Raw vintage soul from Lonnie Lester! Lonnie's smooth, honey sweet voice is such a fantastic foil for the often stripped-down, but driving sounds of these rare singles, it's hard to believe he's not a more celebrated figure. Well, it's never too late the start celebrating him – and this first-ever compilation of these 60s rarities is a solid place to start! It's a fantastic set of soul and funk – fairly raw for the most part, but there's some slightly fuller arrangements, too – and it's solid on both fronts. Lonnie has charisma to spare and his songs are top notch. Well worth digging in! Includes ""You Can't Go", "So This Is Love", "The Meanest Man In Town", "You Choose", "Git Down", "Ain't The A Shame", "Power Structure (Part 1 & 2)", "Can't Let You Go (Part 1 & 2)" and more. CD has 3 bonus tracks: "I Know (Nu-Tone version)", "I Know (B&G version)" and "I Have Never Been Blue". CD

Pure genius from the B Baker Chocolate Company – a set that's equal parts fusion and soul, held together by these rich arrangements that really send the whole thing home! The album's never too slick, yet has a sense of perfection that matches some of the best soulful fusion dates at Blue Note or Fantasy in the mid 70s – a quality that's especially strong on the vocal tracks on the set – one of which features Lew Kirton in the lead! The players are all totally top-shelf – and include Lonnie Smith and Jimmy McGriff on keyboards, John Faddis and Marvin Stamm on trumpets, and Jimmy Ponder on guitar – and the set's got a beautiful balance that few other records like this can match. Lew Kirton sings on "It's Where You're Coming From", and "Dreamer" features Gene Scott – and instrumental tracks include the funky classic "Snowblower", plus "Carousel" and "Spirit Level". LP, Vinyl record album

Heavy Hammond from a time when the use of the organ in jazz was really changing up from the 60s – music that often had more of a funky current in the rhythms than some of the more soul and gospel-influenced styles of the decade before! All the work here was recorded for the Groove Merchant label – most by older heavyweights who'd recorded for Blue Note and Prestige, but were given a chance to hip things up a bit more for the 70s – as you'll hear in the great style of these tunes! Sonny Lester produced most of the music – and titles include "Cisco Kid" and "Superfly" by Reuben Wilson, "Afrodesia" and "Funk Reaction" by Lonnie Smith, "Groove Grease" and "Tailgunner" by Jimmy McGriff, "Good Vibrations" and "Out Of Nowhere" by Richard Groove Holmes, "Never Can Say Goodbye" by Reuben Wilson, "Preacher's Tune" by Richard Groove Holmes, and "Let's Stay Together" by Jimmy McGriff. CD

Includes performances by Bill Monroe & The Blue Grass Boys, Jim & Jesse & The Virginia Boys, James Monroe & The Midnight Ramblers, Jimmy Martin & The Sunny Mountain Boys, Lester Flatt & The Nashville Grass, Carl Jackson, Gordon Terry, Howdy Forrester, Tex Logan, Buck Ryan, Curly Ray Cline, Lonnie Pierce, Joe Meadows, Clarence "Tater" Tate, Kenny Baker, Paul Warren, Randall Collins, and Jim Brock. LP, Vinyl record album