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| Barrabas - Musica Caliente
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(RCA Victor LSP-10458 Spa-72 VG+ 300:-)
Wonderful work from Barrabas -- a hip Spanish group of the 70s who effortlessly blend together elements of funk, rock, and soul -- at a level that made them surprisingly big!
They fit right in the record racks with other funk records of the time -- as they serve up a wild safari of grooves that's almost in a sort of party mode, with the band jamming on congas, organ, and guitars! The vocals trade back nicely between the lead singer and the ensemble in a soulful mode that shows that everyone was paying attention -- and the best tracks have a tight groove with choppy guitar and driving conga, almost in an LA Chicano funk mode.
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| Booker T & the MGs / Mar-Keys - Back to Back
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(Stax S720 US-67 VG+ 350:-)
Two great Memphis instrumental groups in a smoking little live set that keeps the Stax Records sound strong -- even away from the studio!
The set's actually heavier on work by Booker T & The MGs than it is cuts by The Mar-Keys -- as Book and crew handle seven out of the record's ten tracks -- all with that sublime Hammond-heavy groove that makes them so great -- and which takes on an even rawer sound here in the live setting!
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| Brown, James - Hell
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(Polydor PD-2-9001 US-74 VG+ 600:-)
James Brown, the "Godfather of Soul," was a prolific singer, songwriter and bandleader, as well as one of the most iconic figures in funk and soul music.
"Hell" is JB's wildest album, with a crazy cover that shows him running away from the devil, and great gatefold inner photo with him standing amidst a bunch of declarations of "Hell". The double album is filled with lots of different styles from James' funky bag – but the real highlight is the epic 13 minute version of "Papa Don't Take No Mess", as tight and jamming as any cut from "Doin' It to Death" or "The Payback"!
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| Brown, James - In the Jungle Groove
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(Polydor 829624-1 US-86 VG+ 600:-)
Massive -- and one of the best James Brown compilations ever, filled with rare and unreleased material!
This completely essential set features tracks pulled from James' best years ever -- the mighty early 70s, when he was working with the JBs, and laying down tracks that would forever change the face of funk!
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| Brown, James - Revolution of the Mind
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(Polydor PD-3003 US-71 VG+ 500:-)
An amazing double-live album that's to concert records what James Brown's "Payback" was to the sound of studio funk!
The JBs are wonderful – really showing their chops here, in a way that maybe even blows the tightness of the previous James Brown Band to pieces – as the long tracks allow for plenty of solos, rhythm changes, and monstrous moments of soul from James. Brown also opens up with some cool bad-rapping moments, too!
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| Fatback Band - Let's Do It Again
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(Perception PLP-28 US-72 VG+ 500:-)
A key classic from the earliest years of the Fatback Band – one of the group's funkiest albums, and part of their original trilogy for the Perception label!
The groove here is mighty raw throughout – but a bit more complicated than some of their funky 45 releases – a mixture of funky vamps and some more soul-styled tunes – showing the group evolving a bit from the start, yet still losing none of their funky edge – sounding surprisingly nice on a few of the album's mellower instrumentals.
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| Flack & Donny Hathaway, Roberta - s/t
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(Atlantic SD-7216 US-72 VG+ 400:-)
An amazing record from the team of Flack & Hathaway – one of the hippest duos in soul!
Individually, each had taken the music to new heights and new audiences, through the use of jazzy phrasing and sophisticated lyrics, while never selling out in the way that earlier pop soul acts had been reduced to. Flack's somber folksy style is a perfect match for the warm spirituality of Hathaway – and the pair work beautifully in counterpoint!
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| Franklin, Aretha - Amazing Grace
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(Atlantic SD2-906 US-72 VG+ 400:-)
A legendary album – one that has Aretha Franklin returning to her roots in gospel music – but working with all the strength and power that Atlantic Records had to offer!
From early years recording as a young voice alongside her father's congregation, Aretha has matured into a hell of a lead singer – and really knocks it out of the park here alongside the mighty James Cleveland, and the Southern California Community Choir!
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| Franklin, Aretha - Lady Soul
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(Atlantic SD-8176 US-68 VG+ 375:-)
One of Aretha Franklin's undisputed classics from her late 60s run on Atlantic Records – a seminal session that furthered her deep soul agenda!
The Sweet Inspirations provide sublime backing vocals behind Franklin's maturing delivery of the lyrics – and the music is by an all-star group of players that includes Spooner Oldham, Bobby Womack, Jimmy Johnson, King Curtis, Tommy Cogbill, Roger Hawkins, and even Eric Clapton – clearly the cream of the crop, more than willing to be part of such an amazing set!
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| Gaye, Marvin - Volume Two, 1966-1970
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(Motown 600753-535042 EU-15 EX 1250:-)
This is a collection of eight of Marvin Gaye's studio albums on 180g vinyl housed in a clamshell box!
Commonly referred to as the 'Prince of Soul', Marvin Gaye helped to shape the sound of Motown Records and was one of the greatest voices to emerge from the label.
Volume 2 includes the albums; "Moods Of Marvin Gaye", "Take Two" (w/ Kim Weston), "United" (w/ Tammi Terrell), "In The Groove", "You're All I Need" (w/ Tammi Terrell), "M.P.G.", "Easy" (w/ Tammi Terrell), "That's The Way Love Is".
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| Hathaway, Donny - same
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(ATCO SD33-360 US-7? VG+ 500:-)
Donny Hathaway's life ended early, but he left behind a legacy of classic music. In January of 1979 he committed suicide by jumping out a 15-story window in New York City. Although his career was short-lived, Donny Hathaway made a huge impact on R&B and popular music in general, dozens of hip-hop artists have since sampled his records, reconfiguring his tracks into numerous rap hits.
One of the best albums ever by this legendary Chicago soul star! The album is masterful blend of spiritual soul tracks that plumb the depths of Donny's dark soul – done with a level of sophistication that you won't hear in other soul albums from the time!
Early 70s re-issue on the '75 Rockefeller' labels.
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| Higgins & Alex Brown, Monk - Sheba, Baby
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(Buddah BDS-5634-ST US-75 VG+ 500:-)
A nice one! This obscure blaxploitation soundtrack features a hip Monk Higgins score for a Pam Grier film that's supposedly "Hotter than Coffey and meaner n' Foxy Brown".
The music's strong enough, right up there with the best of its kind. Barbara Mason sung the title track and a few more vocal numbers, all in the mode of her hipper work during the time, but the best cuts are the instrumentals, of course!
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| J.B.'s - Hustle with Speed
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(People PE-6606 US-75 VG+ 500:-)
One of the most fantastic albums by the JBs – a masterpiece of funky jamming, tight instrumentation, and that free yet tight style of the James Brown 70s years!
The tracks are longer than on some of the earlier singles – especially the 8 minute jammer "(It's Not The Express) It's the JBs Monourail", an answer to BT Express' theme song, and a fantastic cut that's held up through so many years and so many scenes! Fantastic all around – and the kind of record you'll be playing for your grandkids!
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| Jackson, Chuck - Arrives!
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(Tamla Motown STML-11071 UK-68 VG+ 600:-)
Chuck Jackson only worked with Motown for a few short years, but his time at the label marked a big shift in his work – there's a growing southern soul sensibility to many of these tracks – as Chuck seems to be taking a cue from some of the better singers of the late 60s, and deepening his sound with influences brought north from Memphis and Muscle Shoals.
The core sound's still prime Motown, though – with top-shelf arrangements and productions – and in a way, these recordings mark the link between Memphis and Detroit that would be explored a lot more heavily in key 70s recordings by Don Davis and other producers who skirted between the two cities' scenes.
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| Johnson, J J - Willie Dynamite
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(MCA MCA-393 US-74 EX 600:-)
One of the greatest soundtracks of the blacksploitation era – served up with some incredible grooves from maestro JJ Johnson!
The album's got a non-stop, hard-hitting groove that ranks it with the best of its time – and which is arguably even better, because most of the record isn't nearly as well known as "Shaft", "Superfly", or other classics. Martha Reeves sings some of the deepest vocals of her career on the great title track "Willie D" – an old sample cut that you're sure to recognize – and the instrumental tunes are even better, filled with great percussion and jazzy flourishes from JJ – in a style that really keeps things interesting!
Original US pressing.
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| Jones, Gloria - Come Go with Me
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(Uptown ST-5700 US-66 VG+ 500:-)
Gloria Jones' career began in a church gospel choir, which led to spots singing backing vocals for artists such as Phil Spector and Bob Dylan. Her singing talent and years of studying piano and composition led to a job writing for Motown at the behest of Pam Sawyer. In 1972 she met T. Rex front man Marc Bolan with whom she became involved. She played clavinet and sang backing vocals for T-Rex until late 1977 when a tragic accident occurred - she crashed her Austin Mini, which caused the death of Bolan and spelled the end of T-Rex. Jones moved back to Los Angeles with their son Rolan Bolan.
Very nice lost Uptown soul album, with some very raw vocals from Gloria, and a good soulful groove.
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| Love Committee - Law & Order
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(Gold Mind GA-9500 US-78 VG+ 500:-)
A classic club album, and one of the most sought-after albums on Gold Mind/Salsoul – a soulful set of club classics that almost beats most of the other work by its contemporaries!
The session's grounded in some very solid help from the Sigma Sound team – production and arrangements by the likes of Norman Harris, Ron Tyson, or BHY Productions – in that wonderfully soulful style that was the best mode of the Harris Machine when it was working overtime! The style is disco, but far from the cliches of more commercial work like this – and much more in the legacy of Philly soul from the earlier part of the decade.
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| Mayfield, Curtis - Back to the World
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(Curtom CRS-8015 US-73 VG+ 300:-)
Pure genius from Curtis Mayfield – and a record that's got all the righteousness and political power you might guess from the cover!
The album burns with a sense of empowerment that's every bit the best strength of Curtom in the 70s – a sublime blend of heavy soul, funky undercurrents, and far-reaching arrangements that still always manage to groove! And Curtis' vocals are great too – echoing out with a newfound presence that far surpasses the raspy quality of his early work with The Impressions.
2nd US pressing with "810 Seventh Ave" labels.
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| McDaniels, Gene - Wonderful World
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(Liberty LBY-1179 UK-63 EX 375:-)
Gene McDaniels had some early-'60s success with a pop-flavored R&B style. Born in Kansas City, he sang in Omaha choirs during the '40s and attended the Omaha Conservatory of Music. McDaniels led his own band in the '50s, then signed with Liberty. He had a Top Ten pop and Top 20 R&B hit in 1961 with "A Hundred Pounds of Clay," but the follow-up single, "A Tower of Strength," was his biggest.
Original UK MONO pressing; both sleeve and vinyl are graded EX.
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| Parks, Gordon - Shaft's Big Score!
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(MGM 1SE-36ST US-72 VG+ 275:-)
One of the more unusual albums in the Shaft Legacy – put together by director Gordon Parks!
After directing the first Shaft film, and letting Isaac Hayes have such a big hit with the music, Parks decided to handle the music for this sequel himself – and scored the whole thing with just as much skill as Hayes! The music is conducted by Dick Hazard, and produced by jazzman Tom McIntosh – but all the scoring is done by Parks, and he stays very true to the funky vibe set up by Hayes. OC Smith sings the vocal theme.
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| Parliament - Live
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(Casablanca NBLP-7053 US-77 VG+ 600:-)
Headed by George Clinton, Parliament's distinctive funk style drew on psychedelic culture, outlandish fashion, science-fiction, and surreal humor; it would have an influential effect on subsequent funk, post-punk, hip-hop, and techno artists.
This is what a live album should sound like -a quality recording with the full sound of an authentic performance. The exuberance. This is NOT a sterilized studio recording.
Includes the 22" x 33" poster and an iron-on T-Shirt transfer.
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| Parliament - Motor Booty Affair
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(Casablanca NBLP-7125 US-78 VG+ 500:-)
The Mothership goes under water – as George Clinton and crew groove away nicely on this water-themed set of tracks designed to raise Atlantis from the deep!
The overall sound is perhaps not as totally perfect as some of the earlier albums, but the P-Funk machine is still in full effect – cranking away nice and hard on, with a nicely-united theme – almost a "concept album" of the funky type!
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| Smith, Clarence - Whatever happened to Love
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(Gospel Truth GTS-2716 US-73 VG+ 400:-)
A hip bit of gospel from the Stax Memphis scene of the early 70s -- a record that's gospel at its core, but done with some of the more righteous soul styles that were flowing through other Stax records at the time.
Backings are by The Movement and The Memphis Horns -- and Clarence sings and speaks his way through a set of tracks that mix the soulful and the spiritual.
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| Starr, Edwin - Hell Up in Harlem
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(Motown M-802V1 US-74 VG+ 400:-)
An excellent blacksploitation soundtrack - and every bit as funky as any of Willie Hutch's work for other Motown soundtracks at the time!
Larry Mizell and Dennis Coffey help out on the instrumentation - giving the album an extra funky instrumental edge, one that takes it way past Edwin Starr's other work -- and the tracks are a nice mix of vocals and instrumentals.
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| Supremes - A Bit of Liverpool
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(Motown MS-623 US-64 VG+ 350:-)
Berry Gordy tried to move Motown out of the ghetto of US soul indies by attempting various moves to realign the music with other spheres bigger than the scope of Detroit soul.
Such is an album like this, in which The Supremes strangely sing hits of the British Invasion. It's hard to imagine that such an album would appeal to either the group's regular fans or those who liked true British rock, but perhaps that's also why the record features a version of The Contours "Do You Love Me" and The Miracles' "You've Really Got A Hold Of Me".
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| Tex, Joe - The New Boss
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(Atlantic SD-8115 US-65 VG+ 300:-)
Joe Tex's raspy-voiced, jackleg preacher style laid some of the most important parts of rap's foundation.
He is, arguably, the most underrated of all the '60s soul performers associated with Atlantic Records, although his records were more likely than those of most soul stars to become crossover hits.
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| Thomas, Rufus - Walking the Dog
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(Stax 704 US-63 VG+ 1000:-)
A key early moment for Memphis soul legend Rufus Thomas -- a singer who'd already been working and recording on the scene for about a decade, but who finally got some national attention with this raw soul album for Stax!
The set's got all the sharp, hard Stax approach in the grooves -- that no-nonsense collaborative vibe that made the label's studio such a hotbed of activity at the time -- which allowed Rufus to just step in and open up his many charms on a set of cuts that bridge the world between R&B and early soul! Almost every track is a hard soul dancer -- not funk, as in later Stax material by Rufus -- but with a sound that's equally raw.
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| White, Barry - 20th Century Albums
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(Mercury 02567-41068 EU-18 EX 1000:-)
Barry White followed in the footsteps of Lou Rawls, Isaac Hayes, and even the politically charged Gil Scott Heron, all sharing creamy baritones and a tendency to mix spoken word with song. Those pillow talk interludes showed White's speaking voice to be deeper (and more impressive) than his singing voice. Like an amorous Orson Welles doused in Brut 33, White used the heady brew of disco sheen and bedroom voice to score hit after hit in the '70s.
This 9LP Box Set bring together all the albums Barry White released with the 20th Century Records label. The albums have been remastered from their analogue
master tapes.
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