Soul Jazz Records new Studio One release Rocksteady Got Soul is a collection of uplifting and superb rocksteady and soulful reggae from the late 1960s and early 1970s. Studio One is the number one label in the history of reggae and he album features - as ever with Studio One - an impeccable and unbeatable line-up of reggae superstars all soaring at the height of their creative powers. Alton Ellis, John Holt, The Heptones, Jackie Mittoo, The Ethiopians, Lee Perry and more.
Earth, Wind & Fire has delivered more than its share of excellent albums, but if a person could own only one EWF release, the logical choice would be That's the Way of the World, which was the band's best album as well as its best-selling…
Crème de la Crème Two: More Philly Soul Classics & Rarities from the Vaults of Atlantic, Atco and Warner Bros. Records 1970-1980 follows on its exemplary predecessor to further document the efforts of a major label conglomerate that throughout the decade rivaled Philadelphia International in terms of quantity and quality – the set digs even deeper than the first volume, assembling deep album cuts and unreleased tracks, but the music is no less impressive. Highlights include Major Harris' "Each Morning I Wake Up," Bettye Swann's "When the Game Is Played on You" and the Tom Moulton remix of Sister Sledge's "Mama Never Told Me."
Crème de la Crème: Philly Soul Classics and Rarities From the Vaults of Atlantic, Atco, & Warner Bros. Records 1972-1976 documents the best Philly soul singles from a label not really associated with its particular time and place, which is not to suggest that this material is remotely subpar – quite to the contrary, some of it ranks alongside the very best of acts like the O'Jays and the Spinners, even though virtually none of it came within miles of reaching the charts. Highlights include the Aristocrats' "Let's Get Together Now," Major Harris' "Loving You Is Mellow," Bettye Swann's "Kiss My Love Goodbye," Vivian Reed's "Save Your Love for Me," and Clyde Brown's "You Call Me Back."
This box set is a companion piece to the 8CD set From Sacred To Secular: A Soul Awakening, which traced the history of soul music from its earliest antecedents in 1927 right up to the first true soul records released in 1962. Here we continue the story from 1962 up to the end of the decade, covering a large portion of soul music’s Golden Age with 100 tracks by soul’s greatest 60s superstars (from Aretha Franklin to Stevie Wonder) and a whole host of “lesser” names whose contribution to the musical genre shouldn’t be overlooked. The CDs cover all of soul’s many styles from early doo-wop and R&B influenced music to the funk grooves which were to prove so popular in the 70s. Other harbingers of the coming decade can be found here in the first sweet-soul Philly sounds from the Delfonics and Intruders, early funk rock (Sly & The Family Stone) and Chicago’s renaissance via Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions.