Instant Groove - King Curtis (Soul)

01 - Instant Groove 

 02 - Hey Joe 

 03 - Foot Pattin' 

 04 - Wichita Lineman 

 05 - Games People Play 

 06 - Sing A Simple Song 

 07 - The Weight 

 08 - La Jeanne 

 09 - Little Green Apples 

 10 - Somewhere 

 11 - Hold Me Tight 

 12 - Hey Jude 

King Curtis was an R&B saxophonist who had numerous charting albums in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was tragically stabbed to death in 1971 at the early age of 37. One of his albums featured another great musician who died young, Duane Allman. That album is Instant Groove, which reached # 160 on the Billboard album charts in 1969.

Monk Higgins - Little Mama (Funk)

1. Little Mama 

2. Walking In My Sleep 

3. Trusting You (La, La, La Song) 

4. So Far Away 

5. Can't Stop 

6. Black Fox 

7. If 

8. Heaven Only Knows 

9. God's In The Blessing Business 

10. Highway Number 101 (Pacific Coast Highway) 

 At the same time that progressive/psychedelic musicians were moving towards a jazz structure, and Miles and alumni were pioneering fusion from the classic jazz scene, the R&B/ Funk scene saw musicians incorporating a fusion of jazz with their style. I first became familiar with Allen Toussaint doing R&BFusion. Through Toussaint, I found a version of Monk Higgins' 'Black Fox' online. I was blown away. I was able to track down this out-of-print CD on amazon. It is an amazing album if you like some funk with your cool-bop. The album has a consistency of this original sound beautifully reinforced by a women vocal chorus. 'Little Mama' and 'Black Fox' are my most recommended tracks on an album that is great to listen straight through.

Cold Blood - Thriller! (Soul/Funk)

1. Baby I Love You (Album Version)

 2. You Are The Sunshine Of My Life 

 3. Feel So Bad 

 4. Sleeping 

 5. Live Your Dream 

 6. I'll Be Long Gone 

 7. Kissing My Love 

 All I can say is that if you like a dynamic horn section and a killer female vocalist you can't get much better than this. Don't even judge it by their other albums. This one stands alone as their best ever. Fantastic cover versions of wonderful songs. Put this on when you need a lift in your soul. I must confess that the audio level is a little bit low and the highs have just a bit of distortion on the cd but that may be from the state of the original masters. Nonetheless, the songs are still terrific.

Reuben Wilson - Got To Get Your Own (Soul/Jazz)

1 What the People Gon' Say

 2 In the Booth, In the Back, In the Corner, In the Dark

 3 Back Rub

 4 Tight Money

 5 Stoned Out Of My Mind

 6 Together (You & Me)

 7 Got to Get Your Own 

 Reuben Wilson is best known for the series of gently grooving soul jazz LPs that he cut for Blue Note in the late `60s and early `70s, but GOT TO GET YOUR OWN, his sole outing for Chess Records' notoriously eccentric Cadet imprint, is arguably the highlight of his catalogue. It's a unique outing that sees Wilson discarding the straight-ahead grooves of his Blue Note material for a more baroque psychedelic sound, featuring fiercely distorted organ workouts and unstoppable ensemble playing from legendary session men like JB saxophonist Pee Wee Ellis and funky drummer Bernard Purdie. A standout funk session from organist Reuben Wilson, a hammond player best known for his Blue Note albums of the early 70s, who steps out wonderfully here in a rare date for Chess Records. The setting is quite unique, a mixture of Wilson's soaring organ

Pleasure - Dust Yourself Off (Funk)

01 - Dust Yourself Off 

 02 - Reality 

 03 - My Love 

 04 - Midnight At The Oasis 

 05 - Music Is My Life 

 06 - Plastic People 

 07 - Bouncy Lady 

 08 - What Is Slick 

 09 - Straight Ahead

B. B. & Q. Band - The Brooklyn Bronx & Queens Band (Funk)

1. On The Beat 

 2. Time For Love 

 3. Don't Say Goodbye 

 4. Starlette 

 5. Mistakes 

 6. Lovin's What We Should Do 

 7. I'll Cut You Loose 

 One of the best albums to come out of the 1980's circa...BB&Q Band displayed a sound remeniscent of CHIC but on a somewhat differant level. I't's been said that the BB&Q Band actually replaced bands like Chic after Disco was given it's death sentence in the early to mid eighties. Musically and harmonically the band was at it's best and filled up the dance floors with their number one hit..."On The Beat". All the tracks are great, but I must admit my favorite track is "Time For Love". Something about the way the chorus complements the rhythm that puts everything in sink....great record. The slow jams are very good as well. Amust have for any collector....I highly recommend this purchase.

Byard Lancaster - Funny Funky Rib Crib (Jazz)

1. Just test 

2. Work and Pray 

3. Rib Crib 1 

4. Rib Crib 2 

5. Loving Kindness 

6. Dogtown 

7. Us (bonus track) 

 Find Byard Lancaster as one of the leading figures in the Free Jazz movement surprising many of his fans with more funky orientated grooves on the Funny Funky Rib Crib LP which was originally released on the obscure French Jazz imprint Palm recordings by Jef Gilson.

Bobby Timmons - This Here Is Bobby (Jazz/Soul)

1. This Here 

2. Moanin' 

3. Lush Life 

4. The Party's Over 

5. Prelude to a Kiss 

6. Dat Dere 

7. My Funny Valentine - Bobby Timmons 

8. Come Rain or Come Shine

Bobby Timmons one of the prime leaders of the soul jazz era wrote some of the finest pieces in that era, such as Dat Dere, This Here, and Moanin'. Most people only know of Bobby Timmons as a sideman Most people only know of Moanin' in the setting of Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. Same as Dat Dere. This Here was written for Cannonball Adderley's Quintet, which Bobby was in, in San Francisco. But hey when you have a pianist like Bobby Timmons who needs those horns any way? This album demonstrates Bobby's talents to the full from standards and ballads like Lush Life to My Funny Valentine to his awesome pieces Dat Dere, Moanin', and This Here. This album truly shows Bobby, one of the finest soul jazz pianists, as a leader not a sideman and at his prime. Any one familiar with Dat Dere, Moanin', or This Here should definitely check this album out.

Wess & The Airedales - The Sound Of Soul (Soul)

A1. Chapel Of Dreams 

 A2. My sun Is Shining 

 A3. Papa's Got A Brand New Bag 

 A4. Stop Foolin' Yourself 

 A5. High Heel Sneakers 

 A6. Until You Came Along 

 B1. Your Precious Love 

 B2. Where Did Our Love Go 

 B3. I'll Never Turn My Back On You 

 B4. I've Got My Eyes On You 

 B5. You Brought It All On Yourself 

 B6. She Found Out 

 Doug Fowlkes formed Wess &  The Airedales in 1961 as the Airedales. In the mid-60s the band ended up in Italy due to a military tour of duty where they added singer and bassist Wess Johnson who took over the band.

Penny Goodwin - Portrait Of A Gemini (Jazz/Soul)

01 - Today Is the First Day 

02 - Trade Winds 

03 - Rain Sometimes 

04 - Lady Day 

05 - That's All Right With Me 

06 - He's Come Back 

07 - Too Soon You're Old 

08 - Slow Hot Wind 

09 - What's Going On 

10 - Amazing Grace 

A legendary bit of jazzy soul recorded by an obscure female singer from Milwaukee! Penny's got a warm style that's pretty darn nice on its own but it's made even better by the great arranger Richard Evan, who helped out a lot on the session. The feel is very much in the Chicago sophisti-soul mode and at times, the record sounds a lot like Marlena Shaw's best work in the 70s, particularly her sides for Blue Note in the early part of the decade. Includes the great original "Too Soon You're Old" a jazz dance classic for many years plus a stellar cover of Gil Scott Heron's "Lady Day & John Coltrane", and the tracks "What's Goin On", "Slow Hot Wind", "He's Come Back", and "Rain Sometimes".

Norman Feels - Where Or When (Soul)

1. Shame 

 2. Movie 

 3. I'll Show You The Way 

 4. Till You Come Back To Me 

 5. You Made Me Feel Better 

 6. I'll Always Love Just You 

 7. You Can't Stop My Love 

 8. Where Or When 

 9. Johnny Get Your Gun 

 10. Mr. Wanna Be

Norman Feels released two classic soul albums in 1973 and 1974. Not many people know about these two albums — or even about Norman Feels — but I will still use the word classic to describe these albums. The word classic means something that is a perfect example of a particular style, something of lasting worth or with a timeless quality. It’s hard to believe that an amazing artist like this was so grossly under-recognized.

Johnny Hammond - Gears (Jazz/Funk)

1. Tell Me What To Do 

2. Los Conquistadores Chocolates 

3. Lost On 23rd Street 

4. Fantasy 

5. Shifting Gears 

6. Can't We Smile 

 Johnny Hammond Smith works the keyboard like there's no tomorrow, pulling off funky licks left and right. The tight band keep up the pace, especially the rhythm section on the title track, Shifting Gears. I dare you to listen to this and not have the urge to dance. The wonderful MIzell brothers who did great things with Donald Byrd are here in their usual musician/producer roles. This is a highly influential record, and fans of modern acid jazz groups like the Brand New Heavies will love this and see the influences. You need this CD if you love funk, dance, soul, jazz or a good time

The Baby Huey Story - Living Legend (Soul/Funk)

1. Listen To Me 

2. Mama Get Yourself Together

3. A Change Is Going To Come

4. Mighty Mighty

5. Hard Times

6. California Dreamin'

7. Running

8. One Dragon Two Dragon 

 'Huey, a chicago native, was a protege of Curtis Mayfield (who produced this album and released it via his Curtom imprint) and somewhat of an eccentric. He was 400 pounds, had a huge afro, a King Tut beard and dressed flamboyantly. The picture on the back of this album is priceless : him in a pinstripe suit with a huge ankle length robe over it standing reading a cookbook. He recorded a handul of singles and died of a heartattack aged 26 before this album came out in 1970 He took his cues from Chicago groups like The Impressions (the group Curtis Mayfield fronted before going solo), Mayfield himself, the psychedelic blues albums by Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf released on legendary Chicago label Chess Records in the late 60's and then mixed them with some raw, ballsy Stax soul via Booker T & The M.G's melting pot to create something that only Mayfield, Issac Hayes, James Brown, Funkadelic and Sly Stone managed to better. You have the driving, gritty soul of "listen to me" & "hard times", the funked-up psychedelic blues of "mighty mighty" & "runnin'" (which Mayfield wrote and later recorded but the Huey original is the definitive version), instrumental jams like "mama get yourself together" & "one dragon, two dragon" and, finally, you have what have to be two of the greatest cover versions ever recorded : his funked up version of "california dreamin'" and his staggering 9 minute + version of Sam Cooke's "a change is gonna come" which has to be heard to be believed. Rap fiends should definately check this album as it's been sampled to death over the years and "listen to me" was a party favorite back in the days of Bronx block parties in the 70's. If you're a fan of blues or Hendrix and would like to start investigating soul/funk but find James Brown too dancefloor friendly or Marvin Gaye too polished then this would a good starter along with the first 3 Curtis Mayfield studio albums.

The Eliminators - Loving Explosion (Funk)

1-Get Satisfied

2-Love Your Woman

3-Give It Up

4-Try Try Try

5-Blood Donors Needed (Give All You Can)

6-Taking Love And Making Love

7-Get Satisfied (Part 2)

8-Loose Hips

9-Rump Bump

UK reissue of the extremely rare Funk album. Key tracks here include 'Loose Hips', 'Get Satisfied', 'Blood Donors Needed (Give All You Can)' and 'Give It Up'. Furthermore, this album is in demand on the rare Soul and Two Step scenes for the title track as well as 'Talking Love And Making Love'. Soul Brother Records.

Atlas - Atlas (Funk)

A1 Hey, Man! 

A2 Pasteboard 

A3 Skybird, Fly 

A4 Necessity 

B1 Ain't No Sunshine 

B2 Play It Cool 

B3 Rhode Island 

B4 We Are Happy 

B5 Let's Not Believe 

 Composé et enregistré en Autriche en 1977 cet opus est recherché par les collectionneurs. Les compos sont Jazz Funk et agémentées d'une belle reprise de Bill Withers “Ain't No Sunshine” Il a été réédité par Sonorama Records à partir des bandes master d’origines et distribué en France par Vadim Music.

 A MEGA rarity on the Austrian Bellaphon label -Bacillus records BA 24010, with superb weird artwork, and a complete oddity in the small Austrian scene, as this is a fantastic Funk-soul-rock LP with a very cool vibe that sometimes sounds like 70’s san’ fran street funk with a cool horn section.

Al Johnson - Back For More (Soul)

1. I'm Back for More 

2. Saved by the Bell 

3. You're a Different Lady 

4. School of the Groove 

5. I've Got My Second Wind 

6. Tonight's the Night for Love 

7. You Are My Personal Angel 

8. Peaceful 

 Essential classic mellow soul album released by Al Johnson, former member of the Unifics and Positive Change. This album was produced by Norman Connors and includes 2 killer tunes such as the superb duet with "Jean Carn" of the Leo's Sunshipp 's classic "I'm Back For More" and the stepper "i’ve got my second wind".

Mayer Hawthorne - Impressions (Soul)

1.Work To Do 

2.Don't Turn The Lights On 

3.You've Got The Makings Of A Lover 

4.Fantasy Gir 

5.Little Person 

6.Mr Blue Sky 

 Just for kicks, Mayer Hawthorne has delivered Impressions: The Covers EP for the listening public. Free as the air we breathe, the EP features his unique spin on cuts from Chromeo, The Isley Brothers and Electric Light Orchestra and others. As an added bonus, Mayer also took the time to break down the stories behind each of the songs. On this EP, you’ll find a tribute to an obscure artist, with Poppa Hawthorne himself sitting in on steel guitar. There’s a cover made to improve the sound quality on a late-Sixties refugee from the dusty crates. One track was made to realize an arrangement only heard in the man’s head, birthed full-borne and ready to be put out into the world. These are not perfunctory covers of Top 40 hits to appease the mainstream or to draw in a crossover audience. These are the works of someone who finds joy in music and wants to share it with the world.