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Killer funk, soul, and jazz tunes from the Warner and Atlantic catalogs – including more than a few that rank with our favorite funky cuts of the era! As with previous volumes in this series, the titles are selected with a focus on tunes that have or can be sampled – so there's lots of sweet jazzy brakes, warm keyboards, and tasty drums on the package! Titles include "Wah Wah Man" by Young Holt Unlimited, "Nuki Suki" by Little Richard, "Mama Soul" by The Soul Survivors, "It's Love" by The Young Rascals, "Funky Canyon" by Phil Moore Jr, "Everything I Do Gonna Be Funky" by Claudia Lennear, "Soul Bowl" by Memphis Horns, "Shiloh" by David Newman, "Let Me Fix It" by Brook Benton, "Angela, My Sister" by Richard Evans, "When She Made Me Promise" by The Beginning Of The End, "Moment Of Truth" by Earth, Wind, & Fire, "Bumpin On Young Street" by Young Holt Unlimited, and "Mortgage On My Soul" by Keith Jarrett. (Funky Compilations, Soul) CD

Solo work from Apollonia – working here past her time with both Apollonia 6 and her association with Prince – but still showing an equally strong talent for catchy 80s pop! The music is handled by a host of producers, and most numbers are in a beat-heavy mode that follows on her previous material – funky, but not always in a Prince-ish way – but always tuneful and heavy on the hooks! Titles include "Help Wanted", "Mismatch", "Sychronize", "The Same Dream", "Since I Fell For You", "You Can't Win", and "Your Eyes". CD

A mid 80s classic from Atlantic Starr – at the height of their catchy commercial fame – bouncing along with rhythms that crossover nicely to the mainstream, yet still keep a bit of their previous funky edge intact! The groove here is almost in the style that Atlantic Starr inspired in so many other younger groups in the earlier part of the 80s – although it's also a bit more polished too. Most instrumentation is electric, and tunes are mostly written by the team of David and Wayne Lewis – both of whom sing on the record. Barbara Weathers also handles female vocals, and titles include "Once Lover At A Time", "Let The Sun In", "My Mistake", "I'm In Love", "Always", "Don't Take Me For Granted", and a version of Sam Dees' "All In The Name Of Love". CD

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Yipes! This one made everyone a bucket of money – especially Quincy Jones, whose new Qwest imprint the record was one of the first to grace. George has come a long way from his roots with Jack McDuff here – but in a way that kind of has us impressed, as he's grooving away slickly on guitar, laying down some smooth vocals that we never would have imagined from his mid 60s recordings. Includes the massive hit "Give Me The Night", a cover of "Moody's Mood", and the tracks "Star Of A Story (X)", "Midnight Love Affair", "What's On Your Mind", and "Dinorah, Dinorah". The sound of a million supermarkets and elevators during the 80s! (Jazz, Soul) CD

Massive work from Bootsy Collins – one of his best-ever solo albums, and a perfect summation of the P-Funk groove – focused strongly through Bootsy's own sense of stardom! George Clinton worked with Collins on production, and the album's as tight as the best Parliament or Funkadelic work of the time – particularly the latter on their killer 70s sides for Warner, which was also the home for Bootsy. The Horny Horns are helping out on this one, which gives the album a strong instrumental drive – but the real star is Bootsy, whose sexy vocals and good sense of soul keep things firmly on track throughout. Features the cuts "What's A Telephone Bill?", "Munchies For Your Love", "We Want Bootsy", "The Pinocchio Theory", and "Rubber Duckie". CD

(Rock, Soul) CD

Bootsy Collins steps strongly from the shadow of George Clinton here – and wrote, arranged, and produced most of the album himself! Of course, George was having plenty of his own troubles at the time – but that only allowed Bootsy to take the helm even more, and step out with a batch of grooves that still keeps his star power plenty high. Of course, he's got some great help here too – from Fred Wesley & The Horny Horns, Midnight Star, Godmomma, and P-Funk regulars Bernie Worrell and Gary Shider – all of whom help contribute some classic elements to grooves that include "Shine O Myte", "#1 Funkateer", "So Nice You Name Him Twice", "Take A Lickin & Keep On Kickin", and "Countracula". CD

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A great way to get some of the Drifters' amazing music for Atlantic Records – a cool collection that features both early material from the Clyde McPhatter years – and some of the group's best early 60s soul recordings too! The whole thing has a great format – with individual album-styled sleeves, packaged in a slipcover – so that it's almost like you're getting all the original records together, but in CD format. Full length titles include the albums Clyde McPhatter & The Drifters, Rockin & Driftin, Save The Last Dance For Me, Under The Boardwalk, and I'll Take You Where The Music's Playing. CD

One of the two early Earth Wind & Fire LPs recorded for Warner – and the one that shows their amazing roots in the avant garde jazz scene in Chicago. At the forefront, the record's a righteous soul album with an ensemble funk sound – but deeper in, there's a lot of jazz-based playing, and a number of moments that almost get "out" in the solos! Surely this one couldn't have been made without the spiritual advancements in jazz made by the AACM – and EWF couldn't have helped rubbing shoulders with those players, considering that they all often gigged together in the Chicago studio scene, and that they'd also shared some time together in groups like The Pharoahs and Phil Cohran's Artistic Heritage Ensemble. Titles include "Energy", "Beauty", and a nice remake of Donny Hathaway's "Everything is Everything". Great to have back on reissue! CD

(Vocalists, Soul) CD

Warm vocals, jazzy keyboards, and a wonderfully laidback set from Michael Franks – a perfect illustration of the kind of music he could make better than anyone else! Although recorded at the end of the 70s, the set's got a simplicity that few other records of the time could match – a stripped-down and honest quality that really sparkles, even amidst the top-shelf production and studio work supplied by Warner Brothers Records. Arrangements here are by Larry Williams, Clare Fischer, and others – but as before, the main focus is usually on the sweet vocals and keyboards – gliding out warmly over Michael Franks' well-penned and unique compositions. Titles include "One Bad Habit", "Still Life", "Loving You More & More", "Baseball", "Inside You", "Lotus Blossom", "He Tells Himself He's Happy", and "On My Way Home To You". (Vocalists, Soul) CD

A really brilliant little record – one of those gems that you've probably passed by so many times because it's ubiquitous, but which never fails to please over the years! Forget any pre-conceived notions you might have about Michael Franks, because at this early point in his career the man is a genre unto himself – working in a unique blend of jazz, pop, and a bit of soul – always served up sparely and with a great deal of understatement, but still filled with plenty of personal spirit on the lyrics. Franks' voice is beautifully compressed into the rest of the instrumentation by Tommy LiPuma – in a style that still holds up wonderfully over the years, and which is set to Claus Ogerman arrangements that make plenty great use of keyboards from Joe Sample of The Crusaders! Tunes are all originals by Franks – and there's some especially great Brazilian touches on the numbers "Antonio's Song" and "Down In Brazil". Other titles include "The Lady Wants To Know", "I Really Hope It's You", "Chain Reaction", and "In The Eye Of The Storm". (Vocalists, Soul) CD

Another slice of late 70s genius from the amazing Michael Franks – one of the few mainstream artists who was able to hold onto his own voice and course amidst the overwhelming force of the music industry! There's a beautifully mellow feel to the record – jazzy, warm, personal, and heartfelt without sounding cloying at all. Arrangements this time around are by John Simon, and the session features plenty of jazzy work by Ben Riley, Seldon Powell, Bucky Pizzarelli, Flora Purim, Kenny Barron, and many others. Tracks include "Sanpaku", "When It's Over", "Hideaway", "Lifeline", "Satisfaction Guaranteed", "Underneath The Apple Tree", and "Living On The Inside". (Vocalists, Soul) CD

A surprisingly wonderful record! Back in the day, we remember that we didn't like these later P-Funk albums because they weren't as druggy, trippy, or guitar heavy as the early stuff. Now, though, they sound pretty darn sweet to our ears – especially this one, which has lots of cool pre-electro grooves with sweet keyboards, vocoder vocals, and spacey basslines that blow out in deep rich waves of funky soul. The whole thing's an amazing evolution of the George Clinton groove – and titles include "Electric Spanking Of War Babies", "Funk Gets Stronger", "Shockwaves", "Icka-prick", "Brettino's Bounce", and a bonus instrumental version of "Electric Spanking Of War Babies". Nice Pedro Bell cover, too! CD

One of the sweetest Funkadelic albums from the middle period, and a good batch of tracks that often gets overlooked in the haze of similar Pedro Bell covers! Don't miss this one, though – because it is a very strong album – key in the shift from more guitar-based funk to more groove-oriented rhythms – and a record that's got more than a few tasty numbers. Includes nice ones like "You Scared The Lovin Outta Me", "Comin Round The Mountain", and "If You Got Funk, You Got Style", plus a live version of "Cosmic Slop" that's totally great! CD

One of our favorite Funkadelic albums ever – a tightly grooving classic that never lets up at all! There's a sense of perfection to everything here – one that really gets the group past their tripped-out early years, and firmly into the sublime territory George Clinton hit with Parliament – an amazing sound that's wrapped up perfectly on every single track – grooves that definitely raised the bar for a huge amount of mainstream funk acts who were popping up at the time. Production is never too slick, and there's still lots of tasty guitar licks wrapped up in the mix – and titles include the classics "Freak Of The Week" and "Not Just Knee Deep" – plus "Field Maneuvers", "Holly Wants To Go To California", and "Foot Soldiers". CD

A definite victory for Larry Graham – an album that really put him on top of the early 80s mainstream soul crowd with a great mix of styles! Some of the tunes here are in the bouncy, bubbly mode you might expect from Larry's 70s work – but they're also tuned a bit more towards an 80s groove – basslines brought up from the bottom, and other instrumentation turned towards a clean, lean sound. Other tracks have Graham hitting some of the mellower modes of his Just Be My Lady record – a mature romantic style that showed a whole new side of his talents in this decade. Production, arrangements, and most of the songwriting is handled by Larry – and titles include "You've Been", "Just Call My Name", "I Never Forgot Your Eyes", "Baby", "I'd Rather Be Loving You", and "Victory". CD

A sweet 80s groover fro Chaka Khan – one that features a fair bit of beats and bassline – thanks to tight production from Prince, Chris Jasper, and Russ Titelman! Russ is actually the man behind most of the set – and he really shows off his great talent for a hook-heavy soul tune – keeping things relatively electro overall, but always letting Chaka be the star of the show with her wonderfully warm vocals – still soaring out every bit as much as in her previous work with Arif Mardin, and maybe even more essential in this setting! Titles include "Soul Talkin", "Sticky Wicked", "The End Of A Love Affair", "Make It Last", "I'll Be Around", and "Signed Sealed Delivered". CD

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Sublime soul from Change – an Italian combo who got some great American help on their early 80s for Warner Brothers! The Change groove is totally great – a stripped-down blend of beats, bass, and keyboards that was head and shoulders above much of the clunkier 80s soul of the time – a lean groove forged from the best Italian club influences of the time, then brought over to this side of the Atlantic for some warmer touches on production and vocals. Luther Vandross sings lead on a few key cuts here, and other tracks have some equally great vocals – plus a nice undercurrent of jazz in the mix, especially on the guitar and keyboards. CD features 14 tracks that include "Hold Tight", "The Very Best In You", "Paradise", "Searching", "The Glow Of Love", "A Lover's Holiday", "This Is Your Time", "You Are My Melody", "Say You Love Me Again", "Don't Wait Another Night", and "Hard Times". CD

Fats is back, and sounding pretty darn great – working here with rootsy production from Richard Perry, who's got a great ear for all of Domino's older strengths, yet also manages to update his sound a bit for the late 60s! The record's got a really romping groove – lots of New Orleans elements in the rhythms, brought forward a bit by players who include King Curtis on sax, Eric Gale on guitar, and Earl Palmer on drums – all working amidst some Warner-styled arrangements that have plenty of respect for the past. The Blossoms sing backing vocals on a few numbers, and titles include "I Know", "Lady Madonna", "So Swell When You're Well", "I'm Ready", "One More Song For You", "One For The Highway", "Make Me Belong To You", and "Honest Papas Love Their Mamas". And be warned, the album starts with a track called "My Old Friends" – which is a scratchy collage of old Fats Domino records! CD

Two classics from Earth Wind & Fire – back to back on one CD! Last Days & Time is Earth Wind & Fire's first album for Columbia Records – the start of a really legendary run during the 70s! The sound here is a bit tighter than their first two for Warner Brothers – a groove that has funk and soul taking a bit more precedence over the jazz of their roots – but all in a blend that's completely fresh and unique, and which takes all the righteous energy of the past, and focuses it here even more strongly! And while the groovers are great, there's also a few sweet numbers that are almost even better – some slightly mellow tracks that don't hit that commercial ballad sound of the group's later years – and which almost have an earthy, organic feel overall. The whole thing's tremendous – truly essential work by the group at their best – and titles include "I'd Rather Have You", "They Don't See", "Make It With You", "Remember The Children", "Mom", "Power", and "Time Is On Your Side". Head To The Sky is a tremendously beautiful album – and a righteous anthem of power and growth that seems to open itself up to us more and more over the years! Earth Wind & Fire are at their height here – mixing together soul and funk with a set of influences that includes African percussion and Brazilian jazz – then blending the whole thing effortlessly into a cosmic sound that's simply breathless! "Keep Your Head To The Sky" is a song of pride that became an instant underground classic; "Zanzibar" is an incredible reworking of Edu Lobo's famous composition, turning the Brazilian baroque track into a spacey groover that soars on for 13 minutes; and "Evil" is a great tune that features the electrified Kalimba that became the band's sonic and legal trademark over the years! Other titles include "The World's A Masquerade", "Clover", and "Build Your Nest". CD

One of the best records ever cut by this soulful Philly female trio! The album's one of the first on Salsoul's Gold Mind subsidiary – and it features sparkling club production by the Harris/Baker/Young team – a landmark force not only in Philly disco, but 70s female soul as well – as their backings for groups of this nature are always sensitive to the complexities of the vocals! The record's mostly uptempo – with plenty of soaring tracks that still retain the more soulful sound of the group's early work – and the songwriting's generally tight, a few notches above earlier albums on Warner – showing that their return to the indie fold was a very good move. Titles include the classic "Let No Man Put Asunder" – plus "Doctor Love", "Indian Giver", "Do Me Again", and a great version of Stevie Wonder's "Love Having You Around". CD

A really cool cooker from The Meters – recorded during their post-Josie run for Warner Brothers, but with this tight vibe that still holds all their funky New Orleans roots intact! The sound is a bit more expanded here – not in a commercial way, but just in a style that has the group trying out more things – some interesting rhythms, offbeat guitar passages, and maybe even more of a vocal presence – although it's clearly the drums and basslines that are still driving the whole thing along! Production is by Allen Toussaint and Marshall Sehorn – again in that great style they were hitting at Warner – and titles include "Soul Island", "Flower Song", "Gettin Funkier All the Time", "Do the Dirt", "Cabbage Alley", and "Stay Away" – plus a version of Neil Young's "Birds"! CD also features the bonus cuts "Chug Chug Chug-a-Lug (Push & Shove)" parts 1 & 2! CD

A rare little set from The Meters – recorded in their home turf of New Orleans in the mid 70s, but with a groove that's as raw as their Josie Records albums of the 60s! The vibe here is a great change from the polished production the group were getting over at Warner Brothers – and the concert setting allows the group to really stretch out on some numbers – taking them into instrumental jamming territory you never would have heard on a two minute single from years back! Instrumentation includes keyboards from Art Neville, guitar from Leo Nocentelli, bass from George Porter, drums from Zig Modeliste, and percussion from Cyril Neville – and almost all group members vocalise on a few chorus moments. Titles include long takes of "A Minor", "Wildflower", and "Feel So Good" – plus the shorter numbers "Chicken Strut" and "Mardi Gras Mambo". CD

A sweet Cali set from The Meters – one that loses a bit of their rougher roots, yet still holds onto plenty of funk at the same time! By the mid 70s, the New Orleans soul sound had broken out of the underground, was residing happily in mainstream LA. Allen Toussaint already produced a bucketful of albums for Warner Brothers, and The Meters themselves are working in a crossover territory that has them touring with the Rolling Stones and hitting a whole new range of college-type audiences. The group's smoothed things out considerably, but still manages to funk nicely at the best moments – in a warmer way than during the Josie Records years, but still with a groove that's much deeper than most of their contemporaries. Titles are a much a "trick bag" as the title – with a cover of Earl King's "Trick Bag" that features guest vocals by Earl, a remake of "(Doodle Loop) The World is a Little Bit Under the Weather", one of their best from the Josie days, a cover of "Honky Tonk Woman", which we can only assume was played on tour with The Stones – plus the original cuts "Chug A Lug", "Mister Moon", and "Find Yourself". CD

Seminal work from Osibisa – arguably the most successful crossover African soul group of the 70s! The group blended together American soul, African rhythms, and some occasional surprising Latin touches – in a mode that sometimes recalled the style of War, especially on the group's first few groundbreaking albums. The groove was one that was filled with joy, life, and light – well-played and produced at a level that helped Osibisia cross over into audiences that few of their contemporaries could reach – and almost having the same impact on African music that Santana had with Latin grooves. This 2CD set brings together all 3 albums from the group's years at Bronze – the albums Welcome Home, Ojah Awake, and Mystic Energy – all produced with a sound that's tighter than their earlier MCA or Warner sides, but in a way that almost seems to suit the group even better. 5 bonus tracks are also added to the albums – making for a whopping 31 track package that includes the tracks "The Warrior", "The Coffee Song", "Sunshine Day", "Welcome Home", "Densu Trad", "Do It", "Right Now", "Uhuru", "Bum To Bum", "Sunset", "Ojah Awake", "Meeting Point", "Africa We Go Go", "Pata Pata (12" mix)", "Jumbo", and "Cherryfield". (Global Grooves, Soul) CD

Rare disco from Warner and Atlantic – a really great set of tunes that steps past the average disco compilation! Both Warner and Atlantic were some of the better labels on the disco scene in the 70s – as their years in soul music gave them an understanding for the stronger tunes for the dancefloor scene, and allowed them to cut tracks that still hold up extremely well today. A few of the acts on the set are more famous artists, represented by some of their lesser-remembered numbers – but the bulk of the compilation features obscure work that was only briefly pressed on 12" single, and which has only been the province of disco collectors over the years. Titles include "You + Me = Love" by Undisputed Truth, "Weekend" by Phreek, "Paradise" by Change, "Lipstick" by Michel Polnareff, "Tonight's The Night" by Kleer, "Smack Dab In The Middle (Larry Levan rmx)" by Janice McLain, "#1 Dee Jay" by Goody Goody, "Whistle Bump" by Deodato, "When You Wake Up Tomorrow" by Candi Staton, "Wear It Out" by Stargard, and "I'll Tell You" by Sergio Mendes & Brasil 88. (Funky Compilations, Soul) CD