Back catalogue: All genres

Review: Movements Vol.12 fills a bag of rare rhythm & blues, mod-jazz, and mid '70s funk. Launching on a note of obscure rhythm and blues from the 60s, most of the tracks heard thence were sifted from "hopelessly obscure" 7" singles; hopelessly obscure, that is, until now, when many a ravenous compilation curator seek to restore their honour. With most of the tracks doused in vocal reverb, and coming filled with oodles of commonsensical wisdom and everyday tootling advice, we segue from deepfunk to big band to mood jazz and then back to funk, the most impressive in the lattermost category having got to be the 4 Dimensions' 'Hipper Snapper' and Gus Brendel's 'Sax On The Rocks'; the instrumental side of the record is especially great.

Review: Eddie Piller Presents The Mod Top 100 is a fulfilling four-CD set that revisits the golden era of 1960s mod culture through a meticulously curated selection of tracks. This collection, inspired by the original Mod Top 100 compiled by Randy Cozens, offers a rich mix of r&b, soul, jazz and beat music that was integral to the iconic dancefloors of London's West End. Piller has expanded upon Cozens' influential list, including additional personal favorites from the era. The result is a vibrant homage to the Mod movement, featuring soulful voices from Doris Troy, Betty Everett, and Bessie Banks, alongside classics from James Brown, Ike and Tina Turner, and Solomon Burke. Instrumental gems from Hank Jacobs and the Ramsey Lewis Trio further enhance this comprehensive set. The release not only showcases the era's diverse sound but also serves as a tribute to Randy Cozens, whose passion and dedication helped shape the Mod scene. With new sleeve notes by Piller and support from Cozens' family, this collection is a fitting celebration of a pivotal musical and cultural moment.

Review: This collection focuses in an era of Japanese music in which fashion, glamour and kitsch collided to create an addictive sound that morphed Westernized shapes into something kaleidoscopic and unique; the GS (or Group Sounds) phenomenon had seen Japanese artists attempting their own take on the high-energy onslaught of the Beatles and the British invasion, but elsewhere the female artists of the era were crafting a sound that tipped its hat to bossa nova, psych-pop and French ye-ye whilst maintaining a distinctly Japanese approach. Vibrant, eclectic and shot through with an insouciance and style rich even for this era, this is a compilation that sounds as exotic today as it did in the '60s.

Review: Jazzman Records' curatorial moniker Greasy Mike delivers a seventh compilation in his eponymous beatnik jazz series. At The Beatnik Cafe follows up former visits to the Tropical Island, the Chinese Takeaway, and the Halloween haunted house for a trip back in time and place to 1950s New York, netting the sonic essence of the Beat generation. Predominantly comprising swing, bebop and hard bop recorded during and at the turn of the following decade, we're smitten at the likes of Harvey Anderson's 'Monday Night At 8PM', The Seven Arts Beat Society's 'New York Havana', and Cindy Laine's 'Whispering Wind', all of which amount to prototypical, quiet cafe-bound storms, and the perfect complements for free-assocative poetry composition and goatee grooming.

Review: The record Store Day releases are coming thick and fast for 2024 and this is a gem in amongst them. It is said that the so-called "Golden Age of Southern Soul" lasted from about 1962 to 1975, after which point it was disco that shot to prominence and took all the headlines. Although the ensuing fusion of country, gospel, and r&b from the legendary Memphis and Muscle Shoals in the '60s appeared groundbreaking, southern soul drew from diverse influences. Horn lines from Louisiana's swamp pop, blues' lyrical themes, country music's melodies, and profound inspiration from black churches all contributed. As part of the 'History of Soul' series, this LP uncovers southern soul's musical roots with insightful notes by John Ridley, so prepare to be captivated by a truly authentic narrative and electrifying sounds.

Review: Paul Weller is perhaps one of the best non-soul musicians to ask to compile a rare soul compilation. Rather than documenting soul music as it proliferated in the 1960s, Ace Records' soul aim was to capture a genre, fashion and style as one man saw it in retrospect, in light of his involvement in the mod revival of the mid 1970s. Weller would later go onto form and front The Jam, but in late 1974, shortly before his involvement in the punk movement, he was about none of that business at all. Punk partly grew on febrile tissues of mod, which was in turn an offshoot of 60s soul; and it is true that we may hear a foetal form of the sound in the brasher cuts on this record, be it Billy Stewart's 'Summertime' or James Carr's 'Pouring Water'. Also clock Brother To Brother's 'In The Bottle', a super-early drum machine blues gem perfect for the house heads.