A great look at the lesser-known side of the Harlem soul empire of producer Bobby Robinson – best known for his work on the Fire and Fury labels, but also heard here on a host of rare singles for Enjoy, Vest, and other smaller imprints! There's plenty of records here that mark Robinson as having a key ear for funk way before most other talents on the scene – and there's plenty of tracks here that take conventional soul artists and set them up in a nicely gritty mode – perfect for the format of a 45rpm 7" single – especially on some of the cuts here that spill out over both sides of the wax! The set features 28 tracks in all – many of which we've not seen on other collections – and titles include "Baby Baby I Love You" by The Hootenaires, "Ain't Nobody's Business" by Mary B, "Don't Make Me Cry" by Ti Mattison, "Count The Tears" by Jimmy Armstrong, "Memphis" by The Dan Dees, "My Darkest Hour" by Titus Turner, "Talk To Me Baby" by Joe Haywood, "Soul Express (parts 1 & 2)" by The Ramrods, "Hot Potato (parts 1 & 2)" by The Rinkydinks, "The Squeeze (parts 1 & 2)" by Horace Coopoer & Band, "Bank Of Love" by Janet Calloway, "Just A Little Bit Of True Love" by Betty Boothe, "What Ya Gonna Do" by Noble Watts & June Bateman, and "Dig Yourself" by Les Cooper & The Soul Rockers. CD

A great look at the lesser-known side of the Harlem soul empire of producer Bobby Robinson – best known for his work on the Fire and Fury labels, but also heard here on a host of rare singles for Enjoy, Vest, and other smaller imprints! There's plenty of records here that mark Robinson as having a key ear for funk way before most other talents on the scene – and there's plenty of tracks here that take conventional soul artists and set them up in a nicely gritty mode – perfect for the format of a 45rpm 7" single – especially on some of the cuts here that spill out over both sides of the wax! The set features 28 tracks in all – many of which we've not seen on other collections – and titles include "Baby Baby I Love You" by The Hootenaires, "Ain't Nobody's Business" by Mary B, "Don't Make Me Cry" by Ti Mattison, "Count The Tears" by Jimmy Armstrong, "Memphis" by The Dan Dees, "My Darkest Hour" by Titus Turner, "Talk To Me Baby" by Joe Haywood, "Soul Express (parts 1 & 2)" by The Ramrods, "Hot Potato (parts 1 & 2)" by The Rinkydinks, "The Squeeze (parts 1 & 2)" by Horace Coopoer & Band, "Bank Of Love" by Janet Calloway, "Just A Little Bit Of True Love" by Betty Boothe, "What Ya Gonna Do" by Noble Watts & June Bateman, and "Dig Yourself" by Les Cooper & The Soul Rockers. CD

Features music by Tarheel Slim, Wilbert Harrison, Buster Brown, Elmore James, Sam Myers, Lee Dorsey, King Curtis, Dr. Horse, Joe Haywood, Dee Dee Ford, and more! CD

A wonderful early record by Leon Haywood – very different than any of his later work! The album showcases both sides of Haywood's talent – as side one features Leon singing in a sweet soulful style, and side two's all-instrumental, with Leon atop the Hammond B-3, grooving away with a sound that's better than you'd expect! The instrumental side includes a funky version of "Ode to Billy Joe", a tasty groover called "Cornbread & Buttermilk", and recording of "Round Midnight" that has the organ whomping so deep it'll blow your speakers! The vocal side is just as nice – with Leon's mini-hit single "It's Got To Be Mellow", plus the tracks "I Can't Stop Loving You", "Mercy Mercy Mercy", and "Yesterday". LP, Vinyl record album

Ben Webster and Coleman Hawkins on alto saxophone, Bill Pemberton on bass, Buster Bailey on baritone clarinet, Jimmy Crawford on drums, Al Casey on guitar, Red Richards on piano, Garvin Bushell and Hilton Jefferson on saxophone, Haywood Henry on tenor saxophone, Benny Morton, Dickie Wells, and J.C. Higginbotham on trombone, and Emmett Berry, Joe Thomas, Rex Stewart, and Taft Jordan on trumpet. LP, Vinyl record album

Terry Callier's first album for Cadet – and the kickoff of one of the greatest three album runs that any soul artist ever recorded! This one's got a different feel than the later two, as it takes songs by Terry, and structures them with these little musical "segue" tracks in between every song, done in a sparer folksy style that recalls Terry's roots in the Old Town scene in Chicago. At the time, Terry was making the transition from folk artist to soul singer – and he'd been picked up by Jerry Butler and The Dells as a promising young songwriter, one of the best talents of the second generation of Chicago soul stars. The record's a stripped-down affair that features a small group with Charles Stepney on harpsichord and organ, Callier on guitar, and backing vocals by Minnie Riperton, Shirley Wahls, and Kitty Haywood. The album kicks off with Terry's great little pop ditty "Ordinary Joe" – probably the catchiest song he ever wrote – then rolls into more somber titles like "Occasional Rain", "Do You Finally Need A Friend", "Golden Circle", and "Blues For Marcus". A totally unique album – and a prime example of the genius that was coming out of Chicago at the time! CD

Ben Webster and Coleman Hawkins on alto saxophone, Bill Pemberton on bass, Buster Bailey on baritone clarinet, Jimmy Crawford on drums, Al Casey on guitar, Red Richards on piano, Garvin Bushell and Hilton Jefferson on saxophone, Haywood Henry on tenor saxophone, Benny Morton, Dickie Wells, and J.C. Higginbotham on trombone, and Emmett Berry, Joe Thomas, Rex Stewart, and Taft Jordan on trumpet. CD