An amazing little record from the lovely Syreeta – our favorite album from the singer, next to her seminal debut – and a soaring set that's put together with sublime production from Leon Ware! Leon grooves things up a bit more than before – which really helps Syreeta's amazing vocals take off strongly, and still hit the spacey heights of her previous work with Stevie Wonder! Ware's right at the top of his game – with killer grooves that rival his work for Marvin Gaye on I Want You, or his own Musical Massage album for Motown – and at some level, we'd easily rank this one up there as part of that heavenly 70s trilogy for the label. There's some sweet electric bits that work perfectly for Syreeta – and titles include "Don't Cry", "Harmour Love", "I Don't Know", "Rest Yourself", "One To One", and "Tiki Tiki Donga". ~ Dusty Groove
A killer package – two full albums, plus bonus tracks too! First up is Maybe – amazing early work from the Three Degrees – tracks cut before their more famous disco years in the 70s – but already showing a whole new approach to girl group soul! At some level, the trio take off strongly from the best late 60s styles of The Supremes – taking the most righteous elements, and working them into a hip new take on female soul – often using slight undercurrents of funk, in ways that are a bit like Honeycone, but even groovier! Arrangements are by Sammy Lowe and Steve Swanson – who bring in a nice east coast bite – and titles include "Sugar On Sunday", "Rosegarden", "You're The One", "The Magic Door", "Collage", "Maybe", and "You're The Fool". Next is So Much Love – a great illustration of the way the female trio could really take off – even without the disco grooves that would later bring them fame! There's a bouncy sound to most numbers here – a bit of Northern Soul here, some 60s mod there – and the girls' vocals are even more amazing than we remember them in later years – really at the top of the girl group pack for the time. Arrangements are by Hutch Davie, Tony Camillo, and Bert DeCoteaux – and titles include "Maybe", "Trade Winds", "I Do Take You", "Who Is She (And What Is She To You)", and "Magic Mirror". 2CD set features a whopping 23 bonus tracks – including "Handle With Care", "Shades Of Green", "Requiem", "Isn't It A Pity", "Yours (long single version)", "There's So Much Love All Around Me (mono)", "Through Misty Eyes (mono)", and mono takes of many album tracks! ~ Dusty Groove
A stormer from Archie Bell & The Drells – one of our favorite soul albums ever, and a masterpiece of mid-tempo soul! Archie Bell & The Drells sound amazing here – light years from the rougher funk of their earlier years, yet still with a groove that's undeniable – an incredible meeting of soul music scenes handled by the young Gamble & Huff team – who not only produce most of the record, but also wrote most of the tracks on the set! The groove is lightly lilting, and totally on the money – a sound that's incredible, and hard to describe in words – but which really grabs us from the get-go. All tracks are great, and totally fresh – and tunes include "I Love My Baby", "Houston Texas", "Showdown", "My Balloon's Going Up", "Giving Up Dancing", "Girl You're Too Young", and "Green Power". ~ Dusty Groove
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