Quite possibly the best album ever from funky maestro Monk Higgins! The record's got some of his tighest work of the time – with plenty of tight breaks, nice keyboards, and soulful sax riffs – and Monk is going full-out on the arrangements, in the manner that he used for his best late Blue Note work with The Three Sounds or Blue Mitchell. The group's listed as "The Specialties" on the cover, and they vamp along nicely, like some of Monk's funky groups from the late 60s funky 45 days. Titles include "Gotta Be Funky", "Big Water Bed", "Up On The Hill", "Last Flight To Dallas", and "Libra's Way". LP, Vinyl record album

An excellent batch of soulful and funky instrumental tracks – super-dope 70s work from funky arranger Monk Higgins! The album grooves in the best blacksploitation soundtrack mode – as Monk plays tenor sax and organ in the set, over slinky stepping arrangements that feature Paul Humphrey on drums, and Freddy Robinson on guitars – all coming together with Monk in a sweet LA style of early 70s funk! The groove is funky, yet laidback at the same time – and with some soulful backing vocals behind the instrumentation on a number of cuts – really the perfect sort of approach for a hip crime or action soundtrack. Tracks include "Little Mama", "If", "Highway No 101", "Walking In My Sleep", "Can't Stop", and the classic "Black Fox"! LP, Vinyl record album

Four fantastic albums from Bobby Bland – all brought together in a single package for the first time! First up is Come Fly With Me – great work from Bobby Blue Bland – one of the few artists to rise up at the end of the 50s, and still find a way to chart their own path forward in soul with fresh material like this! Bobby's voice is still incredible here, and he works with production from Al Bell and Monk Higgins, the latter of whom arranged – in this cool style that's a bit like some of the territory that Tyrone Davis was taking on at Columbia Records during the second half of the 70s – fuller arrangements that bring some sophisticated soul touches to the music, but in ways that never lose the core of Bobby's genius! Titles include "Lady Lonely", "Night Games", "You Can Count On Me", "Love To See You Smile", "Come Fly With Me", and "To Be Friends". The next album is I Feel Good I Feel Fine – and Bobby Bland sounds pretty good too – thanks to arrangements from the great Monk Higgins, who does a perfect job of mixing Bland's trademark vocals with some sweet late 70s arrangements! The sound is upbeat, but never in a cliched disco mode – more in the territory that you'd hear Johnnie Taylor using over at Columbia Records – maybe a good comparison, given the Memphis roots that both artists shared – as both also evolved a lot to shift their sound with the changing modes of the time. And as with Johnnie, Bobby never loses the core that makes him great – as you'll hear on titles that include "Tit For Tat", "Soon As The Weather Breaks", "In His Eyes", "Someone To Belong To", "I Feel Good I Feel Fine", and "Little Mama". Sweet Vibrations is a real gem from the start of the 80s – arranged by Monk Higgins, who co-produced the set with Al Bell – a duo who'd already given Bobby some great records before, but who really knock it out of the park with this one. There's an extra-special quality going on here – maybe a slight reintroduction of blues roots, but still with a very contemporary spirit – set up to superb backings throughout. Titles include "Soul With A Flavor", "Hollywood Woman", "You'd Be A Millionaire", "Sweet Vibrator", "Special Kind Of Fool", and "A Real Woman Is What It Takes". Try Me I'm Real is record with a title that certainly fits the bill – as the amazing voice of Bobby Bland is as real here as it ever was, and blended with superbly soulful backings that take the singer's sound forward for a whole new generation! Some of Bobby's contemporaries were content to just stick in a straight blues mode – but Bland really grew and developed a lot as an artist, thanks in part to Monk Higgins and Al Bell – who are both at the production helm of the record, and balance the bluesy roots of Bobby with some richer soul backings that really knock the whole thing out of the park! We love Bobby Blue Bland during his early Duke Records years – but we love him equally as much for music like this, on titles that include "But I Do", "What A Difference A Day Makes", "Givin Up The Streets For Love", "A Song For You My Son", "Just You Just Me", and "Love Is Where It's At". (Blues, Soul) CD

A rare gospel gem on Chess Records – with production by Monk Higgins and Cash McCall! (Gospel, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

An excellent Chess session by Etta, with hard Chicago soul production by Monk Higgins and Ralph Bass – and the kind of searing vocals that always made Etta a treat, whether rocking or mellow! The album's got some wonderful hard soul tracks, of the style that Etta could really cut loose with when she was at her best. This album is very heavily weighted in this more storming mode – and it's tremendous! She's so much more better remembered in the pop realm for the more tender and ballady material she cut over the years, but there's a heck of a strong case to be made for grittier gems such as this album! Titles include "Happiness", "It's All Right", "842-3089 (Call My Name)", "That's All I Want From You", "Nobody Like You", "I Prefer You", "Don't Pick Me For Your Fool" and more. This great version from Kent UK is the first ever (!!!) CD release and it's expanded broadly, with 12 bonus tracks: "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man", "I Got You Babe", "Misty", "I've Gone Too Far", "The Soul Of A Man", "Miss Pitiful", "Slow And Easy" and more. CD

A great bit of funky guitar work from Freddie Robinson – a player who clearly started out with a bluesy backing, but managed a real super-dope sound by the time of his 70s work for Stax! Part of the sound is that Freddie's using a hollow-body electric – giving him a style that's a bit like Little Beaver on the best tracks. Freddie sings a bit on the set, but his guitar play's his strongest suit – and he's backed here by electric piano from Monk Higgins, and keyboards from Joe Sample! Tracks include "Smoking", "Off the Cuff", "Rivers Invitations", "Try It One Time", and "Medicine Man". LP, Vinyl record album

Incredible sounds from the Chess Records catalog – not the blues that you might know the label for, but a huge range of funk, soul, and jazz tracks from the headiest years of the 60s and 70s – a time when the Chicago scene was really turning out some incredible musical hybrids! As you'd guess from the title, all the cuts here have had a new life in recent years – thanks to samples by hip hop artists or other producers – but the original grooves are even better than the tracks that used them, and come together here to make one of the most mindblowing collections of Chess material we've ever heard! The package is nicely heavy on sounds from the Cadet/Concept years of the label – with more than a few contributions from producers Charles Stepney and Richard Evans – and the package features 42 wonderful tracks – including "Fonky Thang Diamon Ring" by The Dells, "Windmills Of Your Mind" by Dorothy Ashby, "I Am The Black Gold Of The Sun" by Rotary Connection, "Jelly Jam" by Jack McDuff, "The Getaway" by Alvin Cash, "In My Body's House" by Gene Chandler, "Cross Country" by Archie Whitewater, "Memory Band" by Rotary Connection, "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" by Jimmy Ponder, "Inside Out" by American Gypsy, "Go Go Power" by Sugar Pie DeSanto, "Shake It Up" by The Vibrations, "Up Above The Rock" by Ray Bryant, "Bad Moon Rising" by Bo Diddley, "Shoo Be Doo Be Doo Be Do Da Day" by Eddie Fisher, "Humpin Bumpin & Thumpin" by Andre Williams, "Who Got The Number" by Pigmeat Markham, "Walk On By" by Jo Ann Garrett, "Chocolate Candy" by Soulful Strings, "Got To Get Your Own (7" version)" by Reuben Wilson, "Hanky's Panky (7" version)" by Shirley Scott, "Liberation Conversation" by Marlena Shaw, "Look Of Love" by Monk Higgins, and "Think About It" by Odell Brown & The Organizers. (Funky Compilations, Soul) CD