A really unique little album – a righteous blend of funky jazz, vocal chorus, and soulful leads – recorded in the German scene of the early 70s! The group features a number of key players from the MPS side of the funky jazz spectrum – and the record feels like some of the best high-concept projects from that legendary label – particularly those with a strong message in the music! Mladen Bobby Gutesha arranges and conducts – and the group features Leo Wright on alto and flute, Sigi Schwab on guitar, Ingfried Hoffmann on organ, Jiggs Whigham on trombone, and Milo Pavlovic on trumpet – creating these great core grooves, which are then topped by a vocal chorus singing messages in freedom in a number of different languages! Jimmy Woode sings lead vocals on a few tracks – and titles include "Angelitos Negros", "Soldat", "Masters Of War", "I Have A Dream", and "Schtil Di Nacht Is Ojssgeschternt". (Jazz, Soul) CD

A wonderful set from Carroll Thompson, one that easily slides back and forth between easy rocking lover's numbers on the reggae front, and polished 80s commercial soul. The set was originally issued on the SG imprint, and fell unfairly into obscurity almost immediately, perhaps because Carroll didn't neatly fit into either the then-burgeoning UK soul scene or London's reggae happenings, which leaned more towards the rootsier side of the spectrum. But whatever vein she was mining, her sophisticated approach shines brightly in both her own production and arrangements, and her sweetly grooving vocals. A young Cleveland Watkiss makes a supporting appearance, as does heavyweight Kingston key-man Jackie Mittoo, but it's Thompson that's the real star here! There's 9 numbers on the original album, including "Word Of Love", "A Happy Song", "Change", "Stay With Me Tonight", "Music (It Will Never Die)", "Just A Little Bit", "Hoping On Love", "Dreams Of You" and "Your Love". 8 bonus tracks, too – including single mixes of Make It With You", "Honis I Do", "People Of The World", "Earth Man" and more. (Reggae, Soul) CD

A surprisingly great set of new recordings from Bill Curtis, founding member of Fatback – done here in a style that nicely links together a few different strands of the Fatback sound! Some cuts have the funky groove of the early years, especially the Event Records era – while others have that tighter soul approach of the time when Fatback were really riding the crest of their popularity – a great mix that mostly comes off with sort of an early 80s soul quality overall – production that's still more than rough around the edges to let the soulful side of Fatback come through! The "friends" listed include Willie Bridges, Gerry Thomas, Isabella Gordon, Quenetta Simpson, and others – and titles include "Truckin", "All About U Baby", "Gooshy Sushi", "He's A Player", "Open House", "Dem Words", and "Do It To Me Now". CD

A great lost bit of mid 70s Motown – a pair of should-be classic albums by Dynamic Superiors – in a single set! Dynamic Superiors were a great harmony group with an east coast sound – quite different from the usual Motown combo in that their vocals were often allowed very free range, with less of the tightness of the usual Motown group soul album. Ashford & Simpson produced the record – with arrangements by Leon Pendarvis, Richard Tee, and Arthur Jenkins – and the whole thing's a sweet soul treasure that's got some excellent mellow soul cuts! Titles from the self-titled set include "One Nighter", "Don't Send Nobody Else", "Shoe Shoe Shine", "Star of My Life", and "Leave It Alone". Pure Pleasure is another sweet set – arranged with a bit more of a high stepping groove than some of the other Motown work of the time. Backings are handled by a range of talents that includes Paul Riser, William Eaton, Al Gorgoni, and Horace Ott – but the real charm is the way the group's innocent harmony style puts over the lyrics, all of which are very strong tunes written by the team of Ashford & Simpson. Titles include "Face The Music", "Hit & Run Lovers", "Deception", "Pleasure", "Nobody's Gonna Change Me", "Feeling Mellow", "Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing", and "Don't Give Up On Me Baby". CD

A key classic from the earliest years of the Fatback Band – one of the group's funkiest albums, and part of their original trilogy for the Perception label! The groove here is mighty raw throughout – but a bit more complicated than some of their funky 45 releases – a mixture of funky vamps and some more soul-styled tunes – showing the group evolving a bit from the start, yet still losing none of their funky edge – sounding surprisingly nice on a few of the album's mellower instrumentals. Titles include the massive "Goin' To See My Baby", with a classic break on the intro – plus "Street Dance", "Free Form", "Give Me One More Chance", "Green Green Grass Of Home", "Baby I'm A Want You", and "Take a Ride (On The Soul Train)". Features the bonus track "Dance Girl". CD

A sweet bit of funk from Hawaii – and a legendary bit of free soul that's been winning global fame for decades! Lemuria is the brainchild of Kirk Thompson – who plays piano, bass, keyboards, and vibes on this very spiritual set of tracks. Master Henry Gibson was one of the executive producers, and he also plays conga on the set – which recalls some of the more spiritual collective funky projects from the early 70s Chicago scene, given a bit of a tropical twist. Many tracks feature vocals by "The Ladies Of Lemuria" – a lovely trio that's got a bit of an Emotions sort of sound – but the jazziness of the tracks is a lot freer than the backings the Emotions ever got, with more of a west coast Fantasy Records kind of approach, touched with some Stevie Wonder-like warmth. Really great all the way through – and impeccably put together, despite the indie origins of the record. Titles include "Get That Happy Feeling", "Hunk Of Heaven", "Dreams", "Mister U", "The Making Of You", and "Mystery Love". CD

A classic bit of indie blues from the Chicago scene – featuring some great players from the second generation after Chess Records stopped picking up the younger local talents! Magic Sam leads the group on vocals and guitar, and he's working here with Mighty Joe Young on guitar, Odie Payne on drums, and Mack Thompson on bass – all to craft a set of rough and ready blues tunes that would have played well on both sides of the tracks at the time. Titles include "That's All I Need", "All Of Your Love", "I Don't Want No Woman", "Mama Mama Talk To Your Daughter", and "Lookin Good", a nice instrumental! CD features a bonus alternate of "I Don't Want No Woman". (Blues, Soul) CD

Rare early material from one of the hippest singers on 70s Motown – the heavenly Syreeta, best known for her seminal work with Stevie Wonder – heard here in the years before, on a rare single and a huge amount of never-issued tracks! Syreeta first worked for Motown under the name of Rita Wright – but apart from a 1967 single on Gordy, and a handful of compilation tracks in recent years, almost all her work for the label at the time appears here for the first time ever – a massive 18 of the collection's total 24 tracks – offering up a huge look at the early days of this wonderful talent! Even at the start, Syreeta's got a style that's hipper than most – righteous currents that point the way towards the 70s, and set her apart from some of the other female singers on the label – with a vibe that's completely sublime. We're really not sure why these cuts have been hidden for so long – because on any other label, they'd be hit material – especially given that production his handled by giants like Hal Davis, Stevie Wonder, Ashford & Simpson, and the Holland-Dozier-Holland team. One of the coolest sets of female soul you'll buy in a long, long time – with titles that include "Bad Boy", "Ain't I Gonna Win Your Love", "Beware Of A Stranger", "Love Child", "Since You Came Back", "Mind Body & Soul", "May His Love Shine Forever", "Something On My Mind", "That's What He Told Me", "It Don't Mean Nothin To Me", "Give Back The Good Things", "Can You Feel It Babe", "Save The Country", "Hurtin Me", "Love My Lovin Man", and "Where There's A Will There's A Way". CD

Detroit finally gets its funky due – stepping out from the shadows cast by endless Motown and Northern Soul compilations, and fixing its funky wagon to a great batch of rare indie groovers! The package brings together some real gems from labels that have barely, if ever, been reissued in the past – Sport, Big Hit, and Northern – and features tunes that run in vintage from the late 60s through the mid 70s. There's a really fierce funky 45 sort of feel going on here – with lots of deep deep bass on the best cuts, plenty of snapping drums, and vocals that have lots of raw and rough southern-styled touches! The set's got 17 tracks in all – with titles that include "Party On 4th Street" and "Mama Didn't Lie" by Black Nasty, "Going To Get It" by Calvin Williams, "Don't Leave Me To Be Lonely" by The Dramatics, "Funky Soul" by Dynamic Walton Brothers, "You Better Get Yourself Together" by Timmy Shaw & Chuck Holiday, "Keep On Stepping" by Black Nasty, "Bit Off More" by Lynn Day, and "Uncle Tom" by Herbie Thompson. (Funky Compilations, Soul) CD

A Philly soul legend finally gets his time in the spotlight – as drummer Earl Young played on countless classic sessions back in the day, but rarely even got his name in the liner notes! That lack of recognition is corrected here – in a great package that puts Young's face on the cover, details his genius on the drums in the notes, and then presents a motherlode of killer soul tunes from the late 60s through the 70s! Young's maybe best known for his work at Sigma Sound Studios, and on famous sessions for the Philadelphia International label – but here, he's heard on an even wider range of cuts – including late 60s Northern Soul numbers, and great album work by artists you might not normally associate with Philly. Titles include "Storm Warning" by The Volcanos, "Silly Silly Fool" by Dusty Springfield, "Hit & Run" by Loleatta Holloway, "I Just Can't Say Goodbye" by Philly Devotions, "Please Give Me One More Chance" by Clyde McPhatter, "Do The Hand Jive" by Archie Bell & The Drells, "Penguin At The Big Apple/Zing" by The Trammps, "I Can't Fight Your Love" by The Modulations, "Touch & Go (12" mix)" by Ecstasy Passion & Pain, "I Like To Live The Love" by BB King, "I'm Doin Fine Now" by New York City, "Ain't Got The Love Of One Girl" by The Ambassadors, "Just Can't Get You Out Of My Mind" by The Spinners, "Do It Again" by Charles Mann, and "Be Truthful To Me" by Billy Paul. (Funky Compilations, Soul) CD

A classic compilation gets upgraded in a mighty nice way – as a huge tribute to the many years of soul and funk we've gotten from the Ace/Kent label in London! Back at the start of the 80s, the company was one of the first to properly repress rare American soul, and do it the right way – not only with top-shelf sound quality, but also a strong sense of history that has had us learning as much about 60s and 70s soul from their compilations as we've found ourselves loving the music! The original On The Soul Side album was one of the first Kent titles from the early years – but here, it's expanded to a whopping 26 titles, with great sound and detailed notes – all to present over two dozen tracks that really show the farther reaches of 60s soul beyond Motown and the big chart hits. Titles include "Boy Watcher" by Ginger Thompson, "Baby I Love You" by Jimmy Holiday, "Dr Love" by Bobby Sheen, "Love & Desire" by Patrice Holloway, "A Lot Of Love" by Homer Banks, "It's What's Underneath That Counts" by June Jackson, "Point Of No Return" by Gene McDaniels, "Fortune Teller" by Benny Spellman, "It Was Easier To Hurt Her" by Garnet Mimms, "The Record" by HB Barnum, "Love Is A Hurtin Thing" by Lou Rawls, "Nothing Left To Do But Cry" by Merry Clayton, "The Man Who Don't Believe In Love" by Marv Johnson, "What You Gonna Do" by Bobby Womack, "Nobody Treats You The Way I Do" by The Magnificent Men, "Gonna Fix You Good" by Little Anthony & The Imperials, "It Will Stand" by The Showmen, "What's A Matter Baby" by Timi Yuro, "Ready Willing & Able" by Jimmy Holiday & Clydie King, and "Trick Bag" by Earl King. CD

A great collection of work from the underside of the Chicago recording scene of the 60s – tracks from the rougher, bluesier west side scene of the time! The work on the set comes from the Federal/King catalog, and not from Chicago labels – and most of it was produced by Sonny Thompson, in a style that's like his own R&B work, which always played big with Chicago crowds during the period. Most of the tunes date from the early 60s, but follow in modes that have lots of rougher 50s touches – often recorded with some nice echoey production that does a really great job of bringing out the looser spirit of the work. Titles include "I Resign From Your Love" and "Well Oh Well" by Syl Johnson, "Gibble Gobble" and "Got A Feelin" by Willie Wright & The Sparklers, "You're Welcome To The Club" and "When You Move You Lose" by Lee Shot Williams, "Twist Like This" and "I Was Gone" by Eddie Clearwater, "How Long Has It Been" by Jesse Anderson, and "I'm Tired Of Being Tossed Around" by Danny Overbea. CD

Glorious girl group pop, solo and group soul singles from the heart of the 60s – beautiful stuff that might have made a splash in their time, but didn't enter the eternal pop culture canon like some of the bigger hits of the day – and we couldn't be happier to have them in our lives all these years later! Where The Girls Are 8 features tunes by The Blossoms, The Orlons, The Sherrys, Dee Dee Sharp, The Four Havens, The Del-Phis, The Bonnetts, The Darlenes, The Pussycats and more – with absolute top shelf craft behind them – but as grand as the productions are and as legendary as the songwriters are – and we're talking about Lou Alder, Ashford & Simpson, Lee Hazlewood, Gamble & Huff and others behind the scenes – nothing outshines the lovely ladies' voices! Includes "Cry Like A Baby" by The Blossoms, "Comin' Home Baby" by Dee Dee Sharp, "Baby It Hurts" by Kelly Garrett, "Stand By Me" by Little Eva, "My Little Baby" by The Witches, "You Don't Have A Heart" by The Bunnies, "I Ain't Comin' Back" by The Orlons, "Come On And Ska" by The Pussycats, "Let's Be Sweethearts" by The Cinnamon Angels and more. 25 tracks in all. CD