Proof that the US Army had plenty going on during the 70s – as you'll hear from this killer set of military-produced grooves from East Of Underground! The set goes way past the previous East Of Underground reissue – to feature work by the groups Soap, Black Seeds, and Sound Trek – all wrapped up in a beautiful package that's as visually pleasing as the music is funky! The cuts here were all recorded by US Army servicemen during the height of the Vietnam war – as Army-issued albums designed to encourage recruitment (as if a few funky grooves could help offset the bad press the war was getting on TV!) But despite that odd origin, the music here is all pretty great – mostly covers of familiar tunes from the time, but recorded with a nicely gritty quality that's mighty nice – and which makes the overall feel of the records like digging into some lost small studio tapes – ala Numero! Now Again have done a great job of putting together the whole package, too – contributing a wealth of notes and photos, and really digging deep into the scene in which these unique records were created. Not only that, but the packaging also replicates the style of the original odd releases too! The set features a CD each of music by East Of Underground and Soap – plus another CD that brings together an unusual double LP by the groups Black Seeds and Sound Trek. Titles include "I Just Want To Celebrate", "Kool & The Gang", "Walking In The Rain", "Backstabbers", "I Love Everything About You", "Ain't No Sunshine", "Go Outside In The Rain", "Black Magic Woman", "Hell Below", "Higher", "Popcorn/Santana", "Walk On By", "Java Girl", and "Get Together". CD

A really fantastic album from the Dedicated Men Of Zion – a contemporary gospel group, but one who work here with small combo backings that take us back to some of our favorite records of the early 70s – a tremendous blend of spiritual message and very down-to-earth arrangements! The quartet have some fantastic harmonies throughout, and get support from the Sacred Soul Sound Section – a funk combo who use plenty of organ and riffing guitar, which gives the heavenly vocals a nice degree of humanity – on titles that include "The Devil Don't Like It", "Lord Hold My Hand", "A Change Is Gonna Come", "I'm Going Home", "Up Above My Head", "I'm A Soldier In God's Army", and "One River To Cross". (Gospel, Soul) CD

Gritty funk from East Of Underground – an uber-obscure LP recorded in 1971 by a group of US Army serviceman at the Armed Forces Network studios in Frankfurt, Germany – originally used as a recruiting tool during the Vietnam war! Given the strength of the set, we wouldn't be surprised if plenty of folks signed up for a tour of duty after hearing it – as the set cooks like some of the best American funk from the indie 45 world at the time. The production is nice and dark – with an echoey quality that makes us guess the album was a live recording – done by American servicemen with the feel of some backroom funk show from the Indy or Ohio scene of the 70s. Some of the tracks are familiar numbers from American hits – but redone here with a nicely gritty feel – and titles include the awesome medley "Bet'Ya Never Lose My Love California Dreamer" – plus "Higher", "Smiling Faces", "Hell Below", "Getting Over", "Popcorn/Santana", "I Love You", "Java Girl", and "Walk On By". LP, Vinyl record album

Totally cool! This one's a 2LP set produced by the US Army Reserve – featuring 4 separate radio shows hosted by DJ Al Gee, and featuring interviews with and music by the 4 artists named above. The music on the set is lifted from records from the time by the artists, and is interspersed with the interview parts – all sounding very nice! LP, Vinyl record album

Totally cool! This one's a 2LP set produced by the US Army Reserve – featuring 4 separate radio shows hosted by DJ Al Gee, and featuring interviews with and music by the 4 artists named above. The music on the set is lifted from records from the time by the artists, and is interspersed with the interview parts – all sounding very nice! LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic stuff – and still sounding pretty fresh today! This is the first e.p. of tracks from Art of Noise, a groundbreaking set of sound collage tracks that mixes samples, beats, and dada instrumentation into a groove that definitely set the tone for the next 10 years. The record includes the original mix of their spacey stepper "Moments In Love", plus the hard funky "Beat Box", and the cuts "Comes & Goes", "The Army Now", and "Battle". LP, Vinyl record album

A mid-80s classic from Cameo – one that showed the world that the group was still very much in the funky music game, even if their lineup had been reduced to a trio! Larry Blackmon's still at the head of the group – singing, drumming, and playing bass throughout – with plenty of support on keyboards and a variety of instruments from an army of session players called in for the record. The style's a bit less on the heavy funk tip of earlier Cameo records, but also steps along nicely in that mellower, midtempo groove that proved to be a great refuge for funk bands as the 80s wore on – a mode that's slightly romantic at times, but always handled with a bit of bounce at the bottom. Titles include "Word Up", "Candy", "She's Mine", "Don't Be Lonely", "Back & Forth", and "You Can Have The World". LP, Vinyl record album

Jimmy Castor's a cat who's tried many styles in music – and handled them all surprisingly well – from sweet soul to heavy funk, to Latin grooves, and even the funky club style of this late 70s album for TK Records! The set has Jimmy giving a nod to the disco generation – no surprise, given that TK was a disco powerhouse – but the overall approach is maybe tied more to his mid 70s records for Atlantic – with all the warm humor and funk of those albums! On some tracks, it almost feels like Castor's trying to be a one man answer to the P-Funk army – but other tracks are more personal overall. Titles include "Time", "The Mystery Of Me", "Sweetooth", "The Real McCoy", "Future Place", "Let It Out", and "Bertha Butt Encounters Vadar". CD

A totally amazing little package – every single album recorded by Fela Kuti, served up in tiny LP-style sleeves, and brought together in one excellent box set – with a bonus movie as well! The collection features a total of 51 albums, most of which are paired up with crucial counterparts, as on some of the previous CD releases of the material. But this time around, there's way more than you might imagine in one place – classic records that include Afrodisiac, Confusion, Shakara, Fela's London Scene, He Miss Road, Kalakuta Show, Music Of Many Colors, Beasts Of No Nation, Army Arrangement, Coffin For Head Of State, Original Sufferhead, ITT, The Fela Singles, Roforofo Fight, Excuse O, Moise For Vendor Mouth, Why Black Man Dey Suffer, Na Poi, Authority Stealing, VIP, Fela With Ginger Baker Live, Underground System, Zombie, and lots lots more – a truly amazing run of music! Also features the bonus DVD – A Slice Of Fela. Plus, this package also features 3 more CDs than the previous complete box set – filled with loads of rarities, and 2 previously-unissued tracks! Also features a 52 page booklet with a biography and album commentary. (Global Grooves, Soul) CD

The original take of "Army Arrangement" – one of the greatest 80s grooves from Fela Kuti – stretched out here over the course of the entire album! The notes list side one as being the "instrumental" and side two as the "vocal" – but in truth, the whole thing moves across the space of the album together – with the band building up into tremendous energy as they get started, then Fela coming in for some very powerful lyrics that take the Nigerian government to task for its very corrupt practices. And of course, the music is fantastic – sharp, funky, and filled with this intensity that never lets up! (Global Grooves, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

George Clinton and the P-Funk army in all their 70s glory – presented here in a live performance that was originally done for radio in Detroit! There's not much in the way of notes or personnel listed for the set, but there's definitely some long jamming passages on the set, which are likely served up by some of the more important musicians in the group – mixed with vocal numbers that hone in strongly on classics that include "Flashlight", "Maggot Brain", "Cosmic Slop", "Funkentelechy", and "Mothership Connection". LP, Vinyl record album

A stunning overview of work from the small D-Vine Spirituals label in Memphis – a really homegrown imprint who were as important to the sound of the city's spiritual music as Stax Records was to soul in the 60s! In fact, the vibe here is often more 60s than 70s – maybe a testament to the finances of D-Vine when it came to recording this music – but also an indication of the way the company was able to go to the roots of what makes these tracks great – which is usually just a great lead voice or tight harmonies, and an important message in the music! This wonderful collection brings together rare 45rpm tracks issued by the label – and titles on this first volume include "God's Going To Blow Out The Sun" by Elder Ward & The Gospel Four, "I Feel Like Flying Away" by The Joy Of Memphis, "When I Looked" by The Traveling Stars, "The Reason I Love Him" by The Kingdom Airs, "Where You Gonna Run" by The D-Vine Spiritualettes, "One River To Cross" by The Seven Brothers, "Look At Your Life" by Evelyn Taylor, and "I'm A Soldier In God's Army" by The Southern Sons. (Gospel, Soul) CD

A stunning overview of work from the small D-Vine Spirituals label in Memphis – a really homegrown imprint who were as important to the sound of the city's spiritual music as Stax Records was to soul in the 60s! In fact, the vibe here is often more 60s than 70s – maybe a testament to the finances of D-Vine when it came to recording this music – but also an indication of the way the company was able to go to the roots of what makes these tracks great – which is usually just a great lead voice or tight harmonies, and an important message in the music! This wonderful collection brings together rare 45rpm tracks issued by the label – and titles on this first volume include "God's Going To Blow Out The Sun" by Elder Ward & The Gospel Four, "I Feel Like Flying Away" by The Joy Of Memphis, "When I Looked" by The Traveling Stars, "The Reason I Love Him" by The Kingdom Airs, "Where You Gonna Run" by The D-Vine Spiritualettes, "One River To Cross" by The Seven Brothers, "Look At Your Life" by Evelyn Taylor, and "I'm A Soldier In God's Army" by The Southern Sons. (Gospel, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

A huge collection of rare singles from the vaults of the legendary Treasure Isle label – a company who was home to some of the hippest tracks from the early days of ska – and also did a great job of getting the music to the UK scene as well! This package goes past the familiar Treasure Isle hits, as the 7" singles feature previously unreleased tracks and rare alternate versions – all packaged up in a great box set with a mighty sharp look. The whole thing is great – nice and raw, and very different than ska revival material of later years – and this 3CD set features all the material that was on the 7" box set done a few years back, plus 74 more bonus tracks! Core cuts include "You Wish Me Bad (take 6)" by The Spanishtonians, "Love Me Or Leave Me (take 1)" by Owen & Leon Silvera, "I'm All Alone (take 1)" by Frank Cosmo, "Oh Misery (take 2)" by The Duke Reid Group, "Thinking Of The Future" by Stranger Cole, "Fooling Around" by The Rio Grandes, "Renegade (take 1)" by The Zodiacs, "Smokey Ska (take 1)" by The Baba Brooks Band, "Practice What You Preach" by Owen & Leon Silvera, "My True Confession (take 1)" by The Silvertones, "Til My Dying Day" by Winston & Slim, "Road To Nowhere (orig mix)" by Lyn Taitt & The Baba Brooks Band, "What A Bailing (take 1)" by Duke Reid Group, The Army Is Searching (take 2)" by Basil Caral & Group, "Storm Warning (take 1)" by Lyn Taitt & the Boys, "Want Me Cock (take 1)" by Owen & Leon Silvera, and "How Know Your Friend (take 1)" by Derrick Morgan – with bonus material by Duke Reid, The Movers, Justin Hinds, Tommy McCook, Froggy, Lynn Tait, Eric Morris, Baba Brooks, Lloyd & Glenn, Derrick & Naomi, The Miracles, The Zodiacs, The Melodies, Sensations, and many many more. (Reggae, Soul) CD