Originally released in 1977, American soul-funk-R&B group Greenflow’s Solutions is one of those rare marvels – a privately pressed soul-funk record that lives up to its mystique, an album whose magic is matched by its seemingly unknown provenance – where did this gem appear from, and how did it magic itself into being? There isn’t too much to know about Solutions. Greenflow was the Californian vision of Art Greene, a trombone player and singer who formed the group sometime in the mid 1970s with his sister, vocalist Eleanora. They dutifully played the circuit, blasting out R&B numbers and originals in clubs. The group also took part in United Services Organizations (USO) tours to perform for US military deployed over the world – one tour, in 1976, took them to Japan. One of the members of Greenflow for that tour was bass player Rick Bozzo, who also worked with Meatloaf in his early years, when the latter was the young Marvin Lee Aday, in the group Popcorn Blizzard. Bozzo doesn’t appear on Solutions, which was recorded after Greenflow’s Japanese tour, but for the album session the line-up does feature Allan Talbert on sax and Joe Banks on trumpet, both of whom, it appears, had connections with jazz organ player, Wattstax musical director and Inner City and Parlour Records owner, George Semper; Talbert, it seems, was also in one of Arthur Lee’s early bands, before the Lee formed legendary psych-pop gang Love. So, there are some heavyweight players here – but the real test is what’s hiding deep in the grooves. Solutions is a mercurial album, one of rare charm and spirit. Some might already know one of the album’s key cuts, the deep, sensual “I Gotcha”, with its winding ‘doo doo doo’ melodies, from its inclusion on Numero Group’s WTNG 89.9FM: Solid Bronze compilation; lush and lithe, it’s a dream spirit of a song. “No Other Life Without You” is a sweet swoon, a slow burning boy-girl duet; “Sugar Daddy” is a funked-up streetwise prowl; “Every Single Time I Dream” is a lover’s vision, with a sly, snakecharming flute writhing through the verses before the song opens out with gentle droplets of tinkling Rhodes. Solutions fades out with the lush AOR soul of “I Wanna Hold You”, a righteous drift of longing and languor. Long out of print, selling for upwards of 300€ on the rare occasions that an original copy actually surfaces, and only previously reissued on CD in Japan, as part of Yusuke Ogawa’s legendary Deep Jazz Reality series, Imara’s public service of 2021 is making Solutions available again for the discerning buyer, burnished to a gorgeous shine thanks to Jörg Burger’s incomparable mastering. More

Everybody's still talking about the good ol 'days! A rough and rugged collection of ol' dirty classics that have inspired swarms of killer beats. A head nod to the sounds of Shaolin, the twelve chambers of Shanghai'd Soul have moved lyrical chefs and production geniuses alike to compose some of their most ominous hip-hop. Gods and Earths a like will appreciate the raw funk and smoother-than-a-Lexus soul that come to gether like Voltron on this special compilation. As sampled b y J. Cole, The Game, Cappadonna, The Avalanches, Kanye West, Hudson Mohawke, Anderson.Paak, Loyle Corner, Meek Mill, T.I., Quavo, Danny Brown, and hundreds more.

Tracklist
1.1THEME FROM THE GODFATHER
1.2BOUND
1.3WHAT MORE CAN I SAY
1.4TO MAKE YOU HAPPY
1.5CRY SUGAR
1.6NOBODY KNOWS
1.7DIFFERENT STROKES
1.8MUSIC MAKES ME HIGH
1.9I GOT'CHA
1.10GOD'S LOVE
1.11MARIYA
1.12CAN YOU LOSE BY FOLLOWING GOD More

Recorded in 1971 by a 27-year-old pastor and an after school
program choir, Like A Ship is a stirring and powerful meditation
on the wayward aftermath of the Civil Rights Movement.
Tracked with the help of Chess/Cadet maestros Gene Barge, Phil
Upchurch, and Richard Evans, the album is a mix of euphoric
gospel and Mayfield-esque politcal soul, with sleigh bells, hand
claps, and jazzy piano stabs. Sampled by T.I., Kanye, and Khalid,
Barrett created a rapturous, crossover gospel classic that's still
wildly relevant.
More

Numero's second bundle of cover 45s is all things soulful. The Rotterdam-based Another Taste electrifies Maxx Traxx's 1984 Chicago boogie grail "Don't Touch It," which makes its debut on the 7" format here. Colemine Records' Say She She delivers a glamorous rendition of Jim Spencer's yacht-disco hit "Wrap Myself Up In Your Love." Columbia Recording artist Leon Bridges effortlessly transforms Pastor T.L. Barrett's "Like A Ship," updating the 50 year old gospel soul classic for the 21st century. All three are housed in a newly imagined Numero custom sleeve, reflecting the many shades of our ongoing Eccentric Soul 45 imprint. More

Clear Blue Vinyl!

Numero's second bundle of cover 45s is all things soulful. The Rotterdam-based Another Taste electrifies Maxx Traxx's 1984 Chicago boogie grail "Don't Touch It," which makes its debut on the 7" format here. Colemine Records' Say She She delivers a glamorous rendition of Jim Spencer's yacht-disco hit "Wrap Myself Up In Your Love." Columbia Recording artist Leon Bridges effortlessly transforms Pastor T.L. Barrett's "Like A Ship," updating the 50 year old gospel soul classic for the 21st century. All three are housed in a newly imagined Numero custom sleeve, reflecting the many shades of our ongoing Eccentric Soul 45 imprint. More

Ein Doppelalbum, das sich auf die 2012 mit 45 7" Singles erschienene Box-Set Compilation "Eccentric Soul: Omnibus" bezieht und zusammenfasst. "Minibus" versammelt 25 dieser Songs aus der amerikanischen Soul-Diaspora und verbindet die Punkte zwischen dem Harmony Group Sound, Funk, Disco und modernem Soul, 1966-1980. Deluxe Klappcover mit zahlreichen Notizen und Fotos illustriert. More

Lost in the soot and fall out from Youngstown, Ohio's infamous Black Monday steel industry collapse was Tony March's cross-generational Tammy label. From its early days as a doo wop powerhouse to their last gasps chasing disco hits, Tammy unintentionally documented Youngstown's small but prolific Black music scene. This single LP surveys the label's best R&B, soul, funk, and disco, with 13 tracks from Ice Cold Love, Lynn Minor, J.C. & the Soul Angels, The Snapshots, Iron Knowledge, Roy Jefferson, and Steel City Band. Housed in a deluxe tip-on jacket, with a booklet crammed full of notes and ephemera, The Tammy Label continues Numero's 20 year tradition of preserving regional Ohio music. More

A trailblazing amalgam of elevator-friendly R&B and synth-forward smooth jazz, Tony Palkovic’s 1986 debut goes down easy as a huff of dentist-issued nitrous. Born With A Desire’s silky grooves and bursts of drum machine 1.0 endure as an ’80s vision of future earth where 8-bit graphics and pastel palettes swath a synthesizer Shangri La. More

Atlanta's original Eccentric Soul labels, Jesse Jones' Tragar & N ote concerns captured critical regional R&B, soul, and funk from 1968-1976. Compiling 34 tracks and sprawled across two LPs, this 15 year anniversary deluxe edition appears on vinyl for the first time. Featuring rareas- hens-teeth 45s by Eula Cooper, Tee Fletcher, Richard Cook, Frankie & Robert, Tokay Lewis, Nathan Wilkes, Chuck Wilder, Bill Wright, Sonia Ross, Sandy Gaye, Four Tracks, Young Divines, and several others we can't fit on a h ype sticker. More

Twin readings from Joy Division's post-punk gospels, on 7" for the first time. Codeine's 1994 take on "Atmosphere" were the New York slowcore band's final recorded moments, a glum, if not melodic, take on the Salford quartet's requiem to solitude. On the flip, Dallas' Bedhead tackle the opener for Unknown Pleasures, reimagining "Disorder" as jangly indie rock. Housed in an elegant black and silver sleeve, with embossed braille lettering for the visually impaired. More

Twin readings from Joy Division's post-punk gospels, on 7" for the first time. Codeine's 1994 take on "Atmosphere" were the New York slowcore band's final recorded moments, a glum, if not melodic, take on the Salford quartet's requiem to solitude. On the flip, Dallas' Bedhead tackle the opener for Unknown Pleasures, reimagining "Disorder" as jangly indie rock. Housed in an elegant black and silver sleeve, with embossed braille lettering for the visually impaired. More

From 1967-1980, Kansas City's Forte Records captured nearly every iteration of popular Black music; basement beehiver-y from The Ray-Ons and Four Darlings, funky soul from Gene Williams Lee Harris, Louis Chachere, and The Fantastiks, downtempo disco ballads from James W hitney and Sharon Revoal, and the newly independent work of James Brown's former Soul Sister # 1 Marva Whitney. Compiled here are 28 of the label's enduring sides, contextualized with copious photos, ephemera, and essay, all housed in heavy weight gatefold jacket. Who knows how to do "The Hen"? More