“Born of Harlem doo-wop roots and refined by Boston’s counterculture scene, Willie Wright arrived in Nantucket in 1976 well worn by two decades of street corner and club performing, eager [...]
Etta James’ second album leans more toward pop than the fiery soul she’s known for, with lush orchestration by Riley Hampton and a repertoire of ’40s standards. Yet, her [...]
“The debut for the nine-member Earth, Wind & Fire was as assured as that of any rock band from the ’60s and early ’70s. Already fluent with the close harmonies […]
From 1958 to 1993, Thomas and Louise Boddie’s industrious Boddie Recording Company issued nearly 300 albums and 45s, recorded 10,000 hours of tape, and remained in operation longer than any […]
In January of 2006, the Numero Group found itself sitting three-wide on a weight bench in a clammy Jacksonville, Florida, garage. Eight hours later, we peeled out of the driveway […]
Where everything Numero begins. Three guys in a purple Saturn station wagon drove down to Columbus, Ohio, and came back to Chicago with a lost label—the rest is history. In […]
Three years we told the world about Columbus, Ohio’s secret soul history, Numero returned to the scene of the crime for further exploration. Victim: Clem Price and George Beter’s no-rep […]
The formula was simple: Merge bubblegum and soul with the crackling sincerity of an enthusiastic child, cross your fingers, and pray for airplay. Throw in a publicist, stylists, dance [...]
By 1967, East St. Louis, Illinois—once dubbed an “All American” city by the US Chamber of Commerce—had become St Louis, Missouri’s evil twin. Unemployment, drug addiction and vicious gang [...]
Between 1967 and 1981, Detroit’s downriver neighbor Ecorse, Michigan, had its very own Moe Asch. Set up in a basement on 18th Avenue, electronics wiz, guitarist, and Ford plant foreman […]
Between 1975 and 1981, a group of American ex-pats brought the native sounds of their Detroit and Chicago homes across the Atlantic, combined them with the messages of the Black […]
Even though it rolled off of Detroit assembly lines, the Big Mack story is no Motown or Fortune or Revilot retread. Rather, it’s an examination of the Motor City sound’s […]
Nickel and Penny are twin sides of the same eccentric coin, and in the ’60s and ’70s that coin was being flipped by Chicago’s #1 Dusties DJ Richard Pegue. When […]
Operated by a pair of cutthroat radio promotion men, Chicago’s Twinight label made its strides via “friendola”—the trading of favors, not dollars, for local radio airplay. Much of the outfit’s [...]
The genesis of our Good God! series, dedicated to divergent sounds from devout records, A Gospel Funk Hymnal explores injections of a profane funk into gospel music’s sacred beatitude. Completing [...]
Unofficially the third entry in our Good God! series of ecstatic worship, Born Again Funk picks up where A Gospel Funk Hymnal leaves off. Yes, the prodigal sons of Thomas […]
While not manning knobs and faders for Gil Scott-Heron, Hugh Masekela, Soul Searchers, Van McCoy, and a host of major label also-rans at Edgewood Studios, Washington, D.C.’s most opulent [...]
The Boddie Recording Company would press any damn thing to vinyl—absolutely anything, from amateur garage rock to basement soul, from preachers’ sermons to minimal synth pop…even polka [...]
“The second Tower of Power LP, Bump City was the first to make any impact. The group went to Memphis, cut their first great single in “You’re Still A Young […]
Continuing a tradition that began with Sweet Sweetback’s Badasssss Song and culminated with Shaft and Superfly, Brotherman was a blaxploitation film set to hit screens in 1975. Prior to the […]
Features “Finally Got Myself Together (I’m a Changed Man)” Label: Curtom – CRS 8019 Format: Vinyl, LP, Album Country: US Released: 1974 VG+/VG+. Light marks. Some edgewear to [...]
“Leaving Josie for Reprise did change the Meters, even if the change wasn’t necessarily for the better. They became slicker, jammier, and, in the conventional sense, funkier, even if [...]
Killer gospel-soul album that sounds as raw & present as it does soulful Label: ASL (Atlanta Soul Liberation) – ASL-1092 Format: Vinyl, LP Country: US Released: VG+/VG. Sleeve high end […]
“Its misleading title notwithstanding, Change Up the Groove does little to alter the inimitable jazz-funk aesthetic Roy Ayers perfected on earlier LPs like He’s Coming and Virgo Red. [...]
“Over the years, Ray Barretto has commanded respect in two different genres: salsa and Latin jazz. Not surprisingly, his salsa recordings have been much bigger sellers than his Latin jazz [...]
“Heard Ya Missed Me, Well I’m Back, Sly Stone’s ninth album for Epic, features a reunited Sly & the Family Stone. Sly’s previous album, the funk-filled High on You [...]
“Sly & the Family Stone’s debut album is more restrained and not nearly as funky or psychedelic as their subsequent efforts, owing far more to traditional soul arrangements. These [...]
“Where will you hide when the world around you is closing in? On their latest LP, GFO invites you to close your eyes and take a dive into your subconscious. […]
“In the 1980s many of go-go’s supporters insisted that it was going to become as big as rap. Regrettably, that never happened. Go-go was huge in Washington, D.C., where a […]
“Cochemea Gastelum is coming home to connect with his roots. After nearly 15 years of touring the world with Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings, the saxophonist offers a deeply personal […]
Chicago’s South Side in the early ’70s was an epicenter of African-American musical creativity: Art Ensemble of Chicago, Sun Ra’s Arkestra, Phil Cohran’s Artistic Heritage Ensemble, and others [...]
“Prior to this album, Al Green never had a number one song. The title track, “Let’s Stay Together,” achieved that status and held it for nine consecutive weeks. [...]
GAL COSTA is an award-winning singer with an extensive solo discography and international experience. A fundamental presence in the Tropicália movement, she has been one of Brazil’s most [...]
Strut presents one of the most in-demand and significant albums from the archives of Jimmy Gray’s Black Fire Records, ‘Bow To The People’ (1976) by theatre collective Theatre West, based […]
On a balmy Brazilian night in February, 1981, a crowd gathered in Rio de Janeiro’s Gávea neighbourhood under the iconic dome of the city’s Planetário (Planetarium). Alongside [...]
From an artist in their seventies, you probably wouldn’t expect to hear an album like this. But Brazilian drumming legend Ivan ‘Mamão’ Conti has been experimenting and innovating for the […]
Azymuth are back! With Fênix, their first album in five years, the Brazilian mavericks have recreated the energy of those spellbinding seventies’ sessions which would launch them into [...]
Far Out Recordings continues its reissue campaign of the late Argentinian guitarist Agustin Pereyra Lucena’s work with the first-ever vinyl reissue of his singular 1988 private press album, [...]
“This year marks the 50th anniversary of Cymande’s ‘Promised Heights,’ a record that closed out a historic three-album run of seminal early 70’s Afro-soul that also included their 1972 [...]
Produced by Josephine “Jo” Bridges and signed to her We Produce imprint, The Temprees were a Memphis soul vocal trio powered by one of the great falsettos in pop music, […]
Girl group greatness, courtesy of the Chicago-based Hutchinson Sisters (with Theresa Davis on this record) and co-producers Isaac Hayes, David Porter and Ronnie Williams! Recording at Muscle [...]
The success of Shaft and Superfly ignited an explosion of films, many produced by small independent studios and filmmakers, whose soundtracks continue to provide rich fodder for turntablists, [...]
The success of Shaft and Superfly ignited an explosion of films, many produced by small independent studios and filmmakers, whose soundtracks continue to provide rich fodder for turntablists, [...]
Cupid Deluxe is Dev Hynes’ second full-length release under the Blood Orange moniker. It shows a more expansive aural palate than its predecessor while retaining the pop sensibilities that [...]
“Operated by a pair of cutthroat radio promotion men, Chicago’s Twinight label made its strides via “friendola”—the trading of favors, not dollars, for local radio airplay. Much of the [...]
Groovy Latin funk from the Puerto Rican icon, Iris Chacón Label: Borinquen – AAD-1315 Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Stereo Country: Puerto Rico Released: 1977 VG/VG. Noticeable light marks. Sleeve [...]
“Left unexplored by Eccentric Soul: The Deep City Label were those narrow roads leading away from the misfits of FAMU’s Marching 100 band, out of Deep City, and into its […]
“Cool Million by now is a household name, when it comes to the boogie funk style. They are deeply rooted in this musical genre, that we lost by the end […]
Rick James soul-rock group from the early 70s. Label: Lion Records Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Stereo, Die-cut Jacket Country: US Released: 1972 VG/VG Light marks/wear