One of the best 70s showcases for the mighty vocals of Cissy Houston – that tremendous approach that was rooted in gospel, but burst out strongly in the secular world – thanks to records like this! Houston's working here with clubby maestro Michael Zager, but the set's not all disco – and instead does a great job of mixing mellower cuts with more upbeat numbers – always with a focus on Cissy's bold approach to the lyrics. Titles include "He Ain't Heavy He's My Brother", "Tomorrow", "Morning Much Better", "Love's Holding On", "Love Is Something That Leads You", and "It Never Really Ended". CD

One of the best 70s showcases for the mighty vocals of Cissy Houston – that tremendous approach that was rooted in gospel, but burst out strongly in the secular world – thanks to records like this! Houston's working here with clubby maestro Michael Zager, but the set's not all disco – and instead does a great job of mixing mellower cuts with more upbeat numbers – always with a focus on Cissy's bold approach to the lyrics. Titles include "He Ain't Heavy He's My Brother", "Tomorrow", "Morning Much Better", "Love's Holding On", "Love Is Something That Leads You", and "It Never Really Ended". LP, Vinyl record album

Amazing early work from Cissy Houston – arguably her deepest set ever, and put together with a wonderful balance of New York class and southern soul modes! There's no denying that Houston's vocals are great – especially given her family pedigree – but she really gets a chance to shine strongly here – stepping out as a bold, righteous lead – and one with a mature, all-adult feel throughout! Arrangements are by Bert DeCoteaux – who balances things wonderfully – really letting Cissy stand by herself in the front of the arrangements, but also creating just the right sort of swell in the orchestrations when needed. Titles include "I'll Be There", "Any Guy", "This Empty Place", "Didn't We", "Be My Baby", "I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself", and "He/I Believe". CD features a huge amount of bonus tracks – 11 more titles that include "I'm So Glad I Can Love Again", "Darling Take Me Back", "Making Love", "It's Not Easy", "Only Time You Say You Love Me", and "I Love You". CD

No need to think it over here – as the album's so groovy, we jump right in – thanks to plenty of upbeat disco arrangements from arranger Michael Zager! Zager worked previously with Cissy Houston, but here he really takes her out to the clubs – mixing strings and rhythms into some sweetly soaring backings that really work well with Houston's gospel-trained voice! There's a nice sense of drama to some of the grooves, but never too much to be campy – and titles include "Warning Danger", "An Umbrella Song", "Somebody Should Have Told Me", "Think It Over", "I Won't Be The One", and "Love Don't Hurt People". CD features the bonus tracks "Warning Danger (ext disco mix)", "An Umbrella Song (ext disco mix)", "Somebody Should Have Told Me (ext disco mix)", and "Think It Over (ext disco mix)". CD

One of Houston Person's first forays into the jazz funk sound that other Prestige Records players were picking up at the time – a sweet little set with some nicely extended tunes! The groove here is a bit harder than some of Person's previous soul jazz sets – with some tightly snapping drums from Frankie Jones, augmented on rhythm both by the Fender bass of Bob Bushnell, and some added congas from Buddy Caldwell – both of whom help make for a very fluid groove. Other players include Billy Butler on guitar and Sonny Phillips on Hammond – and the tunes have a nicely snaking sort of feel – not the break-heavy funk of an Idris Muhammad-driven set, but a groove that's still plenty darn soulful and with some nicely funky undercurrents. Titles include a sweet version of "Cissy Strut", plus "On The Avenue", "The Pulpit", "For Your Love", and "Wadin". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the best-remembered albums from the Atlantic Records run of the legendary Rahsaan Roland Kirk – a set that stands as Kirk's answer to all the hipper soul currents that were taking place at the time – including some that were being issued by singers on Atlantic Records! The album is mostly instrumental, but Roland has this way of singing through his reeds at times, especially his flute – really bringing an earthy sense of personality to the whole thing – as he mixes his acoustic lines on flute, tenor, and other reeds with work from Richard Tee on electric piano, Mickey Tucker on organ, Billy Butler on guitar, and Dick Griffin on trumpet. There's a few vocal spots from other singers – Cissy Houston sings on two great cuts – and titles include remakes of "Never Can Say Goodbye", "What's Going On", "Mercy Mercy Me", "My Girl", and "Ain't No Sunshine" – plus some other nice originals by Roland, including Blacknuss", "Which Way Is It Going", and "One Nation". LP, Vinyl record album

Heavenly soul from the lovely Sweet Inspirations! The record was the group's first secular album for Atlantic – after recording one gospel album, and doing the backings on a number of fine Aretha Franklin sessions – and it's a gem of a female soul record, with the same classic sound you'd hear on Aretha's Atlantic late 60s LPs, but a different twist because of the girls' amazing talent for harmony vocals. Tom Dowd produced the record with a sweet southern-ish sound, and Arif Mardin provides some lofty string arrangements that take the girls' voices to the heavens! Includes some fine numbers written by Cissy Drinkhard Houston – like "I Could Leave You Alone", "You Really Didn't Mean It", and "Where Did It Go" – plus pop numbers like "Alfie", "What The World Needs Now Is Love", and "To Love Somebody", all completely transformed by the group's style! LP, Vinyl record album

A record that's full of many surprises – one of which is the sweet lead vocals of Cissy Houston! Houston works here in a style that merges nicely with the jazzy currents of Herbie Mann – at a level that's different than other soul/fusion sets of the time – like work on CTI or Columbia – drawing a lot of freshness from the inventive arrangements of Pat Rebillot! Pat graced other of the best Herbie Mann records from the time – and his keyboards provide just the right sort of slinky bridge between Mann's flute and the vocals – almost a Bob James-ish sensibility that keeps things laidback and open. Titles include "Draw Your Breaks", "Cajun Moon", "Creepin'", "Easter Rising", "Asa Branca", "The Sound Of Windwood", "Cricket Dance", "The Butterfly In A Stone Garden", and "Anata (I Wish You Were Here With Me)". LP, Vinyl record album

A mighty deep dive into the music of the Private Stock label of the 70s – a short-lived but important imprint in the disco generation, and one who did a lot to bridge the worlds of soul, rock, and pop in the clubs! PS maybe didn't go as deep as Salsoul or some other contemporaries, but they did turn out some great cuts that managed to balance polish and groove in a really great way – qualities that really come out strongly here on the collection, which does a mighty nice job of getting past bigger hits to focus on more obscure Private Stock tunes from the time! The set's got 21 titles in all – and titles include "I'll See You In My Dreams" by The Pearls, "Gotta Find A Way" by Wild Honey, "Love Connection" by The Mob, "Think It Over" by Cissy Houston, "Good Bread Alley" by Soul Mate, "Disco Satisfaction Medley" by Tommi, "Jig A Boogie" by Tightrope, "Let's Get Crazy Tonight" by Rupert Holmes, "I Can't Help Myself" by Franklin Micare, "This Old Man" by Purple Reign, "More" by Toga, and "Sunshine Of My Love" by Rosetta Stone. CD

A dancefloor classic! The album's the second by Gregg Diamond's Bionic Boogie, and head and shoulders above the rest – a sublime blend of soul and club that's hardly been matched again! Diamond manages to make things groove, but never loses sight of the soulful styles that make the record so great – and works here with key contributions from a young Luther Vandross, who gives the album some of the same strong vocal arrangements he brought to his own first two albums on Atlantic! Luther sings lead on the album's legendary track "Hot Butterfly", and works in a group with Cissy Houston on other tracks – sweetly soaring with vocals that go far beyond most disco efforts of the time. Simply sublime, and with classics that include "Hot Butterfly", "Paradise", "Cream (Always Rises To The Top)", "Chains", and "When The Sh*t Hits The Fan (Rocket Pocket)". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the best-remembered albums from the Atlantic Records run of the legendary Rahsaan Roland Kirk – a set that stands as Kirk's answer to all the hipper soul currents that were taking place at the time – including some that were being issued by singers on Atlantic Records! The album is mostly instrumental, but Roland has this way of singing through his reeds at times, especially his flute – really bringing an earthy sense of personality to the whole thing – as he mixes his acoustic lines on flute, tenor, and other reeds with work from Richard Tee on electric piano, Mickey Tucker on organ, Billy Butler on guitar, and Dick Griffin on trumpet. There's a few vocal spots from other singers – Cissy Houston sings on two great cuts – and titles include remakes of "Never Can Say Goodbye", "What's Going On", "Mercy Mercy Me", "My Girl", and "Ain't No Sunshine" – plus some other nice originals by Roland, including Blacknuss", "Which Way Is It Going", and "One Nation". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic run of music from a group who were key to the rising sound of soul music on Atlantic Records during the 60s – but who sometimes didn't always get their due! The Sweet Inspirations have roots in gospel – as the famous Drinkard Sisters – and they've also got a legacy that goes beyond these recordings, including later group sessions, and solo 70s fame by Cissy Houston of the group. But here, they're completely at their prime – known to bigger audiences for their background vocals behind Aretha Franklin and others, and working with a completely sublime blend of their gospel roots and newly righteous 60s soul modes – given superb accompaniment and production in a series of recordings done in New York, Memphis, Muscle Shoals, and Sigma Sound in Philly! This set features a huge amount of material – everything the girls recorded for Atlantic – the full albums Sweet Inspirations, Songs Of Inspiration, What The World Needs Now Is Love, Sweets For My Sweet, and Sweet Sweet Soul – plus non-LP single tracks, and enough material for a 1970 bonus album too, most of it never issued at the time. The package is the best we've ever seen on the group – an instant classic in our book – and it features 66 tracks in all, plus a big booklet of notes. CD