A lost album from the legendary Stax Records – a full set of
tracks from the deep soul group Hot Sauce – planned as a record of its own in
the final years of the label, but never issued at the time! Hot Sauce were one
of the funkiest groups on Stax in the early 70s – a wickedly badass group who
sported great lead vocals from Rhonda Washington – a singer who really knew how
to stay on the groove and send the whole thing home! The work on this set is a
great evolution of the Stax groove – and shows where the label might have gone
in terms of 70s funk, had they stayed the course – and although the album's long
overdue to get released, we're plenty happy to finally have it out after all
these years. Many tracks were issued over the years as singles, and the set also
features a few tracks not intended for the album too – titles that include "Stop
Dogging Me", "Funny", "Mama's Baby", "I'll Kill A Brick", "Good Woman Turning
Bad", "I Can't Let You Go", "Echoes From The Past", and "I Can't Win For
Losing". ~ Dusty Groove
Two rare gems from this legendary Latin group – both on CD for the first time ever! Big Stick is quite possibly the rarest album from Pucho & The Latin Soul brothers – and also one of the greatest, too – thanks to a wonderfully soulful vibe overall, and some wicked vocals from the great Jackie Soul! Arrangements are a bit bigger than some of their previous dates, but nicely offbeat too – put together by Bill Fisher, and featuring loads of great keyboards and organ from Neal Creque! The sound's got less horns than beofre, but the heavy percussion, keyboards, and vocals more than offset that loss – and make for one of the most unique Pucho albums ever! Titles include "Swamp People", "Left In the Cold", "Big Stick", "Cold Shoulder", and a very groovy version of "Sunny"! Dateline is a rare gem from Pucho & The Latin Soul Brothers – and an album that has them really hitting strong on all instrumental fronts! The group sports wonderful piano and organ lines from Neal Creque – a player who helps Pucho hit a more expansive, jazzy vibe – mixed with horns from the always-great Pazant brothers – Eddie on saxes and Al on trumpet – plus some trombone from Barry Rogers too! These players all really help add some great jazzy inflections to the whole set – important, too, because the album's all instrumental – with no vocals to get in the way of the solos. Willie Bivens also plays vibes on the record – and titles include "Listen to Louie", "Dateline", "Yambo", "Bim", and "Ain't Nothin Can Happen". ~ Dusty Groove
Classy soul and killer grooves – a great helping of rare New
York sides from the late 60s – all of which show a great evolution of the Uptown
style from a few years before! Things are polished, but never too smooth or
commercial at all – and instead, the music's got this quality of coming right
from the heart of the music scene of the time – the cream of the crop, right
from the top – and that includes singers, songwriters, and session help too!
Vocals are mighty deep throughout – and the tracks all have a strong indie
pedigree, as they're pulled from the labels Wand, Scepter, and Musicor – all
imprints we always check out when digging for rare singles. As usual, Kent's
gone way beyond expectations – not just with the track selection, but with full
notes too – for a total of 24 tracks that include "Runaway Slave" by Joe
Perkins, "That Girl" by Porgy & The Monarchs, "Kiss & Make Up" by The
Inspirations, "I Don't Want Nobody To Lead Me On" by The Masqueraders, "Horsin
Around" by Benny Gordon & The Soul Brothers, "Lonely Weatherman" by The
Premiers, "A Man A Woman" by Chris Bartley, "I Just Gotta Have You" by Nella
Dodds, "Knick Knack Patty Wack" by Lou Lawton, "No Jealous Lover" by Lois Lane,
and "I'm Gonna Have A Party" by Ed Bruce. ~ Dusty Groove
