... 7-inch, Vinyl record

A great return to form for the legendary Sidney Barnes – known best as a onetime member of both Rotary Connection and the P-Funk universe – but working here with great small combo backing from the Speedometer combo! "Best Thing" is an original by Barnes – sung in this sweet raspy style that gets great support from the funky group – who even thrown in a sweet Hammond solo in the middle! The flipside is a remake of Nolan Porter's "If I Could Only Be Sure" – a midtempo burner that has Sidney sounding even better on vocals! 7-inch, Vinyl record

"Give It Up Or Turnit Loose" is far and away one of the best James Brown singles of all times! The bassline on the intro is amazing – one of those moments where you sit up and go "DANG! That sound is incredible!" – good reason why the cut's been sampled countless times over the years! But the whole thing is great too – with tight, sharp, shouted vocals by James – and some razor-sharp work by the rest of the band . The flipside's a nice rare instrumental! 7-inch, Vinyl record

Shouting storming uptempo funk from JB – and a track that really hints at his work at the end of the 70s! The cut screams dancefloor all over the place – and believe us, when James has bugs in his pants, he sure knows how to scream! Plus, this single also includes the oddly-numbered "parts 15 & 16" on the flipside! 7-inch, Vinyl record

Although this single's actually from the movie Hairspray, it's a killer 2-in-1 of early 60s Chicago soul hits! Ray Bryant's "Madison Time" is incredible – and it's got a sinister walking piano line, backed with "calls" by Eddie Morrison that turn the cut into a fantastic groover with a very dark sound. The flipside is a sweet little girl soul cut, with a great mellow vocal! 7-inch, Vinyl record

Two fantastic cuts from Cravo E Canela – a Brazilian combo who take the Brasil 66 style of Sergio Mendes, and move it into even groovier, funkier territory! "Preco De Cada Um" has this soaring blend of female vocals, funky bass, and wonderful piano and keyboard lines – moving at a great clip, but never too fast – and with richer colors that really open up the tune! The flipside features a beautiful mixing of "Asa Branca" and "Que Nem Gilo" – in a tune that uses the forro energy of the original to bring a sharp edge to the jazzy changes of the vocals and instrumentation! 7-inch, Vinyl record

A great take on the funky styles of the 80s – as Dead End Boogie work here with a spare drum machine rhythm on "New Tires", sewn together with a wicked bassline, then given all these light guitar and keyboard touches along the way – but all with production that's a lot more lo-fi than any 80s groove – and we mean that in a really great way! The flipside has a similar approach – but is slower, murkier, and moodier too. 7-inch, Vinyl record

A rare cut from this great French group – excellent in the original, and mighty nice in the rework! The main version is wonderful – funky and clubby, but with a very jazzy vibe – one that's echoed by the duo singing the lead lyrics in French, and by the keyboard solo that does some mighty nice things in the middle! The re-work on the flipside kicks up the groove a bit more, and stretches out some of the best elements – but still has plenty of room for those great vocals and keys! 7-inch, Vinyl record

A moody little funk track from the production genius of Misha Panfilov – whose work seems to be moving more and more into a category of its own! "The Rays" has a strange, spare vocal chorus that's abstracted and echoed in the production – used wordlessly alongside an echoey guitar line and a very moogy keyboard – all grounded with romping drums! The drums romp even more on the flipside – moving quickly to keep the energy up – while the guitar and other elements seem to get even weirder and waterier in the mix! 7-inch, Vinyl record

Brilliant baroque rock! "Walk Away Renee" is a pop masterpiece – one that you may already know – and "I Haven't Got The Nerve" is equally wonderful – with a haunting electric harpsichord hook on the intro, then a great rock harmony vocal that we really love, plus lots more electric harpsichord! 7-inch, Vinyl record

Maybe one of the greatest moments from the early solo years of John Lennon – an upbeat, joyous tune that really expresses the new energy he'd found in the company of Yoko – and a different sort of social message than his work with the Fab Four! And Yoko is pretty great on the flipside, too! 7-inch, Vinyl record

An odd little groover from Chicago – but a great one! "Have Some Fun" has this incredible groove – stop/start, with lots of scratchy guitar underneath the female vocals of the track – sung in ensemble mode, almost with this weird "call" type style! Then, the flipside takes the tune into instrumental territory with the Mod Lads – lots and lots of vamping, peppered with raw guitar work instead of the vocals! 7-inch, Vinyl record

A great little soul track – and the record that put George Clinton on the map! "Testify" is a landmark cut – with a great rolling soul sound that takes up the heavy production style of Detroit, and points it towards the psychedelic future of the Mothership. The flipside's a great harmony track, too – with some nice vibes floating in the background, and a good gimmicky chorus! It's more of a Chicago track than a Detroit one – but it's done very nicely. 7-inch, Vinyl record

A sweet sweet classic from Prince – a tune that was hailed as a move to psychedelic modes at the time, but which was really just a way for the singer to open up a whole new side of his talents! "Raspberry Beret" is wonderfully catchy – but it's also got a groove that's maybe a bit less sexy than some other Prince material – almost as if he's more laidback and confident, he can just breeze into the tune in a mighty nice way. The flipside's equally nice – and the single's one of the classic pic sleeve 12" from Prince's huge 80s run! 7-inch, Vinyl record

The Reflections were a great lost soul group who cut one album for Capitol, plus a handful of singles. This nice one from 1975 features 2 strong cuts by the band – both with arrangements by Bert De Coteaux. "Three Steps" is a midtempo number, written by JR Bailey – and the flipside is more mellow, with a strong male vocal in the lead. 7-inch, Vinyl record

A great remake of one of the biggest cuts ever from the legendary Roy Ayers – done here with a version that's got even more vibes than the original! In fact, the core groove is very much like the Ayers recording, but the cut soon moves into loads of jazzy vibes – and also has a great bass breakdown in the middle! The flipside takes out the initial burst vibes, but keeps all the grooves intact – and brings in some sweet jazzy keyboard work from Diplomats Of Soul, then brings back in the vibes! 7-inch, Vinyl record

One of the most incredible pop tracks of the 60s! Billy Stewart's reading of "Summertime" sounds nothing like you've ever heard! The cut has these rolling popping vocals, and a triple-time groove that turns the cut into a dark stormer filled with raw energy. The flipside is very nice, too – and has a great loping mid-tempo feel to it, with nice piano parts underneath Stewart's heartfelt lyrics. 7-inch, Vinyl record

A fully and funky spider from the De Wolfe sound library of the 70s – one that's got all sorts of heavy horns and tight drums, and packs a punch that would be sure to tear open a spiderweb in seconds! That same approach is used on the flipside – a hot-moving cut that's definitely not a cool character – as the whole thing moves along at the pace of some cop/crime chase cut, complete with driving drums and funky horns! 7-inch, Vinyl record

Amazing stuff from Stax Records – a BEAUTIFUL package that features 10 singles in original label sleeves, in a custom made, magnetic flip-top box – which also contains an 84 page book, and a free download for all the songs included! The music here is some of the best work from the second half of Stax – the kinds of singles that are prizes in our funky 45 collection – although there's a here we've never found at all! Titles include "The Dryer (parts 1 & 2)" by Roy Lee Johnson & The Villagers, "The Whole Damn World Is Going Crazy" by John Gary Williams, "Running Out" by Mable John, "Cool Strut (parts 1 & 2)" by Bernie Hayes, "Them Hot Pants (parts 1 & 2)" by Lee Sain, "Hijackin Love" by Johnny Taylor, "Sweetback's Theme" by Melvin Van Peebles, "Blind Alley" by The Emotions, "Itch & Scratch (parts 1 & 2)" by Rufus Thomas, and "Gone The Promises Of Yesterday" by The Mad Lads. Special treat – 15 random boxes include autographed photos! 7-inch, Vinyl record