The debut solo album from El DeBarge – issued after a strong run of group records with the other members of his family, and a set that really let him take the lead with his warmly flowing vocal style! El's still a bit young at this point, but carries himself off like a real professional – that higher-ranged male soul singer who was really setting a new style for the late 80s scene – at a level that seems to work equally well on quiet storm ballads and more upbeat tunes. Titles include the hits "Who's Johnny" and "Love Always" – plus "Don't Say It's Over", "Thrill Of The Chase", "Private Line", "Someone", "When Love Has Gone Away", "I Wanna Hear It From My Heart", and "Secrets Of The Night". LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderful early album from soul singer Al Wilson – a well-crafted mix of modes that really stands out in late 60s pop – and which showed that Al was quite different than most of his contemporaries! The album's got some very hip production by Johnny Rivers – who was really stretching out his own sound at the time – and arrangements are by Gene Page and Marty Paich, who create a sublime blend of jazz, soul, and strings – plus a slight undercurrent of more righteous modes from the late 60s post-folk underground! In addition to straighter soul, Wilson sings a mix of hip contemporary compositions by Fred Neil, Jimmy Webb, and others – showing a depth of sound that's really wonderful. Instrumentation's by a small combo that includes Hal Blaine on drums, Larry Knechtel on keyboards, and some especially great flute from Jim Horn – whose sound here really brings some dark moments to the record. Titles include a classic version of Oscar Brown Jr's "The Snake" – which has gone onto become something of a dancefloor stormer over the years – plus the cuts "Shake Me Wake Me", "I Stand Accused", "Who Could Be Lovin You", "Brother Where Are You", "Summer Rain", "Do What You Gotta Do", and a groovy cover of Fred Neil's "The Dolphins". LP, Vinyl record album

The complete early recordings of Al Wilson – a set that features one full album, plus 11 more bonus tracks! At the core of the set is Searching For The Dolphins – a wonderful early album from soul singer Al – a well-crafted mix of modes that really stands out in late 60s pop – and which showed that Wilson was quite different than most of his contemporaries! The album's got some very hip production by Johnny Rivers – who was really stretching out his own sound at the time – and arrangements are by Gene Page and Marty Paich, who create a sublime blend of jazz, soul, and strings – plus a slight undercurrent of more righteous modes from the late 60s post-folk underground! In addition to straighter soul, Wilson sings a mix of hip contemporary compositions by Fred Neil, Jimmy Webb, and others – showing a depth of sound that's really wonderful. Instrumentation's by a small combo that includes Hal Blain on drums, Larry Knechtel on keyboards, and some especially great flute from Jim Horn – whose sound here really brings some dark moments to the record. Titles include a classic version of Oscar Brown Jr's "The Snake" – which has gone onto become something of a dancefloor stormer over the years – plus the cuts "Shake Me Wake Me", "I Stand Accused", "Who Could Be Lovin You", "Brother Where Are You", "Summer Rain", "Do What You Gotta Do", and a groovy cover of Fred Neil's "The Dolphins". Added to the core album are 11 more bonus tracks – most of which have an even more soul-based sound overall – some of which were issued on the Bell and Carousel labels. Titles include "When You Love", "Now I Know What Love Is", "Mississippi Woman", "Sugar Cane Girl", "You Do The Right Things", "Bachelor Man", and "Falling In Love With You". CD

A treasure trove of rare postwar blues from the west coast – material cut for Dootsie Williams, best known as the head of the seminal Dootone label in LA! The set offers both tracks from Dootone and Williams' rarer imprint Blue – the latter of which existed from the late 40s into the early 50s, and featured a fair bit of excellent material done in the more laidback bluesy mode of LA after the war – styles popularized by Charles Brown, Cecil Gant, and others – echoed strongly in many of the performances here. As the set rolls on into the later 50s, some of the tracks pick up a bit more of an R&B sound – but the work is still relatively unified here, thanks to a good focus on the more blues-based work on Dootone. 30 tracks in all, plus some really great notes – all at the usual high Ace level! Titles include "Rent Day" by Stormy Herman, "Richmond Blues" by Betty Hall Jones, "West Coast Baby" by Johnny Taylor & His Mellow 5, "I Got A Country Girl" by Bobby Nunn, "Everybody's Jumpin Tonight" by Dootsie Williams & His Rhythm Kings with Joe Turner, "You'd Better Come Home Baby" by Violet Hall, "The Hole In The Wall" by Cleo Brown, "Are You Ready To Go Steady" by Paul Monday, and "Katy Lee" by Fats Gaines. CD

An excellent collection of obscure jazz and R&B instrumental sides from the great Okeh label of the 50s – including some excellent stormers from Chicago! Little Johnny Griffin checks in with "For Dancers Only", "Flyin Home", and "Chicago Riffin", and the first two cuts feature vocals by Babs Gonzales! Other tracks include "Money Is Honey" and "I Want A Big Butter & Egg Man" by Mary Ann McCall; "Dig This Menu Please" and "Red's Mambo", two fantastic R&B tunes from trumpeter Red Rodney; and "Smooth Sailin", "Walkin Home", and "Whispering", all by Arnett Cobb, and included here with some other nice tunes that rank with some of Cobb's best work. (Jazz, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album