Funk | Soul Vinyl 256 Items

180 Gram Vinyl!

Isolated at the rural fringe of Northern California, Bailey's Nervous Kats took Shasta County by storm in the early '60s. Combining surf, rock n' roll, exotica, and R&B, the Kats were a teenage dream draped in Magnatone amplifiers and crisp white polo tees. Their self-titled_and only_LP came at the dead end of the band's run, issued on Orville Simmons' one-shot Emma imprint in 1965. The mid-century modern LP of your dreams.

Isolated at the rural fringe of Northern California, Bailey's Nervous Kats took Shasta County by storm in the early '60s. Combining surf, rock n' roll, exotica, and R&B, the Kats were a teenage dream draped in Magnatone amplifiers and crisp white polo tees. Their self-titled_and only_LP came at the dead end of the band's run, issued on Orville Simmons' one-shot Emma imprint in 1965. The mid-century modern LP of your dreams.

Although Ben E King's name is synonymous with The Drifters, he only actually sang on a dozen tracks with them, most of which were recorded concurrent with the start of his own solo career. This compilation anthologises Ben's solo recordings between 1960-62, presenting his early singles plus a handful of standout album tracks.

All his early hits are here, including the Drifters-like First Taste Of Love, his first million-seller Spanish Harlem, his signature song Stand By Me, the lilting Latin shuffle of Amor, the dramatic, bluesy Here Comes The Night/Young Boy Blues, his Sex'n'Soul double-sider Ecstasy/Yes, the explosive Don't Play That Song, the soulful Too Bad, the haunting I'm Standing By and Goffin & King's Tell Daddy.

Ben E. King’s ‘Don’t Play That Song!’ album is pressed on a single clear LP and is a one time pressing.

This vinyl release is a part of Atlantic Records' 75th Anniversary vinyl collection.

In 1962, legendary jazz pianist Bill Evans collaborated for the first time on record with jazz guitarist Jim Hall to create the landmark album Undercurrent. And even though it is a two-person improvisational affair, it is almost unfathomable that these two giants alone fill up all the grooves on this record. The thoughtful interplay between these two musicians created such a beautiful, lush, and emotional journey that their work influenced many. At the time of this recording, Bill Evans was one of the top jazz pianists (his performance with Miles Davis on Kind Of Blue is still a high-water mark), but he had stopped performing and recording after the death of his peer, bassist Scott LaFaro. Eventually, he was persuaded to return to music, and this was one of the first recordings upon his return. Guitarist Jim Hall - who had worked with Ella Fitzgerald, Sonny Rollins, and Chico Hamilton - started his partnership with Evans during this time. Recorded over two sessions in April and May 1962, the two have that beautifully unspoken musical language of give and take; their recordings are refreshingly busy but also incredibly sparse. These two giants understand that intertwining their personalities and harmonic styles could create greatness. This notable re-issue is an all-analog production affair—AAA Mastered and cut live by audio guru Kevin Gray (Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Charles Mingus)—and it’s never sounded better. So dim the lights and let this music breathe with you; it’s an incredible listen and an essential album for both the novice listener wanting to dip their toe into the genre or the audiophile who needs to replace their well-worn vinyl copy. And depending on your day, it will color your mood in any emotive shade you desire.

Most listeners only became aware of Billy Preston as a solo artist after he signed to Apple Records in the late 1960s. But he'd been recording for a long time prior to that, dating back to when he was a teenager. This instrumental album for Sam Cooke's SAR label (issued on its sister Derby imprint) was cut in March 1963, when Preston was still going to high school in Los Angeles. The very fact that it's wholly instrumental indicates that it's pretty early in Preston's evolution, and though he does play some piano, it's really on the more uptempo, organ-dominated tunes where he hits the best groove. In truth, these aren't any great shakes even when it comes to soul organ instrumentals, but they have a nice swinging bounce that places them a cut above period background music, though they fall a good ways short of being spellbinding. The slower numbers (including covers of hits by Sam Cooke and Ray Charles) verge on easy listening; in contrast, the more urgent cuts are cookin', with bop, jazz, and gospel influences spicing up the soul/R&B recipe. (allmusic)

Billy Preston’s mastery of the organ was such that he was commissioned for collaboration by The Beatles, The Stones and countless others, his classic Hammond work a defining element of ‘Get Back.’ Released in 1964 when Preston was still 19, The Most Exciting Organ Ever mixes swinging originals such as ‘Low Down,’ ‘Soul Meetin,’ ‘The Octopus’ and ‘Billy’s Bag’ with expressively soulful covers of standards such as ‘If I Had A Hammer’ and ‘Don’t Let The Sun Catch You Crying,’ ably showcasing Preston’s awesome dexterity and unmatched ability on his chosen instrument. With every track a winner, the title rings true!

Among the rarest albums from Jim Kirchstein's Wisconsin-based Cuca label, 1964's Birdlegs & Pauline runs a playful gamut of girl group soul, sultry R&B, bluesy torch songs, and junk shop doo-wop. The Rockford, Illinois-based husband and wife duo struck gold with their Top 20 R&B hit "Spring" the year prior and frequently returned to Sauk City to see if there was any additional magic up Cuca's sleeve. Gathered here are the best of Birdlegs & Pauline's family album of songs, featuring several previously unissued songs found deep in the Cuca vault.

Among the rarest albums from Jim Kirchstein's Wisconsin-based Cuca label, 1964's Birdlegs & Pauline runs a playful gamut of girl group soul, sultry R&B, bluesy torch songs, and junk shop doo-wop. The Rockford, Illinois-based husband and wife duo struck gold with their Top 20 R&B hit "Spring" the year prior and frequently returned to Sauk City to see if there was any additional magic up Cuca's sleeve. Gathered here are the best of Birdlegs & Pauline's family album of songs, featuring several previously unissued songs found deep in the Cuca vault.

Original US pressing.

Womack returned to American in 1969 to cut My Prescription, also produced by Moman, at a time that the venue was becoming exceptionally hot with visits from the likes of Elvis, Dusty Springfield, Neil Diamond and others. Womack's sophomore album may however well be one of the most demonstrative showcases of studio and session crew, incandescent on a finely-honed program of classy and soulful performances, with the singer in full control. Tracks like 'How I Miss You Baby,' 'Arkansas State Prison' and 'I Can't Take It Like A Man' stand as some of Womack's greatest moments, and taken as a whole, My Prescription stands not only the man's first truly great solo album, but also a timeless slice of sophisticated southern soul-making.

UpTight is a soundtrack album by Southern soul band Booker T. & the M.G.'s for the film of the same title. The album features "Time Is Tight", the single version of which became a US Top 10 hit and a signature song for the band.

All Analog Process From The Original Master Tapes. Cut by Kevin Gray. Long out of print 1966 release. 1966’s And Now!’ is the first to feature long-term bassist Duck Dunn, who helps create a nightclub feel that alternates between some of their most aggressive recordings and most sultry.

All Analog Process From The Original Master Tapes. Cut by Kevin Gray. Long out of print 1965 Mono release. Featuring the legendary The Mar-Keys’ horn section. Includes the hit single "Soul Dressing". Limited Clear Vinyl Pressing

The house band at Memphis's legendary Stax Records, Booker T. & the M.G.'s played on some of the most legendary and unforgettable soul recordings in history. Originally released in 1962, the title-track of their debut LP Green Onions is arguably the most recognizable piece of instrumental pop and soul ever to be released; an absolute stone classic of a jam, with Booker T.'s organ at the fore. In addition to being a classic group, Booker T. & the M.G.'s were one of the first soul and rock groups to have both white and black members, and understandably their music is often associated with the Civil Rights Movement that was going on all around them in the American south of the 1960s. Essential American originals from Booker T. & the M.G.'s.

Debut studio album by the American instrumental R&B/funk band. The title single was a worldwide hit that has been covered by dozens of artists. 'Green Onions' was the first album released on the famous Stax label.

Record has some hairlines and a few superficial scratches.

Yet another collaboration between Sandro Brugnolini and Stefano Torossi, who also worked together on the masterpiece “Feelings”. “Musica per commenti sonori” consists of twelve amazing tracks that will excite lovers of the wildest funk, producers in search of rare breaks, and those with a penchant for the psycho-beat atmospheres of the sixties. One of the rarest library music releases ever, that’s never been re-released in any form until now!

“Musica per commenti sonori” is a cult series within the diverse world of Italian library music. In the late sixties and seventies, the small record label Costanza Records has published several releases precisely focusing on ‘background music’, including works of great composers such as Peppino De Luca, Roberto Pregadio, Franco Micalizzi, Vito Thomas, Giancarlo Thomas Puccio Roelens, Riccardo Luciani, and by the protagonists of this long-time due reissue: Sandro Brugnolini and Stefano Torossi.

The two musicians, who had also worked together on the masterpiece “Feelings” (1974), have often collaborated and delivered some of the best Italian library music of all time. “Musica per commenti sonori” is certainly one of the most interesting. On the two equally split sides of this LP, the first for Torossi and the second for Brugnolini (but it seems that this partition was exclusively dictated by legal demands), there are twelve amazing tracks that will excite lovers of the wildest funk, producers in search of rare breaks, and those with a penchant for the psycho-beat atmospheres of the sixties.

Among the most heated tracks featured on Torossi’s side, we can’t pass over the amazing “Sweet-Beat”, “Interrupted” (perhaps the best track of the album) and “Repetition” while “Polyphony”, “Motuproprio” and the closing track “Flyer” shine on Brugnolini’s. Virtually impossible to find, even at astonishing prices, this reissue puts back into the market one of the best examples of ‘The Italian Art of Library Music’: a genre worldwide envied and collected.

Originally from 1961, here is a searing soul tinged R'n'B pleader. This reissue is backed with the original flip, which also is a nice mover.

Monarch Pressing.
Upper and lower seams are torn.
Record has hairlines and a few superficial scratches.

Cut corner.

Limited Edition for Record Store Day 2019! Often quoted as being one of the greatest Soul records of all-time, “Open The Door To Your Heart” was Darrell Bank’s first release and biggest hit. A one-off UK issue copy on London Records recently sold for a huge £14,543 in 2014 and is testament to the quality of the song and recording. Here, for the first time ever, is the previously unissued instrumental version by the Funk Brothers - the Solid Hitbound musicians including Rudy Robinson, Uriel Jones, Eddie Willis, Bob Babbit and Dennis Coffey. This work of art will be reissued on the original Revilot label.

Cover close to VG+

Vinyl with scuffs and hairlines

Record is close to VG+.

This is an excellent 1964 soul-jazz album, recorded by Rudy Van Gelder.

Vinyl is Close to VG+.

Storage wear. Original US mono Indianapolis pressing.

US original. Cover with stickers and promo stamp

Vinyl with many scuffs and hairlines

Cover with long open seam split on top spine and shelf wear.

Writing on cover.

Sticker on label.
Ships in a label sleeve.

Japanese pressing with OBI!

Fame collectors know how rare this 45 is to find in the wild; it hardly ever happens. ‘Go Away With Me’ is a fabulously, catchy dance number from 1963 when the little-known Dixon wandered into the Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals and laid these track down. It is one of Dan Penn’s very early compositions and the nascent talent of the writer is in evidence here. The tuneful self-penned ‘Time Will Tell’ flip reveals another accomplished musical bent to the singer who, though he only cut two 45s, was revered as a major Muscle Shoals influence by the likes of Jimmy Johnson, Donnie Fritts and David Hood.