One of the best-ever soul albums to come out of Chicago – and it may well be one of the best soul albums ever! The set's the deepest that Syl Johnson ever recorded – and it takes all the hard, raw soul he forged on previous funky 45s – and spins it out in longer album format – with some wicked backings that more than keep up the funk from before, but which also help Johnson deepen the message of his tunes! The political vibe of the album comes through right away in the striking cover and title – and the title track is a 7 and a half minute gem – one of the boldest songs ever about disempowerment. Backings are by Jimmy Jones & The Pieces Of Peace – who really keep the sound deep throughout – and in addition to the classic title track "Is It Because I'm Black", other tunes include "Right On", "Together Forever", "Concrete Reservation", "Walk A Mile In My Shoes", "Black Balloons", and "I'm Talkin About Freedom". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the best-ever soul albums to come out of Chicago – and it may well be one of the best soul albums ever! The set's the deepest that Syl Johnson ever recorded – and it takes all the hard, raw soul he forged on previous funky 45s – and spins it out in longer album format – with some wicked backings that more than keep up the funk from before, but which also help Johnson deepen the message of his tunes! The political vibe of the album comes through right away in the striking cover and title – and the title track is a 7 and a half minute gem – one of the boldest songs ever about disempowerment. Backings are by Jimmy Jones & The Pieces Of Peace – who really keep the sound deep throughout – and in addition to the classic title track "Is It Because I'm Black", other tunes include "Right On", "Together Forever", "Concrete Reservation", "Walk A Mile In My Shoes", "Black Balloons", and "I'm Talkin About Freedom". LP, Vinyl record album

Our favorite-ever album from Gil Scott-Heron – and a set that we'd easily rank as one of our favorite soul records of the 70s! The mix of modes is mindblowing right from the start – as Gil's poetry comes into play with his growing talents as a singer, and his warm sensibility for jazz – all at a level that's light years ahead of anything any singer would have attempted a few years before – and which went onto have a huge influence for years to come. If you only know Gil from his protest work, there's a lot more here to discover – the bittersweet blend of pain and power that's always made him so fantastic. And yes, the record does include the groundbreaking "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" – but what we treasure even more is all the more personal numbers – including "Lady Day & John Coltrane", "Home Is Where The Hatred Is", "The Needle's Eye", "I Think I'll Call It Morning", "Save The Children", and "Pieces Of A Man". Brilliant all the way through! CD features three bonus tracks by Gil's group Black & Blues – "Chains", "Peace", and "A Toast To The People". CD

Our favorite-ever album from Gil Scott-Heron – and a set that we'd easily rank as one of our favorite soul records of the 70s! The mix of modes is mindblowing right from the start – as Gil's poetry comes into play with his growing talents as a singer, and his warm sensibility for jazz – all at a level that's light years ahead of anything any singer would have attempted a few years before – and which went onto have a huge influence for years to come. If you only know Gil from his protest work, there's a lot more here to discover – the bittersweet blend of pain and power that's always made him so fantastic. And yes, the record does include the groundbreaking "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" – but what we treasure even more is all the more personal numbers – including "Lady Day & John Coltrane", "Home Is Where The Hatred Is", "The Needle's Eye", "I Think I'll Call It Morning", "Save The Children", and "Pieces Of A Man". Brilliant all the way through! CD features three bonus tracks by Gil's group Black & Blues – "Chains", "Peace", and "A Toast To The People". CD

Two sides of McLaughlin, both showcasing his spiritual exploratory inclination. The first side of this album features McLaughlin in a group with Billy Cobham, Airto, Charlie Haden, Dave Liebman and Jerry Goodman plus nice Indian touches from Mahalakshmi on sitar and Badal Roy on tabla. They perform two extended numbers, "Peace One" and "Peace Two", both modal free-ish excursions. Side 2 is solo guitar, or rather McLaughlin multi tracking himself, performing number of shorter pieces, like Mingus' "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat" and Miles' "Blue In Green", plus "Follow Your Heart", "Something Spiritual" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Incredible work from a group who've definitely earned their name! Naming a group SOUL might be suicide for a band that can't carry off the groove – but these guys are funky monsters, with a real talent for a hard heavy sound that was rarely matched by other combos. The band have a great drummer, with a good talent for the funky break, but also a jazzy flourish that works well on SOUL's mellower numbers – and apart from the usual bass and guitar riffing, the album also features some great funky flute, in a mode that's similar to some of Jeremy Steig's excellent early work. Some tracks have vocals and some have instrumentals – and both albums are great! ACE put together both these masterpieces of heavy funky grooves and laid them back to back on one CD of super-heavy funky tracks. The set's a great deal, and both albums are winners all the way through! Tracks include "Down in the Ghetto", "Burning Spear", "Soul", "Tell it Like It Is", "Peace Of Mind", "My Cherie Amour", and "Sleeping Beauty". CD