Underground soul and funk from early-seventies LA — Henry Porter, Jechonias Williams and co, with one foot inside the Watts 103rd St. Rhythm Band — lovingly unearthed by Now Again.

Rare 45s by these standard-bearers of the funky, counter-cultural heavy rock-scene in mid-seventies Rhodesia. Watch Out was its anthem.

‘Phil Ranelin was a session trombonist for the likes of Steve Wonder before setting up the Tribe label with Wendell Harrison in Detroit… The title track is lusciously, greasily funky and stands in pretty stark contrast to the kind of airbrushed fusion that was in vogue at the time. Sounds From The Village is even better (and dirtier), showcasing Ranelin’s oily trombone gymnastics and a viciously fuzzed guitar solo… The obligatory Coltrane tribute He The One We All Knew is the kind of groove-based free-playing typical of Pharoah Sanders, though only really picks up when the band launch into post bop swing mode in the last six minutes or so… Beautiful stuff… Essential.’

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.

The long awaited follow-up to the superb compilation Loving On The Flipside, from ten years ago.
‘Contained within this anthology are some of the greatest soul ballads that go sweet with a beat. Most of these songs have never been compiled. Some have never been issued in any form. Some, like the Ledgends entry here, have been sampled to great success (in that case for Freddie Gibbs and Madlib’s Deeper). Some haven’t been sampled, but, like Herb Johnson’s entry, are patiently awaiting their day.’