Francis Lai - Number One

Francis Lai is a French composer behind many great film scores such classics as A Man And A Woman and Emmanuelle 2 to name a few. Le Corps De Mon Ennemi is a killer soundtrack to a great movie. The soundtrack is packed with great funk with some nice prog rock flavors in the mix. It also has a deep and soulful masterpiece hidden between the heavy jazz funk cuts. Number One has such an inevitable groove and somehow the tune manages to create a nasty but classy mood at the same time. This would make a perfect intro for a Sunday soul mixtape. Enjoy!

Francis Lai - Number One [320 kbps, DivShare]

Benny Golson - I'm Always Dancin' To The Music

I got myself a new soundsystem at home and I've been testing it with Benny Golson's I'm Always Dancin' To The Music. I just love everything about this tune, well the intro isn't right up my alley but everything else sure is. Let's hope my neighbours also enjoy this 90 bpm jam with amazing energy, great saxophone action by mr. Golson, beautiful vocals by Maxine Willard Waters and especially those horn stabs. Though the intro doesn't do justice to the tune and some of the bridges might be hard for the dancefloor, this is THE JAM. Too bad the rest of the album is nowhere near as good as the title track. Of course you can always go for the 12" but it's rare and trades as high as $500.

Benny Golson - I'm Always Dancin' To The Music [320 kbps, DivShare]

Kellee Patterson - I'm Gonna Love You Just A Little More, Baby

I'm visiting my hometown for a couple of days and of course I had to go through my old digging spots. So there I was going through the crates of a flea market expecting to find nothing special, just the usual worn out schlager albums and K-Tel disco compilations and then suddenly boom, a near mint conditioned Turn On The Lights by Kellee Patterson and right next to it a near mint conditioned Kellee by Kellee Patterson. Priced at 2 euros each I couldn't believe my luck. Well, this is the reason one should keep digging though the results usually are pretty thin.

Both albums have a bunch of strong cuts but the standout joint is the brilliant Barry White cover of I'm Gonna Love You Just A Little More, Baby. It's the opening track of Kellee and can be also found as a shorter version 7" single and a 7" Jazzman re-issue with a full album version. Enjoy and keep digging.

Kellee Patterson - I'm Gonna Love You Just A Little More, Baby [320 kbps, DivShare]

The Controllers - Stay

Stay by The Controllers is a smooth and nasty groove with an epic intro and a mind blowing bass line from 1986. You can't go wrong when you play this and Intimate Connection back to back and then drop in Dance (Don't Geek).

The Controllers - Stay (Extended Club Version) [320 kbso, DivShare]

Ron Preyer - If You Don't Want My Love

I guess it's the fact that autumn is just around the corner but I have been really feeling deep and mellow soul cuts lately after a great summer filled with uptempo boogie and house. If You Don't Want My Love by Ron Preyer has been one of the tunes that has been in heavy rotation this week. It's an obscure, heartbreakingly beautiful two stepper from 1978 released by Shock Records.

Ron Preyer was part of The Younghearts, a truly underrated early seventies vocal harmony soul group from Los Angeles. I'm not familiar with his career besides this 7". According to Discogs he didn't record anything else as a solo artist. He definitely should have. If You Don't Want My Love is such a strong cut and so is the flipside of the 7". If there's something else worth checking out, please let me know.

Ron Preyer - If You Don't Want My Love [320 kbps, DivShare]

Rhyze - Just How Sweet Is Your Love

Just How Sweet Is Your Love is a superb soulful bouncing boogie jam with a killer bass line. Some might argue that classic Motown-ish soul vocals don't go together with early 80's boogie sound and usually I might agree but not in this case. The track is just wonderful as it is and definitely needs the vocals.

The single version originally released by SAM Records should be cheap and easy to find and the album is not a bad buy either. Lots on nice smoother cuts and some good dancefloor heaters (e.g. Do Your Dance with Jim Burgess on the mix).

Rhyze - Just How Sweet Is Your Love [320 kbps, DivShare]

Citation - Inspiration Of My Life

I was looking at my previous blog posts and it seems that I have been neglecting sweet 70's soul for far too long. A great way to end this grievance is to share a beautiful piece of mellow Detroit soul from 1976 with a superb intro and great vocal harmonies. Inspiration Of My Life is a rare 45 only cut by Citation, an obscure five men group.

Citation - Inspiration Of My Life [320 kbps, DivShare]

Splendor - Special Lady

I've always liked the a-side of this 12" single by Splendor but it's the b-side that made me buy the record. I noticed the comment quoted below while browsing through YouTube and I had to drop by and share this smooth gem with you. I'm convinced that this tune works great also in a less vulgar but equally sensual situations.

"Back in the 80s, I used to work at the "San Tropicana Resort" in Mexico. It was a really sleazy place. Lots of fugitives, prostitutes and swinging couples. One night by the poolside there was a massive party. About 200 people were in the pool having sex while this song was playing in the background. Some fat sleazy guy was getting a blow job at the hotel pool bar while some hooker was fucking another bloke on the side. An Amazing scene of lust and smooth jazz sleaze.This song brings it all back."

-Anonymous commentator on YouTube

Splendor - Special Lady [320 kbps, DivShare]

Eastside Connection - You're So Right For Me

You're So Right For Me (1977) is disco at its finest. The sound of the golden era of disco with a foot stomping finger snapping beat, solid instrumentation and great vocals which make those cheesy lyrics sound just so right.

Eastside Connection with some great singles (e.g. You're So Right For Me and Frisco Disco) is an incisive example of the rise and fall of (mainstream) disco. The group released massive disco bombs and got some commercial success as well but as soon as disco was out of mainstream, Eastside Connection disappeared like so many contemporaries without leaving a mark. Well, we have their hits on rainbow colored vinyl so why complain.

Eastside Connection - You're So Right For Me [320 kbps, DivShare]

Prime Time - I Owe It To Myself

This one right is THE JAM. Such a perfect tune for Fridays. I know it's Thursday but it's Midsummer's Eve tomorrow here in Finland. This means that I'm heading to the countryside today in order to relax, eat well and eventually get wasted and this gem by Prime Time will definitely be the theme song of the weekend.

I owe it to myself,

I gotta get on up,

And have myself a real good time

Prime Time - I Owe It To Myself [320 kbps, DivShare]

Roberta Gilliam - All I Want Is My Baby

Roberta Gilliam's All I Want Is My Baby is a massive slow burner from 1985. A deep, classy joint written and produced by the one and only Keith Sweat. For a while the 12" used to be a bit pricey but I guess it isn't as rare as people thought since I've seen clean copies trade regularly under ten bucks.

I was looking for some info on Roberta Gilliam but just as before I wasn't able to find anything beyond tracklists featuring All I Want Is My Baby so I guess she was a one hit wonder. What I found though was Proto One, a solid mix of 80's soul and boogie cuts mixed by Niles & Baggy. Definitely worth a listen.

Roberta Gilliam - All I Want Is My Baby [320 kbps, DivShare]

The Pockets - Come Go With Me

Come Go With Me by The Pockets is one of the greatest feel good songs I can think of and once again it has been the theme song of my weekend. It's the opening track of The Pockets' underrated debut album Come Go Wit Us. Enjoy the tune and buy the record if you see a copy somewhere. It should be inexpensive but full of versatile rhythm music produced by Verdine White (of Earth Wind & Fire).

The Pockets - Come Go With Me [320 kbps, DivShare ]

EDIT: Eli Escobar is one my favorite DJs and Come Go With Me a huge favorite of mine and still I had slept on Eli's great re-edit which has been recently released on a 12" with a couple of other solid edits. Thanks to Ace Of Clubs' comment my copy is now on its way to my record collection.

Tom Brock - I Love You More And More

This week's edition of Sunday Soul features Tom Brock's underrated gem I Love You More And More. It's a classy smooth soul cut with an intro that gives me the chills every time I hear it. The track (and the album) is produced by Barry White and Gene Page and you can clearly hear it in the production. I'm not saying it's a bad thing. The Love Unlimited Orchestra drums, strings etc. are top notch as usual but it's Brock's unique style and his soulful voice that make this track really stand out.

Tom Brock is a great soul singer and a talented song writer as well. Too bad his musical legacy is rather concise. He recorded just one album and wrote some songs (for example (A Case Of) Too Much Love Makin') for Gloria Scott's superb What Am I Gonna Do but that's pretty much it as far as I know. If there's something else worth checking out, please point me in the right direction.

Tom Brock - I Love You More And More [320 kbps, DivShare]

Silk - I Can't Stop (Turning You On)

I Can't Stop (Turning You On) is a deep 2-step Philly soul masterpiece with amazingly beautiful vocals by Debra Henry. Pretty close to a perfect tune for lazy Sundays in the bedroom. The track appears on Silk's rare-ish album Midnight Dancer. It's their only album released by Philadelphia International in 1979. Well actually there's another album if you count Songs For Evolution recorded as Anglo Saxon Brown which was basically the same group that formed Silk two years later. Check out Call On Me from Songs For Evolution, another sweet 2-step groover.

If you're in the mood for more classic Philly tunes check out one of my all time favorite mixtapes Disco To Get Drunk To #3 - The Sound Of Philadelphia by DJ Anonymous. It kicks off with I Can't Stop (Turning You On).

Silk - I Can't Stop (Turning You On) [320 kbps, DivShare]

Lenny Williams - Choosing You

The title track of Lenny Williams' third solo album Choosing You is a huge favorite of mine. A great soulful uptempo disco joint that has an excellent breakdown and a superb bassline. The same version of Choosing You can be found as a 12" single but I would go for the album. It's inexpensive but packed with quality tunes produced by a Motown legend Frank Wilson. A nice set of smooth soul (for example Problem Solver) and a bit funkier uptempo tunes all bringing the attention to the excellent and versatile voice of the ex-Tower Of Power lead singer.

Lenny Williams - Choosing You [320 kbps, DivShare]

James Bradley - I Can't Get Enough Of Your Love

DJ iTunes Shuffle started rocking James Bradley's late 70's banger I Can't Get Enough Of Your Love and the long ass intro swept me away once again. The timing was perfect beacuse at the moment this track is the definition of a Sunday Soul Anthem. It has just the right amount of Michael McDonald-ish smooth yacht rock mixed with real soul music with amazing vocals. This massive but sadly understated midtempo r'n'b/disco groover can be found from the b-side of I'm In Too Deep 12" and from James Bradley's self titled album. This tune should be huge and the record isn't expensive but for some reason it doesn't seem to get the love it deserves. I guess it's due to the fact that the a-side (I'm In Too Deep) of the single is an unimaginative below par disco act so people don't find the monster on the flipside so easily.

James Bradley - I Can't Get Enough Your Love [320 kbps, DivShare]

Clarence & Leon - The Message

I've have played The Message by Clarence & Leon on repeat for quite a while so I had to come by and share this fantastic soulful, inevitably grooving joint from Disco Demands Volume Four. Too bad I don't know anything about the act except that their instrumentation is top notch and the groove is there and it takes you for a good ride. I'm assuming the tune has been edited/extended by Al Kent but it's just a wild guess. If you know better, please educate me.

Clarence & Leon - The Message [320 kbps, DivShare]

Linda Clifford - Never Gonna Stop

Never Gonna Stop is such a sweet and deep groove with great vocals by always so beautiful Linda Clifford. Plus it's a classic sample (2Pac, Nas, ...) and the album is packed with quality Curtom soul and disco joints so I can't understand how have I survived so long without the album. Well, today morning I found a decent quality copy at a local fleamarket for 1 €. Though the record isn't rare or expensive, I was smiling the whole way back home so I would say it's the best buy of the year so far.

Linda Clifford - Never Gonna Stop [320 kbps, DivShare]

Soul Village - Everybody Loves The Sunshine

It's the first warm and sunny spring day over here after a long and snowy winter and damn it feels good. I have opened my road cycling season, done some spring cleaning and enjoyed a bottle of good white wine. It doesn't get any better than this.

This calls for a laid back song that sounds perfect during a sunny afternoon That would be for example Soul Village's great cover version of Roy Ayers classic summer anthem Everybody Loves The Sunshine. It's taken from their first release put out by Melting Pot Music's sublabel Jazz Makossa back in 2004. It's perfect for the occasion, a lazy jazzy sound that blends with the spring breeze coming from the balcony.

Soul Village - Everybody Loves The Sunshine [320 kbps, DivShare]

Flora Wilson - Extended Daydream

I came across to a file entitled "Extended Daydream" while I was organizing unsorted/untitled mp3s. It took me a while to ID the tune but halfway through the track I realized that it's an edit of Flora Wilson's Dancing On A Daydream.

I couldn't find the original release on Discogs let alone info of an edit and I can't remember where have I gotten this so the origins of the edit are unclear to me. I listened carefully to my copy of the original and came to a conclusion that it's a blend of the original vocal and instrumental versions that extends the tune from both ends. I'm pretty sure Dancing On A Daydream was only released as a 7" so there shouldn't be a longer album version etc. If you have info on this, please educate me.

Anyways, this is a sweet groover that kicks off the weekend nicely. Too bad the sound source used for the edit seems to have been worn out and therefore the sound quality is a bit shabby.

Flora Wilson - Extended Daydream [320 kbps, DivShare]