Doris Duke's no loser at all – certainly not with a record this great – a killer set of deep soul tracks that may well stand as the singer's finest moment ever! Doris works here at a level that rivals all the best southern-tinged singers of her generation – Aretha Franklin, Ann Peebles, and others – and also gets some key help from Jerry "Swamp Dogg" Williams in the studio – who helps give the record a raw undercurrent, linking it to the best Stax Records material of the time. Duke sometimes brings a sophisticated twist to the vocals, which is nicely appreciated – and which keeps everything far from the realm of cliche – on titles that include "I Don't Care Anymore", "He's Gone", "To The Other Woman (I'm The Other Woman)", "Divorce Decree", "We're More Than Strangers", and "The Feeling Is Right". LP, Vinyl record album

1975 was a crucial year in the history of disco music – the moment when sounds that had been bubbling under on the east coast in the early part of the decade finally hit both the radio and the record racks in a really massive way! And while the music might soon be bogged down in commercialism and cash-in recordings, the cuts here represent a key moment when all sorts of different artists were picking up the pace, learning the lessons of some of the super-sharp funk groups of the underground scene, and blending those modes with soaring vocals and impeccable production! The collection offers a really great overview of styles here – not just some big hits of the time, but also some overlooked gems, and a number of tracks that feature older artists sounding surprisingly strong in the new disco modes – mixed with just a few very unusual tracks that we're not sure we've ever seen on CD before. The 3CD box features a massive 55 tracks in all – with cuts by Seldon Powell, Armada Orchestra, Black Stash, Doris Duke, Herbie Mann, Moses Dillard, Rhythm Makers, Frankie Valli, Major Lance, Jesus Alvarez, Gene Page, Seeds Of The Earth, Chuck Jackson, Calendar, Rhetta Young, Joe Bataan, Derek Martin, Sylvia, The Reflections, Pat Lundi, Moments & Whatnauts, Glitter Band, Banzai, Brother To Brother, Al Matthews, Universal Mind, Johnny Otis, Soul Train Gang, Beeeny Groy, Juggy Murray Jones, Dooley Silverspoon, and many others! CD

One of the greatest albums ever for Blue Note – and the only album recorded by tenor player Tina Brooks that was issued during his lifetime! The album's nearly perfect – and features Brooks' edgey tenor set in an all star group that includes Duke Jordan on piano, Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Sam Jones on bass, and Art Taylor on drums. Brooks had blown on other Blue Note sessions before, but here, working as a leader, his sound is tremendous – vaguely to the left of center of some of his other tenor counterparts on the label, but with an equally impeccable approach to soul and rhythm. Titles include "Miss Hazel", "Good Old Soul", "Up Tight's Creek", and "Theme For Doris". CD also features 2 bonus tracks – alternate takes of "Good Old Soul" and "True Blue"! CD

Ahhh . . . Great stuff! This Millie Jackson's tremendous debut album – and the work here is completely different from later records that have her more in a bitchy mode! Here, Millie's a heartbroken southern diva – right in the vein of Ann Sexton, Doris Duke, or Shirley Brown – and even though the arrangements are done north of the Mason/Dixon line (in New York by Bert DeCoteaux, and in DC by Tony Camillo), the record feels like it was lifted off the pressing plant in Muscle Shoals or Jackson! Titles include "I Ain't Giving Up", "I Miss You Baby", "Ask Me What You Want", "My Man, A Sweet Man", "I Just Can't Stand It", and "Strange Things". CD version features a whopping 11 bonus tracks – many of which were never issued before – and titles include the MGM numbers "My Heart Took A Licking" and "A Little Bit Of Something", plus "Ask Me What You Want (unedited master)", "Untrue Men", "I Don't Wanna Talk About It", "Strange Things (alt mix)", "My Man A Sweet Man (unedited master)", and "You're The Joy Of My Life (alt take)". CD

Deep soul is special soul – a certain breed of soul music that features extremely emotive vocal performances, and the kind of gut-level delivery of lyrics you'd find in the best work by legends like Otis Redding or James Carr! Yet despite the fame of those big names, the style is maybe best served up by the legion of artists who worked in the underground – some of the lesser-remembered singers who stand here alongside Redding, in a killer second batch of material all hand-picked by Dave Godin – the man who first coined the "deep soul" term back in the day! The collection seems to be even greater than the first – maybe Dave's feeling even more confident than ever – and features a stunning 25 titles that include "How Much Can A Man Take?" by Big John Hamilton, "Losin Boy" by Eddie Giles, "I'll Run Your Hurt Away" by Ruby Johnson, "Make It Me" by The Premiers, "How Was I To Know You Cared" by Doris Duke, "A Love That Never Grows Cold" by Jimmy & Louise Tig, "Let Nothing Separate Us" by Arthur Conley, "If I Could See You One More Time" by Johnny Adams, and "Hiding In the Shadows" by Eddie & Ernie. CD