The Joneses - Summer Groove

I have a vicious and a persistent flu and I'm on bed rest for the fifth day now. I have already watched all five seasons of The Wire and at the moment I'm sitting at home watching snow fall. The amount of snow over here is so overwhelming that it makes the upcoming summer feel as a vague, distant dream.

To make things worse, I've been watching Helsinki 78-82's newish music video. It captures all the best features of summer in Helsinki: long sunny days, bikes, beer and good music. Such a feel good video (produced by Flatlight Films) and a killer tune (released by Top Billin).

To make things even worse, I started to compile a playlist of all the best summer tunes. Summer Groove by The Joneses is most definetly on the list.

Enjoy the winter and keep yourselves warm.

The Joneses - Summer Groove (Moving On) [320 kbps, DivShare]

O.V. Wright - Let's Straighten It Out

For me Let's Straighten It Out is THE song when it comes to bluesy southern soul. It's one of the many great cuts on O.V. Wright's album The Bottom Line (1978). Some would say that the sound of Hi Records was losing a bit of it's tightness during the late 70's but this album is solid gold from start to finish. I find it to be the strongest release of the label in late 70's. O.V. Wright's collaboration with the late great Willie Mitchell works perfectly on the album. The result is not as sexy and slick as with Al Green/Willie Mitchell collaborations but it's equally soulful and somehow a lot more intense and powerful.

O.V. Wright - Let's Straighten It Out [320 kbps, DivShare]

On top of this one being a favorite southern soul tune, it's been sampled by RZA on one of my all time favorite Wu Tang beats.

Party Lights

Party Lights x 2. The first track is one of the latest tunes Kim Tolliver cut before she gave up the music business for good. It's a solid boogie joint, nothing above par but she's got a great, strong voice. One of those voices that should have brought her appreciation and success besides soul music collectors but for some reason that never happened. The other track is a great edit of First Love's killer boogie cut Party Lights. I love the original but Liquid Pegasus does a good job with the edit.

Kim Tolliver - Party Lights [320 kbps, DivShare]

First Love - Party Lights (Liquid Pegasus Cement Shoes Remix) [320 kbps, DivShare]

Tata Vega - Get It Up For Love

Get It Up For Love is a classy disco cut from 1979 that has been on heavy rotation this week. There's a longer mix as well but unfortunately I only have the 7" version. I noticed that there's two quite decent edits available for download via Soundcloud so go get 'em if you're feeling this one.

Tata Vega - Get It Up For Love [320 kbps, DivShare]

Four Tops - Feel Free

I copped Four Tops' Catfish recently from a fleamarket for 1 EUR. A great discovery considering I wasn't expecting anything above average but I'm happy to say I was wrong and poorly educated when it comes to finding sweet soul music.

Catfish is a solid album with a smooth and positive late 70's groove and beautiful vocals. Feel Free, Strung Out For Your Love and Look At My Baby are all great cuts for Sunday afternoons. Make sure to cop the album if you see a copy getting dusty in a dollar bin.

Four Tops - Feel Free [320 kbps, DivShare]