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Tower Of Power move down to Memphis for the recording of this great second album – and almost pick up a bit of Stax Records vibe in the process! The Memphis location is a key hint to the groove going on down here – a sound that's steeped in southern elements, even though the group themselves hail from the Bay Area – carried off with a quality that's a wonderful blend of funky rhythms, jazzier horns, and even a bit of fuller touches from the Memphis Strings. Legendary guitarist Steve Cropper helps the group out a bit on the session – and the album's got a sweet southern funky groove that sits nicely with the Bay Area groove of the group. Titles include "You Got To Funkifize", "Flash In The Pan", "Down To The Nightclub", "You Strike My Main Nerve", and "Of The Earth". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

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Tower Of Power move down to Memphis for the recording of this great second album – and almost pick up a bit of Stax Records vibe in the process! The Memphis location is a key hint to the groove going on down here – a sound that's steeped in southern elements, even though the group themselves hail from the Bay Area – carried off with a quality that's a wonderful blend of funky rhythms, jazzier horns, and even a bit of fuller touches from the Memphis Strings. Legendary guitarist Steve Cropper helps the group out a bit on the session – and the album's got a sweet southern funky groove that sits nicely with the Bay Area groove of the group. Titles include "You Got To Funkifize", "Flash In The Pan", "Down To The Nightclub", "You Strike My Main Nerve", and "Of The Earth". CD

Classic east bay grease from the early days – featuring the good lineup of T of P, with Chester Thompson on organ, and Lenny Williams on lead vocals. Titles include "Give Me The Proof", "I Believe In Myself", "Walkin Up Hip Street", "Maybe It'll Rub Off", and "Come Back Baby". CD

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The song was later performed by Lynn Sobey for ABC Records. LP, Vinyl record album

Great work from this lovely vocalist from the 60s! The record features a core group of backing by the Ronnie Brown trio, plus some larger arrangements by Lincoln Mayorga – and the sound is nice and soulful, with a bit of a jazzy touch – in the manner of some of Nancy Wilson's work at Capitol. Includes a cover of Percy Sledge's big title hit, with the gender reversed as in the title, plus the tracks "It Hurts So Bad", "Nice & Easy", "Are You Ready For A Woman", and "Till The End Of Time". LP, Vinyl record album

A great full length collection of work by Memphis singer Barbara Brown – a vocalist who appeared both as a solo act, and with her sisters – on a variety of singles for labels like Cadet, Atlantic, Tower, and MGM in the late 60s and early 70s! Barbara's got a deep, rich voice that's clearly schooled in gospel, but pointed towards more secular ends – an approach that's very much in keeping with the best late 60s wave of soul from Atlantic Records, and which is carried off here with a sharpness and precision that's simply mindblowing! Why Brown never scored bigger is a real mystery to us, because these tunes come off like the cream of the crop of southern soul at the end of the 60s – not just obscurities for obscurity sake, but some of the highest level of soul a female soul singer could hope for at the time! Titles include "Can't Find No Happiness", "Plenty Of Room", "A Great Big Thing", "Things Have Gone To Pieces", "Man Around The House", "Play Thing", "I'm Gonna Start A War", "I Don't Want To Have To Wait", "It Hurts Me So Much", "Got To Be Somebody", "There's A Look On Your Face", and "If I Can't Run To You I'll Crawl". LP, Vinyl record album

An amazing setting for the righteous words and message of Nikki Giovanni – as the set has the poet working with backing vocals by the New York Community Choir, who also recorded a great soul album on RCA around the same time – and an overall approach that elevates Nikki's poetry into a very spiritual realm! There's definitely some gospel currents to the music, but Givoanni's words and spoken passages have much more down to earth concerns – the mix of political and personal themes that made her one of the most important young black poets of her generation. The whole thing is fantastic – very powerful throughout, with titles that include "My Tower", "Poem For A Lady Of Leisure Now Retired", "Second Rapp Poem", "Great Pax Whitey", "Poem For Aretha", and "Ego Tripping". LP, Vinyl record album

A well-titled album, as it features some of Gene's big early hits, mixed along with lesser-known gems – all done in that proud, loud style he used before becoming the Headless Hero! Snuff Garrett produced most of the work, and the tunes have a bold approach that certainly draws from the Liberty pop sound of the time – but which also has the same righteous soul touches that you might find in Lou Rawls work of the time, and which makes Gene a key link between Lou and earlier singers like Roy Hamilton or Tommy Edwards. Titles include "A Hundred Pounds Of Clay", "Chip Chip", "I Don't Want To Cry", "Tower Of Strength", "A Tear", "Send For Me", and "Point Of No Return". LP, Vinyl record album

Includes the songs "I Wish You Love", "The Folks That Live on the Hill", "He Needs Me", "I Should Care", "June Night", "Impossible", "Try a Little Tenderness", "I'm Glad There Is You", "Love I've Found You", "Tower of Strength", "Serenade In Blue", "Don't Worry About Me", "Perdido", and "Stella by Starlight". (Vocalists, Soul) CD

Music from James Brown, Aretha Franklin, War, the Chakachas, the Jimmy Castor Bunch, the JBs, New Birth, Cymande, Tower of Power, the O Jays, BT Express, Kool & the Gang, George McCrae, the Ohio Players, the Isley Brothers, Brick, Brass Construction, Rick James, Fatback, the Gap Band & more. 55 tracks in all, plenty of funk essentials, and detailed notes – all in a fuzzy book-style cover! (Funky Compilations, Soul) CD

An amazing setting for the righteous words and message of Nikki Giovanni – as the set has the poet working with backing vocals by the New York Community Choir, who also recorded a great soul album on RCA around the same time – and an overall approach that elevates Nikki's poetry into a very spiritual realm! There's definitely some gospel currents to the music, but Givoanni's words and spoken passages have much more down to earth concerns – the mix of political and personal themes that made her one of the most important young black poets of her generation. The whole thing is fantastic – very powerful throughout, with titles that include "My Tower", "Poem For A Lady Of Leisure Now Retired", "Second Rapp Poem", "Great Pax Whitey", "Poem For Aretha", and "Ego Tripping". CD

Lenny's working here with Frank E Wilson – a great producer who really understood his style of singing, and who classed up his act considerably after the early days in Tower of Power. The album's got a good mix of smooth soul and uptempo numbers – and tracks include "Sweet Ecstasy", "If You're In Need", "Last Night I Dreamed", "Doing The Loop De Loop", "Here's To The Lady", and "Though We Loved Once". LP, Vinyl record album

An amazing setting for the righteous words and message of Nikki Giovanni – as the set has the poet working with backing vocals by the New York Community Choir, who also recorded a great soul album on RCA around the same time – and an overall approach that elevates Nikki's poetry into a very spiritual realm! There's definitely some gospel currents to the music, but Givoanni's words and spoken passages have much more down to earth concerns – the mix of political and personal themes that made her one of the most important young black poets of her generation. The whole thing is fantastic – very powerful throughout, with titles that include "My Tower", "Poem For A Lady Of Leisure Now Retired", "Second Rapp Poem", "Great Pax Whitey", "Poem For Aretha", and "Ego Tripping". CD

An incredibly beautiful set of work from Arthur Russell – one of the few records to be issued under his own name during his tragically short life – and a hauntingly spare blend of vocals, hand percussion, and solo cello – recorded with more than enough echo to live up to the title! The style is incredibly hard to peg – at times delivered with an almost Nick Drake-like approach that's extremely personal, but also sharing some styles with the mellower work of Suicide and other New York art rock groups from Russell's generation. Russell's voice billows out in a field of echo, directed almost imperceptibly by resonant notes on an electrified cello, and bumped along by muted rhythms that have almost no "attack" but lots of delay. One thing is extremely clear: that the album, which virtually died upon release back in the 80s, was years ahead of its time – and has a quality that easily ranks it as one of the most inventive recordings of its decade. The whole thing's as surprisingly appealing as it is experimental, and this extra-deluxe package features a number of additional tracks. Titles include "Wax The Van", "Tone Bone Kone", "Answers Me", "Being It", "She's The Star/I Take This Time", "Tree House", "See Through", "Lucky Cloud", "Happy Ending", "Tower Of Meaning/Rabbit's Ear/Home Away From Home", and "Our Last Night Together". (Rock, Soul) CD

The long-overdue return of a southern soul legend – as the great Willie Hightower returns to the Muscle Shoals scene that gave him some of his best music of the 60s! Hearing the sound of the record, it's as if nothing's changed at all – and we mean that in the best way possible – as Willie's vocals are still wonderful, and the backing has that right mode of easygoing soul to really let the singer flow – which he does wonderfully under the production guidance of equal southern soul legend Quinton Claunch, with backing from all star players who include Travis Wammack on guitar and Clayton Ivey on Hammond. The whole thing's better than you might even expect – like lost tapes from the mid 70s, with a warm glow that shows Willie in perfect for all the way through! Titles include "Everybody Wants My Girl", "No Gettin Over Me", "You Can't Love", "I Found You", "Raining All The Time", "Somewhere Dry", "Tired Of Losing You", and "Easy Loving". CD

The long-overdue return of a southern soul legend – as the great Willie Hightower returns to the Muscle Shoals scene that gave him some of his best music of the 60s! Hearing the sound of the record, it's as if nothing's changed at all – and we mean that in the best way possible – as Willie's vocals are still wonderful, and the backing has that right mode of easygoing soul to really let the singer flow – which he does wonderfully under the production guidance of equal southern soul legend Quinton Claunch, with backing from all star players who include Travis Wammack on guitar and Clayton Ivey on Hammond. The whole thing's better than you might even expect – like lost tapes from the mid 70s, with a warm glow that shows Willie in perfect for all the way through! Titles include "Everybody Wants My Girl", "No Gettin Over Me", "You Can't Love", "I Found You", "Raining All The Time", "Somewhere Dry", "Tired Of Losing You", and "Easy Loving". LP, Vinyl record album

A really amazing project – and a totally righteous little record – a set of songs all penned by Bob Dylan in the 60s, sung by a hip spiritual choir that includes performances from soul singers Clydie King, Merry Clayton, Edna Wright, and Gloria Jones! The mix of soul and gospel here is wonderful – very much in the spirit of The Voices Of East Harlem at the same time – with this progressive, positive vibe that goes way way past the original style of Dylan's music! Gene Page handled the musical arrangements, and Billy Page helped with the vocals – and together they really transform the compositions – creating a very different setting for the great lyrics of songs that include "The Mighty Quinn", "All Along The Watchtower", "Mr Tambourine Man", "Chimes Of Freedom", and "The Times They Are A Changin". A record that shouldn't work this well – but it does, and beautifully too! LP, Vinyl record album

Rare funk doesn't get any better than this – massive music, all of it unreleased – recorded by Charles Wright & The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band at the tail end of their classic years for Warner Brothers! This is the kind of stuff you read about in history books, but hardly ever get to hear on record – the full, unedited studio work of a hard-jamming funk group in all its glory – no edits, no overdubs, just live funky energy! Some of the key cuts here run for over 20 minutes in length – showing the Rhythm Band to be every bit as creative in long form format as the JBs were at the time – and the shorter tracks have a nicely gritty edge that takes us back to the best early 45 years of the group. The vocals are secondary here to the instrumentation, but that's ok with us, given the grooves! Titles include "Puckey Puckey", "Jam #3", "Watts Towers", "Brothers & Sisters", "Hard To Handle", "Sagittarius", "I Love You Girl", "Wine (early version)", "Gemini", "Jam #2", "Express Yourself (alt version)", "Till You Get Enough/Do Your Thing (alt)", and "Jam #1". CD

The oft-covered Bob Dylan songbook never sounds so soulful – classic interpretations of Dylan's canon from a great, far reaching roster of black artists – from the the ever-stirring Staple Singers, southern soul heroes Howard Tate and OV Wright, charismatic country soul from Brook Benton, great gender role perspective flipped versions by Nina Simone and Patti LaBelle, a funky tamborine take by Con Funk Shun and much more! It's another excellent entry in the Songwriter Series from Ace Records, extra excellent in that it takes an obvious hero of 60s Songwriter – and actually pulls together songs that'll take you by surprise for their depth – whether you treasure Dylan, deep 60s & 70s solo & group R&B, funk, folk soul...or all of the above! Includes "Blowin In The Wind" by OV Wright, "Girl From The North Country" by Howard Tate, "The Man In Me" by The Persuations, "Lay lady Lay" by The Isley Brothers, "Emotionally Yours" by The O'Jays, "All Along The Watchtower" by Bobby Womack, "Maggie's Farm" by Soloman Burke, "Mr. Tamborine Man" by Con Funk Shun and more. 20 tracks in all. CD

A great entry in one of our favorite series for rare soul tracks these days – a really special sort of collection that brings together tracks with a vibe that's very much all its own! The set definitely serves up the "real side" that it promises in the title – tunes that aren't showy or full of fuss – and instead, these easygoing soul tracks that hit their mark, right from the start – then go long with tremendous staying power, and a sense of warmth that has us returning to the set again and again for repeated listenings! The choice of cuts is sublime – a few familiar numbers mixed with overlooked tracks from artists we know, but haven't heard from in this way before – served up on 20 tracks that include "Never Set Me Free" by Continental Showstoppers, "I'm Coming Home" by Gerald Taylor, "I Can Remember" by The Whispers, "I'd Believe Him" by Deniece Chandler, "What Does It Take" by The Electrifying Cashmeres, "If You Decide" by Bull & The Matadors, "Try Something New" by Eddie Billups, "When" by Joe Simon, "Lover Come Back" by Jackey Beavers, "Nobody But You" by Willie Hightower, "I Hate Hate" by Razzy Bailey, "Why Don't You Write" by Lee Bates, "Grooving With My Thing" by The DeVons, and "Smooth Sailing" by Three Shades Of Soul. (Funky Compilations, Soul) CD