The Salsoul Orchestra - Up The Yellow Brick Road (1978) {2014 Remastered & Expanded - Big Break Records CDBBR 0267}
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© 1978, 2014 Big Break Records / Cherry Red / Verse Music | CDBBR 0267
R'n'B / Funk / Disco / Soul / Philly Soul

BBR is proud to bring you UP THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD, the sixth instalment of our Salsoul Orchestra reissues. THE SALSOUL ORCHESTRA was the brainchild of once MFSB member and legendary vibraphonist, Vincent Montana Jr. Formed in 1974, THE SALSOUL ORCHESTRA, house band for the remarkable Salsoul Records, sometimes featured up to 50 members amongst its ranks including a number of former musicians from MFSB. THE SALSOUL ORCHESTRA began an eight-year recording period in 1975 releasing eleven sensational albums during that time featuring production input from, Stan Lucas, Patrick Adams, Bunny Sigler and Tom Moulton through the years.

Ike & Tina Turner - What You Hear Is What You Get (1971) {2012 BGO Records BGOCD1062}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 379 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 142 Mb
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© 1971, 2012 United Artists / Capitol / BGO Records | BGOCD1062
R&B / Soul / Funk

The duo were at their peak of popularity when this hour-long performance was recorded in New York on April 1, 1971. Of course Turner's volcanic stage presence can't be fully translated onto disc, and the set list goes heavy on predictable covers like "Sweet Soul Music," "Honky Tonk Women," "I've Been Loving You Too Long," "Respect," and a ten-minute-plus "Proud Mary." And the opening two numbers are sung not by Tina, but by the Ikettes.

Bad Girls marked the high-water mark in Donna Summer's career, spending six weeks at Number One, going double platinum, and spinning off four Top 40 singles, including the chart-topping title song and "Hot Stuff," which sold two million copies each, and the million-selling, Number Two hit "Dim All the Lights." Producers Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte recognized that disco was going in different directions by the late '70s, and they gave the leadoff one-two punch of "Hot Stuff" and "Bad Girls" a rock edge derived from new wave. The two-LP set was divided into four musically consistent sides, with the rocksteady beat of the first side giving way to a more traditional disco sound on the second side, followed by a third side of ballads, and a fourth side with a more electronic, synthesizer-driven sound that recalled Summer's 1977 hit "I Feel Love."

Strut continues its essential compilation series of Indian Ocean sounds with ‘Alefa Madagascar’, the first compilation to document the unique culture of salegy, soukous and soul on the island during the ‘70s and ‘80s.

At the time Philip Bailey persuaded Phil Collins to produce his second solo album, Chinese Wall, Collins was among the hottest pop stars in the world. The advantage to that, of course, is the exposure it affords, and after the merely modest success of his debut solo album, Continuation, Bailey needed the reflected glory. On the other band, it's hard to shine yourself in such a glare, and although Bailey's name was on the gold-selling hit single "Easy Lover," a duet with Collins that helped the album take off, it's Collins' singing and drumming that one remembers. Elsewhere, tunes like "Photogenic Memory" and "Walking On The Chinese Wall" better represent Bailey's ability to handle a variety of material from ballads to techno dance tracks with his elastic falsetto. Still, Chinese Wall was a gold-selling standoff that made Bailey a solo hitmaker without really establishing him on his own.

Original Hits: 70s is a decent six-disc set, highlighting 111 pop singles released in that decade. Along with the original versions of radio classics by Al Stewart, Blondie, the Knack, KC & the Sunshine Band, and Dr. Hook, are less-than-obvious inclusions by Peter Tosh, XTC, the Move, and Benny Hill!

A Very Cool Christmas is a wonderful collection of all what Christmas has to offer, from the brilliant harmonies of The Temptations and the folk-rock of Leon Russell to the Beatpop of The Kinks and the soul voice from Marvin Gaye. This versatile record consists of both well-known Christmas songs performed by other artists than the famous versions and originals from the '50s until the present. Includes rockin' and groovin' Xmas songs from Billy Squier, Wizzard, Bryan Adams, The Kinks, Nicole Atkins, The Jackson 5, Carla Thomas, Louis Armstrong, Marvin Gaye, James Brown, B.B. King, The Temptations, Booker T & The MG's, and many more.