One of the best Stevie Wonder albums ever! Stevie's moving into god-like territory here – handling a multitude of styles, all well, and crafting some of the most sophisticated soul of his generation. The album's got the same jazzy references you'll find on the best work by Donny Hathaway – best heard on the sublime track "Golden Lady", which gets our clear vote for one of the best songs ever! Just about every track is great, though – and the album features the big hits "Living For The City", "All In Love Is Fair", "Higher Ground", and "Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing" – plus "He's Misstra Know It All", "Jesus Children Of America", and "Too High". CD

Sweet electric magic from Ramsey Lewis – four 70s albums in a single collection! First up is Don't It Feel Good – massive keyboard work from the great Ramsey Lewis – easily one of his best records ever, thanks to some spaciously funky production by Charles Stepney! Stepney plays keyboards here along with Ramsey, and the twin-keys approach makes for a sound that's extra-special – one that sums up all the earlier soulful creativity of both artists in their late 60s Cadet Records years, and hones it down to an even sweeter groove for the 70s! A number of tracks have some sort of vocal component, but usually in a chorus mode that soon drops out when the keyboards hit home – and the record features a few great short "interlude" tracks that are almost as great as the longer numbers! Titles include the classic "Juaacklyn", a cover of Earth Wind & Fire's "That's The Way Of The World", and the tracks "I Dig You", "Fish Bite", "Don't It Feel Good", "Something About You", and "Can't Function". Salongo is a tremendous little record, and one of the funky 70s sets that Ramsey Lewis recorded with Earth Wind & Fire! Well, not Earth Wind & Fire entirely – but the Kalimba Productions team of Maurice White and Charles Stepney that gave the group its sound – plus a nice sprinkling of other players that were often associated with sessions by the group! Ramsey's own combo here includes Steve Cobb on drums and vocals, and Derf Reklaw on reeds and vocals as well – and the overall sound has bits of African and Brazilian influences, worked into a soulful fusion groove that sounds a lot like the instrumental backings EWF were using at the time. Titles include "Brazilica", "Slick", "Rubato", "Salongo", and "Seventh Fold". Tequila Mockingbird is an overlooked gem from the Columbia Records years, filled with loads of great grooves, and some pretty mighty keyboards! Part of the record has Ramsey working with Larry Dunn of Kalimba Productions – getting plenty of the Earth Wind & Fire groove that made so much of his Columbia sessions sparkle – while the rest of the set has the great Bert DeCoteaux handling things, and giving Lewis just the right mix of sophistication and soul he was using with other Columbia acts at the time. The album's a perfect example of the way that Ramsey stepped way ahead of the pack during this time in his career – using keyboards and grooves together in ways that so many artists today are still trying to match – but never hit it this right! Titles include "Camino El Bueno", "Caring For You", "Intimacy", "That Ole Bach Music", "Skippin", "Tequila Mockingbird", and "Wandering Rose" – that cool cut by Neal Creque! Love Notes is a great little album of mid 70s funk from Ramsey Lewis – very much in the mode of his Earth, Wind, & Fire related work – no surprise, since the album's dedicated to Charles Stepney, whose influence was such a key part of the sound of the group, and of some of Ramsey's other Kalimba-produced albums from a few years before! Ramsey plays Fender Rhodes, mini moog, and Arp – and he gets help on keyboards from Stevie Wonder and Derf Reklaw, who also plays saxes and percussion on the set. Features versions of Wonder's "Love Notes" and "Spring High", plus Reklaw's "Chili Today Hot Tamale", "Shining", and "Stash Dash". CD

A fantastic 70s classic from Stevie Wonder – part of a great run of records in which he broke completely from his earlier Motown sound – and showed the world that he was one of the true musical visionaries of the decade! The righteous currents of his previous few albums are fully in place here, taken with a bit more focus that helped the record gain Stevie a few new followers in the crossover market, while still offering up plenty to please all the minds that had already been blown by is initial work of the 70s! There's some fantastic themes here, and so many new ideas too – and titles include the slow-funk moog classic "Creepin", which has these wonderful washes of sound throughout, weird vocals by Stevie, and some drums that bump around in off-kilter little patterns just at the right moments. The album also includes the hit "Boogie On Reggae Woman", plus "Too Shy To Say", "You Haven't Done Nothin", "It Ain't No Use", "Bird Of Beauty", and "Please Don't Go". CD

Mid 80s, and while never that bad (nothing Stevie does is ever terrible – well, except for "Don't Drive Drunk"!), the record lacks that certain greatness that you'll find on even the lesser Stevie Wonder albums. Still, there's some decent enough numbers that keep the album fresh – and even at this point, Stevie's vocals are still sublime! Titles include "Stranger On The Shore Of Love", "Spiritual Walkers", "Land Of La La", "Overjoyed", and "Part-Time Lover". CD

A stunning little set from Incognito – the group's first full album on Talkin Loud records, and a set that's head and shoulders above their earlier jazz funk from the 80s! The sound here has a real "instant classic" quality – not just because it's dripping with the best references from the jazzier side of 70s soul (think Fantasy Records at its best!) – but also because it's so well put together, with a sense of instrumentation that's tight, yet an overall groove that's relaxed and fairly spontaneous – something that was quite rare at the time the record was released! Bluey is at the height of his powers here – stepping strongly into a run of great work that would last for well over a decade – and other key figures include Maysa Leak on vocals, Kevin Robinson on trumpet, and Graham Harvey and Peter Hinds on keyboards. Titles include a killer remake of Stevie Wonder's "Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing", plus "Change", "Colibri", "Magnetic Ocean", "Closer To The Feeling", "Tribal Vibes", "Pyramid", and "I Love What You Do For Me". CD

20 tracks from the Motown vaults – including many rare numbers, and even a few unreleased tracks! The quality of the set goes way way past the usual American Motown set – no surprise, since it was put together by Richard Searling, longtime UK soul DJ and expert collector. Titles include "Do I Love You" by Chris Clark, "Sunny" by Marvin Gaye, "It's Growing" by the Contours, "Don't Be Afraid" by Bobby Taylor, "No One There" by Martha Reeves, "Where Is That Girl" by The Spinners, "Lonely Lonely Town" by Tammi Terrell, "Don't Stop Now" by The Originals, "Flying High Together" by Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, "Hey Love" by Stevie Wonder, "Forget You Ever Met My Baby" by Barbara McNair, and "Where Did You Go?" by The Four Tops. 20 tracks in all! CD

A massive third helping of rare Motown soul – filled with just as many obscure moments and unreleased gems as the previous two volumes! Even if you're a Motown completist enough to buy those giant Complete Singles volumes, you'll still find plenty here to love – because this UK-only series really digs deep into the Motown vaults, and proves that there's a tremendous amount of great music that never saw the light of day back in the 60s! The overall style is strongly in the Northern Soul mode – no surprise, given the British origin of the set – but even with that tight focus, the range of music here is really wonderful, and includes a great amount of work by lesser stars in the Motown galaxy. All tracks are presented with full notes on the original recording date – and the 2CD package features a whopping 43 tracks that include "You're Walking Out With My Heart" by Brenda Holloway, "This Love Will Never Die" by The Miracles, "At The Go Go" by Stevie Wonder, "I'm In Love Again" by Shorty Long, "Easier Said Than Done" by Dennis Edwards, "Never Give You Up" by Blinky & Edwin Starr, "A Chance With You" by Marvin Gaye, "Watch Your Step" by Mike Varo, "Come Back My Love" by The Temptations, "Too Young Too Long" by Carolyn Crawford, "SOS Girl In Distress" by Marv Johnson, "Thief Of Love" by Oma Page, "Loving You" by Fantastic Four, "Just Too Much" by The Monitors, "Little Girls Grow Up" by The Marvelettes, "Don't Stop Loving Me" by Ivy Jo, "Soldier Of Love" by The Four Tops, "I'm Here Now That You Need Me" by JJ Barnes, "Beware Of A Stranger" by Rita Wright, "Cindy" by Bobby Taylor, and "Too Late I Learned" by The Spinners. CD

An amazing return to form for this legendary collection – filled with never-heard numbers, pulled from the 60s and 70s vaults of Motown Records! Even if you think you've got plenty of Motown in your collection already, you'll find plenty more here to love – totally fresh tracks by some of the label's biggest artists, plus some other gems by lesser-known stars – all of which have all the punch, power, and sparkle of classic Motown at its best! The 2CD set is brimming over with greatness – and we're honestly stunned that they can still come up with so many unreleased gems, even after three previous volumes in the collection. Titles include "Kidnapped" by The Blackberries, "Keep On Tryin" by The Fantastic Four, "My Baby Moves Me" by Brenda Holloway, "Your Kiss Kiss" by Marvin Gaye & Oma Heard, "Miss Lonely Heart" by The Vandellas, "You Gave Me Love To Live For" by Debbie Dean, "Head Over Heels In Love With You Baby" by The Spinners, "I'd Cry" by Chuck Jackson, "Twin Brother" by Eddie Holland, "Daddy Cool" by Oma Heard, "Three Time Loser" by Marvin Gaye, "The Girl I've Chosen To Be My Bride" by Joe Stubbs, "A Bird In The Hand" by Gladys Knight & The Pips, "Somebody's Waiting For Me" by The Contours, "Only A Lonely Man Would Know" by Ivy Joe Hunter, "The House That Jack Built" by JJ Barnes, "The Philly Dog" by Earl Van Dyke, and "Why Don't You Come Home" by Stevie Wonder. CD

Beautiful duo soul from the all-time great Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway – released right around the time of Donny's tragic passing! The set was co-produced by Eric Mercury and Flack – and it has a lot of great vocals from Roberta, with as masterfully paired with Donny as always – plus guest vocal appearances by Luther Vandross, Gwen Guthrie, and Eleanore Mills, and even Mercury, who sings a bit on one track! Titles include couple of nice Stevie Wonder tunes – "You Are My Heaven" and "Don't Make Me Wait Too Long" – plus "Stay With Me", "God Don't Like Ugly", "Only Heaven Can Wait", and "Disguises". CD

A new record by the legendary Sergio Mendes – bursting into the 21st century on a catchy wave of Will I Am production – reworking gems from the Brazilian songbook and more with guest appearances by Stevie Wonder, Erykah Badu, Q-Tip, India Arie, Black Thought, Chali 2Na, Marcelo D2, John Legend and others! Will I Am has been annoying hip hop purists for years thanks to the relentless candy-coated pop gloss of recent Black Eyed Peas records – but he brings an intelligent, reverent and educated approach to the Brazilian keys legend Sergio Mendes – whose familiar grooves are a lovely accomplice to the sparkling hip hop/pop background. The guest stars seem to be here out of genuine love of the music – and provide far more graceful appearances than we would have expected! A very sweet surprise with bright, warm, and lovely moments – almost good enough for us to forgive Will I Am for "My Humps"! Tracks include "Mas Que Nada" feat Black Eyed Peas, "Berimbau/Consolacao" feat Stevie Wonder & Gracinha Leporace, "That Heat" feat Erykah Badu & Will I Am, "Let Me" feat Jill Scott & Will I Am, "Please Baby Don't" feat John Legend, "Samba Da Bencao" feat Marcelo D2, "Yes, Yes, Y'All" feat Black Thought, Chali 2Na & others and much more! CD

Minnie Riperton's first album for Epic – and the record that broke her from a hip Chicago underground artist into one of the seventies' biggest female soul stars! The record moves past the baroque soul of Minnie's early years with Rotary Connection and Charles Stepney – and hits a mix of mellow compressed LA styles and slicker funkier numbers that do the same thing for her Chicago-trained vocals that Rufus' backing did for that of Chaka Khan. Of course, it helps that she's got some superbly sensitive writing and arranging help by husband Richard Rudolph – and Stevie Wonder's definitely lurking in the background, too – not credited with production, due to contractual reasons, although he helped put most of the album together. Includes Minnie's huge crossover hit "Loving You", a perfect showcase for her beautiful 5 octave voice, plus the tracks "Our Lives", "Every Time He Comes Around", "Perfect Angel", and "Reasons". This legendary album finally gets its proper treatment – with very detailed notes from Minnie's husband/co-creator Richard Rudolph – and 11 bonus tracks from the vault – including "Lovin You (single version with countdown)", "Reasons (ext version)", "It's So Nice (ext version)", "Take A Little Trip (duet with Stevie Wonder)", "Seeing You This Way (acoustic)", "Edge Of A Dream (ext version)", "Perfect Angel (ext version)", "Every Time He Comes Along (ext version)", "Don't Let Anyone Bring You Down (Perfect Angel version)", "Lovin You (alt band version)", and "Our Lives (ext version)". Really fantastic – great sound and the bonus tracks are beautiful! CD

Janelle Monae knocks it out of the park here – sounding every bit as great as before, but also hitting this righteous mode that really takes the singer to incredible new territory! If you loved Janelle's previous records, don't worry – she's still as catchy and playful as ever – but there's also a depth and darkness that's inspired by recent political turns in America – which Monae also uses to address issues that go back much farther in her experience, woven together in songs that are maybe even more politically powerful because of the way that they'll also win over the mainstream! Stevie Wonder gets the very first thanks in the long notes at the end of the book – and the mix of soul and message here definitely hearkens back to Stevie in the 70s – is all Janelle's own. Heck, even guests like Zoe Kravitz, Brian Wilson, and Pharrell Williams can't get in the way – on titles that include "Screwed", "Django Jane", "I Got The Juice", "Stevie's Dream", "Don't Judge Me", "Crazy Classic Life", "Take A Byte", "Do Afraid", "Americans", "I Like That ", "Pynk", "Jane's Dream", and "Make Me Feel". And hey, you've gotta love a record that's inspired both by Vibranium and Stevie Wonder! CD

An amazing evolution in sound – a set that brings together the shifting styles of Deniece Williams during her Columbia years – a stretch when she started out as a righteous-voiced singer with an almost Minnie Riperton-like sound, then moved into much more chart-topping territory for the early 80s! Throughout it all, though, Williams' vocals remained top-shelf – trained not only through years of gospel singing, but also through an early music career that had her recording indie singles in Chicago, and working as a backup singer for Stevie Wonder. The package does a good job of bringing together most of Williams' significant cuts from the Columbia years – 16 tracks that include "Free", "I Found Love", "Cause You Love Me Baby", "That's What Friends Are For", "God Is Amazing", "Baby Baby My Love's All For You", "When Love Comes Calling", "If You Don't Believe", "Silly", "It's Gonna Take A Miracle", "Waiting", "Do What You Feel", "Black Butterfly", "Too Much Too Little Too Late", and "Let's Hear It For The Boy". CD

Includes music by the Cleftones, Nino & the Ebbtides, Big Dee Irwin, the Dreamers, Belmonts, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Billy Stewart, Sam Cooke, Vito & the Salutations, and more – 21 tracks total. CD

A pop soul classic from Force MDs – the kind of record that countless other groups would copy in years to come! The MDs' mix of hip hop production and straighter soul was hardly new at the time, but it's carried off perfectly here – done in a way that shakes off the last vestiges of the harder modes of earlier records, and moves the focus over to the sweeter side of the group's harmonies – letting Stevie D, TCD, Mercury, and Trisco sparkle with the warmth that's really their strongest suit. There's still a fair bit of beats, keyboards, and bassy bottom parts, but the harmonies here are probably the best thing going – and tracks include "Midnite Lover", "Your Love Drives Me Crazy", "Touch & Go", "Would You Love Me", "Love Is A House", and "Take Your Love Back". CD

A sweet little mix of London and New York grooves – all of them plenty darn soulful, and all coming from the great catalog of UK-based Sole Records! There's a positive-grooving feel here that hangs on throughout – a love of deeper soul mixed with vibrant dancefloor rhythms, in a way that many other labels try for, but never seem to do this well. Titles include "Back To The Top (Waiwan rmx)" by Open Door, "The Bottle (Richard Earnshaw rmx)" by Overstreet with Sharlene Hector, "Galaxy Of Sound" by Milton Jackson, "Do What You Wanna (Terry Hunter rmx)" by Bugz In The Attic present Homecookin, "Funkatuca" by DJ Spinna, "Rhythm Revolution" by Guiro featuring Kriminul, "Flyin" by Steviesole, and "FF To The Money Shot (Dave Storm rmx)" by Guiro featuring Angela Johnson. CD

A landmark album for Caetano Veloso – a full set of tracks sung in English, as beautifully done as we ever could have hoped! The arrangements are really fresh – in a style that makes the album far more than just a set of standards – and instead gives it the edgey approach of some of Caetano's best recent work. The set was co-produced by Jacques Morelenbaum, and has a range of instrumental approaches that shifts to fit the mood of each new track – and given that the work on the set runs from tunes by Cole Porter to Nat King Cole, Nirvana, David Byrne, Arto Lindsay, Elvis Presley, Stevie Wonder, and Bob Dylan – you can imagine the changing moods at work! Titles include "So In Love", "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes", "Diana", "Manhattan", "Nothing But Flowers", "Cry Me A River", "Nature Boy", "Jamaica Farewell", "If It's Magic", "Detached", "Blue Skies", and "Something Good". Loads of tracks, too – 22 in all – and packaged beautifully! CD

A long-awaited 21st Century album from Stevie Wonder – quite possibly the most-delayed album in the history of the music business, but certainly well worth the wait! Overall, Stevie's in really fine form for the set – hitting a groove that's laidback, mellow, and filled with the righteously jazzy touches that made some of his classic work for Motown so great back in the 70s. As with those years, the sound here is best when Wonder's not pushing too hard – just kicking back and letting the tunes flow from his fingers, and avoiding the overdone qualities of some of his more mainstream-focused work. There's certainly a few "hit potential" tunes here that are a bit uptight, but overall we appreciate the restrained quality of most of the record, and it's attempt to go for the older understated Wonder sound. A few tracks feature guest vocals by singers that include Aisha Morris, Kim Burrell, and India Arie – and titles include "Moon Blue", "Passionate Raindrops", "Shelter In The Rain", "True Love", "So What The Fuss", "If Your Love Cannot Be Moved", "A Time To Love", "Positivity", "My Love Is On Fire", and "From The Bottom Of My Heart". CD

Smooth later work from Lonnie Smith – but still pretty darn great, with a feel that's in the late 70s Kudu/CTI mode! Arrangements are bigger than ever before – with large backings arranged by Lonnie, and some vocals that have a really wonderful, warm, Stevie Wonder-esque quality to them. The best tracks groove along at a nice midtempo pace, with strong work on keyboards by Lonnie, and a warm, dreamy, soulful quality that's quite different from his Blue Note work, but equally pleasing in another sort of way. Titles include "What's Done Is Done", "I Need Your Love", "Sweet Honey Wine", "My Latin Sky", and "Journey To Within". CD