Classic soul from Aretha Franklin's hip sister – and quite possibly the most unified of all the Carolyn Franklin albums for RCA! This set's got some great arrangements from Wade Marcus – who blends together strings and soul in that solid way that Arif Mardin was using with Aretha at the start of the 70s – a move away from more southern-styled soul, into a rich, mature sound that showed a whole new side of Carolyn's talents. There's some great keyboards in the mix, slinking nicely alongside the vocals – which themselves still show the Franklin family roots, packed with power and plenty of depth. Titles include "As Long As You Are There", "My Heart Sings", "Dad", "I Want To Be With You", "Boy I Love You", "As Long As You Are There", and "Darling I'd Rather". LP, Vinyl record album

Massive work from Aretha Franklin's ultra-hip sister – singer Carolyn Franklin, a soul artist that we'd gladly trade for Aretha any time! Carolyn got her start in deep soul modes that were somewhat similar to Aretha's work on Atlantic – but she also worked with production that was a bit looser, freer, and more open to righteous influences than some of her sister's hit-bound sessions – and over the course of 4 albums for RCA she recorded some tremendously hip and funky tunes! This package is one of the first times that Carolyn's material has ever officially made it into the reissue years – and it brings together some of the best cuts from her RCA albums, including work arranged by Horace Ott, Wade Marcus, Bert De Coteaux, and other soul legends. There's a good deal of funk in the mix here – heavy bottoms on the tunes that really make them snap alongside the righteous vocals – and the package is easily one of the hardest-hitting sets of female soul you could ever hope to buy! 22 tracks in all – including "If You Want Me", "There I Go", "Ain't That Groovy", "Boxer", "Reality", "Chain Reaction", "Don't Wake Me Up In The Morning Michael", "Not On The Outside", "Boy I Love You", "You Are Everything", "Shattered Pride", "I Can't Help My Feeling So Blue", "As Long As You Are There", and "You Can Have My Soul". CD

Aretha Arrives in great style – and a mixture between her earlier vocal jazz years at Columbia, and her later southern soul sides of the 60s! Arif Mardin is already arranging Aretha's work at this point, and the backing group includes southern soul studio giants like Spooner Oldham, Tommy Cogbill, and Roger Hawkins – but there's also a number of tracks that have mellow strings and horns by Ralph Burns, very much in the lush style of Burns' work for other vocalists – and a bit different than some of Franklin's other Atlantic work. The Sweet Inspirations back up Aretha on "Ain't Nobody (Gonna Turn Me Around)", and a few other tracks feature backings by sisters Erma and Carolyn – who are always a welcome addition! Titles include "Prove It", "Never Let Me Go", "I Wonder", "Going Down Slow", and "Night Life". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic entry in the Oxford American Southern Music Issue tradition – one that still focuses on music from the south, but which also traces its legacy moving northwards as well – with an especially strong look at shifts in soulful music styles that were part of the Great Migration! As always with the publication, the presentation and prose is fantastic – top-shelf writers giving really sensitive treatment to the topics they take on – in articles on Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner, Johnny Bristol and Al Green, Lowell George, Mary Lou Williams, Carolyn Franklin, bounce music, the Checkerboard Lounge, and many others. There's an especially nice look at Quincy Jones by Terence Blanchard, and photography by Kwame Brathwaite – and this issue marks the return of the bonus CD for the publication – with 20 well-chosen cuts by artists who include Shirley Horn, Mary Lou Williams, Betty Dvis, Johnnie Frierson, Particle Kid, Sunny War, John Doe, Black Pumas, and many others. Magazine

Killer work from the last years of Stanley Turrentine on Blue Note – tracks that appeared here for the first time ever, as a long-overdue LP release at the end of the 70s! The bulk of the set features some compelling quartet work – with Stan's tenor in the company of McCoy Tyner on piano, Gene Taylor on bass, and Billy Cobham on drums – almost in Easy Walker sort of territory, with a great stepping soulful groove – but a bit more fluid, given the Tyner touch! That quartet plays "Stan's Shuffle", "Watch What Happens", "Intermission Walk", and "Wave". The set ends with the killer title track "Ain't No Way" – a tenor/Hammond cooker based on the Carolyn Franklin soul tune – really given a workout by Stan and a group that features Shirley Scott on organ and Jimmy Ponder on guitar! CD

A really great later Blue Note session from Stanley Turrentine – a small combo set that's almost a return to the format of earlier years! The group's a strong one – and features Shirley Scott on organ, Jimmy Ponder on guitar, and Idris Muhammad on drums – playing in a style that's subtler and more laidback than his work with Lou Donaldson, but which still has a nice funk undercurrent. Stan's horn is in wonderful form on the record – really taking advantage of the longer tracks to open up with a mellow and exploratory tone – and the team of Scott and Ponder especially sounds great next to each other on the album. Tracks include "Boogaloo", "Buster Brown", and "Common Touch". CD also features a bonus 11 minute version of Carolyn Franklin's fiesty cut "Ain't No Way"! CD