Crucial cuts in the development of New Orleans soul – served up here by a singer who was instrumental in setting up the new sound of the city in the 60s! Bobby Marchan's a singer who really got his start during the soul years, unlike some of the R&B contemporaries that moved into New Orleans soul – and right from the start, he had a lean, raw style that was perfect for the new groove that was setting the world on fire – presented here on rare recordings for the Ace label in Mississippi, where he worked with Huey Smith as well – and on tracks recorded up in New York for the legendary Fire Records label of Bobby Robinson – but which were every bit as crucial as material recorded in the Crescent City to the legacy of the Nola groove! The package features 36 tracks in all, including some rare alternate takes – and titles include "Booty Green", "Snoopin & Accusin", "You're Still My Baby (parts 1 & 2)", "I Need Some One", "Yes It's Written All Over Your Face", "Things I Used To Do (parts 1 & 2)", "Look At My Heart", "Give A Helping Hand", "Chickee Wah Wah", "Quit My Job", "Loberta", "Tiddley Wink", "Rockin Behind The Iron Curtain", "I'll Never Let You Go", "Little Girl Of Mine", and "Hush Your Mouth". CD

With selections by Booty Wood, Harry Carney, Paul Gonsalves, and Harold Ashby. LP, Vinyl record album

An amazing set of music – two rare albums from Ohio funk legend Lou Ragland, plus bonus tracks, and a whole set of unreleased sessions too – a huge amount of new music, even if you've got some of the previous reissues! First up is the legendary Hot Chocolate album – one of the greatest lost funk records of all time! The group is not the British pop band, but an Ohio funk group led by the great guitarist Lou Ragland. The album's originally from Canada, which makes it super rare – and these guys are funky funky funky, and kick some major booty with a heavy guitar sound that's just great! Some of the cuts are instrumental, and some of them have some excellent soul vocals that are produced with a nice deep sound that's brought out nicely by the excellent quality of the reissue. The record's got a bit of Sly Stone, a bit of Grant Green, and a bit of Mike James Kirkland – with a tasty raw indie soul vibe – and the original album was only pressed up at 500 copies. Titles include "So Dam Funky", "Ain't That A Groove", "Sexy Moods Of Your Mind", "Messin With Sly", and "What You Want To Do" – plus 8 more tracks from the same vintage – "Good For The Gander" by Hot Chocolate, "I Travel Alone" and Big Wheel" by Lou Ragland, "Red Robin" and "I've Got Something Going On" by Volcanic Eruption, and "I Can't Take It" and "What The Doctor Prescribed" by Lou Ragland & Hot Chocolate. Next is The Conveyor – the second album from Lou Ragland, stepping out here in a great set of mellow soul tracks! The album's quite different from the heavy funk of the Hot Chocolate album – more of a message-oriented approach to soul, in the vein of similar 70s indie work by Mike James Kirkland. The arrangements are also bigger – not smooth, but ambitious, in a style that perfectly matches the higher vision Lou's going for in tracks like "Understand Each Other", "What Should I Do?", "The Next World", and "It's Got To Change". Conveyor also comes with bonus tracks too – "Tend To Your Business" by Wildfire, plus "Since You Said You'd Be Mine" and "I Didn't Mean To Leave You" by Lou Ragland. And last up is an incredible batch of unreleased material – maybe the biggest and best so far from Ragland – tracks that have this really ambitious quality that mixes soul, funk, and larger orchestrations – especially some light strings, which really expand the sound, and push the music into this righteous territory that reminds us a lot of the creative experiments in Chicago during the Cadet/Concept years! Lou's vocals are great, and the message is totally righteous – and even though the tape quality is slightly aged, the soulful vibe really comes through – on cuts that include "Understand Each Other", "It Ain't My Fault", "Could It Be I'm Falling In Love", "Spend My Life Loving You", "Until I Met You", and "Brother Louie". Lovingly packaged by Numero – with a huge booklet of photos and history – and cool mini-LP sleeves too! CD

Sweet and gritty soul from D'Angelo – who takes a huge step into deeper territory on Voodoo – and it's one of the most monumental records of its time! On one level, Voodoo works as a nicely stripped-down session with a very classic soul feel. Gone are the overzealous flourishes that sometimes overwhelmed his earlier songs, and in their place are some sweetly crafted vocal parts with a classic Marvin Gaye/Al Green feel. That warmth is probably what made Voodoo a massive popular success – but what makes it such a creative triumph are the darker undercurrents – which hint at a troubled soul struggling for spiritual truth. One of the rare cases in popular music when great art became music for the masses! Titles include "Left & Right (feat Method Man & Redman)", "The Line", "Spanish Joint", "Africa", "Feel Like Makin Love", "The Root", "Playa Playa", "Devil's Pie", and "Greatdayndamornin/Booty". LP, Vinyl record album

Sweet and gritty soul from D'Angelo – who takes a huge step into deeper territory on Voodoo – and it's one of the most monumental records of its time! On one level, Voodoo works as a nicely stripped-down session with a very classic soul feel. Gone are the overzealous flourishes that sometimes overwhelmed his earlier songs, and in their place are some sweetly crafted vocal parts with a classic Marvin Gaye/Al Green feel. That warmth is probably what made Voodoo a massive popular success – but what makes it such a creative triumph are the darker undercurrents – hinting at a troubled soul struggling for spiritual truth. One of the rare cases in popular music when great art became music for the masses! Titles include "Left & Right (feat Method Man & Redman)", "The Line", "Spanish Joint", "Africa", "Feel Like Makin Love", "The Root", "Playa Playa", "Devil's Pie", and "Greatdayndamornin/Booty". CD

One of the more obscure Blue Mitchell albums of the 70s – and one of the most far-reaching too! The set's still got an electric current, like his other work on the Mainstream label at the time – but there's also less funk at the core, and more of a spiritual jazz vibe – a quality that definitely burns with the "vital" of the title, and which draws strongly from the album's great use of Joe Henderson on tenor and flute – whose presence here really helps underscore the righteousness of the sound! Ernie Watts also blows a bit on the record – and the rest of the group includes Walter Bishop Jr on acoustic and electric piano, Stan Gilbert on bass, and Doug Sides on drums. Susaye Greene adds in some totally amazing vocal effects at a few points – which really furthers the unique quality of the record – and titles include the great "Unseen Sounds", which has some amazingly unusual flute work from Henderson, plus "Booty Shakin", "Vital Blue", "I Love You", and "Herman's Helmet". LP, Vinyl record album