The 13 fingers of Sir Julian hit the sixties, and pound away on this album of covers like "Live for Life" and "A Man and A Woman". LP, Vinyl record album

Incredibly memorable stuff – and one of the greatest moments in Atlantic soul history! The Soul Clan is an assemblage of Atlantic's biggest male singers at the time – Joe Tex, Ben E King, Don Covay, Arthur Conley, and Solomon Burke – and the team trade lines back and forth in this perhaps first-ever "supergroup" recording! "Soul Meeting" is a party cut, with all the singers talking about how they have to go somewhere and break up their meeting. "That's How It Feels" is a mellower tune, sung together as a harmony track – with the voices coming together on the chorus passages, and breaking out beautifully on the other parts. Great stuff – and even though Atlantic did release a Soul Clan LP, these were the only 2 original cuts on the record! 7-inch, Vinyl record

... LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic work from Archie Bell & The Drells – an important record that bridges their earlier and later sounds! It's a key transitional album for the crew – as most of the album's in the harder rawer Texas funk groove of earlier year, but some of it features newer production by Gamble & Huff, in that excellent smooth dancing style that took Archie light years from his roots. The Gamble & Huff tracks are the most obvious – the singles "I Can't Stop Dancing" and "Do The Choo Choo" – and the album's got other great cuts like the original tunes "Do You Feel It?", "You're Such A Beautiful Child", "Jammin In Houston", and "Love Will Rain On You", plus versions of Curtis Mayfield's "I've Been Trying" and "Sometimes I Wonder". LP, Vinyl record album

A really cool debut from Hojas – a well-honed Uruguayan group, and one who emerge fully formed on their first record! Hojas have a sound that resonates strongly with other South American rock from the time – fuzzy guitars mixed with rhythms that are a bit more chunky than most American groups – produced in a way that's often sweetly compressed, but a bit rough at times – creating a sense of soul that really shines through, even if you can't always understand the lyrics! This album was the group's debut, and it's lovingly presented here with notes in English and a number of bonus tracks from singles too – a really great introduction to a group you'll never track down in the record bins over here! Original titles include "El Mundo Es Una Flor", "Lo Has Pensado Tu", "Sincero", "Somos Extranos", and "Hazlo Ya Amigo". Bonus tracks include "Yo Solo Estoy", "Sini Ti", "No Pierdas La Fe", "Imaginate En El Mundo", and "Un Buen Dia". CD

Mr Personality turns his incredible set of pipes on a batch of pop standards, made up by Lloyd into his own uniquely styled numbers. He recruits Slide Hampton to handle the arrangements, played by his group with just a touch of R&B grit. Includes "On The Sunny Side Of The Street", "When I Fall In love", "Trouble", "That Lucky Old Sun", 'Misty", "You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Loves You", "Tennessee Waltz", "Pistol Packin' Mama" and "Cry On". LP, Vinyl record album

With Trina. 12-inch, Vinyl record

Although Marsh first came onto the scene as a modernist in the 50s, he's one of the few players of his generation who really held strong to his initial sound, continuing to craft records of understated genius for years to come. And while this album's not his best-ever, it's certainly a nicely little outing – with Marsh laying down angular tenor solos, and backing by Hank Jones, George Mraz, and Mel Lewis. Titles include "Hank's Tune", "Switchboard Joe", "Victory Ball", and "One For The Band". LP, Vinyl record album

Otis Redding Sings Soul – plenty of truth in that – but on this sweet little set, he somehow does it even better than before! The album's got a tightness that's totally great – but it's light years from the smoother soul of Motown, and still has plenty of the gritty Memphis edges that helped Otis rise to the top in the 60s – that burning-under sort of groove that pushes up from the earth along with his vocals, and gives the album a push that most other singers never got! Redding's vocals are as perfect as usual – deeply personal, and free from cliche – even from all of those laid down by Otis' copycats of the time. Titles are a near-perfect mix of numbers too – and include the raw groovers "Respect", "Shake", and "Satisfaction", then hits a wonderfully warm soulful ballad style the classic "I've Been Loving You Too Long", and really sparkles on southern soul tributes like "You Don't Miss Your Water" and "Down In The Valley". Very solid stuff all the way through – and one of the best-conceived albums of his career! LP, Vinyl record album

Rootsy soul from Doris Troy – more of a down-home album than even her American work of earlier years! The set was recorded for the Beatles' Apple label at the end of the 60s – produced by Doris herself, and with a style that mixes in a fair bit of rock influences to a more standard style of soul. There's plenty of traces of late Beatles – in an "Oh Darling" or Let It Be mode, especially in the use of heavy guitars – and although Doris handled production, we also hear plenty of traces of Billy Preston and George Harrison in the mix. Titles include "Special Care", "You Tore Me Up Inside", "Gonna Get My Baby Back", "Jacob's Ladder", "Hurry", "So Far", and "You Give Me Joy Joy". LP, Vinyl record album

A lot greater than you'd expect – like most of The Four Tops' excellent work on ABC. The classic Motown sound is no longer, but in its place is the same sort of positive 70s soul grooving that Lamont Dozier picked up on the label – a style that makes a perfect platform for the vocals of Levi Stubbs. Backing is by Earl Van Dyke & The Soul Brothers – and titles include "Catfish", "Feel Free", "Strung Out For Your Love", "Love Don't Come Easy", and "You Can't Hold Back On Love". LP, Vinyl record album

Beautiful free-flowing work by Cecil Taylor – and a key album to document his solo piano genius in the 70s! The album's an extended live performance, recorded at Montreux in 1974 – in an open, unbridled style that really shows the open spirit in Taylor's work at the time. The set includes one long piece, divided into 5 movements that include "Abyss", "Petals & Filaments", and "Crossing" – plus 2 shorter tracks "Jitney No 2" and "After All No 2". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A very cool idea for a collection – a set that takes all the classic early Al Green material for Hi Records, and adds in some larger orchestrations – all at a level that's way better than you might expect, and with a sound that's very faithful to the originals! The larger charts are dropped in with a nicely subtle touch – so that Al's vocals aren't impinged at all, and the strings are used to sweeten up the tunes in all the right ways – very much as if the original recordings might have been given a bit of an Arif Mardin touch over at Atlantic Records, while still retaining the Memphis sound at the core. Titles include "Look What You Done For Me", "Take Me To The River", "Tired Of Being Alone", "Call Me", "Let's Stay Together", "I'm Still In Love With You", "Here I Am", "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart", "Sha La La", "I Can't Get Next To You", and "Let's Get Married". CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

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... LP, Vinyl record album

Stone funky work from the late 60s – a landmark batch of tracks by Quincy Jones – originally recorded for the soundtrack of the first Bill Cosby show, and issued here to the public for the first time ever! The show's famous theme "Hikky-Burr" is a well-known groover with a sinister snapping edge that sums up all the best of Quincy's funky jazz soundtrack work in the 60s – and the rest of the tracks on the set follow in a blend of California soul jazz modes that's mighty mighty nice! Players on the tunes include Milt Jackson, Monty Alexander, Joe Sample, Eddie Harris, Ray Brown, and Paul Humphrey – and the tracks have a loose, improvised feel that's a nice contrast from a lot of Quincy's tighter soundtrack work. Along with 2 different versions of "Hikky-Burr" (one with vocal by Cosby, one without), the set also features tracks that include "Toe Jam", "Jive Den", "Monty Is That You", and "Eubie Walkin" – plus a loosely disguised version of "Listen Here", and a take on "Oh Happy Day". Great stuff – and wonderful to finally have out on CD! CD

... 78 RPM, Vinyl record

Titles include "Agua", "Soul Food To Go", "Capim", "Notes From The Underground", "Jungle Pioneer", and "The Zoo Blues". CD

A fantastic fresh new chapter in the career of Charles Mingus – a set that features the addition of two key players who would really shape his sound in the 70s – Don Pullen on piano and George Adams on tenor, both completely wonderful here! The group also features excellent trumpet from Roland Hampton, a player we don't know from many other settings – and the set also features some really nice vocal work from Honi Gordon and Doug Hammond. Titles include "Canon", "Moves", "Wee", "Flowers For A Lady", "Opus 3", and "Newcomer". LP, Vinyl record album

A really cool little record – one that takes an older Italian sound library mode and reworks it with some of the contemporary flavor of the Schema label – but all with live instrumentation that's mighty nice all the way through! Lorenzo Morressi handles bass, guitar, and plenty of vintage keyboards – while Luicano Cantone plays live drums throughout, which gives the record a crisp crackle that might be missing if the pair worked with too many programmed rhythms, samples, or overdubs! There's also plenty of live instrumentation on the set too – including sublime flute lines from Tenderlonious, and electric piano from Giovanni Guerretti – on titles that include "Allegro Funerario", "Slalom", "Odeon", "Savana Urban", "Beta Erotica", "Sulla Strada Della Luna", and "Poste Presente". CD

A really cool little record – one that takes an older Italian sound library mode and reworks it with some of the contemporary flavor of the Schema label – but all with live instrumentation that's mighty nice all the way through! Lorenzo Morressi handles bass, guitar, and plenty of vintage keyboards – while Luicano Cantone plays live drums throughout, which gives the record a crisp crackle that might be missing if the pair worked with too many programmed rhythms, samples, or overdubs! There's also plenty of live instrumentation on the set too – including sublime flute lines from Tenderlonious, and electric piano from Giovanni Guerretti – on titles that include "Allegro Funerario", "Slalom", "Odeon", "Savana Urban", "Beta Erotica", "Sulla Strada Della Luna", and "Poste Presente". LP, Vinyl record album

A record that forever changed the face of mainstream music in the 90s – a set that showed that a group could come from the underground indie scene and manage to take over the rest of the world with a record that went on to become an instant classic for a generation! Think what you want about the overwrought legacy of Kurt Cobain's place in pop stardom, the record itself still bristles over with power and energy that get way past all the cliches that you'll find on posters and t-shirts – one of the few cases in history where stepping to a major label allowed a group like this to really hit their heights. Titles include "Smells Like Teen Spirit", "Drain You", "On A Plain", "Lithium", "Polly", "In Bloom", "Come As You Are", and "Lounge Act". CD

A great lost record from Clarence Reid – one of the most multi-talented artists on his scene, stepping out here with the depth and sensitivity of some of his best southern soul contemporaries of the 70s! Despite the fact that at the time of the record, Reid was simultaneously recording as the goofy raunch-soul act Blowfly, the cover of this set features him sitting alone at a grand piano, looking all sensitive and serious – like he's Billy Joel or somebody! The style of the album, fortunately, doesn't match the cheesy singer/songwriter presentation – and it's a strong batch of Miami soul tracks that roll along with the classic TK groove of the mid 70s, yet without any of the too-pop or disco modes that were holding back some other artists. Reid's vocals are more heartfelt than ever – really soaring out at a level that almost matches Latimore – and all tunes were written by him, with a bit of help from Steve Alaimo, who also produces the record. Tracks include "The Best Part Of A Man", "The Only Time She Loves Me", "Caution! Love Ahead", "Down Where The Love Is", "Nappy-Haired Cowboy", and "Sleep With Me". Hmmm...kind of sounds like a Blowfly album after all! CD

A great one by The Miracles! Smokey and the group are clearly pushing the envelope here – stretching out for a deeper harmony sound, moving towards some of the smoother styles they'd use a bit more in the 70s. The result is a slightly-confused album, but one with some really interesting material that gives the group a chance to experiment more with their vocal phrasing. Includes the heavy soul number "Flower Girl", plus the tracks "Who's Gonna Take The Blame", "Darling Dear", "The Reel Of Time", "Wishful Thinking", "Point It Out", and "Don't Take It So Hard". Also features a great medley of "Something" and "Something You Got". LP, Vinyl record album

A massive hit and creative triumph for Salt N Pepa – a record that was both maybe their biggest ever, and which had the duo working with Spinderella at a level that also bridged both hip hop and R&B! Although there were some younger up-and-comers on the scene at the time, Salt N Pepa had already honed their craft, matured a bit, and were able to serve up just the right hook-heavy blend of hip hop and a touch of R&B – mixing both freewheeling fun with some feminist positivity and maybe just a touch of social consciousness in all the right ways. Titles include their classics "Whatta Man and "Shoop" – plus "Groove Me", "No One Does It Better", "Step", "Heaven Or Hell", "Big Shot", "Sexy Noises Turn Me On", "Somma Time Man", "I've Got Aids (PSA)", and "Break Of Dawn". LP, Vinyl record album

Features John Medeski on keys. CD

Includes duets with Wallace Bishop on drums and solo recordings from late 1949. LP, Vinyl record album

A tremendous collection of early work by The Spinners – their sublime second album for Motown, plus 13 additional bonus tracks, most of which appear here for the first time ever! The core of the set is the 2nd Time Around album – pre-Philly magic from The Spinners – a wonderful early album recorded for Motown – done with a heady Detroit sound that's quite different than their later work in the 70s! The album already has the group sounding amazing on the harmonic tip – definitely a cut above the groups that came before them – with that brilliant Spinners ability to harmonize heavily while still hitting a groove! Arrangements are by Paul Riser, Wade Marcus, and David Van DePitte – all of whom keep things full, but never overblown – presenting music with a perfect polish for the group, but in quite different ways than the later Philly groove. Titles include the classic original version of "It's a Shame", plus "My Lady Love", "Souly Ghost", "Ooh Child", "In My Diary", "My Whole World Ended", "I've Got To Find Myself A Brand New Baby", "Bad Bad Weather", and "Pay Them No Mind". But the bonus tracks are pretty amazing, too – really showcasing the group as they grew tremendously in a few short years – on gems that include "I Can't Let You Go", "Sunshine Train", "Mental Telepathy", "Satisfaction Guaranteed", "Why Don't You Try It", "Just A Little Part Of Your Life", "Sadder Words Were Never Spoken", "Don't Take Your Love Away I Can't Stand It", "Your Sweet Love Is All I Need", "Gonna Keep On Tryin Till I Win Your Love", and "When It Starts To Rain It Pours". CD

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A completely fresh take on the Charlie Parker aesthetic of the bop generation – updated for the 70s, but in ways that are still pretty classic overall! The group's a large one, but plays with a tightness that goes way past their gimmicky name – thanks to players who include Med Flory and Joe Lopes on alto, Warne Marsh and Jay Migliori on tenor, Jack Nimitz on baritone, and Conte Candoli on trumpet – all of whom get in some great licks! Tunes are all short bop classics, played with very tight head arrangements, and some searing breakout solos. Titles include "Ko Ko", "Be Bop", "Repetition", "Night In Tunisia", "Hot House", "Star Eyes", and "Parker's Mood". CD

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Henry Threadgill on alto saxophone, Brandon Ross and Ed Cherry on guitar, Edwin Rodriguez and Marcus Rojas on tuba, Mark Taylor on French horn, and Pheeroan Aklaff on drums. CD

Understated genius from McCoy Tyner – and exactly the sort of record that shows why his catalog is always worth searching out! The album's got a lot more subtlety than his immediate post-Coltrane sides of the 70s – righteousness maybe a bit more on the backburner, but not so much so that the album loses its soul – because even though the title's maybe a bit uptown, the execution's a lot more down to earth – filled with warm changes and sharply personal moments, played by a group that includes Dewey Redman on tenor, Antonio Hart on alto, Christian McBride on bass, and Marvin Smitty Smith on drums. Titles include "Contemplation", "For All We Know", "I Will Wait For You", "Smile", "Soul Eyes", "Piano Sonata No 8 In C Minor", and "Prelude In E Minor". CD

Titles include "High On An Open Mike", "Too Marvelous For Words", "Lullaby In Rhythm", and "Yankee Clipper". 7-inch, Vinyl record

A warm and wonderful collection of sweet soul cuts from the east coast scene – packaged with a cover that recalls a famous bootleg series from East LA from years back, but presented here with all the quality you'd expect from the Numero Group! These tracks are all nicely mellow and laidback – the kind of slow-stepping soul music that really lets the vocals flow, especially when the group is a harmony soul outfit – which is the case for most of the acts here! If you dig classic Philly ballads and New Jersey soul from the early 70s, you'll find plenty to love here – on cuts that include "I Almost Blew My Mind" by The Positive Sounds, "Let's Do It Over" by The Summits, "Our Love" by The Edge Of Daybreak, "Me" by The Chapells, "One Is Enough for One" by Jack & The Mods, "Gotta Go Home" by Mixed Breed, and "Till The End Of Time" by Al Glover & Gloria. LP, Vinyl record album

Our favorite side of Gene Ammons' talents – summed up nicely in a 2LP set! Ammons wasn't the first tenor player to work with a Hammond organ, but once the format gained popularity, Gene made a wise move to take it up – and it became a pairing that forever defined the later years of his sound! The 2LP set brings together a nice blend of ballads, groovers, and funky tunes recorded for Prestige with organists Johnny Hammond Smith and Jack McDuff during the 60s – titles that include "Born To Be Blue", "Twistin The Jug", "In Sid's Thing", "Blue Room", "Water Jug", "Getting Around", "Angel Eyes", "Stormy Monday", "Velvet Soul", and "Down The Line". CD

A masterful later album by the Beastie Boys – who always preferred to put out a great record every five or six years, than a sub par album every 2 or 3! All these years after Paul's Boutique, when the world of difficult, expensive sample clearance could've kill the layers of pop pastiche sound bites that made P's B such a brilliant statement, the soul and funk samples are still piled on in abundance on this one (albeit with a more electro studio built backdrop), as are the block rockin' party rhymes – even if the tone is serious and strident in spots. There are no attempts at live funky jazz or punk rock this time – this may be the Beasties' most classifiable hip hop album in decades. Add it to that ever growing list of good-to-great albums by aging artists who were coaxed back into the game in part by their feelings about post 9/11 politics. Tracks include the great throwback single "Ch-Check It Out", "Right Right Now Now", "3 The Hard Way", "It Takes Time To Build", "Rhyme The Rhyme Well", "Hey F**k You", "Triple Trouble", "Oh Word?", "That's It That's All", "All Lifestyles", "Shazam!", "An Open Letter To NYC" and more. CD

One of the smartest books we've ever seen on album cover art – a lavish full color volume that not only presents loads of classic images, but also has plenty to say about them as well! The book is a bit smaller than LP format – maybe 8" square overall – but it's filled with loads of full page reproductions of classic hi fi, bachelor pad, and mood music album covers – most with a facing page of test that really examines the images, and also offers up other historical details too! The authors really follow a direction that's inspirational – treating these album covers not as kitsch, but as a rich document of midcentury America at the crossroads – full of deeper meaning if you know how to read things the right way. The book features chapters that include "Let's Have a Dinner Party", "Music For Hi Fi Living", "Cuba", "Airlines", "Adventures In Sound", "Sound Tour", and "Capitol Of The World" – and the hardcover volume is 420 pages, full color, with great notes at the end! Book

One of the coolest collections of work we've ever heard from the great Mort Garson – a selection of tracks that were done during the same years as his famous album releases in the world of moog and analog synth, but done for much more obscure sources that include television, film, and other avenues of expression! The title's a reference to a cut here that was used during a 1969 broadcast of the moon landing – but there's so much more here too, and as always with Garson, there's a blend of electronic experimentation and tunefulness that make the whole thing pretty darn groovy – and not just a trip on the farther reaches of experimental electronics. Titles include "Moon Journey", "Zoos Of The World", "Music For Advertising #8", "Love Is A Garden", "The D-Bee's Cat Boogie", "Black Eye", "Western Dragon (part 3)", "Captain DJ Disco UFO", and "The Big Game Hunters See The Cheetah". CD

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Jason Moran and The Bandwagon – his stellar jazz trio featuring the top tier jazz pianist along with drummer Nasheet Waits & Tarus Mateen on bass – marking their 10th year with this thoroughly excellent album for Blue Note! Moran has stayed plenty busy in the aughties, but Ten is actually his first album since 2006 – and it's a great one, rivaling his first couple records for Blue Note – and that's saying something, because those are among our favorite modern albums for the venerable jazz label in many years. Includes several sharp Moran originals such like "Blue Blocks", "RFK In The Land Of Apartheid", "Pas De Deux-Lines Ballet", "Gangsterism Over 10 Years", "Old Babies" and "Playtolive" (the latter with the great Andrew Hill) – plus Mateen's "The Subtle One" and readings of Jaki Byard's "To Bob Vatel Of Paris" and Monk's "Crepuscule With Nellie". Brilliant stuff! CD

A lost spiritual jazz classic from pianist Nate Morgan – maybe the musician's best-remembered moment, and for good reason too! The set's got this soaring, spiritual vibe that's much more early 70s than you'd guess from the date of recording – a post-Coltrane spirit with lots of modal energy in the rhythms, carved out by Nate in these bold, dark lines on piano – and topped with some excellent work on alto sax from the great Dadisi Komolate! Both players were key figures in the under-documented LA scene of this period – and work together to make tremendous sounds on this album – on titles that include "He Left Us A Song", "Journey Into Nigritia", "Morning Prayer", "Mother", and "Study in CT". CD

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A richly-recorded album, one that really brings out the best of the bass of Yoshio Chin Suzuki and the piano of Tsuyoshi Yamamoto! The sound quality is a bit like some of those classic Three Blind Mice dates from the 70s – familiar jazz territory, but a bit different too – and opened up with a tremendous ear for the color and tone of the individual players, especially Suzuki – who gets to open up a number of tracks with solo bass passages that are really beautiful! Titles include "Last Tango In Paris", "Blues For Edith", "The Loving Touch", "Summertime", "Misty", "Cleopatra's Dream", and "Softly As In A Morning Sunrise". LP, Vinyl record album

Two great albums from Lucky Thompson! First up is Plays Jerome Kern – wonderful work from that early 60s moment when Lucky Thompson was really opening up with a newly soulful sound – and mixing in some great soprano sax work with his tenor! The tunes are familiar, but the execution is wonderful – Lucky blowing easily in a quartet with Hank Jones on piano, Wendell Marshall on bass, and Dave Bailey on drums – the last of whom really keeps things moving, even when mellow. Titles include " Long Ago And Far Away", "Lovely To Look At", "No More", "Look For The Silver Lining", "Who", "Dearly Beloved", "Why Do I Love You", "Why Was I Born", and "They Didn't Believe Me". Happy Days is an overlooked gem from Lucky Thompson's mid 60s years – that wonderful time when he'd returned to the fold even stronger than ever – filled with hip new musical ideas, and a great command for the soprano sax! This set's got Lucky working on both soprano and tenor, both of which are handled with these angular, soulful tones that are totally great – right at home in a group that features Tommy Flanagan on piano, George Tucker on bass, and Walter Perkins on drums – all marvelously sensitive rhythm accompanists. Jack Melady adds harp on 2 tracks on the set – a very nice touch – and titles include "Safari", "Cry Me A River", "People", "You Don't Know What Love Is", and "As Time Goes By". CD

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With Freddie Green on guitar. CD

Maybe our favorite Beatles album ever – a key set that bridges the catchiness of the early years and the sharper ideas of later albums – with a slightly sinister undercurrent that really keeps things fresh! The album's got some great early psych in spots, offset with wonderfully mature and sweet lyrics on the love songs – cross-cut with a bit of witty social commentary too! The blend is amazing – a pre-Sgt Peppers moment of the group that maybe captures them at their most honest and open – all the depth of records to come, but some of the more direct modes of previous sets too. Tracks include "Taxman", "Eleanor Rigby", "Love You To", "Here There & Everywhere", "She Said She Said", "And Your Bird Can Sing", "Tomorrow Never Knows", and "For No One". LP, Vinyl record album

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Kenny Burrell joins the quartet of Hammond hero Brother Jack McDuff – in a session that's not only a classic Prestige cooker from the 60s, but also one of Kenny's most hard grooving albums of the decade! Jack's tight group really seem to push Burrell into some great new territory – a different groove than his Blue Note or Verve sides, with a bit more grit overall – although still plenty of those perfectly-chosen notes on his solos. Harold Vick's tenor sax is the main reed element here, although Eric Dixon also plays flute on one track – and remaining players include Joe Dukes on drums and Ray Barreto on congas, a player who didn't often work with Jack, but who's very welcome here. Tracks are longish, with an open-ended soul jazz feel – not really blowing session numbers, given McDuff's tight sense of rhythm, but a nice change from the usual. Titles include "Grease Monkey", "Nica's Dream", "Love Walked In", and "We'll Be Together Again". CD