40 "plus" year (1981-2023) Ruby Red Milestone Anniversary Edition.

Omnivore Recordings Announces Reissue of The Mighty Clouds Of Joy’s “Kickin’” LP | Coming Dec. 8th, 2023.1975 R&B, Gospel Classic Includes Single Edit of the #1 Billboard Disco Action Track “Mighty High” Plus Two Bonus Tracks. October 30, 2023: On December 8, Omnivore Recordings will release the reissue of The Mighty Clouds Of Joy’s 1975 R&B, Gospel classic album, Kickin’. This reissue contains the original album, plus the rare, single versions of the #1 hit “Mighty High” and the ever present “You Are So Beautiful.” Packaging contains a new essay from Tim Dillinger-Curenton, a music historian with a focus on the worlds of gospel, soul, contemporary Christian, and women’s music. Kickin’ is a look back at music evolution in the mid ’70s and demonstrates how music transcends genres.

2023 has certainly kept us on our toes at BBE Music, with no shortage of exciting happenings. Releasing more than 100 projects this year, we're thrilled to highlight our team's favorite musical selections. With each beat and rhythm, we've sequenced beloved tunes from yesteryears to bring back to life timeless classics. Historic reissues on BBE - available both digitally and physically - highlight these masterpieces that have now been remastered. All thanks to the Grammy- nominated The Carvery Studio, tracks such as cannons from Perception / Today Records, gems from Strata Records, highlife from Asona Records, J Jazz series expansions, and so much more all unveiled a new, captivating sonic experience.

Legendary American singer and pianist Leon Russell has entertained the world for five decades, getting his start as an in-demand Wrecking Crew session player and playing on hundreds of hit records before he began releasing his own albums in 1967. Leon Russell's latest studio album, titled Life Journey, will be released on April 1, 2014. This 12-track album features newly-written, original songs and Russell's turns on classics that resonate with the two-time GRAMMY® winner as important to his musical trajectory. The album is produced by Tommy LiPuma and executive produced by Elton John, with whom Russell most recently collaborated for 2010's critically acclaimed album, The Union.

As its title implies, this is a spiritually based collaboration from three distinct – even disparate – yet surprisingly harmonious voices. Mostly, but not entirely acoustic, the trio of rootsy singers trade lead vocals on smooth jazz/blues ("Bessie's Dream"), folk-blues ("Good Stuff"), Delta blues ("Rolling Log"), gospel (an a cappella version of Sister Rosetta Tharpe's "Rock Daniel"), and combinations of those genres. On paper it sounds scattershot, but in actuality this is a thoughtfully paced combination of styles, united by three affecting voices. Eric Bibb's smoother Keb' Mo' approach meshes surprisingly well with Rory Block's more penetrating Delta croon and Maria Muldaur's sassy, sexy, throaty growl.

This two-disc set does a wonderful job of presenting the nearly 50-year recording history of Art, Charles, Aaron, and Cyril Neville – the Neville Brothers – without sacrificing the pacing that makes for a good and varied listening experience. Opening with "Mardi Gras Mambo" from 1954 by Art's first group, the Hawketts, then picking up on a couple of Aaron's early singles, the Allen Toussaint-produced "Over You" and Aaron's unofficial theme song, "Tell It Like It Is," before moving on to the bayou funk of the Meters for "Cissy Strut" and "Look-Ka Py Py," Gold gets things exactly right. All four brothers actually didn't appear on record together until 1976's marvelous The Wild Tchoupitoulas album, which is represented here by "Brother John" and "Meet de Boys on the Battlefront." They officially became known as the Neville Brothers a year later, and their hybrid mix of funk, soul, gospel, rock, country, and New Orleans street music is both inspired and fun, with tracks like "Fire on the Bayou" and "Hey Pocky Way" quickly becoming Louisiana classics. Other highlights on this fine collection include a scorching live take of "Voodoo" from 1994's Live on Planet Earth release, an impassioned version of the Melodians' Jamaican hymn "Rivers of Babylon," and the 21st century psychedelic funk of "Walkin' in the Shadow of Life" from the 2004 album of the same title. Until a box set comes along, this two-disc compilation stands as the best overall introduction to the long history of the Neville Brothers, who show no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

Aaron Neville's Soulful Christmas is at once familiar yet progressive, traditional, prayerful, heartfelt, fun, and sexy. Neville lends his angelic voice to timeless holiday standards, resulting in one of the more compelling American holiday albums of the 1990s. Neville's treatment of classics such as "O Holy Night," "Silent Night," and "O Little Town of Bethlehem" is absolutely stirring, and he infuses these lullabies with so much warmth and sincerity that they can even touch the hardest, most cynical audiences. Neville also covers more contemporary tunes, such as "Please Come Home for Christmas," and augments his warm renditions of "The Christmas Song" and "White Christmas" with classic pop arrangements, filled with lush strings, piano, and even saxophone.

"Please, Please, Please"; "Think"; "Try Me";"The Amazing James Brown" plus four bonus tracks.An early version of The Famous Flames (with ever evolving name changes) was formed by Bobby Byrd in 1953 featuring among others, the one and only James Brown.

This album takes a look at the music of the era, the music that lead to the mod movement. Music that inspired those young people to make music of their own, with the later emergence of bands like The Small Faces and The Who. The 75 tracks included here all have a place in mod mythology, some better known than others. Soul, blues, jazz and R'n'B all spiced the pre mod scene to create a tasty dish for discerning music fans.

Digitally remastered two CD set containing a pair of albums by the R&B/Soul act. This package brings together two classic albums by Rose Royce, released by Whitfield Records in 1978 and 1979, including the vocal talents of the great Gwen Dickey. Strikes Again features the huge global hit single 'Love Don't Live Here Anymore' (subsequently covered by Madonna and Jimmy Nail), which reached # 2 in the UK.

After signing with Reprise in 1975, Al Jarreau has become a master of both studio and stage. He is one of the most exciting and critically acclaimed performers of our time. This recordingis his first-ever holiday album. Christmas includes the singer's disctinctive vocal spin on a dozen yuletide classics.

Earth, Wind & Fire were one of the most musically accomplished, critically acclaimed, and commercially popular funk bands of the '70s. Conceived by drummer, bandleader, songwriter, kalimba player, and occasional vocalist Maurice White, EWF's all-encompassing musical vision used funk as its foundation, but also incorporated jazz, smooth soul, gospel, pop, rock & roll, psychedelia, blues, folk, African music, and, later on, disco. Lead singer Philip Bailey gave EWF an extra dimension with his talent for crooning sentimental ballads in addition to funk workouts; behind him, the band could harmonize like a smooth Motown group, work a simmering groove like the J.B.'s, and improvise like a jazz fusion outfit.

Chaos and the Calm is the debut studio album by English singer-songwriter James Bay. It was released on 23 March 2015 through Republic Records. The Official Charts Company reported that Chaos and the Calm debuted at number one in the UK chart on Sunday 29 March 2015, having sold over 64,000 copies in the first week of release.

Rock A Shacka have pulled together a classy compilation here which presents covers of classic soul, funk and disco given a smooth reggae re-rub. It's all silky and steady, as the likes of Barry White, The Ohio Players, McFadden & Whitehead and The Temptations all get the cover treatment from a varied cast of groups and players. The version of 'Skin Tight' is especially worth checking with its slick organ licks neatly re-positioning the seriously funky original. If you love reggae, funk or soul, you're going to find plenty to love about this one.

As 1968 drew to a close the golden age of girl groups had seemingly been and gone. The Shangri-Las, the Ronettes and the Chiffons hadn’t had a sniff of a hit record since 1966. Then along came the ominous ‘Condition Red’, a cleverly-produced psychodrama enacted by the Goodees, a trio of foxy teenagers from the roster of Stax Records’ small rock-oriented Hip offshoot. The group comprised childhood pals Sandra Jackson, Judy Williams and Kay Evans, all residents of the Sherwood Forest neighbourhood of East Memphis, Tennessee.The group’s previous single, ‘For A Little While’, penned and produced by Stax’s top songwriting duo Isaac Hayes and David Porter, was one of the last sessions to feature the original Bar-Kays, who perished alongside Otis Redding in that fateful plane crash in December 1967.