Brilliant early sounds from Jimmy Jam – rare late 70s material that has a very different sound than his slicker 80s work with Terry Lewis! The style here is a wonderful blend of sweet soul and righteous jazzy funk – a lot warmer than Jimmy's later beat-heavy style – and served up with loads of sweet keyboards alongside the soaring harmony vocals! Jimmy himself plays Fender Rhodes, clavinet, and other keys – but what we really love about the record is the vocals – these harmonies that are as fragile as New Jersey soul from the early part of the decade, but often turned towards more complicated cuts that have lots of jazzy riffing in the rhythms! The work's never been issued before, and is one of the greatest discoveries we've heard so far from the Numero Group – that's really saying a lot, given all their other releases. The vibe is almost like the Moments or Whatnauts recording for Black Jazz records – and titles include "I Don't Know Why", "My Love Is Like A Fire", "The Wonder Of It All", "No One Else Can Do It To Me Baby", "Virgin Lady", and "When You're Touching Me". CD

Brilliant early sounds from Jimmy Jam – rare late 70s material that has a very different sound than his slicker 80s work with Terry Lewis! The style here is a wonderful blend of sweet soul and righteous jazzy funk – a lot warmer than Jimmy's later beat-heavy style – and served up with loads of sweet keyboards alongside the soaring harmony vocals! Jimmy himself plays Fender Rhodes, clavinet, and other keys – but what we really love about the record is the vocals – these harmonies that are as fragile as New Jersey soul from the early part of the decade, but often turned towards more complicated cuts that have lots of jazzy riffing in the rhythms! The work's never been issued before, and is one of the greatest discoveries we've heard so far from the Numero Group – that's really saying a lot, given all their other releases. The vibe is almost like the Moments or Whatnauts recording for Black Jazz records – and titles include "I Don't Know Why", "My Love Is Like A Fire", "The Wonder Of It All", "No One Else Can Do It To Me Baby", "Virgin Lady", and "When You're Touching Me". LP, Vinyl record album

Brilliant early sounds from Jimmy Jam – rare late 70s material that has a very different sound than his slicker 80s work with Terry Lewis! The style here is a wonderful blend of sweet soul and righteous jazzy funk – a lot warmer than Jimmy's later beat-heavy style – and served up with loads of sweet keyboards alongside the soaring harmony vocals! Jimmy himself plays Fender Rhodes, clavinet, and other keys – but what we really love about the record is the vocals – these harmonies that are as fragile as New Jersey soul from the early part of the decade, but often turned towards more complicated cuts that have lots of jazzy riffing in the rhythms! The work's never been issued before, and is one of the greatest discoveries we've heard so far from the Numero Group – that's really saying a lot, given all their other releases. The vibe is almost like the Moments or Whatnauts recording for Black Jazz records – and titles include "I Don't Know Why", "My Love Is Like A Fire", "The Wonder Of It All", "No One Else Can Do It To Me Baby", "Virgin Lady", and "When You're Touching Me". CD

Brilliant early sounds from Jimmy Jam – rare late 70s material that has a very different sound than his slicker 80s work with Terry Lewis! The style here is a wonderful blend of sweet soul and righteous jazzy funk – a lot warmer than Jimmy's later beat-heavy style – and served up with loads of sweet keyboards alongside the soaring harmony vocals! Jimmy himself plays Fender Rhodes, clavinet, and other keys – but what we really love about the record is the vocals – these harmonies that are as fragile as New Jersey soul from the early part of the decade, but often turned towards more complicated cuts that have lots of jazzy riffing in the rhythms! The work's never been issued before, and is one of the greatest discoveries we've heard so far from the Numero Group – that's really saying a lot, given all their other releases. The vibe is almost like the Moments or Whatnauts recording for Black Jazz records – and titles include "I Don't Know Why", "My Love Is Like A Fire", "The Wonder Of It All", "No One Else Can Do It To Me Baby", "Virgin Lady", and "When You're Touching Me". LP, Vinyl record album

Features Geri Allen on piano, Curtis Lundy on bass, and Ralph Peterson on drums and trumpet. CD

... CD

A huge run of music from this legendary psychedelic band – all served up here in a single set! First up is their Part 1 album – the initial uttering from the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band – a group with a heady sound that definitely lives up to their name! There's less "pop art" going on here than just trippy psych – served up at a level that makes the group one of the best bigger label examples of the style at the time – and definitely a lot more edgey than some of their labelmates on Warner. Jimmy Bowen produced, but really keeps all the edges intact – and titles include the completely insane "Help I'm A Rock" (actually about a rock calling for help!) – plus "Shifting Sands", "1906", "Transparent Day", "Here's Where You Belong", and "If You Want This Love". Next is Volume 2 – the amazing second album from this ultra-cool group – a set that's even weirder and wilder than their debut! The trio are maybe one of the few who really live up to the farthest expectations of the psych generation – as they're really open to let their minds fly in their choice of lyrics, instrumentation, and overall presentation of the record – which hardly seems the sort to yield any sort of singles at all, even though a few of the tunes are downright catchy! Instead, the whole thing's put forth as a dark statement on late 60s society – with a sound that's as heavy as the subject matter, and not afraid to really pus all the freak and fuzz as far as it can go! Quite surprising, even for the Reprise label – and tracks include "Queen Nymphet", "Tracy Had a Hard Day Sunday", "In the Arena", "Smell of Incense", "Suppose They Gave A War & No One Comes", "Overture Wcpaeb (part 2)", and "Carte Blanche" – which supposedly they were given in recording the album! Next is Child's Guide To Good & Evil, the third album in the continuing genius of the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band – a group who are certainly as experimental as their name would imply, but who can also come across with some warmer Sunshine Pop touches too! And it's that which makes the group so wonderful – the blend of freak and sweet, of fuzz and fun – all given a special shape in the studio through the genius of producer Jimmy Bowen, whose work here with Bob Markley is superb – and very much open to the best freedoms that Warner was offering its creative talents at the time! The song titles are equally superb – and titles include "A Child's Guide To Good & Evil", "Ritual #1", "Anniversary of World War III", "Eighteen Is Over The Hill", "As Kind As Summer", and "Our Drummer Always Plays In the Nude". CD 4 features 18 more bonus tracks – rare takes and alternate mixes of titles that include "Watch Yourself", "Ritual #1", "As Kind As Summer", "Eighteen Is Over The Hill", and "Until The Poorest People Have Money To Spend" – plus other tracks too. And all the other three albums are presented in both mono and stereo mixes – which makes for 84 tracks in the full set! CD

A stunning batch of tracks from a very unusual LA group of the early 70s – a funk combo at the core, but one that was also equally comfortable with bits of psych and redneck rock as well! The music here was all recorded within a short span of years, and mostly issued on the small Alpha label as a handful of funky 45s – but the style is surprisingly spacious, and shows a strong sense of musicianship from the members of the group – so much so that they seem equally comfortable and right on top of their game, no matter what direction they choose to take! And don't think that this multi-style description means that these guys are too all over the map, because there's a really unified sense of soul that holds the whole thing together – so that when they get a bit rootsy, the result is country soul – or when they get a bit trippy, they hit some Funkadelic-styled sounds. The collection includes great notes on the setting that produced these tracks – penned by Egon, who put the set together with help from Malcolm Catto, DJ Shadow, and others. Titles include "Don't Let Him Take Away Your Mind", "Strange Things", "Heaven & Earth", "Take Time", "We Got Love", "Waterloo At Watergate", "Why Don't You Trust In Me", "Cruising Central Ave", "The Dead Don't Die Alive", and "You're My Precious Someone". LP, Vinyl record album

7 cuts: "Intro", which is actually a 3 minute instrumental track, "Sound, Noise, Music", "These Moments" feat. Bfap, "Mind Over Matter" feat. PSC, 'Dop What You Can", "Streetwalking" in vocal and instrumental versions. LP, Vinyl record album

Genius – pure genius! Bobby Hutcherson's work for Blue Note is some of the most dramatic of any artist to ever record for the label. During his tenure there, he broke in doing some pivotal work in the "new thing" mode with players like Andrew Hill and Joe Henderson, next worked into a soulful groove that helped redefine the face of soul jazz, and then teamed up with Harold Land to form one of the most compelling groups to ever record for the label. This set of 11 tracks provides a good overview of these years – and titles include "Ummh", "Dave's Chant", "Little B's Poem", "Blues Mind Matter", "Ghetto Lights", "Til Then", "Patterns", "Roses Poses", and "Houston St Thursday Afternoon". CD

An essential collection of work from the legendary Minnie Riperton – a set that was crucial to so many listeners, as during the early years of the CD era, it was the only way you could find any of her music in print! And all these many years later, the set's still a wonderful introduction to her charms – filled with all the right cuts that will both introduce you to Minnie's many charms, and help longtime listeners remember just what a special talent she was in soul music, before being taken from our planet all too soon! The work here is all post-Rotary Connection, post-Chess Records – when Minnie was out in Cali, and working with key musical partner Richard Rudolph, as well as heavyweights like Stevie Wonder and Leon Ware too. CD features 17 tracks in all – including "Perfect Angel", "Memory Lane", "Lovin You", "Stick Together", "Woman Of Heart & Mind", "Young Willing & Able", "Light My Fire", Simple Things", "Stay In Love", "Can You Feel What I'm Saying", "Wouldn't Matter Where You Are", "Give Me Time", You Take My Breath Away", "Inside My Love", "Here We Go", and "Adventures In Paradise". CD

Later Motown work from David Ruffin, but still pretty darn great – thanks to vocals that rise to the top, no matter what the tune! The album was co-produced by Van McCoy and Charles Kipps, with arrangements by McCoy – but the overall sound is light years away from some of Van's poppier albums of the time – much more in line with the kind of classy soul that we'd come to expect in Ruffin's music. There's a Philly sparkle to many of the tunes, and titles include "I Can't Stop The Rain", "Nightmare", "You're My Piece Of Mind", "Questions", "I'm Jealous", "Rode By The Place", and "Hey Woman". LP, Vinyl record album

The last album in the classic run of Steely Dan – the final taste we'd have of the group until their surprising revival in the 90s! Gaucho picks up beautifully where Aja left off – warmly produced with a deep undercurrent of jazz, but perhaps a bit more down to earth feel at times too – not in the music, which is still up there in the heavens, but in some of the subject matter of the tunes, which almost takes us back to Royal Scam territory. Donald Fagan's vocals are wonderful throughout – a sound for which there's no referent or real description – and the balance in the instrumentation is near perfect on tunes that include "Babylon Sisters", "Hey Nineteen", "Time Out Of Mind", "My Rival", "Glamour Profession", and "Gaucho". CD

An early 80s set from Cherry Red Records, and one that shows just how important the British label was to the world of post-punk music at the time – as you'll hear from an assortment of tracks that's more than enough to give labels like Factory or Rough Trade a run for their money! Cherry Red always had a way of thinking outside of the norm – mixing experimental sounds with more tuneful moments, and sometimes showcasing artists who weren't afraid to put their feelings on the line – at a level that other British indies would pick up more strongly a few years later. There's plenty of formative sounds here – and titles include "Plain Sailing" by Tracy Thorn, "My Face Is On Fire" by Felt, "No Noise" by Eyeless In Gaza, "Don't Blink" by The Nightingales, "Some Things Don't Matter" by Ben Watt, "Modi 2 (extract)" by Piero Milesi, "All About You" by Thomas Leer, "Portrait" by Five Or Six, "Eine Symphonie Des Grauens" by The Monochrome Set, "Lazy Ways" by The Marine Girls, "I Unseen" by The Misunderstood, and "On My Mind" by Everything But The Girl. This massive 3CD version of the collection is overflowing with great material – a whopping 72 tracks in all, 17 of which are unreleased, presented in a book-style package with plenty of notes! Added material includes work from The Nightingales, Kevin Coyne, The Passage, Monochrome Set, Jane, Five Or Six, Thomas Leer, Martyn Bates, Creation Rebel, The Reflections, Swallow Tongue, Bodhi Beat Poets, and even Patrick MacNee & Honor Blackman of The Avengers! CD

The last album in the classic run of Steely Dan – the final taste we'd have of the group until their surprising revival in the 90s! Gaucho picks up beautifully where Aja left off – warmly produced with a deep undercurrent of jazz, but perhaps a bit more down to earth feel at times too – not in the music, which is still up there in the heavens, but in some of the subject matter of the tunes, which almost takes us back to Royal Scam territory. Donald Fagan's vocals are wonderful throughout – a sound for which there's no referent or real description – and the balance in the instrumentation is near perfect on tunes that include "Babylon Sisters", "Hey Nineteen", "Time Out Of Mind", "My Rival", "Glamour Profession", and "Gaucho". LP, Vinyl record album

The last album in the classic run of Steely Dan – the final taste we'd have of the group until their surprising revival in the 90s! Gaucho picks up beautifully where Aja left off – warmly produced with a deep undercurrent of jazz, but perhaps a bit more down to earth feel at times too – not in the music, which is still up there in the heavens, but in some of the subject matter of the tunes, which almost takes us back to Royal Scam territory. Donald Fagan's vocals are wonderful throughout – a sound for which there's no referent or real description – and the balance in the instrumentation is near perfect on tunes that include "Babylon Sisters", "Hey Nineteen", "Time Out Of Mind", "My Rival", "Glamour Profession", and "Gaucho". LP, Vinyl record album

Badfinger comes into their own on No Dice – with a few buzzing rockers this time out, a pretty huge step from the more easygoing pop of Magic Christian Music (sweet as that stuff is) – with harder hitting groovers that kind of predict some of more tuneful power pop to follow in Badfinger's wake, but showcasing some pretty intense emotion, too, on the classic "Without You" and other tracks. Titles include "I Can't Take It", "I Don't Mind", "Blodwyn", "Better Days", "It Had To Be Me", "Believe Me", "We're For The Dark", "No Matter What" and more. This Capitol pressing includes 5 bonus tracks "Get Down", "Friends Are Hard To Find", "Mean Mean Jemima", "Loving You", "I'll Be The One" – plus 5 bonus tracks! CD

The sticks are up, and Bobby Hutcherson is at the top of his game – hitting a whole new groove here in this sublime session of modal numbers for Blue Note – a slightly warmer set than his more modern albums of the "new thing" years, and a great indication of the directions he'd take in the 70s! Bobby's vibes are set up wonderfully here in a quintet that includes Joe Henderson on tenor sax, McCoy Tyner on piano, Herbie Lewis on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums – all players who bring key elements to the groove. Tyner's got an obvious ear for the modal rhythms that Hutcherson's heading for; Higgins' drum work is freely lyrical in all the best ways; and Henderson's horn sharpens the edges of the tunes a bit, bringing in some nice darker sounds. The kickoff track is an amazing modal reading of Ornette's "Una Muy Bonita", and the rest tracks are all Hutcherson originals, including "Summer Nights", "8/4 Beat", "Black Circle", "Verse", and "Blues Mind Matter". LP, Vinyl record album

Badfinger comes into their own on No Dice – with a few buzzing rockers this time out, a pretty huge step from the more easygoing pop of Magic Christian Music (sweet as that stuff is) – with harder hitting groovers that kind of predict some of more tuneful power pop to follow in Badfinger's wake, but showcasing some pretty intense emotion, too, on the classic "Without You" and other tracks. Titles include "I Can't Take It", "I Don't Mind", "Blodwyn", "Better Days", "It Had To Be Me", "Believe Me", "We're For The Dark", "No Matter What" and more. This Capitol pressing includes 5 bonus tracks "Get Down", "Friends Are Hard To Find", "Mean Mean Jemima", "Loving You", "I'll Be The One". Cassette

A fantastic tribute to the great Jean Carne – a singer who started out in jazz, working with then-husband Doug Carn on spiritual sessions and drummer Norman Connors on his soulful sides of the 70s – then shifted over to the Philadelphia International label, where she really helped Philly soul find new direction moving into the 80s! Jean always brings all the sophistication of her roots into her music – making her way more than just another soul singer, and instead a vocalist with a great range of expression that has her opening up in just the right way, no matter what the setting. This excellent collection is filled with classics from her years on Philadelphia International, and also includes some rare 12" mixes and duets with other artists too. Titles include "Free Love", "No Laughing Matter", "Don't Let It Go To Your Head", "You Can't Come Back Now", "There's A Shortage Of Good Men", "Time Waits For No One", "Lonely Girl In A Cold Cold World", "Bet Your Lucky Star", We Got Some Catchin Up To Do", "When I Find You Love", "Was That All It Was (12" mix)", "What's On Your Mind (12" mix)", "Revelation/Infant Eyes", "Mystic Stranger", "Completeness", and "If You Don't Know Me By Now" – plus "I'm Back For More" with Al Johnson, "Sweet & Wonderful" with Glenn Jones, "You Might Be Surprised" with Roy Ayers, "Love Is Beautiful" and "Dreams Of Tomorrow" with Dexter Wansel, "Keep In Touch" and "The Look Of Love" with Grover Washington, and "Dindi", "Love's In Your Corner", and "Valentine Love" with Norman Connors. CD

A stunning batch of tracks from a very unusual LA group of the early 70s – a funk combo at the core, but one that was also equally comfortable with bits of psych and redneck rock as well! The music here was all recorded within a short span of years, and mostly issued on the small Alpha label as a handful of funky 45s – but the style is surprisingly spacious, and shows a strong sense of musicianship from the members of the group – so much so that they seem equally comfortable and right on top of their game, no matter what direction they choose to take! And don't think that this multi-style description means that these guys are too all over the map, because there's a really unified sense of soul that holds the whole thing together – so that when they get a bit rootsy, the result is country soul – or when they get a bit trippy, they hit some Funkadelic-styled sounds. The collection includes great notes on the setting that produced these tracks – penned by Egon, who put the set together with help from Malcolm Catto, DJ Shadow, and others. Titles include "Don't Let Him Take Away Your Mind", "Strange Things", "Heaven & Earth", "Take Time", "We Got Love", "Waterloo At Watergate", "Why Don't You Trust In Me", "Cruising Central Ave", "The Dead Don't Die Alive", and "You're My Precious Someone". CD

Four albums from this wonderful group – all presented here with great sonic quality too! First up is Grazin – the debut album from Friends Of Distinction – a very groovy LA harmony vocal group who really transcended the worlds of pop and soul! The quartet were originally part of the earlier Rex Middleton's Hi Fi group – which split into both Friends Of Distinction, and 5th Dimension – and like that other, slightly more famous group, FoD have a soaring approach that really reflects their years in music, tuned towards a groovier late 60s style! The record sports their hit vocal version of Hugh Masekela's "Grazing In The Grass", with the great "I can dig it" line, plus an excellent reading of a lost cut by funky drummer Roy Porter, entitled "Lonesome Mood" – next to other great titles that include "Sweet Young Thing Like You", "Peaceful", "Baby I Could Be So Good At Loving You", "Eli's Coming", and "Going In Circles". Real Friends is a stone early winner from The Friends Of Distinction – featuring a great set of pop soul tunes that really let the group shine in the harmony department! Vocal arrangements are by Jerry Peters – who really pushes the structure of the vocals, taking the singing to a level only hinted at on the group's previous album, combining 60s pop harmony with uptown soul production, given a bit of a smooth 70s touch. Titles include the hit "Love Or Let Me Be Lonely", plus "Any Way You Want Me", "Crazy Mary", "Long Time Comin My Way", "Just a Little Lovin", "It Don't Matter to Me", and "My Mind Is A Camera". Next is Highly Distinct – beautiful baroque soul from LA! The Friends of Distinction were always best known for their big hit version of "Grazing In the Grass" (not on this LP), but they were a pretty progressive soul group, and they spent a lot of time in the studio coming up with cool new ways to present their vocal style. This album includes a very cool "psyche" cut-up track called "Impressions", and it's two minutes worth of tape experiments that might have been lifted from The White Album. The cut then runs right into a great batch of groovy pop soul tracks, like "It's Just A Game Love", "Workin On A Groovy Thing", "It's Sunday", and "Let Yourself Go". Whatever is filled with some nice little groovers from the enigmatic Friends Of Distinction – and a record recorded right after their big "Grazin In The Grass" fame. The album features lots of cool arrangements from Jerry Peters – whose handling of the group pushed them past a simple pop-soul vocal combo into the realm of the more far-reaching soul acts of their time. Most tracks have vocal solos on the main parts – mostly by Barbara Love or Floyd Butler – and tracks include "You and I", "People Talkin & Sayin Nothin", "Bring Us A Better Day", "Great Day", and "Check It Out". CD

A key album in the Isley Brothers "extended funk" mode of the 70s – a style in which the group approached nearly every tune by adding in a "part 2" in order to stretch out the groove! The style here is bass-heavy funk, but less of the sort that other groups were using at the time – because the Isleys still bring in plenty of soul to the mix, and resist popping the bass too much so that they still have plenty of space for the slinky vocals that always make their work so great. Most of the titles on the album have this extended approach, and titles include "I Wanna Be With You (parts 1 & 2)", "Liquid Love (parts 1 & 2)", "Winner Takes All", "Love Comes & Goes (parts 1 & 2)", "Let's Fall In Love (parts 1 & 2)", "Let Me In Your Life (parts 1 & 2)", "Life In The City (parts 1 & 2)", "Go For What You Know", and "Mind Over Matter (parts 1 & 2)". LP, Vinyl record album

2 different albums from Swamp Dogg – one recorded at the beginning of the 70s, one at the end of the decade, but both for the Hi/Cream label, which gives the material a more unified sound than you'd expect. The tracks are perhaps a bit less over the top than some of Swamp's recordings for other labels, but they still have his strong commitment to rough-edged soul – as you'll hear on the 18 tracks that include "Hang On, I'll Save You", "Sam Stone", "Complication No 5", "If It Hadn't Been For Sly", "Come A Little Closer Baby", "Mind Over What's The Matter", "What's Left For Y'Awll To Do", "In My Resume", "Captain Of Your Ship", and "Your Last Dirty Trick". CD

An early 80s set from Cherry Red Records, and one that shows just how important the British label was to the world of post-punk music at the time – as you'll hear from an assortment of tracks that's more than enough to give labels like Factory or Rough Trade a run for their money! Cherry Red always had a way of thinking outside of the norm – mixing experimental sounds with more tuneful moments, and sometimes showcasing artists who weren't afraid to put their feelings on the line – at a level that other British indies would pick up more strongly a few years later. There's plenty of formative sounds here – and titles include "Plain Sailing" by Tracy Thorn, "My Face Is On Fire" by Felt, "No Noise" by Eyeless In Gaza, "Don't Blink" by The Nightingales, "Some Things Don't Matter" by Ben Watt, "Modi 2 (extract)" by Piero Milesi, "All About You" by Thomas Leer, "Portrait" by Five Or Six, "Eine Symphonie Des Grauens" by The Monochrome Set, "Lazy Ways" by The Marine Girls, "I Unseen" by The Misunderstood, and "On My Mind" by Everything But The Girl. CD

The sticks are up, and Bobby Hutcherson is at the top of his game – hitting a whole new groove here in this sublime session of modal numbers for Blue Note – a slightly warmer set than his more modern albums of the "new thing" years, and a great indication of the directions he'd take in the 70s! Bobby's vibes are set up wonderfully here in a quintet that includes Joe Henderson on tenor sax, McCoy Tyner on piano, Herbie Lewis on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums – all players who bring key elements to the groove. Tyner's got an obvious ear for the modal rhythms that Hutcherson's heading for; Higgins' drum work is freely lyrical in all the best ways; and Henderson's horn sharpens the edges of the tunes a bit, bringing in some nice darker sounds. The kickoff track is an amazing modal reading of Ornette's "Una Muy Bonita", and the rest tracks are all Hutcherson originals, including "Summer Nights", "8/4 Beat", "Black Circle", "Verse", and "Blues Mind Matter". LP, Vinyl record album

Mindblowing duets between trombonist Steve Swell and pianist Matthew Shipp – both incredible players on their own, but musicians who really seem to unlock something special here together! The improvisations have a way of mixing boldness with personal expressions of humanity – at a level that gives us both some of the most striking sounds we've heard from Swell in recent years, alongside some surprisingly warm moments from Shipp on piano – even at points when he's playing relatively free! The whole thing is definitely one of those special records that perfectly illustrates the strengths of free improvisation, while also moving the format forward – and titles include "Dark Matter", "String Theory", "Space Hammer", "The Dumb Abyss", "Space Cube Jazz", "Ice & Water", and "Firmament". CD

A great entry in this always-killer collection of rare funk and soul – a series that somehow manages to keep on delivering ultra-rare nuggets, even at a time when there's been so many other compilations from so many other labels over the years! Our ears are always trained to appreciate the best of the best from the world of funky collections – and those ears are plenty pleased with the range of tracks here we'd never heard before – the kind of music that remind us to keep on digging, even when we think we've heard enough! Titles include "All Night" by Vantage Point, "I'm Feeling It Too" by Kim McCrae, "Steps On A Cloud" by Street Life 80, "Real True Voices" by Tory Wynter, "I'll Be Good To You" by Chatham, "Giving On Into Love" by Dalton Reed, "Getting Lucky" by Panama Gold, "Step By Step" by Matter Of Taste, "What Am I Going To Do Baby" by Royal Touch, and "Bi-Centennial 1976" by Frankie Staton & Speckled Rainbow. CD

A great entry in this always-killer collection of rare funk and soul – a series that somehow manages to keep on delivering ultra-rare nuggets, even at a time when there's been so many other compilations from so many other labels over the years! Our ears are always trained to appreciate the best of the best from the world of funky collections – and those ears are plenty pleased with the range of tracks here we'd never heard before – the kind of music that remind us to keep on digging, even when we think we've heard enough! Titles include "All Night" by Vantage Point, "I'm Feeling It Too" by Kim McCrae, "Steps On A Cloud" by Street Life 80, "Real True Voices" by Tory Wynter, "I'll Be Good To You" by Chatham, "Giving On Into Love" by Dalton Reed, "Getting Lucky" by Panama Gold, "Step By Step" by Matter Of Taste, "What Am I Going To Do Baby" by Royal Touch, and "Bi-Centennial 1976" by Frankie Staton & Speckled Rainbow. CD

A great entry in this always-killer collection of rare funk and soul – a series that somehow manages to keep on delivering ultra-rare nuggets, even at a time when there's been so many other compilations from so many other labels over the years! Our ears are always trained to appreciate the best of the best from the world of funky collections – and those ears are plenty pleased with the range of tracks here we'd never heard before – the kind of music that remind us to keep on digging, even when we think we've heard enough! Titles include "All Night" by Vantage Point, "I'm Feeling It Too" by Kim McCrae, "Steps On A Cloud" by Street Life 80, "Real True Voices" by Tory Wynter, "I'll Be Good To You" by Chatham, "Giving On Into Love" by Dalton Reed, "Getting Lucky" by Panama Gold, "Step By Step" by Matter Of Taste, "What Am I Going To Do Baby" by Royal Touch, and "Bi-Centennial 1976" by Frankie Staton & Speckled Rainbow. LP, Vinyl record album

An overlooked gem from a player who never fails to surprise us – recorded later in the years of drummer Art Taylor's life, but bristling with the same kind of energy we first came to love in his 50s recordings! The set's got a really unified feel – with Taylor masterfully leading the group on drums, working through an assortment of like-minded tunes with a Blakey-like sense of equal power for strongly soulful numbers, and gentle guidance for mellower and more introspective tunes. The group's got a tremendous two-horn frontline in the tenor of Willie Williams and alto of Abraham Burton, and the rest of the lineup includes Marc Cary on piano and Tyler Mitchell on bass. The album's got one very short "out" track entitled "It Doesn't Matter", alongside a number of longer soulful explorations that include "Mr AT", "Soul Eyes", "Bullet Train", "Ahmad's Blues", and "Gingerbread Boy". CD

A mindblowing set from Little Richard – a stunning comeback session from the start of the 70s – recorded at Muscle Shoals with a heavy funk component in the mix! Richard arranged and produced the record himself – and it's a beautiful illustration of his genius – hardly dimmed at this point in his career, and if anything, really redefined for a new generation – with some razor-sharp grooves that are perfect for his hard-wailing vocals! The title cut – "The Rill Thing" – is a monster 10 minute instrumental jam, with a heavy funk sound that you can't even begin to imagine – and the rest of the set is pretty amazing too, with tracks that include "Spreadin' Natta What's The Matter", "Freedom Blues", "Two Time Loser", "Somebody Saw You", "Lovesick Blues", and "Greenwood Mississippi". LP, Vinyl record album

Mindblowing sounds from Chicago flute player Nicole Mitchell – a set of work inspired by the science fiction writings of Octavia Butler – with a striking style to match! Although the music has some arch qualities that live up to the darkness of Butler's writings, the performance here is also still mostly acoustic – in the mode we're used to from Mitchell's Black Earth group – but with odd tones and weird bits of phrasing that keep have us checking the notes to figure out the different instruments! The approach is a bit like the early cosmic visions of Sun Ra – especially when Mitchell hits more spiritual and rhythmic moments – and the well-matched ensemble of players features Nicole on flute, David Boykin on tenor and bass clarinet, David Young on trumpet and srali thom, Renee Baker on violin, Tomeka Reid on cello, Josh Abrams on bass, Jeff Parker on guitar, and Avreeayl Ra on percussion. Mankwe Ndosi sings just a bit on the record – and titles include "Dripping Matter", "Web Of Hope", "Fields Of Possibility", "Resisting Entanglement", "The Inevitable", and "The Ooli Moves". CD

The amazing second album from this ultra-cool group – a set that's even weirder and wilder than their debut! The trio are maybe one of the few who really live up to the farthest expectations of the psych generation – as they're really open to let their minds fly in their choice of lyrics, instrumentation, and overall presentation of the record – which hardly seems the sort to yield any sort of singles at all, even though a few of the tunes are downright catchy! Instead, the whole thing's put forth as a dark statement on late 60s society – with a sound that's as heavy as the subject matter, and not afraid to really pus all the freak and fuzz as far as it can go! Quite surprising, even for the Reprise label – and tracks include "Queen Nymphet", "Tracy Had a Hard Day Sunday", "In the Arena", "Smell of Incense", "Suppose They Gave A War & No One Comes", "Overture Wcpaeb (part 2)", and "Carte Blanche" – which supposedly they were given in recording the album! LP, Vinyl record album

Amazing sounds from Peru – the kind of really mindblowing music that will grab your ears, no matter where you're from – and really knock you over with a weird and wonderful blend of styles! The rhythms definitely have some of the cumbia promised in the title, most of these numbers are electrified, and touched with plenty of influence from 60s instrumental and psychedelic rock – a special blend cooked up down in Peru, and originally issued on labels like Dimsa and Infopesa – beautifully collected here in a stunning set of tracks that are presented with richly detailed notes on the music! Many numbers are instrumental, but some are vocal too – and the package has a hefty 34 tracks in all, with titles that include "Mi Choza, Mi Chacra Y Mi Mujer" by Manzanita, "Boogaloo Del Perro" by Los Destellos, "Baila Flaquita Baila" by Los Ecos, "Illimana" by Los 5 Palomiullas, "Recordando A Fachin" by Juaneco Y Su Combo, "Sin Exito" by Grupo Celeste, "Selva, Selva" by Juanaco Y Su Combo, "Colegiala" by Los Ilusionistas, "El Panadero" by Los Beta 5, and "Peti Pan" by Los Demonios Del Mantaro. CD

One of the rarest albums issued on the Crazy Cajun label – and a set that definitely doesn't have any cajun in the music at all! Instead, the South Funk Boulevard Band do a wonderful job of blending southern deep soul roots with some tighter funk ensemble modes – still nice and raw on the vocals, but with a sharpness of presentation that really holds the whole thing together! The album feels like the kind of funky soul that a label like Stax or Hi might have cut in the late 70s, had the Memphis scene still been going strong – and the whole thing's a further testament to producer Huey P Meux – sometimes shady, but always willing to let a hip group like this open up and get a chance to record something great! Allison provides vocals on a few tracks, the group's male singer is on the others – and titles include "It's Love", "You're All That Matters To Me", "I'm Gonna Love You Till I Die", "Mind Somewhere Else", "Blanket Of Love", "Pay Before You Lay", "Want You Back In My Arms", and "It's Love". LP, Vinyl record album

A really great collection – five full albums from keyboard giant Patrice Rushen, plus bonus tracks too! First up is Patrice – her first album for Elektra, and a stunning blend of funky jazz and soul! The record really has Patrice stepping out from her earlier years at Prestige – working in some surprisingly great vocals next to tight lines on Fender Rhodes, synth, and clavinet, handled with a smooth and soulful quality that's wonderful all the way through – a blend of soul and jazz that few other players could do this well – no matter how many others tried to copy her style over the years! Rhythms are as hard and heavy as on the Prestige years, and the keyboards have a great sort of focus too – just the right mix of jazz to offset the vocals – which themselves are a wonderful discovery. The whole album's a gem – and tracks include the great funky classic "Hang It Up", plus "Changes (In Your Life)", "When I Found You", "Play", "Didn't You Know?", and "Music Of The Earth". Pizzazz is one of the records that not only helped break her out of the jazz funk ghetto, and right into the mainstream – but a set that also had a pretty profound influence on the progression of soul in the early 80s! Rushen sings as well as plays keyboards – and really pushes the use of jazzy elements that would take R&B to the next level – almost inventing the 80s groove sound in the process! The whole thing's a totally sweet mix of funk and soul, tightened up to get everything in the door at the same time – and titles include "Givin It Up Is Givin Up", "Call On Me", "Haven't You Heard", and "Let The Music Take Me". Posh is an all-out, all-access affair – a great way for anyone to get into the grooves of the mighty Patrice Rushen! Patrice is at the height of her powers here – equally magic on keyboards and vocals, and coming up with groove after groove in a sublime blend of 70s jazz funk and Minnie Riperton-esque soul! The whole album's a winner – real magic that never gets old, and the kind of LP that makes you understand why you'll find Patrice's records in just about any soul collection from the time! Tracks include "I Need Your Love", "Time Will Tell", "The Dream", "Never Gonna Give You Up", and "Don't Blame Me". Straight From The Heart is one of those albums that completely cemented her standing in the world of jazz, funk, and soul – and a wonderful summation of everything she'd done in the years before! The young Patrice was already a breakout keyboardist on the west coast scene of the mid 70s – turning out great work on her own, and adding her talents to plenty of others – but here, she emerges as a soaring soul star in her own right – a talent who's really worked her way up, with a quality level that's head and shoulders above most of her peers! Rushen produced the set with Charles Mims, and there's a righteous blend of jazz and soul that's at the level of Minnie Riperton, so that even the catchiest cuts come off with a sense of sophistication and warmth that's so different than so much other 80s soul and fusion. Titles include the classic "Forget Me Nots", plus "Number One", "I Was Tired Of Being Alone", "Where There Is Love", "Breakout", "If Only", and "Remind Me". The album Now is a masterpiece of 80s groove with lots of jazzy touches! The keyboard sound has evolved a bit here – compressed with more electronic percussion than on Patrice's earlier records, but still done with a degree of soul that sets it apart from work by most of her contemporaries – and the music has this warm flow that really sets Rushen apart from the rest – a sublime mix of soul, funk, and fusion that holds together perfectly throughout! Titles include "Gotta Find It", "Gone With The Night", "My Love's Not Going Anywhere", "High In Me", "To Each His Own", "Heartache Heartbreak", and "Feels So Real". 5CD set features bonus tracks from original 12" singles – and other remixes too! CD