Great work from Grace Jones – still riding high on a disco wave here, but also finding her own space and sound too! The mighty Tom Moulton produced, ensuring some great sound for the set – and arrangements are by Thor Baldursson and John Davis, both of whom bring in nice sense of fullness, but never smother Grace too much – a key factor, given that her vocal approach is often a bit more restrained than some of the other disco divas of the time. There's less covers here than before, and Grace herself even penned some of the tunes. Titles include "Suffer", "Sinning", "Saved", "Atlantic City Gambler", "On Your Knees", and "Don't Mess With The Messer". LP, Vinyl record album

An unusual double-length album of tracks recorded by this bluesy soul singer in the years after she recorded for Savoy, and cut her big hit "Candy". This LP's got a harder rockin' bluesy feel to it, with the sort of R&B revival sound of the late 60/early 70. Maybelle's still great, though, and really manages to belt out tracks like "Cold, Cold Heart", "Your Turn To Cry", "Winnie Widow Brown", "Big Sweet Daddy", "Long Long Journey", and "Blame It On Your Love". CD

A solo set from Michele Hendricks – possibly best known for her work with Hendricks & Co, a vocal group with her famous father Jon – but still sounding pretty great here on her own! The set's a simple, soulful outing – one that has Hendricks singing in some deep-toned vocals that are full of feeling – in small group settings with players who include either Ralph Moore or Stan Getz on tenor, Ray Drummond or Anthony Jackson on bass, and Marvin Smitty Smith on drums. Moore's horn is especially nice – really deepening the feeling of the cut's he's on – and titles include a great version of "I Feel The Earth Move", plus "O Pato", "Dream A Little Dream", "Say When", "Old Devil Moon", and "Letter To Joe". (Vocalists, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

(Vocalists, Soul) CD

A selection of earlier Al Green numbers issued originally at the end of the 70s – with new mixing by Willie Mitchell, who'd produced all the original sides. Titles include "Love Ritual", which is a nice groover with some congas in the mix giving the whole thing an earthier thump under the trademark 70s Hi Records sound – and ultimately, upon revisiting this compilation, Mitchell does a pretty great job of filtering Al's wandering muse at this point through the trademark sounds of Memphis and Hi Records! plus "Glory Glory", "Let It Shine", "Keep Me Cryin", "Oh Me Oh My", "I Tried To Tell Myself", and "Smile A Little Bit More". CD

Wonderful live work from Prince – the only official concert album ever issued by the man during his life, and a great testament to the way that his genius kept on burning bright on stage – even when he wasn't always knocking it out of the park in the studio! There's a fair bit of material here from later years, but also some classics mixed into the set – and the work often emphasizes the jazzier side of Prince's style – partly through his evolved musicianship, but also in the way the tunes come together with an even more sophisticated vibe than the early years. Titles include "Rainbow Children", "Muse 2 The Pharoah", "Extraordinary", "One Nite Alone", "Wanna B Ur Lover", "Do Me Baby", "Diamonds & Pearls", "When U Were Mine", "Mellow", "1+1+1 Is 3", "Nothing Compares 2 U", and "Sometimes It Snows In April". CD

Really fantastic work from Prince – an album that's maybe not as famous as some of his 80s classics, but which has the maestro in perfect form throughout! There's all these warm jazzy currents in the music that we totally love – especially on the keyboards, which have a glow and flow that clearly seems to be Prince's way of showing the Neo Soul generation that he not only helped carve out the territory that first got them going, but also can still do it maybe better than anyone else! The album still has some of the heavier funk that Prince was always known for – but it's the warmer, mellower moments we totally love – on titles that include "Last December", "The Work", "Everywhere", "The Sensual Hereafter", "Muse 2 The Pharoah", "Deconstruction", "Wedding Feast", "1+1+1 Is 3", and "She Loves Me 4 Me". CD

Great early work by Minnie Riperton – featuring tracks that she recorded as a female soul singer, plus later work recorded with the groundbreaking group Rotary Connection! The set's got some of Minnie's earliest singles for the Chess label – including "All Of It", "Lonely Girl", and "Happy New Love", recorded as Andrea Davis or with The Gems. Then, the set's got 13 nice tracks from Minnie's Rotary Connection days, most of which feature her in lead vocals. Titles of those include "Burning Of The Midnight Lamp", "Love Me Now", "Living Alone", "Magical World", "Respect", and "A-muse". CD

Some of the trippiest soul music ever recorded – an amazing collection of work by the legendary Rotary Connection – early home to vocalist Minnie Riperton and arranger Charles Stepney! Rotary Connection was a unique late 60s combination of soul, jazz, and rock-based modes – all inflected by more baroque production styles coming down in the Chicago scene of the time – balanced perfectly by the genius of Stepney – who often drew inspiration from avant classical work to round out his sound! Stepney gave the group a heady heady sound that went far beyond the airy vocal sound of Minnie Riperton or the rougher edge of Sidney Barnes – and the mix of unusual instrumentation, odd recording techniques, and strange timings made the group's music years ahead of its time – at a level that's really only fully appreciated these many years later. This 2CD set goes way beyond previous collections of Rotary Connection work, because it shows a real appreciation for the more adventurous sounds of Stepney in the studio – and brings together the trippiest, most freewheeling cuts from the group's 4 albums for Chess/Cadet – as well as a number of key tunes that have been heavily sampled over the years. 33 tracks in all – including "The Salt Of The Earth", "Rapid Transit", "Magical World", "I Am The Black Gold Of The Sun", "A-Muse", "Sursum Mentes", "Memory Band", "Hey Love", "The Sea & She", "Song For Everyman", "Love Is", "We're Going Wrong", "Life Could", "Teach Me How To Fly", "VIP", "Let Them Talk", "Love Has Fallen On Me", "Respect", "Pink Noise", "Want You To Know", and "This Town". CD

A lost funky treasure – never issued before! For those not in the know, The Pazant Brothers (Ed & Al) were a duo of funky hornmen that first came to fame working with Pucho & The Latin Soul Brothers – and then moved onto cut some great funky records of their own in the 70s. The pair formed a very tight group that had a killer funky sound – one that we'd easily rank right up there with the JBs and The Meters for hard, raw, power – but sadly, they only ever recorded one full album and a handful of singles – which is why this previously unissued concert is even more of an important treat! We have no idea what the folks at MOMA were thinking when they invited the Pazants down to get their groove in gear – but whatever the case, this CD is totally great! Forget the silly cover – which is way too cold and modern to get at the heart of the grooves – and forget the location too, because the tracks on the set sound like they were cut at some smoky club in Harlem, not in the colder midtown setting of MOMA. The whole thing's totally great – a massive batch of instrumental funk that leaves us to wonder why the heck this thing was never issued at the time. Titles include "Groovin", "Skunk Juice", "P Soul", "Fly Vines", "Work Song", "Momma Momma", "We Got More Soul", "Clabber Biscuits", and "Greasy Greens". Totally great! CD

Beautiful spacey soul and righteous rock/soul grooves from one of the most enigmatic groups ever to come out of the Chicago soul scene! The drummer really kicks it on this one – and more than a few cuts have a nice backbeat to them, and the record probably has a bit more of a rock feel than some of the group's other work. But that doesn't stop this one from still being completely wonderful – and Minnie Riperton gives up some of the best vocals of her young career, set to airy spacey production by the great Charles Stepney. Tracks include "Love Me Now", "Merry Prankster", "Lonely Summer", "Amuse", "Want You To Know", "Country Things", "Living Alone", and "We Will Be Free". LP, Vinyl record album

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

Includes 30 songs by the Larks, Pyramiders, Tommy Cullins, Joe Musengale, Ralph Jerome, the Tone Blenders, Etta & Amelia, Ray Williams & the Mastertones, the Sandettes, and more! CD