A pair of gems from the legendary Rotary Connection – an early Chicago group that featured Minnie Riperton on vocals, and Charles Stepney on production! Songs is amazing soul from Rotary Connection – and one of their greatest albums! The "songs" concept has the group working over a bunch of tunes by other folks – and the record features many late 60s rock titles, redone with the group's incredible baroque soul sound. Charles Stepney did the arrangements, and the music has that airy eerie quality that worked perfectly for Minnie Riperton's amazing voice. Includes a stellar cover of "Respect", with a slow trippy groove that has been sampled over the years – plus a wild cover of "Tales of Brave Ulysses" that virtually defines the term "psychedelic soul". Other tracks include "The Weight", "This Town", "The Salt Of The Earth", and "Sunshine Of Your Love". Hey Love is a massively beautiful piece of work by "the new Rotary Connection" – a version of this groundbreaking Chicago soul ensemble which featured Phil Upchurch, Henry Gibson, and Charles Stepney – the cream of the Chicago production scene! Minnie Riperton's still in the band on vocals, and her work on the LP is similar to that on the legendary Come To My Garden LP. The album features the incredible track "I Am the Blackgold of the Sun" – a haunting soul anthem that has been a favorite of groovers for years, and which was later made into a house track by NuYorican Soul. A great album all the way through, and filled with loads of excellent cuts! Other tracks include "If I Sing My Song", "Hey, Love", "Love Has Fallen On Me", and a cover of Terry Callier's "Song For Everyman". CD

Beautiful spacey soul and righteous rock/soul grooves from one of the most enigmatic groups ever to come out of the Chicago soul scene! The drummer really kicks it on this one – and more than a few cuts have a nice backbeat to them, and the record probably has a bit more of a rock feel than some of the group's other work. But that doesn't stop this one from still being completely wonderful – and Minnie Riperton gives up some of the best vocals of her young career, set to airy spacey production by the great Charles Stepney. Tracks include "Love Me Now", "Merry Prankster", "Lonely Summer", "Amuse", "Want You To Know", "Country Things", "Living Alone", and "We Will Be Free". LP, Vinyl record album

A massively beautiful piece of work by "the new Rotary Connection" – a version of this groundbreaking Chicago soul ensemble which featured Phil Upchurch, Henry Gibson, and Charles Stepney – the cream of the Chicago production scene! Minnie Riperton's still in the band on vocals, and her work on the LP is similar to that on the legendary Come To My Garden LP. The album features the incredible track "I Am the Blackgold of the Sun" – a haunting soul anthem that has been a favorite of groovers for years, and which was later made into a house track by NuYorican Soul. A great album all the way through, and filled with loads of excellent cuts! LP, Vinyl record album

One of the best Rotary Connection albums for Cadet – with an incredible baroque spacey soul sound that still feels very fresh today! The group's vocals are especially eerie – and float around these wild arrangements by Charles Stepney, peppered with strings, soul, fuzzy guitars, and even slight bits of electronics. The album features their incredible cut "Memory Band" – the one that begins with those cool sitar riffs that have been sampled by Tribe Called Quest and The Fugees. Other tracks include "Ruby Tuesday", "Soul Man", "Amen", "Rapid Transit", and "Black Noise". LP, Vinyl record album

Amazing soul from Rotary Connection – and one of their greatest albums! The "songs" concept has the group working over a bunch of tunes by other folks – and the record features many late 60s rock titles, redone with the group's incredible baroque soul sound. Charles Stepney did the arrangements, and the music has that airy eerie quality that worked perfectly for Minnie Riperton's amazing voice. Includes a stellar cover of "Respect", with a slow trippy groove that has been sampled over the years – plus a wild cover of "Tales of Brave Ulysses" that virtually defines the term "psychedelic soul". Other tracks include "The Weight", "This Town", "The Salt Of The Earth", and "Sunshine Of Your Love". LP, Vinyl record album

Fun fact – Mitch Aliotta was also a member of Chicago's Rotary Connection! LP, Vinyl record album

A damn legendary record from the last years of Chess Records – and for good reason, too! Archie Whitewater were a group that was years ahead of its time – a rock combo, but one with real genre-crossing sensibilities that made them perfect for the experimental styles at the Cadet/Concept side of Chess – the same slice of the musical universe that gave us Rotary Connection and important productions from Charles Stepney! The sound here has some surprisingly soulful elements at times – especially the instrumentation, which features some great break moments that get nice and funky, and strands of soulful jazz and blues that really make the music way different than most other groups we can think of – or maybe a bit like a rare elite who shared such visionary territory with Archie Whitewater, such as Shades Of Joy on their first Fontana record. The keyboards and sax lines are as great as the drums – and the vocals have a melancholy undercurrent that's a really refreshing change from some of the overly-postured modes you'd get from other groups in 1970. Titles include the sublime sample cut "Cross Country" – but there's loads of other nice ones with the same stripped-down "Dusty Fingers" sort of groove – and other titles include "Life Is A River", "Home Again", "Lament For The Walking Dead", "Seacoast", "Country To the City", "Friends & Neighbors", and "Mist Of The Early Morning". CD

An amazing little record – easily one of the coolest albums ever on the legendary Ovation label – and a set that has the small imprint almost hitting the heights of their Chicago neighbor Cadet Records! The core sounds here are from the folksy duo of Chuck Hollins and Dave Starr – but their music is really expanded with some key studio touches – jazzy inflections from session players, some slight fuller arrangements – and an overall vibe that carries the same sense of hope and new voice that you'd find in records by Terry Callier or Rotary Connection! The dawn of the 70s was a great time to push the boundaries of what could be done with folk and psychedelic trappings, and these guys really find a great little space – balancing trippy lyricism, lots of ethereal atmosphere, and a few heavily percussive jams! Titles include "Talking To Myself", "Krishna Dov", "Cry Baby Cry", "Twin City Prayer", "John Hurt", "Hard Headed Women", "Lovable", "Digress", "Staying High", "Sidewalk's Talkin'", and "Feelin' Good". LP, Vinyl record album

An amazing little record – easily one of the coolest albums ever on the legendary Ovation label – and a set that has the small imprint almost hitting the heights of their Chicago neighbor Cadet Records! The core sounds here are from the folksy duo of Chuck Hollins and Dave Starr – but their music is really expanded with some key studio touches – jazzy inflections from session players, some slight fuller arrangements – and an overall vibe that carries the same sense of hope and new voice that you'd find in records by Terry Callier or Rotary Connection! The dawn of the 70s was a great time to push the boundaries of what could be done with folk and psychedelic trappings, and these guys really find a great little space – balancing trippy lyricism, lots of ethereal atmosphere, and a few heavily percussive jams! Titles include "Talking To Myself", "Krishna Dov", "Cry Baby Cry", "Twin City Prayer", "John Hurt", "Hard Headed Women", "Lovable", "Digress", "Staying High", "Sidewalk's Talkin'", and "Feelin' Good". CD features bonus tracks that include a 9 minute outtake of "Hard Headed Woman" – plus single versions of "Feelin Good" and "Lovable". 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

Mindblowing work from Minnie Riperton – her first solo album, cut at the end of the 60s, after a number of years of work with the group Rotary Connection. The album builds off the now famous sound of Rotary Connection – but takes it to the next level, with arch-baroque production by the great Charles Stepney – who couches Minnie's fantastic vocals in a suite of shimmering soulful tracks that mix strings, horns, jazzy piano, and slight touches of bouncing rhythms. The overall sound is impossible to describe – sort of a cross between Burt Bacharach on A&M, Scott Walker's 3rd album, and the sound of Marvin Gaye's What's Goin' On. The album's pure genius all the way through – one of the highlights of the Chicago scene of the 60s – and proof that Riperton, Stepney, and crew were shooting for the outer limits of soul music! Titles include "Les Fleur", "Only When I'm Dreaming", "Rainy Day In Centerville", "Memory Band", "Expecting", "Whenever Wherever", and "Oh, By The Way". LP, Vinyl record album

The complete albums of this really unique group – all wrapped up in a single set, with bonus tracks too! First up is the self-titled debut – described on the cover as "Eight high-octane musicians who met and jammed in the great peanut butter octopus that is Los Angeles!" The record's got a really trippy approach that's partially folk rock, partially psychedelic soul, and which also has some great touches of groovy harmony pop and Latinized LA rhythms – all wrapped up in some totally great production overall! The whole thing skims and sings around like some of our favorite sunshiney pop from the time – almost a meeting of Triste Janeiro and Mamas & The Papas – with some great instrumental touches that include cello and electric harpsichord! Female lead vocals on most tracks, but the album also spins out nicely, so that you get plenty of instrumental passages too! Titles include "Why Oh Why", "Motherless Child", "Here We Go Again", "For Pete's Sake", "What's Wrong", "Come Take A Walk", and "In A Rainbow". Next is Just For You – the group's second album – and a really sweet batch of tracks that mix together rock and soul influences with touches of west coast hippy jazz, in a style that's almost an LA answer to Rotary Connection, but without all the baroque arrangements. The set's got a great version of "Compared To What", and the extended jazzy jammer "Just For You" – plus the cuts "Day Song", "Just For You", "Look Out", "Without Me", and "Windlace". Last up is Melon – a great little set from Sweetwater – a rock combo at heart, but one who also bring in a nice sense of soul too! The album follows strongly from other of their Reprise releases – almost funky in parts, with drums that kick in nicely, and a flowing sense of groove that features keyboards, flute, and added percussion that helps to spice things up. Most tracks have vocals, but there's some very strong standout instrumental moments – and titles include "Take It From Splice Boys", "Naturally", "Don't Give A Hoot", "Get It While You Can", "I'm Happy Today", "Rejoice The Smile Of Man", and "Join The Band". 2CD set features 8 bonus tracks – including one recorded at Woodstock! CD

Mindblowing work from Minnie Riperton – her first solo album, cut at the end of the 60s, after a number of years of work with the group Rotary Connection. The album builds off the now famous sound of Rotary Connection – but takes it to the next level, with arch-baroque production by the great Charles Stepney – who couches Minnie's fantastic vocals in a suite of shimmering soulful tracks that mix strings, horns, jazzy piano, and slight touches of bouncing rhythms. The overall sound is impossible to describe – sort of a cross between Burt Bacharach on A&M, Scott Walker's 3rd album, and the sound of Marvin Gaye's What's Goin' On. The album's pure genius all the way through – one of the highlights of the Chicago scene of the 60s – and proof that Riperton, Stepney, and crew were shooting for the outer limits of soul music! Titles include "Les Fleur", "Only When I'm Dreaming", "Rainy Day In Centerville", "Memory Band", "Expecting", "Whenever Wherever", and "Oh, By The Way". This album's a 2nd pressing of the album Come to My Garden, from 1982, with one less track. LP, Vinyl record album

Minnie Riperton's first album for Epic – and the record that broke her from a hip Chicago underground artist into one of the seventies' biggest female soul stars! The record moves past the baroque soul of Minnie's early years with Rotary Connection and Charles Stepney – and hits a mix of mellow compressed LA styles and slicker funkier numbers that do the same thing for her Chicago-trained vocals that Rufus' backing did for that of Chaka Khan. Of course, it helps that she's got some superbly sensitive writing and arranging help by husband Richard Rudolph – and Stevie Wonder's definitely lurking in the background, too – not credited with production, due to contractual reasons, although he helped put most of the album together. Includes Minnie's huge crossover hit "Loving You", a perfect showcase for her beautiful 5 octave voice, plus the tracks "Our Lives", "Every Time He Comes Around", "Perfect Angel", and "Reasons". LP, Vinyl record album

One of The Dells' best albums from this period – and a real Cadet studios masterpiece, thanks to some incredibly groovy arrangements by Charles Stepney! The sound's a bit like some of the Rotary Connection albums put together under Stepney's supervision – but given that the group is the Dells, the vocals are much much better, with a much stronger soul component – and fused with some incredible musical arrangements! The whole thing's wonderful – and graced by an incredible gatefold cover that has pictures of miniaturized Dells members being served with eggs and bacon as part of a "musical menu"! Tracks include "Believe Me", "Always Together", "Hallways of My Mind", and the trippy "Agatha Van Thurgood". LP, Vinyl record album

Mindblowing work from Minnie Riperton – her first solo album, cut at the end of the 60s, after a number of years of work with the group Rotary Connection. The album builds off the now famous sound of Rotary Connection – but takes it to the next level, with arch-baroque production by the great Charles Stepney – who couches Minnie's fantastic vocals in a suite of shimmering soulful tracks that mix strings, horns, jazzy piano, and slight touches of bouncing rhythms. The overall sound is impossible to describe – sort of a cross between Burt Bacharach on A&M, Scott Walker's 3rd album, and the sound of Marvin Gaye's What's Goin' On. The album's pure genius all the way through – one of the highlights of the Chicago scene of the 60s – and proof that Riperton, Stepney, and crew were shooting for the outer limits of soul music! Titles include "Les Fleur", "Only When I'm Dreaming", "Rainy Day In Centerville", "Memory Band", "Expecting", "Whenever Wherever", and "Oh, By The Way". LP, Vinyl record album

A dream come true – Minnie's first two solo albums for Epic, back to back on one CD! Perfect Angel was one of THE albums that helped define the sound of female soul in the 70s – a record that moves past the baroque soul of Minnie's early years with Rotary Connection and Charles Stepney – and hits a mix of mellow compressed LA styles and slicker funkier numbers that do the same thing for her Chicago-trained vocals that Rufus' backing did for that of Chaka Khan. Of course, it helps that she's got some superbly sensitive writing and arranging help by husband Richard Rudolph – and Stevie Wonder's definitely lurking in the background, too. Includes Minnie's huge crossover hit "Loving You", a perfect showcase for her beautiful 5 octave voice, plus the tracks "Our Lives", "Every Time He Comes Around", "Perfect Angel", and "Reasons". Adventures In Paradise is even better – and may well be Minnie's greatest album ever! The album's a sparkling work of jazzy soul, with touches of the heavenly production that Minnie got in years past, and lots of smooth mellow songs that are perfectly suited to her other-worldly voice. Includes the massive track "Baby, This Love I Have" – a slow funk number that's be sampled many times over the years – plus the spacey tunes "Minnie's Lament", "Inside My Love", and "Alone In Brewster Bay", remade from Minnie's first LP! 19 tracks in all – and an essential CD for any fan of 70s soul! CD

Finally – the first major collection of work by Minnie Riperton, one of our favorite-ever soul singers! Minnie's had a lasting influence on the music that matters to us – from her early work as a girl group singer in Chicago, to her groundbreaking baroque soul in the group Rotary Connection, to her monumental smooth soul sides of the 70s. This massive 35 track, 2CD set collects songs from all these aspects of Minnie's tragically short career – and it's the first to give a true picture of the rich body of work that she waxed during her all-too-brief time on this planet. Not only does the set feature stunning tracks from her landmark albums on Epic during the 70s – like "Perfect Angel", "Adventures In Paradise", "Baby This Love I Have", "Inside My Love", "Memory Lane", "Loving You", "Reasons", and "Young Willing & Able" – but it also includes work from her earlier years at Chess/Cadet – like the tracks "Lonely Girl", "Respect", "You Gave Me Soul", "I Took A Ride", "Les Fleur", "Completeness", and "We're Going Wrong". Plus, you even get a few duets – like "Light My Fire", recorded with Jose Feliciano, "Here We Go", done with Peabo Bryson, and "Lovin You", cut live with George Benson. There's also a demo of "Seeing You This Way", plus some studio dialog! It's been ages since anyone's recognized Minnie's genius this way – but the wait has been worth it! CD

Dude! This is a genre-busting compilation that features tracks that mix together rock, soul, and more than a bit of funk – a key look into the crossover scene that sprung out of the Monterey Pop/Fillmore generation, and which continued into the 70s with some very fuzzy funk! Guitars are in full force here – ripping and riffing on the album's tunes, pulled from rare soul and pop albums that always command a fierce price with the beathead generation. Titles include "Can I Dedicate" by The Loading Zone, "Get Back" by Deirdre Wilson Tabac, "I Am The Black Gold Of The Sun" by Rotary Connection, "I'm Funky" by Grootna, "I Know I'm Losing You" by Rare Earth, "Compared To What" by Sweetwater, "I'll Say It Again" by Sweet Linda Divine, "Nobody" by Larry Williams & Johnny Guitar Watson with The Kaleidoscope, "I Got A Thing For You Daddy" by Ruth Copeland, and "Gimme Shelter" by Merry Clayton. CD

The roots of some of the greatest hip hop of the past 25 years! This massive 2CD set features 26 tracks that were sampled by Tribe Called Quest for their best work – plus 10 more "skit" tracks that features short musical samples. The whole thing's got that great jazzy feel that you'd expect from Tribe's first few albums – and it's filled with rare cuts like "Loran's Dance" by Idris Muhammad, "Mystic Brew" by Ronnie Foster, "Baby This Love I Have" by Minnie Riperton, "Martin's Funeral" by Bill Cosby, "Ekim" by Michal Urbaniak, "Dirty Old Bossa Nova" by Howard Roberts, "Chant For Bu" by Art Blakey, "Walk On The Wild Side" by Lou Rawls, "Memory Band" by Rotary Connection, "40 Days" by Billy Brooks, and "Inner City Blues" by Rueben Wilson. Great stuff – with loads more excellent cuts! CD

We wouldn't exactly call this a "black rock" compilation, but we will call it darn nice! WDAS in Philadelphia pulled together this nice compilation of tracks, with loads of stuff that's not just hard to find on vinyl but hard to find in any format, and excellent mellow soul to boot! 12 tracks that make this album look like one of those beat digging jazz funk comps from Dusty Groove's early days, even though this album was pulled together years before that, including "Here I Stand" by Africa, "Symphonic Revolution" by Mandrill, "I Think About Lovin' You" by Earth, Wind & Fire, "I'm A Telling You" by Jerry Butler, "Choice Of Colors" by Curtis Mayfield, "Why Not Start All Over Again" by the Counts, "Peace At Last" by the Rotary Connection, "Just Like A Woman" by Richie Havens, "Money Runner" by Quincy Jones, "Buffalo Soldier" by the Persuasions, "Bang Bang" by Joe Cuba and "Hymn To Mother Earth" by Deomn Fuzz. LP, Vinyl record album