This album is probably the best ever by this legendary Baltimore soul group! Includes the massive breakbeat track "World", which starts with great hard drums, then leaps into a nice tight funky soul groove. Other cuts include "I Dig Your Act", "Friends By Day (Lovers By Night)", "My Thing", and "Alibies & Lies". Sweet harmonies, heavy soul, and a very raw production vibe make this an instant classic! LP, Vinyl record album

Omigod! When we saw this, we had to pinch ourselves to stop from dreaming. But then we pinched, and found out that the dream had come true! All of the Whatnauts incredible recordings from the 70's - all on this massive 2CD set that includes all of their 3 albums, some singles material, and 6 unreleased tracks! Fabulous Baltimore soul, produced with that raw New Jersey sound, with tight harmonies, deep grooves, and a sinister funky undertone. We get a million requests for their originals, but we can't even find them. Now the great folks at Sequel have put out this incredible set which we've been playing non-stop round the DGA offices. A real mind-blower, and more proof that this may be the best time in history to be collecting this stuff! CD

A really beautiful album of harmony soul – and a set that we'd already love for its music, even if the group didn't have an interesting story! Edge Of Daybreak are part of a small sub-culture of 70s soul groups – an ensemble who existed behind prison bars, like Power Of Attorney or The Escorts – and like both of those groups, they've got an amazingly strong sound – one that goes way beyond their incarcerated status, and which should have made them (like the other two) worthy of greater attention in the outside world! The material was recorded in 1979, but it's got a fragile early 70s vibe – maybe because that was the last time these guys heard work in the mainstream – and the voices come together with a style that's proud, but quite heartbreaking at times too – a bit like The Whatnauts on their best ballad material. If you dig harmony soul, you'll find plenty to love here – especially if you like early 70s material from Philly and New Jersey – and don't even worry about the behind bars gimmick, because the record has way more to offer than that! Titles include "Let Us", "Eyes Of Love", "I Wanna Dance With You", "Bring Me Down", "Edge Of Daybreak", and "Your Destiny". CD

An insanely fantastic book on one of our favorite record labels of all time – the All Platinum family of labels from the New Jersey scene of the late 60s/early 70s – a precursor to the later Sugar Hill hip hop empire, and home to The Moments, Whatnauts, and countless other great groups! The book is way more than just the story of the label – as it's super-heavy, weighs as much as a stack of records – and features hundreds of pages with full color images, both of rare records and artists who recorded for All-Platinum too – all in support of chapters that approach the label and its related imprints in a range of different ways. The book not only looks at the big stars, but tackles the lesser-known acts too – and traces all the many sub-labels like Stang, Vibration, A1, Turbo, and Astroscope – then looks at the company's relationship to Chess Records too. The book features an illustrated discography of all the related labels after the main content – with color images of labels and covers – and the whole thing is 532 heavy, glossy pages – well worth the price! Book

Sublime harmony soul – and one of THE east coast classics of the early 70s! Skip and group were one of the best vocal groups working on their scene at the time – with a style that's incredibly well crafted, yet also fragile enough to really capture the emotions of the tunes. This first album's a lot less polished than the group's second, and has a rough production style that really makes the whole thing come together nicely – very earnest and honest, as if you were catching these guys serving up the tunes in some out of the way spot. The title cut's a great one, but the whole album's great – filled with obscure tracks that include "I Need Your Love", "Looking Away From My Past", and "We Share Love". Righteous mellow soul – like the best work of the time by the Whatnauts! LP, Vinyl record album

Brilliant early sounds from Jimmy Jam – rare late 70s material that has a very different sound than his slicker 80s work with Terry Lewis! The style here is a wonderful blend of sweet soul and righteous jazzy funk – a lot warmer than Jimmy's later beat-heavy style – and served up with loads of sweet keyboards alongside the soaring harmony vocals! Jimmy himself plays Fender Rhodes, clavinet, and other keys – but what we really love about the record is the vocals – these harmonies that are as fragile as New Jersey soul from the early part of the decade, but often turned towards more complicated cuts that have lots of jazzy riffing in the rhythms! The work's never been issued before, and is one of the greatest discoveries we've heard so far from the Numero Group – that's really saying a lot, given all their other releases. The vibe is almost like the Moments or Whatnauts recording for Black Jazz records – and titles include "I Don't Know Why", "My Love Is Like A Fire", "The Wonder Of It All", "No One Else Can Do It To Me Baby", "Virgin Lady", and "When You're Touching Me". CD

Brilliant early sounds from Jimmy Jam – rare late 70s material that has a very different sound than his slicker 80s work with Terry Lewis! The style here is a wonderful blend of sweet soul and righteous jazzy funk – a lot warmer than Jimmy's later beat-heavy style – and served up with loads of sweet keyboards alongside the soaring harmony vocals! Jimmy himself plays Fender Rhodes, clavinet, and other keys – but what we really love about the record is the vocals – these harmonies that are as fragile as New Jersey soul from the early part of the decade, but often turned towards more complicated cuts that have lots of jazzy riffing in the rhythms! The work's never been issued before, and is one of the greatest discoveries we've heard so far from the Numero Group – that's really saying a lot, given all their other releases. The vibe is almost like the Moments or Whatnauts recording for Black Jazz records – and titles include "I Don't Know Why", "My Love Is Like A Fire", "The Wonder Of It All", "No One Else Can Do It To Me Baby", "Virgin Lady", and "When You're Touching Me". LP, Vinyl record album

Harmony soul heaven – and the only full album from The Montclairs! The group were a sublime vocal group from the 70s – one with a sound to rival The Whatnauts or The Moments, but which also had a bit more of the super-dope touches you'd expect from their look on the cover of the record – a bit like Soul Generation at their best! The sound is sweet, but with an edge – and a young Phil Perry wrote most of the tracks on the record, with a really unique feel that goes beyond simple cliches from the better-known groups of the genre. Oliver Sain produced, and although the record came out on Jewel, it's got much more of a New Jersey feel than other work on the label. Titles include "Dreaming's Out Of Season", "Grand Finale", "Just Can't Get Away", "Prelude to a Heartbreak", "Do I Stand a Chance", and "Unwanted Love". CD features 9 more bonus tracks from singles – including "Make Up For Lost Time", "I Need You More Than Ever", "Hung Up On Your Love", "I'm Calling You", "Dawn Of My Life", "Out My Back Door", and "Ease The Pain". CD

Harmony soul heaven – and the only full album from The Montclairs! The group were a sublime vocal group from the 70s – one with a sound to rival The Whatnauts or The Moments, but which also had a bit more of the super-dope touches you'd expect from their look on the cover of the record – a bit like Soul Generation at their best! The sound is sweet, but with an edge – and a young Phil Perry wrote most of the tracks on the record, with a really unique feel that goes beyond simple cliches from the better-known groups of the genre. Oliver Sain produced, and although the record came out on Jewel, it's got much more of a New Jersey feel than other work on the label. Titles include "Dreaming's Out Of Season", "Grand Finale", "Just Can't Get Away", "Prelude to a Heartbreak", "Do I Stand a Chance", and "Unwanted Love". LP, Vinyl record album

This is the second version of an album that was first pressed under the title Back On Top – repackaged here with a slicker cover during the early 70s, to cash in on the fame that the O'Jays were having at Phily International. Although the group's Philly recordings are always touted as some of their best work, we love this early material produced by George Kerr – with a sound that's very similar to classic New Jersey groups like The Moments and The Whatnauts (and which also features a few songs that were covered by those groups, too). The band have heavenly harmonies that are more fragile than on their tightly-sewn Gamble/Huff work, with some elements of the deeper soul that was on some of their earlier recordings. For some reason, the album links together the tracks with a fake "audience" sound, as if it's a live album – which it really isn't. We can forgive the producers at Bell for that, though – because the tracks are so great! Includes the single "I'll Be Sweeter Tomorrow", plus "I'm So Glad I Found You", "Look Over Your Shoulder", "Going Going Gone", and "I Dig Your Act". LP, Vinyl record album

Outtasite mellow soul from The Ultimates – an obscure east coast group with a really heavenly sound! The bulk of the album is from the group's only album – The Ultimates From The Beginning – recorded in 1969 with a warm and groovy harmony approach, of the sort that many other groups would begin working in during the 70s – but which comes across with a surprisingly professional style here! There's a great quality to the vocals on most tracks – smooth, but with just a few crackles – in a mode that humanizes the tunes nicely, and gives them a feel that reminds us a bit of The Delfonics or The Whatnauts. Titles include "She Went Away", "You're My Lady", "I Just Can't Stand It", and "Girl I've Been Trying To Tell You". CD

Hmmm...we've never heard of the film, but this "soundtrack" is actually a nice Ronco compilation with a lot of groovy 70's soul cuts by both American and UK artists. Titles include "Girls" by The Moments & Whatnauts, "Dance With Me" by The Real Thing, "Living On the Dole" by The Cimarons, "Lonely I" by Lee Vanderbilt, "Darlin Darlin Baby" by The O'Jays, "Don't Leave Me This Way" by Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, and "When Will I See You Again" by the Three Degrees. LP, Vinyl record album

Brilliant early sounds from Jimmy Jam – rare late 70s material that has a very different sound than his slicker 80s work with Terry Lewis! The style here is a wonderful blend of sweet soul and righteous jazzy funk – a lot warmer than Jimmy's later beat-heavy style – and served up with loads of sweet keyboards alongside the soaring harmony vocals! Jimmy himself plays Fender Rhodes, clavinet, and other keys – but what we really love about the record is the vocals – these harmonies that are as fragile as New Jersey soul from the early part of the decade, but often turned towards more complicated cuts that have lots of jazzy riffing in the rhythms! The work's never been issued before, and is one of the greatest discoveries we've heard so far from the Numero Group – that's really saying a lot, given all their other releases. The vibe is almost like the Moments or Whatnauts recording for Black Jazz records – and titles include "I Don't Know Why", "My Love Is Like A Fire", "The Wonder Of It All", "No One Else Can Do It To Me Baby", "Virgin Lady", and "When You're Touching Me". CD

Seminal work from Bloodstone – an album that may be the group's best-remembered effort, and for good reason too! The album sets a whole new standard for harmony soul in the 70s – one that's tighter than some of the east coast groups, yet never too slick or polished – kind of a slow-building style that's filled with warmth, but has some trippier elements on the funky cuts too – a really great mashing of styles that instantly set Bloodstone apart from their contemporaries! At one level, the group seem to channel the fragile sounds of The Moments/Whatnauts – but at another, they pick up the heavier vibe of the Norman Whitfield-produced groups – with lots of bass at the bottom, and some psych soul production. The album includes their monster track "Natural High", which has some killer harmonies, plus other nice ones like "You Know We've Learned", "Peter's Jones", "Ran It In The Ground", and "Tell It To My Face". LP, Vinyl record album

Sublime harmony soul – and one of THE east coast classics of the early 70s! Skip and group were one of the best vocal groups working on their scene at the time – with a style that's incredibly well crafted, yet also fragile enough to really capture the emotions of the tunes. This first album's a lot less polished than the group's second, and has a rough production style that really makes the whole thing come together nicely – very earnest and honest, as if you were catching these guys serving up the tunes in some out of the way spot. The title cut's a great one, but the whole album's great – filled with obscure tracks that include "I Need Your Love", "Looking Away From My Past", and "We Share Love". Righteous mellow soul – like the best work of the time by the Whatnauts! LP, Vinyl record album

Brilliant early sounds from Jimmy Jam – rare late 70s material that has a very different sound than his slicker 80s work with Terry Lewis! The style here is a wonderful blend of sweet soul and righteous jazzy funk – a lot warmer than Jimmy's later beat-heavy style – and served up with loads of sweet keyboards alongside the soaring harmony vocals! Jimmy himself plays Fender Rhodes, clavinet, and other keys – but what we really love about the record is the vocals – these harmonies that are as fragile as New Jersey soul from the early part of the decade, but often turned towards more complicated cuts that have lots of jazzy riffing in the rhythms! The work's never been issued before, and is one of the greatest discoveries we've heard so far from the Numero Group – that's really saying a lot, given all their other releases. The vibe is almost like the Moments or Whatnauts recording for Black Jazz records – and titles include "I Don't Know Why", "My Love Is Like A Fire", "The Wonder Of It All", "No One Else Can Do It To Me Baby", "Virgin Lady", and "When You're Touching Me". LP, Vinyl record album

Although the O'Jays' Philly International recordings are always touted as some of their best work, we love this early material produced by George Kerr – with a sound that's very similar to classic New Jersey groups like The Moments and The Whatnauts (and which also features a few songs that were covered by those groups, too). The band have heavenly harmonies that are more fragile than on their tightly-sewn Gamble/Huff work, with some elements of the deeper soul that was on some of their earlier recordings. Includes the single "I'll Be Sweeter Tomorrow", plus "I'm So Glad I Found You", "Look Over Your Shoulder", "Going Going Gone", and "I Dig Your Act". Also issued later, under the title "The O'Jays". CD

2 great tracks from their Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get LP. "In The Rain" is a haunting harmony cut that sounds like it was lifted from the vaults of The Whatnauts, and "Good Soul Music" is a nice rollicking number with a good groove. 7-inch, Vinyl record

A wonderful set of work by this fantastic east coast harmony group – a short-lived early 70s ensemble who were discovered by the great George Kerr when on a trip to a prison! The Escorts were handled by Kerr with the same flair he brought to other groups like The Whatnauts and The Moments – a wonderful mix of ballads and well-crafted vocal numbers that show the fragile New Jersey style of singing at its best. The set features 20 tracks in all – all the tunes from the group's 2 albums, plus some bonus material, and even an interview snippet! Titles include "I'll Be Sweeter Tomorrow", "Brother", "Corruption", "Disrespect Can Wreck", "Let's Make Love (at Home Sometimes)", and "All We Need (Is Another Chance)", their plea to society to forgive them for their past crimes. Classic New Jersey! CD

The best-ever collection we've ever seen to focus on the work of Linda Jones – one of our favorite female soul singers of the late 60s, but an artist who never fully hit the fame she deserved! Linda's got a hell of a voice – a sense of positive power that really stands out, right from the start – and even on the earliest material here, she's singing in a deep soul style that's stronger than most of her contemporaries – a mode that she'd only inflect with more emotion and sophistication as the 70s approached – where she cut some stunning sides for the Turbo/All-Platinum label! Those great cuts are here, alongside other gems from the Neptune, Cub, Blue Cat, Atco, and Loma labels – in a set that blows away some of the shoddier, cheaper collections of Jones material – especially the early 70s tracks. There's lots of material on here that wasn't on the Atco/Loma collection by Real Gone – only 7 of these 24 tracks are from that time – and titles include "That's When I'll Stop Loving You", "Stay With Me Forever", "Behold", "If Only We Had Met Sooner", "I Do", "Lonely Teardrops", "Your Precious Love", "Not On The Outside", "I Can't Make It Alone", "Can You Blame Me", "I'll Be Sweeter Tomorrow", "Ooh Baby You Move Me", and "I'm So Glad I Found You" – which is a duet with The Whatnauts! CD

Mellow soul heaven – and one of the greatest compilations of this style we've ever heard! This is exactly the kind of laidback, tripped-out soul we totally love – a host of rare ballads and love songs pulled from the 45 underground of the late 60s and early 70s – sometimes by groups who are better known for funky tracks, other times by overlooked harmony groups and solo singers who rival the greatness of east coast artists like The Moments or Whatnauts! Titles include "I Don't Think I'll Ever Love Another" by Darling Dears, "Slippin Around" by Thomas East, "Since You've Been Gone" by Little Janice, "Love" by Black Conspirators, "What Am I Waiting For" by Black Exotics, "Who Do You Think You're Fooling (part 1)" by Symphonic Four, "I'll Find A True Love" by Lee Bonds, "Young Girl" by Jazzie Cazzie & The Eight Sounds, and "Is It Me You Really Love" by Black Velvet. LP, Vinyl record album

Outtasite mellow soul from The Ultimates – an obscure east coast group with a really heavenly sound! The bulk of the album is from the group's only album – The Ultimates From The Beginning – recorded in 1969 with a warm and groovy harmony approach, of the sort that many other groups would begin working in during the 70s – but which comes across with a surprisingly professional style here! There's a great quality to the vocals on most tracks – smooth, but with just a few crackles – in a mode that humanizes the tunes nicely, and gives them a feel that reminds us a bit of The Delfonics or The Whatnauts. Titles include "She Went Away", "You're My Lady", "I Just Can't Stand It", and "Girl I've Been Trying To Tell You". LP, Vinyl record album