One of most distinctively gruff, gritty and unabashedly emotional voices in hip hop – a rhyme legend from Yonkers – and this is a really solid retrospective! This Def Jam compilation comes about soon after DMX's return to the label and they take care to put together a representative selection og party anthems and more introspective jams including "Ready To Meet Him", "Where The Hood At", "Get At Me Dog", "Ruff Ryders' Anthem", "What's My Name", "Party Up", "X Gon' Give It To Ya", "How's It Goin' Down", "Slippin'", "Who We Be", "Grand Finale" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most distinctively gruff, gritty and unabashedly emotional voices in hip hop – a rhyme legend from Yonkers – and this is a really solid retrospective! This Def Jam compilation comes about soon after DMX's return to the label and they take care to put together a representative selection of party anthems and more introspective jams including "Ready To Meet Him", "Where The Hood At", "Get At Me Dog", "Ruff Ryders' Anthem", "What's My Name", "Party Up", "X Gon' Give It To Ya", "How's It Goin' Down", "Slippin'", "Who We Be", "Grand Finale" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Beautiful solo work from pianist Abdullah Ibrahim – a player with a sound so rich and rhythmic, his sessions like this are often every bit as captivating as his trio and group recordings! There's a really special sort of poetry going on here – first in the way that Ibrahim brings out these unusual tones in the piano – a warmth that almost feels like a Fender Rhodes at times, even though the instrument is acoustic – secondly in the structure of the tunes, which are sometimes short and very poetic – packing a lot of meaning into just a very short space in sound! To balance that out, the record has many different selections – twenty in all – some older compositions reworked, some less familiar. Titles include "Sotho Blue", "District 6", "Tokai", "Blues For A Hip King", "In Tempo", "Dreamtime", "Nisa", "Mindiff", "Trieste My Love", and "Signal On The Hill". LP, Vinyl record album

Mad funk from the great Galt MacDermot – a wonderful selection of obscure tunes from some of his best funky soundtracks! Galt's work on Hair has been sampled heavily by a variety of hip hop producers over the years – but even better is his work for less famous soundtracks, a good variety of which are sampled here in a wonderfully-done set that focuses on the truly funky tracks that Galt wrote for these films – and which gets past the sometimes-off tracks that can occasionally get in the way of his lesser soundtracks. The package is a total jam throughout – filled with tunes that have weird rhythms, moody keyboards, and the kind of offbeat approach to funk that's always made his work so great. There's only a few tracks from previously reissued soundtracks like Woman Is Sweeter and Cotton Comes To Harlem – plus lots lots more from weirder films that include American Express, Nucleus, Fortune & Men's Eyes, Moon Over The Alley, and Rhinoceros! In true Galt MacDermot funky fashion, there's lots of great drum work on the set from Bernard Purdie – and titles include "Golden Apples", "Coffin Ed", "Dead End", "Fragments II", "Tango", "Ed & Digger", "Duffer", "Bedroom", "Queenie's Theme", "Fortune & Men's Eyes", "Rhinoceros Theme", and "Never Die Desire Not". CD

A very nicely selected 2LP set of tracks from Stitt's oft-overlooked years at Argo/Chess! The tracks have him in great company that includes the pianists Barry Harris, John Young, and Ronnie Matthews – and if you know Stitt's style from the time, you know that his choice of piano player made a very important difference in the sound of his playing. Most of the cuts are easily blown quartet material – with a lot of creative imagination applied to tunes that would otherwise be top-snooze material in the hands of a lesser player. Titles include "Ko Ko", "It's Hipper Than That", "A Natural Fox", "Wee", "Reed & A Half", "Flame & Frost", and "A Minor Sax". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the strangest Randy Weston albums you'll ever see – but a great one too! Here, the great modernist pianist/composer plays selections from the hit musical Destry Rides Again – an unusual choice, but one that he makes all his own thanks to some really inventive touches. Randy's working here with his trio (Elvin Jones on drums and Peck Morrison on bass), plus a 4 trombone lineup that includes Melba Liston, Frank Rehak, Slide Hampton, and Bennie Green (all hip players in their own right!) Liston handles the arrangements, as with many other Weston sessions – and the tracks have a strangely off-kilter sound that actually makes the hokey material sound pretty darn great! Weston's playing is especially nice, and the strange tones that issue from the keyboard are certainly not the stuff that Harold Rome imagined when composing this score – although his notes on the back seem to indicate his favorable acceptance of the material. Titles include "We're Ladies", "I Say Hello", "Once Knew A Fella", and "That Ring On The Finger". LP, Vinyl record album

A mighty tribute to the Golden Torch – a club that helped usher in the second generation of Northern Soul in the UK scene – and a real hotbed of musical activity that helped bridge soul modes of the 60s and 70s! As with the previous volume, the tracks here are all selected not only for their importance to the club, but also for their wonderful quality overall – the kind of rare soul gems that really set fire to UK dancers back in the day, but which are still the kind of tracks that delight our ears again and again over the years! The package features a whopping 25 tracks in all, many reissued officially here for the first time ever – all with excellent sound. Titles include "They Say" by The Ovations, "Earthquake" by Bobby Lynn, "Blowing Up My Mind" by The Exciters, "I'm Coming To Your Rescue" by The Triumphs, "Investigate" by Major Lance, "Unsatisfied" by Lou Johnson, "Stay" by The Virginia Wolves, "Honest To Goodness" by Herb Ward, "I Worship You Baby" by The Glories, "He Who Picks A Rose" by The Carstairs, "Walk Like A Man" by Johnny Moore, "Stop" by The Lorelei, "KJEE" by The Nite-Liters, and "Hold On To My Baby" by The Cavaliers. CD

The Vietnam war was tough on most folks in the US – but it's no secret that it was especially tough on black Americans – who were often given little choice and little chance to get out of the callup to the military action – which left a huge impression on their community for years to come! This package documents the affect of Vietnam in soul music – in ways that are both direct and more subtle, as the package blends together a number of tracks that you likely don't know at all, and others that you might have missed as being critical of the war – as there's more subtle messaging going on, a lesson that was learned during the Civil Rights era, when a mellower lyric might get more mainstream circulation – as a call to action that a change was going to come. The quality of cuts here is wonderful – as well-selected as some of the Ace/Kent collections of rare soul music on small labels – and there's definitely a few here that we're hearing for the first time, alongside other numbers that really sound great in the setting. Titles include "Fighting For My Baby" by Donald Jenkins, "Lonely Soldier" by William Bell, "Letter To A Buddie" by Joe Medwick, "I Want To Come Home For Christmas" by Marvin Gaye, "My Ship Is Coming In Tomorrow" by The Pace Setters, "Johnny" by King Hannibal, "Going On Strike" by The Emotions, "Uncle Sam" by Jimmy Hughes, "My Soldier Boy Is Coming Home" by The Shirelles, "Glad To Be Home" by Charles Smith & Jeff Cooper, "The War Is Over My Brother" by The Sensational Saints, "Home To Stay" by RB Greaves, "Stop The War" by The Impressions, "Wish You Were Here With Me" by The Fawns, "VC Blues" by Allen Orange, "Promise That You'll Wait" by Michael Lizzmore, "Men Are Getting Scarce" by Chairmen Of The Board, and "Leave Him Alone" by Stu Gardner. CD

Fantastic sounds for fans of funk and rock alike – music from the freaky, fuzzy 70s scene in Zambia – a place where styles effortlessly criss-crossed to really produce something new and unique! The work here is often heavy on fuzz guitars, but also has some wickedly soulful basslines and drums – so that although the tunes can be psych-styled, they're also pretty darn funky too – often at a level that's a bit like the Nigerian Afro Funk of the time, but much grittier and more righteous! The quality of the music and scene is explored in depth in the package – which includes a very detailed booklet of notes and photos – all to support the selection of music, which may well be the hippest so far from the Now Again label – and that's really saying a lot, if you know their other titles! Tracks include "Funky Lady" by Teddy Chisi, "Fast" by Salty Dog, "Rain & Sunshine" by Crossbones, "I Don't Know" by Born Free, "Fwe Bena Zambia" by Five Revolutions, "Who's That Guy" by Ricky Banda, "Changa Namwele" by Machine Gunners, "Poverty" by Cosmos Zani, "Dzikolino Ni Zambia" by Keith Mlevhu, "Running" by Blackfoot, and "Everyday Has Got A New Dream" by Dr Footswitch. CD

A totally great collection of grooves with a real range of material – nearly all fresh to our ears, and the kind of record that really makes us sit up and take notice! The set's got a loose approach to the selections – in that it features tracks from American and European sources, and easily blends together tunes from soul, jazz, funk, and easy records – but that's what makes it so great, and so fresh, as the tracks stand wonderfully back to back, sounding like a hip club night at some far-away place, the kind of all-great set that has you keep getting out of your chair, walking up to the DJ, and saying "Sorry to bother you again, but what's that track you're playing?" Titles include "Creative Musicians" by Lyman Woodard, "Stop" by Lonette, "Shabazz" by Rhoda Scott, "Don't Boom Boom" by Lillian Hale, "The Barracuda" by Leonard King & The Soul Messengers, "Questions (parts 1 & 2)" by Pat Stalworth, "Concentrate" by Willie Tee, "Mabusso" by Orchester Ambros Seelos, "Jumping" by Charlie Antolini, and "Highway 101" by John Barry. LP, Vinyl record album

A masterful mix set from the Scratch Perverts – working with the essences of a deep selection far reaching material – from gritty underground hip hop, to furiously bumping electro funk, cosmic club grooves, deep dubby cuts, and loads of all around trippy beatcraft ! A hazy, darkness tinged but still hard grooving set for the folks at Fabric – a 65 minute mix of 37 tracks, which includes "Do It" by Joker, "Grit Your Teeth" by Kutz, "Roberta Flack" (Martyn's Heartbeat mix) by Flying Lotus, "The Dance" by Zombie Dance Squad", "Baltic Pine" by Boy 8 Bit", "Astec" by Spor, "Paint It Black" by Sigma, "Credit Crunch VIP" by The Others, "Aggay Face" by Skream, "Hey" by Diplo & Laidback and lots more. CD

A way way deeper set than the first volume of Bay Area Funk – and a collection that shows that things got pretty heavy on the San Francisco and Oakland scenes of the 70s! A good number of the tracks here are instrumental, and show some wonderful interplay between the trippier sides of funky jazz and the harder sides of soul going on in the Bay Area back in the day – killer music from the fringes that often got lost in the shuffle of all the better-known music coming out on the bigger labels! The work here is all from very tiny labels – expertly selected and all officially cleared by the Luv N Haight team with keen respect for the artists involved – and in a way, the package has set a new high standard for the label! A tremendous discovery, and filled with tracks we'd never heard before – titles that include "Stop Look Listen" by Primevil, "Poor Sad Child (part 1)" by The Windjammers, "Born To Live With Heartache" by Mary Love, "Move In The Room" by Dawn & Sunset, "Ebony" by Project Soul, "Acid Lady" by San Francisco TKOs, "Hip Breakin" by Little Denise Stevenson, "Devil's On The Run" by Uptights Band, "Brute Strength" by Mile Selesia, and "Lenient With My Love" by The Relatives. CD

Discomix versions of stellar late 70s and early 80s selections from Joe Gibbs & Errol Thompson– giving the extended mix treatment to some stellar singles by a number of great vocalists and augmented by the top notch players! The approach essentially pairs up jams for an extended mix – running 6 to 8 minutes each – and the musician ship is incredible! Players including Sly Dunbar, Lloyd Parks, Ossie Hibbert, Tommy McCook and others. Volume 2 includes "Tribal War/Jah Did It" by George Nooks & Prince Weedy, "Rope In/Love In A Jamdown" by Cornell Campbell & Lui Lepkie, "When I Think Of You" by Ruddy Thomas, "Naggo Morris" by Jah Guide, "Innocent Blood/Rock It Up" by Culture & U-Brown, "Good To Be There/Jah A The Magician" by Chalice & Puddy Roots and more. CD

A glittering constellation of groundbreaking jazz from the contemporary UK scene – a world of jazz that's changed dramatically over the past decade or so, with huge new advances in sound and styles in a range of different directions! The changes going on are a bit like some of those that have taken place in our city too – musicians who embrace jazz ideals at the core, but who are also open to so many musical modes that have developed in recent decades – so that the core performance is often blended with production elements, editing, and other touches – all in a way that has the music strongly reborn for a whole new generation! If you're worried about tricks or gimmicks that might get in the way of the music, don't be – because the depth of soul and sense of spirit on these tracks is wonderful – as you might know if you've been digging releases from some of these artists in our racks of late. And as usual, Soul Jazz have done a superb job – both with song selection and overall presentation – making the whole thing a complete delight! Titles include "Candace Of Meroe" by Theon Cross, "Pokus One" by Pokus, "Walrus" by Emma-Jean Thackray, "90 Degrees" by Yazmin Lacey, "Communication Control" by Hector Plimmer, "Long Way Home (live at the Crypt)" by Ill Considered, "Ancient World" by Nat Birchall, "Moonlight Woman" by Ruby Rushton, "Thunder Perfect" by Cromagnon Band, "Tanner's Tango" by Joe Armon Jones & Maxwell Owin, "Odyssey" by Levitation Orchestra, "Mosaic" by The Expansions, "When The World Was One" by Matthew Halsall, "Dimmsdale" by Ebi Soda, "Red Planet" by Chip Wickham, "Kito's Theme" by Ishmael Ensemble, "Yellow Ochre (part 1)" by Vels Trio, and "Mirrors" by Seed Ensemble. LP, Vinyl record album

Classic vocal group material from the 70s – a great little set that serves up the music in many different ways – mixing funky cuts with mellow moments, and interspersing some catchy numbers in between! The range of tracks here is fantastic – way more than a standard selection of this nature – as the work is from a number of different labels and a number of different scenes – a well-chosen array that really fits well together! Titles include "It's You Girl" by Universal Love, "That's Why" by Natural High, "Dancing To Your Music" by Archie Bell & The Drells, "Something New About You" by Silent Majority, "Just Realized" by Reflection, "Oops It Just Slipped Out" by The Courtship, "Satisfactorize Your Mind" by Africano, "I'm No Better Than You" by The Fiestas, "She Calls Me Baby" by J Kelly & The Premiers, "You Only Get Out Of Love" by The Lost Generation, "Hey Pearl" by Prime Cut, "I'm A Scorpio" by Imported Moods, "Let Me In Your Heart" by Rising Sun, and "You Knock Me Out" by Wildflower. CD

The Vietnam war was tough on most folks in the US – but it's no secret that it was especially tough on black Americans – who were often given little choice and little chance to get out of the callup to the military action – which left a huge impression on their community for years to come! This package documents the affect of Vietnam in soul music – in ways that are both direct and more subtle, as the package blends together a number of tracks that you likely don't know at all, and others that you might have missed as being critical of the war – as there's more subtle messaging going on, a lesson that was learned during the Civil Rights era, when a mellower lyric might get more mainstream circulation – as a call to action that a change was going to come. The quality of cuts here is wonderful – as well-selected as some of the Ace/Kent collections of rare soul music on small labels – and there's definitely a few here that we're hearing for the first time, alongside other numbers that really sound great in the setting. Titles include "Fighting For My Baby" by Donald Jenkins, "Lonely Soldier" by William Bell, "Letter To A Buddie" by Joe Medwick, "I Want To Come Home For Christmas" by Marvin Gaye, "My Ship Is Coming In Tomorrow" by The Pace Setters, "Johnny" by King Hannibal, "Going On Strike" by The Emotions, "Uncle Sam" by Jimmy Hughes, "My Soldier Boy Is Coming Home" by The Shirelles, "Glad To Be Home" by Charles Smith & Jeff Cooper, "The War Is Over My Brother" by The Sensational Saints, "Home To Stay" by RB Greaves, "Stop The War" by The Impressions, "Wish You Were Here With Me" by The Fawns, "VC Blues" by Allen Orange, "Promise That You'll Wait" by Michael Lizzmore, "Men Are Getting Scarce" by Chairmen Of The Board, and "Leave Him Alone" by Stu Gardner. CD

Way more than just a typical collection of rare funk and soul – as the selections here not only meet the stunningly high standards of the BGP label – but they've also been sampled in more recent years for hip hop records and other contemporary recordings! Essentially, you've got the best of both worlds – vintage funk from the late 60s and early 70s – brought together in a great collection – and work that's gone onto form the blueprint for contemporary urban sounds as well – which means you'll probably recognize some or part of most of these songs from their use in more contemporary recordings. Nearly every cut's been sampled at least more than once – and titles include "Blind Alley" by The Emotions, "Chick A Boom" by Pazant Brothers, "Eva" by Jean Jacques Perry, "Walk Tall" by Cannonball Adderley, "Baby Let Me Take You In My Arms" by Detroit Emeralds, "Bouncy Lady" by Pleasure, "Tramp" by Lowell Fulson, "Take Yo Praise" by Camille Yarbrough, "Thinking Single" by The Counts, "Different Strokes" by Syl Johnson, "Ike's Mood" by Isaac Hayes, "What A Man" by Linda Lynell, and "Smokey Joe's La La" by Googie Rene. Funky funky! LP, Vinyl record album

Great sounds from some of our favorite years of the British scene – those moments right after punk first exploded, and a generation of young English artists took off in so many different musical directions! The era's been labeled as post-punk, but what makes it really unique is that the label hardly does the music justice – as the time had such a rich array of sounds and styles, it would be impossible to sum of the vibe in just a few short words! There's definitely some punk elements in the music, but there's also electronic moments, sweeter songs, noisy bits, compressed prog inspirations, and even some occasional witty elements – with songwriting that's really stood the test of time over the years. There have been other collections of post-punk work over the years, but we've never seen a package like this – as the 5CD set features 111 tracks in all, packaged inside a book-style cover that's overflowing with notes and images – all with a track selection that includes lots of lost gems. In other words, even if you're like us, and already love this period, you'll still find plenty of greatness here – as the whole thing's balanced well enough to please both newcomers and longtime collectors. Includes work by Dif Juz, Glaxo Babies, The Homosexuals, Ultravox, Swell Maps, Clock DVD, Maximum Joy, Section 25, The Cravats, Native Hipsters, Josef K, Art Objects, The Passions, Big In Japan, Fischer-Z, Family Fodder, Girls At Our Best, Ludus, Boots For Dancing, In Camera, The Disco Zombies, Medium Medium, Alternative TV, The Nightingales, My Captains, Five Or Six, Steve Diggle, Dance Chapter, Fire Engines, Spoon Fazer, and many others! CD

One of the great groups of the Detroit soul scene at the end of the 60s – but an act who never got the full fame of contemporaries like The Four Tops or Temptations! That didn't stop the Detroit Emeralds from being a hell of a vocal act, though – as they've got a mixture of tight harmonies and raw soul that's completely wonderful – and which finally gets full exposure here in a well-done selection of all their singles for the Westbound label! The imprint might be best known as the home for trippy soul by Funkadelic and Ohio Players – yet during the same classic stretch, Westbound also handled this hip Detroit trio to perfection – taking their 60s-schooled harmonies, and giving them a more sophisticated spin for the 70s – really letting the vocals take off as the group demonstrates their Dells-like power, and moving the arrangements of the tunes past overdone Motown styles of the decade before. The result is some of the hippest harmony soul you'll ever hope to hear – all presented here with the wonderfully deep Ace/Kent Records presentation – with 23 tracks that include "If I Lose Your Love", "Things Are Looking Up", "Lee", "Wear This Ring With Love", "Feel The Need In Me", "Whatcha Gonna Wear Tomorrow", "I Think Of You", "Rosetta Stone", "Set It Out", "Til You Decide To Come Home", "I'll Never Sail The Sea Again", "There's Love For Me Somewhere", "You're Gettin A Little Too Smart", and their classic "Baby Let Me Take You In My Arms". CD

Beautiful solo work from pianist Abdullah Ibrahim – a player with a sound so rich and rhythmic, his sessions like this are often every bit as captivating as his trio and group recordings! There's a really special sort of poetry going on here – first in the way that Ibrahim brings out these unusual tones in the piano – a warmth that almost feels like a Fender Rhodes at times, even though the instrument is acoustic – secondly in the structure of the tunes, which are sometimes short and very poetic – packing a lot of meaning into just a very short space in sound! To balance that out, the record has many different selections – twenty in all – some older compositions reworked, some less familiar. Titles include "Sotho Blue", "District 6", "Tokai", "Blues For A Hip King", "In Tempo", "Dreamtime", "Nisa", "Mindiff", "Trieste My Love", and "Signal On The Hill". CD

Wonderful work from one of our favorite singers of all time – an artist with roots in jazz, but one who quickly stepped out into something else entirely – as you'll hear on this beautiful selection of tunes! Karin Krog's been a key figure in the Norwegian jazz scene since the start of the 60s, but she's hardly ever gotten any global exposure (although we've always tried to stock her music whenever we can) – and she's got a sound that's really mindbending, and far-reaching – every bit as powerful and soulful as some of the new generation of jazz singers who worked in the US scene of the 70s – like Dee Dee Bridgewater, Flora Purim, or Ursula Dudziak – but with a sound that's maybe even more revolutionary than all three put together! Karin uses her voice like an instrument, but still pays very careful attention to the words as well – which is crucial, since her lyrics are often her own, or penned by hip collaborators like Steve Kuhn and John Surman. The result is something that's hardly jazz at all – but instead this really cosmic, forward-thinking approach that may well be the 70s equivalent in vocals to Herbie Hancock's work on the keys. No surprise, Karin turns in a wonderful version of "Maiden Voyage" here – and shines on other tunes that include "A Love Supreme", "Just holding On", "Don't Just Sing", "Glissando", "Break Of Day In Molde", "We Could Be Flying", "Raindrops Raindrops", "Lazy Afternoon", and "All I Want". CD also features two never-issued songs – "Images In Glass" and "Tystnaden" – and musicians include John Surman and Dexter Gordon too! CD

Fantastic sounds for fans of funk and rock alike – music from the freaky, fuzzy 70s scene in Zambia – a place where styles effortlessly criss-crossed to really produce something new and unique! The work here is often heavy on fuzz guitars, but also has some wickedly soulful basslines and drums – so that although the tunes can be psych-styled, they're also pretty darn funky too – often at a level that's a bit like the Nigerian Afro Funk of the time, but much grittier and more righteous! The quality of the music and scene is explored in depth in the package – which includes a very detailed booklet of notes and photos – all to support the selection of music, which may well be the hippest so far from the Now Again label – and that's really saying a lot, if you know their other titles! Titles on volume 2 include "Really" by Crossbones, "History Of Man" by Amanaz, "Poor Man" by Five Revolutions, "Hold On" by Ngozi Family, "Katonga" by Musi-O-Tunya, "Request To God" by Oscillations, "Mpundu" by Tinkles, "Otenta" by Dr Footswitch, "Mad Man" by Born Free, "SM" by Mike Nyoni, "Hot Do" by Jesper Siliya Lungu, "I'm Not Made Of Iron" by Chrissy Zebby Tembo, "Umbwalwa Ne Chamba" by Peace, "Umwana Wakusanga Mung'Anda" by Fire Balls, and "See The Storm" by Salty Dog. CD