Dee Clark cracked the charts big with a few crossover hits – but he's an excellent soul singer with a raspy tone that almost set the stage for some of the deeper soul acts to come in the 60s! The style here is very much in the mode of some of Jackie Wilson's best for Brunswick from the early days – tracks recorded in a mode that's often heavy on the voice, letting Dee step out with strong flourishes that change in style from track to track – sometimes dramatic, sometimes subtle – but always impeccably phrased with Clark's stunning vocals! Titles are a nice batch of numbers that go way past Dee's hits – and include "Just Like A Fool", "What I Say", "Come To California", "24 Boyfriends", "I Just Can't Help Myself", "Little Red Riding Hood", "Gloria", and "Baby What You Want". LP, Vinyl record album

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

Stormin soul – and a killer set of upbeat 60s numbers! The package was put together for the UK mod scene, but it's a great batch of American tracks from the classic years of soul – not really Northern, not really southern – but kind of a hard-swinging approach to the music that makes for a really lively package overall! The set's got 20 tracks in all, all thumpin, bumpin, and gruntin-type numbers – with titles that include "Do The Whoo Pee" by Sugar Pie Desanto, "Lay This Burden Down" by Mary Love, "Make Me Yours" by Bettye Swann, "I Keep Forgetting" by Chuck Jackson, "I've Got Papers On You Baby" by BB King, "Hole in The Wall" by George Stone, "Have Love Will Travel" by Richard Berry & The Pharoahs, "Keep My Woman Home" by Danny White, "Mama Julie" by Terry & Jerry, and "I Got A Woman" by Billy Hawks. CD

Tracks from L.T.J Bukem, Chameleon, PFM, Aquarius & Tayla, Peshay, Funky Technicians, Form Form, F. De Wolf, Axis, JMJ & Flytronix, and more. CD

2 CDs of artists recording for LTJ Bukem's Good Looking label, with the atmospheric "intelligent" sound he became known for, though we prefer to just call it smooth jazzy jungle: Big Bud "Freedom", Blame "Alpha: 7", Seba "Remedy", Blu Mar Ten "She Moves Through", Artemis "Sun Voyage" and Big Bud "Mystique". CD

... CD

Ten tracks from Big Bud, Seba, Moonchild, LTJ Bukem, Makoto, Rantoul, and Psyne. CD

Includes tracks from Makoto, K-Scope, Makoto Featuring Lori Fine, LTJ Bukem, K-Scope, Phluff, Words 2 B Heard Collective Featuring Mark Holmes, Doctor Jazz's Universal Remedy, and PHD & Funky Technicians. The DVD features a DTS ES 6.1 48/24 Surround mix, on-screen bios and a mix breakdown. CD

Gritty work from John Lee Hooker – a set recorded at the end of the 60s in Paris, at a time when that city was playing host to some of the hippest blues work of the decade! The style here is very much like John Lee Hooker of a decade before – simple, stark, and unadorned – with a slinky, dirty groove at the bottom of most tracks – vamped along by just a bit of bass and drums. The recording quality is a bit better than the old days, but never too slick or commercial – and Hooker's vocals are right out front with a real sense of presence and power. Titles include "I Feel Good", "Baby Baby", "Dazie Mae", "Stand By", "Going Home", and "Looking Back Over My Day". LP, Vinyl record album

A great set of Stevie's best tracks for Motown! 3 LPs deep, with 40 tracks in all, mostly from the late 60s, with a handful of numbers from the early 70s, including a few goodies that are getting tougher to find on wax. Includes "Hey Love", "Angie Girl", "Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday", "Down To Earth", "I'd Cry", "Fingertips (part 2)", "Castles In The Sand", "Uptight (Everything's Alright)", "Nothing's Too Good For My Baby", "You Met Your Match", "Never Had A Dream Come True", "My Cherie Amour", "Never Dreamed You'd Leave In Summer", "If You Really Love me", "Something Out Of The Blue", "Do Yourself A Favor", "I'd Be Fool Right Now", "Thank You Love", "Ain't That Asking For Trouble", "A Place In The Sun" and loads more! LP, Vinyl record album

The pious bird of good omen might well be the track "Albatross" here – nestled in the middle of the record, and a key sign that Fleetwood Mac were ready to break from their roots! But this is no heavy bird hanging around the group's neck – as the groundbreaking instrumental really set them free from their straight blues rock expressions, and is mixed here with a great range of material that really shows Peter Green and the group ready to take on the 70s. If you loved Green's blues guitar work on other records, don't worry – there's still plenty of it here – but the range of songs is great, and in addition to the amazing "Albatross", other tunes include the fantastic original version of "Black Magic Woman", plus "The Big Boat", "Rambling Pony", "Just The Blues", "Looking For Somebody", "Stop Messin Round", "The Sun Is Shining", "I Believe My Time Ain't Long", and "Coming Home". LP, Vinyl record album

If there's anyone we'd trust with a trip through the Blue Note catalog, it's Jazzanova – as the group have been a key force in the jazz-inspired sound of the global dancefloor for many years! This set's the 4th in Blue Note's "Trip" series – and it may well be the best, as Jazzanova really know their way around a groove – and manage to get way past the obvious in their selection of tracks from the Blue Note catalog of the 60s and 70s. The hits are pushed aside for some lesser-known gems that stretch out with a wonderfully fluid approach to a jazzy groove – mixing together fusion, Latin, and soul jazz influences with ease! 2LP set features the titles "Afreaka" by Lee Morgan, "Think Twice" by Donald Byrd, "You Make Me Feel So Good" by Bobbi Humphrey, "Yu Yo" by Bobby Hutcherson, "I've Had A Little Talk" by Horace Silver, "Congalegra" by Horace Parlan, "Afrodisia" by Kenny Dorham, and "Beatrice" by Sam Rivers. LP, Vinyl record album

A groundbreaking bit of work from Telex – the Belgian trio that features earlier electronic experimentalists Marc Moulin and Dan Lacksman – both artists who really refine their sound for a groovier, clubbier style that really takes off! At a time when most UK electronic outfits were still pretty cold and experimental, Telex had a more upbeat, catchy sort of approach – yet one that also was filled with all the sorts of cool twists and turns you might also find in Japanese work of the time, especially music from YMO – another trio who might be a good comparison to these guys! The set includes their classic "Moskow Diskow" – plus "Cafe De La Jungle", "Some Day Un Jour", "Victime De La Societe", "Twist A Saint Tropez", and a nice remake of "Ca Plane Pour Moi". LP, Vinyl record album

A real standout set in the later years of trumpet legend Chet Baker – in part because the record features some wonderful tenor work from the equally legendary Warne Marsh! Marsh at this point in his career has really developed a subtle edge – this slight current of darkness that wasn't there at the start, and which works well next to the moody qualities that Baker developed in his final years too. Equally wonderful is the piano of Hod O'Brien – a great and overlooked musician, and one who has this almost broken-down quality that really fits the emotive energy of the date. Other players include Eddie Gladden on drums and Cecil McBee on bass – the latter of whom is a bit of a surprise on such a session – on titles that include "Imagination", "We Know It's Love", "Well Spoken", "Blues For A reason", and "Looking Good Tonight". Features a great bonus track – an alternate of "Looking Good Tonight", on vinyl for the first time! LP, Vinyl record album

A massive collection of work by the great Sam Cooke – featuring 30 tunes in all, and spanning the range of his full career – from his early roots in gospel music, to the incredibly powerful soul tunes he cut shortly before his untimely death. The set's got most everything you'd ever want to hear if you're looking for an overview of Sam's work – with titles that include "A Change Is Gonna Come", "Another Saturday Night", "Good Times", "Having A Party", "Sugar Dumpling", "Ain't That Good News", "Nothing Can Change This Love", "Little Red Rooster", "I'll Come Running Back To You", "What A Wonderful World", "Cupid", "Chain Gang", "Summertime", and "Only Sixteen". CD

A rare set from the Chicago scene of the early 70s – put together by a group who are the "American family" promised in the title, but who have a lot more to offer than just the kiddie soul of the time! The members of the group have a nice range of ages and styles – which maybe makes the music come across with the depth of groups like Voices of East Harlem or The Stairsteps – more mature, sometimes righteous currents that are a real surprise – and captured here with instrumentation that's a nicely lean take on east coast styles of the time – that grittier approach that always made records on the Perception label so great! Titles include two nice cuts by Patrick Adams – "Loneliest Girl In Town" and "Find the One Who Loves You", plus others by the producer James L Porter – "Oh Yes I Do" and "Time For a Change" – and the titles "Next Time I'll Be Good", "I Can't Get No Higher", "I Can't Wait", and "Take My Love Don't Set Me Free". CD features four bonus tracks – "Here's Some Dances", "Will You Still Be Mine", "Let's Sign A Peace Treaty", and "Looking For A Brand New Game". CD

The classic sound of Funkadelic, reworked by a key selection of contemporary talents from the Detroit scene – but never in a way that wrecks the originals at all! Unlike other remix projects, which might break up the music to a point that you can hardly recognize the original grooves – this set does a wonderful job of maintaining all the integrity of the famous funky recordings by the group, while also letting some artists from the group's hometown also include a few of their own contributions too – all in ways that really expand the original vision of the music, while keeping things in a funky soul vein all the way through! Given all the greateness of Detroit grooves in recent years – from that city's very fertile underground of producers and musicians – the sound here is still even more amazing than we expected, and the album's a very fitting one to be issued on the Westbound label. The set's double-length, and for good reason too – and titles include "Music 4 My Mother (Underground Resistance mix)", "Sexy Ways (Recloose disco flip)", "Get Your Ass Off & Jam (Marcellus Pittman rmx)", "You Can't Miss What You Can't Measure (Alton Miller mix)", "Super Stupid (Dirtbombs version)", "Music For My Mother (Andres Wo Ahh Ay voc mix)", "Cosmic Slop (Moodymann mix)", "Be My Beach (Mophono & Tom Thump)", "Let's Make It Last (Kenny Dixon Jr edit)", "Let's Take It To The Stage (Amp Fiddler @Ya mix)", "Undisco Kidd (Gay Marvine edit)", "Looking Back At You (Ectomorph stripped & dubbed)", and "Standing On The Verge (Anthony Shake Shakir & T Dancer rmx)". CD

Really great early work from guitarist Earl Hooker – and a set that also feature some soulful sides by Jody Williams too! The bulk of the album features Hooker laying down that amazing guitar sound that always made him so distinct, and such a key precursor to funk as well – working in combos with organ and piano from Big Moose, tenor from AC Reed, and more piano from Pinetop Perkins – on titles that include "How Long Can This Go On", "Bright Sounds", "Off The Hook", "Nothing But Poison", "Nothing But Good", and "Leading Brand" – plus cuts with vocals from Ricky Allen and Lillian Offitt. Jody Williams plays guitar, but he also sings too – and brings a nicely soulful vibe to tunes that include "You May", "Hideout", "Morning For Molasses", "Looking For My Baby", and "Lucky You". CD

Hardly a folk album, despite the title – and instead a wicked batch of raw bluesy numbers from the mighty John Lee Hooker! Two of the album's tracks were recorded live at the Newport Folk Fest, but the rest were done back in Chicago – with lots of gritty vocals and guitar from Hooker, plus some occasional extra backing on a few of the cuts – including some harmonica and guitar from Jimmy Reed. The album's a perfect illustration of Vee Jay's classic approach to blues – almost more impressive than that of Chess Records in a setting like this – on cuts that include "Tupelo", "I'm Mad Again", "Take Me As I Am", "The Hobo", "You're Looking Good Tonight", and "I'm Going Upstairs". LP, Vinyl record album

About as classic as you can get for late 60s Miracles! Smokey's vocals are in perfect form, and the group still has that 60s falsetto harmony sound, with lots of fragile bits and strong group backing. Includes the huge hit "Tears Of A Clown", plus a motherlode of great originals that make this a no-filler set! Titles include "The Soulful Shack", "My Love Is Your Love", "Don't Think It's Me", "I'm On The Outside (Looking In)", "More Love", and "It's A Good Feeling". LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderfully mature album from Frank Sinatra – a set that has him coming to terms with his time in life, and expressing things with a beautiful quality that almost sets a whole new standard for his work! And in a way, the aesthetic here is almost that which would be picked up by a host of other singers in years to come – the more mature, adult style of singing that came into play at the end of the 60s – a whole new version of masculinity that opened up rich new territory for Sinatra and others. The aging Frank comes off as even more thoughtful, more personal than before – full of wisdom that's brought to play perfectly in the album's classic track "It Was A Very Good Year" – spun out nicely on a host of other gems that include "The September Of My Years", "It Gets Lonely Early", "The Man In The Looking Glass", "Last Night When We Were Young", and "I See It Now". LP, Vinyl record album

Think you know the sound of Atlantic Records in the 60s? Think again – because this stunning series opens the vault to a huge amount of rare treasures from the legendary label! The package is amazing – and offers up rare tracks that were mostly only issued by Atlantic on singles – including some on the other imprints associated with the company – some by names we never even knew recorded for the label, others by bigger names, but represented here by obscure material that goes way past their hits – and which is ultra cool because of that. There's also a fair bit more deep soul than you might expect from the usual Atlantic mix – tremendous vocals, and often in less hit-heavy modes – which makes the whole thing a great revelation – and just one more reason to bow down and give even more expect to one of the key companies who helped soul music find a home in the 60s. Plus – as if that's not enough – the whole thing comes in a very cool 7" gatefold package – which emphasizes the from-singles nature of the collection. Volume 3 is overflowing with amazing sounds from the heart of the 60s – rare 45rpm tracks by Atlantic stars, Stax artists, and a few lesser-knowns too. Titles include "Hello Stranger" by The Capitols, "Help Me (parts 1 & 2)" by Ray Sharpe, "Long Distance Love" by Ted Taylor, "Lonely Soldier" by Mike Williams, "How Can You Babysit A Man" by Ned Towns, "Keep Looking" by Solomon Bourke, "I'm Sorry" by Fred Lowrey, "Please Uncle Sam" by The Charmels, "Share What You Got" by William Bell, "Reputation" by The Four Shells, "Me & My Baby" by Mary Wells, "Got No One" by The Delcardos, "Weak Spot" by Ruby Johnson, "Good Love Bad Love" by Eddie Floyd, "Bingo" by Ned Towns, "I Had A Dream" by Johnny Taylor, "I Can't Take It" by Ray Sharpe, "You Can't Love Them All" by The Drifters, "Believe It Or Not" by Rex Garvin & The Mighty Cravers, "Patch My Heart" by The Mad Lads, "She's The One I Love" by The Delcardos, "Find Me Somebody" by Bobby Womack, "Hello Stranger" by The Capitols, "So Much Love" by Ben E King, "Help The Bear" by Ted Taylor, and "I Feel A Sin Coming On" by Solomon Burke. CD

A really great take on the style of the funky compilation – one that mixes in lots of gritty garagey rock tracks along with a bit of vintage soul! The blend here is surprisingly seamless – as the rocking tracks often have a funky kind of groove, and the soul cuts sometimes have trippier elements in the mix – which makes the whole thing come together with a strongly color-blind sense of sound – even though things are pretty darn soulful throughout! Most numbers are from rare singles, but there's also some unreleased cuts – and very detailed liner notes that shed plenty of light on these very groovy sounds. Titles on volume 1 include "Mojo" by Van Broussard, "Girl Give Me Love" by The Little Bits, "Jamm (part 1)" by Frozen Sun, "You're No Good" by Phlegethon, "If You Can't Love Me Pity Me" by The Chapters, "B Side" by The Looking Glass, "Good Thing Going" by The Four, and "Ashtray Candle" by Pump. LP, Vinyl record album

A huge amount of 12" singles, stuffed into one mighty nice 4CD set – maybe not the greatest of all time, but still pretty darn wonderful overall! The set does an especially great job of looking at a late 70s moment when some of the hipper soul artists were able to get the extra space of a 12" single to really open up their sound – grooves that move past the shorter space of a 7", and really do plenty in the process – often in ways that are much more interesting than some of the overplayed disco of the time. There's 43 long grooves on the set – all 12" singles – and titles include "Space Age" by Jimmy Castor, "You Are A Star" by Aquarian Dream, "Flashlight" by Parliament, "Good Times" by Chic, "Ten Percent" by Double Exposure, "I Should've Loved Ya" by Narada Michael Walden, "Fantastic Voyage" by Lakeside, "You're My Occupation (ext)" by Chaz Jankel, "Expansions" by Lonnie Liston Smith, "And The Beat Goes On" by the Whispers, "You Got The Floor" by Arthur Adams, "Do It Any Way You Wanna (Tom Moulton mix)" by People's Choice, "Do What You Wanna Do" by T-Connection, "Twilight (inst)" by Maze, "You + Me + Love" by Undisputed Truth, "More Bounce To The Ounce (parts 1 & 2)" by Zapp, "Now That We Found Love (disco mix)" by Third World, "Hi Tension" by Hi Tension, "Dancing In Outer Space" by Atmosfear, "Money's Too Tight To Mention" by Valentine Brothers, "Searching" by Change, and "Running Away" by Roy Ayers. CD

A really wonderful entry in this excellent series – one that initially helped identify a really special strand in postwar music – then continue to provide rare and unique examples with new volumes like this! The music isn't really mambo or Latin at all – but the rhythms here are more sophisticated and modern than more blues-oriented work of the time – and pulled from a fantastic moment when things were really mixing up in the new indie recording scene of the postwar years! Bits of jazz, early soul, and other touches make these tunes really shine – all lively numbers that include both group material and solo singers too – in a killer set list that includes "Wanda" by The Heartbreakers, "You're So Good Looking" by Otis Smith, "Heartaches & Troubles" by Mr Bo, "Song Of Sadar" by Lawrence Peel & The Filatones, "Buddha's Boogie" by Dukes Of Rhythm, "Calvalry" by Marie Knight & Sister Rosetta Tharpe, "Evil One" by The Dundees, "Love For Sale" by Helene Polite, "Oscalypso" by Oscar Pettiford, "Mambo Blues" by Effie Smith, "Big Mary's" by Titus Turner, "Caldonia" by Monchito, "Ali Baba's Boogie" by Preston Love, "Canveral Rock" by The Blasts, "I Want You To Be My Baby Mambo" by The Royals, "Girl Of My Dream" by Frank Butler, and "My Beat Is 125th Street" by Eunice Davis. LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible collection – and one that fills in a crucially under-documented side of the New York dancefloor generation – the wealth of special mixes and edits that were made for that city's important DJs for their own use in clubs! The package sorts through a mountain of never-issued acetates, and goes way past conventional disco or rare club collections – to showcase the special mixing talents these DJs brought to their re-presentation of the material – which was usually done on tape, then pressed onto acetate discs for their own private use! Those rare treasures are brought forth here – in a beautiful package that's also overflowing with fantastic notes that finally give this lost history its due – all handled by Al Kent – who's a hell of a mixer himself, as well as an underground club historian. Vinyl part 1 features five different records, all with lots of space for the tunes to stretch out – and titles include "I Just Wanna Say I Love You (John Luongo rmx)" by Leon Collins, "What About Love (Tony Gioe rmx)" by Marboo, "Ten Percent (Walter Gibbons Sunshine Sound acetate edit)" by Double Exposure, "Inside America (Rick Gianatos disco queen acetate edit)" by Juggy Murray Jones, "Dancing Free (John Luongo rmx)" by Hot Ice, "Black Water Gold (Sunshine Sound acetate edit)" by The Sunshine Band, "Magic Bird Of Fire (Francois Kevorkian Sunshine Sound acetate edit)" by Salsoul Orchestra, "It's Good For The Soul (Jay Negron Sunshine Sound acetate edit)" by Salsoul Orchestra, "My Love Is Free (Walter Gibbons disco madness rmx)" by Double Exposure, "Reaching Out For Happiness (Jonathan Fearing rmx)" by Fay Hauser, "Let Me Be Your Fantasy (Tom Savarese rmx)" by Love Symphony Orchestra, "The Beat Goes On & On (Jim Burgess rmx)" by Ripple, "I Wanna Be Near You (John Morales Sunshine Sound acetate edit)" by Ruby Andrews, "I've Been Looking For Somebody (Walter Gibbons rmx)" by TC James & The Fist O Funk Orchestra, "The Disco Scene (Rick Gianatos rmx)" by Lake Shore Drive, "Bumpsie's Whipping Cream (Tom Savarese rmx)" by TC James & The Fist O Funk Orchestra, and "Janice (Bobby DJ Guttadoro rmx)" by Skip Mahoney. LP, Vinyl record album

Sammy Davis Jr is looking pretty darn hip on the cover – and all the artists inside are sounding pretty darn hip as well – coming together during the glory days of soul jazz, at a time when blues, vocals, and R&B were also criss-crossing into other styles too! There's an upbeat, soul-drenched, ultra-cool vibe to the whole thing – not too-familiar retro jazz numbers, but instead a wealth of rare cuts that often come from the sort of 7" singles that change hands for big money in the funky 45 underground, next to obscure album cuts too – mixed with the kind of unreleased material that the Ace/Kent label has always done such a good job of digging up! The package explodes with groovy musical delights – and titles include "What Is love" by Bobby Jenkins, "Out House" by Eddie Bridges & His Lowriders, "Empire City" by Gene Walker & The Combo, "Pushin The Button Of Soul" by Hank Jacobs, "Fat Man" by Montego Joe, "The Bold" by Russell Evans & The Nite Hawks, "Hey Mrs Jones" by Jimmy Witherspoon, "Poppa Nickel" by The Tempo Rhythms, "Sherry's Party" by Ray Johnson, "Hot Tamale Man" by Harold Betters, "Shank & Grits" by Ray Shanklin, "Pluckin" by Jimmy Mayes & The Soul Breed, "East 24th Ave" by Billy Graham & The Escalators, and "Do The Thing" by Gate Wesley. CD

The classic sound of Funkadelic, reworked by a key selection of contemporary talents from the Detroit scene – but never in a way that wrecks the originals at all! Unlike other remix projects, which might break up the music to a point that you can hardly recognize the original grooves – this set does a wonderful job of maintaining all the integrity of the famous funky recordings by the group, while also letting some artists from the group's hometown also include a few of their own contributions too – all in ways that really expand the original vision of the music, while keeping things in a funky soul vein all the way through! Given all the greateness of Detroit grooves in recent years – from that city's very fertile underground of producers and musicians – the sound here is still even more amazing than we expected, and the album's a very fitting one to be issued on the Westbound label. The set's double-length, and for good reason too – and titles include "Music 4 My Mother (Underground Resistance mix)", "Sexy Ways (Recloose disco flip)", "Get Your Ass Off & Jam (Marcellus Pittman rmx)", "You Can't Miss What You Can't Measure (Alton Miller mix)", "Super Stupid (Dirtbombs version)", "Music For My Mother (Andres Wo Ahh Ay voc mix)", "Cosmic Slop (Moodymann mix)", "Be My Beach (Mophono & Tom Thump)", "Let's Make It Last (Kenny Dixon Jr edit)", "Let's Take It To The Stage (Amp Fiddler @Ya mix)", "Undisco Kidd (Gay Marvine edit)", "Looking Back At You (Ectomorph stripped & dubbed)", and "Standing On The Verge (Anthony Shake Shakir & T Dancer rmx)". LP, Vinyl record album

Groundbreaking work from Ketty Lester – a really important singer who equally skirted the worlds of jazz and soul! Ketty's got a great sophisti-soul style on the set – working with arrangements by Lincoln Mayorga, and coming off with a sound that would clearly go onto inspire Nancy Wilson and Marlena Shaw. Includes the hit "Love Letters", plus "You Can Have Him", "When Day Is Done", "Lonely People Do Foolish Things", "Hello Lover, Goodbye Tears", and "Looking For A Boy". LP, Vinyl record album

Comprehensive 3 LP set that covers the full range of Mingus' great recordings for Atlantic, including stuff from many hard to find albums that you won't find easily on LP. The track list is virtually a catalog of his greatest recordings, with 18 tracks in all: "Pithecanthropus Erectus", "Profile Of Jackie", "Haitian Fight Song", "Reincarnation Of A Lovebird", 'Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting", "Cryin' Blues", "Devil Woman", "Wham Bam Thank You Ma'am", "Passions Of A Woman Loved", "Duke Ellington's Sound Of Love", "Better Git Hit In Your Sould", "Tonight At Noon", "Sue's Changes", "Canon", "Free Cell Block F, 'Tis Nazi USA", "Goodbye, Porkpie Hat", "Passions Of A Man" and the spoken word number "Mingus On Mingus" which is Mingus himself looking back on his career. Well done liner notes, too, in a nice tri-fold gatefold package. LP, Vinyl record album

A pair of incredible early Motown albums from Mary Wells – one of the label's first truly great singers – in a great single set from Kent UK! Mary Wells never sounded better than in her Motown years – and 1962's The One Who Really Loves You is key proof of her talents, as it's overflowing with laidback and mellow soul tunes – done in Mary's great blend of bluesy and classy styles! Titles include classics like "Drifting Love", "Strange Love", "The Day Will Come", "I've Got A Notion", "The One Who Really Loves You", "You Beat Me To The Punch", "Two Wrongs Don't Make A Right", "I'll Still Be Around" and more. The follow-up Two Lovers features the subtitle And Other Greatest Hits, but it's actually a great batch of songs that were most newly-recorded by Mary at the time – and not at all a simple round-up of singles! The approach here has just a little more rawness than some of the girl groups Berry Gordy was scoring hits with at the time, but also a sense of urban classiness. As is their wonderful way, Kent goes above and beyond here – with a great booklet of notes and photos – which shines a light on the making of these great records. Wonderful stuff! Titles include "Two Lovers", "Guess Who", "My 2 Arms - You = Tears", "Goody, Goody", "Stop Right Here", "Laughing Boy", "Looking Back", "(I Guess There's) No Love", "Was It Worth It" and "Operator". CD

Comprehensive set that covers the full range of Mingus' great recordings for Atlantic, including stuff from many hard to find albums that you won't find easily on LP. The track list is virtually a catalog of his greatest recordings, 6CDs worth of tracks including: "Pithecanthropus Erectus", "Profile Of Jackie", "Haitian Fight Song", "Reincarnation Of A Lovebird", 'Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting", "Cryin' Blues", "Devil Woman", "Wham Bam Thank You Ma'am", "Passions Of A Woman Loved", "Duke Ellington's Sound Of Love", "Better Git Hit In Your Sould", "Tonight At Noon", "Sue's Changes", "Canon", "Free Cell Block F, 'Tis Nazi USA", "Goodbye, Porkpie Hat", "Passions Of A Man" and the spoken word number "Mingus On Mingus" which is Mingus himself looking back on his career. Well done liner notes, too, in a nice tri-fold gatefold package. CD

We know what you're thinking, how rare is the "rarest soul label" in the title, and more than that, how good are the tracks? Fortunately, in this case, the answer is really rare, and really great! 14 tracks from the rare Washington DC Shrine label, produced by Eddie Singleton and compiled in the early 90s for the Horace's reissue imprint. This set's a nifty batch of 60s soul stormers, with more of a Detroit sound than you might guess, and titles include "Don't Let Him Hurt You" by Les Chansonettes, "Guess Who Loves You" by Eddie Daye & The Four Bars, "No Other Way" by the Cautions, "Mad At The World" by the Epsilons, "No More Like Me" by Ray Pollard, "Stop Overlooking Me" by the Cairos, "I Believe I'll Love On" by Jimmy Armstrong, "You're My Only Love" by the Counts, "She Went Away" by Linda & The Vistas and "Huh Baby" by the Prophets. Nice stuff, and as you've guessed, you'll never find the originals! LP, Vinyl record album

Not a bad little soundtrack – filled with sleazy 70s soul tunes! Given that the movie features Diane Keaton trawling her way through the singles underground of the time, the music goes pretty darn well with the film – and in fact is almost better, as it keeps a sunny optimism, without the darker turn of the narrative. Titles include "Don't Ask To Stay Until Tomorrow" by Marlena Shaw, "Don't Leave Me This Way" by Thelma Houston, "She Wants To Get On Down" and "She's Lonely" by Bill Withers, "Prelude To Love" and "Could It Be Magic" by Donna Summer, "Backstabbers" by The O'Jays, "Love Hangover" by Diana Ross, "Machine Gun" by The Commodores, and "Lowdown" by Boz Scaggs. LP, Vinyl record album

Maybe the greatest moment ever from Brit soundtrack genius Roy Budd – an artist who started with his roots in jazz piano, but who really explodes here in a range of groovy styles! The main title is an incredible blend of Eastern percussion and moody jazz – and other cuts bring in some trippier elements, mixed with funkier bits and warmer moments – all at a level that have Budd even outdoing the best late 60s work by Lalo Schifrin! The keyboards are often at the forefront – either acoustic or electric – and the album's got so many groovy grooves, with such variety, it's got a feel that's much richer than the usual soundtrack set. Titles include "Love Is A Four Letter Word", "Carter Takes A Train", "Looking For Someone", "The Girl In The Car", "Livin Should Be This Way", "Manhunt", "Goodbye Carter", and "Hallucinations". LP, Vinyl record album

The new album from Outkast and the soundtrack to their film Idlewild! Outkast has been daring haters for years to pounce at will – and they really take that approach to the next level by making what is far and away their oddest project in midst of the most scrutiny they will probably ever receive. We're lacking a bit of perspective in that we haven't seen the movie – but the best stuff probably makes it worth picking up. Idlewild continues the tag team style of Speakerboxx/Love Below in that the duo rarely appear together on the same tracks. The single "Mighty O" is the most notable expection, in that both rappers do their thing on it – and 3000 is actually rapping! The rest of the album, surprisingly, has a fairly coherent flow – with little touches of the 1930s vibe and atmosphere ( the setting of the film) – as envisioned by forward looking hip hoppers. It's a daring set of tracks with strong moments – and lots of additional singing by Sleepy Brown and others. Tracks include "Mighty O", "Peaches" feat Sleepy Brown & Scar, "Idlewild Blue (Don'tchu Worry 'Bout Me", "N2U" feat Khujo Goodie, "Morris Brown" feat Scar & Sleepy Brown, "Chronomentrophobia", "The Train" feat Sleep Brown & Scar, "Life Is Like A Musical", "Hollywood Divorce" feat Lil' Wayne & Snoop Dogg, "Buggface", "PJ & Rooster", "Greatest Show On Earth" feat Macy Gray. "When I Look In Your Eyes", "Dyin' To Live" and "A Bad Note". CD

An incredible package – and one that goes way farther, and way deeper than any of the previous volumes of Stax/Volt Records singles! This 4th volume is kind of a correction/addition to territory covered by the previous three – as CDs 1 to 3 of the collection go back to bring together all the wonderful b-sides for the singles that didn't appear on the other packages – really incredible work that's often more amazing than the bigger-name cuts on the a-side – as the tracks are often rougher, rawer, and a fair bit more edgey too! Then, CDs 4 & 5 do a great job of looking at some of the rock and other non-soul material cut by the Stax labels – with a focus on material that came out on the Hip, Enterprise, and Ardent labels – followed by CD 6, which features all the excellent gospel material issued by Stax on the labels Gospel Truth and Chalice. The whole thing's got a hell of a lot of music in one sleek package – 145 tracks on 6CDs, with a big booklet of notes. Artists include Shirley Walton, Linda Lynell, Jeanne & The Darlings, Soul Children, Shack, The Nightingales, John Gary Williams, Hot Sauce, Ilana, Lee Sain, Green Brothers, Prince Conley, The Astors, Gorgeous George, Karen Casey, The Caboose, Clark Sullivan, Chuck Boris, Connie Eaton, Paris Pilot, The Goodees, The Cheques, Poor Little Rich Kids, Lonnie Duvall, Dixie Nightingales, Louise McCord, Rance Allen, Stars Of Virginia, and many more! CD