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link: http://www.bbemusic.com/

Review
Mr. Peabody Records about each compiled track

Premonition – Definitely in a class of it’s own, this groovy, soulful, cosmic dance oddity by premonition has the sound that gains all the attention on the dance floor. A perfect introduction setting the tone for what’s to come on the rest of this compilation. Only a handful of tracks from this release are believed to exist and ironically, it walked right through our doors on a summer day a few years ago.

Loveship – Hailing from the Southside of Chicago’s Cash Ear record label, this modern style dancer masterpiece by Loveship has it all. From an uplifting chorus with added seasoning from Angie Ditto on vocals, to the deep rippling bassline from the band section. This one seems to never end. The band consisted of 3 guys and some females, a proper blend of talent put together to turn out a fantastic dance floor cut such as this one. Retrieved from a box of dusty albums sitting next to furnace in a basement on the east side and finally reaching a proper home to the ears of deserving listeners.

Larry Houston – We found our first copies of this record 12years ago sitting in the bins of a local record store on the north side amongst a bunch of 80’s commercial dance twelve-inches. In those days, gems like this would go undiscovered for months until we came along. This stomping crossover disco record has the word “classic” written all over it. But, in the days of low budgets for promotion, it remained underground till years later.

Lajohn & Sheela – We were surveying a few storage units in the west suburbs of the city, which contained the remains of a popular large Westside bar that was popping from the late 60’s to early 80’s. Amongst it we found, posters, bar stools, cooking equipment, speakers, a Bozak mixer and more. After moving along to the next unit, we found about 10,000+ records and in the 3rd storage unit and an additional 3000+ records. Buried within lied this nice mellow boogie tune. Year’s later after tracking down Lajohn, who is now a police officer, we obtained other copies. An extraordinary tune of its time and definitely a dance floor hit in our eyes.

Yohon - At the height of the E.T. phenomenon, there many tracks made with the theme. A little after we met and teamed up, we visited a good friend and now deceased dealer here in Chicago named Art Morales. He was very well known amongst 45 collectors. This day he had found a load of 70’s & 80’s dance singles. Being that we were probably the only guys in the city buying large loads of dance twelve’s at the time; he turned them over to us. Amongst many rare gems on this skid was this marvelous warm early 80’s dance track. Listening to it literally puts you into a cosmic dream. Most people back then would have played it and said “Naaa”, we said “yeahhh”. This was a time when hardly anyone would appreciate the sound a record like this had to offer. Luckily, it made it into the right hands.

Billy Hinton – This group of talented musician at the time headed by 25yo Billy Hinton, and consisting two younger siblings 19yo Curtis and 17yo Beverly, combined to form the group Beige in the 70’s to 80’s. They bought aboard Maxine Gardner (introduced to them by Terry Marshall Of Maxx Traxx) to lay down the vocals. A fine job they did with this Chicago soulful dance groove with the primary arrangment being done by Keith Henderson Also Of Maxx Traxx. Billy did a fine job putting everyone together on this production. We obtained the first copies of this record from a now long gone distributor from the South East Side.

Maxx Traxx – Formally known as the 70’s Soul group Third Rail, this artist re-invented themselves to roll out a dance tune with a cutting edge sound. Sharp, cutting, and screaming synths throughout along with a blanket of joyous male vocals. We have many memories of getting together down in Mikes basement where we would jam it on regularly. It’s a true Peabody anthem of sorts. Amazing how in today’s time, a record that wouldn’t even sell at $7 would weigh in current times at over $300 Dollars. But with today’s global interest, it’s to be expected from a record of this caliber.

Sidney Thomas – This release was Obtained from a former musician Larry of a Chicago based record label. While sitting down having a chat, he said “musicians would literally swap each others material and pass it along as a primitive style of networking to get a buzz going amongst the Chicago natives”. Look, Let’s Make Love is a really feel good track that was released on the Chicago based east side independent label, Parallel Records. It’s a galloping disco tune with female vocals that will seduce and gain all men’s attention on the dance floor. “See if you like it”.

Billilian Express – Yet another discovery amongst a rodent infested basement on the West side. Ever played a 45 that was off center a little bit? Well this one sounds similar but the track was designed that way. It defines the raw soulful experimentation where musicians totally went against the grain to try something new. Disco Nights is a really groovy ride with strong blaring horn re-enforcement. A real dance floor blaster brought to you by Likes Of Larry Henderson, a figurehead and key producer on Chicago’s underground soul scene.

Martin Dumas – This one is yet another rare find amongst the more obvious of records coming thru the shop. Attitude, belief, and determination give new definition to the term “Spiritual” with plenty of groove power packed behind it. This track definitely is a down tempo soulful track that will have you assured that good things are bound to happen, and it has “Anthem” written all over it as well. Get ready for 10 minutes of pure bliss.

Ghalib Ghallab - This selection was recorded at the Chicago Bulls Jazz Club In The City’s Lincoln Park Area On The North side. The club was literally underground in a basement with a smoky dark culture with paintings along the wall. Ghallab was a Southside native attending Chicago’s Harlan High School. He had a natural knack for keyboards and played with ambient energy. His style spanned across many genres of music, from soul to classical. Recorded in 1981, this rare groove by Ghallab has a theme we all can relate to. A really good summer song with a fantastic sax solo from Dr. Edwin Daugherty.

Expo – While checking out a record collection at a home in the Southside’s Pullman district, this guy brings out a few boxes of Lp’s that had obviously been picked through. We asked him, “Do you have any other records that have not been seen?” He returns from a guest bedroom and replies, “I found these while cleaning up a couple months ago”. Turns out, the records belong to his brother from New York who had stayed with him for a short time in the 80’s. The very odd thing is that the 45’s we’re all in sleeves and in immaculate shape, much different than the Lp’s he had just previously showed us. Amongst the selection of mostly independent 45’s was this unique spin. Another independent early 80’s boogie bomb tune from a Local group named Expo. A very bright and moving track with the vocals being laid down by J. Elliot Robinson. This inspirational track quickly became one of our dance floor favorites.

Gregory James – This oddity on the Kelli-Arts label later fell along the way side to the labels more popular group, Magnum Force. This group was a collaboration between 2 Guys, Gregory Bibb and James Norris. A very smooth and sophisticated disco release with warm horns, nice keys, and excellent complimentary female vocals. The break goes into a groove that has a soulful trance like element to it. We had this record in the shop from time to time, and it fell on the deaf ears and went neglected for the most part. Maybe it wasn’t played loud enough. However, we always loved it. Now if anyone goes to retrieve this tune other than this compilation, they're most likely going to have to pay from this point on.

Carmen Amez – Classic soap opera disco but arranged right! Here’s the story -We were in a warehouse in the Midwest around 11 years ago. We were in separate areas going through skids of vinyl, Mike yells out from the other side “I Bet This One’s Tight”. He broke out the portable player and dropped the needle on the disc. We both started laughing. A very common reaction when we found what we called a “Cut”. This one turned out to be a fantastic disco track with a break that will leave you mouth hanging open to the floor.

Tomorrow’s People – This maximum disco/funk head nodder from the Stage Productions label is very sought after on the collector’s scene at this moment. Our gift to you! The band consisting of 6 brothers got together to conceive this awesome masterpiece “Open Soul”. Seven minutes of deep funky basslines, screaming vocals, and fantastic instrument solos will leave you mesmerized. The original track on the Rare 6 Track Lp is timed at around 20 Minutes (One Entire Side Only). We’ve shortened it here to save space on this comp, and of course to give the collectors something to dig for. Don’t worry; this 7min version will do more than wet your whistle.

The Moore Brothers (Debut 1st Release) – One day all is going as normal in the shop. Then, an elderly lady shows up with a box of Gospel LP’s, mostly Savoy label stuff and some various others. Literally, right in the middle of the box we were going through, there was a solid white cardboard sleeve. We immediately pulled it out and inside turned out to be acetate titled, “The Moore Brothers”. Being that Chicago had many “Moore’s” we really didn’t have the confidence in finding the makers of the material. So by initiating some hard work and bouncing from person to person, we found Mr. Moore right here in Chicago. He informed us that the acetate in our possession was the “only existing copy” of the recording, which originally belonged to their former manager. He stated again “We did some 45’s but this one was never made it to press, the original tape was destroyed by accident after we recorded it”. After playing the track for him, he added, “Wow, I never heard this after we recorded it”. He’s positive that this acetate we possess is the only existing copy in the world. So there you have it, from the Peabody Archives To You Ears. We’ve restored the disc to the best of our abilities. Enjoy!

Pick Of The Liter – Over repetition is something most music lovers agree is a pet peeve. This selection is most likely the exception to the rule, and on the dance floor, it will bring a phenomenal response. This intense rare 70’s disco treasure under the production of Lonnie Givens is definitely one that sends you runnin though a wall, to get to the disco, to hear it! Plenty of percussion, synthesizers, keys, and screaming voices make up this track. A Fairly simple make-up, but it definitely has a mind blowing sound.

Esquires – The make-up of this northern Chicago region release by the esquires is the answer to the title, “What is good music”. A Percussive drum section, with smooth warm layovers of synths and harmony amongst the vocals, which is reminiscent of the doo-wop era sound. A grossly underrated track for the great sound that it consumes. Success was halted after marketing and promotion came to an unexpected stop. We still find copies of this from time to time but in today’s growing popularity of collecting independent media, it won’t last for long.

Synergy – While going through the basement of a former record store some 8 years ago, we obtained our first copies of this disco-funk rarity made by a husband and wife team. This south-side couple along with some musicians conceived this pumping disco track. It literally winds up at the beginning then it’s off to the party. An overly amplified synthesizer is heard busting in and out of the track, which adds more definition. This title is pretty much to the point of extinction and is yet another long time favourite of ours

Brighter Side Of Darkness – Lennie Lacour collaborated with this Chicago Group to add a Disco Ball to the Magic Touch Arsenal. Although the label had a moderate sized catalog for an independent label. Scarce demand prevented many of the titles from earning the status “Successful”. This up-tempo runner caught our ear as an exceptional dance floor piece. We found the first copies around 9 years ago. We played hooky from our 9-5 jobs to check out a collection at a residence in K-Town. We showed up at the front porch, introduced ourselves, and the guy tells us, “One Minute”, he went back inside and came out with 2 boxes of records a couple of smaller box 45’s. He had 10 copies of this and some other various releases from the label.

Fantasie – Our first copy of this production was obtained from the basement of a drug store (formally a record shop years earlier) on the south side. At an earlier time in Chicago, it was not uncommon to see records amongst a loaf of bread and some cough syrup. Back in the days records were very plentiful in most businesses, until cd’s took their place. Many people over look tons of great records because they simply didn’t let the track play long enough. In the Case of The Composer, It starts as classical piano and ends with the sound of a circus themed soundtrack. What’s in between is what we describe as “The Sound”.

Cheryl Berdell – We had recently had our outdoor overhead sign installed and were inside doing construction preparing for our grand opening. A guy knocks on the door and ask, “Are you guys open?” we replied “No”. Noticing he had a box of vinyl, we let him in to take a look, which brought us this selection – More classic soap opera disco done right! By the make-up of this selection, it would make a fantastic climax but an even better closing track that will leave everyone wanting more. The sound of the sixties and seventies has never been so sought after as at the present moment. You could even argue that modern music just isn't good enough. As evidence consider this: contemporary producers and artists are often looking back to get inspired (insert staggering number of examples here) so you can safely say that even in this digital age the beating heart of modern R&B and hip-hop is still vintage soul, funk and jazz.
Tracklisting
CD1:
1. Premonition - Your Love Is In The Pocket
2. Loveship - Love So New
3. Larry Houston - Promise (Instrumental)
4. LaJohn & Sheela - Too Far Gone
5. Yohon - B.T. (Boogie Terrestrial)
6. Billy Hinton - A Challenge
7. Maxx Traxx - Don't Touch It
8. On Stage - Hooked On Your Love
9. Sidney Thomas - Look Let's Make Love
10. Bilalian Express - Disco Nights
11. Martin L. Dumas - Attitude, Belief & Determination
12. Ghalib Ghallab - School Days [Mr. Peabody’s Edit]

CD2:

1. Expo - Road To Sunshine
2. Gregory James - Happy Baby
3. Carmen Amez - Never Gonna Fall In Love Again
4. Tomorrow's People - Open Soul
5. The Moore Brothers - Bass Come Back
6. Lonnie Givens - Runnin’ To A Disco [Mr. Peabody's Edit]
7. Esquires - What Good Is Music
8. Synergy feat. Donnell Pitman - Can You Feel It
9. Brighter Side Of Darkness - The Disco Ball
10. Fantasie - The Composer [Mr. Peabody's Edit]
11. Cheryl Berdell - Fall In Love
12. Cold T - Funky Preacher [Mr. Peabody's Edit]

up down

artist title label genre
VA ELASTE Vol.3 compost cosmic disco
Terrotybad Unite Sunshine ... hip-hop/beats
Drop Logik Hot Box Studies Black Bri beats
Sandman feat. Jeremy Ellis Feed Your Mind FastFWD house
Rainer Trüby Compost Black Label ... Compost B ... house
Joe Kickass Let Me Introduce EP HHV hip-hop
Dj Center Everything In Time Giant Step soulfull beats
Deela Everything Counts EP Switchs ... broken/soul
Georgia Anne Muldrow Kings Ballad Ubiquity hip-hop/soul
The One & Nines EP One & ... soul
The Qualitons Mellbimbo / Kulmi Tramp Rec Funk
The Funk Revolution Izzy come, izzy go / D ... Sunstree ... Funk
Dj Cam feat. Nicolette Love Inflamable soul/beats
Eric Lau Killawatt V2 Killawatt soul beats
Bei Bei & Shawn Lee Into The Wind Ubiquity soul
Silhouette Brown 2 Banks Of Four Remix 2000 black soul/broken
VA Farside 1.0 Farside house
VA Contemporary Jazz Tramp Rec Jazz
Monnette Sudler Baby Erik (Blackjoy ... Heavenly ... deep-house
Phlash & Friends Deep Electronic Sou ... Archive house
Cléon Jaylis & Family Favorite ... soul/funk
Dj Kompact Return Of July Sonido Oj ... hip-hop
Live Tropical Fish Rubber Soul (Remixe Live Trop ... house/broken
Pepita Project feat. Paris Brig The Way We Were Pep Sounds house
Mash & Munkee Wake Up EP Backslide funky breaks
Fort Knox Five Krak & Smaak Rem ... Fort Knox ... electronic
VA The Real Sound Of Chi BBE disco
Al Kent Secret Sounds BBE house/disco
Dj Spinna The Boogie Back BBE boogie
Julien Dyne Pins & Digits BBE hip-hop/beats
Comfort Fit polyshufflez Remixes Tokyo Dawn eclectic
Galaxy Group Out Of Control Remix ... Loveslap house
VA Farside 1.0 EP Farside House
Medline Merado Negro 7& Propaground jazz
Skymark The Sound Of Silence Modern Sun hip-hop/soul
Portformat The Repeat Factor Tokyo Dawn hip-hop
Mato Music / Ah Yeah Stix reggae
VA Psych Funk 101 Stones Th Psych Funk
Architeq Green + Gold Tirk Beats
Kelpe Cambio Wechsel DC Record Nice beats
Collage Forty Seven Minutes ... Wool Reco Estonian folk pop jazz
Various Artists Private Collection G-Stone R Good music
Various Artists Wild Angels compile ... Planet Mu The electronic future
Jeb Loy Nichols Strange Faith and Pr Impossib ... Soul
Various Artists Tru-Thoughts 10th A Tru-Tho ... Eclectic soul
Filewile Blueskywell Mouthwa ... Dub Soul
Filewile Number One Kid EP Mouthwa ... Dub Pop
Talen Kingston Book Mouthwa ... Dub
Talen New-York Book Mouthwa ... dub
Green Tea Places + Spaces Plug Label hip-hop/beats
Westpark Unit More Forever Farside R house
Fulgeance Smart Bangin' EP One Hande ... Low Club
VA Jazz & Milk Brea ... Jazz & ... Jazz
Lord Newborn & The Magic Sku Lord Newborn & T ... Ubiquity soulfull beats
Joakim Milky Ways !K7 electro
Breakestra Dusk 'Till Dawn Strut Funk
V/A Impossible Ark Comp Impossib ... Jazz
Natural Self My Heart Beats Like A ... TruThoughts hip-hop/soul
Comfort Fit Polyshufflez LP Tokyo Dawn hip-hop/electronic
Ceu Vagarosa Six Degre ... Brasil
Obba Supa TO:AM - FREE:AM Project M ... Jazzy Hip Hop
Karizma A Mind Of Its Own V.2. ... R2 Records Beats and Pieces
Nat Birchall Akhenaten Gondwana ... Spiritual Jazz
Various Artists Toddla T - Fabricliv ... Fabric Bassline Mix CD
Various Artists Black Rio 2 - Origina ... Strut Rec Brasilian
Jega Variance Planet Mu IDM
Luke Vibert We Hear You Planet Mu IDM
Various Artists Luaka 21 - Twenty Fir ... Luaka Bop Just good music
SA-RA Creative Partners Nuclear Evolution Ubiquity ... Hip-Hop
Paul White The Strange Dreams O ... One Hande ... Quality Beats
Various Artists Comfusoes1 - Fron An ... Out Here R Angolan/Brasil
Various Artists (One Remixer) Pepe Bradock - Confi ... BBE Music House
Quantic And His Combo Barabro Tradition In Transi Tru-Tho ... Tropical Soulful Jazz
Kay Suzuki Bipolar EP Fresh Min ... house/broken
Nino Moschella Boomshadow Ubiquity Soul
Ray Harris & The Fusion Expe Ray Harris & The ... Fusion Mu Jazz
Dudes And Beats Brighter Nights EP Dudes And ... electronic/dub/soul
Mocky Saskamodie Crammed D Classy Easy Listening
Kutiman (& You Tube!) Thru you No label Audio Video mash ups..
Various Artists Vocals & Versio ... Senseles ... Fresh Vocal Bassline Runnings
Staff Benda Bilili Tres Tres Fort Crammed D Congolese Rumba
Kotchy 89 Civil Music Eclectic glitchy hip pop basslne shizzle
Various Artists Milky Disco II Lo Record Cosmic Disco
Clutchy Hopkins Meets Lord Kenj Music Is My Medecine Ubiquity Instrumental / Soul / Dub
Nomo Invisible Cities Ubiquity Jazz
V.A. Shapes 0901 Tru Thoug Soul / Electro
Lizzy Parks This And That Tru Thoug Jazz / Soul
VA We Love Jazzmin Reco Jazzmin/ ... Broken-Jazz
Quincy Jointz Praia De Geriba Timewarp ... funky stuff
Galaxy Group feat. Lady Alma Don't Play (The Remi Loveslap house
Various Dimitri From Paris p ... BBE Music 80's Disco Dubs
VA Nuspirit Helsinki - ... Backdro ... Musical Deepness
Soundspecies Soundspecies Burnt Pro Soul Jazz Hip Hop House
Enemy Earth Interstellar Commute Eat Concr ... Tripped Out Cosmic Space Hop
Various Rich Medina and Bobb ... R2 Records Afro Latin
Keaver & Brause The Middle Way Dealmaker Dreamy Hip Hop Beats
Boxcutter Arecibo Message Planet Mu Electronic/Dubstep/IDM
Various Real Authentic Regg ... BBE Records Reggae
Spencer Gray Dreaming In Color Re Loveslap house / broken
Betty Padgett Betty Padgett Ubiquity ... Soul / Reggae
Colonel Red Roaming Lion EP Ruff Lang Neo-Soul
Galaxy Group feat. Capitol A Out Of Control Loveslap House
Various Artists Contemporary Funk Tramp Funk
Octopussies Don't Skip That Hot Corner funk & more
Shawn Lee Soul In The Hole Ubiquity Soul
Don Cherry & Latif Khan Music / Sangam Heavenly ... Jazz
VA La Captura Del Sonid Love Monk ... cross-over
Alif Tree Clockwork Compost soul jazz pop french avant-garde electronic sort of stuff
Esau Mwamwaya & Radio Clit The Very Best (Ghetto P ... Afro pop fusion
Various The Grandfather Par ... BBE Records Minimal goodness
Filastine Dirty Bomb Jarring E Global Fusion
Dusty Keep It Raw Jazz n Mil jazz funk afro latin
Afrozen Orchestra Future Afrobeat / To Soultronik Afro-Beat
Algorythm & Blues Cute Ass Algorithm Mouth Wat Electronic Blues
Lukid Foma (Werk) Tripped out downtempo beats and bobs
Dub Colossus in a Town Called Addi Real World Ethiopipian dub fusion sort of stuff
Grupo Fantasma Sonido's Gold Grupo Fan funky latin shit
The Blue Note 7 Mosaic: a tribute to ... Blue Note Jazz
Phlash & Friends Deep Electronic Sou Archive house
PPP Abundance Ubiquity Modern Soul
Lone Lemurian Dealmaker Chilled dreamy beats
Various DJ Marky - Influence BBE Records Eclectic
Various SK200 compiled by Ja Sonar Kol Eclectic
Lars Bartkuhn The New Continent Sonar Kol Musical journey......
Anthony Joseph & The Spasm B Bad Head Son Heavenly ... Afro-Jazz
Fat Freddy's Drop The Camel feat. Alic ... Kartel reggae
Alice Russell Pot Of Gold Little Po soul
Illa J We Here Deliciou ... Hip Hop
Mayer Hawthorne and The County Just Ain't Gonna Wor ... Stones Th Soul
Byard Lancaster Blue Train Heavenly ... Jazz
Various Artists Our Music Our Cultur ... Coopr8 Broken-Beat
Landslide Dreams And Visions Landmass ... broken-beat
Doug Carn Tropic Sons Heavenly ... broken-funk
Menahan Street Band Make The Road By Walk Dunham / D Soul
Sleep Walker Into The Sun Jazzmin' jazz
PPP On A Cloud Ubiquity funk
Roots Manuva Slime & Reason Big Dada Hip Hop
Quantic presenta Flowering Inf Death Of The Revolut Tru Thoug Latin/Reggae
VA Spiritual Jazz Jazzman jazz
Reel People feat. Darien ‘Upside’ (Karizma, ... Papa house
Domu presents Pete Simpson Coming Back Arround Papa house
Katalyst What's Happening? Bbe hip-hop
Eric Lau New Territories Ubiquity hip-hop/soul
Reel People feat. Darien Alibi (Dennis Ferre ... Papa house
Connie Price And The Keystones Tell Me Something Ubiquity hip-hop
The Lions Jungles Struttin' Ubiquity reggae
Ben Mono Hit The Bit Remixes Compost electro
Nostalgia 77 One-Offs, Remixes & ... TruThoughts jazz
The John Betsch Society Earth Blossom Strata East jazz
Filewile Nassau Massage Mouthwat ... dub
The Hot 8 Brass Band Rockin' with the... Tru Thoug funk
Build An Ark Dawn Kindred S jazz
V/A The World's Rarest F ... Jazzman funk
Aiff Afro Soul System Unique afro
Osaka Monaurail Reality For The Peop Unique funk
V/A Choices vol.2 Ubiquity eclectic
Ramp The Old One, Two 12” Luv'N'H ... disco
Ben Mono Beatbox Compost hip-hop
Owusu & Hannibal Living With... Ubiquity electro-soul
V/A Sister Funk 2 Jazzman soul/funk
V/A Colombia Soundway latin
Amnesty Free Your Mind Now Again funk
Kathy Diamond Miss Diamond To You Permanen ... electro
Freddie Cruger Aka Fred Astaire Soul Search Tru Thoug hip-hop
V/A Super Cool, Califor ... Ubiquity soul
The Bamboos Rawville Tru Thoug funk
Lanu This Is My Home Ubiquity future-jazz
Jimi Tenor & Kabu Kabu Joystone Ubiquity jazz
Alice Russel Hurry On Now (Boub Re Tru Thoug soul