Hard-romping soul from the great Shirley Ellis – a singer most folks know for a single crossover hit – but an artist who's got a hell of a lot more to offer than just that novelty number! This excellent package is a long-overdue look at one of the queens of raw soul in the 60s – a singer who could belt it out with a hell of an edge, even when the music was moving at a mighty fast clip – which it does often here, as Shirley works with superb guidance from arranger Lincoln Chase – whose ears for a groove are outstanding at this point in his career! The package brings together early singles for the Congress label, plus even more obscure work a few years later for Columbia Records – and as always with Ace, the whole presentation is wonderful – light years away from just a simple greatest hits or public domain package. Titles include "The Nitty Gritty", "Bring It On Home To Me", "Get Out", "Takin Care Of Business", "The Clapping Song", "Sugar Let's Shing A Ling", "Back Track", "Yes I'm Ready", "Ever See A Diver Kiss His Wife", "You Better Be Good World", "Ka Ta Ga Ta Boom Beat", "The Name Game", "I Never Will Forget", "Such A Night", "That's What The Nitty Gritty Is", and "One Sour Note". CD

A beautiful album that perfectly mixes both sides of Aretha Franklin's talents – the hard-edged soul singer who first flourished at Atlantic records in the late 60s, and the artist who was growing even more as a vocalist – really reaching out her wings to more sophisticated material! There's a balance here that makes the record one of the deepest that Franklin ever recorded for Atlantic – lots of larger Arif Mardin touches, but also some raw moments that really round things out – on titles that include Aretha's classic take on the Weldon Irvine/Nina Simone tune "Young Gifted & Black", the funky classic "Rock Steady", the wonderful mellow groover "Day Dreaming", the hit "Brand New Me", and the strangely compelling "First Snow In Kokomo" – plus other titles that include "All The King's Horses", "Oh Me Oh My", "Border Song", "Didn't I Blow Your Mind", "April Fools", "I've Been Loving You Too Long", and "The Long & Winding Road". LP, Vinyl record album

Roger Glover steps aside from Deep Purple – and delivers one of his strangest records of the 70s – an oddly glammy, hard rock interpretation of material from the children's book of the same name! The set actually scored a surprising hit with the very catchy "Love Is All" – which features Ronnie James Dio on vocals – and the set features Dio singing on a few other cuts, "Sitting In A Dream" and "Homeward" – then features Glover working with other singers who include Jimmy Helms on "Waiting", Eddie Hardin on "Sir Maximus Mouse", Tony Ashton on "Together Again", and Glenn Hughes on "Get Ready". Glover produced – and the whole thing is way cooler than you might expect! LP, Vinyl record album

A classic of Canadian rock – and a set that broke big on this side of the border too! Wheatfield Soul is a sublime showcase for the young talents of Burton Cummings, Randy Bachman, and other members of the group – working here in a mix of jazz/rock modes and blue-eyed soul that would go onto set the scene for countless other groups in years to come – hard to describe accurately, but beautifully summed up in the album's "These Eyes" hit! Cummings vocals and keyboards come across wonderfully – and the rhythms often have clever changes that hint at his jazzy future to come, but on shorter tunes here that have a rich amount of complexity packed in a very tight space. Titles include "These Eyes", "Lightfoot", "I Found Her In A Star", "Pink Wine Sparkles In The Glass", "Maple Fudge", "We're Coming To Dinner", "When You Touch Me", and the amazing 10 minute tune "Friends Of Mine". LP, Vinyl record album

A strong extension of the Isley Brothers' funky 70s style – moving into a more compressed mode that had been taking hold of the group's style over the past few albums – giving them a smoother finish in the end, but one that actually brings out a deeper level of soul in the music! The balance is a bit hard to describe, but it's sort of an enrichment of a soulful quality that was always there in Isleys work, moved past some of the more familiar hit modes of the time. As always, we dig the mellow cuts best – especially the two part "Don't Hold Back Your Love", and the stepper "Welcome Into My Heart". Other tracks include "First Love", "Baby Hold On", and "Inside You". LP, Vinyl record album

An overlooked 60s soul killer on Atlantic Records! We love Deon Jackson – we love his sweetly honest vocal style, we love his songs, and we love the great production he gets from the legendary Ollie McLaughlin! This album is the only one he ever cut – and it's a masterpiece all the way through! Ollie's production mixes some wonderful lilting qualities with rollicking hard soul – it's a far-reaching approach that works incredibly well with Deon's unique approach to the vocals! Includes the super-hit "Love Makes The World Go Round" and a charming uptown soul take on "King Of The Road", plus "Come Back Home", "1-2-3", "You Said You Love Me", "SOS", "Love Is What You Make It" and "Hush Little Baby". LP, Vinyl record album

A massive batch of work from Johnny Johnson & The Bandwagon – their full 1968 album for Epic, plus a wealth of rare singles as well! Johnny & The Bandwagon were one of those US groups that was arguably a lot more popular overseas – especially on the British scene, where their uptempo, hard-grooving style was perfect for the Northern Soul dancefloors! Their sound is wonderful – a bit different than the usual US hit group of the time, with drums that really romp on the bottom of most numbers – spurring further dynamic vocals from Johnny and the group – a soaring, upbeat approach to soul music that's almost more motivational now than ever before. As always with Ace Records, you can expect a hell of a lot here – full notes on the Bandwagon phenomenon overseas, and a whopping batch of 24 tracks that also includes rare material recorded for Bell. Titles include "Breakin Down The Walls Of Heartache", "On The Day We Fall In Love", "I Ain't Lyin", "You", "Girl From Harlem", "Don't Let It In", "People Got To Be Free", "When Love Has Gone Away", "Let's Hang On", "Sweet Inspiration", "Music To My Heart", "High & Dry", "In The Bad Bad Old Days", and "Sally Put Your Red Shoes On". CD

The rarest of three albums that King Pleasure ever recorded – and pretty darn hard to find, too. The set was recorded after King's earlier sides for the Prestige and HiFi jazz labels, but it's in a very similar style, with some wonderful vocalese-ing done in Pleasure's landmark style. He's really one of the greatest jazz singers of the 20th century, and it's unfortunate that apart from the big hit fame of "Moody's Mood For Love" (recorded here once again), King never got strong recognition as a richly talented singer. A number of cuts on here are re-recordings of earlier work – like "Don't Get Scared" and "Sometimes I'm Happy" – and other tracks include "It Might As Well Be Spring" and "Old Black Magic". Plus, this CD reissue also expands the original album with a lot of bonus cuts, including some great unreleased numbers – a total of 18 tracks in all, and a treasure trove of work by King Pleasure! CD

Excellent early work from Roland Kirk – not as groundbreaking as later sessions, but still filled with fire and imagination, and proof that the famous blind player was a genius even at an early age! Kirk plays alto, tenor, and soprano – and on all tracks, he plays them in his unique "3-in-1" style, in which he's actually blowing all horns at the same time! The result is an incredible sound, unlike anyone else we can think of – and it's an amazingly raw tone that still swings very hard. Players include Jimmy Madison on piano, Carl Pruitt on bass, and Hank Duncan on drums – a really rootsy quartet that helps Roland hit a really gutbuckety sound on the record. Titles include "Triple Threat", "Slow Groove", "Roland's Theme", "Easy Living", "The Nearness Of You", and "A La Carte". CD

A killer set from Master's Apprentices – one of those obscure groups from the start of the 70s who managed to get top-shelf treatment in the studio, and used it to create a mini-masterpiece like this! The group were no strangers to recording by the time of the set – they'd had a hit back home in Australia in the late 60s, and a few other albums under their belt – so it's clear that they knew what they really wanted to get out of their chance to record at Abbey Road, by making a record that's got all these great sonic elements that don't just come from the instrumentation and vocals – but from the way the whole thing is put together! Vocals are flanged out nicely next to the guitars – almost with a quality like The Move, but maybe a bit more hard-rocking at times – and often very tuneful too, such that there's enough gems on the record that the whole thing really should have been a hit and continuing classic from the period. Titles include "The Lesson So Listen", "Answer Lies Beyond", "Beneath The Sun", "Games We Play", "Melodies Of St Kilda", and "Southern Cross". CD

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

An excellent 70s outing by Orquesta Broadway – grooving hard in the new charanga groove that helped older acts like them hit a fresh new audience at the time. The album's got some great electric bass driving the group, echoing away darkly under the flute and violin solos – and titles include "Presentimiento", "Isla Del Encanto", "Arrepientete", "El Material", "Guajira Del Amor", and "Barrio Del Pilar". LP, Vinyl record album

A now-legendary set from the Philadelphia underground at the start of the century – a package that reminds us just how much great music has always been going on in the city, often far from the mainstream! This set corrected that fact, by bringing together a trio of three genre-stepping musicians – drummer Questlove, jazz bassist Christian McBride, and keyboardist Uri Caine, who plays some great Fender Rhodes and Hammond B-3 on the set! The core grooves are by the trio, working together in a way that's not that different from the freestyle funk of Medeski, Martin, & Wood back when they used to care a bit more about the groove – and the group's joined on a few tracks by guests, including Pat Martino on guitar, Jon Swana on trumpet, and Larry Gold on cello. The best cuts on the set have a hard beat underneath, warm rolling basslines, and washes of keyboards over the top to keep things nice and sweet. Titles include "The Miles Hit", "Call For All Demons", "Grover", "Ain't It The Truth", "Mister Magic", "Philadelphia Freedom", and "Lesson #4". CD

An excellent early album from Latin leader/trumpeter Willie Rodriguez – one of his gems for the Fonseca label, with vocals from Leo Casino – a tight mix of Latin Soul, descarga, and salsa tracks that hit hard from the start and don't let up! Rodriguez leads a great band, and they're joined by vocalist Casino some of the tracks – with tunes that have an uncommon, heated intensity without sacrificing the groove – some of it with the feel of an after hours session full of players just hit with a mighty second wind, and others that are just straight up tirelessly driven. The whole set cooks really nicely! Titles include "Dig It", "Descarga DJ", "Pussycat Bugaloo", "Simon", A Mi Negra". "Golden Bugaloo", and "Chickie's Choice". LP, Vinyl record album

One of Jimmy Smith's biggest albums of the 60s – and a classic Verve pairing of his lean Hammond organ solos with the fuller, hard-swinging arrangements of Oliver Nelson! Nelson is working here at the height of his powers – backing Smith with a large group, but in a way that only seems to free him up to solo even more – pushing the tunes with an undeniable power from the all-star band, as Jimmy takes off on flights of soulful fancy over the top! Side two features some more stripped-down solo work – in the manner of Jimmy's later Blue Note sides – and the set includes the hit single "Walk On The Wild Side", plus the tracks "Bashin", "Step Right Up", and "Beggar For The Blues". CD

There's nothing slow about this mid 70s album from Steppenwolf – a set that has the group really coming back into the fray, after John Kay had left for a bit and recorded as a solo act! All the raw power of the group is still very much at play here – plenty of searing guitars, at that level that made Steppenwolf such a key precursor to the hard rock sound of the 70s – maybe answered to by the group themselves here, who felt a need to reform and show the younger acts how things were done! But there's also some fuller production at times too – touches of soul inspiration that hit a few of the songs, but without ever knocking the guitars out too much – on titles that include "Get Into The Wind", "Children Of The Night", "Smokey Factory Blues", "Morning Blue", "A Fool's Fantasy", and "Gang War Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the last totally righteous albums by the Temptations – recorded at the end of their progressive run at Motown, and done with some really hard-hitting tunes and production from Norman Whitfield! Tracks step off with that beautiful mix of badass soul, heavy production, and soaring harmonies that always made the group so great during this period – and the tracks are some wonderful numbers that get way way past the hit-bound material of other albums. Paul Riser handled arrangements for the set, bringing in a few sweet touches that are very much appreciated on the mellower numbers – and titles include the extended mellow funky number "Zoom" – plus "1990", "I Need You", "You've Got My Soul On Fire", "Heavenly", and "Ain't No Justice". LP, Vinyl record album

An interesting mix of 70s radio ready rock and harder edged numbers from Treasure – a group featuring vocals, keys and synth from one time Young Rascal Felix Cavaliere – and hard rock guitar guru Vinnie Cusano, later to go by Vinnie Vincent and join Kiss! The sound is catchy and tailor made for 70s stadium rock, but the group never hit that kinda pay dirt. Titles include "I Wanna Love You", "Turn Yourself Around", "My Lady Once Told Me", "When The Sun Shines", "Jubilation" and more, plus bonus single version of "I Wanna Love You". LP, Vinyl record album

Hard grooving early work by The Vibrations – recorded before their sides at Okeh, with a style of rough-hewn soul that's very much in keeping with their hit "The Watusi". The album's got plenty of great numbers, very much in a Chicago dance mode of the 60s – and titles include "People Say", "Wallflower", "So Blue", "Doing The Slop", "Serenade Of The Bells", "People Say", and "Cave Man". LP, Vinyl record album

A really wonderful collaboration between two very unlikely partners – and a great album that really stands out as some of the best work from both artists in the 60s! Count Basie's group gets hard and soulful on the record – and even a little funky on the best cuts – and Jackie Wilson is in a raw bluesy vocal style that recalls the best moments of his earlier Brunswick singles – a great edge that makes the whole Basie groove sound even more hard-hitting than ever. Benny Carter arranged, but the groove is more a hard-edged Count Basie mode mixed with Brunswick soul styles – and Jackie blows it out over the top on great versions of "Funky Broadway", "Ode To Billie Joe", "I Was Made To Love Her", "Even When You Cry", and "Respect". Also features a version of "For Your Precious Love" that was a bit of a hit for the pair! LP, Vinyl record album

Angular Monk meets hard-driving Art Blakey – in a session that's quite unique, and which has gone onto become one of the best-remembered Atlantic jazz sessions of the late 50s! The album features Blakey in that key non-Blue Note year of 1957 – a time when he was working with a variety of players, at a variety of labels, and taking some real chances with his music before settling into his more established hit Jazz Messengers sound. The group here is Art's own – with Johnny Griffin on tenor, Bill Hardman on trumpet, and Spanky DeBrest on bass – augmented by the piano of Thelonious Monk – a match that might seem unlikely at first, but not so much so after you consider the great work that Monk and Griffin did together at Riverside during the late 50s. There's a nice match between Johnny's sharp-edged tenor and Monk's imaginative playing – and if anything, the record has Blakey, Hardman, and DeBrest moving dynamically to keep up with the flurry of modern ideas coming from Griffin and Monk! Tracks are almost all originals by Thelonious too – a fact that definitely helps keep up the "Monk-ish" sound of the record – titles that include "Evidence", "Blue Monk", "I Mean You", and "Rhythm A Ning" – alongside Griffin's "Purple Shades". CD

The monumental debut of BT Express – and an excellent funk album that often gets overlooked by fans of the music because of the band's bigger fame as a disco group! This first record has the combo grooving hard and instrumentally – in the mode of a tight blacksploitation soundtrack, with plenty of tight wah wah guitar riffing, conga beats, and funky flute and sax – topped off by just the right amount of strings to make the set soar even more! The album's best known for the title track "Do It (Til You're Satisfied)" – which was a big hit, but is still an excellent groover – and the set also includes loads of other great cuts too – like "Express", which was the original song that the created the JBs' response track "Monorail"; "This House is Smokin'", which has lots of funky descending horn bits; and other great tunes that include "Mental Telepathy", "If It Don't Turn You On", and "Do You Like It". LP, Vinyl record album

Early genius from Marvin Gaye – a set that's one of his first biggest hit-making albums for Motown, and for good reason too! Gaye's really come a long way here in just a few short years – hitting hard on the album's title hit, with that trademark rasp that would only get stronger and more charming by the end of the 60s. The backings pack a punch too – pure Motown 60s soul all the way through, with backing vocals from Martha & The Vandellas – although Marvin's own lead is more than strong enough on its own! Titles include the big title hit "Stubborn Kind Of Fellow" – plus "Hitch Hike", "Get My Hands On Some Lovin", "It Hurt Me Too", "Pride & Joy", and "Wherever I Lay My Hat" – all written by a young Marvin! LP, Vinyl record album

A pair of New York soul gems back to back – the third and fourth albums from the legendary Chuck Jackson! First up is Encore – fantastic work from the great Chuck Jackson – a singer who was really at the height of his powers during these early years of his career! Chuck's maybe best known for heartbreaking material – and the notes on the album actually refer, oddly, to these songs as "the crying towel variety" – but what Jackson brings to his music is this strong sense of pride and power – this depth of reserve that makes you feel like he'll never give up, no matter how hard the going might be – a quality that southern soul singers would soon poach from Jackson and other singers up north, and make their own style of music. Yet back at the start, few folks did it better than Jackson – as you'll Hear on cuts that include the wonderful hit "Tell Him I'm Not Home", plus "Lonely Am I", "Blue Holiday", "Getting Ready for the Heartbreak", "Don't Believe Him Donna", "Tomorrow", "Two Stupid Feet", "Another Day", and "Invisible". Next up is Mr Everything – rock-solid set of heartbreaking soul – the sort that few others could touch at the time! Jackson often doesn't get his due in the history books these days – but records like these were landmark moments of pride, power, and open male emotion – of the sort that went onto inform generations of soul music to come – and help future artists find their way, guided by the emotional frankness of Jackson's approach! Backings are carefully balanced – tight, but never too polished to overwhelm Chuck's vocals – which soar out with a raw power that blows away Sam Cooke or some of Jackson's other contemporaries. Titles include "D-5", "I Need You", "Human", "I'm Your Man", "Tears Of Joy", and "Somebody New". CD

A really unusual album from the mighty Ohio Players – material from their first full length set, and a record that's very different than their better-known work on Westbound and Mercury – but every bit as great! The band is tight and funky, but in a sort of deep soul 60s way – with arrangements and playing that have a hard edge, and with nice guitar rhythm tracks – a bit trippy and fuzzy at times, but also with a style that's got more of a 60s vintage than the headier styles they hit at Westbound. The group are great in this format – and the album includes lots of great original tracks – like "Bad Bargain", "Lonely Street", and "Street Party" – plus very cool covers of "Summertime" and "Mother In Law". Other titles include "Here Today & Gone Tomorrow", "Stop Lying To Yourself", "Over The Rainbow", "Find Someone To Love", "Cold Cold World", and "The Man That I Am". This great CD version is brimming over with great bonus tracks from 45s and other recordings – a total of 24 tracks in all, with bonus material that includes "Alabama Soupbone (parts 1 & 2)", "It's A Crying Shame", "A Little Soul Party", "Love Slips Thru My Fingers", "Trespassin", "You Don't Mean It", "A Thing Called Love", and "Neighbors". CD

An excellent early album from Latin leader/trumpeter Willie Rodriguez – one of his gems for the Fonseca label, with vocals from Leo Casino – a tight mix of Latin Soul, descarga, and salsa tracks that hit hard from the start and don't let up! Rodriguez leads a great band, and they're joined by vocalist Casino some of the tracks – with tunes that have an uncommon, heated intensity without sacrificing the groove – some of it with the feel of an after hours session full of players just hit with a mighty second wind, and others that are just straight up tirelessly driven. The whole set cooks really nicely! Titles include "Dig It", "Descarga DJ", "Pussycat Bugaloo", "Simon", A Mi Negra". "Golden Bugaloo", and "Chickie's Choice". LP, Vinyl record album

There's nothing slow about this mid 70s album from Steppenwolf – a set that has the group really coming back into the fray, after John Kay had left for a bit and recorded as a solo act! All the raw power of the group is still very much at play here – plenty of searing guitars, at that level that made Steppenwolf such a key precursor to the hard rock sound of the 70s – maybe answered to by the group themselves here, who felt a need to reform and show the younger acts how things were done! But there's also some fuller production at times too – touches of soul inspiration that hit a few of the songs, but without ever knocking the guitars out too much – on titles that include "Get Into The Wind", "Children Of The Night", "Smokey Factory Blues", "Morning Blue", "A Fool's Fantasy", and "Gang War Blues". CD

There's nobody like Billy Stewart at all – one of the first big overweight lovers in soul music, and still one of the best – and a godlike talent who was blessed with a voice that can still send us into raptures so many years later! Billy passed way to early to leave his mark in the wider annals of soul – but a record like this is more than enough of a legacy – as it's filled with just the sort of tunes that made Stewart so unique – especially the kind of slow-stepping ballads that still managed to come off with a really hard edge. The vocals are sublime – with the same reach as in his "Summertime" hit, but turned towards some more personal original material – including classics like "Sitting In The Park", "I Do Love You", "Fat Boy", "Fat Boy Can Cry", and "Strange Feeling". A treasure! CD

A stone classic from Gene Ammons – and a record that introduced his talents to a whole new audience in the 60s! The album's a more laidback one than some of Jug's more hard-blown honkers – as you might guess from his hit rendition of the ballad in the title – and the instrumentation here varies between organ from Johnny Hammond Smith and piano from Mal Waldron – making for a nice tapestry of dark-tinged, late nite moods. Other players include Frank Wess on tenor and flute, and Art Taylor or Ed Thigpen on drums. Titles include the classic "Angel Eyes", plus "You Go To My Head" and "It's The Talk Of The Town" – and slightly more groovin numbers like "Getting Around" and "Water Jug". LP, Vinyl record album

Angular Monk meets hard-driving Art Blakey – in a session that's quite unique, and which has gone onto become one of the best-remembered Atlantic jazz sessions of the late 50s! The album features Blakey in that key non-Blue Note year of 1957 – a time when he was working with a variety of players, at a variety of labels, and taking some real chances with his music before settling into his more established hit Jazz Messengers sound. The group here is Art's own – with Johnny Griffin on tenor, Bill Hardman on trumpet, and Spanky DeBrest on bass – augmented by the piano of Thelonious Monk – a match that might seem unlikely at first, but not so much so after you consider the great work that Monk and Griffin did together at Riverside during the late 50s. There's a nice match between Johnny's sharp-edged tenor and Monk's imaginative playing – and if anything, the record has Blakey, Hardman, and DeBrest moving dynamically to keep up with the flurry of modern ideas coming from Griffin and Monk! Tracks are almost all originals by Thelonious too – a fact that definitely helps keep up the "Monk-ish" sound of the record – titles that include "Evidence", "Blue Monk", "I Mean You", and "Rhythm A Ning" – alongside Griffin's "Purple Shades". Features a full bonus album of outtakes from the sessions – most unreleased! LP, Vinyl record album

Amazing stuff from Otis Clay. "Easier Said Than Done" is a nice hard uptempo soul cut, with very raw vocals – but it's the slower religiosity of "Flame In Your Heart" that leaves us breathless. It's got a hard, heavy, moanin' style, and Otis' voice hit notes that we've hardly ever heard him hit before. 7-inch, Vinyl record

It's hard to find fault with Lamont Dozier – even on one of his lesser albums, like this one! Lamont's best quality has always been his way with a song – and he's working here with a good batch of original tunes that all have sharp hooks and some very catchy choruses, perfect for his sweetly soulful vocal style, which is handled just right on the album. There's a few throwaway numbers on here, but the best material is head and shoulders above that of most of Lamont's contemporaries – and it's always amazing to us that he never was a bigger hit act during the 70s. The whole album's pretty nice – and titles include "I Got It All With You", "We're Just Here To Feel Good", "Fly Away Little Birdsong", and "Tough Act to Follow". LP, Vinyl record album

A nice little package, one that brings together three American releases of music by London's legendary Georgie Fame! First up is the classic Yeh Yeh – a brilliant mix of jazz, soul, and R&B – all filtered through a mod sort of London freshness, as early proof that the city could always take some great things from our own musical roots, and feed it back to us with a whole new flavor! Georgie Fame's no copycat here, though – and the sound is instantly Fame-like – a style that's really not the sort that any Americans were doing at the time, and certainly never this well. Hard-burning Hammond colors most of the tunes here – played with a tightly vamping quality – but it's Georgie's charmingly crackling vocals that really win us over! Titles include "Gimme That Wine", "Pink Champagne", "Monkeying Around", "I Love The Life I Live", "Point Of No Return", "Preach & Teach", "Get On The Right Track Baby", and the hit "Yeh Yeh". Next is Get Away – a great little album from Georgie Fame – with a hard raw soul sound that shows what a big crossover potential he had with the UK soul market – so much so that this batch of material was issued in the US as well! The album's got some wonderful arrangements – quite raw, with some nice organ, and plenty of heavy vocals from Georgie in a strong blue eyed soul mode. Titles include "Sitting In The Park", "Get Away", "Sweet Thing", "Ride Your Pony", "The In Crowd", "Last Night", and "Music Talk". Hall Of Fame is a bit of a best-of – a record that features some singles, and some album tracks – the latter of which aren't included here, as they'd be duplicated. The remaining material is Fame at his raw early best – working in a great soulful style, with plenty of jazzy charms – on cuts that include "Outrage", "Lil Darlin", "Sunny", "In The Meantime", "Something", "Do Re Mi", and Fame's own "Like We Used To Be". CD also features 9 more bonus tracks, some live recordings – titles that include "Bend A Little", "Telegram", "It Ain't Right", "Don't Make Promises", "Many Happy Returns", "I'm In Love With You", "Shop Around", "Green Onions", and "Do The Dog". CD

A funky soul classic from the Fantastic Johnny C – a hard and heavy Philadelphia winner from the end of the 60s, and the kind of record that really gave Stax and Atlantic a run for their money! Johnny C's working here with some great hard soul production from Jesse James – grooving in a way that's heavy on the back beat – following in the style of similar late 60s work from Wilson Pickett and Dyke & The Blazers. Like Dyke, Johnny's album has a rolling groove that's a great precursor to funk in years to come – and like Wilson, Johnny's vocals are very on top of the mix – shoutin' and beltin' all the way through, in a really solid sock-soul groove! Titles include the hit "Boogaloo Down Broadway", plus "Cool Broadway, "Got What You Need", "Baby I Need You", "Shout Bamalama", and "The Bounce". LP, Vinyl record album

Great early work from this duo – and you'd be hard pressed to argue that "Sara Smile" is less than deserving of its huge hit status for the group, and the track remains a regular in dusty stepper's set rotations here in Chicago! Beyond that the album's as well-crafted a bit of crossover pop soul as you could hope for in the mid 70s, if a bit over-polished. Also includes "Alone Too Long", "Nothing At All", "Ennui On The Mountain" and "Gino (The Manager)". LP, Vinyl record album

Later mellow magic from Curtis Mayfield – a set that has something of a quiet storm feel at times, which is a surprisingly great setting for Curtis' famous voice! The album's got a relatively laidback feel – never trying too hard for a hit, or to keep up with commercial soul of the time – and instead, Curtis just slides nicely into some sweetly stepping grooves that really bring out some of the best gentler sides of his groove. A few cuts get a bit uptempo, but never in a cloying way – almost with more of an early 80s club vibe at times – and titles include "Homeless", "Got To Be Real", "Do Be Down", "I Mo Git U", "Sucka", and "He's A Fly Guy". CD

The triumphant debut of Metallica – whose reputation began to build even earlier, via a legendary demo tape that made the underground rounds in the metal community, along with their roof-blasting early live sets – and this astonishing first album showed that the hype was no joke! It's hard to imagine the move towards unrelenting heaviness in metal music ever could have happened without this and a handful of other early 80s masterpieces, and it still kills after all these years. Includes "Hit The Lights", "Motorbreath", "Jump In The Fire", "Anesthesia – Pulling Teeth" and "Whiplash", "The Four Horseman", "Phantom Lord", "No Remorse" and "Metal Militia". 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

The amazing first album from Procol Harum – a group with a sound that's still unlike anyone else we can think of – even though they were a key part of the London scene of the 60s! The group are steeped in all of the blues, soul, and jazz elements that influenced so many other British acts of the period – but they have this way of presenting the music that brings a whole new sort of drama to the music – this flair that never overwhelms, and instead embellishes the music in this really special way – so that the tunes have this brilliance that's kept them fresh for many decades to follow! Lead singer Gary Brooker is a key part of the record's magic – a very distinctive singer – and a young Robin Trower contributes plenty on guitar, as does Matthew Fisher on Hammond. But there's also some arrangements that really set the whole thing in an unusual direction – and which make the record way more than just another bluesy rock set from the time. Hard to argue with the baroque brilliance of "She Wandered Through The Garden Fence", "A Christmas Camel", "Salad Days", "Repent Walpurgis", and "Conquistador" – not to mention the hit, "Whiter Shade Of Pale". LP, Vinyl record album

The second album from Queen, and a record that definitely has some ties to the prog and hard rock generation from which they emerged – but also a set that clearly has the group really coming into their own! There's a few thematic moments on here that are maybe more fantasy-based than fans of the group's later hits might expect – but they're also delivered with the sort of searing intensity that Brian May can bring to the group, and really driven far past familiar modes by Freddie Mercury's amazing vocals. Titles include the hit vocal version of "Seven Seas Of Rhye" – plus "Ogre Battle", "The Fairy Feller's Master Stroke", "White Queen", "Father To Son", "Some Day One Day", "The Loser In The End", "Funny How Love Is", "The March Of The Black Queen", and "Never More". LP, Vinyl record album

A stone classic from Gene Ammons – and a record that introduced his talents to a whole new audience in the 60s! The album's a more laidback one than some of Jug's more hard-blown honkers – as you might guess from his hit rendition of the ballad in the title – and the instrumentation here varies between organ from Johnny Hammond Smith and piano from Mal Waldron – making for a nice tapestry of dark-tinged, late nite moods. Other players include Frank Wess on tenor and flute, and Art Taylor or Ed Thigpen on drums. Titles include the classic "Angel Eyes", plus "You Go To My Head" and "It's The Talk Of The Town" – and slightly more groovin numbers like "Getting Around" and "Water Jug". CD

Angular Monk meets hard-driving Art Blakey – in a session that's quite unique, and which has gone onto become one of the best-remembered Atlantic jazz sessions of the late 50s! The album features Blakey in that key non-Blue Note year of 1957 – a time when he was working with a variety of players, at a variety of labels, and taking some real chances with his music before settling into his more established hit Jazz Messengers sound. The group here is Art's own – with Johnny Griffin on tenor, Bill Hardman on trumpet, and Spanky DeBrest on bass – augmented by the piano of Thelonious Monk – a match that might seem unlikely at first, but not so much so after you consider the great work that Monk and Griffin did together at Riverside during the late 50s. There's a nice match between Johnny's sharp-edged tenor and Monk's imaginative playing – and if anything, the record has Blakey, Hardman, and DeBrest moving dynamically to keep up with the flurry of modern ideas coming from Griffin and Monk! Tracks are almost all originals by Thelonious too – a fact that definitely helps keep up the "Monk-ish" sound of the record – titles that include "Evidence", "Blue Monk", "I Mean You", and "Rhythm A Ning" – alongside Griffin's "Purple Shades". LP, Vinyl record album

Quite possibly THE James Brown album of the mid 60s – a solid set of hard-grooving tracks, based around the monster title hit "I Got You (I Feel Good)"! The tune's one of those numbers that has been used a gajillion times over the years in commercials and promos – but which never sounds better than here, on James' original version – one of those cuts that never gets old! The hit's also nicely offset by a number of other more obscure numbers that make the album really worth tracking down – titles that include "I Can't Help It (I Just Do Do Do)", "Good Good Lovin", "I've Got Money", "Three Hearts In A Tangle", "You've Got The Power", and "Love Don't Love Nobody" – all on the rougher side of the JB spectrum. CD

Rare work from a sometimes-overlooked chapter in the career of Miles Davis – a time when Sonny Stitt was briefly filling the tenor sax role that was more famously held by John Coltrane and Wayne Shorter! Stitt in any group is always a treat – and here, working with Miles, he turns in some of his most far-reaching solos of the period – very different than the shorter, more economical work of his studio albums – and even different than some of his longer-form material on Prestige to come! Stitt really rises to meet Miles in spirit – maybe in part because of the rest of the group features the famous rhythm trio of Wynton Kelly on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Jimmy Cobb on drums – moving hard and with a great sense of modal energy, on titles that include "Four", "All Of You", "No Blues", "Two Bass Hit", "Walkin", "Autumn Leaves", "So What", "If I Were A Bell", and "Round Midnight". LP, Vinyl record album

A huge one for Depeche Mode – an album that laid the ground work for pretty much all their big records to come! The album's one that moved them from being just another electro group in the post-punk years to pop giants, with a sense of songcraft that helped them rise to become one of the more enduring acts of this scene – with surprising longevity in their catalog, thanks to a record like this! The group hit it both hard and sweet on classics "Master & Servant" and "Blasphemous Rumors" – plus the huge crossover hit "People Are People" – and cuts that include "Something To Do", "Lie To Me", "Stories Of Old", "If You Want", and "Somebody". LP, Vinyl record album

An early 80s gem from Aretha Franklin – one of the best of her years at Arista Records, thanks to solid help in the studio from the mighty Arif Mardin! Mardin's in perfect form here – the same blend of older soul and jazzier, more sophisticated styles that he was also bringing to Chaka Khan at the time – although Franklin's arguably more deserving of his talents, given her long relationship with the producer! There's a full, mature feel here – one that really gets Aretha back in gear as a singer, and shows off her talents to a new generation in new ways – yet all without trying too hard for a crossover hit. Tunes include a few originals by Franklin, and titles include "Kind Of Man", "Whole Lot Of Me", "Love All The Hurt Away", "You Can't Always Get What You Want", "It's My Turn", "There's A Star For Everyone", and "Hold On I'm Coming". LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful album that perfectly mixes both sides of Aretha Franklin's talents – the hard-edged soul singer who first flourished at Atlantic records in the late 60s, and the artist who was growing even more as a vocalist – really reaching out her wings to more sophisticated material! There's a balance here that makes the record one of the deepest that Franklin ever recorded for Atlantic – lots of larger Arif Mardin touches, but also some raw moments that really round things out – on titles that include Aretha's classic take on the Weldon Irvine/Nina Simone tune "Young Gifted & Black", the funky classic "Rock Steady", the wonderful mellow groover "Day Dreaming", the hit "Brand New Me", and the strangely compelling "First Snow In Kokomo" – plus other titles that include "All The King's Horses", "Oh Me Oh My", "Border Song", "Didn't I Blow Your Mind", "April Fools", "I've Been Loving You Too Long", and "The Long & Winding Road". CD

A beautiful album that perfectly mixes both sides of Aretha Franklin's talents – the hard-edged soul singer who first flourished at Atlantic records in the late 60s, and the artist who was growing even more as a vocalist – really reaching out her wings to more sophisticated material! There's a balance here that makes the record one of the deepest that Franklin ever recorded for Atlantic – lots of larger Arif Mardin touches, but also some raw moments that really round things out – on titles that include Aretha's classic take on the Weldon Irvine/Nina Simone tune "Young Gifted & Black", the funky classic "Rock Steady", the wonderful mellow groover "Day Dreaming", the hit "Brand New Me", and the strangely compelling "First Snow In Kokomo" – plus other titles that include "All The King's Horses", "Oh Me Oh My", "Border Song", "Didn't I Blow Your Mind", "April Fools", "I've Been Loving You Too Long", and "The Long & Winding Road". LP, Vinyl record album

A double-length collection of work from the first chapter of Grand Funk Railroad – that moment when the group was just a power trio, and really helping to move their early blues inspirations into some fierce hard rock territory! The title's a reference to the lineup – Mark Farner on guitar and vocals, Don Brewer on drums and vocals, and Mel Schacher on bass – all working together in a mode that's really transformative over the short space of the material included in the set! At some level, GFR are almost an American equivalent of Free from the UK – a group who clearly have all the chops of the blues heroes they admire, but who are willing to let their hair down and hit more of a rock and roll starpower mode – unafraid to get a bit soulful on the vocals, and really letting their electric strings sing at an equally strong level. Titles include "Into The Sun", "Heartbreaker", "Time Machine", "Loneliness", "Are You Ready", "TNUC", "Inside Looking Out", "Closer To Home/I'm Your Captain", and "Paranoid". LP, Vinyl record album

Hard to go wrong with Al Green at this point – 1973, when the mighty one was at the height of his secular soul powers – and when the sweetly compressed production style of Willie Mitchell just couldn't miss! There's a homey, earthy feel to the record that's really great – a sound that kicks back and lets the soul flow magically – never forcing things at all, nor taking them into the sort of easy hit territory that would have been a temptation at this point. And if anything, the album's a wonderful exercise in understatement – the kind of gently flowing soul that Green virtually invented at the time, and which few other singers could hope to match! Titles include the excellent "Let's Get Married", plus "Livin For You", "Free At Last", "Home Again", "So Good To Be Here", and "Beware" – all original tracks written by Green! CD

Hard to go wrong with Al Green at this point – 1973, when the mighty one was at the height of his secular soul powers – and when the sweetly compressed production style of Willie Mitchell just couldn't miss! There's a homey, earthy feel to the record that's really great – a sound that kicks back and lets the soul flow magically – never forcing things at all, nor taking them into the sort of easy hit territory that would have been a temptation at this point. And if anything, the album's a wonderful exercise in understatement – the kind of gently flowing soul that Green virtually invented at the time, and which few other singers could hope to match! Titles include the excellent "Let's Get Married", plus "Livin For You", "Free At Last", "Home Again", "So Good To Be Here", and "Beware" – all original tracks written by Green! CD

Hard to go wrong with Al Green at this point – 1973, when the mighty one was at the height of his secular soul powers – and when the sweetly compressed production style of Willie Mitchell just couldn't miss! There's a homey, earthy feel to the record that's really great – a sound that kicks back and lets the soul flow magically – never forcing things at all, nor taking them into the sort of easy hit territory that would have been a temptation at this point. And if anything, the album's a wonderful exercise in understatement – the kind of gently flowing soul that Green virtually invented at the time, and which few other singers could hope to match! Titles include the excellent "Let's Get Married", plus "Livin For You", "Free At Last", "Home Again", "So Good To Be Here", and "Beware" – all original tracks written by Green! LP, Vinyl record album

Great stuff from one of our favorite soul vocalists of the 60s! We love Deon Jackson – we love his sweetly honest vocal style, we love his songs, and we love the great production he gets from the legendary Ollie McLaughlin! This album is the only one he ever cut – and it's a masterpiece all the way through! Ollie's production mixes some wonderful lilting qualities with rollicking hard soul – it's a far-reaching approach that works incredibly well with Deon's unique approach to the vocals! Includes the super-hit "Love Makes The World Go Round" and a charming uptown soul take on "King Of The Road", plus "Come Back Home", "1-2-3", "You Said You Love Me", "SOS", "Love Is What You Make It" and "Hush Little Baby". CD

One of the last great JBs singles! The track starts with a great spoken intro, then leaps into a hard heavy cookin' instrumental groove, with a nice snapping choppy beat! Backed here by the JBs' great cover of Sly Stone's big hit, too! 7-inch, Vinyl record

5 albums from Lee Morgan – one of the coolest cats to ever handle a trumpet for Blue Note! First up is Delightfulee – really unique album from the great Lee Morgan – a set that features the trumpeter in two different settings, but in a way that really works well together! Most of the album has Lee blowing in a very cool quintet – with Joe Henderson on tenor, McCoy Tyner on piano, Bob Cranshaw on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums – a group who maybe bring out a slightly hipper vibe that really points the way to the rest of Morgan's direction in the late 60s, when he was really letting some more spiritual currents loose. The other two tracks on the record feature a hip larger band directed by Oliver Nelson – swinging hard in a really soulful style! Nelson's arrangements on these two tracks are great – quite progressive, with a soul jazz big band style that seems to point the way towards the 70s – and the band provides a raging backdrop that lets Lee's trumpet soar over the top in beautiful crystal clear solos. Titles include "Nite Flite", "Delightful Deggie", "Ca-Lee-So", and "Zambia". Also features a few bonus tracks. The Cooker is a very appropriate title for a very cooking little album – one of Lee Morgan's first efforts as a leader, cut back during his first years of late 50s fame! The style here is a bit less Morgan-esque than some of Lee's later 60s classics – but the record is rock-solid throughout, and proof that Morgan was every bit as great a leader in a hardbop session as Hank Mobley or some of the other emerging heavyweights at Blue Note! The strength of the group really helps keep the fire stoked on the set – and Bobby Timmons turns in some amazing piano work alongside a lineup that includes Pepper Adams on baritone sax, Paul Chambers on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums. The Adams presence gives the record a bit of the feel of some of Pepper's sessions with Donald Byrd – but the sparkling, soaring sound of Morgan makes the record way more than just a copycat set. Titles include "New-Ma", "Night In Tunisia", "Lover Man", "Just One Of Those Things", and "Heavy Dipper". Lee Way is an undisputed masterpiece by Lee Morgan – and one of the first records in which he shed his straight bop sensibility, and began evolving into a soulful genius for the 60s! The album's got 4 long tracks that all build beautifully – really extended numbers that break the format of some of Lee's earlier work, and hint a bit at some of the more complicated touches he'd use on later sessions. All players are great – and include fellow Jazz Messengers Bobby Timmons on piano and Art Blakey on drums, plus Jackie McLean on alto and Paul Chambers on bass. Titles include the sublime "These Are Soulful Days" – a perfect model of soulful lyricism – plus "Midtown Blues", "Nakatini Suite", and "The Lion & The Wolff". Rumproller often gets too easily lumped next to The Sidewinder – because of an obvious title and cover similarity to that hit record – but like that one, the album's far more than jazz cliche – and shows Lee Morgan to be one of the greatest jazz musicians of the 60s. The set starts off with the title cut, "The Rumproller" – hard-wailing soul bop, in the manner of Lee's most popular work – but then it easily flows into more sensitive material that has a freer, lyrical feel – like the great original tune "Eclipso" and Wayne Shorter's "Edda" – both of which are superb. Lee is astounding, as always, on trumpet – and the rest of the group includes the great Ronnie Matthews on piano, plus Joe Henderson, Victor Sproles, and Billy Higgins. Search For The New Land is a brilliant album that proves that even at the height of his success, Lee Morgan was one of the freest thinkers on Blue Note – always coming up with fresh ideas that continued to grow his talents! The first cut on the album is keen poof of that fact – the title track "Search For The New Land" – a beautiful 16 minute exploration of modal jazz themes, with an unusual stop/start device as a means of ushering solos by different bandmates – including Wayne Shorter on tenor, Grant Green on guitar, and Herbie Hancock on piano! The approach is unlike anything that Morgan ever did before – and unlike most of other Blue Note as well – and it also benefits from great rhythmic help from Reggie Workman on bass and Billy Higgins on drums. Other tunes are a bit more conventional, but still pretty special – like some of Morgan's inventive work on the Rajah albums – with titles that include "The Joker", "Melancholee", "Mr. Kenyatta" and "Morgan The Pirate". CD

A trio of key albums from Mott The Hoople – presented here in a high-audio package! First up is Hoople – Mott The Hoople in all of their 70s glory – Ian Hunter with superb songwriting skills, and vocals delivered in a way that have a lot more bite than his later solo work – all wrapped up in this fuzzy, compressed, glam-styled production that's totally great! Sure, David Bowie had the Spiders From Mars – but Mott The Hoople were the real deal, and were totally committed to this mode to the hilt – as you'll hear on titles that include "Pearl N Roy", "Born Late 58", "Marionette", "Through The Looking Glass", "Roll Away The Stone", "Crash Street Kidds", and "Trudi's Song". Next is All The Young Dudes – maybe the most classic of all the Mott The Hoople albums of the early 70s – thanks in part to the classic title track, which was given to the group by David Bowie – who also supported the group with some fantastic production on this record too! Yet that hit is only one of many gems within – all delivered in a style that shows that Ian Hunter and the group were maybe in the territory of Mick Ronson and Bowie before they find their way with Ziggy – delivered here perfectly on tunes that have all the best elements of glam, but maybe more hard rock permanence and lyrical sensitivity too! In addition to "All The Young Dudes", the set also features a great remake of the Velvet Underground's "Sweet Jane" – and the cuts "Soft Ground", "Sea Diver", "Sucker", "Jerkin Crocus", and "Momma's Little Jewel". Last up is Mott – a fantastic classic – the kind of record that will remind you that Mott The Hoople were way more than a glam band with a big radio hit – as there's a depth, complexity, and completely satisfying quality to the record that holds on all the way through! Sure, the group's got fantastic guitar – courtesy of Mick Ralphs, who was setting a tone that so many others would copy in years to come – but there's way more going on here, and the group are really getting a sense of their power and identity – even if they were never hitting the full chart status they deserved. The whole thing's great – lots of perfect moments from Ian Hunter – and titles include "Hymn For The Dudes", "Whizz Kid", "All The Way From Memphis", "I Wish I Was Your Mother", "Ballad Of Mott The Hoople", and "Honaloochie Boogie". CD

The great Marty Robbins did plenty of things in his many years with Columbia Records – music from straight country, to Hawaiian tunes, to crossover pop – yet the singer will forever be known for his western-themed songs – and in particular, this classic collection of tracks! Robbins has a voice that's amazing – deep and rich, and instantly able to open up your ears – a quality that makes him instantly narrative, which really suits the spirit of this material wonderfully – as Marty delivers these tunes that evoke the old west, but in the style of a postwar western – more Gunsmoke than the real thing – but that's the charm of the whole record too! The set's one of the key classics in the run of Columbia Records material from the time – not hard country, certainly – but an undeniably influential record – thanks in part to the huge crossover hit "El Paso", nestled here next to other gems that include "Big Iron", "Cold Water", "Running Gun", and "In The Valley". LP, Vinyl record album

The great Marty Robbins did plenty of things in his many years with Columbia Records – music from straight country, to Hawaiian tunes, to crossover pop – yet the singer will forever be known for his western-themed songs – and in particular, this classic collection of tracks! Robbins has a voice that's amazing – deep and rich, and instantly able to open up your ears – a quality that makes him instantly narrative, which really suits the spirit of this material wonderfully – as Marty delivers these tunes that evoke the old west, but in the style of a postwar western – more Gunsmoke than the real thing – but that's the charm of the whole record too! The set's one of the key classics in the run of Columbia Records material from the time – not hard country, certainly – but an undeniably influential record – thanks in part to the huge crossover hit "El Paso", nestled here next to other gems that include "Big Iron", "Cold Water", "Running Gun", and "In The Valley". Includes 3 bonus tracks, for 15 in all. CD

An important late recording in the life of Chicago reedman Hal Russell – performances done overseas with the always-energetic NRG Ensemble, at a time when Hal was finally getting his due after years working in the Windy City underground! The larger group sound better here than on just about any of their local recordings – playing with a hell of a lot of ferocity at times, which seems to drive Russell into more of a frenzy too – way past his sometimes quirky modes, into the hard-blown, free-improvised territory he could hit at his best moments. Hal plays tenor, soprano, trumpet, vibes, and drums – and the group also features Mars Williams on tenor and soprano; Brian Sandstrom on bass, trumpet, and guitar; Kent Kessler on bass; and Steve Hunt on vibes and drums. Titles include "Temporarily", "Raining Violets", "For MC", "Mars Theme", "Hal The Weenie", "Monica's Having A Baby", and "Ten Letters Of Love". CD

One of Jimmy Smith's biggest albums of the 60s – and a classic Verve pairing of his lean Hammond organ solos with the fuller, hard-swinging arrangements of Oliver Nelson! Nelson is working here at the height of his powers – backing Smith with a large group, but in a way that only seems to free him up to solo even more – pushing the tunes with an undeniable power from the all-star band, as Jimmy takes off on flights of soulful fancy over the top! Side two features some more stripped-down solo work – in the manner of Jimmy's later Blue Note sides – and the set includes the hit single "Walk On The Wild Side", plus the tracks "Bashin", "Step Right Up", and "Beggar For The Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

A key early moment for Memphis soul legend Rufus Thomas – a singer who'd already been working and recording on the scene for about a decade, but who finally got some national attention with this raw soul album for Stax! The set's got all the sharp, hard Stax approach in the grooves – that no-nonsense collaborative vibe that made the label's studio such a hotbed of activity at the time – which allowed Rufus to just step in and open up his many charms on a set of cuts that bridge the world between R&B and early soul! Almost every track is a hard soul dancer – not funk, as in later Stax material by Rufus – but with a sound that's equally raw. Titles include the hit "Walking The Dog", plus "Can Your Monkey Do The Dog", "The Dog", "Mashed Potatoes", "Ya Ya", "Land Of 1000 Dances", "It's Aw-rite", and "Boom Boom". CD

Incredible early work from the legendary T Bone Walker – very early recordings of the electric guitar in blues, and maybe still some of the best! Walker's already a master here – playing with this hard tone on the strings, but one that also has a surprising amount of sensitive jazz inflections too – a hollow-body mode that echoes Charlie Christian at times, but definitely explores the bluer side of the spectrum – yet never with that sort of hit-you-over-the-head quality that later artists might use. Instead, Walker's a master of understatement here – in a sublime way – and the blend of guitar solos and his own enigmatic vocals is often given a slight west coast R&B undercurrent. Still some of our favorite electric blues ever – with tracks that include "No Worry Blues", "Got A Break Baby", "T Bone Shuffle", "You're My Best Poker Hand", "First Love Blues", and "T Bone Jumps Again". LP, Vinyl record album

A long-awaited 21st Century album from Stevie Wonder – quite possibly the most-delayed album in the history of the music business, but certainly well worth the wait! Overall, Stevie's in really fine form for the set – hitting a groove that's laidback, mellow, and filled with the righteously jazzy touches that made some of his classic work for Motown so great back in the 70s. As with those years, the sound here is best when Wonder's not pushing too hard – just kicking back and letting the tunes flow from his fingers, and avoiding the overdone qualities of some of his more mainstream-focused work. There's certainly a few "hit potential" tunes here that are a bit uptight, but overall we appreciate the restrained quality of most of the record, and it's attempt to go for the older understated Wonder sound. A few tracks feature guest vocals by singers that include Aisha Morris, Kim Burrell, and India Arie – and titles include "Moon Blue", "Passionate Raindrops", "Shelter In The Rain", "True Love", "So What The Fuss", "If Your Love Cannot Be Moved", "A Time To Love", "Positivity", "My Love Is On Fire", and "From The Bottom Of My Heart". CD

Hard-hitting trio work from Ray – one of his early albums for Columbia, and the record that gave him a surprisingly big hit! "Little Susie" is one of those early 60s soul jazz standards, the kind of catchy tune that got played all over the place on radio, and which forever put the artist at the top of the list for recording dates and live sets for a few years. Ray's riding high here – with a trio that features brother Tommy Bryant on bass, and either Eddie Locke or Gus Johnson on drums – and the album's got lots of other short tracks with a similar down-home soul jazz kind of approach. Titles include "Blues For Norrie", "Big Buddy", "Greensleeves", and "If I Can Just Make It". LP, Vinyl record album

The great self-titled Alice Clark LP on Mainstream plus earlier singles for Warner Brothers and unreleased tracks – the complete studio recordings from '68-72 – in one great set! There weren't many vocal albums on the Mainstream label during the early 70s, and this rare soul side is a real overlooked gem! Alice Clark has a rich soulful voice, with a style that sounds a bit like Esther Marrow, mixed with some of the lead vocalists in Voices Of East Harlem – a really right-on sort of sound that's totally great, and way hipper than most 70s chart soul! Arrangements are by Ernie Wilkins, who brings in a touch of jazz – but again, with a much hipper feel than most of his other backings – and most of the tracks are quite obscure, well-written tunes – of the sort of material you might expect to hear sung by Gil Scott-Heron or Donny Hathaway. Includes "Don't You Care", "Charms Of The Arms Of Love", "Maybe This Time", "Looking At Life", "Hey Girl", "Don't Wonder Why", "It Takes Too Long To Learn To Live Alone", "Hard Hard Promises" and the rest from the classic and always sought self-titled album from 1972 – plus great earlier Warner Brothers singles "You Hit Me (Right Where It Hurts Me)" and "Heaven's Will (Must Be Obeyed)" from 1969, the previously unreleased "Before Her Time" and "You Hit Me (Right Where It Hurts Me)" instrumental, and more! 16 tracks in all. CD

A brilliant mix of jazz, soul, and R&B – all filtered through a mod sort of London freshness, as early proof that the city could always take some great things from our own musical roots, and feed it back to us with a whole new flavor! Georgie Fame's no copycat here, though – and the sound is instantly Fame-like – a style that's really not the sort that any Americans were doing at the time, and certainly never this well. Hard-burning Hammond colors most of the tunes here – played with a tightly vamping quality – but it's Georgie's charmingly crackling vocals that really win us over! Titles include "Gimme That Wine", "Pink Champagne", "Monkeying Around", "I Love The Life I Live", "Point Of No Return", "Preach & Teach", "Get On The Right Track Baby", and the hit "Yeh Yeh". LP, Vinyl record album

An early 80s gem from Aretha Franklin – one of the best of her years at Arista Records, thanks to solid help in the studio from the mighty Arif Mardin! Mardin's in perfect form here – the same blend of older soul and jazzier, more sophisticated styles that he was also bringing to Chaka Khan at the time – although Franklin's arguably more deserving of his talents, given her long relationship with the producer! There's a full, mature feel here – one that really gets Aretha back in gear as a singer, and shows off her talents to a new generation in new ways – yet all without trying too hard for a crossover hit. Tunes include a few originals by Franklin, and titles include "Kind Of Man", "Whole Lot Of Me", "Love All The Hurt Away", "You Can't Always Get What You Want", "It's My Turn", "There's A Star For Everyone", and "Hold On I'm Coming". CD features bonus tracks – "Hold On I'm Comin (12" ext)", "Livin In The Streets (12" ext)", and "It's My Turn (single)". CD

The recordings are prime Diz, cut in the height of his bop years, hard grooving with a lot of pyrotechnics, a bit of vocalization, and a great sense of humor! Titles include classics like "He Beeped When He Shoulda Bopped", "Groovin High", "Dizzy Atmosphere", "Ray's Idea", "Oop Bob Sh'bam", "That's Earl's Brother", and "One Bass Hit". LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic work from the great Chuck Jackson – a singer who was really at the height of his powers during these early years of his career! Chuck's maybe best known for heartbreaking material – and the notes on the album actually refer, oddly, to these songs as "the crying towel variety" – but what Jackson brings to his music is this strong sense of pride and power – this depth of reserve that makes you feel like he'll never give up, no matter how hard the going might be – a quality that southern soul singers would soon poach from Jackson and other singers up north, and make their own style of music. Yet back at the start, few folks did it better than Jackson – as you'll Hear on cuts that include the wonderful hit "Tell Him I'm Not Home", plus "Lonely Am I", "Blue Holiday", "Getting Ready for the Heartbreak", "Don't Believe Him Donna", "Tomorrow", "Two Stupid Feet", "Another Day", and "Invisible". LP, Vinyl record album

A rare rocker from Jamul – a group who are somewhere right on the cusp between blues rock and hard rock territory – working with equal amounts of both in this obscure debut! The record's a great illustration of the way that so many groups who grew up playing blues rock in bars during the 60s were discovering styles that were forming into hard rock at the start of the 70s – guitar lines informed by older modes, but played with a heck of a lot more power – and vocals that push things a bit more than any blues singer might – to the point where they often hit a rasping sort of frenzy! There's still a bit of the old modes here – occasional harmonica lines and slower numbers – but it's the heavier tunes that really shape the record. Titles include "Ramblin Man", "Valley Thunder", "All You Have Left Is Me", "I Can't Complain", "Nickel Thimble", and "Sunrise Over Jamul". LP, Vinyl record album

A little bit funk, a little bit soul – Mickey Murray was one of the underrated talents working in the SSS label during the company's glory years, and had a sock-hard southern soul style that was really outta site! Mickey first hit big with the tune "Shout Bamalama" – originally recorded by Otis Redding in his earliest years in the studio, but pushed to much bigger fame by Mickey with his classic late 60s recording. This tasty little set is done in a great mix of upbeat sockin-soul and mellower southern burners – all carried off with a depth and level of quality that should have made Mickey a bigger star at the time! Titles include the massively funky "Hit Record", plus "How many Breaks Can One Heart Take", "Got You On My Mind", and the eerie "Lonely Room". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic early record from tenor giant Stanley Turrentine – a set that's completely hard-hitting, and which has a very different vibe than the sweeter sets he'd cut later in the 70s! Instead, this record is pure hardbop all the way through – with Turrentine matching labelmate Hank Mobley for depth of tone and freshness of ideas – stretching out on these long, live tracks with a very cool combo that also features Grant Green on guitar and Horace Parlan on piano – both of whom are superb, and hit some real Blue Note heights on the set. Parlan brings this sinister edge to some of the best tunes, and Green's guitar rings out with these fantastically soulful chromes – providing a great balance to the deep runs that Stanley takes on the tenor. Titles on this first volume include a long moody reading of "Yesterdays", plus the hard bop original "Stanley's Time", and the cuts "Broadway" and "But Not For Me". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the rarest funky records of all time – the hard-to-find second album by Beginning Of The End! This West Indian combo hit it big with their first album on Alston, but this second set, for some strange reason, never really got distributed – which is a damn shame, because it's every bit as funky as their first! The uniquely choppy rhythms of the group's first album are every bit as great here as on the first set – and if anything, the band's instrumentation is even better, especially on the guitar, which is wickedly tight, and played with a super-dope flanged-out approach on the solos. Vocals are great too, maybe even more soulful than before, especially on the album's few midtempo cuts – and the album's a must-have for any fan of the group's funky sound! Titles include "That's What I Get", "Super Woman", "Bluestrain", "Jump In The Water", "Falling Apart At The Seams", and "Trip To Nowhere". CD also features their Holiday track – the very groovy "Gee Whiz It's Christmas". CD

Nice two part version of his big hit! Recorded at Muscle Shoals, with a nice hard groove that only gets better on part 2. 7-inch, Vinyl record

One of those King Records collections that manages to pack a heck of a lot of tunes on a single LP – yet manages to make the whole thing still sound great! The work here is all from the early years of Hank Ballard's career – the kind of hard rocking and R&B tunes that first brought him to fame, right up to the early soul sides he was cutting before leaving King for the first time – including some danceable numbers that are pretty great. Titles include "Baby Please", "Give It Up", "The Twist", "The Float", "I'm Young", "Move Move Move", "The Coffee Grind", "Finger Poppin Time", "Daddy Rolling Stone", "No It Ain't", "Cute Little Ways", and "Ooh Ooh Baby". CD

A really fantastic album from Jaimie Branch – one that's even more powerful than the first Fly Or Die set – which is saying a heck of a lot, given that that record hit most of us with a pretty hard punch! The sound is even more groundbreaking than before – moving well beyond jazz, although there's plenty of that in the mix too – to reflect Branch's connection to so many different musical communities in the contemporary scene! Jaimie brings a lot of anger and frustration at the current political situation into the music – a great reminder that with the right focus, jazz can be used for so many different cultural aims – especially when handled this well, in a lineup that features Jaimie on trumpet, electronics, and a bit of voice – with Lester St Louis on cello and percussion, Jason Ajemian on bass and percussion, and Chad Taylor on drums, mbira, and xylophone. The record also features guest work from Ben Lamar Gay and Marvin Tate on voice, Matt Schneider on 12 string guitar, and Dan Bitney on percussion and synth – and titles include "Prayer For Amerikkka (parts 1 & 2)", "Lesterlude", "Love Song", "Simple Silver Surfer", "Bird Dogs Of Paradise", "Nuevo Roquero Estereo", and "Twentey Three N Me Jupiter Redux". CD

Eddie certainly was the "hit man" on this one – a tight album of hard stepping soul tracks, mostly cut in Eddie's famous "boogie" mode of the mid 70s! The cuts mix wonderful soul vocals with some tight jazzy instrumentation – laid down by players like Wah Wah Ragin, Harvey Mason, Ray Parker, and Leonard Caston, who produced the album with Frank Wilson. The record's got swirling strings around harder instrumentation – in a mode that's perfect for Eddie's sweet vocal style – and the sound is right up there with classic work by Marvin Gaye or Barry White. Includes the nice long cut "Body Talk", plus "Happy", "If Anyone Can", "Fortune Teller", "I've Got To Be", and "Skippin' Work Today". LP, Vinyl record album

A great little record from the days before George Benson had totally hit his smooth jazz sound of the 70s, and was being pushed by Columbia as a hard wailing soul jazz leader! The record features his classic quartet with Lonnie Smith on organ – grooving away hard hard hard, sometimes even harder than George! Benson's fresh off his work with the Jack McDuff quartet, and his style's nice and lean, with some good riffs, and a very tight approach to the strings. Titles include "The Cooker", "Benny's Back", "Bossa Rocka", and "Benson's Rider". LP, Vinyl record album

A great little record from the days before George Benson had totally hit his smooth jazz sound of the 70s, and was being pushed by Columbia as a hard wailing soul jazz leader! The record features his classic quartet with Lonnie Smith on organ – grooving away hard hard hard, sometimes even harder than George! Benson's fresh off his work with the Jack McDuff quartet, and his style's nice and lean, with some good riffs, and a very tight approach to the strings. Titles include "The Cooker", "Benny's Back", "Bossa Rocka", and "Benson's Rider". The CD adds four tracks, including "Slow Scene", "The Man From Toledo". and the previously unreleased "Let Them Talk"! CD

A pair of albums from this near-forgotten group – both originally issued by Elektra, and presented here with bonus tracks too! First up is the self-titled Crabby Appleton – a set that's got a surprising sort of late psych vibe at times – almost as if the group were hanging on to some of the modes that first got them started, while also stretching out with some of the new sophistication that the 70s had to offer! That psych touch is maybe no surprise, though, given that the group's singer Michael Fennelly was in The Millennium – and works here with some heavier rockers who were in Stonehenge – all in a surprising mix of modes that really keeps things interesting throughout! Titles include the big single "Go Back", plus "Peace By Peace", "To All My Friends", "Some Madness", "Hunger For Love", "Last Night In Your Sleep Fred", "Some Madness", and "The Other Side". Next is Rotten To The Core, the second and last album from Crabby Appleton, and a record that's got the group picking up some harder edges than before – shedding some of the lighter psych elements for harder modes on the downturning grooves, almost as if the group had some blues inspirations they didn't showcase the first time around! The shift is one that has us almost thinking that the group could have hit the heights of 70s AM rock, had they held the course – with lots of surprising nuggets throughout, in a set list that includes "Makes No Difference", "Lucy", "It's So Hard", "Tomorrow's A New Day", "You Make Me Hot", "Gonna Save You", and "Love Can Change Everything". 2CD set features bonus material – "Go Back (alt mono single)", "Try (alt mono single)", "My Little Lucy (alt mono single)", "Some Madness (mono single)", "Can't Live My Life (alt mono single)", "Grab On", "Tomorrow's A New Day (alt mono single)", and "It's So Hard (alt mono single)". CD