possibly one of the most influential albums in soul.  often listed as one of the top albums amongst artists, producers and dj's.  stevie wonder was at his peak in the 1970's and although any one of his albums from that era could have made it here, its this one that stood out.

contains: "as", "sir duke", "i wish", "pastime paradise"

it was buggin me for ages...i had to include this album too!  to me, it's on the same level as "songs in the key of life".  tunes such as "too high", "living for the city" and "don't you worry bout a thing" have to make this a must for your soul-jazz collection.

having passed away in december 1999, curtis mayfield will always be recognised as a key figure in soul, r&b and funk.  he has been acknowledged by d'angelo as his main influence in his career.  he will probably be most remembered for this lp - the soundtrack to 'superfly'.

contains the classics: "superfly", "pusherman"

it's james brown...the godfather of soul...mr discoman...need we continue?!  could have picked any james brown lp, but this compilation of re-issues contains tracks that have effected 90% of funky music.  "funky drummer", "give it up or turn it loose", "talkin loud and sayin nothing", "soul power"...well worth parting your cash for!

like james brown, george clinton's parliament and funkadelic is recognised as the main influences in today's funky tunes.  from samples in hip hop to the artist formerly known as prince the p-funk sound can be attributed to all forms of funk.  this lp was probably the breakthough record for funkadelic and often dismissed by p-funk purist for it's crossover appeal to disco with "one nation under a groove".  

when soul II soul released this lp in 1989 it took british soul to another level.  "fairplay", "keep on movin" and "back to life" can easily be remembered at a time when the house scene was surfacing.  a time when hip hop, soul, and house could be played and enjoyed under one club roof, they will always go down as club classics.

coming from the new funk sounds of west london's ealing area (along with the brand new heavies and jamiroquai), the young disciples brought us one of the funkiest albums of the 90's.  sampling old funk and rare groove tunes, they managed to show us how influences from their musical history can be captured and re-worked into new skool funk.  not forgetting bringing us the amazing vocal talents of carleen anderson.  

they never had a second lp.  ironically, carleen anderson is now the female vocalist for the brand new heavies.

contains: "get yourself together", "apparently nothin"

i could not let this section pass without paying homage to 80's soul and grooves!  (after all, it's the music i grew up on)  as the title says, this album captures the anthems of the decade.  although a huge amount has been left out, treat this as a taster to those old skool revival tunes! 

includes: keni burke "rising to the top", mary jane girls "all night long", joyce simms "all in all" plus many more...

funk classics that represent the backbone of hip hop.  ever wondered where hip hop loops and samples come from?  this album will show you where.  

contains: incredible bongo band "apache", james brown "funky drummer", jimmy castor bunch "it's just begun", the headhunters "god made me funky" plus more...

you can't expect a history lesson in the origins of hip hop to be complete in one album?  the second installment of "the breaks" continues where the the first album left us.  maybe not as obvious as the first album, so listen carefully and you'll spot the sample - no need for anoraks!

contains: kool & the gang "n.t.", bob james "take me to the mardi gras", curtis mayfield "underground"

four lp's (so far) in the pulp fusion series on harmless records bring the best in 1970's funky jazz and funk classics.  all excellent tunes that you may have thought only existed as samples in hip hop tracks.  low down dirty jazz can almost be mistaken for porn soundtracks (so i'm told) and the funk will make you feel like a pimp...get the picture?

this could just a well be at home in the disco section!  who better to compile a philadelphia international records lp than the original rare groove and philly expert mr norman jay!  all classic tunes; mfsb's "love is the message", norman harris's "in good faith", the jones girls "this feeling's killing me".....many more. 

the debut lp from d'angelo was possibly the first of the so called "nu-soul" movement to emerge.  no surprise really when he lists curtis mayfield and marvin gaye as his main influences.  a great album to chill to - it had that "lounging" effect...so realising the title track was not about a woman, but something he smokes (allegedly)  wasn't a shock!

like d'angelo, the female equivalent of the "nu-soul" pioneer has to be miss badu.   her debut lp gave a breath of fresh air onto the soul and r & b scene at the time.  

no, this site is not sponsored by bbe records!  i first discovered the label sometime in 1996 when seeing an advert for "stop and listen vol I".  the label had nothing to do with it...it was the compiler - dr bob jones...i used to tune in to bob jones 'soul surgery' show on kiss fm.   so i picked up the lp and found that the soul and funk ridden tunes were so much better than what other compilers were putting together at the time.  the rest is history...

four albums so far in the series compiled by some of the most respected dj's - vol I: dr bob jones takes us through his years of soul, funk and rare grooves.  vol II: jasper the vinyl junkie lays on the funk and grooves.  vol III: bobbi and steve go through their disco roots to today's garage.  vol IV: patrick forge mixes the classic jazz-funk and funky house grooves.

bbe (again!) on the rare groove tip.  two excellent albums containing some rare groove, funk and soul gems.  

strange games and things contains: foxy "mademoiselle", minnie ripperton "reasons", linda williams "elevate your mind", gwen mcrae "90% of me is you" plus more

strange games and funky things contains: creative source "can't hide love", milton wright "keep it up", donald byrd "wind parade" plus many more.

mastercuts was the first compilation series to bring quality music with full length versions of the tracks together with the bonus of 'nice' packaging. covering a wide range of music genre's, the label brought the classic tunes to a new audience.  delving not too far deeply into each music category, they borderline on the commercial market yet standing their ground with the purists.  well worth a place in your collection.

the funk collection of lp's (currently 3) contain far too many to list so pop along to your nearest stockist a take a listen.

see above.

currently at 7albums, the jazz-funk series, as with the funk series, brings us the classics.  gil scott-heron "the bottle", donald byrd "dominoes", various roy ayers and loads more.