Originally released in 1970 on Montreal’s Trans-World label, Strawberry Soul is a rare and amazing instrumental deep funk album released by African-American ex-pat trumpeter Billy Martin. Martin also released an album called I Turn You On via Onion Records where his hit “Funky Feelin” also appeared. He was a local star on the Canadian R&B scene for a while, but disappeared without a trace after this amazing release. (Courtesy Music Direct)
This pseudo-Japanese concept album was the brainchild of prolific French production duo Jean Kluger and Daniel Vangarde. Based on a dance named the "Yamasuki", it was originally released in very small quantities on the independent label Biram in 1972, inadvertently becoming a useful educational tool for French students keen to learn Japanese. "Yamasuki" is a collection of beautiful pop songs, sung by a Japanese choir, offset to pounding drum patterns, vibes and fuzz guitar work-outs. The hip-hop-esque beats of ‘Yama Yama’ and ‘Kono Samuri’ have made the original LP a highly sought after relic for break collectors, the hip-hop market and beatmakers.
The Emotions are an American all female soul, disco, and R&B singing group. The group was formed in their current hometown of Chicago, Illinois in 1968, and originally consisted of the three Hutchinson sisters, all the children of Joseph and Lillian Hutchinson.
Their 1971 Stax LP, Untouched, features the classic break "Blind Alley," sampled hundreds of time, perhaps to best effect by Big Daddy Kane in "Ain't No Half Steppin."
We had this in the bins at Hall of Records for a whole ten minutes before a lucky customer snatched it up.
