Minnie Riperton's first album for Epic – and the record that broke her from a hip Chicago underground artist into one of the seventies' biggest female soul stars! The record moves past the baroque soul of Minnie's early years with Rotary Connection and Charles Stepney – and hits a mix of mellow compressed LA styles and slicker funkier numbers that do the same thing for her Chicago-trained vocals that Rufus' backing did for that of Chaka Khan. Of course, it helps that she's got some superbly sensitive writing and arranging help by husband Richard Rudolph – and Stevie Wonder's definitely lurking in the background, too – not credited with production, due to contractual reasons, although he helped put most of the album together. Includes Minnie's huge crossover hit "Loving You", a perfect showcase for her beautiful 5 octave voice, plus the tracks "Our Lives", "Every Time He Comes Around", "Perfect Angel", and "Reasons". LP, Vinyl record album

Eternal soul from Marvin Gaye in both its classic form AND in a contemporary light – on a nice little 10-inch single! Side 1 features the original 7-inch single mono versions of "What's Going On" and "God Is Love" – both as mindblowing today as ever – not only just because it documents the incredible moment Marvin moved past the simple love songs of earlier years, but also because he was innovating an amazingly complicated approach to soul music, one that would touch the work of others for years to come. Side 2 features new versions of "What's Going On" with contemporary hip hop soul hero BJ The Chicago Kid and a remix – both of which are surprisingly solid given the historical heft of the originals, but we really gotta hand it to BJ The Chicago Kid for approaching the contemporary remodel/"duet" with the utmost care and respect! 12-inch, Vinyl record

A nice set of tracks that goes past her huge "Shoop Shoop" hit to include a few of her great duets with Jerry Butler. Titles include "Let It Be Me" and "Smile", both with Jerry, plus "I Need You So", "It's All Right", "Chained To A Memory", and "You're No Good". LP, Vinyl record album

Sublime work from Blue Magic – a record that still has them singing in the sweet harmony sound of earlier records, but which also picks up a fuller sound and a bit of a groove – thanks to stone Philly arrangements by Norman Harris and Ron "Have Mercy" Kersey! A number of tracks add in a bit of moog that sound surprisingly great next to the group's harmonies – electrifying them a bit without overwhelming them – and letting Blue Magic step way past their fragile harmony roots into the forefront of Philly group soul at the time! Tracks include the groovers "We're On The Right Track" and "Magic Of The Blue", the ballads "Chasing Rainbows" and "Loneliest House on the Block", plus "What's Come Over Me", which is a duet between the group and Margie Joseph. LP, Vinyl record album

A surprisingly nice album – even if you're not a fan of Diana Ross! Given that Marvin and Diana are standing back to back on the front cover, we kind of get the idea that there wasn't as much sympathy in the session as on some of Marvin's classic duet sides from the 60s with Tammi Terrell – but the record's actually not that bad, though – thanks to a sweet smooth soulful style that's very much in the style of Marvin's Let's Get It On album. Of course, the overall project isn't nearly as sublime – but the record does feature arrangements by Paul Riser, James Carmichael, Dave Blumberg, and Gene Page that have a seductive quality that moves well past the vocal mismatch. Titles include "Stop, Look, Listen", "Just Say, Just Say", "I'm Falling In Love With You", "Include Me In Your Life", "You Are Everything", "Love Twins", and "My Mistake". LP, Vinyl record album