Soul

Bill Withers' Live At Carnegie Hall was recorded almost 40 years ago on a rainy Friday evening, but it is still regarded as one of the best live performances in the history of soul music.

With some of the best DJs and selectors there is a certain mysterious sound or underlying feeling which unites the music they play, regardless of genre, year or tempo.

Where I’m Meant To Be is a thumping celebration of life, an affirming elevation in the Ezra Collective’s winding hybrid sound and refined collective character.

Sly and the Family Stone might have psychedelicised soul music, but Marvin Gaye personalised it. Although the powers-that-were Motown didn't even want to release the record, the unexpected success of What's Going On, issued in 1971, inspired Stevie Wonder, Curtis Mayfield, and just about every other black artist on the planet to take greater responsibility for their music and its meaning.

Classic jazz / funk / folk from the mercurial Callier. Possibly the greatest album ever by the legendary chicago soul singer Terry Callier!

The musical styles of 'Curtis' moved further away from the pop-soul sounds of Mayfield's previous group The Impressions and featured more of a funk and psychedelic-influenced sound.

For Thee Sacred Souls, the first time is often the charm. The band’s first club dates led to a record deal with the revered Daptone label; their first singles racked up more than ten million streams in a year and garnered attention from Billboard, Rolling Stone, and KCRW

The xx producer and percussionist Jamie Smith takes a stab at recontextualizing Gil Scott-Heron's excellent 2010 album, I'm New Here.

In a career laden with highlights and hallmarks in the annals of soul history, Just As I Am is rather overlooked as one of the best soul debuts ever issued.

Although Simone covers songs by Bob Dylan and The Beatles, among others, most of the versions feature arrangements substantially different from the original recordings.

"Backed By Jimmy Bond And Albert 'Tootie' Heath, This Album Showcases Her (Nina Simone) Ballad Voice As One Of Mystery And Sensuality And Her Up-Tempo Jazz Style With Authority And An Enigmatic Down- Home Feel That Is Nonetheless Elegant. The Album Also Introduced A Fine Jazz Pianist. Simone Was A Solid Improviser Who Never Strayed Far From The Blues." - Thom Jurek, AllMusic

Four decades have failed to dull the album’s power and awe-inspiring scope. It’s been cited as a favorite by figures like Prince, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey – and Wonder himself. “Of all the albums, Songs in the Key of Life I’m most happy about,” he told Q magazine in 1995. “Just the time, being alive then. To be a father and then letting go and letting God give me the energy and strength I needed.” Credit: Rolling Stone

Timepeace was recorded in 1998 after a 15 year long career break and won the United Nations's Time For Peace award for outstanding artistic achievement contributing to world peace.

Aretha Franklin disproved the notion that once you leave the church, you can't go back. She returned in triumph on this 1972 double album, making what might be her greatest release ever in any style.

Al Green Greatest Hits, features the classics Let's Stay Together, How Can You Mend A Broken Heart, Tired Of Being Alone and Love and Happiness amongst many other gems from his catalogue.

This new volume of the Diggin collection offers a selection of rare and groovy tracks ranging from Funk to Jazz Fusion and Soul.

Donny Hathaway's third solo studio album, 'Extension of a Man', followed the soul singer's lauded 1972 collaboration with vocalist Roberta Flack.

He has left behind a series of fantastic hits plus a handful of tracks which deserve the title of masterpiece, all Collected on this album.

Shuggie Otis was a musical visionary whose early 1970s recordings showed he could do it all, writing, arranging, performing, and producing some of the decade's most satisfying, innovative, and, unfortunately, overlooked music.

Best-selling, 21-track hits set that’s now on vinyl for the first time.

1973's Innervisions swings between delicate and airy ballads, Latin-influenced rhythms and his own synth-heavy versions of raw funk and soul.

2019 marks the 60th year of Motown, and this anniversary is commemorated with a brand new Greatest Hits compilation featuring tracks from across the label’s unique history.

Free Will is the second studio album by American poet Gil Scott-Heron, released in August 1972 on Flying Dutchman Records.

This album represents Curits Mayfield in his prime as a composer.

Live at the Harlem Square Club is a classic live album by Soul singer Sam Cooke

Mr Bongo reissue of this 1977 LP by one of the great figures of Brazilian music.

Northern soul floor fillers of the Eccentric variety.

What a beauty here. A proper re-issue of Minnie Riperton debut album on GRT, originally puvlished in 1970.

Nina Simone made her first trip into the studio in New York during 1957 to record her debut album Little Girl Blue.

As the second of five consecutive albums which made up Stevie's classic period, Talking Book found Wonder at the top of his game, combining tight song writing with warm electronic arrangements and effervescent vocal performances

Arthur Verocai's long-lost solo LP straddles the continents to fuse Brazilian tropicalia with American funk, yielding a shimmering, dreamlike mosaic of sound that both celebrates and advances the creative spirit.

This is the story of how a tiny label from New Jersey changed the course of music history not once but twice. Cheri Records was established in 1974 in New Jersey and run by one Boo Frazier. Cheri's output was limited, producing a catalogue of just eleven releases between the years 1974 and 1982. On the face of it, this appears to be insubstantial output. However, if you dig a little deeper, the quality released on Cheri Records reveals an exceptional legacy of groundbreaking music.

Strut present the first definitive retrospective of an icon of 1970s and ‘80s soul, jazz and disco, Patrice Rushen, covering her peerless 6-year career with Elektra / Asylum from 1978 to 1984.

Compiling the follow-up to a very successful first album is always a tricky task, but just 12 months since the release of volume one in the 'With Love' series, miche has excelled himself once again with another glorious, deep dive into the world of rare soul.

Recorded in early 1971, Curtis / Live! finds Curtis Mayfield in top form at the intimate Greenwich Village club The Bitter End.

Yaya Bey is one of R&B’s most exciting storytellers. Using a combination of ancestral forces and her own self-actualization, the singer/songwriter seamlessly navigates life’s hardships and joyful moments through music.

This set provides an accurate overview of the Stax era recordings of the only man fit to be called "The Black Moses Of Soul" — Isaac Hayes.

Curating and ordering the tracks for a Mr Bongo Record Club is always special.

This Is Mod is part of a new series aimed at vinyl buyers who wants a genre specific compilation to excite their ears. Two sides of fantastic music, at an affordable price, cherry picked from Ace and its associated catalogues.

When Aretha Franklin passed away on August 16, 2018 we lost the Queen of Soul, acknowledged as the foremost female singer of her generation, someone who sold over 75 million records in her glittering career.

Born to an African-American opera singer and a Jamaican footballer who played for Celtic in Glasgow, Gil Scott-Heron was a ground-breaking musician and writer whose melding of poetry, soul and political activism paved the way for the arrival of rap and prefaced neo-soul by some decades.

House of the Rising Sun features several guest performances by New York studio aces, including Joe Beck, Don Grolnick, David Sanborn, Fred Wesley and Michael Brecker amongst others.

Officially reissued at last! Considered by many to be a genuine ‘holy grail’ of soul and funk. Featuring Miracles as sampled by Public Enemy, Basement Jaxx, Arrested Development and many more.

The Collected album by the Carpenters brings a beautiful collection from the immense popular soft-pop duo. From their humble beginnings in the late '60s until today, siblings Karen and Richard Carpenter are one of the most successful duos in musical history.

Kent have released two Darrow Fletcher CDs, but he has never had a vinyl LP of his own - of any description. This compilation concentrates on his Chicago years, though it adds a rare demo, Hope For Love, only previously available on a Masterpieces Kent CD. 

Blues and Soul Award winner and double MOBO Awards nominee Ronnie Herel is back with his 2nd volume of his excellent compilation series Neo-Soul Sessions

Hotter than July is the nineteenth studio album by Wonder, originally released on Motown's Tamla label in September 1980, featuring hit songs including Happy Birthday.

Well before Shuggie Otis cut his debut album, musicianship and performance had long been a part of his life.

The revered debut from the genre-spanning guitarist, singer and songwriter, Terry Callier, has returned to vinyl. Originally recorded in 1964 for Prestige Records, the album features Callier’s version of standards such as “Cotton Eyed Joe” and “900 Miles.”

Having been brought up as much on albums as singles, it is a natural progression for Kent to make a 12-inch version of our “Masterpieces Of Modern Soul” CD series. The modern soul fan is used to wielding vinyl 12-inchers and our latest Kent LP is aimed squarely at them.

Otis Redding and the nine-man band, which includes a three-piece horn section, play a delightfully tough and varied set, delivering amazing, sweaty renditions of fiery up-tempo raves, swaggering, mid-tempo soul grinds, and intense slow numbers.

From 1967-1980, Kansas City’s Forte Records captured nearly every iteration of popular Black music.

There's a relaxed vibe running through every note even in the more up-tempo songs and a consistency here that shows Bill at his best.

An 18 track double black vinyl LP compilation featuring many of the beloved singer’s hits.

The American funk/soul band Commodores peaked in the late 1970s through the mid-1980s with some wonderful hit classics, like 'Just to Be Close to You', 'Easy', 'Three Times a Lady', 'Still' and 'Lady (You Bring Me Up)'.

Track Listing Sweet Music, Soft Lights and You Now Is the Time for Love Pt. 1 I'll See You in Hell First Love Highjacker I Can Fly It Hurts So Good See Saw Affair Lightin' Up Three Lonely Guys Spells & Incantations (With Debbie Lindsay) Midnight Affair When I Had You, Baby

This amazing album is the product of six full-time Howard University students taking the direction of department head and jazz great Donald Byrd into the Fantasy Studios along with the aid of production wizard Larry Mizell. 

Disregard the understated title; Small Talk at 125th and Lenox was a volcanic upheaval of intellectualism and social critique, recorded live in a New York nightclub with only bongos and conga to back the street poet.

This album was another brainchild of Marshall Chess' regime at Chess Records. Here, he's getting Ramsey Lewis, supported by an orchestra conducted and arranged by Charles Stepney, to do jazz improvisations on ten songs from The Beatles (aka The White Album).

They don't come anymore classic than this.

The 1967 Impulse Records legendary Funk/Soul Instrumental masterpiece album Chicken Fat.

Given her extensive and varied recording catalog, if you're looking for a place to explore the talents of the late Nina Simone, then 1965's I Put a Spell On You is a great place to dip your toes - particular if you want to start with her more pop oriented sides.

In "Everybody Loves the Sunshine" (1976), Roy Ayers seamlessly blends genres, creating a timeless sound that continues to influence musicians and DJs around the world.

Barely disco and hardly jazz, Rupa Biswas’ 1982 LP is the halfway point between Bollywood and Balearic.

Labi Siffre burst onto the UK’s blossoming singer-songwriter scene with his debut album in 1970, alongside contemporaries like Elton John, Bill Fay and Mike D’Abo. Featuring early hit “Make My Day” and “A Little More Line”, the album was arranged and produced by Ian Green, noted 60s hit arranger.

Sam Cooke, inventor and true King of Soul, recorded Mr. Soul in the same year as Night Beat, and seems to be its more adult counterpart, with soulful ballads taking up most of the album.

The Best of Isaac Hayes brings together 10 soulful cuts from Stax Records’ incomparable creative force.

A 24 carat compilation of the best of the “yellow” Stax, Volt and associated labels’ recordings, many of which crossed over into the American Pop charts.

Despite their name, the Chicago Gangsters were originally from Ohio. Formed by brothers James, Sam, Chris, and Leroy McCants, the group's sound ranged from heavy funk and disco to sweet, smooth balladry.

Mavis Staples returns with a brand new studio album produced and written by Ben Harper.

James Reese was as ambitious as he was talented, and his ouevre ranges from brutal, deep soul to sophisticated instrumental ballads to jazz-inflected funk.

The legendary release by Ronnie April's Positive Energy.

It happens at times that a stone cold classic from a bygone era gets rediscovered. But how often does that rediscovery happen when the band is still around? And how often does it lead to a new album? That’s the surprising circumstance behind the Staples Jr. Singers’ long-awaited second album, Searching (out June 14).

Sampled by Kanye and Tyler The Creator

Exclusive / Reissue : Manu Dibango is probably the most famous musician from Cameroon and quite possibly one of the most internationally well-known African musicians ever.

Following the recent release of Dee C Lee’s latest single, Walk Away, Acid Jazz Records release Just Something, Dee’s first album since 1998.

Soul Portrait is a slice of Southern-fried soul, a blend of beat ballads and dancers.

The Newport Jazz Festival had always brought the best out in Nina Simone.

Different Strokes For Different Folks are delighted to release the first ever vinyl reissue of Paul Pena's sought-after self-titled album, first released in 1972.

Them Changes is an album by American artist Buddy Miles, released in June 1970. It reached number 8 on the 1970 Jazz Albums chart, number 35 on the Billboard 200 and number 14 on the 1971 R&B albums charts.