Brook Benton comes full circle – and after helping to form the idiom that would later become known as southern soul, he gets a chance to appear on Atlantic's new Cotillion label – easily a showcase for some of the best up-and-coming southern work at the end of the 60s! Brook's warm vocals are a perfect fit here – and the album was recorded in Miami, fast becoming Atlantic's new home in the south – with full arrangements by Arif Mardin that help take Brook past some of the country cliches of earlier years. Backing is by a small combo, and the Sweet Inspirations add in some vocals – and titles include the sublime "Rainy Night In Georgia", plus "We're Gonna Make It", "A Little Bit Of Soap", "Desertion", "Where Do I Go From Here", "Life Has Its Little Ups & Downs", and "Baby". CD

Brook Benton had one of the most distinctive voices in soul music, and he's in great form on this oft-overlooked session for Atlantic from 1969. Part of the record tries to recreate Brook's earlier Southern Soul style hits – and while those tracks works well, we think the best stuff on the record is the slightly Bacharach-ish material recorded in New York. The title track, "Do Your Own Thing", is a beautiful mellow number by Leiber & Stoller, and it features sweet strings, and a fantastic lilting uptown groove. Other nice ones include "I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself" and "Set Me Free". LP, Vinyl record album

Cool Cotillion work from Brook Benton – southern soul mixed with smoother, sophisticated moments – and a perfect realization of the sound that Benton was going for in the 60s! There's a bit less country here than before – although Brook also still has one foot in his roots, too – and the overall approach has mellower soul touches that are great – keyboards, guitar, and electric bass that roll along gently next to Benton's wonderful vocals. The album was recorded at Criteria Studios, and up north in New York – and titles include "Movin Day", "Sidewalks Of Chicago", "She Even Woke Me Up To Say Goodbye", "Poor Make Believer", and "Shoes". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

Ronnie's a long way from his falsetto soul hits of the early 70s – but he's seriously back on track as a soul artist, thanks to some smooth help from the Ingram family! Butch Ingram produced the album, and the rest of the Ingrams helped out on instruments, vocals, and even some of the songwriting. In fact, this is more of an Ingram record – with a sound that's very much like their work from the same time – than it is a Ronnie Dyson album. Not that that's a problem, though, as the record's a pretty nice batch of 80s groovers that includes the tracks "You Better Be Fierce", "I Gave You All Of Me", "Tender Lovin Care", "Waiting For You", and "All Over Your Face". LP, Vinyl record album

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

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

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

... LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible bit of southern soul – and one of the few records ever by deep soul singer Lou Johnson! The masterpiece was recorded at the Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, at a time when the outfit was at the height of its powers – capturing Lou with a sweet-burning style that matches (if not betters) the best by Otis Redding or James Carr from the same period. Each song is a treasure, handled by Lou as if it were his own, and transformed completely by the amazing setting of the recording. Titles include "Tears Tears Tears", "Don't Play That Song", "People In Love", "It's In The Wind", "Rock Me Baby", and "I Can't Change". LP, Vinyl record album

Two Cotillion classics from Screaming Lord Sutch – back to back on a single CD! First up is Lord Sutch & Heavy Friends – an album that's almost equally well-known for its work by a host of famous guests – including Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, John Bonham, and others! Page is perhaps the most involved here – as he produced the set with Sutch, co-wrote some tracks, and plays some mighty searing guitar – as does Beck, which makes the album almost worth it alone for all the wonderful solos! But Sutch himself is pretty great too – kind of a mish-mash of late 60s nasty camp references, with the same sinister vibe as Kim Fowley – and an equally freewheeling approach to a tune that makes the album a heck of a lot of fun. Titles include "Gutty Guitar", "Flashing Lights", "Wailing Sounds", "Thumping Beat", "Union Jack Car", and "London". Hands Of Jack The Ripper is filled with weird and wild sounds from Screaming Lord Sutch – and a set that has as many "heavy friends" at play as his better-known previous album for Cotillion! As with that set, the vibe here is an odd mix of older beat group styles from mid 60s London, but filtered through a generation that's already bursting out with hard rock, psych, and prog inspiration – which means any nod towards older rock and soul roots come out sounding very offbeat in the end! Players include Ritchie Blackmore on lead guitar, Keith Moon on drums, and Noel Redding on bass – and titles include "Country Club", "Great Balls Of Fire", "Bye Bye Johnny/Johnny B Goode", "Gotta Keep A Rocking", and "Hands Of Jack The Ripper", which is mini-horror movie itself! CD

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. 12-inch, Vinyl record

Mass Production are definitely in their purest form here – stepping forward as one of the best soul acts in the Cotillion Records roster at the end of the 70s – and maybe one of the hippest modern funk ensembles of the time! These guys have a way of making things sound nice and lean, despite a larger lineup – with a very strong focus on bassline currents, which seem to draw all the other elements into their wake in a mighty nice way! Yet the album's also not a slap-bass affair – as the deeper sounds are used with a nicely understated vibe, and even come through nicely on the mellower numbers – which might be our favorites. Tracks include "Our Thought (Purity)", "With Pleasure", "Next Year","Love You", "Firecracker", and "Can't You See I'm Fired Up". Also includes the great cut "Strollin" – which is a jazzy instrumental with trumpet and vibes, really working together in a tightly jamming groove! LP, Vinyl record album

It's easy to turn the music up with grooves this great, as Mass Production are totally on top of their game here – arranging and producing their 9 piece ensemble with the tightness of a much smaller group – and always going for that bass-heavy funk sound they helped invent at the end of the 70s! There's a few great tracks here that have a warmer soul approach than usual – a mellower groove that's especially nice, and which makes for some of the most captivating tunes on the record – but the best-remembered numbers are those which take advantage of the full group's energy in all its glory. Most tracks written by vocalist Ricardo Williams, and titles include "Saucey", "Bopp", "Sunshine", "Turn Up The Music", "Clinch Quencher", "Diamond Chips", and "I Got To Have Your Love". LP, Vinyl record album

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

Classics – back to back! "We Are Family" may be one of the most overplayed disco tunes of all time – but it's still a stunner! The cut grooves with an incredibly catchy hook, bumped along on Nile Rogers/Bernard Edwards riffs, served up with vocals that surpass anything else the girls ever did! "Greatest Dancer" is pretty darn great too – classic pop disco at its best, surprisingly soulful in the hook! 12-inch, Vinyl record

Far and away the band's best record! The album's got a fresh funk sound that takes an earlier 70s ensemble style and slicks it down a bit – but thanks to some great drum work by Tim Dozier (Steve Arrington had yet to join the band), and a subtle riffing bass style by Mark Adams, the band had a groove that was quite revolutionary, and which set them apart from the legions of funk imitators that were springing up at the end of the 70s. The high points of the album is the band's seminal "Slide", which is followed up with "Son Of Slide" – and both tracks have these amazing dark repetitive grooves that have really stood the test of time (thanks in part to a famous sample by Tribe Called Quest!) Other tracks include "You & Me", "Party Hardy", "Screw Your Wig On Tite", and "Separated". LP, Vinyl record album

The end of the road for the Velvet Underground – but a set that's also one of the group's best-remembered albums too! The record marked a big shift for the group – a move to Atco from Verve, continuing to work without John Cale – and the sound is possibly more rockish and straight ahead than some of their previous efforts (certainly compared to White Light/White Heat) – but always with that dark edge that Lou Reed could bring to the music! In a way, the whole thing's almost a recasting of all the advances made in 60s rock, but seen through a lens that shows the darker corners and shadows that have crept up alongside – that kind of subtle, yet extremely powerful quality that Reed would bring to his long run of solo albums in the 70s – but served up here with more of an edge, in the definite VU fashion. Titles include the seminal classics – "Sweet Jane" and "Rock & Roll", plus "Cool It Down", "New Age", "Head Held High", "Lonesome Cowboy Bill", "Oh Sweet Nuthin", and "I Found A Reason". LP, Vinyl record album

Upbeat sounds from Muscle Shoals – music that's normally dubbed by the term of Northern Soul, but which was recorded in one of the best scenes in the American south! That confusion's easy to fix – as the "northern" in Northern Soul has always referred to the interest in a certain type of rhythm in the 60s UK scene up north – which means that the sounds can come from anywhere, especially a place that's as well-tuned to vintage soul styles as the legendary Fame studios! The tracks here were all recorded at Fame – handled by Rick Hall and his top-shelf lineup of studio musicians – and were issued on his own Fame label, and other imprints that include Atlantic, Bell, Cotillion, and a few others – appearing here alongside a number of tracks that weren't issued back in the day as well. The main thing to know is that the rhythms are upbeat and romping – and the singers are all pretty darn wonderful – as many are also known for famous deep soul recordings at fame. Titles include "A Stone Loser" by Ben & Spence, "I'm Qualified" by Otis Clay, "Love Is A Wonderful Thing" by Prince Phillip, "Ten Miles High" by David & The Giants, "Keep On Talkin" by James Barnett, "A World Of My Own" by Billy & Clyde, "It's Not Safe To Mess On Me" by George Jackson, "In The Heat Of Love" by Marjorie Ingram, "It Ain't What You Got" by Jimmy Hughes, "Slippin Around With You" by Art Freeman, "Your Love Lifted Me" by James Govan, and "Everytime" by Linda Carr. CD

Upbeat sounds from Muscle Shoals – music that's normally dubbed by the term of Northern Soul, but which was recorded in one of the best scenes in the American south! That confusion's easy to fix – as the "northern" in Northern Soul has always referred to the interest in a certain type of rhythm in the 60s UK scene up north – which means that the sounds can come from anywhere, especially a place that's as well-tuned to vintage soul styles as the legendary Fame studios! The tracks here were all recorded at Fame – handled by Rick Hall and his top-shelf lineup of studio musicians – and were issued on his own Fame label, and other imprints that include Atlantic, Bell, Cotillion, and a few others – appearing here alongside a number of tracks that weren't issued back in the day as well. The main thing to know is that the rhythms are upbeat and romping – and the singers are all pretty darn wonderful – as many are also known for famous deep soul recordings at fame. Titles include "A Stone Loser" by Ben & Spence, "I'm Qualified" by Otis Clay, "Love Is A Wonderful Thing" by Prince Phillip, "Ten Miles High" by David & The Giants, "Keep On Talkin" by James Barnett, "A World Of My Own" by Billy & Clyde, "It's Not Safe To Mess On Me" by George Jackson, "In The Heat Of Love" by Marjorie Ingram, "It Ain't What You Got" by Jimmy Hughes, "Slippin Around With You" by Art Freeman, "Your Love Lifted Me" by James Govan, and "Everytime" by Linda Carr. CD