Near-perfect work from Ashford & Simpson – really grooving in full powerhouse mode here, and never missing a beat! By all rights, the team should have run out of steam by this point, but the album's another winner from their sublime Warner years – caught in a unique space between chart soul, ensemble funk, and disco – taking all the best elements of each, and really sending the whole thing home with some incredible vocals and impeccable production and arrangements! Titles include "Rushing To", "Love Don't Make It Right", "We'll Meet Again", "Get Out Your Handkerchief", and "I Ain't Asking For Your Love". LP, Vinyl record album

An overdue reunion for Brian Auger and Julie Driscoll (now billed as Tippetts) – and a late 70s session that sounds quite a bit different than their mod soul of the 60s! The format here is still somewhat in a soul-based vein – but the sound is much more 70s, and much more "adult" as well – sometimes smooth, sometimes mellow, with Julie singing in a way that's still heartfelt, but not with the clear nod to American soul of her earlier work. Brian's still playing plenty of keyboards, although not getting in as many licks as on his own albums of the decade – yet still with enough space to help transform some of the best tunes. Titles include "Git Up", "Freedom Highway", "Spirit", "Future Pilot", "Rope Ladder To The Moon", "No Time To Live", and "Nothing Will Be As It Was" – a great English remake of a song by Milton Nascimento! (Jazz, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

The second smoking Live Oblivion set from Brian Auger and crew – twice as long, and maybe even twice as funky as the first! The tunes on here all really push the ten minute mark – stretching out the original Auger conception on studio sides, and featuring plenty of room for really wicked solo work on organ and electric piano! The live setting seems to inspire the group to even greater new heights – and there's an intensity here that makes for some really great moments. Titles include the wonderful break-heavy version of "Compared To What" – plus "Second Wind", "Maiden Voyage", "Straight Ahead", "Freedom Jazz Dance", and "Inner City Blues". (Jazz, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

AWB's first for Atlantic – and a nice slice of funk that proves that they can mix it up with the best groups of the 70s! The record's got plenty of sweet electric keyboards over smooth funky basslines – and as the years go by, the band's white boy vocals don't sound nearly as bad as we remember them. And besides, when they play their instruments so nicely – how can you hold the singing against them? Includes the killer classic "Pick Up The Pieces", sampled more times than we can remember – plus "You Got It", "Just Wanna Love You Tonight", "Person To Person", and a nice remake of the Isley Brothers' "Work To Do". LP, Vinyl record album

Sublime mid 70s work from The Average White Band – and a record that really has the group deepening their groove a bit – moving past the heavier funk of their roots, into some mellower grooves that are totally great! There's a great undercurrent of jazz in some of the playing here – a real consciousness for clever changes, hip instrumental flourishes, and some other fusion-inspired moments – although all delivered with an understated quality that's mighty nice. The feel's a bit like The Headhunters on their second album, or some of the great Wayne Henderson groups on Fantasy – a great mix of jazz funk and soul that makes the record one of our favorites by the group. Titles include "Sunny Days", "Digging Deeper", "Love Your Life", "Queen Of My Soul", and the stellar mellow "A Love Of Your Own". LP, Vinyl record album

An early album as a leader from the great Roy Ayers – a set that captures the vibes man at a time when he'd been working on the west coast soul jazz scene, and was stepping into even greater fame in the group of Herbie Mann! Yet this set is definitely Roy's own – kind of an introduction to the more righteous sounds he'd pursue in the 70s, set up in an instrumental mode with great help from Herbie Hancock on piano, Gary Bartz on alto, Charles Tolliver on trumpet, and Hubert Laws on flute – all ultra-hip players who really bring a lot to the record! And despite the colorful cover, and its reference of a pop hit, there's a much deeper vibe going on here – on titles that include a great version of Jobim's "Wave" – done like we've never heard it before – plus the original cuts "What The People Say", "Lil's Paradise", and "A Rose For Cindy". (Jazz, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

It's like a dream come true – 13 previously unissued recordings by Roy Ayers, all from the height of his glory years on Polydor! Roy's work from this time is some of our favorite ever – a burning blend of jazz, soul, and funk – handled with impeccable charm, and a level of soul that few other artists of the time ever matched. Roy's genius was strongly documented at the time by a series of excellent Polydor albums – but there was also a heck of a lot of great material that never saw the light of day, and which is every bit as great as the classics that we've come to know and love over the years. Hearing this set is incredible – like upping our already-massive appreciation of Roy's talents, and like finding a lost corner of soul music history that nobody's ever heard before. The tunes are all amazing – a great blend of jazzy soul, mellow soul, and dancefloor groovers – and the package is only the tip of the iceberg, from what we've been told! The full album does a great job to not cross over too much with the 12" singles previously issued in this "Virgin" series – and titles include "What's The T", "I Really Love You", "Sugar", "Mystery Of Love", "Green & Gold", "Brand New Feeling", "I Did It In Seattle", "I Just Wanna Give It Up", "Together Forever", "Boogie Down", "I Am Your Mind", and a great alternate version of "Mystic Voyage"! LP, Vinyl record album

The genius of Roy Ayers knows no end – and as this set of unreleased work from the 70s proves, Roy was always working at top form back in the day – even above and beyond his classic albums from the time! The grooves here are tremendous – funky, soulful, jazzy, and every bit as wonderful as the work that Roy did for his classic albums on Polydor – and in a way, the whole set's even tighter and heavier than any of Roy's full LPs, because it's a distillation of his sound from the time, hand-picked from the vaults with an ear towards the kind of timeless grooves that have been a huge influence on many worlds of music for years! You've never heard any of these tunes before, but we can promise you'll love them every bit as much as Roy's tracks on albums like Coffy, Vibrations, Mystic Voyage, and other classics – and the quality of the set only further pushes our jaw-dropping respect for the man! Titles include "Holiday", "Kwajilori", "I Am Your Mind (part 2)", "Touch Of Class", "Third Time", "Come To Me", "Wide Open", "Funk In The Hole", "Liquid Love", "Tarzan", "Sunshine (demo)", and "I Like The Way You Do It To Me". LP, Vinyl record album

A far-reaching early gem from Roy Ayers – a set that's much more jazz-based than his later work, and a record that has him touching base with the Blue Note and Strata East sides of the jazz spectrum! The lineup here is incredibly hip – a mix of players that includes a young Charles Tolliver on trumpet, Harold Land and Joe Henderson on tenor, Jack Wilson on piano, and Reggie Workman on bass – not to mention Roy himself on some mighty great vibes! There's a surprising spiritual undercurrent to the music – pointing the way towards jazz to come in the 70s – and titles include "Glow Flower", "Ayerloom", "Virgo Vibes", and "In The Limelight" – plus an early take on Charles Tolliver's "The Ringer". (Jazz, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

A soul record we'd put up there with some of our favorites produced in Chicago during the early 70s – a gospel album from Pastor TL Barrett, but one that's gone on to legendary status among funk and soul collectors over the years! Barrett works here with his Youth For Christ Choir, of Mt. Zion Baptist Church – a south side ensemble that's filled with genuine spirit and passion, aimed towards lofty ideals – but set up with some deep secular soul production touches and instrumentation that keep things razor sharp throughout! The album was cut at the affordable Sound Market Studio – but behind the soaring, spirited lead and chorus vocal arrangements are players supervised by Chess Records sax player and arranger Gene Barge – with other Chess players Richard Evans and Phil Upchurch on the sessions too. Raw drums, grooving organ, and incredible bass lines lay the foundation, but it's the voices that really shine on this completely wonderful, totally essential set! Titles include "Like A Ship", "Wonderful", "It's Me O Lord", "Ever Since", "Nobody Knows", "Joyful Noice", "Medley/Dr. Watts Hymn & The Disciples Prayer" and "Blessed Quietness". (Gospel, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

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

Cool Cotillion work from Brook Benton – southern soul mixed with smoother, sophisticated moments – and a perfect realization of the sound that Benton was going for in the 60s! There's a bit less country here than before – although Brook also still has one foot in his roots, too – and the overall approach has mellower soul touches that are great – keyboards, guitar, and electric bass that roll along gently next to Benton's wonderful vocals. The album was recorded at Criteria Studios, and up north in New York – and titles include "Movin Day", "Sidewalks Of Chicago", "She Even Woke Me Up To Say Goodbye", "Poor Make Believer", and "Shoes". LP, Vinyl record album

A killer bit of female soul by a very short-lived group – one with a great sound that comes out of some real criss-crossing of styles – some deep soul currents, but some hipper modern soul touches at the top! The set was produced by Brad Shapiro, and has a good blend of his modern and southern styles of the mid 70s – similar to his work with Candi Staton – but it also features some impeccable arrangements from David Van DePitte, who gives the record a sweeping, swaying feel that buoys the vocals up on some really soulful backings. Titles include a great version of "How Long", plus the tracks "Mr Mystery", "You Accuse Me", "Rhythm Of Love", "One Woman's Trash", and "I Can't Weigh My Love". LP, Vinyl record album

Seminal work by one of our favorite soul singers of all time! Jerry first came to fame with The Impressions and on his own in the early 60s – singing dark moody easy tunes that well earned him the nickname of "Iceman". In the late 60s, though, he moved onto Mercury where he broke through even bigger with some excellent early production by Gamble & Huff, which took Jerry to a whole new level, and which gave his work a swinging soul groove that worked great with his vocals. This set compiles some of the best moments of the Mercury years – including "Never Give You Up", "Lost", "Moody Woman", "Mr Dream Merchant", "Hey Western Union Man", and "Only The Strong Survive". LP, Vinyl record album

Later work by Gene Chandler – but a surprisingly great little set overall, and proof that Carl Davis was really stretching for greatness in the glory years of his Chi Sound label! Rather than rehash the styles he'd hit with on Vee Jay, Constellation, Mercury, or Brunswick – Chandler steps out here almost as a whole new singer overall – one with surprising sensitivity for ballads, and a maturing approach that almost reminds us of Walter Jackson's same stretch on the Chi Sound label. And like Jackson, Chandler also manages to move a bit into clubby territory too – with arrangements from Tom Tom and Sonny Sanders that are quite solid overall – and almost a Chicago take on Philly. Titles include "Do What Comes So Natural", "That Funky Disco Rhythm", "When You're #1", "Dance Fever", "Stay Here In My Heart", and "I'll Remember You". LP, Vinyl record album

A classic! What seemed a silly idea at the time was true proof of Ray's genius, and the result was the most successful album of his career – and a bona-fide number one hit that rode the charts for years and years! Ray's voice works perfectly with the material, and thanks to soulful arrangements by Gil Fuller, Marty Paich, and Gerald Wilson, the whole thing comes off to perfection. Titles include "You Don't Know Me", "I Can't Stop Lovin You", "Careless Love", "You Win Again", and "Worried Mind". LP, Vinyl record album

Otis Clay recorded live in Japan – working before a very appreciative audience, and hitting grooves that are right up there with his best 70s work on Hi Records! The sound is a bit looser than Hi – which is a nice change – and Clay's really in command on the set, leading the group with a strong sense of personality, and serving up great vocals with a strong deep soul feel. The grooves are filled with classic Memphis soul moments – and titles titles include "Hard Working Woman", "Ellie", "Trying To Live My Life Without You", "His Precious Love", "Love & Happiness", "Here I Am Baby", and "Love Don't Love Nobody". LP, Vinyl record album

Later work from Otis Clay, but also one of his greatest albums ever! The record features him with some fuller arrangements than usual – in less of a bluesy mode than during the Hi years, with a smooth sound that really brings out a whole new side of his style. The set was recorded in Chicago for the Japanese market – and the arrangements are by Benjamin Wright, Bill McFarland, and Clay himself. Includes the massive groover "The Only Way Is Up", an anthemic modern dancefloor number that later yielded a bit hit for Yazz – plus the tracks "Cheatin In The Next Room", "All I Need Is You", "Special Kind Of Love", "Messin With My Mind", "Turn Back The Hands Of Time", and "Check It Out". LP, Vinyl record album

A legendary bit of funky fusion from the French scene of the 70s – the standout set from Cortex, a combo who's very heavy on the keyboards! The tunes have a feel that's quite different than American electric work of the time – funky, but also a bit breezy too – with a strong Brazilian influence in some of the rhythms, and hip use of female vocals alongside the Fender Rhodes – which makes for a double layer of sound that's totally great! There's a bit of alto sax in the instrumentation, but most of the sound comes from the interplay between keyboards, voice, bass, and drums – rolling along in a sound that's stunningly soulful, and which makes the record one of the hippest European dates from the decade. Tremendous all the way through – with tracks that include "Automne", "L'Enfant Samba", "La Rue", "Go Round", "Madbass", "Sabbat", "Mary Et Jeff", and "Chanson D'Un Jour D'Hiver". (Jazz, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album