A wicked dip into the catalog of 70s powerhouse Mainstream Records – a set that brings together the funkiest tracks from the label – not just from their electric jazz albums, but also their more obscure funky 45s from the same time too! The package is a strong blend of jazz, funk, and soul – and alongside familiar breaks sampled from the Mainstream label, you'll also hear some funky nuggets that are long overdue for greater exposure – all laid out in a way that really gets at the diversity of the company's great ear for heavy grooves! Long tracks mix with shorter ones, in a way that really keeps things fresh – and titles include "TB's Delight" by Dave Hubbard, "Miss Fatback" by Saundra Phillips, "Kissing My Love" by Afrique, "These Memories" by Almeta Lattimore, "Mother McCree" by Reggie Moore, "Make It With You" by Maxine Weldon, "Blue's Blue" by Blue Mitchell, "Livin Way Too Fast" by December's Children, "This Moment" by Hal Galper, "Bird & The Ouija Board" by Pete Yellin, "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" by Jay Berliner, and "Just A Little Lovin" by Sarah Vaughan. CD

Original issue of volume 11 in the now legendary series. With the hard-to-get Honey Drippers "Impeach The President", The Headhunters "God Make Me Funky", Orange Krush "Action", Fausto Papetti "Love Theme" all with edited or extended breaks, and Lucy Hawkins "Gotta Get Out Of Here" and Funk Inc. "Kool Is Back". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the best of the later volumes in this now classic series, one we hardly would've ever imagined would become collectible in it's own right. This volume has the records flying through space on the front and though it has 8 tracks, only Miami's "Chicken Yellow" and Lightnin Rod's "Sport" have the edited break section. The other tracks are the Blackbyrd's "Rock Creek Park", KC & The Sunshine Band "I Get Lifted", Brother Soul "Cookies", Foster Sylvers "Misdemeanor", WildSugar "Bring It Here" and the Olympic Runners "Put the Music Where Your Mouth Is". LP, Vinyl record album

Even into its 20s, the Ultimate Breaks series is still going strong – serving up a bunch of must-have funk tracks that not only form the blueprint for hip hop in the 80s, but which also stand nicely on their own! The selection is very hard and chunky on this one – lots of tracks that break with intensity, a few with edited breaks! Titles include The Politicians "Free Your Mind", The Village Callers "Hector", Sound Experience "Devil With The Bust", James Brown "Soul Pride", Johnny Pate "Shaft In Africa", plus edited/extended versions of Joe Tex "Papa Was Too", All The People "Cramp Your Style", Barry White "I'm Gonna Love You Just A Little Bit More" and Tommy Roe's "Dizzy" listed as "LL Bonus Beat #2". LP, Vinyl record album

A motherlode of great funky tracks – one of the earliest of the Ultimate Breaks & Beats titles, filled with classic funk tracks that had a huge influence on the sound of early hip hop. And come to think of it, lots of these are still having a huge influence today! This fourth volume in the set has the red cover with the familiar logo on it. 6 tracks in all, the first 3 with edited/extended breaks: "Different Strokes" by Syl Johnson, "I Know You Got Soul" by Bobby Byrd, "I Think I'd Do It" by Z.Z. Hill, plus "Sing Sing" by Gaz, "Breakthrough" by Isaac Hayes, "Looking Out My Window" by Tom Jones, and "Funky Music Is The Thing" by Dynamic Corvettes in the original versions. LP, Vinyl record album

One of the first Ultimate Breaks and Beats sets – packed with hard-hitting funky tunes, of the sort that played big in South Bronx street parties! 6 tracks in all, 4 with the break edited and extended: Wilson Picket's "Get Me Back On Time", Juice's "Catch A Groove"*, The Rolling Stones' "Honkey Tonk Woman" and Disco Italiano's "Chella Lla", plus Funkadelic's "You'll Like It Too" and Roy Ayers' "Boogie Back". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the best-remembered of the classic Ultimate Breaks & Beats titles – a sublime assortment of funky tracks, many of which were crucial to the early sound of hip hop! 6 classic tracks: "Got To Be Real" by Cheryl Lynn, "Apache" by the Incredible Bongo Band, "Dance To The Drummer's Beat" by Herman Kelly & Life, "Give It To You" by UPP, "Bongo Rock" by the Incredible Bongo Band and "Pussy Footer" by Jackie Robinson – the last 2 featuring extended break sections. LP, Vinyl record album

Does this series ever miss? We think not – and we'll be honest in saying that when this classic volume 5 came out, it was one of the first time we'd ever heard most of these funky gems – and it's still one of the few places you can get them all together sounding so well! 7 tracks, "Shifting Gears" by Johnny Hammond, "Hit Or Miss" by Bo Diddley, "Synthetic Substitution" by Melvin Bliss and "Shack Up (pt 2)" by Banbarra with extended/edited breaks, and "Get Up & Dance" by Freedom, "Heaven & Hell" by 20th Century Steel Band abd "Soul Soul Soul" by The Wild Magnolias. LP, Vinyl record album

Essential breaks from the early years of hip hop – volume 6 in the now-legendary Ultimate Breaks series! This one has the light blue cover, and the tracks here are all great – and include "Sing A Simple Song" by Please, "2001" by Cecil Holmes & The Black Motion Picture Experience, "Cold Sweat" by James Brown, "Scratchin" by Magic Disco Band, "Son Of Scorpio" by Dennis Coffey, "Down On The Avenue" by Fat Larry's Band, and "I Like Funky Music" by Uncle Louie, with the first 6 featuring the now well known Ultimate B & B extended break edits! LP, Vinyl record album

Lordy! This one's one of the rarest of the classic Ultimate Breaks & Beats series – the quickly-deleted volumes 7 and 8, both of which never saw print into the 90s. This one's a real killer – filled with great tracks that include "Give It Up Or Turn It Loose", "Let's Dance", "Planetary Citizen", "Good Old Music", "You Are What You Are", "I Can't Stop", and "Street Talk". LP, Vinyl record album

Twentieth volume in this long running classic series of comps, one that we know will never go out of style, not just because the tracks are an incredible collection of funky originals and break laden numbers, but because they've inspired kids from Munich to Montana to hit the wheels of steel! This volume has the guys trading records on the front cover and features edited versions of Roy Ayers "Lonesome Cowboy", Joe Quarterman's "I'm Gonna Get You" and Friend & Lover's "Reach Out Of Darkness", plus Duke Williams' "Chinese Chicken", The Chubukos (aka Afrique) "House Of Rising Funk", Eddie Bo "Hook & Sling" and Bill Withers "Kissing My Love". LP, Vinyl record album

Heavy funk, deep grooves, and a great batch of essential tracks that have been sampled for years by key hip hoppers and DJs! By the time of this volume, the Ultimate Breaks series was really at the top of their game – and had moved beyond the obvious old school cuts, into a realm of key funky numbers from the 70s – tunes used to expand the sound of hip hop at the time, and which are brought together here in strong New York format years before Dusty Fingers or Strictly Breaks! Titles include Barrabas "Woman", Creative Source "Corazon", Southside Movement "Save The World", plus edited or extended versions of The JB's "The Grunt (Part 1)", Rufus Thomas "Do The Funky Penquin (Part 2)", Shotgun "Dynamite (The Bomb)" and Gary Numan "Films". LP, Vinyl record album

A later volume in this legendary series – but a key installment that shows the transformation of breaks at the end of the 80s! Many of the tunes here were fresh "discoveries" at the time – but have gone onto become some oft-sampled breaks and stand-alone funk classics – and this volume may well be one of the most solid sets in the whole series! 3 of the 7 tracks are mixed to extend the breaks, and titles include "The Breakdown (part 2)" by Rufus Thomas, "Get Out Of My Life Woman" by Solomon Burke, "The Easiest Way To Fall" by Freda Payne, "Country Cooking" by Jim Dandy, "Joyous" by Pleasure, "You Don't Know How Much I Love You" by Alphonse Mouzon, and "Oh Honey" by Delgation. LP, Vinyl record album

Nearly at the end, but the classics never stop – breaks so hard and heavy, they'll blow your crates apart trying to contain them! Nearly every one here is a classic – with key samples from the early Cold Chillin years that helped refine the sound of modern hip hop. Otis Redding's "Hard To Handle" is remixed to extended the break – and other titles include "Tramp" by Lowell Fulsom, "You Got What I Need" by Freddie Scott, "You Can't Love Me If You Don't Respect Me" by Lynn Collins, "Blind Alley" by The Emotions, "Expansions" by Lonnie Liston Smith, "You & Love Are The Same" by The Grassroots, and "Sneakin In The Back" by Tom Scott. LP, Vinyl record album

A motherlode of great funky tracks – one of the earliest of the Ultimate Breaks & Beats titles, filled with classic funk tracks that had a huge influence on the sound of early hip hop. And come to think of it, lots of these are still having a huge influence today! This fourth volume in the set has the red cover with the familiar logo on it. 6 tracks in all, the first 3 with edited/extended breaks: "Different Strokes" by Syl Johnson, "I Know You Got Soul" by Bobby Byrd, "I Think I'd Do It" by Z.Z. Hill, plus "Sing Sing" by Gaz, "Breakthrough" by Isaac Hayes, "Looking Out My Window" by Tom Jones, and "Funky Music Is The Thing" by Dynamic Corvettes in the original versions. LP, Vinyl record album

More funky breaks than Evel Knevel after the Snake River Canyon jump! The groove hounds at BGP records were set loose on the Ace catalog – which includes holdings from Atlantic, Stax, Volt, Westbound, and other funky classic labels – and they managed to come up with a killer batch of funky cuts, even though this is their 3rd dip into the crates! If anything, perhaps they dipped even deeper this time – especially as some of the once-trusted sources for breaks, like the famous Ultimate Breaks & Beats series, are now disappearing from the market. Titles include "Soul Pad" by The Coasters, "I Walk On Gilded Splinters" by Johnny Jenkins, "T Plays It Cool" by Marvin Gaye, "Nappy Dugout" by Funkadelic, "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" by Jimmy Ponder, "Get Out Of My Life Woman" by The Mad Lads, "The Rose" by 50 Foot Hose, "Holy Ghost" by The Bar Kays, "No Strings Attached" by The Mad Lads, "After Laughter Comes Tears" by Wendy Rene, "River's Invitation" by Freddie Robinson, "This House Is Smokin" by BT Express, "Music Man (parts 1 & 2)" by Pleasure Web, and "I'm Afraid The Masquerade Is Over" by David Porter. CD

Sample funk spun from records rescued by The Numero Group – edited by white label production crew Shoes without Numero's consent – which was then seized by Numero at the pressing plant, they bootlegged the bootleg, and release it here legitimately as Eccentric Breaks & Beats! The breakbeat funk aware will recognize the packaging for its parody of the Ultimate Breaks & Beats series – and however you feel about the politics of grey market music – creatively, this thing is a total win! Numero takes such impeccable care with their reissues, from the masters to the notes and packaging, we actually never really thought of the music as sample material – funky as the funkiest of their ouvre is! That's a testament to the curators of Numero, as the singers, players and producers of the original material are of paramount importance and we think of them individually when we listen to those compilations. Shoes, on the other hand (. . .or foot), heard potential for hypnotic, swirling psych funk blends and spins an undeniably creative set to suit. Titles include "Give Me Another Day", "Not Ready For School", "John Goodman Is Too Cool To Cry", "Peopleibrium", "Feel What Lies Behind You", "Saving Mr Billy's Soul", "Cosmic Clock", "Which Jesus Am I", "Everything" and more. CD

More funky breaks than Evel Knevel after the Snake River Canyon jump! The groove hounds at BGP records were set loose on the Ace catalog – which includes holdings from Atlantic, Stax, Volt, Westbound, and other funky classic labels – and they managed to come up with a killer batch of funky cuts, even though this is their 3rd dip into the crates! If anything, perhaps they dipped even deeper this time – especially as some of the once-trusted sources for breaks, like the famous Ultimate Breaks & Beats series, are now disappearing from the market. Titles include "Soul Pad" by The Coasters, "I Walk On Gilded Splinters" by Johnny Jenkins, "T Plays It Cool" by Marvin Gaye, "Nappy Dugout" by Funkadelic, "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" by Jimmy Ponder, "Get Out Of My Life Woman" by The Mad Lads, "The Rose" by 50 Foot Hose, "Holy Ghost" by The Bar Kays, "No Strings Attached" by The Mad Lads, "After Laughter Comes Tears" by Wendy Rene, "River's Invitation" by Freddie Robinson, "This House Is Smokin" by BT Express, "Music Man (parts 1 & 2)" by Pleasure Web, and "I'm Afraid The Masquerade Is Over" by David Porter. LP, Vinyl record album

Just-Ice wasn't actually part of the old school – although to some, the 1986 release might seem pretty darn close – but he definitely does a good job here of keeping things nice and clean on his classic debut! Production is from Mantronik, but there's also a harder edge than most of his other work in the studio – maybe thanks in part to edits by the great Chep Nunez, who was responsible for doing some great work on the Ultimate Breaks & Beats series! The sound blasts out of the deck with a very booming 80s sound – and the set also features some human beatboxing from DMX, who often explodes with the quality of a drum machine. Titles include "Back To The Old School", "Gangster of Hip Hop", "Latoya", "Cold Gettin Dumb", "Little Bad Johnny", and "Put That Record Back On." The picture cover is a dope notebook-style graffiti drawing of Just-Ice, DMX, Latoya, and Mantronik – that last of whom is carrying a Roland 909! CD

Just-Ice wasn't actually part of the old school – although to some, the 1986 release might seem pretty darn close – but he definitely does a good job here of keeping things nice and clean on his classic debut! Production is from Mantronik, but there's also a harder edge than most of his other work in the studio – maybe thanks in part to edits by the great Chep Nunez, who was responsible for doing some great work on the Ultimate Breaks & Beats series! The sound blasts out of the deck with a very booming 80s sound – and the set also features some human beatboxing from DMX, who often explodes with the quality of a drum machine. Titles include "Back To The Old School", "Gangster of Hip Hop", "Latoya", "Cold Gettin Dumb", "Little Bad Johnny", and "Put That Record Back On." The picture cover is a dope notebook-style graffiti drawing of Just-Ice, DMX, Latoya, and Mantronik – that last of whom is carrying a Roland 909! LP, Vinyl record album