20 tracks produced by Allen Toussaint – one of the greatest talents to ever emerge from the New Orleans soul scene, working here in his earlier years, coming up with a rough and chunky groove that's virtually defined the sound of the city! Titles include "It Will Stand" by The Showmen, "Mother In Law" by Ernie K Doe, "Over You" by Aaron Neville, "Heavenly Baby" by Allen & Allen, "Te Ta Te Ta Ta" by Ernie K Doe, "It's Raining" by Irma Thomas, "A Certain Girl" by Ernie K Doe, "Whip It On Me" by Jessie Hill, "Fortune Teller" by Benny Spellman, "Lipstick Traces" by Benny Spellman, "39 21 46" by The Showmen, and "Ooh Poo Pah Doo (parts 1 & 2)" by Jessie Hill. CD

Very cool 2 CD compilation featuring 53 tracks from one of the greatest soul labels of the 60's. There's loads of great stuff here, including some unreleased tracks, and the artists include The Younghearts, The O'Jays, Gene Dozier, Bobby Womack, The Showmen, Irma Thomas, Aaron Neville, Benny Spellman, Eskew Reeder, and Calvin Lee. Also includes a great booklet, and comes in a cool little package! CD

Rare work by The Showmen – a great harmony vocal group from the early 60s, and the first famous group to feature General Johnson – the unique singer who later went onto front Chairmen Of The Board! The tracks here have a rough doo-woppy quality – dripping with soul, and handled in a spare production style that really brings out the best in the vocals – especially the General's strong lead. Tracks include a number of rare singles by the group, obscure takes, plus a few previously unissued titles – and although this one's a bit slim on notes, it is just about the only way you'll find any of this material. Titles include "It Will Stand", "The Owl Sees You", 'Swish Fish", "Strange Girl", "This Misery", "The Wrong Girl", and "Fate Planned It This Way". CD

Titles include "Ruler of My Heart", "Two Winters Long", "It's Raining", and of course, all the hits – 23 tracks total. CD

A fantastic set with 44 tracks! CD

A beautifully overstuffed collection of early work from New Orleans soul legend Allen Toussaint – a set that not only includes many of his key recordings from the scene in the 60s, but also some of his important productions for other artists too! The package begins with Toussaint in the lead on a series of sides on CD one – working either as himself, or as Al Touson, or with The Stones, The Rubyiats, or Allen & Allen – all with these choppy, loping, heavy-grooving rhythms that were Toussaint's huge contribution to New Orleans soul right from the start! Titles include "Whirlaway", "Whipped Cream", "Moo Moo", "Wham Tousan", "Omar Khayyam", "I Don't Need One", "Baby Do Liddle", "Tomorrow", "Fat Cat", "Banana Split", and "Java". CD2 features a series of recordings done for the Minit, Instant, and Sansu labels – all with Toussaint involved either as producer, arranger, or musician – on material that forever shaped the sound of New Orleans – titles that include "A Certain Girl" by Ernie K Doe, "Over You" by Aaron Neville, "I Like It Like That (parts 1 & 2)" by Chris Kenner, "Sophisticated Cissy" by The Meters, "Holy Cow" by Lee Dorsey, "I'm Evil Tonight" by Betty Harris, "Oogsey Moo" by Jessie Hill, "It Will Stand" by The Showmen, "Ruler Of My Heart" by Irma Thomas, "Fortune Teller" by Benny Spellman, and "Hot Tamales (parts 1 & 2)" by The Primemates. 50 tracks in all! CD

A pretty great anthology of recordings by New Orleans vocal legend Aaron Neville produced by Allen Toussaint – one CD featuring great early work from Aaron, singles from his early days recording for the Minit label on one disc – and some great, badly overlooked Sansu recordings from the late 60s and right on up to the mid 70s, leading to the formation of the Neville Brothers group! We've long loved the early 60s Minit recordings, which range from little regional R&B numbers, to really beautiful ballady numbers with Crescent City piano and Aaron's uniquely soulful phrasing. The Sansu sessions are just as great and more stylistcally varied, with organ-drenched southern soul numbers, many in a slower grooving style that really makes beautiful use of Aaron's voice – which had matured greatly by this point! Minit tracks include "Over You", "Sweet Little Mama", "Don't Cry", "Let's Live", "I've Done It Again", "Ticks Of The Clock", "Humdinger", "Don't Cry", "Wrong Number (I'm Sorry, Goodbye)", "For Every Boy There's A Girl" and many more, plus 7 bonus alternate takes. Sansu sessions include "You Can Give But You Can't Take", "All These Things", "The Greatest Love", "Performance", "She's On My Mind", "Baby, I'm A Want You", "Speak To Me", "All These Things" and many more, plus 8 bonus tracks from the period. 47 tracks on 2CDs! CD

Killer 70s work from Bobby Womack – reinventing himself here in a great style that keeps all the warmth and soulfulness of his Minit recordings, and gives it a healthy dose of 70s soul production – creating a sweet new groove that pushed Womack into a huge new audience at the time! Bobby strikes a perfect balance here – keeping things hip, but also tightening things up too – yet never by getting too smooth or too commercial. The result is a great batch of tracks that includes classics like "I Can Understand It", "Woman's Gotta Have it", and "Harry Hippy" – as well as a nice version of "Sweet Caroline", and Jimmy Lewis' great "Got To Get You Back". CD