Closer UK 9 January 2016

Archie Bell and the Drells were one of the most popular soul groups of the sixties and seventies, retaining a legacy that has kept their records on dance floors ‘til this day. LET’S GROOVE: THE ARCHIE BELL & THE DRELLS STORY is their first ever 2CD complete career retrospective, featuring all of their Billboard R&B, Pop and Disco hit singles, as well as the rarer tracks that became legendary hits on both the Northern Soul and Rare Groove scenes in the UK.

SoulMusic Records is very proud to present “Stir It Up – The Anthology, 1965-1979” a musically scintillating 2-CD set by soul/pop and reggae icon, Johnny Nash. Covering close to fifteen years of recordings, this first-of-its-kind collection includes all of Johnny’s US and UK Epic singles, prime album cuts, recordings from the mid-to-late ‘60s and several tracks from two albums (1977’s “(What A Wonderful World” and 1979’s “Let’s Go Dancing”) which have never been reissued on CD.

To say that Aretha Franklin was one of the greatest American artists of all time is an understatement. Her multi-octave voice moved millions around the world during an unrivaled career that spanned six decades and garnered the singer-songwriter every achievement and honor imaginable. Her reign as the Queen of Soul will play out across four discs on a new boxed set from Rhino that is the first to span her entire career, including songs from every label she recorded with.

Jethro Tull was a unique phenomenon in popular music history. Their mix of hard rock; folk melodies; blues licks; surreal, impossibly dense lyrics; and overall profundity defied easy analysis, but that didn't dissuade fans from giving them 11 gold and five platinum albums…

27 years after their debut album UK veterans IQ show that they are still a band with the capabilities to create solid albums. This 2009 release is quite listenable, and the influences that have served IQ well in the past (including Yes, Pink Floyd, and pre-1980s Genesis) continue to serve them well on Frequency. This is, for the most part, a very moody album, but it is also very accessible - and appealing tracks such as "One Fatal Mistake," "Closer," "Stronger Than Friction," and "Life Support" are easy to absorb even if one isn't a seasoned prog rock listener. It should be noted that IQ have had their share of personnel changes along the way; on Frequency, their 2009 lineup consists of Peter Nicholls on lead vocals, Michael Holmes on guitar, John Jowitt on bass, Mark Westworth on keyboards, and Andy Edwards on drums.