Killer soul from Heatwave – a tight little group who definitely made the UK proud at the end of the 70s! The album's a bit more obscure than the group's first few, but the sound is very much the same – a warmly grooving approach that's neither too disco, nor too sleepy – always catchy on the hooks, and recorded with a nicely flanged style on the vocals – so that they're compressed a bit, and slide nicely in alongside the beats and keys! The mighty Rod Tempterton's still handling a good deal of the arrangements on the set, and some of the backings are orchestrated by Johnny Cameron – almost in a late 70s update of his earlier funky style. Titles include the funky cut "Gangsters Of The Groove", plus "All I Am", "Dreamin You", "Party Suite", "Posin' 'Til Closin'", "Turn Around", and "Where Did I Go Wrong", a sweet little ballad. The Big Break UK remastered edition has a massive 9 bonus tracks – including "Gangsters Of The Groove (Single Version)", "Jitterbuggin' (UK Single Version)", "Where Did I Go Wrong (UK Single Version)", "Posin' 'Til Closin' (UK Single Version)" and other alternate mixes b-sides "Find Someone Like You" and "Wack That Axe". CD

A killer album of crossover soul from the mid 70s – one that dropped like a bomb when it hit, and gave this UK group a number of big hits in America! Keyboardist Rod Temperton wrote all the tracks on the album – and he's got keen talent for both funky numbers and ballads. If soul stations played album side specials the way that classic rock stations do, side one would be in heavy rotation – as it kicks off with the funky title cut, rolls into the hit "Boogie Nights", cuts to the sample classic "Ain't No Half Steppin" (forever made famous by Big Daddy Kane), and steps into the moody ballad "Always & Forever". It's hard to beat that lineup, but side two does a pretty good job – and includes a similar mix of titles like "Super Soul Sister", "All You Do Is Dial", and "Sho'nuff Must Be Love". LP, Vinyl record album

A killer album of crossover soul from the mid 70s – one that dropped like a bomb when it hit, and gave this UK group a number of big hits in America! Keyboardist Rod Temperton wrote all the tracks on the album – and he's got keen talent for both funky numbers and ballads. If soul stations played album side specials the way that classic rock stations do, side one would be in heavy rotation – as it kicks off with the funky title cut, rolls into the hit "Boogie Nights", cuts to the sample classic "Ain't No Half Steppin" (forever made famous by Big Daddy Kane), and steps into the moody ballad "Always & Forever". It's hard to beat that lineup, but side two does a pretty good job – and includes a similar mix of titles like "Super Soul Sister", "All You Do Is Dial", and "Sho'nuff Must Be Love". CD

Killer classics from Heatwave – one of the few UK groups who managed to score big with a US soul market back in the 70s! The album's filled with gems from the group – from mellow slow jams to bumping groovers – including some of those tightly compressed numbers that the group always did so well! Titles include "Boogie Nights", "Always & Forever", "Mind Blowing Decisions", "Gangsters Of The Groove", "Lettin' It Loose", "Look After Love", "Posin' Til Closin", "The Groove Line", and "The Big Guns". CD

More hit magic from the Brothers Johnson – still working with Quincy Jones at this point, and virtually setting up the blueprint for jazzy soul in the 80s! Backings are by an all-star team, and Rod Temperton's helping out Quincy with arrangements – going for that snapping groove approach he worked to best effect with Heatwave. The sound is tight, but never too slick – and The Brothers keep a nice funky undercurrent on the bottom of most tracks. Titles include "Smilin On Ya", "You Make Me Wanna Wiggle", "Light Up The Night", "Stomp", "This Had To Be", and "Closer To The One You Love". CD

One of the best-ever albums by the Supremes – and filled with stone classics, to boot! As the title states, Diana Ross, Mary Wilson and Florence Ballard team up with Holland Dozier Holland – and they really to create the sound that would put them and Motown on the map. A couple of the biggest hits are laid down, but album also features tracks that are arguably even better to hear these days – as they spin out that quintessential Motown sound but aren't hampered by the ubiquity of the oldies radio staples! Titles include "You Keep Me Hanging On", "Love Is Here And Now You're Gone", "I Guess I'll Always Love You", "I'll Turn To Stone", "It's The Same Old Song", "Love Is In Our Hearts", 'There's No Stopping Us Now" and "Love Is Like A Heatwave". LP, Vinyl record album

A hip split LP that serves up work from two of the best artists to ever record for Ze Records! On side one, James White is at the top of his game – working in a punky, funky mix of rhythms – a key cross between both sides of the New York scene in the post-disco years, in a groove that's as arty as it is perfect for the dancefloor! Titles include "Almost Black", "Stained Sheets", "Contort Yourself (orig British mix)", and "Tropical Heatwave". Side two features equally quirky work from The Contortions – with lots of riffing guitar and weird effects over hip postpunk rhythms – on cuts that include "Design To Kill", "I Don't Want To Be Happy", and "Contort Yourself". LP, Vinyl record album

Features tracks by Rose Royce, Donna Summer, Heatwave, The Trammps, Thelma Houston, A Taste Of Honey, The Emotions, and Gloria Gaynor. CD

More hit magic from the Brothers Johnson – still working with Quincy Jones at this point, and virtually setting up the blueprint for jazzy soul in the 80s! Backings are by an all-star team, and Rod Temperton's helping out Quincy with arrangements – going for that snapping groove approach he worked to best effect with Heatwave. The sound is tight, but never too slick – and The Brothers keep a nice funky undercurrent on the bottom of most tracks. Titles include "Smilin On Ya", "You Make Me Wanna Wiggle", "Light Up The Night", "Stomp", "This Had To Be", and "Closer To The One You Love". LP, Vinyl record album

Soulful 80s work from Bob James – a record that features him working a bit with Rod Temperton of Heatwave, in a style that's got a few more soul-based modes than before! Temperton wrote half of the tracks on the record – the tighter, catchier ones that often use a bit of backing vocals alongside Bob's keyboards – in a style that nicely breaks the mold a bit from the CTI years, and helps slide his smoother jazz groove into crossover R&B territory. And while you might wince at such a thought, James is actually better suited than most to do this sort of thing – as his sense of presence on the keys is still quite strong, and his traditional feeling for space still keeps the tunes nicely lean overall. Titles include "Sign Of The Times", "Love Power", "Unicorn", "Enchanted Forest", "Steamin Feelin", and "Hypnotique". LP, Vinyl record album

A cool UK album – a different version of the Sing Holland Dozier Holland record! One of the best-ever albums by the Supremes – and filled with stone classics, to boot! As the title states, Diana Ross, Mary Wilson and Florence Ballard team up with Holland Dozier Holland – and they really to create the sound that would put them and Motown on the map. A couple of the biggest hits are laid down, but album also features tracks that are arguably even better to hear these days – as they spin out that quintessential Motown sound but aren't hampered by the ubiquity of the oldies radio staples! Titles include "You Keep Me Hanging On", "Love Is Here And Now You're Gone", "I Guess I'll Always Love You", "I'll Turn To Stone", "It's The Same Old Song", "Love Is In Our Hearts", 'There's No Stopping Us Now" and "Love Is Like A Heatwave". LP, Vinyl record album

An amazing collection of 70s soul tracks – sweet, mellow, laidback, and including loads of numbers that have been buried for years! The focus here is not on obscure groups, but on lesser-known album tracks by bigger names – including many chillout numbers that have a sweet jazzy feel, and which might have gotten eclipsed by some of the artists' bigger hits. ?uestlove of the Roots put the set together, and the whole set's got the deep soulfulness of his own work with that group – track after track of mellow 70s soul, jazzy riffs, spacey instrumentation, and warm vocals effortlessly sliding together! Titles include "Star Of The Story" by Heatwave, "Be My Girl" by Michael Henderson, "Clover" by Earth Wind & Fire, "Before The Dawn" by Patrice Rushen, "Can We Pretend" by Bill Withers, "That's What Friends Are For" by Deniece Williams, "Next To Nature" by Jean Claude Toran, "Glowin" by The Rationals, "Magic In Your Eyes" by Rufus & Chaka Khan, "Sensuality (parts 1 & 2)" by The Isley Brothers, "Sienna" by Stanley Cowell, "Quiet Storm" by Smokey Robinson, "Wheels Of Life" by Gino Vannelli, and "Gotta Find A Lover" by Roy Ayers. CD