Barbara Acklin's first album – and a landmark of Chicago soul that firmly established Acklin as one of the city's best writers and new female singers! Acklin had a classy sound that was different than some of her raw soul sisters in the city – but although she was classy, she also didn't have any of that little girl stuff that you might hear from singers like Denice Chandler or Barbara Mason. Instead, she had an approach that mixed a real soul vocal with more sophisticated material, in a manner that worked well with the evolving blueprint for the Brunswick Chisoul sound. Carl Davis and Eugene Record do a perfect job producing Barbara's songs, all forged nicely into the loping soul groove that set Chicago apart from other cities in the late 60s. Includes the big title track "Love Makes A Woman" – plus "Be By My Side", "Your Sweet Loving", "Come and See Me Baby", and a great cover of "The Look of Love"! LP, Vinyl record album

A 70s indie club classic – and the only album we've ever seen from Maryann Farra & Satin Soul! The group have a sound that's equal parts Brunswick Chicago soul and New York early disco groove – a combination that's brought out even more by the production talents of disco maestro Tony Valor and Chi-soul genius Eugene Record! The tunes groove along in a really rich style of arrangement – often using sweeping strings over tighter rhythms – sometimes hitting the loping midtempo groove you'd expect from Brunswick records at the time, yet also going for some of the faster, freer rhythms that were cropping up on the east coast indies of the time. Some tracks have a tight dancefloor feel – like "Never Gonna Leave You", "Do Those Little Things", and "Just A Little Timing" – while others have a beautiful soul groove – like "You Got To Be The One" and "Living In The Footsteps of Another Girl" – which both have a sound that feels like it was lifted from a lost Barbara Acklin or Chi-Lites album! The set also includes a female soul remake of "Stoned Out Of My Mind" that's almost worth the price of the record alone! LP, Vinyl record album

Classic soul, with a slight touch of funk – all served up in a limited vinyl-only package that really does justice to the longstanding legacy of the Free Soul series from Japan! The tunes here are upbeat, soaring, and very much on the positive side of soul music from back in the day – and although most of these tracks are more obscure than the big hits of the 70s, they've achieved greater fame over the decades – thanks in part to use as samples, and through great collections like this one! Titles on this volume include "We've Only Just Begun" by Frank Cunimondo Trio with Lynn Marino, "Don't You Care" by Alice Clarke, "Misdemeanor" by Foster Sylvers, "We've Gotta Find A Way Back To Love" by Freda Payne, "What Am I Gonna Do" by Reid Inc, "You Light Up My Life" by Judy Roberts, "I Think I'll Call It Morning" by Gil Scott Heron, "Girl Overboard" by Dorothy Moore, "Love Each Other" by Leon Thomas, "Run Away" by Salsoul Orchestra with Loleatta Holloway, and "Am I The Same Girl" by Barbara Acklin. LP, Vinyl record album