Excellent early work from Al Hudson – a soulful talent who stood his own in the late 70s, forging an up-tempo funk sound that lived long past disco, and which was sort of a platform for groups of the 80s to build a new dancefloor sound. Hudson relied heavily on bass-y funk to hit his groove, but he also gave strong focus to the good singers who worked with his groups – adding in good ballads that act as a showcase to members like bassist Kevin McCord, who sings some great vocals on this set. The album kicks off with the up-tempo groover "Spread Love", an anthemic dancefloor tune that almost points the way towards soulful house, and it's got some other nice cuts, like the ballads "Lost Inside Of You" and "Love Me Forever", plus the funky numbers "How Do You Do", and "Dance, Get Down". LP, Vinyl record album

A pair of ABC Records gems from Al Hudson & The Soul Partners – back to back on a single CD! Spreading Love is excellent early work from Al Hudson – a soulful talent who stood his own in the late 70s, forging an up-tempo funk sound that lived long past disco, and which was sort of a platform for groups of the 80s to build a new dancefloor sound. Hudson relied heavily on bass-y funk to hit his groove, but he also gave strong focus to the good singers who worked with his groups – adding in good ballads that act as a showcase to members like bassist Kevin McCord, who sings some great vocals on this set. The album kicks off with the up-tempo groover "Spread Love", an anthemic dancefloor tune that almost points the way towards soulful house, and it's got some other nice cuts, like the ballads "Lost Inside Of You" and "Love Me Forever", plus the funky numbers "How Do You Do", and "Dance, Get Down". Happy Feet is joyous, bouncy sounds from the legendary Al Hudson – a sweet little set with his Soul Partners group, done in a mode that's right up there with the best music of his One Way combo! The grooves are uptempo, yet are much more rooted in ensemble funk than some of the disco of Al's contemporaries – and if anything, the album really shows a great evolution from the funk bands of the previous generation to a newer, more sophisticated style overall. Hudson's work at the helm is wonderful – and helps steer the group towards some nice mellow moments too – with arrangements from Kevin McCord, Rudy Robinson, and Dave Roberson. Alicia Myers serves up some great early vocals with the group – and titles include "I Don't Want You To Leave Me", "Another Love Song", "You Can Do It", "In The Basement", "Call Me", and "Rock". CD

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... 7-inch, Vinyl record

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

An incredible track by The Impressions! Although it's hard to believe it now, "We're A Winner" was actually banned from radio in Chicago when it came out – because the track's politics were too strong, and the message of pride was deemed inappropriate for the mainstream stations! The cut's a great one – with Curtis' famous "movin' on up" line, and some excellent vocals. "It's All Over" is Curtis' original version of the song that Walter Jackson scored big with – and his version's nearly as great as Walter's! 7-inch, Vinyl record

Jackie & Roy at the height of their ABC powers – really stepping out strongly here with a bold jazz vocal approach that nobody else can touch! Both Roy Kral and Jackie Cain get a few moments of their own in the spotlight, especially Jackie, who steps out on a number of the tracks – but as usual, the duo's at their best when singing together – which they do beautifully here, trading lyrical lines with tremendous charm! Most instrumentation is small combo – with Roy on piano, Monty Budwig on bass, and Shelly Manne on drums – and titles include "From This Moment On", "Kiss & Run", "Cake Walk", "Have You Met Miss Jones", "Who Cares", and "How Are You Fixed For Love". LP, Vinyl record album

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Joe Walsh and the James Gang at Carnegie Hall – with titles that include "Stop', "You're Gonna Need Me", "Ashes The Rain & I", "Tend My Garden", "Walk Away", and "Lost Woman". LP, Vinyl record album

A mixed bag of styles, but a really groovy soundtrack overall – with some great moments! The film is a mad modern look at love and lovers – and as such, it's got a number of different themes to sum up the moods – including a few very nice vocal numbers that have hiply swinging lyrics. Other tunes are instrumentals, and the best ones are really nice groovers with a late 60s feel – including one with electric harpsichord, and another with a jazzy piano groove. Titles include "Wedding Waltz", "There's No Gap", "For All We Know", "Comin Thru To Me", "You'll Meet My Roomate At The Wedding", and "Keepin Free". LP, Vinyl record album

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Includes "You Move Me So", "No Money No Luck", "I Need Your Love", "Rainin' All The Time", "I'm With You", and "Stop Putting The Hurt On Me". 7-inch, Vinyl record

With Jorge D'Alto, Oscar Castro Neves, Abraham Laboriel, Lenny White, Airto Moreira, Alex Acuna, Paulinho Da Costa, Victor Feldman, Bob Magnusson, and William Smitty Smith. LP, Vinyl record album

Probably the biggest record ever by this sweeeet Chicago soul group! "I Do" was later ruined by a bad cover by J Geils – but this early version is a killer, with soaring harmonies that really make the track groove! "My Heart" is great too – a mellow number, with some great late nite harmonies that dip and turn. 7-inch, Vinyl record

Dave's 1955 debut for ABC Records – a date that features McKenna playing 13 shorter tunes – all handled in solo mode with a wonderfully sensitive touch – one that's never too sleepy, but which has a personal, up-close style that's really great. Dave nicely avoids cliches of other 50s soloists on his instrument – and has a great sense of rhythm on the keys without echoing too much of Tatum or Garner. Titles include "Blues Up", "Why Was I Born", "Deed I Do", "For All We Know", "Like Someone In Love", and "S Wonderful". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A killer bit of crossover pop from the mid 60s – and the kind of groover that brought the Carolina beach sound to the top 40 charts! Includes the group's classic hit "Girl Watcher", a groover that we always enjoy hearing, plus other nice ones like "The Soul Clap", "Love Machine", and "Little Miss Flirt". Produced by Johnny Pate, too! LP, Vinyl record album

A key crossover moment for New Orleans soul – a full album's worth of work to follow-up on Lloyd Price's hit "Personality" – arranged and produced by Don Costa, with a sound to give the work just a bit more of a pop crossover appeal! Don's presence still doesn't dampen Lloyd's bluesy appeal, though – as Price is still heading up his own group, and working with a batch of tracks that are mostly originals – done in the jagged-grooving mode that made his New Orleans soul some of the first to really break big at a nationwide level. Titles include "Personality", "Yakety Yak Bing Bang", "Poppa Shun", "I Want You To Know", "I'm Gonna Get Married", "Is it Really Love", and "Dinner For One". LP, Vinyl record album

The final album issued by Impulse Records in their short-lived, ill-fated partnership with Sun Ra – and maybe the most far-reaching of the bunch! The album features three long tracks – all of them relatively open and unbridled – put together with less of a song structure than some of the group's other Impulse albums, at a level that's also quite far from some of their more spiritual modes of the early 70s too! Percussion figures strongly, but in a loose way – with less of the rhythmic pulse or exotic modes of the group's roots – and the real strength of the set lies in the reeds at many moments – handled by Eloe Omoe, Danny Ray Thompson, Marshal Allen, and John Gilmore – all given this strong focus by the incredible bass of Ronnie Boykins. Ra himself creates these fantastic sounds on an other-worldly keyboard – most likely some offbeat 70s electric organ with effects – and titles include "Pathways to Unknown Worlds", "Extension Out", and "Cosmo-Media". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic bit of 60s pop psych by Tommy Roe – an album that's got a dizzy, trippy image on the cover – but a nicely tight sound overall! The whole thing's put together with a top-shelf team of talents – producer Steve Barri, arranger Jimmie Haskell, and studio help that includes the great Hal Blaine on drums – whose work on the record creates some occasional snapping currents that make the whole thing a lot groovier than you might expect! These drums almost up a soul quotient from the bottom of the tunes – which makes for a wonderful surprise, and even makes things a bit funky too – while Tommy himself handles some great sing-song vocals over the top. Titles include "Heather Honey", "Cinnamon", "Dollar's Worth Of Pennies", "Makin Music", "Stormy", "Money Is My Pay", and "Dizzy". LP, Vinyl record album

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Funky funky Bobby! "Gotta Have Money" is a fast bluesy number – done in a fast vamp mode, one that really works well with Bobby's vocals, and gives the tune an almost sock-boogaloo style. "Camel Walk" is the real groover though – with bass picking around a nice complicated groove, very jumping in that "camel walk" mode from the late 60s! 7-inch, Vinyl record

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God, we love this record – and we're not ashamed to admit it! Sure, it sold a gazillion copies – and sure, for some folks it showed the true demise of the Crusaders ensemble. But for us, it's a masterpiece of smooth fusion, and a landmark album of easy jazz that spawned countless imitators that could never hope to match Sample's simple and elegant use of funky riffing and lyrical chords – coming in with just the right dash of darkness when the record's in danger of sounding too light. Most of the rest of the Crusaders had a hand in the record, and the set's got the smooth west coast sound you'd expect from the title. Tracks include "Carmel", "Cannery Row", "Sunrise", and "More Beautiful Each Day". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A great 50s vocal session – for a number of reasons! One of the strongest is Patricia herself – a fresh-voice singer who's without hoke – backed by some moody arrangements from the Creed Taylor Orchestra. Even better is the selection of tunes – which includes a number of really unusual songs that push past the obvious standards – many of them in a dark mood that really fits the theme of the album nicely. Titles include "Do It Again", "Wandering Swallow", "Why Baby Why", "Nothing At All", "Speed Of Light", "Just Once Around The Clock", and Patricia's own composition "Let's Sit Down & Talk It Over". LP, Vinyl record album

A really cool lost group on late 60s ABC – a bit psych, a bit bluesy, and forging both into a great hard rock sound at times! The set's got some larger arrangements by producer Bill Szymczyk – a name we don't know, but who also gives the record a superb sound overall! LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A strange late effort from Kay Starr – but a nice one! At this point in her career, Kay was way past her early 50s hits – but she still had a voice that was instantly recognizable, and which always lent itself nicely to slower and dreamier pop-type tunes. She gets plenty of those on this set – arranged and conducted by Marty Paich, who was working magic with a number of other singers at the time – and tracks include "When The Lights Go On Again", "Sunny", "Some Sweet Tomorrow", "I Don't Remember You", and "You're Finally Getting To Me". LP, Vinyl record album

Steely Dan really hitting the heights – moving into hipper, more sophisticated territory than before – pushing the envelope with both their music and lyrics, which are completely sublime! It's hard to put our finger on the magic of this one, but it's the perfect summation of everything that's come before, with a bit of a nod towards the future – yet all with a simple, song-based charm that we really love. The Becker and Fagan team get some key studio help here – showing a move away from previous group-based recordings – and Phil Woods turns in some especially nice work on his sublime solo for "Doctor Wu". Other tracks include "Black Friday", "Bad Sneakers", "Any World That I'm Welcome To", "Your Gold Teeth II", "Daddy Don't Live In That New York City No More", "Throw Back The Little Ones", and "Everyone's Gone To The Movies". CD

My god, what a record! This one's genius through and through – a set that sometimes gets eclipsed in the brilliance to come, but which is easily one of our favorites ever by Steely Dan! There's a beautifully focused feel here – thanks to Donald Fagan's incredible lead vocals, and a sense of songwriting that never takes any left turns – no odd forays into different styles or previous genres, just all steeped in Steely, as the group should be by this point! John Klemmer turns in some wonderful sax work that really helps shape the sound, and titles include the wonderful "Caves Of Altimira", "Kid Charlemagne", "Don't Take Me Alive", "Green Earrings", and "The Royal Scam". CD

A tripped-out batch of freedom rock tunes – pulled together to accompany Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper's famous trip across the wasteland of late 60s America! The set includes Steppenwolf's anthemic "Born To Be Wild", as well as their "The Pusher" – plus "Kyrie Eleison" by The Electric Prunes, "Don't Bogart Me" by The Fraternity Of Man, "Wasn't Born To Follow" by The Byrds, "If You Want To Be A Bird" by The Holy Modal Rounders, and "It's Alright Ma" and "Ballad Of Easy Rider" by Roger McGuinn. LP, Vinyl record album

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Very cool work from Creed Taylor – material cut when he was still a bandleader, and hadn't yet evolved into the role of super-producer! The session's a long way from the CTI sound of the 70s – and instead has Creed playing some very spooky stuff – compositions by Kenyon Hopkins that have a horror sort of theme – dark little tunes that would be a perfect soundtrack for a haunted house! The core instrumentation is jazz-based, but augmented with some great other touches as well – and there's two female voices that scream, groan, and make other odd noises on the record from time to time. Titles include "The Long Walk", "Jungle Fever", "Heartbeat", "Haunted House", "In Bedlam", "Time Runs Out", and "The Secret". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the greatest albums by Toots that we've ever heard – a groovy set of tunes recorded in the 60s, with Dick Hyman on organ! Hyman's lean and fluid tone is a real wonder – working better here than even on his own albums, and coming into play magically with Toots – who whistles at the same time he's playing the guitar, making for an incredibly cool whistle/organ/guitar groove that's totally outta site! Tracks include "The Valley Whistler", "Wives & Lovers", "Indian Nuts", "Falling In Love With Love", "Marionette", and a version of "Bluesette" recorded earlier in Sweden. LP, Vinyl record album

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An interesting 70s session from Jimmy – rougher and rootsier than most of his jazz-inflected 60s recordings, in a style that was clearly trying to cross him over to the college kids who were buying so much blues at the time! The set's still got a lot of jazz players on it – including Stu Gardner, Gildo Mahones, Ray Brown, and Larry Bunker – but the overall style is more in a tripped-out, laidback mode that has plenty of righteous touches, including some female backing singers (Merry Clayton and Clydie King) on a few tracks. Joe Walsh plays a bit of guitar on the set, and the album's got a great version of "Handbags & Gladrags", plus the cuts "It's Time To Live", "Redneck", "Testifying", "Stay With Me Baby", and "Evil Man Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

OV Wright at the top of his game – working here with classic Memphis production from Willie Mitchell, and a sound that should have knocked Al Green right off of the charts! Wright's vocals have a rougher edge than Al's, and the record's really dripping with deep soul feeling – a slow-burning energy that's perfectly handled by Mitchell, in ways that echo some of OV's bluesier roots, but keeps things in the more sophisticated Memphis modes of the 70s. The balance is perfect, and instrumentation is handled by a batch of Hi Records regulars – including the Memphis Horns with Wayne Jackson and Andrew Love. Wright really rises to the occasion for the whole album, and the set's arguably better than any of his later work for Hi – although that stuff is all pretty darn wonderful too! Titles include "I've Been Searching", "Lost In The Shuffle", "I'd Rather Be Blind Crippled & Crazy", "Ghetto Child", "You Must Believe In Yourself", and "I'm Going Home". LP, Vinyl record album

Features Lauren Bacall, Len Cariou, Bonnie Franklin and more. LP, Vinyl record album

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

A nice little record from Bobby Blue Bland – quite different from his 60s sides for Duke/Peacock, and recorded in California (as you might guess from the title!) with a smoother more soulful approach that comes off surprisingly well! The style works well for Bobby – and kind of gave him a new lease on life during the 70s, as he mixed his rougher bluesy vocals with some hipper arrangements – still quite deep in soul, but with a compressed sound that creates a new mode of expression. Titles include "Goin Down Slow", "Up & Down World", "Help Me Through The Day", "Where My Baby Went", "Friday The 13th Child", "This Time I'm Gone For Good", and "I've Got To Use My Imagination". CD

Not a retrospective, but an introspective – get it? Anyway, apart from the annoying title, the set's a great collection of Bobby's classic work from the 60s – 24 tracks pulled from his monumental years at Duke, a sublime blend of soul and blues, handled with a skill unmatched by no other singer! Titles include "Road Of Broken Hearted Ruin", "You're Worth It All", "Ask Me Bout Nothing", "Black Night", "If I Hadn't Called You Back", "That Did It", "Touch Of The Blues", "I Smell Trouble", and "Two Steps From The Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

A classic! What seemed a silly idea at the time was true proof of Ray's genius, and the result was the most successful album of his career – and a bona-fide number one hit that rode the charts for years and years! Ray's voice works perfectly with the material, and thanks to soulful arrangements by Gil Fuller, Marty Paich, and Gerald Wilson, the whole thing comes off to perfection. Titles include "You Don't Know Me", "I Can't Stop Lovin You", "Careless Love", "You Win Again", and "Worried Mind". LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic funky jazz from the Crusaders! The set includes some of their best cuts from their years at Blue Thumb – when they were slicking things up a bit, but still staying pretty true to their soul jazz roots. There's a lot of nice electric funky numbers, and more than a few hip hop samples on here! Titles include "Stomp & Buck Dance", "Greasy Spoon", "Scratch", "Soul Caravan", "Keep That Same Old Feeling", "Chain Reaction", "Hard Times", and "So Far Away". LP, Vinyl record album

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... 7-inch, Vinyl record

One of the coolest records ever by Johnny Hartman! Unlike his other mellow jazz vocal albums, this one's got a swinging batch of large group backings – handled by Oliver Nelson and Jack Pleis – and one in a way that really brings out a whole new side of Johnny, a very entertaining side that you never get to hear on his more sleepy standard albums. Proof of this is the excellent version of "Girl Talk" on the record, which starts with a cool little monologue about how much ladies like to talk on the phone! Other tracks include "Go Away", "If I Had You", "Old Black Magic", "Today I Love Everybody", and "T'Aint No Need". LP, Vinyl record album

Joyous, bouncy sounds from the legendary Al Hudson – a sweet little set with his Soul Partners group, done in a mode that's right up there with the best music of his One Way combo! The grooves are uptempo, yet are much more rooted in ensemble funk than some of the disco of Al's contemporaries – and if anything, the album really shows a great evolution from the funk bands of the previous generation to a newer, more sophisticated style overall. Hudson's work at the helm is wonderful – and helps steer the group towards some nice mellow moments too – with arrangements from Kevin McCord, Rudy Robinson, and Dave Roberson. Alicia Myers serves up some great early vocals with the group – and titles include "I Don't Want You To Leave Me", "Another Love Song", "You Can Do It", "In The Basement", "Call Me", and "Rock". CD features a bonus track – "You Can Do It (disco mix)". CD

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One of the greatest albums ever from The Impressions – and a set that takes their work to a whole new level, by bringing in an even more righteous sound! The core elements of the group's 60s genius are all in place here – compositions from Curtis Mayfield, arrangements from Johnny Pate, and sublime harmonies from the group. But there's also something extra too – a new level of consciousness that's creeping into the music, hinting at the more righteous subject matter of later years – but with a much more subtle approach. All tracks are great – and titles include "See the Real Me", "Woman's Got Soul", "We're In Love", "Can't Work No Longer", and "Emotions". LP, Vinyl record album

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

BB King live at the Cook County Jail in Chicago – and given the amount of great live shows going on in the institution during the early 70s, the jail must have been one hell of a place to be incarcerated! This classic features BB King entertaining the prisoners with a wickedly sharp blues set – done, like most prison live shows, with an edge that's often missing from more conventional concerts – plenty gritty, both on the vocals and guitar, with a sound the Chicago audience must have loved! Titles include "How Blue Can You Get", "Worry Worry", "Sweet Sixteen", "The Thrill Is Gone", "Please Accept My Love", and "Every Day I Have The Blues". CD

BB King live at the Cook County Jail in Chicago – and given the amount of great live shows going on in the institution during the early 70s, the jail must have been one hell of a place to be incarcerated! This classic features BB King entertaining the prisoners with a wickedly sharp blues set – done, like most prison live shows, with an edge that's often missing from more conventional concerts – plenty gritty, both on the vocals and guitar, with a sound the Chicago audience must have loved! Titles include "How Blue Can You Get", "Worry Worry", "Sweet Sixteen", "The Thrill Is Gone", "Please Accept My Love", and "Every Day I Have The Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

Heavy fuzzed out psychedelia from the late 60s Twin Cities scene – the wild and hard charging Emerge from The Litter – with a heft that would be just as right at home in Detroit at the time as it was in Minneapolis! A lot of that has to due to with the heft – the drums pound heavily and the vocalists wail more than sing – this is a nasty piece of business, this Litter! Still, lumbering as chose to, there's still a nice groove that comes out, particularly on the less frezious moments, and the titles include "Journeys", "Feeling", "Silly People", "Blue Ice", "For What It's Worth", "Little Red Book", "Breakfeast At Gardenson's", and "Futures Of The Past". LP, Vinyl record album

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

Early early work from Odetta – still done in the folksy mode you'd expect from other records of the 60s, but also with a slight flavor of trad jazz too – thanks to the presence of some great musicians on the date! The group features some standout horn work from Buck Clayton on trumpet, Vic Dickenson on trombone, and Herb Hall on clarinet – all of whom bring in a New Orleans flavor to the music that's quite surprising – almost a back door link of Odetta's groove to older African-American traditions, but not in the ways that are usually foregrounded in her work. Other players include Dick Wellstood on piano, Ahmed Abdul-Malik on bass, and Shep Shepherd on drums – and titles include "Hard Oh Lord", "Oh My Babe", "Yonder Come The Blues", "Make Me A Pallet On Your Floor", "Hogan's Alley", and "Leavin This Mornin". LP, Vinyl record album

Features a small group with Odom on vocals – plus Earl Hooker on guitar, and Johnny Walker on piano and organ! LP, Vinyl record album

Pettiford's second album of big band tracks for ABC during the 50s – a more open-ended set than the previous one, with modernist touches that really make the set sparkle nicely. Part of these are due to Gigi Gryce, who plays alto on the record, and probably had a bit of a hand in arrangements. Other players include Art Farmer, Jerome Richardson, and Al Grey – and tracks include "I Remember Clifford", "Little Niles", "Now See How You Are", and "Seabreeze". LP, Vinyl record album

A different record for Sam Rivers – especially when you compare it to the rest of his early 70s output! Rivers' own playing is still very similar to other records – in that he's blowing his head off on tenor, soprano, and flute – but the backing's by a pretty fierce rhythm combo that keeps on going in these modal lines, not really straight, but comping and vamping a lot in contrast to Rivers' freewheeling solos – a great balance that really sets this one apart. Players include Ted Dunbar, Dave Holland, and Barry Altschul – and titles include "Dawn", "Flare", "Flame", and "Scud". LP, Vinyl record album

Surprisingly wonderful work from Tommy Roe – a set that goes way farther than his Dizzy hit, thanks to production and arrangements from Sunshine maestro Curt Boettcher! The style here is definitely a lot more trippy than we remember in Tommy's work – still pop, but filled with weird rhythms, odd production, and unusual references in most every tune. Credit should definitely be given to Roe too, as he wrote nearly every song on the album – but we can also hear a real Millenium-era sound in the way the whole thing was put together, a sense of playful polish and gentle fuzz that really keeps the record exciting! Titles include "Leave Her", "Moontalk", "Golden Girl", "Misty Eyes", "Long Live Love", "Nightime", "Sweet Sounds", "Cry On Crying Eyes", and "Have Pity On Me". CD also features the bonus track "Kick Me Charlie". LP, Vinyl record album

Superb work from Steely Dan – and a record that really shows them hitting perfection in the studio! The core sound of this one's jazzier than before – with some great help on instrumentation from Victor Feldman, Lanny Morgan, Bill Perkins, and other west coast jazzers – all helping the group sound great on some of the tightest tracks ever written by the team of Becker and Fagan! Ecstasy is definitely in reach with the sound of this set – a sublime effort all the way through that really set a whole new standard in 70s rock! Includes classics like "Bodhisattva", "Your Gold Teeth", "My Old School", and "Show Biz Kids". CD

Superb work from Steely Dan – and a record that really shows them hitting perfection in the studio! The core sound of this one's jazzier than before – with some great help on instrumentation from Victor Feldman, Lanny Morgan, Bill Perkins, and other west coast jazzers – all helping the group sound great on some of the tightest tracks ever written by the team of Becker and Fagan! Ecstasy is definitely in reach with the sound of this set – a sublime effort all the way through that really set a whole new standard in 70s rock! Includes classics like "Bodhisattva", "Your Gold Teeth", "My Old School", and "Show Biz Kids". LP, Vinyl record album

Magical music from the team of Donald Fagan and Walter Becker – one of those records that seems to state its existence in simple, straightforward terms – but which is also filled with undeniably complex moments! There's a definite echo of older jazz here – heard famously in the Horace Silver riff stolen for "Rikki Don't Lose That Number", or the Duke Ellington cover of "East St Louis Toodle-oo" – as well as in the group's own "Parker's Band" – one of the strangest songs you'll ever hear about Bird! Yet there's also a lot more going on too – complicated changes and timings, oblique lyrics, and a warmly produced sound that really sparkles on tracks like "Any Major Dude Will Tell You", "Monkey In Your Soul", "With A Gun", "Pretzel Logic", "Night By Night", and "Charlie Freak". LP, Vinyl record album

The first album by Three Dog Night – cut back when they were a hip LA combo getting a lot of help and inspiration from The Beach Boys! The set's got a bit of a harder rocking sound than you might expect from some of their later hits – heavy drums and lots of guitars, mixed in with the sweeter and trippy harmony styles of the group. Titles include "Heaven Is In Your Mind", "It's For You", "One", "Chest Fever", "Let Me Go", "Find Someone To Love", and "The Loner". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

One of the excellent recordings made by The Dramatics at ABC – great group soul gems that are sometimes overlooked because they didn't yield as many hits as earlier sets – but which are stellar records nonetheless! This one's got all the right elements firmly in place – killer production by Don Davis, and smooth but real harmonies from LJ Reynolds, Ron Banks, and the rest of the group. There's a few tracks that hit a smooth sort of groove that might be tagged as "disco" – but which is really just an extension of the super-dope mode that the group used in earlier years – and which has a lot more to offer than just a cheap dancefloor cash in. Titles include "Life Is Just A Playground", "Love Birds", "A Marriage On Paper Only", "I'm Hooked On You", "That's My Favorite Song", "I Think About You", and "I Just Wanna Dance With You". CD

2 tracks that weren't on Eddie's album for ABC, and both of them strong soul tracks in his trademark raw falsetto sound. 7-inch, Vinyl record

Fantastic stuff from John Lee Hooker, and a record that's unlike any other he's ever done! The groove is very hard and funky, with tight drumbreaks and excellent basslines that you'd hardly expect to find on an album by a blues artist – jamming around with a tight groove that really makes us love the record! The guitar on the set is wonderfully scratchy – ripping up and down over heavy drums, with some nice horn touches to flesh the sound up – and wicked vocals from Hook that give the whole set a nice and nasty feel! The best cuts include "Make It Funky", "713 Blues", "714 Blues", and "Bluebird" – and the record's got some very nice breaks! LP, Vinyl record album

Two fantastic early albums by Al Hudson – working here with his initial group, The Soul Partners! First up is Especially For You – a record that's kind of a first chapter to all the excellent work by One Way to come – even though Al's not using that group name at this time! The record's got this cool, classy vibe – an update of an earlier Detroit soul mode, and one that maybe followed that city's shift a few years later than 70s soul changes in Philly during the decade – and handled with a similar blend of groovers and mellow cuts! The vibe is similar to the great shift The Dramatics were making on ABC Records at the time – and Al and the group work here with production by Al Perkins and arrangements by Jimmy Roach. Titles include "Baby Let Me Love You", "I Got A Notion You Got The Motion", "Real Love", "You're So Wonderful", and "Trying To Prove My Love". Cherish is a funky soul classic from Al Hudson and the Soul Partners – a second full length set, and one that really has Hudson finding his groove! The rhythms are funkier than before – thanks to strong work on bass from Kevin McCord, who also joins Al a bit on vocals – in a mode that still continues the group's strong work on midtempo numbers, but also maybe answers a 70s disco wave with more of a Detroit funk overall! Great work from the group that would later turn into One Way – with titles that include "Tripped, Slipped, Stumbled, & Fell", "If You Get Caught", "If You Feel Like Dancing", and "I Like Everything About You". CD also features bonus tracks – "Feelings (7" version)" and "If You Feel Like Dancin (12" version)". CD