45s of It’s Just Love by John Andrews and Look Away by The Shirelles are both gold-plated dancefloor classics; so it’s thrilling to present these interpretations by their co-composer — the great Valerie Simpson, of Ashford & Simpson —  out here for the first time.

Classic rocksteady. A sweet but urgent overture by Wentworth Vernal and Lloyd Parks, arranged by Tommy McCook.
As per the original 45 coupling, The Supersonics return on the flip for the surging, funky Soul Remedy, with tight, bluesy guitar, and Winston Wright blasting away on Hammond.
Beautifully done by Far East.

Heavy Lloydie Coxsone production (with Sly, Horsemouth, Malawi, Bagga, Chinna, McCook and the rest), featuring Shaka favourites like Homeward Bound and Voice Of The Poor. Tougher than the classic Black Star Liner album.

The bees knees in soulful rocksteady. The elegant, poised singer rides killer Studio One rhythms by Jackie Mittoo and co, featuring magisterial soloing and beautiful backing vocals. Unmissable classics like How Can I Love Someone and Don’t Know. It’s a must.

Their third LP; generally considered their best. From 1970, with the military crackdown in full swing, and Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil already in exile.

Ebullient Troutman business, great throughout, with exemplary Zapped funk, fine ballads and a couple of irresistible rare grooves. CD from Expansion.

Previously unissued underground rock from 1969, Rockford, Illinois.

‘Eleven pieces recorded over the past year, moving between the small town of Alfred in upstate New York, and Beirut; stepping out, as if onto ice, into a new life on a new continent during a time of tragedy, turmoil, and upheaval.
‘Unfamiliar instruments, new materials and new sounds delicately build on Yara’s intimate style, with its backbone of homemade mechanical music boxes and personal archive of family recordings. She explores the peculiar resonance of the metallophone, and delves into her collection of deconstructed toy pianos, guiding her music into ever more surreal territories… dreamlike, fragile, fragmentary, and strangely timeless.’

From 1982, with his boom tune Buttercup. Arrangements by Teena Marie; Jamaican pressing and sleeve. CA was at Motown from 1972 — behind the scenes on Songs In The Key Of Life, for example.