LIGHT OF THE WORLD were a forerunner of the late seventies and early eighties British Jazz-Funk movement and took their name from Kool & The Gang’s 1974 album Light Of Worlds. Band members Wellington, Baptiste and McKreith later went onto become Beggar and Co. and also worked with Spandau Ballet on their UK #3 hit ‘Chant No. 1 (Don’t Need This Pressure)’.
Every ten years the Isley Brothers reinvented themselves and managed to snatch as many consumer dollars and generate enough chart action to remain contemporary. Go for Your Guns was a further attempt by the Isleys to broaden their fan base; earlier in the decade they redid many rock standards to expand from the R&B base they were mired in. The Isleys shoot for the moon and never make it, but they always land among the stars.
Loleatta Holloway was a dance music legend. Her amazing vocal talents gained her the reputation as one of the premier vocalists of soul and dance music during the 70’s and 80’s. Holloway started her singing career with Queen of Gospel, Albertina Walker (and her Caravans) before striking out on her own. She released her first single "Rainbow ‘71” on the fledgling Apache label before moving to Aware to record her first two albums prior to her work with Gold Mind/Salsoul.
CASTON & MAJORS is one of the most sought after Motown releases of all time and BBR is proud to announce the first ever CD release of the classic album with an entirely unreleased follow-up album included as bonus tracks!
CAROLYN ANN FRANKLIN spent her singing and song writing career somewhat in the shadow of her hugely successful sister, The First Lady Of Soul, Aretha, having followed both her older siblings Aretha and Erma from the church into a secular recording career in the mid to late sixties. Although, Like Erma, Carolyn had modest success compared to Aretha she recorded with her sister many times and proved herself as an excellent songwriter penning hits for Aretha such as ‘Ain't No Way,’ ‘Save Me’ and the stunning ‘Angel.’ From 1969-1973 Franklin released three albums in produced by Jimmy Radcliffe which provided the R&B hits ‘All I Want To Be Is Your Woman’ and ‘It's True I'm Gonna Miss You,’ proving Carolyn was an exceptional vocalist in her own right.
Soaring grooves and mellow moments – a perfect blend of 70s soul styles, summed up here beautifully by Enchantment! The album's one of the group's greatest – and certainly one that's been very well-remembered around these parts – thanks to some rock-solid arrangements from Johnny Allen, who almost brings an indie soul vibe to the whole set – while still putting the whole thing together at a totally top-shelf level too! The harmonies are wonderful – especially on the ballads, like "Gloria" and "Sunshine".
Soaring soul from Enchantment – one of the smoothest groups of their generation, and an outfit who could sound equally great on the dancefloor or for more laidback listening! The harmonies here are really great – stepping out strongly, and often breaking with an extra effort that almost seems gospel-inspired, but without the cliches that usually mar work of that orientation.
Smooth Talk was Evelyn’s 1977 debut RCA album. The album features the huge R&B and Disco hits Shame and I Don’t Know If It’s Right. Smooth Talk made #8 R&B and #14 Pop as well as achieving gold certification and spending a year on the album charts. The 12″ Disco mixes and 7″ radio versions of Shame and I Don’t Know If It’s Right are included as bonus tracks. BBR introduce the first ever expanded re-master of this album on CD. Liner notes include detailed interviews with Evelyn and producer T. Life. This long sought-after CD re-master is a must for all Soul, Disco and Funk fans.
With its second album, Get Off, Foxy gave itself quite a makeover. The Latin influences (Afro-Cuban as well as Brazilian) remained, and Foxy's forte was still disco. But while the combo's self-titled debut album of 1976 favored lush, glossy Euro-disco with Latin overtones, Get Off is a tougher, much funkier record that found Foxy getting away from the European sound. The softness of 1976's Foxy was gone, and a more aggressive band emerged. Both commercially and creatively, it was a change for the better.
Born in West Palm Beach, Florida in 1944, George McCrae started his musical career singing in church and later joining the glee club at school. He formed his own singing group called The Jivin’ Jets before joining the navy in 1963 and reformed the group on his return in 1967 with the addition of his wife Gwen before they later decided to work as a duo on Henry Stone’s Alston label before Gwen went solo and George worked on sessions until a chance moment had him record Rock Your Baby, written by Harry Wayne Casey and Richard Finch of KC and the Sunshine Band.