Legendary Northern — the last record played at the Wigan Casino — this archetypal heart-on-sleeve stomper was originally pressed in 1965 by Motown as a handful of promotional copies on its imprint SOUL. Most of these were destroyed soon afterwards, though people say Berry Gordy has a copy, and another was sold in 2009 for just over twenty-five grand.

‘The best black, gay, one-eyed junkie piano genius New Orleans has ever produced,’ says Dr John.
The first half of this disc gathers all the sevens Booker cut under his own name at the start of his career, for labels like Imperial, Chess, Ace and Peacock, already evincing his inimitable blend of R&B, gospel, blues, boogie woogie and jazz. The second half features legends like Dave Bartholomew and Joe Tex, during the same period, with Booker as sideman. The likes of Lee Allen, Alvin ‘Red’ Tyler chip in.

Pure loveliness, deep and stately.
Plus Patsy dishing it straight back to Johnnie Taylor on the flip, with a reworking of Blues In The Night.

Great New York latin soul LP from 1969, with Ricardo Marrero and Bobby Marin — check Barbara With The Kooky Eyes — plus unissued tracks by a supergroup including Tito Puente and Louie Ramirez.

Soul, Politics, Spirituality & Racially Encoded Girl-Boy Gun Porno In Jazz, 1967-2019.

A brazenly irresistible blend of unlikely secret weapons and stone cold classic killers, Soul Jazz style and fashion.
Deliriously creative wordplay overflowing some of the mightiest reggae rhythms of all time.
Surely a must.

West Coast soul from the Bihari brothers’ Kent and Modern labels, out of Los Angeles.
Plenty of groovy southern blues, besides shots of gospel and Motown.