Vinyl B-Stocks

Review: ***B-STOCK: Slight surface marks ***


Bobby Byrd comes strutting on posthumously through to Sedsoulsociety with 'Never Get Enough'. This ineluctable treat was first released on Brownstone Recordings sometime during the early 70s funk heyday, and was produced and arranged by none other than that ingenious titan, James Brown, together with the beautiful 'My Concerto'. We usually wouldn't forgive the removal of the latter track from any reissue, but we're making an exception here, for the fact that an even greater treat lines this B-side reissue: a formerly unreleased instrumental of said James Brown classic production. Funk completists hardly need to be told not to sleep on this one.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


Joao Donato is one of the most well known and prolific stars of Brasil's MPB (which is short for "musica populera brasileira") scene. He has toped several highly sought of albums and is still turning them out today despite already having assured his legacy. A Bad Donato is something of a move away from his Brazilian bossa nova roots - instead the album, which was recorded in LA, is electric and eclectic with funk, psychedelic pop and groovy Fender Rhodes driven sounds. This reissue on Verve By Request comes on nice heavyweight 180g vinyl with classics like 'The Frog' and 'Lunar Tune' still sounding fresh.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Creasing to corner of outer sleeve but otherwise in excellent condition***


If you don't know (well, even if you do know it is still true), Californian multi-instrumentalist Brian Ellis is Egyptian Lover's keyboard player, and is also a member of Campus Christi with Peanut Butter Wolf. He steps out alone here with a new and outlier funk album that shows off his idiosyncratic style. It is a raw and dense sound that mixes up bold funk and gritty psychedelic soul while embracing the darker edges of both styles. Along the way, Ellis explores themes of truth, authenticity and the pitfalls of wealth while reflecting on the cost of giving away one's heart. Tracks like 'The Real Deal' and 'Money Drives Me Crazy 'capture these ideas with unfiltered emotion.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


The Family Tree's transcendent disco gospel classic We Shall See Him As He Is gets a special and much-deserved reissue here for Record Store Day 2024. It originally debuted in 1979 and since then has grown in stature as a soulful delight that embodies the vibrant gospel disco scene of Baltimore. With original copies commanding prices exceeding $300, this reissue means you can cop it for a reasonable price and revel in its rare gospel charms. Tracks such as 'Psalm 150' and a captivating disco rendition of Stevie Wonder's 'As' are standouts. This one has been remastered and comes on nice on heavyweight vinyl.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged, record slightly warped***


Brion Gysin was a true original who left his mark on modern culture when he introduced William Burroughs to the cut-up technique, but he also recorded a swathe of experimental, funk-fuelled releases including the 1983 single 'Kick/Junk'. That single has been expanded into this album for Wewantsounds, which features Don Cherry's trumpet work on 'Kick' amongst many other talented players. It's a freewheeling listen which takes its inspiration from many places, finding space for tender folk experimentation with an African twist on 'All Those Years' and embraces jazz as a vessel for sonic and rhythmic exploration when the moment calls for it.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Creasing to corner of outer sleeve but otherwise in excellent condition***


A year shy of its 40th anniversary, Inspiration Information enjoys a reissue and it's still as sparkly and soul-laden as it was in 1974. Ranging from the guitar-twanging smoky blues funk of "Rainy Day" to the sultry, strutting title track, it's largely regarded as Otis's most comprehensive work of that time. According to legend it took him three years to create... 39 years later and it still sounds as good as this? We'd say that's time well spent!

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


A fresh compilation album documents the best of the late 70s disco-funk-jazz-everything band Phyrework, synthesising a pyrotechnist's hand and a cutting engineer's ear. The Texan group were signed to Mercury in 1978 and released a hotly acclaimed debut album, and while their talents matched the likes of Sly And The Family Stone and Earth, Wind & Fire, they remained criminally under-world, resulting in the band's disbandment after the release. So this is a salvaging effort worth your while; a whopping nine of the songs have never been heard before, and only a complementary two appeared on the original early 80s single. All produced by Michael Cooper of Con Funk Shun, the likes of 'My Funk', 'Never Felt Like This' and 'What Happened To Us' command an extra jerkiness and synthweight bolshiness not nailed by many of their much-more-famous contemporaries.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


Original pioneers of rare groove PUSH made a welcome return with this exciting album back in 2004 when it first dropped. It remains a vibrant workout 20 years later and blends classic underground rare grooves with contemporary feel-good funk and soul, featuring heartfelt songs and incredible instrumental pieces along the way. Emerging from the London club scene in 1987, PUSH thrived on JB-inspired funk, blaxploitation soundtracks, and raw soul-jazz. They toured Europe and Japan, performing at Gilles Peterson's legendary Dingwalls sessions. Key members Crispin Taylor, Ernie McKone, and Mark Vandergucht also played with Galliano and supported US divas like Candi Staton and Marlena Shaw.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Record slightly warped***


The Strikers were a talented band from New York who delivered catchy and groovy tunes with soulful vocals and tight instrumentation. This album, originally released in 1981, features their two classic singles 'Body Music' and 'Inch by Inch', which are still played in clubs and on radio stations today. This reissue by Unidisc Music is a high-quality vinyl release that preserves the original sound and artwork of the album. This record is a must-have for fans of 80s funk and disco.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Slight surface marks ***


Hungarian outfit Budabeats proudly present Psyched Out Grooves From Hungary (1969-72), their latest compilation tracking the emergence and sure formation of psychedelic rock in Hungary. In the label's own words, "there were barely any drugs in Hungary to begin with", and we take this to be precisely the point. Psychedelia isn't a state that should rely on drugs as a crutch: no, there was something already dormant, but primed for the teasing, in the Hungarian psyche, that lent to its acquired taste for psych in the 60s and 70s. With contributions from "an undercurrent of smaller, semi-professional bands" who persisted in the shadow of a select few huge names, who dominated by dint of their sponsorship by the one, state-owned major label, this comp betrays an insider's knowledge and then some, with highlights from Non-Stop, Sampolo, Neoton, Apostol and Kex standing out as peak-quality Hungarian psych, despite none of these bands ever receiving a breakthrough. Such songs and bands were "the exception, not the norm", the "illusion of a scene".

Review: ***B-STOCK: Creasing to corner of outer sleeve but otherwise in excellent condition***


It's time to track back 20 years to one of the true gems from Soul Jazz's heavyweight range of compilations. Miami Funk takes into the beating heart of the late 60s-early 70s scene hovering around Florida's most famous city, and introduces us to some of the hip underground cats who were laying down the sweetest grooves at that time. Some it's rocking, some of it rolls, at times it's sweet and elsewhere it's nasty, but as you'd expect the quality never dips. This one has been long out of print, and now a limited run is making its way back, with this coloured vinyl edition sure to fly out, so don't sleep!