A way way deeper set than the first volume of Bay Area Funk – and a collection that shows that things got pretty heavy on the San Francisco and Oakland scenes of the 70s! A good number of the tracks here are instrumental, and show some wonderful interplay between the trippier sides of funky jazz and the harder sides of soul going on in the Bay Area back in the day – killer music from the fringes that often got lost in the shuffle of all the better-known music coming out on the bigger labels! The work here is all from very tiny labels – expertly selected and all officially cleared by the Luv N Haight team with keen respect for the artists involved – and in a way, the package has set a new high standard for the label! A tremendous discovery, and filled with tracks we'd never heard before – titles that include "Stop Look Listen" by Primevil, "Poor Sad Child (part 1)" by The Windjammers, "Born To Live With Heartache" by Mary Love, "Move In The Room" by Dawn & Sunset, "Ebony" by Project Soul, "Acid Lady" by San Francisco TKOs, "Hip Breakin" by Little Denise Stevenson, "Devil's On The Run" by Uptights Band, "Brute Strength" by Mile Selesia, and "Lenient With My Love" by The Relatives. (Funky Compilations, Soul) CD

A really well-done collection – filled with enough funky gems to grab the ears of any sample-conscious listener, but also packing plenty of unusual numbers too – including a few Latin tracks that fit in perfectly with the spirit of the sound! A number of these cuts have definitely been sampled over the years – but as is always the case, the fuller tracks are often a lot more interesting than the riff or drum part that was taken from them – and together, the titles here show that there's always plenty to dig when you know how to dig deep – as you'll hear on titles that include "Home" by Gloria Barnes, "I'm Moving On" by Chyvonne Scott, "Natural Beauty" by LJ Waiters, "Afro Funky" by Manteca, "Something Bad" by The Chosen Few, "What Happened To Yesterday" by Al Scott, "Los Feligreses" by Luis Santi, "Every Boy & Girl" by Lee Moses, "Man Of Value" by Tyrone Barkley, "I'm Sorry I Hurt You" by Nat Phillips, and "Cookie Crumbs" by Ray & His Court. (Funky Compilations, Soul) CD

Features great mellow work from Love Unlimited Orchestra, Cameo, The Dells, Starpoint, Ohio Players, Four Tops, Randy Brown, and Kinsman Dazz! CD

Original, rare and/or extended versions of classic chart funk by the Gap Band! The set features original vinyl versions of the cuts, many available for the first time on CD! Tracks include "You Dropped A Bomb On Me" (original 12" mix), "Burn Rubber", "Early In The Morning" (original 12" mix), "Party Train" (original 12" special dance mix), "Outstanding" (original 12" mix), "I Don't Believe You Want To Get Up And Dance (Oops), "Shake" (original 12" disco version), and "Humpin". CD

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A batch of Parliament and Parliament related funk nuggets get a nice CD presentation of the original, rare, and or extended takes that were previously only available on the original vinyl! All told, more than an hour's worth of prime and/or rare P Funk! Tracks include "Aqua Boogie" (original 12" version), "Flashlight" (original 12" version), "Agony Of Defeat" (original promo-only 12" version), Parlet's "Ridin' High" (original 12" promo-only version), "Oh I" (original 12" promo-only version), "Up For The Down Stroke" (alternate version) and more. CD

Loads of classic singles – 20 in all – with cuts that include "I've Got So Much To Give", "It's Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next To Me", "You're The First The Last My Everything", "Honey Please Can't Ya See", "Never Never Gonna Give You Up", "Love's Theme", "Satin Soul", "Oh What A Night For Dancing", "Don't Make Me Wait Too Long", "Can't Get Enough Of Your Love Babe", and "Playing Your Game Baby". CD

A little bit funk, a little bit soul – Mickey Murray was one of the underrated talents working in the SSS label during the company's glory years, and had a sock-hard southern soul style that was really outta site! Mickey first hit big with the tune "Shout Bamalama" – originally recorded by Otis Redding in his earliest years in the studio, but pushed to much bigger fame by Mickey with his classic late 60s recording. This tasty little set is done in a great mix of upbeat sockin-soul and mellower southern burners – all carried off with a depth and level of quality that should have made Mickey a bigger star at the time! Titles include the massively funky "Hit Record", plus "How many Breaks Can One Heart Take", "Got You On My Mind", and the eerie "Lonely Room". LP, Vinyl record album

Music from James Brown, Aretha Franklin, War, the Chakachas, the Jimmy Castor Bunch, the JBs, New Birth, Cymande, Tower of Power, the O Jays, BT Express, Kool & the Gang, George McCrae, the Ohio Players, the Isley Brothers, Brick, Brass Construction, Rick James, Fatback, the Gap Band & more. 55 tracks in all, plenty of funk essentials, and detailed notes – all in a fuzzy book-style cover! (Funky Compilations, Soul) CD

A long-overdue second full length albums from the SSS International years of the great Johnny Adams – tracks that were mostly issued as singles by the label, and which come together here with a punch that's even harder than the work on his Heart & Soul album from the time! Adams has a voice that's definitely trained in the deep soul modes of the south, but also gets some groovier help that's more in keeping with the SSS approach – a bit funky at times, nicely gritty at others – on titles that include "South Side Of Soul Street", "Give Me A Chance", "Release Me", "Proud Woman", "I Won't Cry", "In A Moment Of Weakness", "You Made A New Man Out Of Me", "I've Got Too Much To Lose", and "Living On Your Love". LP, Vinyl record album

A real lost chapter in the career of the great Don Covay – material done after his original funky soul on 60s Atlantic Records, and before his return to fame in the early 70s on Mercury – done in a raw vibe that has a lot more grit than you might expect! There's touches of psychedelic blues in the instrumentation, which was recorded both in Memphis and Muscle Shoals – even though the record comes across with a vibe that's unlike any of the big hits recorded in those scenes at the time! Definitely a standout in the world of soul in the early 70s – with titles that include "Standing In the Grits Line", "Sweet Thang", "Stop By", "Bad Luck", "Hitching a Ride", and "What's In the Headlines". LP, Vinyl record album

A real lost chapter in the career of the great Don Covay – material done after his original funky soul on 60s Atlantic Records, and before his return to fame in the early 70s on Mercury – done in a raw vibe that has a lot more grit than you might expect! There's touches of psychedelic blues in the instrumentation, which was recorded both in Memphis and Muscle Shoals – even though the record comes across with a vibe that's unlike any of the big hits recorded in those scenes at the time! Definitely a standout in the world of soul in the early 70s – with titles that include "Standing In the Grits Line", "Sweet Thang", "Stop By", "Bad Luck", "Hitching a Ride", and "What's In the Headlines". LP, Vinyl record album

Sly's leaping into the air on the cover of this one – and for good reason too, given the overall groove of the set! The album's a bit more stripped-down and upbeat than the previous few – almost more of a return to the simple funky style of the first albums, but with a slightly more electric sound than before – especially in the keyboards, which almost slide into the mix here with a Stevie Wonder-like quality. The electricity bubbles and brews wonderfully at the bottom of the rhythms – charging things up a bit, but still hanging back with a super-cool, laidback quality that few other groups could muster! There's a great sense of balance here that's brilliant – and which makes the album one of Sly's undisputed masterpieces from the Columbia years. Titles include the incredible "If You Want Me To Stay" – one of our favorite Sly Stone cuts ever – plus "Keep on Dancin", "Babies Making Babies", "Que Sera Sera", "If It Were Left Up To Me", "In Time", and "Let Me Have It All". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the all-time classics from Jr Walker & The All Stars – key proof that Motown could groove even when nobody was laying down vocals! As you might guess from the title, the album features the group's huge hit "Shotgun", plus lots of other cool funky little tracks like "Cleo's Back", "Tune Up", "Monkey Jump", "Do The Boomerang", "Shake & Fingerpop", "Shoot Your Shot", and lots more! The album's one of the group's strongest for Motown – and features that tight snapping groove that helped Jr take the tenor out of the R&B sound of the 50s, and place it into a whole new mode for the soulful 60s! LP, Vinyl record album