Rare work by Laura Lee – a singer who's best known for her 70s hits on the Hot Wax label, but who sounds equally great here on her earlier sides for Chess! Lee's deep soul approach was a perfect match for Chess at the end of the 60s – and the work here often has her coming across with a hard and heavy approach that rivaled the best female soul coming out of Stax or Atlantic during the same era – no surprise, considering that most of the material here was recorded down in Muscle Shoals, far from the Chicago studios and sweeter production styles of most other artists on Chess! Rick Hall handled the Muscle Shoals material – in a real Fame Records mode – and other cuts were put together by Gene Barge and Cash McCall. The sound is great throughout – with a deeper soul groove than in her early 70s recordings, and vocal power that she hardly ever matched again! Titles include "Mama's Got A Good Thing", "That's How It Is", "Dirty Old Man", "She Don't Love You", "Another Man's Woman", "I Need to Belong To Someone", and "Love More Than Pride". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A classic set of 70s crossover deep soul – recorded in the mode of similar work by Betty Wright or Laura Lee, and done with a similar mix of raw southern vocals and tighter production! About half the work was handled by the team of Dave Crawford and Brad Shapiro – working in the Criteria Studios in Miami to give Jackie a sound that's similar to Shapiro's work with Millie Jackson. The other half was produced in Philly, by the Young Professionals team of LeBaron Taylor, Tony Bell, and Phil Hurt – who give Jackie a warm, gliding, sweet 70s Philly groove! And although you might think that this Philly/Miami split would make for a mixed bag of tunes, the album's surprisingly unified – and in a way, does plenty to link together the growing dancefloor scenes in both cities. Titles include "Willpower", "Both Ends Against The Middle", "Time", "Something In A Look", "Clean Up Your Own Yard", "If", and "Darling Baby". LP, Vinyl record album

We've always loved the music of Logan Richardson, but here he's onto something completely new and groundbreaking – as you might begin to guess from the cover and title! Logan still blows alto sax, but he also handles piano and keyboards, and works in this swirling mix of sound that really lives up to what you might expect – really far-seeing future jazz – with rhythms that shift and soar, instrumentation that shimmers and glows, and a sound that's very cosmic and righteous throughout! The set also features vibes and keyboards from Peter Schlamb, guitars from Igor Osypov, bass from Dominique Sanders, and drums from Ryan Lee and Corey Fonville – set to some occasional vocals from Laura Taglialatela, and light use of strings to really give the music a sense of majesty. Titles include "Say My Nhame", "Awaken", "The Birth Of Us", "Black Wallstreet", "Farewell Goodbye", "For Alto", "According To You", "Praise Song", and "Photo Copy". LP, Vinyl record album

A very cool collection – Japanese-only, and filled with some rare moments from the Atlantic Records catalog of the 60s! Titles include "Darling" by New Foundation, "Calling For Your Love" by The Enticers, "Keep Your Love Strong" by The Webs, "What Can You Do When You Ain't Got Nobody" by Soul Bros 6, "Great Big Thing" by Barbara Brown, "Can I Hold You To It" by Lorraine Johnson, "Can I Be Your Main Thing" by Margie Alexander, and "But You Know I Love You" by Laura Lee. LP, Vinyl record album

We've always loved the music of Logan Richardson, but here he's onto something completely new and groundbreaking – as you might begin to guess from the cover and title! Logan still blows alto sax, but he also handles piano and keyboards, and works in this swirling mix of sound that really lives up to what you might expect – really far-seeing future jazz – with rhythms that shift and soar, instrumentation that shimmers and glows, and a sound that's very cosmic and righteous throughout! The set also features vibes and keyboards from Peter Schlamb, guitars from Igor Osypov, bass from Dominique Sanders, and drums from Ryan Lee and Corey Fonville – set to some occasional vocals from Laura Taglialatela, and light use of strings to really give the music a sense of majesty. Titles include "Say My Nhame", "Awaken", "The Birth Of Us", "Black Wallstreet", "Farewell Goodbye", "For Alto", "According To You", "Praise Song", and "Photo Copy". LP, Vinyl record album

A great collection of some of the best numbers from the Hot Wax label of the early 70s – second generation Detroit soul that really set the standard for the 70s! The tunes here were massive back in the day – blasting out of juke boxes, car radios, and a fair bit of home stereos too – all for good reason, given the care and balance the Holland-Dozier-Holland team brought to their work in the studio, and their ears for selecting singers to handle the work. Titles include "Want Ads" and "Stick Up" by Honey Cone, "Somebody's Been Sleepin" and "Too Many Cooks" by 100 Proof Aged In Soul, "Westbound #9" and "Mind Body & Soul" by Flaming Ember, "Woman's Love Rights" by Laura Lee "Women's Love Rights", and "Frightened Girl" by Silent Majority. LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include "The Confession", "And When I Die", "Upstairs By A Chinese Lamp", "The Cat Song", "Timer", and "Money". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Proof that Helen Merrill was continuing to grow as a singer – well into her fourth decade of recording! This obscure session was recorded in France in 1986 – with a lineup that includes Steve Lacy on soprano sax, Gordon Beck on acoustic and electric piano, and Stephane Grappelli on violin. In this spare setting, Merrill's are wonderfully at home – sadly picking her way through a host of tunes that includes great readings of some more familiar numbers, plus a few originals by players on the set. Titles include "Nuages", "Round Midnight", "A Tout Choisir", "As Time Goes By", "Laura", "Music Makers", "And She Still Is With Me", and "Solitude". LP, Vinyl record album

A groovy set from singer & songwriter Peter Gallway and his group Ohio Knox – with sort of oddball, yet totally catchy post psychedelic folk rock tunes taken to a deeper level thanks to impeccable musicianship! Guest players contribute vibes, congas, horns and chorus vocals on some tunes, one of whom is John Sebastian – whom Gallway feels like a kindred spirit to. Includes "Taking It Easy", "Land Of Music", "That Lady", "Calamity Jane", "There Comes A Time", "Baby Sox Knox", "No Sleep For The Wicked", "Abigail Archer", "North Country Laura" and more. LP, Vinyl record album