Cosmic grooves and spacey post disco compiled by Dompteur Mooner – a great third volume of the Elaste series from Compost Records! The soul if disco splintered in the cosmos in the early 80s, soaring strings giving way to funky synths, proto-techno programming and all around galactic feel in the clubs of Europe and pretty much all around the world – and this set pulls together the widest range yet! Definitely not disco in a conventional set, but spacey synth funk and influential club grooves from the early 80s underground that sounds great today! Includes "Take A Chance (Dompteur Mooner Edit)" by Queen Samantha, "Urth" by Mobius, "Beats of Love" by Nacht Und Nebel, "Allein (Original Version)" by Tabu, "Beuys Boys" by Pollyester, "Jamacia Running" by The Pool, "Powerslide" by Mythos, "Africa (Dub Mix)" by Key Of Dreams and more. Includes "Take A Chance (Dopmteur Mooner Edit)" by Queen Samantha, "Urth" by Mobius, "Beats of Love" by Nacht Und Nebel, "Allein (Original Version)" by Tabu, "Beuys Boys" by Pollyester, "Jamacia Running" by The Pool and more. 10 tracks on 2LP for the vinyl version. LP, Vinyl record album

One of the great ones! No kidding, Jaki Byard was an amazing talent in the 60s – and records like this one are rare treasures to be sought-after by any serious jazz fan. Byard had an incredible range of talents and influences – and, like his frequent bandmate Roland Kirk, he could often run through all of them in a very short stretch, packing each song with a wealth of feeling, technique, and sheer raw fun. This album's a darn tough one to find on vinyl. The group includes Byard on piano and alto, plus Jimmy Owens, Paul Chambers, and Billy Higgins. Tracks include "Spanish Tinge", "Olean Visit", "Geb Piano Roll", "Second Balcony Jump", and "On The Spot". LP, Vinyl record album

The very first album from Michael Henderson – but a set that already finds him very much at the top of his game – thanks to previous work with Miles Davis and Norman Connors! Both artists gave Henderson a chance to do different things with his music, and by the time of this record, Michael's got both an ear for a funky bassline and a way of laying down a mellow vocal, too – a great blend of techniques that really helps give the record a lot more depth than some of Henderson's contemporaries! Unlike other bassists-turned-singers of the period, Michael never lets his core instrument take off too much and get in the way of the vocals – and instead, he shows a great sense of restraint for compressing down all the best elements into one mighty sweet groove. Titles include a version of "Valentine Love" that is different from the one recorded with Connors – plus the great original "Treat Me Like a Man", which is a nice nice sample cut from years back! Other gems include "Make Me Feel Better", "Let Love Enter", "Solid", "You Haven't Made It To The Top", and "Stay With Me This Summer". LP, Vinyl record album

A very cool record from Noro – one with a heck of a lot of weird influences! Some tracks on the set are straight Latin – done in a style that recalls some of Machito's work from the early 60s – but there's a few others that have an electric guitar in the mix, some slightly pyrotechnic scoring, and almost a 60s twist/mod kind of sound. Titles include "Rock A Bong", "Papa Boco", "Windows Of Paris", "Clap, Chaipaneca Clpa", "Colonia", and "Mexican Hop". LP, Vinyl record album

Plenty of style here – a great later date from Sonny Stitt – one of those near-perfect gems from the years when he had fallen far from the mainstream of jazz, but could still blow with some of the best! There's a simple, almost understated quality to the date that's really wonderful – especially for 1981 – a lineage that flows right back to Stitt's marvelous work for the Roost label, alongside which this record could stand proudly, with only a slight difference in production technique. Other players include Barry Harris on piano, George Duvivier on bass, and Jimmy Cobb on drums – and titles include "Western Style", "Yesterdays", "Eastern Style", "Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby", "The Good Life", and "Killing Me Softly". LP, Vinyl record album

A stunning set from the mighty mighty Dells – a cool collaboration with the legendary arranger Charles Stepney and songwriter Terry Callier – and a record that shows just how far the group had come since their streetcorner harmony days! The vocals are incredible – that rich blend of deep notes and soaring highs that made The Dells one of the most technically amazing soul groups in the 70s – and Stepney's arrangements follow in the same mode as his work for their Dionne Warwick album, and his music for Minnie Riperton and Ramsey Lewis – with lots of groovy currents on the bottom and soaring strings on the top – sophisticated, but completely soulful too – at a level that nobody else can touch! Terry Callier wrote the original tunes "The Love We Had Stays On My Mind", "Freedom Means", "Melody Man", "Free & Easy", "Rather Be With You", and "It's All Up To You" – and the set also includes great remakes of "One Less Bell To Answer", "Make It With You", and "If You Go Away/Love Story". LP, Vinyl record album

A follow up to the similarly-titled Conversations With Myself album recorded several years before – and like that one, a record that has Bill Evans playing "with" himself, via the technology of overdubs! The album's less a solo album, than a duet one – given that most of the numbers feature Evans working between melody and rhythm on overlapping piano lines – creating a mini chorus of pianos that sounds totally great, and wonderfully unique! Titles include "Emily", "Yesterdays", "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town", "Funny Man", "The Shadow Of Your Smile", "Little Lulu" and "Quiet Now". LP, Vinyl record album

A nice funky soul album by Eddie – who by this point was really electrifying his sax, playing a bit of piano, and even singing in a range of different styles. The best moments are those that kind of push the envelope technique-wise – operating with a lot of different effects on the horn and keyboards – backed up by percussion by Willie Bobo, trumpet by Oscar Brashear, and "guitorgan" by Robert Muldrow! Not perfectly realized, but an interesting set of funk experiments. Titles include "Get On Up & Dance", "Why Must We Part", "It Feels So Good", and the spacey "Abstractions", a real stoner number in the Shuggie Otis mode! LP, Vinyl record album

The greatest moment ever from the legendary Bobbi Humphrey – a funky, soulful flute player who had more than her share of great moments over the years! This set may well be the summation of all the genius that Humphrey had to offer – a collaboration with genius producer Larry Mizell, at a level that matches his Blue Note classics with Donald Byrd, or the Music Is My Sanctuary album with Gary Bartz – a groundbreaking blend of jazz instrumentation and studio technique! The sound is never smooth, nor commercial – and instead, Bobbie's flute and vocals soar out majestically on these long tracks with building keyboard lines, subtle chorus parts, and touches of bass that really transform the rhythms past conventional soul fusion of the period. Every track is a winner – purely fantastic stuff – and classics include "Chicago Damn", "Jasper Country Man", and the genius "Harlem River Drive". LP, Vinyl record album

Easily one of Ramsey Lewis' most successful records – featuring the hit soul jazz style that he forged with the Young/Holt rhythm combo, honed to perfection before a live crowd at The Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach. The record's a key part of Ramsey's live recorded output – showing the trio in pyrotechnic form before the kind of packed-house audiences they were playing to nightly at the time. Includes swinging versions of "Hard Day's Night", "High Heel Sneakers", and "Hang On Sloopy" – plus the original cut "Movin Easy". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the first ever albums by the Ramsey Lewis Trio – featuring an assortment of lively tracks with a touch of jazz-based humor, the kind that were winning them huge audiences in Chicago at the time! With Eldee Young and Redd Holt to back him up, Ramsey's got plenty of pyrotechnics in tow – which means that he does a great job on versions of familiar tunes like "Carmen", "I'll Remember April", and "Bi Mir Bist Du Shon" – as well as great originals like "Fantasia For Drums", "Dee's New Blues", and "Tres". LP, Vinyl record album

By this point in his career, Les McCann's moved past straight jazz, and is spending a lot of time on vocals – sung in a nice raspy style that makes up for what it lacks in technique with a nice dose of soul! The record's got a few cuts that have some good funky riffs – like the jaunty "Some Day We'll Meet Again", and "The Morning Song", which has an intro that's especially nice. Other tracks include "The Song Of Love", "Maybe You'll Come Back", and "My Soul Lies Deep". LP, Vinyl record album

80s electro soul from Marcus Miller – nicely grooving in a mix of beats, keyboards, and vocals – all handled by Marcus himself! As with his other work from the decade, there's a jazzy flair to much of the record – a style that goes a bit deeper than just the simple soul that you might guess from the album's cover – but which also has an unabashed feel for a tight groove and a nice little hook! Marcus gets a bit of help on the set from guests that include David Sanborn and Fonzi Thornton – but most of the album's a one-man affair, made possible by the advances in studio technology at the time. Titles include "Unforgettable", "Is There Anything I Can Do", "Superspy", "Juice", "I Could Give You More", and "Perfect Guy". LP, Vinyl record album

A truly unbelievable album from Billy Stewart – maybe his standout moment of the 60s, and a record that set him apart from every other singer of his time! Stewart's famous vocals break out instantly on the huge hit "Summertime" – a leadoff number that really sets the record on fire – and sets the scene for an amazing batch of tunes that follow a similar format – familiar tracks that are completely recast in a new mode by Billy – pyrotechnic soul vocals that are as filled with feeling as they are shaped by technique! Backings are great, too – full and a bit jazzy at points – and with just the right sort of energy to keep things bouncing along all the way through. Titles include "Summertime", "A Foggy Day", "Canadian Sunset", "Time After Time", "Misty", "Moon River", "My Funny Valentine", and "That Old Black Magic". LP, Vinyl record album

Although Marsha Wash and Izora Armstead later metamorphosed into the too-silly Weather Girls later in the 80s, at this point in their career, they were pretty decent singers – and were being produced by Harvey Fuqua in a great style that took bits of soul, bits of disco, and forged a modern club groove that worked very nicely for their strong vocal techniques. The best tracks are pretty darn catchy – and the record's a great soul album that shouldn't be passed up, even if you're scared of their Weather Girls reputation. Titles include "Never Like This", "I Depend On You", "Can't Do It By Myself", "I Been Down", and "Your Love Is Gonna See Me Through". LP, Vinyl record album

Tremendous work from this groundbreaking electro pop trio – a group who seem to compress all the best electric energy on both sides of the planet at the time – creating a leaner, catchier take on some of the hippest German modes, mixing them with their own quirky energy, and paving the way for a huge amount of global acts to follow! The songs here are still better than so much that came later – a fantastic late 70s statement from the trio of Haruomi Hosono, Ryuichi Sakamoto, and Yukihiro Takahasi – who here seem even more confident than on their debut, with even enough gumption to remake The Beatles' "Day Tripper" as an electro theme. Other tracks include "Rydeen", "Technopolis", "Insomnia", "Solid State Survivor", and "Absolute Ego Dance". LP, Vinyl record album

The second album from Haruomi Hosono, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Yukihiro Takahashi, not as much of an electro groove filled affair as the first, but still a great batch of quirky techno-electro Asian pop with lots of great bubbling synth touches! 8 tracks in all including "Behind The Mask", "Day Tripper", "Technopolis", "Multiples", "Citizens Of Science" and "Solid State Survivor". LP, Vinyl record album

The second album from Harumi Hosono, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Yukihiro Takahashi, not as much of an electro groove filled affair as the first, but still a great batch of quirky techno-electro Asian pop with lots of great bubbling synth touches! 8 tracks in all including "Behind The Mask", "Day Tripper", "Technopolis", "Multiples", "Citizens Of Science" and "Solid State Survivor". LP, Vinyl record album

A wealth of rare work from Jamaican studio genius Bunny Striker Lee – unusual cuts and unreleased material – all of it a further testament to his legendary ear for a mindblowing sound! These aren't half-baked cuts, or material that deserved to fall to the cutting room floor – because the style is years ahead of its time, and put together with techniques and styles that are still pretty darn revolutionary after all these many years! Some tracks have a strong vocal presence, others are more instrumental – and in addition to Lee's famous flying cymbals technique, there's lots more going on here too – including some totally cool space age sounds. Unreleased tracks include "Bell Road Rock" by The Aggrovators, "Joe Frazier" by Tommy McCook, "Go Jah Jah Pickney" by Linval Thompson, "No Man Is An Island" by Johnny Clarke & Horace Andy, "Bunny Lee & King Tubby's Dubplate Special" by Cornell Campbell, "Life Of My Own" by The Raver, "Look How Long Nyabinghi Calling You" by Linval Thompson, "King Tubby's Vs Arrows Dubplate" by Cornell Campbell, "Jamaican Fruit Of African Roots" by Lennox Brown & Sheila Richards, "No Babylon Shall Escape In This Time" by Johnny Clarke, and "Every Knee Shall Bow" by Ronnie Davis. LP, Vinyl record album

French modern meets French traditional – in a really unique set of recordings that pair soprano saxophonist Sidney Bechet and pianist Martial Solal! Includes work from 2 different 1957 sessions recorded in Paris – both of which perfectly illustrate the way in which Bechet's tone and phrasing on his instrument could have a huge influence on later modernists like Steve Lacy and Albert Ayler. The work is straight, and often based around standards – but Solal's work on piano sets up the tunes in a way that allows Bechet to really play with his sound – and the record's made even better by the stark production technique, which brings out Bechet's tone better than many other French recordings we've heard. Kenny Clarke drums on about half the tracks, and titles include "Once In A While", "I Only Have Eyes For You", "The Man I Love", "Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams", "Embraceable You", "Rose Room", "I Never Knew", and "These Foolish Things". LP, Vinyl record album

A bit late in Rodney's classic years for Columbia, but still pretty darn nice – although certainly much more of a soul album than before! A fair number of the tracks here have standout lyrics – sung by Brenda Russell, Philip Ingram, Frank Musker, and even Franklin himself – but the keyboards still dominate pretty strongly, and include the mix of electric and acoustic modes that always made Rodney's albums nice. The keys show a definite influence of 80s technology, as does the production – which is shared by Franklin and Michel Colombier – and titles include "Motion", "Broken Wings", "It Takes Two", "My Wish", "The Eagle & The Condor", and "Look What's Showing Through". LP, Vinyl record album

John Scofield's still plenty warm on the tones of his guitar – even though the record's got some sharp electric action in an 80s fusion mode – thanks to both acoustic drums and beats from Omar Hakim! The lineup has John's guitar dancing nicely with that airy sense of space he first developed in the 70s – a warmly chromatic mode that brings a sense of humanity to the record right from the start – and which gets equally soulful support from Don Gronick on keyboards. Tracks include "Techno", "High & Mighty", "Still Warm", "Rule Of Thumb", and "Protocol". LP, Vinyl record album

Don't be fooled by the title, because the music here isn't really techno – but more the roots of techno – pulled from an array of older jazz, soul, house, and club recordings – brought together in a weird mix of styles by Laurent Garnier and Carl Craig! There's still a relatively dancefloor-heavy vibe on the tracks – and many of the numbers are ones that predate the use of the word techno, but feature elements that would grow to much greater importance as the genre exploded in the 90s. Part B of the vinyl version features 11 tracks that include "Journey In Satchidananda" by Alice Coltrane, "NTT DoCoMo" by Arpanet, "Sea Shake" by Drexciya, "Join In The Chant" by Nitzer Ebb, "It's A War" by Kano, "Dance Boy Dance" by Alexander Robotnick, "Bettino's Bounce" by Funkadelic, "No More Words" by Yello, "Disco Circus" by Martin Circus, and "Burning (MK club edit)" by MK. LP, Vinyl record album

Second volume in this series of Motown compilations aimed at the dancefloor – and in spite of the tile, the material here is more soul than disco, but definitely more in the dance vein than the get your groove on side of things. Includes some sublime numbers like "Date With The Rain" by Eddie Kendricks and "Dancing Machine" by The Jackson 5 – plus "You Sure Know How To Love Your Man" by Willie Hutch, "No Matter Where" by GC Cameron, "Bad Weather" by The Supremes, "What Is A Heart Good For" by The Miracles, "I'm A Fool For You" by Undisputed Truth, "Chained" by Rare Earth, and "Law Of The Land" by The Temptations. LP, Vinyl record album

Amazing vocal work from The Olympics – a great little group who bridged the gap between doo wop and 60s soul – and who had a pyrotechnic style that only The Coasters could match! Like The Coasters, The Olympics often mixed in a good deal of humor with their tunes – not only in the subject matter, which often included topics from the lower end of the mid century cultural spectrum, but also in the way they delivered the tunes – which was always lively and exuberant! This quality made for some nice little groovers in the group's repertoire too – tunes that rock and roll with an early approach to upbeat 60s soul, and which has made some of their numbers perennial dancefloor favorites. Titles include "Little Pedro", "Dodge City", "Private Eye", "Big Boy Pete", "Big Chief Little Puss", "Stay Away From Joe", and "Baby Hully Gully"; plus bonus tracks not included in the original issue. LP, Vinyl record album

After Shock comes Panic – the sequel to Creed Taylor's previous album for ABC, and like that one, a very weird mix of jazzy backings, odd sound effects, and cool production techniques! The record begins with a familiar core – jazzy instrumentals, of the sort that Taylor was already producing for other artists, and would go on to do even more famously for Verve. But here, the music's really played with too – changed up in the middle of a song, as the rhythms get weird, sound effects come in, and the whole thing gets turned into a batch of spooky little scenes that more than live up to the title of the record – and the titles of the songs, which include "Alpine Honeymoon", "Wreck Of Old 97", "A Shot In The Dark", "The Fastest Gun", "No Smoking", "The Operation", and "The Prison Break". LP, Vinyl record album

Wonderful work from Charlie Ventura – just the kind of record to make you appreciate what an amazing player he was back in the day! The session's a nice spare one, without some of the pyrotechnics or showmanship of other Ventura albums – especially the live dates – and the intimacy really lets Charlie open up in a personal, creative sort of way on his tenor – almost rivaling Lester Young or Ben Webster for tone and imagination. Great Verve-like work throughout – with rhythm by Gene Kutch, Louis Cicchini, and Ace Tesone – and tracks that include "Blues For Two", "Somebody Loves Me", "Limehouse Blues", "Blue Prelude", and "Girl Of My Dreams". LP, Vinyl record album

The album's one of Jackie Gleason's finest – and a perfect demonstration of the lush, romantic backings that he did so well for Capitol during the decade – an approach that was very much in direct contrast to Gleason's pyrotechnic personality in TV comedies, but which was a surprisingly good fit for the late nite, booze-heavy antics of Jackie in real life. There's a sense of loss and longing here that few other arrangers at the time could duplicate – and while the album's clearly poised to be a tool in the act of seduction, it's got an emotional depth that might actually have your potential conquest running home with memories of sadness past flooding her mind – not actually coming across with the goods! Titles include "You're My Greatest Love", "It's The Talk Of The Town", "She's Funny That Way", "Coquette", "Did I Remember", "Dancing In The Dark", and "You & The Night & The Music". LP, Vinyl record album

Key material from Davis' first few years at Prestige – about as classic as you can get from Miles' early period – with a great sextet that include Sonny Rollins on tenor, Jackie McLean on alto, Walter Bishop on piano, Tommy Potter on bass and Art Blakey on drums. One of the first bop recordings to afford the players room to stretch out because of advances in recording technology, this set includes the classic "Dig", a great reading of "It's Only A Paper Moon", plus "Denial", "Conception", "Bluing", "My Old Flame", and "Out Of The Blue". LP, Vinyl record album

The Ramsey Lewis Trio gets some additional orchestral backings – and with great results! The set features Ramsey, Eldee Young, and Red Holt – all playing their usual pyrotechnic blend of soul jazz and swing – supported by larger arrangements handled by Riley Hampton, done in a style that never gets in the way – but which creates some really cook banks for Ramsey and crew to soar off of! Titles include "Spring Fever", "Sound Of Spring", "Truly Truly Spring", "Soft Winds", and "Blue Spring". LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful album by Bill Withers – filled with incredibly well written songs, and an amazing instrumental technique that blended folksy elements with smoother 70s soul, in a sound that would put Bill at the top of the charts for many years, yet still give him cred with soul fans for decades! Booker T Jones arranged, produced, and played electric piano on the album – and we can say without a doubt that the record's one of the few good things to come out of his move to LA! Although the album's not a greatest hits one, given the strength of the tracks, it may as well be, as it includes Withers classics like "Grandma's Hands", "Ain't No Sunshine", "Harlem", and "Hope She'll Be Happier". Also features the nice groover, "Better Off Dead", which has a very tasty intro! LP, Vinyl record album

Wicked funk from Chocolate Milk – and a set that perfectly combines their deep New Orleans roots with the tighter sound the Crescent City was brewing up in the mid 70s! The group work closely here with producer Allen Toussaint – and really show that stronger use of studio technology that Toussaint was perfecting at the time – a mode used famously in work for bigger artists, but which is totally perfect here to bring an even greater focus to the sound of the group! There's loads of sharp-stepping basslines and drums at the bottom, mixed with a cool compressed sound at the top – a way of being a bit smooth, yet still pretty darn funky all the way through. The mellower cuts are especially great – never sleepy, but slow grooving in a really badass way – and titles include "Comin", "Do Onto Others", "Starbright", "Feel the Need", and "Something New". LP, Vinyl record album

One of a handful of records cut by the lovely singer Byrdie Green for Prestige during the 60s! Byrdie's got a sweet soulful voice – not the greatest in the world technically, but very much in that classic small club mode of the 60s and 70s, as often heard singing with a hip small combo late into the nights. In this case, the hip combo's that of Johnny Hammond Smith – as Johnny arranged the whole set, and sort of acted as Byrdie's mentor at Prestige. Johnny's groovy organ group also features Virgil Jones on trumpet, Gene Walker on tenor, and Eddie Diehl on guitar – and they provide some very tasty backing for Byrdie on cuts like "Hurt", "Gin House Blues", "Goin Out Of My Head", "Somebody Groovy", and "In The Dark". LP, Vinyl record album

A drum-heavy spectacular that returns Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich to their big band roots – thanks to some hard-swinging arrangements from George Williams! The tracks are a bit shorter and done with a larger group than on some of the other Rich or Krupa sides for Verve – but there actually seems to be even more drum pyrotechnics here, possibly because the players' efforts are compressed into such a tight space! Production is a bit odd – with the drums so high in the mix that they sometimes come across with more treble than bass – but that really highlights some of the most inventive moments on the top of the kit as well. Titles include "Duet", "Perdido", "Evolution", "Night Train", and "Hawaiian War Chant". LP, Vinyl record album

The classic Styx concept album about technology and control – with their hit "Mr Roboto", plus "Don't Let It End", "High Time", "Heavy Metal Poisoning", "Cold War", "Just Get Through This Night", and "Double Life". LP, Vinyl record album

The big breakout record for The System – one of the key soul crossover duos of the 80s! By the time of the record, electric instrumentation and studio technology had evolved to a point where a team like Mic Murphy and David Frank could put together a whole mainstream funk record like this on their own – and audiences too were a bit more open to accepting a world of overdubs and multi-track recording, and didn't need the 10-piece lineup of some of those late 70s groups to help them find their groove! The standout number here is the huge single "You Are In My System" – a cut that's wonderful in its simplicity, and somehow even better all these many years later, which it seems like less of a commercial crossover track than it did before. Other tracks follow a similar groove, and titles include "Sweat", "It's Passion", "Now I Am Electric", "Stand Up & Cheer", and "I Won't Let Go". LP, Vinyl record album