(Rock, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

Don't let the "broadway" or the "blues" or the "ballads" in the title put you off – because this album's way more than any of those – one of those key 60s records that have Nina Simone taking familiar material and investing it with a new sort of righteous power of her own – almost transforming the songs in the process, and really opening them up past any sort of easy expectations! Arrangements include a bit of work from Nina, plus more by Horace Ott and Hal Mooney – and throughout, the singer shifts modes and moods with effortless ease, turning songs from ordinary tunes into fierce expressions of righteous soul. Titles include "The Laziest Gal In Town", "Nobody", "I Am Blessed", "Of This I'm Sure", "See Line Woman", "Last Rose Of Summer", and "How Can I". (Vocalists, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

Classic work from Nina Simone – and an album that definitely lives up to its title! Nina Simone certainly emerged as the high priestess of soul during her monumental stretch for Philips Records in the 60s – as she moved way past jazz, way past some of the folk she'd begun tapping into, and into this new righteous territory that paved the way for countless other hip singers to come! Simone does a great job of mixing gutbuckety roots with hipper, 60s soul inflections – and the set's a treasure trove of great tunes – including her awesome reading of "Work Song", plus "Brown Eyed Handsome Man", "Come Ye", "I Hold No Grudge", "I'm Going Back Home", "I'm Gonna Leave You", "Take Me To The Water", and "The Gal From Joe's". (Vocalists, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

A set that's a great bridge between the fuller sound of Nina Simone's late 60s material and some of smaller jazz combo work – as the album mostly features Nina working with a smaller group, but already at a level that hints at the righteous rising power in her music! The core combo features Rudy Stevenson on guitar and flute, Bobby Hamilton on drums, and Lisle Atkinson on bass – and one track, "For Myself", features arrangements by Horace Ott – and another, "Images", was recorded live – but overall, the album's got a warmly intimate feel that's really great, and which has Nina singing in that perfect sharp-edged mode of the time. Titles include "Chauffeur", "The Other Woman", "This Year's Kisses", "Nearer Blessed Lord", "Ballad of Hollis Brown" and "Don't Explain". (Vocalists, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

One of the great records made by the cool French jazzy vocal group that included Ward Swingle and Christine LeGrand, and which did stuff that was much more straightforwardly jazzy than the semi-classical work of the Swingle Singers. This LP's got them backed by Jerome Richardson and his quartet, and has them running through a set of tracks associated with Ray Charles' Atlantic work. Cuts include "Stompin' Room Only, "Hit The Road, Jack", "Yes, Indeed", and "One Mint Julep", and all have a swingin' jazz vocalese sound. Cool stuff by one of the great lost groups of the 60's. (Vocalists, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

Very groovy work from 5000 Volts – one of the first pop disco groups to come onto the 70s scene in the UK – and a quartet with the lovely Tina Charles in the lead! The style here is a bit like Charles' solo work – but more funky overall, and more electrified too – with plenty of Euro disco styles that remind us of the best work from Munich, yet still produced with some of that cool British production that bigger chart stars were getting at the time. The style is occasionally cheesy, but in a good way – and titles include "I'm On Fire", "Look Out I'm Coming", "The Late Late Show", "Thunderfire", "By Love", "One Stop Baby", and "Light The Flame Of Love". LP, Vinyl record album

Wonderful material from Nina Simone – working here still with one foot in the jazzier style of early days, but with haunting elements of the later progressive style to come! The "pastel" in the title shouldn't imply any sort of softness on Nina's part, because if anything, she's really sharpening up her game a lot here – packing a punch that wasn't allowed so strongly on some of her earlier recordings. The album features an incredible 10 minute version of "Sinnerman", arranged by Nina with complicated jazzy riffing and a nice breakdown in the middle that's completely sublime – and other tracks include "Be My Husband", "End Of The Line", "Chilly Winds Don't Blow", "Strange Fruit", and "Ain't No Use". (Vocalists, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

Socking soul from the 60s – a record with American roots and a very groovy British sound! The set was the second full length album from Madeline Bell – an American singer transplanted to the mod UK scene of the 60s, where she really flourished in a rich career of hit singles, endless session work, and later fame with the group Blue Mink. The tunes on this set are a wonderful bridge between Madeline's two worlds – and have a sound that's a lot like the uptown soul coming out of the US at the time – sweet and smooth arrangements, topped by deeper soul vocals that make for a wonderful juxtaposition. Arrangements are by British talents Arthur Greenslade, Ian Green, and Keith Mansfield – and titles include "Step Inside Love", "Hold It", "Help Yourself", "After All Is Said & Done", "For Your Pleasure", and "It's Up To You". LP, Vinyl record album

Wonderful material from Nina Simone – working here still with one foot in the jazzier style of early days, but with haunting elements of the later progressive style to come! The "pastel" in the title shouldn't imply any sort of softness on Nina's part, because if anything, she's really sharpening up her game a lot here – packing a punch that wasn't allowed so strongly on some of her earlier recordings. The album features an incredible 10 minute version of "Sinnerman", arranged by Nina with complicated jazzy riffing and a nice breakdown in the middle that's completely sublime – and other tracks include "Be My Husband", "End Of The Line", "Chilly Winds Don't Blow", "Strange Fruit", and "Ain't No Use". (Vocalists, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

Not just disco, but a very cool collection of 70s soul – done for the Japanese market only, and featuring a fair bit of lesser-known gems from American indie labels, including the All-Platinum family of records! Includes work by Wee Willie & The Winners, Chuck Jackson, The Moments, Ralph Carter, 5000 Volts, The Rimshots, Joe Quarterman & Free Soul, Crystal Grass, Ohio Players, The Joneses, Young Sisters, Rhetta Young, Shirley & Co, Sylvia, and Super Dragons. (Funky Compilations, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

A collection of classic material from the Philips Records years of Nina Simone – a key 60s moment when she was moving way past her roots as a jazz singer, to embrace all sorts of righteous new styles – and set a tone for singers that's held strong for decades! The music here is bubbling over with a new sense of pride and power for the 60s – a style that certainly ruffled some feathers at the time, but which really came to be that which established the legacy of Nina Simone after earlier periods recording for the Bethlehem and Colpix labels. The choice of cuts is great – and titles include "Four Women", "See Line Woman", "Wild Is The Wind", "Take Care Of Business", "Tell Me More & More & Then Some", "Ne Me Quitte Pas", "Feeling Good", "I Put A Spell On You", and "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" – plus live versions of "Mississippi Goddam" and "I Loves You Porgy". (Vocalists, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

Completely captivating work by Nina Simone – working here in that unique crossover style she was using in the mid 60s – a blend of jazz and soul arrangements that were perfect for her intimate folksy style. The album's one of her first few for Philips, and it really has her opening things up a bit – going for a new range of expression that includes influences that wouldn't have been heard on her sets a few years back. And as some great examples, the album includes a classic rendition of "Feeling Good", plus "Take Care of Business", "Gimme Some", Jacques Brel's "Ne MeQuitte Pas" and the title track, "I Put A Spell On You", which is an incredible reworking of the classic by Screaming Jay Hawkins! (Vocalists, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

A landmark album from Nina Simone – a set that really pushes her far past just the standard realm of jazz vocals, and which also helped really establish her role as one of the most righteous singers of the 60s! The set's maybe extremely noteworthy for Nina's original tune "Four Women" – a righteous portrait of four different women and their struggles – unique for its time, and a key part of the early Women's Liberation movement! The rest of the album has a similar political undercurrent – sometimes subtle, but there nonetheless – as Nina works magic on tunes that include "Break Down & Let It All Out", "Either Way I Lose", "Black Is The Color Of My True Love's Hair", and "That's All I Ask". (Vocalists, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

A 70s album, issued at a time when Esther Phillips was really riding high with her records on the Kudo label – but a set that brings together unissued sides recorded for Atlantic in the 60s! The style is a great mix of rootsy soul and hipper jazz – arranged by Onzy Matthews on side one, with a care and quality that almost rivals Capitol jazz vocal sessions of the time – and performed live at Freddie Jett's Piper Club on side two – in the same mode as her classic Burnin album from the time locale! Philips is wonderful in both settings – with that distinct approach that's unlike any other singer we know – quite versatile, and at a critical point between her R&B work of the 50s, and her smoother Kudu jazz of the 70s. Titles include include "Cherry Red", "In The Evenin", "I Wonder", "Romance In The Dark", "I Love Paris", and "I'm Gettin' Long Alright". LP, Vinyl record album

A seminal bit of crossover disco from the mid 70s – and a record that broke big on its title reworking of The Animals' earlier hit! Leroy Gomez heads the group on vocals and alto sax – and brings a slight Latin flourish to the album – mixing strings with some brassier "Spanish" horns and acoustic guitars – used here in a way that predates the Gypsy Kings' move onto the dancefloor many years later. Side one is taken up completely by an extended reading of "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" – which runs into the "Esmeralda Suite", really just an extension of the first number. Side two continues the "oldies" mode of the first with a cover of "Gloria" – then rolls into the original tunes "You're My Everything" and "Black Pot". LP, Vinyl record album

A really fantastic live album from Nina Simone – recorded at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1966, and delivered with that hard-burning energy that always makes Nina's concert performances so mindblowing! There's a lean, mean groove to the record – sharply soulful piano from Simone, and backing from a group that includes some exceptional work on drums from Robert Hamilton – a player who really helps kick up the rhythms at times – while Nina delivers these searing lyrics that definitely showcase the more righteous, political side of her spectrum! The set's a great addition to the Philips material from this period – and titles include a killer version of "Mississippi Goddam", plus "You've Got To Learn", "Blues For Mama", "Be My Husband", "Music For Lovers", and "I Loves You Porgy". (Vocalists, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

A really fantastic live album from Nina Simone – recorded at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1966, and delivered with that hard-burning energy that always makes Nina's concert performances so mindblowing! There's a lean, mean groove to the record – sharply soulful piano from Simone, and backing from a group that includes some exceptional work on drums from Robert Hamilton – a player who really helps kick up the rhythms at times – while Nina delivers these searing lyrics that definitely showcase the more righteous, political side of her spectrum! The set's a great addition to the Philips material from this period – and titles include a killer version of "Mississippi Goddam", plus "You've Got To Learn", "Blues For Mama", "Be My Husband", "Music For Lovers", and "I Loves You Porgy". (Vocalists, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

Black Gold indeed – as the album's a real classic from Nina, one of the excellent sets she cut with the Stroud Productions imprint during the early 70s! The style here is even hipper than her late 60s work on Philips – with a mixture of open-ended jazz and soul that's best summed up in the album's extended reading of "Black is the Color of My True Love's Hair", and a great version of "To Be Young Gifted & Black", which was written by Weldon Irvine, who's probably playing piano here with Nina. Other titles include the funky "Ain't Got No I Got Life", plus "Westwind", "Who Knows Where The Time Goes", and "The Assignment Sequence" – all very hip numbers! (Vocalists, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

Only Nina could make us love a "strings" setting so much – moving past the sleepiness that usually graces such vocal albums, and using the backings to give her work an added level of majesty and power that we really really love! The feel is a bit like some of Nina's later Philips recordings – in that the larger arrangements are used to hint at larger moods and concepts that lurk behind familiar and folksy tracks. The approach is most famously heard on the album's incredible reading of "I Loves You Porgy" – but all titles are great, and other tunes include "Pigs Foot & A Bottle Of Beer", "Chain Gang", "The Man With The Horn", and "Falling In Love". (Vocalists, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album