The funkiest man? Could well be – and this set will more than support that case! By the time of these recordings, Rufus Thomas was already a legendary figure in the Memphis scene – an aging R&B star that also worked on radio and did a fair bit of promotion for other artists, including daughter Carla. At the end of the 60s, Stax brought him into the studio with the idea of pumping up his sound a bit – adding in some of the newer funky styles, which proved to be a perfect fit for Rufus' rough-hewn style of vocals. Tracks on the set feature a number of classic singles from these years, plus a few unissued numbers – with an all funky track list that includes "Funkiest Man Alive", "Give Me The Green Light", "Itch & Scratch", "Turn Your Damper Down", "Funky Hot Grits", "I'm Getting Better", "Sophisticated Sissy", "Funky Mississippi", "Git On Up & Do It", "The Breakdown (part 1)", "Push & Pull (part 1)", "Do The Double Bump", "Funky Robot (part 1)", "Memphis Train 75", and "Funky Bird". LP, Vinyl record album

Late funkiness from Rufus – a mixture of Memphis groove and boogie, with many of the same elements of his famous funky tunes – including some nice drums that snap on the intro, and a bass part that flips around a lot at the beginning! More "bump" than straight funk, but still nice! 7-inch, Vinyl record

A long-overdue collection of the wealth of work that Carla Thomas did for Stax Records in the 60s – the wonderfully rich first section of her career, when the label was working in strong partnership with Atlantic Records! Carla's the daughter of Memphis soul legend Rufus Thomas – who first brought her to Stax, and helped launch her career – yet right from the start, it was clear that the younger Thomas was a star waiting to shine on her own – one of the first deep soul divas of the 60s to also showcase a strength for more sophisticated styles too – a bit like the blend that Aretha Franklin was recording at Columbia before moving to Atlantic – territory that Carla Thomas clearly held first in the heart of the label! The box brings together 94 tracks in all – a huge amount of Stax material, including all her duets with Otis Redding and Rufus Thomas – plus singles and b-sides too – all with a great presentation and a huge booklet of notes. Titles include "Let Me Be Good To You (live)", "Let It Be Me", "Night Time Is The Right Time", "What Have You Got To Offer Me", "Never Let You Go", "It Takes Two", "Knock On Wood", "Fate", "Looking Back", "For You", "I Didn't Believe", "The Puppet", "What A Fool I've Been", "The Life I Live", "I Fall To Pieces", "Winter Snow", "When Something Is Wrong With My Baby", "No Time To Lose", "How Do You Quit", and lots lots more! CD

The first album from Carla Thomas – and one of the first full statements from the burgeoning Stax Records scene of the early 60s! Carla was part of the Stax scene almost from the start – thanks in part to the fact that her father was Rufus Thomas – and she scored big with her own original composition "Gee Whiz, Look At His Eyes" – a single so successful that Stax let Atlantic handle the first full album by Carla, instead of issuing it themselves. The record's got a much sweeter sound than some of Carla's later work – with an approach that's almost uptown soul, and which sets Carla's little girl vocal style amidst fuller arrangements that have a lot of "classy" overtones. The result is a classic bit of 60s soul – and the album features some great original tracks that include "Gee Whiz", "It Ain't Me", "For You", and "A Love Of My Own" – plus versions of "Your Love", "To The Aisle", and "A Lovely Way To Spend An Evening". LP, Vinyl record album

Herbie Mann kicks Johnny Rivers off the stage of the Whisky A Go Go – and serves up some amazing long tracks that really redefine the sound of jamming on the Sunset Strip! The album's quite unusual for the time – in that it features two long tracks, which each run a side apiece – played by Herbie's hip late 60s group that featured Sonnh Sharrock on guitar and Roy Ayers on vibes – plus Steve Marcus on tenor and Miroslav Vitous on bass! With players like that, you can bet there's a massive sound to the whole thing – one that goes beyond even the boldness of other live Herbie Mann albums – and titles include a long take on Chris Hill's "Ooh Baby", and side two features a great version of Rufus Thomas' classic "Philly Dog". CD

Herbie Mann kicks Johnny Rivers off the stage of the Whisky A Go Go – and serves up some amazing long tracks that really redefine the sound of jamming on the Sunset Strip! The album's quite unusual for the time – in that it features two long tracks, which each run a side apiece – played by Herbie's hip late 60s group that featured Sonnh Sharrock on guitar and Roy Ayers on vibes – plus Steve Marcus on tenor and Miroslav Vitous on bass! With players like that, you can bet there's a massive sound to the whole thing – one that goes beyond even the boldness of other live Herbie Mann albums – and titles include a long take on Chris Hill's "Ooh Baby", and side two features a great version of Rufus Thomas' classic "Philly Dog". LP, Vinyl record album

Damn! Orgone just keep getting better and better – to the point where we might almost say that there's no difference between the strength of the group's sound and all the funky 70s acts that have inspired their music! The instrumentation and production are right on the money throughout – and speaking of inspiration, the group pay tribute to some of their heroes – by taking on tunes by The Meters, Funkadelic, Rufus Thomas, Booker T & The MGs, and many others – but all at a level that makes the tunes completely their own. With Colemine on hand to co-present the record, there's a definite love of heavy funk in the whole production – both on the soulful vocal cuts, and the album's great instrumentals. Titles include "The Black Five", "Cynthy-Ruth", "Think", "Nobody's Fault But Mine", "Breakdown", "Melting Pot", "It's Serious", "It Ain't No Use", "Cosmic Slop", and "Let Me Be Your Love Maker". CD

An incredible session of soul – tracks recorded live at the legendary Apollo Theater in Harlem, featuring some of the hippest Stax and Atlantic artists in a very raw setting! The album's got a feel that's a lot less forced than other famous live Apollo sets of the time – very relaxed, but very authentic too – as the singers are given plenty of space to take the lead, and heard here with a quality that's more spontaneous than some of their studio sides. The audience gets a bit of space – but never as bombastically so as on a James Brown record – and given how many artists Atlantic discovered at The Apollo, the album's a nice nod of "thanks" in the right direction! Titles include "I Found A Love" and "Alabama Bound" by The Falcons, "Pain In My Heart" and "These Arms Of Mine" by Otis Redding, "Speedo's Back In Town" by The Coasters, "Misty" and "Say Yeah" by Doris Troy, "Rockin Chair" and "Walkin The Dog" by Rufus Thomas, "Stand By Me" and "Groovin" by Ben E King, and a special finale version of "What'd I Say". LP, Vinyl record album

Funky genius from the legendary Stax studios! During the 60s, Stax was well known for their work in the soul music field – turning out hit singles by the likes of Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, and others – but after 1968, when the label finished their deal with Atlantic, they really started getting down and dirty, and hitting on all burners in the funk department. This tasty set features 21 tracks from those exiting years –many of them only ever issued on singles, and a few of them by some of the label's more famous LP artists – but all of them with a nice Memphis funky groove! Titles include "Turn Your Damper Down" by Rufus Thomas, "Broadway Freeze" by Harvey Scales, "Life Is Funky" by Round Robin Monopoly, "The Dryer" by Roy Lee Johnson, "She's My Old Lady Too" by Lee Sain, "Slipped & Tripped" by The Sweet Inspirations, "Brothers & Sisters" by Kim Weston, "Movin Dancer" by Bobby Holley, "Eli's Pork Chop" by Little Sonny, "A Man Never Knows" by Chris & Shack, "Grab A Handful" by Art Jerry Miller, "I'll Kill A Brick (About My Man)" by Hot Sauce, "Watch The Dog That Brings The Bone" by Inez Foxx, "Sock Soul" by The Bar Kays, and "Getting Funky Round Here" by Black Nasty! LP, Vinyl record album

A mountain of funk from one of the greatest soul labels of all time! Stax is known round the world over for their soulful work – by singers like Otis Redding or Carla Thomas, and instrumental tunes by Booker T & The MGs – but the label was also quite a funky powerhouse – especially as the 60s drew to a close, and the management of the company got a lot hipper, and a heck of a lot more musically open-minded! This killer batch of tracks features 21 numbers from those days – including many obscure and funky tunes that only ever came out on singles, or which were recorded by artists that never made it as big as Stax stars from earlier years. The result of all that obscurity is an extremely fresh selection of tracks – plenty of down-n-dirty funky 45 numbers, played by hip Memphis combos, and featuring some really deep soul vocals. Titles include "Dark Skin Woman" by Sir Mack Rice, "Ain't No Sin" by John Kasandra, "Bump & Boogie" by The Wrecking Crew, "Shame On The Family Name" by Calvin Scott, "Cool Strut" by Bernie Hayes, "Bump Mean" by Sir Mack Rice, "Soul Machine" by Reggie Milner, "How Can You Mistreat The One You Love" by Katie Love, "Cold Blooded" by The Bar Kays, "Do The Side Saddle" by Rufus Thomas, "Stay Away From That Monkey" by Jimmy McCracklin, "Them Hot Pants" by Lee Sain, "Devil In A Man" by Stu Gardner, "Circuits Overloaded" by Inez Foxx, "From Toys To Boys" by The Emotions, "Got It Together (parts 1 & 2)" by Rudy Robinson & The Hungry Five, and "Crosscut Saw" by Albert King. CD

A set that's overflowing with greatness from the legendary Stax Records – a set that features both early material later owned by Atlantic, as well as later hits from the Fantasy empire – making for a package that truly runs the scope of the legendary label, and which features 20 of their biggest hits. Titles include Sam & Dave "Hold On, I'm Coming", The Staple Singers "Respect Yourself" and "I'll Take You There", Carla Thomas "B-A-B-Y", Shirley Brown "Woman To Woman", The Soul Children "I'll Be The Other Woman", Eddie Floyd "Knock On Wood", Johnnie Taylor "Cheaper To Keep Her" and "Who's Making Love", Little Milton "That's What Love Will Make You Do", William Bell "I Forgot To Be Your Lover", Jean Knight "Mr Big Stuff", Booker T & The MGs "Green onions", Rufus Thomas "(Do The) Push & Pull", Mel & Tim "Starting All Over Again", the Dramatics "In The Rain", the Emotions "So I Can Love You", Otis Redding "(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay", Frederick Knight "I've Been Lonely" and Isaac Hayes "Theme From Shaft". CD

Damn! Orgone just keep getting better and better – to the point where we might almost say that there's no difference between the strength of the group's sound and all the funky 70s acts that have inspired their music! The instrumentation and production are right on the money throughout – and speaking of inspiration, the group pay tribute to some of their heroes – by taking on tunes by The Meters, Funkadelic, Rufus Thomas, Booker T & The MGs, and many others – but all at a level that makes the tunes completely their own. With Colemine on hand to co-present the record, there's a definite love of heavy funk in the whole production – both on the soulful vocal cuts, and the album's great instrumentals. Titles include "The Black Five", "Cynthy-Ruth", "Think", "Nobody's Fault But Mine", "Breakdown", "Melting Pot", "It's Serious", "It Ain't No Use", "Cosmic Slop", and "Let Me Be Your Love Maker". LP, Vinyl record album

Ed Thigpen's a mighty young man for his age – a drummer with decades of experience, but easily able to slide into the excellent group of younger musicians here - a crack lineup that features Terence Blanchard on trumpet, Branford Marsalis on soprano and tenor, Roland Hanna on piano, Rufus Reid on bass, and Bobby Thomas Jr on drums! Ed's recorded so often in a piano trio, that we especially love his albums with horn players – and this date really crackles with the kind of excitement that Thigpen can bring to the right sort of group – almost as if he's showing the world that he could have his own version of the Jazz Messengers if he wanted. Titles include "Shufflin Long", "Oh My Gosh", "Summertime", "Scramble", "Yesterdays", and "Dark Before The Dawn". CD

Music from Rufus Thomas, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash, Charlie Rich, Howlin' Wolf, the Prisonaires, Sonny Burges, Jackie Brenston & more. CD