Soul Brother Vinilo y CD

Review: China Burton's 'You Don't Care About Our Love' is a widely recognised deep funk classic from 1979 which has long been favoured by DJs on the soul circuit. It's not hard to hear why - the tune has everything you need, from a slinky breakdown to an anthemic chorus, and the rhythm section is primed to get bodies moving. There have been scattered bootleg versions of this tune put out before, but now Soul Brother are doing a legitimate job with the vocal and instrumental versions on a fresh 45.

Review: Soul Brother present two sublime cuts by Carolyn Franklin, younger sister to Aretha, for their debut appearance on the seven inch format. On top of her significant body of work as a songwriter and background artist for Aretha and several other acts of the 60s and 70s, Carolyn Franklin record four solo albums and several singles for the RCA label. Rare groove heads favour Franklin's fourth LP If You Want Me in particular, issued in 1976 but originally recorded three years earlier, and Soul Brother have licensed two highlights for this 7" which demonstrate Carolyn's range for anyone not familiar with her work. "Sunshine Holiday" is a psyche delight akin to Linda Lewis' "Reach For The Truth" whilst "Deal With It" is pure funk.

Review: Johnny Hammond was a prolific organist, composer and multidisciplinary artist active throughout the USA for the majority of the 20th Century. By the time the lesser-known LP and meditation on devilish excess 'Gambler's Life' was released in 1974, Hammond's sound had grown unusually cacophonous and was noisy to a kind of perfection that could only be described as an acquired taste. That doesn't deter us, though: this reissue from Soul Brother carefully pays homage to the late great's 28th album, with the broken wonk of 'Rhodesian Thoroughfare', the voluptuous funk of 'Star Borne' and the melismatic virtuosity of 'Virgo Lady' all tempting us back towards the broad gate.

Review: Legendary bandleader Eddie Palmieri took a rare groove excursion from his Latin legacy in the early 70s for two albums as Harlem River Drive. Criminally overlooked, Soul Brother have dusted off two of the many highlights from his self-titled debut; "Idle Hands" is a sleazy, Gaye-style message with an almost spoken word quality to the vocals and a smoky wooziness to the horns while "Seeds Of Life" is a real end-of-set belter that rises and rises with tight orchestration between the guitar, horns and drums. Incredible... This can't be slept on this time round.

Review: This one is such an evergreen summer classic that it sells out whenever it reappears and gets reissued on a regular basis. Last time was last summer but now the rays are back in our lives we're glad it is available one more. Brazilian jazz vocalist Tania Maria is a true icon with a huge back catalogue of music behind her. Here, Soul Brother look back to her 1983 album Come With Me and lift a pair of pearlers for this vital 7". 'Come With Me' is a sundown slinker, with Maria's airy tone gliding over the sprightly piano chords while on the flip 'Lost In Amazonia' is a joyous, scat-powered slice of jazz funk with incredible slap bass flex. Essential summer grooves.

Review: Soul Brother does all soul and rare groove lovers a favour by collection totters a load of desirable hits on this 30th anniversary edition of the fifth volume of their The Wants List series. The collection focusses on tunes form the 80s onwards from two steppers to modern soul. It's pure gold from the first needle drop with Barry White's buttery smooth baritone seducing beneath gentle sax sounds on 'Playing Your Game Baby.' Elsewhere the likes of Sweet Charles, Etta James, The Four Tops, Bobby Blue Bland and many more soul icons all serve up some of their warmest grooves.

Review: 40 years young: Wood, Brass & Steel's eponymous debut album enjoys a highly timely reissue and it still sounds every bit as funky ("Theme Song"), soulful ("Working On A Dream") and emotional ("My Darling Baby") as it did in 76. Complete with cult dancefloor hit "Funkanova" and the crossover disco hit "Always There", this LP has aged with real maturity and clout. Considering what the members did next (Tackheads, Sugarhill and Fats Comet) Wood, Brass & Steel was something of a supergroup in hindsight... And this album is where it all began.

Review: This record was thought to have been lost until recently re-discovered. Recorded in the 1970s and has been loving remasters from the original tapes here and pressed onto heavyweight wax. This collection features some heavily sampled tunes such as 'Funkanova' which has been pillaged by the likes of Black Science Orchestra, DJ Sneak and The Bucketheads. It also has a famous rendition of the Ronnie Laws jewel 'Always There'. Wood, Brass & Steel members include the likes of Doug Winbush who went on to play with the Sugarhill Gang and Grandmaster Flash.