One of the folksiest albums we've ever heard from Jackie DeShannon – a record that's heavy on acoustic guitar and folk-styled numbers, but which also features some top-shelf LA arrangements from the great Jack Nitzsche! Jackie takes on a number of folk hits of the day, but delivers them with a surprisingly strong approach – still a bit pop, but with an expressive quality in her vocals that may well beat most of the other pop folkies of the time. Titles include "Walkin Down The Line", "Don't Think Twice It's Alright", "Baby Let Me Follow", and "Jailer Bring Me Water" – but the set also includes "Needles & Pins", which is one of Jackie's most soulful tunes ever! LP, Vinyl record album

The birth of a sound and the birth of a legend – Martin Denny's first album in the Exotica series, and a record so great it named an entire genre! Denny certainly didn't invent the tropical style of easy listening that came to be known as "exotica" in the 50s – but with a record like this, he delivered the goods better than anyone else – by taking away all the too-sweet styles of Hawaiian music, and serving up a stripped-down, jazzy kind of sound! The album features Denny's classic original quartet – with Arthur Lyman on vibes and Augie Colon on bongos – and titles include "Stone God", "Jungle Flower", "Busy Port", "Lotus Land", and his hit recording of "Quiet Village". LP, Vinyl record album

A landmark album from the mighty Bob Dylan – a 2LP set of studio work, which was quite rare at the time – and a set that has Dylan stretching out all his creative powers in newly different directions! The album had a long genesis in the studio – some early work with The Band, then Dylan breaking off with Al Kooper and Robbie Robertson to head down to Nashville – where they interacted with key country session musicians to make this masterful blend of music – work that's not country at all, but which is also moving past Dylan's folk roots too – with a blend of music that still as mindblowing today as it was back in the mid 60s! This is definitely one of those double-length sets that makes fantastic use of all the extra space – overflowing with gems that include "Rainy Day Women # 12 & 35", "Visions Of Johanna", "Pledging My Time", "Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again", "Leopard-Skin Pill Box Hat", and "Just Like A Woman". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the more obscure Roy Eldridge sessions for Verve – with a very cool cover too! Titles include "Tin Roof Blues", "Jada", "Bugle Call Rag", "Black & Blue", and "That's A Plenty". LP, Vinyl record album

The Electric Prunes get back to basics – as you might guess from the title here – shaking off some of the larger, more ambitious modes of their albums with David Axelrod, yet still retaining a nicely trippy sound overall! The lineup of the group has shifted a bit – hence their billing as "the new improved" Electric Prunes – but although things are stripped-down and simple, there's still some amazing music on the record – a blend of guitar, flute, organ, and vocals that flows along wonderfully with some unusual sounds that we wouldn't expect! And while there's certainly a bit of "good old rock and roll" going on here on a few more straightforward songs, it's not like the album's Let It Be or anything like that – because the group are really more just getting back to the garagey psych of their roots, but doing it a bit better than before! Titles include "Sell", "14 Year Old Funk", "Love Grows", "Giant Sunhorse", "Silver Passion Mine", "Sing To Me", "Tracks", and "Finders Keepers Losers Weepers". LP, Vinyl record album

A later session from Bill Evans – but one that features some great work from Lee Konitz on alto and Warne Marsh on tenor – one of Evans' last sessions with horn players! Eddie Gomez plays bass – and titles include "Eiderdown", "Pensativa", "Everytime We Say Goodbye", "Pensativa", and "Speak Low". LP, Vinyl record album

Beautifully tripped-out material from Gale Garnett & The Gentle Reign – titled after the Sausalito Heliport, a northern California complex that housed a bunch of hippy dippy bands in the late 60s! The album's a wonderful blend of Bay Area freedoms and some of the folksier and sweeter touches of east coast groups of the time – with instrumentation that includes organ, harpsichord, guitar, and lots of cool percussion – and a style that's got lots of wild elements, yet always manages to compress them down into cool sunshiney tunes! Titles include "Peace Comes Slowly To The Thrashing Fish", "Water Your Mind", "The Trip Note Song", "Man In The Middle", "Want Ad", and "Deer In The City". LP, Vinyl record album

The moods of Marvin Gaye are many, even at this early point in his career – as the set has the young Marvin really taking off strongly – hitting hard on classic Motown groovers, but also showing a sensitive side at times too! The album kicks off with some killer rhythms on cuts like "I'll Be Doggone", "Little Darling", and "Take This Heart Of Mine" – really setting the stage for a batch of cuts that makes the album one of Gaye's strongest from the early years, thanks to some bold song writing from Smokey Robinson and other mighty Motown talents. Other cuts include the classic "Ain't That Peculiar", and side two slows things down a bit, showing mellow moods on cuts like "Night Life", "You're The One For Me", "I Worry Bout You", and "One For My Baby". LP, Vinyl record album

The swing is soft by the sound is never sleepy – thanks to some always-great tenor work from Stan Getz! The album definitely moves in a slightly mellow mode – as implied by the title – but the groove is still plenty darn soulful! Iif anything the album offers almost a bit more space than usual for Stan to do his thing in the lead – carving out beautiful tenor lines that almost hang by themselves in space at varying points – but which also receive some gentle rhythmic support from the trio of Mose Allison on piano, Jerry Segal on drums, and Addison Farmer on bass. Titles include "Down Beat", "Pocono Mac", "All The Things You Are", "Bye Bye Blues", and "To The Ends Of The Earth". LP, Vinyl record album

Not just disco nights, but some great mellow moments too – a wonderfully well-rounded classic from this great quartet – as tight and groovy as it is cool and classy! By the time of this debut, the group had already had plenty of 70s soul experience as The Rhythm Makers – a previous name for the lineup, and a combo with a great reputation for dancefloor grooves that were tight, but never too uptight – kind of the best funky soul styles of the time! This album definitely continues that tradition, with a sound that's leaner than most mainstream disco of the time – and really well put-together, in a way that also has them slowing down to hit some great ballads and mellower steppers too. The album features the massive disco title cut – "Disco Nights" – and a beautiful reworking of Billy Stewart's classic "I Do Love You" – with a sound that's faithful to the original, but a sweet stepping groove that's made it a favorite for years! Other cuts include "Boogie Oogie Oogie", "Spirit", "Make My Dreams A Reality", "It's Your Love", "I Do Love You", and "Wonderful". LP, Vinyl record album

One of our favorite Isaac Hayes albums from the post-Stax years – a wonderful late 70s set that has the man returning strongly to the mellow roots of his early solo years! Ike sounded great on his disco tracks at the time – but we really love his mature, laidback way of laying down a tune on this sweet set – mostly longer numbers that feature lots of the spoken, soulful passages that Hayes delivered on his first few albums of the 70s. The record does have two great groovers – a remake of "Shaft" – called "Shaft II" – one that really follows the format of the original, but extends the length of the tune significantly, throwing in lots of instrumental fills for the disco crowds – and the quirky "Zeke The Freak". But the mellower cuts are our favorites here – and include "Believe In Me", "Just The Way You Are", "If We Ever Needed Peace", and "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight". LP, Vinyl record album

A pair of very stripped-down albums from John Lee Hooker – issued together in this 70s set! First up is Country Blues Of John Lee Hooker – featuring the legendary John Lee Hooker, heard here in one of his more obscure recordings from the late 50s – at least in contrast to his famous sides for Vee Jay Records! This set's an unusual date – recorded in Detroit, despite the claim of the title – and featuring Hooker on acoustic guitar and vocals, without any other instrumentation at all – pitched much more towards the growing folk blues scene than some of his more familiar Chicago recordings. Tracks are short, but pack plenty of punch – and titles include "Black Snake", "I Rowed A Little Boat", "Bundle Up & Go", "Behind The Plow", "Water Boy", "Tupelo Blues", and "Pea Vine Special". That's My Story is from 1960, and features great rootsy blues from John Lee Hooker – and an unusual session that has him getting backup help from jazz players Sam Jones on bass and Louis Hayes on drums! Jones and Hayes only play on a handful of tracks, and most of the focus is on Hooker's damn-great vocals, and acoustic guitar – spun out nicely over a set of tracks that includes "I Need Some Money", a controversial clash with early Motown – plus "One Of These Days", "Gonna Use My Rod", "I Want To Talk About You", "Democrat Man", and "I'm Wanderin". LP, Vinyl record album

A killer album of funky blues – recorded by Howlin Wolf during the period when Chess/Cadet was backing its older artists up with some of the newer funk musicians it had working in its studios! The overall sound works quite well – and although purists at the time moaned at the way artists like Wolf, Etta James, and Bo Diddley were being handled (especially with a "we know better than them" message on the cover like this!), the funky blues records from this time actually seem to be some of the most enduring from Chess – especially with younger listeners in the 21st Century! A big part of the success here goes to producers Charles Stepney and Gene Barge – who helped bring together a younger batch of players for Wolf's backing – including Pete Cosey and Phil Upchurch on guitars, Louis Satterfield on bass, and Morris Jennings on drums. Titles include "Spoonful", "Tail Dragger", "Smokestack Lightning", "Red Rooster", "Evil", and "Down In The Bottom". LP, Vinyl record album

A great Blue Note 2-fer from the 70s – one that features the first issue of the album Here To Stay, plus the classic Hub Cap! On the first session on the set, the sound is sharp-edged and soulful – a reflection of the groove that Freddie was hitting in the Jazz Messengers of the early 60s, played by a group that features three members of that ensemble – Wayne Shorter, Cedar Walton, and Reggie Workman – along with Philly Joe Jones on drums! Tracks are hard, straight, and soulful – not bogged down in some of Hubbard's misdirected modernism – and titles include "Philly Mignon", "Father & Son", "Nostrand & Fulton", and "Assunta". Hub Cap is one of Freddie Hubbard's all-time best from the early days – and features a very hard wailing lineup that mixes tight hardbop rhythms with some more adventurous soloing that almost has a modern jazz kind of tinge. Cedar Walton's on piano, Julian Preister's on trombone, and Jimmy Heath is on tenor – working with Freddie to craft some mindblowing work on titles that include the amazing "Plexus", plus "Hub Cap", "Cry Me Not", and "Earmon JR." LP, Vinyl record album

Sublime genius from funky flute player Bobbi Humphrey – a record we'd rank right up there with her classic Blacks & Blues set – and like that one, another fantastic collaboration with producer Larry Mizell! The groove here is tremendous throughout – a heady mix of Bobbi's flute, Larry's keyboards, and some additional work from Jerry Peters, Skip Scarborough, and other 70s funky jazz legends – all coming together in a large lineup that works together with an amazingly tight and stripped-down groove – a sound that seems to flow effortlessly from the breeze, but which was the long result of careful work in the studio by Larry Mizell and his brother Fonce, who also helped on arrangements. Humphrey is in excellent form – blowing with a tone that's hard, crisp, and very soulful – and the spacey keyboards and gentle grooves lift her flute way out into the cosmos, yet never push things too far! Every cut's a winner – and titles include "You Make Me Feel So Good", "Please Set Me At Ease", "Uno Esta", "The Trip", "Fancy Dancer", and "Mestizo Eyes". LP, Vinyl record album

A clubbier album than usual from Curtis Mayfield – a mid 70s attempt to move onto the dancefloor, but a set that's still got the undeniable Mayfield charm! Half the tracks here were done in collaboration with disco maestro Gil Askey – and these numbers are longer tracks that soar and sway on waves of rhythms and subtle strings – all in a mode that's clearly going for a Philly-styled groove, and which manages to come pretty close in the end! The second half of the album, though, is quite different – mellower numbers that follow through on some of the more personal soul styles that Curtis was laying down on other Curtom albums from the time – a great blend of gentle rhythms, warm instrumentation, and those always-sweet Mayfield vocals – a sound that almost reminds us of some of the best mellow soul of the time from labelmate Leroy Hutson. Clubby tracks include "Do It All Night", "No Goodbyes", and "Party Party" – and mellow tracks include "Keeps Me Loving You", "In Love In Love In Love", and "You Are You Are". LP, Vinyl record album

The Steve Miller Band is firmly down to a trio here – and they've never sounded better – thanks to completely kickass drums from Tim Davis, and some heavy heavy bass from Lonnie Turner – both of whom work with Miller in a style that's almost an American answer to the music of Cream from the UK! The vocals have this great way of laying down amidst the guitar, bass, and drums – and although rooted in blues, the music is so much more – especially since it's got an unbridled energy that always has the best tunes really taking off. Titles include "Baby's House", "Motherless Children", "Last Wombat In Mecca", "Your Saving Grace", "Just A Passin Fancy", and "Feel So Glad". LP, Vinyl record album

Beautiful spare sounds from Noro Morales – and an album that really lets you hear his amazing work on the piano! Most of the album simply features Noro's playing, backed by bass and percussion, and no other orchestration – a really stripped-down setting that's even more spare than the usual Latin album of this nature! The album's very mellow – but has a good late night Latin groove throughout – thanks to this pronounced bassline that really grabs up the bottom end of the sound spectrum – leaving Noro to work on the keys up top. Titles include "Flores Negras", "Tres Palabras", "Tiempos Viejos", "Silencio", "Perfume De Gardenias", and "Palmeras". LP, Vinyl record album

An ambitious mix of rootsy samba and soaring orchestrations – one of the strongest 70s albums by Clara Nunes, and set to arrangements by Francis Hime, Nelsinho, and Maestro Gaya! The record manages to sit on both sides of a sound with tremendous ease – never getting bogged down in its own ambition, yet still pushing Clara forward with a fresh approach. Titles include "Canto Das Tres Racas", "Fuzue", "Risos E Lagrimas", "Ai Quem Me Dera", "Tenha Paciencia" and "Retrato Falado". LP, Vinyl record album

Exactly the kind of record that reminds us why we love Oddisee so much – and why he continues to be one of the freshest talents around – both from a lyrical and musical perspective! At some level, the album's as understated as the look of its cover – with a stripped-down vibe that never needs to push too hard, and which just moves perfectly with the vocal flow that the man himself delivers – with a simple, subtle quality that almost takes us back to that early moment when MCs were starting to break free of simple patterns in the 80s, and also allow some of themselves into their lyrics too. Titles include "Waiting Outside", "Rain Dance", "Things", "Built By Pictures", "Hold It Back", "Digging Deep", and "Things". LP, Vinyl record album

Great work from the Ohio Players – and proof that moving to a big label could be a good thing for a funky group! This was the band's first album for Mercury – and although one might have the temptation to say that the label cut down the radical funk sound of the trippy Westbound years, the move also taught the band to sharpen up their act, and get out of the repetitive sloppy groove into which they'd been lapsing during the past few years. The record's a lot smoother than earlier work – with a polished funky sound that would soon push the band right up there with Earth Wind & Fire at the top of the soul charts. And although there's familiar funky numbers like "Skin Tight", "Jive Turkey", and "Streakin Cheek To Cheek" – the best moment on the entire album is the wonderful spacey soul number "Heaven Must be Like This", a seven minute mellow groover that's got a sophisticated jazzy soul style, with voices and piano soaring into the heavens, in a way that always still sends chills down our spine! That cut shows the band's tremendous growth – and it's one of their best-ever! LP, Vinyl record album

The only LP from this First Priority family member who released a couple of nice tracks as singles on the label, especially his duets with MC Lyte. This major label album somehow managed to get lost, though it's one of our favorites from the early 90s, with stripped down funky beats and a tight flow and intelligent rhyme style that won't leave you scratching your head. 16 tracks in all, counting the shorter intros and interludes, including "Pass The Mic", "One 2 The Head", "How The F*ck Would You Know", "Carhoppers", "A Flower Grows In Brooklyn", "Nightshift", "I Got A Man", "Ain't No Crime" and "It's All Over". LP, Vinyl record album

A landmark album from Queen – a set conceived when the group were already at the top of their game, and willing to not only lean into their strengths, but also take a few chances by slimming things down, and really bringing the focus onto the guitar work, vocals, and heavy rhythms that continue to make the quartet the stuff of legend! Those qualities come through right away on the album's first two tracks – the instant classics "We Will Rock You" and "We Are The Champions" – followed by plenty more greatness on titles that include the ultimate take on "Sheer Heart Attack", and the cuts "My Melancholy Blues", "It's Late", "Who Needs You", Fight From The Inside", "Spread Your Wings", "All Dead All Dead", and "Get Down Make Love". LP, Vinyl record album

Smokey and the group do a great job on some lesser-known numbers – all presented with that wonderful warm polish that The Miracles brought to soul, a sound that's always great, even on a lesser-hit album like this! Titles include "Give Her Up", "Special Occasion", "Yester Love", "If You Can Want", "Just Losing You", "Much Better Off", and "You Only Build Me Up To Tear Me Down". LP, Vinyl record album

The quirky Sauter-Finegan ensemble lay down a weird set of tracks with their usual high level of performance and keen sense of wit! Tracks include "Madame X", "Sleepy Village", "Pictures From Sauter-Finegan Land", and "The Land Between". Great stuff from a group that never really ever gets its due. LP, Vinyl record album

A very nice stripped-down set by Tony Scott – one of the most overlooked reed players of the 50s, and an artist who ventured into much more hippy-dippy oriented material during the 60s. The set supposedly features "both sides" of Scott's work – but it's really only a simple batch of clarinet tracks, performed in the company of 2 different quartets: one with Mundell Lowe, Teddy Kotick, and Shadow Wilson; the other with Dick Garcia, Milt Hinton, and Osie Johnson. The guitar/clarinet sound works very nicely throughout –a nd titles include "East Coast, West Side", "Counterpoint Pleasant", "Star Dust", and "Cry Me A River". LP, Vinyl record album

A surprisingly wonderful album from Artie Shaw – one that takes his older groove and nicely strips it down for the 50s, and which features some especially great guitar work from Tal Farlow! Other players in the group include Hank Jones on piano, Joe Roland on vibes, Tommy Potter on bass, and Irv Kluger on drums – coming together in a loosely swinging mode that has lots of interplay on the longer-than-usual tracks on the set. Titles include the originals "When The Quail Come Back To Town", "Lugubrious", "The Grabtown Grapple", and "Lyric". LP, Vinyl record album

Classic Blue Note work by Horace Silver – the stuff that soul jazz legends are made of, and an album that showed he was destined to be a huge force away from the Jazz Messengers! Blue Mitchell and Junior Cook hold down the frontline with Horace – playing in a mellifluous style that links the tenor and trumpet magically, dancing in sweetly lyrical lines over the impeccable rhythm team of Gene Taylor on bass and Louis Hayes on drums. Tracks are short, tight, and grooving with a sound that's virtually the blueprint for early soul jazz – and the album includes classic Silver tunes like "Come On Home", "Mellow D", "Finger Poppin", and "Swingin The Samba". LP, Vinyl record album

One of Jimmy's most classic albums for Blue Note – and a key example of why his solo skills on the organ surpassed most of his contemporaries! The record's got a stripped-down trio group of Jimmy, guitarist Quentin Warren, and drummer Donald Bailey – working through mostly familiar numbers, but taking them to places previously unheard of! The best example of this is the album's amazing version of "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" – a classic groover that takes the old snoozer and pumps it up with a snapping rhythm, then features Jimmy really working the whole thing over with an incredible solo! A similar format's applied to numbers that include "Mack the Knife", "Night in Tunisia", "What's New", and "Makin Whoopee" – and the album soars with an easy groove that's every bit of Jimmy at his best! LP, Vinyl record album

Forget the "pretty" in the title here – as this stuff's not glossy or fancy – just wonderfully stripped-down Hammond work from Jimmy, performed with a trio that includes Eddie McFadden on guitar and Donald Bailey on drums. The title should probably read "mellow" instead of "pretty" – as the groove is very laidback and late-nite, with Jimmy hitting some of those really cool "unbridled" notes that are the best part of his early Blue Note sound. Titles include "East Of The Sun", "The Very Thought Of You", "Penthouse Serenade", and "Old Devil Moon". LP, Vinyl record album

Sarah Vaughan may be known for an earlier recording of After Hours for the Columbia label in the 50s – but on this early 60s set for Roulette, the title really fits her style – and is perfect for the mature, melancholy way that Vaughan has of putting over a tune! Sarah always had a strongly technical side to her singing, but on a record like this, she also hits a more naturalistic sort of approach – almost in a Nancy Wilson level, in the way that she makes you feel like she's relating the tune to you personally – although with deeper currents of emotion, but delivered in a very subtle way – partly due to the stripped-down sound of the album. The instrumentation helps hit that late nite vibe that's perfect for the material – thanks to guitar from Mundell Lowe and bass from George Duvivier – on titles that include "Vanity", "My Favorite Things", "Sophisticated Lady", "Easy To Love", "If Love Is Good To Me", and "Great Day". LP, Vinyl record album

Tom Waits's follow-up to Rain Dogs – and a batch of songs that do double duty as a straight-up, stand alone record from his wild years at Island Records – and also as the musical accompaniment to a play he co-wrote with wife Kathleen Brennan! (As Chicagoans, we have a special fondness for that side of the project, since the play premiered here with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company.) It's a prime batch of Waits songcraft from this most amazing creative peak period – with the trademark gritty, howled vocals, primal drums, pre-rock horns. Titles include "More Than Rain", "Way Down In The Hole", "Straight To The Top", "Telephone Call From Istanbul", "Train Song", "Cold Cold Ground", "I'll Be Gone", "Yesterday Is Here", "Blow Wind Blow", and "Hang On St Christopher". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the all time great albums from Tom Waits – possibly the pinnacle of his earlier drunken poet style of songcraft – and with some of the most achingly beautiful songs he ever laid down! It features the classics "Tom Traubert's Blues" and "Step Right Up" to kick it off, followed by boozy ballads and sly, bedraggled ne'er-do-well tales, and old school strip club-dweller love songs like no others. If more tender ballads were pulled off with such a gruff voice in the 1970s we haven't heard 'em. Other tracks include "I Wish I Was In New Orleans", "The Piano Has Been Drinking (Not Me)", "Invitation To The Blues", "The One That Got Away", "Small Change" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include "Smokestack Lightning", "Heart Full Of Soul", "New York City Blues", "Shapes Of Things", "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago", and "Over Under Sideways Down". LP, Vinyl record album

A special version of this excellent series – with an album by each artist in the package! Side one features a killer album by the justly described Great JJ Jackson – and one that's been a darn tough one to find over the years! The leadoff cut is JJ's amazing single "But It's Alright", a slammin' soul track that always stops us dead whenever we hear it – which isn't often enough! The rest of the material is excellent too, and there are lots of nice tracks like "I Dig Girls", "Courage Ain't Strength", "Too Late", "Try Me", "Down But Not Out", Sho Nuff (Got A Good Thing Going", and "Four Walls". He's equally adept at uptempo soul and more ballad inflected tunes – great stuff all the way! Side two features Hypnotized by Linda Jones – one of the greatest female singers on the east coast scene at the end of the 60s – heard here on a classic Warner Brothers set that includes some of her best-remembered tracks! At some level, the set's a prequel to Linda's later recordings for the Stang/All Platinum label – as it features production and arrangements by the great George Kerr – who really has a way with slow-moving soul tunes, and the kind of sad-tinged tracks that Jones always did so well! Plus, his raw production really brings out some of the deeper soul qualities in Linda's voice – a mode that's quite a surprise at times, and presented here in a way that's far beyond any of the Aretha Franklin-styled cliches of other singers. Jones is a tremendously unique talent in female soul, and this album's her lasting legacy – a true treasure with cuts that include the hit "Hypnotized", plus loads of other nice ones like "Last Minute Miracle", "Give My Love A Try", "You Can't Take It", "What've I Done", and "I Can't Stand It". LP, Vinyl record album

The Nigerian scene might be best-remembered as a hotbed of Afro Funk in the 70s – but during the same key stretch, the nation also gave rise to a heady rock underground, too – one that often mix psychedelic inspirations with some of the soul and funk that were coming from the bigger names on their scene at the time! In other words, there's plenty of guitars here – but also plenty of groove – basslines that really get the tunes going, and a mix of funky drums and rootsy percussion that make the music way more than just standard rock of the time – and even a lot groovier than some of the Zamrock or South African sounds that got a bit more exposure. The package is as great as the sound within – a big book that's filled with detailed notes on the music, the scene, and the tumultuous Nigerian politics of the period – plus lots of photos and images as well! The collection features 18 tracks in all – titles that include "Mother" by Waves, "Never Never Let Me Down" by Formulars Dance Band, "Keep On Moving" by The Hygrades, "Everybody Likes Something Good" by Ify Jerry Krusade, "Onye Ije" by The Strangers, "Stone The Flower" by The Hykers, "Never Too Late" by The Apostles, "Tell Me" by PRO, "Float" by Tirogo, "I Can't Be Satisfied" by Founders 15, and "Ballad Of A Sad Young Woman" by Wrinkar Experience. LP, Vinyl record album

Great work from this ultra-hip trio – an amazing combination of keyboards, bass, and drums – served up in styles that are rooted in funk and jazz, but go to so many other places as well! The drums crackle with a quality schooled in 70s breaks and beats, stripped down to their core – and the mix of keyboards echo a range of innovators from CTI to Money Mark, with a spacious flow that leaves plenty of room for the basslines to drive the tunes! Other instrumentation includes bits of guitar and percussion from the group, plus some guest tenor and strings as well. Titles include "Hedron", "Differently Still", "Confessions", "Triangle", "Can't Leave The Night", "CS60", and "Since You Asked So Kindly". LP, Vinyl record album

Well, it's not Jaws – but it's still pretty darn groovy – a very cool set of tracks that features some long, lush orchestrations from the great John Barry – plus some sublime disco sounds from Donna Summer! The first half of the record features Barry's extended "Return To The Sea – 2033 AD" – a side-long track that really builds nicely, and has John finding some even more expressive modes than in other mid 70s soundtracks. Then side two really lets loose with the great "Theme From The Deep (Down Deep Inside)" by Donna Summer – a tune that's got this beautifully building groove that's almost like her best early cuts, ala "I Feel Love" – a great use of Summer's vocals on a nicely funky groove. The set also features a slower Donna Summer vocal take on the cut – billed as "A Love Song" – with these cool keyboard lines that feel like they're lifted from an Italian 70s soundtrack – and Barry also turns in his own instrumental version as well. Beckett sings the funky "Disco Calypso" tune too! LP, Vinyl record album

An album that definitely lives up to the title promised by The Commodores – a record that takes all their raw funky energy of the early years, and fuses it into a new groove that would catapult the sextet to superstardom! The sound is commercial, but still has a pretty fresh sort of feel too – that quality the group brought to their work when breaking down so many boundaries in mainstream music – and finding fans in corners that few other funk groups might have touched! There's plenty of upbeat funk tracks in the mix, and even the mellower moments are still balanced nicely enough to avoid any of the cliches that Lionel Richie might have had during his solo years. Titles include "Why You Wanna Try Me", "This Love", "Been Loving You", "Lucy", "Saturday Night", "Lady (You Bring Me Up)", and "Oh No". LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful little live album from Jose Feliciano – recorded in London at the end of the 60s, with a sound that's often more stripped down than his studio work of the time! Jose's on vocals and guitar, backed by only a bit of bass and percussion – so the record's almost got the intimacy of a solo effort, which is quite astounding – given the obvious size of the concert setting! The double-length nature of the record allows Jose to stretch out a bit more than usual – and take on a nice variety of material that really show his growing talents at the time. Titles include "High Heel Sneakers", "Mama Don't Allow It", "La Entrada De Bilboa", "The Comedy Bit", "Malaguena", "No Dogs Allowed", "Day Tripper", "Black Orpheus Medley", "California Dreamin", "Light My Fire", "Day In the Life", and "El Voh". LP, Vinyl record album

Pure genius from Stan Getz – a set that's got an understated brilliance from the cover and title right down to the music in the grooves – and maybe one of the best-ever pairings of the tenor of Getz with the guitar of Jimmy Raney! The pair work here in a hip combo with Duke Jordan on piano, Bill Crow on bass, and Frank Isola on drums – on a mellow set of short standards that includes "Hymn Of The Orient", "Stella By Starlight", "Thanks For The Memory", "Tis Autumn", and "You Turned The Tables On Me" – all played with an impeccable sense of tone, space, and rhythm – apparent even here in Getz's younger years! LP, Vinyl record album

Folk legend Woody Guthrie was no stranger to struggle – which is the subject highlighted in most of these tunes – pulled together in the shape of this album, which offered a great counterpoint to the Bicentennial madness in America when it was released in 1976! The titles of the songs give plenty of an idea of the nature of the music – with classic Guthrie recordings done for Folkways in the 40s, including "The Dying Miner", "Waiting At The Gate", "A Dollar Down & A Dollar A Week", "Lost John", "Union Burying Ground", and "Ludlow Massacre" – many of which echo the continuing struggle of the working man, even as America was shining forth as an industrial giant. The recordings mostly feature Woody on vocals and guitar, but there's also some guest contributions from Cisco Houston and Sonny Terry – both key contemporaries of Guthrie. LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic pairing of soulful talents – the legendary John Lee Hooker on the mighty Stax Records – in a set that's a real standout in the career of both! The vibe here is different than the usual sound of Stax – not a Memphis-ized John Lee Hooker, but instead the kind of stripped-down session that the singer had done for other labels in his early years – given a very faithful presentation here by producer Henry Stone (who himself might well be the third important force at work on the set!) Tracks are mostly short – apart from one eight minute jam – and Hooker's got that raw, raspy bite that still makes him one of the all-time greats. Titles include "Teachin' The Blues", "Goin To Louisiana","I Need You", "My Love Comes Down For You", "Please Don't Go", "I Just Don't Know", "Slow & Easy", "Two White Horses", "Feel So Bad", and "Grinder Man". LP, Vinyl record album

Mid 70s genius from the Isley Brothers – a record that has them firmly hitting their superstar mode with a fantastic blend of mellow soul and guitar-heavy funk! The record's got a sense of class, care, and poise that's head and shoulders above most of the group's contemporaries – an ability to rock out one minute, then slow things down for a beautiful ballad the next – all while maintaining enough credibility to still hold onto older fans, yet also reach out to a much bigger audience in the mainstream. Titles include the sublime "Ain't I Been Good To You (parts 1 & 2)", a long track with a sinister bassline and a dark groove that really makes it great, a great cover of "Hello It's Me" that's even better than the original, and the key mellow cuts "Lover's Eve" and "Brown Eyed Girl" – plus "Live It Up (parts 1 & 2)", "Need A Little Taste Of Love", and "Midnight Sky (parts 1 & 2)". LP, Vinyl record album

An excellent bit of raw funky southern soul from Johnny Jenkins – recorded in Macon, GA, and one of the last relics of the relations that Atlantic Records had with all of the little local scenes in the south! Ton-Ton Macoute is one of those records that manages to blend funk, blues, and southern rock & soul way, way better than so many pretenders from the time – just a damn near perfectly realized set ! Johnny Jenkins sings, stomps, plays guitar and blows harp (with some extra help from Duane Allman on the guitar front), and he runs through tracks like "Blind Bats & Swamp Rats", "Sick & Tired", "Voodoo In You", "Rollin' Stone", "Bad News", "Down Along The Cove", and the absolute classic, classic breakbeat track "I Walk On Guilded Splinters". LP, Vinyl record album

Khruangbin get a great new sound here – thanks to the vocals and acoustic guitar of Leon Bridges, who bring a whole new dimension to their music! The title and cover of the record are very well-put – as there's this open space to the record that's a bit different than previous outings by Khruangbin – still that aesthetic that lingers somewhere south, down near the border – but maybe more relaxed and letting itself flow down the road to some territory that's all its own – the marvelous vocals of Leon Bridges at the wheel, with the rest of the group well-tuned to make the journey with a warm dose of mellow soul. Titles include "Midnight", "C-Side", "Conversation", and "Texas Sun". LP, Vinyl record album

One of THE electric blues records of the 60s – a seminal set by Albert King that was probably blasted out of more college dorm rooms than southside juke joints, but which still more than deserves its due! The set was recorded by Stax with a nice raw sound – guitar very much upfront, but also set amidst arrangements that have a bit more soul than the average Chicago blues session from the same time. The set features a number of originals by Stax regulars like Booker T and David Porter – and titles include "The Hunter", "Born Under A Bad Sign", "Crosscut Saw", "Down Don't Bother Me", "Laundromat Blues", and "Personal Manager". LP, Vinyl record album

Moogy keyboards, disco grooves, and sweet female vocals make this a classic session from the Rinder & Lewis team – and the album's a lot better than you might think from the silly name of the group or the throwaway disco cover on the front! The keyboards really drive the album, hitting some great funky clavinet moments or sweet moogy parts that always seem to have a nice touch of jazz – spicing up the tracks in a style that you wouldn't normally get on an album of this vintage and style. Titles include "Do You Have Any?", "Slow Down",a nd the mellow jazzy space number "No Sweat". LP, Vinyl record album

Very strange record that's made up of excerpts of Marsh's solos from a live set recorded by Peter Ind at the Half Note. Ind somehow felt that Marsh's solos were the only thing worth saving from a huge set of tapes that he made of the show, so he edited down the tapes to these 2 minute segments, that have Marsh blowing wonderfully! LP, Vinyl record album

Nothing fancy, but a wonderfully stripped-down session that has an early Wes working with his original group that included Mel Rhyne on organ. The album's one of the few from the time that allow you to hear Rhyne grooving away in a down-home Indiana style – and the set list is made up of Montgomery originals like "Missile Blues", "Geno", and "Fried Pies", plus a few pop covers. LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic album of soulful jazz – and one that's got a lot more staying power than the macrame craze of the 70s! Don't confuse this Bobby with the Rodriguez who put out some mid 70s salsa albums on Vaya in New York – because this Bobby's a trumpet player from the LA scene, one who worked with Gerald Wilson, and is striking out here on his own in a sweet self-produced set! Instrumentation on the set is a bit ambitious – with large-ish sax and trumpet participation – but the overall groove is nice and compressed, and driven by some strong rhythms laid down by Ndugu Chancler and a host of added Latin percussionists. The highlight of the set is the side-long spiritually-soulful "Simply Macrame" – which runs for 16 minutes, and builds nicely in a "Little Sunflower" mode – using some vocals from singer Betty Macias to initiate the Latin-tinged groove, and set the tone for a host of sweet solo work to come. The album also features a nice take on Lee Morgan's "Caramba", plus the original tunes "Judy's In Love" and "Straight No Changes". LP, Vinyl record album

Sly's still doing pretty nice for himself in 1974 – with a sound that's perhaps a bit warmer than on the early records, but still nice and soulful – and peppered with a good dose of funk! The groove is really great on the set – bubbling with a more "deep down" feel than the skittish funk of the first few records, and breaking out on some great soul numbers that show Sly to be an even better singer than before – touchingly sensitive at times, in a really beautiful way! Titles include "Loose Booty", which has a wonderful popping bass/hollow drum sound, and a tasty break in the middle – plus the cuts "This Is Love", "Wishful Thinkin", "Time For Livin", "Can't Strain My Brain", and "Say You Will". LP, Vinyl record album

A funky treasure trove from Apple & The Three Oranges – a group we hardly know at all, but who really blow us away with the cuts on this collection! The groove is plenty hard right from the get-go – the best of the funky 45 underground of the early 70s – which means that there's more 60s rawness on the record than you'd get from bigger-label funk at the time – as Ed "Apple" Nelson still works here with a mostly underground vibe! Ed plays drums – which are mighty hard on most numbers – and his vocals have this offbeat, off-kilter, over the top quality that almost reminds us a bit of the Hank Ballard/James Brown recordings for late 60s King – particularly in the way that Nelson's completely unbridled with his energy. The whole thing's great – one of the best funky collections we've heard in years – and presented with a rich amount of notes and historical information too. Titles include "Free & Easy (parts 1 & 2)", "Moon Light", "Curse Upon The World", "What Goes Around Comes Around", "Down Home Publicity", "True Love Will Never Die", "Gotta Stand For Something (parts 1 & 2)", and "I'll Give You A Ring". Features a great 16 page booklet with extensive liner notes and photos! LP, Vinyl record album

An oft-overlooked funky soul gem from the incredible Roy Ayers – taking turns with both uptempo material and more smoothed out soul sounds – all done with Roy's trademark jazzy approach to the dancefloor! No Stranger To Love is a sly, and often funky set that deserves to be mentioned with his more famous dancefloor ready work of the late 70s – and if it gets an extra point two for the incredibly cool cover photo, the slow burning grooves more than deliver on the promise! The album does a really nice job of rolling out both the sultry jazzy soul and the funkier Ayers modes, with sweet strings in spots, Roy's incomparable vibes, bass and keyboard grooving, and vocals that set the mood for both the slow jams and the funky stuff! Includes the extended mellow number "Don't Let Our Love Slip Away", one of Roy's better downtempo moments, plus great stuff like "Don't Stop The Feeling", plus "What You Won't Do For Love", "No Stranger To Love/Want You", "Shack Up, Pack Up, It's Up (When I'm Gone)", "Don't Hide Your Love". LP, Vinyl record album

We know it's hard to think of anyone named Mildred as hip, but take it from us, the lady's actually a great singer with a deep capacity for jazzy blues and mellow R&B. These rare Savoy sides were cut during the years 1946 and 1947, and they feature great backing by pianist Ellis Larkin on nearly every cut, set up in either small combo or large group settings. Titles include "At Sundown", "Love In Vain", "It's A Woman's Prerogative", "You Started Something", and "Born To Be Blue". LP, Vinyl record album

A warm intimate set by these two legendary Brazilian talents – Nana Caymmi on vocals, and the legendary Cesar Camargo Mariano playing some wonderfully mellow keyboards. Mariano plays electric piano on most of the set, and the album's got a laidback quality that brings out the best in Nana – and which avoids some of the overly-dark styles that can sometimes bog down other albums from the time. Great stuff overall – with tracks that include "Fruta Boa", "Voz E Suor", "Velho Piano", "Doce Presenca", and "Isso E Aquilo". LP, Vinyl record album

The Commodores tenth album – as you might guess from the big X on the cover – and a set that features some of the last great moments of Lionel Richie with the group! The album's a bit overlooked, but has a really great groove – kind of a middle ground between The Commodores' heavier funk and mellower ballads – served up here with the tight instrumentation that always made the group a self-contained standout – and arranged and produced to perfection by the great James Anthony Carmichael. Richie's lead is strong, but understated too – and titles include "Old Fashion Love", "Heroes", "Sorry To Say", "All The Way Down", "Wake Up Children", "Mighty Spirit", and "Celebrate". LP, Vinyl record album

Lots of Midnight Magic from The Commdores – still nice and funky at the start of the evening, but also chilling out in the wee hours too – really finding a great way to follow the trajectory of the night with the tracks in this set! The album sparkles with strong arrangements and production from James Carmichael – who furthers the vibe perfected on Natural High, yet continues to avoid most of the cliches that would slow down the group in later years. Lionel Richie's given room to step forth on the ballads "Still" and "Sail On" – but the group feel is still nicely maintained on the rest of the record – which also features the tracks "Getting It", "You're Special", "Wonderland", "Sexy Lady", and "Might Magic". LP, Vinyl record album

The second album from Crow, and one of those records that should have stood shoulder to shoulder with some of the bigger albums of the time – as these guys have the same blend of blues-inspired hard rock as some of their key contemporaries, while also come cross with an individual flavor that's all their own! Lead singer Dave Wagner has a nicely odd way of delivering a lyric – almost frenetic in feel, and matched with plenty of searing lines from guitarist Dick Weigand. The organ's pretty nice at times too – and titles include a remake of "Slow Down" – plus "The Last Prayer", "Cottage Cheese", "Gone Gone Gone", "Heading North", "Death Down To Your Soul", "I Stand To Blame", "Colors", and "Smokey Joe". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the few cases in jazz where an oft-played classic still resonates with power! The record itself is a key cap to Miles Davis' already-groundbreaking years of the 60s – a bold step forward, not just for his nascent electric sound, but also for jazz in general – and the benchmark by which so many other records would be judged (and fail) in years to come! The double-length set makes full use of all four sides of the record – expanding the flow (as well as the lineup) of the original Davis modal vision – and using all players to amazing effect, so much so that most players here turn out some of their best recorded work ever! The lineup is virtually a whose who for the sound of fusion in the 70s – including Wayne Shorter on soprano sax, Bennie Maupin on bass clarinet, Joe Zawinul and Chick Corea on keyboards, John McLaughlin on guitar, Dave Holland on bass, and Lenny White and Jack DeJohnette on drums – plus Jumma Santos and Don Alias on added percussion. Titles include "Pharaoh's Dance", "Spanish Key", "Sanctuary", "Bitches Brew", "John McLaughlin", and "Miles Runs the Voodoo Down". LP, Vinyl record album

Smooth stepping grooves from The Floaters – still very much in the nicely compressed mode of their more famous debut, and getting some nice production help here from Eugene McDaniels! There's a righteous punch to the record that really shows the influence of McDaniels – a way of keeping things hip, even when hovering near the mainstream – and although the groovers are great, we actually think that the best cuts are the mellow ones – tunes that move in a lightly gliding, almost spacey way – one that has the group's voices crackling nicely with an honest approach that we really love! There's a warmth to these tunes that's undeniable – and titles include "Levitation", "Woman Love/You Are My Lady", "Brand New Lite", "Made Up My Mind", "The Best Of Our Love", "Go Down To The Disco", and "Sweet Lady September". LP, Vinyl record album

Late live recordings from the mighty Dexter Gordon – wonderful material recorded at the Keystone Korner in the late 70s, with an inventively-blown power to match Gordon's earlier live sets from the European scene! The format here is similar – with Dexter out front, laying down incredible lines on tenor sax – and getting support from George Cables on piano, Rufus Reid on bass, and Eddie Gladden on drums. But in a way, the music here is even stronger than before – as Gordon's got a sharper edge, focused solo approach, and is working with an agility that really leaves us breathless. The tracks are long, but have the energy of Gordon's shorter studio tracks for Columbia at the time – and although we're not always huge fans of the "soloist in unfettered live setting" style of recording, we've gotta admit that we really love these tracks! 7 numbers in all, including "Easy Living", "It's You Or No One", "Antabus", "Sophisticated Lady", "More Than You Know", "Tangerine", and "Come Rain Or Come Shine". LP, Vinyl record album

Some of the earliest work you'll ever hear from the young Jim Osterberg – material that features the famous Stooges frontman playing drums, and doing a slight bit of singing! The group sound a fair bit like you might expect from the cover – a tight, sharp, local combo who do a great job both with their own material, and some of the well-chosen covers they recorded – the kind of stomping garagey material that would have been a hit in the small Michigan clubs at the time! Most vocals are by guitarists Nick Kolokithas and Jim McLaughlin, the latter of whom formed the group with Iggy – and Osterberg does sing lead on a pretty great version of "California Sun", and also contributed the original composition "Again & Again" – a tune that definitely points the way towards The Stooges, and is one of the creepiest things on here. Other titles include "Mona", "I Don't Know Why", "Slow Down", "Walk Don't Run", "Out Of Limits", "Surfin Bird", "Things We Said Today", and "Wild Weekend". Collection features a great range of material – even some early 1963 demos, when the group with just a trio! LP, Vinyl record album

The first breakaway effort from the trio of Ernie Isley, Chris Jasper, and Marvin Isley – a set that's got an even leaner groove than some of the Isley Brothers material from years before! The group really hit their stride right away – stepping out in a sweet array of funky rhythms that have some definite 80s touches on the beats, yet which still share all the best Isleys elements overall! Guitar parts are especially sharp – that carved in soul sound that showed up in most Isleys projects from the early 70s onwards – and the vocals have a great sense of warmth and soul, especially on the mellower tunes in the set, which turn down some of the more hook-heavy rhythms heard on other tracks. Titles include "Serve You Right", "Sex Drive", "Love Is Gonna Last Forever", "Kiss & Tell", "I Can't Get Over Losin You", "Look The Other Way", "Break This Chain", and "Broadway's Closer Than Sunset Blvd". LP, Vinyl record album

Kind of a reprise of earlier days – one that reunites Krupa with Anita O'Day and Roy Eldridge, as the group runs through some material from earlier years. Arrangements are by Quincy Jones, Billy Byers, and Nat Pierce – and the set actually swings more cleanly than some of Krupa's material from the 40s. Titles include "Drummin Man", "Drum Boogie", "Slow Down", "Wire Brush Stomp", "That's What You Think", "Rockin Chair", and "Opus 1". LP, Vinyl record album