Oh Baby is right – as the album's one of the best Blue Note albums by Hammond legend Big John Patton – a perfect mix of funky organ and burning hardbop! The tracks hare are all originals penned for the album – mostly by Patton, but also by other group members – the kind of fresh grooves that made John's organ work for Blue Note really stand out from the rest of the 60s Hammond generation – very creative stuff, with occasional modern touches, and a rhythmic conception that's not only unusual, but which also really lets the soloists stretch out on their grooves! Players include Harold Vick on tenor, Blue Mitchell on trumpet, Ben Dixon on drums, and Grant Green on guitar – and the album's about as sharp as you can get for a Blue Note organ session. Titles include "Fat Judy", "Each Time", "One To Twelve", and "Night Flight". CD

A key transitional record from Fatback – one that sits nicely between their earlier funk and later club years! The record clearly knows this aspect about itself – as side one is titled "Vintage – House Party", and features more longer-jamming takes on the grooves that group was beginning during their Event years – a tightening up of the rougher initial Fatback groove, with plenty of bass driving the bottom of the tracks and lots more guitar work over the top. Side two shifts the focus to the "Tasty – Disco Party" mode – a style that's not that different from the first, but which has some smoother touches overall. Great Fatback all around, and titles include "Funk Backin", "Master Booty", "The Man With The Band", "Mile High", "I Gotta Thing For You", "Midnight Freak", and "Zodiac Man". CD

Righteous soul from late 60s Chicago – a killer collection of early singles from the great Darrow Fletcher – only a youngster at the time, but already working at a level that's as strong as most of his older contemporaries! Darrow's got this soaring voice that really sends us every time we hear him sing – a style that's possibly a bit like Jackie Wilson, but both deeper and lighter at the same time – very unique, especially in these early years – and perfect for helping Fletcher stand out from the pack! The grooves here are nice and deep – socking hard in the best Chi-town styles of the time, with the sort of punch you'd get on the best One-Der-Ful/Mar-V-Lus recordings – with arrangements by Mike Terry, Phil Wright, Tom Tom, and others. Tracks were originally issued on a variety of labels – Groovy, Jacklyn, Uni, Congress, and Genna – and titles include "The Pain Gets A Little Deeper", "Now Is The Time For Love (parts 1 & 2)", "What Have I Got Now", "What Is This", "Gotta Draw The Line", "My Young Misery", "Infatuation", "When Love Calls", "My Judgement Day", "Sitting There That Night", "Changing By The Minute", "What Good Am I Without You", "We Can't Go On This Way", and "That Certain Little Something". CD

A wonderful little record that sounds nothing like Kansas City or something you might expect from a group with "jammers" in their name – as there's a sweet harmony style to the whole album that's a lot more like Cali work of the time! The trio harmonize together beautifully, and they mix acoustic and electric instrumentation in a nicely lean mode – yet with a quality that's still well-produced for such a small label indie release at the time! We might make an obvious comparison to CSNY, but the song themes are very different, as is the mood – and these guys are much more down to earth in a really great way! Titles include "For A Sign". "Live In Harmony", "Messiah", "For Father" "Chess Piece", "Hairy Tongued Turtle", "Midnight Watch", "Fall", "Fingers Foot & Fade", and "For Marti". 2CD edition features a full bonus disc – 14 more rare tracks from the time, a great expansion to the too-small legacy of the group! CD

A pair of classics from Strawberry Alarm Clock – back to back on a single CD! First up is their classic Incense & Peppermints – dreamy pop psych from Strawberry Alarm Clock – a great late 60s group who skirted the worlds of Sunshine Pop and more jamming garage rock! This album's got a lot more to offer than you might guess from just the title hit – as the instrumentation sometimes gets nicely tripped out – with cool use of organ, harpsichord, and guitar – plus plenty of special effects in production – and even some of the song styles and lengths are unusual too, making the album way more than just a batch of cute little tunes. Titles include the classic "Incense & Peppermints", the eight minute jammer "The World's On Fire", the instrumental "Pass Time With SAC", and the cuts "Paxton's Back Street Carnival", "Rainy Day Mushroom Pillow", "Strawberries Mean Love", and "Unwind the Clock". Next is Wake Up It's Tomorrow – a great little second set from Strawberry Alarm Clock – much headier and tripped-out than their first! For the record, the group's not just working off the success of a previous single – and instead is really taking time in the studio to try out new ideas, musically, lyrically, and (most importantly) in the range of cool production techniques used on the set! There's still a warm harmony vocal approach on some of the album's best tunes, but they're also matched here with some more progressive guitar parts and fuzzier instrumental touches – in a way that brings a bit of darkness into the sunshine, and creates the wonderful sense of counterpoint that was always the group's strongest suit. Most tunes are nicely unfamiliar, and titles include "Curse Of The Witches", "Black Butter – Past, Present, & Future", "Soft Skies No Lies", "They Saw The Fat One Coming", "Nightmare of Percussion", "Tomorrow", "Sit With the Guru", and "Pretty Song From Psych-Out". CD also features single mixes of "Tomorrow" and "Sit With The Guru". CD

Wonderful work from Leon Thomas – easily one of his greatest albums ever, and a set that was recorded at the same time he was working with Pharoah Sanders! Thomas really rose to fame on Sanders' classic "The Creator Has A Master Plan" – and this set really takes off from that moment – letting Leon spin out some spiritual vibes of his own, and step into a few fresh new styles as well! The album's plenty righteous right from the start – partly because the lineup includes James Spaulding on alto and flute, Lonnie Liston Smith on piano, Cecil McBee on bass, and the enigmatic "Little Rock" on tenor – who is actually Pharoah Sanders – but also because Leon serves up a shorter take on "The Creator Has a Master Plan" – done in a great style! The album also features a classic vocal take on Horace Silver's "Song for My Father", with lyrics that we totally love – plus the frenetic "Malcolm's Gone" – and the tracks "One", "Echoes", "Let The Rain Fall On Me", and "Damn Nam". CD features three bonus tracks – a live recording of "Um Um Um" and "Damn Nam" – plus a take on "Night In Tunisia". CD

Blue belles with attitude, and plenty of soul as well – a sweet collection of west coast female R&B from the postwar years – put together with the usual top-shelf standard we expect from Ace Records! And although R&B, the tunes here almost have an early soul sound at points – deep, heartfelt vocals that definitely lay the groundwork for southern soul and other styles to come in the 60s. All the work here comes from the vaults of Modern/RPM Records – and in addition to some key sides from the late 40s and 1950s, the package also features some unreleased treasures that easily stand head-to-head with the commercially released tracks on the set. The CD features 28 tracks in all – 23 on this format for the first time ever – and as usual with Ace, the booklet's a wealth of information, label scans, and vintage photos. Titles include "Mr T 99" by Del Graham, "Two Years Of Torture" by Edna Broughton, "I Ain't In The Mood" by Helen Humes, "I'm Tellin You Baby" by The Nic Nacs, "That's Fat Jack" by Jimmy Lee & Artis, "Nightmare Blues"by Mari Jones, "Be Bop Boogie" by Effie Smith, "Lonely Girl" by Cordella De Milo, "Mean Ole Gal" by Esther Jones with Johnny Otis, and "Vivianne's Boogie" by Vivianne Green. CD

Few songwriters have had such a lasting impact on modern music as Leonard Cohen – an incredible songsmith when he first emerged in the late 60s, and one who continued to create songs at the top of his game for many years after! And although Cohen's own recordings are the stuff of legend – essential to any collection of hip, thoughtful music – many others have picked up his tunes and really done great things with them – a fair bit of whom are included in this set! The package has an unusual scope – in that it includes selections by some of the artists recording right when Leonard was getting his start on record – then jumps forward to the 21st Century, to showcase a number of more contemporary recordings that show just how timeless Cohen's lyrics can be. As always with Ace, the presentation is wonderful – with detailed notes on all the selections – and titles include "So Long Marianne" by Noel Harrison, "Joan Of Arc" by Anna Calvi, "Show Me The Place" by The Webb Sisters, "Anthem" by Father John Misty, "The Stranger Song" by Emmylou Harris, "Blue Alert" by Madeleine Peyroux, "Closing Time" by Fairport Convention, "A Thousand Kisses Deep" by Ann Wilson, "Nightingale" by Anjani, "Is This What You Wanted" by Last Shadow Puppets, "Story Of Isaac" by Judy Collins, "Here It Is" by Jonathan Richman, and "You Know Who I Am" by Mama Cass. CD

A wonderful package – a set that brings together two rare funk albums by Newban, an early version of Atlantic Starr – plus bonus tracks too! The first Newban record is one of the sweetest ensemble funk albums of the 70s – and a record that's gone on to become a classic, despite the fact that most people know little about the group! Newban have a sound that's almost a jazzier take on the Earth Wind & Fire groove of the time – a style that's warm and fluid, and which really gets past the cliches of other larger funk acts – and manages to find a space in sound that's all its own! There's lots of odd phrasings and chords on the set – creating these very blue passages even when the group's grooving in an uptempo mode – almost like the sense of sadness that creeps out from Stevie Wonder's work during his best early 70s years. The sound is totally unique, and uniquely wonderful – and the album includes the classic "Father Time", plus the cuts "Magic Lady", "Mellow Days, Easy Nights", "Fatback Sally", and "Hungry Grin". Newban 2 is every bit as great as the first album – if not better – with some excellent excellent lost material that's the kind of stuff that still keeps you diggin' for the hard ones. Includes the track "Greenburgh", with a tight funky intro and a smooth sweet soul groove, plus lots of other great cuts like "Free Your Mind", "Easin' Through", "Find a Place to Live", and "Rhythm & Rhyme". This deluxe package also features three rare bonus tracks – "Oh Wow", "Miracle Holiday", and "Bells" – tracks recorded before the first two albums! CD

Hardbop godfather Art Blakey cut some fantastic work in the studio with his Jazz Messengers group – but in a live setting, the group sometimes sound even more amazing than on record – and that's definitely the case with this unreleased live date from the early 60s! Art has a really seminal version of the group here, with three key young stars in the lead – Lee Morgan on trumpet, Wayne Shorter on tenor, and Bobby Timmons on piano – all players who, along with bassist Jymie Merritt, helped Blakey craft some of the most memorable albums in the Blue Note catalog at the time. Yet here, as things are live, the tunes are even more stretched out – which means a lot more work from Art on the drum kit, in solos that are totally mindblowing, and really get at the complexity he can bring to his percussion – plus more pronounced work from Merritt, who's always been a hell of a bassist, but never fully gets his doe. The whole thing is fantastic – a double-length set with great sound, rescued from the vaults – with tunes that include "Now's The Time", "Blues March", "Moanin", "Dat Dere", "Night In Tunisia", "Round Midnight", and two takes on "The Theme". CD

Insanely great sounds from the legendary Tim Maia – easily the most soulful singer in 70s Brazil, and an artist with a heck of a strong ear for funk, too! The music here is an incredible hybrid of American soul and Brazilian elements – especially since some lyrics are in English – and the grooves are often mixed together in a sound that's nice and fuzzy around the edges, with some slight psychedelic elements that makes the cuts a perfect fit for this Luaka Bop series! Yet Tim Maia's hardly a guy who can easily fit into any easy slot or series – because as you'll hear on this set, he's got a vibe that's all his own – a really wonderful approach that's different even from some of his hippest contemporaries in Brazil – and which has gone onto have influence on countless other generations of singers and musicians – including his nephew Ed Motta. The package is great – a real visual tribute to the sounds within – and titles include "Que Beleza", "Ela Partiu", "Do Leme Ao Pontal", "Brother Father Mother Sister", "Quer Queira Quer Nao Queira", "Let's Have A Ball Tonight", "I Don't Care", "The Dance Is Over", "Rational Culture", "You Don't Know What I Know", and "Nobody Can Live Forever". CD

The great Syl Johnson – doing his thing for Hi Records on a record that's more shiny diamond than it is rough – his second album for the label and a truly underappreciated gem from the Chi soul great! Diamond In The Rough is a much sweeter set of tunes than Syl's Chicago work on Twinight, with warmer production by southern soul guru Willie Mitchell to keep his sound much more in the Memphis soul camp – but still a nice album of bluesy stoked sweetness, and proof that Syl was one of the better talents on the Hi label. Titles include "Keeping Down Confusion", "Let Yourself Go", "Could I Be Falling In Love", "Stuck In Chicago", and "I Hear The Love Chimes", "Please, Don't Give Up On Me" and "Diamond In The Rough". CD

An album as soaring and cosmic as its cover – recorded by the communal Ophiucus in France in the early 70s, and served up with a really cohesive feel throughout! The group mix folksy roots with some slight psychedelic touches – tripping things out nicely on the best numbers, but always maintaining an up-close, personal feel on the set. Lyrics are never too overblown, and even when all the group members harmonize together, their vocals seem to take second place to the acoustic guitars that set the tone for most tracks. Titles include "Prenez Donnez", "Au Hasard", "Djukela", "Univers", "Inachevee", "Mirlipinious", and "Ne Cherche Plus". CD is beautifully done – with a huge booklet of notes, photos, and other information – plus 8 more English language tracks from the group's ill-fated second LP – titles that include "Give Or Take It", "Into Your Song", "You're Only Dreaming", "Night Song", and "Telephone Funeral Blues". CD

Maybe the most personal, most evocative album we've ever heard from Brazilian singer Moreno Veloso – a set that's summed up wonderfully by its title, as these are songs that Veloso sung to his children at night during the darkest months of 2020! The record features just vocals and guitar – but as with his father Caetano in such a setting, Moreno actually seems to make more with less – allowing us to hear him in a way that's maybe even more up-close than ever before –with the mix of emotional currents that you'd get on the best bossa recordings of this nature – even though Veloso is far beyond bossa with this music! Most tracks are penned by others, but given these fantastic new interpretations – and titles include "Fazenda", "Unga Dorme Nesse Frio", "Luna Caprese", "Tigresa", "Noche De Ronda", "Normelia", and "Tres Da Madrugada". CD

Masterpiece records from Philly soul maestro Dexter Wansel – stepping out here in a beautiful blend of jazz and soul! Life On Mars is a fantastic bit of space age funk, easily the best album that Wansel ever recorded – and a sublime blend of Wansel's Philly grooving sensibility with some of the more keyboard-oriented funk that was coming out of the Herbie Hancock camp during the mid 70s. The result is a tight batch of crossover tracks that work well both as jazz funk groovers, and as smoother modern soul tracks. Includes the version of "Theme From the Planets" with the much sampled breakbeat at the beginning – plus lots of other nice ones, including "Life On Mars", "Rings Of Saturn", and "Stargazer". What The World Is Coming To moves the focus back to soul a bit more than Life On Mars – but also keeps in plenty of jazzy touches! Dexter's groove here is similar to the best work he did with other Philly vocalists in the same time – and the set features guest vocals from Jean Carn and Terri Wells, sliding into a warmly soulful realm on the mellower tracks, and stepping out with a fully jazzed up groove on the more upbeat numbers. Titles include "What The World Is Coming To", "Dreams Of Tomorrow", "Holdin On", "Dance With Me Tonight", "Disco Lights", and "Prelude #1". 1978's Voyager is a bit like Dexter's space jazz classic Life On Mars – and with those fat, thumping bass lines, elastic lead guitar, atmospheric soul vocals and loads and loads of keys – spatial work on Rhodes, Moogs and ARPs! It's all done in a funky style not always heard on Philly – plus Dexter arranged and produced just about everything! Tracks include "Solutions", "Voyager", "I'm In Love", "Latin Love", and "I Just Want To Love You". 1979's Time Is Slipping Away is a straighter Philly soul outing than some of Wansel's earlier work – a nice batch from a talent that was responsible for crafting some of the best smooth modern numbers at the end of the 70s! It features the killer cut "The Sweetest Pain" – a smooth stepper with some subtle keyboard grooving behind warm female vocals by Terri Well – plus "Funk Attack", "New Beginning", "One For the Road", "It's Been Cool", and "I'll Never Forget (My Favorite Disco)". CD

Serving time has never been this groovy – thanks to a whole host of prison-themed tunes from the postwar years, presented here in a package that's especially strong on blues and R&B! Sure, most folks know "Folsom Prison Blues", but this package digs much deeper to come up with two dozen near-lost tracks that also echo the legacy of incarceration that frequently interacted with the music business during years when even the most minor infraction might get a singer or instrumentalist locked up. We're not saying that all these artists have experience behind bars, but the set does resonate strongly as a showcase of the too-common theme of jail and prison in American music. Titles include "Jailbird" by Smiley Lewis, "But Officer" by Sonny Knight, "Hey Mr Warden" by Danny Cobb, "Prisoner's Song" by Fats Domino, "Please Mr Jailer" by Wynona Carr, "Ball & Chain Blues" by Josh White, "Jail Bird" by El Pauling & Royal Abbit, "Prisoner's Plea" by Billy Boy Arnold, "Jailhouse Blues" by Ottille Patterson, "When I Leave These Prison Walls" by The Larks, and "I'm A Prisoner" by Eddie Boyd. CD

Blues 45s – but material that's also pretty close to the funky 45 spirit of the 60s too – given that most of these cuts have a pretty raw groove! The blues element usually comes from a guitar or harmonica element, or a way of vocal phrasing – but much of the background instrumentation hits a gritty soul groove that's pretty darn funky overall – a great fusion of modes that must have sounded pretty darn great coming from a jukebox in the back room of some south side nightclub! This second volume is every bit as great as the first – and titles include "Love Is A Serious Thing" by Otis Reed, "Stretchin Out" by Little Sonny, "Lonesome" by Memphis Slim, "Don't Change Your Mind" by TB Fisher, "You Won't Treat Me Right" by TV Slim & His Bluesmen, "Fatten Pin" by Clyde Hopkins, "Dark River" by Freddy Young, "I'm Leaving You" by Bob Reed & His Band, "I Tried" by Larry Davis, "Pickin Heavy" by Joe Scott, "Roll On Train" by Elton Anderson, and "I'm So Tired" by Eddie Bo. CD

A rare Christmas album from French maestro Paul Mauriat – presented with a style that's maybe a bit more lush and scented with the season than some of his other albums of the time! The strings are a bit fuller, and the rhythms more laidback – so that the overall vibe is more in the best Christmas orchestral mode of the 60s – and a bit less like some of Mauriat's famous instrumental pop. Still, the approach is a nice one for those late hours after the party – when the fire's still going in the fireplace, and you're sitting around with the last few visitors enjoying a nightcap. Titles include "Rin Rin", "Among The Cattle & Grey Donkey", "Adeste Fideles", "Silent Night"," White Christmas", and "Little Father Christmas". CD also features 7 more Christmas tunes – including "Alle Jahre Wider", "Liese Riselt Der Schnee", "For Never & Always", and "Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer". CD