A pair of ABC Records classics from Bobby Blue Bland – back to back on a single CD! First up is Get On Down – brilliant later work by Bobby Blue Bland – done with backings that are much fuller than on his earlier albums – a mixture of strings and horns that really expand the sound! That doesn't keep things from being soulful, though – as Bobby's in incredible form vocally, really rising to the occasion of the session with some of his best vocal performances of the decade. Great throughout – and one of his few true classic sessions after the early Duke years. Titles include "Today I Started Loving You Again", "I Take It On Home", "I Hate You", "If Fingerprints Showed Up On Skin", and "Too Far Gone". Reflections In Blue is a bit of a shift for Bobby Blue Bland – a record that picks up some slight touches of the disco generation, thanks to arrangements by Michael Omartin – but a record that, thanks to Bobby's fantastic vocals, still really stands out from the pack! The shift is a bit like the one that Johnnie Taylor was taking at the time – music that's still rooted in southern soul and blues, but which has some slight updates at a few points – but never in a way that's trying to put Bobby on the dancefloor at Studio 54! Instead, warmer keyboards, strings, and some well-crafted guitar lines are used in a few spots – while other tracks retain more of the horn-heavy arrangements that made his Duke Records material so great. Throughout it all, Bland is vocally fantastic – on titles that include "It Ain't The Real Thing", "The Soul Of A Man", "I Got The Same Old Blues", "Five Long Years", "It's All Over", and "If I Weren't A Gambler". CD

Brilliant later work by Bobby Blue Bland – done with backings that are much fuller than on his earlier albums – a mixture of strings and horns that really expand the sound! That doesn't keep things from being soulful, though – as Bobby's in incredible form vocally, really rising to the occasion of the session with some of his best vocal performances of the decade. Great throughout – and one of his few true classic sessions after the early Duke years. Titles include "Today I Started Loving You Again", "I Take It On Home", "I Hate You", "If Fingerprints Showed Up On Skin", and "Too Far Gone". LP, Vinyl record album

Funky genius from Roy Ayers – a killer collection of his more uptempo moments from the Polydor years – pulled from a range of albums throughout the 70s, and featuring Roy at his funkiest for the clubs! The mix of modes here is really great – with jazzy vibes, electric keys, and Roy's warmly soulful vocals stepping out in front of the tunes – all supported by some occasional great use of strings, and a free-thinking approach to rhythm that always blows us away again and again! Tracks here go way past the obvious – and include some great mellow steppers as well as more upbeat dancefloor tracks from the disco years – and considering that the package was put together for the hiper rare groove crowd of the London scene at the end of the 80s, you can bet that there's all great stuff on the set – and no filler at all! Titles include "Is It Too Late To Try", "Leo", "Vibrations", "Destination Motherland", "Gotta Finda Lover", "Heat Of The Beat", "The Golden Rod", "What You Won't Do For Love", "You Send Me", and "This Side Of Sunshine". CD

A double album set of classic & contemporary Camp Lo – the solid Get Down Brothers on the contemporary tip and the bonus On The Way Uptown LP on the classic tip! Get Down Brothers finds working nicely in modern, but not at all trend hopping effort with straight up hip hop and some clubbier sounds that don't weigh down the veteran rhyme craft. Titles includes "Genie Alert", "Crocket & Tubs" with YahZarah, Love Is Love", "Strings", "Black Connection", "What They Know", "This Is Lo" and more. On The Way Uptown features early 90s era demos from their uberclassic Uptown Saturday Night plus some nice pre-Uptown Saturday Night material! 12 tracks including "Sugar Streets", "Coolie High Is Life", "Short Eyes", "World Heist", "Sparkle (110th St Demo)", "Superfly", "Hollywood At The Disco" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

The dawn of millennium classic by Dead Prez – and angry, revolution-minded effort from a period on major label hip hop that sorely lacked such strident players – and if it didn't make any huge waves commercially, that only strengthens its legacy! Sticman & M1 are at the top of their game lyrically, the beats are are exciting to this day, and it all adds up to one of the strongest politically minded hip hop records of its time. Titles include "Wolves", "Hip Hop", "They Schools", "The Pistol", "Discipline", "Enemy Lines", "Mind Sex", "Propaganda", "You'll Find A Way", "Police State", and many more. LP, Vinyl record album

An amazing slice of music from the legendary David Axelrod – quite different than his better-known sides for Capitol and Reprise Records – and plenty darn funky overall! Axelrod is at his studio best here – stepping off the funky jazz modes he produced for Cannonball Adderley, and taking a shot at that territory on his own! In a reversal of modes, Cannonball actually handles the production – with help from Jimmy Bowen – which leaves Axelrod alone to compose, arrange, and direct the group on the set. The album's got a fair bit of electricity in the mix – heavy keyboards from Joe Sample, and some really fuzzy guitars – plus lots of choppy reed work from Joe Sample and Ernie Watts, all wrapped up with some monstrously funky drums from Ndugu Chancler. There's a very bottom-heavy groove to the record – one that makes for a few completely amazing breaks, and a very funky sound overall – and Axelrod does an amazing job of controlling the players here – so that nobody jams too much, and the grooves are always right on the money! The whole thing's great – a sublime symphony of instrumental funk all the way through – and titles include "Reverie", "Miles Away", "Go For It", "Ken Russell", "1000 Rads", and "One". LP, Vinyl record album

The rare, late 80s gem from Black Rock & Ron – dedicated to and featuring production by the late, great Paul C McKasty – along with some production by Jazzy Jay and Skeff Anselm. You can hear Paul C's influence in the edits, the tightness of the beats and the layering and chopping of the samples, which definitely pushes this set to higher level. The rhymes are impressive, too – especially in the heavier, rawer and harder hitting tracks. Solid duo rap and tight production from the Hollis, Queens crew. Titles include 'You Can't Do Me None", "Black Is The Word", "That's How I'm Livin'", "Getting Large", "I'm Tired", "3 Brothers And Yvonne", "Rap Life", "Act Like You Know" and "Black, Rock & Ron (video mix)". 15 tracks in all. CD

A never-issued James Brown album from 1972 – a killer live performance from The Apollo Theater – and one that features a fair bit of help from other members of his People Records crew! James performs a bit on the record – but the set also features some great instrumental sides from the JBs, who get almost half the set – plus a few songs each by Bobby Byrd and Lyn Collins – two of the greatest singers to ever work with The Godfather! There's also some great introductions by Danny Day – in that usual hip style we love from James' concert recordings – and titles include "Wine Spot", "From The Back Side", "Hot Pants Road", "Honky Tonk", "Pass The Peas", and "Gimme Some More" by The JBs – plus "I Know You Got Soul", "If Loving You Is Wrong I Don't Want To Be Right", and "Keep On Doin What You're Doin" by Bobby Byrd; and "Do Your Thing", "Think", and "I'll Take You There" by Lyn Collins. LP, Vinyl record album

A wicked lost album of righteous funk and poetic knowledge from the great Gary Byrd! Gary began his life as a soul DJ in New York, but by the early 70s, he was using his rich voice to create recordings designed to educate as much as entertain. That said, the album is as funky as it is strident, and innovatively soulful – it's got raw and heavy drums and horns the burst in, but there's also roomier, slinkier grooves created to frame Byrd's voice and mood. The arrangements are by Chico O'Farrill and he really delivers. Gary Byrd's storytelling and spoken delivery leads the way, though – righteousness without bitterness, angry yet agreeable – truly brilliant and unique work! Titles include "To You Beautiful Black Sister", "If The People Only Knew (Power To The People)", "Shining Black Prince", "Country Preacher", and "How Long My People" and more. This great 2011 CD edition from Get On Down includes the bonus "Soul Travelin' Pt I (The GBE)" and "Soul Travelin' Pt I (The GBE)". CD

Cypress Hill's debut masterpiece – one of the biggest and best first albums in 90s hip hop – in cased here in skull for its 25th Anniversary! There's little we can add to the canon when it comes to describing this album's impact, but it's still pretty revelatory. Like other west coast rap heavies of the time, Cypress Hill documents real world street violence with a darkly comic sensibility, redefined usage of the word "blunt" forever more, and simply delivered one of the most influential rap (or rock. . .considering the astonishing crossover success) albums of the decade. "How I Could Just Kill A Man", "Hand On The Pump", "Hole In The Head", "Real Estate", "Stoned Is The Way Of The Walk", "Phunky Feel One", "Pigs", "Latin Lingo", "Something For The Blunted", "Psychobeatbuckdown" and more. Get On Down's 25th Anniversary is one of the coolest, craziest things we've seen for a commemorative anniversary edition ever – housed in an amazin, hard resin black skull – essentially a 3D physical recreation of the group's 1991 logo – plus a 100 page hardcover book! CD

One of the few albums ever cut by Les DeMerle, one of the hippest drummers of his time – made legendary thanks to legions of samplers and beatheads in the 90s! This is certainly one of Les' best ever efforts – a tight batch of funky big band tracks, with lots of nice grooves, and a very hip lineup that includes Frank Foster, Joe Beck, Chris Woods, Arnie Lawrence, and Charles Sullivan – all coming together in some great tunes that have very unusual rhythms, and a great format that puts the drums in line with the hip playing in the reed section! The album includes Les' famous version of "A Day in the Life", which begins with a monster funky intro – plus the cuts "Fusion – Pro & Con", "Underground", "Deflections 1, 2, 3, & 4", and "Aquarius". This great 2011 edition from Get On Down has 2 bonus tracks: "The Raven" and his version of "I Am The Walrus"! CD

An incredible album from Dinosaur L – the legendary New York dancefloor project of Arthur Russell! – fleshed out and expanded more than ever before by Sleeping Bag and Get On Down Records! The group's core sound is a punky, funky, chunky amalgam of bass thumping, guitar riffing, keyboard filling, and sax honking – all very much in the spirit of Russell's best quirky club work of the time, but with the added sound here of a more expanded approach – one that takes the tunes in a whole new territory than the more famous 12" singles! The tracks on the original set were simply numbered – "1", "2", "3", and so on – and come across almost as free-jamming instrumentals – but this reissue appends the songs with their 12" titles, so "#1" gets parenthetically entitled "You're Gonna Be Clean On Your Bean" and "#5" as "Go Bang!", plus this disc adds several 12" versions that were not on the original LP release, like Francois K's mix of 'Go Bang!" and Larry Levan's mix of "In The Corn Belt". Totally great stuff – as experimental as it is funky! This 2CD box set edition is amazing – coming in a heavy-duty box with each disc in an oversized gatefold style sleeve – and it includes more Arthur Russell collaborative and/or pseudonymous material for Sleeping Bag with or as Bonzo Goes To Washington, Felix, Sounds Of JHS Brooklyn and Indian Ocean. Other tracks include "School Bell/Treehouse" (Indian Ocean), "You Can't Hold Me Down (Extended Version)" (Felix), "5 Minutes (R-r-r Radio Mix)" (Bonzo Goes To Washington) and more. Also includes a nice booklet of photos, artwork and artist testimonials – plus notes by Russell biographer Tim Lawrence. CD

Sublime sounds from the great Herbie Hancock – presented here in one of his amazing Japanese-only albums from the 70s! The record is a showcase for Hancock in two different modes – as Herbie plays solo acoustic piano on side one, and delivers these really haunting renditions of "Maiden Voyage" and "Dolphin Dance" – both of them long, and with relaxed exploratory solos. Side two features Herbie on a variety of electric keyboards (moog, arp, etc) – playing with the kind of imagination and funkiness that characterized his best recordings of this period. On this side, Hancock lays down a sweet electric version of "Cantaloupe Island", and a nice spiritual groover called "Nobu" – both of them great, and nearer to the electric vibe of Thrust or Flood. LP, Vinyl record album

An unusual 70s album from Herbie Hancock – first in that it was only issued in Japan at the time, and second in that it was an all-acoustic set that came out at a time when Herbie was mostly working in an electric mode! Yet that previous work definitely informs the sound here – as there's a sense of flow to the piano that certainly comes from all the work that Herbie had been doing on keyboards – a lightly funky current at times, and a nicely open, stretched-out vibe on the tracks! The trio is great – with Ron Carter on bass and Tony Williams on drums – and titles include a great remake of "Speak Like A Child", plus "Watch It", "Look", "Milestones", and "Whatcha Waitin For". All tracks are long, and the record's got a nice sweet mellow vibe! LP, Vinyl record album

One of the funkiest songs ever from Issac Hayes – presented here in the non-stop, 33 minute jam session that gave the world the shorter single! The whole thing is amazing – and even more of a chance to see Hayes' genius in the studio than some of his full albums – as Ike conducts the core Bar-Kays group, and some additional strings and vocals – through passages that are tight and funky one minute, then freaky and fuzzy the next – with lots of cool time changes, instrumental shifts, and other sweet styles that make the whole thing feel more like an extended funk symphony than just a single song! This is the first time this full performance has ever been released – and the single features both parts, plus a bonus "rhythm section mix". Also comes with a cool booklet of notes! LP, Vinyl record album

Pivotal early dub! Depending upon whose history of the Jamaican recording industry you subscribe to, this is can be considered by many to be the first dub LP – and whether that's proveable or not, it's certain among the first! History aside, it's a mighty set with some raw early dub style workouts at the hands of Errol Thompson at the renowned 16 North Parade recording studio run by Randy's, with some deft production by Clive Chin. Needing virtually no introduction, the Impact All Stars drop some incredible rhythms, many which will be immediately recognizable as having been versioned from massive numbers for Augustus Pablo, Junior Byles and the Soul Vendors. Titles include "Java Dub", "Cheating Dub", "ET Special", "Ordinary Version Dub", "Hide Away Dub" and "Black Man's Dub". LP, Vinyl record album

Funky funky Thailand – just about the only 70s funk group we've ever seen from that part of the globe, and a great one at that! The Impossibles work in a tightly-crafted ensemble funk style that's clearly influenced by Kool & The Gang – but which also has the group hitting some well-polished notes on a few of the album's vocal numbers – in a totally cool groove that's got plenty of hard funky riffs at the bottom, sweet horns in the middle, and some great compressed pop vocals on the top! The album's a real lost treasure – one that we've never seen on this side of the Atlantic – and was oddly recorded and issued in Sweden in the mid 70s! But this album is way more than just a musical oddity – as it's super-funky all the way through, with a level of quality that will have it at the top of your crates for a long, long time! Titles include "Hotpepper", "Give It Up", "California", "C'mon Baby", "Easy To Be Hard", "Pretty Thing", "Love Will Keep Us Together", and "Love The Life You Live". CD

An oft-overlooked gem from the JBs – their last album for People Records, and a stone funk classic that's every bit as essential as the others! The band is still in fine fine form – with none of the fast-funk or proto-disco of some later recordings – and they're working here in some really tight song formats that almost go back to the early days of the group's first few singles. The album's filled with great playing, wonderful grooves, and Fred Wesley's keen sense of humor – which sparks the whole set with a sense of warmth and creative play that show why the JBs are still the greatest funk band ever. Includes the excellent "Little Boy Black", which begins with some tasty James Brown vocals; the oft-sampled "Rockin' Funky Watergate"; plus "Step Child", "Makin Love", and "Rice & Ribs". Not as drawn out as Doing It To Death, but more complicated than Food For Thought, and still a totally essential bit of funk! LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most fantastic albums by the JBs – a masterpiece of funky jamming, tight instrumentation, and that free yet tight style of the James Brown 70s years! The tracks are longer than on some of the earlier singles – especially the 8 minute jammer "(It's Not The Express) It's the JBs Monourail", an answer to BT Express' theme song, and a fantastic cut that's held up through so many years and so many scenes! Another great jammer is the group's version of "Thank You For Letting Me Be Myself", which runs for nearly 10 minutes – plus spacey funk tracks "Transmogrification" and "Taurus, Aires, & Leo", and the tighter jammer "Soul Funky Train", which returns to the group's funky 45 mode. Fantastic all around – and the kind of record you'll be playing for your grand kids! LP, Vinyl record album

The only album we've ever seen from Khemistry – but a heck of a sweet little set, and one that's always been dear to our hearts! The trio features two gals and one guy, all working with a great sing-song approach on the vocals – and a snapping 80s groove on the rhythms! There's a warmth here that you don't always find in sets of this type – a simple, straightforward feel that keeps the whole album humming along nicely – even through some of the mellower numbers. Production is never too commercial, and the instrumentation's never too electric – and the album's got a simple charm that's kept it a favorite on rare soul lists for decades. Titles include "Can You Feel My Love", "There's No Me Without You", "I Can't Lose With The Stuff I Use", "Sucker For The Boogie", "I Got A Feeling", and "Walking Papers". CD

Soaring salsa from the mighty Lebron Brothers – a group who first burst on the Latin scene with a strong run of Latin Soul recordings, but who are taking a more straightforward approach here! Yet that change hardly makes any difference, as the Lebrons still have that bold, youthful energy that made their records such a great change from some of the too-big bands of the previous generation in Latin music – and their shift from boogaloo to salsa is a great example of the way the key younger acts were helping make the waves that so many other artists would follow! Pablo Lebron sings lead vocals, and Angel and Jose Lebron co-lead the mighty tight grooves – which include alto from Gabe Gill and tenor from Herman Saldana – both players who keep a soulful sound to the set. Titles include "Mi Fracaso", "Si Ti", "Todo Lo Hechaste Ha Perder", "Orgullo, Riqueza Y Lujo", and "Tus Recuerdos". LP, Vinyl record album

Amazing work from the New York underground of the late 60s – an album that's as magical as its title implies! Latin definitely goes psychedelic on this one – burning through a cloud of smoke with a brilliant blend of soul, jazz, and the hipper rhythms of the Spanish Harlem scene at the time. Many lyrics are in English, and the groove is a punchy blend of Latin Soul, boogaloo, and shing-a-ling styles – plus a storming descarga number to cap off the end of the set! Titles include "Descarga Lebron", "Mary Mary", "My Cool Boogaloo", "Mala Suerte", "Mi Mambo", "Tall Tale", and an original tune called "Summertime Blues" that's very different than the more famous hit! LP, Vinyl record album

The cover looks a bit cheesy – like some sort of Star Search graphic – but the album's a rock-solid gem from the second decade of Nigerian funk – recorded in Lagos with a great boogie vibe, and a groove that's as heavy on keyboards as it is on riffing guitar and percussion! Peter Abdul's got this falsetto style of singing that's quite unusual for the Nigerian scene – one that echoes American sweet soul of the 70s, but set to a groovier style – and backing vocalists often help push over the top to new heights – as he stretches his range over the top of the longer grooves in the set! Titles include "Just Start To Understand You", "Don't You Know", "Baby I Love You", "Get Down With Me", "Let's Do It", and "Sisi". LP, Vinyl record album

Featuring Jay-Z on "That's Right". 12-inch, Vinyl record

A huge batch of work from Change – all the group's classic albums from the 80s, plus some great work from later years too – all with bonus tracks added to most of the records! First up is Glow Of Love – the classic debut from Change – and the start of an amazing run of groovers in the early 80s! The set's got a tight, jazzy feel throughout – a stripped-down approach to disco modes, with the same focus on the basslines that you'd find in work by Chic – but a style that's almost even more instrumentally focused overall, given the great range of studio players who worked on the set. Yet there's also some key vocal moments, too – work by Luther Vandross that really helps make some of the best tracks sparkle, and which went onto catapult Vandross into a rich solo career on his own. Next is Miracles – a brilliant second set from Change – working here without Luther Vandross on lead vocals, but hardly missing a beat at all! As before, the basslines are at the core of the set – a sweet stripped-down approach that brings even more focus onto the bottom of the groove for early 80s dancefloors – with loads of numbers that step along in a really groovy mode – one quite far from the cliches of disco, and inflected by loads of jazzy elements that keep things fresh over the years! Vocals are by James Robinson – previously with Lonnie Liston Smith – Diva Gray, and Jocelyn Shaw. Sharing Your Love is sweet modern soul from this great group – one of the brightest points in major label soul during the early 80s! Change, ironically, is a group that went through a number of line-up changes, even in their prime – with the tight, clubby, yet genuinely soulful production a constant. This record is made all the better for the beautifully soulful dual lead vocals of James Robinson and Deborah Cooper. The tracks have deeply layered live instrumentation – keyboards, guitar, percussion, horns and strings – blended seamlessly with early 80s production touches. This Is Your Love is an overlooked set from Change – a record that possibly wasn't as hit-worthy as some of their previous efforts – yet one that still had the group very much at the top of their game! By this point, Change had really evolved past being just a studio project, into a rock-solid soul group with a definite ear for a groove – particularly the tight, lean sort of rhythms that percolated in the post-Chic era – making a perfect fit for the slightly jazzy production of the record. Bassbits and beats drive most of the rhythms, but there's still a nice degree of warmth – and vocals are handled by Deborah Cooper, James Robinson, Rick Brennan, and Timmy Allen – who each seem to get their moment in the spotlight, furthering the well-rounded sound of the record. Next is Change Of Heart – a game-changing album from Change – a real breakthrough for the early 80s international soul combo! Change Of Heart has some great production by Jimmy Jam/Terry Lewis – and on top of that, it's perhaps the best set of songs the group had recorded to to date. Jam/Lewis wrote half the tunes and produced most of the album, which is front-loaded with some of the best of them. Turn On Your Radio is not nearly as well-known as their first few hits, but still in that all-solid approach to the groove that was the Change trademark during the early 80s! The sound is a bit more stripped down than before – tight beats and keyboards, mostly in a mellow to midtempo mode – all topped with vocals from male and female members of the group! Change still have a great way with a hook here – an approach to soul that's tight and professional, yet not nearly as cloying as some of the chart-climbing acts of their generation. And as before, the keyboards are almost as great as the vocals – with slight jazzy inflections that warm up the tunes nicely! Last up is Love 4 Love – a 2018 comeback for Change – still sounding great all these many years later, but in a slightly different way! The balance between all elements here is fantastic – as the music has all the best parts of the group's earlier music, but also updates the sound a bit – in the way that a combo like Incognito or Brand New Heavies were updating older soul music back in the 90s, by grabbing all the strongest parts of the past, and fusing them into a fresh lean groove. The songs are upbeat, positive, and full of the kind of catchy hooks that Change always did so well! Box set features 78 tracks in all – with bonus tracks added to most albums! CD

A fantastic album by The Dramatics – with a harder funkier sound than you'll find on most of their other records of the time – a gritty gem from the group's early years, and a record that really deserves its placement on the Stax label! The record has the group moving into a post-Temptations style of righteous soul – grooving hard with a really heavy bottom on funky numbers like "Get Up and Get Down" and "Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get", and even dropping a bit of a drug reference on the cut "Marry Don't Cha Wanna" – one of those messed-up lyric numbers we'd expect from a Latin Soul group! But the album's also got a sweet side too – as it features the amazing ballad cut "In The Rain", which has some of the most amazing production you'll ever find on the Stax label – harmony work that rivals the greatness of the east coast scene of the time. Other tracks include "Gimme Some", "Thank You For Your Love", and "Hot Pants In The Summertime". LP, Vinyl record album

There's some sharp jazzy changes at the start of this groove – a mix of instruments on the rhythms that show why Ipa Boogie could almost challenge Kool & The Gang at their sound – but also bring in some deeper West African touches to send the tune over the top! "Africa" is a tune with a longer jamming sound on their album – but cut down here to a shorter take that really sends home the hook! 7-inch, Vinyl record

Three full albums from Juicy Lucy – plus bonus tracks too! First up is the self-titled debut from Juicy Lucy – an American act who made a trip to the London scene in the late 60s, where they found a way to forge a whole bunch of influences into a very unique groove! Had they stayed back home in Cali, Juicy Lucy might have gravitated towards the Bay Area scene, and ended up sounding a bit freakier and hippieish – but in London, they sharpened their sound, unleashed some deeper bluesy currents, and put the whole thing together with a mix of wit and flair that really set them apart! The group boasts great lead vocals from Ray Owen, a cool mix of electric and acoustic sax parts from Chris Mercer, strong lead guitar from Neil Hubbard, and a range of great sounds from Glenn Ross Campbell – who uses steel guitar and mandolin in ways that are very different than American groups of the time. Forgive the album its quickly-dated, exploitative cover – because it's got a lot more to offer than that – and titles include "Chicago Northwestern", "Train", "Nadine", "Mississippi Woman", "She's Mine She's Yours", and "Just One Time". Lie Back & Enjoy It is hard and heavy work from Juicy Lucy – a group who are even stronger here on this second set than on their debut – effortlessly spinning out lines that are very much in the best hard rock modes of the period, but which also retain some nice bluesy influences as well! The group's a sextet – and in addition to some very unique vocals from singer Paul Williams, who also plays piano and congas, the set also has some surprisingly nice use of steel guitar and mandolin, but never in ways that sound like the instruments might in the handling of some of the Cali crowd at the time. Lead guitar is from Mick Moody, sax and keyboard lines are from Chris Mercer, and titles include "Pretty Woman", "Built For Comfort", "Whisky In My Jar", "Hello LA Bye Bye Birmingham", "Thinking Of My Life", and "Willie The Pimp". For Get A Whiff Of This, the title's a bit of a joke, especially in relation to the cover – but Juicy Lucy come on strong here, with a searing sound that shows that they're way past the novelty of the image on the front! Over the course of the previous records, the group really honed their unique blend of American blues and Brit hard rock inspiration – very well-focused here, with a sound that paves the way for some of the bigger crossover acts that would soon dominate American radio in the mid 70s – something the group unfortunately never got the chance to do. Titles include "Mr Skin", "Midnight Rider", "Mr A Jones", "Sunday Morning", and "Jessica". 2CD set features the bonus b-side tracks "Walking Down The Highway" and "I Am A Thief". CD

Groovy organ jazz from the Three Deuces – the trio of Eddie Roberts on guitar, Ian Rose on Hammond and Bill White on drums plus guest percussionist Bill White – a great little set recorded in London in 1996! The sound is strong and very authentic – like a lost 60s discovery – no surprise, given Roberts' later work with the New Mastersounds! There's a lot of groups out there that get tagged as trad sounding, but which really don't have the credentials. Not the case with these guys. They groove along nicely in that sort of classic Hammond groove, with maybe a Brit 60s beat twist to it. The tracks include "Keep On It", "Face to Face", "Is That All", "Mr. Ed", "Down At Art's" and a nice version of "Boogie On Reggae Woman". Good stuff with sweet, long songs! CD

Featuring Positive K alongside K-Swift, the King of Chill and DJ Skill, with production help from fellow First Priority posse member Milk D of the Audio Two on a couple cuts. Includes "Bustin Loose", "We Could Get Used To this", "Fish Heads", "Down To Earth", "Just Another Message", "Pure Skill", "Extensions", "Leeches" and "Still You Sleep". LP, Vinyl record album

The funky Root Down EP by the Beastie Boys – riding high on a mid 90s creative peak! Root Down featuring a trio of versions of the title track and Ill Communication album standout, based on the Jimmy Smith's classic of the same name – and in hindsight, you really have to hand it to the Beasties, not only sampling and celebrating classic early 70s jazz funk, but for their earnest wish to introduce Jimmy Smith to the pop culture kids of the 90s – including a killer remix by the mighty Prince Paul. Also includes some live recordings from the time of classic Beasties tracks like"Time For Livin", "The Maestro", "Somethin's Got To Give", Time To Get Ill", thier punky "Heart Attack Man", "Sabrosa" and "Flute Loop". LP, Vinyl record album

Nice debut LP on the Big Beat label loaded down with early 90s east coast boom bap – Self produced for the most part by Sugar Ray and BK with a sound similar to the early DITC projects, and couple of head nodding cuts by T Ray too. 15 cuts in all, including "Not Gonna Be Able To Do It", "The Headcracker", "School Of Hard Knocks", "Put Ya Boots On", "The Pure thing", "Somethin Funky Ta Step To", "Get Ya Props Up", "Girls Be Frontin", "Ruffneck", "Addicted To The Game", "Executive Class II", "We Got It Goin On" and "Get Mines Or Get Naked". LP, Vinyl record album

You've heard plenty about Billy Joe Shaver over the years, and this is the place to start – a set that brings together two of his albums for Capricorn Records, plus a single for MGM too! First up is When I Get Wings – a fantastic early album from Billy Joe Shaver – the kind of set that came out a bit under the wire, but turned on an elite few to one of the greatest songwriters in contemporary country music! The set's got maybe a bit more force than Billy's debut on Monument, but still also retains plenty of that broken-down quality that maybe didn't fit Shaver's age, but which definitely came through in the subjects of his songs – a similar voice to that of Kris Kristofferson on his early material, but definitely Billy Joe's own. Production is very strongly in the Capricorn Records mode, and titles include "Ride Me Down Easy", "Woman Is The Wonder Of The World", "Texas Uphere Tennessee", "The Good Lord Knows I've Tried", and "When I Get My wings". Gypsy Boy is a record with a title and cover that maybe look a bit off-key for the legend of Billy Joe Shaver – but the sound within is prime material from the 70s country genius, all given a tight spin in the Capricorn Records blend of rock and twang, roots, and polish! Billy Joe is maybe echoing some of the country music changes he helped to usher in with his songs a few years before – but the set is still great proof that the originator did them better than anyone else – as you'll hear on tunes that include "Chicken On The Ground", "Honky Tonk Heroes", "Billy B Damned", "We Stayed Too Long At The Fair", "Silver Wings Of Time", and "Slow Rollin Low". CD also features the obscure single tracks "Lately I've Been Leaning Towards The Blues", "I Couldn't Be Me Without You", and "Music City USA". CD

A fantastic run of work from pianist Mal Waldron – an artist who was already years ahead of his time when he broke on the scene in the 50s, but never got a chance to fully explore all of his many musical ideas until he formed a strong partnership with the Black Saint/Soul Note label in the 80s! This huge set features 11 different albums, each one a slight variation on Waldron's talents – all records that are packaged here in individual record-style covers – so that you get a CD version of the albums as they originally appeared on the market. Most of these are more intimate recordings – and the set includes one solo album, two duets each with David Friesen and Steve Lacy, albums with singers Judi Silvano, Tiziana Ghiglioni, and Kim Parker – a quartet date with Anthony Braxton, and another with Chico Freeman – and also one more trio album. Includes the full albums Up & Down, Update, Sometimes I'm Blue, Sempre Amore, Dedication, Our Colline's A Treasure, I'll Be Around, Six Monk's Compositions, Communique, Riding A Zephyr, and Remembering Mal. CD

Hard soul galore – an overstuffed CD that brings together 2 of the best collections on the mighty Candy label! The package is filled with great singles from the early days of soul – obscure singles that groove with a sound that's influenced heavily by R&B, but which also shares many of the elements of the early funk years. Great stuff all the way through, with a list of titles alone that's funky enough! Tracks include "Scratch That Itch" by Elliott Shavers & The Blazers, "Whiplash" by The Shells, "Mo Gorilla" by The Ideals, "Welfare Cheese" by Emanual Laskey, "The Dog" by Junior & The Classics, "The Chicken Scratch" by JC Davis, "The Wallop" by The Tabs, "Grandma Bird" by The Four Holidays, "You Gotta Change" by Kitty Love, "Whip It On Me" by Sonny Raye, "The Frog" by Sir Guy, "The Cow" by Bill Robinson & The Quails, "Get Down" by Harvey Scales & The 7 Sounds, "Sticky Pig Feet" by RT & The Pot Lickers, and "My Baby Likes To Boogaloo" by Don Gardner. CD

A strong live set from Bobby Bare – a singer we mostly associate with studio work, but who's clearly at home here in front of a crowd! There's maybe some slightly more rockish phrasing in some of the instrumentation – but the live presentation keeps things from ever sounding commercially overdone – and the songs are a mix of material from the kinds of singers who always bring out the best in Bobby Bare – a fair bit from Shel Silverstein, plus more from Bob McDill, Townes Van Zandt, and Kris Kristofferson. Titles include "Some Days Are Diamonds", "Numbers", "Tequila Sheila", "I Can't Watch The Movie Anymore", "Qualudes Again", "Down To My Last Come & Get Me", and "Good For Nothing Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

A selection of late 80s South Bronx Teachings – classic Boogie Down Productions circa Criminal Minded! South Bronx Teachings focuses soundly on the class of '87 – so you get fistful of the Criminal Minded cuts and a few other blasts from KRS-One & Scott La Rock, nicely paced over 13 tracks. Includes "Poetry", "South Bronx", "9MM Goes Blang", "Word From Our Sponsor", "Elementary", "Advance", "D-Nice Rocks The House", "The Bridge Is Over", "Criminal Minded", and "P Is Free (rmx)". CD

Classic! The Dramatics first 2 LPs are like nothing else in the group soul genre, and they're put here back to back on this great deal of a CD! Besides the excellent title cut, Whatcha See... has an excellent mix of funk and soul, with cuts like "In The Rain", "Get Up and Get Down", "Hot Pants In the Summertime", and "Mary Don't Cha Wanna". Dramatic Experience continues the massive soul trend, with tracks like "The Devil Is Dope", "Beware of the Man", and the classic "Hey You! Get Off My Mountain". Two of the monster soul albums of the 70's, in a great deal of a package! CD

Another one of Mongo Santamaria's strong Latin Soul LP's for Columbia, with a tight band that includes Sonny Fortune, Louis Gasca, and Joe Farrell. The record features smokin' versions of late-60's soul hits, plus a good original "We Got Latin Soul". Other tracks include "Get Back", "It's Your Thing", and "Getting it Out Of My System". Fortune and Gasca lay down some very nice solos, and Marty Sheller did all the arrangements, with his classic Latin Soul sound! LP, Vinyl record album

Groundbreaking work from Archie Shepp – 5 albums that helped define the Impulse Records sound of the 60s! First up is Four For Trane – an amazing Impulse debut from Archie Shepp – easily one of his boldest musical statements ever, and a key announcement to the world that a new generation of modernists was on the rise! The album was co-produced by John Coltrane – who brought Shepp to the label, and almost gets out-done by Archie's sharply crafted musical vision on the set. The style here is that mix of freer lines and tighter conception that Shepp used with the New York Contemporary Five – and players include John Tchicai on alto from that group, plus Roswell Rudd on trombone, Alan Shorter on flugelhorn, Reggie Workman on bass, and Charles Moffett on drums. The lack of piano in the album is striking – and allows for plenty of horn interplay, but in a way that's much more cutting and dark than any of the piano-less horn dates from the 50s. Titles include 4 Coltrane compositions ("Syeeda's Song Flute", "Mr Syms", "Cousin Mary", and "Naima"), as sort of a tribute to Trane – plus Shepp's excellent "Rufus (Swung, his face at last to the wind, then his neck snapped)". On This Night is one of his most successful blends of the disparate influences that comprised his style. The group is a bit smaller than usual – which gives good focus to players like Bobby Hutcherson, Henry Grimes, and Joe Chambers. Shepp contributed some of his most haunting compositions to the set – including "On This Night", "The Mac Man", and "The Pickaninny" – and the whole thing's amazing enough to make you a Shepp convert for life. Whenever we get bogged down in some of his later recordings, we only need put this one on and feel refreshed! Fire Music is fantastic stuff – easily one of Archie Shepp's greatest albums, and certainly one of the pivotal points of 60s avant garde jazz! The album features Shepp leading a crack "new thing" line up that includes Ted Curson on trumpet, Marion Brown on alto, Joe Chambers on drums, Reggie Johnson on bass, and the lesser-known Joseph Orange on trombone – all playing in a beautifully poised manner, never too far out and free, but with all the dynamic energy of the best jazz changes of the 60s! There's a vibe here that's similar to some of the Blue Note "new thing" work by players like Grachan Moncur, Jackie McLean, and Tony Williams from the time – but there's a vision that's also wider and deeper, too, given the size of the group and the way they interact. Titles include "Hambone", "Los Olvidados", "Malcolm Malcolm–Semper Malcolm", and an insane cover of "Girl From Ipanema". You can't go wrong with this one – trust us! Mama Too Tight is growing brilliance from the young Archie Shepp – a record that's not just about Archie's own amazing work on the tenor, but also his keen modern vision as a leader! The combo here is an ensemble that features some of the hippest modernists of the 60s – Roswell Rudd and Grachan Moncur on trombone, Perry Robinson on clarinet, Howard Johnson on tuba, Charlie Haden on bass, and Tommy Turrentine on trumpet – making a rare non-bop appearance here, and further enforcing our already-high estimation of his talents! The style's somewhat in the "new thing" mode of the period, but it's also a bit more tightly arranged too – almost hitting Mingus-like modes for the bigger ensemble – balancing the force of the group together with very free, bold solo impulses from the players. Side one features the extended "Portrait Of Robert Thompson (As A Young Man)" – and side two features "Mama Too Tight", "Theme For Ernie", and "Basheer". Way Ahead Is definitely the way ahead in jazz – back in the 60s, and well into the 21st Century too! Archie Shepp's in prime form here – working with a sextet that's awash in avant freedoms, but which always shows a great sense of restraint – just the right power gained from the new modes of jazz expression, as the players dance together beautifully on a razor's edge of personal creativity and ensemble exploration. Players here include Grachan Moncur on trombone, Jimmy Owens on trumpet, Ron Carter on bass, and Beaver Harris and Roy Haynes on drums – and the album also features the first piano player on most of the Shepp albums on Impulse – Walter Davis Jr, making a rare outside appearance with the group! Titles include the classic track "Frankenstein", plus "Fiesta", "Damn If I Know (The Stroller)", and "Sophisticated Lady" – all nice and long! CD

A massive batch of rare club tracks unearthed by Chicago's Past Due label, packaged together wonderfully as a document of a lost side of soul and disco! So far, Past Due's efforts have only surfaced as expensive 12" singles – so this collection is the first full length set to showcase the label's music – a treasure trove of under-discovered gems from the indie soul underground of the late 70s and early 80s! The music is to the far left of some of the better-known club work from the east coast of the time – including that of P&P Records – and most cuts here almost fall more in the upbeat funk mode than conventional disco grooves you'd find on bigger labels. Most numbers groove along in a wave of bumping bass, sweet keyboards, and other hip instrumental touches – and vocals are usually deep and soulful, much more so than in ordinary club. Titles include "Galaxy" by Visions Of Tomorrow, "Midnight Rhythm" by The Right Direction, "The Heat Is On" by Lonnie Givens, "Get Up Get Down & Let Your Body Pop" by Greyship Daviz, "Dance" by Destiny In Time Band, "Party" by Monofide, "Kiss You Everywhere" and "You Are Number One" by Devarne, "You Bring Out The Best In Me" by Destiny In Time, and "If You Like What We're Doing" by The Fabulous Kings. LP, Vinyl record album

Three overlooked gems by the Everly Brothers – all very different than their early hits, and very much in the hippest territory the duo would ever hit! First up is The Hit Sound Of The Everly Brothers – a really amazing little album, and not a set of the pair's earlier hits, but instead an all new recording that has the duo moving into rootsier modes that rub shoulders with the same country rock territory of The Byrds and Flying Burrito Brothers! In truth, Don and Phil Everly are probably more important to the rise of the sound than anyone else – as their early work took a bluegrass harmony style, and moved it onto the rock charts – yet here, they almost seem to move backwards, and nod back to their roots – while still showcasing plenty of electric guitar in the mix. Most tunes are hits by other artists, but transformed with very hip late 60s Warner presentation – think Beau Brummels on Bradley's Barn – and titles include "Devil's Child", "Legend In My Own Time", "I'm Movin On", "Let's Go Get Stoned", "She Never Smiles Anymore", and "Sea Of Heartache". Sing is a record that has The Everly Brothers in a completely different mode than before, as you might guess from their look on the cover – a record that has Don and Phil moving into some very cool rootsy territory – really opening the door towards a generation of country rock to come, but at a level that reminds us that they maybe got the whole thing going in the first place! Production is in a very cool late 60s Warner Brothers mode – echoes of folk, psych, and sunshine in the mix – but all handled with this mature style that's at once sophisticated, yet completely down to earth – in a set of original tunes by the brothers, plus some gems from Terry Slater too – completely wonderful music that includes "Bowling Green", "A Voice Within", "I'm Finding It Rough", "Do You", "Mary Jane", "It's All Over", and "Talking To The Flowers". Roots is sublime country rock and superb vocals from the Everly Brothers – an album as close to our hearts as the much more hipster-celebrated work of the era by Gram Parsons, the Byrds and others! The Everlys grasped onto their significance throughout the 60s by hopping from trend to trend with little success – but they finally nailed it in 1968 with this effort. (Artistically, if not commercially.) The boys apply their staggering harmonies to country and country-ish material, adding their own unique spin to the tunes – and earnestly work in some montages of their family radio shows from the early 50s! It's easily their most endearing work of the 60s. Produced by Lenny Waronker with strings by Nick DeCaro. Includes wonderful versions of Jimmie Rodgers' "T For Texas", "Shady Grove", Randy Newman's "Illinois", Ray Price's "You Done Me Wrong", Merle Haggard's "Mama Tried" and "Sing Me Back Home", plus "Ventura Boulvard" and "Turn Around" written by Ron Elliot of Beau Brummels. 3CD set features lots more bonus tracks – including "When Eddie Comes Home", "Empty Boxes", "Milk Train", "Lord Of The Manor", "My Elusive Dreams", "You're Just What I Was Looking For Today", "Omaha", "Mr Soul", Shop Girl", "Human Race", "A Little Bit Of Crazy", "Nothing But The Best", and "Love Of The Common People". CD