Genius – pure genius! Solomon Burke is one of those soul singers you always hear folks about, but who you never seem to get to hear as much as folks like Otis Redding, Ray Charles, Wilson Pickett, or any of his other label-mates on Atlantic. This excellent 2CD set will correct that problem – as it brings together 41 tracks from Solomon's glory days at Atlantic, and the selection of material is fantastic all the way through. Solomon's voice is indescribably majestic – soaring over the top of the tightly-woven arrangements that were some of Atlantic's first real forays into soul music. The set does a good job of showing the full range of his talents during the 60s – and it moves way past the few hits he had, which always seem to get repeated endlessly when anyone brings up his name. Tracks include "Save It", "Get Out Of My Life Woman", "Detroit City", "Take Me (Just As I Am)", "When She Touches Me (Nothing Else Matters)", "Looking For My Baby", "I'm Hanging Up My Heart For You", "Cry To Me", "If You Need Me", "The Price", "You're Good For Me", "Words", "It's Been A Change", "Time Is A Thief", "Stupidity", and "Woman, How Do You Make Me Love You Like I Do". CD

Ultra rare Japanese-only limited edition promo release – with club versions and remixes of Prince classics! CD

A very big crossover moment for the Philly sound, and one of the biggest hits by the studio combo that drove the big Gamble/Huff hits of the 70s! The record's a great batch of smooth Philly instrumentals – not really disco, although the tracks certainly crossed over there – more uptempo soul, with the same bouncy sound heard on the vocal hits of the label – a majestic Philly International groove, carefully classy, but still damn soulful too! Includes lots of familiar cuts – like "Zach's Fanfare", "Get Down With The Philly Sound", "Brothers & Sisters", and "South Philly". LP, Vinyl record album

Disco funk and plenty more – all from this long-running series that only seems to dig deeper and deeper as time goes on! This time around, nearly all the cuts are ones you won't find elsewhere, especially on CD – with that special sort of 80s bent that the series always has, which means that you'll find as much boogie on the set as you will later disco rarities – served up in a batch of tracks that includes "Your Love Keeps Taking Me Higher" by E'Lan, "Let Me Be The One (dance mix)" by Mint, "Sure Ain't News" by Systematic, "Real Love" by The Prajekt, "Are You Lonely" by Randy Brown, "Tomorrow Night" by Angel, "24 Hour Love Affair" by David St George, "Right Or Wrong" by First Light, "Get Into Love Groove" by Bridget Cooper, "Caught In The Middle" by James Cobbin & Prime Cut, "Playtoy (long mix)" by Carmin, "Get Away" by FLOS, and "Cyanide Love" by Carol Shinnete with The Concrete Band. (Funky Compilations, Soul) CD

Most folks know The Foundations for one big crossover hit that still gets a lot of oldies radio play – but the group have a heck of a lot more to offer than that, as you'll hear in this wonderful collection that not only features all their 7" single releases from the UK, but also includes later solo material from the group's lead singer, Clem Curtis! The group were initially a bunch of British lads inspired by the sound of Motown, and they hooked up with Curtis, a singer from Trinidad – who really gave them the sound they wanted in the lead, and helped further the important identity of the group as a mixed-race act. Their sound is wonderfully tight – kind of a small group take on the larger studio majesty of Detroit soul – but with some nice British touches too, and a great sense of songwriting that gave the group plenty of original material along the way – a good deal of which you'll hear on this set. The 2CD package features 39 single tracks by The Foundations – including "Back On My Feet Again", "Come On Back To Me", "I Can Take Or Leave Your Loving", "Am I Grooving You", "New Direction", "Jerking The Dog", "Baby Now That I've Found You", "In The Bad Bad Old Days", "Born To Live Born To Die", "Solomon Grundy", "Till Night Brought Day", "Waiting On The Shores Of Nowhere", and "Build Me Up Buttercup". Also includes mid 70s solo work by Clem Curtis – five more tracks that include "Point Of No Return", "Time Alone Will Tell", "Mountain Over The Hill", and "I've Never Found A Girl". CD

A classic set of smooth 70s soul from an under-recognized genius! Phillip Mitchell is a bit like his Atlantic Records contemporary Sam Dees – in that he wrote a lot of material for other singers, recorded a handful of singles, and worked mostly in the southern scene – but he also had a sophisticated, modern style that sounded a lot more like work coming out of New York, Philly, or Chicago. This lost album for Atlantic is a great example of that fact – as it was recorded at Muscle Shoals, but also features some Philly elements too – creating a great mix of modes that's wonderfully unique! There's a feel here that's just like some of the best work from Leroy Hutson, Johnny Bristol, or Leon Ware at the same time – a majestic, mature approach to soul that's simply tremendous. Titles include "In Between Lovers", "Top Of The Line", "I'm So Happy", "Let's Get Wet", "Paying The Price", and "If It Ain't Love It'll Go Away". LP, Vinyl record album