Retrieved from around 2010 — ‘the best album Prince made in the last two decades of his life’, according to The Guardian. ‘From its opening title track — stark, slow-motion funk in which Prince casts a weary eye over the state of the nation, a spiritual younger cousin of Sign o’ the Times — it gradually reveals itself to be of completely different quality to anything he deigned to release at the time: a collection of largely brilliant, socially aware songs. It’s often inspired by early 70s soul, most notably golden-era Curtis Mayfield.’

The Deluxe edition includes a CD, Blu-ray, poster, book, the works.

Choice sides from the recent LP reissue.

Legendary Harlem soul and funk from 1973 — the RAT was the house-band at the Apollo —  with bags of lo-fi charm and sublimated Isaac Hayes to its ‘unabashedly sincere songs that perfectly encapsulate the era’s heady milieu of black pride and cultural awareness, and the plaintive emotion of struggling to realise dreams whilst navigating a city and neighbourhood in decline.’
Painstakingly prepared according to the remit of this series; with excellent notes.

Not disco at all — rather a fully rounded excursion into mid-70s dancefloor funk and jazz-funk, by an orchestra of crack NYC musicians originally known as the Smokin’ Shades Of Black.
Like previous Jazzman revives by Sounds of the City Experience and Ricardo Marrero, this reissue saves from obscurity some wonderful music wilfully squandered at the time in the service of tax scamming. The booklet tells the full story.

Mr Pitiful at his most powerful, with the MGs in 1965.

Killer deep soul from Louisiana.