JAMES
BROWN – SUPER BAD
Super
Bad is right! This is hard-hitting funky James – from the badass cover right
down to the extended tracks on the record, which point the way towards the hard
live jamming of the classic Payback years! Everything wonderful is in place on
the set – from the band's grooves at the bottom to James' on-fire vocals on the
top – heard beautifully on the extended 10 minute version of the title cut
"Super Bad" – which rolls through parts 1, 2, and 3 of the song! The
album also includes another 10 minute funky cut – "Giving Out of
Juice" – plus the classic "A Man Has to Go Back to the
Crossroads", and three mellower ballads, but even they end up sounding
kind of hip! ~ Dusty Groove
THE
BAR-KAYS – TOO HOT TO STOP
A
pivotal album from The Bar-Kays – a key post-Stax set, but one that's still
very firmly grounded in Memphis funk! The groove definitely shows a bit more
polish than before – the same sort of shift the Ohio Players made after moving
to Mercury Records – but as with the Players at their best, there's still
plenty of sharp edges and deeply funky moments on the record – and if anything,
the shift has really given The Bar-Kays a way to evolve their sound past some
of the heavier modes of the early days, without losing any of the appeal of
their groove! Some cuts have some great keyboards – almost producing a spacey
funk feel at points – and titles include "Too Hot To Stop (part 1)",
"You're So Sexy", "Cozy", "Spellbound",
"Whitehouseorgy", and the nice mellow track "Summer Of Our
Love". ~ Dusty Groove
NORTHERN SOUL - THE SOUNDTRACK (COMPILATION)
A
stunner of a soul set – put together to support the film on England's Northern
Soul scene! The package is worth it for the music alone – a massive 54 tracks
that stand together as one of the sweetest Northern Soul collections we've seen
in years – a really great choice of material that mixes classics from the scene
with the sort of newly-discovered gems that have really kept the scene going
for far longer than anyone might have expected back in the 60s and 70s. All
work here is of late 60s vintage, and titles include "I Gotta Find Me
Somebody" by The Vel Vets, "Crying Over You" by Duke Browner,
"Exus Trek" by Luther Ingram Orchestra, "Your Autumn Of Tomorrow"
by The Crow, "Come On Train" by Don Thomas, "It Really Hurts Me
Girl" by The Carstairs, "I Was Born To Love You" by Herbert
Hunter, "She'll Come Running Back" by Mel Britt, "Little Love
Affair" by Patrinelle Staten, and "You Don't Love Me" by Epitome
Of Sound. And if that's not enough, the set also includes a bonus DVD – with an
interview with Elaine Constantine, director of the film – plus an audio
interview with legendary Northern Soul DJ Richard Sterling, and a slide show of
his most cherished relics from the scene in the 70s. ~ Dusty Groove
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