One of the greatest albums ever from Booker T & The MGs – and very different than their early work! The record has Book & Co taking off with a stretched-out jazzy sound – carving expanded grooves that are filled with sweet organ solos, choppy guitar riffs, and some incredibly tight rhythm lines – more than enough to make this set a standout in the collection of any beat digger! Includes the massive "Melting Pot" – an oft-sampled jam that runs for over 8 minutes long – plus "LA Jazz Song", which features amazingly tight guitar work from Steve Cropper, and the nice cuts "Fuquawi" and "Chicken Pox". Other titles include "Back Home", "Sunny Monday", and "Hi Ride". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the greatest albums ever from Booker T & The MGs – and very different than their early work! The record has Book & Co taking off with a stretched-out jazzy sound – carving expanded grooves that are filled with sweet organ solos, choppy guitar riffs, and some incredibly tight rhythm lines – more than enough to make this set a standout in the collection of any beat digger! Includes the massive "Melting Pot" – an oft-sampled jam that runs for over 8 minutes long – plus "LA Jazz Song", which features amazingly tight guitar work from Steve Cropper, and the nice cuts "Fuquawi" and "Chicken Pox". Other titles include "Back Home", "Sunny Monday", and "Hi Ride". CD

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Hazy, largely instrumental hip hop from the team of Suff Daddy & Torky Tork – working together as Carpet Patrol – and it's another timeless set of sample crafted beatcraft from the Melting Pot team. MPM has always done a solid job of honoring classic hip hop production aesthetics, while delivering a distinctive vibe of their own – bearing the influences of some of our favorite producers of the early 90s to today, without ever coming across as derivative. Carpet Patrol has a dark and gritty with pretty tripped out vocal samples. Includes "Carpet Patrol Theme", "Game Of Tork", "Diaper Party", "Mooncircle Project", "Yoga", "Cokeface" feat Brenk Sinatra, "It's Yo Man (Get Off Man)", "Indian Slip", "Flat Booty Judy", "Happy Ending", "Carpet Patrol Reprise" feat Dexter, "Sandwich" and "Bob Molly (Pop Pillies)". CD

Kiwi funk and soul from Funkommunity – a modern collective that's anchored by the duo of producer Isaac Aesili and soulful singer Rachel Fraser – and they deliver a very promising debut here for Melting Pot! Funkommunity has a far more distinctly modern vibe than their more throwback-styled peers in the international funk scene – Rachel's vocals are purely soulful, but the overall sound features layers of synths and beats that range from boogie soul to spacey hip hop-styled. There's also quite a bit of live instrumentation in the mix – guitars, horns, bass and Rhodes in particular. Nice stuff! 12 tracks on the CD "Pass It On", "What You Give", "The Light", "Dandelion", "Sorceress", "Yeah", "Liquefaction", "Nortwest & 4th:, "Never Fading", "Make It That Way" and Start Again". CD

Suff Daddy's debut EP from '08 gets an essential update for '12! The original Efil4ffus has officially been out of print since '10, but it's been tough to 'round our parts for longer than that. Hence, we're thrilled to see and hear this update. The sound is timelessly fresh – thumping funky beats, soulful keys and top shelf guest appearances from Miles Bonny, Kissey Asplund and Oddisee. This version features the previously 45-only "Kill Bill" and "Drama (Pt 2)". Other tracks include "Late Night Suff" with Miles Bonny, "Brewsters", "Late Night Reprise" and "Drama (Pt 1)" feat Kissey Asplund, "Gin City", "Plastic 1", "Plastic Dub" and "Like Daddy". CD

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A sublime second chapter of work from Booker T & The MGs – pulled from a time when Stax Records was stepping out of the influence of Atlantic, and really opening the door to a wide variety of new soul sounds! That approach is definitely in place here – as the tracks really evolve past the early hits of the group – with more unusual rhythmic patterns, laid down by the great Al Jackson on drums and Donald Duck Dunn on bass – while Steve Cropper provides all the riffing genius on his guitar, and Booker T pushes things over the top with completely sublime work on organ! All players are really changing up their groove, especially as the singles here progress from the 60s into the 70s – and the package features a-sides and b-sides, and even a few post-Booker T cuts by the MGs. Titles include "Kinda Easy Like", "Melting Pot", "Sunday Sermon", "Something", "Fuquawi", "Sugarcane", "Blackside", "Neckbone", "Soul Clap 69", "Slum Baby", "Meditation", "Johnny I Love You", "Time Is Tight", "Jamaica This Morning", "Over Easy", "Heads Or Tails", "Mrs Robinson", and "Soul Limbo. LP, Vinyl record album

A trio of albums from this fantastic group – plus bonus tracks too! First up is Hit After Hit – a tremendous album that has The Chosen Few stepping out to match some of the best American harmony soul groups of the early 70s – vocals you might hear from The Moments or Delfonics, but tuned towards rhythms that are much more Kingston than New Jersey or Philly! Yet there's also a few funky moments too – a rare element that really shows how the group could change things up from some of their Jamaican contemporaries, on titles that include a version of the "Shaft" theme, plus "You're A Big Girl Now", "Everybody Plays The Fool", "Melting Pot", "Ebony Eyes", "Do Your Thing", "People Make The World Go Round", and "I'm Sorry". Everybody Plays The Fool is a record that's as much an early 70s reggae set as it is a strong bit of east coast soul – Kingston rhythms mixed with fantastic harmonies that maybe echo more of the East Coast group soul modes than some of the earlier Jamaican groups of the 60s! The choice of material also echoes that quality too – as The Chosen Few take on older soul classics, remade for a reggae market – mixed with a few original tracks of their own. Titles include "My Thing", "Reggae Stuff", "I Second That Emotion", "Make Way For The Young Folks", "La La At The End", and "Tears Of A Clown". Chosen Few In Miami is legendary soul from The Chosen Few – a group who were as much a 70s soul outfit as they were a reggae group! This album's the group's greatest – recorded in Miami with classic TK funky production from King Sporty, who also seems to be backing them up on most of the set. There's certainly a reggae feel to the album at times, but the group's harmonies are much more in an American soul vein – and Sporty's super-dope backings use plenty of wah-wah guitar, electric keys, and that burning, bubbling Miami soul groove that made so many of the TK albums from the time so great! Titles include the stone funky classic "Funky Buttercup", plus "Wandering", "Candy I'm So Doggone Mixed Up", "Why Can't We Live", "Drift Away", "I Am A Man", and "Hit Me With Music". 2CD set also features 11 more bonus tracks – including related work by Lloyd Charmers Selection! CD

Quite an unusual session for Freddie Hubbard – one of his most modernist albums for Blue Note, recorded with a larger group that includes James Spaulding on alto and flute, Joe Henderson (or Hank Mobley) on tenor, McCoy Tyner on piano, and the surprising inclusion of Kiane Zawadi on euphonium! The presence of that instrument gives the album a real "bottom" sound – taking the overall mood much more into the depths than on some of Freddie's previous sets – really earning the album its "blue spirits" tag. Big Black also plays a bit of percussion on a few tracks, and titles include "Cunga Black", "Soul Surge", and "Outer Forces" – plus two non-LP tracks "Melting Pot" and "True Colors". CD

The classic soundtrack to Spike Lee's Do The Right Thing – lead, of course, by Public Enemy's "Fight The Power" – and beyond that is a pretty wonderful, and not always as intense cross-section of some of the finer urban soul and New Jack Swing, circa '89, breezy vocal-centric R&B, a touch of Latin and Afro-Carribbean pop. The Bed-Stuy melting pot bubbles over to tragic consequences in the film, but the diverse soundtrack is plenty harmonious, and sounds fresh to this day. Includes "My Fantasy" by Teddy Riley featuring Guy, "Never Explain Love" by Al Jarreau, "Party Hearty" by EU, "Tu Y Yo" by Ruben Blades, "Can't Stand It" by Steel Pulse and "Don't Shoot Me" by Take 6. Includes some bonus 12" mixes, too! CD

A sublime second chapter of work from Booker T & The MGs – pulled from a time when Stax Records was stepping out of the influence of Atlantic, and really opening the door to a wide variety of new soul sounds! That approach is definitely in place here – as the tracks really evolve past the early hits of the group – with more unusual rhythmic patterns, laid down by the great Al Jackson on drums and Donald Duck Dunn on bass – while Steve Cropper provides all the riffing genius on his guitar, and Booker T pushes things over the top with completely sublime work on organ! All players are really changing up their groove, especially as the singles here progress from the 60s into the 70s – and the package features a-sides and b-sides, and even a few post-Booker T cuts by the MGs. Titles include "Kinda Easy Like", "Melting Pot", "Sunday Sermon", "Something", "Fuquawi", "Sugarcane", "Blackside", "Neckbone", "Soul Clap 69", "Slum Baby", "Meditation", "Johnny I Love You", "Time Is Tight", "Jamaica This Morning", "Over Easy", "Heads Or Tails", "Mrs Robinson", and "Soul Limbo. CD

A killer look at one of the most compelling labels on the Chicago house scene of the 80s – a tiny imprint, but one that cut some mighty important music – especially sounds that would have great resonance in the global acid explosion at the end of the decade! The work here has edges that are often a bit sharper than those of more familiar house at Trax Records – and a rhythmic intensity that's very focused, very stripped-down, and very much distilled to the core essence of Chicago house – that harder punch that's informed by a lot of European work at the start of the 80s, but turned towards the decimated disco scene in the US – to rise up a whole new generation with a great burst of energy! The package is maybe the best we've seen so far from Still Music – and features these very detailed notes that tell the fascinating story of the label's rise and short history – really getting at the midwestern melting pot that made house music so great. Titles include "Kill Yourself Dancing" by Razz, "Lover Man" by Ben Mays, "It Could Be Acid" by White Knight, "Face The Music (dub mix)" by Boom Boom & Master Plan, "Persia" by Modern Mechanical Music, "Electric Baile (commercial mix)" by Master Plan, "I Want You (transcontinental mix)" by Hex Complexx, and "Rock The Nation (Kenny Jason rmx)" by Matt Warren. LP, Vinyl record album

A killer look at one of the most compelling labels on the Chicago house scene of the 80s – a tiny imprint, but one that cut some mighty important music – especially sounds that would have great resonance in the global acid explosion at the end of the decade! The work here has edges that are often a bit sharper than those of more familiar house at Trax Records – and a rhythmic intensity that's very focused, very stripped-down, and very much distilled to the core essence of Chicago house – that harder punch that's informed by a lot of European work at the start of the 80s, but turned towards the decimated disco scene in the US – to rise up a whole new generation with a great burst of energy! The package is maybe the best we've seen so far from Still Music – and features these very detailed notes that tell the fascinating story of the label's rise and short history – really getting at the midwestern melting pot that made house music so great. Titles include "Kill Yourself Dancing" by Razz, "Lover Man" by Ben Mays, "It Could Be Acid" by White Knight, "Face The Music (dub mix)" by Boom Boom & Master Plan, "Persia" by Modern Mechanical Music, "Electric Baile (commercial mix)" by Master Plan, "I Want You (transcontinental mix)" by Hex Complexx, and "Rock The Nation (Kenny Jason rmx)" by Matt Warren. 2CD set features a whopping 21 tracks in all! CD