Silky soul indeed from the great Frankie Beverly – a late 80s album, but one that has the smooth soul genius very much at the top of his game! Frankie's work from the 70s inspired countless imitators in the next decade – but after so many other male singers trying to cop his game, Beverly can still do it better than the rest – with this easygoing, effortless style that's never commercial or cheesy – and which continues to raise the bar for sophisticated soul! Grooves are mostly in that perfect midtempo stepping style that seems to work best for Frankie – and the overall instrumentation and production are far more timeless than some of the other big records of the period – with a style that places the set very strongly in the best Maze tradition. Titles include "Can't Get Over You", "Silky Soul", "Just Us", "Love's On The Run", "Mandela", and "Songs Of Love". CD

... CD

Classic Prince – an album that signaled an end to the first part of Prince's storied career, leaning heavily on his fascination with new wave, mixed with the r&b grooves and 70s funk of his earliest LPs. Prince is definitely in a transitional mode here, the easy politics of the punk era – "Ronnie Talk To Russia", "Controversy" – are less controversial than Prince's frank sexuality on the record – best heard on tracks like "Jack U Off", "Do Me, Baby", and "Sexuality" – but the unbeatable pop groove of the title cut definitely points the way to Prince's big chart success to come. CD

... CD

... CD

... CD

56 tracks on 3 CDs!! CD

... CD

Percolating 80s soul from Sherrick – set to some catchy arrangements of keyboards, bass pedals, and synth drums! The approach here is surprisingly strong for the time, with a groove that's a bit more in the initial 80s groove style of the earlier part of the decade, and quite unusual for Warner Brothers at this point. The mellow cuts are nice, too, with a sweetly seductive quality that lingers long after the lyrics have left. Titles include "All Because Of You", "Baby I'm For Real", "Just Call", "Tell Me What It Is", "This Must Be Love", and "Let's Be Lovers Tonight". CD

... CD

... CD

The second essential LP from the Time that would solidify Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis' position as a force to be dealt within commercial R&B for years to come, cut during the early 80s, when Minneapolis seemed like it was exploding at the seams with great music. With Morris Day's nice extended dance cut "The Walk" featuring a nice popping beat, plus the excellent and very Prince sounding slow jam "Gigolo's Get Lonely Too" and the percolating pre-New Jack funk of "777-9311". CD

One of the harder funk albums by Tower Of Power – done with a hard-driving horn-heavy groove, slathered up in East Bay Grease! The group's got a bit of the stoner funk sound that shows their Bay Area roots, but they're also a lot tighter than most of their California contemporaries, and feel more like some of the groups coming out of Memphis and Muscle Shoals at the same time. Lenny Williams is on lead vocals, Chester Thompson plays organ – and tracks include "Soul Vaccination", "What Is Hip", "So Very Hard To Go", "Just Another Day", "Clean Slate", "Get Yo' Feet Back On The Ground", and "Clever Girl". CD

... CD

... CD

A surprise mid 70s hit for Dionne Warwick – a warm and bubbling bit of soul, done with uptown maestro Jerry Ragovoy in a perfect AM pop style! The centerpiece of the album is the super-hit tune "Then Came You" – a duet with The Spinners produced and arranged by Thom Bell at Sigma Sound, and one of those tunes that sounded instantly great, and stayed on the airwaves for years. Ragovoy expands on this style for the rest of the album – moving past the easy hit hook to show Dionne as a maturing singer of her time, working in a variety of moods that stretch way past the early Bacharach hits. Titles include "Move Me No Mountain", "How Can I Tell Him", "Getting In My Way", "Who Knows", "Take It From Me", and "We'll Burn Our Bridges Behind Us". CD

... CD

A set that's late in the classic Zapp run from the 80s, but a record that's still very much head and shoulders above the competition – including the many acts who were trying to cop Roger Troutman's groove, but never got things this right! There's still plenty of bass at the bottom, re-fitted to more of a late 80s funk mode – and some of the trickier turns have the group really serving up that link to P-Funk that's always made them so great – and at a level that maybe even George Clinton couldn't even match at the time. Vocoder bits continue that great Zapp vocal legacy too – used in sparing amounts, but still a wonderful touch – and titles include "Ooh Baby Baby", "I Play The Talk Box", "Fire", "Been This Way Before", "Back To Bass-iks", "Ain't The Thing To Do", "Rock Star", "Jesse Jackson", and "Jake E Stanstill". CD

Three funky nuggets from Zapp – all packaged together in one collection, with bonus tracks too! First up is the initial album Zapp – the classic first album by this legendary funky combo – a group who not only went onto change the sound of funk in the 80s, but also went onto have a huge impact on generations of hip hop as well! The album burns from the very first note – the wicked snapping funk of "More Bounce To The Ounce" – a tune that became the blueprint for a generation, and still sounds way better than the millions of copycat attempts that came out over the years! The record follows with some equally wicked bass/keyboard cuts – often with plenty of electro production touches too – thanks to sweeeet work in the studio from Bootsy Collins and Roger Troutman. Bootsy's presence is key, too – as the set kind of strips down the ensemble P-Funk vibe of the generation before – going for a lean, clean groove that's held up beautifully over the years! In addition to "More Bounce To The Ounce", the record also features the mellow steppers cut "Be Alright", which has a wonderful hook, and a great compressed modern soul sound – and other tracks include "Funky Bounce", "Freedom", and "Brand New Pplayer". Zapp II is next – seminal work from Roger Troutman and Zapp – a killer batch of cuts that forever changed the sound of funk! The group's "wheeeeeeet/whomp!" sound is very firmly in place by the time of this release – and the sound here is even more electric than their debut – a groundbreaking style that went onto inspire countless acts of the electro generation, and a fair bit of hip hoppers too! Vocals are by Roger, Bad Bobby Glover, and Gregory Jackson – and Zapp's basslines really kick the whole thing into gear – as do the keyboards, too. Titles include "A Touch Of Jazz (Playin Kinda Ruff Part 2)", "Dance Floor", "Doo Wa Ditty (Blow That Thing)", "Come On", "Do You Really Want An Answer", and "Playin Kinda Ruff". Last up is Zapp's 3rd album, and one that shows them still very much on top of their game! The mix of tight bass, keyboards, and occasional vocoder bits is firmly in place from their first two albums – a stunning legacy of ensemble funk that pushes the older P-Funk ethos into hip new territory for the 80s! Roger and crew are superb throughout – fusing all rhythmic elements together beautifully, and electrifying the whole album with some great voice box vocals – almost making you feel like the instruments themselves are running the show! Titles include "We Need The Buck", "Spend My Whole Life", "I Can Make You Dance", "Do Wa Ditty (live)", "Play Some Blues", and "Heartbreaker (parts 1 & 2)". CD features bonus 45 tracks – "Heartbreaker (part 1)", "I Can Make You Dance (part 1)", and single versions of "More Bounce To The Ounce", "Dance Floor", and "Playin Kinda Ruff". CD

The true heroes of mainstream funk in the early 80s – the legendary Roger Troutman and Zapp – key heirs to the sounds of P-Funk in the 70s, with a groove that stretched all the way from their native Ohio to make a huge impact in LA! This collection features most of the group's key tracks from their Warner albums of the early 80s, plus some added remixes done in 1993 for the package – and together, the combination of styles helped to make this a record that's sold as well as any of the original albums in the group's catalog! Titles include "More Bounce To The Ounce", "Be Alright", "Do It Roger", "Doo Wa Ditty (Blow That Thing)", "So Ruff So Tuff", "Dance Floor", "Heartbreaker (parts 1 & 2)", "Slow & Easy", "Mega Medley", and "Computer Love" – plus 1993 remixes of "Midnight Hour", "Curiosity", and "Night & Day". CD

Includes tracks from Zapp, Larry Graham, Rose Royce, Tevin Campbell, James Ingram & Patti Austin, Chaka Khan, Randy Crawford, Jade, Chill Factor, Jr Walker & more. CD

Music from Gladys Knight, Steve Winwood, Lenny Kravitz, Bruce Springsteen, Eric Clapton, the Isley Brothers, Aretha Franklin, BB King, Rod Stewart, Phil Collins & more. CD