A massive collection of work from Sister Sledge – a Philly quartet who were able to take an older version of female group soul deep into the disco years – then keep on making great music well into the 80s! The hits of the group are certainly well-known, but they've got a rock-solid approach that always makes their full albums worth digging into – really wonderful records that are heavy on classic Philly soul production at the start, then continue to move past the sorts of disco cliches that so many other female 70s acts got stuck on – as you'll hear in this batch of music that moves all the way up through 1985, and still has the group sounding great! The package adds in some great bonus material too, for a total of 97 tracks – and albums include Circle Of Love, Together, We Are Family, Love Somebody Today, All American Girls, Sisters, Betcha Say That To All The Girls, and When The Girls Meet The Boys. CD

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

Two great tracks from Dee Edwards – from a time when the Detroit singer was really getting a chance to shine! "Put The World On Hold" has a sweet lyric over a soaring groove – not entirely clubby, maybe more modern soul overall – with a slightly complex set of changes that really make the tune stand out! "Put Your Love On The Line" has a really cool funky vibe – upbeat club, but with an intensity to the instrumentation, which really seems to bring out the best in Dee's vocals! 7-inch, Vinyl record

With the genius "Lucky Man" – plus "The Three Fates", "Knife Edge", "Take A Pebble", and "The Barbarian". LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include "The Curse Of Baba Yaga", "The Old Castle", "Blues Variation", "Promenade", "The Sage", and "The Gnome". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A stunner of a funk album – a must-have for any fan of all things funky! This is the one-and-only record cut by the Fabulous Counts, a version of the Counts before they recorded for Westbound – and nearly every cut is a funky 45-type gem! The group's got a hard and heavy sound that mixed conga grooving at the bottom, guitar jamming in the middle, and lots of funky horns over the top – and the instrumental sound of the record is a non-stop funky party all the way through – all top-shelf material all the way through, with a sound that few other combos can match! The title track is an awesome groover – and the record features lots of other nice ones, like "Dirty Red", "Who's Making Love", "Girl From Kenya', "The Other Thing", "Scrambled Eggs", and "The Bite". CD

Fatback flying like the Phoenix – but hardly rising from the ashes, given that the group's always on top! The sound here is a bit different – slightly leaner than before, but in a good way – with lots of core keyboards from Bill Curtis, who also handles most of the lead vocals – although as with most Fatback sets, there's plenty of sharing on that front with the rest of the group members – a bit of harmony here, a switched lead there – all keeping things nice and fresh! And this time around, there almost seems to be more of a focus on the mellower cuts, which we like a lot – because we've always enjoyed the more laidback numbers tucked in amidst the group's funkier sets – so this album's a real treat, with plenty of mellow and midtempo groovers. Titles include "The Drum Song", "Lover Man", "Call Out My Name", "You've Got That Magic", "Big Brother", "Jump Up Baby Jump Up", and "I Love You So". CD

A sweet set of street soul from Fatback – delivered with a bit more electro influences than some of their classic funk, but a groove that's still always right on the money! Bill Curtis is at the helm of the group, laying down most of the rhythms via DMX – but even with the electronics, the funky sensibility of the music comes through strongly – nicely percolated on the midtempo tunes, and gliding a bit more softly on the mellower ones. John DeBerry makes his debut with the group on lead vocals for the record, but Ben E King also guests on two tracks – "So Delicious" and "Evil". Other titles include "Lover Undercover", "Go Out With A Bang", "Girls On My Mind", "Start It Up", and "She's A Go-Getter". LP, Vinyl record album

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

... LP, Vinyl record album

Jean's come a long way from her New Orleans roots on this one – working with singer Premium, and recording with Bobby Eli in a mode that's kind of a Philly moder update on the New York sound. The overall quality of the album's quite polished, but not in that perfect way that Bobby brings to his best work. Titles include "Does It Mean You Love Me", "One On One", "Keep It Comin", "What Are We Waiting For", and "You Got The Papers (But I Got The Man)". LP, Vinyl record album

A crossover classic from Stacy Lattisaw – an album that's much more mature than her earlier work, despite the "girl" in the title! The tunes are often slow-building and somewhat emotive – in a way that has Stacy stretching out her vocals a bit more than before as she reaches for deeper themes. A few other numbers are back towards the catchier pop of Lattisaw's start – the kind of back/forth, sing/song tunes that really suit her vocals, and which may still be the strongest suit here. Instrumentation is heavy on keyboards, mostly from Robbie Buchanan – and titles include "Can't Stop Thinking About You", "I'm Not The Same Girl", "Toughen Up", "Together", "I Thought It Took A Little Time", "He's Just Not You", and "Coming Alive". CD

"Funky Music" is a great early tune from Luther Vandross – a soaring clubby number based on the same changes as "Fascination", which he wrote with David Bowie – but done here in a style that's a lot more soulful, and very very groovy! 7-inch, Vinyl record

Beautiful uptempo Philly stuff from Luther Vandross, back when he managed to make stuff with a disco groove, but that also had the feel of a great soul record. 7-inch, Vinyl record

A fantastic collection of grooves from Mass Production – one of the best of the large funk ensembles to hit the mainstream at the end of the 70s – even though they didn't always get the success they deserved! That doesn't stop these guys from giving their all, though – super-sharp, super-tight instrumentation that comes down on the groove right from the get-go – and which moves with a fast funk energy that's a nice contrast to some of the stiffer, clunkier modes that were floating around at the time! These guys inherit the best impulses of Earth Wind & Fire and Kool & The Gang – and find a way to make their large lineup sound nice and lean, never too overcooked – with shifting vocals that really help keep things interesting throughout. The 3CD package features 45 tracks from their seven year stretch recording for Atlantic/Cotillion Records – and titles include "Sky High", "Groove Me", "Our Thought", "Bopp", "Turn Up The Music", "Diamond Chips", "Inner City", "Sun Dancer", "Victory 83", "Magic", "I Like To Dance", "Welcome To Our World", "Slow Bump", "Time Bomb", "Keep My Heart Together", "Cosmic Lust", "I Believe In Music", "Fun In The Sun", "Just Wanna Make A Dream Come True", "Firecracker", and "Eknuf (inst)". CD

An excellent batch of straight ahead funk from David Fathead Newman! The record's a return to basics after a few more overly-produced sessions – and it features a stripped down quintet with Bernard Purdie on durms, Erick Gale on guitars, Blue Mitchell on trumpet, and Steve Novosel on bass. The overall feel is a bit in the Kudu funky mode – with plenty of electricity in the instrumentation – but Newman's gutsy solos over the top keep the whole thing clean and simple, more in the style of some of the Mainstream small group sessions from the time. Titles include "Blue Caper", "Captain Buckles", "Negus", "The Clincher", and "Joel's Domain". CD

Obscure later work from this girl-watchin group – both sides have a nice funky current, and great raspy vocals! 7-inch, Vinyl record

Great lost work by this excellent Chicago group! The band's really tightening up their style on this single, leased to Atlantic by producer Clarence Johnson – but they've still got that excellent honest approach, thanks to great vocals by Patti Hamilton. 7-inch, Vinyl record

A nice little set for Sister Sledge – their first post Nile Rodgers album of the 80s – with production this time out by Narada Michael Walden – with a crisp, uptempo vibe the does a great job of balancing the righteous post disco club groove with the sing-a-long chorus vocals and catchier compositions that made the Sisters famous! Narada doesn't stray too far from the Chic-styled sound of the previous couple of records – with some really catchy songs that hint at the cleaner pop sound of later records with retaining the dancefloor groove. Sweet stuff from Sister Sledge! The sequencing of the record is top notch, each track floating into the next, with the tunes "All American Girls", "He's Just A Runaway", "If You Really Want Me", "Next Time You'll Know", "Happy Feeling", "Ooh, You Caught My Heart", "Make A Move", "Don't You Let Me Lose It", "Mais Makes Me Feel Good" and "I Don't Want To Say Goodbye". LP, Vinyl record album

The second album from Sister Sledge – recorded in Munich with the team of Michael Kunze & Sylvester Levay, the guys behind the big disco hits by Silver Convention – with that tight, bright and bouncing soul groove and sultry group vocals from the sisters! The approach works very well – as girls had those perfectly adaptable vocals that could easily roll with the style of the Munich scene – as they later did to that of Nile Rogers. Great, overlooked early work from team Sledge! Titles include "Moondancer", "Funky Family", "Do The Funky Do", "Hold On To This Feeling", and versions of the Stevie Wonder songs "As" and "I Was Made To Love Her". CD

A windy city hero – the amazing Garland Green, a singer who makes us mighty proud we hail from Chicago! Garland's got an incredible style that few others can touch – partly schooled in the 60s iceman modes of Jerry Butler and Walter Jackson, with all the sophistication that might imply – but also often given a raspier twist, with slightly southern echoes that make Garland's music feel even more deeply personal! And while most folks know Green's big hits for the Uni label, this package shows a rich legacy that goes much father than that – work recorded for labels that include Cotillion, Spring, RCA, Ocean Front, and Revue – in addition to some key Uni tracks. This trans-label set really does a wonderful job of showing the full range of Garland's mighty talents – a sublime set of soul cuts that run from the start of the 70s right up to the early 80s modern years – packaged with detailed notes too. Titles include "Since You've Been Gone", "These Arms", "Just Loving You", "Just My Way Of Loving You", "He Didn't Know", "Don't Think That I'm A Violent Guy", "Love's Calling", "Just What The Doctor Ordered", "Sweet Loving Woman", "Ask Me What You Want", "You Played On A Player", "Don't Let Love Walk Out On Us", and "Sending My Best Wishes". CD

15 bass-heavy classics from the band that virtually invented the 80s groove sound! The set's a good selection of tracks from Slave's classic Cotillion albums from the late 70s, and it also includes 5 tracks from bandmember Steve Arrington, who went on to record with his Hall Of Fame group during the early 80s. Titles include "Slide", "Stellar Fungk", "Stone Jam", "Watching You", "Wait For Me", "Weak At The Knees", "Feel So Real", "Way Out", and "Are You Ready For Love?" CD

Overlooked genius from The Dynamics – a Detroit soul group of the 60s, and one who never fully got the fame they deserved, had they gotten some sort of bigger exposure on Motown! Yet that's what also makes these guys great, too – as they've got that tight sound that the Motor City could do so well at the time, but a looseness too – a more fluid approach to their music that really makes things interesting here – as the group work through some wonderful material on rare late 60s singles for the RCA and Cotillion labels, as well as an obscure 1977 final single for Columbia! The package is a much-needed look at these overlooked moments from the group – and are a great complement to their few full length albums – bracketing the years before and afterwards, with a treasure trove of group soul material. Titles included "Lights Out", "Love Me", "Ain't No Love At All", "I Want To Thank You", "Murder In The First Degree", "We Found Love", "You Can Make It If You Try", "Ice Cream Song", "What Would I Do", "Ain't No Sun", and "I Need Your Love" LP, Vinyl record album