A record that asks a musical question with the title – although one that provides an answer that's different than you might expect if you're a fan of soul music! Still, if you've been a lover of Grand Funk right from the start, you'll find plenty to please your ears here – a slight 80s twist in the production and instrumentation – less organ and more keyboards, but still plenty of guitars – and the usual top-shelf vocal presentation from Mark Farner at the head of the group. Titles include "Borderline", "El Salvador", "Don't Lie To Me", "Life In Outer Space", "Innocent", and "Still Waitin". LP, Vinyl record album

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... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

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Includes their classic "We're An American Band" – plus "Walk Like A Man", "Ain't Got Nobody", "Creepin", "Stop Lookin Back", and "Black Licorice". Produced by Todd Rundgren. LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A double-length collection of work from the first chapter of Grand Funk Railroad – that moment when the group was just a power trio, and really helping to move their early blues inspirations into some fierce hard rock territory! The title's a reference to the lineup – Mark Farner on guitar and vocals, Don Brewer on drums and vocals, and Mel Schacher on bass – all working together in a mode that's really transformative over the short space of the material included in the set! At some level, GFR are almost an American equivalent of Free from the UK – a group who clearly have all the chops of the blues heroes they admire, but who are willing to let their hair down and hit more of a rock and roll starpower mode – unafraid to get a bit soulful on the vocals, and really letting their electric strings sing at an equally strong level. Titles include "Into The Sun", "Heartbreaker", "Time Machine", "Loneliness", "Are You Ready", "TNUC", "Inside Looking Out", "Closer To Home/I'm Your Captain", and "Paranoid". LP, Vinyl record album

Heavy psych from Detroit, in the years before Bob Seger became a "lighters in the air" peddler of redneck theme songs. Cut from the same cloth as the early Mitch Ryder, Amboy Dukes and Grand Funk that were the hallmark of the Motor City rock sound of the day, most of the tracks on this outing are concise rockers, but the band delves into a bit of nice jamminess on side 2. Includes 'Tales Of Lucy Blue", "Ivory", "Gone Down Home", "Train Man", "White Wall", "Black Eyed Girl", "2 + 2 = ?" and "Doctor Fine". LP, Vinyl record album

With selections by Grand Funk, Manfred Mann's Earth Band, Black Sabbath, Allman Brothers Band, Edgar Winter Group, Mountain, Santana, Uriah Heep, Mott The Hoople, Brownsville Station, Alice Cooper, and Focus. LP, Vinyl record album

An overlooked record in the grand scheme – which is unforgivable in our book! This self-titled album is Prince's second album, and already his vision is becoming a little more focused, and you can really hear the seeds of his later efforts – a really remarkable, unique, and fascinating record that stands up with some of his best work, and bucks all late 70s trends and cliches in pop, soul and funk! In some ways this is one of our favorite Prince records, as it has a kind of intimacy that was lacking on later sets – or maybe because the hit "I Wanna Be Your Lover" has such a mad groove! "Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad" has the sly sound that would run throughout the rest of Prince's better work for years to come – and Chaka Khan would later cover "I Feel for You", and hit large with it in the 80s. Also includes "Sexy Dancer", "With You" and "When We're Dancing Close & Slow". LP, Vinyl record album

This set may be the best record ever by thie Chicago soul group! The record's got a full batch of original tracks written and produced by Curtis Mayfield – including their amazing, funk steeped version of "Don't Change Your Love", with a breakbeat that lit up the sampler culture for years! That raw drum sound is in effect on even the more delicate numbers, and the lead vocals and harmonies soar or sink deep to the soul, as the groove demands. There's also some kind of tripped out touches in the production in spots, making for a nice balance of sweet soul and leftfield touches. Kind of an underappreciated effort in the grand scheme of Curtis Mayfield productions, but wholly essential! Other titles include "Stay Close To Me", "New Dance Craze", "Baby, Make Me Feel So Good", and "Little Young Lover". LP, Vinyl record album

An excellent set of funky jazz tracks from the legendary MPS label! The folks at Crippled Dick have outdone themselves this time – and have even surpassed their previous set of MPS grooves by collecting a totally excellent batch of cuts, most of which haven't ever been reissued before! If you pay attention to jazz funk at all, you'll know that the German-based MPS label is one of the world's best sources for incredible grooves – and the label had a 20 year tradition of mixing musics from many different sources, and for delivering some of the most groundbreaking funk of the 20th century! Titles on this stunning set include "Titty Chickie Fitterbug" by Jasper Van't Hof, "Faces In Reflection 2" by George Duke, "Scratches" by Charly Antolini, "Knock Out" by Dieter Reith, "Miss Maggie" by Rolf Kuhn, "Powerstart" by Roland Kovac, "Baiafrock/Volker" by The New Dave Pike Set, "Volcano's Daughter" by Nelson Riddle, and "Bulgarian Beans" by Rimona Francis. LP also contains the bonus cuts "Sarava" by Baden Powell, "The World Is A Ghetto" by George Shearing, and "Grand Nite For Swinging" by Mary Lou Williams. LP, Vinyl record album

Soundtrack to the much-hyped full length animated feature film – based on the popular sci-fi magazine of the time! The music here has little to do with the story, but there are plenty of great late 70s major label rockers in the lineup – on a set of tracks that includes "I Must Be Dreamin" and "Reach Out" by Cheap Trick, "Heavy Metal" by Sammy Hagar, "Veteran Of The Psychic Wars" by Blue Oyster Cult, "Mob Rules" by Black Sabbath, "True Companion" by Donald Fagen, "Prefabricated" by Trust, "Blue Lamp" by Stevie Nicks, "Crazy" by Nazareth, "Open Arms" by Journey, "Queen Bee" by Grand Funk Railroad, "All Of You" and "Heavy Metal" by Don Felder, "Radar Rider" by Riggs, and "Working In The Coal Mine" by Devo. LP, Vinyl record album

The Beasties' peak-era, retro-style instrumentals LP! Even at their weakest vocal moments, we've always dug the Beastie Boys' firm commitment to funky instrumental backing – their albums are filled with lots of nice interludes, instrumentals, and backing grooves – but they often seemed to get buried amidst all the bugged out vocals. The record kind of has the vibe of a lost jazz organ session, with lots of weird twists and turns thrown in, and all the better thanks to Money Mark, pretty much a 4th Beastie here! A cool bit of instrumental funk with a very classic production feel. Every track's a winner, and the titles include "Ricky's Theme", "Groove Holmes", "Sabrosa", "In 3's", "Transitions", "Bobo On the Corner", and "Shambala". LP, Vinyl record album

Prince in a grand groove – really hitting a new level of funk with a razor-sharp edge – and even blowing away some of his work on previous records! The record's a soundtrack for a film – Under The Cherry Moon – and although that movie never had the success of Purple Rain, we actually think it left behind an even stronger musical legacy – one that has Prince finding even more of a funky voice than before, with so many wonderfully freaky twists and turns! The music never got the showcase it might have deserved, because of the failure of the film – but it's one of our favorite Prince albums ever, and includes the massively funky "Kiss", the closest Prince ever got to James Brown, The whole album's got some great sweeping, pop psyche orchestral arrangements by Clare Fischer – and titles include "Christopher Tracey's Parade", "I Wonder U", "Under The Cherry Moon", "Girls & Boys", and "Anotherloverholenyohead". LP, Vinyl record album

A killer from Terry Knight & The Pack – with Don Brewer and Mark Farner who would later form Grand Funk Railroad – a set that has them coming together more tightly than before, at least from a musical perspective – but losing none of the rough edge that first made them great! Titles include "One Monkey Don't Stop No Show", "Love Love Love Love Love", "Come With Me", "This Precious Time", "Forever & A Day", and "Dirty Lady". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the grooviest racing soundtracks we've ever heard – a set that's a lot more funky than some of the better-known racetrack film scores that were coming into the racks during the late 60s! The vibe here is almost a bit like some of the sound library material of Alessandro Alessandroni – lots of great melodic elements, wrapped around rhythms that are nice and slinky on the slower moments, and downright funky on the faster ones – mostly instrumental, but with just a bit of vocals at points from I Cantori Moderni – that very cool harmony group that Alessandroni used on many recordings. The instrumentation is never too complex, and the focus feels more small combo than some of the larger orchestrations on Italian scores at the time – served up here in an assortment of 17 tracks from the film! LP, Vinyl record album

One of our favorite singers and one of our favorite composers – brought together in a dream of a vocal jazz album! We've always loved the tunes that Michel Legrand penned for films of the 60s and 70s – as they've got a depth, sincerity, and jazziness that goes beyond most of his contemporaries – but they've also never sounded better than in the hands of vocalist Karin Krog and arranger Palle Mikkelborg, who both really deliver a unique twist on the Legrand sound! Mikkelborg's arrangements for the set are extremely beautiful – sometimes using funky backings, sometimes softer strings – but always getting the right balance between emotion and grooviness that Legrand brought to his original recordings of the work. And guitarist Philip Catherine plays some nicely complicated lines that electrify the tunes with a weird, moody feel – often "singing" alongside Karin's deeply icy vocals in a really wonderful way. The tracks are all taken at slightly longer readings than you might expect, which makes for even more room for creative invention – and titles include "Watch What Happens", "Ask Yourself Why", "I Will Wait For You", "Once Upon A Summertime", and "What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life". LP, Vinyl record album

Nice stuff from the early days of the MJQ – recorded back when Kenny Clarke was still playing drums with the group, and giving them a bit more of a bottom! One side of the record features material recorded from one of the quartet's first sessions – in late 1952, with the tracks "La Ronde", "Vendome", and "Rose Of The Rio Grande". The rest of the record features material by Jackson's group with Horace Silver on piano, Percy Heath on bass, Kenny Clarke on drums, and the obscure Henry Boozier on trumpet. That material's a bit more bop-oriented, and titles include "Opus De Funk", "Buhania", and "Soma". LP, Vinyl record album

Forget the cheesy title and cover – this is a great compilation, with some really wonderful tracks from the 70s! Like the first set in this series, the focus is on older grooves that have a kicked-back, chilled-out approach to funk – and as such, the set is stuffed with wonderful tunes that we might have missed otherwise! There's a real genius to the package – similar to Irma's Quiet Moments compilation – and the track selection goes way past the obvious, or the familiar, to include tracks that have been locked away on older albums by artists that you might already know. The whole thing's great – as much of a delight in the morning as it is in the middle of the night – with tracks that include "Reflections" by Bill Conti, "Poobli" by Alphonze Mouzon, "Doubting Thomas" by Michel Legrand, "Chutney" by Mandrill, "Cha Chita" by El Chicano, "Night Breeze" by Bobby Lyle, "Feel The Vibe" by Loose Ends, "Close The Door" by Rufus, "The City" by Mark & Almond, "Suzanne" by Gary McFarland, "Snow Queen" by The City, "Say No More" by The Peddlers, "From Here To Eternity" by Engelbert Humperdink, "Walking In The Wind" by Traffic, "The Visit" by The Cyrkle, and "Elegy" by Colosseum. And we should warn you, album 2 has a few especially nice surprises – rock tunes we thought we'd never hear again, settled next to some great funky groovers. 26 tracks on 2LPs. LP, Vinyl record album

One of the best-ever releases in this amazing series – and a smoking batch of great little cuts that mix dope guitar, funky hammond, and odd off-beat grooves in a very nice way! The whole thing's nicely packaged, with a fresh approach to funk tunes that's quite different from a lot of recent compilations we've stocked – and we're still grooving to this one, even though we've played it three times in a row! Tracks include "Petite Soul" by Little Ed, "Contagious" by Kenneth Wells, "Gasoline Alley" by Dave Grusin, "Pick & Shovel" by The Touch, "Mind Blow" by Roger Hamilton Spotts, "Un Homme De Mort" by Michel Legrand, "Chicano Chaser" by Ian Langley, "Studio 69" by The Mohawks, "Soul Thing" by Tony Newman, "It's Your Thing" by The Invaders, and "Move Your Hand" by La Clave. 20 cuts in all! LP, Vinyl record album

Tight funky fusion from a masterful collective – a great supergroup from the late electric years of the CTI label! The combo features Joe Farrell on tenor, Ronnie Foster and Don Grusin on keyboards, John McLaughlin and Larry Coryell on guitars, Stanley Clarke on bass, and Lenny White, Tony Williams, and Ndugu Chancler on drums – all top-shelf players, but artists who also really respect the vision of the whole project – and allow the grooves to develop without too much competition or overblown modes! The keyboards and guitar are a great match with Farrell's always-great lines on tenor – and titles include "Grand Prix", "Sunshine Lady", "To Whom All Things Concern", "Double Steal", "Waterside", and "Taxi Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

Funky soul from the great Marcos Valle – a great blend of mellow grooves and upbeat tunes recorded at the same time Valle was working in the US with Leon Ware! The style here is very similar to Ware's 2 albums for Elektra – both of which feature work from Valle, and include tunes that are also done here in Portuguese versions! Marcos makes a real departure from some of his earlier work here, and emerges as a surprisingly great soul star with plenty of talents for penning two-step tunes and keyboard-heavy tracks that glisten with a sweet California groove. A few tracks recall some of Valle's Odeon work – like the baroque instrumental "Camina Grande" – but we're most partial to the soul tracks that dominate the record, and which include "Bicho No Cio", "Pecados De Amor","Garimpando" and "A Paraiba Nao e Chicago". LP, Vinyl record album

Nasty nasty funk from the great Bo Diddley – one of his rare funky 70s classics for Chess – produced by Johnny Otis with a really tripped-out groove! The album's got an edge that seems to go even farther than some of Bo's other Chess work at the time – and picks up the full-on Otis funky mode by leaning hard on the drums, pulling up the bass, and bringing in a trio of female lovelies to back up Bo on vocals! Gloria Scott's one of the vocalists on the album, and Shuggie Otis even joins in on the funky party with some sweet guitar! But even with all this help, Bo's still the star of the story – and his massive chugging approach to guitar is moving full steam ahead on the set – really ripping a groove through a great batch of original tracks that include "Take It All Off", "I've Had It Hard", "Good Thing", "Bad Trip", "Infatuation", "Bo Diddley-Itis", "Woman", and "Look At Grandma". LP, Vinyl record album

A killer electric piano jam from the great Mike Longo – stone funky, and one of his best albums ever! The whole thing's done in a really laidback style that's simply amazing – a lot like the best CTI work of the time, but somehow rougher, and with a darker edge. Longo riffs out on the keys over rhythm by Ron Carter, Mickey Roker, and Ralph MacDonald – and Joe Farrell and Randy Brecker add in some great horn work that fleshes out the tunes with a deeply soulful jazzy feel. The whole album's great, with a range of moods, emotions, and grooves that Longo hardly ever hit again – and titles include "Summers Gone", "El Moodo Grande", "Like a Thief In the Night", "Ocean of His Might", and "Magic Number". LP, Vinyl record album