A great late-life effort from Bobby Womack – hardly the kind of record he would have recorded back in the day, and a tremendous testament to his undeniably soulful talents! The album was done with production help from Damon Albarn and Richard Russell – and definitely has a contemporary bent in some of the backings – nothing too overly-modern, nor commercial at all – but a freshness that seems to really set Womack's vocals free – in a format that has Bobby sounding better than we've heard in a long, long time! Russell contributes some beats and effects to the set – but these almost always have a nice earthy sort of crispness – one that makes for music that's quite warm overall, and really fits the rootsy feel of Bobby's vocals – an approach that's not unlike some of the final Gil Scott-Heron recordings, with equally successful results. Titles include "Deep River", "Dayglo Reflection", "Stupid", "If There Wasn't Something There", "Love Is Gonna Lift You Up", "Jubilee", and "Please Forgive My Heart". CD

A fantastic set with 44 tracks! CD

The first of Bobby's highly successful Poet albums from the early 80s – wonderfully done albums that showed the world that he was still very much on top of his game at the time! The sound here is great – still with that older Womack rasp and warmth, but also done in a slightly smoother mode that grooves things up with some modern soul touches, yet never loses Bobby's charm! Tunefully, the record is one of his best in years – with some wonderful mellow soul groovers that never fail to delight – all produced with a warm California sound, and featuring some great backing vocals by The Waters and a host of other Womacks. Titles include "So Many Sides Of You", "Lay Your Lovin On Me", "Secrets", "Just My Imagination", "Games", "If You Think You're Lonely Now", and "Where Do We Go From Here". CD

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Tracks include "Woman's Gotta Have It", "That's The Way I Feel About Cha", "Inherit The Wind", "You're Welcome, Stop On By", "It's All Over Now", "I Wish He Didn't Trust Me So Much", "Harry Hippie", "No Matter How High I Get", "Love Has Finally Come At Last", and "I Can Understand It". CD

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The first of Bobby's highly successful Poet albums from the early 80s – wonderfully done albums that showed the world that he was still very much on top of his game at the time! The sound here is great – still with that older Womack rasp and warmth, but also done in a slightly smoother mode that grooves things up with some modern soul touches, yet never loses Bobby's charm! Tunefully, the record is one of his best in years – with some wonderful mellow soul groovers that never fail to delight – all produced with a warm California sound, and featuring some great backing vocals by The Waters and a host of other Womacks. Titles include "So Many Sides Of You", "Lay Your Lovin On Me", "Secrets", "Just My Imagination", "Games", "If You Think You're Lonely Now", and "Where Do We Go From Here". CD

Killer 70s work from Bobby Womack – reinventing himself here in a great style that keeps all the warmth and soulfulness of his Minit recordings, and gives it a healthy dose of 70s soul production – creating a sweet new groove that pushed Womack into a huge new audience at the time! Bobby strikes a perfect balance here – keeping things hip, but also tightening things up too – yet never by getting too smooth or too commercial. The result is a great batch of tracks that includes classics like "I Can Understand It", "Woman's Gotta Have it", and "Harry Hippy" – as well as a nice version of "Sweet Caroline", and Jimmy Lewis' great "Got To Get You Back". CD

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Produced by Chips Moman! Titles include "It Ain't Me", "More Than Love", "I Ain't Got To Love Nobody Else", "Make Love To You", and 'When The Weekend Comes". CD

Two of the hippest soul artists of the late 60s – coming together here for an incredible collection of work! Bobby Womack would explode into huge fame as a star in his own right at the end of the decade – but at the time of these recordings, he was mostly getting play as a songwriter – and the young Wilson Pickett was one of the strongest supporters of his work! The tracks here were all recorded between 1966 and 1968 for Atlantic Records – including many excellent Muscle Shoals recordings – and the style of Womack's writing is a perfect blend with the deep soul vocals of the Wicked Pickett – at a level that almost seems to provide a blueprint for the mode that Bobby would use on his first few length albums. The lyrics are wonderful – full of fantastic feeling, and arguably more mature than some of the contemporary soul from the time – and it's wonderful to hear all the selections together in one place, especially with detailed notes that really frame the whole project. Titles include "It's A Groove", "Let's Get An Understanding", "People Make The World What It Is", "Trust Me", "Remember I Been Good To You", "I've Come A Long Way", "Sit Down & Talk This Over", "Nothing You Can Do", "I'm In Love", "I'm Sorry About That", "I Found A True Love", "We've Got To Have Love", and "Jealous Love" – and the CD also features two great bonus tracks – an early Bobby Womack single from Atlantic in 1967 – with Bobby singing "Find Me Somebody" and "How Does It Feel". CD

Sublime stuff! Sure, it's easy to sit back and say that you don't really dig Ray Charles albums that mix together country music and soul, and that you prefer his hard raw raunchy Atlantic recordings from the earlier days. But let's be honest, Ray really made his biggest splash with this stuff – and although it became extremely popular over the years, it's also part of a huge country soul tradition that's a very accurate representation of the rich crossover culture going on in southern soul, a tradition that for some reason always gets underplayed by folks who want to carve up the world in easy racial lines. Truth is, Ray was not the only soul artist to embrace country, and we can think of a host of others – including Solomon Burke, Ivory Joe Hunter, Joe Simon, Clarence Carter, Brook Benton, and Bobby Womack who all participated in this rich tradition. This set's essential if you're interested in checking out this side of Ray's career – and the price is pretty nice, considering that you get 4CDs, a great book, and 92 songs in all! Work is pulled from Ray's classic ABC sides in the format, plus others from before and after that generation. Titles include "A Born Loser", "I'm Movin On", "Busted", "Crying Time", "Teardrops In My Heart", "Half As Much", "No Letter Today", "Oh Lonesome Me", "Ring Of Fire", "What Am I Living For", "Let Your Love Flow", "Down In The Valley", and "Take These Chains From My Heart". CD

One of our favorite soul singers on the LA scene of the 60s – served up here in a complete run of his legendary singles for the Minit label! Jimmy Holiday never fully got his due back in the day – partly because he was a successful songwriter who was often working behind the scenes – but he's a hell of a singer with a style that's rooted in the south, but given some hipper, more sophisticated touches on the west coast – with almost the same mix of the rough and the smooth you'd find in the best Minit label recordings by the young Bobby Womack! Jimmy's very much his own man, though – a standout talent that really gets his due here in a mindblowing batch of music. The b-sides are every bit as wonderful as the a-sides – and given Holiday's knowledge of a tune from the ground up, he really has a great way of putting over the lyrics. The package features two duets with female singer Clydie King – "Ready Willing & Able" and "We Got A Good Thing Goin" – plus 24 more tracks that include "I'm In Love With You", "Baby I Love You", "Turning Point", "The Beauty Of A Girl In Love", "Spread Your Love", "Everything Is Love", "Yesterday Died", "A Man Ain't Nothin Without A Woman", "I'm Gonna Move To The City", "In The Eyes Of My Girl", "Everybody Needs Help", "Baby Boy's In Love",a nd "I Wanna Help Hurry My Brothers Home". CD

Think you know the sound of Atlantic Records in the 60s? Think again – because this stunning series opens the vault to a huge amount of rare treasures from the legendary label! The package is amazing – and offers up rare tracks that were mostly only issued by Atlantic on singles – including some on the other imprints associated with the company – some by names we never even knew recorded for the label, others by bigger names, but represented here by obscure material that goes way past their hits – and which is ultra cool because of that. There's also a fair bit more deep soul than you might expect from the usual Atlantic mix – tremendous vocals, and often in less hit-heavy modes – which makes the whole thing a great revelation – and just one more reason to bow down and give even more expect to one of the key companies who helped soul music find a home in the 60s. Plus – as if that's not enough – the whole thing comes in a very cool 7" gatefold package – which emphasizes the from-singles nature of the collection. Volume 3 is overflowing with amazing sounds from the heart of the 60s – rare 45rpm tracks by Atlantic stars, Stax artists, and a few lesser-knowns too. Titles include "Hello Stranger" by The Capitols, "Help Me (parts 1 & 2)" by Ray Sharpe, "Long Distance Love" by Ted Taylor, "Lonely Soldier" by Mike Williams, "How Can You Babysit A Man" by Ned Towns, "Keep Looking" by Solomon Bourke, "I'm Sorry" by Fred Lowrey, "Please Uncle Sam" by The Charmels, "Share What You Got" by William Bell, "Reputation" by The Four Shells, "Me & My Baby" by Mary Wells, "Got No One" by The Delcardos, "Weak Spot" by Ruby Johnson, "Good Love Bad Love" by Eddie Floyd, "Bingo" by Ned Towns, "I Had A Dream" by Johnny Taylor, "I Can't Take It" by Ray Sharpe, "You Can't Love Them All" by The Drifters, "Believe It Or Not" by Rex Garvin & The Mighty Cravers, "Patch My Heart" by The Mad Lads, "She's The One I Love" by The Delcardos, "Find Me Somebody" by Bobby Womack, "Hello Stranger" by The Capitols, "So Much Love" by Ben E King, "Help The Bear" by Ted Taylor, and "I Feel A Sin Coming On" by Solomon Burke. CD

A classic compilation gets upgraded in a mighty nice way – as a huge tribute to the many years of soul and funk we've gotten from the Ace/Kent label in London! Back at the start of the 80s, the company was one of the first to properly repress rare American soul, and do it the right way – not only with top-shelf sound quality, but also a strong sense of history that has had us learning as much about 60s and 70s soul from their compilations as we've found ourselves loving the music! The original On The Soul Side album was one of the first Kent titles from the early years – but here, it's expanded to a whopping 26 titles, with great sound and detailed notes – all to present over two dozen tracks that really show the farther reaches of 60s soul beyond Motown and the big chart hits. Titles include "Boy Watcher" by Ginger Thompson, "Baby I Love You" by Jimmy Holiday, "Dr Love" by Bobby Sheen, "Love & Desire" by Patrice Holloway, "A Lot Of Love" by Homer Banks, "It's What's Underneath That Counts" by June Jackson, "Point Of No Return" by Gene McDaniels, "Fortune Teller" by Benny Spellman, "It Was Easier To Hurt Her" by Garnet Mimms, "The Record" by HB Barnum, "Love Is A Hurtin Thing" by Lou Rawls, "Nothing Left To Do But Cry" by Merry Clayton, "The Man Who Don't Believe In Love" by Marv Johnson, "What You Gonna Do" by Bobby Womack, "Nobody Treats You The Way I Do" by The Magnificent Men, "Gonna Fix You Good" by Little Anthony & The Imperials, "It Will Stand" by The Showmen, "What's A Matter Baby" by Timi Yuro, "Ready Willing & Able" by Jimmy Holiday & Clydie King, and "Trick Bag" by Earl King. CD

Deep soul from the glory days of the Memphis scene – not the better-known work recorded at Stax, but material from the smaller American Sound Studio – a new game in town during the late 60s, and a place that forged it's very own legacy in Memphis music! American recorded a variety of styles – a bit like Muscle Shoals – but this collection not only focuses most strongly on the soul music cut at the studios, but also work by "The Memphis Boys" – the superb in-house session group that included top-shelf talents like Reggie Young and Tommy Cogbill on guitar, Bobby Emmons on keyboards, and Chips Moman at the head of the group. The great Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham also did plenty of work for American – on material that was issued on a variety of labels – Atlantic, Cameo, Bell, Sound Stage 7, Smash, and others – all collected here with a deep set of notes that really gets at the special vibe going down at American. Titles include "Burning Fire" by Arthur Conley, "Someone To Take Your Place" by Bobby Marchan, "I Don't Want To Have To Wait" by James & Bobby Purify, "Ain't That True Love" by Oscar Toney Jr, "There's A Heartbreak Somewhere" by Roscoe Shelton, "Comin To Bring You Some Soul" by Sam Baker, "It Ain't Fair" by Ben E King, "Don't Take Your Love" by The Blossoms, "So Much Love" by Dusty Springfield, "Broadway Walk" by Bobby Womack, "Holdin On" by Jerry Lee Lewis, and "On The Other Side" by Lee Jones & The Sounds Of Soul. CD

The final third of Jackie DeShannon's legendary run for Imperial Records in the 60s – a smashing batch of singles that really represent some great musical growth at the time! On these sides, Jackie's even more soulful than before – definitely taking inspiration from the generation of singers who were singing her songs – and from the growing wave of girl vocalists who were working with more soulful styles too – especially those from the Brill Building scene. The result is a great blend of New York uptown and LA sunshine – a superb batch of tunes that really sums up the unique place that Jackie DeShannon had in modern music. Many tunes are originals by Jackie – and the set also features great tunes penned by Jimmy Holiday and Bobby Womack too – titles that include "Changin My Mind", "I Keep Wanting You", "What Is This", "Nicole", "Nobody's Home To Go Home To", "You Keep Me Hangin On/Hurt So Bad", "Brighton Hill", "Christmas", "Keep Me In Mind", "Bird On The Wire", "What Was Your Day Like", "Put A Little Love In Your Heart", "Always Together", and "Do You Know How Christmas Trees Are Grown". CD

One of Aretha Franklin's undisputed classics from her late 60s run on Atlantic Records – a seminal session that furthered her deep soul agenda with key backings from Arif Mardin and Tom Dowd – both of whom handle the mix of rawness and polish that made Aretha so great at the time! The Sweet Inspirations provide sublime backing vocals behind Franklin's maturing delivery of the lyrics – and the music is by an all-star group of players that includes Spooner Oldham, Bobby Womack, Jimmy Johnson, King Curtis, Tommy Cogbill, Roger Hawkins, and even Eric Clapton – clearly the cream of the crop, more than willing to be part of such an amazing set! Cuts include "You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman", "Chain Of Fools", "Money Won't Change You", "Come Back Baby", and "Ain't No Way". CD includes the bonus tracks "Chain of Fools (unedited version)", "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman (mono single version)", "Since You've Never Been Gone (Sweet Sweet Baby) (mono single version)", and "Ain't No Way (mono single version)"! CD

Very cool 2 CD compilation featuring 53 tracks from one of the greatest soul labels of the 60's. There's loads of great stuff here, including some unreleased tracks, and the artists include The Younghearts, The O'Jays, Gene Dozier, Bobby Womack, The Showmen, Irma Thomas, Aaron Neville, Benny Spellman, Eskew Reeder, and Calvin Lee. Also includes a great booklet, and comes in a cool little package! CD

Sweet 70s grooves, and a few key contemporary cuts too – a really wonderful set that's full of overlooked modern soul gems and a great mix of mellow groovers! The package really serves up some of our favorite sounds from the 70s – tracks that are upbeat, yet never uptempo – and find a way of stepping along a midtempo groove that leaves plenty of room for the vocalist to really soar in the lead – hitting these rich, righteous lines that sparkle strongly throughout! The set list is superb, and features even a few surprises to our ears long-trained on modern soul – and tracks include "There I Go" by The Notations, "I Hate Hate" by Razzy, "Pour Your Little Heart Out" by The Drifters, "Daylight" by Bobby Womack, "Got To Find Ms Right" by Buddy Miles, "Tripping Out (Featurecast 2013 re-edit)" by Curtis Mayfield, "What Do You See In Her" by Inell Young, "You Made A Believer Out Of Me" by Betty Lavette, "This Side Of Heaven" by Gavin Christopher, "Spoiled Like A Baby" by Mystique, "If You Really Need A Friend" by Bobby Foster, "Smoothie Pie" by Sky Hi, and "I Don't Know" by Glen Anthony Henry. CD

Features Otis Clay, Bobby Womack, Junior Wells, Luther Allison, Clarence Gatemouth Brown, and others CD

The second volume of funky soundtrack cuts lifted from MGM's Soul Cinema series – featuring some previously unissued gems from the early 70s, combined with a few more familiar classics, making for a great set of soulful action tunes! Lots of fast funky numbers, a few vocal cuts, and even a few nice breaks – and a set of 13 titles that include "Hang On In There" by Bobby Womack & Peace, "Theme From Foxy Brown" by Willie Hutch, "Friday Foster" by Ward Chandler, "Cornbread" by The Blackbyrds, "Five On The Black Hand Side" by Keisa Brown, "Down & Out In New York City" by James Brown, "Blacula Strikes" by Gene Page, "Black Enough" by Melba Moore, and "Coffy Baby" by Roy Ayers. CD

A super huge hit for George Benson – and the record that took him from being a funky jazz guitarist into an R&B superstar – opening up sides of his talent that first emerged on his 50s R&B recordings as Little George Benson, but taken here into some very hip 70s territory! The album features George both playing and singing over arrangements by Claus Ogerman – some of Ogerman's best of the 70s, work that mixes together his trademark pillow of sound with a slightly funky bounce that's perfect for Benson's groove. The result is incredible – and the album is filled with loads of great songs – including George's excellent version of Bobby Womack's "Breezin", the hit version of "This Masquerade", and the cuts "So This Is Love", "Six To Four", and "Affirmation". CD

Bury your love deep, deep down with ?uestlove – a soundtrack compilation of strangely sweet soul misery – and the superior sequel to the Babies Makin' Babies set on BBE! This time ?uestlove programs a number of 70s soul tunes, some relatively rare, which provide the bittersweet sounds of heartbreak. Many of the tracks have the lightly symphonic mellow soul sound that dominated the first Babies Makin' Babies set, with others that put more of a focus on the electric keys, and simmering funk number or two for good measure. A great listen – as both a thematic showpiece and as straightforward soul compilation! Tracks include "Our Love Has Died" by Ohio Players, "Mother And Son Bedroom Talk" by Blackbyrds, "Anti Love Song" by Betty Davis, "If You Don't Love Me" by DJ Rogers, "Cause We Ended As Lovers" by Syreeta, "I'm Sorry" by Delfonics, "I Almost Lost My Mind" by Albert King, "That's The Way I Feel About Cha" by Bobby Womack, "You're Supposed To Keep Your Love For Me" by Jermaine Jackson, "One Look Over My Shoulder" by Average White Band and "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart" by Al Green. CD

Includes 24 tracks from Freddie Jackson, Hi-Five, James Ingram, Kool & The Gang, Barry White, Ashford & Simpson, The O'Jays, Al Green, Evelyn Champagne King, and Bobby Womack. CD

24 tracks from Lionel Richie, Stephanie Mills, Freddie Jackson, Jermaine Jackson, Teddy Pendergrass, The Dramatics, Klymaxx, Rene & Angela, The Dells, Al Green, Peabo Bryson, Bobby Womack, The Isley Brothers, The New Birth, and more. CD

The kind of soul they never should have stopped making – mostly pulled from that wonderful time in the 70s when jazzy grooves, warm vocals, and sophisticated production came together beautifully! The set features 12 tracks that were mainly hits, but still stand as beautiful classics – tunes that sparkle with warmth and mellow soul that really hold up over the years. Titles include "You're Welcome Stop On By" by Bobby Womack, "Let's Get It On" by Marvin Gaye, "I'm Going Down" by Rose Royce, "Lady Love" by Jon Lucien, "Heaven Must Be Like This" by Ohio Players, "Something He Can Feel" by Aretha Franklin, "Cruisin" by Smokey Robinson, "Feel The Fire" by Stephanie Mills, "Sweet Thing" by Rufus & Chaka Khan, and "Playing Your Game Baby" by Barry White. CD

An excellent primer for fans of blacksploitation soundtracks! The set was put together by Ice T as an homage to all the great black action films of the 70s – and it's a good selection of vocal hits from scores that may well be known more for their instrumental funk. And sure, the selection's a bit basic – but it's also a good place to start, and hearing the vocal numbers is kind of a different hook into the films than the usual instrumental riffs. Titles include "Love Doctor" by Millie Jackson, "I Choose You" by Willie Hutch, "Blowin Your Mind" by OC Smith, "Are You Man Enough" by The Four Tops, "Make A Resolution" by The Impressions, "Across 110th Street" by Bobby Womack, "Theme Of Foxy Brown" by Willie Hutch, "Trouble Man" by Marvin Gaye, "Theme From Shaft" by Isaac Hayes, and "Pusherman" by Curtis Mayfield. CD

The influence of Sam Cooke runs deep in American soul music – not just because Sam was one of the first great soul singers of the 60s, but also because he had a really special way of putting over a message of hope and pride! This wonderful collection really shows that influence at its best – spun out over a host of great singles, most of which were issued in the years after Cooke's untimely early death – with music that doesn't just copycat Sam's style, but embraces his inner fire, and relights the torch for a generation to come! Some tracks are covers, some are real reworkings of Cooke tunes, and others almost stand as memorial tributes to the great one – on titles that include "Rome Wasn't Built In A Day" by Johnnie Taylor, "Shake" by Otis Redding, "Cupid" by RB Greaves, "I'm Gonna Forget About You" by Bobby Womack, "Pow You're In Love" by The Falcons, "A Change Is Gonna Come" by Brenton Wood, "The Smile" by The Simms Twins, "Ain't That Good News" by The Supremes, "Soothe Me" by Sam & Dave, "Wonderful World" by Johnny Nash, "The Sound Of My Man" by Theola Kilgore, "Bring It On Home To Me" by Eddie Floyd, and "Meet Me At The Twistin Place" by Johnnie Morisette. CD

The oft-covered Bob Dylan songbook never sounds so soulful – classic interpretations of Dylan's canon from a great, far reaching roster of black artists – from the the ever-stirring Staple Singers, southern soul heroes Howard Tate and OV Wright, charismatic country soul from Brook Benton, great gender role perspective flipped versions by Nina Simone and Patti LaBelle, a funky tamborine take by Con Funk Shun and much more! It's another excellent entry in the Songwriter Series from Ace Records, extra excellent in that it takes an obvious hero of 60s Songwriter – and actually pulls together songs that'll take you by surprise for their depth – whether you treasure Dylan, deep 60s & 70s solo & group R&B, funk, folk soul...or all of the above! Includes "Blowin In The Wind" by OV Wright, "Girl From The North Country" by Howard Tate, "The Man In Me" by The Persuations, "Lay lady Lay" by The Isley Brothers, "Emotionally Yours" by The O'Jays, "All Along The Watchtower" by Bobby Womack, "Maggie's Farm" by Soloman Burke, "Mr. Tamborine Man" by Con Funk Shun and more. 20 tracks in all. CD