Amazing stuff – and arguably the greatest early Funkadelic album ever! The set moves past the simple fuzzy style of the group's debut, and the overly-stoned sound of Free Your Mind – and rockets into a heady funk style that's filled with sly social commentary and an incredibly dark vision of the future! The centerpiece of the album is the mindblowing "Maggot Brain" title track – a tune that begins with a chilling spoken intro, then slowly builds amidst washes and washes of post-Hendrix guitar. That cut then rolls into some shorter, funkier numbers that rank with some of the group's best ever – using the device of party-hearty energy to convey a sense of alienation and horror at the world. The whole thing's brilliant throughout – and apart from being a soul classic, the set should also rank as one of the greatest rock albums of all time! Titles include "Maggot Brain", "Super Stupid", "Back in Our Minds", "Can You Get to That", and "Wars of Armageddon". Features two bonus tracks – "Maggot Brain (live 1971)" and "Maggot Brain (BMG dub)". LP, Vinyl record album

Amazing stuff – and arguably the greatest early Funkadelic album ever! The set moves past the simple fuzzy style of the group's debut, and the overly-stoned sound of Free Your Mind – and rockets into a heady funk style that's filled with sly social commentary and an incredibly dark vision of the future! The centerpiece of the album is the mindblowing "Maggot Brain" title track – a tune that begins with a chilling spoken intro, then slowly builds amidst washes and washes of post-Hendrix guitar. That cut then rolls into some shorter, funkier numbers that rank with some of the group's best ever – using the device of party-hearty energy to convey a sense of alienation and horror at the world. The whole thing's brilliant throughout – and apart from being a soul classic, the set should also rank as one of the greatest rock albums of all time! Titles include "Maggot Brain", "Super Stupid", "Back in Our Minds", "Can You Get to That", and "Wars of Armageddon". Features a great bonus single with two bonus tracks – "Maggot Brain (live 1971)" and "Maggot Brain (BMG dub)". LP, Vinyl record album

A really funky set from the UK scene of the 70s – an album that mixes West African roots with some of the hipper elements going on in London at the time – a city where Remi Kabaka had been lending his talents to a variety of different records over the years! The set was issued by Island Records, and has the kind of cross-cultural groove the label did so well – and at some level, the record's sort of a second chapter in some of the African-influenced funk that was bubbling over on the London scene in the early 70s – maybe a bit sharper and tighter overall, but no less funky! The basslines are especially nice – nice and deep, with maybe an influence from Jamaican music, even though there's no reggae at all on the set. Titles include "Future Of 1000 Years", "All Black Festival", "African Hustle", "Blue Lagos", "Meteorite", "Sure Thing", and "Kabaka". (Global Grooves, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

A killer little set that's as heavy as it sounds from the title – a wealth of rare material pulled from the studio of Detroit producer Dave Hamilton – a good deal of it never issued at the time! Hearing this set is like finding a pile of rare 45s stuffed in the back corner of a long-lost record shop – because although much of the work was never issued, it crackles with the intensity of the best funky 45s – lots of funky drums, offbeat guitar, and raspy soul vocals – produced with a real edge to all the work, so that all of the hardest elements of the tunes really come through in the mix! The album features one track appearing here for the first time ever – "Remember" by Chico – plus other rare tracks that include "Marriage Is A State Of Mind" by James Carpenter, "Soul Suite" by Dave Hamilton, "You Fool You Fool" by Prophet & His Disciples, "The Deacons" by Dave Hamilton, "Funky Trip" by Johnny Walker, "A Drop In The Bucket" by The Deacons, "Brand New Girl" by Billy Garner, "The Devil Is Gonna Get You" by The Future Kind, "Party Time" by James Carpenter, and "Grown Folks Thing" by OC Tolbert. (Funky Compilations, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

The lovely Aaliyah left our planet all too soon, and left behind a number of unissued tracks as well – material intended for a future album, and which was combined here with a few other tracks to make for a posthumous tribute to her too-short legacy in R&B! The practice is, unfortunately, a common one in the worlds of R&B and hip hop – and although the set's maybe not a standard album by Aaliyah, it's certainly a great addition to the lineup. Titles include "Miss You", "Come Over", "Rock The Boat", "Erica Kane", "We Need A Resolution", "Got To Give It Up (rmx)", "Back & Forth", "Are You That Somebody", "I Care 4 U", "One In A Million", "At Your Best", "Don't Know What To Tell Ya", "Try Again", and "All I Need". LP, Vinyl record album

Prince got tagged to do the music for the big breakout Batman film from Tim Burton – and the performances here are definitely not the stuff of The Dark Night – and in fact, maybe nothing like you'd expect from Batman at all – even though the music does make a nod or two towards the cowled crusader with some samples! It's clear that Prince just had a fun time putting the whole thing together – and like many other star soundtracks from the 90s, the feel of the music is very much its own thing – which is probably why the record was such a hit, and maybe has had a lot more endurance than the film! Titles include "The Future", "Electric Chair", "Vicki Waiting", "Partyman", "Scandalous", and "Batdance". LP, Vinyl record album

Really mindblowing music from Lonnie Holley – not the first album from this important visual artist, but maybe the one where he'll be firmly established as an equally important recording force too! There's a genre-less quality going on here – as Holley provides this mystic blend of roots from jazz, gospel, blues, and even serious compositional music – yet refined into a sense that's all his own, with that deeply personal force that we love in his paintings. At times, there's almost a dreamlike quality to the way the elements progress – such that even the presence of contributors like Moor Mother or Michael Stipe seem to float into the mix of the music presented by Lonnie – woven into this complex tapestry that seems to join past and present with a view towards a more promising future. Titles include "Kindness Will Follow Your Tears", "Earth Will Be There", "I Am Part Of The Wonder", "Future Children", "None Of Us Have But A Little While", "If We Get Lost They Will Find Us", and "Better Get The Crop In Soon". (Vocalists, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

Groundbreaking work from the legendary Curtis Mayfield – a set that brings together some of the best tracks from his initial run as a solo artist on his own Curtom Records – work that's forever set the standard for righteous, message-oriented funky soul! Every cut here is a gem, and the selection of tracks is great – certainly some of the classics, but also some that aren't as well known, but equally groovy – stretched out here in a double-length set list that includes "Move On Up", "The Makings Of You", "Pusherman", "Future Shock", "Kung Fu", "Can't Say Nothin", "So In Love", "If There's A Hell Below We're All Going To Go", "Get Down", "Freddie's Dead", "Superfly", "We Got To Have Peace", "Do Do Wap Is Strong In Here", "Do Be Down", "Between You Baby & Me", and "Only You Babe". LP, Vinyl record album

The one and only full length album ever cut by Tommie Young – a great deep soul singer from back in the day, and one who should have been huge! Tommie' got a deep deep style that'll knock you flat out – with a soaring southern soul sound on many of the tracks here – including a few that presage some of the soul sounds to come later in the 70s! Bobby Patterson wrote most of the tracks on this debut, and the set was recorded in Shreveport with a deep burning Louisiana sound that was the best of that city's scene at the time. The whole thing's great, and titles include "Do We Have a Future", "Everybody's Got a Little Devil In Their Soul", "Hit & Run Lover", "Do You Still Feel The Same Way", "You Came Just In Time", "You Brought It All On Yourself", and "That's How Strong My Love Is". LP, Vinyl record album

A heady batch of work from the Miami scene of the 70s – all of it from the legendary TK Records family of labels, headed up by superproducer Henry Stone! Over the years, some folks have taken Henry to task for his operational strategies – but there's no denying that he's a key figure in helping the sound of the south move from the 60s into the 70s – picking up plenty of funk and sophistication along the way! The set's overflowing with classics from Stone's empire at the time – including many cuts that have been sampled or reworked heavily in recent decades – titles that include "I'm Too Tough For Mr Big Stuff" by Vicki Anderson, "Miami Funk" by The Funky Bunch, "Cramp Your Style" by All The People, "Keep It Up" by Milton Wright, "Sleep On Dream On" by Raphael Munnings, "Smokin & Drinkin" by James Brown, "Miss Hot Stuff" by Clarence Reid, "The Rub" by George & Gwen McCrae, "Funkadelic Sound" by Little Beaver, "Future Place" by Jimmy Castor, "I Like My Birdie" by Leon Phillips, "Throwdown" by The King Tutt Band, "Back From The Dead" by Bobby Byrd, "Shake N Bump (part 1)" by Snoopy Dean, and "You're The Song I've Always Wanted To Sing" by Timmy Thomas. (Funky Compilations, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album