Soul Finger
Artist: The Bar-Kays

The Bar-Kays were an aggregate born of the same inspiration behind Booker T. & the MG's -- performing the double-duty of being a backing combo for the significant canon of vocalists on the Memphis-based Stax and Volt labels, as well as a self-contained unit. The original lineup of James Alexander (bass), Jimmy King (guitar), Ronnie Caldwell... Read More

Uptight
Artist: Stevie Wonder
Community Score: 6.00

Stevie Wonder began demonstrating his production skills and compositional acumen on his first of two albums in 1966. Although still just a teenager, Wonder was already anxious to do more than simply grind out love tunes. He covered Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind" and also contributed "Pretty Little Angel" alongside the monster hits "Nothin's... Read More

The Brothers: Isley
Artist: The Isley Brothers
Community Score: 5.00
You're All I Need
Artist: Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell

You're All I Need equals the debut of Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell in every way except chart position and newness. It reached #60 Pop. a good showing but 31 rungs lower than United, their debut. It includes arguably their finest recording, "You're All I Need to Get By," a testament to their singing skills and the writing/producing talents of... Read More

United
Artist: Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
Community Score: 6.50

United was the first of Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell's three LPs, and quite possibly the best of the lot. Harvey Fuqua and Johnny Bristol handled the productions and gave the photogenic duo a slightly harder edge than subsequent productions by Valerie Simpson and Nicholas Ashford. Three blockbusters -- "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," "If I... Read More

Something Good: Muscle Shoals
Artist: Irma Thomas

Thomas' brief liaison with Chess in 1967 saw her, like labelmates Laura Lee and Etta James, record in Muscle Shoals' Fame studios to tap into the southern/deep soul grooves that were one of the hottest tickets in soul music at the time. Commercially, these sessions (all recorded in June and July of '67) weren't a success. It's also fair to say... Read More

Tell It Like It Is - CURB
Artist: Aaron Neville
Go for Your Guns
Artist: The Isley Brothers
Harvest for the World
Artist: The Isley Brothers
Community Score: 2.00
I Heard It Through the Grapevine/I Want You
Artist: Marvin Gaye

In something of an odd pairing, Motown combined Marvin Gaye's 1968 album I Heard It Through the Grapevine with 1976's I Want You onto a single compact disc or cassette in 1991. Both are now out of print. ~ Sean Westergaard, All Music Guide Read More

Marvin Gaye's Greatest Hits, Vol. 2
Artist: Marvin Gaye

Other than the Anthology line, this was for quite a while the best single album set featuring Gaye's early and mid-'60s hits. There isn't a dud in the bunch, but both the Super Hits and Anthology line give you more cuts, while the boxed set has more variety. But this isn't by any stretch a bad release. ~ Ron Wynn, All Music Guide Read More

Moods of Marvin Gaye
Artist: Marvin Gaye
Community Score: 8.67

After Marvin Gaye recorded tributes to Broadway and Nat King Cole in the previous two years, Motown fans may have had their suspicions raised by an LP titled Moods of Marvin Gaye. Yes, there are a few supper-club standards to be found here, but Gaye moves smoothly between good-time soul and adult pop. Most important are his first two R&B number... Read More

The Delfonics Super Hits
Artist: The Delfonics

Another Delfonics anthology, and this was for a long time the best one available. It contained the chart-topping ballads and love songs that made them perhaps "sweet" soul's best unit, even though The Stylistics' Russell Tompkins, Jr. was probably the genre's most popular vocalist. There isn't a dud in this bunch. ~ Ron Wynn, All Music Guide Read More

Forever Gold
Artist: The Isley Brothers