The title proclaims "highlife is back" – but it's also pretty darn funky here, thanks to a strong dose of influence from American soul music! In fact, the highlife quality is a bit more subdued than usual – still some great guitar lines, criss-crossing in nice ways – but the rhythms often bring in clubbier elements, with basslines that bump along the bottom and really keep the tunes moving! The sound is still nice and raw – the group's a relatively small combo – and producer Frimpong Manso gives the whole thing a vibe that's maybe more late 70s overall, save for a few digital touches – especially in comparison to other West African work of the time. Titles include "Ma No Nye Ansa", "Sesa Wosuban", "Asem Da Ye So", "Boafo Ne Nyame", and "Odo Koo Ye Akye". LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic guitar work from K Frimpong – and plenty of other fantastic sounds too – all rolled up in his unique blend of Afro funk and high-life – served up here on four nice long tracks! There's vocals on the record, but the guitar and rhythms are what really drive the train – especially in some places as the vocals almost feel like exclamatory passages in response to the sharpness of the instrumentation! Things move pretty darn quickly on most cuts – which makes the guitar work even more amazing, especially in comparison to conventional highlife – on titles that include "Abrubo", "Acheumpomaa", "Ohere A Oda Apakaw Mu", and "Aboagyewaa". LP, Vinyl record album

The sublime first album from K Frimpong – a really unique blend of hi-life and Afro Funk, but served up with all these unusual touches that make the album stand out from even most of the rest of the revolutionary sounds that were coming from Ghana at the time! There's this sense of flow that has each side of the record moving with non-stop energy – and an approach to rhythm that's almost as if the whole thing was moving forward like water – a tide of bass, percussion, riffing guitar, and organ – bubbling, dipping, and chugging in a way that seems completely effortless – while Frimpong urges the group on with his well-inflected vocals and lead guitar! Titles include "Nana Bue Me", "Mofofoo", "Komofo Adu", "Otwie", "Osaw", "M"Anoma", "Moma Yen Sore", and "Susuansu". LP, Vinyl record album

An amazing rare chapter in the career of the legendary Manu Dibango – and a darn funky one as well! This early 70s album was recorded in Paris, right before Manu's huge global "Soul Makossa" hit – and although it was done as an obscure sound library release, it really shows Dibango jumping into all the best funky modes that would soon make him a giant! In face, the whole thing might well be Manu's funkiest record ever – as the tracks have no vocals, and are tight and right on the money – with plenty of heavy drums and massive basslines – plus instrumentation from a very cool lineup of French jazz players that includes Yvan Julien on trumpet and Francois Jenneau on tenor. Manu himself blows lots of funky flute and sax solos – and also plays vibes, piano, and organ – on very groovy instrumentals that include "Iron Wood", "Coconut", "Zoom 2000", "Aphrodite Shake", "Soul Saxes Meeting", "Out Of Score", "Ba-Kuba", and "Groovy Flute". LP, Vinyl record album

Surprisingly great work from an artist who was very young at the time – Paris-born Francis Mbarga, who cut this Afro groove classic when he was only 7 years old! Despite that age, though, the sound is very fully-formed – thanks to tight studio backing from a combo of sharp guitar, bubbling bass, and snapping drums – all of whom flesh out Francis' music ideas, while he calls along with the lyrics! "Ravissante Baby" takes up all of side one – and side two features the even groovier "Look Up In The Sky", which has some English lyrics, a funky groove, and a weird offbeat vibe that we might place somewhere in the territory of William Onyebar for complete uniqueness! LP, Vinyl record album

An insane bit of fuzzed-out funk! This is Parliament's rare first album – a trippy batch of tunes that come off of Clinton's experimentation in the Detroit soul scene, infused by the rock-heavy energy of the city at the time – and probably a heck of a lot of cannabis, too! The record is quite different than the slick funky sound of the group's later work for Casablanca – and has the psychedelic funk sound of the early work of Funkadelic, which was also recorded during the same period. The album's filled with funky classics – including "I Call My Baby Pussycat", "Little Ole Country Boy", "My Automobile", "Funky Woman", and "Nothing Before Me But Thang". CD features loads of bonus tracks too – 7 more numbers that include "Red Hot Mama", "Come In Out Of The Rain", "Unfinished Instrumental", "Loose Booty", "Breakdown (mono)", "Fantasy Is Reality", and "Breakdown (stereo unedited version)". CD

A super huge hit for Donna Summer – a disco classic as well as a pop crossover smash! The album was produced by disco powerhouse Giorgio Moroder, and featured the hits "Hot Stuff", "Bad Girls", and "Dim All The Lights". Plus the songs "On My Honor", "Our Love", "Lucky", "There Will Always Be A You", "Sunset People", and lots more! LP, Vinyl record album

Load sof early classics – "Last Dance", "I Feel Love", "On The Radio", "Hot Stuff", "MacArthur Park", and "Bad Girls". LP, Vinyl record album

A classic from the electro maestro – arguably the greatest American album from Giorgio Moroder! The set's got a great mix of disco and electronics that was years ahead of its time – and is surprisingly fresh and edgey, despite Moroder's fame over the years. Electronics are really at the core of all the tunes – bubbling, dipping, crackling around the groove – with only slight additional disco touches – and an overall sound that leans much more closely towards Kraftwerk than it does other work on the Casablanca label at the time. And we're really not fooling about this one – because it's got a raw electro vibe that still holds up beautifully, and which is more and more of a delight the farther we get from the 70s. Titles include "From Here To Eternity", "Lost Angeles", "Faster Than The Speed Of Love", "First Hand Experience In Second Hand Love", "I'm Left You're Right She's Gone", and "Too Hot To Handle". LP, Vinyl record album

Ahh, the dancefloor soul perfection of the beautiful Donna Summer – and classic late 70s production by Giorgio Morodor and Pete Bellotte – songs that are played often, even to this day, but will never be played out! Was this the one that coined the phrase "shipped gold, returned platinum?" We can't remember, but whatever the case, it's one of those sets that used to be ubiquitous, but which now we can hardly ever find in good shape! Includes shorter mixes of "Love To Love You Baby" and "I Feel Love" – plus the hits for the album "On The Radio" and "Enough Is Enough". Other cuts include "Last Dance", "Hot Stuff", "Bad Girls", and a shortened version of "MacArthur Park". LP, Vinyl record album

Brooklyn Dreams recorded in Munich and LA, but the album's got a surprisingly soulful club feel that almost matches its New York reference! Teutonic disco maestro Thor Baldursson handled the arrangements on the record, and we were a bit suspicious about it at first – but apart from a few colder electric keyboard parts, the main groove here focuses on the vocals of the male trio – and they trade leads and harmonize in a way that's clearly inspired by lots of east coast groups from earlier years. Titles include "Hot Lovin", "Too Much For The Lady", "Take Me Back", "Your Love's So Good To Me", "Love Love's Desire", and "One & Only". LP, Vinyl record album