... 12-inch, Vinyl record

A sweet set of grooves from around the globe – all the sorts of tracks that Guts plays in his legendary DJ sets overseas – music that's got a much more far-reaching vibe than some of the tracks he issues under his own name! Overall, the set's very much in the best spirit of the Heavenly Sweetness label – especially in the way that company brings together music from so many different times and scenes around the planet – music that's taken even further here in the rich array of tunes that Guts serves up! A number of tracks are contemporary, but there's definitely some classic global flavors going on too – and titles include "Saude" by Pupulies & Rebecca, "Aye" by Ngalah Oreyo", "Canette (Bosq rmx)" by Pat Kalla & Le Super Mojo, "Utammada" by Ismail & Sixu Toure, "Nzambi/Muadiakime" by Alcione, "Aye" by Ngalah Oreyo, "Pe Di Bissilon (Dam Swindle rmx)" by Bande Gamboa, "Mi Moin Mi Ou" by Jobby Valente, "Cumbia De Sal Y Azucar" by Chucho Pinto Y Sus Kassino, "Limye" by Violaaa, and "Yamona (Dam Swindle rmx)" by Pat Thomas & Kwashibu Area Band. LP, Vinyl record album

Classic jazz for the 21st century – a treasure trove of tunes from Verve Records, all remixed for the modern dancefloor! The set's the second in Verve's Remixed series – and unlike the first, which focused mostly on vocal numbers, this one throws in some instrumental killers that are among some of our favorite in the catalog! The overall groove is much more expanded from the first session – way past the standard of floating vocals, keys, and beats – into a realm of abstract jazz that really gets at the heart of the project! 14 tracks in all – with "Manteca" by Dizzy Gillespie remixed by Funky Lowlives, "Here's That Rainy Day" by Astrud Gilberto remixed by Koop, "Naima's Love Song" by Betty Carter remixed by DJ Spinna, "Fried Neckbones & Some Home Fries" by Willie Bobo remixed by Dan The Automator, "Soul Sauce" by Cal Tjader remixed by Fila Brasillia, "Do What You Wanna" by Ramsey Lewis remixed by Mr Scruff, "Black Is The Color Of My True Love's Hair" by Nina Simone remixed by Jaffa, "Mama" by Hugh Masekela remixed by Metro Area, "Whatever Lola Wants" by Sarah Vaughan remixed by Gotan Project, "Blues For Brother George Jackson" by Archie Shepp remixed by Mondo Grosso, and "Brother Where Are You" by Oscar Brown Jr remixed by Matthew Herbert. CD

The MC Gift of Gab serves your ears melodic, driving, challenging wordplay at it's best on this album from the Quannum Projects label out of the Bay Area, who brought you DJ Shadow and Latyrx. The jazzy, soulful, reflective, bouncing music is entirely produced by DJ Chief Xcel and features cameos by Lyrics Born and Lateef from Latyrx on two separate tracks ("Do This My Way" and "Smithzonian Institute Of Rhyme", respectively.) It also includes the single "Deception" and the tracks "Searching", "The Fabulous Ones", "A To G", "Cliff Hanger", "Shallow Days", "Ego Trip By Nikki Giovanni", "You Didn't Know That Though", "Trouble (Eve Of Destruction)", "Reanimation", "Beyonder", "Making Progress", "Sleep", and more. CD

A wonderful album of southern soul – and the only full-length LP cut by Bobby Moore and his long-lived Rhythm Aces combo! The group's the sort that slaved away endlessly in live shows all over the south – playing on their own, or providing extra backup for countless big stars touring through the area. Bobby's on tenor, and the group has some incredibly rich vocal talents – unnamed, but with a group harmony style that's equally at home with sweet ballads or hard stompin party numbers. The latter style is the band's strongest suit, though – with an approach that's somewhere between the hard soul of Sam & Dave and the party grooves of Doug Clark & The Hot Nuts – and like that group, Moore's style was probably forged out of years of playing at beach dances, frat parties, and bar gigs, the real proving ground for a tight combo like this! A great little LP, with a fresh sound throughout – and tracks include "The Hamburger Song", "Follow Me", "Hey, Mr. DJ", "Searching For My Love", "Jenny, Jenny", "Come Back Baby", and "We've Got That". Recorded at Fame in 1966 with Rick Hall, too! CD

A way way deeper set than the first volume of Bay Area Funk – and a collection that shows that things got pretty heavy on the San Francisco and Oakland scenes of the 70s! A good number of the tracks here are instrumental, and show some wonderful interplay between the trippier sides of funky jazz and the harder sides of soul going on in the Bay Area back in the day – killer music from the fringes that often got lost in the shuffle of all the better-known music coming out on the bigger labels! The work here is all from very tiny labels – expertly selected and all officially cleared by the Luv N Haight team with keen respect for the artists involved – and in a way, the package has set a new high standard for the label! A tremendous discovery, and filled with tracks we'd never heard before – titles that include "Stop Look Listen" by Primevil, "Poor Sad Child (part 1)" by The Windjammers, "Born To Live With Heartache" by Mary Love, "Move In The Room" by Dawn & Sunset, "Ebony" by Project Soul, "Acid Lady" by San Francisco TKOs, "Hip Breakin" by Little Denise Stevenson, "Devil's On The Run" by Uptights Band, "Brute Strength" by Mile Selesia, and "Lenient With My Love" by The Relatives. CD

A huge discovery in music – most of which we've never heard before, and which shows that the Boston scene was getting pretty busy during the classic club years – even if the city's grooves never reached the same fame as cuts from New York, Philly, and other points south! The package is definitely a labor of love – put together by DJ/collector Serge Gamesbourg – who's clearly done a hell of a lot of work to unearth these rare singles and small label releases – records that maybe didn't even make it down to New York City back in the day, and which were probably crowed out of the record racks, even if they did! Most of these cuts are nicely rough around the edges – sometimes in more of a fast funk mode, other times with all the cool offbeat touches of indie label club cuts – and almost all numbers get a special Serge Gamesbourg edit, in order to bring out the grooviest elements of the tracks. Titles include "No More Games" by Larry Wedgeworth & Clique, "All In Good Time" by Wildlife featuring Vi Taylor, "Play It By Ear" by Cojo, "Get Up & Dance Don't Want No Party Poo Pershere" by Carrie Mims & Herbe Lee River Junction, "Feel The Music" by Dreamflight, "I Want Your Body" by Royale, "Free For All" by Second Wind, "I'm Gonna Get You (Meeow)" by Carrie Mims & Herb Lee River Junction, "You Make Me Happy" by Christopher Michael Band, "Keep It Comin On" by Gypsy, and "Fire Funk" by Hypnotics. 2CD set features one disc of the music in a continuous mix by Serge – the other with unmixed versions. CD

Tripped-out funk from Johnny – very much in his "I Got To Ta Ta Ya Baby" mode, with the guitar skipping around keyboards in a mellow Bay Area kind of way! Johnny's gone way way past his bluesy roots here – into a sublime blend of soul and funk that's all crafted with just the right amount of lightly spacey touches. The Watson vocals are totally on the money throughout – sliding into the mix in that seductive way that often has Johnny singing beautifully alongside his guitar. Titles include "It's All About The Dollar Bill", "Funk Beyond The Call Of Duty", "Barn Door", "Love That Will Not Die", 'I'm Gonna Get You Baby", "Give Me My Love", and "It's A Damn Shame". LP, Vinyl record album