From the Later That Day LP. "Cold Call" features The Gift Of Gab. 12-inch, Vinyl record

One of the most upbeat cuts ever recorded by Timeless Legend – a great little groove that has trumpets bubbling up along with the rhythms, as the group's own vocals soar out over the top with this wonderfully positive vibe! "Baby Don't Do This To Me" has a great approach too – still uptempo, but a bit more modern soul and clubby – with an excellent lead that really retains a soulful sound in the lyrics. 12-inch, Vinyl record

A huge moment for Blackalicious – a group who'd been gaining plenty of cred on the underground, and who reached out to a much bigger set of ears with this major label debut! The whole thing's top-shelf through and through – superb production from Chief Xcel next to the words from Gift of Gab and Chief Excel – alongside a host of guests including Quannum mainmasts Lyrics Born, Lateef, and Joyo – as well as Dilated People's Raka and Babu, Jurassic 5's Cut Chemist and Chali 2na – and even work from Gil Scott-Heron and Ben Harper too! Clearly, someone had enough faith in the group to give them the money to realize their dream – and that faith definitely pays off here – on titles that include the classic single "Make You Feel That Way" – plus "Blazing Arrow", "4000 Miles", "Paragraph President", "First In Flight", "Purest Love", "Sky Is Falling", "It's Going Down", "Release (parts 1, 2, & 3)", and "Chemical Calisthenics". CD

Take it from us, Leon Bridges is no gold-digger – as with music like this, he'll be bringing plenty of the gold himself – as the record is the sort that should really put Bridges over the top! Leon's already been giving us some great sounds in recent years – but this set has Bridges emerging as a fully-formed soul star in his own right – not just the voice that's been winning us over already, but a sense of confidence and power in his lyrics – not ego, but self – wide enough so share space here on collaborations with Robert Glasper, Terrace Martin, and Ink – who all get a chance to bring a strong something extra, and not just show up as names on paper. Titles include "Born Again", "Motorbike", "Why Don't You Touch Me", "Magnolias", "Steam", "Sho Nuff", "Gold-Diggers", "Blue Mesas", "Don't Worry", and "Sweeter". LP, Vinyl record album

Gritty revival blues from RL Burnside – and a record that really broke his music into a wider audience! Of course, it helps that the set features guest appearances from Kid Rock and Lyrics Born – the latter we enjoy more than the former – but the overall vibe is still very much in the best spirit of Burnside's other music – on titles that include "Detroit Boogie (parts 1 & 2)", "Someday Baby", "Goin Down South", "Go To Jail", "Bird Without A Feather", "Glory Be", "Goin Away Baby", "Rollin & Tumblin", and "Stole My Check". LP, Vinyl record album

A nice range of work from Larry Hall – a singer who's best known as a one-hit wonder, with a small hit at that – but who steps out here with a groovy batch of material that only ever saw release as a string of indie label 45s at the end of the 50s and start of the 60s! Larry's got a great way of dipping and warbling his voice – never too much, but this unique inflection that can make simple lyrics catchier than they might otherwise sound – captured here with backings that mix rock and roll with gentler pop production, a mode that's maybe like some of the Cadence or Dot Records material of the period. Titles include Larry's hit "Sandy" – plus "Kool Luv", "The Stranger", "Rebel Heart", "Lips Of Wine", "Ladder Of Love", "I Didn't Ask To Be Born", "I'll Stay Single", "For Every Boy", "A Girl Like You", "Lovin Tree", and "I Sit Alone". CD

Great grooves from the French scene of the 80s – a time when Parisian musicians were picking up a lot of the electro soul elements from the New York scene, but also mixing them with other currents of European and African dancefloor modes! This set's a bit later than the first volume in the Chebran series, and maybe even more compelling too – as the increased electronic elements in the music make for loads of wonderful touches that are waiting to be rediscovered by a 21st Century audience – the expected beats, keys, and basslines – but also some great ways of electrifying the vocals, especially when the lyrics are more chanted than sung. There's a huge world to discover here – and titles include "Ta Face Preface" by Brigitte & Michot, "Jawla Feli" by Hamidou, "C'Est Tabou" by Marie Jose Fa, "Funky Rap" by Phil BArney, "Lipstick (Shout)" by JM Black, "Ettika (vers maxi inedite)" by Ettika, "Propriete Privee" by Sammy Massamba, "Dansez Le Raksi" by Nordine Staifi, "Cairo Connection" by Philippe Chany, "Qu'Est Ce Qui Ne Va Pas" by Alfio Scandurra, "Break Magic Dance" by Creole Star, "Yamna" by Ganawa, and "La Rage Du Funky (rmx)" by Manu. CD

The near-forgotten legacy of Daliah Lavi – a singer born in Israel, but who cut some fantastic material on the German scene of the early 70s – as you'll hear here in this huge collection that brings together both her albums for Polydor, and a fair bit of singles as well! There's a pretty unified sound to the material, thanks to the use of arrangements from Bernard Ebbinghouse on most records – a studio talent who knows how to keep things groovy, and occasionally funky – all with a playful vibe that fits the cool delivery of the English language lyrics that mostly dominate the set. One album features mostly Israeli tunes, and there's a few German tracks sprinkled here and there – but Lavi's got an approach that's every bit as appealing to the Anglo world as it is the European scene who were the main audience for these recordings. The whole thing's a treasure trove of under-discovered sounds from the German economic miracle moment – and the package features six full albums – Daliah, Sympathy, Would You Follow Me, Jerusalem, Let The Love Grow, and I'm Israeli – plus 25 more bonus tracks too! CD

A really fantastic album from Prince – recorded in 2010, and unreleased at the time – but clearly one of the greatest things he gave us in the final decade of his life! This isn't uncooked demo material, or under-thought studio tracks – and instead, the whole thing is a fully-formed record with a message that really comes through in the title – more political Prince than usual, with an eye for our nation that rivals Sign O The Times! It may be that back when Prince recorded the set, the time wasn't right for the message – but these tracks definitely hit home now – and are often delivered in this sinister slow funk mode that really fits the lyrics – almost as if Prince were trying to give the world his version of a righteous 70s album on Curtom Records. Titles include "Running Game", "Born 2 Die", "Welcome 2 America", "Check The Record", "Hot Summer", "Stand Up & B Strong", "Same Page Different Book", and "One Day We Will All B Free". CD

With Lyrics Born, Gift Of Gab, and Lateef. 12-inch, Vinyl record

Produced by Lyrics Born. 12-inch, Vinyl record

A huge moment for Blackalicious – a group who'd been gaining plenty of cred on the underground, and who reached out to a much bigger set of ears with this major label debut! The whole thing's top-shelf through and through – superb production from Chief Xcel next to the words from Gift of Gab and Chief Excel – alongside a host of guests including Quannum mainmasts Lyrics Born, Lateef, and Joyo – as well as Dilated People's Raka and Babu, Jurassic 5's Cut Chemist and Chali 2na – and even work from Gil Scott-Heron and Ben Harper too! Clearly, someone had enough faith in the group to give them the money to realize their dream – and that faith definitely pays off here – on titles that include the classic single "Make You Feel That Way" – plus "Blazing Arrow", "4000 Miles", "Paragraph President", "First In Flight", "Purest Love", "Sky Is Falling", "It's Going Down", "Release (parts 1, 2, & 3)", and "Chemical Calisthenics". LP, Vinyl record album

Lyrics Born's biggest hit backed by The Poets Of Rhythm. The remixes aren't bad either. 12-inch, Vinyl record

Includes tracks by the Jacksons, Parliament, Lyrics Born, BT Express, Shalamar, Teddy Pendergrass, Midnight Star, Lakeside, Joe Bataan, Pino D'Angio, Positive Force, Quantic, and more – 60 tracks total. CD

A pretty hip album – despite a stupid title – and one that proves the Harris was always willing to keep on growing as an artist. The record does include a few blues numbers, and Eddie does sing a bit – but he does so through his electric saxophone, which creates this cool flanged-out sound that barely lets you hear the lyrics, and which feels a lot more like some snakey sax solo than it does singing. Muhal Richard Abrams is on piano for most of the record, and most of the arrangements were done by Richard Evans – bringing together the Chicago avant garde and studio scenes in a unique blend of far-reaching tracks that would have been perfect in the Cadet years of Charles Stepney. Includes a swinging version of "Giant Steps", plus "Please Let Me Go", "Walk With Me", "Ten Minutes To Four", and "A Child Is Born". LP, Vinyl record album

Scott Walker started out as a pop star singing other peoples' lyrics – then he stunned the world when he went solo, and started to create some really amazing songs of his own! The Walker-penned contributions on the first few solo albums are still some of the most revelatory pop of the late 60s – and as the years progressed, Scott created some great words for his few projects of the 70s and 80s – then emerged as an even darker master of the pen with his reborn career from the mid 90s onward! Given the darkness and heavy quality of those records, Walker's words aren't always that easy to pull out – so it's great that this volume is strongly focused on material from albums that include Tilt, The Drift, Bish Bosch, and Soused – all of whom get really poetic presentation on the page – as the book is really more a volume of poetry than anything else. There's also a selection of new songs from 2016 and 2017, and a few selected lyrics from the early days too – in a hardcover volume of 198 pages. Book

A beautiful update of the music of Charlie Parker – one that takes off from the first vocalese recordings that were inspired by Bird's music in the bebop years – but served up here in a much wider array of styles! As with the early vocalese recordings – lyrical sides based around Parker's saxophone solos – these tracks all have lyrics set to Parker's compositions, sung by different artists on each tune – in a lineup that includes Kurt Elling, Gregory Porter, Jeffrey Wright, Kandace Springs, Melody Gardot, Luciana Souza, and Madeleine Peyroux – a diverse lineup that really makes for an amazing record. Core instrumentation is from a group that features Donny McCaslin on tenor, Craig Taborn on acoustic and electric piano, and Ben Monder on guitar – and titles include "Meet Charlie Parker", "The Epitaph Of Charlie Parker", "So Long", "Every Little Thing", "Los Angeles", "Life My Love For You", and "The King Of 52nd Street" – all new vocal versions of Charlie Parker tunes. CD

Junko Ohashi is a Japanese singer from the city pop generation – but she gets a really soulful setting here, thanks to a strong backdrop of players from American jazz and soul! The set was recorded in New York, with production from Teruo Nakamura – who seems to take Junko into vocal territory that's similar to his own great fusion work of the time – using arrangements from Ken Suto, Mark Gray, and Bob Mintzer – and a set of players that includes John Tropea on guitar, David Sanborn on alto, and the great Harry Whitaker on piano. Lyrics are in both English and Japanese, and Junko's got a voice that's surprisingly soulful – much more so than some of her contemporaries – on titles that include "Firefly", "Caught In A Shower", "Sensual Night", "Perfect Melody", "Sugao No Mamade", "Dancin", and "In Your Lovin". LP, Vinyl record album

Pete Rock returns to the 1200, and the crispy, vinyl-heavy approach that's always made his music so great – but which also seems recently reborn with a new sense of commitment on records like this! There's lyrics on the set, but mostly those that are sampled from other records, bubbling in and out of the mix – leaving Pete's production skills to stand center stage – all with an old school vibe that makes the whole thing sparkle all the way through! Titles include "Do Our Thing", "Block To Block", "Weather Report", "The Core", "Middle East", "Soul On Top", "Change Things", and "The Name Of The Game". LP, Vinyl record album

A seminal classic from Michael Franks – one of those records that's almost a whole genre unto itself, and which set a whole new tone for the male voice in American music! The style here is light and jazzy – almost an evolution of modes first begun by Kenny Rankin, and served up here with a similarly compressed production style that really brings out the jazz in the instrumentation. Players include Michael Brecker, Joe Sample, Larry Carlton, and David Sanborn – all sounding great with a bit of added strings from Nick DeCaro. But the real star of the set is clearly Franks – whose light vocals and creative lyrics sound wonderful next to the electric piano on the set. Titles include "Eggplant", "Monkey See Monkey Do", "Jive", "Mr Blue", "Popsicle Toes", "St Elmos Fire", "I Don't Know Why I'm So Happy I'm Sad", and "Sometimes I Just Forget To Smile". CD

The debut double team effort from G & D – aka Georgia Anne Muldrow and Dudley Perkins – two of the most stubbornly unclassifiable hip hop soul eccentrics on the Stones Throw roster – working here on the Look label! Both Georgia and Dudley are responsible from some of the most out efforts on Stones Throw – so we were a bit surprised at how straight forward & catchy the Message Uni Versa set turns out. The duo trades lead vocals, with some P-Funk inspired rubbery bass funk in the beats, with lyrics that touch on the spiritual and strident, but remain playful. Nice stuff with recognizable traits from the earlier work, but still stands out! Titles include "God Unit', "On One", "Peace Of Mind", "Time", "Found", "U", "All 4 U", "Good Morning Amerikkka", "War Drums", "The Stomp", "Poppa's Song", "MGD", "Stronger", "The Message" and more. CD