A really fantastic album from Prince – recorded in 2010, and unreleased at the time – but clearly one of the greatest things he gave us in the final decade of his life! This isn't uncooked demo material, or under-thought studio tracks – and instead, the whole thing is a fully-formed record with a message that really comes through in the title – more political Prince than usual, with an eye for our nation that rivals Sign O The Times! It may be that back when Prince recorded the set, the time wasn't right for the message – but these tracks definitely hit home now – and are often delivered in this sinister slow funk mode that really fits the lyrics – almost as if Prince were trying to give the world his version of a righteous 70s album on Curtom Records. Titles include "Running Game", "Born 2 Die", "Welcome 2 America", "Check The Record", "Hot Summer", "Stand Up & B Strong", "Same Page Different Book", and "One Day We Will All B Free". CD

Take it from us, Leon Bridges is no gold-digger – as with music like this, he'll be bringing plenty of the gold himself – as the record is the sort that should really put Bridges over the top! Leon's already been giving us some great sounds in recent years – but this set has Bridges emerging as a fully-formed soul star in his own right – not just the voice that's been winning us over already, but a sense of confidence and power in his lyrics – not ego, but self – wide enough so share space here on collaborations with Robert Glasper, Terrace Martin, and Ink – who all get a chance to bring a strong something extra, and not just show up as names on paper. Titles include "Born Again", "Motorbike", "Why Don't You Touch Me", "Magnolias", "Steam", "Sho Nuff", "Gold-Diggers", "Blue Mesas", "Don't Worry", and "Sweeter". (Neo Soul, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

A really fantastic album from Prince – recorded in 2010, and unreleased at the time – but clearly one of the greatest things he gave us in the final decade of his life! This isn't uncooked demo material, or under-thought studio tracks – and instead, the whole thing is a fully-formed record with a message that really comes through in the title – more political Prince than usual, with an eye for our nation that rivals Sign O The Times! It may be that back when Prince recorded the set, the time wasn't right for the message – but these tracks definitely hit home now – and are often delivered in this sinister slow funk mode that really fits the lyrics – almost as if Prince were trying to give the world his version of a righteous 70s album on Curtom Records. Titles include "Running Game", "Born 2 Die", "Welcome 2 America", "Check The Record", "Hot Summer", "Stand Up & B Strong", "Same Page Different Book", and "One Day We Will All B Free". LP, Vinyl record album

A seminal classic from Michael Franks – one of those records that's almost a whole genre unto itself, and which set a whole new tone for the male voice in American music! The style here is light and jazzy – almost an evolution of modes first begun by Kenny Rankin, and served up here with a similarly compressed production style that really brings out the jazz in the instrumentation. Players include Michael Brecker, Joe Sample, Larry Carlton, and David Sanborn – all sounding great with a bit of added strings from Nick DeCaro. But the real star of the set is clearly Franks – whose light vocals and creative lyrics sound wonderful next to the electric piano on the set. Titles include "Eggplant", "Monkey See Monkey Do", "Jive", "Mr Blue", "Popsicle Toes", "St Elmos Fire", "I Don't Know Why I'm So Happy I'm Sad", and "Sometimes I Just Forget To Smile". (Vocalists, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album