An overlooked gem from the years when most of the rest of the world had forgotten about the JBs – but Fred Wesley and the group were still going strong! The set's a great meeting of two funky generations – the classic James Brown funk of the late 60s and early 70s, and some of the revival modes that sprung up on the London scene at the end of the 80s – heard to best effect here in the way the album was recorded – with core horns from Wesley on trombone, Maceo Parker on alto sax, and Pee Wee Ellis on tenor – plus added London grooves in a real Brand New Heavies mode! The groove is nice and hard, and the album's way more of a classic-styled funk outing than most of the other JBs-revival titles from the same stretch – thanks to rock-solid production from the Soulciety family too. Noel McKoy, Jay Ella Ruth, and other Brit funk talents help out on the set – and titles include "What Goes Around", "Chillin With Fred", "Picture On The Wall", "Homeboy", "Push", and "I Like It Like That". CD

An overlooked gem from the years when most of the rest of the world had forgotten about the JBs – but Fred Wesley and the group were still going strong! The set's a great meeting of two funky generations – the classic James Brown funk of the late 60s and early 70s, and some of the revival modes that sprung up on the London scene at the end of the 80s – heard to best effect here in the way the album was recorded – with core horns from Wesley on trombone, Maceo Parker on alto sax, and Pee Wee Ellis on tenor – plus added London grooves in a real Brand New Heavies mode! The groove is nice and hard, and the album's way more of a classic-styled funk outing than most of the other JBs-revival titles from the same stretch – thanks to rock-solid production from the Soulciety family too. Noel McKoy, Jay Ella Ruth, and other Brit funk talents help out on the set – and titles include "What Goes Around", "Chillin With Fred", "Picture On The Wall", "Homeboy", "Push", and "I Like It Like That". CD

Music by Bill Black's Combo, Ace Cannon, Murry Kellum, Willie Mitchell, Gene Simmons, Charlie Rich, Jerry Jaye, Ann Peebles, Al Green, George Jackson, Otis Clay, Quiet Elegance, Syl Johnson, Phillip Mitchell, Jean Plum, and OV Wright – 24 tracks total. CD

Nice Philly work by the O'Jays – one of their key "second period" albums, and a lost little gem filled with great harmony soul tracks. The political agenda of early 70s Philly albums is mostly gone, and the group's returned to themes of love and romance – often done in a strident uptempo groove, but sounding best on the mellower numbers. Titles include "We're All In This Thing Together", "Let's Spend Some Time Together", "Work ON Me", and "So Glad I Got You Girl". LP, Vinyl record album

The classic batch of instrumentals from J Dilla – one that strongly transcends the hip hop genre – and perhaps his rawest, and most adventurous listening experience ever! The loopy soul samples, rich synth/electro shine, and thumping bass and soul beats that Dilla largely made his name on are laced throughout, but he also takes things a step into stranger territory – with spacey elements that buzz as much as they groove! The cuts are never less than soulful and funky, and never really steps into his peer Madlib's brand of the weeded out style, either. We love how raw this all feels, too! It's easily identifiable as the work of Jay Dee, but at the same time, wholly unpredictable! One of the best releases that Stone's Throw ever released – instrumental or vocal! Includes "Donuts (Intro & Outro)", "Workinonit", "Waves", "Light It", "People", "Mash", "Airworks", "Lightworks", "Stepson Of The Clapper", "One Eleven", "Don't Cry", "Geek Down", "Thunder", "Gobstopper", "Walkinonit", "U-Love", "Last Donut Of The Night" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Excellent early recordings from the team of JJ Johnson and Kai Winding – the kind of sides that always remind us how great their twin trombone work could be! The album's lacking the cliches of later albums, and presents both players at their best – soulful and stripped down, grooving in a few different groups – with players who include Billy Bauer on guitar, Leo Parker on baritone, and Charles Mingus on bass. The album also features a solo track by each – and titles include "Coop", "The Major", "Lament", "Bernie's Tune", and "Blues For Trombones". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the last albums from the legendary Philly International run by the O'Jays – recorded in a style that clearly shows influences from the 80s modes of the time, but which also still lets the group sparkle nicely on trademark harmonies! Even though Love Fever starts out a bit clunky – with a few cuts that have those 80s drums that bang at the bottom a bit too much, and almost obscure the vocals– as the set moves on, the voices really dominate, and start to shine on a nice batch of lesser-known later numbers. Titles include "Can't Slow Down", "Dollar Bill", "All Eyes On Africa", "We're Still Together", "What A Woman", "Love Fever", "What Good Are These Arms Of Mine", and "I Wanna Be With You Tonight". LP, Vinyl record album

Early Columbia work from the team of JJ Johnson and Kai Winding – recorded in their classic twin-trombone groove! Winding arranged the tracks on the set – and the group features Dick Katz on piano, Milton Hinton on bass, and "Shadow" Wilson on drums – plus some bonus congas by Candido on the excellent "Caribe". The other songs are "You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To", "Happiness Is A Thing Called Joe", "The Song Is You", "In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning". LP, Vinyl record album

A great example of why Little Milton was always one of the few Chicago blues artists who could also break strongly in the soul camp at the time – and a beautifully balanced set that perfectly shows both sides of the Chicago scene of the time! Production is by old Vee Jay maestro Calvin Carter, and arrangements by Gene Barge, who manages to slide effortlessly between blues and soul on the set – almost pushing Milton into Tyrone Davis territory, but keeping things a bit more rougher and down home on some of the other numbers. The sound is wonderful – very deep and rich, and with a sound that's head and shoulders above most other albums of this type in the late 60s. Titles include "Baby I Love You", "If Walls Could Talk", "Things That I Used to Do", "Let's Get Together", "I Play Dirty", "Blues Get Off My Shoulder", "I Don't Know", and "Poor Man". LP, Vinyl record album

Slum Village's legendary Fantastic Vol 1 – one of the most sought-after hip hop albums of the era – with the most rugged-and-raw Jay Dee production on record! Honestly, we're left pretty close to speechless by how tightly these tracks hold up. This is indeed the template for so many great Dilla productions to come, but it's much more than merely that. While the MCs may not spin the most revolutionary rhymes in the world, the way the mics so deftly fill the deceptively spare production is nothing short of masterful. To put it another way, this genuinely lives up to the legend. This is the long version with 24 in all: "Keep It On (This Beat)","Forth & Back","Beej N Dem", "Hoc N Pucky", "Give This N***a", "Players", "I Don't Know", "Look Of Love (Rmx)", "2 You 4 You", "How We BullS**t", "Estimate" and more. CD

Some of the greatest work ever from The Staple Singers – early gospel recordings for Vee Jay Records, mostly recorded in a spare vocal group mode that's greatly different from their later fame at Stax! The style here is quite traditional and earthy – near-acapella vocals often just supported by a bit of guitar to underscore some of the bluesier elements of the tunes. The approach is great, and perfectly recorded – in a way that's still gospel, but which shows plenty of early soul leanings too – a style that's different than most of the group's contemporaries, and which certainly hints at their later direction. LP, Vinyl record album

One of our favorite-ever albums on Prestige Records from the 60s – and a set that's a fair bit different than most of the other work on the label! The set's an unusual outing for saxophonist George Braith – cut after his famous albums for Blue Note, and in a mode that's quite different – very far-reaching, and almost spiritual at points – with the blend of jazz and other modes that you might find on the Cadet/Concept sessions in late 60s Chicago! Braith plays a wide assortment of saxes – c-melody, alto and soprano – but his playing here is a bit different than the Roland Kirk-like vibe of before – sometimes more stretched-out and exploratory, in a Nathan Davis sort of vibe – sometimes wrapped up in some larger explorations from the whole group. There's moments of raw percussion with echoey production, others with wordless vocals floating alongside the lead soloist, and still others that have that catchy blend of soul jazz and exoticism you'd find in the music of Eddie Harris or Yusef Lateef – even though Braith here is completely his own artist too! The set features Jane Getz on piano, Jay Carter and Eddie Diehl on guitar, and Ben Dixon on drums – but there's also a lot of percussion, both Latin and otherwise, from a shifting lineup of players. The whole thing's wonderful – and titles include "Del's Theme", "Musart", "Evelyn Anita", "Our Blessing", "Laura", and "Splashes Of Love". LP, Vinyl record album

Teddy Pendergrass and crew get a bit more political than on earlier releases, and adopt the righteous bubbling soul groove that had put the O'Jays over the top a few years earlier – with incredible results! The title cut – "Wake Up Everybody" – would prove to be a great example of the political Philly International hit formula applied to socially conscious themes, but the record probably scored even bigger with the club crossover hit "Don't Leave Me This Way". Other tracks include "Keep On Lovin You", "Tell The World How I Feel About Cha Baby", "I'm Searching For A Love", and "You Know How To Make Me Feel So Good" – the latter two of which also feature female vocals by Sharon Paige. Bobby Martin, Norman Harris, and Ronnie Baker did the arrangements – and this was Teddy's last LP with the group. This edition includes the bonus track "Don't Leave Me This Way (Tom Moulton Mix)". CD

Great early stuff from Paul Winter – a player who's certainly done some terrible stuff over the years, but who really sounded great in his younger days! Winter was a hip young player coming out of Northwestern U in Chicago, and he had a well-educated, slightly-modern approach to jazz that was still supported by a lot of straight soulful playing. Here, Winter's working with a great group – his sextet that included Jay Cameron on baritone, Dick Whitsell on trumpet, Chuck Israels on bass, and Ben Riley on drums. The set list includes some very hip numbers like "The Sherrif" by Gil Melle, "All Members" by Jimmy Heath, and "With Malice Towards None", "Cupbearers", and "Ally" written by Tom McIntosh. LP, Vinyl record album

With Cecil Brooks III on drums. CD