"Rufus" is the debut album by American R&B and funk band Rufus, released on the ABC Records label in 1973 fronted by singers Chaka Khan and Ron Stockert. The album is notable for an upbeat rock/soul sound that would be replaced by a more heavy direction into funk and jazzy-styled recordings. The album reached #44 on Billboard's R&B Album and #175 on Pop and included the single releases "Feel Good" (R&B #45) and "Whoever's Thrilling You (Is Killing Me)" (#40). Shortly after this album's release and struggling with the group's slow climb to success, Stockert would leave the band during sessions of the group's next album, "Rags to Rufus". By then, Chaka Khan's role would be updated and as the group became successful in later years, most of the focus of the band would lay solely on Khan's shoulders.

Mother's Milk is the fourth studio album by the American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, released on August 16, 1989, on EMI Records. After the death of founding guitarist Hillel Slovak and subsequent departure of drummer Jack Irons, vocalist Anthony Kiedis and bassist Flea regrouped with the addition of guitarist John Frusciante and drummer Chad Smith. Frusciante's influence altered the band's sound by placing more emphasis on melody than rhythm, which had dominated the band's previous material. Returning producer Michael Beinhorn favored heavy metal guitar riffs as well as overdubbing that was perceived by Frusciante as excessive, and as a result Beinhorn and Frusciante constantly fought over the album's guitar sound.

The Uplift Mofo Party Plan is the third studio album by American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, released on September 29, 1987 on EMI Records. Due to prior obligations resulting in temporary personnel changes following the band's formation in 1983, The Uplift Mofo Party Plan is the only studio album to feature all four founding members of the band on every single track: vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea, guitarist Hillel Slovak, and drummer Jack Irons. The record features the band's signature funk rock musical style, but also draws influences from reggae and heavy metal.

Mr. Bungle was an American experimental rock band from Eureka, California. The band was formed in 1985 while the members were still in high school, and was named after a 1950s children's educational film regarding bad habits which was later featured in a 1981 Pee-wee Herman HBO special. Mr. Bungle was known for its highly eclectic style, often cycling through several musical genres within the course of a single song. Many of its songs had an unconventional structure and utilized a wide array of instruments and samples. Live shows often featured members dressing up (usually in masks earlier in the band's career) and an array of cover songs. Collection includes: 'Mr. Bungle' (1991); 'Disco Volante' (1995); 'California' (1999).

The Red Hot Chili Peppers is the debut studio album by Red Hot Chili Peppers, released on August 10, 1984 on EMI Records. The album was produced by Gang of Four guitarist Andy Gill, and is the only album to feature Jack Sherman on guitar who was fired by the band at the end of the tour in support of the album and replaced by founding member, Hillel Slovak.

By the Way is the eighth studio album by American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. The album was released July 9, 2002 on Warner Bros. Records. It sold more than 286,000 copies in the first week, and peaked at number two on the Billboard 200 (their next album would peak at number one). Singles from the album included "By the Way," "The Zephyr Song," "Can't Stop," "Dosed" and "Universally Speaking." The lyrical subject matter vocalist Anthony Kiedis addresses in By the Way is a divergence from previous Chili Peppers albums, with Kiedis taking a more candid and reflective approach to his lyrics. By the Way was lauded by critics as a departure from the band's previous styles, and is recognized for the melodic and subdued emotions given by the Chili Peppers. Guitarist John Frusciante is credited with writing most of the album's melodies, bass lines and guitar progressions, therefore changing the direction of the recording dramatically: "his warm, understated guitar work and his doo-wop style vocal harmonies are king this time around." By the Way contained very little of the signature punk-funk fusion the band had become known for playing. Frusciante has stated that writing "By the Way [was] one of the happiest times in my life." The album went on to sell more than 8 million copies worldwide.

"Betty Davis" is the eponymous debut studio album by American funk singer Betty Davis, released through Just Sunshine Records (an upstart label) in 1973. The album was produced by Greg Errico and features contributions from a number of noted musicians such as Neal Schon, Merl Saunders, Sylvester, Larry Graham, Pete Sears, and The Pointer Sisters. In 2007, the album was re-issued on CD and vinyl by the Light in the Attic label.

Terrapin Station is the ninth studio album by the Grateful Dead, and was originally released on July 27, 1977. This is the first Grateful Dead album on Arista Records after releasing other albums on its own Grateful Dead Records and their previous label, Warner Bros. According to Dennis McNally, Jerry Garcia conceived the idea for the song "Terrapin Station Part One" while driving across the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. The album was released for the first time on CD in 1987 by Arista Records before being re-released in 2000 by BMG International. It was then remastered, expanded, and released as part of the Beyond Description (1973-1989) box set in October 2004 with studio outtakes and live songs.

Let Love Rule is the debut studio album of American rock musician Lenny Kravitz, released on September 6, 1989 by Virgin Records. Then-wife Lisa Bonet wrote the lyrics to "Fear" and co-wrote the lyrics on the song "Rosemary"; other than that the album is virtually a one-man Kravitz show, as he wrote and produced all the songs and played nearly all the instruments. Let Love Rule reached number 61 on the Billboard 200, while it peaked at number 56 on the UK Albums Chart. The album is also featured in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. The video for the lead single "Let Love Rule" was nominated for an MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist.

Powerhouse singer Mahalia Barnes, one of the most impressive female vocalists to come out of Australia, and her band The Soul Mates have teamed up with American blues-rock guitarist Joe Bonamassa to release an album of Betty Davis covers called Ooh Yea! The Betty Davis Songbook. It explores tracks from Davis sexy, raw funk records of the early 70s. Betty Davis s unique story is still fairly unknown. She married Miles Davis in the late 60s, influencing him with psychedelic rock, and introducing him to Jimi Hendrix. Later, she released three genre-busting albums, 1973's self-titled debut, 1974's They Say I'm Different and 1975's Nasty Gal that have since influenced artists like Outkast, Prince, Erykah Badu, Rick James, The Roots, Ice Cube, Talib Kweli and Ludacris.

After Michael des Barres' short stint with the band Phoenix, he formed Detective along with former Yes and Badger keyboardist Tony Kaye, and they were signed on to the Swan Song label. Although there's no way of avoiding the similarities between Detective's sound and that of Led Zeppelin's, their debut album evolved as the freshest of the three albums that they released. Des Barres vocals are unmistakably Plant-like, and Michael Monarch's guitar riffs are somewhat refined, yet at times they buzz and chug just like Page's, but there's still an ample amount of enjoyable rock & roll left over to make Detective a worthy album.

The sound of Rock Candy Funk Party is as celebratory as the band name suggests. Spinning a fresh take on classic ’70s and ’80s funk and jazz, RCFP is powered by a lineup of world-class players collaborating for the sheer joy of making music, and a mutual love of genre-blurring grooves. A jazz-funk fusion revival supergroup, Rock Candy Funk Party grew out of an instrumental album recorded by drummer and producer Tal Bergman and guitarist Ron DeJesus in 2007 called Grooove, Vol. 1. The pair played several subsequent live dates at the Baked Potato jazz club in Los Angeles, and encouraged other musicians to sit in, and gradually Rock Candy Funk Party came together from these live sessions, finally settling on a lineup of Bergman, DeJesus, bassist Mike Merritt, keyboardist Renato Neto, and, in 2012, guitarist Joe Bonamassa.

Paice Ashton Lord's sole album is a rather anonymous-sounding late-1970s hard rock/AOR effort. There's more funk, soul, boogie, and jazz influence than you would expect from Deep Purple alumni, but at heart these are typical period mainstream rock songs that don't lend a distinctive personality to the short-lived band. There's an outrageously blatant quote from Blood, Sweat & Tears' "Spinning Wheel" in "Silas & Jerome." The 2001 CD reissue on Purple Records adds eight bonus tracks from the sessions for their unreleased second album, which are of a similar but less polished quality. Some of the songs are instrumentals rather than fully worked-up compositions, and the fidelity on a few of them is substandard, though not truly bad. The liner notes for the reissue give a thorough history of the band.

Pouring on a heavy dose of Funk grooves and Rock riffs over hardcore Country lyrics, THE CADILLAC THREE today release TABASCO & SWEET TEA via Big Machine Records.

There really are more War best-of packages than the situation warrants, and while the double-CD The Very Best of War is a fine compilation if you don't already have one in your collection, it's questionable whether it was a necessary addition to the band's discography. For one thing, it doesn't differ all that much from the previous two-CD War best-of on Rhino, Anthology (1970-1994). Sure, each has a few tracks not on the other, but both are built around their lengthy string of big hits. Even Barry Alfonso's accompanying essay was adapted from the liner notes to Anthology (1970-1994). Still, this does have all of the big chart hits and a few minor ones, as well as standout album tracks from throughout the 1970s and early '80s that illustrate the band's versatility. Reading the small print on the track listings, it's revealed that half a dozen of these cuts are edits that either appear here for the first time or were only available on previous anthologies or imports.