The Sisters Love - Give Me Your Love

The origins of The Sisters Love date back to Ray Charles' backinggroup The Raelettes in the 50's. A break up started The Sisters Love with their own single in 1968, leading to larger labels (A&M, Motown). Success never really came for the girls and they ended in 1973. Their music lived on in obscurity, known only to an inside crowd until 1980 when a DJ remixed 'Give Me Your Love' and brought it to the attention of a larger audience.
And that's the interesting thing with this group: they were ahead of their time. They sound like a charged soul/funk ensemble close to what was a couple of years later known as disco.
Soul Jazz compiled their music, even the first song before the went to a major, and added a little booklet with the details. It's a pretty unremarkable package for a Soul Jazz release but decent/sufficient at the least, it's just that they've set their standards so high.
Soul Jazz records, 2006

The Sisters Love - Give Me Your Love
(new link)

Boss Soul, The Genius Of Barry White

Back to Barry, the early works. These are recordings made in 1966 & 1967 for Bronco, mainly working for other artists but a few songs sung by Barry White himself too and that closes the circle started nearly a month ago with his greatest hits. This is from the period where he's working as a writer, engineer and A&R man first, having made only a very small name in music biz.
The music is OK, you'll find a few tunes you may know and the rest is decent soul at least, heavily Motown inspired but some of the unique Barry White sound elements are there already.
I have some problems with the package: it a stylish digi pack (cardboard fold open, right hand side has the CD fitting) in black and silver. The text is informative and OK but printed on both sides inside the digi pack, meaning that you're supposed to read through the (clear plastic) CD fitting (and the dots of glue that hold the fitting). That's obviously a poor design and the trouble I had finding a picture that looks like my copy hopefully indicates that this version isn't available anymore. I'm usually more than happy with Vampisoul releases.
Vampisoul / Del-Fi records, 2003

Boss Soul, The Genius Of Barry White

Can't Hide Love

Volume 9 and last ('till now) of the Manifesto Of Groove serie by Brown Sugar. "Deep jazz / funk / disco rare grooves", the music's from the 2nd half of the 70's exclusively. The compiler, Michael Möring, managed again to find a bunch of weird and unknown tracks that can do anything except fit in narrowly defined styles or genres. As the subtitle indicates, the dance factor is pretty high on this one.
The rest of the package is like the other 8 editions, you'll find info on the music and the musicians, a short tidbit about the music, artist or album and a picture of the original album.
Ask your local store (they just may stock it) or check Amazon.DE, it's not on the US or UK site.
Brown Sugar / ZYX, 2006

Can't Hide Love

Love Unlimited Orchestra - The Best Of

I forgot to update the blog, sloppy, especially since I wasn't finished with Barry. See, they're not just called Love Unlimited Orchestra but Barry White's Love Unlimited Orchestra. And indeed, what better way to exercise some megalomanic tendencies than to have your own orchestra. And create the niche 'symphonic soul' by accident, although the execution was carefully planned and handled.
Professional musicians, large sets of every instrument and ultimately the orchestra was 'dressed up' for show performances, similar to how Love Unlimited the vocal group was brought.
This CD has track info, a short essay and a good number of pictures. I believe it's been released before on vinyl.
Funk Essentials / PolyGram, 1995

Love Unlimited Orchestra - The Best Of
Part 1
Part 2

Chef Aid: The South Park Album

This upload was requested by someone (unrelated to this blog), I bought the album at the time for the hit 'Chocolate Salty Balls' by Chef (Isaac Hayes). There's a whole bunch of hip and not so hip artists contributing to this soundtrack and it's probably essential stuff for the South park fans (booklet!) but frankly: I think it sucks. The Chocolate Salty Balls make it worthwhile, I'll let you know when my Isaac Hayes records finally are going to be replaced by CDs.
Oh: it's the 'extreme version' as opposed to the "less explicit version". FYI 'n' BTW.
Columbia / Sony, 1998

Chef Aid: The South Park Album (100+ Mb, I'm not chopping the files up for fun)
Part 1
Part 2

Hit The Rhodes, Jack

If you've been with me for a while or went through the archive, you know exactly what the Brown Sugar serie is. I didn't discover it until part 7 and by that time part 8 was already released. 'Hit The Rhodes, Jack': "A tribute to the Fender Rhodes electric piano" is in every respect an equal to the previous 7 volumes.
It's the same mix of jazzcats and funkateers, known and lesser known.
So why bother to write about it? Volume 9's out: "Can't Hide Love: deep jazz / funk / disco rare grooves".
Can't wait for the next Brown Sugar bomb!
Brown Sugar / ZYX, 2005

Hit The Rhodes, Jack (a little over 100 Mb)
Part 1
Part 2

Love Unlimited - The Best Of

Two sisters and a friend were Barry White's version of the Supremes. Linda and Glodean James (later to be Glodean White) and Diana Taylor started at junior high as the Croonettes, doing parties and backing with bands. A studio job behind another friend of them brought the girls in contact with Barry White in 1969.
A couple of years rehearsing later ('till 1972), they were finally pronounced ready by Barry White and the rest is history.
The end came in 1979 with Linda moving to Switzerland, Glodean and Diana continuing to provide backing vocals on BW's records until the death of Diana in 1985. Glodean and Barry got divorced somewhere but did make an album together, 'Barry & Glodean' in 1981.
The vocals and songs are geared for maximum effect, it's love it or leave it stuff and you'll probably love it, it's highly seductive. The music is Barry White soul, more 70's than 60's with disco influences. Most songs are from the golden 'era' 1972 - '74 with a few 1979 and 1976. Good booklet with good pictures.
Mercury / Polygram, 1997

The Best Of Love Unlimited (a little over 100 Mb)
Part 1
Part 2