Brighter Side Of Darkness

Killer kiddie soul gather together by the good folks from Japan's Blues International. Highlights include "I Owe You Love", "Love Jones", "I'm A Loser", "Because I Love You" and "Something To Remember You By". A must have for any serious soul music fan.
7 out of 10

Billy Jones And The Stars

Killer sweet soul jams by little known Billy Jones & The Stars. Highlights include "My Baby's Gone",  their take on "Love Is Gonna Rain On You", "Save All My Lovin'" and an interesting take on Barbara Mason's "Yes, I'm Ready". A must for your collection.
7 out of 10

Mark IV

Nice rare slow jams such as "My Everything You Are", "I'm The One Who Loves You" and "I'm So Glad To Be A Part Of You" appear on this CD by The Mark IV. There are only a couple of options out there for those looking for Mark IV material. Pick this up before they disappear or the price gets insane.
6 out of 10

The True Reflection

"It Really Hurts" is a killer sweet soul jams that alone makes this CD worth picking up. Other notable tracks include "That Was Yesterday" and "Helpless Man".
6 out of 10

The Final Solution

Relatively unknown even within the soul music collector circles. The Numero Group does another fantastic job bringing another rare soul group back to life. Highlights include "One Day" and the mid tempo "Gotta Get Through To You".
5 out of 10

Skip Mahoaney And The Casuals

"We Share Love" and "Wherever You Go" are two killer jams that make this one of those must have CD's. They have a couple of other mellow numbers here but nothing close to the two tracks previously mentioned.
5 out of 10

The Dynamics

Here is one of those groups that seems to have been lost in soul history. They did not have a long lost of killer tracks but had some real good material that kept them alive among hard core collectors. Highlights include "Ice Cream Song", "What A Shame", "Let Me Your Friend", "Count Your Chips", "We're Gonna Be Together", "Baby, Baby I Love You", and "What Would I Do". A must for your collection.
7 out of 10

Bloodstone

Bloodstone gave us one of the most memorable slow jams of the 70's in "Natural High". They also cuts other very good tracks that get far less attention. Besides "Natural High" other highlights include "Give Me Your Heart", "Outside Woman", "Who has the Last Laugh" and "Dumb Dude". The Ultimate collection release by ITP records is all re-sung material that I did not care much for therefore did not include in the rating.
7 out of 10

Rose Royce

Scattered slow jams by Rose Royce makes buying a hits compilation only and calling it complete impossible. Highlights include "I Wanna Get Next To You", "Let Me Be The First to Know", "Wishing On A Star", "You're On My Mind" and "You're My World Girl".
6 out of 10

Blue Magic

The sweet mellow sounds of Blue Magic are a must for your collection. The Best Of release covers you with all their big hits like "Spell", Sideshow" and "Stop To Start". Their Mystic Dragons has a couple more slow jams in 'To Get Love" and "Spark Of Love". "You Won't Have To Tell Me Goodbye" is decent but far from great on The Magic Of the Blue release. Definitely pick up The Best Of release, you won't miss much passing up the others.
6 out of 10

The Softones

Mellow soul at its best here by The Softones. Highlights include "My Dream", "Hey There Lonely Girl" and "I'm Gonna Prove It". A nice addition to any soul collection.
5 out of 10

The Modulations

"I'll Always Love You" followed by "Those Were The Best Days Of My Life" are the sole highlights here.
4 our of 10

Impact

"Man And Woman" is the stand out track here followed by "One Last Memory" but neither is killer material that would make this CD a must have.
4 out of 10

The Dramatics

The nice slow jams here are well known by most soul fans, "In The Rain", "I Dedicate My Life To You" and "Hey You! Get Off My Mountain". A must for any serious soul collector.
5 out of 10