Back in stock: Funk

Review: Natalie Cole was an American singer-songwriter who excelled in soul, pop, and jazz. She was the daughter of the legendary Nat King Cole, and she had notable family ties including being the cousin of Eddie Cole and the niece of Freddy Cole. Early in her career, she was married to Marvin Yancy, who was part of the songwriting and producing duo Chuck Jackson & Marvin Yancy. Together, they contributed significantly to shaping her musical journey and initial successes and one of her standout jams is the title cut here 'Winner (Take All )' which is a low-slung 80s synth disco delight. 'Azz Iz' brings some boogie to the squelchy synth bass and 'Movin' On' brings horn-led joy. 'How Can You Stop' is a slower more sentimental end of the night closer.

Review: Ron Hardy's legacy lives on though stories of his legendary DJ sets but also his seemingly endless catalogue of edits and reworks of the tunes he played in his heyday. Here we have another such exhibit in which he flips some classic disco. The original version of 'No Way Back' is riddled with picked guitar licks and dreamy keys while a funky low end moves on this disco-rock gem as brass bursts out for added oomph. Hardy ups the pace, twists it beyond this realm and adds big drum breaks that are Prue bit for dancers. It's a classic in its own right that gets regular plays by more bold and eclectic DJs.

Review: Steve Taylor is credited with just one single on Discogs, and this is it. It's as hot and infectious as his name is plain and it now gets reissued on 12" after first being put out back in 1986. 'Shine Down (Light Of The World)' has some big sultry trumpets, lovely synth basslines and a hip-swing grave that is part disco, part funk, part street soul. The vocals are buttery smooth and the production is very much of the time. A more crisp Menu remix appears on the flipside. A second-hand original will cost you somewhere in the region of 250 quid so do not sleep on this one.