... 7-inch, Vinyl record

A 2CD set of Candi Staton – the complete Fame masters recorded by the female southern soul great and producer Rick Hall at the fabled Muscle Shoals studios – including a dozen previously unreleased tracks! It's one heartbreaking, soul stirring masterpiece after another on this set – some of best southern soul by anyone in this period, if you're asking us! Candi's voice brings grit and grace, sweetness and gruff truth. Includes the great late 60s/early 70s material plus some previously unreleased number cut before here mid 70s move to Warners – and that stuff is wonderful, too! 48 tracks in all: "Someone You Use", "Mr And Mrs Untrue", "Do Right Woman", "In The Ghetto", "Love Chain", "I'll Be Here", "Jolene", "It's Not Love", "Stand By Your Man", "For You", "Another Man's Woman, Another Woman's Man", "Where Were You", One More Hurt", "Do Right Woman" and many more. CD

A perfect pairing of Candi Staton and producer Dave Crawford – that key southern soul talent who helped Candi and a few select others really step into the American soul mainstream at the end of the 70s! Candi's still got all the deep roots in her vocals – including that incredible range that's continued to thrive in gospel in recent years – but Dave helps push things into a modern soul style that works equally well on Northern dancefloors as it would in the clubs down south. Arrangements are perfectly balanced – sophisticated and adult, but never too smooth or commercial – thanks mostly to Candi's wonderful handling of the lyrics. Titles include "Victim", "Yesterday Evening", "So Blue", "Honest I Do Love You", and "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me". LP, Vinyl record album

A later track by Candi Staton, but almost a return to the straighter southern soul of her Fame years – done with production by Dave Crawford, and a real down home style that's much more Malaco than you'd expect from Sugar Hill! 12-inch, Vinyl record

A treasure trove of rare deep soul from the great Candi Staton – a female singer that we'd rank right up there with Mavis Staples and Bettye Lavette for sheer power and sense of feeling! Candi recorded her best early work for the Fame label in Muscle Shoals, but not all of it was issued back in the day – and this vinyl release brings together all of those rare tracks for the first time ever – really well-crafted material, not demo tracks or clunkers – but some overlooked gems, including cuts penned by the great George Jackson! All work features the crack Muscle Shoals musicians, and impeccable production by Rick Hall – and titles include "One More Hurt", "Slipping Away", "I'll Be Here", "Are You Just Building Me Up", "Trouble Heartaches & Sadness", "Do Right Woman", "I Gave A Little & Lost A Lot", "Where Were You", and "Spread Your Love On Me". LP, Vinyl record album

Patrick Adams wrote the a-side, and Ashford & Simpson wrote the flip! 12-inch, Vinyl record

A new day for Candi Stanton – kicking off the 80s with a tighter grooving modern soul sound – and she nails it! Of course, Candi started as a sweet southern soul singer, hit big with her LA single "Young Hearts Run Free", and is here reinventing herself as a sophisticated modern diva. Includes some uptempo material – which she'd cut more of later on for dance labels – but she's even better on the mellower tracks, especially the spacey "Halfway To Heaven", and the moody "Living Inside Me". Other tracks include "Looking For Love", "It's Real", and a remake of "The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game". LP, Vinyl record album

An essential collection of rare material by this important female gospel trio of the 50s – a group who's not only known for bringing a style to the music that was ever bit as great as male group gospel of the pre-soul years – but who also are the initial early home to later soul superstar Candi Staton! As you can tell by the cover image, the girls are quite young – at least on many of these recordings – but this isn't kiddie music at all, as there's a deeply soulful style of singing that's very mature, and which instantly sets fire to these messages of spirit – with a vibrant style that usually just features some romping piano in the lead, alongside dynamic vocals. The lineup shifts a bit, but Candi is on most of these recordings – which also saw the light of day on Excello as singles – and the set also features a few tracks from later years, with Shirley Ann Lee on vocals. Titles include "Many Little Angels In The Band", "At The Cross", "Rest Rest Rest", "Too Late", "Sin Is To Blame", "It's All Over Me", "My Faith Is In Thee", "I Looked Down The Line & I Wondered", and "Somebody's Knocking At Your Door". CD

Fantastic work from 70s Brazil – served up here by the great Lady Zu, who was one of the few female artists in the mostly-male samba soul generation! Lady Zu's a bit like Tim Maia at the time – a soul singer first, and Brazilian artist second – and works here with a sound that would be right at home on the American scene of the time, save for the fact that the lyrics are in Portuguese! There's a slightly clubby vibe to the music, but it's nicely balanced with straighter work too – a bit like Warner recordings by Candi Staton from the late 70s. Arrangements are by Luis Roberto Oliveira, and the whole thing's great – a really unique slice of music from the scene at the time. Titles include "Novidades", "Esqueca Me", "Com Sabor", "Solucao", "So Voce", "A Noite Vai Chegar", and "Lady E Meu Nome". LP, Vinyl record album

Genius work from one of the greatest Southern Soul studios ever – Muscle Shoals' legendary Fame Studios – the start of a huge wave of great music in the 60s, and a genre-changing sound that's still going strong today! The package is the best we've ever seen to look at Fame – not just a killer selection of the studio's music – 75 tracks that bring together rare singles, hits, and some lesser-known gems – but also a beautiful hardcover book, filled with pages and pages of great notes, vintage images, and more – really telling the unique take of Fame, producer Rick Hall, and all the mighty talents who helped make Muscle Shoals one of the most important sites for soul music in the 60s and 70s. Titles include "Ten Miles High" by David & The Giants, "Search Your Heart" by George Jackson, "Let Them Talk" by Dan Penn, "Two In The Morning" by Spooner's Crowd, "Lady In The Rain" by Lowell Fulson, "Wanted Lover" by James Govan, "Grits & Gravy" by The Fame Gang, "Get Involved" by George Soule, "What Color Is Love" by Roscoe Robinson, "Laugh It Off" by The Tams, "Thief In The Night" by Ben & Spence, "Take Me Just As I Am" by Mitty Collier, "I'm Just A Prisoner" by Candi Staton, "Thread The Needle" by Clarence & Calvin, and "Slippin Around With You" by Art Freeman. CD

Music from George Soule, Brothers Unlimited, Vanessa Kendrick, Rance Allen, Gwen McRae, Bobby Byrd, The Ikettes, Charles Williams, Candi Staton, Freddie Terrell, and more. CD

Down in the Carolinas, they have a longstanding soul music tradition called "beach music". The stuff they listen to has nothing to do with The Beach Boys or Surf Music – but it is stuff that they danced to in the old days in the party pavilions along the Carolina beaches. This series from Warner packages a number of older hits from the Warner/Atlantic catalog that were big on the scene – and it's got 10 titles that include "Sweet Inspiration" by The Sweet Inspirations, "Candy" by The Astors, "Dear Lover" by Mary Wells, "Brazil" by The Coasters, "Come On Over To My Place" by The Drifters, "Both Ends Against The Middle" by Jackie Moore, and "Victim" by Candi Staton. CD

Music from Chic, Chaka Khan, Candi Staton, The Trammps, Rose Royce, Jimmy Castor Bunch, T Connection, Norma Jean Wright, Stacy Lattisaw, Spinners, and more - 34 hits in all. CD

A tasty batch of rare soul tunes – many of which are presented in true stereo and original 45 versions! The set's not as "sweet" as the title might imply – as a good measure of tracks on the set come from the Warner/Atlantic catalog of the late 60s and early 70s – and are a mixture of deep, southern, funky, and northern soul styles – all of which are plenty fine with us! Titles include "Somebody's Watching You" and "You're The One" by Little Sister, "Love Land" by Charles Wright & The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, "Stand By Your Man" by Candi Staton, "Just One Look" by Doris Troy, "Showdown" by Archie Bell & The Drells, "Part Time Love" by Little Johnny Taylor, "Reconsider Me" by Johnny Adams, "I Wanna Testify" by The Parliaments, "Trapped By A Thing Called Love" by Denise LaSalle, "Cry To Me" by Betty Harris, and "Funky Street" by Arthur Conley. CD

A pair of early 80s gems from this Brazilian keyboard legend – back to back on a single CD! Night Cruiser is a key record in Deodato's move from funky jazz in the 70s to modern soul in the 80s – and one that showcases the best of his talents in both genres! The approach here is more tightly arranged and produced than that of his earlier CTI sides – but in a mode that's still plenty nice to our ears – as Deodato's uncanny sense of rhythm and timing is still very firmly in place, making the set way way more than just a smooth jazz album – and pushing it strongly into the realm of soulful spacey fusion! There's some really great tracks on the set – like the amazing "Skatin", a sweet keyboard number that's a perfect roller skating jam (in case you couldn't guess from the title) – plus "Love Magic", "Uncle Funk", "East Side Strut", and "Night Cruiser". Happy Hour is a classic from Deodato's soul-based years with a nice little R&B-inspired groove! Happy Hour was done at a time when Deodato was really getting into a lot of modern soul production and arranging work with other groups – and here, he tries his hand wonderfully at the style himself – transforming his 70s jazz funk groove into a tightly snapping 80s soul approach! Most tracks on the set feature vocals – by singers who include Kelly Barretto, Eban Kelly, and Candi Staton – but the instrumentation behind them is still plenty jazzy too, thanks to some nice work by Deodato on Fender Rhodes, mini moog, Arp, and other keyboards. Titles include "I Never Get Enough", "Keep On Movin", "Happy Hour", "Just This One Night", "Tears Of A Clown", "Sweet Magic", and "Keep It In The Family". CD features two bonus tracks – "Uncle Funk (7" mix)" and "Keep On Movin (7" mix)". CD

With tracks by MC Shan, Cheryl Lynn, Candi Staton, and The 45 King. 12-inch, Vinyl record

Rare disco from Warner and Atlantic – a really great set of tunes that steps past the average disco compilation! Both Warner and Atlantic were some of the better labels on the disco scene in the 70s – as their years in soul music gave them an understanding for the stronger tunes for the dancefloor scene, and allowed them to cut tracks that still hold up extremely well today. A few of the acts on the set are more famous artists, represented by some of their lesser-remembered numbers – but the bulk of the compilation features obscure work that was only briefly pressed on 12" single, and which has only been the province of disco collectors over the years. Titles include "You + Me = Love" by Undisputed Truth, "Weekend" by Phreek, "Paradise" by Change, "Lipstick" by Michel Polnareff, "Tonight's The Night" by Kleer, "Smack Dab In The Middle (Larry Levan rmx)" by Janice McLain, "#1 Dee Jay" by Goody Goody, "Whistle Bump" by Deodato, "When You Wake Up Tomorrow" by Candi Staton, "Wear It Out" by Stargard, and "I'll Tell You" by Sergio Mendes & Brasil 88. CD

39 tracks of classic funky soul – in styles that stretch from James Brown funk to 80s groove – and everything else in between! The set's sort of a primer to the best of the classics, and features a ridiculous amount of wonderful tunes that still stand as some of our favorites from the glory days. And sure, some of these are a bit familiar, but only because they're so strong they've had a life of their own in underground circles during the past 25 years. Titles include "I Believe In Miracles" by The Jackson Sisters, "Expansions" by Lonnie Liston Smith, "Jingo" by Candido, "Was That All It Was" by Jean Carn, "Cross The Tracks" by Maceo & The Macks, "Zoom" by Fat Larry's Band, "Check Out The Groove" by Bobby Thurston, "We Got The Funk" by Positive Force, "Can You Handle It" by Sharon Redd, "Love Town" by Booker Newbury III, "Last Night A DJ Saved My Life" by Indeep, "Somebody Else's Guy" by Jocelyn Brown, "Love Come Down" by Evelyn King, "Young Hearts Run Free" by Candi Staton, "Let The Music Play" by Shannon, "Do The Bus Stop" by Fatback Band, "I Know You Got Soul" by Bobby Byrd, and "All This Love That I'm Giving" by Gwen McCrae. CD

Includes 39 tracks by Happy Mondays, Primal Scream, Bomb The Bass, Candi Staton, Stone Roses, Technotronic, Yazz, 808 State, Stereo MCs, and New Order. CD

Down in the Carolinas, they have a longstanding soul music tradition called "beach music". The stuff they listen to has nothing to do with The Beach Boys or Surf Music – but it is stuff that they danced to in the old days in the party pavilions along the Carolina beaches. This series from Warner packages a number of older hits from the Warner/Atlantic catalog that were big on the scene – and it's got 10 titles that include "Love Land" by Charles Wright, "I've Got Sand In My Shoes" by The Drifters, "You Don't Need A Gypsy" by Robert John, "Walking Up A One Way Street" by Willie Tee, "Drinkin Wine Spo-Dee O Dee" by Stick McGhee, "Young Hearts Run Free" by Candi Staton, and "Magic In the Moonlight" by The Spinners. CD

An amazing tribute to one of the best soul songwriters in the 70s – the mighty Phillip Mitchell, a key force in mixing together deep soul roots with more sophisticated styles for the time! Mitchell's got this mighty positive way of putting over a tune – lyrics that still hold onto the emotion of the past, yet also come through things with a forward-thinking style too – one that really helps get past obvious cliches, and which always seems to make a Mitchell-penned track stand out as the real gem on an album of 70s soul! Many of the artists here are from a southern soul background – no surprise, as Mitchell made most of his magic south of the Mason/Dixon line – and the set really brings together a great number of artists, and really shows the deep reach that Mitchell had at the time. Titles include "Hitch Hiking To Heartbreak Road" by Bobo Mr Soul, "Something New To Do" by Bobby Sheen, "Carry Me" by Ernie Shelby, "I Don't Do This" by Sidney Joe Qualls, "Free For All" by Mel & Tim, "Come Through Me" by Garland Green, "Here I Am Again" by Candi Staton, "You Made Me What I Am" by Erma Coffee, "Gonna Have A Murder On Your Hands" by JJ Williams, "Archie's In Love" by Archie Bell & The Drells, "Leftovers" by Millie Jackson, "How Can I Go On Without You" by Corey Blake, and "That's The Way I Wanna Live My Life" by Tommie Lee. CD