... 12-inch, Vinyl record

... CD

The complete 50s Word Jazz efforts from the incomparable Ken Nordine – an incredible assemblage of his spoken word/poetry and charismatic surrealist irony backed by first rate jazz session players – the whole of his early work for Dot Records! This is Ken's best and earliest Word Jazz – the beats-inspired stream of consciousness genius that's a genre all his own. He's best known for his radio work, and has been hailed more recently for Asphodel's reissue of his later, equally great lounge psychedelia concept album Colors – but this stuff is more impressive for its being so ahead of the curve. The after hours jazzy backing on the first couple of Word Jazz albums, which is up earliest in this set, is fairly stripped down and spare, and gets more extroverted and groovy as the set progresses – with more experimental touches along the way. You can really sense the musicians getting more comfortable and playful as they learn how to groove to the oddball vocals. Players include Dick Marx and Dick Campbell on piano, Johnny Frigo on guitar, Ken Soderbloom on woodwinds, Emmet Frazier on bass, Bob Frazier on drums and others. The tracks are from the Dot LPs Word Jazz, Son Of Word Jazz, Next! and Word Jazz Vol II, with some previously unreleased bits, plus odds & ends from later releases that were recorded during the sessions. This is the definitive CD compilation of early Nordine – an incredible set for fans of leftfield vocals, oddball jazz, or anyone open to a mystifying and hypnotic aural experience like no other! 45 tracks on 2CDs: "The Wet Stranger", "What Time Is It", "My Baby", "The Vidiot", "Miss Cone", "Secretary", "I Used To Think My Right Hand Was Uglier Than My Right Hand", "Charlie Zen", "Mr Big", "Smerd", "Hafta Have You", "There's A She And A He", "So And So", "Involutional Intellection", "Silly Ideas I Used To Have" and many more! CD

A pair of near perfect soulful jazz organ sets from Jimmy Smith – 1967's Respect and 1968's Livin' It Up – plus the rare non album single "Mickey Mouse" as bonus track for the first time on CD! Respect is really nice jazz album from Jimmy, although one that got hidden in the years of Jimmy's more "concept" oriented sessions for Verve. Most of the material is quartet stuff, with players like Bernard Purdie, Eric Gale, and Ron Carter backing up Jimmy's soulful organ. The tracks are longer than usual too, with lots of nice soloing going on, and a stone easy soul groove. Includes a tasty loping version of "Get Out Of My Life", with a very different drum groove than usual, plus "Funky Broadway", "T Bone Steak", and "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy". Livin' It Up is a straight up stunner – and quite possibly one of his greatest records for Verve! The set has Jimmy working with arranger Oliver Nelson – in a setting that's got big band backings, but done in a style that's cool enough to cut through all the BS of similar sessions. There's no hoke at all – just a lean and soulful approach that has Nelson serving up a powerhouse jazzy groove underneath – and Jimmy soloing madly over the top! The album's filled with great tunes too – including a fab cover of "Mission Impossible", the original "Big Boss Man", a version of Richard Evans' "Burning Spear", a great takes on "Valley Of The Dolls" and "The Gentle Rain". Great stuff throughout! CD

The sprawling soul sounds of Motown, circa '72 – with all the amazing singles from January to July of that huge and historic year – collected here in the first of a 2 box set grand finale for the Complete Motown Singles series! Creatively, the first half of '72 was an incredible period. Veterans like Stevie Wonder, The Temptations and The Four Tops sound freshly inspired, Marvin Gaye is hitting his peak, Michael Jackson and The Jackson 5 are in full stride, Martha Reeves & The Vandellas and The Supremes are still cutting gorgeous singles. In other words, there's still a whole lot of distinctively Motown magic happening! But '72 also finds the label branching out into funk, funk rock and both sunnier and grittier material by a variety artists – from Undisputed Truth and Sisters Love, to Frankie Valli and Rare Earth. The label would soon make the move to the west coast, so it's truly the end of an era – therefore as apt of a point as possible for Hip-O Select to begin closing up their beautiful series. Vol 12A has 113 tracks on 5CDs – encased in a hardcover, 130-page full color book with essays and notes on each track – including songs by all the above, plus Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, David Ruffin, Jr. Walker & The All Stars, The Commodores, Syreeta, Edwin Starr, Thelma Houston, The Devastating Affair, Bobby Darin, Blinky, Posse, The Marvelettes, Blue Scepter, GC Cameron, The Originals, Eddie Kendricks, Gladys Knght & The Pips and more! Also includes a bonus 45 by The Blackberries – "Somebody Up There" backed by "But I Love You More" – with the Mowest logo on the inner label! Love this! Can't wait for Vol 12B! CD

More great soul music than we ever hoped to find in a single place – and a massive 6CD collection that looks at the key year of 1965 at Motown Records! The package is every bit as wonderful and thorough as the others in this series – with a whopping 166 songs collected in a lavish, full-color book that features nearly 150 pages of notes, photos, and wonderful images from the 60s! And as with other sets, the ultra-cool package even features a replica 45 stuck inside the front cover – a rare vinyl treasure that's almost as great as the CDs. But over and above the packaging, the music's the real thing to rave about here – as 1965 has Motown growing into even new levels of maturity and quality – as demonstrated by the work here by artists who include Stevie Wonder, The Supremes, Chris Clark, Frank Wilson, The Elgins, The Miracles, Earl Van Dyke, The Marvelettes, Barbara McNair, Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, Jimmy Ruffin, The Dalton Boys, The Four Tops, Brenda Holloway, Little Lisa, Richard Anthony, The Lewis Sisters, Danny Day, The Contours, The Vows, The Hit Pack, Kim Weston, The Freeman Brothers, JR Walker, and many others! All singles offered up with both a and b-sides! CD

Motown leaps boldly into the 70s – building strongly off the changing grooves during the label's late 60s years, and serving up an amazing array of differently-styled singles! There's a really great blend here of some of the more familiar 60s modes and the hipper grooves to come in the new decade – a sound that's definitely maturing Motown, but still with most of the label's big talent in place, alongside some key younger acts and a few great surprises from left field! As with other volumes in this amazing series, there's a hell of a lot of music here – not just hits, but every single from the year, presented with both a and b-sides – so that you really get an idea of what the label was up to at the time. The whole thing's packaged in a hardcover book-style package, with a bonus 45 in the front cover – and it includes over 150 tracks by artists who include Hearts Of Stone, Hugh Masekela, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye, The Supremes, Allan Nichols, The Originals, Rare Earth, The Jazz Crusaders, Diana Ross, Arthur Adams, Jimmy Ruffin, Yvonne Fair, Gladys Knight, Bob & Marcia, Buzzie, Blinky, The Jackson 5, Danny Hernandez, Ivy Jo, The Fantastic Four, R Dean Taylor, Chuck Jackson, and lots more! CD

Massive Motown from 1971 – the ultra-hip second part of this key year for the monumental label! Motown was going through plenty of changes in 1971 – a year that saw Marvin Gaye's new righteous musical vision, a wave of fresh talent from the west coast, and the label's further push into sounds that went way beyond standard soul music – moves that are summed up beautifully here by artists who include Rare Earth, Popcorn Wylie, Stevie Wonder, Undisputed Truth, The Supremes, PJ, Jackson 5, Bobby Taylor, The Rustix, Jr Walker, Martha Reeves, Virgil Henry, Tom Clay, Diana Ross, Suzee Ikeda, Sunday Funnies, Chuck Jackson, My Friends, Valerie Simpson, Jack Hammer, The Messengers, Lodi, David Ruffin, Eddie Kendricks, and even Bobby Darin! As usual, Hip-O Select have done an amazing job with the package – pulling together 120 tracks that also includes some rare bits not on the official singles, and wrapping the whole thing up in a hardcover book that also features a bonus Michael Jackson 45 in the cover. The book is over 120 pages, with loads of notes, essay material, and rare photos that document this amazing point in the label's history! CD

The early 70s were an amazing time in soul music – and for the King Of Soul in particular – documented masterfully on Volume 8 in the James Brown Singles series from Hip-O Select! Like the other volumes, it includes both sides of all the JB singles, programmed chronologically from early 1972 through August 1973 – from furious and frenetic funk to socially conscious soul, blacksploitation soundtrack gems to tender ballads – and a few that combine those elements. Includes unstoppable classics and comparable rarities, with detailed notes on each single, the line-up of players and the dates of release. Straight up fantastic funky soul, and not just for completists – it's a stellar portrait of JB that shows just how far he reached stylistically without ever compromising his established identity as The King Of Soul! 40 tracks on 2CDs: "Nothing Beats A Try But A Fail", "Hot Pants Road", "King Heroin", "Pass The Peas", "There It Is" (Parts 1 & 2), "Honky Tonk" (Parts 1 & 2), "Get On The Good Foot" (Parts 1 & 2), "I Got Ants In My Pants" (mono and reverb versions), "What My Baby Needs Now Is A Little More Lovin" and "This Guy – This Girl's In Love With You" with Lyn Collins, "Mama's Dead", "Everybody's Got Soul", "Sexy Sexy Sexy", "Slaughter Theme" and much more! CD

James Brown's funky singles from the mid-to-late 70s – Volume 10 in the complete singles series by The Godfather on Hip-O Select – and he's still killing it, one cut after another! This is a fascinating period for JB, in which the Godfather was still working hard, and more often than not, delivering top tier funky soul – but he wasn't hitting the charts like he used to, while those that he doubtlessly inspired were hitting pay dirt with his style. He's working in number of modes, from swaggering, taut and masterful takes on his personal stamp on classic funk, some bluesy soul, a rare couple of ballads, the Godfather covering the King and more. Even with the stylistic breadth, he never dispenses with what mad him great in the first place – doing his thing with a vigorous, sweaty groove unlike anyone else! Includes "Superbad, Supersick" (Parts 1 & 2), "Dooley's Junkyard Dogs", "Everbody Wanna Get Funky One More Time" (Parts 1 & 2), "I Refuse To Lose", "Bodyheat" (Parts 1 & 2)", "Home Again", "Give me Some Skin", "People Who Criticize", "Love Me Tender", "The Spank", "Nature" (Parts 1 & 2), "It's Too Funky In Here" and many more. CD

Wonderful stuff – and one of our favorite-ever Marvin Gaye albums! This is the legendary two-record set that Marvin wrote and recorded as an alimony payment to his ex-wife Anna Gordy (the story's pretty long, and we won't get into it here – suffice it to say that when stars get a divorce, watch out!) Although the album was thought of as a no-brainer quickie at the time – and predicted to fail so that Anna wouldn't get any cash from it – the record is an extremely well-crafted one, filled with extremely personal songs that also have a warm soulful finish, in the style of Marvin's work on the LP I Want You (which is kind of a nice bookend to this one – as it was an extended love poem to the young girlfriend that caused him to split up with Anna!) Hard and soulful, the record's a searing testimony to the relationship between Marvin and Anna, and a painful document of the troubles between them – set to some mellow grooves that are easily some of Marvin's greatest of the 70s! The set's filled with great "lost" Marvin Gay songs, too – like "Sparrow", "When Did You Stop Loving Me", "Anger", "You Can Leave, But It's Going To Cost You", and "Time to Get it Together". Expanded CD features the famous 12" instrumental version of "A Funky Space Reincarnation" – plus a full set of 12 bonus alternate mixes produced by the likes of Mocean Worker, Easy Mo Bee, Leon Ware, Marcus Miller, Prince Paul, Bootsy Collins, Slaam Remi, and The Randy Watson Experience – including "Anger (alt extended)", "Here My Dear (alt mix)", "Time To Get It Together (alt extended mix)", "Falling In Love Again (alt version)", "I Met A Little Girl (alt version)", "Sparrow (alt version)", and "Anna's Song (inst – alt version)". CD

Rick James fires it up at the end of the 70s – stepping out at full star power that has him rivaling the strength of Bootsy Collins at Warner, and paving the way for the rise of Prince in the early 80s! As with Prince, James' version of funk here is a bit offbeat – lots of riffing guitars in the mix, and a bad-strutting groove that's still conventional mainstream funk of the time, yet with some edgier elements that led Rick to label his music as "punk funk" (or was it "funk punk"?) Given the end-of-70s spirit, you might also say that some of the cuts were aimed at the dancefloor – although James was never really one to storm the discos as much as others. Titles include "Love Gun", "Fire It Up", "Come Into My Life", "Lovin You Is A Pleasure", and "Stormy Love". CD also features the bonus track "Love Gun" – presented here in a bonus 12" promo version! CD

Legendary Toots & The Maytals singer Toots Hibbert meets legendary Memphis producer Jim Dickinson – and the best session players that city has to offer! Toots was always reverent of greatest southern soul, so this effort is anything but forced. Toots tackles material by Otis Redding, Al Green, James Carr and others for on this sweet set – played with admirable restraint by a group of musicians who could really accomplish anything. 10 tracks in all: "I've Got To Remember", "Knock On Wood", "Love And Happiness", "Love Attack", "Hard To Handle", "Love The Rain", "It's A Shame", "Precious, Precious", "Freedom Train" and "See It My Way". CD

Early Jacksons in all their glory – presented here in a rare Japanese-only live album from the 70s! The set is great – totally kicking with all the best power of the early Jackson 5 – and served up with a spontaneous live quality that shows a whole new side of the group from their studio albums. The band is tight, and surprisingly funky at times – and judging from the quality of the vocals, the group really must have been something to see live at the time! Titles include "Lookin Through The Windows", "Got To Be There", "Superstition", "Ben", "Papa Was A Rolling Stone", "Ain't That Peculiar", and "I Wanna Be Where You Are". Never issued in the US at the time! CD

Later Bar-Kays at their best – still plenty funky, but also working in a smoothly soulful style that became the group's trademark sound at Mercury! The album's got a real bass-heavy appeal from the start – working in a mode that shares a lot with Cameo, The Gap Band, and some of the other mainstream funk acts at the time – yet which still occasionally shows the group's roots in the rougher Memphis scene. There's actually some great ballads on the album alongside the funk – tunes that sweeten the set nicely, and provide a good counterpoint to the more uptempo numbers. Titles include "Girl I'm On Your Side", "More & More", "Running In & Out Of My Life", "You've Been", and "Up In Here". CD

One of the few solo albums ever cut by organist Chester Thompson – a player who's known to most as the keyboardist in Tower Of Power, but one who's also remembered by a select funky few for this killer record for the Black Jazz label! The album's a stripped-down quartet session – with labelmate Rudolph Johnson on tenor, blowing some beautiful lines alongside long, drawn-out Hammond solos from Thompson! The overall feel is similar to some of the great late 60s Prestige sessions – especially Don Patterson dates – with the group free swinging away in a very live format, just like you might have heard if you caught them in some hip southside club. Other players include Al Hall Jr on trombone and Ray Pounds on drums – and the album features four long jamming tracks, with titles that include "Mr T", "Trip One", "Weird Harold", and "Powerhouse". CD

One of the few solo albums ever cut by organist Chester Thompson – a player who's known to most as the keyboardist in Tower Of Power, but one who's also remembered by a select funky few for this killer record for the Black Jazz label! The album's a stripped-down quartet session – with labelmate Rudolph Johnson on tenor, blowing some beautiful lines alongside long, drawn-out Hammond solos from Thompson! The overall feel is similar to some of the great late 60s Prestige sessions – especially Don Patterson dates – with the group free swinging away in a very live format, just like you might have heard if you caught them in some hip southside club. Other players include Al Hall Jr on trombone and Ray Pounds on drums – and the album features four long jamming tracks, with titles that include "Mr T", "Trip One", "Weird Harold", and "Powerhouse". CD

One of the few solo albums ever cut by organist Chester Thompson – a player who's known to most as the keyboardist in Tower Of Power, but one who's also remembered by a select funky few for this killer record for the Black Jazz label! The album's a stripped-down quartet session – with labelmate Rudolph Johnson on tenor, blowing some beautiful lines alongside long, drawn-out Hammond solos from Thompson! The overall feel is similar to some of the great late 60s Prestige sessions – especially Don Patterson dates – with the group free swinging away in a very live format, just like you might have heard if you caught them in some hip southside club. Other players include Al Hall Jr on trombone and Ray Pounds on drums – and the album features four long jamming tracks, with titles that include "Mr T", "Trip One", "Weird Harold", and "Powerhouse". LP, Vinyl record album

This is the classic first version of this great cut that was covered by the Beatles, The Flying Lizards, and a million other groups. 7-inch, Vinyl record

A host of wonderful work produced by James Brown – most of it by a range of different singers, and one by The Godfather himself! The collection brings together some of the earliest James Brown productions – mid 60s tracks recorded for King and Smash Records, most of which aren't nearly as well known as later JB productions for the People and Polydor labels! As with that later work, all the grooves here are right in the same territory that James was hitting himself – upbeat, funky, and stone out of sight soul – all with plenty of rough edges, and backings from the same tight core of musicians that were helping out Brown on his recordings. The package is a real treasure – and is a great complement to the James Brown Singles collections from the Hip-O Select label – proof that even in these early days, James was clearly the hardest working man in show business – given all his time in the studio with other artists! 22 tracks in all – including "I Found Out" and "I'll Keep Pressing On" by Bobby Byrd, "That's When I Cry" and "If You Don't Think" by Anna King, "I Don't Care" and "Unexplainable" by Dizzy Jones, "Got No Excuse" and "If You Don't Work You Can't Eat" by James Crawford, "Do You Really Want To Rescue Me (part 1)" by Elsie Mae, "Lookie Lookie Lookie" by The Jewells, "Wide Awake In A Dream" and "Nobody Cares" by Vicki Anderson, "Devil's Den" by The Poets, "It Hurts To Be In Love" by Yvonne Fair, "That's The Spirit" by Rev Willingham, "Faith" by The Five Royales, "I Cried" by Tammy Montgomery, "Soul Food (parts 1 & 2)" by Al Brisco Clark, and "New Breed (The Boo Ga Loo) (part 1)" by James Brown. CD

A huge amount of work from The Cats & The Fiddle – a vocal group that stands as a strong bridge between some of the male quartets of the 30s and the big wave of R&B acts to come! The music here is nice and jazzy, often with a lot of guitar used to emphasize the rhythms – maybe in the Mills Brothers mode, but much more earthy and with a stronger current of blues – especially as the 40s move in, the the Cats hit all these kind of hip, groovy sorts of styles that are in the territory of Slim Gaillard or the early King Cole Trio! The package brings together 53 well-selected tracks from their singles of the late 30s and 1940s – titles that include "Sighing & Crying", "When Elephants Roost In Bamboo Trees", "Start Talking Baby", "Wine Drinker", "Darling Can't We Make A Date", "I'm Afraid Of You", "I'm Gonna Pull My Hair", "I'll Always Love You Just The Same", "One Is Never Too Old To Swing", "Pig's Idea", "Hep Cat's Holiday", "That's On Jack That's On", "Crawlin Blues", "Chant Of The Rain", and "Killer Diller Man From The South". CD

The first Clipse album to see release – and a neo-electro/drug rap/crossover hip hop masterpiece produced by the Neptunes – the debut LP on their own Star Trak label. Malice and Pusha T arrive as smooth, confident rhymers with plenty of standout moments, while the Neptunes reach an early production peak. The Neptunes' fingerprints are evident on just about every second of every track, but it doesn't diminish the role of the rappers in the least. This is a true hip hop record from beginning to end, something the 'tunes had shied away from around the same time with the hard rockin' NERD and their more pop-oriented productions. We thought from the first needle drop that this was a record we'd be able to come back to for years and years and years, and that indeed holds true! Tracks include "Young Boy", "Ma, I Don't Love Her" featuring Faith Evans, "Ego", "Comedy Central" featuring Fabulous, "Gangsta Lean", "Let's Talk About It" featuring Jermaine Dupri, and more. Get On Down reissue includes the Selector remix of "Grindin'" feat Sean Paul, Bless, Kardinall Offishall, NORE, Baby & Lil' Wayne. LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic record from Nancy Dupree – a hip poet with a mission towards raising social consciousness and increasing a sense of pride and power in the younger generation – all of which comes through very strongly in this classic Folkways Records set! The album is way more than just another album of poetry – as Nancy introduces all of her writing before reading things direct – with a voice that's very down to earth, and which, in reaction with the small audience on the recording, provides this fantastic context of the material – most of which is still amazingly relevant all these many decades later. Selections include "Self Praise", "Black Success", "Letter To Young Sisters", "Tears", and "Bulletholes". CD

Pure greatness from Basil Kirchin – some of the rarest material the amazing composer ever recorded – and some of the best Kirchin work we've ever heard! Abstractions Of The Industrial North was recorded for the De Wolfe Sound Library in 1966 – but it works absolutely as a stand alone album, truly elegant and hypnotic material that combines an emotional sweep with an incredibly hip Brit jazz vibe! The first 11 tracks on the set make up Abstractions Of The Industrial North – "Prelude And Dawn", "Heart Of The North", "The Observer", "Conclusion", "Packing, Printing And Light Assembly", "Neutral Background", "Heavy Machinery" and more. The remaining 9 tracks are culled from De Wolfe Sound Library cues that Basil & co. also recorded in '66 – beautiful cuts that were carefully selected to carry on the pastoral, groovy vibe of the Abstractions material! Tracks include "Mind On The Run", "Where To Go", "Paranoia", "Viva Tamla Motown", "Pageing Sullivan", "Interaction", "Four Against Seven" and more. 20 tracks in all! LP, Vinyl record album

A rare British session from vocalist Mark Murphy – and one of his grooviest albums of the 60s! Mark's working here with great backings from the orchestras of Tubby Hayes, John Dankworth, and Les Reed – all of whom give Murphy some of his hippest grooves to date, very much in the mode of some of his work on the Midnight Mood album cut for MPS during the same overseas 60s stretch. And as with that one, there's a nice selection of tunes that goes way past the usual – and which shows off the widest range of Murphy's groovy vocal talents – titles that include "Ballyhoo", "Iceberg", "Stablemates", "She Loves You", "Come Rain Or Come Shine", "I Left My Heart In San Francisco", "From Time To Time", and "The Best Is Yet To Come". LP, Vinyl record album

Sublime work from saxophonist Eraldo Volonte – a rare mid 60s session recorded in Italy, and totally hip work all the way through! Volonte's got a tone here that's really tremendous – clearly Coltrane-influenced, especially on the tenor selections – but also stretching out with its own feeling too, especially on some of the album's more outside numbers, which feature Eraldo playing some great lines on soprano sax. There's a very open quality to the record – not exactly free jazz, but almost a "new thing" sense of sonic exploration – one that has Volonte's tenor and soprano sax aligned nicely with trombone from Dino Piana, piano from Franco D'Andrea, bass from Giovanni Tommaso, and drums from Franco Tonani. Titles include "Flamingo", "Mr Arpo", "Eclypso", "Tale", "Explorable", and "Ornette". LP, Vinyl record album

Well, they spelled "dikes" wrong in the title – but we can hardly fault them for that, as the set is a stunning batch of work from the Dutch scene at the end of the 60s – a really surprising powerhouse of new ideas and mindblowing music! Maybe that's no surprise, given the proximity of The Netherlands to the UK – which also means that the scene was probably drinking up as much pirate radio as listeners in London – and there's definitely work here to match some of the hippest Brit groups on Decca from the same generation. The set is huge 37 tracks in all – with work from The Sound Of Imker, Painting House, Supersister, The Tykes, Modesy Blaise, Names & Faces, Powera, The Heralds, Scarlets, Short 66, The Counts, Baldwin, BNZ, Dimitri, The Bumble Bees, The Boggy Green Selection, The Haigs, Amnsterdam, Airport, Jug Session, Alligatorman, World, The Freddies, and Nanda. LP, Vinyl record album

Great cuts from the old school – pulled together from the earliest days of hip hop – at a time when the boundary lines in the music weren't so fully formed! These days, the difference between hip hop and club cuts is huge – but back in the South Bronx scene at the start, there was a lot more interplay between styles – as 70s funk served as the blueprint, disco singles expanded the format, soul vocals gave some structure, and live rhymes and DJ work provided all of the spontaneous elements that made the music so unique – coming together with amazing energy that really reflected the street-level sounds of the New York scene! This ultra-hip collection brings together all those amazing strands from the early years – in a set that's one of the best historically important Soul Jazz titles we've seen in years – from the excellent track selection right down to the very detailed notes. There's plenty of rare cuts here you're not likely to have in your collection – and titles include "Body Rock" by Neil B, "Positive Life" by Love Bug Starski & The Harlem World Crew, "At The Place To Be" by Mr Sweety G, "New Rap Language" by Spoonie G & The Treacherous Three, "We Are People Too" by Master Jay, "Equidity Funk" by Mistafide, "And You Know That" by TJ Swan, "Searching Rap" by Bon Rock & The Rhythm Rebellion, "Willie Rap" by Willie Wood & The Willie Wood Crew, "Rhythm Rap Rock" by Count Coolout, "On The Go" by Black Bird & Kevski, "Philosophy Rappin Spree" by Super 3, "Move Your Body" by Bramsam, and "One More Time" by Sugar Daddy. LP, Vinyl record album

One of the best funky compilations ever! The folks at Stones Throw Records – home of some of the most funk-inspired hip hop of the past decade – have dug through the crates to come up with this incredible batch of 22 tunes, all well-researched, nicely remastered, and offered up here on a 100% legit basis! But even more than that, the selection of music is incredible – killer funky tunes of the sort that you'd shell out plenty for on 45, moving way past the standard loud funk mode, into a hip realm of jazz-tinged expression, complicated enough for today's beatheads, yet straightforward enough to keep the groove going! Titles include "Fish Head" by Slim & The Soulful Saints, "The Dump" by Soul Vibrations, "What About You" by Co Real Artists, "The Kick" by The Rhythm Machine, "Kashmere" by Kashmere Stage Band, "Tighten Up Tighter" by Billy Ball & The Upsetters, "Beautiful Day" by Spider Harrison, "Southside Funk" by Soul Seven, "In The Rain" by The Wooden Glass with Billy Wooten, and "Go To Work" by Revolution Compared To What. CD version includes 2 bonus cuts too! CD

One of the coolest collections we've heard from Keb Darge in years – not the funk and soul he first gave us when he started putting compilations together, nor the rockabilly and R&B from more recent years – and instead a fantastic array of rare late 60s garage rock and freaky fuzz singles! The set's tone in collaboration with Cut Chemist – another DJ we'd never expect to know this music so well – and together, the pair turn their talent for rare record digging to an arena that never seems to get old – the under-underground of the pre-hippy years, with a stunning selection of tracks by artists who worked in the deep shadows beneath bigger acts like Count Five, The Seeds, or Standells. Half the record is collected by Cut Chemist, the other by Keb – and the package features a whopping 30 tracks in all, most of which we'd never heard before! Titles include "Cry" by The Malibus, "Cuttin Grass" by Caretakers Of Deception, "Project Blue" by The Banshees, "Slander" by Ty Wagner, "Suzy Creamcheese" by Teddy & His Patches, "Nowadays People" by Captain Crunch & The Crew, "Go On Leave" by Red Beard & The Pirates, "In & Out" by Larry & The Blue Notes, "Why Am I Alone"by The Choab, "Can It Be" by The Savoys, "Modman" by The Spacemen, "Baby Go" by The Avantes, "Just Let Me Be" by The Outsiders, and "Come On Baby & Stick Around" by Al's Untouchables. CD

We really love all the different volumes in the Mod Jazz series from Kent Records – they've been instrumental to our musical education over the years – so we're always happy to have "Mo", especially with a collection this great! The material comes from a number of different indies from the 60s – and the style here is definitely mod, in that hip mix of R&B, soul, and jazz that was brewing on the London scene back in the day – but which was always best delivered by American artists like this! The music bristles with heavy tenor, Hammond organ, scratchy guitar, and the occasional well-belted vocal – and the whole thing feels like finding a jukebox full of carefully-selected 45s in some lost southside tavern. 22 tracks in all – including "Smokey Joe's La La" by Googie Rene, "Blue Vibes" by Johnny Lytle, "Cholo" by Brown Brothers of Soul, "Soul Jam" by Booker T & The MGs, "Money" by Freddie Roach, "Mission Impossible" by Johnny Gilliam, "Spider Man" by Freddie McCoy, "You Win I Lose" by Little Johnny Taylor, "You Can't Sit Down" by Chris Colombo, "Eyesight To The Blind" by Mose Allison, "My Train" by Merl Saunders, "Brother Ray" by Willis Jackson, and "Right On" by Boogaloo Joe Jones. CD

We really love all the different volumes in the Mod Jazz series from Kent Records – they've been instrumental to our musical education over the years – so we're always happy to have "Mo", especially with a collection this great! The material comes from a number of different indies from the 60s – and the style here is definitely mod, in that hip mix of R&B, soul, and jazz that was brewing on the London scene back in the day – but which was always best delivered by American artists like this! The music bristles with heavy tenor, Hammond organ, scratchy guitar, and the occasional well-belted vocal – and the whole thing feels like finding a jukebox full of carefully-selected 45s in some lost southside tavern. 22 tracks in all – including "Smokey Joe's La La" by Googie Rene, "Blue Vibes" by Johnny Lytle, "Cholo" by Brown Brothers of Soul, "Soul Jam" by Booker T & The MGs, "Money" by Freddie Roach, "Mission Impossible" by Johnny Gilliam, "Spider Man" by Freddie McCoy, "You Win I Lose" by Little Johnny Taylor, "You Can't Sit Down" by Chris Colombo, "Eyesight To The Blind" by Mose Allison, "My Train" by Merl Saunders, "Brother Ray" by Willis Jackson, and "Right On" by Boogaloo Joe Jones. CD

A mountain of funk from one of the greatest soul labels of all time! Stax is known round the world over for their soulful work – by singers like Otis Redding or Carla Thomas, and instrumental tunes by Booker T & The MGs – but the label was also quite a funky powerhouse – especially as the 60s drew to a close, and the management of the company got a lot hipper, and a heck of a lot more musically open-minded! This killer batch of tracks features 21 numbers from those days – including many obscure and funky tunes that only ever came out on singles, or which were recorded by artists that never made it as big as Stax stars from earlier years. The result of all that obscurity is an extremely fresh selection of tracks – plenty of down-n-dirty funky 45 numbers, played by hip Memphis combos, and featuring some really deep soul vocals. Titles include "Dark Skin Woman" by Sir Mack Rice, "Ain't No Sin" by John Kasandra, "Bump & Boogie" by The Wrecking Crew, "Shame On The Family Name" by Calvin Scott, "Cool Strut" by Bernie Hayes, "Bump Mean" by Sir Mack Rice, "Soul Machine" by Reggie Milner, "How Can You Mistreat The One You Love" by Katie Love, "Cold Blooded" by The Bar Kays, "Do The Side Saddle" by Rufus Thomas, "Stay Away From That Monkey" by Jimmy McCracklin, "Them Hot Pants" by Lee Sain, "Devil In A Man" by Stu Gardner, "Circuits Overloaded" by Inez Foxx, "From Toys To Boys" by The Emotions, "Got It Together (parts 1 & 2)" by Rudy Robinson & The Hungry Five, and "Crosscut Saw" by Albert King. CD

Rocksteady's got plenty of soul – so much so that the Jamaican style of the late 60s was also a huge influence on the sound of London as well! The music here is from a fantastic moment when Studio One was able to capture some of the best changing sounds in Kingston – older modes borrowed from American soul, set to hipper rhythms that fit the Jamaican vibe more – but still overflowing with wonderful vocals that often rival some of the best harmony groups up in the US! And while plenty of other labels recorded this music too, Studio One was always one of the best – especially heard here, with an expert selection of singles picked by the folks at Soul Jazz. Titles include "It's True" by Alton Ellis, "Get Up Now" by Errol Dunkley, "Traveling Home" by Sound Dimension, "When You're Gone" by Ken Parker, "Tables Gonna Turn" by The Clarendonians, "Good Feeling" by Jackie Mittoo, "Young Generation" by The Heptones, "Run Rudie Run" by Lee Perry & The Gaylads, "Mr Sweet" by The Gladiators, "Lose & Gain" by The Viceroys, "Money Maker" by Im & David, "Let The Light Shine" by The Ethiopians, and "My Heart Is Gone" by John Holt. CD

Some of the hippest early work ever cut by Carmen McRae – with backings by Tadd Dameron and Jimmy Mundy, and a great selection of songs that brings out all the sophistication in Carmen's style, yet stays away from overly-done standards and love numbers. The set's a perfect example of how great Carmen could be in the right setting – and it's filled with great tracks like "All This Could Lead To Love", "I'm Putting All My Eggs In One Basket", "Summer Is Gone", "I Was Doing All Right", and "Even If It Breaks My Heart". CD

A mountain of funk from one of the greatest soul labels of all time! Stax is known round the world over for their soulful work – by singers like Otis Redding or Carla Thomas, and instrumental tunes by Booker T & The MGs – but the label was also quite a funky powerhouse – especially as the 60s drew to a close, and the management of the company got a lot hipper, and a heck of a lot more musically open-minded! This killer batch of tracks features 21 numbers from those days – including many obscure and funky tunes that only ever came out on singles, or which were recorded by artists that never made it as big as Stax stars from earlier years. The result of all that obscurity is an extremely fresh selection of tracks – plenty of down-n-dirty funky 45 numbers, played by hip Memphis combos, and featuring some really deep soul vocals. Titles include "Dark Skin Woman" by Sir Mack Rice, "Ain't No Sin" by John Kasandra, "Bump & Boogie" by The Wrecking Crew, "Shame On The Family Name" by Calvin Scott, "Cool Strut" by Bernie Hayes, "Bump Mean" by Sir Mack Rice, "Soul Machine" by Reggie Milner, "How Can You Mistreat The One You Love" by Katie Love, "Cold Blooded" by The Bar Kays, "Do The Side Saddle" by Rufus Thomas, "Stay Away From That Monkey" by Jimmy McCracklin, "Them Hot Pants" by Lee Sain, "Devil In A Man" by Stu Gardner, "Circuits Overloaded" by Inez Foxx, "From Toys To Boys" by The Emotions, "Got It Together (parts 1 & 2)" by Rudy Robinson & The Hungry Five, and "Crosscut Saw" by Albert King. CD

A massive collection of work by The 4 Tops – featuring a total of 85 songs, 10 previously unreleased, running from early Motown singles, to groundbreaking group material, to some of their overlooked later gems. The package is broken down as follows – Disc 1 1956-1966, Disc 2 1966-1969, Disc 3 1970-1973, Disc 4 1974-1992 – which means that it's very heavily weighted towards the group's earlier work for Motown, but also includes some of their strong sides for ABC. You also get an 84 page booklet with essays and photos and great notes, some rare mixes, and the whole thing's packaged like a hardcover book! Way too many songs to mention – but the selection is great! CD

A killer collection of upbeat soul and dancefloor grooves – and one that goes way way deeper than even the hippest collections of disco rarities! The Tramp label has given us plenty of great funk collections over the years – and with this set, they turn their well-trained ear towards the world of obscure club and disco singles – not just American rarities, but some great gems from around the world – all presented as a completely fresh collection of groove-heavy numbers, most of which are completely new to our ears! The compilation features detailed notes on each selection – which is great, because most are so obscure, we knew nothing about them at all – and titles include "Put The Music In Your Ear" by Cirt Gill & The Jam A Ditty Band, "Love Me" by Mr Maurice, "Dear Wendy" by Dancer, "Lover's Fantasy" by Phoenix, "Medicine Man" by Grayson Street, "The Wrong Side Of Me" by The Fantastic Shakers, "Bump & Run" by Harry Hann, "Meltdown" by Maxwell, "Godzilla" by Mabin Brothers Band, "Can You Feel It" by Gangbusters, "Love Me" by Mr Maurice, "In Orbit" by Ambros Seelos Orchestr, and "Disco Jiver" by Tony Swamy & The Band Of Executives. CD

A fantastic collection that looks at the relationship between American soul and reggae in a very unique way – not the early crossovers of soul and rocksteady in the 60s, but a big wave of disco-inspired sounds in the 70s! The set brings together some great Jamaican and British versions of American club tracks from the late 70s and early 80s, plus some soul cuts from earlier years – often done with rhythms that are slower and more bad-stepping, in a true reggae mode – but with songs and lyrics that are lifted right from bit hits by artists like Chaka Khan, Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, and others! The mix of modes is wonderful – and maybe comes across even better than on some of the Afro disco records of the period – thanks to a great track selection, in the usual Soul Jazz standard. Titles include "I'm Every Woman" by Latisha, "In The Rain" by rRnest Ranglin, "Reggae Beat Goes On" by Family Choice, "Ring My Bell" by Blood Sisters, "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough" by Derrick Laro & Trinity, "Do It Nice & Easy" by Chariot Riders, "Don't Let It Go To Your Head" by Black Harmony, "Upside Down" by Carol Cool, "Love Don't Live Here Anymore" by Sharon Forrester, "Rappers Delight" by Xanadu & Sweet Lady, "Ain't No Stopping Us Now" by Risco Connection, "Am I The Same Girl" by Charmaine Burnette, and "Be Thankful For What You Got" by One Blood. LP, Vinyl record album

One of the coolest collections ever put out by The Numero Group – and that's saying a lot, given the hipness of the label! Downriver Revival chronicles the story of a unique studio in Michigan – Double U Sound, a custom recording spot that captured a wonderful range of soul, funk, gospel, and other sounds from the local community – beautifully presented here in a full CD, plus a bonus DVD that features the near-complete 200 song archive of the studio! The DVD's really unique – so we'll talk about it first: Done with an interactive menu that lets you literally comb through the boxes of tapes in the Double U vault – selecting each reel recorded by the studio, and sampling the rich array of wonderful sounds from this untapped Michigan scene – a huge amount of music, far more than you'd ever find on a CD compilation. The DVD also features a documentary on the studio and Downriver Revial project – and that alone would be worth the price of admission – but the CD then features 24 key numbers pulled from the vaults – tracks that were either issued on rare 45s, or never issued at all – and which represent a wonderful array of soulful sounds that definitely lives up to the Numero standard! Titles include "There's A Light" by Shirley Ann Lee, "Take Care Of Us" by The Revelations, "Untitled Jam" by Bobby Cook & The Explosions, "Foot Stumping (alt)" by Organics, "While You Were Gone" by Combinations, "Heaven" by Deliverance Echoes, "Untitled" by Burgess Band, "Round N Round" by Junior Mays Group, and "Walk With Me" by Calvin Cooke. CD