It may be commercial reggae, but the strength of the group's version of "Now That We Found Love" really pushed them over the top! That track's the real winner here – a smooth modern soul number with just a slight hint of Kingston, grooving away in a crossover style that we still really dig. Other tracks include "Journey To Addis", "One Cold Vibe", "Cold Sweat", and "African Woman". (Reggae, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

One of the greatest reggae crossover tunes of all time! "Now That We Found Love" is a killer tune written by Gamble & Huff – and redone by Third World in a smooth stepping mode that forges Philly modern with Jamaican rhythms, a perfect blend in this case, and an instant classic! (Reggae, Soul) 12-inch, Vinyl record

Roy Ayers in a very Afro-styled mode – working here on his own after a famous collaboration with Fela Kuti – in a set that's filled with the same sort of hard-driving Afro-Funk grooves that you'd find in Fela's classic recordings! The songs are shorter than Fela's, and with more of Roy's usual smooth jazzy production style – but the overall influence is very much in the Afro-Funk vein, and the album's sort of a "part 2" to the Music Of Many Colors set that was cut a few years before. William Allen worked on the record with Roy – playing choppy Afro-Funk bass, and arranging and producing a lot of the material with Roy and Jaymz Bedford – and the record also features a host of extra percussion players, as well as some vocals by the lovely Sylvia Striplin. Includes the great groover "Africa, Center Of The World", plus "The River Niger", and a great remake of "Third Eye", which was on Everybody Loves The Sunshine, but is redone here with a heavier sound! Other tracks include "There's A Masterplan", "I'll Just Keep Trying", and "Destination Motherland". LP, Vinyl record album

An amazing set of tracks from one of our favorite artists ever – a whopping 33 track, 2CD compilation of some of the best of Roy's work for Polydor! Given the title, you can expect a very hip bent to the tracks picked for the set – lots of righteous politics and hip cultural themes bubbling underneath the funky and jazzy grooves that were Roy's forte during the 70s. And while we treasure just about every single track that Roy recorded for Polydor (re-release all the albums – please!), we also have to say that we probably couldn't have come up with a better 33 tracks if we'd picked them ourselves! Titles include "The Old One Two", "Life Is Just A Moment (part 2)", "The Memory", "Hey Uh What You Say Come On", "Running Away", "Searching", "We Live In Brooklyn Baby", "Coffy Is The Color", "Sweet Tears", "Red Black & Green", "No Deposits No Return", "The Third Eye", "Sweet Tears (disco)", "Africa Center Of The World", "Our Time Is Coming", "Destination Motherland", "Fever", "What You Won't Do For Love", "Thank You Thank You", "Can't You See Me (12" mix)", "Baby You Give Me A Feeling", "Everybody Loves The Sunshine", and "Love From The Sun". CD

The lost third album from CJ & Co – that totally groovy, totally tight group who were one of the best things going on Westbound Records in the late 70s! CJ & Co had a groove that was just right for the new club world of the time – but they also had a sharp instrumental approach that was much more tied to the Detroit funk of early 70s Westbound – and their sound was given a fantastic push and polish by the production team of Mike Theodore and Dennis Coffey, who really keep things sounding strong throughout! These aren't leftover cuts, or the kind of material that was rejected at the time – and instead, the whole package has a quality level that really matches the classic Devil's Gun record by the group – a funky disco spectacular all the way through. Titles include "Is Your Love Life Better", "Ain't It Amazing", "Rainbow Music", "Brassband", "Get Lucky", "Rainmaker", "The Golden Touch", "Can't Believe You'd Break Your Promise", "Let Them Talk", "Boogie Love", and a rare "original mix" of "Devil's Gun". All tracks previously unreleased! CD

Cymande hit some well-deserved heights on this massive third album – working with a complicated groove that's even more compelling than their earlier albums – in a righteous blend of heavy bass and tripped-out guitars that's unlike anything else we've ever heard! The music's a unique blend of roots from Guyana coming into play with the changes of the 70s London scene – and the group have a way of reaching out past borders, past familiar styles, and making a whole new world of their own! Things are funky, but pretty darn dubby too – and the whole thing's got a sly sound that others have tried to copy over the years – but never done this well at all. Titles include the monster funk cut "Brothers On the Slide", a jaunty sample-laden groover – plus "Pon De Dungle", "Changes", "Sheshamani", and "Leavert". LP, Vinyl record album

Marvin Gaye's last album ever – and a sensuous batch of grooves that almost return him to the sound of Let's Get It On! The style here is a bit more modern, but the sound is still great – a smoother approach to soul than most of Gaye's contemporaries at the time, recorded in a way that has the vocals soaring majestically over the top of the backings! Slight undercurrents of funk spice things up somewhat, but still avoid any mainstream 80s groove cliches – and Marvin wrote, arranged, and produced the album himself (although with a bit of help from Chicago organist Odell Brown on the hit "Sexual Healing"!) Titles include "Sexual Healing", "My Love Is Waiting", "Third World Girl", "Turn On Some Music", "Joy", and "Midnight Lady". LP, Vinyl record album

Marvin Gaye's last album ever – and a sensuous batch of grooves that almost return him to the sound of Let's Get It On! The style here is a bit more modern, but the sound is still great – a smoother approach to soul than most of Gaye's contemporaries at the time, recorded in a way that has the vocals soaring majestically over the top of the backings! Slight undercurrents of funk spice things up somewhat, but still avoid any mainstream 80s groove cliches – and Marvin wrote, arranged, and produced the album himself (although with a bit of help from Chicago organist O'Dell Brown on the hit "Sexual Healing"!) Titles include "Sexual Healing", "My Love Is Waiting", "Third World Girl", "Turn On Some Music", "Joy", and "Midnight Lady". 2CD version features the bonus 74 minute "Sexual Healing sessions" – an amazing batch of tracks that show the development of different tunes on the album – with the tracks "Clique Games/Rick James", "Sexual Healing (alt 12" inst)", "I Bet You Wonder", "Baby Baby Baby", "I've Got My Music", "Turn On Some Music (alt voc mix)", "Marvin's Message To CBS Records", "Sexual Healing (rehearsal tape)", and "My Love Is Waiting (alt vocal)". CD

Maybe the third great Philly studio group of the 70s – after MFSB and Salsoul Orchestra – a killer combo who provided backing grooves to plenty of great club tracks over the years – and who step out strongly here on their own debut album! Bunny Sigler helps give the album a sharp focus – with his own production and songwriting in play – in modes that are very much like his own best club tracks of the time – but the group is more than great enough on their own – with a funky edge that definitely lives up to their name, and a groove that's even sharper than the two aforementioned contemporary combos. Lead vocals are by James Carmichael, who's totally great – and titles include "Don't You Wanna Party", "Never Let It Go Away", "I Got My Mind Made Up", "Dark Vader", "Wide World Of Sports", and "You Say You Want Me To Stay". LP, Vinyl record album

The third great album in the trilogy that includes Off The Wall and Thriller – and a set that still has Michael Jackson running strong at the height of his solo powers! Quincy Jones is still at the helm, and Michael more than proves that he can still come up with a pop tune without going too far over the top – catchy, compelling numbers that played well all over the world of pop – but which still hang onto just a little part of his soul roots too! That balance is a key factor to the success of this set – a record that helped re-ignite interest in Jackson's music, and introduce him to a whole new generation – while still keeping most of the older fans plenty pleased too. Titles include "Just Good Friends", "Smooth Criminal", "Bad", "Another Part Of Me", "Man In The Mirror", and "Speed Demon". LP, Vinyl record album

A trio of albums from Junie Morrison, plus bonus tracks too – all to document the genius of the guy who really helped the Ohio Players find their groove! First up is When We Do – the solo debut of Junie – a crazy little album recorded for Westbound in the time after he split company with The Ohio Players – and a set that's definitely got the weirdly wonderful mix of music that group was known for in their pre-Mercury years! Junie effortlessly moves between a number of styles, all with a great degree of wit – still keeping things funky in all the best ways, but also really experimenting with larger sounds and unusual arrangements – which come into play here in a really wonderful way! The album's an overlooked funk treasure from the 70s – far too sophisticated for its own time – and titles include "Walt's Third Trip", "Tight Rope", "Johnny Carson Samba", "Anna", "Loving Arms", "Married Him", and "The Place". Freeze is a wonderful set from Junie – a record that has all the offbeat funk he was crafting with the Ohio Players during their Westbound years – and the same sort of heady sound that would make Morrison a perfect match with the P-Funk empire! The record contains the legendary track "Granny's Funky Rolls Royce", which features a meeting between the Funky Granny (a near folklorish character from the early 70s, who'd appeared on records by Kool & The Gang and Ohio Players) and an alien, who tells urges to "buy this record, buy this record, buy this record" in a very silly voice! The funky comedy of this track is nicely matched by a range of other odd numbers and straighter soul cuts – and titles include "Freeze", "Super J", "Musical Son", "Junie II", "World of Woe", and "Cookies Will Get You". Suzie Super Groupie is a funky tribute to all the "Super Groupies" who were helping out the 70s music scene – maybe the closest thing that Junie Morrison every came to a concept album – and a set that's got all the same wonderful complexity of his other solo albums on Westbound! As with those records, there's a pre-Prince approach to funk that draws heavily from Ohio Players and P-Funk elements – but which really gets a sharper, more sinister focus with Junie in the lead – at a level of soulful stardom that could have made him another Bootsy Collins, if folks were ever smart enough to figure out what he was doing at the time! Titles include the funky classic "Suzie Thundertussy" – plus "Super Groupie", "Surrender", "Junie III", "What Am I Gonna Do", "Stone Face Joe", "Suzie", and "If You Love Him". Set also features rare Junie cuts – including "Junie's Ultimate Departure", "Walt's Second Trip", "Tight Rope (single)", "Loving Arms (mono)", "If You Love Him (single)", "Super J (single)", and "Granny's Funky Rolls Royce (mono)". CD

A classic set of spacey club from Mandre – aka Andre Lewis – an artist we'd place right up there with some of the best cosmic sounds from Dexter Wansel at the time, and maybe even some of the more space-bound club artists of the European scene as well! The album's got some wonderful keyboards throughout – heard in a mostly instrumental mode on side one, save for a great track that includes vocals from Maxayn – and as the set rolls along, things get more confident, more groove-oriented, and pick up some bassier rhythms that fit in wonderfully with Mandre's overall conception! The album's got a fuzzy, trippy sound you'd hardly expect from late 70s Motown – and the whole thing's been an underground club classic for years – with cuts that include the sublime "Solar Flight (Opus I)" and "Third World Calling (Opus II)", plus "Keep Tryin", "Masked Music Man", "Wonder What I'd Do", "Money", "Dirty Love", and "Masked Marauder". CD

A classic set of spacey club from Mandre – aka Andre Lewis – an artist we'd place right up there with some of the best cosmic sounds from Dexter Wansel at the time, and maybe even some of the more space-bound club artists of the European scene as well! The album's got some wonderful keyboards throughout – heard in a mostly instrumental mode on side one, save for a great track that includes vocals from Maxayn – and as the set rolls along, things get more confident, more groove-oriented, and pick up some bassier rhythms that fit in wonderfully with Mandre's overall conception! The album's got a fuzzy, trippy sound you'd hardly expect from late 70s Motown – and the whole thing's been an underground club classic for years – with cuts that include the sublime "Solar Flight (Opus I)" and "Third World Calling (Opus II)", plus "Keep Tryin", "Masked Music Man", "Wonder What I'd Do", "Money", "Dirty Love", and "Masked Marauder". LP, Vinyl record album

Classic work from the O'Jays – presented here in a multi-channel SACD! First up is Ship Ahoy – a pivotal album from The O'Jays – and an undeniable Philly classic! The record was the third the group cut for the Philadelphia International label – but it was really the first one that pushed their strong righteous soul agenda, sort of a mix of message-oriented lyrics and heavy soul (ala The Temptations), fused with the warmer more sophisticated styles of the Philly sound! The blend is perfect – and has a way of getting the message from the underground right into the living room – and a bit onto the charts as well! From the image on the cover – which features the group in a slave ship setting – to politics of tracks like "Don't Call Me Brother", "For The Love Of Money", "Put Your Hands Together", and "This Air That I Breathe", the record's an extremely unified effort – kind of to the O'Jays what What's Going On was to Marvin Gaye. Other titles include "You Got Your Hooks In Me", "Now That We Found Love", and "People Keep Tellin Me". Message In The Music is one of those records that really took Philly soul to the next level back in the 70s – a set that works amazing magic with the already-great harmonies of the O'Jays – pointing them even more strongly towards groove-heavy territory, while still keeping all the fragile, personal qualities of their earlier work! The title cut is a righteous anthem that never gets old – a perfect blend of subtle politics and homegrown soul – all polished to perfection in the Philly studios. And the rest of the record is equally mindblowing – a set where even the ballads have as much power as the upbeat numbers – as you'll hear in the lineup of tracks that includes "Message In The Music", "Darlin, Darlin, Baby", "A Prayer", "Make A Joyful Noise", "Let Life Flow", and "Paradise". Live In London is a seminal album in the development of Philadelphia International – who seemed to be taking a cue from Motown and Stax in the 60s, by bringing their biggest act to a European audience! The set features the O'Jays working as beautifully in a live setting as they had in the Sigma Sound studios – singing to arrangements by Dennis Williams, but still getting enough production by Bobby Martin to keep the sound in line with their better known studio work from the time. There's a bit of a deeper soul sound overall here – especially on the vocals, which crackle nicely with a live sense of spontaneity. Titles include "Back Stabbers", "Sunshine", "Love Train", "When The World Is A Peace", and "Put Your Hands Together" – plus a few vocal introductions! CD

Very cool work from Telex – a trio who are really coming into their own on this third record, and maybe starting to resonate with some of the groups they helped inspire in the world of electro pop – particularly the more playful acts of the German new wave! As with some of those groups, there's a nice mix of wit and electronics on the set, but served up in English language lyrics that really help the group transcend their scene – finding a new home for the electronics of Marc Moulin and Dan Lacksman, as they get key lyric contributions here from Ron and Russel Male of Sparks! Titles include "Haven't We Met Somewhere Before", "Sigmund Freud's Party", "Exercise Is Good For You", "Brainwash", and "Dream O Mat". (Rock, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

Music from Spanner Banner & Scotty, Third World, Ericia Newell, Toots & The Maytals, Jack Radics & Red Dragon, Chaka Demus & Pliers, Stingers, Richie Stephens, Freddy McGregor & more. (Reggae, Soul) CD

A huge amount of 12" singles, stuffed into one mighty nice 4CD set – maybe not the greatest of all time, but still pretty darn wonderful overall! The set does an especially great job of looking at a late 70s moment when some of the hipper soul artists were able to get the extra space of a 12" single to really open up their sound – grooves that move past the shorter space of a 7", and really do plenty in the process – often in ways that are much more interesting than some of the overplayed disco of the time. There's 43 long grooves on the set – all 12" singles – and titles include "Space Age" by Jimmy Castor, "You Are A Star" by Aquarian Dream, "Flashlight" by Parliament, "Good Times" by Chic, "Ten Percent" by Double Exposure, "I Should've Loved Ya" by Narada Michael Walden, "Fantastic Voyage" by Lakeside, "You're My Occupation (ext)" by Chaz Jankel, "Expansions" by Lonnie Liston Smith, "And The Beat Goes On" by the Whispers, "You Got The Floor" by Arthur Adams, "Do It Any Way You Wanna (Tom Moulton mix)" by People's Choice, "Do What You Wanna Do" by T-Connection, "Twilight (inst)" by Maze, "You + Me + Love" by Undisputed Truth, "More Bounce To The Ounce (parts 1 & 2)" by Zapp, "Now That We Found Love (disco mix)" by Third World, "Hi Tension" by Hi Tension, "Dancing In Outer Space" by Atmosfear, "Money's Too Tight To Mention" by Valentine Brothers, "Searching" by Change, and "Running Away" by Roy Ayers. (Funky Compilations, Soul) CD

A great set of groovers from the Cameo/Parkway label – a company that gave the world the biggest twist record of the 60s, but which also was perfectly poised to deliver all sorts of other upbeat tracks as well! The label was in Philly – a huge dance town in the early days of soul and rock – and the set list here is filled with the kind of cuts that were Philadelphia's answer to the rising sound of Motown – the roots of the Northern Soul sound that would be followed by soul collectors for decades! These aren't novelty hits, but upbeat cuts that groove plenty – most by soul artists, a few by pop singers – but all given the kind of tight instrumentation and strong studio handling that made the Philly scene such a standout. 22 tracks in all – including "Shimmy Shimmy" and "The Wah Watusi" by The Orlons, "Bristol Stomp" and "You Can't Sit Down" by the Dovells, "Mashed Potato Time" and "Do The Bird" by Dee Dee Sharp, "The 81" by Candy & The Kisses, "The Mash" by Tony Young & The Hippies, "Mexican Hat Rock" by The Applejacks, "Baby Do The Frog" by The Dardenelles, "The Swim (part 1)" by The Marlins, "Slow Twistin" by Chubby Checker & Dee Dee Sharp, "The Third House" by Bobby Rydell, "When You Dance" by The Turbans, "Everybody South Street" by The Taffys, "The Popeye Waddle" by Don Covay, and yes, "The Twist" by Chubby Checker. LP, Vinyl record album

The genius of Roy Ayers knows no end – and as this set of unreleased work from the 70s proves, Roy was always working at top form back in the day – even above and beyond his classic albums from the time! The grooves here are tremendous – funky, soulful, jazzy, and every bit as wonderful as the work that Roy did for his classic albums on Polydor – and in a way, the whole set's even tighter and heavier than any of Roy's full LPs, because it's a distillation of his sound from the time, hand-picked from the vaults with an ear towards the kind of timeless grooves that have been a huge influence on many worlds of music for years! You've never heard any of these tunes before, but we can promise you'll love them every bit as much as Roy's tracks on albums like Coffy, Vibrations, Mystic Voyage, and other classics – and the quality of the set only further pushes our jaw-dropping respect for the man! Titles include "Holiday", "Kwajilori", "I Am Your Mind (part 2)", "Touch Of Class", "Third Time", "Come To Me", "Wide Open", "Funk In The Hole", "Liquid Love", "Tarzan", "Sunshine (demo)", and "I Like The Way You Do It To Me". LP, Vinyl record album