Soul — Recently Added

A hip assortment of hard-wailing tunes all put together by New York DJ Alan Freed – part of his brief recording career for Coral Records, where he worked with some surprisingly hip artists! Most of the material here was originally issued under the names of Alan Freed Rock N Roll Big Band or ... CD

Incredible work from the obscure African Music Machine – a southern funk combo led by bassist Louis Villery – a legendary batch of funky singles, finally brought together as a full album! The band has a very unique sound that involves a lot of rolling bubbling basslines, spacey organ ... LP, Vinyl record album

A huge hit for both The Emotions and Maurice White – whose Kalimba Productions handled this album in the same hit mode they'd been using for Earth Wind & Fire! There's a polished, soaring bounce her that definitely shows the Earth Wind & Fire touch – and which takes the girls ... LP, Vinyl record album

Killer work by this fab Chicago soul group – a bunch of young kids, ala The Jackson Five, with sweet soul sound that actually predates the work of Jermaine and Michael and Tito, and which paved the way for countless 70s groups to come! The Five Stairsteps were first discovered by Curtis ... CD

It's the mid 70s, but Ann's still very much in classic form – with thanks to arrangements and production by Willie Mitchell and backing by Andrew Love, Wayne Jackson, and James Mitchell – and sultry, soulful vocals from Ann! There's a bit more of a groove-oriented production style here ... CD

One of the greatest Northern Soul albums ever – completely great all the way through, and filled with songs that have been burning up dancefloors for years! The vocals are incredible – soaring harmonies that hold together perfectly, even when the grooves are hard and heavy – and ... CD

A masterpiece of hard and heavy funk – from one of the best bands of the early 70s! The Nite Liters were a legendary funky combo that provided the backing for some of New Birth's best albums – but on their own, they were even funkier, and had a sound that was part JBs, part Meters, and ... CD

An amazing package – one that comes in a tiny replica of the original home of Motown Records in Detroit! As you'd guess from the title, the 11CD set features every single Motown track that ever hit #1 on the charts – almost 200 classic songs, running from the early 60s right up through ... CD

A breakout solo moment from the great Edwin Birdsong – an artist who participated in some of Roy Ayers great albums of the 70s, and who cut some great underground records of his own – but who finally got the chance to step into the limelight on this set for Philadelphia International! ... CD

A killer classic from a time when the Chicago house scene was really taking off – that second generation of underground productions that was tagged with the "acid" term, because of the way they were using older riffs and keyboards to change things up! The Brits got that all wrong, ... CD

A rare later set from 9th Creation – done after their funk classics in the 70s, and with a nicely updated sort of groove! Side one is the "dance side" – and has the group working with more beats and basslines than before, but still finding a great way to keep all their charms ... LP, Vinyl record album

The full spectrum of Chic magic from back in the 70s – all the group's early albums, rare singles and mixes, and even the Sister Sledge album handled by Nile Rodgers too! First up is the group's self-titled album – classic work from Chic, and a great batch of choppy funky dancefloor ... CD

Donna Summer's in the hands of 80s pop superproducers Stock/Aiken/Waterman this time around – and the trio give her music just the kind of catchy, bouncy feel of some of their bigger hits for other artists at the time! The approach is surprisingly strong for Summer, and almost returns her ... CD

A massive album by Lamont Dozier – probably his best ever! Every cut's a winner, and the LP shines with a sharpness and tightness that's missing from some of Lamont's other LPs from the 70s. The songwriting is impeccable – and as the album progresses, you get that eerie "deja ... LP, Vinyl record album

A rare funky soul classic! This one was originally issued on Brunswick in 1974, and it's darn impossible to find in the original, probably because Brunswick was having a great deal of financial trouble at the time. Whatever the case, the record's a great one – and it's got a tight ensemble ... LP, Vinyl record album

One of the few rare albums on the Maple label – a 70s imprint that's known for some incredible funk and soul! Despite the title, the set's a record that sounds a lot more down-home than uptown – thanks to hard-wailing vocals from Gloria Barnes herself, and a nicely rough-edged quality ... CD

Sweet Miami funk from the team of George "Chocolate" Perry and Clay Cropper – one of the rarest TK albums from the time, and also one of the funkiest too! The sound here is slightly polished, but never too much – a bit more in the sound of bigger Florida groups, like Miami, ... CD

An obscure bit of heavy soul – and the only vocal album on the jazz-based Eastbound imprint of Detroit's legendary Westbound Records! Albert's a blues artist, and sings in a soulful electric style that's similar to some of the Stax work of Albert King – but which has a bit more of a ... LP, Vinyl record album

A really great double-length set from James Brown – maybe slightly less iconic than some of his other classics from the early 70s, but a record that really shows the man stretching out and finding his groove! The whole thing is a great example of the new freedoms that Brown was experiencing ... LP, Vinyl record album

Massive grooves from a very unique group! These guys play guitar and percussion all at once – in a flurry of fast grooves that rip away tremendously, but with a style that's still plenty darn earthy! There's definitely a bit of a global influence in the music overall, but the sound comes ... LP, Vinyl record album