo work at Stax – a sound that's incredibly rich, filled with added voices and instrumentation, but totally dominated by Ike in a powerful, masculine approach to soul. Some tunes are familiar – like the album's versions of "Never Can Say Goodbye", "Close To You", "Going In Circles", "Never Gonna Give You Up", and "Need To Belong To Someone" – but they're all completely transformed here by Hayes with a bad-rapping, personal mode that's totally great. Album also features some great "Ike's Rap" cuts too! New deluxe edition comes in fold-out packaging that's reminiscent of the original LP – and features new remastering, new liner notes, and rare photos too! CD

Jazzman take on the Cali scene – and the results are every bit as amazing as you might imagine! Like previous Texas, Florida, and Midwest Funk comps on the label, this volume is essential listening all the way through – a massive dig into rare west coast grooves of the late 60s and 1970s – presented with excellent notes on every single track, and more than enough historical detail to put the music in perspective! The whole thing's fully legit, with great mastering on most cuts – and the track list is filled with rare gems we've never seen on any other collections before – a massive funky treasure trove that includes "Turn It Over" by Chucky Thurmon, "Farm Song" by Leon Gardner, "What Goes Around Comes Around (part 1)" by Arthur Monday, "Get It Right" by Rhon Silva, "Funky Fire" by Billy Larkin, "WB" by California Gold Notes, "Curse Upon The World" by Apple & The Three Oranges, "Cold Heat" by Lil Lavair & The Fabulous Jades, "Bones" by Winter, "Smokin Tidbits" by Edwards Generation, "Al's Place" by Enrique Olivarez Y Los Vampiros, "Talking About My Baby" by John Heartsman & Circles, "What's Going On" by Mr Clean & The Soul Inc, and "All Bundled Into One" by Water Color. (Funky Compilations, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

Incredible work from Spencer Wiggins – a late 60s Memphis singer who travelled in the same circles as James Carr, Percy Sledge, and Otis Redding, but who hardly ever got his due – despite talents that were clearly equal to his contemporaries! This beautifully-done set brings together 14 tracks that Wiggins recorded for Goldwax Records in the late 60s – a label that was also home to Carr's best work, and who does an equally great job with Spencer's deep-burning vocals on these sides. Many of the tracks on the set were written by the cream of the crop of southern soul writers at the time – George Jackson, Quinton Claunch, Isaac Hayes, and others – and backings are often spare and subtle, really letting Wiggins' vocals take center stage! Titles include "I'm A Poor Man's Son", "Lonely Man", "Sweet Sixteen", "He's Too Old", "Anything You Do Is Alright", "I Never Loved A Woman The Way I Love You", "Old Friend", "Up Tight Good Woman", "Take Me Just As I Am", "Once In A While", "The Power of A Woman", "I'll Be True To You", and "Lover's Crime". LP, Vinyl record album

Music beyond description – a unique blend of disco, funk, avant garde, and dub – the wonderful world of the late Arthur Russell! Russell was a bass player by trade, but he was schooled in both classical and Eastern music forms – and brought an incredibly fresh vision to his work in New York in the late 70s and early 80s. To some, Russell was a groundbreaking disco pioneer – with an offbeat production style and unique conception of rhythm. To others, Russell was a performance artist and avant garde musician – working in circles that included Phillip Glass, David Byrne, and Robert Wilson. This mix of modes was very much a part of the post-disco, post-punk sound of New York at the time – and nobody summarized it (or allowed it!) better than Russell himself. This excellent set from Soul Jazz is one of the first to truly give him his due – and it brings together a large amount of his disco-related projects, plus a few more introspective numbers cut under his own name. The sound is incredible – unlike anything you could categorize – especially on the Russell-titled numbers – and as always with Soul Jazz, the whole thing's beautifully packaged, with rich notes on the music and the person behind it! Titles include "Go Bang (Francois K mix)" by Dinosaur L, "Wax The Van" by Lola, "Is It All Over My Face (Larry Levan mix)" by Loose Joints, "In The Cornbelt (Larry Levan mix)" by Dinosaur L, "Pop Your Funk" by Loose Joints, "Schoolbell/Treehouse (Walter Gibbons mix)" by Indian Ocean, and "Let's Go Swimming (Walter Gibbons mix)", "A Little Lost", "In The Light Of The Miracle", and "Keeping Up" by Arthur Russell himself! (Rock, Soul) CD

Incredible work from Spencer Wiggins – a late 60s Memphis singer who travelled in the same circles as James Carr, Percy Sledge, and Otis Redding, but who hardly ever got his due – despite talents that were clearly equal to his contemporaries! This beautifully-done set brings together 22 tracks that Wiggins recorded for Goldwax Records in the late 60s – a label that was also home to Carr's best work, and who does an equally great job with Spencer's deep-burning vocals on these sides. Many of the tracks on the set were written by the cream of the crop of southern soul writers at the time – George Jackson, Quinton Claunch, Isaac Hayes, and others – and backings are often spare and subtle, really letting Wiggins' vocals take center stage! CD features 20 tracks in all, plus some incredible notes – and titles include "The Kind Of Woman That's Got No Heart", "Old Friend", "Once In A While Is Better Than Never At All", "He's Too Old", "Soul City USA", "Walking Out On You", "Who's Been Warming My Oven", "I'll Be True To You", and "Anything You Do Is All Right". CD