A seminal album from the great Patti Labelle – a set that allowed the singer to mature strongly and find her own voice away from the funky, rockish style of Labelle – this sophisticated style that marked a whole new level of the singer's career! The Philly International label turned out to be a perfect setting for Patti – as they too were also growing past some of their earlier styles – moving past the chart soul of the 70s, and some of their bigger disco hits – and finding just the right place to allow their artists to keep on growing strongly over the years. The album's an all-adult affair – no clunky commercial moments at all, and instead this great blend of jazzy currents and sophisticated soul – all handled with the excellent second generation Philly International approach! Titles include "I'm In Love Again", "Love Lives", "Love Need & Want You", "I'll Never Never Give You Up", "If Only You Knew", "Body Language", and "When Am I Gonna Find True Love". LP, Vinyl record album

A bit one for Patti Labelle in the 80s – a set that crossed over big at the time, but which still has the lady in very soulful territory! Patti seems to sparkle most here on the mellower cuts – the gentle groovers and laidback ballads that helped open her up to a whole new audience, and which really give her a different sound than her 70s Labelle years. Titles include the Bacharach/Carol Bayer Sager title "On My Own" – sung as a duet with Michael McDonald – plus "Oh People", "There's A Winner In You", "Finally We're Back Together", "Beat My Heart Like A Drum", "Kiss Away The Pain", "Something Special", and "You're Mine Tonight". LP, Vinyl record album

Really great early work from the young Patti Labelle and her famous vocal group – a set that may or may not be live, given some of the trickery that happened under the Apollo name on 60s recordings – but one that's definitely got the group sounding great! LP, Vinyl record album

A late 70s gem from Patti Labelle! Although the album's recorded right in the height of the disco years, Patti's really shining on the mellower cuts – hitting a serious soulful side that shows that her move to a solo act really let her move into more sophisticated material. There are definitely some dance tracks like "Music Is My Life" but the real highlights are mellow tunes like "What'cha Doing To Me" and "You & Me". Other titles include "It's Alright With Me", "Love & Learn", "My Best Was Good Enough", and "Deliver The Funk". LP, Vinyl record album

Patti's first solo album – recorded after splitting with the group Labelle, moving into a more sophisticated Diva soul mode that kept her strong for years to come! The album's pretty great, stepping out into the solo soul realm with terrific footing – and the best tunes have a smoothed out modern approach that's actually quite refreshing – and a bit better than some of the work by Labelle in the late years! 9 tracks in all, including "Dan Swit Me", "You Can't Judge A Book By The Cover", "I Think About You" and "Do I Stand A Chance". LP, Vinyl record album

A 70s crossover classic, and the album the put LaBelle over the top! The mighty Allen Toussaint is at the helm for this first Epic album to feature the trio of Patti LaBelle, Nona Hendryx, and Sarah Dash – and he really helps the group find an amazing new sound after their somewhat rougher, rootsier efforts for Warner Brothers! The new groove has plenty of Toussaint's New Orleans rhythms in the mix – but the overall sound is a bit smoother too – kind of a classy, clubby take on the Crescent City sound – one that still sounds wonderful after all these years. Most tunes have a vamping rhythm and lots of great electric piano – and titles include the massive hit "Lady Marmalade", the great title track "Nightbirds" – and "Space Children", "All Girl Band", "You Turn Me On", "What Can I Do For You?", and "It Took A Long Time". LP, Vinyl record album

A 70s crossover classic, and the album the put LaBelle over the top! The mighty Allen Toussaint is at the helm for this first Epic album to feature the trio of Patti LaBelle, Nona Hendryx, and Sarah Dash – and he really helps the group find an amazing new sound after their somewhat rougher, rootsier efforts for Warner Brothers! The new groove has plenty of Toussaint's New Orleans rhythms in the mix – but the overall sound is a bit smoother too – kind of a classy, clubby take on the Crescent City sound – one that still sounds wonderful after all these years. Most tunes have a vamping rhythm and lots of great electric piano – and titles include the massive hit "Lady Marmalade", the great title track "Nightbirds" – and "Space Children", "All Girl Band", "You Turn Me On", "What Can I Do For You?", and "It Took A Long Time". LP, Vinyl record album

A sweet 70s set that has the trio of Patti Labelle, Nona Hendryx, and Sarah Dash teaming up with New Orleans legend Allen Toussaint – who brings the group some of the chunkier grooves he'd been using in his own great 70s work! The album's got a nicely romping sound throughout – a surprisingly good fit for the rockish soul of the girls – and the heavier use of guitar works really well with some of Toussaint's funky undercurrents – much more so than we'd think in a straighter setting. Titles include "Far As We Felt Like Goin'", "Slow Burn", "Cosmic Dancer", "Black Holes In The Sky", and "Messin' With My Mind". LP, Vinyl record album

An early classic from LaBelle – wonderful vocals mixed with both heavy funk and laidback spacey soul touches! The group had really hit their stride by this point – as the trio of Nona Hendryx/Sarah Dash/Patti Labelle push way past their girl group roots – and even some of the slightly less-formed modes of their Warner Brothers years – finding a really badass sort of territory that would serve them well for the rest of the 70s! The shift really pays off – as there's a number of good funky numbers on the album – and some righteous political lyricism in the mix, too – but also some mellower moments that really round things out nicely. The trio riff on a version of "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised", as led into by the cut "Something In The Air" – and other numbers include "Sunshine (Woke Me Up This Morning)", "Mr. Music Man", "Goin' On a Holiday", "Open Up Your Heart", "Let Me See You In The Light", and "Can I Speak to You Before You Go to Hollywood". LP, Vinyl record album

Miki Howard at the top of her game – just the sort of record that had her standing out as one of the best new vocalists in soul during the second half of the 80s – and one of the few who could draw on the classic styles of earlier divas like Patti Labelle or Phyllis Hyman! Like both of those two, Howard's got a great range, but never pushes things to far – just effortlessly taps into the right modes at the right moments – and opens up with a flow that's a lot more timeless than some of the other soul albums of the time. There's certainly a few crossover numbers that are a bit pop, but there's also lots of the mellower, more serious numbers that Miki does so well. Titles include a duet with Gerald Levert on "That's What Love Is", a nice reading of Earth Wind & Fire's "Reasons", an update of the standard "You've Changed", and the tracks "Baby Be Mine", "In Too Deep", "I Wanna Be There", and "Bitter Love". LP, Vinyl record album

With selections by Whitney Houston, Tony Braxton, Brandy, TLC, Mary J Blige, Chaka Khan, Sonja Marie, SWV, Chante Moore, Patti Labelle, Faith Evans, For Real, Shanna, and CeCe Winans. LP, Vinyl record album

A nice little album that continues Marlena's 70s experiments in updating her jazzy vocal style to a sweet modern soul groove. As always, Marlena shows that she can handle a wide range of styles – from uptempo dancefloor material to more tender ballads, sparkling in a way that few other singers of her time could manage. Arrangements are by Bobby Bryant and Harold Wheeler – and the album's got a full-on approach that's a bit like some of Patti Labelle's work from the time. Titles include "Touch Me In the Morning", "I'll Be Your Friend", "Haven't We Been In Love Before?", and a strange reading of "It Was A Very Good Year". LP, Vinyl record album

A totally excellent blend of soul, funk, reggae, and disco tunes – put together as the companion to the book of the same title, a great history on the rise of DJ culture over the past 40 years. Most of these tunes haven't appeard on other compilations we stock – and the thoughtful notes on each track really lets you get a hook into the way that they were put together. No matter what your tastes, you'll find that the lines of style traced through the tracks is very strong – and we'd place this one right up there with other excellent sets on Nuphonic, like Good Times or The Loft. Titles include "Vicious Rap" by Tanya Winley, "True True" by U Roy, "Get Rady" by Patti Labelle, "It Really Hurts Me Girl (Tom Moulton mix)" by The Carstairs, "Do I Love You" by Frank Wilson, "Glad To Know You (Disconet remix)" by Chas Jankel, "Weekend (Larry Levan mix)" by Class Action, "Snakecharmer" by Jah Wobble, and "Bird In A Gilded Cage" by Jungle Wonz. Also features "Red Alert Chant" by DJ Premier! (Funky Compilations, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

Includes tracks by Klymaxx, Patti Labelle, Michael McDonald, New Edition, Ready For The World, Free Waybill, and Kim Wilde. (Soundtracks, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

A massive batch of mixes from dancefloor maestro John Luongo – a set that's heavy on cuts from the 80s in many styles, and which has some other surprises in the mix as well! Luongo was one of those talents who did a great job of bringing underground dancefloor modes to a more mainstream audience – and he finds grooves in cuts that might not normally have gotten such strong club treatment on their own, or in the hands of another remix talent! This 2LP set features some of the best work that Luongo did back in the day – titles that include "The Best (ext mighty mix)" by Tina Turner, "Suspicious Minds (suspicious mix)" by Fine Young Cannibals, "The Chinese Way (New York rmx)" by Level 42, "Out In The Night (12" version)" by Serge Ponsar, "Give It Up (12" version)" by KC & The Sunshine Band, "Missing You (ext version)" by John Waite, "Eyes Without A Face (full length version)" by Billy Idol, "Look Of Love (part 3 – dance version)" by ABC, "Fade To Grey (US 12" version)" by Visage, "Blind Vision (ext version)" by Blancmange, "Shy Boy (US ext version)" by Bananarama, "Tarzan Boy (ext dance version)" by Baltimora, "Relight My Fire (historical 1979 rmx)" by Dan Hartman with Loleatta Holloway, "You Stepped Into My Life (John Luongo rmx)" by Melba Moore, and "Music Is My Way Of Life (John Luongo rmx)" by Patti Labelle. 2LP set features 16 tracks – and includes rare photos and an essay on Luongo's music! (Funky Compilations, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album