Tracks include "Rumble Young Man Rumble", "Oh Yes", "Shottas" feat Cam'Ron & Sizzla, "Clockwork", "Make It Work For You" feat Lil' Wayne & Young Jeezy, "Lil' Boy Fresh", "Good Times", "Kid Is Back", "I Am Crack", "There It Go (The Whistle Song)", "Daddy", "Mic Check" and more! LP, Vinyl record album

Pretty hip stuff, with a definite Coltrane influence – and Larry Young in the group on organ, along with Billy Cobham on drums and Armando Peraza on congas. Titles include "Naima", "A Love Supreme", "Let Us Go Into The House Of The Lord", "Meditation", and "The Life Divine". LP, Vinyl record album

A set that's way more than the classic rock outing of some of the group's Bay Area contemporaries – as the young Carlos Santana finds a way to mix inspirations from blues and Latin music into this fierce fusion of so many different elements at once – stretching out, jamming, and touching decades of listeners in the process! The whole thing's a perfect sonic blend – guitar, keyboards, and plenty of percussion – on the group's stunning remake of "Oye Como Va", their fusion of "Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen", and the cuts "Se A Cabo", "Samba Pa Ti", "El Nicoya", and "Singing Winds Crying Beasts". LP, Vinyl record album

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A crossover Latin Funk classic – with the kind of soaring guitar/organ grooves that were the brilliant sound of the 70s for the West Coast scene, a whole new way of playing Latin Soul that blew away the New York sound of the late 70s. Titles include "Persuasion", "Evil Ways", "Savor", "Jingo", "Soul Sacrifice", and "Shades of Time". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most searing, soaring albums ever from Santana – a set that takes all the power of the previous two records, and packs it into one tight little set! There's plenty of Latin influences going on – mixed with heavy fuzz from Carlos, and lots of jazz and funky touches too – way more happening on the rhythm tip than most of Santana's contemporaries – which is why the record continues to find such a wonderfully wide audience over the years. Drop cuts like "Batuka","Toussaint L'Overture", "Jungle Strut", or "Para Los Rumberos" next to tracks by War, Mandrill or Tower Of Power and you'll see what we mean – and titles also include "No One To Depend On","Taboo", "Guajira" and "Everything's Coming Our Way". LP, Vinyl record album

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With Chester Thompson and Patrice Rushen on keys, Alphonso Johnson on bass, Leon Ndugu Chancler on drums, and Armando Peraza and Jose Chepito Areas on percussion. Tracks include "Spiritual", "Elegant People", "Blues For Salvador", "Goodness And Mercy", "Europa", "and "Mandela". CD

Titles include "Eternal Caravan Of Reincarnation", "Waves Within", "Look Up", "Just In Time To See The Sun", "All The Love Of The Universe", and "Stone Flower". CD

Includes "Evil Ways", "Jingo", "Hope You're Feeling Better", "Samba Pa Ti", "Black Magic Woman" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

A great live Santana set, recorded in Japan in '73 and never released on vinyl in the US! The band here is at their peak, and this set features a nice large lineup that includes Tom Coster, Richard Kermode, Doug Rauch, Armando Peraza, Jose Chepito Areas and Michael Shreve, plus Leon Thomas on vocals! Some tracks show the clear influence of Miles' electric jazz recordings from the same period, while others have a hardcore Latin percussion base, and as you can imagine there's no shortage of full on guitar pyrotechnics and jamming on all the band members' parts. Most of the group's tracks that have entered classic status are here, but the moments that shine the brightest are the lesser known numbers and extended passages where the group really gets into the groove! Includes "A 1 Funk", "Gypsy Queen", "Oye Como Va", "Yours Is The Light", "Batuka", "Xibaba", 'Waiting", "Free Angela", "Samba De Sausalito", "Mantra", "Kyoto", "Incident At Neshabur" and "Toussaint L'Overture". CD

Ok, so you were once embarrassed to have this in your collection – and sold it off so your buddies at college wouldn't make fun of you. Now, though, you treasure it as a crossover Latin Funk classic – with the kind of soaring guitar/organ grooves that were the brilliant sound of the 70s for the West Coast scene, a whole new way of playing Latin Soul that blew away the New York sound of the late 70s. Titles include "Persuasion", "Evil Ways", "Savor", "Jingo", "Soul Sacrifice", and "Shades of Time". Includes bonus live versions from Woodstock of "Savor", "Soul Sacrifice", and "Fried Neckbones". CD

Titles include "The Nile", "Nueva York", "Let Me Inside", "Shango", "Warrior", "Oxun", and "Night Hunting Time". LP, Vinyl record album

Tracks include "Rumble Young Man Rumble", "Oh Yes", "Shottas" feat Cam'Ron & Sizzla, "Clockwork", "Make It Work For You" feat Lil' Wayne & Young Jeezy, "Lil' Boy Fresh", "Good Times", "Kid Is Back", "I Am Crack", "There It Go (The Whistle Song)", "Daddy", "Mic Check" and more! LP, Vinyl record album

Jorge Santana's working here with Allen Toussaint – but in a set that's sometimes a fair bit different than some of the straighter New Orleans productions of the 70s! There's definitely a few grooves in the mix – but these are often a bit more upbeat, and almost clubby at times – a great showcase for Santana's guitar work amidst the rhythms, in ways that are almost more sharp-edged than before! A few tunes bump along with some classic Toussaint funk – but also in ways that are a bit updated too, less Crescent City gritty, and more New York smooth. Instrumentation is often spare overall – mostly a combo led by Santana's guitar – and lead vocals are handled by Jay McKinnon, with some support from the rest of the group. Titles include "Ain't No", "Feeling Good", "New York New York", "My Inspiration", "It's All About Love", and "Three Mile Island". CD

A stone 70s classic from Carlos Santana's lesser-known brother – a set that effortlessly brings together Latin and soul, often with the same sort of vibe as the Coke Escovedo records on Mercury from the same time! Jorge plays guitar, but lead vocals are from Richard Bean (of Malo and Sapo fame) – often in a sweetly crackling style that's kind of a smoother 70s update of Latin Soul modes from a few years before. Tunes are all lively, with nice hooks – never too uptempo, and carried off with a jazzy edge on most numbers. Titles include "Sandy", "Seychells", "Nobody's Perfect", "Love The Way", "We Were There", and "Tonight You're Mine". CD

A set that's way more than the classic rock outing of some of the group's Bay Area contemporaries – as the young Carlos Santana finds a way to mix inspirations from blues and Latin music into this fierce fusion of so many different elements at once – stretching out, jamming, and touching decades of listeners in the process! The whole thing's a perfect sonic blend – guitar, keyboards, and plenty of percussion – on the group's stunning remake of "Oye Como Va", their fusion of "Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen", and the cuts "Se A Cabo", "Samba Pa Ti", "El Nicoya", and "Singing Winds Crying Beasts". CD

Titles include "Eternal Caravan Of Reincarnation", "Waves Within", "Look Up", "Just In Time To See The Sun", "All The Love Of The Universe", and "Stone Flower". LP, Vinyl record album

Lost Latin funk from the Bay Area scene of the 70s – and an album that may well blow away better-known work by groups like Malo, Azteca, or El Chicano! The album's near-perfect right from the start – and brings in plenty of New York elements to the groove, thanks to the inclusion of a heady amount of jazz alongside the soul, Latin, and funk elements in the grooves! The legendary Teo Macero produced and arranged – and really takes a lot of care in the studio to focus the overall energy of the tremendous talents on the record – players who include Hadley Caliman on flute and tenor, Steve Marcus on soprano sax, Benny Velarde on timbales, and Francisco Aguabella on congas – plus the trio of Cesar, Mark Levine, and Merl Sanders on keyboards. Most numbers have this really full, flowing groove – jazzy, but with a strong emphasis on the rhythms – and often touched with some great work on guitar that echoes the Santana-inspired sound of the generation, yet never in a rock way at all. Linda Tillery sings vocals on a few numbers, but the main focus is definitely instrumental – and the whole album's great – with cuts that include "See Saw Affair", "Azucar", "Descarga", "The Devil & Montezuma", "Gotta Get Away", and "Bridges". CD

With Juelz Santana and Bone Thugs N Harmony. 12-inch, Vinyl record

Gary Corben's a contemporary artist, and he works here in the best modes of some of the most compelling Brazilian underground artists in the past decade or so – especially the mighty Kassin, who also produced this set with a really wonderful sound! As with Kassin's music, Gary's has a way of embracing an older generation of Brazilian experimentation, then moving things forward nicely – using instrumentation that changes up in different ways from track to track – funky drums on one number, shimmering vibes on another, and plenty of Fender Rhodes throughout – all a perfect complement to his raspy, warm vocals – with lyrics mostly in English. Titles include "Daisy" "Summer's Almost Here", "Tudo Bem Tudo Bom", "Out Of The Past", "Ana Santana From Copacabana", and "I'm OK You're OK". LP, Vinyl record album

Gritty funk from East Of Underground – an uber-obscure LP recorded in 1971 by a group of US Army serviceman at the Armed Forces Network studios in Frankfurt, Germany – originally used as a recruiting tool during the Vietnam war! Given the strength of the set, we wouldn't be surprised if plenty of folks signed up for a tour of duty after hearing it – as the set cooks like some of the best American funk from the indie 45 world at the time. The production is nice and dark – with an echoey quality that makes us guess the album was a live recording – done by American servicemen with the feel of some backroom funk show from the Indy or Ohio scene of the 70s. Some of the tracks are familiar numbers from American hits – but redone here with a nicely gritty feel – and titles include the awesome medley "Bet'Ya Never Lose My Love California Dreamer" – plus "Higher", "Smiling Faces", "Hell Below", "Getting Over", "Popcorn/Santana", "I Love You", "Java Girl", and "Walk On By". LP, Vinyl record album

Proof that the US Army had plenty going on during the 70s – as you'll hear from this killer set of military-produced grooves from East Of Underground! The set goes way past the previous East Of Underground reissue – to feature work by the groups Soap, Black Seeds, and Sound Trek – all wrapped up in a beautiful package that's as visually pleasing as the music is funky! The cuts here were all recorded by US Army servicemen during the height of the Vietnam war – as Army-issued albums designed to encourage recruitment (as if a few funky grooves could help offset the bad press the war was getting on TV!) But despite that odd origin, the music here is all pretty great – mostly covers of familiar tunes from the time, but recorded with a nicely gritty quality that's mighty nice – and which makes the overall feel of the records like digging into some lost small studio tapes – ala Numero! Now Again have done a great job of putting together the whole package, too – contributing a wealth of notes and photos, and really digging deep into the scene in which these unique records were created. Not only that, but the packaging also replicates the style of the original odd releases too! The set features a CD each of music by East Of Underground and Soap – plus another CD that brings together an unusual double LP by the groups Black Seeds and Sound Trek. Titles include "I Just Want To Celebrate", "Kool & The Gang", "Walking In The Rain", "Backstabbers", "I Love Everything About You", "Ain't No Sunshine", "Go Outside In The Rain", "Black Magic Woman", "Hell Below", "Higher", "Popcorn/Santana", "Walk On By", "Java Girl", and "Get Together". CD

One of the greatest solo albums ever issued by Latin jazz trumpeter Luis Gasca – a set that really expands on his debut for Atlantic Records, and which brings in a whole host of early 70s west coast Latin influences! The style here is very laidback and open – a bit like some of the Chicano funk coming out of the LA scene at the time, but a fair bit more jazz oriented overall – with long lean solos from both Gasca on trumpet and Joe Henderson on tenor sax, set up in a half-electric set of rhythms laid out on guitar, organ, keyboards, bass, and plenty of percussion! Other players here are all top-shelf too – and include Carlos Santana, George Cables, Stanley Clarke, Coke Escovedo, and Lenny White. The album features 4 long tracks – "Spanish Gypsy", "Street Dude", "La Raza", and "Little Mama". LP, Vinyl record album

The fantastic debut of Gypsy – a group who blend wonderful harmonies with really well-crafted inspiration – very much in the jazz-inspired jamming of some of the headier California groups, like Spirit or Santana at their best! The group use a swirling blend of organ and guitar next to their really beautiful vocals – warm and sweet at some of the best moments, but never in a way that ever feels like soft rock – given the intensity of the instrumentation! The album was issued on the Metromedia label, and never got the attention it would have deserved had it hit the racks from a company like Columbia or Warner – but it's every bit as great as some of their giants from the time, with titles that include "Last December", "Man Of Reason", "Third Eye", "Tomorrow Is The Last To Be Heard", "Here In My Loneliness", "Dead & Gone", "Dream If You Can", "Decisions", and "Gypsy Queen". CD

A rare album of funky soul from the Bay Area scene at the start of the 70s – and a set that's every bit as righteous as you might expect from the cover! The group's the creation of singer/keyboardist/arranger Leon Pattillo – hence the name – and you might know Leon from his later famous work in the 70s – including a stint with Santana, and loads of great work with other soul artists. But here, he's a young genius working in the freest, funkiest style of the San Francisco generation – with a vibe that's maybe a more spiritual take on territory explored by Sly & The Family Stone – with an earthier, more indie vibe overall. The group has great interplay – tight instrumentation, but never slick, and with some nice long-haired currents – and vocals are by Leon and a female singer – on titles that include "Confusion", "If I Had The Power", "Sightless", "Back Roads", "This Is The Beginning", and "Mirage". CD

A rare album of funky soul from the Bay Area scene at the start of the 70s – and a set that's every bit as righteous as you might expect from the cover! The group's the creation of singer/keyboardist/arranger Leon Pattillo – hence the name – and you might know Leon from his later famous work in the 70s – including a stint with Santana, and loads of great work with other soul artists. But here, he's a young genius working in the freest, funkiest style of the San Francisco generation – with a vibe that's maybe a more spiritual take on territory explored by Sly & The Family Stone – with an earthier, more indie vibe overall. The group has great interplay – tight instrumentation, but never slick, and with some nice long-haired currents – and vocals are by Leon and a female singer – on titles that include "Confusion", "If I Had The Power", "Sightless", "Back Roads", "This Is The Beginning", and "Mirage". LP, Vinyl record album

A landmark album that changed a generation of Brazilian musicians – a sublime instrumental collaboration between Airto, Hermeto Pascoal, and 2 other great musicians of their generation! The sound is quite unique – almost a modern recasting of older rootsy modes – taken into the complicated jazzy territory of Airto and Pascoal's best work of the early 70s, but done in an even more stripped down mode! Airto plays percussion, Pascoal plays flute, Geraldo Vandre handles guitar, and Theo De Barros is also in the group – and there's a groove that's impossible to describe accurately, but which you'll instantly recognize as archetypal! Includes the legendary tracks "Misturada" and "Vim de Santana" – plus "Sintese", "Canta Maria", "Canto Geral", and "O Ovo". LP, Vinyl record album

An 80s album by McCoy Tyner, but easily one of his most soulful sessions ever – thanks to help from Phyllis Hyman and a host of great guest stars! The sound's a bit more tightly arranged than some of Tyner's 70s sessions, but there's still plenty of fire here too – a bit of a Latin inspiration in the rhythms, really giving new focus to McCoy's post-Coltrane sense of searching spirituality! Hyman sings wonderfully on the album's classic "Love Surrounds Us Everywhere", a brilliant blend of jazz and soul that recalls mid 70s Norman Connors – and on the beautiful ballad "I'll Be Around". Other players here include Gary Bartz, Stanley Clarke, and Carlos Santana – who comes off surprisingly nicely in this setting. Tracks include "Love Surrounds Us Everywhere", "Hannibal", "I'll Be Around", "Senor Carlos", "In Search Of My Heart", and "Island Birdie". LP, Vinyl record album

Incredible stuff from the jazz underground of Newark! This is one of the rarest albums ever recorded by jazz organist Larry Young – cut for the tiny Perception label during the early 70s, and featuring some of the cream of the New Jersey jazz underground. The album's got playing that bridges a number of Young's different styles – from his straighter soul jazz work at Blue Note, to his harder jamming with Santana and John McLaughlin, to his more fusion oriented albums for Arista. James Blood Ulmer's on guitar, but there's also a large ensemble of excellent players, and lots of other percussion and cool instrumentation that really gives the album an "out there" sound! Titles include "Sunshine Fly Away", "Saudia", "Hello Your Quietness", and "Khalid Of Space". CD

A great return for the legendary Tom Ze – an artist who'd been brought back to prominence via the efforts of a Luaka Bop compilation – then given this great chance to record for the label on his own! The set's a great return to form for Ze – who sprung from this moment into a renewed period of creative energy – really drawing on his crucial years of groundbreaking sounds in Brazil during the Tropicalia generation, and especially the 70s – when Tom had really moved off into a realm of his own. Most tracks are relatively short, and pretty enigmatic – a flurry of the sounds and verbal experiments that always made Ze so great! Titles include "Jingle Do Disco", "Cortina 3", "Amar", "Ogodo, Ano 2000", "Feira De Santana", "Fliperama", and "Tatuaramba". LP, Vinyl record album

Tracks by Van Morrison, Simon & Garfunkel, Santana, Boston, Meat Loaf, Weather Report, Dave Brubeck, Miles Davis, Sly & The Family Stone, Robert Johnson, Janis Joplin, and more – 17 tracks in all. CD

A seminal album from the end of the 60s – the triple-length soundtrack to the legendary Woodstock Festival in 1969 – pulled from all the many hours of material recorded for the film of the event! The set list reads not just like a "who's who" of hipness at the time – but also expands to show just how wide the range of sounds was in the underground – strands that move past the obvious rock material that you might expect, and which have the record standing as a great memory to the time – with maybe more diversity than some of the more monolithic memories! Features work by Canned Heat, Arlo Guthrie, Jimi Hendrix, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Richie Havens, Santana, Ten Years After, The Who, Country Joe & The Fish, Sly & The Family Stone, Joan Baez, Butterfield Blues Band, Joe Cocker, Jefferson Airplane, John B Sebastian – and yes, Sha Na Na. CD

Rare 70s funky soul from The Equatics – just the kind of record that keeps us digging and still excited after all these years – resurrected by the like minded diggers at Now Again! You know the kind of album we're talking about, the ones you come across with enigmatic cover art, no names on the back you recognize or even anything indicating where or when it's from. Then you take a spin and it's the real thing from the get go! The production is nice and raw but not ragged, and a funky vibe that groups today emulate but just can't recapture. This set's mid 70s R&B, mostly instrumental but with a few vocal numbers, all nicely done up in a very groovy, funky fashion. There's a couple of nice covers, like their Isaac Hayes-ish take on "Walk On By" and a nice rendition of "Ain't No Sunshine", but the rest of the set's mostly originals, like "Merry-Go-Round" and some nice raggedy instrumentals like "What They Doin?", "Santana" done up in parts 1 and 2 (maybe on a 45 somewhere. . .), "Cisco Fare" and the jazzy "The Touch Of You". Amazing! CD

A record that was a bit of a "save" after the Fania All Stars had a disastrous concert at Yankee Stadium – and one that actually turned out to be one of their funkiest albums of the 70s! The set features half live material, and half studio tracks – the latter recorded after the concert failed to yield a record – and for the session, the group brought in some unusual guest stars to really up their game – Manu Dibango on saxophone, Jorge Santana on guitar, Jan Hammer on keyboards, and Billy Cobham on drums – all working nicely with the legendary lineup of Fania singers and musicians! Titles include great versions of "Soul Makossa" and "Viva Tirado", plus a very nice track called "Smoke". Other titles include the classic "El Raton", plus "Congo Bongo", "Chanchullo", "There You Go", and "Mama Guela". LP, Vinyl record album

Album features a long list of guest artists including John Mayer, Santana, Angelique Kidjo, Christina Aguilera, Paul Simon, Annie Lennox, Sting, Jonny Lang, Joss Stone, Damien Rice, and Trey Anastasio. LP, Vinyl record album

This one's a bit tighter than some of the group's earlier albums – but still equally funky, and still very nice! Malo are at the top of their form here – grooving hard with great guitar from Jorge Santana, tight congas from Francisco Aquabella, sweet organ from Ron De Masi, and great vocals by the whole group – all wrapped up with a warm sound that's totally great. The best cuts have that choppy Chicano funk sound that was the West Coast's best contribution to Latin music during the 70s – and many numbers have strong jazzy elements on the solos. Titles include "Tiempo De Recordar", "Chevere", "A La Escuela", "Offerings", and "Latin Woman". LP, Vinyl record album

A killer chapter in the great early run of Buddy Miles – really genre-busting work that managed to cross over big to a number of crowds back in the day! As with his Mercury work, Miles has a wicked mix of soul, funk, rock, and blues going on here – but one that's percolated together strongly, so that it's not just a cribbing of famous styles – and instead comes across as something really new in the process – kind of a fresh vibe for all the cats who were willing to cross the tracks and change things up in their music at the time. Johnny Bristol handles production for the set, but it's still got the heavy groove you'd find on earlier Miles records – and the album features guest appearances from Carlos Santana, plus Latin percussion luminaries Wille Bobo and Victor Pantoja. Titles include "LA Resurrection", "Life Is What You Make It (parts 1 & 2)", "Elvira", "Hear No Evil", "Love Affair", "Visions", and "Crossfire". CD