A true pleasure indeed – easily one of the greatest records ever by the Ohio Players, and a perfect summation of all things great in their groove! The album's a landmark effort – even for the heady days of the early 70s – as the Players manage to bring together a fair bit of jazz with their famous guitar-driven funk – all in a blend that's a lot more sophisticated than most other funk combos of the time, from the rhythms at the bottom to the instrumentation on the top! There's a darkness here that's undeniable – but the album's also not just a head trip into the fuzziest reaches of the studio – as the jazzier inflections help illuminate the farthest corners, and really bring the whole album back to focus with a wonderfully redemptive groove! Psychedelic elements are still all over the place, but also used sparingly enough to be most effective – a brilliant balance that few groups of this type were ever able to muster. Titles include the classic "Funky Worm", with the wild moogy bit that's been sampled loads of times over the years by a gazillion hip hoppers – plus loads of other nice ones, like the slow bonking funker "Pride & Vanity", the wild "Walt's First Trip", and the groovy "Laid It" – as well as "Pleasure", "Paint Me", "Our Love Has Died", and "Walked Away From You". CD features amazing sound and a whopping 7 bonus tracks – including "Ruffell Foot", "What It Is", "Rooster Poot", "Gone Forever", "Dimensions In Time", and "Introducing The Players". CD

A true pleasure indeed – easily one of the greatest records ever by the Ohio Players, and a perfect summation of all things great in their groove! The album's a landmark effort – even for the heady days of the early 70s – as the Players manage to bring together a fair bit of jazz with their famous guitar-driven funk – all in a blend that's a lot more sophisticated than most other funk combos of the time, from the rhythms at the bottom to the instrumentation on the top! There's a darkness here that's undeniable – but the album's also not just a head trip into the fuzziest reaches of the studio – as the jazzier inflections help illuminate the farthest corners, and really bring the whole album back to focus with a wonderfully redemptive groove! Psychedelic elements are still all over the place, but also used sparingly enough to be most effective – a brilliant balance that few groups of this type were ever able to muster. Titles include the classic "Funky Worm", with the wild moogy bit that's been sampled loads of times over the years by a gazillion hip hoppers – plus loads of other nice ones, like the slow bonking funker "Pride & Vanity", the wild "Walt's First Trip", and the groovy "Laid It" – as well as "Pleasure", "Paint Me", "Our Love Has Died", and "Walked Away From You". CD features amazing sound and a whopping 7 bonus tracks – including "Ruffell Foot", "What It Is", "Rooster Poot", "Gone Forever", "Dimensions In Time", and "Introducing The Players". CD

Talk about standing in the shadows of Motown! This set's a whole batch of really rare tracks from the Detroit scene of the late 60s – some of which were only issued on tiny labels, and lots more of which appear here for the first time ever – all from the mighty deep vaults of soul producer Dave Hamilton! Dave's a lost legend from the Motor City – a cat who captured talent that was every bit as good as that appearing on bigger indies – like Westbound, Groovesville, or Ric Tic – but who also recorded more gems than he could issue back in the day – which is what makes his music so ripe for discovery all these many years later. The set's overflowing with cuts that rival some of the best Northern Soul singles of the period, and also includes some cool steppers that show the way that Dave could guess where Detroit sounds would go in the 70s – all with a quality and production level that's way more than you'd expect from Hamilton's tiny studio. CD features 24 tracks in all – lots never issued – and titles include "Happiness Is Here" by Tobi Lark, "Lean Lanky Daddy" by Little Ann, "Heavenly Thing" by The Mark-Keys, "You Did" by Priscilla Page, "What Should I Do" by Little Ann, "Blue Funk" by Dave Hamilton, "Talking Bout Love" by Tobi Lark, "Your Love Is What I Want" by The Ravins, "Just A Mistake" by The Ebonettes, "That's All She Wrote" by Gil Billingsley, "Love Friends & Money" by James Lately, "Sweep It Out In The Shed" by Tobi Lark, "I'm Pretending" by Priscilla Page, "Nothing In This World" by Dottie & Millie, "You Won't Miss The Water" by Chico & Buddy, and "Marriage Is Only A State Of Mind" by James Carpenter. CD

Never-heard live work from the legendary Junie Morrison – a funky legend who worked both in the Ohio Players and in the P-Funk empire of George Clinton – heard here in a smoking live setting in Michigan, right around the time of his classic solo records for Westbound! The format is great – really open and freewheeling, and nicely different than some of Junie's records in the studio – as Junie works with the Crowd Pleasers group, in a blistering blend of funk, soul, and jazz – with solos that evoke some of the latter, and which remind us of the unearthed Lyman Woodard concerts from around the same time! Tracks are mostly nice and long, very jamming – and the small combo vibe is a really different change from some of the arena funk of the period. Titles include a great version of Junie's classic "Granny's Funky Rolls Royce" – plus "Super J", "Tight Rope/Super Groupie", "Shakey Ground", "Fopp", "Musical Son", "Oh Me Oh My", "Surrender", and an Ohio Players medley of "Pain/Cookies Will Get You/Pleasure/Ecstasy". LP, Vinyl record album

An insane package – one that features the material from the 6CD Complete Concert Wattstax set, plus 5 more CDs from Summit Club Recordings in 1972, plus one more CD of additional material too! First up are 6 CDs that feature a stunning presentation of the legendary Wattstax concert – that huge moment of pride and power when the folks at Stax Records filled up the Los Angeles Coliseum with one of the most memorable shows of the 70s! The meeting of talents here is the stuff of legend – and this great package brings together the complete show in running order – really building up excitement as the concert progresses – with different acts each bringing their own sort of fire to the stage, culminating in a fantastic long finale by Isaac Hayes! The presentation is different than the two double albums that Stax issued back in the 70s – and this expanded package features a number of unreleased tracks in place of material the label later added – such as work from Richard Pryor and The Emotions. There's a whole instrumental section at the start, and more spoken links between some parts – and new material includes unissued work from Kim Weston, Freddie Robinson, Ernie Hines, Eric Mercury, Tommy Tate, Billy Eckstine, and Isaac Hayes – in addition to famous performances by The Soul Children, Jesse Jackson, Rufus Thomas, Albert King, Carla Thomas, William Bell, The Bar Kays, David Porter, The Temprees, Eddie Floyd, and David Porter – plus plenty more from Isaac Hayes too! Great package – with a full color book with new notes and essays, and plenty more too. The Summit Club material follows on five more CDs – material that was partly issued on some other reissues by individual artists, but augmented here with a wealth of unreleased material too! There's a a full show of work from Johnnie Taylor and Rufus Thomas – the latter of whom even does some comedy bits – plus some extra funky performances from The Sons Of Slum, heavy blues from Little Milton, great soul from The Emotions, and a huge amount of never-issued work from the great duo Mel & Tim – arguably better here than on their Stax studio sessions. CD12 features additional recordings that were layered into some of the LP releases issued under the Wattstax name – 15 more tracks that include titles by The Emotions, Isaac Hayes, The Dramatics, Staple Singers, and Eddie Floyd – plus some comedy routines by Richard Pryor. CD