Salsoul Schallplatten & CDs

Review: 30 song deluxe 2xCD with the best of Aurra's four Salsoul albums, cantered around leader Steve Washington and singers Starleana Young & Curtis Jones, Aurra was an outgrowth of the New Jersey-based funk band Slave.

Review: Leroy Burgess has made many terrific records in his time, and his turn-of-the-'80s boogie-era work for Salsoul contains many stone cold classics. Even so, he recorded few songs quite as addictive or impassioned as 1983's "Heartbreaker" - a strutting ode to a new lover featuring squelchy synths aplenty, inspired gospel style backing vox and a stunning lead vocal from the sometime Universal Robot Band maestro. On this reissue, Shep Pettibone's indispensable original 12" mix is backed by a fresh remix from Italian disco king Moplen. His version is a little more stripped back, expertly showcasing the original's immaculately programmed drums, bassline and squelchy synths. In his usual manner, you'll also find a number of sublime vocal breakdowns that really help the track soar. Superb!

Review: The year is 1979, disco is at its peak and tracks like this one from Cuban-born percussionist Candido, who backed many Afro-Cuban and straight-ahead jazz acts from the 1950s onwards, are blowing up spots all over the UK and United States. It's a lively, up beat disco gem laced with funk and soul, chunky drums and a killer lead that make you want to shake your bones loose. "Thousand Finger Man" on the flip is a more smooth-crusin' jam that sweeps you up and carries you away on a breeze of horns, keys and percussion.

Review: Salsoul is a label as iconic as they come and decades after establishing that reputation it continues to deal in only the most original house and disco heat. The Reflex is a famous king of the remix who here adds his own vital spin to two new revisions for Salsoul Records. The Frenchman first up takes on Double Exposure's "My Love Is Free" to craft a layered remix that builds with a sick guitar riff and warm bass. Then comes a re-edit and remix of "I Got My Mind Made Up" that has chunky percussion and punchy drums. All in all a worthy addition to any collection.

Review: There are few more celebrated edit kings than Late Nite Tuff. Now he is back once again with the goodness, this time tackling killer racks by First Choice and Double Exposure. All of the source material here is considered to be stone cold classic, so he's brave if nothing else. But of course, he also has the skills to make these edits worth your while - he extends the breaks, lets the grooves roll on and ensures the vocals remain in place to really get hearts sweeping and hands in the air. The unabashed funk, soul and disco joy of his take on Double Exposure's "Everyman" might be the standout here.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Record ever so slightly warped, but otherwise in perfect working order***


There are few more celebrated edit kings than Late Nite Tuff. Now he is back once again with the goodness, this time tackling killer racks by First Choice and Double Exposure. All of the source material here is considered to be stone cold classic, so he's brave if nothing else. But of course, he also has the skills to make these edits worth your while - he extends the breaks, lets the grooves roll on and ensures the vocals remain in place to really get hearts sweeping and hands in the air. The unabashed funk, soul and disco joy of his take on Double Exposure's "Everyman" might be the standout here.

Review: The Reflex's multi-track re-edits are always on point, but those he's created for Salsoul Records have generally been impressive even by his high standards. This third double-pack of 'ReVisions' (as he calls them) contains two of his best Salsoul reworks yet: a thrillingly stretched-out take on Gazz's 'Sing Sing' that sees him cannily showcase some of the track's key elements in turn before unleashing the familiar bassline, breaks and vocals, and a fabulously spaced out 'Cosmic Dub' of Rafael Cameron's early electrofunk classic 'Boogie's Gonna Get Ya'. That too, has a big build, making the introduction of the bassline and Cameron's chorus vocals a genuinely breath-taking moment. The EP also contains a solid take on a lesser-celebrated Cameron tune, the more disco-fied 'All That's Good To Me', and a Tom Moulton-esque take on Edwin Birdsong's 'Win Tonight'.

Review: Salsoul Jam 2000 was a notable compilation put together by the pioneering hip-hop DJ Grandmaster Flash back in 1997. The American legend mixed together his selections and in doing so showed off the skills that made him so renowned around the world while also helping to take deck technician-ship to the next level. The tracklist includes plenty of classics from the worlds of soul, funk, disco and house with household names likes First Choice, Loleatta Holloway, The Salsoul Orchestra and Skyy all featuring several times. This repress comes on limited orange and yellow splattered vinyl.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Record has light surface marks/scratches, but otherwise in perfect working order***


UK born, Australia based DJ and producer Dr Packer is back with more of his on point edits. He tackles some serious disco heavyweights here on Salsoul and first off, disco diva Loleatta Holloway and her mega-hit "Runaway" gets a fresh 2020 update with some soul uplifting studio skills. A heavy funk remix of Rafael Cameron's "Let's Get It Off" is next, with the original still taking centre stage, then the shimmering and glistening disco gold of Ripple's "The Beat Goes On" follows before in-house collective The Salsoul Orchestra also get treated to some elegant orchestral work and a sultry vocal hook.

Review: UK born, Australia based DJ and producer Dr Packer is back with more of his on point edits. He tackles some serious disco heavyweights here on Salsoul and first off, disco diva Loleatta Holloway and her mega-hit "Runaway" gets a fresh 2020 update with some soul uplifting studio skills. A heavy funk remix of Rafael Cameron's "Let's Get It Off" is next, with the original still taking centre stage, then the shimmering and glistening disco gold of Ripple's "The Beat Goes On" follows before in-house collective The Salsoul Orchestra also get treated to some elegant orchestral work and a sultry vocal hook.

Review: Vincent Montana Jr.'s Salsoul Orchestra was always a big band with a difference. The composer and percussionist lead them to great disco heights from 1974 and into the early 80s. They played as a backing band for many of the vocalists on the Salsoul Records label and recorded plenty of their own material including no fewer than 11 albums of soul, Philly grooves, funk and Latin percussion. There were up to 50 different members of the collective and they mixed up playful vocals, flamboyant strings and big guitar licks with big hits like 'Tangerine' and 'Salsoul Hustle' as well as laying down some great Christmas covers. Experience some of their many joys with this great anthology.