Capitol greatness from Nancy Wilson – a pair of excellent albums locked together on one CD! This Mother's Daughter is one of Nancy Wilson's hippest albums from the 70s – a great record of smooth mellow tracks produced by Eugene McDaniels, handled with some nice jazzy flourishes, and a warm soulful sound that brings out the best in Nancy's vocals! If you've dug her vocals on the Life, Love, & Harmony album, you'll find that this one's pretty similar – with some great easily grooving tunes that well mark her move into modern soul – and a sophistication that goes way beyond her work of the 60s! Titles include "China", "I Don't Want A Sometimes Man", "From You To Me To You", "Stay Tuned", "When We Were One", and "Now". On I've Never Been To Me, Nancy Wilson hits hard on two different levels – some of the mellow, sophisticated numbers that made her mid 70s years so great – and a few more upbeat groovers that aim strongly for the clubs! The blend is carried off well here – thanks to production and arrangements from Gene Page and Garry Sherman – both of whom avoid any too-commercial modes and really help keep the album at a level that works perfect for Wilson's huge legacy in soul music! The sound often has that great Capitol Rare blend of class and soul – and titles include "Love Is Alive", "Flying High", "All By Myself", "Here It Comes", "Moments", "Changes", and "Nobody". CD

A great look at the changing tone on the American scene at the end of the 60s – that moment when Vietnam, social unrest, and many other problems weighed heavily on the country's consciousness – and made their presence manifest in all sorts of pop music as well! We're not talking about the familiar sounds of the Woodstock generation – but instead more mainstream artists who had never touched on politics or social issues before – but suddenly found themselves singing alongside the underground about the bigger problems of the day. This package is a superb look at that moment – put together by the team who've given us the great English Weather and Paris In The Spring collections for Ace – with the same care for choice of tracks, and a wealth of wonderful notes that really get at the nature of these unusual tunes. Titles include "Clean Up Your Own Back Yard" by Elvis Presley, "Wine In The Wind" by Anita Kerr Singers, "Paint Me Black Angels" by Eartha Kitt, "This Crazy World" by Paul Anka, "Questions" by Bobby Darin, "Do You Believe This Town" by Dean Martin, "Cardboard California" by Buddy Greco, "Cherrystones" by Eugene McDaniels, "Save The Children" by Teresa Brewer, "Welfare Hero" by Johnny Tillotson, "What Do We Do With The World" by Bing Crosby, "4th Of July" by The Beach Boys, "Mr Businessman" by Ray Stevens, "Paint America Love" by Lou Christie, "Hitchhiker" by The Four Preps, "Brand New Day" by Della Reese, "Saturday's Father" by The 4 Seasons, and "Southbound Jericho Parkway" by Roy Orbison. CD

Ike's got the distinction of being one of a number of 70s soul artists who were in prison while recording their debut efforts – and we're not ever sure if he made it out of the pen after this album came out. Whatever the case, the album's a surprisingly nice album of mellow soul tracks – endorsed by Stevie Wonder on the back, and clearly coming out of a trajectory that follows the best of Stevie's early 70s albums on Tamla. The album includes a killer long slow funky instrumental called "Antoinette" – with spacey keyboards, nice drum fills, and a bit of fuzzy guitar breakdowns. The cut's a monster – more than enough reason to buy the record – but the other tracks are nice too, a bit out there and spacious, and kind of in the same high concept soul territory as work by Eugene McDaniels. Titles include "I Remember George", "Love & Affection", "Changin Times", and "Comin Home". CD features the bonus 7" single mix of "Changin Times". CD