Supermax was a project of Austrian musician and producer, Kurt Hauenstein, best known for "Lovemachine", a 1977 German #4 single, that peaked at #6 in Switzerland, #9 in Austria and #96 in US. The first members of the band were Kurt Hauenstein (Mini Moog, vocals), Hans Ochs (guitar), Ken Taylor (bass guitar), Lothar Krell (keyboards), Peter Koch (percussion), Jürgen Zöller (drums) and the singers Cee Cee Cobb and Jean Graham. After Ken Taylor left the band in 1979, Kurt Hauenstein returned to his origin music instrument, the bass guitar. Later, Bernadet Onore Eben and Jessica Hauenstein, the daughter of Kurt Hauenstein, joined the group as backing vocal singers. In 1981, Supermax toured as the first mixed-race band through South Africa for 21 gigs.

By the release of Amigos, the Santana band's seventh album, only Carlos Santana and David Brown remained from the band that conquered Woodstock, and only Carlos had been in the band continuously since. Meanwhile, the group had made some effort to arrest its commercial slide, hiring an outside producer, David Rubinson, and taking a tighter, more up-tempo, and more vocal approach to its music. The overt jazz influences were replaced by strains of R&B/funk and Mexican folk music. The result was an album more dynamic than any since Santana III in 1971. "Let It Shine" (number 77), an R&B-tinged tune, became the group's first chart single in four years, and the album returned Santana to Top Ten status.

“Ultimate Seventies - The Classics" brings you 100 songs from that mighty decade, when the charts were packed with amazing artists and genres vying with each other for your attention. It was peak time for singer-songwriters, with Van Morrison, Chris Rea and Gerry Rafferty all represented here. Disco was in its heyday, and you can hear Chic, Candi Staton and Sister Sledge on this 5CD set. If it's classic soul you're after, how about Aretha Franklin, Curtis Mayfield or George Benson? There's glam rock, from Wizzard, The Sweet and Mud; punk rock rears its head with The Ramones, The Stranglers and Sham 69; the reggae party is started by Dave & Ansell Collins, John Holt and Althea & Donna; and there's still time to sample mellower sounds from Bread, Daryl Hall & John Oates, and The Doobie Brothers From Young Hearts Run Free to Life's Been Good, "Ultimate Seventies - The Classics" is a hit-packed run through an incredible decade of music.

Known for both his years with the Temptations and his major solo hits of the 1970s, Eddie Kendricks was among the many soul legends who did his part to put Motown on the map. The expressive vocalist (who often sang in a falsetto), born Edward James Kendrick, grew up in Birmingham, Alabama, but it was Detroit's Motown label that made him a star. Kendricks was still living in Alabama in the late '50s when he formed the Primes with Kell Osborne and Temptation-to-be Paul Williams. After moving from Alabama to Detroit, the Primes caught the attention of a Motor City group known as the Distants, whose members included Temptations-to-be Otis Williams, Elbridge Bryant, and Melvin Franklin. The Primes broke up after being together only a few years, and the Temptations (originally known as the Elgins) were formed when, in 1961, members of the Primes and the Distants came together.

Big Break Records is proud to present Delegation’s The Promise Of Love. Featuring the alternative tracks chosen for the US release and all the non-album single sides from that period, as well as comprehensive liner notes from Christian John Wikane incorporating new interviews with Bailey and Gold, this is essential listening for all Soul, Disco and Pop fans.

The Jackson 5 (stylized as the Jackson 5ive), later known as the Jacksons, is an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1965 in Gary, Indiana, by brothers Jackie, Tito, and Jermaine, with younger brothers Marlon and Michael joining soon after…

Michael Jackson's double-disc HIStory: Past, Present, and Future, Book I is a monumental achievement of ego. Titled "HIStory Begins," the first disc is a collection of his post-Motown hits, featuring some of the greatest music in pop history, including "Billie Jean," "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough," "Beat It," and "Rock with You." It leaves some hits out – including the number ones "Say Say Say" and "Dirty Diana" – yet it's filled with enough prime material to be thoroughly intoxicating…

Electric bassist David Dyson has made his mark as a sideman with Me'Shell NdegeOcello, Pieces of a Dream, and the band (which also included Bob Belden) featured on Tim Hagans' Animation - Imagination. On his solo debut, Dyson handles just about everything by himself, including bass, keyboards, drum programming, sampling, and assorted spoken word vocal spots. There are a couple of guest keyboardists and saxophonists, and John Stoddart sings well on "Spin Cycle." But Dyson's bass is the dominant presence, deployed often via overdubs as a melody and chording instrument. His tracks lean heavily toward funk, R&B, and dance beats, and this, together with the electric bass emphasis, makes Dyson's music somewhat similar to Marcus Miller's. Jazz listeners might find it a bit commercial overall, although Dyson crafts some edgy harmonic progressions, hard grooves, and intelligent songs.

Reissue of the soundtrack to director Bob Fosse's acclaimed 1979 musical co-starring Roy Scheider and Jessica Lange. Ralph Burns arranged & conducted all 14 tracks, which include performances by George Benson, Sandahl Bergman and Ben Vereen with Scheider.

Among the most sampled groups of the 60s and 70s by a slew of top rap and hip-hop artists of the 90s and beyond (including 2 Pac, Ice-T, A Tribe Called Quest, Public Enemy and Beastie Boys among others), the legendary New Orleans band and Grammy Lifetime Achievement awardees The Meters created an instantly recognizable sound through almost a decade of recording, initially for the Josie label and then for Reprise and Warner Brothers. Group members guitarist Leo Nocentelli, bassist George Porter Jr., drummer Joseph ‘Zigaboo’ Modeliste and keyboardist/singer Art Neville formed the core of the band, later augmented by Art’s younger brother, percussionist/singer Cyril who joined The Meters in 1975.

Eric Roberson is a singer, songwriter and producer from Rahway,New Jersey. He is sometimes referred to simply as Erro, the name which he later used as part of his label Blue Erro Soul. His first single, "The Moon", was released through Warner Bros. Records in 1994 and recorded an album for that label which remains unreleased.He subsequently returned to Howard University to complete his studies in Musical Theatre.

he Kinsman Dazz story begins in 1971 with Bobby Harris putting his first group together in Cleveland, Ohio. They were called Bell Telephunk and played jazz before merging with another local band Mother Braintree and began to incorporate vocals and more danceable grooves. Together they became Kinsman Dazz, taking the word Kinsman from the name of a grill and bar where they worked as a house band. Dazz comes from a mélange of the words dance and jazz, danceable jazz, and inspired the hit Dazz (Disco Jazz) for the band Brick in 1976.

With a total of 40 Pop chart hits, Dionne Warwick's recordings for the Scepter label rank as arguably the most successful run of any artist - and certainly of any female artist - for an independent label during the 1960s. But all that success had a downside for her considerable legacy: Scepter became a hot property for acquisition, and as a result the label's holdings were bought and sold several times before Dionne herself arranged to buy her own masters back. By that time, though, the Scepter tapes had been scattered in disarray, thus leaving a lot of material in limbo and causing compilers to throw up their hands. Well, where other reissue labels fear to tread Real Gone Music goes full speed ahead! Odds & Ends - Scepter Records Rarities offers 26 hard-to-find tracks (plus some bonus promo spots) from the Scepter vaults, including rare alternate versions.

The first Nightmares on Wax album in five years is George Evelyn's most organic and band-oriented release. Beside longtime collaborator Robin Taylor-Firth, Evelyn is joined by a roster of seasoned studio veterans: drummer Wolfgang Haffner, bassist Paul Powell, percussionist Andrew "Shovell" Lovell, vocalist Mozez, and string arranger Sebastian Studnitzky. It's not as if the album was recorded with a strictly old-school method, however; a fair portion of the elements sound producer-driven, heavily manipulated. Stylistically, the album is characteristically diverse for a NoW release, with easy listening, reggae, dub, soul, funk, disco, hip-hop, and downtempo all in the bright mix…