Don't think "disco" as in the New York scene at Studio 54 – as these cuts are much deeper and dubbier – served up under the supervision of Bunny Lee by studio maestros Barnabas and Pat Kelly! Instrumentation is by the Aggrovators, but the magic comes equally from the production effects as it does from the massive rhythms by the group – as all the elements are filtered out in space, and criss-cross back and forth in this wonderful way – never too sloppy or experimental, but definitely tripping out with the groove! Vocals are muted when they do make an appearance – and titles include "The Aggrovators Special Dub", "Money In My Pocket Dub", "Portobello Special Dub", "Super Rockers Dub", "The Bomb Dub", "The Killer Dub", and "The Dub Specialist". LP, Vinyl record album

Some of the biggest moments of Grace Jones' career – the records that really helped her cross over big as a singer, and find a great home on the dancefloors of the disco generation! First up is the album Portfolio – a landmark little record from Grace Jones – a set that started off as one of those "hey, let's see if this model can sing" sort of records – but which has gone onto become an enduring classic! Most of the tunes are older ones, but they're remade with a soaring Sigma Sound groove by the best in Philly – taking sometimes-cloying lyrics and pushing them into hipper disco territory for the 70s – all with that odd wink and subtle sense of irony that would emerge more clearly in Jones' later records. Tom Moulton produced and mixed, and titles include "I Need A Man", "La Vie En Rose", "Sorry", "Tomorrow", "What I Did For Love", and "Send In The Clowns". Fame is a classic disco stormer from Grace Jones – recorded at Sigma Sound with a real Philly groove, thanks to arrangements from John Monster Davis – and produced with a full, soaring sound from the legendary Tom Moulton! The set may well be Grace's true club classic from the late 70s – a record that works both on the quirky levels of her early rise to fame, and on the more soulful expectations mainstream clubgoers had at the time – a beautiful balance that owes plenty to the input from Davis and Moulton! Titles include "Do Or Die", "Pride", "Fame", "Below The Belt", and "Am I Ever Gonna Fall In Love In New York City". Muse has Grace Jones still riding high on a disco wave here, but also finding her own space and sound too! The mighty Tom Moulton produced, ensuring some great sound for the set – and arrangements are by Thor Baldursson and John Davis, both of whom bring in nice sense of fullness, but never smother Grace too much – a key factor, given that her vocal approach is often a bit more restrained than some of the other disco divas of the time. There's less covers here than before, and Grace herself even penned some of the tunes. Titles include "Suffer", "Sinning", "Saved", "Atlantic City Gambler", "On Your Knees", and "Don't Mess With The Messer". Box set also features a full bonus album of all the rare mixes from singles – including "Sorry (disco mix)", "That's The Trouble (disco mix)", "I Need A Man (disco mix)", "La Vie En Rose (7" mix)", "Do Or Die (12" disco)", "Comme Un Oiseau Qui S'Envole (12" disco)", "On Your Knees (12" disco)", and "Don't Mess With The Messer (12" version)". Also features a booklet of notes, new mastering, 180 gram vinyl, and a great box! LP, Vinyl record album

An amazing compilation – a decade in the making, and filled with wonderful grooves – most of which have never appeared on CD or LP reissues! And while the music itself is already wonderful, the package also includes an amazing 80 page book, too – a rich research project that digs deep into the American underground of the 70s – and features a wealth of photos, images, and historical details on music that never got it's due back in the day! The set's based around the groundbreaking series of Soul Cal 12" reissues put together by Stones Throw about a decade ago – wonderful records that unearthed rare grooves that fall beautifully in a space between funk and club – almost all originally issued on tiny little labels from all over the US, but working together to create a rich vibe in the set. Given the book, there's a Numero-like heft to the whole thing – although the range of grooves is even greater than one of their collections – and titles include "Ecology" by Anubis, "You Can Be A Star" by Luther Davis, "Don't Get Discouraged" by UPC All Stars, "Things Cannot Stop Forever" by Stanton Davis, "Free Your Mind" by Record Player, "Get Down" by Freedom Express, "Keep Running Away" by Clifford Nyren, "Love Is" by Leon Mitchison & The Eastex Freeway Band, "What It Takes To Live" by Key & Cleary, "I'm Gonna Miss You Girl" by Ellis & Cephas, "It's A Bad Feeling" by Mixed Sugar, and "Put A Smile On Time" by Rhythm Machine. LP, Vinyl record album

The second album by Made In Brasil – a great San Francisco combo from the 70s, with a flair for jazzy Brazilian tunes that's every bit as great as groups from Rio or Sao Paulo at the time! The group at this point features keyboardist Claudio Medeiros – who really adds a lot to their sound with his tight work on organ, clavinet, and electric piano! The tracks have a much more expansive sound than before – jazzily grooving in the Brazilian fusion mode of the 70s, touched with all the brightness of the west coast scene. Titles include "Circles", "A Briza", "Slick", "Madalena", "Salt Song", "Carinhoso", and "Ponteio/Asa Branca". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

The cover's a bit creepy, but the set's a great one – way more soulful than the image of a dummy might make you expect! The collection follows strongly in the same territory as the funk titles on the Tramp Records label – and like those, digs deep in the American underground to find a host of under-exposed gems from back in the day – tunes that start out in the fast funk years of disco, but also move into some great 80s grooves as well! There's a huge number of cuts here we've never heard before – but that's no surprise, given the way that Tramp puts a set like this together – and titles include "The Freeze" by Steven Toll, "SOS" by Tyree Glenn Jr, "Missing You" by Silky Vincent Group, "Sights & Sounds" by Jeffords Brothers, "Medicine Man" by Grayson Street, "Puss (part 1)" by Oakland Express, "A Fool No Longer" by Afrodisia, "Don't It Make You Feel Good" by Deep South Dance Band, "Touchdown Cleveland Browns" by Ray Jay Band, "Future" by Keither Florence & The Associates, "Anytime" by Empulse, "Beautiful Day" by Mel O Madnezz, and "Dig This Piece" by Progressive Sounds Band. LP, Vinyl record album

Sweet sexy sounds from Spanish singer Susana Estrada – a performer known for her famous erotic work of the 70s, stepping out here in a set of clubby tracks for the disco generation! The early 80s date of these tracks mark Susana as maybe being a bit later than some of the porn stars turned disco divas of the late 70s – but Estrada's overall approach is a bit different too – maybe a bit wittier, and following in the mode of the liberated sensuality she presented in her writings and theatrical work. Of course, the end result is still some wonderfully breathy female vocals over disco grooves – on tracks sung entirely in Spanish – with titles that include "Machos", "Voy Desnunda", "Espacial", "Hagamoslo Juntos", "Gozame Ya", "Quitate El Sosten", and "Mi Chico Favorito". LP, Vinyl record album

A different groove than usual from The JBs – but still pretty darn nice, and way better than just about all the other funky combos on the market! It's the late 70s, and James Brown's head is a bit addled – he thinks he's the guy who invented disco, and he starts turning his extended funky sound towards the clubs. By this point, Fred and Maceo had left him, so he's working here with a new version of the JBs, one that still includes Jimmy Nolan on guitar and Sinclair Pickney on sax – and although the new band's not the same as the old, they're a surprisingly good funk band nonetheless, and the album's still more of a funk album than you'd guess from the title. In fact, if the record didn't have JBs in the title, most folks would probably thing it was some great lost band! Lots of uptempo funk tracks, similar to those on James' albums from the time – and Martha & The Lazers sing vocals on a few tracks. Titles include "JBs Disco", "Night Train Disco", "A Little Bit Of Disco", and "Soul Of The Disco". LP, Vinyl record album

That's a mighty sexy cover on the front – and the grooves inside definitely have the flavor to match! The work here is from the obscure French disco underground – a European scene that never got the same exposure as German or Italian work for clubs – which makes the whole package a really great discovery in sound! The music is surprisingly fresh, and often quite funky too – and done in modes that are arguably warmer and more soulful than most other European disco – and often a lot like the best American underground club of the period. Some tracks have breathy female vocals, while others have bolder lyrics that almost echo some of the global musical crossovers happing in 70s Paris and a few of the later tracks bring in electro elements, but in a subtle way we totally love. The collection's a follow-up to the Brazilian Disco Boogie Sounds compilation – and like that one, it's really a cut above the usual! Titles include "Super Star" by Contessa, "Lady Jones" by Over Drive, "Music Madness (ext Charles Maurice version)" by Beckie Bell, "Y'A Du Blues" by Marche Noire, "Un Fait Divers & Rien De Plus (re-remix)" by Le Club, "Pour Moi Ca Va (Charles Maurice version)" by France Lise, "Polar (Charles Maurice version)" by Bernard Guyvan, and "Minuit L'Heure Du Swing" by Didier Makaga. LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A landmark album from The Trammps – and a record that broke the group firmly out of the Philly ghetto, yet still carried all the best touches of the Sigma scene! Sure, the title track was a super-huge hit – thanks to a plug in Saturday Night Fever – but the record itself is Philly club soaring high, with key arrangements and production from the team of Norman Harris, Ronald Baker, and Earl Young – all of whom provide tremendously mighty grooves to soar the multi-voiced sound of the group well over the top of the clubs! Titles include an 11 minute version of "Disco Inferno", plus "Starvin", "Don't Burn No Bridges", "You Touch My Hot Line", and "I Feel Like I've Been Livin (On The Dark Side Of The Moon)". LP, Vinyl record album

German grooves from the 70s got some pretty big global circulation – especially the huge wave of disco records from Munich in the second half of the decade! Yet in the following years, the nation continued a strong soul groove – but one that never fully got its due on this side of the Atlantic – quite possibly because the sounds here are a lot more soulful and subtle – cooler, classier, and with a much deeper vibe! The guys on the cover of the collection might look a bit goofy, but don't let that put you off – as there's a strength to these tunes that maybe reminds us of some of our favorite Bay Area funk of the 70s – a nice criss-crossing of influences from jazz, funk, and soul – but always trying to do something new as well. There's definite 80s elements in the mix – beats, basslines, and keyboards – but there's also a fair bit of live instrumentation that's extremely well-played, and mostly mixed with English language vocals. Titles include "Get Up" by Squish, "Backstreetboy" by Bernie L, "Funky Feeling" by Publicity, "Don't Stay For Breakfast" by Stroer, "You're Just Yourself" by Upstairs, "You Are Not The One For Me" by Peter Patzer, "Strawberry Wine" by Imagination, "Dancing Shoes" by JD Lewis, "Keep On Lovin" by The Poptown Syndicate, and "It's Not Over" by Trust. LP, Vinyl record album

Nick Ingman's the arranger on Close Encounters – and helps give the record a disco vibe that's quite different than the usual sci fi set – a groove that clearly stems from Ingman's great sound library work of the 70s – touched here with plenty of clubby rhythms and some especially great keyboards at times. The whole thing's funkier than you might expect – and titles include "Close Encounters", "Flight Fantastic", "Space Patrol", "Solar Sailor", "The Omega Man", "Star Wars", "Time Machine", and "Blake's 7". LP, Vinyl record album

A mighty tribute to the days before iPods and headphones – when the only option for portable music was the boombox – a sonic powerhouse that ruled the streets and the subways, and seemed to create an instant party whenever it arrived! The tracks here are underground gems from back in the day of the boombox – the kind of cuts that should never, ever be played on earbods – and instead need to be rocked out of speakers that are as big as you could hope to find – preferably with the bass turned up as high as it will go! Music is mostly old school hip hop, but also has that mix of rhymes and vocals that was coming into play as the parties moved from the streets and parks into the recording studio – all to create the kind of cuts that would always sound best on the boombox! Titles include "Another One Bites The Dust" by Sugar Daddy, "Thumpin" by Brothers Disco, "Class A" by Majestics, "On The Move" by Mifflin Ensemble, "Get Fly" by TJ Swann & Company, "Low Rider Rap" by Poor Boy Rappers, "Teen Machine Rap" by Teen Machine, "Ms DJ Rap It Up" by She, "Rhythm Rock (part 1)" by The Caution Crew, "Smooth Talk" by Mr Fox, "Gigolo Rapp" by Disco Daddy & Capt Rapp, "Wack Rap" by Solid C Bobby D & Kool Drop, and "Rhapazooty In Blue" by Sicle Cell & Rhapazooty. LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

That's a suave-looking dude on the cover, and there's some suave-sounding sounds within – the cream of the crop of the hippest spectrum of the French club scene at the start of the 80s, brought together in a beautiful package of grooves! The work here is quite different than some of the cheesier, clunkier Euro disco hits of the time – and instead, there's a lot of care and craft brought to the rhythms and lyrics – often a lot more soul elements than you might expect, and with occasional global currents that reflect the unique sound of Paris in the postcolonial years. There's almost an AOR catchiness to some of the tunes, but the presentation is more strongly soulful overall – on titles that include "Bye Cocotiers" by Marc Ashy, "Keep Cool" by Messan, "Sunshine" by Greg Smaha, "Sheriff's Horse" by Roots, "Funky Biguine" by Crystal, "Havana" by Nielo Feel, "Funk Force Leader" by Ideku Dynasty, "Talk Me Mam's" by Black Bells Group, "Le Sherif Qui Danse" by Claude Morgan, and "Givin It Up" by Charms. LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic funk from Alessandro Alessanadroni – certainly not a household name to most folks, but one of the coolest composers on the Italian scene of the 60s and 70s! Alessandroni first rose to fame doing film score work in the 60s, but by the time of these cuts, he was very much up front as an artist able to take on just about any sort of style – working here in a cool groove that's not entirely the disco promised in the title, and more of an offbeat style of funk that's even groovier! Two tracks feature female lead vocals by Lorena, and I Cantori Moderni sing on all the cuts – titles that include "Baby Come Down" and "I Get You In My Mind", each in two different versions! LP, Vinyl record album

A cool collection of funky tracks from the Fantasy Records catalog of the 70s – the kind of hip cuts that were often better than mainstream disco – and which sometimes used a bit of jazz in the instrumentation as well! There's a few spacey themes here, but maybe not as much as you'd guess from the cover and title – but that's OK with us, because we can totally dig these down to earth grooves! Titles include "Let's Get Crackin" by Shock, "I Like It" by Players Association, "Funky Force" by Larry Williams, "Space Is The Place" by Pleasure, "Close Encounters Of A Funky Kind" by Fat Larry's Band, "Space Bass" by Slick, "Messages From The Stars (long wave mix)" by Rah Band, "Do It 4 U" by Starship Connection, and "Sparkle (single edit)" by Fat Larry's Band. LP, Vinyl record album

Not just disco nights, but some great mellow moments too – a wonderfully well-rounded classic from this great quartet – as tight and groovy as it is cool and classy! By the time of this debut, the group had already had plenty of 70s soul experience as The Rhythm Makers – a previous name for the lineup, and a combo with a great reputation for dancefloor grooves that were tight, but never too uptight – kind of the best funky soul styles of the time! This album definitely continues that tradition, with a sound that's leaner than most mainstream disco of the time – and really well put-together, in a way that also has them slowing down to hit some great ballads and mellower steppers too. The album features the massive disco title cut – "Disco Nights" – and a beautiful reworking of Billy Stewart's classic "I Do Love You" – with a sound that's faithful to the original, but a sweet stepping groove that's made it a favorite for years! Other cuts include "Boogie Oogie Oogie", "Spirit", "Make My Dreams A Reality", "It's Your Love", "I Do Love You", and "Wonderful". LP, Vinyl record album

A European disco world that's ripe for rediscovery – one that's much more obscure than better-known club work from Germany, France, and Italy – but which may well be even groovier than the work from those three scenes! The package is a great complement to some of the funk and jazz sets on the Sdban label – and like those, it really digs deep – to uncover a vast array of music from the small nation – which was clearly a hotbed of groovy activity in the 70s, at a level that none of us realized at the time! The tunes here mix together funk and pop, soul and disco – all in ways that criss-cross strongly with more familiar modes of the period – but often have an offbeat quality, and sometimes a surprising sense of humor that comes through in the mostly English lyrics in the lead. Part 1 of the vinyl series features 16 tracks – and titles include "Ethereo Disco" by R Roland, "King Kong" by Carl Watson, "Baby Won't You Turn Me On" by Charles Watson, "Sexy" by Lovedream, "La Gomme" by L2, "Cool & Get Up" by Quartz, "I'm Free" by Steve, "Groovin To The Music" by Flame, "Queen To The Pharoah" by Marianne, "Feel So Glad" by Dan Davis, "Ivro De Vie" by Kevin Moraine, "Be My Love Tonight" by CC Band, "Strange How You Move" by Venus, and "Bubblegum" by Bubble. LP, Vinyl record album

Surprisingly nice album that has Tito Ramos and Tony Rojas reuniting in a crackling session of 70s salsa that mixes English and Spanish lyrics, both with the kind of soul that the band was famous for in the 60s. Tracks include "Hello My Love", "Los TNT", "La Mujer Latina", "Tu Pelo Blanco", and the heartbreaking "Land Of Broken Hearts". LP, Vinyl record album

Wonderful new work from Change – the international soul combo who made some classic cuts back at the start of the 80s – still sounding great all these many years later, but in a slightly different way! The balance between all elements here is fantastic – as the music has all the best parts of the group's earlier music, but also updates the sound a bit – in the way that a combo like Incognito or Brand New Heavies were updating older soul music back in the 90s, by grabbing all the strongest parts of the past, and fusing them into a fresh lean groove. The songs are upbeat, positive, and full of the kind of catchy hooks that Change always did so well – and titles include "Friends", "Make Me Go Cray", "How Will We", "Too Late", "Living Monday", "Love 4 Love", "All My Life", and "Hit Or Miss". Also includes some remix versions of older tracks – "Searching (Figo Sound version)", "Oh What A Feeling (Figo Sound version)", "You'll Always Be A Part Of Me (Figo Sound version)", and "It's A Girl's Affair (Figo Sound version)". LP, Vinyl record album

Smooth disco grooving from Carrie Lucas – surprisingly soulful stuff, and handled with some wonderfully tight production by Dick Griffey, the genius behind the sound of Solar at the end of the 70s! Carrie's really moving past the cliches of earlier work here – stepping into a solid blend of pop, soul, and club. Titles include "Keep Smilin", "It's Not What You Got", "Lovin Is On My Mind", and "Use It Or Lose It" – plus "Just A Memory", which is a duet with the Whispers. LP, Vinyl record album

Linda Clifford goes a bit over the top with this one – a lavish double-length set, of the sort that ended up bankrupting the Curtom label during the late 70s! Linda's very much in full-disco mode, singing to long clubby arrangements by Gil Askey that have more strings than before – and which really open up onto longer songs that make full use of the double length space! There's a great number here titled "Don't Give It Up", a hip follow-up to the earlier hit "Runaway Love" – which has a similar bad talkin' approach, with Linda doing a bit of a monologue in the middle – a mode that we really love from the singer. Other tracks include "Let Me Be Your Woman", "Hold Me Close", and "Sweet Melodies" – plus the pairing of "One Of Those Songs" and "Bridge Over Troubled Water", which take up all of the 2nd disc in the 2LP set. LP, Vinyl record album

We always think that it's unusual that after years and years of success in the early 70s with strong single solo artists, Motown really seemed to bank its hope for the 80s on a group soul sound that was part funk, part dancefloor, and part harmony soul. Fortunately, the label did a pretty good job with that sound – and Apollo are a strong example of the label's strength at the time. Gene Page, Wade Marcus, and others handled the arrangements – and tracks include "Astro Disco", "Apollo", "Never Learn", "Happiness", and "Space Cannibals". LP, Vinyl record album

A dancefloor classic! The album's the second by Gregg Diamond's Bionic Boogie, and head and shoulders above the rest – a sublime blend of soul and club that's hardly been matched again! Diamond manages to make things groove, but never loses sight of the soulful styles that make the record so great – and works here with key contributions from a young Luther Vandross, who gives the album some of the same strong vocal arrangements he brought to his own first two albums on Atlantic! Luther sings lead on the album's legendary track "Hot Butterfly", and works in a group with Cissy Houston on other tracks – sweetly soaring with vocals that go far beyond most disco efforts of the time. Simply sublime, and with classics that include "Hot Butterfly", "Paradise", "Cream (Always Rises To The Top)", "Chains", and "When The Sh*t Hits The Fan (Rocket Pocket)". LP, Vinyl record album

Disco with a bit of drama – mid 70s work from Vicki Sue Robinson, produced with a sense of sweetness on most tracks, but a bit of bite on a few others! The best moments are sort of pop disco – straightforward, with Vicki's vocals in the lead – and other titles have a slightly funky undercurrent, guitar that's a bit harder, and rhythms that change up and get complicated, almost in a narratively-structured way. Production and arrangements are by Warren Schatz, and titles include "Trust In Me", "Hold Tight", "Half & Half", "We Found Each Other", "Feels So Good It Must Be Wrong", "Don't Try To Win Me Back Again", and "Freeway Song". LP, Vinyl record album

A strange but great chapter of The Blue Notes – working here without Harold Melvin or Teddy Pendergrass, but still sounding pretty great on their own! This version of The Blue Notes is a male quartet – not the Melvin group with Sharon Paige who were recording for ABC – and they get some fresh help in the studio from George Perry, who brings in this soaring groove that still echoes earlier Philly work, but also has a bit more of a clubby vibe overall! The style's never disco, but makes for some great uptempo soul – the sort that really lets the group's wonderful vocal style soar strongly – a rich blend that's totally great even without Teddy, and which has a great mix of raspy leads and warm harmonies. Titles include the wicked jazzy dancer "The Girl Makes Me Wanna Sing" – plus "It's Over", "Memories", "Standing By You Girl", "People Are Running Around", and "The Truth Has Come To Light". LP, Vinyl record album

A funky female duo from the P-Funk empire – one of George Clinton's few girl-based projects of the 70s, and a group who are markedly more funk-based than Parlet! Vocals are by the duo of Lyn Mabry and Dawn Silva – but the main sound of the set comes from the tightly crafted rhythms served up by a cast of well-known P-Funk regulars – all hitting a spaciously snapping vibe that reminds us a lot of the best energy of late 70s Parliament albums on Casablanca! Tracks are longish, but nicely focused – with less of the disco that you might expect, and more of a slow-stepping groove overall! Titles include "Disco To Go", "Just Like You", "When You're Gone", "Nappy", and "Birdie". LP, Vinyl record album

Essential female Philly soul recorded by the Jones Girls, a group who came to Philly later than many of their big 70s acts, but who went onto become possibly the best female act who recorded with Gamble & Huff. The record's a group effort of the Philly team – with arrangements by Gene Page, Dexter Wansel, McKinley Jackson, and Richard Rome – but it's the girls' vocals that make the record shine, as they take on a sophisticated style that pushes them past many of their contemporaries, who were still going for a disco groove that was basically just an update of the earlier girl group sound. Includes the classics "Nights Over Egypt" and "Get As Much Love As You Can" – plus "I Found That Man Of Mine", "Let's Be Friends First", and "You're Breakin' My Heart". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic companion to the book of the same name by author Tim Lawrence – the excellent Life & Death On The New York Dance Floor – which explores all the cool strands of funky punk, avant rock, and arty grooves that exploded on the New York scene after the decline of disco! Some of this work might fall into the post-disco side of the spectrum, other cuts are maybe a bit more post-punk – and together, they represent a really fantastic wellspring of new creativity – at levels that were years ahead of their time! Titles on this first volume include "Desire" by Tuxedomoon, "Drum Mode" by Gray, "Saturn Drive" by Alan Vega, "Jam Hot (Rhumba Rock)" by Johnny Dynell & New York 88, "Big Business (dance mix)" by David Byrne, "Beat Bop" by Rammellzee Vs K-Rob, "Hold Up" by 3 Teens Kill 4, and "Go Bang (LP version)" by Dinosaur L. LP, Vinyl record album

Dorothy Moore just keeps on getting better and better as the 70s move on – stretching past the more familiar southern soul modes of her earliest records, and picking up this hipper, more sophisticated style that should have easily gotten her much more widespread acclaim at the time! This late 70s album is filled with wonderful touches – some smooth LA-style arrangements at some moments, and some more stripped-down sweet soul styles at others – all at a level that shies away from all the traps that other soul singers were getting stuck in at the time – like soppy adult contemporary ballads or throwaway disco numbers. The record's got this really special, personal feel that seems to bring out a new depth in Moore's approach – and titles include "Lookin For A Lovin", "Rain", "Once Or Twice", "How'd We Ever Get This Way", "Can't Keep A Good Love Down", and "Sleeping Single In A Double Bed". LP, Vinyl record album

A great little set from One Way – post disco Detroit dancefloor soul of the first order! There a crisp, tight bubbling sound that's pretty wonderful – and warm in the spots where so many records of the period and cold and mechanical. The tunes bounce along nicely with production from Al Perkins, and some nice bass work by Kevin McCord. The album includes the nicely snapping funky tune "Hold It" – plus "Pull Fancy Dance/Pull". "Burn It", "Your Love Is All I Need", "He Is My Friend", "Get Up", and "Show Me" – plus bonus track "Let's Talk". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the last great Curtis Mayfield albums – often overlooked, but essential in any collection of his work! The sound is still very much in the classic Curtom mode, with less of the uptempo and disco groovers that were showing up on some of the other records from the time – and more of the sweetly soulful styles that Curtis was also working on as his 70s career progressed. There's a wonderful sense of Mayfield's persons that comes through on every cut here – the righteous, proud Curtis from the earlier part of the 70s – and the warmer, mature Mayfield that was showing up a bit later on. Titles include the classic groover "Tripping Out" – plus "Never Let Me Go", "Something To Believe In", "It's Alright", and "Never Stop Loving Me". LP, Vinyl record album

A classic bit of club from Lipps Inc – an album that's got the group nicely stretched-out and extended – taking them way past the simpler sounds you might know from their hit single work! Tracks here are all quite long, and feature lots of instrumental workouts over very tight rhythms – almost a mix of Casablanca disco with some of the freer modes you'd get from labels like Prelude or Salsoul – served up with lots of guitar and heavy basslines from group leader Steven Greenberg! Vocals are by Cynthia Johnson – who helped Lipps Inc become one of the first standout soul acts from the Twin Cities – and in addition to a great extended take of "Funkytown", titles include "All Night Dancin", "Power", and "Rock It". 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

Michael, if only you'd stayed at this level! This 1979 solo album by Michael is a killer batch of soul grooves – one of his best moments ever, and a crowning cap to a stellar 70s run – both as a younger solo act, and with the whole Jackson family! Quincy Jones produced, and the album's got a funky undercurrent that's really stunning – clubby, yet plenty darn soulful, with a wickedly sly groove that others would try to copy for years, but never fully match. Titles include seminal groovers like "Rock With You", "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough", "Working Day And Night", "Girlfriend", "Off The Wall", "Burn This Disco Out" and more. Amazing amazing amazing work from the to-be-coronated King Of Pop! LP, Vinyl record album

A tremendously soulful session from the late 70s P-Funk empire – sung by a group who were George Clinton's answer to Three Degrees, First Choice, and other female club trios of the time! The sound here is hardly as disco as those other groups, though – and there's plenty of funky Clinton touches in the mix – including rumbling basslines, raspy guitars, and a tightly focused groove that has the singers Dawn Silva, Sheila Horn, and Jeanette McGruder working equally with the larger group of musicians on the record. Production is by Bootsy Collins and Clinton, with horn arrangements by Fred Wesley – which makes for some great Horny Horns funk touches on most tracks! The title cut – "Never Buy Texas From A Cowboy" – runs on as a long P-Funk groove for about 15 minutes, but other tracks are shorter, and titles include "I'm Holding You Responsible", "Smoke Signals", "Party Up In Here", and "Didn't Mean To Fall In Love". LP, Vinyl record album

Killer soul from Heatwave – a tight little group who definitely made the UK proud at the end of the 70s! The album's a bit more obscure than the group's first few, but the sound is very much the same – a warmly grooving approach that's neither too disco, nor too sleepy – always catchy on the hooks, and recorded with a nicely flanged style on the vocals – so that they're compressed a bit, and slide nicely in alongside the beats and keys! The mighty Rod Tempterton's still handling a good deal of the arrangements on the set, and some of the backings are orchestrated by Johnny Cameron – almost in a late 70s update of his earlier funky style. Titles include the funky cut "Gangsters Of The Groove", plus "All I Am", "Dreamin You", "Party Suite", "Posin Til Closin", "Turn Around", and "Where Did I Go Wrong", a sweet little ballad. LP, Vinyl record album

A James Brown performance recorded at Studio 54! The set's a lot less disco than you'd guess from the setting – still very much in that fast-funk mode that James was using at the end of the 70s – a style that was his answer to club music, but which was still largely forged out of a soulful funk-based groove! Titles include "Sex Machine", "Body Heat", "Get Up Offa That Thing", "Gonna Have A Funky Good Time", "Lost Someone", and "The Payback/It's Too Funky In Here". LP, Vinyl record album

A great little album of modern soul, cut by Johnnie Taylor years after his early raw Stax recordings, and about half a decade after his hit with "Disco Lady". The record's a surprising treat, and has Johnnie singing with smooth slick arrangements, in a warm mellow style, given a nice edge by the bluesy roots in his vocals. Gene Page handled the arrangements, and there's some great mellow steppers – like "What About My Love", "I'm So Proud", and "Don't Wait". Also features a few slap-bass tracks like "I Need A Freak" and "Just Ain't Good Enough" – but stick with the mellow stuff. LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderful late 70s comeback for Eddie Holman – best known to folks for his earlier sweet soul work, but sounding equally great here on a set of club-heavy tracks! Although Eddie's falsetto soul might have seemed like a strange choice for the disco-oriented Salsoul label, this album actually works well – and stands as a good representation of the shifts in styles along the East Coast soul scene during the 70s. Eddie's voice is still in great shape, and he's great on the ballads like "You Make My Life Complete", "Immune To Love", and "It's Over" – but he also fits in great with the more up-tempo tracks, which were arranged and produced by Ron Baker and Norman Harris! Titles include "Time Will Tell", "All My Life", and the title cut, "This Will Be A Night To Remember". LP, Vinyl record album