A pretty amazing batch of soul, R&B, and funk from the Nashville scene – from an astonishing range of years, too! Of course the memorabilia industry that is "Music City USA" is dominated by country music and pop, and this long, long, LONG overdue collection of singles from 1945-1970 demonstrates how much more was going on in East Tennessee beyond Chet Atkins and the Opry! The tunes range from jump blues & soul of the late 40s and 50s, and on through the harmony soul of the 60s and the pre-funk late 60s. 38 tracks on two CDs: "Nashville Jumps" by Cecil Gant, "Just Walkin' In The Rain" by The Prisonaires, "Baby Let's Play House" by Arthur Gunter, "Christene" by Little Hank Crawford, "You Can Make It If You Try" by Gene Allison, "Somebody, Somewhere" by Larry Birdsong, "Monkey Doin' Woman" by Shy Guy Douglas, "What'd I Say" by Etta James, "Snap Your Fingers" by Joe Henderson, "I Want To" by Joe Tex, "The Chokin'" Kind" by Joe Simon, "Rediscover Me" by Johnny Adams and tons more! CD

A massive package of work from the mighty Kool & The Gang – 6 full albums from the 80s, served up here in a 3CD set! First up is Ladies Night – a shameless dancefloor cash-in move – but a record that's still pretty darn great as well! You all know the big title cut "Ladies Night", so we won't bother to describe it – but we can say that the group wisely hooked up with Deodato, who produced, mixed, and even played keyboards on the album. Deodato keeps a nice jazzy punch in the tracks, while still moving towards the slickly produced funk sound that was the group's main approach at the time of the record. JT Taylor's on vocals, and the album's even got a few mellow cuts – like the crossover easy number "Too Hot" – amidst the midtempo 80s grooves that really step out and make the whole thing move. Other tracks include "Ladies Night", "Hangin Out", "Tonight's The Night", "If You Feel Like Dancin", and "Got You Into My Life". The next album is Something Special indeed – as the album was one of the biggest hits for Kool & The Gang, and showed that the group still had plenty of energy left to groove into the 80s! The record features production work by Brazilian music maestro Eumir Deodato – who by this point had become a sweet and smooth talent with a real flair for putting over a modern soul groove! Deodato's approach is really great – smooth, yet soulful, without any tricks or gimmicks – and a real appreciation for lead vocals and a catchy little hook! The album features the group's party classic "Get Down On It", plus "Steppin Out", "No Show", "Pass It On", "Be My Lady", "Take My Heart", and "Good Time Tonight". As One is solid 80s grooving from Kool & The Gang – a group who inspired so many others in the early 80s soul generation, but who could still do it better than most of the rest! The style here is tight and smooth, but never too slick – and Deodato's giving the group some really great production for the album – helping them to focus their energy and soar soulfully, but without resorting to any stiff gimmicks or cliches! There's a great groove running through most of the numbers here – a confident quality that's never too commercial, and which bubbles along nicely throughout. Titles include "Street Kids", "Big Fun", "As One", "Hi De Hi Hi De Ho", "Let's Go Dancin", and "Pretty Baby". In The Heart is a sweet set that's part of a big early 80s run from Kool & The Gang – a time that saw the funk legends really hitting the mainstream, and winning over a huge new audience in the process! Given that the Gang virtually invented ensemble funk at the start of the 70s, they're perfectly poised here to move into modes that so many of their younger competition were trying – but never did so well – that blend of 80s elements and more sharply-fused funk instrumentation, all honed down into a tightly snapping groove. The real surprise, though, is the group's growing ability for ballads – which put records like this into hands of folks who never would have dug their funk a few years before. And while we might have had a few problems with that shift at the time, the passage of years has got the whole thing sounding pretty darn great to our ears – especially in comparison to so much weaker work from the time. Titles include "In The Heart", "Joanna", "Tonight", "Straight Ahead", "September Love", "You Can Do It", and "Home Is Where The Heart Is". Last up is Emergency – one of the key classics from the second chapter of the group – when their lineup and sound were a lot leaner than before, and they managed to cross over big to a much wider audience than before! The upbeat cuts show that the group were still kings of the funky dancefloor – and the mellower ones are equally great too – showing a rising ballad style that proved to be the group's big crossover card at the time – a way of putting over a laidback track, but with plenty of soul. This approach is heard to great effect on the album's great single "Cherish" – and other tracks include "Bad Woman", "Surrender", "Emergency", "Misled", "Fresh", and "You Are The One". CD

Sweet modern soul with a sound that would get picked up on years later by the LA G-Funk scene. The album's produced by War's Far Out production team – and it's got a smooth sound that's mixed with moogy keyboards and compressed instrumentation on the best cuts. Some tracks are a bit too funky, but the mellow ones are very tasty. Includes the excellent track "Summer Love", plus "Cream City", "Magic Night", "Lonely Princess", and "Jungle Desire". LP, Vinyl record album

Arthur Adams has his roots in blues, but he comes across here with a wonderfully warm Cali soul sort of vibe – that mix of earthy currents and tighter touches that was showing up in some of the best Fantasy Records work of the period! On the album It's Private Tonight, Arthur sings and plays guitar, and he's set up nicely in some larger backings that include help from jazz/funk greats like Joe Sample on keyboards, George Bohannon on trombone, Phil Upchurch on guitar, Wilton Felder on bass, and Ernie Watts on alto – all great players who make the record way more than just another blues session! Tracks include "I'm Going Home", "I Gotta Help My People", "Happiness", and "Get On The Ground". Home Brew is great – an overlooked album of funky guitar! Arthur Adams was one of the many excellent west coast session players of the early 70s – and if you check the notes on some of your favorite California soul albums, you'll find that you've probably heard his guitar an awful lot over the years! As with some of the other Fantasy albums of the mid 70s, this one gives a more obscure player a chance to step out in the light – as Adams does wonderfully with smooth jazz funk production by Wayne Henderson, which brings out some great tonal colors in Adams' guitar playing. There's a bit of a New Orleans sound in the record, but the real feel is Fantasy Records jazz funk – as you'll hear on the cuts "Chicago Sidewalk", "Bumpin' Around", and "That's the Way It's Gonna Be". Plus, 2CD set features 17 more bonus tracks – including "Last Night", "Got Your Back", "She's A Superwoman", "Is That You", "Let Your Hair Down", and "She Drives Me Out Of My Mind". CD

A key bit of jazz funk from trumpeter Tom Browne – still grooving strong here, with a sublime mix of modern soul, funky jazz, and some of the 80s groove touches that showed up on the best GRP titles from the time! The album's got a smooth compressed groove – kind of post-Donald Byrd, with Tom taking solos over the top of most tracks, and occasional vocals , wither from a backing group, or an assortment of different lead singers. Players on the set include Bernard Wright, Dave Grusin, Bobby Broom, and Marcus Miller – and tracks include "I Know", "Midnight Interlude", "Let's Dance", "Night Wind", "Making Plans", "Thighs Hihg", and "Magic". (Jazz, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

A legendary funk set from late 70s Chicago – served up by our own Captain Sky, aka Daryl Cameron – an imposing figure who often worked in the same space-themed territory as the P-Funk empire in the mid 70s! The difference here, though, is that Cameron wrote, produced, and put the whole thing together himself – with help from a few friends in the studio – making the album a great homegrown attempt to rival the strength of the bigger funk ensembles of the period – something The Captain and crew do pretty darn well throughout! There's lots of heavy bass on the set – a strong precursor of modes to come – mixed with riffing guitar, sweet keyboards, and plenty of tight rhythms – on cuts that include the famous sample cut "Super Sporm" – a killer extended track with a great conga break, and a tight old school sample sound – plus "Now That I Have You", "Saturday Night Move-Ease", "Wonder Worm" and "Can't Stop Now". CD

An album that definitely lives up to the title promised by The Commodores – a record that takes all their raw funky energy of the early years, and fuses it into a new groove that would catapult the sextet to superstardom! The sound is commercial, but still has a pretty fresh sort of feel too – that quality the group brought to their work when breaking down so many boundaries in mainstream music – and finding fans in corners that few other funk groups might have touched! There's plenty of upbeat funk tracks in the mix, and even the mellower moments are still balanced nicely enough to avoid any of the cliches that Lionel Richie might have had during his solo years. Titles include "Why You Wanna Try Me", "This Love", "Been Loving You", "Lucy", "Saturday Night", "Lady (You Bring Me Up)", and "Oh No". LP, Vinyl record album

By this point in their career, The Commodores have lost Lionel Richie and any sort of funk credibility they had from their early years – but they also somehow manage to reemerge with a great new talent for a sweet mellow groove! The title tune "Nightshift" was one of those tracks that crossed over massively at the time – but to our ears, it also kind of redeemed the group too – as it's got a surprisingly soulful quality that really got the group past the soppiness of their ballads and love songs – gliding along with an almost-righteous quality that makes it a nice later cap to an earlier Motown 70s groove. Other tunes on the album don't always fare as well, but there's still some nice moments here – tunes that benefit from some Dennis Lambert production and hit just the right kind of mellow groove to follow up on the spirit of the single. Tracks include "Nightshift", "Slip Of The Tongue", "Lay Back", "Lightin Up The Night", and "The Woman In My Life". LP, Vinyl record album

A great little album cut by Randy during the height of her career! She'd just broken big with her vocals on "Street Life" by the Crusaders – and although that track's not on here, the Crusaders team of Wilton Felder, Stix Hooper, and Joe Sample produced the album, and have given it a very similar sound to that track. There's a few weak moments where Randy's singing in a mellower style that lets her voice wobble a bit too much – but the stronger tracks have a good jazz funk groove, and these include "Blue Flame", "Last Night At Danceland", and "My Heart Is Not As Young As It Used To Be". LP, Vinyl record album

A treasure trove of classic New Orleans-styled soul tracks from Dr John – all the early singles for Atlantic Records that helped him forge his legendary sound – served up here with some surprising non-LP moments as well! If you don't know Dr John's groove, this is a great place to start – and even if you already dig his messed-up blend of funk, soul, and trippier currents, you'll love the way these shorter singles focuses his energy in ways that are different than some of the longer LP tracks – still very groovy, but packing even more punch! The set's got 26 tracks in all – including "A Man Of Many Words", done with Buddy Guy and Eric Clapton – plus "I Walk On Guilded Splinters (parts 1 & 2)", "Gris Gris Gumbo Ya Ya", "Let The Good Times Roll", "Cold Cold Cold", "Traveling Mood", "Mos Scocious", "Let's Make A Better World", "Me - You = Loneliness", "Rite Away", "Such A Night", "Right Place Wrong Time", "Loop Garoo", "Jump Sturdy", "The Patriotic Flag Waver (mono short version)", and "Mama Roux". CD

A different groove than usual from The JBs – but still pretty darn nice, and way better than just about all the other funky combos on the market! It's the late 70s, and James Brown's head is a bit addled – he thinks he's the guy who invented disco, and he starts turning his extended funky sound towards the clubs. By this point, Fred and Maceo had left him, so he's working here with a new version of the JBs, one that still includes Jimmy Nolan on guitar and Sinclair Pickney on sax – and although the new band's not the same as the old, they're a surprisingly good funk band nonetheless, and the album's still more of a funk album than you'd guess from the title. In fact, if the record didn't have JBs in the title, most folks would probably thing it was some great lost band! Lots of uptempo funk tracks, similar to those on James' albums from the time – and Martha & The Lazers sing vocals on a few tracks. Titles include "JBs Disco", "Night Train Disco", "A Little Bit Of Disco", and "Soul Of The Disco". CD

A rare Japanese-only session – one that has vocalist Salena Jones joining the fusion supergroup Stuff – in a set that's easily one of the most soulful outings from both artists involved! Although Jones mostly worked overseas, she's got a slinky style here that really fits the groove of the American group – a slow-stepping approach that wraps nicely around keyboards from Richard Tee, and twin guitars from Eric Gale and Cornell Dupree. Steve Gadd's drums keep a nice undercurrent of funk, even when things are mellow – and Tee's arrangements are tight, but never slick or overdone. Titles include "Loving Arms", "My Love", "Everyday", "Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me", "Help Me Make It Through The Night", and "Lately". (Vocalists, Soul) CD

One of the stranger records on the Paul Winley label – mostly known for its important funk and hip hop recordings! The set features older work by Gloria Lynne, reissued in this 70s package, "by popular demand", as the cover states. Tracks are in the standard Lynne mode – and titles include "Impossible", "June Night", "I Should Care", "Serenade In Blue", "Don't Worry About Me", "Perdido", "He Needs Me", and "Love I've Found You". (Vocalists, Soul) 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". CD

Sho-Nuff deepens their sound nicely for this second set for Malaco Records – still sticking in the lean club funk sound of their debut for the label – but also reaching a bit more on the lyrics and vocals too! Ballads show up a bit more than before, and almost evoke an old school group soul approach that's quite a surprise – especially when the higher-voiced lead mixes in with the deeper harmonies – creating some nice mellow moments that really stand out! There's still plenty of groovers – the kind of dancefloor numbers the group first started cutting for Stax in the 70s – and titles include "You Got Me Workin", "Queen Of The Night", "Don't Be Lonely", "Don't Use Me Up", "Sho-Nuff Groove", and "Choosin You". CD

A near-lost 80s groover from T-Connection – recorded after their more famous albums for TK, but every bit as nice! By this point, the group have really sweetened their sound in a nice way – and are working in a Capitol Rare-styled 80s groove that's filled with rolling basslines, spacey keyboards, and mature vocals that get past the ensemble funk mode of their earliest records. There's plenty of catchy clubby numbers on the set – and titles include "Groove City", "Spinnin", "Paradise", "Spend The Night With Me", "Give Me Your Love", and "We've Got A Good Thing". LP, Vinyl record album

T-Connection are definitely on fire with this smoking little set – a killer batch of late 70s club, done with almost equal parts funk, soul, and disco! As with their debut, the group here are right on the money instrumentally – playing with a dexterity that few other large funk groups could match this well – especially blistering on some of the album's longer tracks too. There's also a great sense of balance to the record too – a ballad, some midtempo numbers, and a more well-rounded feel that also shows the group going for a wider palette of sounds than just their usual grooves. But as always, the upbeat club tracks are the best – and titles include "Lady Of The Night", "On Fire", "Cush", "Groove To Get Down", and "Let Yourself Go". CD

A soaring stormer from T-Connection – and a set that has them sounding even better than before! There's a perfection here the group didn't have with earlier releases – a quality that goes way past indie funk ensemble, into the realm of some of the best mainstream acts on the bigger labels at the time – company shared by a rare few, like Earth Wind & Fire, Ohio Players, or the Bar-Kays! Things are every bit as funky as before – but there's a way of putting the tunes together that really blows us away – fusing all the elements together perfectly, and making everything work towards the groove – yet all without making anything sound too slick or polished either. Mighty nice all the way through – and titles include "Funky Lady", "Don't Stop The Music", "Funkannection", "Saturday Night", "At Midnight", and "Love Supreme". CD

Sweet electric funk from Womack and Womack – a set that's got the same sort of tight songwriting as their classic Love Wars set from the 80s, but a groove that's maybe even heavier on the beats and keyboards too! The style's still nice and warm, in all the right ways to work with the duo's vocals trading back to back – and in addition to Fender Rhodes from Linda, the album also features some nice worm from Bobby Lyle, Neal Larson, and Eddie Noble on the keys. Titles include "No Relief", "Maze", "Night Rider", "Strange & Funny", "Eyes", and "Radio MUSC Man". LP, Vinyl record album

A stunning collection of work from the great Betty Wright – one of the key female singers who helped shift the sound of southern soul in the 70s – moving modes from Memphis and Muscle Shoals to the new Criteria Studios down in Miami! Betty's got a deep soul approach that would have been right at home in those other cities – but working for the Alston side of TK Records on these tracks, she changes things up a bit – bringing in more funk than before, and showing a new sort of attitude as well – even more powerful and heady than some of her predecessors in soul. CD features 18 tracks from these years – titles that include "Gimme Back My Man", "Where Is The Love", "Tonight Is The Night", "Secretary", "I Found That Guy", "I Am Woman", "I Love The Way You Love", "Ain't No Sunshine", and her classic "Clean Up Woman". CD

It's been a decade since the last entry in this really wonderful series – and it's clear that there's been plenty going on in the Detroit scene as well – a continuation of that old school underground that has the spirit of classic soul alive and well in the Motor City! These cuts are contemporary, but they recall the heyday of indie label 45s that were issued in the shadow of Motown – really top-shelf work that soars with a spirit that shows that in Detroit, classic soul is alive and well – even after decades of other sounds from the city! Some cuts here have a 70s vibe, some a bit of an 80s soul touch, but they're all unified through a sense of personal care and commitment to old school modes – on titles that include "Anytime You Need Love" and "So Close" by Jose Hamilton, "Singing That Song Once Again" by The Carmichael Movement, "Portuguese Love" by Ping Spells, "I Won't Let You Go" by Faschone, "More Than A Notion" by Jammie Nelson, "Sweet Summer Evenings" and "This Time Love's For Real" by JazShop, and the cuts "He's Mine", "I Get Emotional", "Give It What Cha Got", and "Bring On The Night" by The Funk Factor. CD

Some of the sharpest, jazziest funk you'll ever hope to hear – a smoking collection of the legendary 70s work by The Blackbyrds on Fantasy Records! The group started as a jazz combo under Donald Byrd's supervision – right at a time when Byrd was making his own fantastic funky records in the 70s – but working for the Bay Area Fantasy label, they really took off into an amazing groove that was all their own – still informed by jazz, but free to open up to lots of funk and soul elements too – sometimes with vocals in the lead, sometimes more focus on the kinds of solos that always set them apart from all their contemporaries! The cuts have some wonderful keyboard work from a young Kevin Toney – who's gone onto a lot of fame over the years – and production on all cuts is either by Larry Mizell, Donald Byrd, or George Duke – key 70s jazz funk forces who keep things mighty tight in the studio! The package features work from all Blackbyrds albums of the 70s – including the Cornbread Earl & Me soundtrack, and the Night Grooves remix set – and the package features 25 titles that include "Enter In", "Party Land", "Do It Fluid", "Gut Level", "Summer Love", "I Need You", "The Baby", "Blackbyrds' Theme", "City Life", "Rock Creek Park", "Walking In Rhythm", "A Hot Day Today", "Wilford's Gone", "One Gun Salute", "Supernatural Feeling", "Mysterious Vibes", and "Soft & Easy". CD

A legendary funk set from late 70s Chicago – served up by our own Captain Sky, aka Daryl Cameron – an imposing figure who often worked in the same space-themed territory as the P-Funk empire in the mid 70s! The difference here, though, is that Cameron wrote, produced, and put the whole thing together himself – with help from a few friends in the studio – making the album a great homegrown attempt to rival the strength of the bigger funk ensembles of the period – something The Captain and crew do pretty darn well throughout! There's lots of heavy bass on the set – a strong precursor of modes to come – mixed with riffing guitar, sweet keyboards, and plenty of tight rhythms – on cuts that include the famous sample cut "Super Sporm" – a killer extended track with a great conga break, and a tight old school sample sound – plus "Now That I Have You", "Saturday Night Move-Ease", "Wonder Worm" and "Can't Stop Now". LP, Vinyl record album

Classic work from the legendary P&P Records label – created by one of the "P" talents who gave them their name – studio genius Patrick Adams, who mostly works here on his own under the name of Cloud One! Adams already had great success working with east coast soul groups in the first half of the 70s – and as Cloud One, he really finds his way around the more cutting-edge styles of the time – mixing bits of funk with bits of disco, and often adding in these cool electronic elements that really helped define the P&P sound! Many cuts have cool moogy keyboards, and some spacey elements along the edges – done with a lot more soul than some of the Euro space disco recordings of the same time – with much more of a tie to the New York underground that was Adams' main milieu. Titles include the classics "Spaced Out" and "Atmosphere Strut" – plus "Jump Jump Jump", "Stomp Your Feet & Dance", "Disco Juice", "Don't Let My Rainbow Pass Me By", "Patty Duke", "Happy Music", "Doin It All Night", and "Flyin High". CD

One of the greatest albums ever made by Willie Dixon as a leader – a really cooking set done after years backing other folks up in the Chess Records studio – and a date recorded for the Chicago-based Ovation Records label, who really let Willie do his thing! Given that Dixon plays bass, there's some great currents of funk in here – and the grooves are nice and raw, thanks to tight drums from Clifton James, and instrumentation from Buster Benton on guitar, Lafayette Leake on piano, and Carrie Bell on harmonica! There's a gritty electric groove throughout – and titles include "Hold Me Baby", "Moon Cat", "Pretty Baby", "Shakin The Shack", "What Happened To My Blues", "Uh Huh Baby", and "Put It All In There". (Blues, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

Kind of a "best of plus" set from Rick James – featuring some of his older work for Motown, plus a few new numbers to round out the set! As usual, the whole thing's written, arranged, and produced by the Super Freak himself – with that bass-heavy pop-funk groove that Rick virtually invented! Titles include "Super Freak", "You & I", "Mary Jane", "Dance Wit Me", "Give It To Me Baby", "You Turn Me On", "Bustin Out", "Fire & Desire", "Oh What A Night", and "17". LP, Vinyl record album

An excellent little record from Hugh Masekela – cut right during that perfect time when he was mixing soul, funk, and just the right amount of jazz to keep things real! The record features some nice electric piano from Joe Sample, and the best cuts have a choppy funky groove. Some cuts have vocals, but the best moments are instrumental – like the riffs on "Jungle Jim", "Night In Tunisia", and "In The Marketplace". (Global Grooves, Soul) 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". CD features a bonus version of "Star Child", a promo radio version! CD

One of Billy's best, and it's got a pretty tight instrumental groove that's similar to some of Jimmy McGriff's work for the Sue and Veep labels. Billy's organ fronts some groovy and offbeat arrangements by Sly Stone – and although the set list includes a number of late 60s hits, the overall approach is pretty fresh. Titles include "Free Funk", "The Duck", "Hard Day's Night", "Uptight", "Ain't Got No Time To Play", and "It's Got To Happen". Also features one vocal cut – "Advice" – written with Sly. LP, Vinyl record album

A soaring stormer from T-Connection – and a set that has them sounding even better than before! There's a perfection here the group didn't have with earlier releases – a quality that goes way past indie funk ensemble, into the realm of some of the best mainstream acts on the bigger labels at the time – company shared by a rare few, like Earth Wind & Fire, Ohio Players, or the Bar-Kays! Things are every bit as funky as before – but there's a way of putting the tunes together that really blows us away – fusing all the elements together perfectly, and making everything work towards the groove – yet all without making anything sound too slick or polished either. Mighty nice all the way through – and titles include "Funky Lady", "Don't Stop The Music", "Funkannection", "Saturday Night", "At Midnight", and "Love Supreme". LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderful collection of New Orleans soul legend Allen Toussaint's recordings for Reprise in the 70s! The Reprise years were really magical period for Allen, recording some of the greatest music of his career – mixing funk with heavy soul early in the decade and with a bit more sweetness and polish as the years progress – but even at his most mainstream ready, the groove is very much traceable to the gritty, funkier Crescent City sounds of his younger years. Amazing stuff that we grow more and more fond of with each passing year! Includes "From A Whisper To A Scream", "What Is Success", "Am I Expecting To Much?", "On Your Way Down"., "Soul Sister", "Country John", "Last Train", "What Do You Want The Girl To Do?", "Lover Of Love", "Motion", "Viva La Money", "With You In Mind", Night People", "Happiness" and more. 16 tracks in all. CD

A mysterious batch of funk and soul from tapes that were originally played at London clubs and parties in the late 80s and early 90s – the key years of the rare groove scene, which is represented here by a fantastic assortment of obscure grooves from the 70s! The presentation is different than a standard funk collection – as the set continues the Death Is Not The End label's love of found materials and obscure tapes – so that you're hearing the cuts through the filter of a live presentation or a DJ introduction – sometimes nice and clear, sometimes a bit more obscure – so that the whole thing is almost more of a sound piece defining a moment of funk and soul, rather than a straight funk collection overall. Titles include "Darkness Bout Ya", "Fire", "Birth Night", "Flashlight", "Set Speed Operator", "Shockout Business", "Work To Do", and "Pure Wicked Tune". (Funky Compilations, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

The clubby jazz funk debut of Freeez – plus the Anti-Freeez remix album from a couple years later – issued together along with even more bonus material in this great 2CD set! Dancefloor ready live band grooving is the warmly beating heart of the Freeez sound at this early point – with heated drums and killer basslines driving it – clearly influenced by late 70s international club sounds, but with this great, tight energy and dexterous musicianship that could only come from a real, functioning, true band. Nice stuff! Disc One includes the original album & remixes: "Mariposa (Butterfly)", "Caribbean Winter", "Easy On The Onions", "Sunset", "Flying High", "Roller Chase", "First Love" and more from the original, plus bonus tracks including "Ainti-Freeez (Set Me Free) – Disco Version", "Fly By Night", "Flying High (12" Remix)" and more. Disc Two includes early singles, demos, instrumentals and the complete Anti-Freeez remix album from 1984 – with "Keep In Touch", "Hot Footing It", "Stay", "Roller Chase (1984 Remix)", "Alone (1984 Remix)", "One To One (1984 Remix)", "Caribbean Winter (1984 Remix)", "Say You Will Be My Lover (Previously Unreleased Demo)" and more. 30 tracks on 2CDs. CD

Rick James hits a smoother sort of style here – one that's almost a compressed take on the mainstream version of funk first crafted on his earlier records, fused into a more radio-friendly approach for the Prince generation! The sound's actually not that bad – and the record has an appeal (albeit a dated one) as a relic of crossover soul from a time that's fading more and more from the collective memory. Rick's still writing, arranging, and producing the whole set – and titles include "Glow", "Melody Make Me Dance", "Can't Stop", "Spend The Night With Me", "Somebody", "Moon Child", "Sha La La La La", and "Rock & Roll Control". 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

The great first album from The Mary Jane Girls – easily their best, and an 80s pop soul delight all the way through! Rick James is firmly at the helm of the quartet for this release – and although the sound has elements of James' own crossover funk of the time, there's also an approach that's sweeter and more female – balanced in a surprisingly nice way, and not nearly as cloying as other efforts of its type! Backings are lean and stripped down – often in a nice clubby 80s groove mode – and titles include "All Night Long", "Candy Man", "Boys", "Jealousy", "On The Inside", "Musical Love", "Prove It", and "You Are My Heaven". LP, Vinyl record album

One of Esther Phillips' biggest comeback albums from the 70s – a classic set that takes her deeply soulful vocal approach, and sets it to some sweet jazz funk backings – served up by guitarist Joe Beck, who almost gets equal credit on the album cover! The rest of the lineup is equally great – with alto from David Sanborn, more horns from The Brecker Brothers, and even a bit of work from Steve Khan – all fusion superstars in their own right, but who never eclipse Esther's lead. Titles include a good version of Grover Washington's "Mr Magic" – with the same funky undercurrent as the original – plus the tracks "One Night Affair", "I Can Stand A Little Rain", "Hurtin House", "Turn Around Look At Me", and a semi-hit version of "What A Diff'rence A Day Makes". LP, Vinyl record album

A really great collection – five full albums from keyboard giant Patrice Rushen, plus bonus tracks too! First up is Patrice – her first album for Elektra, and a stunning blend of funky jazz and soul! The record really has Patrice stepping out from her earlier years at Prestige – working in some surprisingly great vocals next to tight lines on Fender Rhodes, synth, and clavinet, handled with a smooth and soulful quality that's wonderful all the way through – a blend of soul and jazz that few other players could do this well – no matter how many others tried to copy her style over the years! Rhythms are as hard and heavy as on the Prestige years, and the keyboards have a great sort of focus too – just the right mix of jazz to offset the vocals – which themselves are a wonderful discovery. The whole album's a gem – and tracks include the great funky classic "Hang It Up", plus "Changes (In Your Life)", "When I Found You", "Play", "Didn't You Know?", and "Music Of The Earth". Pizzazz is one of the records that not only helped break her out of the jazz funk ghetto, and right into the mainstream – but a set that also had a pretty profound influence on the progression of soul in the early 80s! Rushen sings as well as plays keyboards – and really pushes the use of jazzy elements that would take R&B to the next level – almost inventing the 80s groove sound in the process! The whole thing's a totally sweet mix of funk and soul, tightened up to get everything in the door at the same time – and titles include "Givin It Up Is Givin Up", "Call On Me", "Haven't You Heard", and "Let The Music Take Me". Posh is an all-out, all-access affair – a great way for anyone to get into the grooves of the mighty Patrice Rushen! Patrice is at the height of her powers here – equally magic on keyboards and vocals, and coming up with groove after groove in a sublime blend of 70s jazz funk and Minnie Riperton-esque soul! The whole album's a winner – real magic that never gets old, and the kind of LP that makes you understand why you'll find Patrice's records in just about any soul collection from the time! Tracks include "I Need Your Love", "Time Will Tell", "The Dream", "Never Gonna Give You Up", and "Don't Blame Me". Straight From The Heart is one of those albums that completely cemented her standing in the world of jazz, funk, and soul – and a wonderful summation of everything she'd done in the years before! The young Patrice was already a breakout keyboardist on the west coast scene of the mid 70s – turning out great work on her own, and adding her talents to plenty of others – but here, she emerges as a soaring soul star in her own right – a talent who's really worked her way up, with a quality level that's head and shoulders above most of her peers! Rushen produced the set with Charles Mims, and there's a righteous blend of jazz and soul that's at the level of Minnie Riperton, so that even the catchiest cuts come off with a sense of sophistication and warmth that's so different than so much other 80s soul and fusion. Titles include the classic "Forget Me Nots", plus "Number One", "I Was Tired Of Being Alone", "Where There Is Love", "Breakout", "If Only", and "Remind Me". The album Now is a masterpiece of 80s groove with lots of jazzy touches! The keyboard sound has evolved a bit here – compressed with more electronic percussion than on Patrice's earlier records, but still done with a degree of soul that sets it apart from work by most of her contemporaries – and the music has this warm flow that really sets Rushen apart from the rest – a sublime mix of soul, funk, and fusion that holds together perfectly throughout! Titles include "Gotta Find It", "Gone With The Night", "My Love's Not Going Anywhere", "High In Me", "To Each His Own", "Heartache Heartbreak", and "Feels So Real". 5CD set features bonus tracks from original 12" singles – and other remixes too! CD

A really massive package – one that features six full albums from Starpoint, plus 34 bonus tracks as well! The group began as a more conventional funk outfit, but by the time of these records, they'd really found a sound that was strongly their own – a way of taking older ensemble modes forward to the 80s generation, yet without losing any of the warmth and beating heart that made them so great in the first place! There's so many different elements that come into play that make these records great – including key lead vocal performances from Renee Diggs, and well-crafted production that kept things fresh from record to record. The package features loads of classics amidst the full albums within – including the cuts "It's So Delicious", "Don't Be So Serious", "Breakout", "Am I Still The One", "Let Go", "Restless", "Object Of My Desire", "He Wants My Body", "DYBO", "Another Night", "Touch Of Your Love", "Say You Will", "I Want You You Want Me", "Midnight Love", and "One Step Closer To Your Love" – and each album is expanded with bonus tracks that include all the rare single mixes issued at the time. CD

The one and only album from drummer Don Thompson – a funky Brunswick classic from the 70s, and one of the most unique records we've ever heard from the label at the time! Don's got this style of singing that has a bit of a southern twang at times, but he works with grooves that are definitely northern in their orientation – served up in a range of styles that includes the funky drum break of the title cut, some mellow-stepping moments on a few other tunes, and the bouncing boogie that's really become the album's calling card over the years! There's loads of great bass work on most cuts, which really grounds that album alongside Don's drums – and titles include "Just Plain Funk", "Fanny Brown", "Lovin To The Bone", "Night Ladies (part 1 & 2)", and "Hang Loose". CD

A mindblowing album of electric piano tracks! Don Walker was a funky pianist from Chicago who worked briefly with the Young-Holt Unlimited group – and who cut a rare few albums of his own for the Brunswick label. This second solo album features some excellent Fender Rhodes work by Don – set to a very mellow set of grooves with conga, electric bass, and percussion in the rhythm group. In a way, the record feels similar to the work of the Cabildos group in Italy – but with less of the band's heavy funk moments. Titles include "Sun Ray", "DM", "Inner Face Rebirth", "Black Marble", and a nice mellow version of "Children Of The Night". Great all the way through – and a real treasure if you dig mellow electric grooves! LP, Vinyl record album

Dexter Wansel keeps up the space jazz funk groove that was begun on Life On Mars – with those fat, thumping bass lines, elastic lead guitar, atmospheric soul vocals and loads and loads of keys – spatial work on Rhodes, Moogs and ARPs! It's all done in a funky style not always heard on Philly! Dexter arranged and produced just about everything – and cuts include "All Night Long", "Voyager", "Solutions", "Latin Love", and "Time Is The Teacher". LP, Vinyl record album

A great entry in this always-killer collection of rare funk and soul – a series that somehow manages to keep on delivering ultra-rare nuggets, even at a time when there's been so many other compilations from so many other labels over the years! Our ears are always trained to appreciate the best of the best from the world of funky collections – and those ears are plenty pleased with the range of tracks here we'd never heard before – the kind of music that remind us to keep on digging, even when we think we've heard enough! Titles include "All Night" by Vantage Point, "I'm Feeling It Too" by Kim McCrae, "Steps On A Cloud" by Street Life 80, "Real True Voices" by Tory Wynter, "I'll Be Good To You" by Chatham, "Giving On Into Love" by Dalton Reed, "Getting Lucky" by Panama Gold, "Step By Step" by Matter Of Taste, "What Am I Going To Do Baby" by Royal Touch, and "Bi-Centennial 1976" by Frankie Staton & Speckled Rainbow. (Funky Compilations, Soul) CD

The first ever compilation of the best music made for MoWest – the eclectic, but still soulful cuts made when Berry Gordy Jr. relocated from Motown to the west coast in the early 70s – releasing cool and sometimes strange music with a soul background, yet toasted by LA sunshine! The MoWest subsidiary lasted just a few years, and gets overlooked in the canonization of Motown at it's most classic and revolutionary – but the legacy is pretty incredible. Funk, sunshine rock and soul fused adventurously by a stunningly diverse roster – late period Frankie Vallie & The Four Seasons (who's comp-opening track is a slept on sunshine pop-soul classic), breezy-jazzy-soul from Odyssey, the sister funk of Sisters Love, a stunning solo left turn from Spinners singer GC Cameron and more great stuff from Syreeta, The Commodores, Suzee Ikeda, Thelma Houston and others. We've been dying for a well selected MoWest comp like this for years, and Light In The Attic stepped to the plate and knock it right out of the park. The songs choices are great, the notes are great. . .everything about it is a win. Essential! Includes "You're A Song (That I Can't Sing)" and "The Night" by Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, "Our Lives Are Shaped By What We Love" and "Broken Road" by Odyssey, "Don't You Be Worried" by The Commodores, "A Heart Is A House" Nu Page, "I Ain't Going Nowhere" by Thelma Houston, "I Can't Give Back The Love I Feel For You" by Suzee Ikeda, "You've Got To Make The Choice" and "Give Me Your Love" by The Sisters Love and more. (Funky Compilations, Soul) CD

Roy Ayers in a tight mid 80s funk mode – commanding a modern vibe really well, especially with his vibes so prominent in the sound! Although the sound's a step or two more modern than the Polydor years, Roy still sounds great – and he grooves nicely on this batch of tracks that mix his older jazz funk style with an 80s groove sound that has slight touches of electro. This mix of modes is really unique for the time, with Roy embracing the new school without completely letting go of his trailblazing personal approach. Jean Carn sings lead vocals on the cut "Can I See You", and the album also includes the nice stepper "Programmed For Love", plus "Virgo", "Night Flyte", and "For You", a smooth mellow cut that's got great vocals by Roy! LP, Vinyl record album

2 excellent bits of rare funk – back to back! "Movin" is the more popular number here – a horn-heavy dancefloor jammer from Brass Construction, with great interplay between horns, moog, and keyboards, stretching out for a full 8 minute track! "Shack Up" is even better – and begins with scratchy guitars, vamping basslines, and a monster groove that will never let you down. The cut's one of the oddest funk classics ever, was never issued on an album, and will keep you jamming all night long! 12-inch, Vinyl record

A later date from 70s soul legend Randy Crawford – cut overseas, at a time when she was initially without US representation – a situation that was immediately corrected with the strength of the album! The set has Randy really getting back to basics – mostly working with tight jazz funk backings that recall both her first few records, and her work with The Crusaders – a perfect setting for her wonderful voice, and her trademark use of jazzy currents with more straight-ahead soul! Players on the record include Fred Wesley on trombone, Bernie Worrell on keyboards, and Bootsy Collins on bass – which will give you an idea of the strength of the sound – and titles include "Cajun Moon", "Give Me The Night", "Glow Of Love", "I'll Be Around", "Forget Me Nots", "Joy Inside My Tears", "Purple Rain", and "Come Into My Life". CD

A bit of a change for Dr John, but a nice one too – a set that's somewhat more mature than some of his Atco albums, but in a really nice way! The album features fuller backings from Claus Ogerman, but a core groove that's still nice and soulful – jazzy leanings from a combo that includes Dr John and Richard Tee on keyboards, John Tropea on guitar, Will Lee on bass, and Steve Gadd on drums – the latter of whom kicks in a nice groove at the bottom of most numbers, making a subtle undercurrent of older funk amidst the smoothness. Ogerman's backdrops are never too excessive, and help the Dr break out of some of his older modes in a good way – not rehashing the same New Orleans ideas, but taking them instead to cooler California territory – a bit in the way that Allen Toussaint was doing on his best mainstream work of the 70s. Titles include "Dance The Night Away With You", "Rain", "Wild Honey", "Street Side", "Snake Eyes", "Fire Of Love", and "City Lights". LP, Vinyl record album

George Duke at the end of the century – still going strong with the wonderful mix of jazz, funk, and soul that he pioneered in the 70s – a style that really grows and shifts in mighty nice way over the course of the material in the set! Duke moved from Epic to Elektra and Warner during the time of these tracks – and while some of the material has George picking up more 80s-styled keyboard elements and rhythms, the set also progresses towards other material that's maybe even more back to basics in a jazz sort of way – first electric, then more acoustic – but with some nice variations that show that Duke, one of the real pioneers, was still doing a lot more with soulful jazz than most of his contemporaries! You'll definitely find a few vocal cuts here – George always had a great ear for a singer – and throughout, the man's skills on the keyboard continue to be strong – especially tilted towards that nice sense of space that Duke picked up after his jamming years in the mid 70s. As with other titles on the Soulmusic label, the choice of cuts is great – really focusing on the kind of special album tracks that show a deeper side of the artist than the singles – with a total of 45 tracks that include "Mystery Eyes", "Say Hello", "The Touch", "From Dusk To Dawn", "It's Our World", "So I'll Pretend", "Montreux Nights", "Love Can Be So Cold", "No Rhyme No Reason", "6 O'Clock", "Fame", "560 SL", "Rise Up", "Guilty", "I Surrender", "Thief In The Night", "The Times We've Known", "All About You", "If You Will", "She's Amazing", "Thinin About You", "Fill The Need", and "Never Be Another". (Jazz, Soul) CD

An insane classic from one of the wildest funk bands ever! According to reports, George Clinton and the band cut this set in a marathon 48-hour stretch in the studio – working like mad all night and day long, after dropping a motherlode of some mighty fine acid! We don't know if that story's entirely true, but the music on the album certainly backs it up – as it's some of the band's freest, most open-ended, most heavy-jamming work ever recorded! Guitars dominate over funky bass and drums – and the whole thing's an amazing blend of music, swirled together into a non-stop psychedelic party that includes P-Funk gems like "Funky Dollar Bill", "Free Your Mind", "Eulogy and Light", and "I Wanna Know If It's Good To You". CD

An insane classic from one of the wildest funk bands ever! According to reports, George Clinton and the band cut this set in a marathon 48-hour stretch in the studio – working like mad all night and day long, after dropping a motherlode of some mighty fine acid! We don't know if that story's entirely true, but the music on the album certainly backs it up – as it's some of the band's freest, most open-ended, most heavy-jamming work ever recorded! Guitars dominate over funky bass and drums – and the whole thing's an amazing blend of music, swirled together into a non-stop psychedelic party that includes P-Funk gems like "Funky Dollar Bill", "Free Your Mind", "Eulogy and Light", and "I Wanna Know If It's Good To You". LP, Vinyl record album

A great little soul album from Herbie Hancock – but one that's often lost in the valleys between his bigger hits of the time! The record was cut in the space right before Herbie's big "Rockit" success – and it's a sweet bit of funky fusion that has a good dose of R&B in the mix – similar to other records from Hancock's Columbia label keyboardist contemporaries – like Rodney Franklin, Webster Lewis, or Charles Earland! All orchestrations are performed by Herbie on a host of keyboards and synthesizers, and just about every cut has vocals – from singers who include Sylvester, Gavin Christopher, and The Waters. But even with this soul component, Herbie still keeps things jazzy – using a good bit of keyboards to open up the tunes in the middle, and hitting hard on all numbers with that classic Hancock approach to funk! Titles include "Magic Number", "Tonight's The Night", "Everybody's Broke", "Help Yourself", and "Satisfied With Love". CD also features the bonus "Magic Number (disco mix)". (Jazz, Soul) CD

Plenty of blues power here – a searing live set recorded by Albert King before a very enthusiastic crowd at the Fillmore in the late 60s! The album's filled with lots of King's sharp-edged guitar lines – searing with a bit more soul than your usual bluesman, possibly in part because the backing group's so tight! At times, there's almost a bit of funk in the mix – given that the rhythm section romps it up pretty strongly – and the record stands nicely apart from some of the blues cliches that were creeping into the mix at the time. Titles include the 10 minute workout "Blues Power" – plus "Watermelon Man", "Night Stomp", "Blues At Sunrise", "Please Love Me", and "Look Out". (Blues, Soul) CD

An obscure set from Azar Lawrence – self-produced and self-arranged, in a smooth modern soul mode that's kind of an 80s extension of his work in the 70s for Prestige. There's a definite R&B groove on most tracks, and vocalist Coco Evans sings on 2 of the album's 8 tracks – and an undercurrent of bass heavy funk all the way through! Lawrence is on reeds, and other players in the group include Leo Nocentelli on guitar and James Gadson on drums. Titles include "Keep It Hot", "Your Love Is Keeping Me Alive", "Magic In The Night", "Shadow Dancing", "One More Time", and "Inside Stuff". (Jazz, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

A pretty sweet soul group from the mid 80s scene – one that's been a bit overlooked over the years, but who have a sound that's right up there with the best of their big name contemporaries! At some points, these guys have a way of harmonizing along with electro funk that reminds us a lot of The Jacksons during the 80s – and we mean that in the best way possible – and other cuts almost seem to borrow a bit of inspiration from the Paisley Park generation, especially in the way there's a nicely chunky vibe to the funk! There's even some occasional electro soul touches – either in the keyboards, or in rare spots in the beats – and the whole thing's the kind of album that's got plenty to offer for any fan of funky 80s soul. Titles include "She's Stacked", "Split Personality", "Reconsider", "Rainy Night", "Head On Collision", "Private Spot", "I Love You So", and "Can't Let Go". CD

An overlooked mid 70s gem from Curtis Mayfield – a record that's recorded with a slightly less righteous mode than his earliest work for Curtom – but still plenty darn great! The emphasis here is on warmer, sweeter styles – tunes that mix a subtle approach to funk with some great warm vocals from Curtis – in a way that re-exposes his talents as a singer of the kind of love-themed and tender tracks that first got him started in The Impressions! Rich Tufo handled the arrangements, and the sound is great – as perfect a version of mellow soul as the earlier records were a version of funky soul – with loads of slinky little numbers that include "Mr Welfare Man", "Soul Music", "Only You Babe", "Get A Little Bit", "Party Night", and "This Love Is Sweet". CD

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

Wonderfully tight work from Pleasure – a record that definitely lives up to the lean, clean image on the cover – as it's got the group honing their funky skills even more strongly than before! Wayne Henderson's at the helm, finding the group hit this razor-sharp groove that comes through right from the start – really refining their already-great sound into some of the tightest jazz funk on record at the time! Every track is a gem – and the set's got funky killers, mellow steppers, and plenty more – as you'll hear on the cuts "Celebrate The Good Things", "Foxy Lady", "Get To The Feeling", "Ladies Night Out", "No Matter What", and "Farewell Goodbye". CD

A great dawn of the 80s set from The Reddings! It's steeped in bouncing bass, snapping rhythms, and plenty of full on groovers from the Reddings trio – a set that has their vocals tightly wrapped around rhythms that are heavy on the boogie and mainstream funk modes of the time! Bass is handled by Dexter Redding, and is pretty upfront in the mix on most numbers – guiding the groove, and cutting things up strongly – except on a few of the mellower ballads. Titles include "Come In Out The Rain", "It's Friday Night", "Remote Control", "Doin It", "I Want It", "The Awakening", and "Lady Be My Lovesong". CD

Bouncing bass, snapping rhythms, and plenty of full on groovers from the Reddings trio – a set that has their vocals tightly wrapped around rhythms that are heavy on the boogie and mainstream funk modes of the time! Bass is handled by Dexter Redding, and is pretty upfront in the mix on most numbers – guiding the groove, and cutting things up strongly – except on a few of the mellower ballads. Titles include "Come In Out The Rain", "It's Friday Night", "Remote Control", "Doin It", "I Want It", "The Awakening", and "Lady Be My Lovesong". LP, Vinyl record album

Sweet sounds from the lovely lady – one of Patrice Rushen's last truly great albums, and a masterpiece of 80s groove with lots of jazzy touches! The keyboard sound has evolved a bit here – compressed with more electronic percussion than on Patrice's earlier records, but still done with a degree of soul that sets it apart from work by most of her contemporaries – and the music has this warm flow that really sets Rushen apart from the rest – a sublime mix of soul, funk, and fusion that holds together perfectly throughout! Titles include "Gotta Find It", "Gone With The Night", "My Love's Not Going Anywhere", "High In Me", "To Each His Own", "Heartache Heartbreak", and "Feels So Real". LP, Vinyl record album

A well-rounded set from Rick James' Stone City Band – a set that's got some mellower moments than most of Rick's own work from the time – but in a nice way that really offsets the group's tendency towards bassier funk! Lead vocalist Levi Ruffin stretches out nicely on a few more laidback cuts – not the most classic soul of his time, but with sensitivity that's greater than his handling of the simpler lyrics on the groovers here. Ruffin composed two of these ballads – "Feel Good Bout Yourself" and "Lovin You Is Easy" – and other tracks include "Tin Soldier", "Keep Love Happy", "Ganja", "Freaky", and a cover of The Kinks' "All Day & All Of The Night". 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

A monster from start to finish – not only the greatest album from War, but maybe one of the greatest mainstream funk albums of all time! The set's got a really unique groove – one that so many others tried to copy, but which was forged here first – in a wicked LA blend of Chicano funk, heavy organ lines, and soulful singing that sews the whole thing together perfectly. Just about every cut is upbeat and funky – rolling along at that low-rider pace that was War's lasting contribution to funk music – and the album features the huge hits "World Is A Ghetto" and "Cisco Kid", two of the brightest spots on radio funk from the 70s – plus classics like "Four Cornered Room", "City Country City", "Where Was You At", and "Beetles In The Bog". Plus, this box set features an insane amount of extra material – bonus tracks that include "This Is My Song Milton James", "Lee's Latin Jam", "LA Sunshine (original jam)", "War Is Coming (original jam)", and "Lonnie's Wednesday Night Jam" – plus 6 more "making of" sides of wax that feature all sorts of session performances of key tunes! LP, Vinyl record album

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

Never-issued live material from Detroit organ great Lyman Woodard – material that's a great addition to some of the other rare material that's finally helping the world put together an overdue look at his contributions on the scene! Two of the cuts here resonate very strongly with Lyman's classic Saturday Night Special album – mid 70s takes on "Cheeba" and "Fish Feet", recorded with a very Strata-heavy group that includes Ron English on guitar, Norma Bell on alto, and Leonard King on drums – stretching out with a wonderful mix of funk and farther-reaching jazz! The set also features one more number from a few years later, and a slightly more complex presentation from Woodard – the tune "Paradise Now", recorded with a larger ensemble and Woodard on piano. (Jazz, Soul) CD

A completely lost album from Detroit legend Lyman Woodard – recorded around the same time as his Saturday Night Special classic, and every bit as great! The material is stunning – and easily rises to the top of the pack of the rare few examples of Woodard's genius that were caught on record – and like Saturday Night Special, the set's a masterpiece of mellow funk – with these cool, complicated arrangements that have both the grooves and Lyman's Hammond stepping out unlike anybody else – light years ahead of the late 60s soul jazz organ combos, but still with a lean, clean vibe that's very different than the large, smooth sounds of slicker 70s jazz. All tracks are long, and the record is totally wonderful – a gem that would be changing for hundreds of dollars, had it been issued in the 70s – but maybe even more amazing all these many years later as a rare extra bonus for fans like us! Titles include "Kimba", "Funky Lyman", "Lyman's Mambo", "Belle Isle Daze", and a surprisingly funky version of "By The Time I Get To Phoenix". (Jazz, Soul) CD

The true heroes of mainstream funk in the early 80s – the legendary Roger Troutman and Zapp – key heirs to the sounds of P-Funk in the 70s, with a groove that stretched all the way from their native Ohio to make a huge impact in LA! This collection features most of the group's key tracks from their Warner albums of the early 80s, plus some added remixes done in 1993 for the package – and together, the combination of styles helped to make this a record that's sold as well as any of the original albums in the group's catalog! Titles include "More Bounce To The Ounce", "Be Alright", "Do It Roger", "Doo Wa Ditty (Blow That Thing)", "So Ruff So Tuff", "Dance Floor", "Heartbreaker (parts 1 & 2)", "Slow & Easy", "Mega Medley", and "Computer Love" – plus 1993 remixes of "Midnight Hour", "Curiosity", and "Night & Day". CD

A great entry in this always-killer collection of rare funk and soul – a series that somehow manages to keep on delivering ultra-rare nuggets, even at a time when there's been so many other compilations from so many other labels over the years! Our ears are always trained to appreciate the best of the best from the world of funky collections – and those ears are plenty pleased with the range of tracks here we'd never heard before – the kind of music that remind us to keep on digging, even when we think we've heard enough! Titles include "All Night" by Vantage Point, "I'm Feeling It Too" by Kim McCrae, "Steps On A Cloud" by Street Life 80, "Real True Voices" by Tory Wynter, "I'll Be Good To You" by Chatham, "Giving On Into Love" by Dalton Reed, "Getting Lucky" by Panama Gold, "Step By Step" by Matter Of Taste, "What Am I Going To Do Baby" by Royal Touch, and "Bi-Centennial 1976" by Frankie Staton & Speckled Rainbow. (Funky Compilations, Soul) CD

A great entry in this always-killer collection of rare funk and soul – a series that somehow manages to keep on delivering ultra-rare nuggets, even at a time when there's been so many other compilations from so many other labels over the years! Our ears are always trained to appreciate the best of the best from the world of funky collections – and those ears are plenty pleased with the range of tracks here we'd never heard before – the kind of music that remind us to keep on digging, even when we think we've heard enough! Titles include "All Night" by Vantage Point, "I'm Feeling It Too" by Kim McCrae, "Steps On A Cloud" by Street Life 80, "Real True Voices" by Tory Wynter, "I'll Be Good To You" by Chatham, "Giving On Into Love" by Dalton Reed, "Getting Lucky" by Panama Gold, "Step By Step" by Matter Of Taste, "What Am I Going To Do Baby" by Royal Touch, and "Bi-Centennial 1976" by Frankie Staton & Speckled Rainbow. (Funky Compilations, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

A stone smoker from Rare Earth – recorded at a time when they were able to easily handle a groove made up of equal parts funk, rock, and soul! The vibe here is almost like War at times – not for the LA touches in the mix, but for the heady and heavy way these guys roll forward – pulling together all the best elements of the underground at the time, and bringing them into their own smoky groove. Instrumentation is wonderful – and some of the cuts have a really great jamming sort of feel – especially the 11 minute reading of "(I Know) I'm Losing You" – originally done by the Temptations, and produced by Norman Whitfield for the album! Other titles include "Long Time Leavin", "Satisfaction Guaranteed", "Nice Place To Visit", "No 1 Man", and a sweet version of "Eleanor Rigby". Also included are nine bonus tracks – "When Joanie Smiles", "One World", "The Feeling", "Here Comes The Night" – plus alternate versions of "Eleanor Rigby", "Nice Place To Visit", and "Satisfaction Guaranteed"! (Rock, Soul) CD

Sweet sounds from the lovely lady – one of Patrice Rushen's last truly great albums, and a masterpiece of 80s groove with lots of jazzy touches! The keyboard sound has evolved a bit here – compressed with more electronic percussion than on Patrice's earlier records, but still done with a degree of soul that sets it apart from work by most of her contemporaries – and the music has this warm flow that really sets Rushen apart from the rest – a sublime mix of soul, funk, and fusion that holds together perfectly throughout! Titles include "Gotta Find It", "Gone With The Night", "My Love's Not Going Anywhere", "High In Me", "To Each His Own", "Heartache Heartbreak", and "Feels So Real". 2LP version features bonus tracks – "Get Off (12" mix)", "Get Off (inst)", "Feels So Real (edit)", and "Feels So Real (dub)". LP, Vinyl record album

T-Connection are definitely on fire with this smoking little set – a killer batch of late 70s club, done with almost equal parts funk, soul, and disco! As with their debut, the group here are right on the money instrumentally – playing with a dexterity that few other large funk groups could match this well – especially blistering on some of the album's longer tracks too. There's also a great sense of balance to the record too – a ballad, some midtempo numbers, and a more well-rounded feel that also shows the group going for a wider palette of sounds than just their usual grooves. But as always, the upbeat club tracks are the best – and titles include "Lady Of The Night", "On Fire", "Cush", "Groove To Get Down", and "Let Yourself Go". CD

A soaring stormer from T-Connection – and a set that has them sounding even better than before! There's a perfection here the group didn't have with earlier releases – a quality that goes way past indie funk ensemble, into the realm of some of the best mainstream acts on the bigger labels at the time – company shared by a rare few, like Earth Wind & Fire, Ohio Players, or the Bar-Kays! Things are every bit as funky as before – but there's a way of putting the tunes together that really blows us away – fusing all the elements together perfectly, and making everything work towards the groove – yet all without making anything sound too slick or polished either. Mighty nice all the way through – and titles include "Funky Lady", "Don't Stop The Music", "Funkannection", "Saturday Night", "At Midnight", and "Love Supreme". CD

Five years of amazing sounds from Dexter Wansel – a keyboardist who could be as far out as his fiercest fusion contemporaries of the 70s, yet also groove with enough soulful styles to be a key part of the Philadelphia International explosion of the 70s! This massive collection really gets at all that made Wansel so great back in the day – his incredible ear for inventive arrangements, spacey way of spinning out a soul tune, and great sense of balance that never made his music sound overdone – always an effortless blend of jazz, soul, and funk – in ways that few of his contemporaries could ever hope to touch! Many of these tunes have vocals, but they also have plenty of keyboard solos too – kind of like CTI hitting a Philly groove, but one that was definitely reserved for the hipper spaces of the clubs – or the hipper clubs out there in outer space. 2CD set features great notes, sublime sound, and a killer batch of 32 tracks that includes "Life On Mars", "Disco Lights", "Let Me Rock You", "I'll Never Forget My Favorite Disco (12" version)", "The Sweetest Pain", "Holdin On", "One Million Miles From The Ground", "Rings Of Saturn", "Theme From The Planets", "Funk Attack", "Stargazer", "Ode Infinitum", "Latin Love", "Let Me Rock You", "Holdin On", "Prelude 1", "New Beginning", "Time Is The Teacher", "A Prophet Named KG", "I Just Want To Love You", "All Night Long", "It's Been Cool", "Voyager", and "Time Is Slipping Away". CD

A great follow-up to War's first Music Band album – and proof that the group was still plenty darn funky at the end of the 70s! Although different from their original Chicano funk groove, the style here is still totally great – long, drawn-out funk that's filled with plenty of sharp edges, stepping basslines, sweet keyboards, and riffing guitars – sometimes a bit warmer than before, but in a way that's still plenty darn soulful. There's almost a bit more of an instrumental focus here than before – especially on the album's 13 minute remake of "The World Is A Ghetto". Other tracks include "Don't Take It Away", "I'll Take Care Of You", "Night People", and "The Music Band 2". LP, Vinyl record album

A killer set of rare club and underground disco – filled with lots of tracks we haven't seen on other collections! Andy Smith has given us many amazing compilations over the years – sets that have a special mix magic, made up of rocksteady, reggae, vintage funk, and even some rockabilly too! Yet as Andy says here in the notes, he first got hooked on music in the disco generation – and has always had a life-long love of unusual and underground grooves – which he definitely demonstrates here, in a stunning selection of cuts that focus on the funkier side of the disco generation – with a good number of tracks that have turned out to be sample cuts over the years. Titles include "For The Love Of Money" by Disco Dub Band, "Patty Duke" by Cloud One, "Times Are Tight" by Jimmy Young, "Share The Night" by World Premiere, "Is It In" by Jimmy Bo Horne, "Let It Flow" by Tamiko Jones, "Main Thing" by Shot with Kim Marsh, "Give It Up" by Neddy Smith, "Groove To Get Down" by T-Connection, "Holding You Tight (ext DJ mix)" by Sure Thing, "First True Love Affair (Andy Smith & Nick Halke reach up edit)" by Jimmy Ross, "Got To Have You (Whiskey Barons re-edit)" by Joanne Wilson, "I Wanna Be Myself" by Don Laka, "Get Up & Boogie" by Freedom, and "Take Me To The Top" by Advance. (Funky Compilations, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album