The collective that includes the Poets of Rhythm, Whitefield Brothers and Karl Hector & The Malcouns present a series of rare funk, jazz, soul and world-psych singles compiled as an album. Out NOW – worldwide.

It’s been nearly fifteen years since the vinyl-only releases by the various ensembles helmed by Jay and Max Whitefield – also known as the Whitefield Brothers and the nucleus of the revered Poets of Rhythm – were collated onto an Original Raw Soul album. The last – 1997’s More Original Raw Soul – largely contained the duo’s heavy funk and soul… well before the aughts’ Deep Funk revival that one could argue began with these two German siblings’ earliest recordings.

Fitting, then, that this – Original Raw Soul III – looks back at recordings dating back over twenty years but never once sounds dated or dull. There’s the garage funk of the early Poets incarnation the Bus People Express; the deep jazz of vocalist Bajka gigging with a Max Whitefield ensemble; the pan-African psych-jazz of the Whitefield Brothers. And that’s just three of the ensembles contained within. Original Raw Soul III’s sixteen tracks that span the gamut of forty years of musical innovation, recorded over the past twenty years, and presented anew today.

Contains two previously unreleased songs by The Transgressors, which also released on a 7” in conjunction with this album. Download one – the garagey funk number “Money For Born Money For Die” – below.

Buy: Original Raw Soul III
Download: Transgressors “Money For Born Money For Die.”

The collected works of the Flint, Michigan soul singer/songwriter and his band. Contains the crossover masterpiece “It’s A Bad Feeling” and entries by Hunts Determination Band, 21st Generations, Reggie and Vann and Brilliance. Presented as a CD and 2LP. Worldwide street date March 27th.

Although Flint, Michigan’s Regional Garland toiled in regional obscurity for years, he managed to pen, sing and produce a series of 1970s soul songs that have been appreciated for decades in various musical circles around the world. Some – like The Perfections’ “Girl, You Better Hurry” and the 21st Generations’ “I Need Love” – have been lionized by the soul-collecting cognoscenti. Others – such as Mixed Sugar’s “It’s A Bad Feeling” and “Fifteen Ain’t Young No More” – were played in the hallowed halls of Northern Soul Parthenon Wiggan Casino in the mid-’70s and helped anchor the 80s Modern Soul scene.

Still relevant in 2011, Garland’s songs have inspired a second generation of fans, many of whom weren’t even born when Garland originally recorded them. This anthology pieces together the disparate elements of Garland’s recording arc; it spans from his earliest songwriting efforts for Flint vocal combos who released their music on independent imprints, to his demos recorded for Chicago soul-impresario Jerry Butler, through music he produced and released on his proprietary imprints through the late 70s to mid 80s. As such, this is a varied album, which encompasses symphonic soul, heavy funk, pleading ballads, proto-disco and boogie.

Much of the audio contained on Mixed Sugar: The Complete Works, 1970-1987 came from master tapes and is previously unreleased. CD comes with a 32 page booklet; 2LP comes with a 16 page booklet. Both includes a wealth of photos and ephemera and extensive liner notes by Ronnie Reese and Egon.

Below, we’re offering a download of Mixed Sugar’s “It’s A Bad Feeling.” This song will also appear on our forthcoming Soul Cal anthology, scheduled for early April 2012.

Buy: Regional Garland – Mixed Sugar: The Complete Works 1970-1987.”
Download: Mixed Sugar “It’s A Bad Feeling.”

Buy here.

Produced and Recorded by Maker at West Of The Flag, Chicago, IL.

Tracklist:

01. The Look of Love Pt. 1
02. Sundancer
03. Sangria
04. Africumbia
05. Break Bread
06. The Look of Love Prt 2
07. Fly High
08. The Elevens
09. Baby
10. Monument
11. Drop Dead
12. What A Day
13. Sleepy Eyes
14. Say I Won’t
15. Things Cannot Stop Forever Disco Remix
16. Body Bash
17. New Jack Shake
18. The Backroads
19. Sleep Walk

NAML 006 CD 2012