Incredible work from Spencer Wiggins – a late 60s Memphis singer who travelled in the same circles as James Carr, Percy Sledge, and Otis Redding, but who hardly ever got his due – despite talents that were clearly equal to his contemporaries! This beautifully-done set brings together 14 tracks that Wiggins recorded for Goldwax Records in the late 60s – a label that was also home to Carr's best work, and who does an equally great job with Spencer's deep-burning vocals on these sides. Many of the tracks on the set were written by the cream of the crop of southern soul writers at the time – George Jackson, Quinton Claunch, Isaac Hayes, and others – and backings are often spare and subtle, really letting Wiggins' vocals take center stage! Titles include "I'm A Poor Man's Son", "Lonely Man", "Sweet Sixteen", "He's Too Old", "Anything You Do Is Alright", "I Never Loved A Woman The Way I Love You", "Old Friend", "Up Tight Good Woman", "Take Me Just As I Am", "Once In A While", "The Power of A Woman", "I'll Be True To You", and "Lover's Crime". LP, Vinyl record album

Seminal sounds from Joseph Spence – a groundbreaking Bahamian artist whose style was an equal mixture of calypso and blues! The rhythms here are certainly Caribbean, as is the style of the lyrics on many numbers – but the spotlight often shines most strongly on the acoustic guitar work by Spence, which often echoes styles that you'd find much more in the rural south in the postwar years – particularly in the strength of its phrasing! No surprise, the set was recorded by Folkways blues historian Samuel B Charters – and titles include "Brownskin Girl", "Coming In On A Wing & Prayer", "There Will Be A Happy Meeting In Glory", "Jump In The Line", "I'm Going To Live That Life", and "Face To Face That I Shall Know Him". LP, Vinyl record album

Forget the preview, because Leon Spencer is already the main attraction on this key early album for Prestige! The date may well be one of the organist's greatest – and is a lean, mean session cut with that stretched out funky style that Prestige was really laying down at the time – open-ended tunes that take off from the Lou Donaldson late 60s style at Blue Note, with plenty of room for all players to do their thing! Idris Muhammad plays plenty of funky drums on the record, alongside trumpet from Virgil Jones, tenor from Grover Washington Jr, and guitar from Melvin Sparks – plus some kicking conga at the bottom from Buddy Caldwell. Spencer's sound on the Hammond is full and mighty – burning up from the get-go with a round, wall of sound sort of approach. The vibe is quite similar to Melvin Sparks' albums from the same time for Prestige – and titles include "The Slide", "Sneak Preview", "Message From the Meters", and "First Gravy". LP, Vinyl record album

A massive classic from Lou Donaldson's funky years with Idris Muhammad on drums – an album that's filled with lots of bottom-heavy grooves, plus some great work on alto, guitar, and organ! Muhammad's drums are in fine fine form here – right up there with his other LD Blue Note work, if not even better – and the rest of the lineup features Leon Spencer and Lonnie Smith on organ, Ted Dunbar and Melvin Sparks on guitar, and Blue Mitchell on trumpet – all top-shelf players who really make the album kick nicely. Titles include the classic cut "Pot Belly", which was sampled by Tribe Called Quest and about a hundred others – plus "Curtis Song", "Sassie Lassie", "Love", and a version of "Tennessee Waltz" that's even a nice one too! LP, Vinyl record album