Michael McDonald – If That’s What It Takes (1982) {1984, MFSL Remastered, CD-Quality + Hi-Res Vinyl Rip}

Michael McDonald - If That's What It Takes (1982) {1984, MFSL Remastered, CD-Quality + Hi-Res Vinyl Rip}

Michael McDonald – If That’s What It Takes (1982) {1984, MFSL Remastered, CD-Quality + Hi-Res Vinyl Rip}
Vinyl Rip | Hi-Res / FLAC Tracks / 24bit / 96kHz | CD-Quality / FLAC Tracks / 16bit / 44.1kHz
Full Scans Included
Total Size: 842 MB (Hi-Res) + 229 MB (CD-Quality) | 3% RAR Recovery
Label: Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab | Pressed in Japan | Cat#: MFSL 1-149 | Genre: Pop, Soul
Half-Speed Mastered

As the lead singer of the Doobie Brothers from 1975-1980, Michael McDonald’s soulful voice and skilled writing gave the group classics like “Minute by Minute,” “Real Love,” and the perfect “What a Fool Believes.” After the group’s 1980 album One Step Closer displayed a tension that was almost audible, it was no surprise that a split was in the works. Continue reading “Michael McDonald – If That’s What It Takes (1982) {1984, MFSL Remastered, CD-Quality + Hi-Res Vinyl Rip}”

Prince – 1999 (1982) [2019, Super Deluxe Edition, Remastered, 5CD + DVD]

Prince - 1999 (1982) [2019, Super Deluxe Edition, Remastered, 5CD + DVD]

Prince – 1999 (1982) [2019, Super Deluxe Edition, Remastered, 5CD + DVD]
EAC Rip | 5x CD | FLAC Image + Cue + Log
DVD | NTSC 4:3 (720×480) VBR | LPCM (2.0)
Full Scans Included
Total Size: 2.30 GB (CDs) + 4.67 GB (DVD) + 1.0 GB (Scans) | 3% RAR Recovery
Label: NPG Records / Warner Records | EU | Cat#: 603497850068 / R2 604571 | Genre: Funk, Soul

The reissue of the 1999 album is more ambitious than the already very good Purple Rain set. As well as the remastered album, the 5CD+DVD super deluxe offers two further discs of previously unreleased ‘vault’ material (23 tracks in total), a CD of seven-inch versions and promo edits, a complete live audio performance from the 1999 tour and a DVD containing another complete, previously unreleased concert from the 1999 tour. Continue reading “Prince – 1999 (1982) [2019, Super Deluxe Edition, Remastered, 5CD + DVD]”

Chuck Berry – Rock And Roll Music: Any Old Way You Choose It (2014) [Box Set]

Chuck Berry - Rock And Roll Music: Any Old Way You Choose It (2014) [Box Set]

Chuck Berry – Rock And Roll Music: Any Old Way You Choose It (2014) [Box Set]
EAC Rip | 16xCD | FLAC Tracks + Cue + Log | Basic Scans Included
Total Size: 6.42 GB (CDs) + 36.9 MB (Scans) | 3% RAR Recovery
Label: Bear Family | USA | Cat#: BCD 17273 PL | Genre: Rock & Roll, R&B

There have been countless Chuck Berry compilations but never one like Bear Family’s Rock and Roll Music: Any Old Way You Choose It, a mammoth 16-disc box containing his complete recorded works for Chess, Mercury, and Atco. Only the soundtrack to Taylor Hackford’s star-studded 1987 documentary Hail! Hail! Rock ‘n’ Roll is missing and it isn’t missed much, not in the face of this abundance. Continue reading “Chuck Berry – Rock And Roll Music: Any Old Way You Choose It (2014) [Box Set]”

Chaka Khan – Original Album Series (2009) [5CD Box Set]

Chaka Khan - Original Album Series (2009) [5CD Box Set]

Chaka Khan – Original Album Series (2009) [5CD Box Set]
EAC Rip | 5xCD | FLAC Image + Cue + Log | Full Scans Included
Total Size: 1.42 GB | 3% RAR Recovery
Label: Rhino | EU | Cat#: 8122 79836 0 | Genre: R&B, Adult Contemporary

Part of Warner Bros. UK and Rhino’s Original Album Series collection, this budget-priced set of Yvette Marie Stevens (Chaka Khan) jams features five complete albums, including Chaka (1978), Naughty (1980), What Cha’ Gonna Do for Me (1981), Chaka Khan (1982), and I Feel for You (1984). Continue reading “Chaka Khan – Original Album Series (2009) [5CD Box Set]”

Various Artists – Chicago Hit Factory: The Vee Jay Story 1953-1966 (2013) {10CDs, Box set}

Various Artists - Chicago Hit Factory: The Vee Jay Story 1953-1966 (2013) {10CDs, Box set}

Various Artists – Chicago Hit Factory: The Vee Jay Story 1953-1966 (2013) {10CDs, Box set}
EAC Rip | 10xCD | FLAC Tracks + Cue + Log | Scans Included
Total Size: 3.61 GB | 3% RAR Recovery
Label: Charly Records | Germany | Cat#: Charly 915 MB | Genre: Jazz, R&B

Motown is the black-owned Great Lakes R&B label synonymous with the ’60s but before their reign was Chicago’s Vee-Jay Records, ruling the charts for nearly a decade prior to the rise of the Detroit imprint. The tale of Vee-Jay has been told before in a variety of compilations, but Charly’s 2014 box set Chicago Hit Factory: The Vee-Jay Story 1953-1966 is easily the most comprehensive chronicle, lasting ten discs and encompassing all of the chapters in the label’s wild history. Continue reading “Various Artists – Chicago Hit Factory: The Vee Jay Story 1953-1966 (2013) {10CDs, Box set}”

Etta James – The Definitive Collection (2006)

Etta James - The Definitive Collection (2006)

Etta James – The Definitive Collection (2006)
EAC Rip | FLAC Tracks + Cue + Log | Full Scans Included
Total Size: 427 MB | 3% RAR Recovery
Label: Geffen / Ume | USA | Cat#: B0004010-02 | Genre: Blues, R&B

Whoa. There are many Etta James collections out there. The standard-bearers thus far have been the Chess Box and the Essential Etta James. This set attempts to do something else and goes deep into her catalog to dig out the gems from her years with Modern, Argo, Cadet, Chess, Warner Brothers, Island, and Private Music/BMG, and presents the full spectrum of her five-decade career. As such, there are many different kinds of songs Continue reading “Etta James – The Definitive Collection (2006)”

Ray Charles – Modern Sounds In Country And Western Music Vols 1 & 2 (2009) [Official Digital Release] [2019, Reissue]

Ray Charles - Modern Sounds In Country And Western Music Vols 1 & 2 (2009) [Official Digital Release] [2019, Reissue]

Ray Charles – Modern Sounds In Country And Western Music Vols 1 & 2 (2009) [Official Digital Release] [2019, Reissue]
FLAC Tracks / 16bit / 44.1kHz
Total Size: 422 MB | 3% RAR Recovery
Label: Concord Records | Genre: R&B

Ray Charles’s Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, Volumes 1 & 2 are major landmarks in American culture. Charles demonstrated that great songs with signature performances work in all genres. “I Can’t Stop Loving You” was a standard in country, soul and R&B, as he proved. Modern Sounds also brought America together during the Sixties’ civil rights movement. Charles became one of the first recording artists to have ownership and complete control of the masters. Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music has been listed among the greatest albums of all time, along with the Beatles, Dylan, Motown, Springsteen, Hendrix and the Beach Boys. Continue reading “Ray Charles – Modern Sounds In Country And Western Music Vols 1 & 2 (2009) [Official Digital Release] [2019, Reissue]”

Amy Winehouse – Frank (2003) [2008, Deluxe Edition]

Amy Winehouse - Frank (2003) [2008, Deluxe Edition]

Amy Winehouse – Frank (2003) [2008, Deluxe Edition]
EAC Rip | 2xCD | FLAC Image + Cue + Log | Full Scans Included
Total Size: 1.41 GB | 3% RAR Recovery
Label: Universal Island Records | EU | Cat#: 1768122 | Genre: R&B

If a series of unfortunate comparisons (like the ones to follow) cause listeners to equate British vocalist Amy Winehouse with Macy Gray, it’s only natural. Both come on like a hybrid of Billie Holiday and Lauryn Hill who’s had a tipple and then attempted one more late-night set at a supper club than they should have. Despite her boozy persona and loose-limbed delivery, though, Winehouse is an excellent vocalist possessing both Continue reading “Amy Winehouse – Frank (2003) [2008, Deluxe Edition]”

Marvin Gaye – You’re The Man (2019) [CD-Format + Hi-Res Vinyl Rip]

Marvin Gaye - You're The Man (2019) [CD-Format + Hi-Res Vinyl Rip]

Marvin Gaye – You’re The Man (2019) [CD-Format + Hi-Res Vinyl Rip]
2x Vinyl Rip | Hi-Res / FLAC Tracks / 24bit / 192kHz | CD-Format / FLAC Tracks / 16bit / 44.1kHz
Full Scans Included
Total Size: 2.81 GB (Hi-Res) + 746 MB (CD-Format) | 3% RAR Recovery
Label: Tamla / Motown | USA | Cat#: T316L / B0029345-01 | Genre: Funk, Soul

Upon its release in 2019, You’re the Man was billed as a “lost” album — an album intended to appear between Marvin Gaye’s 1971 masterwork What’s Going On and 1973’s Let’s Get It On. The story isn’t quite so simple. Even though Motown slated a release for an album, there’s no real indication that You’re the Man was ever close to completion, and this compilation — available as a double LP or digitally — doesn’t make a convincing case that it was. Continue reading “Marvin Gaye – You’re The Man (2019) [CD-Format + Hi-Res Vinyl Rip]”

Kool & The Gang – Gold (2005) [2008, Japanese SHM-CD]

Kool & The Gang - Gold (2005) [2008, Japanese SHM-CD]

Kool & The Gang – Gold (2005) [2008, Japanese SHM-CD]
EAC Rip | 2xCD | FLAC Image + Cue + Log | Full Scans Included
Total Size: 971 MB | 3% RAR Recovery
Label: Universal | Japan | Cat#: UICY-91044/5 | Genre: R&B, Funk, Disco

Believe it or not, Gold is the first compilation with U.S. distribution to provide a fair and rather thorough glance at Kool & the Gang’s career from 1969 through 1987. Dozens upon dozens of other sets either focus on one of the group’s distinct eras or attempt clumsily to appease those who want “Jungle Boogie” and “Joanna” in one spot. Continue reading “Kool & The Gang – Gold (2005) [2008, Japanese SHM-CD]”

Earl Klugh – Finger Paintings (1977) [1981, MFSL UHQR Remastered, CD-Format + Hi-Res Vinyl Rip]

Earl Klugh - Finger Paintings (1977) [1981, MFSL UHQR Remastered, CD-Format + Hi-Res Vinyl Rip]

Earl Klugh – Finger Paintings (1977) [1981, MFSL UHQR Remastered, CD-Format + Hi-Res Vinyl Rip]
Vinyl Rip | Hi-Res / FLAC Tracks / 24bit / 96kHz | CD-Format / FLAC Tracks / 16bit / 44.1kHz
Full Scans Included
Total Size: 821 MB (Hi-Res) + 294 MB (CD-Format) | 3% RAR Recovery
Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab | Japan JVC Pressed | Cat#: MFQR 1-025 | Genre: Jazz, Funk, Soul
Half-Speed Mastered

Continue reading “Earl Klugh – Finger Paintings (1977) [1981, MFSL UHQR Remastered, CD-Format + Hi-Res Vinyl Rip]”

Various Artists – The Late ’50s… The Top 10 Collection (1998) [4CD, Box Set]

Various Artists - The Late '50s... The Top 10 Collection (1998) [4CD, Box Set]

Various Artists – The Late ’50s… The Top 10 Collection (1998) [4CD, Box Set]
EAC Rip | 4xCD | FLAC Image + Cue + Log | Full Scans Included
Total Size: 955 MB | 3% RAR Recovery
Label: Reader’s Digest Music | USA | Cat#: RB7-074 | Genre: Oldies, Rock & Roll, R&B

They were the most popular songs, the songs you danced and romanced to. Here are 75 original hits by the original artists – the Top Ten hits of each year from 1955 to 1959 – from the greatest guys, gals and groups of that unforgettable era. Continue reading “Various Artists – The Late ’50s… The Top 10 Collection (1998) [4CD, Box Set]”

Various Artists – Hey! That’s My Song (2016)

Various Artists - Hey! That's My Song (2016)

Various Artists – Hey! That’s My Song (2016)
EAC Rip | 3xCD | FLAC Image + Cue + Log | Full Scans Included
Total Size: 788 MB | 3% RAR Recovery
Label: Not Now Music | EU | Cat#: NOT3CD232 | Genre: R&B, Rock & Roll, Oldies

Of course you already know these songs – all these songs; but maybe not these versions. It’s as if someone broke into your house while you were out and re-arranged the furniture. Continue reading “Various Artists – Hey! That’s My Song (2016)”

The Isley Brothers – 3 + 3 (1973) [2001, Remastered, Hi-Res SACD Rip]

The Isley Brothers - 3 + 3 (1973) [2001, Remastered, Hi-Res SACD Rip]

The Isley Brothers – 3 + 3 (1973) [2001, Remastered, Hi-Res SACD Rip]
SACD Rip | ISO / DSD / 1bit / 2.8224MHz | FLAC Tracks / 24bit / 88.2kHz | Stereo & Multichannel
Hybrid SACD | Full Scans Included
Total Size: 3.35 GB (ISO) + 1.99 GB (FLAC Mch) + 782 MB (FLAC Stereo) | 3% RAR Recovery
Label: Epic / Legacy | USA | Cat#: ZS 32453 | Genre: Soul, Funk

Recorded in 1973, 3 + 3 was a major turning point for the Isley Brothers. With this album, the Isleys moved their T-Neck label from Buddah to Epic/CBS (which became Epic/Sony in the early ’90s), and it was at Epic that they unveiled their new lineup. Lead singer Ronald Isley and his siblings O’Kelly and Rudolph remained, but the Isleys became a sextet instead of a trio when cousin Chris Jasper and younger brothers Ernie and Marvin were added. Continue reading “The Isley Brothers – 3 + 3 (1973) [2001, Remastered, Hi-Res SACD Rip]”