A richly dramatic score by Jerry Goldsmith – originally penned for an early TV mini-series in the 70s, but re-recorded here in a bold new version! The music has a bit more grandeur at times than some of Goldsmith's other soundtracks – still a hint of the action themes that we love in his best records, but also some more stately elements that correspond with the legal drama behind the story. LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

An excellent trippy soundtrack – to a film we'd love to see, and which starred Charles Aznavour, Ringo Starr, John Astin, James Coburn, John Huston, Richard Burton, and Marlon Brando! The crazy outing is accompanied by a great Dave Grusin score that includes lots and lots of heavy guitars – quite different from his usual bag, and a nice fit with the few vocal numbers in the film – some standout rock titles that go along nicely with Dave's sweet instrumental grooves! Includes "Rock Me" and "Magic Carpet Ride" by Steppenwolf, "Child Of The Universe" by The Byrds, and the excellent Grusin instrumentals "Marlon & His Sacred Bird", "Constant Journey", "Spec Ra Tac Para Comm", and "Opening Night By Surgery". LP, Vinyl record album

An excellent batch of rare material by vocalist Johnny Hartman, and a very strong set of tracks that shows a side of his work that's often ignored! Usually, Hartman gets cited for his slow, moody, syrupy sound – such as that which he used in his classic recordings with Coltrane. However, we really dig the side that's exposed on this album – the shorter, livelier, more uptempo jazz numbers, done with a swing that you don't normally get with Johnny, and proof that he really was a tremendously versatile singer! Arrangements are by Gerald Wilson, and titles include "Fools Rush In", "Down In The Depths", "Bidin' My Time", "The More I See You", "Once In A While", and "Almost Like Being In Love". LP, Vinyl record album

Accompanied by Don Costa's orchestra and chorus. LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Eddie's masterpiece LP of late sixties soul, with the classic "Hey There Lonely Girl", the title cut, and a lot of other great original compositions. The sound on here is perfect, and nearly every cut shines. There's almost no filler, and Eddie's voice is strong, beautiful, and has a raspy edge that sounds great! We love this one to death, and it's a surprisingly great album all the way through by a star that you might mistake for a one-hit wonder. Titles include "I Cried", "Let Me Into Your Life", "Am I A Loser", and "Four Walls". CD

Fantastic early work from Al Hudson – 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". 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

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

Not as "electro" as you might expect from the title, but a pretty nice little record from Dick! The album has Hyman playing Baldwin electric piano in front of larger orchestrations – running through a suite of tracks that move from jazz to classic to "rock" type rhythms – at the best moments soaring like some hip soundtrack tunes, and at the weaker ones, just sounding like spare jazz solo work. The album features one long piece of music, divided up into many moods and tones. LP, Vinyl record album

2 lesser-known cuts, but both masterful Chicago soul singles with arrangements by Johnny Pate, and writing credits by Curtis Mayfield. "Too Slow" is a catchy groover, with kind of a midtempo step groove to it! 7-inch, Vinyl record

A well-titled set from the fantastic Impressions – a record that mixes a few of their usual Curtis Mayfield-penned tunes with some other 60s material that really shows the range of the group on vocals! The arrangements are by Johnny Pate, who handled the group's best work of the 60s – and he gives all the material a great sound that perfectly matches the smooth raspy harmonies of the trio. Curtis contributed the song "Don't Cry My Love", Pate wrote "Oo You're A Livin Doll", and other tunes include "East Of Java", "Sermonette", "The Look Of Love", "Yesterday", "Fool On The Hill", "This Is The Life", and "Just Before Sunrise". LP, Vinyl record album

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

... LP, Vinyl record album

Quincy turns his soul jazz arranging style to a band filled with West Coast players, and he gets them to groove a lot more than you'd expect! Players include Herb Geller, Art Pepper, Charlie Mariano, Bill Perkins, and Walter Benton. The tracks are short, with tight solo space, and most of them were written and arranged by West Coasters like Jimmy Giuffre, Lennie Niehaus, and Johnny Mandel. Titles include "Be My Guest", "London Derriere", "Kings Road Blues", "The Oom Is Blues", and "Bright Moon". LP, Vinyl record album

BB King's collapsed here on the beach in California – and maybe that's because he gave so much energy to the session – which is a lot more full than some of his previous work from the 60s! The whole thing is a mix of blues and soul – some larger charts that really provide a great backdrop for BB's vocals, which dominate a bit more in the set than his guitar – although there's definitely a few tracks here that feature that trademark King magic on the strings! Titles include "Just Can't Please You", "Any Other Way", "Guess Who", "Better Lovin Man", "Five Long Years", and "Shouldn't Have Left Me". LP, Vinyl record album

BB King brings in a sweet dose of jazz to his work – just a touch of the funkier backings that some of his electric contemporaries were getting at the time – maybe not as hard-wailing as some of the Chess funky blues records, but definitely somewhere in that direction! Players on the date include Mel Brown and Jesse Davis on guitars, Bobby Bryant on trumpet, Red Holloway on tenor, Plas Johnson on baritone, Clifford Coulter and Victor Feldman on piano, and the great Earl Palmer on drums. Titles include "Help The Poor", "Can't You Hear Me Talking To You", "Midnight", "I Got Some Help I Don't Need", "I've Been Blue Too Long", "Lucille's Granny, and "Can't You Hear Me Talking To You". LP, Vinyl record album

BB King not just live, but well-recorded in the studio too – in this classic ABC set that showcases both sides of his talents! Side one is the live set – and it's arguably better than any of the previous other concert recordings he did for the label – with a tighter, moodier feel that's almost more small club – with backing from a combo that features Charlie Boles on Hammond, Patrick Williams on trumpet, and Lee Gatling on tenor. Live titles include "Just A Little Love", "Sweet Little Angel", "Don't Answer The Door", and "Please Accept My Love". Side two is studio material, with some mighty sweet arrangements by Johnny Pate that almost bring a bit of funk into the mix at times – particularly on the drums which really groove things along! Herbe Lovelle handles the drum kit, and overall things are leaner than any previous Pate work with King – nice and raw, on cuts that include "I Want You So Bad", "Friends", "Get Off My Back Woman", and "Why I Sing The Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

An excellent set by BB King – one of his best from the 60s, and a smoking live set recorded at Chicago's legendary Regal Theatre! The enthusiasm at the venue shows that BB's Memphis-honed style is a perfect fit for the electrified Chicago sound of the 60s – and the recording really brings out some wonderful responses from the audience – making the record a blues equivalent of James Brown's famous Live At The Apollo set! The record features introductions by Chicago DJs Pervis Spann and E Rodney Jones – and tracks include "Every Day", "Please Love Me", "Worry Worry", "Woke Up This Morning", "Help The Poor", and "You Upset Me Baby". LP, Vinyl record album

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

A mid 70s meeting of two seminal blues talents from the Memphis scene – singer Bobby Blue Bland, and legendary guitarist BB King! The pair were both working for ABC at the time – major label fame after years woodshedding in the indies – and hitting well-deserved fame for their huge talents – still as fresh here as they were a decade before, and unmarred by any studio sanitization in this great live set! The record does an especially good job of bringing together the artists verbally – letting Bobby and BB open up and rap a bit during the songs – yet still having plenty of space to go into their own thing musically, too. Titles include "It's My Own Fault", "I'll Take Care Of You", "I'm Sorry", "3 O'Clock Blues", "Goin Down Slow", and a great long Medley track. LP, Vinyl record album

A Philly-styled groover from Eloise Laws – a tune that's got plenty of rolling clubby rhythms on the intro, then gives way to a great soulful lyric that almost hearkens back to Ella's earlier days! "1000 Laughs" is pretty good too – also upbeat, but somehow just a few notches not as catchy. 12-inch, Vinyl record

One of the few full albums ever cut by The Masqueraders – a stellar vocal group who recorded some excellent singles in the 60s, and were fortunate enough to be pulled into the big time by Isaac Hayes for his Hot Buttered Soul imprint on ABC! The band mixes their smooth Memphis style with some tighter arrangements by Ike and Lester Snell – and the result is a nice batch of modern soul tracks that keeps up the groove of the Hot Buttered sound nicely! Tracks include "Be For Real", "Runaway Slave", "It's A Terrible Thing To Waste Your Love", and "Love Between A Woman And A Man". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

An obscure TV score by Lionel Newman – with some cool arrangements by Marty Paich, Billy May, and Warren Baker – and titles that include "Tully's Bar", "Toast To Joanna", "Blues For Evans", "Jade Empress", "Chop Chop Waltz", "Chinese Cha Cha", and "Number One Girl". LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

Fantastic indeed – as the great Lloyd Price takes on some more familiar tunes with his legendary vocals – working with Sid Feller arrangements on tracks that include "Let's Fall In Love", "Undecided", "What Is This Thing Called Love", and "Mean To Me" – plus "Five Foot Two" and "Little Volcano". LP, Vinyl record album

One of Della Reese's greatest records – and a unique little session cut "live in the studio" before a very appreciative crowd! Bobby Bryant wrote out some very hip charts for the session, and they're made even better by organ work by Bill Doggett and piano lines by Gerald Wiggins – both of whom are in Della's group on the record. The whole thing's got a very nice groovy feel – similar to some of the best pop jazz coming out of LA at the time – and titles include "Gotta Travel On", "Girl Talk", "Driftin Blues", "Good Morning Blues", and "Detour Ahead". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

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

A sublime solo set from the great Joe Sample – a set recorded right at a time when his work with The Crusaders was breaking very big, and Joe was becoming one of the hottest fusion keyboardists of the 70s! This set gives Sample a nicely different focus than The Crusaders – more keyboards in the lead, with a great mix of acoustic piano and electric modes – over these really well-crafted arrangements that feature key Crusaders members, but also allow for great work from David D Walker on guitar, Fred Jackson on tenor, and some other great west coast studio talents too. The vibe is great – almost a Steely Dan jazz album, and we mean that in the best way possible – on titles that include "Rainbow Seeker", "Fly With The Wings Of Love", "In All My Wildest Dreams", and the classic "There Are Many Stops Along The Way". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A really cool lost group on late 60s ABC – a bit psych, with maybe a slight UK influence – able to turn out some nicely varied, but nicely focused songs throughout this debut set! The record's one of those great lost sides from the time – a group who've clearly got chops and plenty of ideas of their own – lucky enough to get some time in the studio with a label who gave them the space to try out new things – which they do to great effect here on both the lyrical and instrumental sides of the record! 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 – augmenting the ideas of the group in just the right way, while never burying their identity. Titles include "Custody" – a very strange song about divorce – plus "Not A Whole Lot I Can Do", "Long Haired Boy", "For All Time", "Come On Down Girl", "Walk In My Mind", "Skitzo Blues", and "Hours". CD

A very cool album by a cat who sounds a lot hipper on record than he looks on the cover – guitarist Del Staton, who plays here with all sorts of cool effects on his guitar, so that he's creating some weird, almost-electronic elements at times – and percussive elements at others! At the core, Staton's got a warm, clean tone that could be in the Tal Farlow camp – but his phrasing and these extra bits really change things up in a great way – completely unexpected! 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

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

... LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include "Born To Be Wild", "Sookie Sookie", "Berry Rides Again", "Your Wall's Too High", and "Desperation". LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include "Ball Crusher", "Forty Days & Forty Nights", "Snow Bliend Friend", "Who Needs Ya", and "Earschplittenloudenboomer". LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include "Sooki Sooki", "Don't Step On The Grass Sam", "The Pusher", "Magic Carpet Ride", and "Tighten Up Your Wig". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Mellow and wonderful work from Billy Taylor – caught here in a setting that feels much more relaxed and unrestrained than some of his other 50s outings! The group's his classic trio with Percy Brice on drums and Earl May on bass – and Billy's incredibly inventive on the keys, working through a long original entitled "Midnight Piano", as well as great readings of "The London House", "Love Is Here To Stay", "Stella By Starlight", and "Gone With The Wind". LP, Vinyl record album

With Morey Feld (drums), Edward Goldberg (bass), and Ben Mortell (guitar). LP, Vinyl record album

A great bit of funk from this obscure 70s combo – the first of their many good albums, and with a sound that's rougher and rawer than the others. The band's grooving in a pretty slow mode here – without the uptempo club tracks of later years – and they've got a style that's a mix of electric LA wah wah funk, plus some of the more Afro-influenced rhythms you might expect from their name. The set's got many great numbers – including the killer cut "Smoke", which begins with fuzzy wah-wah guitar, rolling congas, and a mighty nice groove! Other titles include "Siggy Siggy", "Young Warrior", "The World Should Learn To Party Together", and "We've Got To Life Together". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A great set of rare early material by Betty Carter – and just about the only way you'll ever find these titles on vinyl! The set features one album Betty Recorded for the Peacock label, with hip arrangements by Gigi Gryce and Melba Liston, and one that she recorded for ABC, with more mainstream arrangements by Richard Wess. And although both albums don't have Betty singing in the strident style she adopted in later years, they're still pretty darn great, and are filled with a lot of rich emotion and strong jazz vocalizing. Titles include "Jazz Ain't Nothin But Soul", "I Can't Help It", "By The Bend In The River", "Foul Play", "Babe's Blues", "Mean To Me", "Something Wonderful", and "Make It Last". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A classic live set from Ray Charles – one that equally showcases all the best sides of his sound in the mid 60s! The group's got a nice dose of jazz – which it shows right at the start – almost a mix of Basie swing and R&B, of the sort that Ray was sporting heavily in the late Atlantic years, but didn't always get to display in the countrified early years on ABC – and players include David Fathead Newman on tenor, Hank Crawford on alto, and Julian Priester on trombone – all horn players who really help the whole thing swing! Ray plays some great piano alongside his vocals – and tunes include rollicking versions of "I Got A Woman", "You Don't Know Me", "Makin' Whoopee", "Hallelujah I Love Her So", and "What'd I Say". LP, Vinyl record album

Apart from the title's terrible pun on the Glenn Campbell hit of the mid 70s, this album's a real treat – a very soulful batch of smooth funky jazz tunes by The Crusaders, who by this point have fully emerged to claim the throne of the pop soul jazz genre they virtually invented. The record's got razor-sharp production, which you'll hear perfectly in the album's jazz stepping hit "Keep That Same Old Feeling", one of the best tunes ever to come from the pen of Wayne Henderson, and a track that he recorded endlessly with other groups. Other tracks include "Feeling Funky", "Spiral", and "Til The Sun Shines". LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic soul from Lamont Dozier – his first LP as a solo artist, and one of the best debuts of the 70s! The record has a quality that's impossible to describe accurately – but it's kind of a post-Motown full-on approach to soul that mixes strings, piano, and that wall of sound groove that was one of Dozier's biggest contributions to the Motor City. Surprisingly, the album's produced by McKinley Jackson – leader of The Politicians, who provided regular backing for Dozier's HDH productions of the time. The real strength, though, is Dozier's voice – which is produced here in a compressed way that brings up the better raspy qualities of his style, juxtaposing them with the tightness of the arrangements in a mode that's similar to Bobby Womack's work of the time. However, Dozier's songwriting is way way better than Womack's by this point – and the album's filled with anthemic soul cuts like "Fish Aint' Bitin", "Out Here On My Own", "Take Off Your Make Up", "Trying To Hold Onto My Woman", and "Let Me Make Love To You". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

The biggest moment ever for saxophonist John Handy – an album that crossed over big, thanks to a tremendously funky title cut! Handy first rose to fame back in the 60s – playing modernist jazz with Charlies Mingus, and opening up on his own in a stretch of great albums that evolved from hardbop, to modal jazz, to some even freer world jazz experiments in the 70s. Here, though, he's back in very soulful territory – working in a combo that has keyboards and guitar, and plenty of grooves that are somewhere in a space between early 70s CTI/Kudu and similar dates on Cadet or Prestige Records! The style's a great balance of modes – and although electric, the album's never too smooth – thanks to relatively small instrumentation on most numbers, and an approach that still lets most of the energy come from the interaction of the core group members. Players include Hotep Cecil Barnard on keyboards, Mike Hoffman on guitar, Chuck Rainey on bass, and James Gadson on drums – and Handy plays both alto and tenor, and even sings a bit on a few cuts. Titles include the JBs-styled "Hard Work", plus "Afro Wiggle", "Didn't I Tell You", "Love For Brother Jack", "You Don't Know", and "Young Enough To Dream". LP, Vinyl record album

A nice 70s collection of classic 60s ABC work by the early Impressions – not necessarily the group's biggest hits, but a nice batch of work nonetheless! The work is all seminal Chicago soul – recorded mostly with arrangements by Johnny Pate, sung with that sweet crackling harmony style the group was using at the time, and featuring tracks from the years 1962 to 1967 that include "Little Young Lover", "I Need Your Love", "Can't Satisfy", "Too Slow", "I Can't Stay Away From You", "Meeting Over Yonder", and "You've Been Cheatin". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most tightly-produced of BB King's albums for MCA, but a set that's still filled with undeniable charm – and which really shows King more than able to step up to some well-deserved superstardom! There's a bit of an LA finish to the backings, but things are never too smooth – and BB's vocals and guitar both really shine in this setting – with inflections and edges that are just wonderful throughout! The balance is great – that rare ability that MCA had to serve up such records at the time – and titles include "A World Full Of Strangers", "Midnight Believer", "Never Make A Move Too Soon", "Hold On", "I Just Can't Leave Your Love Alone", and "When It All Comes Down". CD

With Jorge Dalto and Victor Feldman on piano, Oscar Castro Neves on guitar, Abraham Laboriel and Bob Magnusson on bass, Lenny White and Alex Acuna on drums, Airto Moreira and Paulinho Da Costa on percussion, and William Smitty Smith on organ. LP, Vinyl record album

Great 60s material from this classic duo – a mixture of witty duets and great straight singing! LP, Vinyl record album

A landmark blend of gospel spirit and 70s soul – and one of the greatest moments ever from The Mighty Clouds Of Joy! Like so many other soul artists before them, these guys have voices that are steeped in the best traditions of gospel – but rather than giving up their roots and going secular, they just cut this set with the best Philly soul help of the time – arrangements from Wade Marcus, and a smoking Sigma Sound lineup that includes work from Norman Harris, Vince Montana, Bobby Eli, Ronnie Baker, and Earl Young – all of whom give the record the vibe of the best Philly International material from the time! Dave Crawford produced, but the set almost feels more Gamble & Huff than anything else – as the quintet's vocals really soar on tracks that include "Stoned World", "Time", "Mighty Cloud Of Joy", "The Master Plan", and "Heart Full Of Love". LP, Vinyl record album

Bassy funk from Shotgun – on their third album at this point, and still very much in the tight groove that gave them their start! The format's nothing fancy, but one of the better mainstream takes on funk at the time – a groove that's got the complicated rhythm patterns that lets the group show off their chops – yet which also hits the straight ahead grooving style done by Cameo and Confunkshun. Titles are all longish, and include "Skate", "Midnight Breakdown", "Don't You Wanna Make Love", "Burnin Passion", "Special Lady", and "Stone Women". LP, Vinyl record album

An undisputed masterpiece, and a record we never tire of hearing – unabashedly the inspiration for our years of jazzy exploration as adults, even though it was probably the closest thing we ever got to the genre as wee lads! Walter Becker & Donald Fagan raise their already-high bar to new heights here – creating one of those rare records that flows together so beautifully, it's hard to remember where some songs begin and others end. There's a sense of perfection in everything about the record – the sound, the songs, the instrumentation – all woven together beautifully without any sense of self-consciousness. One majestic flow that starts with "Black Cow", and runs through classics that include "Aja", "Deacon Blues", "Peg", "Home At Last", "I Got The News", and "Josie". 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". LP, Vinyl record album

Great work from Bobby Blue Bland – one of the few artists to rise up at the end of the 50s, and still find a way to chart their own path forward in soul with fresh material like this! Bobby's voice is still incredible here, and he works with production from Al Bell and Monk Higgins, the latter of whom arranged – in this cool style that's a bit like some of the territory that Tyrone Davis was taking on at Columbia Records during the second half of the 70s – fuller arrangements that bring some sophisticated soul touches to the music, but in ways that never lose the core of Bobby's genius! Titles include "Lady Lonely", "Night Games", "You Can Count On Me", "Love To See You Smile", "Come Fly With Me", and "To Be Friends". LP, Vinyl record album

The second album from The Floaters – and just as bit a mellow soul classic as their first! The group still have an incredibly sweet harmony sound that easily beats the best of the rest of the harmony crowd at the time – and they sound especially great on the album's mellower tunes, which really let their voices open up and unfold. The set kicks off with an amazing long tune called "Magic (We Thank You)" – very much in the spirit of the first album's "Float On", with a slow intro, and a warm gliding approach that's really great! Other tracks include "The Time Is Now", "Let's Try Love", "Anything That Keeps You Satisfied", and a nice take on Bobby Franklin's "Whatever Your Sign". LP, Vinyl record album

Jerry Goldsmith's score for one of the greatest movies of the 70s – done with this spacious mix of jazzy elements that's completely sublime – and a bit like some of Johnny Mandel's best scoring too! The film is set in the 30s, but Goldsmith uses a lot of mature 70s elements in his music – nothing electric or funky, but just these open orchestrations that are really wonderful, and especially moody – sometimes laced with a jazzy trumpet solo, or a bit of piano – almost with that old Hollywood-through-crumbling LA of the 70s motif that you'd find in the music to Long Goodbye. Titles include "The Wrong Clue", "The Captive", "The Boy On A Horse", "The Last Of Ida", "Easy Living", and "Noah Cross". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Hardly the disco set you might guess from the title – and instead, a surprisingly soulful gem from the post-Stax years of Isaac Hayes! There's certainly a bit of uptempo grooving in the mix – but, as on Ike's Polydor years, the approach is still handled with the deeper sounds that Hayes first forged over at Stax – a way of putting together the groove that's almost like a mini-symphony in soul – still quite complex, even when aimed at the dancefloor! But not all cuts are groovers, too – as there's some key mellow moments on the record that really help balance things out, and which we really like a lot – those slow-stepping, mature masculine numbers that always marked Hayes as one of the hippest talents of his generation. There's some key Memphis help on the record from The Movement – who handle rhythm and horns – and titles include "Let's Don't Ever Blow Our Thing", "Lady of The Night", "The Storm Is Over", "Juicy Fruit", "Thank You Love", and "Music To Make Love By". CD

A wicked little album that has John Lee Hooker recording in San Francisco with a bunch of the other funky talents gracing the ABC/Impulse label at the time! Like other Bay Area work of the time, there's a nicely messed-up feel to the whole session – and plenty of funky moments bubble up from the bottom, thanks to a lineup that features Clifford Coulter on keyboards, Mel Brown on guitar, and Michael White on violin! More standard bluesmen on the date include Charlie Musselwhite on harmonica, Robert Hooker on electric piano, and Elvin Biship on slide guitar – and titles include "Hit The Road", "Boogie With The Hook", "Letter To My Baby", and "TB Sheets". Van Morrison also duets with Hooker on the title track – "Never Get Out Of These Blues Alive". LP, Vinyl record album

2 early gems from The Impressions – back to back on a single CD! First up is the self-titled Impressions – fantastic soul from the Chicago scene of the 60s – the legendary first ABC album by Curtis Mayfield and The Impressions! Although the group first broke big on Vee Jay Records, it was at ABC that their genius really took flight – tightening up the harmonies of the earlier singles, and hitting a mode that was a lot more soul than the doo wop of their roots! The sound here is a great bridge between the two eras of the group's career – and a number of the best tracks here are done in a mellow, gentle sort of way that relies heavily on the harmonies – crackling out with beautifully human sounds throughout. Nearly every tune is an original by Curtis Mayfield – and there's not a spot of filler on the album! Titles include "Minstrel & Queen", "Gypsy Woman", "Never Let Me Go", "Sad Sad Girl & Boy", "Little Young Lover", "Can't You See", and "I Need Your Love". Nice cover, too – with Curtis smiling the biggest ol' bucktoothed smile you'll ever see! Never-Ending Impressions is a major winner from The Impressions! Virtually all of their material for ABC was excellent – and this LP is no exception, as it's got loads of original Curtis Mayfield compositions, and plenty of great arrangements by Chicago soul legend Johnny Pate. The group is extremely soulful at this point – and they sound great on just about every cut. Titles include "Ten To One", "I'm So Proud", "Sister Love", "Little Boy Blue", "Girl You Don't Know Me", "I Gotta Keep Movin", and "A Woman Who Loves Me". CD