Dayton were founded in 1980 by David Shawn Sandridge. From Dayton, Ohio, components of the group for the two albums we present here in 1980 and 1981 were: David Shawn Sandridge: Lead and Background Vocals, Lead and Rhythm Guitars, Horner D-6 Clavinet, Hell Talkbox, Percussion.

The Wild Root is the 2019 album by The Alan Evans Trio, who are calling themselves Ae3 with this release, Evans is of the group Soulive and brother to Neal Evans. This was released by Vintage League Music.

Radio Cramps: The Purple Knif Show is a 1999 compilation of some of The Cramps' Lux Interior's favorite garage rock songs, most of which came from his own record collection. This was released by Munster.

The title track "Love Maze" features a heart-piercing lead, and impeccable backing harmonies; tender sweeties "Let Me Be the One" and "Passion" travel the same romantic road. Most prefer the Temprees doing dripping, slow ballads, and there's not enough of them on this multi-styled, rag-tag disc. Selections like "Something So Right" and "Come On Y'all" might not appeal to those who enjoy southern soul. The Temprees emulate the Stylistics on "Trust In Me," and "People Make the World Go 'Round," featuring their clear vocals and the Stax gang at their finest.

Known in all circles as "The Love Man" and "The Maestro," Barry White was a man who put new boundaries on the universal language of love. He had a soul of passion and this is evident in every song that he recorded. He was an icon.

Andreya Triana owes the existence of this album to a chance meeting with Simon Green, aka Bonobo, who featured her on his Black Sands album and then offered to produce her first full-length effort. The result is a debut album of impressive beauty and maturity, one that documents a long musical and personal voyage fraught with heartbreak, but never succumbs to self-indulgent sentiment or confessional mawkishness. Part of what keeps things tight is Green's production style. The setting he creates for "Draw the Stars" is both completely unique (marimbas, strings, unidentifiable percussion) and straightforwardly beautiful, hinting at funkiness without stating it explicitly. He gets much more outspokenly funky on the horn-driven "Up in Fire," and torchy on "Daydreamers," and jazzy on "Far Closer," and his arrangements are almost invariably brilliant…

Released a year after a similar combination reissue of Angela Bofill's 1983 albums (Too Tough/Teaser), soulmusic.com gives her 1984 and 1985 albums similar treatment.

An hour of previously unreleased live music from Ray Charles in his prime. During this era he was touring with a big band including saxophonists David "Fathead" Newman and Hank Crawford, as well as background singers the Raelettes. The fidelity is excellent, and the set includes Charles standards like "One Mint Julep," "I Got a Woman," "Georgia on My Mind," "Hallelujah I Love Her So," "I Believe to My Soul," "Hit the Road, Jack," "Unchain My Heart," and "What'd I Say." Yet most fans will probably much prefer the more compact, small-combo arrangements of the studio versions. The horn charts offer an interesting contrast, but these live performances may be a little too stagey for optimum results, with some detours from hard R&B into popular standards.

This release catches Johnny Otis just as he made the switch from big band jazz-styled pieces to the pivotal R&B-based sound that would carry him into the rock & roll years. Everything here is from his first year with Savoy Records, but unfortunately doesn't include his biggest hits from that year with the label ("Double Crossing Blues," "Mistrustin' Blues," "Cupid's Boogie"). While this is an extremely satisfying disc, those omissions (each went to number one on the R&B charts) make this a poor choice for a first glimpse at this versatile and innovative musician.

Recorded in 1981 and produced by Isaac Hayes, trumpeter and composer Donald Byrd's first recording for Elektra is the sound of a musician who has truly lost his way. Byrd's nearly decade-long collaboration with the Mizell Brothers ended when he left Blue Note for Elektra. It wasn't so much that Byrd left "jazz" for funk and proto-disco, the latter elements had been part of his sound since 1972 with Black Byrd (some would say the real transition to more R&B based music began before that with Fancy Free in 1965). The period with the Mizells, though decried by jazz critics everywhere as a sellout, was a fertile one for Byrd creatively and married his vision of being a viable and accessible artist, one who sought out the direct experience of soul and funk as a way of getting his music across. It was also a successful one commercially - his albums sold to a wider audience and were played on commercial FM radio.

This collection is a pair of D-Train's earliest efforts, 1983's "Music" and the following year's "Something's on Your Mind"; for better or for worse, their sound is completely a product of its era, and while some listeners will find the disc thoroughly dated, others will enjoy its nostalgic charms.

Released by Funky Town Grooves in 2010 through EMI, this release combines the third and fourth albums by Brass Construction, which were originally issued, respectively, in 1977 and 1978. They were not among the band's best releases, but they did generate four charting singles, namely the Top 20 R&B hit "L-O-V-E-U," as well as "Celebrate," "Help Yourself," and "Get Up." There's a handful of solid album cuts, the best of which is the earlier album's "Top of the World," a jam that contains a wild guitar solo and an incredible breakdown. Casual fans should seek out either The Best of Brass Construction: Movin' & Changin' or Classic Masters.

4CD set. Tasty 74-track collection of prime-period singles from 1956 to 1962! Includes "Please Please Please", "Try Me", "I Want You So Bad", "I'll Go Crazy", "Think", "Night Train" and more.

"Making Music" is the 4th studio album by American R&B singer Bill Withers. It was also released in the UK as Making Friends. "Making Music" was released in 1975 and is Withers' first album on Columbia Records due to Sussex Records folding in July 1975. The album charted at #7 on the R&B album charts. The album was released in the UK by CBS under the title of 'Making Friends' also in 1975.

Graham nods to 80s dance music on "I Feel Good" and the title track (present in vocal and instrumental mixes), using a variety of special effects - overamplified fingersnaps, pitch-wheeled synth, and most criminally, Moog bass - that just scream "1982!" Otherwise it's basically a mix of Just Be My Lady mawkishness ("Let Me Come Into Your Life"; "You're My Girl") and Star Walk underwritten jams ("Don't Stop When You're Hot"). George Duke produced two cuts, the ballad "Still Thinkin' Of You" and the jive, slap-pop funk "Walk Baby Walk," and it's a very bad sign that his work is no worse than Graham's… that's what they call in the finance biz a "negative leading indicator."