The only compilation of 60s female soul trio The Apollas we've ever seen – beautiful tunes with sweet and soulful vocals, big emotions and excellent arrangements – fantastic stuff from the trio, earlier material recorded as The Lovejoys and solo numbers by singer Leola Jiles! We'd love to say we've been fortunate enough to have heard more than a handful of the great Loma and Warner 45s, but that isn't the case – so this compilation from Kent as rewarding for us as just about anything they've put together in recent years – which is really saying something! A number of the tracks are should-be anthems that really allow the girls to sing big – backed by brass and tight arrangements to suit. That said, they're diverse talents, and there's some sweeter girl group styled tunes here that come across just as strongly. Glorious! Titles include "You're Absolutely Right", "Who Would Want Me Now", "Jive Cat", "See The Silver Moon", "Pretty Red Balloons", "I'm Under The Influence Of Love", "Baby I'll Come", "My Soul Concerto" and more from The Apollas proper, plus "He Ain't No Angel" and "Wait 'Round The Corner" by The Lovejoys, "I've Got So Used To Loving You" and "Why I Was Born" by Leola Jiles and more. 25 tracks in all. CD

A really well-done collection of work by Randy Crawford – one that not only gets at that unique place she holds in soul music, but also one that shows just how much she kept growing as the years went on! Randy's voice was maybe first exposed to folks for her famous work on The Crusaders' "Street Life" – but even before that, she was emerging as one of the elite in a new generation of sophisticated soul singers – equally well-skilled in jazzy expressions and soulful styles, and able to bring a new level of maturity to the music from the late 70s onwards! This great package traces Randy's growth as a solo artist over the course of many albums for Warner Brothers – and also includes some duets, live material, and compilation cuts – really getting at the importance she held in the field at the time. There's a whopping 57 tracks on 3CDs, complete with a big booklet of notes – and titles include "Don't Wanna Be Normal", "Blue Flame", "I Stand Accused", "Same Old Story", "Tender Falls The Rain", "Gonna Give Lovin A Try", "Ain't No Foolin", "Everything Must Change (live)", "Street Life (edit)", "When Your Life Was Low", "One Day I'll Fly Away", "Time For Love", "Your Precious Love (live with Al Jarreau)", "Windsong", "We Had A Love So Strong", "Imagine (live with Yellowjackets)", "All It Takes Is Love", "Single Woman Married Man", "Last Night At Danceland", "Just A Touch", "He Reminds Me", "Knockin On Heaven's Door", "Almaz", "I Let You Walk Away", "Bottom Line", "Cigarette In The Rain", and lots more! CD

Features James Moody and Mark Turner on tenor sax, Larry Goldings on piano, Ben Wolfe on bass, and Clarence Penn on drums. CD

An incredible run of music from Dionne Warwick – and a set of work that's very different than the Burt Bacharach material from the 60s, which his how most people know Dionne! These tracks are nicely different, and mark Warwick as a hell of a soul singer in the best 70s tradition – stepping into some great new territory at Warner Brothers, in a way that opens up her sound, makes her sound more mature, and really pushes past some of the Bacharach territory – great in its time, but getting a bit stale until Dionne changed things up with these tracks! Bacharach is still part of the proceedings at times, but comes across in a nicely different way – and Dionne also works with legendary soul producers, including Thom Bell and Holland-Dozier-Holland – both studio forces who really change things up. The set features all the full albums, plus lots of bonus tracks too – a massive 86 tracks, with albums that include Dionne, Just Being Myself, You Are A Song (73/74 Sessions), Then Came You, Track Of The Cat, and Love At First Sight – plus bonus tracks too! CD

An excellent collection of rare female soul from the 60s – a set that not only features overlooked 45rpm singles from Warner Brothers at the time – but also some great gems from their famous Loma Records imprint too! If you think you know this territory, think again – as there's a huge amount of tracks here that are completely fresh to our ears – the kind of material that a label as big as Warner was able to cut with their ample staff and studio time, then never did a think to promote the singles at all – leaving a space of decades before all these 7" gems were finally able to get exposure on a set like this! The package moves between catchy group soul and deeper-burning solo material – and the whole thing's done with the usual high quality we love from Ace, from the sound quality right down to the notes in the book. Titles include "There He Goes" by The Royalettes, "We Can Find That Love" by Vickie Baines, "He's Good" by Barbara Jackson, "Contact" by Three Degrees, "Wounded" by The Cookies, "My Soul Concerto" by The Apollas, "I Taught Him (part 1)" by Gloria Scott & The Tonettes, "All Because I Love Somebody" by Barbara English, "Don't Come A Knockin" by Mary Lee Whitney, "Here I Come" by Joyce Alexander, "Jive Jimmy" by The Socialites, "The Reason Why" by The Dolls, "Bright Lights" by Delilah Kennebreuw, and "Oh Eddy My Baby" by Brenda Hall. CD

Essential set that brings together all of Herbie's key transitional recordings for Warner Brothers! Herbie started his years for the label playing in a more straight-ahead funky style – with perennial sample fave recordings like "Wiggle Waggle", "Fat Mama", and "Tell Me A Bedtime Story". Soon, however, he moved into more spacey territory – of the sort that he would later examine fully on his Columbia recordings of the early 70s. Tracks in this vein include "Sleeping Giant", "Water Torture", and "Wandering Spirit Song". The whole set features 3 full albums – Fat Mama, Crossings, and Mwandishi – and it's a great 2CD set filled with hard to find jazz funk classics! CD

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A massive package of funky music – and maybe one that no home should be without – as the set includes all the classic Josie Records and Warner Brothers albums by legendary New Orleans funk group The Meters – plus a fair bit of bonus tracks too! The Josie albums are incredible – a lean, powerful blend of funky drums, bass, guitar, and organ – almost the New Orleans answer to Booker T & The MGs, but with a sound that's far funkier overall – and which continues to bring new ears to the magic of The Meters as the years go by! Their Warner work is a bit fuller – as the group were part of a big wave of Nola talent to get the nod from LA – which means that The Meters were able to add in vocals, experiment with arrangements, use additional instrumentation – yet all without ever losing that core groove that made them so great! This package is the first time all the records have been brought together, and many are presented here in the "expanded edition" versions with bonus tracks – which makes for a whopping 116 titles on 6CDs – bonus tracks, plus the full albums The Meters, Look Ka Py Py, Struttin, Cabbage Alley, Rejuvenation, Fire On The Bayou, Trick Bag, and New Directions – plus some singles too! CD

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Includes selections by Jethro Tull, Van Morrison, Neil Young, Wild Man Fischer, Everly Brothers, Van Dyke Parks, Mothers Of Invention, The Fugs, Joni Mitchell, Electric Prunes, Jimi Hendrix, Kinks, Van Morrison, Miriam Makeba, and others! LP, Vinyl record album

Includes selections from scores by Erich Korngold, Max Steiner, Franz Waxman, Alex North, and Dimitri Tiomkin, plus 30s Broadway showtunes, and performances by Judy Garland, Louis Armstrong, Peggy Lee, Frank Sinatra, Doris Day, and many more. LP, Vinyl record album

Killer funk, soul, and jazz tunes from the Warner and Atlantic catalogs – including more than a few that rank with our favorite funky cuts of the era! As with previous volumes in this series, the titles are selected with a focus on tunes that have or can be sampled – so there's lots of sweet jazzy brakes, warm keyboards, and tasty drums on the package! Titles include "Wah Wah Man" by Young Holt Unlimited, "Nuki Suki" by Little Richard, "Mama Soul" by The Soul Survivors, "It's Love" by The Young Rascals, "Funky Canyon" by Phil Moore Jr, "Everything I Do Gonna Be Funky" by Claudia Lennear, "Soul Bowl" by Memphis Horns, "Shiloh" by David Newman, "Let Me Fix It" by Brook Benton, "Angela, My Sister" by Richard Evans, "When She Made Me Promise" by The Beginning Of The End, "Moment Of Truth" by Earth, Wind, & Fire, "Bumpin On Young Street" by Young Holt Unlimited, and "Mortgage On My Soul" by Keith Jarrett. CD

Christmas classics sung by the stars of 77 Sunset Strip, Bronco, Lawman, Hawaiian Eye, and Bourbon Street Beat – including Connie Stevens, Poncie Pone, Eddie Cole, and Roger Moore! CD

Three great albums from Alice Coltrane – all late 70s albums for Warner Brothers that really show her taking off as both a solo performer and a spiritual force! First up is Eternity – seminal 70s work from one of the most righteous jazz musicians ever! On this set, Alice Coltrane moves past the rawer spiritual sound of her Impulse albums – working with a more focused vision and an approach to jazz that takes her way past the identity of just being "Mrs Coltrane", into territory that's a more perfect expression of her spiritual vision. The approach calls for more ambitious orchestrations, yet never in a way that overwhelms the jazz basis of the music – and Alice herself is on Fender Rhodes, organ, and harp – working with players who include Fred Jackson and Hubert Laws on reeds, Oscar Brashear on trumpet, George Bohannon on trombone, Charlie Haden on bass, Ben Riley on drums, and Armando Peraza on congas. Titles include "Spiritual Eternal", "Om Supreme", "Morning Workshop", "Wisdom Eye", and "Los Caballos". Radha Krsna Nama Saknirtana is pure spiritual loveliness from Alice, and a record that features a lot of additional playing by Indian musicians! Clearly, the Hari Krishnas have gotten to the lady here – as you can tell by the orange robe she's wearing on the cover, and the blank stare in her eyes – but that doesn't stop the album from being a nice one, filled with the soaring spiritualism of her best 70s work, and infused with a cross-cultural approach to jazz that makes for a wonderfully expansive sound. Tracks include "Om Namah Sivaya", "Hare Krishna", and "Govinda Jai Jai". Transcendence is a beautiful record from Alice Coltrane – a swirling mix of spiritual jazz and themes from Indian music! Alice plays organ, Fender Rhodes, and harp – building the sound as the album progresses, from simple airy strings to an earthier groove that features vocal refrains in unison with the keyboards, chanting away, over and over, stretching to the heavens in a cosmic groove! The record features a lot of variations on traditional Indian themes – including "Sivaya", "Ghana Nila", and "Bhaja Govindam" – plus the original tracks "Transcendence" and "Vrindavana Sanchara". CD

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One of the greatest albums to come from the New York underground of the early 80s – even if it was a relatively big "hit" on a major label! Laurie Anderson is in perfect form here – drawing on a strong tradition of avant garde performance, but without any of the indulgences that would mire down performance art in years to come. Instead, she's got a clean, clear style that's simply amazing – spoken passages that are poetic and pointed, but which also have a slight undercurrent of wit – a charming quality that never takes itself too seriously, even when the sounds and styles are somewhat dark. Instrumentation includes some great rhythm passages from David Van Tieghem, plus surprising performances from Rufus Harley on bagpipes and George Lewis on trombone. Titles include "From The Air", "Big Science", "O Superman", "Born Never Asked", "Walking & Falling", "Example #22", "Let X = X", and "It Tango". LP, Vinyl record album

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There's a cinematic look to the cover of this set by singer Tomoko Aran – and there's almost a cinematic presentation to the music too – but all in the best sort of 80s style you might hope for at the time! The work was put together by arranger Hideo Saito and Toru Shigemi – and the instrumentation is on the jazzier side of the spectrum, with plenty of guitar from Saito and keyboards from Shigemi – bumping out in sweet 80s production that seems to not only emphasize all the best hooks in Tomoko's vocals, but also give the thing a groove like some of the vocal tracks from a big 80s mainstream film. Lyrics are in Japanese through, as are most titles – and some tracks include "Luna", "Feel So Free", "Lucifer", and "Last Goodbye". LP, Vinyl record album

Ashford & Simpson don't need to ask at this point – their in full 70s soul stride here, and it's not good, it's great! By this point in the late 70s, Nick and Valerie are firmly holding the foreground as artists in their own right after many years of acting as songwriters for other soul and R&B hitmakers – writing, singing, and producing their own work in a now-established tradition of sophisticated soul and uptempo grooves! What they had not done to this point was produce a number of big hits for themselves, and that tide started to turn this this excellent album that's among their best ever! Includes a number of singles that would help them begin to break through to later huge chart success, which was by now richly earned. Titles include "Is It Good To You", "Ain't It A Shame", "It Seems To Hang On", "Flashback", "The Debt Is Settled", and "Get Up And Do Something". LP, Vinyl record album

Near-perfect work from Ashford & Simpson – really grooving in full powerhouse mode here, and never missing a beat! By all rights, the team should have run out of steam by this point, but the album's another winner from their sublime Warner years – caught in a unique space between chart soul, ensemble funk, and disco – taking all the best elements of each, and really sending the whole thing home with some incredible vocals and impeccable production and arrangements! Titles include "Rushing To", "Love Don't Make It Right", "We'll Meet Again", "Get Out Your Handkerchief", and "I Ain't Asking For Your Love". LP, Vinyl record album

Sublimely satisfying work from Ashford & Simpson – a stone killer from the height of their late 70s glory days on Warner Brothers! The pair are working together wonderfully at this point – wrapped up in that blend of upbeat soul and righteous undercurrents that made them a real cut above in mainstream soul – getting great help from arrangers William Eaton, Paul Riser, and Al Gorgoni – all of whom know how to hit that perfect Ashford & Simpson balance between tightness, class, and soulful spontaneity! Backings are always filled with lots of jazzy touches, too – the kind of sophisticated soul elements other would cop from the pair in years to come – and titles include "Over & Over", "It's You", "If You're Lying", "Couldn't Get Enough", "Destiny", "So So Satisfied", and "Tried Tested & Found True". LP, Vinyl record album

Great stuff! From Motown songwriters to world-class superstars, the trip was a well-deserved one for Valerie Simpson and Nick Ashford – and this album's perhaps their crowning achievement in sophisticated club soul! The record's got a great groove that offers a more soulful version of disco than most of the competing albums on major labels at the time – a perfect summation of the care and craft that Ashford & Simpson had always put into their music right from the start! The pair handle all production on the record, and also contributed all the songs too – and the whole thing's so wonderfully tight, right, and on the money, the album soars to the top even before the vocals come into the mix. Titles include more than a few club classics, like "Found A Cure", "Stay Free", and "Nobody Knows" – plus the cuts "Dance Forever", "Crazy", "Follow Your Heart", and "Finally Got To Me". LP, Vinyl record album

Really great work by The Association – a back-to-basics effort that has the group handling most of the instrumentation themselves, in a way that often gives the set a surprisingly intimate feel! Sure, these are the guys who virtually invented candy-coated Sunshine Pop – but they're also a heck of a great group at the core, and move here into some of the looser, more relaxed modes of the Warner Brothers scene at the time – a setting that really helps them bring a hell of a lot of personality to the music. Harmony vocals still soar out beautifully when needed, and the arrangements and songwriting show a lot more signs of their association with the hip LA scene of the 60s – a maturation that really pushes their sound forward in a wonderful way. Titles include "Broccoli", "The Nest", "Love Affair", "Boy On the Mountain", "Under Branches", "Goodbye Forever", and "Yes I Will". LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include "Cherish", "We Love", "The Time It Is Today", "Like Always", "Never My Love", "No Fair At All", "Enter The Young", "Windy", and "Six Man Band". CD

Fantastic dreamy pop from one of the greatest harmony groups of the 60s – a set that really has The Association hitting their stride, and finding a way to really let their vocals soar! The sound here really sets the group apart from some of the more old-school harmony acts of the decade – and the shift is almost like that in the Beach Boys at mid 60s, the way that things got more complicated and sophisticated, but more powerful too – even when the tunes have some really sing-song charms that made them hits! Production is by Bones Howe, who really gets the sound right – and the album features the giant hits "Windy" and "Never My Love" – plus "Happiness Is", "On A Quiet Night", "We Love Us", "Reputation", and "Requiem For The Masses". LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic dreamy pop from one of the greatest harmony groups of the 60s – a set that really has The Association hitting their stride, and finding a way to really let their vocals soar! The sound here really sets the group apart from some of the more old-school harmony acts of the decade – and the shift is almost like that in the Beach Boys at mid 60s, the way that things got more complicated and sophisticated, but more powerful too – even when the tunes have some really sing-song charms that made them hits! Production is by Bones Howe, who really gets the sound right – and the album features the giant hits "Windy" and "Never My Love" – plus "Happiness Is", "On A Quiet Night", "We Love Us", "Reputation", and "Requiem For The Masses". This great expanded mono edition has 10 bonus tracks (!!!): "Autumn Afternoon", "Windy (Mono 45)", "Requiem For The Masses (Mono 45)", "Sometime (Instrumental)", "We Love Us (Instrumental)" and more. CD

Fantastic dreamy pop from one of the greatest harmony groups of the 60s – a set that really has The Association hitting their stride, and finding a way to really let their vocals soar! The sound here really sets the group apart from some of the more old-school harmony acts of the decade – and the shift is almost like that in the Beach Boys at mid 60s, the way that things got more complicated and sophisticated, but more powerful too – even when the tunes have some really sing-song charms that made them hits! Production is by Bones Howe, who really gets the sound right – and the album features the giant hits "Windy" and "Never My Love" – plus "Happiness Is", "On A Quiet Night", "We Love Us", "Reputation", and "Requiem For The Masses". This great expanded mono edition has 11 bonus tracks – including "Autumn Afternoon", "Windy (Mono 45)", "Requiem For The Masses (Mono 45)", "Sometime (Instrumental)", "We Love Us (Instrumental)" and more. CD

An overdue reunion for Brian Auger and Julie Driscoll (now billed as Tippetts) – and a late 70s session that sounds quite a bit different than their mod soul of the 60s! The format here is still somewhat in a soul-based vein – but the sound is much more 70s, and much more "adult" as well – sometimes smooth, sometimes mellow, with Julie singing in a way that's still heartfelt, but not with the clear nod to American soul of her earlier work. Brian's still playing plenty of keyboards, although not getting in as many licks as on his own albums of the decade – yet still with enough space to help transform some of the best tunes. Titles include "Git Up", "Freedom Highway", "Spirit", "Future Pilot", "Rope Ladder To The Moon", "No Time To Live", and "Nothing Will Be As It Was" – a great English remake of a song by Milton Nascimento! CD

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