2 of Johnny Guitar Watson's best albums ever – back to back on a single CD! First up is Listen – quite possibly the rarest of all Johnny Guitar Watson albums – and his first from the 70s – a mindblowing batch of trippy soul tunes that sounds far different than much of his later work! Johnny's not yet in the funky mode here – and he's working in a very cool flanged-out approach that has his vocals tripping lightly with his guitar – in a spacious soul mode that captures some of the energy of Shuggie Otis at the time. The overall sound is incredibly righteous – and the album's a delight throughout! Titles include "Lovin You", "If I Had The Power", "You Bring Love", "I Get A Feeling", and "You're The Sweetest Thing I've Ever Had". I Don't Want To Be Alone Stranger is sublime mid 70s work from Johnny Guitar Watson – a Bay Area blend of soulful production, jazzy playing, and bits of bluesy phrasing, with a hard-to-match quality that we'd put in the same camp as work by Shuggie Otis from the time. Johnny's vocals and guitar are amazing – very laidback and trippy, without all the silly stuff that you sometimes get on later records. "I Don't Want To Be A Lone Ranger" is a great stepper with a jazzy finish and a really catchy hook – and other good cuts include "Lonely Man's Prayer", "You Make My Heart Want To Sing", "Tripping", "Strong Vibrations", and "It's Way Too Late", a reworking (and real steal) of a song from Jon Lucien's great "Rashieda" album! CD

A nice bit of funky organ work from Jimmy McGriff – a set that's got his famous talents on the Hammond out front of a larger ensemble – but in a way that's very different than some of his albums of that type from the 70s! There's lots of electricity in the mix – electric piano from Horace Ott, bass from Richard Evans, and guitar from Wayne Bennett – mixed with sharp work on horns from Cliff Davis on tenor and flute, Murray Watson on trumpet, and Johnny Beard on baritone – three players who really flesh out the sound! The album's got some excellent stone funky classics – like "The Bird", "Groove Grease", and "Plain Brown Bag" – plus some surprisingly funky readings of standards like "Canadian Sunset" and "Mr Lucky", both made to sound super-nice, thanks to excellent work on bass and drums! CD

A treasure box of early 60s R&B 45s – a top shelf collection of singles cut for the King & Federal labels from 1960 to 1964 – amazing numbers from Hank Ballard, Freddy King, The Drivers, Little Bobby Moore, Willie Dixon & The Big Wheels, Johnny Guitar Watson, Carol Ford, Little Willie John and more. Early 60s soul and rollicking R&B sides to rival the best and most exciting sounds of the era – compiled by DJ Mr Fine Wine, most of which have never been reissued before now! Includes "Gibble Gobble" by Willie Wright & His Sparklers, "Broadway" by Hank Ballard, "What Makes You So Cold" by Lulu Reed, "My Nerves" by Little Willie John, "The Slummer The Slum" by The 5 Royales, "I Don't Know About You" by Lloyd Nolan, "Where You At Jack" by Little Mummy,, "That's It Man" by The Valentines, "Mind Your Own Business" by Eugene Church, "Regardless" by Charles Brown,, "Texas Oil" by Freddie King", "One Zippy Zam" by Roy Mildton & His Orchestra, "Mom, Won't You Teach Me To Monkey" by Little Emmett Suttoon, "Hog Killin Time" by Eddie Kirk and more. CD

Sweet and smooth 70s soul – hand-picked with a freshness that should appeal to folks who found these sounds through the hip hop that these grooves laid the sonic groundwork for. The tracks on here aren't as beat or break-heavy as some of the material on other sample-driven collections – but that's fine with us, as the tracks move into a sophisticated soul range that's always a pleasure to hear, bringing together the kind of well-produced 70s tracks we love! Titles include "Sweet Taste Of Sin" by Dennis Coffey, "I'll See You In Hell First" by Phillip Mitchell, "Do It To Me Now" by Fatback, "Don't Risk Your Happiness On Foolishness" by Fantastic Four, "Killing Time" by Natural Essence, "Your Love Is My Desire" by Eramus Hall, "Baby Get Down" by Eddie McLoyd, "Set It Out" by The Detroit Emeralds, "Love Starved" by Shirley Brown, "I'm Gonna Have To Tell Her" by Isaac Hayes, "If I Had The Power" by Johnny Guitar Watson, and "I Got To Have Your Love Now" by Caesar Frazier. CD

Three 70s killers from Jimmy McGriff! Groove Grease is a nice bit of funky organ work from Jimmy McGriff – a set that's got his famous talents on the Hammond out front of a larger ensemble – but in a way that's very different than some of his albums of that type from the 70s! There's lots of electricity in the mix – electric piano from Horace Ott, bass from Richard Evans, and guitar from Wayne Bennett – mixed with sharp work on horns from Cliff Davis on tenor and flute, Murray Watson on trumpet, and Johnny Beard on baritone – three players who really flesh out the sound! The album's got some excellent stone funky classics – like "The Bird", "Groove Grease", and "Plain Brown Bag" – plus some surprisingly funky readings of standards like "Canadian Sunset" and "Mr Lucky", both made to sound super-nice, thanks to excellent work on bass and drums! Main Squeeze is one of the grooviest albums ever from Jimmy McGriff – a hard-wailing session that's filled with plenty of cooking lines on the organ, and a few especially funky tracks! The groove here is tight, short, and very sharp – strongly in the mode of other post-Sue sessions by McGriff – like The Worm or other Groove Merchant sides – with a style that's often much more focused than Jimmy's earlier years, and strongly turned towards the rhythms of the tunes! A few numbers are more familiar soul jazz, but these are nicely offset by the harder funk numbers of the record – like the romping, stomping break classic "The Main Squeeze", the totally groovy "The Worm Turns", and the fast-vamping "GMI". The group features Jimmy Ponder on guitar and Connie Lester on alto sax – and other titles include "The Sermon", "Stella By Starlight", and "The Blues Train To Georgia". Tailgunner has Jimmy McGriff in a very cool 70s mode – hitting some of the fuller, more soul-based styles that Johnny Hammond and Jimmy Smith were exploring in the middle of the decade – while still also displaying a hell of a talent on the organ as well! The album has extra keyboards from Pat Rebillot and Paul Griffin – which makes for a nice mix of organ and electric piano sounds, plus some occasional moog that's very nicely placed – all backed by a largeish group that has tight horns, and some occasional soul vocals from Al Downing and Denise Wooten. The vocals are often an augmentation of the tunes, and there's still plenty of room for solos by Jimmy in the middle – on titles that include "Tailgunner", "Flexible Flyer", "Sky Hawk", "Grandma's Toe Jam", and "Bullfrog". CD

Music from Johnny Watson & Jeannie, Johnny Watson, Henry Strogin, Robert McKirby, Jimmy Nolen, Richard Lewis, Abe Moore, Larry Waters, TW Sams, Dessa Ray, Johnny Oits, Ray Johnson & more. CD