Get On Down US Vinyl & CDs

Review: The James Brown's Funky People series first appeared back in the 1980s, and gathered together tracks by artists associated with the Godfather of Soul, many of which he wrote and produced himself. This second edition - here reissued on vinyl for the first time since 1988 - contains a wealth of high quality funk and soul material. While some are naturally very well known - Bobby Byrd's "I Know You Got Soul" being the best-loved of the lot - what sets the album apart is the sublime tracks by Marva Whitney, Lyn Collins, Myra Barnes and Hank Ballard & The Midnight Lovers. Throw in some storming covers of Brown classics from Fred Wesley & The J.Bs and you have an essential collection of tried-and-tested dancefloor dynamite.

Review: Re-issue of the 1987 Profile Records holiday compilation in a red and white split colored pressing, with songs by Run-DMC, Dana Dane, Sweet Tee, The Showboys, The Surf M.C.s, Spyder-D, and more. Leading off with the Run-DMC smash, 'Christmas In Hollis', this classic Christmas compilation features some of the hottest rap artists of the era, celebrating the holidays, hip-hop style. Highlights include Dana Dane's 'Dana Dane Is Coming To Town', Sweet Tee's 'Let The Jingle Bells Rock' and even the Surf MC's' 'A Surf MC New Year,' adding a California surfer (and, ahem, Beastie Boys rip-off) twist to the proceedings. Not to be overlooked is the classic front and back cover artwork, featuring a gift-wrapped B-Boy. It remains an essential, evergreen (pun intended) holiday album to this day.