A new packaging of one of the best Motown Christmas albums ever – a really playful romp through a set of classic Holiday tunes, all sung by the youthful Jackson 5 at their best! The set features 12 tracks in all, with titles that include "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas", "Give Love On Christmas Day", "Frosty The Snowman", "Up On The House Top", "Someday At Christmas", "Christmas Won't Be The Same This Year", "The Christmas Song", "Santa Claus Is Comin To Town", and "The Little Drummer Boy" – plus, this CD features a bonus track not on the original album, "Little Christmas Tree". CD

Lee Konitz on alto saxophone, Catherine Bent on cello, Judith Insell on viola, and Meg Okura and Rob Thomas on violin. CD

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A fantastic selection of work from one of the hippest girl groups of the 70s – the mighty Love Unlimited trio, three singers who all worked under the genius of Barry White in his prime! Unlike other girl trios of the time, who often used an older soul mode refitted with disco grooves – sometimes acting more like a chorus than a lead act – Love Unlimited always brought their full vocal strengths to play, and do a fantastic job here working in modes that rival some of the best male harmony groups of the early 70s – especially the sweet soul groups from New Jersey, New York, and Philly. And yes, Barry does kick up the groove a bit at times, but even then things are usually more in a midtempo mode, not a disco one – which makes for tremendous sounds throughout. This is the first-ever proper collection of the girls' singles from the early 70s – and titles include "Oh Love Well We Finally Made It", "Fragile Handle With Care", "Are You Sure", "I Should Have Known", "Is It Really True Boy Is It Me", "Walkin In The Rain With The One I Love", "Under The Influence Of Love", "It May Be Winter Outside", "I Love You So Never Gonna Let You Go", "I Belong To You", "So Nice To Hear", "People Of Tomorrow Are The Children Of Today", and "Share A Little Love In Your Hear LP, Vinyl record album

Tracks include "Land Of Make Believe", "Bellavia", "Main Squeeze", "Children Of Sanchez (Overture)", "Fun And Games" and "Feels So Good". CD

Includes the songs "Gypsy Woman", "It's All Right", "I'm So Proud", "Keep On Pushing", "Amen", "People Get Ready", "Woman's Got Soul", "We're A Winner", "Choice Of Colors", "Freddie's Dead", and "Superfly". CD

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Neal Samors has given us some very cool books on the history of Chicago over the years, but this book may well be one of the coolest – as it's an overview of famous nite spots, clubs, and other venues that provided entertainment during the postwar years – all presented on large pages with lots of images of the famous locations! The book begins with a chapter on jazz clubs that's worth the price of admission alone – as it has sections on Mister Kellys, Club DeLisa, The Beehive, and other spots you might know from famous jazz recordings – and the book follows with sections on folk clubs, rock venues, comedy spots, and lots more – all with lots of writings on the spots, great vintage photos, and memories from some key musicians too. The book is softcover, 208 pages, and filled with black and white images. Book

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A dozen hits. CD

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One of THE classic Motown Christmas albums of the 60s – a mighty statement of Holiday pride from The Supremes – who are as strong here as on any of their other non-seasonal work from the time! The class and care of the trio really fits the new spirit of Christmas that was emerging in 60s soul music – not the kinds of raw songs about boozing or sadness on the holiday, which were a staple of blues and R&B – but instead these warmly crafted songs of home and hearth, set up perfectly with production by Harvey Fuqua and arrangements from Gene Page, HB Barnum and Ernie Freeman. The whole thing's incredibly soulful – but in a gentle way too – and the set features a dozen holiday numbers including "Silver Bells", "The Little Drummer Boy", "My Christmas Tree", "Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer", "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town", and "Joy To The World". Includes 4 bonus tracks. CD

Includes the songs "Breakout","Surrender","Twilight World","You On My Mind","Waiting Game","Forever Blue","Notgonnachange","Am I The Same Girl","Better Make It Better","La La (Means I Love You)","Who's Been Sleeping". CD

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A tremendous collection of work by Art Tatum – maybe even THE collection of work by Art Tatum – as the 2CD set brings together all the material that appeared on the legendary 20th Century Fox albums by Art – recorded in a private home in Hollywood late in his career, but at a time when he was even more inventive than ever. Film studio sound whiz Ray Heindorf recorded the sessions – and also had a huge amount of unissued tracks that appear here – making the set more like a package of Volmes 1 and 2 – plus 3 and 4 as well! CD

A tremendous collection of work by Art Tatum – maybe even THE collection of work by Art Tatum – as the 2CD set brings together all the material that appeared on the legendary 20th Century Fox albums by Art – recorded in a private home in Hollywood late in his career, but at a time when he was even more inventive than ever. Film studio sound whiz Ray Heindorf recorded the sessions – and also had a huge amount of unissued tracks that appear here – making the set more like a package of Volmes 1 and 2 – plus 3 and 4 as well! CD

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11 hits. CD

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Eugene Ormandy conducts pieces by Ravel, Prokofiev, Holst, Shostakovich, Kabalevsky, Strauss, Kodaly, Mahler, Ives, Sibelius, Barber, and Gershwin. CD

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Leon Haywood's best album from the 70s! After working as a keyboardist and sometimes vocalist for a number of years – making some strong and some tentative entries into the soul genre – Leon really exploded with this album, an electric funk classic that gave the world his fantastic "I Wanna Do Something Freaky To You" (a track that had new life years later when Dr Dre sampled it to great fame.) The rest of the record holds up nicely, too – and is a mix of smooth soul and wicked funk, with tracks that include "Consider the Source", "Who You Been Giving It Up To", and "This Feeling's Rated Extra". Classic! LP, Vinyl record album

A monster! "I Wanna Do Something Freaky To You" has had big fame in recent years, but the cut's always been one of Leon Haywood's greatest – a slow, sly, slinky funky number that really never gets old! 7-inch, Vinyl record

Accompanied by Ray Ellis and orchestra. LP, Vinyl record album

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A great bit of Chicago soul from the 70s – by a short-lived group who were sort of an offshoot of Brighter Side Of Darkness, who had scored earlier in the decade with the falsetto hit "Love Jones". This one was produced by Clarence Johnson/Star Vue Productions, and licensed to 20th Century, like the earlier work – and the record features a remake called "Love Jones 75". There's loads of other great stuff on the record, though – and the groove runs through the funk of "Tipsy Mood" and "Kung Fu You", to the mellower soul sounds of "I Found My Dancing Girl", and wonderfully sweet little number! LP, Vinyl record album

Amazing stuff from Ahmad Jamal – one of his greatest albums ever, and the kind of Fender Rhodes classic that got passed over in the history books, but which is finally getting some appreciation these days! Ahamad's in a very different mode than his Cadet/Argo years – using the mellow keys of the Fender Rhodes to craft some killer tunes with a laidback edge. Richard Evans did the arrangements, and the sound is very deep and soulful on most of the album. Includes a sublime sample version of War's "World Is A Ghetto" , plus "Superstition", "Children Of The Night", and "Soul Girl". LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic 70s work by Ahmad Jamal – the kind of record you look for for years, and are always disappointed when you end up buying a more straight-ahead session! The album features Jamal on both Fender Rhodes and acoustic piano – working in a trio format, plus percussion, with some occasional additional backgrounds arranged by Richard Evans. The tracks are long, loping, and with a very strong soul jazz approach that builds on Jamal's advances of the 60s. Titles include "Death & Resurrection", "Swahililand", "Eclipse", "Pastures", and "Dialogue". LP, Vinyl record album

A killer from Ahmad Jamal – a Fender Rhodes record that stands as a nice contrast to his equally great work of the 60s! Jamal was already a master of the subtle, soulful touch – and on Fender Rhodes, that quality comes out even more strongly – given some light support from arranger Richard Evans, who brings in some cool elements that are very much in the late 60s Cadet Records vein! Ahmad's tone is very rich and full, with a great soul sound – and the album features some great jazz funk covers – like a version of the classic break track "Misdemeanor", plus "Trouble Man", "Ghetto Child", and "Don't Misunderstand". LP, Vinyl record album

A totally excellent single by one of our favorite overlooked soul singers! "If You Want" starts out with some amazing echoey guitar picked passages – ala early 70s Barry White (in fact, they sound like they were lifted from the Gloria Scott album!) Then, Jesse comes in on a monologue, and next leaps into the song's tasty catchy hook. Arrangments by HB Barnum, who also had a hand in writing the cut. And this wasn't on an album, was it? 7-inch, Vinyl record

An incredible record – and the reason to buy rare soul vinyl! This is the kind of balls-out, once-in-a-thousand soul album that you'll dig through racks for years to find – totally solid, no filler, all top-shelf material sung by an amazing under-acknowledged artist with an incredible voice! Jesse hails from the Bay Area, and he's got a style that's unlike anyone else we can think of – partly southern party (ala The Tams), partly Chicago male (ala Garland Green or Gene Chandler), and partly New York uptown (ala Chuck Jackson or Tommy Hunt). But that mix doesn't even begin to describe Jesse's talents – as the record is a killer batch of original tunes, all linked together with some "live" audience noise, with vocals by Jesse that will have you coming back again and again to the record. Truly one of the real gems in our soul collection – a record that we own not just for one track, but for the amazing standout performance that sets it apart from a thousand other albums! Titles include "Green Power", "Thank You Darlin", "Facts Of Life 68", "Believe In Me Baby (parts 1 & 2)", "Bring My Baby Back", and "I'll Always Love You". LP, Vinyl record album

Kinsman Dazz are even funkier here than before – showing off their Ohio roots, and pointing the way towards the classic Dazz Band sound they'd forge in the 80s! Rhythms are very tight throughout – but still often touched with the jazzy elements that made the group so great in their early years – echoing a bit of an Earth Wind & Fire sound, as Philip Bailey's on board to help a bit with arrangements and background vocals. The whole thing's great – a super-tight record without any filler at all – and titles include "I Searched Around", "Love Design", "Keep On Rockin", "Can't Get Enough", "Dancin Free", and the wonderful "Catchin Up On Love", a spacey harmony track with a really anthemic sound! LP, Vinyl record album

Great stuff from the girls who first put Barry White on the map! The record is the group's second – and by this point, Barry had developed that tight snapping drum sound that made his orchestral albums work so well. You'll hear it to good effect on most songs on the LP, which have a great groove that's in the best Barry White mode of the 70s – but which kind of dominates the girls' vocals a bit. Not that anyone should complain that much, as it's the overall package that's always made Barry's albums sound so great – but we do wonder how the group felt when they had to sit out the first track, which was the instrumental "Love's Theme", a song that went onto become Barry's biggest song ever, and which probably sold the album a lot more than the vocal tracks. Still, you can hardly detect a note of disharmony – and the album soars from track to track, through titles like "Under The Influence Of Love", "Say It Again", "Yes, We Finally Made It", and "It May Be Winter Outside". LP, Vinyl record album

Excellent instrumentals from The Maestro! Barry's in fine fine form here – and he's just about the only one who could make a record with so many strings sound so funky! The album includes the excellent groover "Bring It On Up", which has a tightly snapping rhythm underneath soaring violins and harp – and just about ever other cut on the album sounds as great! Titles include "Midnight Groove", "Forever In Love", "Give Up Your Love Girl", "You're All I Want", "Makin Believe That It's You", "I Wanna Stay", and "It's Only What I Feel". Maybe the best Love Unlimited Orchestra album – with loads of great tracks! LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderful album by Barry White – a bit later than some of the early 70s hits, but one of his most satisfying records overall! The perpetual favorite on the album is the great groover "Strange Games & Things", a slow sly funky track that's been sampled often over the years, and which is a perfect summation of the mix of heavy drums and orchestra that made Barry's records so great. The album's also got a lot of other very nice groovers, most of which have a more uptempo sound than "Strange Games", but all of which are very nice. Titles include "Brazilian Love Song", "My Sweet Summer Suite", and "You, I Adore". LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful swirling instrumental LP that features the classic "Love's Theme", the cut that made Barry a multi-millionaire, and which firmly established his sophisticated orchestral soul style as one of the trademarks of the 70s! This is the ultimate in 70s soul class – from the cover that features Barry standing with ladies by the pool, to the complicated rhythms and sweet patterns of sound that made the record an instant classic. Includes some nicely funky cuts, like "What a Groove", "Baby Blues", and the sweet "Midnight and You". LP, Vinyl record album

An album of theirs that you don't see that often – with Barry White's takes on popular movie hits. Some of this veers a little to close to the cheesy side of things, but it's worth it for the "Theme From King Kong" alone, an uptempo funk number that has a great almost afro-funk guitar, way up front in the mix. There's also a great take on the theme from Shaft, and "People of Tomorrow Are the Children of Today" from the Together Brothers soundtrack. LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderful album of funky instrumental tracks from Barry White – often overlooked because of the "greatest hits" association you could make with the "gold" in the title. The record's got that perfect Love Unlimited sound – heavy beats underneath, and the orchestra soaring over the top in tight rhythmic washes of strings and keyboards! Tracks include "Spanish Lei", "Barry's Love", "Satin Soul", "Power Of Love", "You Make Me Feel Like This", and "Dreaming". LP, Vinyl record album

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Although Ellen McIlwaine's always best-remembered for her folksy work on Polydor, she's also pretty darn nice on this kind of record – a sophisticated soulful outing that shows that she sould still really thrive as an artist in a more commercial environment. The best cuts are the mellower ones, which have sort of a Renee Geyer-esque quality to them – and which work very nicely as soul songs, in contrast to the uptempo folksy tunes which stood out on earlier records. Titles include "Money Can't Save You", "You May Be All I Need", "The Last Good Man In My Life", "We Got Each Other", and "Don't You Have Any Love In Your Heart". LP, Vinyl record album

Another winner from Stephanie Mills and the hitmaking team of Reggie Lucas and Mtume – two musical partners who really helped Mills find her groove! The sound here is classic mainstream soul from the start of the 80s – upbeat and catchy, but without any of the too-clunky commercial modes that would bog things down a few years later – still very much in the warmer, jazz-inspired sound you'd guess from the roots of Mtume and Lucas! The best numbers are the mid to up tempo grooves, all with a nice polish and sophisticated songwriting – and titles include "Winner", "Two Hearts", "Don't Stop Doin What Cha Do", "Top Of My List", "I Believe In Love Songs", "Night Games", "My Love's Been Good To You", and "Magic". LP, Vinyl record album

Stephanie Mills in fine formation here – working with the team of James Mtume and Reggie Lucas, who helped the lady reach the heights of her career in the early 80s! The sound here is catchy and contemporary, but hardly ever too commercial – just relaxed and grooving, in a mode that lets Stephanie's vocals flow nicely over the top, but with a bit more of an easygoing feel than in her records of previous years. As usual, Lucas and Mtume bring a nice touch of jazz into the album – a subtle warmth that makes the best moments sparkle, really resonating nicely with Mills' vocals. Titles include the massive hit "Never Knew Love Like This Before" – plus "Sweet Sensation", "Try My Love", "I Just Wanna Say", 'Wish That You Were Mine", "D-a-n-c-i-n'", "Still Mine", and "Mixture Of Love". LP, Vinyl record album

Soaring soul from Stephanie Mills – one of the lady's all-time hits, and for good reason too! The album really gives Stephanie's great voice a lot of focus – an upbeat, uptempo groove that sets her firmly on the dancefloor, but always with a touch of class – and a lot more depth than some of the easy come/easy go disco divas of her day! Thanks here is clearly due to the team of Reggie Lucas and Mtume – who strike strongly with the album as one of their key early productions – the sort of work that really helped push mainstream soul a bit further at the end of the 70s, and set some new tones for a lot of growth in the next decade. The keyboards on the record are almost as nice as the vocals – played by Hubert Eaves and Harry Whitaker with a nice degree of sensitivity – hardly the stronger keyboard voice of the early 80s soul scene, and often with a dose of jazziness that's really appreciated. Titles include "What Cha Gonna Do With My Lovin'", "Deeper Inside Your Love", "Feel The Fire", "Put Your Body In It", "Starlight", and "Don't Stop Dancin". LP, Vinyl record album

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The follow up to the first Mondo Cane film – in case you couldn't tell by the title! Nino did part of the music for the first one, and the style here is very similar – mostly orchestral, but with a few lighter moments that get a little groovy. There's no big hit on this one, as with the first – and tracks include "Italian Wig", "Zio Guida", "Teste Dure", "The Pasadena", "Wigs", "Flamingos", "Tortillas", and "Call Girls". LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible blend of southern and modern soul – the second album by soul songwriter Sydney Joe Qualls, recorded in both Chicago and Muscle Shoals, with a stone mellow sound that's outta site! The groove here is extremely well-done – tight, but never too slick – and with a soaring quality that marks the best late 70s soul coming out of Chicago at the time, but which also has some rootsier vocals from Sydney. The album's a classic for the standout groover "I Don't Do This" – but the whole thing's pretty darn great, and tracks include "Bad Risk", "I'll Run To Your Side", "Let the Woman Know", "I Could Be So Good For You", and "Where Have You Been". LP, Vinyl record album

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With help from Lou Reed on vocals on "Aye Co'lorado" LP, Vinyl record album

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