The hands of Webster Lewis are on a classic Fender Rhodes on the cover – and you'll hear plenty of that instrument on this collection, along with all the other many keyboards that Lewis can handle so well! Webster started out as a straighter jazzman in his early years, but by the time of these tracks he was at the top of his game in the world of soulful fusion – picking up a torch first lit by Herbie Hancock and Ramsey Lewis, and blending it with more influences from soul music too – which means that in addition to great keyboard solos from Lewis, you'll also hear wonderful vocals on most of these cuts – a key element that really helped Webster cross over into so many worlds at the time. As with work from the same period by Patrice Rushen, there's a sublime blend going on here – one that still sounds tremendous all these many years later, and which is presented with a great selection of cuts – including the rare "Japanese Umbrella" and "Boston" – plus "El Bobo", "Barbara Ann", "Hideaway", "Give Me Some Emotion", "Dancer", "Do It With Style", "Let Me Be The One", "Touch My Love", "Reach Out", "Love Won't Harm No One", and "There's A Happy Feeling". LP, Vinyl record album

Great work from Little Bob – aka Lil Bob, aka Camille Bob – a New Orleans soul singer with a nicely funky edge! The album's almost got more of a mid 60s James Brown inspiration than some of Bob's southern contemporaries – with backing from the super-tight Lollipops, who really know how to make all the instruments come down on the groove – but also still leave room for one of the horn players to step out with a smoking solo from time to time! Bob's got a mellow, heartbreaking vibe on some of the more laidback tracks – but then can really soar on the more upbeat numbers – showing an emotional range that's really wonderful, and which makes the album as much a deep soul treasure as it is incredibly rare. Titles include "I Got Loaded", "The Way It's Got To Be", "Nobody But You", "My Heart's On Fire", "Are You Ever Coming Home", "So In Need", "With These Hands", and "Look Out Mr Heartache". LP, Vinyl record album

A great example of why Little Milton was always one of the few Chicago blues artists who could also break strongly in the soul camp at the time – and a beautifully balanced set that perfectly shows both sides of the Chicago scene of the time! Production is by old Vee Jay maestro Calvin Carter, and arrangements by Gene Barge, who manages to slide effortlessly between blues and soul on the set – almost pushing Milton into Tyrone Davis territory, but keeping things a bit more rougher and down home on some of the other numbers. The sound is wonderful – very deep and rich, and with a sound that's head and shoulders above most other albums of this type in the late 60s. Titles include "Baby I Love You", "If Walls Could Talk", "Things That I Used to Do", "Let's Get Together", "I Play Dirty", "Blues Get Off My Shoulder", "I Don't Know", and "Poor Man". LP, Vinyl record album

Funky blues from Little Sonny – very much in the spirit of his Black & Blue album for Stax, in that the album's a mix of Memphis soul and bluesy licks – making for a full-on style that really cooks things up! Sonny sings and plays harmonica, but the best side of the album is the backings – as they get nice and funky on the best tracks, and groove things the way you'd expect from Stax at the time! Titles include "Hard Going Up", "You Can Be Replaced", "Do It Right Now", "My Woman Is Good To Me", "I Want You", and "Sure Is Good". LP, Vinyl record album

Amazing sounds from one of the all-time greats – the legendary Little Willie John – not only a key inspiration to James Brown, but one of the formative forces in soul music at the start of the 60s! The material here was cut by King Records at the height of its R&B years, but it also stretches forth towards something new, too – a deeper, more expressive sound that really blows us out of the water, even all these decades later – vocals that are incredible, and virtually a blueprint for the style that would come to be known as deep soul in later years. The package brings together all of Little Willie John's hit singles for King, but also features the much more obscure b-sides too – making it an essential document of these legendary years – with a whopping 32 tracks that include "Now You Know", "Flamingo", "Spring Fever", "I'm Sorry", "My Nerves", "Do Something For Me", "Leave My Kitten Alone", "Let Nobody Love You", "Fever", "Tell It Like It Is", "Letter From My Darling", "Don't Leave Me Dear", "Right There", and "All Around The World". CD

A beautiful treatise on the lasting power of classic soul music – yet a book that also goes way beyond the simple readings and overdone cliches that are often attached to accounts of the music! Instead, author Emily J Lordi looks at not just the source recordings, but also the evolving theories about their role within black culture, and the larger American story – tracing shifts over time, while still focusing on the core contributions of artists like Aretha Franklin, Donny Hathaway, Isaac Hayes, and Marvin Gaye! The writing is smart, but never too academic – and Lordi does a great job of tying together the strands of her different arguments throughout. 217 pages, softcover. Book

Beautiful brown-eyed soul from the Ohio scene of the 70s – just the sort of record you might have expected to hear from East LA or Spanish Harlem back in the day – but even more amazing to come from Cleveland! The group are a Latin combo at the core, but they've soaked up plenty of soul influences from the late 60s and early 70s – bringing in bits of harmony soul, funk, and other hip touches to really expand their groove – in ways that are similar to the changes Joe Bataan and his contemporaries were going through at the time! There's a few funky instrumentals that get nicely tripped out, offset with some wonderful mellow soul numbers, and a few straighter Latin bits – all of which show a really amazing range for the group. As usual, Numero does a great job of bringing their whole story to light through the great notes – but even without them, we're plenty happy with the music on the set! Titles include "Loving You", "To Be Sure", "Here We Go Again", "Cold Wine", "Trivialities", "Just Call Me", and "Listen People". CD

A great lost chapter in the career of Darlene Love – a soul singer who's maybe known best for her early work with Phil Spector in The Crystals – but who ended up with a long legacy in music, which is partly added to by this collection! The core of the set features some mid 60s recordings that Love made as the lead singer in The Blossoms – a great west coast female soul trio, represented here by a number of excellent singles for Reprise Records – including "That's When The Tears Start", "Good Good Lovin", "My Love Come Home", "Lover Boy", "Deep Into My Heart", and "Let Your Love Shine On Me". Those cuts are followed by two solo efforts for Reprise by Darlene – "Too Late To Say You're Sorry" and "If" – then preceded by a few other unusual sessions, including the track "TV Commercials" with guitarist Barney Kessel, and two Lee Hazlewood-related projects on "What Are We Gonna Do In 64" and "3625 Groovy Street", both issued under the name of The Wildcats. The set ends with a few cuts from later years – that time when Darlene was getting attention from a whole new generation – on the tracks "River Deep Mountain High", "He's Sure The Boy I Love", and two versions of "Mr Fix It". LP, Vinyl record album

Quite an obscure one by Love – a mid 70s record that actually has quite a bit of soul in the mix! The album almost seems to be going for a Sly Stone approach – expanding the group past Arthur Lee and crew with a host of additional players that include Harvey Mandel, Bobby Lyle, and Joey Deguero. There's still plenty of bluesy and rocky tracks – but there's also a great cover of William DeVaughn's "Be Thankful For What You Got" – done in a chunky mode that really hits a great groove with us (and which is proof that people were covering the tune even back when it was first released!) Other tracks move between soulful rock, Thin Lizzy-esque compressed guitar numbers, and other styles that show a bit more soul than might be expected. Titles include "Time Is Like A River", "Everybody's Gotta Live", "You Said You Would", "Busted Feet", "With A Little Energy", and "Who Are You". LP, Vinyl record album

A sweet SoCal groover from Cecil Lyde – recorded in LA in the early 80s, with a great mix of funky club and mellow soul modes! Cecil's got a great ear for the grittier side of California funk at the time – tunes that still use the heavy bass and keyboards of mainstream work from the period, but which manages to make the grooves come out with a lot more punch, and a heck of a lot of feeling – a bit like some of the best indie club that was still coming out of the New York underground. The ballads are great too – with a spacier, more laidback feel that shows a warmer, more seductive side of Cecil's vocals – one that balances nicely with the bolder sound of the funk numbers, in a way that almost reminds us of Bootsy in the late 70s, but a lot less polished overall! Titles include "Stone Free (Freak With Me)", "I'm So Glad I Found Your Love", "More Love", "Is That The Way To Your Heart", "Money's Funny", "Keep Dancin", and "Million Dollar Love". LP, Vinyl record album

A sweet SoCal groover from Cecil Lyde – recorded in LA in the early 80s, with a great mix of funky club and mellow soul modes! Cecil's got a great ear for the grittier side of California funk at the time – tunes that still use the heavy bass and keyboards of mainstream work from the period, but which manages to make the grooves come out with a lot more punch, and a heck of a lot of feeling – a bit like some of the best indie club that was still coming out of the New York underground. The ballads are great too – with a spacier, more laidback feel that shows a warmer, more seductive side of Cecil's vocals – one that balances nicely with the bolder sound of the funk numbers, in a way that almost reminds us of Bootsy in the late 70s, but a lot less polished overall! Titles include "Stone Free (Freak With Me)", "I'm So Glad I Found Your Love", "More Love", "Is That The Way To Your Heart", "Money's Funny", "Keep Dancin", and "Million Dollar Love". CD

A sweet SoCal groover from Cecil Lyde – recorded in LA in the early 80s, with a great mix of funky club and mellow soul modes! Cecil's got a great ear for the grittier side of California funk at the time – tunes that still use the heavy bass and keyboards of mainstream work from the period, but which manages to make the grooves come out with a lot more punch, and a heck of a lot of feeling – a bit like some of the best indie club that was still coming out of the New York underground. The ballads are great too – with a spacier, more laidback feel that shows a warmer, more seductive side of Cecil's vocals – one that balances nicely with the bolder sound of the funk numbers, in a way that almost reminds us of Bootsy in the late 70s, but a lot less polished overall! Titles include "Stone Free (Freak With Me)", "I'm So Glad I Found Your Love", "More Love", "Is That The Way To Your Heart", "Money's Funny", "Keep Dancin", and "Million Dollar Love". CD

A diverse batch of rare soul singles by singer and guitar player Barbara Lynn – the complete Tribe, Jet Stream, Copywrite and Starflight singles – wonderful stuff cut from the mid 60s to late 70s! All of these labels are parts of the empire South Texas musical force Huey P Meaux – and Barbara delivers beautiful throughout the years with material the evolved with the times. It ranges from classic level mid 60s stripped-down guitar, bass, drums & handclap- backed soul tunes, to more horn heavy uptempo numbers, to mellow funk, bluesier soul and a bit of disco as the years went by. This set focuses on the Meaux material, but Barbara also cut some incredible material for Atlantic during this period – and a couple of stellar singles from that run are included, too. Includes "I'm A Good Woman", "Running Back", "Until I'm Free", "Club A Go-Go", "Movin' On A Groove", "Disco Music", "Take Your Time", "Sugar Coating Love", "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry", "Call My Bluff Baby", "Takin' His Love Away (Ain't Gonna Be Easy)", "You Better Quit It", "You Finally Got Your Good Thing Back" and more. 24 tracks in all. CD

"Got To Be Real" is one of the most amazing tracks of all time. Not only did it bridge the disco and soul worlds at the time, but through hip hop sampling, it also became an essential old school classic. Still sounds great today, and it's a cut that we can never get enough of. 12-inch, Vinyl record

The cover may look like some indie soul set from the 80s, but Mabu's Madness is a rare east coast funk combo from the start of the 70s – one who issued this killer set on the tiny Maple label with a mighty heavy sound! The album's got a vibe that's a bit like some of the best funk albums on the Stang/All-Platinum label – nicely raw in all the best spots, with some unconventional instrumentation that's not afraid to soar between hard funk and sweeter soul moments – all topped with vocals from Brad "Mabu" Young, who also provides all the heavy drums on the set – which really seem to set the combo on fire! Brad's almost got a slight dose of Hendrix in his vibe, which is echoed by some of the heavy fuzz on the guitar at points – on titles that include "Seize The Time", "Show Me How", "Do The Best You Can", "We'll Make You Proud", "Mind Your Business", and "She Turned Me On". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most obscure albums issued on the Palm Records label of French jazz genius Jef Gilson – a large ensemble session that ties together both spiritual and avant styles of the early 70s, and which really demonstrates the overlooked power of the French scene at the time! The group's led by Chilean pianist Manuel Villarroel which might explain the title reference – and the lineup is filled with a range of excellent and obscure French musicians – including Jean Quarlier, Hugh Levick, Jef Sicard, and Gerard Coppere on reeds – plus Alain Brunet and JF Cannape on trumpets, Alphonse Leboucher and Josef Traindl on trombones, and Keno Speller, Claudio Bertoni, and Ana-Maria Villarroel on percussion. The tunes are as loose and open as the free jazz material recorded by BYG/Actuel a few years before – but also have more inherent structure and soul, and a really great balance between the contributions of the individual members as they space out the sound nicely. Titles include "Bolerito", "Leyendas De Nahuelbuta", and "Quetzalcoatl". CD

One of the most obscure albums issued on the Palm Records label of French jazz genius Jef Gilson – a large ensemble session that ties together both spiritual and avant styles of the early 70s, and which really demonstrates the overlooked power of the French scene at the time! The group's led by Chilean pianist Manuel Villarroel which might explain the title reference – and the lineup is filled with a range of excellent and obscure French musicians – including Jean Quarlier, Hugh Levick, Jef Sicard, and Gerard Coppere on reeds – plus Alain Brunet and JF Cannape on trumpets, Alphonse Leboucher and Josef Traindl on trombones, and Keno Speller, Claudio Bertoni, and Ana-Maria Villarroel on percussion. The tunes are as loose and open as the free jazz material recorded by BYG/Actuel a few years before – but also have more inherent structure and soul, and a really great balance between the contributions of the individual members as they space out the sound nicely. Titles include "Bolerito", "Leyendas De Nahuelbuta", and "Quetzalcoatl". LP, Vinyl record album

A comeback album of sorts for Lonnie Mack, recorded for Elektra with a really down-home sound that's almost verging on southern soul at points! In a way, the set's kind of a nod to the sorts of genres in rock that Mack's music first helped unlock in earlier years – done at a time when it was a bit more acceptable to cross boundaries and reference roots that weren't actually yours in your music! The execution here is surprisingly strong and without hoke – a few notches up from Leon Russell – and Mack's guitar is in fine fine form, supported by a good deal of organ in the backings. Titles include "Gotta Be An Answer", "Untouched By Human Love", "I Found A Love", "Baby What You Want Me To Do", "Mt Healthy Blues", "What Kind Of World Is This", and "Things Have Gone To Pieces". LP, Vinyl record album

A classic bit of indie blues from the Chicago scene – featuring some great players from the second generation after Chess Records stopped picking up the younger local talents! Magic Sam leads the group on vocals and guitar, and he's working here with Mighty Joe Young on guitar, Odie Payne on drums, and Mack Thompson on bass – all to craft a set of rough and ready blues tunes that would have played well on both sides of the tracks at the time. Titles include "That's All I Need", "All Of Your Love", "I Don't Want No Woman", "Mama Mama Talk To Your Daughter", and "Lookin Good", a nice instrumental! CD features a bonus alternate of "I Don't Want No Woman". CD

A classic bit of indie blues from the Chicago scene – featuring some great players from the second generation after Chess Records stopped picking up the younger local talents! Magic Sam leads the group on vocals and guitar, and he's working here with Mighty Joe Young on guitar, Odie Payne on drums, and Mack Thompson on bass – all to craft a set of rough and ready blues tunes that would have played well on both sides of the tracks at the time. Titles include "That's All I Need", "All Of Your Love", "I Don't Want No Woman", "Mama Mama Talk To Your Daughter", and "Lookin Good", a nice instrumental! CD