[ aquarius records — Soul Funk ]

IMPORTANT (Please read to avoid confusion): Some items below may be tagged with a bold, red, all-caps OUT OF PRINT/UNAVAILABLE notice. This does NOT mean that all other items not so tagged are, in fact, in stock — or for that matter, in print and available, though there's a good chance they are. Some folks get confused on this point, and we can see why, so please read this for further clarification and other important before-you-order information. Unlike some mailorder websites, we don't have an electronic inventory system linked to our site, so you can't be sure of what we actually have or don't have in stock at any given moment without asking us — please email our mailorder department for availability status — or better yet, just go ahead and place your order using our shopping cart function and we'll get back to you with the status of each item. If you have general non-mailorder questions, email the store.

Showing results 201 through 250 of 794.

Long overdue and much deserved collection documenting the work of one of the most influential DJs, remixers and game changers in New York's dance scene of the '70s and '80s. Gibbons was working mixing magic with two turntables back in the mid '70s as well as being one of the first artists to make reel-to-reel edits of tracks as he extended the breaks for ecstatic dancefloor delight. In many ways he was one of the first people responsible for remixes, edits and extended tracks, which would become staples of dance 12"s for years to come. It also helped that Gibbons had such great taste, working on mixes for such amazing artists as Arthur Russell, Bettye Lavette, Gladys Knight, Stetsasonic, Double Exposure, etc. He had this incredible ability to keep the essence of their tracks alive yet completely transform them into something even more primitive and physical. It's no wonder folks like Arthur Russell and the Salsoul label would only trust Gibbons with their remixes. Gibbons could always take what was just an average song on its own and make in into absolute magic (see "Sun Sun Sun")! He brought a street grit to the disco floor, and his mixes remain as some of our favorite dance floor burners of all time. It's eerie what a striking resemblance his photo on the cover of this collection bears to another great pioneer of dance music, Patrick Cowley, and sadly like so many of the talented artists of this era, Gibbon's life ended all too soon due to AIDS related illness in 1994. His legacy, spirit, and sound live on, captured so lovingly on this Strut collection, making it an absolute must have!

MPEG stream: LUV YOU MADLY ORCHESTRA "Moon Maiden
MPEG stream: ARTHUR RUSSELL "Calling All Kids
MPEG stream: JAKKI "Sun Sun Sun
MPEG stream: BETTYE LAVETTE "Doin' The Best That I Can

You should have seen some of us jumping with joy (literally!) when we finally got this in stock a few weeks back. And we wanted to list it immediately but it's take us until now to get enough copies! Gina X Performance were a totally ahead of their time electro-pop outfit outta Germany who formed at the end of the 1970's. Nice Mover was their first and best album. Essentially the collaboration between Zeus B. Held, a musician and producer who was getting way bored with the stale world of rock at the time and was seeking to create some cold, dark and sexy electronic based music, and his perfect partner in crime Gina Kikoine, who had a background in art-history and was leaning heavily toward the avant-garde. Together they sounded like Giorgio Moroder and Kraftwerk hooking up with Grace Jones in the middle of the night at a dark seedy club in Berlin. Such the perfect late night record for those nights that you are feelin' a lil' dirty, a lil' sassy and lot up to no good. When Pam in mailorder heard this for the first time she thought it sounded like the best kind of "slutty dracula-music!" or the soundtrack to early '80s cult-favorite Liquid Sky. Gina X were the prototype of riot grrl and electroclash. Musically it's that gettin' you so hot by being so cold, with Gina singing queer-positive lyrics about gender bending. there's even a song dedicated to Quentin Crisp. You can't help but hear Gina X Performance in the sounds that would come almost 25 years after from the likes of Tracy & The Plastics, Chicks On Speed, Goldfrapp, Adult, Solex, and Ladytron. Also if you loved that great So Young But So Cold comp as much as we do then this is pretty essential listening as well! Those of us who DJ know that sometimes all you have to do is put on "Nice Mover" or "No G.D.M." and immediately all the wild and sexy dancers will hit the dancefloor all flushed and feverish!

MPEG stream: Nice Mover
MPEG stream: No G.D.M.
MPEG stream: Be A Boy

When we first heard of the strangely monikered Gnarls Barkley, they already had a number one hit in the UK and had the biggest downloaded single ever with the track "Crazy". Normally, we don't always pay much attention to popular hit singles, but something about the name made us curious. So we checked it out and need we say it, our minds were blown!! A stab of cool, infectious, minor key, soul-pop groove that conks you over the head with an anvil or a piano until you're seeing stars and little birdies, just like in the cartoons! Of course, when we found out Gnarls Barkley was in fact Danger Mouse and Cee-Lo (ex-Goodie Mob), it all made a bit more sense. But even with such talent, we assumed the single would be a one-off and heck, we'd be fine with that, cuz that track was just so perfect. Then, lo and behold, a full length CD shows up on our counter. Would it be just as exciting and mind blowing as the single? Hells Yes!!! St. Elsewhere is a strange and often silly pastiche of soul, pop, funk, hip hop, and gospel with nods to Wilson Pickett, Undisputed Truth, Marvin Gaye, and crazily enough Violent Femmes (they cover "Gone Daddy Gone"). But even with their influences showing bright and clear, they put it all together in their own unique crazy fun and groovy way. Less sleazy than Andre 3000's Love Below, but sipping from the same funky bottle. Expect to hear this one all summer long.

MPEG stream: Crazy
MPEG stream: Smiley Faces

We're really getting tired of this new trend of reissuing a record after it's only been out for a few months. Drives us nuts. What's worse is that they seem to always have cool stuff that we totally want. Argh. If they could just include that stuff the first time around... Anyway, THE smash hit of the year, Danger Mouse and Cee-Lo's Gnarls Barkley gets the deluxe reissue treatment and it's a doozy, so much so that we all find ourselves wanting to buy it all over again. New super swanky packaging, with a badass 3-D lenticular cover and a HUGE booklet, but more importantly, two live tracks, one from Top Of The Pops, the other from Later With Jools Holland, and 4 videos, two of which we've seen and are completely amazing. If you're a fan, it's probably sort of essential, and if you somehow managed to not buy this yet, now's the time to get it, with all the bells and whistles! In case, you've been living in a cave or under a rock, here's what we had to say about the ubiquitous St. Elsewhere: When we first heard of the strangely monikered Gnarls Barkley, they already had a number one hit in the UK and had the biggest downloaded single ever with the track "Crazy". Normally, we don't always pay much attention to popular hit singles, but something about the name made us curious. So we checked it out and need we say it, our minds were blown!! A stab of cool, infectious, minor key, soul-pop groove that conks you over the head with an anvil or a piano until you're seeing stars and little birdies, just like in the cartoons! Of course, when we found out Gnarls Barkley was in fact Danger Mouse and Cee-Lo (ex-Goodie Mob), it all made a bit more sense. But even with such talent, we assumed the single would be a one-off and heck, we'd be fine with that, cuz that track was just so perfect. Then, lo and behold, a full length CD shows up on our counter. Would it be just as exciting and mind blowing as the single? Hells Yes!!! St. Elsewhere is a strange and often silly pastiche of soul, pop, funk, hip hop, and gospel with nods to Wilson Pickett, Undisputed Truth, Marvin Gaye, and crazily enough Violent Femmes (they cover "Gone Daddy Gone"). But even with their influences showing bright and clear, they put it all together in their own unique crazy fun and groovy way. Less sleazy than Andre 3000's Love Below, but sipping from the same funky bottle. Expect to hear this one all summer long (actually, you should probably expect to hear this one fooooooorrreeeeeeeevvvvvvveeeeeeer!).

MPEG stream: Crazy
MPEG stream: Smiley Faces

Big is the fourth studio full length from Ms Macy. Heck, that title could very well fit any one of this slightly unhinged soul pop singer's albums. It features guest appearances by Natalie Cole, Fergie, Nas, Justin Timberlake and Will.i.am. Big, slick and groovy, would you expect anything less?!

After all these years Al Green still has the smoothest voice in soul. With this new secular album, the Reverend Al Green teamed up with Ahmir '?uestlove' Thompson (The Roots) who helped produce the record and help gives it a very warm and tasteful feel. All of that, along with the mighty horn section of The Dapkings, helps make this a really great and classic sounding Al Green record. With Gnarls Barkley biting Green's vocal style and the onslaught of soul reissues we've all been going crazy over, it's so nice to hear one of the original soul superstars showing he's still got it. Like many of his best records, it's not about stand out singles as much as it is about an overall fluid vibe. Forty-one years after his debut, Al Green shows that he's still filled with a special kind of sensuality!

MPEG stream: Lay It Down
MPEG stream: What More Do You Want From Me

The break out single from Cee-Lo Green's latest solo record, "Fuck You" has got to be hands down the song of the year. Its tone of jilted empowerment speaks to so much more than just a scorned lover, that we're sure we'll be seeing some very politically pointed parody covers in the coming months. Lady Killer sees the Gnarls Barkley frontman step away from the Dangermouse production and gives us a killer tour of classic souled out funk, electro, and RnB that for the most part stays highly energized and grooving with only a couple of detours into schmaltz. But his amazing voice carries through it all and as always is the reason to listen.

MPEG stream: Fuck You
MPEG stream: Brighter Lights Big City
MPEG stream: Love Gun

A new installment in the popular hip hop and soul jazz crossover series created by Gangstarr's Guru. Featuring Macy Gray, Erykah Badu, Kelis, The Roots, Herbie Hancock, Les Nubians, and more.

Finally available again on vinyl! Thrust is the 1974 follow-up to Headhunters. Deep, deep keyboard-heavy funk with grooves to ride 'til dawn. So far ahead of its time it ain't even funny; you will be amazed. On 180 gram vinyl. Heavy!

Reissue of a rare 1972 album. (All right, we're listening, tell us more...) Free jazz improv. (Ok, we're interested, except for Jim who's not into jazz.) Funky grooves. (Still sounds good... except you've lost Andee, he doesn't dig the funk.) BAGPIPES! (Woah?! Really? Maybe Andee and Jim are back in the fold. Bagpipes?) Yep, bagpipes. And a lot of groovy, jazzy funk laid down by organ, bass and drums. And, at one point, there's a baby crying. Ok, this IS still way too jazzy fusiony funky for Andee or Jim, but Allan's digging it. Just imagine a Scottish highlander trying to fit in with a jivey '70s urban nightclub jazz scene. It works. Rufus ain't blowin' the bagpipes continuously (he also grooves on electric soprano sax), but there are certainly way more BPs than you'd normally hear on a jazz/funk album! Understandable, then, the "legendary" status of this record, now reissued on cd with a 10 minute bonus track. And oh yeah, dude's playing AMERICAN FLAG bagpipes in the picture on the front cover.

MPEG stream: The Crack
MPEG stream: Nobody Knows The Trouble Us People Done Seen

No doubt one of the most underrated soul singers of all time! In a more just world Betty Harris' name would be as well known in every household as Aretha Franklin, Dionne Warwick and Sam Cooke. The first time we came across Betty Harris was on the amazing 45 "Cry To Me", one of the most beautiful, devastating yet somehow soothing songs we've ever heard! The kind of song that gives you goosebumps that don't ever go away. The kind of song that you play over and over and over until totally wearing out that 30 year old piece of vinyl. So of course we were always hungry to find more Betty Harris and luckily the Aim label put together this wonderful collection of her otherwise impossible to find songs (believe us we have been digging in all sorts of soul shops trying to find more 45's with no luck). No one hit wonder, every single one of these songs punches with an emotional weight and a fiery passion that rings oh so true! Harris grew up in the church as both her parents were ministers/missionaries and at the age of 10 she was leading a 125 voice choir! But it was not the church where Betty felt her heart belonged but instead it was the world of Rhythm & Blues and the road which seemed to be calling her. She studied and toured with Big Maybelle in the 1950's and then in the 60's she formed an amazing partnership with Alan Toussaint, one of the best songwriters and producers of the last half century (The Meters, Lee Dorsey, Etta James, The Band) and together they created some of the richest, deepest, hard hitting soul. With the recent uncovering of great lost soul by labels like the Numero Group and Soul Jazz there is an exciting wave of attention being paid to great soul of the past. We hope that this legendary soul queen finally gets the attention and respect she so deserves!

MPEG stream: Cry To Me
MPEG stream: I'll Be A Liar
MPEG stream: I'm Evil Tonight

Mayer Hawthorne is the pseudonym for Ann Arbor native and multi-instrumentalist/DJ /producer, Andrew Cohen, who began recording as the retro-soul heavy Mayer Hawthorne as a sort of joke. When Stones Throw label head Peanut Butter Wolf first heard it, he thought he was listening to reedits of some obscure late sixties soul singles, not realizing Cohen had laid down all the tracks himself. Cohen is definitely channeling the same retro soul vibe that the Daptone label is putting out, and listening to this, he's got all the right soul references down from The Dells, The Delfonics, The Stylistics and The Moments, with the benefit of great song writing hooks. His first single, "Just Ain't Gonna Work Out", released on a red heart shaped 45 is probably the most groovy breakup song we've ever heard (It ironically get played a lot at weddings!). But our favorite track is the second single, "Maybe So, Maybe No", that shows that his hip blue-eyed soul persona is no mere shtick, but a viable modern soul force to be reckoned with.

MPEG stream: Maybe So, Maybe No
MPEG stream: Just Ain't Gonna Work Out
MPEG stream: Green Eyed Love

One of the most intoxicating male voices we've heard in so long belongs to Mayer Hawthorne. On How Do You Do, he makes the leap from the indie Stones Throw to the big time, now finding a home on Universal, but luckily his soulful music is not compromised one bit. In fact when we first heard Mayer Hawthorne a couple years ago we had a feeling he could get HUGE. Looks like maybe we were right. His blue eyed soul shines nice and bright on this new outing and shows off both his ability to create such a seductive mood, while also his super strong song writing chops. Equally influenced by amazing singers like Al Green, Dusty Springfield, Otis Redding, Smokey Robinson as well as sweet sounding west coast pop like The Beach Boys, The Monkees, Herman's Hermits and The Louvin Spoonful, there's just no denying he creates make-out jams that sound so damn good, and thus he's amassed a pretty awesome list of bigtime fans which include Dam-Funk, Peanut Butter Wolf, and even Snoop Dogg who appears on "Can't Stop", a totally killer track on How Do You Do. Speaking of amazing guests, legendary psych-funk guitar god Dennis Coffey plays on two tracks as well. The only thing we don't love about this record is the album cover and the marketing campaign that Universal has launched in support of it. We understand that they want to make him a huge star, but truthfully Hawthorne is so much more talented then what major labels like to push as the next big thing. He is not just a pretty face and voice, he wrote and produced every track on the album, and his sense of arrangements and pop structure are so spot on. But like we we were always told, you can't judge books or records by their covers, cause what's inside is what really counts, and the songs on How Do You Do are pure proof.

MPEG stream: A Long Time
MPEG stream: Can't Stop ( Feat. Snoop Dogg)
MPEG stream: Stick Around

Also now reissued on vinyl. Funkadelic guitarist (of "Maggot Brain" fame) steps out solo, 1977. Includes funkadelicized covers of "California Dreamin'" and "I Want You (She's So Heavy)"!

Funkadelic guitarist (of "Maggot Brain" fame) steps out solo, 1977. Includes funkadelicized covers of "California Dreamin'" and "I Want You (She's So Heavy)"!

First time on cd domestically for these two long out of print releases from this hard-hitting space jazz-funk fusion outfit. Originally formed by Herbie Hancock for his classic 1973 Head Hunters breakthrough release (after he broke up his previous band, Sextant), the band didn't break out on their own until 1975's Hancock-produced Survival Of The Fittest with the jazz funk hit, "God Made Me Funky". But The Headhunters had more going for them than just the one funk hit. Comprised of seasoned jazz players: saxman/clarinetist Bennie Maupin (a holdover from the Sextant), bassist Paul Jackson, Jr., drummer Harvey Mason, and percussionist Bill Summers, The Headhunters strength was their atmospheric groove, heavy percussive rhythms and a willingness to take the songs to farout places. While Survival of The Fittest was their best and most well-known album, 1978's Straight From The Gate, their final album before a reunion 20+ years later, is perhaps their most obscure recording. Pushing the funk and fusion elements with an altered lineup there is more of a rushed heavier energy emphasized by guitars, flute, sax and electric piano. This is the kind of record that can easily scare those who bristle at the word "fusion", but there are some deep cuts that make it worth looking into. Either way, having Survival of The Fittest alone is worth the price of admission!

MPEG stream: God Made Me Funky
MPEG stream: Music
MPEG stream: Rima
MPEG stream: Stright From The Gate
MPEG stream: Mayonnaise

**SALE **SALE* *SALE**

Wow! The wonderful, wonderful music of organist Merit Hemmingson combines a bunch of stuff we just simply LOVE but never heard quite like this before. The title of this "best of" collection boldly suggests as much to you too, right? Swedish Hammond Folk Groove, yeah!! We hadn't heard of her before we came across this, but now we know she made a handful of records in the '70s that brought together ancestral Swedish folk melodies, jazzy Hammond organ grooving, and some colorful psychedelic moves. Merit's Hammond is at the fore, playing her own swingin', riffin' take on these traditional tunes, but the arrangements also variously incorporate '70s funky wah-wah psych guitars, her lovely, wordless vocals, flutes and bongos and more... It's all so sunshiney and delightful, reminding us of everything from Hansson & Karlsson to Turid to The Free Design to a calmer, mellower version of Aavikko! And of course modern-day Swedish folk organ duo Sagor & Swing. Merit's music is gentle, soulful, rhythmic -- so nice! It's total "grooving with trolls and flowers in the forest funk". Not your everyday organ jazz that's for sure, though Merit got her start in the '60s playing jazz -- she came over to the New York City to study, taking piano lessons from both Joe Zawinul and Lalo Schifrin and even getting to sit in with Miles Davis's band! But soon she went in a more pop/funk direction, and then became inspired by Scandinavia's rich history of olden folk music to create the sounds heard here. The twenty tracks on this collection are all from albums originally released between 1971-1977 (Huvva, Trollskog, Bergtagen, Balsam, and Hoven Droven) except for a couple of recently-recorded tracks at the disc's end done in a similar style, featuring as sidemen members of currently happenin' Swedish retro-leaning rock bands (and big Merit fans) Dungen and The Ark! That's right, while obscure for years even in Sweden, she's undergone a bit of a hipster rediscovery lately and in fact this disc (the first time on cd for most of this music) is the prelude to a new album due out this year. Queen Of Swedish Hammond Folk Groove is a nicely deluxe package, in a slipcovered jewelcase with a thick booklet full of photos, liner notes in both English and Swedish, and Merit's own track-by-track commentary. We had to go to a bit of trouble to import these from Sweden, but it was worth it!

Wow, when we reviewed those two J.P. Massiera Psychoses compilations, a couple of years back, we somehow assumed that this eccentric French producer recorded so prolifically under so many monikers that many of the groups (especially the space disco ones) were probably just single releases and not complete full length albums. Well, the Mucho Gusto label has proven us wrong once again, by reissuing the full length albums of both Venus Gang and Herman's Rocket, two of the zaniest freakout space disco-funk outfits that Massiera ever created. Commissioned in 1977 and 1978 by an Italian producer to jump on the European Space Disco craze, Massiera teamed up with his half-brother, Bernard Torelli and the singers Mickey and Joyce to create these two amazing groups. Amazing also in the sense that while he used what is basically a cookie-cutter disco template (he blatantly borrows lots from American funk and disco - but really who didn't? And at least he borrows well!), he managed to create such a crazy, unique sound with lots of Moogs, strange vocal effects and lots of spacey noises and sounds. Considered too crazy at the time for marketable appeal (check out the great covers!), both records have gained a cult following over the years and sound so good right now especially with all the modern throwbacks of Italo-disco trying to sound like this, these two groups are by far way freakier and so worth your time. We're curious if all of Massiera's disco incarnations released full length albums, and if we'll be soon gifted with reissues of The Human Egg, Sex Convention and The Starlights too. Here's hoping! Both albums were only reissued on vinyl, not on cd, but do come with mp3 download cards!

MPEG stream: Space Woman

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY.

If you wanna hear Ms Lauryn Hill's voice in all of its unadorned power and beauty, well you're in luck! Here's not just one, but two discs worth for you. Yup, sorta surprising that it took so long, but she's finally gone "Unplugged". However, unlike many others who've trod through this MTV presentation, she doesn't simply rehash her songs acoustically, but seizes the opportunity to reach out further with her thoughtful, impassioned and quite substantial between song banter (in the track listing, these are labeled as "interludes"). And the audience's response? Of course as you'd expect, super adoring and enthusiastic, absolutely hanging on her every word both sung and spoken.

RealAudio clip: Oh Jerusalem
RealAudio clip: Interlude 3
RealAudio clip: Mystery Of Iniquity

Two things I could never quite get into: funk/soul compilations, and David Holmes. As far as the compilations, they always seemed either too familiar, or too "Whoo, let's dance and get funky". Ugh. Especially when there's so much seriously intense and dark funk and soul floating around. And as for Holmes, he always seemed on the right track, his 'film' music always just barely missed the mark, falling too much in the 'chill-out music for the Kruder and Dorfmeister set' when you could somehow tell he was capable of so much more. So imagine my surprise when one record proves me wrong on both counts. Holmes has picked out some ridiculously obscure soul gems, but more importantly, these tunes are amazing: dark and sultry and so catchy. Once in a while, he masterfully mixes beats and atmospheres into some of the soul jams turning them into modern, bumping, top-down, cruising classics. The interludes here are performed by Homes in his 'classic soul' guise as The Free Association. Occasionally these interludes kind of break the flow, with 'LSD' clips and stuttery samples and that sort of thing, but even more often, he manages to emulate the tunes found elsewhere, coming up with some dirty grimy neo-soul. Plus, this features what has to be the most amazing and intense flute tune ever, taking Roland Kirk's speaking/screaming/hyperventilating flute solos about as far out as you can. Been listening to this non stop!

RealAudio clip: Mama Soul
RealAudio clip: Sugarman
RealAudio clip: Strange Happenings
RealAudio clip: Nobody

The rumors are flying. Well, at least on all the underground hip-hop blogs they are. Who is Clutchy Hopkins? Could he really be this Ted Kaczynski type hermit living in a cave somewhere out in the Mojave Desert but who perhaps sometime in the '80s recorded these recently discovered and amazing instrumental funk-jazz tracks? And then came out of hiding briefly to put a new record out on Ubiquity only to then disappear once more? Seems doubtful. Details are shady at best. No one has really seen him, except for some less than trustworthy sources. There are only some old photographs of him looking like some serious Moondog cave hippie, like if Gnarls Barkley was an actual person maybe. It's an interesting back story which adds an exciting twist to the origins of these killer tracks, but would they be less killer if the rumors going around were true that maybe this is in fact an alias band project for either Money Mark, Madlib, Cut Chemist, or DJ Shadow? (Our guess? Kid Loco. Seems like he's been in a cave for awhile.) It shouldn't matter, because this shit is good. And who wouldn't rather believe we live in a world where cave-dwelling hermits could make such awesome grooves. Originally released in 2005, it has 12 untitled tracks ranging from flute groovers, and spy chases to strange percussive interludes. We will review the Ubiquity release on a later list, as this one here we like a bit better and want to make it available to you before it, like Clutchy, disappears into the ether.

MPEG stream: 3:02
MPEG stream: 2:07
MPEG stream: 3:24

The funky desert cave nomad is back again! And apparently he's been listening to a lot of Augustus Pablo and Jackie Mittoo too, because Music Is My Medicine is inflected with all kinds of dub and reggae vibes. Echoey bass, melodica, flutes and sunny rhythms, but not in a heavy-handed way that would interrupt the natural flow of Hopkins soul jazz style. Obviously music is not Clutchy Hopkins' only medicine. This is a stone groove!

MPEG stream: The Old Spot
MPEG stream: Cold and Wet
MPEG stream: Tune Traveler

Last list we featured a release by the mysterious Clutchy Hopkins, a hippie recluse who was the son of a Motown engineer, and who recorded these amazing instrumental jazz funk tracks sometime in the eighties or early nineties and then disappeared. Rumors have been circulating that this was actually an alias for DJ Shadow or Cut Chemist, as like Bigfoot, only a few people claim to have seen Clutchy Hopkins. Well, Ubiquity, has released another batch of Clutchy tracks along with a dvd with clips from an unreleased documentary about this mysterious figure. Of course this does little to shed any light on whether this is fact or fiction or a little bit of both. According to the dvd, the tapes were found with a bunch of homemade and middle eastern instruments by a junk collector in Hawthorne, CA. The homemade instruments including a really cool flute wired up to a wah device, a modified electric kalimba, and a mini-electric organ were kept by the collector while the tapes were sold to a friend. Supposedly there were enough tapes to release ten albums, and they were shopped around to various places, and two full albums (including this one) were released. The rest of the tapes were allegedly stolen back and hidden by the junk collector who is now in prison somewhere in Southern California. Other testimonials come from a masked Mexican record collector who fought over the same record, a hippie lady in Venice Beach who lived with Clutchy for three months before he disappeared and a Seattle record store who has some grainy footage of someone believed to be Clutchy shopping. Meanwhile we learn from these testimonials that Clutchy was not only an amazing multi-instrumentalist, but an artist, visionary architect and spiritual philosopher as well. On paper, it sounds so absolutely far-fetched, yet most of the folks on the dvd actually seem quite genuine. So we're really confused. But like the last review, we're gonna stick with our gut and just wholeheartedly buy into this. Why, because the music is awesome for one, and this release also shines a light on another soul obscurity, Darondo, who guest vocals on a track. Whether Darondo recorded the song with Clutchy or was added in later is still a mystery, they didn't include him in the interviews. Recommended! NB. the dvd portions of this review don't apply to the vinyl format...

MPEG stream: Sound Of The Ghost
MPEG stream: Love Of A Woman (feat. Darondo)
MPEG stream: Para Los Ninos

New mysterious lp from the equally mysterious duo, Hype Williams. Housed in a blank white 12" sleeve with a blank white label and white vinyl and no identifying information whatsoever, except for a sticker on the shrink wrap. Hell, it took us awhile to even figure out what speed it's supposed to play at and we're still not really sure. Crackly and hollowed out synth washes and bouncy but distant drum machines play in deceptively basic minimal-funk pitch-shifted arrangements that slowly wooze and morph into dreamy soul refractions. Hazy and murky like their witch-house contemporaries would be good descriptors, but it's much more of a hot muddled electro mess than spindly goth horror daydream. Dam-Funk on Nyquil, perhaps? Supposedly these songs have titles, but there is no listing, maybe if we slavishly followed the blogs, we might have a clue, but it's hard to tell where one track ends and another one starts. We don't even know which is side one or two. Hype Williams may revel in their particular brand of confounding prankishness and seem not to care if you are in on their joke or not, but if their output wasn't so curiously intriguing, we might have not given this a second thought. Truth be told, we can't stop trying to wrap our heads around it, so that's gotta be something, right?

The Maestro strikes again! You should already know prolific South Indian film score composer Maestro Ilaiyaraaja and his "Electronic Pop Sound" from a couple Finders Keepers compilations we've highlighted: his own Solla Solla, and also the one featuring singer K.S. Chithra, with music by the Maestro. If you thought those two discs were over the top and irresistible, just get a load of this new one! (And even if you missed those, well, you probably have an idea of what we're talking about, if you've been exposed to any Bollywood/Kollywood/Lollywood craziness, as represented by other recent collections like Bollywood Bloodbath and Life Is Dance.) Compared to those other Ilaiyaraaja's, this is similar, but with perhaps even more "video-game-iness" in the goofily orchestrated mix. It's VERY '80s electro synth sounding, and groovy too, as the subtitle promises. There's a big kitsch/cheese factor no doubt, but that's a big part of this genre's charms, really! Plus, this shit's tight, every element - electronic beats and sweet vocals and synthesized string sections and ethnic instruments and startling sound FX - in its place, everything and everybody dancing to the tunes of the Maestro. Hott stuff. 16 tracks, 65 minutes, you'll be grinning gleefully the whole time. And you gotta love the cover, right? Icing on the cake of this swank trifold digipak, which includes a 30 page booklet with info on each of the films from which music was taken.

MPEG stream: Thangamana Raasa
MPEG stream: Oruvar Vaazhum Aalayam
MPEG stream: Punnagai Mannan

Yay, more delightful music from Ilaiyaraaja, illustrious composer for South India's Kollywood (not Bollywood, but close) film industry. Finders Keepers / B-Music has previously brought us a couple other comps full of Ilaiyaraaja's tremendously enjoyable and unusually arranged tunes, so hopefully you know all about him already and are eager for more, 'cause look out, here's another seventeen tracks of the man's colorful and creative East-West mashup music, circa the synth-pop Eighties (his prime), full of electro funk drum machine grooves, '80s future shock synthesizer (Yamaha DX7 keyboard in the house!), orchestral flourishes, and the often amorously impassioned vocalisations of a variety of famous playback singers including K.S. Chitra, aka the "Tamil Nightingale". Ilaiyaraaja himself can lay claim to the honorific "The Maestro". He's also been called "The Crown Prince Of Tamil Pop", and it's easy to hear why from this disc of so very lively and infectious and not overly-serious music, joyful songs designed to get characters in Tamil films - and maybe you too - singing and dancing. Apparently Ilaiyaraaja, currently 69 years of age, has written/recorded over 4,500 songs in his career (and counting), so we can probably look forward to more collections from Finders Keepers and other equally hip labels, but don't let this one slip by, it's got a lot of gems on it. Imagine if Axel F went to India... Extensive, interesting, informative (as usual) liner notes from DJ Andy Votel are included, the disc having been compiled by Votel and Doug Shipton. Import double vinyl version also forthcoming, by the way, we should have that in time for our next list.

MPEG stream: Adi Rani
MPEG stream: Ponmani
MPEG stream: Sangeetham

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY. If you're looking for some punchy high life to dance you butt off to, then the Imo Brothers' Eastern Nigerian recipe is for you. Though recorded in the early 80's, the authenticity is still here and the good track lengths will attest to a healthy workout!

Over the last several years Jazzman has become one of our favorite labels, reissuing some of the richest deep grooves and finest obscure soul and spiritual jazz, stuff that never got the due it deserved in its day (Nathan Davis, Lloyd Miller, regional funk burners from Florida, the Carolinas, and more!), as well as putting out new sounds from modern day spiritual funk makers like The Natural Yogurt Band. So there's no doubt that the music in the Jazzman vaults would be a crate digger and DJ's Shangri-la. That's exactly what J-Rocc got to do on this totally smoking, flowing and immaculate mix. Digging deep into those Jazzman archives, J-Rocc has created a nonstop soulfunk jazzjam that exquisitely brings the worlds of deep soul, spiritual jazz, funk and beyond into a seamless mix that keeps the tempo up but always holds on to the underlying core and soul of the songs. You can tell how much love and respect J-Rocc has for the artists he's bringing new life to, this is not one of those cheesy and offensive Verve remix like projects. J-Rocc proves that if you do have the skill, true love and respect for sounds of the past, you can inject a new energy into them without making them some flavor of the day, all 'hip' and 'modern' and ready for a slick Volvo commercial. J-Rocc has been around the block, with roots reaching back to the '80s Hip-Hop/Boogie scene and then his seminal work in The Beat Junkies as one of the pioneers of turntableism along side folks like Cut Chemist, DJ Shadow, Z-Trip and Q-Bert. This is one of those mixes that anyone who has DJed just has to drop their jaw in appreciation and envy as this is a master showing how it's done. And whether you're a DJ or just want a stream of amazing sounds blasting through your speakers when you want the energy to be high, and soak up sounds full of soul then it just doesn't get any better than this!

MPEG stream: 90% Of Me Is You (Vanessa Kendrick)
MPEG stream: Milk Break
MPEG stream: Funkier Than A Mosquito's Tweeter (NIna Simone)
MPEG stream: Just Take Your Time (Innersouls)

There is little doubt that the band behind James Brown from the late sixties to the mid seventies was just about the tightest unit around. Of course, Brown's habit of fining his players for missing beats would keep any band in check. But the band wasn't dubbed The JB's until after a legendary moment where most of Brown's band, including key figures Fred Wesley, Maceo Parker, and Alfred "Pee Wee" Ellis, up and quit on him. Brown, in a pinch, quickly grabbed a young Cincinnati-based backing band, The Pacemakers, which included a young Bootsy Collins before he joined Funkadelic. With a new band, a new decade and a new sound, Brown pretty much singlehandedly created funk music, and the recently defected Wesley, Parker, and Ellis quickly returned to the fold. The JB's went under many different names and line-ups, including Fred Wesley and the JB's, Maceo and The Macks, Fred Wesley and The New JB's. The Last Word, and The First Family, but the core personnel were more or less the same except for the Collins brothers who were only on the first JB's 1970 lp Food For Thought which contained the hits "Pass The Peas" and "Gimme Some More". All of their records up until 1974 are solid funk staples with hits "Doing It To Death", "Same Beat", and "If You Don't Get It Right The First Time, Back It Up and Try It Again, Party" that would be endlessly sampled in hip hop for decades to come. Good to have these on vinyl again! Funk essentials!

**SALE **SALE* *SALE** Another five dollar no-brainer here. If you like the FUNK that is. Like it says, some of the best ever tracks from James Brown's crack backing band the J.B.'s, including such classics as, well, they ALL are really, heck you've got "Doing It To Death (Part 1)", "Pass The Peas", "Breakin' Bread", "Damn Right I Am Somebody (Part 1)", "Gimme Some More", "Same Beat (Part 1)", and half a dozen more. All heavily sampled in the hiphop realm of course. If you like Public Enemy, ferinstance, you'll for sure recognize the crazy fat synth wobble of "Blow Your Head" (played by James Brown himself) and the squealing horn intro to "The Grunt (Part 1)". Not to mention numerous breakbeats. Yep, lots of funky drumming and horny horns here, all killer no filler, 'cause the best of the J.B.'s really means the best of '70s funk in general!

MPEG stream: Pass The Peas
MPEG stream: The Grunt (Part 1)
MPEG stream: Givin' Up Food For Funk (Part 1)

So sad. So Good!

All it takes is a look at Millie Jackson's illustrious album covers to know that she is one saucy and sassy soulstress. Recorded thirty years ago, Feelin' Bitchy is one of the better records in her long career. Feelin' Bitchy is a mix of spoken and sung vocals, biting humor and unapologetic bluntness, hints at a hip hop world to come, and tasty gritty deep soul done just right. Folks like Missy Elliott and Lil' Kim have for sure taken some cues from Miss Millie. With the recent explosion of great soul reissue compilations (Eccentric Soul, Bay Area Funk, Searching For Soul, Soul Gospel, Birmingham Sound, etc.) we hope that artists like Millie Jackson, Betty Davis, Bettye Swann and Betty Wright will continue to get the full attention and adoration they deserve.

MPEG stream: Lovin' Your Good Thing Away
MPEG stream: You Created A Monster

Besides having some of the most memorable album covers ever, Millie Jackson also made some damn fine music! While it's her saucy mouth and sassy attitude that she is usually most known for, It Hurts So Good is all about an undeniably deep hitting and fiercely delivered Southern soul that sizzles so damn good! This was her second album, recorded in 1973 and while many later albums would provide some great moments, It Hurts So Good really stands as her strongest album from start to finish. Her voice is so strong and bold and the rich instrumentation kicks oh so right. Millie shows her range from in your face and funky to smooth and sultry without losing a bit of rawness or conviction in the process. With bonus tracks worth hearing and extensive liner notes this is a must have for soul & funk lovers, and a record that really deserves more attention and praise. Highly recommended!

MPEG stream: Hipocrisy
MPEG stream: Help Yourself
MPEG stream: It Hurts So Good

Heavy, heavy psychedelic acid funk with some Latin vibes, stuff that could have made Funkadelic proud, collected from the Jimmy Castor Bunch's earliest albums. These 16 slabs of funk include almost all the really good songs (which is almost ALL of the songs) from the band's first 2 RCA albums ("It's Just Begun" and "Phase Two"), plus a few from their somewhat less awesome (actually quite weak) third and final RCA disc, the jazzy "Dimension III". Jimmy and the band bounced back and recorded many more funk classics after they left RCA, not letting disco get them down, and you can find those (and a few others from the earlier doo-wop phase of his career) on the "Everything Man" best of comp Rhino released a few years back, which only has a couple of the songs found here. There WAS a 2-on-1 import cd reissue of the first two of Castor's RCA LPs that we had a while ago, but we haven't been able to get it lately. I like the review I wrote of that disc a lot though, so why not quote some of it here: "Blending fat funk guitar, '60s astrologically-obsessed psych rock, Hendrix worship (there's a weird tribute to Jimi here, a Purple Haze/Foxy Lady hybrid cover), as well as doo wop, soul and some sappy r&b...they don't make 'em like this anymore. "It's Just Begun" will send you back, way back, to the time of the "Troglodyte". The cave man theme recurs, with "Phase Two"'s "Luther The Anthropoid (Ape Man)"... Heavy acid funk stomp, silly sexual primal urge stuff to be sure, mixed with some lighter, more 'spiritually' oriented cuts. As we move into album no.2, there are definitely some really bad moments of love song cheese to interfere with your enjoyment of the BAAADDD moments of troglodyte funk, but on the whole this is deep and weird enough to be essential to the dedicated funkateer. For fans of early Kool & the Gang, Parliament, B.T. Express, that sort of thing, but the best stuff here's got a dosed and primordial edge unlike anything else excavated from the early '70s era." This collection cuts out the worst of the "love song cheese" alluded to above (although the songs added from "Dimension III" aren't any better unfortunately) and so makes for, along with Rhino's "Everything Man" comp, a mandatory funk purchase. Not rare groove, but "everywhere groove" as it says in the liner notes.

RealAudio clip: It's Just Begun
RealAudio clip: L.T.D. (Life, Truth & Death)

Picked this album up at a garage sale as a kid, just 'cause of the crazy cover art, and have been a big fan ever since. Here it is reissued on vinyl, a definite '70s funk classic (from '72 to be precise), Jimmy's freakiest by far, stuff that could have made Funkadelic proud, both fuzzy and funky and a little Latin too. Or as we've said before about a Castor comp, "for fans of early Kool & the Gang, Parliament, B.T. Express, that sort of thing, but the best stuff here's got a dosed and primordial edge unlike anything else excavated from the early '70s era." And that "best stuff" is mostly all here on It's Just Begun. The title track is a heavy acid funk freakout, then there's the cave man classic "Troglodyte", and the trippy vibes of "L.T.D. (Life, Truth, Death)", and more... And it's all wrapped in that awesome, astrologically symbolic cover painting (featuring a slum building, in a wasteland, with not one but two giant Jimmy Castors looming over it, alongside a floating armored egg, tubes and troglodytes). There's an explanation of all the images' significance to be found on the back cover, dig it.

MPEG stream: It's Just Begun
MPEG stream: Troglodyte (Cave Man)