With a much more stripped-down version of the band, if the credits are to be believed (five regular members total, not counting any vocalists), Funkadelic continued its way through life with Cosmic Slop. A slightly more scattershot album than the group's other early efforts, with generally short tracks (only two break the five-minute barrier) and some go-nowhere ballads, Cosmic Slop still has plenty to like about it, not least because of the monstrous title track. A bitter, heartbreaking portrait of a family on the edge, made all the more haunting and sad by the sweet vocal work - imagine an even more mournful "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" - the chorus is a killer, with the devil invited to the dance while the band collectively fires up the funk…

24-bit remastered reissue of the Chicago rock act's 1971 sophomore album includes two bonus tracks, 'Superman' (Single Mono Version) & 'Melody', packaged in a digipak.

My World marked an attempt to somewhat "modernize" Ray Charles by incorporating elements of hip-hop and New Jack swing into his trademark sound. As a result, the record has aged poorly; the highlights are the songs done in Charles' usual inimitable style, including a reading of Leon Russell's "A Song for You" and a soulful rendition of Paul Simon's "Still Crazy After All These Years."

When "Polk Salad Annie" blared from transistor radio speakers in the summer of 1969, the first thought was of Creedence Clearwater Revival, for Tony Joe White's swamp rock bore more than a passing resemblance to the sound John Fogerty whipped up on Bayou Country and Green River. But White was the real thing – he really was from the bayou country of Louisiana, while Fogerty's bayou country was conjured up in Berkeley, CA. Plus, White had a mellow baritone voice that sounded like it had been dredged up from the bottom of the Delta. Besides "Annie," side one of this album includes several other White originals. The best of these are "Willie and Laura Mae Jones," a song about race relations with an arrangement similar to "Ballad of Billie Joe," and "Soul Francisco," a short piece of funky fluff that had been a big hit in Europe in 1968. "Aspen, Colorado" presages the later "Rainy Night in Georgia," a White composition popularized by Brook Benton. The second side consists of covers of contemporary hits, with the funky "Who's Making Love" and "Scratch My Back" faring better than the slow stuff.

With our release of well-received titles by Blood, Sweat & Tears and Tower of Power, we at Real Gone have become something of a home for the great horn bands of the late '60s and early 70s, and with our reissue of The Ides of March's classic Vehicle album on the 50th anniversary of the band s founding, we are bringing another one into the fold. The Ides began in a basement in the Chicago suburb of Berwyn on October 16th, 1964, and have stayed together ever since; only the Rolling Stones really rival them for longevity. And this album, Vehicle, was their commercial high-water mark; its title track went to #2 and the album to #55 on the 1970 charts. It's a happy collision (no pun intended) of the band s garage-y British pop influences and the more progressive sounds of Chicago and BS&T that were sweeping through FM radio at the time; our Expanded Edition features four single bonus tracks and notes by Richie Unterberger featuring quotes from the band's Jim Peterik and Larry Millas. Highly recommended!

Digitally remastered reissue combines two domestically out-of-print albums together on one CD, 'Make It Happen' (1967) & 'Special Occasion' (1968). Packaged in a full color outer slipcase with original sleeve artwork.

In the mid-20th century, Louisville gospel music was occasionally recorded when members of the local gospel community pressed 45rpm records and LPs, and released them through grassroots record labels such as Sensational Sounds, Grace, Blessed, and D.J.S. Over the years, a substantial body of work was produced in our city, but those recordings are in danger of being lost forever.The Louisville Story Program has been working with dozens of people in the local gospel music community to locate, digitize, and preserve hundreds of these recordings and to develop a book that documents and honors the legacies of the people and communities that produced them.For decades, the passion, hard work, and support of countless people across dozens of Black church communities in Louisville have nurtured and sustained a rich gospel music ecosystem. This music has served as a central part of people's religious practice and as an expression of Black pride, joy, affirmation, love, dignity, determination, and hope. This legacy continues to this day.

Andy Grammer Releases New Album MONSTER.Los Angeles, CA (October 4, 2024) – Today, Emmy Award winner and acclaimed multi-platinum singer/songwriter Andy Grammer releases his new ALBUM, MONSTER via S-Curve Records. The release comes on the heels of his performance of “I Do,” featuring Maddie & Tae, on Live With Kelly and Mark.
Out today, Monster sees Grammer elevating the high-energy songwriting that has won him millions of fans around the globe and leaning into acoustic melodies inspired by a novel foray into the mandolin. Across 11 poignant tracks, the project explores themes of family, relationships, happiness and letting go. At its core, Monster is Grammer’s most personal and sonically versatile album to date. Rife with vulnerable lyricism—yet still brimming with his distinctive optimism—the project is layered in dichotomy. It spans from catchy, uplifting anthems like “Still Smiling” and “Monster,” which simultaneously reflect on overcoming darkness and the complicated nature of relationships, to bright, soaring moments in “Magic” and “Friends and Family,” which, in contrast, showcase the beauty and hopefulness in connection. Monster is a testament to Grammer’s prowess as a songwriter and artist, as he explores the human condition in all its complex beauty.

Although Live & Well wasn't a landmark album in the sense of Live at the Regal, it was a significant commercial breakthrough for King, as it was the first of his LPs to enter the Top 100. That may have been because recognition from rock stars such as Eric Clapton had finally boosted his exposure to the White pop audience, but it was a worthy recording on its own merits, divided evenly between live and studio material. King's always recorded well as a live act, and it's the concert tracks that shine brightest, although the studio ones (cut with assistance from studio musicians like Al Kooper and Hugh McCracken) aren't bad.

Jazz Is Dead announces another offering of top-shelf recordings taking listeners on a journey through the funky sounds of Ghana all the way to down to the psychedelic soul and samba of Brazil. Produced by label founders Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Jazz Is Dead Series 3 features new analog recordings from living legends Ebo Taylor, Hyldon, Dom Salvador, Antonio Carlos e Jocafi, Carlos Dafé, Joyce e Tutty Moreno as well as an unreleased LP from The Midnight Hour: Lost Tapes.

Almost every track new to CD. Includes best-selling albums from the mid-70s. Features numerous major Jamaican hits.
Few Jamaican music makers have demonstrated greater versatility or proficiency than Lloyd Charmers, who first made his name on the Jamaican music scene as a youthful singer- songwriter in the early 60s, performing as half of the popular duo, The Charmers. Subsequent solo works along with a spell with The Uniques vocal trio ultimately led on to a move into record production. Over the years that immediately followed, his output as both a performer and producer included multiple major reggae hits, most notably Ken Boothe’s chart-topping version of ‘Everything I Own’, the success of which confirmed Charmer’s position as one of the Jamaica’s finest talents. Soon after this international best-seller, he produced works by a number of other leading Jamaican-based acts, their number including keyboard maestro Harold Butler, popular singer Dobby Dobson and the multi-talented Richard Ace - and it is these three supremely gifted artists whose work primarily comprises this collection.

It was much to soul singer Spanky Wilson's surprise – she didn't realize she had had such an impact – when British multi-instrumentalist/producer Will Holland contacted her in her Los Angeles home in 2004, professing his love of her music and wondering if she'd collaborate with him. Still, she agreed to go the studio, and together they did two songs, "Don't Joke with a Hungry Man" and "When You're Through," for Holland's solo project, Quantic, on the album Mishaps Happening. That collaboration worked out so well that they decided to make an entire record together, this time with Holland's full band, the Quantic Soul Orchestra. Wilson's lovely voice is the centerpiece of I'm Thankful, and it does show a bit of its age, but only in the best of ways, deepening it and giving it an added measure of credibility and authenticity while still preserving its expressiveness and strength.

A collection from the Mercury funk lineup that covers the hits from the first five Gap Band albums. Every major hit that they had is included here. What one might notice is that all of the major hits ("You Dropped a Bomb on Me," "Burn Rubber on Me," "Early in the Morning," and "I Don't Believe You Want to Get up and Dance") all sound surprisingly similar. This may or may not be a large surprise to everyone, but the bright note about their similarity is that the basic riffs and rhythms that they all use are extremely catchy. The energy that the Gap Band exudes in the midst of producing a song is stunning, and this compilation displays that to the fullest extent. For a basic introduction to the forms of funk that the Gap Band followed, this album would certainly suit any given listener. For those who only need one Gap Band album in their collection, this one also fits the bill perfectly. For die-hard fans who already have all of the band's albums, this one would probably only really serve as a summary.

Two Classic Edwin Starr Albums, from 1968 and 1969, Released on One CD. All Tracks have Been Remastered and Packaging Includes a Full Color Slipcase, Rare Photos, Track Annotations, Release Info and Original LP Artwork.

Few contemporary artists defy convention like Dawn Richard, who has gone from being a member of Danity Kane—the girl group assembled by Sean Combs on the MTV reality show Making the Band—to a prolific career of music that has been categorized as electronic, ambient, dance, R&B, pop and soul. She is a shapeshifter who can sound like a dance diva when collaborating with DJs Coco & Breezy, a nu-soul wonder with Gianni Lee, or an avant-garde art-popper with Kimbra. But her collaborations with neoclassical composer Spencer Zachn are the most surprising. The duo's third record, Quiet in a World Full of Noise, is a story in blood-and-guts vulnerability and atmospheric beauty. Like its acclaimed predecessor Pigments, the album delves into ambient experimentalism, effortlessly marrying soul, chamber jazz and avant-garde R&B.