What It Is! Funky Soul and Rare Grooves Box Set (4 CDs)

91 tracks deep and five hours long, this multi-artist 4-CD set mines rare, renowned, legendary, and little-known grooves from the vaults of Atlantic, Atco, and Warner Bros Records! These hip-shakin' grooves, which count among themselves an alternate mix of "Rock Steady" by Aretha Franklin, come with an 80-page book with plenty more rare content!

DISC 1:
1. Spreadin' Honey - The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band
2. Soul Finger - The Bar-Kays
3. Shadow of Your Smile, The - Brother Jack McDuff
4. Gangster of Love (Parts 1 and 2) - Jimmy Norman
5. Memphis Train, The - Rufus Thomas
6. Get Out of My Life Woman - Grassella Oliphant
7. Live Right Now - Eddie Harris
8. Pig Snoots Part 1 - Natural Bridge Bunch
9. Soul Sound System - Freedom Sounds/Wayne Henderson
10. Snatching It Back - Clarence Carter
11. Stoned Soul - Artie Christopher
12. Getting the Corners - The T.S.U. Toronadoes
13. Sexy Coffee Pot - Tony Alvon & The Belairs
14. Don't Come Around Here Anymore - Mark Putney
15. Keep on Dancing - The Commodores
16. Right on Brother--Part 1 - South Shore Commission
17. Pop, Popcorn Children - Eldridge Holmes
18. It's Your Thing - Cold Grits
19. It's All in Your Mind - Soul Angels
20. Funky John - Johnny Cameron & The Camerons
21. Help Me Make up My Mind - Joyce Jones
22. Rock Me Baby - Lou Johnson
23. Sing a Simple Song - Noble Knights
24. Do You Dig It - Titus Turner
25. Funky Canyon - Phil Moore Jr.
26. Jam Jam - Fabulous Counts
27. Tampin - The Rhine Oaks

DISC 2:
1. Gossip - Cyril Neville
2. Somebody in the World For You - The Mighty Hannibal
3. Stanga - Little Sister
4. Jumpin' Jack Flash - Ananda Shankar
5. Deacon, The - Brute Force
6. Sookie Sookie - Don Covay & The Jefferson Lemon Blues Band
7. Right On - Clarence Wheeler & The Enforcers
8. Don't Worry If There's a Hell Below We're All Gonna Go - Curtis Mayfield
9. Stepping Stones - Johnny Harris
10. I'm Just Like You - 6ix
11. Funky Thing Part 1 - The Unemployed
12. Messie Bessie - Shirley Scott
13. Fairchild - Willie West
14. Cold Bear - The Gaturs
15. I Can't Get Next to You - Mongo Santamaria
16. Feelin' Alright - Lulu
17. Soul Bowl - The Memphis Horns
18. Tuane - Hammer
19. Take It Off Part 2 - Johnny Tolbert & De Thangs
20. Seeds of Life - Harlem River Drive - (featuring Eddie Palmieri/Jimmy Norman)
21. Engine Number Nine - Wilson Pickett
23. What So Never The Dance Parts 1 & 2

DISC 3:
1. Hard Times - Baby Huey & The Baby Sitters
2. What So Never the Dance (Part 1 & 2) - Houseguests
3. Headless Heroes - Eugene McDaniels
4. Spinning Wheel - Wade Marcus
5. Bad Tune - Earth, Wind & Fire
6. Mr. Cool - Rasputin's Stash
7. Don't Cha Hear Me Callin' to Ya - Junior Mance
8. Hang on in There - The Stovall Sisters
9. Funky Nassau Part 2 - The Beginning Of The End
10. Whatever's Fair - Mark Holder & the Positives
11. Face It - Ed Robinson
12. Wah Wah Man - Young-Holt Unlimited
13. Rock Steady - Aretha Franklin (Alternate mix)
14. Won't Nobody Listen - Black Haze Express
15. Going Down - Allen Toussaint
16. Suavecito - Malo
17. You Gotta Know Whatcha Doin' - Charles Wright
18. Mo Jo Hanna - Tami Lynn
19. Ridin' Thumb - King Curtis
20. Almendra - Macondo
21. Nuki Suki - Little Richard

DISC 4:
1. Getting Uptown (To Get Down) - United 8
2. 8 Days on the Road - Howard Tate
3. Moon Shadow - LaBelle
4. Let It Crawl - Society's Bag
5. Wanaoh - Black Heat
6. If It Was Good Enough For Daddy - Clarence Reid
7. Everything I Do Gonna Be Funky - Claudia Linnear
8. Cosmic Sea - The Mystic Moods
9. Kissing My Love - Cold Blood
10. Flute Thing - Seatrain
11. Chug, Chug Chug-a-Lug (Push N' Shove) - The Meters
12. Funky to the Bone - Freddie & Henchi
13. Try It Again - Bobby Byrd
14. Teasin' - Cornell Dupree
15. Rite Away (Everybody Wanna Get Rich) - Dr. John
16. Chicken Heads - Oscar Brown Jr.
17. Rien Na Va Plus - Funk Factory
18. Cajun Moon - Herbie Mann
19. Improve - Darrow Fletcher
20. Riding High - Faze-O
21. Four Play - Fred Wesley & The Horny Horns
22. California Dreamin' - Eddie Hazel

Released October 2006

Too many reissue compilations are content to merely slice 'n' dice familiar catalog choices in not particularly original ways. But this four-disc, 91-track trove of obscure '70s R&B and funk from Warner-distributed labels great and small argues there's still treasure to be gleaned from studio vaults--a five-hour groove-fest that's as interested in shaking booty as in opening ears. Even the genre's groundbreaking usual suspects (Wilson Pickett, the Bar-Kays, Curtis Mayfield, Earth, Wind & Fire, et al) are represented by selections that aren't immediately familiar, while Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin serves up a radically different, previously unreleased take of "Rock Steady." Still other stars contribute their sonic touches to some of the lesser-known cuts, as witnessed by the patent trippiness of Sly Stone alter-egos 6ix and Stanga on "I'm Just Like You" and "Little Sister," respectively; the stark, party-not-so-hearty contrast of the Mayfield-written-and-produced "Hard Times" by Baby Huey & Baby Sisters; and the Meters' version of "Tampin'," released under the moniker of the Rhine Oaks.

Sequenced in rough chronological order, it's a savvy window into a musical evolution as well, with the rhythmic guitars, organ swells, and horn flourishes of traditional '60s R&B giving way to sinewy synths and increasingly chunky bass lines as the decade grooves on. While savvy hip-hoppers will note that many of the rarities here have already been repurposed by shrewd mixers, it's a revelation to hear them in their original form. A compelling deconstruction of an often clichA(c)d and too-narrowly-defined genre, this is an anthology that showcases music that has influenced such contemporary artists as Tupac, the Beastie Boys, Snoop Dogg, and Kanye West, annotated by many of the original musicians who set the dance floor in motion.