James Brown - Sex Machine [Live at home in Augusta] (Funk)

1. Get Up I Feel Like Being A Sex Machine

 2. Brother Rapp

 3. Bewildered

 4. I Got The Feelin'

 5. Give It Up Or Turnit A Loose

 6. I Don't Want Nobody To Give Me Nothing (Open Up The Door I'll Get It Myself)

 7. Licking Stick - Licking Stick

 8. Lowdown Popcorn

 9. Spinning Wheel

 10. If I Ruled The World

 11. There Was A Time

 12. It's A Man's Man's Man's World

 13. Please, Please, Please

 14. I Can't Stand Myself (When You Touch Me)

 15. Mother Popcorn 

 For those tired of today's mainstream music scene, which seems to combine the worst of both worlds with its mix of the pointlessly offensive and the blandly sanitized, James Brown's Sex Machine is a rousing shot of pure energy, a reminder that music can have the ability to move its listeners in more ways than one. Sex Machine is a supreme distillation of decades worth of black music, compressing rock, soul, and R&B into a lean, frighteningly efficient sound that's had hips shaking since its release. Regardless of your age, race, or any other irrelevant superficial characteristic, this hour-plus-long live recording's raw, sweaty power effortlessly comes accross in every dizzyingly nimble horn inflection, every razor-sharp guitar line, and every intricate polyrhythm. And of course, towering over it all is the singular presence of James himself, exhibiting his unmistakable charisma as he shouts, howls, and wails his upbeat, liberating lyrics. This album's finest moments are to be found in its tightly-played, compulsively danceable funk numbers, most notably the opening Get Up I Feel Like Being a Sex Machine, Brother Rapp (Part I & Part II), I Got the Feelin', and the high-octane closer Mother Popcorn. Driven by propulsive grooves and frenetic arrangements, these tracks and others like them all prove extremely effective when it comes to loosening inhibitions and provoking unconscious spasms of head-bobbing and foot-tapping. However, that's not to discount the record's emotional, horn-fueled balladry, led by the supremely soulful and musically complex Bewildered and If I Ruled the World. This set also throws in the instrumental double-shot of Lowdown Popcorn, which allows you to hear the band's instrumental chops if they weren't apparent already. All in all, Sex Machine is an essential document of the career of one of popular music's most important performers, and a must-buy for non-lame-o's everywhere.

Clarence Wheeler & The Enforcers -Doin' What We Wanna (Jazz)

1. Hey Jude

 2. Sham Time

 3. Theme From Electric Surfboard

 4. Right On

 5. Dream Bossa Nova

 6. Doin' What I Wanna

 7. C.W.

 If you dug the era of Pop Jazz, well this is one of the all time greats. My two favorites on the Wheeler album is 'Hey Jude' and 'Right On'

The Crusaders - Standing Tall (Smooth Jazz)

01. Standing Tall 

02. I'm So Glad I'm Standing Here Today 

03. Sunshine in Your Eyes 

04. This Old World's Too Funky for Me 

05. Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love) 

06. Longest Night 

07. Reprise (I'm So Glad I'm Standing Here Today) 

 This LP by the Crusaders was released in 1981 on MCA Records and features special guest Joe Cocker on vocals, the Crusaders are Wilton Felder on saxophone and bass, Stix Hooper on drums and Joe Sample on piano, the other players are Barry Finnerty, David T. Walker, Larry Carlton, Reggie Young, Steve Gibson, Jon Goin and Dean Parks on guitars, Marcus Miller and Louis Johnson on bass, Billy Preston on organ and Paulinho Da Costa on percussion, plus background vocals.

Smoke - Risin' (Soul)

A1. I Can Feel Your Love

 A2. I'm So Glad You Came Along

 A3. Rainy Night

 A4. Cream Of The Crop

 A5. I'm So Lonely

 B1. Have I Really Love You

 B2. Now You're Gone

 B3. You Will Always Be A Part Of Me

 B4. Don't Take Your Love

 B5. Make Believe

The strength for me in the recording is the diversity of sounds on offer. There is ‘I’m so glad’ with a captivating two-step arrangement and vocal reminiscent of Leroy Hutson, the lead also giving the more bouncy ‘You will always’ a commercial edge. Then we have a glorious falsetto with incredible clarity exhibited on ‘Now you’re gone’ and ‘Don’t take your love’. And we also have a tenor with a gruff edge that the Ebonys would have enjoyed. He drains every strand of his vocal chords with his expressive charge in the sombre, organ-lead ‘I’m so lonely’, an 8 minute opus, and the similarly toned ‘Make believe’, with some mighty fine harmonies. Also special mention to ‘Have I really lost you’ as possibly the best vocal showcase for the group.

Tommy Mcook - Blazing Horns/Tenor in Roots (Reggae)

1. Blazing Horns (Extended)

 2. Tears Of Love

 3. Glorious Lion

 4. Mine Eyes

 5. Jamaican Place

 6. Yellow Bird

 7. Tommy's Mood

 8. Ites Of Zion

 9. Jah

 10. Lambs Bread

 11. Riding West (12" Mix)

 12. More Music

 13. Tubby's Control

 14. Everyday Sax

 15. South Side Feeling

 16. When I Fall In Dub

 17. Far Over Yonder

 18. Gold Street Skank

 19. Harry Meet Tommy

 20. Way Down In South 

Here are two 1970s LPs by Tommy McCook, as well as one extra single (Riding West). The CD remastering is good...clear, crisp, deep, and colorful. The design and short essay are very satisfying. This disc was produced by Blood & Fire, who TRULY care about the music, and have consistently brought the public a valuable product that is worth their money and time. Tommy McCook was highly versatile, and here we have him playing some kind of mix between ska, rocksteady, reggae, 70s groove music, and jazz, with touches of other tropical genres. There are beautiful, refreshing melodies running throughout, great musicianship, and even some dub. Tracks 1-10 were produced by Yabby You, whilst tracks 12-20 were produced by Glenmore Brown. Track eleven, "Riding West," is a once rare number produced by Edward "Striker" Lee, and is a nice extra. ALL tracks in this collection were expertly mixed at King Tubby's studio, by the great King Tubby and his protege' Prince Jammy. Tubby's mixing is subtle and sophisticated, as witnessed on the very first track which is over eight minutes long, with the original LP track blending flawlessly into its gorgeous dub version. I don't rate this quite as high as releases such as Soul Jazz's "Studio One Scorcher Instrumentals" or Heartbeat's "Downbeat The Ruler," which also feature McCook, but it's good anyway, and fans of instrumental JA music will definitely want to pick it up. While you're at it, check out Rico's "Man From Wareika" and Trojan Records' "Alpha Boys School." I love this stuff.

The Fabulous Counts - jan jan (Funk)

A1 It's A Man's, Man's, Man's World 

A2 Simple Song 

 A3 Hey Jude 

 A4 The Bite 

 A5 Soulful Strut 

 B1 Dirty Red 

 B2 Who's Making Love 

 B3 Scrambled Eggs 

 B4 The Other Thing 

 B5 Girl From Kenya 

 B6 Jan Jan 

 The first record by the group who would record for Westbound as the Counts, this is the predecessor of those slick funky boys. The vibe here is distinctly Meters-ish and -- dare it be said -- a bit lifeless, the same problem with their earlier efforts. The album is mostly redeemed, however, by the title track, a classic two-and-a-half minutes of nasty, stinging funk. If you can't get enough of razor-sharp dudes in matching suits, by all means get this record. If your need for that stuff is passing, grab yourself a single of the title track and smile.

Coke Escovedo - Coke (Funk)

1-No One To Depend On

2-Why Can't We Be Lovers

3-Rebirth

 4-Easy Come, Easy Go

 5-Love Letters

 6-Hall's Delight

 7-If I Ever Loose This Heaven

 8-What Are You Under

 9-Make It Sweet

 10-Life Is A Tortured Love Affair

Kellee Patterson - Kellee (Funk)

A1 I'm Gonna Love You Just A Little More, Baby 

 A2 What You Don't Know 

A3 Mister Magic 

 A4 You Are So Beautiful 

 A5 I Love Music 

 B1 Stop, Look & Listen To Your Heart 

 B2 Jolene 

 B3 Time To Space 

 B4 Once Not Long Ago

The Presidents - 5,10,15,20,25,30,Years Of Love (Soul)

A1 5-10-15-20 (25-30 Years Of Love)

 A2 Sweet Magic

 A3 For You

 A4 Fiddle De De

 A5 Why Are You So Good To Me

 A6 This Is My Dream World

 B1 Triangle Of Love (Hey Diddle Diddle)

 B2 Girl You Cheated On Me

 B3 How Can You Say You Are Leavin'

 B4 It's All Over

 B5 I'm Still Dancing

 B6 Gotta Keep On Movin'

Saunders Sermons - Classic Delight (RNB)

1. Day Dreaming

 2. Don't You Understand

 3. Straighten Up and Fly Right

 4. I Need

 5. Gee Baby, Aint I Good To You?

 6. In A Sentimental Mood

 7. Most Beautiful 

 That's 5 "U Betta Go Boy's!" out of 5! Classy, classy, classy! He deserves to be heard! There's nothing like the execution of REAL musicianship cohesive with REAL stylistic vocalization, especially since it is so prevalent for young, "so-called musicians" today, to bestow the contrary! Utilizing a smooth, sensual, whispery, 'Lovely Lana Luna' on The Jetsons, media advertisement voice, I would say, "Silky Saunders Sermons the Second, "Classic Delight". Get yours today, right away and don't delay!

David Newman - Lonely Avenue (Jazz)

01 - Fuzz 

 02 - Precious Lord 

 03 - Symphonette 

 04 - Lonely Avenue 

 05 - 3/4 Of The Time 

 06 - Fire Weaver