Aretha Arrives in great style – and a mixture between her earlier vocal jazz years at Columbia, and her later southern soul sides of the 60s! Arif Mardin is already arranging Aretha's work at this point, and the backing group includes southern soul studio giants like Spooner Oldham, Tommy Cogbill, and Roger Hawkins – but there's also a number of tracks that have mellow strings and horns by Ralph Burns, very much in the lush style of Burns' work for other vocalists – and a bit different than some of Franklin's other Atlantic work. The Sweet Inspirations back up Aretha on "Ain't Nobody (Gonna Turn Me Around)", and a few other tracks feature backings by sisters Erma and Carolyn – who are always a welcome addition! Titles include "Prove It", "Never Let Me Go", "I Wonder", "Going Down Slow", and "Night Life". LP, Vinyl record album

Brilliant basswork from Henry Franklin – one of the hippest cats handling his instrument on the west coast in the 70s – working here with a wicked ensemble of soulful, righteous players! Franlin's bass sets the tone of the record right from the very first note – but the album's a very collaborative effort, too – and features Oscar Brashear on trumpet, Charles Owens on tenor, Bill Henderson on soprano sax, Ndugu Chancler on drums, and Kirk Lightsey on both piano and flute! The legendary David Durrah plays piano on two tracks – his own "Waltz for "Boobuss" and "Venus Fly Trap" – and the Sisters Happiness sing vocals on the latter cut, too. Other titles include "Blue Lights", "Soft Spirit", and a version of Chick Corea's "What Was". CD

Aretha Arrives in great style – and a mixture between her earlier vocal jazz years at Columbia, and her later southern soul sides of the 60s! Arif Mardin is already arranging Aretha's work at this point, and the backing group includes southern soul studio giants like Spooner Oldham, Tommy Cogbill, and Roger Hawkins – but there's also a number of tracks that have mellow strings and horns by Ralph Burns, very much in the lush style of Burns' work for other vocalists – and a bit different than some of Franklin's other Atlantic work. The Sweet Inspirations back up Aretha on "Ain't Nobody (Gonna Turn Me Around)", and a few other tracks feature backings by sisters Erma and Carolyn – who are always a welcome addition! Titles include "Prove It", "Never Let Me Go", "I Wonder", "Going Down Slow", and "Night Life". CD

The first ever compilation of the best music made for MoWest – the eclectic, but still soulful cuts made when Berry Gordy Jr. relocated from Motown to the west coast in the early 70s – releasing cool and sometimes strange music with a soul background, yet toasted by LA sunshine! The MoWest subsidiary lasted just a few years, and gets overlooked in the canonization of Motown at it's most classic and revolutionary – but the legacy is pretty incredible. Funk, sunshine rock and soul fused adventurously by a stunningly diverse roster – late period Frankie Vallie & The Four Seasons (who's comp-opening track is a slept on sunshine pop-soul classic), breezy-jazzy-soul from Odyssey, the sister funk of Sisters Love, a stunning solo left turn from Spinners singer GC Cameron and more great stuff from Syreeta, The Commodores, Suzee Ikeda, Thelma Houston and others. We've been dying for a well selected MoWest comp like this for years, and Light In The Attic stepped to the plate and knock it right out of the park. The songs choices are great, the notes are great. . .everything about it is a win. Essential! Includes "You're A Song (That I Can't Sing)" and "The Night" by Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, "Our Lives Are Shaped By What We Love" and "Broken Road" by Odyssey, "Don't You Be Worried" by The Commodores, "A Heart Is A House" Nu Page, "I Ain't Going Nowhere" by Thelma Houston, "I Can't Give Back The Love I Feel For You" by Suzee Ikeda, "You've Got To Make The Choice" and "Give Me Your Love" by The Sisters Love and more. CD

A nice selection of classic 60s soul numbers, focusing on women who like to exercise their pipes, and while we had remembered this set hewed close to the mainstream, there's a few nice little nuggets on here that they dug a little deeper for. 14 tracks in all: "The Nitty Gritty" by Shirley Ellis, "Tell Mama" by Etta James, "Hard To Handle" by Patti Drew, "Bold Soul Sister" by Ike & Tina Turner, "Lee Cross" and "You Send Me" by Aretha Franklin, "Heartbeat" by Gloria Jones, "Stay With Me" by Lorraine Ellison, "Wang Dang Doodle" by Koko Taylor, "I Know (You Don't Love Me No More)" by Barbara George, "Rescue Me" by Fontella Bass, "Hypnotized" by Linda Jones, "Why (Am I Treated So Bad)" by the Sweet Inspirations, and "Ask Me" by Maxine Brown. LP, Vinyl record album

Lost funky work from one of the soulful sisters of Aretha Franklin! Erma's got a hard-hitting style that's right up there with Aretha's best for Atlantic – and on this album, she's working in Chicago with Johnny Pate, Sonny Sanders, and Willie Henderson – for a harder-hitting sound than her famous sis, really in the groove with the best of Brunswick from the late 60s! There's as much funk on the record as there is the deep soul you'd expect from the Franklin family, and Erma's vocals are incredible – equally at home with the original tracks on the record, as well as some late 60s hits that are nicely soulized by the boys in the band! Titles include "Hold On I'm Coming", "Baby I Love You", "Light My Fire", "You've Been Cancelled", "Can't See My Way", and "Gotta Find Me A Lover". CD features five bonus tracks – including "Whispers", "It Could've Been Me", "I Just Don't Need You", "Higher & Higher", and "I Get The Sweetest Feelin". CD

Sublime female soul from one of the hippest labels we can think of – a company who was always taking a chance, always trying something new, and always willing to give exposure to some great new artists! This cool collection is definitely the best side of Brunswick Records on the Chicago scene – as it features a few better-known singers, mixed with lots more artists who never issued a full album for the label – but who cut some wonderful singles that are even better than some of the imprint's bigger hits! There's a stunning array of greatness here – from sweet soul numbers that lope along in a warm groove, to badass tracks that have a funkier vibe – all handled by the usual top-shelf talents that made bigger Brunswick artists so strong. Titles include "My Baby's Gone Away" by Shirley Karol, "Walk On My Side" by Jackie Ross, "Caution" by September, "Love Is" by The Promises, "Where Do You Go" by Lyn Roman, "Raining Teardrops" by The Demures, "It Hurts To See You Happy" by Sylvia St Claire, "What Kind Of Girl" by Demetriss Trapp, "What Did I Do" by The Sweethearts, "Memories & A Broken Heart" by Linda Hopkins, "The One Who Really Loves You" by Sugar Pie De Santo, "Love Had To Be You" by Jean Shy, "That's What You Are To Me" by Tracie Robbins, "The 3rd Movement" by Sunni Nash, and "Higher & Higher" by Erma Franklin. CD

A real landmark of bad-walking soul – one of two rare albums cut by vocalist Esther Marrow, easily one of the hardest singing sisters of her generation! Esther's got roots in gospel, but she's singing here in a righteous mode that features plenty of funky undercurrents in the backings – a style that hits harder than work by Aretha Franklin or any of the better-known female singers of the time – and which holds up beautifully over the years! Many tracks here are obscure ones, arranged tightly by Artie Butler and Gene Page, both of whom do a great job of blending fuller orchestrations with tighter drums on the bottom – giving the record a good kick on most tracks, but still shading in the tunes with enough sophistication to match Esther's interpretation of the work. As hard-hitting as Marlena Shaw during her best years at Cadet – with titles that include "No Answer Came", "Money Honey", "Walk Tall", "Peaceful Man", "Hello Brother", "Chains Of Love", "It's A Long Night", and "He Don't Appreciate It". CD

A rare soul jazz session from alto saxophonist Leo Wright – a player that we mostly know from his bossa work of the early 60s! The session's extremely noteworthy as being one of the few to feature female organist Gloria Coleman – a player with whom Wright worked on her classic 1963 date Soul Sisters, and who returns here in a very similar hard-wailing sax-and-organ mode! Wright's work on alto is incredibly deep – with a sharper bite than much of his other 60s sessions, and a gutsy down-n-dirty quality that makes the record feel like one of the best organ jazz albums at the time from Prestige. Coleman's approach to the Hammond is great too – freely skipping around with a liberated sense of rhythm, in a way that matches Wright's every twist and turn with ease – and throws a few of its own into the mix as well! The group's completed by Kenny Burrell on guitar (also sounding harder here than usual!) and Frankie Dunlop on drums – and titles include some fresh originals "Poopsie's Minor", "State Trooper", "Blue Leo", "Blues Fanfare", and "Soul Talk". CD

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

Here Comes Santa Claus – and a heck of a lot of other folks too – all served up here in a mighty nice collection of Holiday goodies from the postwar years – classic singles and LP cuts, all served up in a mix of jazz, vocal, and R&B modes! The set's a great entry in the series of Christmas-themed compilations from the Bear Family – and like the rest, it's got a mighty big track list, filled with hand-picked numbers by the folks who really know this stretch of music better than most! Titles include "Willy Claus" by Molly Bee, "Winter Wonderland" by Lennon Sisters, "It's A Marshmallow World" by Johnny Desmond, "Christmas Auld Lang Syne" by Bobby Darin, "Jingle Bells" by Frank Sinatra, "I Like A Sleighride" by Peggy Lee, "Ski Jump" by Frederic Curzon, and "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" by Judy Garland. LP, Vinyl record album