Blaxploitation Volumes 1-4 Various Artists (UK 1996)

A Short break from Tzadik.

Quite some time ago I was browsing at the local cheap CD emporium (that's "The Warehouse" for you locals), when I came across one of these volumes. Now I already had been exploring some compilations of Rare groove and funk from the early 70 and these were something I couldn't leave on the rack. I managed to get volumes 2,3,&4 but with the sort of random stocking of The Warehouse, I never did find Volume 1 and kinda left it at that. Recently I was re loading these onto my hard drive to make a massive playlist of all the compilation CD's I have(over 12,500 tracks) and I thought it would be nice to have volume one to complete the set. I was pleased to see I could still get it on Amazon and so the aforementioned Volume arrived in the mail box today.

I am doing a quick review of all four volumes together as the quality and style of the sets are very consistent throughout. Consistently brilliant that is. The majority of the artists here were or are pretty well known, this is not a collection of obscure rare grooves, and the music here is, for me at least, a mix of quite familiar tracks, some familiar names with not so familiar tracks and some unfamiliar names with stuff I never heard of. As the covers say, these are compilations of Soul, Jazz and Funk, although mostly all conglomerated into most tracks. This music is just fantastic, great soul, and funky jazz with some mean jamming in the extended tracks. Essential music and as I mentioned consistently excellent throughout all four volumes and each volume has two discs chock full to about 75 minutes each. I think Volume three is the best but the whole lot rate 5/5.

Highly recommended and worth while getting your hands on them while they are still available.