A really well-chosen set of classic Afro Funk records from Fela Kuti – hand-picked by Idris Elba, and brought together in this limited box set! Open & Close is an early classic from Fela Kuti & Africa 70 – the kind of early 70s record that helped both the leader and the group establish themselves as a global powerhouse of funk and soul! The set begins with the side-long "Open & Close" – a righteous tune that's driven onward by lots of tight drums from Tony Allen – young, focused, and completely amazing here – while Fela delivers all these madly leaping electric piano lines amidst the super-sharp horn section – all moving instrumentally for many minutes before the vocals come into play! Side two features two shorter tracks, but still nice and long in comparison to most funky groups – the wonderful "Swegbe & Pako" and "Gbagada Gbagada Gbogodo Gbogodo" – tunes that really send the record over the top! Fela teams up with vibist Roy Ayers on Music Of Many Colors – one of the best soul collaborations ever – a whopping album that brings together the best sides of these monster soul talents of the 70s! In keeping with Fela's work, the tracks are long and Afro-tinged, with a complicated groove that grows over the length of the track. And in keeping with Roy's work, the album has a sweet soulful feel, with lots of nice jazzy touches, cool vibes, and great vocals by Roy. Two long tracks, both classics: "2000 Black" and "Africa, Center of the World". Opposite People is seminal work from one of Fela's most crucial periods – recorded at a time when his soul was the deepest! The album features 2 long tracks – "Opposite People" and "Equalisation Of Trouser & Pant" – and they both have beautiful spooky keyboards in the instrumental passages, then leap into hard soul vocals by Fela. Tremendous stuff – done in a style that shows that no matter how many people cop or remake Fela's sound, he's still the best one to do it! The rare Stalemate album features the side-long tracks "Stalemate" and "Don't Worry About My Mouth" – both really hard-driving numbers, with a fantastic mix of vocals and grooves! Live In Amsterdam is an excellent live set from Fela – one that shows that he was still very capable of going over the top during the 80s! The set's a double LP – and it features 4 great numbers by the group, with Fela on soprano sax, piano, and organ, and plenty of other great work on tenor, alto, and trumpet. Titles include "Gimme Shit I Give You Shit", "Custom Check Point", "Movement Of The People", and "Political Statement Number 1". I Go Shout Plenty is a great one from Fela – with a date of 1986, but a sound that's pure late 70s! The record features 2 long tracks – "I Go Shout Plenty" and "Why Black Man Dey Suffer" – and they're both hard groovers with a strong political feel. "Why Black Man" is especially nice, and has some great keyboard riffing in the middle, with that great tinny sound that you'll hear on the best Fela albums. One that we almost never see – and issued on the Decca subsidiary Afrodisia. LP, Vinyl record album

Maybe the best Joe Lee Wilson album you can ever get! Joe Lee Wilson's got a spiritual jazz vocal style that's in the vein of Leon Thomas, but which often falls short of Thomas' greatness on other recordings – yet here, though, he's totally great – hitting a beautifully soulful vein that's totally righteous, and which really delivers on the promise you'll hear on his other records. The group's quite tight – the Bond Street combo, which includes Fielder Floyd on trumpet, Monty Waters on alto and soprano, and Shiroh Mori on guitar – and the session was released by the hard-to-find Why Not imprint of the Japanese label Trio, making it one of the more obscure records in Wilson's catalog. The set steps off with an amazing take on Billy Gault's "Mode For Trane" – and other titles include "Song For My Father", "One ", "Four", and "Sophisticated Lady". LP, Vinyl record album

A heavy dose of funky jazz – and one that goes way past the obvious too – to include some real gems from the 70s that even we'd passed up! The package is filled with stellar jazz from the Fantasy Records family – Prestige, Pablo, Galaxy and Fantasy proper – choice numbers by The Blackbyrds, Stanley Cowell, Charles Earland, Patrice Rushen and others – funky jazz, soul, boogie and Brazil-flavored numbers from the top shelf of the diverse period! It's a tight, well chosen compilation with numbers you simply could not overlook in putting a set like this together – productions by the Mizells, Donald Byrd, Earland and others – but there's a few of leftfield choices, too. Simply a great little snapshot of the funky jazz and soul period and the family of labels that generated so much of the most creative music to come from it! 14 tracks and nearly 80 minutes of grooves: Includes "Happy Music" by Blackbyrds, "Close To You" by Marlon McClain, "Let Me Love You (Let Me Be Me)" by Stanley Cowell, "Taj Mahal" by Paulinho Da Costa, "Nov Ano" by Azar Lawrence, "Moon Dreams" by Flora Purim, "Montevideo" by Opa, "Glide" by Pleasure, "Shout It Out" by Patrice Rushen, "If Only I Could Prove To You" by The 3 Pieces and more. CD

A funky soul classic from the Fantastic Johnny C – a hard and heavy Philadelphia winner from the end of the 60s, and the kind of record that really gave Stax and Atlantic a run for their money! Johnny C's working here with some great hard soul production from Jesse James – grooving in a way that's heavy on the back beat – following in the style of similar late 60s work from Wilson Pickett and Dyke & The Blazers. Like Dyke, Johnny's album has a rolling groove that's a great precursor to funk in years to come – and like Wilson, Johnny's vocals are very on top of the mix – shoutin' and beltin' all the way through, in a really solid sock-soul groove! Titles include the hit "Boogaloo Down Broadway", plus "Cool Broadway, "Got What You Need", "Baby I Need You", "Shout Bamalama", and "The Bounce". LP, Vinyl record album

Tracks include "Buffalo Gals" by Malcolm McLaren, "Bring The Noise" and "The Public" by Public Enemy, "You Gots To Chill" by EPMD, "Sally" by Stetsasonic, "Big Mouth" by Whodini, "Top Billin" by Audio Two, "I Got A Good Thing" by Super Lover Cee & Casanova Rud, "Jenifa" by De La Soul, and "Twist & Shout" and "Shake Your Thing" by Salt N Pepa. LP, Vinyl record album

Don't be put off by the "twist" in the title – as this is a killer collection of R&B work from Atlantic Records – with some rare soul singles too! The cover claims that this album contains "the 16 best twist numbers by the world's most authentic performers" – and titles include "How Many Times" by Solomon Burke, "Rock & Roll Machine" by Tee Tucker, "Jam Up Twist" by Tommy Ridgely, "Mr Lee" by The Bobbettes, "I Want To Know" by Lloyd Sims, "Twist & Shout" by the Top Notes, "Do The Hully Gully" by King Coleman, "Bootie Green" by the Clovers, and "Jim Dandy" by LaVern Baker. LP, Vinyl record album

A great set of 50s recordings by gritty rhythm & blues singer Big Mama Thornton – whose most famous for grittier shouters – but there's some surprisingly easygoing numbers here, too! Her famous "Hound Dog" opens this set, and sets the pace strongly – for a batch of tunes that nicely feature big, forceful voice – with some great, top shelf 50s R&B with heavy horns, raw drums and unshakable rhythm – along with some straighter blues numbers that point the way towards Mama's work in the 60s. Other numbers include "I Smell A Rat", "They Call Me Big Mama", "Nightmare", Walking Blues", "Hard Times", "The Big Change", "The Fish", "I've Searched The Whole World Over", "Stop A-Hoppin' On Me", "Now Come", "Nightmare", "My Man Called Me" and more. CD

An amazing document of one of the grooviest groups to emerge from the UK at the start of the 80s – not just their three full albums, but almost as much rare bonus material as well! The English Beat came a bit later than the initial wave of Two Tone ska revival groups – and they came with a difference, too – a bit more soul, and a slightly more contemporary approach to their music – one that pushed Jamaican roots into mod London modes – particularly the best sorts that were bubbling up in the post-punk generation! The group really helped revive some warmer sounds in British music – yet without just copying older modes from the other side of the Atlantic, too – and these three great albums definitely went onto set a fire in a host of other groups as well – the first wave of some surprisingly soulful moments from the UK in the 80s. The box set features the full albums I Just Can't Stop It, Wha'ppen, and Special Beat Service – all with bonus tracks not on the original albums. Then, the set also features more bonus material that includes 15 12" and dub versions of album tracks – and three Peel Session recordings from 1979, 1980, and 1982 – plus a live Boston recording from 1982! Comes in a great box, with a 24 page booklet of essays and rare photos! CD

Probably the best-ever funky cut by this obscure group from the early 70s! The track begins with a voice shouting "Hey Y'all!" – then rolls into a tight sax-honking groove that's a bit like Oliver Sain in his "Bus Stop" mode! The track's definitely a party, and has plenty of crowd noises next to the vocals, making for a nice live in studio feel! 7-inch, Vinyl record

One of the first collections we've ever seen to really do justice to the genius of Roy Hamilton in the 1950s – a package of tracks that not only features his better-known crossover ballads of the time, but which also includes some great tracks in a harder R&B mode! Roy was one of the first singers of his generation to strongly break down the color barrier in popular music – and his amazing vocals were wonderfully suited to a range of material that reached out to many listeners – mellow love songs, rocking upbeat numbers, and even a bit of early country soul – all presented here in great sound with a batch of notes that further illustrates the importance of this material. 26 tracks in all – including "Unchained Melody", "You Can Have Her", "Don't Let Go", "Hurt", "Earthbound", "Crazy Feelin", "Mr Rock & Soul", "I Need Your Lovin", "Dreams Oh Dreams", "I'll Never Be Free", "Blowtop Blues", "On My Way Back Home", "Jungle Fever", "Forgive This Fool", "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down & Cry", "You'll Never Walk Alone", "I'm Gonna Move To The Outskirts Of Town", and "That's All Right". CD

Wild early work from avant jazz genius Joe McPhee – and a set that's actually pretty darn funky too! This rare indie release features 3 long tracks – two of which were recorded live, with a tight combo that includes a very funky drummer! The album kicks off with the hard wailing "Nation Time", which begins with a shout from Joe, and which rolls into a vamping modal groove (almost Pharoah Sanders-ish) filled with spiritual tenor work from McPhee, and some nice electric piano that sounds very off-kilter – funky, but unusual too. Next up is "Shakey Jake", an excellent 13 minute funk number – with bubbling organ, vamping rhythms, and a nice extended jazz dance groove – one of the rare tunes that has kept the album at the top of collectors' lists for years! And last up is "Scorpio's Dance", a pretty raw and somber track, with a nice open-ended loft jazz quality – balancing things out with a bit of avant energy. LP, Vinyl record album

A very wild album from Ricardo Ray – sort of a mix of Latin soul styles in the mode of work by Mongo Santamaria, but a lot more messed up! The album's got a number of 60s soul covers – but they're done here by Ricardo in kind of a party Latin mode, touched with a bit of garage soul vocals, in a way that makes the whole album quite upbeat and playful throughout – filled with non-stop groovers that keep on delivering the goods! Our favorite cut is the original "Soul Mexico", which has this storming chanting verse, that then unwinds into a totally catchy chorus with overlapping melodic lines – but the whole album's great, and other tracks include "Ya Ya", "I Want You To Be My Girl", "Mony Mony", "Shout", and "Soul Man". LP, Vinyl record album

With selections by Jackie Wilson, Len Barry, The Chiffons, Shirley Ellis, Music Explosion, Roy Head, The Surfaris, Isley Brothers, Dion, The Champs, The Kingsmen, Ikettes, Four Pennies, Jarmels, and The Shirelles. LP, Vinyl record album

Some folks might associate Philadelphia soul with the famous Gamble & Huff productions of the 70s disco years – but the city was already overflowing with great music in the years before Philadelphia International – as you'll hear in this totally groovy set! Philly was making as much great soul music in the 60s as Detroit, Chicago, and New York – thanks to an earlier musical framework that was set up by the city's big pop hits of the late 50s – which provided plenty of labels, studios, and other facilities for Philly's ever-growing array of soul talents, too – so much so that by the end of the 60s, the city was turning into a destination for singers outside of town – almost as much of a musical magnet as studios in Memphis or Muscle Shoals! This set does a great job of bringing together both aspects of that scene – wonderful homegrown talent, mixed with outsiders to really took off in the new Philly sound of the 60s – a joyous, positive, upbeat approach that worked wonderfully well for a variety of artists. Titles include "Your Fool Still Loves You" by Oscar Weathers, "It's All Over But The Shouting" by George Tindley, "You've Been Untrue" by The Delfonics, "Ain't Nothing But A House Party" by The Show Stoppers, "Peace To You Brother" by Lou Johnson, "Christine" by Executive Suite, "Help Me" by Honey & The Bees, "You Got What I Need" by Freddie Scott, "Rainmaker" by The Moods, "Keep On Striving" by Moses Smith, "That's The Price You Have To Pay" by Brenda & The Tabulations, "What You Gave Up" by The Continental 4, "Every Day Is A Holiday" by The Intruders, "Standing In The Darkness" by The Ethics, and "Girl You're Too Young" by Len Barry. CD

A classic album in the mode of soul jazz piano grooviness that put Les on the map, even back in the early days! The album was recorded live at The Bit, on the Sunset Strip, in LA – and it features Les' classic group with Leroy Vinnegar on bass and Ron Jefferson on drums. Tracks are short and groovy – and titles include "The Shout", "Set Call", "Jubilation", and "Night In Tunisia". LP, Vinyl record album

A definite mother from James Brown – the kind of all-funky album that few of his contemporaries could ever hope to match! If you've ever doubted the sheer raw power of James at the end of the 60s, the first few notes of this one will definitely make you a convert – and the stretched-out grooves as the album rolls on will pull you even further into the fold. Most tracks roll on with that improvised studio jamming style that James was hitting at the time – a pre-JBs mode that's not as long as later years, but which still makes you feel that there probably was plenty more recorded on the dates that didn't make it into the two-part versions of the tracks! And although James is singing on most numbers, the real focus is more on the band – hitting hard, vamping sharp, and grooving massively under shouted calls and directions from Brown. Titles include two great instrumentals – "Popcorn With a Feeling" and "Top of the Stack" – plus "Little Groove Maker Me (parts 1 & 2)", "Mother Popcorn (parts 1 & 2)", "Mashed Potato Popcorn (parts 1 & 2)", "Any Day Now", "You're Still Out Of Sight", and "I'm Shook" – as well as the great mellower number "If I Ruled The World" – redone here as an African-American anthem of pride and power! LP, Vinyl record album

An oft-forgotten funky classic from James! The track's a monster – with this wah-wah beat that's flanged all over the place, yet is still as tight as a pair of pants with a 26 inch waist! The groove is prime JBs early 70s – and James is shoutin and callin the groove over the top! 7-inch, Vinyl record

More excellent hard funky grooves from the Desco stable of artists – a tight bunch of modern funkateers who are transforming the field with hardcore, old school, purist funk grooves. The Other Side previously released a single or two on the label, and they've made a name for themselves by specializing hard funky stripped-down JB's sound grooves. Lots of hard vamping, with good instrumental solos, and tight rhythmic guitar and bass playing. Mostly instrumental, with some chanting and shouting over the top of things. Pressed on heavy vinyl, and with the cuts "Snake Bite", "The Butcher", "Cornbread", "Diggin' Up The Yard", and "Spying On the Devil". CD

Classic work from this Texas trio – pulled from a time when they were still super-hip, and one of the freshest mainstream things to come from their scene! The mix of blues roots and psych influences here is wonderful – much rawer than in the group's later years, with a strong link in sonic intensity to the 60s Texas garage/psych scene – thanks to mindblowing work on guitar from the young Billy Gibbons! Titles include "Bar B Q", "Whiskey N Mama", "Francine", "Just Got Paid", "Ko Ko Blue", "Chevrolet", "Mushmouth Shoutin", and "Sure Got Cold After The Rain Fell". LP, Vinyl record album

What can we say? The Beasties rise to an even higher level with their manic trio hip hop style mixed with the live jazz/funk/garage rock sounds and keyboards by Money Mark – featuring a bunch of their classic hits and underappreciated album cuts alike. They could really do no wrong at this point in their unlikely long career. One of our favorites then and now is "Get It Together" featuring a very sharp Q-Tip almost stealing the show, and other standouts include unstoppable "Sure Shot" and "Sabotage", "Futterman's Rule", "Shambala", "The Scoop", "Do It", "Heart Attack Man", "Bodhisattva Vow", the Jimmy Smith shoutout "Root Down" and more. CD

One of the best versions of "Funky Four Corners" we've ever heard! The bass is rattling along at a level so loud and heavy that it's bound to pop the top off your speaker – while Jerry screams and shouts his way through the lyrics in a way that would make James Brown proud, a fact that he even acknowledges when he shouts "Sorry JB!" at one point in the cut! "Soul Lover" is fantastic too – a funky answer song to "Tramp", with a similar hard sock beat, and a hard break at the intro, which is augmented here by conga work! Both cuts are great – and one of the best singles ever by Jerry O! 7-inch, Vinyl record

Funky soul, but with deeper roots too – a killer set from Matata – a group from Kenya, but one who arrived on the London scene in the 70s – where their blend of African roots and American soul really took the group by storm! There's a fantastic influence here from James Brown – not just on the vocals, which have a raw, shouting, completely soulful style – but also on the rhythms and instrumentation – which have this sharp riffing guitar with the bass, ala James Brown Band of the late 60s – topped with equally great horn work to match! The whole thing's fantastic – as appealing to a fan of American early 70s funk as one of 70s African grooves – and titles include "I Wanna Do My Thing", "Return To You", "Getting Together", "I Believed Her", "I Don't Have To Worry", "I Want You", "Love Is The Only Way", "Gimme Some Lovin", and the classic "Talking Talking". LP, Vinyl record album

Killer early work from Horace Silver – and a rare non-Blue Note session from the 50s! The album's Horace's only date for Columbia, and it's got a feel that's similar to some of the Jazz Messengers' hardbop recordings for the label at the time – cooking with a soulful intensity at the bottom, yet taking off with some tremendously well-carved solos on the top! The group's an all-star ensemble that includes some of the best harbop players of the time – Hank Mobley on tenor sax, Donald Byrd and Joe Gordon on trumpet, Doug Watkins on bass, and Kenny Clarke and Art Taylor on drums – all grooving together with Horace as if they'd been backing him up for years. Titles include great originals "Silver's Beat", "Shoutin' Out", and "Hank's Tune – plus versions of "I'll Know" and "The Night Has A Thousand Eyes". CD

One of our favorite compilations of all time – a smoking batch of soulful jazz from the 60s, with a slight bit of funk and blues thrown in as well! The set's exactly what's promised in the title – jazz cuts, but with an ultra-cool mod vibe – the kind of soulful sounds that played big with the younger London crowd digging American music in the mid 60s – and also the kind of music you'd be likely to find blasting out of a backroom jukebox on the west side of Chicago! There's loads of rare single mixes of LP tracks on the set, and a number of smoking 45s from artists you might know better from more mainstream work – really hitting hard here, alongside a few special numbers from the indie underground too. Tracks are cool enough for old school hipsters – but appealing enough to bring in a new listener too – and as proof of that, we've given this one away for many years as a Christmas present. The collection features 25 tracks in all – non-stop pleasure throughout – with titles that include "Soul Shoutin" by Shirley Scott, "Tengo Tango" by Cannonball Adderley Sextet, "Whip It On Me" by Billy Hawks, "Yeh Yeh" by Mongo Santamaria, "Black Talk" by Charles Earland, "I'm Ready" by Otis Spann, "Mama Rufus" by Merced Blue Notes, "Theme From NYPD" by Johnny Hammond, "Step Out & Get It" by The Nomos, "Why Don't You Do Right" by Mark Murphy, "Collard Greens" by Freddie McCoy, "Theme From The Carpetbaggers" by Jack McDuff, "Filthy McNasty" by Eddie Jefferson, "Evil Ways" by Cal Tjader, "Kenny's Theme" by Kenny Burrell, and "Games" by Ivan Boogaloo Joe Jones. LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic little album of Latin Soul – a perfect example of why Pete was known as the "King Of The Boogaloo" during the 60s! The group's having a non-stop party on the album – breaking it hard with heavy piano lines, rumbling bass underneath the grooves, tight timbales, and some shouted lyrics in English that are always very catchy. The title cut, "I Like It Like That", is the sort of groover that you'll be singing for years – even after hearing it only once – and the album's filled with other great cuts, like "Pete's Madness", "Micaela", "Si Quires Bailar", "Soiy El Rey" and "3 and 1". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic little album of Latin Soul – a perfect example of why Pete was known as the "King Of The Boogaloo" during the 60s! The group's having a non-stop party on the album – breaking it hard with heavy piano lines, rumbling bass underneath the grooves, tight timbales, and some shouted lyrics in English that are always very catchy. The title cut, "I Like It Like That", is the sort of groover that you'll be singing for years – even after hearing it only once – and the album's filled with other great cuts, like "Pete's Madness", "Micaela", and "3 and 1". LP, Vinyl record album