Excellent work from this smooth Chicago vocal group! The album may well be the best the group ever recorded – and it features some stellar ballad work produced with a nice spacey tone, almost in a Rose Royce mellow mode – by Jerry Butler's Fountain Productions team and by Clarence Johnson, who brought the group up from the beginning! The real strength of the album, though, is the group's vocals – wonderfully harmonious, but with a rougher edge and a deeper soul than many other 70s groups of the same type. The album includes the massive semi-hit "Guess Who's Back In Town" – plus other good ballads like "How Do You Think You're Gonna Find Love", "Let's Work It Out", and "Distant Melody". The album also features some uptempo numbers – and other tracks include "Run & Tell That", "Dance A Thon", and "No Limit". LP, Vinyl record album

The classic first LP by this stellar Chicago harmony group – and a monster! Heaven & Earth had a wonderful falsetto harmony sound that reminds us a lot of east coast winners like Blue Magic or The Stylistics – and like some of the best east coast groups, this group's vocals work equally well on slow ballads or faster uptempo numbers, both of which are handled extremely well on the record by producer Clarence Johnson. The bulk of the arrangements on the record were done by Tom Tom 84 – one of Chicago's true soul geniuses, and in perfect form on this record. The whole thing's amazingly well put together for an indie soul group album – and is a sure indication of the group's later fame on Mercury. Titles include "Nature's Miracle", "The Message", "I'll Always Love You", "Let Me Back In", and "I Can't Seem To Forget You". LP, Vinyl record album

The classic first LP by this stellar Chicago harmony group – and a monster! Heaven & Earth had a wonderful falsetto harmony sound that reminds us a lot of east coast winners like Blue Magic or The Stylistics – and like some of the best east coast groups, this group's vocals work equally well on slow ballads or faster uptempo numbers, both of which are handled extremely well on the record by producer Clarence Johnson. The bulk of the arrangements on the record were done by Tom Tom 84 – one of Chicago's true soul geniuses, and in perfect form on this record. The whole thing's amazingly well put together for an indie soul group album – and is a sure indication of the group's later fame on Mercury. Titles include "Nature's Miracle", "The Message", "I'll Always Love You", "Let Me Back In", and "I Can't Seem To Forget You". CD features the bonus track "Promises". CD

The classic first LP by this stellar Chicago harmony group – and a monster! Heaven & Earth had a wonderful falsetto harmony sound that reminds us a lot of east coast winners like Blue Magic or The Stylistics – and like some of the best east coast groups, this group's vocals work equally well on slow ballads or faster uptempo numbers, both of which are handled extremely well on the record by producer Clarence Johnson. The bulk of the arrangements on the record were done by Tom Tom 84 – one of Chicago's true soul geniuses, and in perfect form on this record. The whole thing's amazingly well put together for an indie soul group album – and is a sure indication of the group's later fame on Mercury. Titles include "Nature's Miracle", "The Message", "I'll Always Love You", "Let Me Back In", and "I Can't Seem To Forget You". CD

A crowning moment from the Chicago scene of the late 70s – the second Mercury album from Heaven & Earth, and a stunner all the way through! The set's an undisputed groover right from the start – thanks to the massive arrangements from the great Floyd Morris – an artist who did some excellent work in the Chicago indie soul scene in the 60s, including some classic funky 45s – and whose work here definitely gives Heaven & Earth a sharper edge than most other acts of their type at the time! You can definitely hear Floyd's touch in the funky bottom of the two-part classic "I Feel A Groove Under My Feet", and in the riffing guitar of "Poetry In A Box" – and the group also show their warmer, mellower side nicely on cuts like "Let's Get It Together", "I'm In Love With Your Lady", "I Only Have Eyes For You", and "Whole Lot Of Love" – nice warm numbers with great harmonies and gentle stepping grooves! CD

Excellent work from this smooth Chicago vocal group! The album may well be the best the group ever recorded – and it features some stellar ballad work produced with a nice spacey tone, almost in a Rose Royce mellow mode – by Jerry Butler's Fountain Productions team and by Clarence Johnson, who brought the group up from the beginning! The real strength of the album, though, is the group's vocals – wonderfully harmonious, but with a rougher edge and a deeper soul than many other 70s groups of the same type. The album includes the massive semi-hit "Guess Who's Back In Town" – plus other good ballads like "How Do You Think You're Gonna Find Love", "Let's Work It Out", and "Distant Melody". The album also features some uptempo numbers – and other tracks include "Run & Tell That", "Dance A Thon", and "No Limit". CD

A beautiful early 70s psych folk set from the angelic vocal and songwriting duo of Pat Gefell and Jo D Andrews – their Refuge album for Ovation in 1973 – highlighted by their gorgeous vocals, but committed with lovely, lightly soaring arrangements! Save for a solid cover of the Elton John/Bernie Taupin penned "Sixty Years On", Gefell and Andrews wrote the songs here, and it's remarkably strong stuff! The duo vocals and harmonies are especially sweet. The Chicago-based production wisely leaves ample space in the arrangements for them to sort of loosely, emotively embellish with their voices – with string arrangements by co-producer George Andrews and an impressive roster of session players including bassist Phil Upchurch, drummer Don Simmons and percussionist Bobby Christian. Includes "Jenny", "Voice In The Wind", "To A Flame", "Tomorrow Is A Long Time", "Refuge", "Song For Craig", "A Light Is Shining", "Feel The Spirit" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Leroy Hutson arranged, produced, and wrote this tracks, an excellent harmony side by this stellar soul group from Chicago, with a catchy hooks and a sense of harmony that will make you think you're on the east coast. 7-inch, Vinyl record

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Heavenly soul – and the second album by this fantastic Chicago soul harmony group! The record has stellar production by Leroy Hutson and Rich Tufo, and Hutson wrote a lot of the tracks. One of the best records ever to come out of the Curtom studios, and (dare we say it!) even better than the group's first one. In a market that was dominated by east coast falsetto groups, the Natural Four emerged with kind of a super-dope style that was part Curtom righteousness, part Brunswick vocal harmony, and righteous 70s soul songwriting. And as proof of this style, the album's got loads of great tracks like "While You're Away", "Count on Me", "Heaven Right Here On Earth", and "Love's So Wonderful". LP, Vinyl record album

Leroy Hutson arranged, produced, and wrote both tracks – and they're both excellent harmony sides by this stellar soul group from Chicago! "Heaven Right Here On Earth" is one of the group's trademark tunes – a beautifully slow track that starts with some electric sitar, then slides into a floating harmony vocal that's perfect all the way through! "While You're Away" is a bit mellower, but in a way that brings the harmonies even more to the forefront. The cut's got a great hook, and is produced to perfection with a stone cold sound! 7-inch, Vinyl record

Truly tremendous work from saxophonist Kamasi Washington – a set that may well even blow away his groundbreaking Epic album – given the scope of soul and spirit in the music! As with the previous project, this one's double-length, but maybe feels even more fitted to the mode – as Washington leads this incredible ensemble that unifies a jazz group, orchestra, and choir – all at a level that might even top some of Alice Coltrane's early 70s albums for Impulse! There's a richness in vision here right from the start – music that knows what it is, where it's going, and what it can accomplish – very personal, but also very welcoming too – just the right sort of spirit to help get the nation back on track! Washington blows tenor throughout – and gets great help from Cameron Graves on piano, Brandon Coleman on organ and keyboards, and Miles Mosley on bass – whose work alone really seems to drive the proceedings! Titles include "Can You Hear Him", "Fists Of Fury", "Will You Sing", "Journey", "Street Fighter Mas", "The Space Travelers Lullaby", "The Psalmnist", "One Of One", and "The Invincible Youth". Comes with a bonus CD called The Choice – with the Kamasi-composed "The Secret Of Jinsonson", "Agents Of Multiverse" and "My Family", plus covers of "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" and "Ooh Child" – it's another 38 minutes of music hidden in the center of the cover! CD

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The first three albums by Undisputed Truth – finally on CD, with bonus tracks too! First up is the amazing debut of Undisputed Truth – one of the coolest new Motown groups of the 70s – and one of the few that really continued the experimental legacy of the label in the late 60s! As with the Temptations during their psychedelic years, Undisputed Truth are handled by superproducer Norman Whitfield – who does a fantastic job of mixing deeper ideas and righteous themes with some of the soaring soul that was the Motown stock in trade – a wonderful blend that made these guys one of the best groups poised to push the label into the new decade! Titles include the huge hit "Smiling Faces Sometimes", plus lots of covers of cool tracks like "California Soul", "Like A Rolling Stone", "Ball Of Confusion", and "You Got The Love I Need". Law Of The Land is an unstoppable groove from The Undisputed Truth – a group who worked with Norman Whitfield in the same psychedelic soul territory as The Temptations – and who arguably got the sound across even better than them! This set's not as much of a bit hit as the group's other records from the time – but that makes it sound even fresher and more fierce – loads of those hard-rolling basslines you'd expect from Whitfield's production – and some soaring arrangements from Paul Riser and David Van DePitte, both of whom give the album a sense of majesty to match its inherent righteousness. Titles include "Law of The Land" and "Mama I Got A Brand New Thing" – plus covers of Temps tunes "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" and "Just My Imagination" – and other covers that include "Love & Happiness", "If I Die", "Feelin' Alright", and "Killing Me Softly", done in the full soul mode of the group. Down To Earth features Undisputed Truth at the height of their powers – still working in the psychedelic soul style they forged with Norman Whitfield at the end of the 60s – but with a groove that's tighter and sharper than ever before! We might well call the record the funkiest the group ever cut – as Whitfield's production really brings the rhythms into strong focus, while still letting the righteous message in the lyrics shine through in the group's strong sense of interplay – that back/forth between male and female vocals that really helps the group create a sense of social conversation. Titles include the Whitfield originals "Help Yourself", "Big John Is My Name", "Save My Love For A Rainy Day", and "Law Of The Land" – but the best tracks might be their covers, like "Love & Happiness" and "Our Day Will Come", both totally remade here into great new versions! CD features 6 more bonus tracks – including "Let's Go Back To Day One" and "Gonna Keep On Tryin Till I Win Your Love" – plus single edits of "What's Going On", "What It Is", "You Make Your Own Heaven & Hell", and "Law Of The Land". CD

A trio of classics from this groundbreaking group! First up is Living With The Animals – fantastic early work from Mother Earth – one of those special late 60s groups who emerged out of the rock, folk, and blues scenes – but who somehow managed to make a very special sound of their own! Part of the group's strength is the lovely Tracey Nelson – a singer who could have been a soul artist if she wanted – but who works here with a looser approach to generic conventions as she moves through a number of different modes – sometimes stepping aside for the group's lead singer, R Powell St John Jr, who also plays a bit of harmonica. Instrumentation is given some stronger currents from a combo that features Mike Bloomfield on guitar, Barry Goldberg on organ, and Luis Gasca on trumpet – and titles include "Marvel Group", "Mother Earth", "It Won't Be Long", "Down So Low", "The Kingdom Of Heaven", and "My Love Will Never Die". Make A Joyful Noise is an album that has slightly fuller backings than their debut, but in a way that only seems to bring out more of the soulful currents of their sound! The mix of rural inspiration and tighter presentation is a great illustration of the changing North Cali style of the period – and no surprise, a young Boz Scaggs is in the group, providing rhythm guitar next to the vocals of Tracy Nelson and R Powell St John. A few country legends provide extra support on fiddle, dobro, and steel – balanced nicely by a strong horn section too – on titles that include "Stop The Train", "Soul Of The Man", "Blues For The Road", "Come On & See", "I The Fly", "Wait Wait Wait", "I Wanna Be Your Mama Again", and "Then I'll Be Moving On". Last up is Satisfied – countrified rock from Tracy Nelson and Mother Earth – done in a warm and sincere style that goes way beyond any of the cliches of the genre! There's something about the way the group put together the tunes that really makes us like this one – an honesty that's not bogged down in any hippy dippy expectations, and which never tries to be anything other that what it is. And yes, that's not much of a good description of the set – but it's also our way of identifying the uniqueness that set Mother Earth apart from a lot of their contemporaries. Titles include "Satisfied", "Groovy Way", "Andy's Song", "Ruler Of My Heart", "This Feeling", and "You Won't Be Passing Here No More". CD

Heaven might be a blast, but The Wilson McKinley are having a plenty good time on earth, too – really honing their craft for this obscure album of spirit-filled rock from the Seattle scene! The album's got the same gentle message of faith as the group's previous records, but also has the group picking up a bit more bite on their guitars, too – solos that are maybe a bit more prominent in the mix, and played with surprising intensity for a combo who also dedicated some of their time to street level ministry in the city. Vocals often have a nice sense of harmony – almost Grateful Dead-like at times – and titles include "Never Cry No More", "A Warm Summer Day", "Standin At The Crossroads", "I'm Only Smilin", and "Words To Tell You". LP, Vinyl record album

Incredible work from the amazing Dorothy Ashby – a brilliant set of funky and spiritual tunes, set to full backings from Chicago soul arranger Richard Evans! This album is easily one of Ashby's greatest, and it's dedicated to the writings of Omar Khayyam – one of the forces guiding Dorothy's more spiritual sound at the end of the 60s, clearly opened up in a way that's not unlike the direction of Alice Coltrane's work, but a lot more focused and a lot more funky! Ashby not only plays her usual jazz harp, but also koto as well, and even sings a bit too – and the larger group directed by Evans features work by Stu Katz on vibes and kalimba, Lenny Druss on flutes, and Cash McCall on guitar – all in a groove that's really a precursor to the Earth Wind & Fire generation of the Chicago scene! Titles include the amazing break "The Moving Finger" – worth the price of the album alone – plus "Dust", "Joyful Grass & Grape", "Heaven & Hell", "Wax & Wane", "Shadow Shapes", "For Some When Young", "Myself When Young", and "Drink". CD

Incredible work from the amazing Dorothy Ashby – a brilliant set of funky and spiritual tunes, set to full backings from Chicago soul arranger Richard Evans! This album is easily one of Ashby's greatest, and it's dedicated to the writings of Omar Khayyam – one of the forces guiding Dorothy's more spiritual sound at the end of the 60s, clearly opened up in a way that's not unlike the direction of Alice Coltrane's work, but a lot more focused and a lot more funky! Ashby not only plays her usual jazz harp, but also koto as well, and even sings a bit too – and the larger group directed by Evans features work by Stu Katz on vibes and kalimba, Lenny Druss on flutes, and Cash McCall on guitar – all in a groove that's really a precursor to the Earth Wind & Fire generation of the Chicago scene! Titles include the amazing break "The Moving Finger" – worth the price of the album alone – plus "Dust", "Joyful Grass & Grape", "Heaven & Hell", "Wax & Wane", "Shadow Shapes", "For Some When Young", "Myself When Young", and "Drink". LP, Vinyl record album

A stunning batch of tracks from a very unusual LA group of the early 70s – a funk combo at the core, but one that was also equally comfortable with bits of psych and redneck rock as well! The music here was all recorded within a short span of years, and mostly issued on the small Alpha label as a handful of funky 45s – but the style is surprisingly spacious, and shows a strong sense of musicianship from the members of the group – so much so that they seem equally comfortable and right on top of their game, no matter what direction they choose to take! And don't think that this multi-style description means that these guys are too all over the map, because there's a really unified sense of soul that holds the whole thing together – so that when they get a bit rootsy, the result is country soul – or when they get a bit trippy, they hit some Funkadelic-styled sounds. The collection includes great notes on the setting that produced these tracks – penned by Egon, who put the set together with help from Malcolm Catto, DJ Shadow, and others. Titles include "Don't Let Him Take Away Your Mind", "Strange Things", "Heaven & Earth", "Take Time", "We Got Love", "Waterloo At Watergate", "Why Don't You Trust In Me", "Cruising Central Ave", "The Dead Don't Die Alive", and "You're My Precious Someone". LP, Vinyl record album

A brilliant setting for the spiritual reed talents of the legendary Idris Ackamoor – set here amidst more meditative sounds from Carlos Nino, who uses percussion and other instrumentation to create a magical landscape of sounds – while guitarist Nate Mercereau also joins in the mix, and also directs the overall sound of the set from the recording studio too! The sharper reed lines of Idris are a wonderful contrast to the more organic elements in the music at times – and really gives the feel of a jazz performance to the record, which might be more of a soundscape effort without his mighty presence. Titles include "Lightning Progression"," Time On Earth", "Group Effervescence", "We Love You So Much", and "Heaven Cruise Heaven Humming 2". LP, Vinyl record album

2 Ohio Players classics – back to back on one CD! Skin Tight is the band's first album for Mercury – and although one might have the temptation to say that the label cut down the radical funk sound of the trippy Westbound years, the move also taught the band to sharpen up their act, and get out of the repetitive sloppy groove into which they'd been lapsing during the past few years. The record's a lot smoother than earlier work – with a polished funky sound that would soon push the band right up there with Earth Wind & Fire at the top of the soul charts. And although there's familiar funky numbers like "Skin Tight", "Jive Turkey", and "Streakin Cheek To Cheek" – the best moment on the entire album is the wonderful spacey soul number "Heaven Must be Like This", a seven minute mellow groover that's got a sophisticated jazzy soul style, with voices and piano soaring into the heavens, in a way that always still sends chills down our spine! That cut shows the band's tremendous growth – and it's one of their best-ever! Fire is one of the biggest albums ever for Ohio Players – a set that took their earlier funk sound and targeted firmly at the mainstream with a lean, mean groove that a million other groups copied at the time! There's still plenty of the soul of the early years in the group's approach here – and sometimes, the mellower tracks show a wonderful talent for harmonies coming even more fully to the top. But the real appeal of the record has always been the bold, bassy grooves that hit strongly just as ensemble funk was exploding in the mainstream during the early years of disco – making plenty of space for the Players and their contemporaries to grab up new audiences who never would have touched a record like this five years before! There's plenty of grit in the grooves on the best numbers – a style that's maybe not as dirty as on Westbound, but still more than enough to make any real funk fan proud. Titles include "Fire", "Together", "Together/Feelings", "It's All Over", "Runnin' From the Devil", "Smoke", "What The Hell", and "I Want To Be Free". CD

Eight Atlantic albums, and The Spinners are still going strong – sounding really wonderful here, thanks to Philly backings from the great Thom Bell! The album's not filled with hits, but that's a big part of its charm – as the group still sounds great, with smoother than smooth vocals – and the tunes move nicely between the soaring style the group discovered in Philly, and some of the mellower moments we've grown to like even more in their work over the years. Most players are Sigma Sound regulars, and titles include "I'm Tired Of Giving", "You Got The Love That I Need", "Painted Magic", "Easy Come Easy Go", "Love Is One Step Away", "Back In The Arms Of Love", and "Heaven On Earth". LP, Vinyl record album

Seminal work from this legendary duo – singers Martha Wash and Izora Armstead – better known by their later name as The Weather Girls, but already pretty darn great here as Two Tons! The pair first famously sang backup for Sylvester in the Bay Area, but quickly stepped out on their own, due to their vocal strengths – already full formed here, and given some mighty sharp studio help from supersoul producer Harvey Fuqua! Fuqua was really hitting his clubby style at this time, which really lets the girls' vocals soar – in a way that's similar to their later Weather Girls work, but maybe a bit more tied here to the Bay Area soulful style of the Fantasy Records scene. Titles include "Gone Away", "Earth Can Be Just Like Heaven", "Do You Wanna Boogie", "Just Us", "Got The Feeling", "Taking Away Your Space", and "One-Sided Love Affair". LP, Vinyl record album

A totally wonderful album from one of the hippest groups on Motown at the start of the 70s – the mighty Undisputed Truth, a group who really took up the psychedelic soul style of The Temptations, and gave it a real run for its money! The record was produced by Temptations maestro Norman Whitfield – and is a perfect example of the rumbling funky soul sound that he was developing at the time – a mixture of heavy bass, rumbling percussion, fuzzy guitars, and a stone righteous sound that pushed soul music firmly into the 70s! The songs are mostly all originals written by him and Barrett Strong – and the band is filled with great players like Dennis Coffey, Earl Van Dyke, Johnny Griffith, and the great Melvin "Wah Wah" Ragin. Titles include "Ungena Za Ulimwengu (Unite The World) Friendship Train", "What It Is?", "Don't Let Him Take Your Love From Me", "What's Going On", and "You Make Your Own Heaven & Hell Right Here On Earth". CD

A totally wonderful album from one of the hippest groups on Motown at the start of the 70s – the mighty Undisputed Truth, a group who really took up the psychedelic soul style of The Temptations, and gave it a real run for its money! The record was produced by Temptations maestro Norman Whitfield – and is a perfect example of the rumbling funky soul sound that he was developing at the time – a mixture of heavy bass, rumbling percussion, fuzzy guitars, and a stone righteous sound that pushed soul music firmly into the 70s! The songs are mostly all originals written by him and Barrett Strong – and the band is filled with great players like Dennis Coffey, Earl Van Dyke, Johnny Griffith, and the great Melvin "Wah Wah" Ragin. Titles include "Ungena Za Ulimwengu (Unite The World) Friendship Train", "What It Is?", "Don't Let Him Take Your Love From Me", "What's Going On", and "You Make Your Own Heaven & Hell Right Here On Earth". LP, Vinyl record album

A killer blend of soul and funk from Pockets – a group with a very jazzy pedigree in their roots, but who stretch forth here with some great studio help from the Kalimba Productions team of the Earth Wind & Fire empire! The groove is very much in the best 70s EWF mode – tight, but never uptight – impeccably played throughout, but with a looseness that also really hearkens back to the small club origins of the group. Lead singer Larry Jacobs really makes the tunes cook – with a style that's deft enough to match the instrumentation, yet still strong enough to soar soulfully on its own. The blend is sublime throughout – and titles include "Tell Me Why", "Take It On Up", "Heaven Only Knows", "Got To Find My Way", "Sphinx", "In Your Eyes", "Happy For Love", and "You And Only You". LP, Vinyl record album

Esperanza Spaulding looks more striking than ever on this album cover, but not as striking as the music inside – co-produced by Spaulding with Tony Visconti – the longtime David Bowie collaborator who really brings a sharp sort of focus to the set! Although Esperanza began as a jazz bassist who also happened to sing, by the point of this album she's a fully-formed soul star in her own right – bold, powerful, and progressive – with a vision that's even more moving, almost with a future soul or cosmic crackle at points, instead of some of the warmer, gentler modes from previous recordings. The album's a stunner, and shows that Esperanza Spaulding will be surprising us plenty in years to come – as you'll hear on tracks that include "Earth To Heaven", "Rest In Pleasure", "Elevate Or Operate", "Unconditional Love", "Funk The Fear", "I Want It Now", and "Ebony & Ivy". Deluxe edition features the bonus track "Change Us", plus an extended version of "Unconditional Love", an expanded booklet, and poster too! CD

Includes the songs "That's What Girls Are Made For", "I'll Always Love You", "It's A Shame", "(Oh Lord) I Wish I Could Sleep", "How Could I Let You Get Away", "I'll Be Around", "Could It Be I'm Falling In Love", "One Of A Kind (Love Affair)", "Don't Let The Green Grass Fool You", "Ghetto Child", "Mighty Love", "I'm Coming Home", "He'll Never Love You Like I Do", "Love Don't Love Nobody", "Then Came You", "Living A Little, Laughing A Little", "Sadie", "Games People Play", "I Don't Want To Lose You", "Honest I Do", "Love Or Leave", "Sweet Love Of Mine", "How Could I Let You Get Away", "Wake Up Susan", "The Rubberband Man", "Me And My Music", "You're Throwing A Good Love Away", "Heaven On Earth (So Fine)", "Working My Way Back To You/Forgive Me, Girl", and "Funny How Time Slips Away". CD

Great 80s grooves with some 70s moments thrown in as well – a double-length collection that features a host of overlooked gems from the past! The "giants" here aren't overplayed disco hits or classics that have been compiled too much – and instead, the set continues the great approach of previous volumes by really digging deep to find the kind of snapping, uptempo cuts that were perfect for the underground clubs in the years between disco and house! Titles include "You & I" by Ronnie Jones, "Good Lovin" by Al Mason, "You Fooled Me" by Grey & Hanks, "Gotta Take Your Love" by Game, "You & Me" by Ronnie Dyson, "You're A Blessing" by Heaven & Earth, "Wanna Make It Good" by Tyrone Davis, "Baby Not Tonight" by Madagascar, "California Flight" by California Flight Project, "Never Gonna Let You Go (special disco version)" by Shazar, "Holding On" by The Givens Family, "This Is Where The Love Is (extended)" by Zinc, "Love Me Today (12" version)" by First Love, "Space Lady" by Bill, and "Good Girl" by Bonnie Byrd. CD

Incredible work from the amazing Dorothy Ashby – a brilliant set of funky and spiritual tunes, set to full backings from Chicago soul arranger Richard Evans! This album is easily one of Ashby's greatest, and it's dedicated to the writings of Omar Khayyam – one of the forces guiding Dorothy's more spiritual sound at the end of the 60s, clearly opened up in a way that's not unlike the direction of Alice Coltrane's work, but a lot more focused and a lot more funky! Ashby not only plays her usual jazz harp, but also koto as well, and even sings a bit too – and the larger group directed by Evans features work by Stu Katz on vibes and kalimba, Lenny Druss on flutes, and Cash McCall on guitar – all in a groove that's really a precursor to the Earth Wind & Fire generation of the Chicago scene! Titles include the amazing break "The Moving Finger" – worth the price of the album alone – plus "Dust", "Joyful Grass & Grape", "Heaven & Hell", "Wax & Wane", "Shadow Shapes", "For Some When Young", "Myself When Young", and "Drink". LP, Vinyl record album

A stunning batch of tracks from a very unusual LA group of the early 70s – a funk combo at the core, but one that was also equally comfortable with bits of psych and redneck rock as well! The music here was all recorded within a short span of years, and mostly issued on the small Alpha label as a handful of funky 45s – but the style is surprisingly spacious, and shows a strong sense of musicianship from the members of the group – so much so that they seem equally comfortable and right on top of their game, no matter what direction they choose to take! And don't think that this multi-style description means that these guys are too all over the map, because there's a really unified sense of soul that holds the whole thing together – so that when they get a bit rootsy, the result is country soul – or when they get a bit trippy, they hit some Funkadelic-styled sounds. The collection includes great notes on the setting that produced these tracks – penned by Egon, who put the set together with help from Malcolm Catto, DJ Shadow, and others. Titles include "Don't Let Him Take Away Your Mind", "Strange Things", "Heaven & Earth", "Take Time", "We Got Love", "Waterloo At Watergate", "Why Don't You Trust In Me", "Cruising Central Ave", "The Dead Don't Die Alive", and "You're My Precious Someone". CD

Massive music in a wonderful package – three funky classics from The Gap Band! First up is the group's self-titled album from 1979 – the start of the legendary second chapter for the Gap Band – the point when the group had reemerged as the tight funky trio of the Wilson Brothers, with a groove that would really set them up nicely for the 80s! This first album in the new format has a wonderfully tight feel – still plenty of sharp edges that echo their earlier groove, but a leaner quality too – one that's got the bass and drums snapping together wonderfully, really setting the tone for the heaviest grooves. There's also a few mellower cuts too – which really sound great, and give the record the same sort of balance you might hear on work by Heaven & Earth at the time. War's Lonnie Simmons produced – and held the cash bag all the way to the bank! Titles include "I'm In Love", "Got To Get Away", "Messin With My Mind", "Shake", "Baby Baba Boogie", "Open Your Mind Wide", and "I Can Sing". Gap Band II features mean, lean grooves from The Gap Band – a legendary batch of mainstream funk from the end of the 70s – and a record that really has the trio working at the top of their game! There's a wonderful balance here between funky numbers and mellow ones – the latter of which really help pace the record nicely, giving it a depth that takes the group way beyond the cliches of some of their contemporaries, and firmly establishing the Gap Band as one to watch for the 80s! Titles include the massive "I Don't Believe You Want To Get Up & Dance" – with its classic "Oops Upside Your Head" refrain – plus "Who Do You Call", "No Hiding Place", "Steppin Out", "You Are My High", and "Party Lights". Gap Band III is sagreat one from the Gap Band – funky gems and sinister groovers – the best of both worlds for the group! Tunes like "Burn Rubber On Me (When You Want To Hurt Me)" and "Humpin" packed 80s dance floors for good reason, and put the band in steady rotation, while numbers like "Yearning For Your Love" showed the band could drop the tempo, stretch out a bit, and deliver the mighty mellow. This one's certainly at the top of the heap of 80s groovers, as far as we're concerned – a record that really took the Gap Band over the top! Other tracks include "Nothin' Comes To The Sleepers", "Are You Living", "The Way", "Gash Gash Gash" and more. CD

Beautiful sounds from Hypnotic Brass Ensemble – a group who've matured tremendously in the time that they've been giving us music – and who almost seem ready here to take on the legacy of their musical father – the late Kelan Phil Cohran! There's a complexity to the horn work here that's even deeper than before – amazing tones and textures from trumpets, trombones, euphonium, and sousaphone – all balanced with these sonic currents on guitar, bass, and electronics – instruments used in subtle ways, but to strongly shape the brass elements with maybe more spiritual overtones than in previous years – almost as if the group is growing, and getting even more serious about their message – with echoes that stretch back to the work of Cohran, and maybe Sun Ra's Arkestra, the world of Strata East, and even the tonal colors of Oliver Nelson at his best. Titles include "Heaven & Earth", "Midnight", "Now", "Morning Prayer", "Purple Afternoon", "Lead The Way", "Synapsis", "Royalty", "Solstice", and "Sri Neroti". LP, Vinyl record album

A bold statement from the legendary David S Ware Quartet of the early 90s – one of the most powerful forces on the American scene of the time! Ware's own blowing on tenor sax is tremendous enough – a key inheritor of the energy of John Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders – but when backed by pianist Matthew Shipp, bassist William Parker, and drummer Whit Dickey, his sound is at its fullest – propelled forth on waves of sound and spirit, ever-searching, but never losing itself in the heavens! Tracks are long and freely creative – and titles include "Inverse Alchemy", "Cocoana", "Earthquation", and "Ideational Blue" – as well as 2 beautiful extrapolations on "Tenderly"! CD

Late work from RL Burnside – done in that raw, raspy style that really helped set fire to the second half of his career! The production and instrumentation show a bit of the attention that Burnside was getting from the indie rock world – but at the core of the record, the vocals and songwriting are rock-solid – and stand as a nicely earthy, almost timeless counterpart to some of the fuzzier guitar in the mix. There's a few great moments where RL speaks a bit at the start of tunes, which really grounds the proceedings – and titles include "RL's Story", "Hard Time Killing Floor", "Got Messed Up", "Nothin Man", "Too Many Ups", and "See What My Buddy Done". CD

Amazing box set – five full albums of material, plus lots of bonus tracks too! First up is Flowers – a soaring classic from The Emotions – thanks to some supreme help from the Earth Wind & Fire side of the soul spectrum! This set has the trio really sounding great – with Kalimba Productions by Maurice White and Charles Stepney – and a good deal of EWF help on the instrumentation as well! The girls break out of the rootsier style used on their earlier Stax recordings, and manage to fit perfectly with the jazzy tinges of the new grooves – and, along with Ramsey Lewis and EWF, the Emotions were part of a hugely successful trinity during the late 70s – one that took the indie soul roots of the Chicago scene and turned it into landmark big business for Columbia Records. The album's got a new approach to female group soul that would go onto shape R&B for years to come – and titles include "Flowers", "I Don't Wanna Lose Your Love", "We Go Through Changes", "Special Part", and "You've Got The Right To Know". Next is Rejoice – 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 miles from their rougher, rootsier soul of the Stax/Volt years – yet like all the best EWF records of the time, the sound is also plenty soulful, with lots of righteous undercurrents. The album includes the group's wonderful track "Don't Ask My Neighbors", a heavenly tune that builds on a long tradition of sweet female soul from Chicago; the super-huge "Best Of My Love", a hit on dancefloors and radios for years to come – and many other nice numbers like "Blessed", "How'd I Know That Love Would Slip Away", and "Key To My Heart". Sunbeam is great little album from The Emotions – largely because it sounds a lot like prime mid 70s Earth Wind & Fire, with female vocals added over the top – ultimately, pulling away with a soulful charm all its own! Maurice White produced the whole set, and it's got a soaring spacey sound that provides a perfect spiritual edge to the girls vocals – taking them way past the hits, into much more sophisticated soul territory. There's a beautifully righteous vibe going on throughout – a sound that's almost like Minnie Riperton at her 70s Capitol best – and titles include "Love Vibes", "Walking The Line", "Time Is Passing By", "I Wouldn't Lie", "Smile", and "Spirit Of Summer". Come Into Our World has the sweet Emotions at the top of their game – one of the brilliant albums that has the soulful trio working hand in hand with Earth Wind & Fire! The girls were plenty great in their early years, but working with Maurice White and company, they really took off – hitting a whole new level that really unlocked some deeply spiritual power in their vocals! And sure, the approach also yielded the group plenty of hits – but for good reason, too – given the classic quality and all-great nature of a set like this. Maurice White produced, and the lineup is filled with plenty of Earth Wind & Fire players too – working with some great arrangements from Tom Tom 84, Wade Marcus, and others. Tunes are balanced between clubby numbers and some nice midtempo moments – and titles include "Where Is Your Love", "Cause I Love You", "Come Into My World", "On & On", "I Should Be Dancing", "Layed Back", and "Yes I Am". New Affair has The Emotions breaking free a bit from the Earth Wind & Fire influence, and grooving nicely with a sweet 80s feel! The girls' voices are still quite wonderful – some of the deepest harmonies in the female soul world at the time – and the tunes kick it up nicely in a blend of snapping bassy club tracks and mellower cuts that sweetly sway with their great vocals! Loads of wonderful tracks – and an album not to miss! Titles include "Turn It Out", "There'll Never Be Another Moment", "Now That I Know", "Love Lies", "When You Gonna Wake Up", and "Here You Come Again". 3CD set features 8 bonus tracks – including "Boogie Wonderland (12" mix", "Don't Ask My Neighbors (single version)", "I Should Be Dancin (single version)", "My Baby Dance", "Changes", "Where Is Your Love (single version)", and "Flowers (single version)". CD

A beautiful session of spiritual soul jazz – and one of the rarer albums on the legendary Strata East label! The obscure combo is led by drummer/percussionist John Betsch – and instrumentation includes guitar, piano, electric piano, and reeds – all used with plenty of warm touches, and a few sharp edges – all very much in the best Strata East mode of the time! The tracks have a soaring sort of sound – similar to some of the Keno Duke material on the label, but also touched with some trippier edges too – a great blend that really brings a lot of depth to the session, and which has made this one of our favorite Strata sides over the years. Titles include "Song For An Untitled Lady", "Ra", "Get Up & Go", and "Ode To Ethiopia". LP, Vinyl record album

A pair of late Ike & Tina albums in a single package! Workin' Together is a pivotal album – one that has them still retaining some of the earthiness of earlier years, yet also honing their groove for the crossover audience that was digging them big at the end of the 60s! The best results of this shift is the increasing funk component in their music – a move away from R&B into a tighter 60s groove, one that often featured very strong guitar parts in its best incarnation. The set includes the classic "Funkier Than A Mosquito's Tweeter", plus "Ooh Poo Pah Doo", "Let It Be", "Goodbye So Long", "You Can Have It", "The Way You Love Me", "Get Back", and "Workin Together". Let Me Touch Your Mind is a fairly loose set of diverse material from the tumultuous duo, from the tender, lovely chorus backed and string accented grit of the title track to more stripped down, kinda country funk accented number. Includes "Annie Had A Baby", "Don't Believe Her", "Early One Morning", "Up On The Roof", "Heaven Help Us All" and more. CD

A really fantastic album from the Dedicated Men Of Zion – a contemporary gospel group, but one who work here with small combo backings that take us back to some of our favorite records of the early 70s – a tremendous blend of spiritual message and very down-to-earth arrangements! The quartet have some fantastic harmonies throughout, and get support from the Sacred Soul Sound Section – a funk combo who use plenty of organ and riffing guitar, which gives the heavenly vocals a nice degree of humanity – on titles that include "The Devil Don't Like It", "Lord Hold My Hand", "A Change Is Gonna Come", "I'm Going Home", "Up Above My Head", "I'm A Soldier In God's Army", and "One River To Cross". CD

Janelle Monae took a bit of a rest between this album and her last – but given the results, it feels like she's really recharged her groove in that surprisingly long stretch! Not that Janelle needed recharging at all – but there's something here that sets the record apart from earlier chapters in her career – and not in a commercial way, or something that feels like a sidestep – maybe just a bit like Sade after the first few records – able to space out her creative activity, and always keep us wanting more! There's maybe a more down to earth approach here than before – but at a level that makes the whole thing feel more heavenly overall – and Monae works with guests who include Sister Nancy, Seun Kuti, and Grace Jones – on titles that include "The Rush", "The French 75", "Float", "Black Sugar Beach", "Phenomenal", "Ooh La La", "Lipstick Lover", "Paid In Pleasure", "A Dry Red", and "Only Have Eyes 42". CD

An overlooked album from the legendary Nina Simone – recorded in Paris in the early 80s, and not circulated as much as some of her records from the 60s and 70s – but every bit as compelling in its own sort of way! Nina's working here with a greater array of global elements than on previous recordings – very much in that way that the French scene was embracing sounds from the Caribbean and African cultures in these post-colonial years, and using them to forge a wealth of wonderful new styles in the studios of Paris. The approach is still jazz-based, but with lots of earthy percussion, including some handled by Nina with her own piano work – a mode that's not foisted on Simone by another producer, but arranged and conceived by the lady herself. Lyrics are in French and English, and titles include "I Sing Just To Know That I'm Alive", "They Took My Hand", "Stop", "Liberian Calypso", "Vous Etes SEuls Mais Je Desire Etre Avec Vous", "Fodder In Her Wings", "Thandewye", "Heaven Belongs To You", and "Le Peuple En Suisse". LP, Vinyl record album

The last album in the classic run of Steely Dan – the final taste we'd have of the group until their surprising revival in the 90s! Gaucho picks up beautifully where Aja left off – warmly produced with a deep undercurrent of jazz, but perhaps a bit more down to earth feel at times too – not in the music, which is still up there in the heavens, but in some of the subject matter of the tunes, which almost takes us back to Royal Scam territory. Donald Fagan's vocals are wonderful throughout – a sound for which there's no referent or real description – and the balance in the instrumentation is near perfect on tunes that include "Babylon Sisters", "Hey Nineteen", "Time Out Of Mind", "My Rival", "Glamour Profession", and "Gaucho". CD

The last album in the classic run of Steely Dan – the final taste we'd have of the group until their surprising revival in the 90s! Gaucho picks up beautifully where Aja left off – warmly produced with a deep undercurrent of jazz, but perhaps a bit more down to earth feel at times too – not in the music, which is still up there in the heavens, but in some of the subject matter of the tunes, which almost takes us back to Royal Scam territory. Donald Fagan's vocals are wonderful throughout – a sound for which there's no referent or real description – and the balance in the instrumentation is near perfect on tunes that include "Babylon Sisters", "Hey Nineteen", "Time Out Of Mind", "My Rival", "Glamour Profession", and "Gaucho". LP, Vinyl record album

The last album in the classic run of Steely Dan – the final taste we'd have of the group until their surprising revival in the 90s! Gaucho picks up beautifully where Aja left off – warmly produced with a deep undercurrent of jazz, but perhaps a bit more down to earth feel at times too – not in the music, which is still up there in the heavens, but in some of the subject matter of the tunes, which almost takes us back to Royal Scam territory. Donald Fagan's vocals are wonderful throughout – a sound for which there's no referent or real description – and the balance in the instrumentation is near perfect on tunes that include "Babylon Sisters", "Hey Nineteen", "Time Out Of Mind", "My Rival", "Glamour Profession", and "Gaucho". LP, Vinyl record album

Don't let the title put you off, because Cassandra Wilson's sounding as soulful as ever – with none of the fluff that you might think from an album called "Glamoured"! The sound is mellow and laidback, with a group that includes Wilson on guitar, alongside a few other guitarists, percussion, and even a bit of harmonica. The instrumentation gives the album a warm and earthy feel that works well with Wilson's vocals, and titles include "Heaven Knows", "I Want More", "Sleight Of Time", "If Loving You Is Wrong", "Fragile", and "What Is It". CD

Spiritual sounds galore – an amazing 2-fer from Alice Coltrane! Huntington Ashram Monastery is powerful work from Alice Coltrane – an incredible trio album that features her heavily on harp, plus a bit of piano – in a trio with Ron Carter on bass and Rashied Ali on drums! The sound is wonderful – lush, yet contemplative – in a personal style that really shows Alice beginning to express herself in new modes after the death of The Great One. The us of harp is especially incredible – handled here with a sense of majesty that really leaves us breathless, and which goes far beyond other use of that instrument in jazz. And even Alice's piano is surprisingly nice – with these mellow, earthy undertones that bubble at the bottom and ground the whole effort on earthly territory. Titles include "Turiya", "HIS", "Jaya Jaya Rama", and "Via Sivanadagar". World Galaxy is one of Alice Coltrane's most ambitious albums of the early years – recorded with a full set of heavenly orchestrations! The core group features Alice on piano, organ, and harp – alongside Frank Lowe on saxes, Reggie Workman on bass, Leroy Jenkins on violin, and Ben Riley on drums. Added to this combo is a much larger set of strings – swirling around in a rich musical backdrop that gives Alice's work a sense of majesty and power we could have never imagined. This is the album that really showed the world that she was far far more than just the wife of the late great one – a true mystical visionary with a sound that demanded to be heard! Side 2 features a recitation by Alice's spiritual mentor, Swami Satchdiananda – and the album features a wonderful version of "My Favorite Things", done with both organ and harp, plus the tracks "Love Supreme", "Galaxy In Turiya", and "Galaxy In Satchidandana". CD

A beautiful record from Alice Coltrane – a swirling mix of spiritual jazz and themes from Indian music! Alice plays organ, Fender Rhodes, and harp – building the sound as the album progresses, from simple airy strings to an earthier groove that features vocal refrains in unison with the keyboards, chanting away, over and over, stretching to the heavens in a cosmic groove! Most of the other musicians are Indian musicians, and the record features a lot of variations on traditional Indian themes – including "Sivaya", "Ghana Nila", and "Bhaja Govindam" – plus the original tracks "Transcendence" and "Vrindavana Sanchara". LP, Vinyl record album

Janelle Monae took a bit of a rest between this album and her last – but given the results, it feels like she's really recharged her groove in that surprisingly long stretch! Not that Janelle needed recharging at all – but there's something here that sets the record apart from earlier chapters in her career – and not in a commercial way, or something that feels like a sidestep – maybe just a bit like Sade after the first few records – able to space out her creative activity, and always keep us wanting more! There's maybe a more down to earth approach here than before – but at a level that makes the whole thing feel more heavenly overall – and Monae works with guests who include Sister Nancy, Seun Kuti, and Grace Jones – on titles that include "The Rush", "The French 75", "Float", "Black Sugar Beach", "Phenomenal", "Ooh La La", "Lipstick Lover", "Paid In Pleasure", "A Dry Red", and "Only Have Eyes 42". LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful record from Alice Coltrane – a swirling mix of spiritual jazz and themes from Indian music! Alice plays organ, Fender Rhodes, and harp – building the sound as the album progresses, from simple airy strings to an earthier groove that features vocal refrains in unison with the keyboards, chanting away, over and over, stretching to the heavens in a cosmic groove! Most of the other musicians are Indian musicians, and the record features a lot of variations on traditional Indian themes – including "Sivaya", "Ghana Nila", and "Bhaja Govindam" – plus the original tracks "Transcendence" and "Vrindavana Sanchara". CD