The Invitations

The Invitations were a Honolulu pop vocal group from the 1950's featuring Sonny Kamaka, Alec Kaeck, Buddy Fo, Clem Low, and John Costello, who were about being true beach boys by singing songs about love and romance, along with the ladies they loved, all done in a Hawaiian motif. They started in the mid to late 1950's and were signed to Liberty Records. They continued after Hawaii statehood in 1959 and made music during the first half of the 1960's before Buddy Fo decided to explore his own musical career. R.S.V.P. was originally released by Liberty Records in 1959. This is taken from the Japanese CD released in 2006..

This album represents the first in a series of 'spin off' albums from the Soul Togetherness series which aims at the current 'modern soul' scene. Most tracks here have never been issued on CD including the Jermaine Jackson track 'Good for the Gander'. 18 tracks. Expansion. 2002.

This Time Will Be Different - The Sweet Soul Of Philadelphia: 1968-1982 is the first part in Interstate Records' regional soul series. This Time Will Be Different documents the emerging Philly soul sound, as influenced by Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff, but with a focus on more obscure artists and releases. Features writing, arrangement, and production by Jerry Ross, Norman Harris, Thom Bell and Linda Creed, and Bobby Martin, with appearances by Bunny Sigler, Billy Hill (The Essex), and more. Features: The Invitations, Lou Curtin, Festivals, Choice Of Colors, Broadway Express, The Futures, Phyllis Smith, The Courtships, Paradise, J. Kelly & The Premiers, The Geminiles, The Mello Moods, The Epsilons, The Blue Notes, and The Elegant's.

Gregory Carmichael was a key behind-the-scenes player in the underground disco scene of the '70s as a producer, arranger, instrumentalist and label owner. This double disc set brings together some of the key tracks Carmichael had been involved with. The first disc opens with a trio of cuts by the Universal Robot Band, the outfit Carmichael worked on alongside Patrick Adams. These tracks embody the cosmic disco sound currently revisited by Lindstrom, Prins Thomas et al, and with 'Freak With Me', Carmichael achieves a pretty magical production. The final three pieces on the disc are by Tony Aiken and Future 2000, whose funk manoeuvres are bolstered by some nifty jazz chops. The second disc proves to be a more varied affair taking in the soulful string-led sounds of The Invitations, the whimsical 'Bust That Nut' by the unnervingly monikered Poopee and The NY Squirrels and the helium-enhanced vocals of Bumblebee Unlimited's 'Lady Bug'. A fine retrospective covering some of the defining works by one of disco's unsung heroes.

The Odyssey: A Northern Soul Time Capsule is the single most comprehensive overview yet of a truly unique UK musical culture which has now lasted over 45 years and has spread across the world. The music follows the evolvement of Northern Soul, from it's early beginnings at Manchester's Twisted Wheel club in 1968, through to The Golden Torch, Blackpool Mecca, Wigan Casino and Cleethorpes Pier in the 1970s, Stafford Top Of The World and The 100 Club in the 1980s and the huge dearth of Soul weekenders and the 100 Club again from the 1990's to the present day. Featuring a mind-numbing 222 tracks, all licensed from legitimate sources. The most comprehensive Northern Soul track-listing ever. The Odyssey: A Northern Soul Time-Capsule truly does what it says on the tin. This is the most exhaustive history of the Northern Soul scene ever released.

It wasn’t really a movement, barely even a moment, but the Daisy Age was an ethos that briefly permeated pop, R&B and hip hop. The name was coined by Long Island trio De La Soul; they claimed D.A.I.S.Y. stood for “da inner sound, y’all”, but then De La Soul said a lot of things. Playfulness and good humour were central to their 1989 debut album, which cast a long, multi-coloured shadow. The 90s, it promised, would be a lot easier going than the 80s.

Jazz vocalist Rebecca Kilgore is one the most prolific recording and performing artists on the scene today. With 50 or so recording projects as a leader or co-leader, she is one of the most respected interpreters of the Great American Songbook. Based in Portland, OR, Kilgore has worked with many of the top jazz musicians in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.

Boogie Woogie, or barrelhouse is a blues-based piano style in which the right hand plays an accompaniment figure that resembles a strummed rhythm, such as is typically played on the guitar or banjo in rural blues dances. This could be expressed as a walking octave, an open-fifth pounded out with a blue third thrown in, or even a simple figure such as falling triad; the approach varies to the pianist. Dixieland, a style that overlaps with New Orleans jazz and classic jazz, has also been called Chicago jazz because it developed, to an extent. Most typically, the framework involves collective improvisation during the first chorus, individual solos with some riffing by the other horns, and a closing ensemble or two with a four-bar tag by the drummer which is answered by the full group.

3CD compilation featuring 75 of the world’s most supreme Northern Soul anthems. An essential collection for any fan of great timeless music, this compilation celebrates the dance movement that emerged in Northern England and the Midlands in the early 1970s. Be transported back to the swinging sounds of Northern Soul, featuring the soulful classics from Gloria Jones, The Supremes, Smokey Robinson, Dusty Springfield and Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons. Best Northern Soul Album In The World Ever!