A clubbier album than usual from Curtis Mayfield – a mid 70s attempt to move onto the dancefloor, but a set that's still got the undeniable Mayfield charm! Half the tracks here were done in collaboration with disco maestro Gil Askey – and these numbers are longer tracks that soar and sway on waves of rhythms and subtle strings – all in a mode that's clearly going for a Philly-styled groove, and which manages to come pretty close in the end! The second half of the album, though, is quite different – mellower numbers that follow through on some of the more personal soul styles that Curtis was laying down on other Curtom albums from the time – a great blend of gentle rhythms, warm instrumentation, and those always-sweet Mayfield vocals – a sound that almost reminds us of some of the best mellow soul of the time from labelmate Leroy Hutson. Clubby tracks include "Do It All Night", "No Goodbyes", and "Party Party" – and mellow tracks include "Keeps Me Loving You", "In Love In Love In Love", and "You Are You Are". LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include "Only You Babe", "If There's A Hell Below", "Dirty Laundry", "So In Love", "Do Do Wap Is Strong In Here", "Ain't No Love Lost", "Hard Times", "Tripping Out", "You Are You Are", "This Year", and "We The People Who Are Darker Than Blue". CD

Two of the best numbers from the soundtrack to Let's Do It Again! Curtis Mayfield wrote both tracks – and although you're probably familiar with the funky favorite "Let's Do It Again", you'll also totally dig the spacey soul classic "After Sex"! The cut's got a spare moody feel, a mix of harp and spare guitar, building piano riffing, voices, and very light orchestrations. Incredibly haunting, and it brings back the glory days of the old Cadet Studios scene! 7-inch, Vinyl record

A great little album by The Impressions – possibly their best of the 70s! The record's got a very solid harmony soul approach, and Lowrell Simon wrote and produced a number of tracks with Rich Tufo – giving the album the same sweet sexy sound that he brought to his best solo records, and his late work with The Lost Generation! The best example of this is the fantastic soul cut "We Go Back A Ways", a sweet mellow groover in the Leroy Hutson vein, and one of their standout cuts in the post-Curtis days. Ed Townsend worked on a number of other cuts, too, and he brings a real tightness to the songwriting – especially on the cuts "Guess What I Got", "Try Me (One More Time)", and "I'm A Changed Man". LP, Vinyl record album

Quite possibly our favorite-ever album by the Impressions! The record is a key transitional one – and it has them opening up the politics that were often hidden by spiritual metaphors on earlier ABC albums, into a righteous soul groove that hints a lot at the overblown direction Curtis Mayfield would take in the 70s, yet which still retains all the tightness of the group's earlier work. Nearly every single cut's a classic – and the group outdid themselves vocally, especially Curtis, who always makes our heart break on this one! Donny Hathaway and Johnny Pate handled the arrangements, and tracks include "Choice Of Colors", "The Girl I Find", "Mighty Mighty (Spade & Whitey)", "Soulful Love", and "Seven Years". CD

A mindblowing solo set from Curtis Mayfield – a record that not only foregrounds all the subtle politics he'd been forging in the Impressions during the 60s – but one that also really has Mayfield exploding as a force to be reckoned with in the studio! The album's a personal masterpiece – to the career of Curtis what the early solo albums of Issac Hayes were to his own genius – a bold, unfettered statement of pride and power – of the sort that would both make Mayfield and the Curtom Records label forces to be reckoned with in the 70s. Every cut is a classic – and titles include "Move On Up", "If There's a Hell Below We're All Gonna Go", "Miss Black America", "Wild & Free", "Give It Up", "The Makings Of You", "The Other Side Of Town", and "We the People Who Are Darker Than Blue". LP, Vinyl record album

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One of the greatest albums ever from the legendary soul singer Curtis Mayfield – even though it's different than most of the rest as well! Curtis is captured here in a small club, with a tight band, spinning out these extended readings of some of his best tunes – both tracks he sang with The Impressions, and as a solo act – completely transformed here in the righteous energy of the setting! The vibe is similar to the classic Donny Hathaway Live album from the same time – save for the fact that this set is double-length, and maybe even more powerful as Curtis sings and plays guitar in a small group with additional guitar, bass, and drums – and some very hip percussion from Master Henry Gibson, of Pharoahs fame. Tracks include "We the People Who Are Darker Than Blue", "Stare and Stare", "Check Out Your Mind", "Stone Junkie", "I Plan To Stay A Believer", "If There's A Hell Below We're All Going To Go", "Mighty Mighty", and "The Makings Of You". LP, Vinyl record album

A massive package of greatness – the first four solo albums from Chicago soul genius Curtis Mayfield! First up is Curtis – a record that not only foregrounds all the subtle politics he'd been forging in the Impressions during the 60s – but one that also really has Mayfield exploding as a force to be reckoned with in the studio! The album's a personal masterpiece – to the career of Curtis what the early solo albums of Issac Hayes were to his own genius – a bold, unfettered statement of pride and power – of the sort that would both make Mayfield and the Curtom Records label forces to be reckoned with in the 70s. Every cut is a classic – and titles include "Move On Up", "If There's a Hell Below We're All Gonna Go", "Miss Black America", "Wild & Free", "Give It Up", "The Makings Of You", "The Other Side Of Town", and "We the People Who Are Darker Than Blue". Roots is one of our favorite Curtis Mayfield albums ever – a massive early 70s effort that's filled with wonderful songs all the way through, and quite possibly one of the most perfect realization of the righteous vibe of the early 70s Curtom years! Curtis is in fine form throughout – as a singer, composer, and producer – but he's also got some excellent Chicago soul help from arrangers Riley Hampton and Johnny Pate – both key talents on the 60s Windy City scene, still able to come up with a deeply soulful groove here – and both able to blend together strings and funk in the way that Curtis was going for at the time. Titles include the massive "We Got to Have Peace" – a tune that never gets old – plus "Underground", "Keep On Keepin On", "Now You're Gone", "Get Down", "Love To Keep You In Mind", and "Beautiful Brother of Mine". Back To The World is pure genius from Curtis Mayfield – and a record that's got all the righteousness and political power you might guess from the cover! The album burns with a sense of empowerment that's every bit the best strength of Curtom in the 70s – a sublime blend of heavy soul, funky undercurrents, and far-reaching arrangements that still always manage to groove! And Curtis' vocals are great too – echoing out with a newfound presence that far surpasses the raspy quality of his early work with The Impressions. Arrangements are by Rich Tufo, production is by Mayfield, and titles include "Future Song" (aka "Future Shock"), "Keep on Trippin", "Can't Say Nothin", "Back To The The World", and "Right On For The Darkness". Sweet Exorcist is a wonderfully wicked album from Curtis Mayfield – one that's not nearly as famous as his Superfly set, but which is every bit as great! The groove here is lean, mean, and totally righteous – a bit more stripped-down than some of the rumbling funk of other Curtom efforts, and served up with a fluid groove that makes the album a killer from start to finish! As with Superfly, there's a nice blend here between uptight funky tracks and some more laidback soul – showcasing both sides of the Curtis Mayfield sound of the 70s – the brash society-changing soul, and the mellower, more fragile voice that first came to prominence in The Impressions. Titles alone tell you the vibe of the record – and they include "Ain't Got Time", "To Be Invisible", "Kung Fu", "Suffer", "Power to the People", and "Make Me Believe In You". All albums newly remastered – in sleeves with the original artwork too! CD

A great little set from Leroy Hutson – proof that he was still going strong through all his years at Curtom! The vibe here is a bit different than his first few records, and you might be suspicious with Leroy wearing a disco shirt on the front – but the sound is wonderful, and only shows Hutson blossoming into a more sophisticated singer, songwriter, and producer – one with a great ear for the careful balance needed for the modern soul generation! The shift is a bit like Roy Ayers on his late 70s work for Polydor – and Hutson is definitely on a par with Ayers in our book – we'd always put the two side by side for the strength of their work in the 70s. Seminal tracks include "So Nice" and "Right or Wrong" – both of which are amongst some of his best work ever – and other tracks include "Unforgettable", "Funk In My Life", and "Lonely Without You". LP, Vinyl record album

Former Impressions singer Ralph Johnson heads up this Chicago soul quartet from the 70's, and the album shares the production talents of Jerry Butler, Bunny Sigler, Rich Tufo, Lowrell Simon, and Eugene McDaniels. The sound is a mix of mid 70's Curtom funk and Chicago soul vocal stylings, and the track list includes "If You're In Need", "Is It Really You", "Keep On Playing the Music", "Fill You Up", and "All Of My Life". LP, Vinyl record album

A very strange release on Curtom – and we're not sure if we should call it a rock album or a soul album! Bobby Whiteside produced and arranged, and he's got sort of a 70's AM radio sound, with lots of pop harmonies, and catchy overproduced hooks. Titles include "Pen Of A Poet", "Vallery", "Easy With You", "Up On Living", "Piano Man", and "Footprints". For Curtom completists only, and definitely not another Superfly or Hutson II! LP, Vinyl record album

Never-heard music from the legendary Rasputin's Stash – a funk group who recorded famously on Atlantic and Curtom in the early 70s, then created this gem of an album that appears here for the first time ever! The quality of the work is fantastic, and even seems better than their Curtom album – as they're still as gritty and funk as before, but have this more complex sense of interplay – both in their instrumentation, and in their vocals, which are filled with all these cool harmonic twists and turns – as if The Notations had teamed up with Curtis Mayfield, to create one of the greatest Chicago funk albums of all time! The group produced the whole thing themselves – and although this one never made it to the history book, it's going right to the top of our list of 70s funk classics. Titles include "Make Up Your Mind", "Tarantula", "Children Of The Lord", "Cool When You Don't Know It", "Paradise", "You've Got To Face It", and "TLC". CD features bonus tracks "Sex Freak" and "Booty March". CD

A brilliant solo debut from Tuomo – a singer we know from his work with the Finnish group Quintessence, stepping out here in even more soulful territory on his own! Tuomo's got a warmly raspy sound that's all-classic, all the way – a unique voice that could well become one of our favorites from overseas in recent years – often made even better by the album's solidly soulful backings, which usually feature some heavy congas at the bottom, alongside heavy keyboards and guitar – in ways that almost remind us of early 70s productions on Curtom Records! This guy's easily one of the best blue-eyed soul singers to emerge in the past decade – and we've got hopes that this debut takes him all the great places he deserves to go. Titles include "True Friend", "26", "Don't Take It Too Hard", "It's You", "So Surreal", "Sorry When I'm Gone", "Ballroom Girl", and "I Won't Worry". CD

Massively beautiful work from the great Donny Hathaway! After two studio albums that had firmly put him on the map as one of the 70s best soul talents, Atco had the genius to have Donny record this live album before very enthusiastic crowds in Hollywood and New York. The result is one of the best soul albums ever – one that shows a totally different side of Donny, and which has him jamming with a smaller, hipper, jazz-oriented group in long versions of some of his best tracks. Features a massive 12 minute version of "The Ghetto", which has loads of excellent instrumental breakdowns, a 13 minute version of "Voices Inside (Everything Is Everything)", a superior version of the track "Little Ghetto Boy", which was only ever on a soundtrack, and covers of "What's Going On" and "Jealous Guy" that really transform them from the original versions. Very similar to the classic Curtis Mayfield 2LP live set on Curtom – and with a similar "Chicago studio soulster goes jazzy and intimate" feel. CD

A soulful classic from The Heptones – easily one of the greatest trios to emerge from the Jamaican scene in the late 60s – and one of the few who were really able to evolve their style as the years went on! The style here is to earlier Heptones material as the early 70s Impressions records on Curtom were to their 60s albums on ABC – more righteous in content, and hipper in overall expression – with this beautiful interplay between the vocals of Leroy Sibbles, Barry Llewelly, and Earl Morgan – all captured with this warm glow in the Harry J Studio! Players on the date include Cedric Im Brooks on tenor and Leslie Butler on organ – and titles include "Suffering So", "Peace & Harmony", "Book Of Rules", "Black On Black", "Do Good To Everyone", "Wah Go Home", and "Over & Over". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the best-remembered tunes from this Curtom funk legend – a track that begins witht his famous break made from drums and fluttering flute – then rolls into a super-righteous lyric that's delivered with all the majesty that Baby Huey had to offer! "Listen To Me" is also great – one of his funkiest tracks ever, with a massive bass break at the start – then the kind of full-on vocalizations that made Huey a legendary live draw during his few short years on the planet! 7-inch, Vinyl record

Fantastic funk from Sons Of Slum – a 70s Chicago combo with a sound that's as heavy as their name! You might know the group from some killer singles they cut for Stax in the early 70s – but this set features unreleased material from later in the decade, showing an even cooler band than on those earlier records! Instrumentally, these guys have the tightness of the young Earth Wind & Fire, maybe mixed with some of the righteous currents of 24 Carat Black – and the vocals are often sung in this style that has edgey harmonies that remind us of The Notations, especially when they hit their more sinister style at Curtom. The whole thing's tremendous – one of those funk records that should have been issued back in the day, and which would have been on collector and DJ lists for decades if that was the case – which makes it a hell of a discovery all these many years later. Titles include "Show Me Tell Me", "Spirit", "Save The Children", "Music Is The Message", "Funky Music (parts 1 & 2)", "Breakout", "Running", and "Get Your Thing Together". LP, Vinyl record album

LaRombe Baker hails from Philly, but he's best known for his late 70s work on the LA scene – a place where he was continually bubbling under, but never fully got the chance he deserved! Hearing this set, it's clear that LaRombe was one of the great almost-rans of his generation – an artist with the chops to record great soul material without the supervision of any major label or big producer – yet one without the savvy to get such music into the hands of a force that would give it the place it deserved! According to the notes, Baker came to close to working with Motown, Solar, and Curtom – but maybe the fact that those labels passed on tracks as great as these is what makes them so special – a beautifully balanced album of boogie numbers and mellow soul tracks – well-written, beautifully arranged, and topped with great vocals from the man himself. The set's one to put next to your gems from Leon Ware and Ronnie McNeir from back in the day – and titles include "It's All In Your Mind", "Sweet Sensation", "Spread My Wings", "In The Light", "U R The 1", "The Ultimate", and an alternate take of his one issued single "You're The Best". CD

A fantastic second album from Rasputin Stash – a group who started out on Atlantic Records as a big ensemble with a pretty freaky, fuzzy sound – but one who emerge here with a sweet mix of funk and soul that's perfect for their placement on this mid-70s offshoot of Curtom Records! The quartet have a reach that they never had before – able to unite their voices and soar with harmonic brilliance that rivals the best of their labelmates – the Impressions or Natural Four – always with the kind of badass currents that both of those groups picked up in the 70s! Yet they can also get a lot funkier, too – picking up some of the best currents from the Curtis Mayfield side of the spectrum, but fusing them into a leaner small group mode – heard to wonderfully effect on the classic "Devil Made Me Do It", and the killer JB's-ish track "Hit It and Pass It". The whole album's wonderful, though – and titles include "I Can Feel Your Jones", "Ooh Baby", and "The Devil Made Me Do It". CD