Back catalogue: Funk

Review: Here, There and Everywhere: Black America Sings John Lennon, Paul McCartney & George Harrison is Ace Records' third compilation of soulful jazz and r&b covers of Beatles classics by Black American artists. This collectio has a deep Motown presence, acknowledging the Beatles' early admiration for Motown before the label's music even hit the UK charts. The album spans Beatles and post-Beatles compositions from 1964 to 2004, with standout performances by artists like Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder. The song selection takes listeners on an inspired journey through well-known hits, reimagined with rich soul and jazz interpretations. The Supremes' take on 'You Can't Do That' and The Four Tops' 'Michelle' reveal fresh, emotive layers in songs that are simultaneously faithful and transformative. Randy Crawford's stirring 'Give Peace a Chance' and Stevie Wonder's vibrant 'We Can Work It Out' underscore Black America's lasting engagement with the Beatles' work, while tracks like Sam Fletcher's 'Can't Buy Me Love' and Keb' Mo's 'Imagine' breathe new life into familiar melodies with jazz-infused warmth and soul. Each cover on the compilation not only reflects the artists' creative voices but also traces the Beatles' own roots in soul and r&b, bridging cultural influences that shaped music in the 60s and beyond. Here, There and Everywhere is an enriching and unique compilation that has one of the most enduring cross-cultural exchanges in modern pop history.

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.