A rare British set, originally issued only on cassette – which means that most copies of the album were lost to the hinterland of oxide decay! The set's got a sound that's way more immortal than its original format deserved – very much in the best mode of early Factory Records – spare, stark, and moody sounds from sometime-Coil and Current 93 collaborator Gary Ramon! The tunes are surprisingly catchy, even when dark – and the music is a masterpiece of understatement – those great sounds before the industrial underground of the 80s got a bit too full of itself. Titles include "TV Screen", "Hello/Goodbye", "46 Botanical Species", "Protect & Serve", and "Tropic Of Cancer". CD

The deepest of the deep from the American scene at the start of the 70s – groups so hip they weren't quite soul, weren't quite rock – and instead kind of a funky hybrid of both! After opening our ears to countless underground sounds from around the globe, the Now Again label turn back to some of the territory of its roots – the hinterland of groups who labored mostly in obscurity, but left behind a few funky 45s that have become the stuff of legend – and which show us that there was a much bigger psychedelic funk underground out there besides groups like Funkadelic or the early Ohio Players! As always with the label, the history is really given its due, thanks to very detailed notes – alongside titles that include "Down By The River" by Purple Snow, "There's A Wrinkle In Our Time" by 1984, "Function Underground" by We The People, "Corruption Is The Thing" by Creations Unlimited, "Jimi's Guitar Raps With The Bass" by Jimi Macon, "I'm A Man" by Cisneros & Garza Group, "Just Got To Be Free" by Black Conspirators, "BL Movement" by Blaclites, and "The Siesta Is Over" by The Revolution. CD

Hardly the gospel of your father's generation – and hardly even the gospel of previous Numero releases either – as the set's a wonderfully offbeat batch of tracks that definitely lives up to the "apocryphal" in the title! Production sounds and musical styles go way past the mainstream – and lots of these numbers feel like secular soul from the definite left end of the spectrum in the 70s – especially the mellower cuts, which have a trippy quality that comes from weird instrumentation and unusual studio work – often matched by vocal presentation that's anything but spiritual, and which feels more like Darondo overall! These tunes are a real discovery – a deeper level of unusual gospel recordings than even the funk and or soul sides featured on other compilations – all pulled from the hinterland of self-released albums and singles from back in the day. As usual, Numero's done as great of job with the notes and packaging as they have with the music – really telling the full tale of this unusual stream of music – in a smoking set that features "That's All I Need" by Sensational Saints, "A Message Especially From God" by Robert Vanderbilt & The Foundation Of Souls, "Come Holy Spirit" by God's Band, "Faith" by Soul Superiors, "Can't Run This Race Alone" by Flying Eagles Gospel Singers, "Searching For The Truth" by Dwain Vinyard, "Get Involved" by Jonah Thompson, and "I Hear You Calling" by Francis Reneau & The Mission Singers. CD

A really fantastic look at a scene we might never heard otherwise – served up here in a selection of cuts that have a really surprising vibe! Forget everything you know about Indonesian music, as the work here seems to draw most heavily from the European scene at the time – particularly some of the cooler grooves that were coming out of French clubs as things got a bit more playful and catchy after the disco years – and maybe with a dose of UK electro pop elements too! The work has a strong 80s vibe overall – and is different than you might expect from all three of the styles referenced in the title – maybe more of a hinterland past the bigger names on Virgin Records during the decade – catchy, well-produced, but a lot more interesting than chartbound material too. Titles include "Musik Kami" by Gito Rollies, "Waktu Kian Berarti" by Chaseiro, "Langkah Kemuka" by Andi MM, "Kenangan Asmara" by Grace Simon, "Denny" by Lidya Kandou, "Catatan Kisah" by Rafika Duri, "PHK" by Iwan Fals, and "Jakarta Kasmaran" by Denny Malik. CD

The deepest of the deep from the American scene at the start of the 70s – groups so hip they weren't quite soul, weren't quite rock – and instead kind of a funky hybrid of both! After opening our ears to countless underground sounds from around the globe, the Now Again label turn back to some of the territory of its roots – the hinterland of groups who labored mostly in obscurity, but left behind a few funky 45s that have become the stuff of legend – and which show us that there was a much bigger psychedelic funk underground out there besides groups like Funkadelic or the early Ohio Players! As always with the label, the history is really given its due, thanks to very detailed notes – alongside titles that include "Down By The River" by Purple Snow, "There's A Wrinkle In Our Time" by 1984, "Function Underground" by We The People, "Corruption Is The Thng" by Creations Unlimited, "Jimi's Guitar Raps With The Bass" by Jimi Macon, "I'm A Man" by Cisneros & Garza Group, "Just Got To Be Free" by Black Conspirators, "BL Movement" by Blaclites, and "The Siesta Is Over" by The Revolution. LP, Vinyl record album

Rare tracks from one of the greatest soul labels ever – Detroit's legendary Westbound Records, the famous home of Funkadelic – but a source for countless many more grooves! This set features really rare singles and unreleased tracks from Westbound – a flurry of great soul tracks that's surprised even our Westbound-raised ears – with tracks that run from righteous soul to heavy funk, to great group harmonies, and more! There's nary a big name in the set – and instead, the whole thing really focuses on the hinterland of the Westbound scene – including some especially rare gems that were issued as singles by the even-smaller Eastbound label, who did some wonderfully groovy work in the early 70s. Titles include "Admit Your Love Is Gone" by Damon Shawn, "Old Fashioned Woman" by Unique Blend, "I'm Falling In Love" by Fantastic Four, "Tender Moments" by AC Tilmon & Denise LaSalle, "I Love You" by The Motivations, "More Love" by Emanuel Laskey, "What Am I Gonna Do" by Houston Outlaws, "I Don't Know How" by The Superlatives, "Trying Real Hard" by The Magictones, "You Can't Take This Love For You From Me" by Bob & Harold, "I'm Loving You You're Leaving Me" by The Magictones, "Does He Treat You Better" by Unique Blend, and "Rosetta Stone" by AC Tilmon & Detroit Emeralds. CD

Wild sounds from the early years of rock and roll – a heady brew of guitar-heavy instrumentals, soulful stompers, and more – all pulled from the hinterland of the rare 45 underground! The tunes here go way past familiar oldies – and even past the sorts of sounds that usually show up on surf compilations – because, as he does with funk records, Keb Darge has a great ear for the unusual – the sorts of odd platters that have always show up in his best record digging and DJ gigs – laid out perfectly here in a really overstuffed collection! Keb turns in nice notes on each track – and titles include "Honey Bun" by Larry Donn, "Ghost Train" by The Swanks, "I Don't Wanna Leave" by Deacon & The Rock & Rollers, "Gorilla" by The Shandells, "She's The One That Got It" by Allen Page, "Madness" by Rhythm Rockers, "Woodpecker Rock" by The Braves, "Let's Dance" by The Excels, "Bad Bad Boy" by Bobby Lollar, and "Lobo Jones" by Jackie Gotroe. CD

Long tracks and plenty of room to groove – a really great little session from Japanese pianist Tsuyoshi Yamamoto, and one with some added conga to boot! Don't confuse this one with Yamamoto's other 70s date with Misty in the name, because this album's a live one – and it comes across with a good deal of energy, even when things are a bit mellow – a sense of freedom on the keys that rolls out from the very first note of the record, yet never takes things too far into the hinterland of sound. There's a nice pulse on most numbers, thanks in part to the congas – and titles include "Moanin", "Dark Eyes", "The Loving Touch", and "Sweet Georgia Brown". CD

An incredible bit of electric funk from the hinterlands of Ohio – an obscure album that hardly saw the light of day back in the 70s, making its first national debut in this excellent reissue! The sound of the set is incredible – moody Fender Rhodes, Arp, moog, and organ over bass and percussion that ranges from spare and skittish, to funky and full-on! A few tracks feature a bit of vocals, but the album's mostly concerned with the interplay between the keys and the percussion – tripping out in wonderfully open-ended tracks, the best of which offer almost a keyboard alternative to the spacey sound of Shuggie Otis in the mid 70s! Titles include "One Slave One Gun", "Quiet Isle", "Untitled", "Ja Ja", "Summer Time", "Punk Fun", and "Hypertension". LP, Vinyl record album

Amazing soul from Chess Records – and an album that almost feels like some lost small-label soul set, or a batch of rare funky 45s! Shades Of Brown are an ultra-hip male group from Chicago – a quartet of singers with the range and depth of The Temptations or Dells at their best, supported by a small combo of very lively instrumentalists who bring a really funky edge to their music – that sort of self-contained sound than you might find more in the hinterlands of the 60s soul scene than at Chess. But there's also plenty of key Chess touches too – including production by Dells maestro Bobby Miller, who also penned all the tunes for the record, giving the group some wonderful material to work with. Richard Evans handled most of the arrangements, but Charles Stepney also did a few too – and titles include "Man's Worst Enemy", "Girl I'm Coming Home", "Falling In Love Too Hard", "Lite Y'All Up", "Lie #2", "Little Girl", "Ho-Hum World", "He Didn't Leave Me A Name", "Garbage Man", and "The Soil I Tilled For You" – which has an amazing break! CD

Quite possibly one of the greatest funk compilations ever – and we're not just saying that because we're from the Midwest! The genius compilers at Jazzman spent years scouring the smaller cities of the American hinterlands – tracking down obscure musicians, long-lost labels, and nearly-gone master tapes – all to bring together 23 bits of rare funk that bristle with the same energy and excitement as the day they were first recorded! The package is incredible – not only filled with incredible tunes that somehow manage to push the boundaries and redefine our understanding of classic funk from the time, but also doing so in a package that's filled with liner notes that offer more information on the artists than probably their own mothers know! Plus, the set's also got some previously unissued numbers as well – making it a must-have for any funk fan, even if you've somehow managed to track down original copies of some of these choice bits! Titles include "Whip It" by The New Establishment In Soul, "Let's Do It Today (full version)" by The Us, "Pushin To The Top" by Markus Kelly & The Impassions, "Sissy Walk" by Billy Ball & The Upsetters, "Tell Her" by Fred Williams & The Jewels Band, "The Hatch" by The TMGs, "Boots Groove" by The Soul Tornados, "Po Boy's Dream" by Illinois Connection, "It's Not You For Me (live)" by Billy Joe Holloman, "Funky In Here" by Dayton Sidewinders, "Master Groove" by Henry Peters & The Imperials, and "A Day In The Life" by Chocolate Snow. CD

An unusual little concept record from Gentle Giant – one based around the story of three childhood friends each going their own separate ways – but served up with enough of the group's usual jazzy flair to keep things interesting! As on other records from the time, there's almost a fusion inspiration going on here – really jamming guitar and keyboard parts – sometimes at a level that matches the bigger mainstream groups of the time, but more often in the prog hinterlands, especially on the vocal parts, which have a flowing quality that really matches the keyboards. Titles include "Prologue", "Schooldays", "Peel The Paint", and "Mister Class & Quality". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic explosion of funk, soul, and club – put together at a level that may well even top the first Supafunkanova collection! As before, the cuts here are all super-rare and obscure – but all kick heavy ass when it comes to tight rhythms and catchy clubby grooves – never straight disco or mainstream boogie – but borrowing plenty from the mainstream to turn out cuts with a really raw, underground vibe! There's a slight touch of hip hop in the mix – more that old school skating mode – and the whole thing definitely shows Joey's decades in cutting great cuts for the dancefloor – and his big love of the best groups from the hinterlands. 2LP set features the titles "Drive Me Insane" by Airplay, "Betcha Got A Dude On The Side" by Star Quality & Class, "Cool Out" by Magnum Force, "Spunk In The Funk" by Blue Denim Band, "Walk" by Sam Culley Band, "Sound Reason (Joey Negro edit)" by Splash, "Making Love Will Keep You Fit" by Brenda Harris, "Let's Get High" by Nice & Tight Band, "Easton Assassin" by Sunburst Band, and "Super Stimulus" by Stimulus. LP, Vinyl record album

Stunning work from Michael Angelo – a little-known singer/songwriter from the Kansas City scene of the late 70s – one with a style that's totally great, but way too off the era's chronological expectations to get much notice at the time! Michael's music has a real late 60s vibe – some of the trippier folk modes of someone like Donovan, but mixed with the more complete songwriting of an artist like Nilsson or some of the hipper LA writers of the late 60s – all recorded in this laidback, understated way – especially for the 70s – with acoustic guitar most strongly in the mix, and a few other light rhythm touches and keyboards. The production's sharper than folk, but not much more so – and the music here is a great reminder that while we can look at the rock and roll timeline, and think that the punk explosion of the mid 70s was changing everything at once – out in the hinterlands there were still folks like Angelo who were dedicated to refining an older craft. The CD features a huge amount of material – the full original self-titled album, more tracks from those sessions, and a full second album recorded around the same time. 32 tracks on 2CDs, with lots of notes too – and titles that include "Field Of Lonely Eyes", "Future", "Journey To Find Who We Are", "Russian Lament", "Nubian Queen", "This Is The Night", "Love Is Too High", "Spirits Of Mercury", and "SOS Titanic". CD

A really cool bit of blue-eyed soul from Chuck Senrick – recorded in the hinterlands of Michigan in the late 70s, but with a timeless vibe that's made the set ripe for rediscovery all these many years later! Chuck uses acoustic guitar, electric piano, and some spare drum machine lines – which puts part of the sonic quality of the record in the territory of Timmy Thomas or Shuggie Otis, save for the fact that Senrick's got these jazzy inflections in his vocals, but with particular phrasing – almost Kenny Rankin meets Cat Stevens, although such a tag might be too specific to highlight Chuck's particular charms! Whatever the case, the album's a gem – way better than its obscure status might make you think – with titles that include "Celebration Lover", "Kids", "The Duke Is Gone", "Drop A Dime", "Wedding Trilogy", "Downtown", "Gray Days", and "Dreamin". LP, Vinyl record album