20 Dec 2022
David Ruffin – 1973 – David Ruffin

After a nearly four year absence from recording, David Ruffin found the entire Motown operation had changed. It was all now fully moved to LA. And the classic Motown sound of the 60’s was now part of a far more instrumentally broad sound that was...
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09 Apr 2022
Jerry Butler – 1969 – Ice On Ice

Produced by Gamble-Huff, arranged by Roland Chambers, Tom Bell and Bobby Martin. The Philadelphia massive do their stuff with legendary singer Jerry Butler. If you want to know what the first official Philly Soul albums were, look no further. Gamble and Huff may have really hit...
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04 Sep 2021
Aretha Franklin – 1976 – Sparkle

“So much love for us to feel. So much hope for material things. Are they only in my dreams?” There were startling similarities between Aretha Franklin and Curtis Mayfield from the very beginning, decades before their collaboration Sparkle was even envisioned. Both hailed from the...
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01 Feb 2021
James Brown ‎- 1972 – There It Is

 There It Is, his second Polydor studio album, was a marked improvement, this 1972 effort collected five of his best early-’70s tracks and mixed in minimal filler. “Talkin’ Loud and Sayin’ Nothing” and “There It Is (Pts. 1 & 2)” with its bebop-style horns, were...
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02 Sep 2020
Isaac Hayes – 1971 – Shaft

Both on movie screens and in the charts, November 1971 was all about the new phenomenon of blaxploitation. With black consciousness reaching new levels of confidence and Afro-American culture more influential than ever, filmgoers had already enjoyed the trailblazing They Call Me MISTER Tibbs! the year before, followed...
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09 May 2020
Barbara Mason – 1972 – Give Me Your Love

Barbara Mason becomes a woman on this Buddah release. No longer the love-struck teen who hit with “Oh How It Hurts,” “Girls Have Feelings,” and “Sad, Sad Girl,” the new Barbara makes the rules and gives the ultimatums. She unleashes a sensuous contralto on “Bed And Board“, Curtis...
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31 Dec 2019
Leroy Hutson – 1974 – The Man!

The multitalented Leroy Hutson made his mark as an integral part of the Chicago soul scene in the ‘60s and ‘70s, thanks to his prodigious talents and connections to some of the city’s distinguished soul luminaries. While still a student at Howard University he roomed...
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