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James Gilstrap – Love Talk (1976) (Roxbury Records RLX 105)

James Gilstrap – Love Talk
1976 Roxbury Records RLX 105

Jim Gilstrap is better known as a backup singer, but Stevie Wonder fans might know him for singing the first verse of “You Are The Sunshine Of My Life”, which also makes him the first voice you hear on the epic Talking Book.  His name appears on tons of albums. You can see a partial list of his session credits here , where you can see that he was very busy in the 1970s, working in the worlds of rock, soul, jazz, and funk.  The fact that Gene Page did the arranging on this record is also worth noting. This album, which has never appeared on CD, is a nice, short set of soulful disco-funk, and the mellow version of Todd Rundgren’s “Hello, It’s Me” has me wondering if Prince ever covered the song on solo piano.James Gilstrap – Love Talk (1976) (Roxbury Records RLX 105)

Billy Paul – 360 Degrees of Billy Paul (1972)

Billy Paul – 360 Degrees Of Billy Paul
1972 Philadelphia International Records ZX 31793
Vinyl rip in 24-bit/96kHz | FLAC |  Art scans at 300 dpi
932 MB (24/96) + 297 MB (16/44) |  Genre: Soul, Funk

Dr. Vibes 12 Days of Christmas – Day 10 – Second day in a row that I’m featuring somebody who I’ve wanted to feature here for years, but never have. Billy Paul, who passed only a few years ago,  without a doubt had the biggest hit of his career off this record, and one of the most famous soul hits of the 70s, “Me and Mrs. Jones”.  They had a thing goin’ on.  Lots of people with lots of different memories tucked away between the notes of that classic.    The whole record is prime cut Philly soul from start to finish though.  Some great Gamble & Huff originals and the cover tunes are extraordinary – Carole King’s “It’s Too Late” and Elton John’s “Your Song”, both covered by scads of other artists, get a top-shelf Billy Paul treatment here.

Billy Paul – 360 Degrees of Billy Paul (1972)

Universal Togetherness Band – Universal Togetherness Band (2015)


Universal Togetherness Band – Universal Togetherness Band
Vinyl rip in 24 bit 192 khz | Art at  300 dpi
24-bit 192 khz – 1.57 GB | 24 bit 96 khz – 838 MB | 281 MB 16-bit 44.1 khz
Numero Groupo NUM57 | Released 2015 | Funk – Soul – Jazz-Funk

Dr. Vibes’ Twelve Days of Christmas – Day 4:  Numero Group are the reigning kings of releasing “lost” music. I have joked in the past, among select company of course, that on occasion some of that music probably could have remained lost. But it is clearly a labor of love for them, and the fine attention to detail in the research, liner notes, rare photos, and decent audio restoration and mastering more than compensates for the occasional lackluster release (and, of course, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure etc.) But whereas a great deal of Numero’s lost music is usually comprised  7″ singles by singers or groups who may have had a local or regional fan base, released by indie labels in numbers small enough to be destined for 21st-century audio archeologists, The Universal Togetherness Band is another story – an entire album of material, recorded in pristine quality as a student project through the audio engineering program at Columbia College in Chicago (a small arts college with a strong practical, ‘hands-on’ component, for kids who can’t afford the elite Art Institute down the street..).  The end result was top-notch jazz-funk-disco-soul that would have fit nicely with any of the groups on the De-Lite Records roster or a similar outfit.  Universal Togetherness Band – Universal Togetherness Band (2015)

Gene Chandler & Jerry Butler – Gene & Jerry, One & One (1970)

Gene Chandler & Jerry Butler – Gene & Jerry, One & One
Vinyl rip in 24 bit 96 khz | Art at  300 dpi
Mercury Records SR 61330 | Released 1970 | Soul – Funk

Here we have two masters of soul in a short collection of gems which, to my knowledge, has never been issued on CD.  I have featured the laid-back funk track “Sho’ Is Groovin’” on the radio and in one of my podcasts, but a person could pretty much take their pick of great tunes here.   The album is overshadowed a bit by Butler’s magnificent “Sings Assorted Sounds with Friends and Relatives,” released the same year (with some arrangements by Donny Hathaway) but there’s no reason for soul fans to skip this.

Gene Chandler & Jerry Butler – Gene & Jerry, One & One (1970)

One Way featuring Al Hudson – Music / Now That I’ve Found You (1979) (12″ extended single)

One Way featuring Al Hudson – Music / Now That I Found You (12″ extended single)
Vinyl rip in 24 bit 192 khz | Art at  300 dpi
24 bit 96 khz – 312 MB | 108 MB 16-bit 44.1 khz
MCA Records L33-1853 White Label Promo | Released 1979  | Disco / Soul / Funk

I’ve been too busy to blog but not to boogie.  Here is a quick snack, an extended mix of the jam “MUSIC” from One Way (featuring Al Hudson), featured on their first LP.  The B Side, “Now That I Found You” is a pop-crossover number and kind of a throw-away IMHO.  The A-side is what you want here.  Great track!

A Music 8:00
B Now That I Found You 7:55One Way featuring Al Hudson – Music / Now That I’ve Found You (1979) (12″ extended single)