A pair of albums from saxophonist Wilton Felder – back to back on a single CD! We All Have A Star offers up solo sounds from Crusaders reedman Wilton Felder – a really great set that's very much in the best vibe of his larger group at the time – yet one that also offers up a stronger focus on Wilton's sublime solo work on tenor! The album's got plenty of Crusaders help on board – given that Stix Hooper and Joe Sample produced the set along with Wilton – and the vibe's a wonderful blend of electric backings, with especially great keyboard lines, and Felder's well-phrased saxophone lines over the top! A few cuts feature vocals – sung by Angela Bryant or Debbie Demoia Ross – and titles include "We All Have A Star", "I Know Who I Am", "The Cycles Of Time", "Why Believe", "Ride On", and "You & Me & Ecstasy". Inherit The Wind is one of the best Crusaders-related solo projects – a soulful bit of fusion from saxophonist Wilton Felder, co-produced with his fellow Crusaders! The album's got the best sunny finish of the group's late 70s albums – traces of Latin, funk, and soul bubbling through a warm jazzy mix – staying soulful all the way through, and coming up with a sound that's smooth, but never sleepy. The blueprint for a million other records – none of which ever sounded this good! Titles include "Insight", "LA Light", "Until The Morning Comes", "Someday We'll All Be Free", and "Inherit The Wind". (Jazz, Soul) CD

Featuring Amii Stewart, Commodores, Temptations, Ike & Tina Turner, Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross, Joe Baatan, Thelma Houston, and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Solo sounds from Crusaders reedman Wilton Felder – a really great set that's very much in the best vibe of his larger group at the time – yet one that also offers up a stronger focus on Wilton's sublime solo work on tenor! The album's got plenty of Crusaders help on board – given that Stix Hooper and Joe Sample produced the set along with Wilton – and the vibe's a wonderful blend of electric backings, with especially great keyboard lines, and Felder's well-phrased saxophone lines over the top! A few cuts feature vocals – sung by Angela Bryant or Debbie Demoia Ross – and titles include "We All Have A Star", "I Know Who I Am", "The Cycles Of Time", "Why Believe", "Ride On", and "You & Me & Ecstasy". (Jazz, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

Music from Lulu Reed & The Teeners, Ron & The Motions, Joe Caldwell, The Velps, The Rollettes, Lillian Brooks & The Moroccos, The Nobles, Shirley Ross, The Twilighters, The Toneblenders, Chris Powell & Five Blue Flames, and more - 26 tracks in all. CD

A tremendous collection of 70s soul – one of our favorite-ever compilations from the UK Kent label! The set focuses on the lesser-known gems of the Spring and Event labels – companies who were well-known for bigger hits by Joe Simon, Millie Jackson, and others – but who also cut some sublime singles in a modern soul mode, many of which were new discoveries to our ears before this CD! The package is really incredible – filled with 23 cuts that really opened our ears to the labels, and which do a fantastic job of blending mellow, sophisticated, and bits of southern soul in the 70s! Titles include "What Did I Do Wrong" by The Mayberry Movement, "You Didn't Love Me Anyhow" by Act One, "I Can't Believe You Love Me" by Lou Jackson, "House For Sale" by Millie Jackson, "Alakazam" by Sonny Ross, Time" by Don Williams & The Exchange, "There's Another In My Life" by Phillip Mitchell, "Can I Get A Witness" by Jackie Verdell, "C'Mon & Give It Up" by Clare Bathe, "Please Come Home" by Garland Green, "I'm The Other Half Of You" by Ray Godfrey, and "Lead Me On" by The Internationals. CD

A pair of albums from saxophonist Wilton Felder – back to back on a single CD! We All Have A Star offers up solo sounds from Crusaders reedman Wilton Felder – a really great set that's very much in the best vibe of his larger group at the time – yet one that also offers up a stronger focus on Wilton's sublime solo work on tenor! The album's got plenty of Crusaders help on board – given that Stix Hooper and Joe Sample produced the set along with Wilton – and the vibe's a wonderful blend of electric backings, with especially great keyboard lines, and Felder's well-phrased saxophone lines over the top! A few cuts feature vocals – sung by Angela Bryant or Debbie Demoia Ross – and titles include "We All Have A Star", "I Know Who I Am", "The Cycles Of Time", "Why Believe", "Ride On", and "You & Me & Ecstasy". Inherit The Wind is one of the best Crusaders-related solo projects – a soulful bit of fusion from saxophonist Wilton Felder, co-produced with his fellow Crusaders! The album's got the best sunny finish of the group's late 70s albums – traces of Latin, funk, and soul bubbling through a warm jazzy mix – staying soulful all the way through, and coming up with a sound that's smooth, but never sleepy. The blueprint for a million other records – none of which ever sounded this good! Titles include "Insight", "LA Light", "Until The Morning Comes", "Someday We'll All Be Free", and "Inherit The Wind". (Jazz, Soul) CD

Fantastic work from Durand Jones & The Indications – a group who've really come a long way in the past few years – in ways that push Durand's vocals to places we wouldn't have guessed on previous records! This set's way more than just a funk band with a soul singer upfront – as the whole thing's a fully-formed soul record through and through – with these larger arrangements that really add a lot, and open up all these righteous 70s currents mixed with a few contemporary flourishes that really give the album a very distinct sound! The songwriting is even better than before, too – and the group seems to have found a voice for themselves that's unlike any of their contemporaries. The record features guest work from Brandee Younger on harp and Joel Ross on vibes – and titles include "Love Will Work It Out", "Witchoo", "Reach Out", "Sexy Thang", "More Than Ever", "Private Space", "Sea Of Love", "I Can See", and "Ride Or Die". (Deep Funk, Soul) CD

Fantastic work from Durand Jones & The Indications – a group who've really come a long way in the past few years – in ways that push Durand's vocals to places we wouldn't have guessed on previous records! This set's way more than just a funk band with a soul singer upfront – as the whole thing's a fully-formed soul record through and through – with these larger arrangements that really add a lot, and open up all these righteous 70s currents mixed with a few contemporary flourishes that really give the album a very distinct sound! The songwriting is even better than before, too – and the group seems to have found a voice for themselves that's unlike any of their contemporaries. The record features guest work from Brandee Younger on harp and Joel Ross on vibes – and titles include "Love Will Work It Out", "Witchoo", "Reach Out", "Sexy Thang", "More Than Ever", "Private Space", "Sea Of Love", "I Can See", and "Ride Or Die". (Deep Funk, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

Martha Reeves' first solo album for MCA – an all-out studio affair that's quite different from her classic 60s work for Motown! The album's done in a way that really focuses on the deepest side of Martha's vocals – in a way that goes for the sort of "rootsy" soul that was cropping up heavily on majors at the start of the 70s – well-recorded in LA studio sessions, but featuring styles that were decidedly down-homey. Players on the album include Billy Preston, Dennis Doffey, Joe Sample, and Arthur Adams – all of whom bring a tightly professional focus to the backings – and Martha's helped on backup vocals by both Clydie King and Jim Gilstrap. Titles include "Power Of Love", "My Man", "Sweet Misery", "Wild Night", "You've Got Me For Company", "Storm In My Woul", "Facsimilie", and "Many Rivers To Cross". CD also features bonus tracks "Stand By Me", "Our Day Will Come", and "I Sure Do Love You" LP, Vinyl record album

An extremely rare Latin Soul treasure – the legendary Power Of Love set by Joe Acosta – served up with some killer soul vocals by a young Joe Cruz! As you might guess from the "love" in the title, the set's got a focus on the sweeter sounds of Latin Soul – particularly on the English language numbers, which come across with a soulfulness that recalls Joe Bataan during the same period – but even when the record is mellow, it's still got a nice sense of "bottom" – and there's a number of tracks on here that really groove along nicely – rolling with heavy piano or basslines! Instrumentation includes a Bataan-esque trombone section that provides plenty of dark notes alongside the rhythms – and titles include "I Need Her", "Bendita Illusion", "Una Tracion", "Phoenix", "La Bendicion", "La Realidad", and "Amor Perdido". (Latin, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

Pretty darn great work from OC Smith – on of his biggest albums for Columbia! OC's working in a country soul mode that draws on a tradition shared by Solomon Burke, Joe Tex, Ray Charles, and others – turning the genre towards a more pop-driven version of country, the kind that was creeping into the crossover charts at the end of the 60s. The style's one that might have you suspicious, but it comes off surprisingly well – thanks to arrangements by the always-great HB Barnum, the man who brought a syncopated groove to some of Lou Rawls' best work in the late 60s – his Capitol sides with David Axelrod! The feel here is a bit rootsier, but still has that nice Barnum bounce underneath – and titles include "Wichita Lineman", "I Ain't The Worryin' Kind", "The Best Man", "Stormy", "Cycles", "Keep On Keepin On", "Isn't It Lonely Together", and "Promises". LP, Vinyl record album

Great work by one of the most unusual girl groups of the 60s! The Dixie Cups hailed from New Orleans – and as such, had a sound that was rougher and choppier than some of the other female trios from the north, especially the sweeter ones in LA. The group were discovered and produced by Joe Jones, a Crescent City soul star in his own right – and under Joe's guidance, they created a style that was steeped in the bubbling soul of the New Orleans scene, yet also had the kind of girl group sensibilities that would help them reach wider audiences across the US. This 18 track set is the best reissue we've ever seen of their material from the time – and features all of their recordings for the Red Bird label, produced by Lieber & Stoller, with arrangements by Joe Jones, Wardell Quezerque, and Mike Stoller. Titles include "Iko Iko", "People Say", "Little Bell", "Gee Baby Gee", "Another Boy Like Mine", "Chapel Of Love", "Girls Can Tell", "All Grown Up", and "Thank You Mama Thank You Papa". CD

An amazing package – two full albums of work from Olatunji, plus bonus tracks, notes, and vintage photos! The original Drums Of Passion is a classic session of pounding percussion – quite possibly the most successful entry into this earthy genre that hit the recording scene at the end of the 50s! Babatuned Olatunji is joined here by a great assemblage of players – including Montego Joe and Baba Hawthorne Bey on percussion, who further flesh out the rumbling, rhythmic groove at the bottom. There's also a group of vocalists on the record, soaring over the top of the percussion with a nicely righteous feel – and the record's a key crossover moment that heralds later African expressions in the American mainstream. Titles include "Odun De Odun De", "Oya", "Jin Go Lo Ba", "Baba Jinde", and "Shango". Bonus cuts include "Eyo She She", "Menu Diyeh (remake)", "Jolly Mensah (new version)", and "Menu Di Ye Jewe". On More Drums Of Passion, Babatunde Olatunji goes even more drum-crazy than before – working here with no less than nine percussionists, plus a host of singers as well! The tunes have a very rootsy groove throughout – instrumentation that only comes from the rhythm instruments, some of which are pointed towards melody – and a setting that features none of the added strings or horns you might get from a jazz or exotica-styled session of this nature – just drums and voices, presented by Columbia Records in a really groundbreaking blend! Titles include "Wasalu", "Ayinde", "Frekoba", "Alose", and "Omo Pup". Bonus tracks include "African Waltz", "Hail The King", and "Saturday Night Limbo". 2CD set also comes with a huge booklet of notes and vintage photos! (Global Grooves, Soul) CD

A late 80s album of Go Go recorded live at the Capital Centre, with 4 nice tracks of bass heavy, syncopated DC funk. Chuck Brown & The Soul Searchers perform "Run Joe", a later number that bumps along at a fat low tempo, and Experience Unlimited turn in "Go Ju Ju Go", a nod to their affiliation with Plunky Nakabinde of Oneness of Ju Ju, though sadly his reed work does not seem to be featured. DC Scorpio and Little Benny & The Masters add some hip hop crossover into the mix with their MC plus Go Go band cuts "Stone Cold Hustler" and "Cat In The Hat". LP, Vinyl record album

Sublime 70s work from Darrow Fletcher – a singer we mostly know for his early soul singles in Chicago – but one who really hits his stride on these rare sessions from LA! The music was mostly recorded for Ray Charles' Crossover label – although a few singles also appeared on Atlantic too – and the work has Fletcher's wonderful sweet soul vocal approach coming into play with these warmly flowing grooves that are mighty nice – almost a west coast take on the style that Leroy Hutson was doing in Chicago on Curtom! In the setting, Fletcher's even more appealing than before – a mature singer with a hell of a balance between class and soul, poise and swing – more than enough to rival his hippest contemporaries. Production on most tracks was done by Joel Webster – who also recorded for Crossover – and titles include "The Rising Cost Of Love", "Honey Can I", "Try Something New", "Secret Weapon", "Let's Get Together", "It's No Mistake", "Election Day", "Improve", and "Wind Up Toys". CD

A massive bit of funk – and from 70s France, no less! These guys clearly come from a jazz-based background – and have absorbed some of the best electric influences of their time – working in a keyboard-heavy mode that's clearly inspired by Herbie Hancock, Joe Zawinul, and George Duke – yet also kicking up a groove that's a bit more down and dirty, and more in the instrumental funk mode overall. The sound of the set's incredible – really raw, riffy, and filled with plenty of snapping hard grooves – and the used of the keys is sublime throughout, changing mood from track to track, but always staying funky! Titles include "Penwick", "Marathonic", "Ergocentric", "La Moto Verite", "Psychocross", "Ring Modulator", "Plongee Synthetique", "Kayak", and "Cache Catch". LP, Vinyl record album

A classic session of pounding percussion – quite possibly the most successful entry into this earthy genre that hit the recording scene at the end of the 50s! Babatunde Olatunji is joined here by a great assemblage of players – including Montego Joe and Baba Hawthorne Bey on percussion, who further flesh out the rumbling, rhythmic groove at the bottom. There's also a group of vocalists on the record, soaring over the top of the percussion with a nicely righteous feel – and the record's a key crossover moment that heralds later African expressions in the American mainstream. Titles include "Odun De Odun De", "Oya", "Jin Go Lo Ba", "Baba Jinde", and "Shango". (Global Grooves, Soul) CD

A classic session of pounding percussion – quite possibly the most successful entry into this earthy genre that hit the recording scene at the end of the 50s! Babatunde Olatunji is joined here by a great assemblage of players – including Montego Joe and Baba Hawthorne Bey on percussion, who further flesh out the rumbling, rhythmic groove at the bottom. There's also a group of vocalists on the record, soaring over the top of the percussion with a nicely righteous feel – and the record's a key crossover moment that heralds later African expressions in the American mainstream. Titles include "Odun De Odun De", "Oya", "Jin Go Lo Ba", "Baba Jinde", and "Shango". (Global Grooves, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

An excellent early album form Johnny Nash – one that's quite different than his later hits, and which has Johnny singing in a jazzy sort of mode that reminds us a lot of Jesse Belvin! Like Belvin, Johnny's got a warmly sweet voice that's lighter than Billy Eckstine, Joe Williams, or other contemporaries crossing the bounds between jazz and R&B – and this album showcases that style especially well, by setting Nash up with some strong arrangements from Don Costa – all nicely bright, and with plenty of breakout jazz moments. Titles include "I'm Beginning To See The Light", "I Got Rhythm", "S Wonderful", "Baby Won't You Please Come Home", "Baby Baby Baby", and "It's All Right With Me". LP, Vinyl record album

A classic session of pounding percussion – quite possibly the most successful entry into this earthy genre that hit the recording scene at the end of the 50s! Babatuned Olatunji is joined here by a great assemblage of players – including Montego Joe and Baba Hawthorne Bey on percussion, who further flesh out the rumbling, rhythmic groove at the bottom. There's also a group of vocalists on the record, soaring over the top of the percussion with a nicely righteous feel – and the record's a key crossover moment that heralds later African expressions in the American mainstream. Titles include "Odun De Odun De", "Oya", "Jin Go Lo Ba", "Baba Jinde", and "Shango". CD features a bonus track – "Menu Di Ye Jewe". (Global Grooves, Soul) CD

Club mixes by Joey Negro and David Morales! CD

Wonderful work from Brook Benton – and the kind of record that always gets overlooked in discussions of southern soul, but which is proof that Benton's always been a key force in the genre! Brook virtually invented the style with his earlier country soul recordings – and by the time of this 1970 set, he's in perfect form vocally – and working under some wonderfully sophisticated arrangements by Arif Mardin. The result is the kind of cross-genre record that Brook could do effortlessly – and which should have made him huge, but instead kind of got him left behind by all the other folks who were copping his style. Yet with the strength of a record like this, we'll take that overlooked fame as still OK – because the set's a gem just waiting to be discovered by later generations like us! Rhythm's by the Dixie Flyers – augmented by jazz players that include King Curtis, Pepper Adams, and Joe Newman. Titles include "Aspen Colorado", "For Lee Ann", "Whoever Finds This, I Love You", "Don't It Make You Wanta Go Home", and "Let Me Fix It". LP, Vinyl record album

Sublime stuff! Sure, it's easy to sit back and say that you don't really dig Ray Charles albums that mix together country music and soul, and that you prefer his hard raw raunchy Atlantic recordings from the earlier days. But let's be honest, Ray really made his biggest splash with this stuff – and although it became extremely popular over the years, it's also part of a huge country soul tradition that's a very accurate representation of the rich crossover culture going on in southern soul, a tradition that for some reason always gets underplayed by folks who want to carve up the world in easy racial lines. Truth is, Ray was not the only soul artist to embrace country, and we can think of a host of others – including Solomon Burke, Ivory Joe Hunter, Joe Simon, Clarence Carter, Brook Benton, and Bobby Womack who all participated in this rich tradition. This set's essential if you're interested in checking out this side of Ray's career – and the price is pretty nice, considering that you get 4CDs, a great book, and 92 songs in all! Work is pulled from Ray's classic ABC sides in the format, plus others from before and after that generation. Titles include "A Born Loser", "I'm Movin On", "Busted", "Crying Time", "Teardrops In My Heart", "Half As Much", "No Letter Today", "Oh Lonesome Me", "Ring Of Fire", "What Am I Living For", "Let Your Love Flow", "Down In The Valley", and "Take These Chains From My Heart". CD

The first Motown full length record by the Spinners – Original Spinners from '67 – followed by an impeccably well-chosen collection of bonus material! It's excellent stuff – an overlooked album with some very hard to find Motown work by this early version of the legendary Spinners – with lead vocals by Bobby Smith and Edgar Edwards. The tracks have a mixture of sweet and raw harmonies – crafted with an elegantly soulful sound that would later take the group way over the top during the 70s, and which here sounds sublime next to some of the group's Motown contemporaries! The first 12 tracks on this excellent Kent compilation are the Original Spinners tracklist – including "Sweet Thing", "I Cross My Heart", "I'll Always Love You", "Truly Yours", "Like A Good Man Should", "For All We Know", "How Can I", "It Hurts To Be In Love", "Nobody Else But You", "Where Is That Girl", "Tomorrow May Never Come" and "That's What Girls Are Made For". Most of the 14 bonus tracks are previously unreleased masters – revelatory stuff from earlier in the 60s – formative, yet beautifully realized recordings with productions by Harvey Fuqua and Ivy Joe Hunter! Titles include "Darling", "Words Can't Describe", "12 O'Clock", "Just Another Guy", "We're Gonna Be More More Than Friends" and more. CD

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

BB King hips up his groove a bit here – picking up some of the crossover soul and rock touches used by contemporaries over at Chess/Cadet, and expanding his sound with a range of guests that include Leon Russell, Joe Walsh, and Carole King! Despite the presence of these bigger names, the set's very much in BB's own spirit – mostly focused on his vocals and guitar work, and still mostly including original compositions. A few tunes get nice and funky on the rhythms, although still very much in a blues-based way – and Jimmie Haskell contributes a few larger arrangements from time to time. Titles include "King's Special", "Until I'm Dead & Cold", "You're Still My Woman", "Hummingbird", "Go Underground", and "Chains & Things". (Blues, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album