The beautiful early-to-mid 60s girl group sound of the 60s – immaculately arranged by Jack Nitzche and others, and grandly produced by Phil Spector and his Wall Of Sound – possibly the sweetest vocal group that Spector ever produced! Best known for "Da Doo Ron Ron" and "Then He Kissed Me" all these years later (for good reason, those are among the greatest pop songs ever), The Crystals don't get enough credit for the more delicate, romantic and slower grooving numbers these days. The good news is that many of those numbers, with such an uncommon depth of emotion, are in this great set, too – as well as the more rollicking R&B and brassy pop. Beautiful! 18 tracks in all: "There's No Other Like My Baby", "What A Nice Way To Turn 17", "Please Hurt Me", "Then He Kissed Me", "Little Boy", "I Wonder", "Da Doo Ron Ron", "I Love You Eddie", "He's A Rebel", "He's Sure The Boy I Love" and more, plus the previously unreleased "Woman In Love (With You)". CD

A key force in the development of New Orleans soul – the homegrown Ric & Ron Records label – home to some of the best early productions from the Crescent City! The roster of talent here is really amazing – a host of artists who'd go onto develop the New Orleans style even more strongly in the 60s, mixed with some lesser-knowns who really sparkle in this setting – sharp, tight, damn soulful singles that are all delivered without any overproduction, and nicely free of all those cliches that would later overwhelm music from the Big Easy. The rhythms alone are worth the price of the record – hard-romping piano, bass, and drums that really set an instrumental fire right from the start – then pave the way for searing lead performances from the singers and instrumental stars. The set's the best we've ever seen of these early days of the label – and features 24 tracks that include "Tell It Like It Is" by Eddie Bo, "Easy Rockin" by Eddie Lang, "I Love You Still" by Joe Jones, "Come On" by Johnny Adams, "Don't Lie To Me" by Mercy Adams, "Don't Mess With My Man" by Irma Thomas, "Carnival Time" by Al Johnson, "Nobody Knows" by Martha Carter, "All Nite Long (parts 1 & 2)" by Robert Parker, "Cuttin Out" by Professor Longhair, "Let's Get It" by Edgar Blanchard, and "Rocket To The Moon" by Chris Kenner. CD

The second album from Mica Paris – an crisp, effervescent modern soul effort from 1993! The album features production on the better tracks by Narada Michael Walden & Ron Templeton – a mix of sleek, club friendly soul and some ballads! The second track "I Wanna Hold On To You" is a great one, with rollicking hip hop-inspired beats and some echoey horns – one that should have took up residence on the charts, but we missed the boat in the US! Other tracks include "I Never Felt Like This Before", "I Wanna Hold On To You", "You Put A Move On My Heart", "Whisper A Prayer", "Two In A Million", "Positivity", "Can't Seem To Make Up My Mind", "You've Got A Special Way" and "Love Keeps Comin' Back". CD

One of Lou's most jazz-oriented albums – featuring backing by Les McCann's famous trio with Leroy Vinnegar and Ron Jefferson, perfectly suited to Lou's soulful renditions of the tunes on the album. Most of the numbers are bluesy ones, but as usual, Lou manages to give them his own hip twist – always a pleasure for us! Titles include "In The Evening", "Sweet Lover", "Willow Weep For Me", "Stormy Monday", and "'Tain't Nobody's Biz-ness If I Do". CD features 3 bonus cuts – "A Little Les Of Lou's Blues", "Blues Is A Woman", and an alternate take of "Stormy Monday". CD

A brilliant set of straight jazz material from Roy Ayers – a set recorded for Atlantic at a time when he was working for the label in Herbie Mann's group – but done in a much more righteous groove that really points the way towards Roy's growth in the 70s! The lineup changes a bit throughout the set – but all cuts feature Herbie Hancock on piano, who helps give the record a solid modal groove that works great with the sound of Roy's vibes – and other players include Buster Williams and Ron Carter on bass, Sonny Sharrock on guitar, and Freddy Waits and Bruno Carr on drums. There's a bit of added strings and woodwinds at points – already showing Ayers' ear for larger, more ambitious sounds – and the whole record's arranged by the ultra-hip William Fischer. Titles include the classic "Daddy Bug", plus "Bonita", "I Love You Michelle", "Emmie", "Shadows", "It Could Only Happen With You", and "Look To The Sky". (Jazz, Soul) CD

One of the greatest jazz vocal albums of all time – and one of the first true moments of genius from a young Dee Dee Bridgewater! The album's a Japanese only release (proof that they're always hipper to our jazz artists than we are!) – and it features Dee Dee singing material that's quite different than her later R&B-inflected sides from the late 70s – very soaring and spiritual work, delivered in a way that set a whole new standard for jazz at the time! Backing is by a small combo with brothers Ron and Cecil Bridgewater, plus Roland Hanna on acoustic and electric piano, George Mraz on bass, and Motohiko Hino on drums and percussion – but the star of the set is always Dee Dee, who sparkles beautifully on the album's classic versions of "Afro Blue" and "Little B's Poem" – both of which have been redone by many other singers over the years. Other great cuts include "People Make The World Go Round", "Love From The Sun", and "Love Vibrations". (Vocalists, Soul) CD

A nice best-of collection of Gil Scott Heron's work on Arista Records – issued in the 80s, with Gil looking a bit odd in a "Members Only" kind of way on the cover! Still, the music is great – and titles include th the extra new track "Re-Ron", an electro track about Ronald Reagan – plus live version of "The Bottle", which is edited down from it's original long version, and the tracks "Winter In America", "Johannesburg", "Angel Dust", "Shut Em Down", "Ain't No Such Thing As Superman", and a short excerpt of "B-Movie" – plus the original "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised". CD

A great great great collection of rare soul tracks – all pulled from the east LA powerhouse Rampart Records – a key force for fresh sounds in the 60s! Rampart was at a crossroads between soul and Latin scenes in the larger Los Angeles area – and as such, was able to grab music from both sides of the fence – including artists who had this amazing power to reach out for new styles to bridge previous gaps between different audiences! Make no mistake, the sound here is soul throughout – but it's also soul that helped set the stage for a bigger wave of soul, rock, and Latin changes to come from LA at the start of the 70s – and the positive force of this music is stunning, especially when taken together in a big serving like this. Titles include "Come Swim With Me" by Little Ray, "Girl I Love You" by Ron Holden, "Tracy" by Barry White & The Atlantics, "I'm In Love With Your Daughter (part 1)" by Thee Enchantments, "Hey Joe Where You Gonna Go" by Sammy Lee & The Summits, "The Panther" by The East Bay Soul Brass, "Listen To The Wise Man" by East Side Kids, "Poquito Soul" by One G Plus 34, "Evil Ways" by The Village Callers, "One Like Mine" by The Salas Brothers, "I Had A Strange Dream" by Four Tempos, and "Chinese Checkers" by The Mixtures. CD

An incredible collection of lost recordings by the Four Tops – culled from the groups earliest days with Motown in the early 60s and through the rest of the decade – a mighty testament to the pioneering group's amazing track record! Most of their sessions with Holland-Dozier-Holland actually saw the light of day (there are only a couple here), so this set runs pretty deep, and it honestly sounds as great to our ears as most of their biggest hits do! Many of the earlier tracks on disc one stand up very well with the best soul of the era, with the glorious harmonies and sterling sound you know they laid down – even on the b-sides! Disc one features tracks from '63-'68, with productions by Mickey Stevenson, Smokey Robinson, Ivy Joe Hunter and others. Tracks include "Get My Hands On Some Lovin'", "I Can't Believe You're In Love With Me", "Baby Baby Come Home", "Fantasy", "Sweeter As The Day Days Go By". "Lost For Words", "I'm So Afraid Of Losing You" and many more! Disc two features the tracks we love the most on the set – late 60s numbers in which the lead vocals get grittier, the drums clap harder, the guitar and bass gets fuzzier – looser, funkier stuff – along with straighter soul ballads, so you know they could still do it all! Producers include Raynard Miner, Ron Miller, Pete Moore, Johnny Bristol and others. Tracks include "Same-O", "Clip My Wings", "No Time", "My Love Keeps On Growing", "Never Say No To Your Baby", "Magic Mary", "Rocks In My Bed", Which Way Is The Sky", "You're My Kind Of Woman", "Lost Without You" and more. 41 tracks in all! CD

A wide-ranging look at the talents of August Darnell – an artist who's probably best known to the world as Kid Creole, but who also had a hand in a number of other dancefloor acts of the late 70s and early 80s! All tracks here have that trademark August Darnell groove – a good ear for jazzy, playful rhythms – often with styles borrowed from previous decades in the 20th century, retooled with hipper, leaner styles for the time! Darnell was one of the first to actively reach back into the past for ideas to use on the dancefloor – and although the practice is quite common now, the tracks here have a sound that few contemporary artists could ever hope to match. And when he wanted to, Darnell could also hit a club groove as great as any other artists on the New York scene of the late 70s – a pulsing, hypnotic approach to rhythm that was probably best know from his side projects on Ze Records. The tunes go way beyond familiar Kid Creole hits – and titles include "Goin To A Showdown" and "I'm An Indian Too (12" mix)" by Don Armando's Second Avenue Rhumba Band, "Is That All There Is" by Cristina, "Paradise" and "Emile (Night Rate)" by Aural Exciters, "There But For The Grace Of God Go I (12" version)" by Machine, "Don't Play With My Emotions" by Ron Rogers, "On A Day Like Today" by Gichy Dan's Beachwood #9, "Pharoah (Can't Take It To The Grave" by Coati Mundi, "Sunshower" by Dr Buzzard's Original Savannah Band, and the Kid Creole tracks "He's Not Such A Bad Guy After All (12" version)", "Double On Back", "Off The Coast Of Me", and "Going Places (Zemix version)". CD

Hypnotic organ funk from Lyman Woodard – an old bandmate of Dennis Coffey, and one of the shining lights of the 70s Detroit scene! This is amazing, amazing stuff – Woodard's electric piano, organ and occasional mellotron and Norma Bell's alto saxophone lend a cosmic funk aspect throughout, very much like Death Wish-era Herbie Hancock – with a laidback, tripped-out groove that's really mindblowing! Ron English accents the thing perfectly with his languid guitar and bass groove, while Leonard King and Lorenzo Brown's drumming and percussion can keep the groove adrift, or tear it up in a funky maelstrom depending on the mission of the cut. It's totally essential Strata jazz funk – and a record we've rarely seen in the original pressing. Tracks include "Saturday Night Special", "Joy Road", "Belle Isle Daze", "Creative Musicians", "Cheeba", "On Your Mind", "Allen Barnes", and "Help Me Get Away". CD features bonus tracks – "Bell Isle Daze (lost alt mix)" and "Saturday Night Special (lost alternate mix)". (Jazz, Soul) CD