One of the sweetest singers of the Latin Soul era – the amazing Ralfi Pagan, a vocalist who was equally at home with English and Spanish, and who had a huge influence on the sound of 70s east coast soul! Ralfi's got a fragile vocal style that was right up there with the best of the New Jersey and Philly singers of the time – instantly compelling, with an honest quality that opens up at the very first listen. This early album of his is one of his greatest recordings ever – an all-soul set, done with arrangements by Louie Ramirez and Marty Sheller. Every track is in English, and titles include "Latin Soul", "Who is The Girl For Me", "Ain't No Big Thing", "Look At Her", and "Make It With You". LP, Vinyl record album

Sweet sweet Latin soul – a great collection of classic work by falsetto singer Ralfi Pagan, plus a few of his best contemporaries on the New York scene! The mood is very mellow – in that sweet, harmony vocal mode that was a key crossover between the New York Latin Soul and vocal group scenes – and which Ralfi and contemporaries undoubtedly helped shape as the genre moved into the 70s. The set's low on notes, but features a wonderful assortment of tunes – 23 numbers in all, half by Ralfi Pagan that include "Brother Where Are You", "Come Back Baby", "Don't Stop Now", "Just For A Little While", "Look At Her", "Just One Of Your Kisses", "Loneliness Loneliness", and "Too Late" – plus others that include "Accept Me" by Harvey Averne, "To Be With You" and "I'm Insane" by Joe Cuba, "I Regret" by Orchestra Capri, "Caress Me" by Jimmy Sabater, and "I Want You I Need You I Love You" by Hector Rivera. CD

The sound of soul, served up East LA style – which means that the collection is overflowing with sweet soul numbers that have a very heartbreaking vibe! These aren't the kind of muscle-heavy cuts you'd guess from the image of the car on the cover – and instead, they're fragile and mellow – a really well-chosen batch of rare cuts from indie labels, all of which played bit in East LA back in the day! There's a nice dose of Latin soul ballads in the mix too – and titles include "Accept Me" by Harvey Averne Dozen, "Two Lovers Make One Fool" by The Serenaders, "Nothing But Nothing" by The Dontells, "Tragic" by The Sheppards, "Negrona" by Ralfi Pagan, "I'll Be Sweeter Tomorrow" by Joe Bataan, "Me & You" by Brenton Wood, "Maybe" by Ralph Robles, "Man's Temptation" by Gene Chandler, "Dedicated To The One I Love" by The Temprees, and "That You Love Me" by The Impressions. LP, Vinyl record album

A heartbreaking classic from Terry Huff and his Special Delivery group – a hip 70s harmony soul ensemble who deliver some wonderful backup on the set! The record's a stone east coast classic from way back – arranged and conducted by Al Johnson, with a vibe that's a slightly more polished take on the harmony modes used by George Kerr over at All-Platinum – still never slick or commercial, but that great indie blend of heartbreaking vocals and deeper male sensibilities. Terry Huff has a high-end vocal approach that's great – never cloying or too-sweet, but nicely crackling and almost in a Ralfi Pagan mode at points. Huff wrote most of the songs, and titles include "Poochie", "The Lonely One", "When You're Lonely", "I Destroyed Your Love", "That's When It Hurts", and "Why Doesn't Love Last". (In case you didn't notice, this guy's pretty broken up about love!) Also features the bonus tracks "The Lonely One (inst)", "Come Back With Love (parts 1 & 2)", and "The Lonely One (single)". CD

A heartbreaking classic from Terry Huff and his Special Delivery group – a hip 70s harmony soul ensemble who deliver some wonderful backup on the set! The record's a stone east coast classic from way back – arranged and conducted by Al Johnson, with a vibe that's a slightly more polished take on the harmony modes used by George Kerr over at All-Platinum – still never slick or commercial, but that great indie blend of heartbreaking vocals and deeper male sensibilities. Terry Huff has a high-end vocal approach that's great – never cloying or too-sweet, but nicely crackling and almost in a Ralfi Pagan mode at points. Huff wrote most of the songs, and titles include "Poochie", "The Lonely One", "When You're Lonely", "I Destroyed Your Love", "That's When It Hurts", and "Why Doesn't Love Last". (In case you didn't notice, this guy's pretty broken up about love!) CD also includes the bonus tracks "Come Back With Love (parts 1 & 2)", plus instrumental and 45 versions of "The Lonely One". CD

A whole new genre of disco – served up by one of the biggest club collectors in the world! Dimitri's the man who's guided us through so many other great sets of rare disco tracks over the years – and this time around, he's launching new look at the form! Cocktail Disco is a unique variation that's often heavy on orchestrations, and which sometimes has echoes of older jazz, vocal, or Latin recordings – classic influences that simmer nicely through the mix – and help deepen the sound of the already-soulful late 70s style! And although "cocktail" normally means laidback or sleepy, these tunes definitely aren't – because all tracks here are in a soaring midtempo mode or better – cuts you'd be happy to play with some of the funkier numbers on the dancefloor, and which should stand out nicely, given their unique twist. 2CD set features 21 titles that include "Summertime" by Blue Velvets, "What You Need Is My Love" by Cindy Rodriguez, "It's Got To Be Love" by Darcus, "Ocean's Apart" by Vast Majority, "Show You The Way To Go" by Charlie's Roots, "Again" by Night People, "Lady Of The Night" by Ray Martinez, "Disco Village" by J Elliot Group, "Something About You" by Moses, "Baby I Just Wanna Love You" by Jonell Allen", "Canteen" by Serenade, "Starflight" by The Band Who Fell To Earth, "Take Me With You" by Ralfi Pagan, "Never Too Late" by Ms Victoria Barnes, and "Girl From Ipanema (disco version)" by Astrud Gilberto. CD

A tight little Latin mixtape – served up by DJ Format with an amazing sense of funky focus! The tracks here are mostly presented in shorter takes than the full originals – but they're laid out beautifully back to back, linking together a longer Latin history that starts with 60s Latin soul and runs nicely up to 70s salsa and club! The tightness of the mix is a real asset here – as the collection stands out from other Fania compilations floating around these days, and gives us new appreciation for the music as it leaps nicely from one cut to the next. Mix runs for nearly 50 minutes long, and features 20 titles that include "Everything Is Everything" by Eddie Palmieri, "Teacher Of Love" by Ray Barretto, "The Promised Land" by Mongo Santamaria, "Jumpin With Symphony Sid" by Ray Rodriguez, "Willie Whopper" by Willie Colon, "Take It Easy" by La Lupe, "Baby Boo Boogaloo" by Vladimir & His Orchestra, "Latin Soul" by Ralfi Pagan, "Happy Soul With A Hook" by Dave Cortez, "Shaft" by Joe Bataan, "You Need Help" by Monguito Santamaria, and "I Dig Rhythm" by Louie Ramirez. CD

A cool collection of Latin remixes – contemporary takes on the Fania Records grooves of the 60s and 70s – all done in a very groovy way! The tracks here are quite respectful of the original tunes – no surprise, considering the Fania influence on many of these producers and mixers – and the new versions here really come off with a great deal of charm and soul – no silly gimmicks at all! Most numbers push older Latin grooves into surprisingly compelling territory, yet still keep the best original elements intact – and although we were initially suspicious of the concept, we're surprised at how much we love the results. Titles include "Take Five (Nicola Conte rmx)" by Roberto Roena, "O Elefante (Shh rmx)" by Ray Barretto, "Saona (Gilles Peterson & Simbad rmx)" by Noro Morales, "Plastico (Bugz In The Attic rmx)" by Willie Colon & Ruben Blades, "Morris Park (Bonde De Role rmx)" by Lenni Sesar, "I Didn't Want to Have To Do It (4 Hero rmx)" by Ralfi Pagan, "Boogaloo De Johnny (Quantic rmx)" by Johnny Pacheco, and "Mi Gente (Louie Vega EOL rmx)" by Hector Lavoe. CD

One of the hippest sets we've ever seen on Spanish Harlem – a collection that goes way past the Latin Soul hits, to dig deep in the uptown underground at the end of the 60s! The package is compiled with gems from the Fania catalog, but rally moves past the obvious – going for some of the more obscure artists who recorded singles for some of the smaller Fania-held labels – and often focusing on tunes that drew more from late 60s soul and funk than they did from any Latin rhythms of the time. The singers are especially wonderful – and often hit a vibe that's right up there with some of Joe Bataan's best of the period – richly soulful, but often deeply personal too – never as polished as chart soul, and often showing a grittier, more realistic style that's totally great – especially when mixed with instrumentation as tight as this! Titles include "Reflections Of My Life" by 125th Street Candy Store, "On Old Broadway" by 107th Street Stickball Team, "Don't Be Afraid" by Lebron Brothers, "Central Park" by Harvey Averne Dozen, "Heaven" by Tito Ramos, "Your Smile" by Parris, "Some Lonely Heart" by Ronnie Marks, "There's No Girl" by Olivieri, "Maria Maria" by King Nando, "Already Satisfied" by Tony Middleton & Bobby Matos, "Nitty Boo Boo" by The Nitty Sextette, "Lonely Has Been My Day" by Ralphie & The Latin Lovers, "I'm Gonna Leave You" by Russell Cohen & The New Yorkers, and "Ain't No Big Thing" by Ralfi Pagan. LP, Vinyl record album