O'Jays Meet The Moments (1974)

 

The Moments – Those Sexy Moments (1974)

 Throughout the late '60s to the late '70s, the Moments were one of the premier and loved groups in R&B. Tracks like "Love on a Two Way Street" and "What's Your Name" may be preferred to other songs from more successful acts of the time. This 1974 album finds the group successfully changing with the times and exuding more confidence with their production and singing. That's the good news. The bad news is that the Moments were signed to a small label with one of the worst studios in the business. That fact makes most of this skilled but not sonically sound. That being said, Those Sexy Moments is a good mix of dance tracks and the ballads they were famous for. The breezy, "You've Come a Long Way" tells the tale of childhood through adulthood romance as Harry Ray sings the potentially unsettling "I wanted you then/but you were only five." The slow songs, "How Can I Love You" and "Look at Me" (not to be confused with their hit, "Look at Me (I'm in Love)"), both employ the guitar as sitar trick and have the groups' trademark harmonies. The best songs here are basically solo spots for Ray. The big hit here, the steamy "Sexy Mama," has him singing great lines like, "This afternoon I know you like me/By tonight you're gonna love me." The innovative and melodic "Next Time That I See You" puts the spotlight on his underrated falsetto/tenor. For a group that never seemed to make undeniable albums, this effort has enough individual songs to make this worth looking for.

The Moments – My Thing + 2 (1973)

 The smooth voices of Harry Ray, Billy Brown, and Al Goodman ring true on ten hit and miss sides. The misses are the filler that comprise half the ten songs; they aren't irritating or ingratiating, just bland tunes with apathetic arrangements. Every artist at All Platinum/Stang Records must have recorded "My Thing"; there are versions by Sylvia, the Whatnauts, and the Moments, at the very least. The song is all right, but did it merit the countless remakes? It flopped as a single, but the flip "Girl I'm Gonna Miss You" is much better -- a sad ballad sung in clear falsetto by Billy Brown. Surprisingly, it gets omitted from the many Moments compilation CDs, though it's one compelling number. Harry Ray's reading of "Baby I'm a-Want You" is magical, his light falsetto sparkling on David Gates' classic. Complete with airport ambience, "I Gotta Find a Way" is a charmer; Harry waits and contemplates at the airport about getting his baby back as a female announcer announces flights over a loudspeaker. I like the close, syncopated harmonies on "Look What You've Done," another tasty ballad. Eight of the ten songs are ballads except for "My Thing" and the twee-sounding "Life and Breath."

The Moments - On Top 1971

On Top is a perfect example of the subjectivity of musical taste. Among collectors, this is considered the most valuable of all the albums recorded by the Moments on Stang Records. It's alright, but it's not all that, and it doesn't come close to being a favorite by the three guys who later became Ray, Goodman & Brown. An original copy of this LP starts at around $50, others by the Moments go for between $10 and $20. Two minor R&B hits, "Lucky Me," a song that Billy Brown claims to hate, and "All I Have," are the most recognizable. Both are George Kerr compositions/productions, and each features Brown's ice-melting falsetto. Also included are two singles that are different from anything the group had ever done, "I Can't Help It" and "That's How It Feels." Sylvia Robinson also recorded "I Can't Help It," and to be honest, the song suited her better. It was the A-side of "To You with Love," a lovely floating ballad sung by Harry Ray that featured the groups' patented handclaps. "That's How It Feels was a two-parter wherein Brown's voice rode atop a bed of rhythms on a tune more aptly define as a love suite than a song. Neither impressed the jocks nor the buying public. A charming but sorrow-filled "I Lost One Bird in the Hand" is an impressive, slow lamenter crooned by Ray. The only uptempo number, other than the herky-jerky "I Can't Help It," is "Sweeter as the Days Go By," led by Brown in his natural, gospel-inspired tenor.
 

The Moments – A Moment With The Moments 1970 & The Other Side Of The Moments 1972

 Though it's bookended by two of the sweet soul trio's biggest hits, A Moment With the Moments reflects the overall weaknesses in the trio's songs, performances, and most tragically, the sound of any release associated with parent company All Platinum. Harry Ray, a newcomer to the Moments, hits all the high notes on the opener, a cover of the Ink Spots' vocal standard that hit the R&B Top Ten. "Key to My Happiness" is a great buried treasure, firmly in the Motown sound, and "Love on a Two-Way Street" is as exquisite a soul ballad as ever made it to the top of the pop charts. Still, "Lovely Way She Loves" and "So This Is Our Goodbye" are weak filler material, the group straining to get the same pleading in their voice as more popular acts like the Delfonics. The arrangements are effective, and the backing by Willie & the Mighty Magnificents is fresh and inventive, but alas, the sound is sub-standard (par for the course for All Platinum) and even a 2000 CD revamping of the album by Sequel (packaged with The Other Side of the Moments) can't help the weak sound. 

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 The Other Side of the Moments displays the New Jersey soul trio as a supper-club act, just as a few top soul acts (the Four Tops, the Impressions, the Supremes) had flirted with during the '60s. Why the Moments were attempting to court a more traditional audience during the early '70s is a mystery. The trio doesn't have much trouble with the material, but the arrangements and recording are period curiosities; a nimble electric bass attempts to update the trad strings, but fails every time. The quick pace and intimate delivery for "In the Still of the Night" make for an album highlight, but the group's performances of "What's New?" and "Angel Eyes" sound overripe and tossed-off. This "other side" of the Moments certainly wasn't fooling any Nat King Cole fans out there, and unsurprisingly bombed with soul audiences too, making it one of the group's most uninspired works.

The Moments - Not On The Outside, But On The Inside, Strong! +1 (1969)

An asterisk should be placed on the Moments' first LP release for Stang Records, as the label was seeking to capitalize on the success of "Not on the Outside." Billy Brown, Al Goodman, and Johnny Morgan are pictured on the cover as the Moments, and this trio does perform the bulk of the tunes, but the guys who sang on "Not on the Outside" and "Understanding" were a completely different group. For years, many thought Billy Brown led the song; Mark Greene, a Baltimorean, actually sang lead, accompanied by Johnny Moore and Richie Horsely, the original Moments. Some swear there were four members on the recording. However, when released, only three members were around, and two of them -- Horsely and Greene -- were fired as the song ran up the R&B chart, stopping at number 13; it reached the 57th position on the pop chart. The original Moments only did one gig, a week-long Apollo Theater engagement. Johnny Morgan leads on "Understanding," a rather dull song, and Al Goodman fronts "Pocketful of Heartbreak" -- better, but still nondescript. Billy Brown handles the rest and shines on "Sunday" and "I'm So Lost," two ballads done in Brown's innocent-sounding falsetto. Brown displays restrained emotion on the supercharged ballad "Somebody Loves You Baby"; one of their most underrated recordings which was released as the B-side of "Sunday." "I Won't Do Anything," pretty but lame, was covered by labelmate Lezlie Valentine. And what became their biggest recording wasn't released immediately. Listening to "Love on a Two Way Street" critically, it's understandable as to why Sylvia held it back and viewed it as an album cut. It sounds incomplete, with an off-key clanging guitar note played during the song becoming irritating after repeated plays.
 

Gladys Knight & The Pips - The Rare Gems (Unreleased material) (2CD) (2026)

 

Gladys Knight & The Pips - 2nd Anniversary 1975 (Expanded Edition)

 This album spawned two Billboard R&B Top Ten singles with "Money" and "Part Time Love." The former is a midtempo cut with a polished texture but contrasted by Gladys Knight's ardent vocals. The latter is a rather short but sweet-tempered ballad. Both peaked at number four with the latter surviving three weeks longer on the charts at 14. "Street Brother" is a blues number featuring an impressive Bubba Knight on lead vocals. The rendition of the Roberta Flack classic "Feel Like Makin' Love" has an urban, blues ambience complemented by the cohesive touch of the Pips. Eugene McDaniels, who produced much of the album, also wrote this vintage number. The songs shine with eloquence and are seasoned with an inviting Southern aura.

Gladys Knight & The Pips - Still Together 1977

 When producer/songwriter Van McCoy worked with Gladys Knight & the Pips, he usually did well by the group. It was McCoy who wrote "Giving Up" and "Lovers Always Forgive," two of their best pre-Motown singles of the early 1960s -- and he also proved to be an asset to Gladys Knight & the Pips when he co-produced their 1977 LP, Still Together. To his credit, he knew how to change with the times. His roots were doo wop and early soul, but by the mid-1970s, people associated him with disco thanks to the 1975 smash "The Hustle." So when McCoy was hired to produce Still Together, Knight didn't have to worry about sounding retro. But at the same time, no one would mistake this album for McCoy's club-oriented Disco Baby. Even though he gave the single "Baby Don't Change Your Mind" a certain amount of disco gloss, this is a soul LP first and foremost. Five of the eight songs on Still Together were co-produced (with Charles Kipps), arranged, and written or co-written by McCoy, including "Baby Don't Change Your Mind," the ballad "Walk Softly," and the sentimental "Home Is Where the Heart Is." A few of the selections are excellent, and the rest are at least decent. Still Together isn't among Knight's essential albums, but it's an enjoyable, if mildly uneven, effort that has more plusses than minuses.

Gladys Knight & The Pips - The One And Only 1978 (Expanded Edition)

 In 1978, Gladys Knight & the Pips recorded one album as a group in addition to doing some recording separately. That year, Knight provided her first solo album, Miss Gladys Knight, for Buddah/Arista, while the Pips recorded Callin' (their second album without her) for Casablanca. And together, they recorded The One and Only, which didn't go down in history as one of their all-time classics but is a generally pleasant, if unspectacular, soul-pop outing. This LP finds the quartet working with various producers, including Michael Masser, Richie Wise, Tony Camillo, and the Van McCoy/Charles Kipps team. The album's best-known offering is the disco-flavored single "It's a Better Than Good Time," which Knight also recorded as a solo artist in 1978. Other decent tracks range from the vibrant "Come Back and Finish What You Started" (written by McCoy/Kipps) to the ballad "What If I Should Ever Need You" and the exuberant, gospel-minded "Saved By the Grace of Your Love." Nothing on The One and Only is in a class with "Midnight Train to Georgia" or "I Feel a Song (In My Heart)," but none of the material is bad either. Although not essential and not recommended to casual listeners, The One and Only is worth hearing if you're among Gladys Knight & the Pips' die-hard fans.

Gladys Knight & The Pips - Touch 1981

Reunited with Ashford & Simpson, this is a strong production.
 

Gladys Knight & The Pips - All Our Love 1987

All Our Love marked the end of an era, for this 1988 release was Gladys Knight's final album with the Pips -- in 1990, she officially became a full-time solo artist and the Pips retired from music. No one can say that they didn't have a long run; Knight was only eight when the group was formed in 1952, and she was 46 when it finally broke up after 38 years. Nor can anyone say that Gladys Knight & the Pips' final album together was commercially unsuccessful -- thanks to major hits like "Love Overboard" and "Lovin' on Next to Nothin'," All Our Love went gold. In various interviews, Knight was quoted as saying that she was surprised the album did so well; she really didn't think she would ever see the top of the charts again. But then, MCA gave All Our Love a very aggressive promotional push and made sure that it was relevant to 1988s urban contemporary scene, hiring such producers as Reggie and Vincent Calloway, Nick Martinelli, and Sam Dees. Tracks like "Complete Recovery," "Thief in Paradise," and the above mentioned singles are pure urban contemporary -- synthesizers and drum machines are prominent, and no one's going to mistake All Our Love for a retro soul effort. Nonetheless, the group usually manages to be true to itself; most of the time, All Our Love sounds fairly organic rather than forced or contrived. Sometimes excellent and sometimes merely decent, the album falls short of essential. But because it was Knight's final album with the Pips, it has historic value -- and it was a pleasing, respectable way for the group to end its very long run.
 

Gladys Knight & The Pips - Life 1985 (Expanded Edition)

 The final album on Columbia for Gladys Knight & The Pips did reasonably well, getting them three chart hits, but it didn't include any of the anthemic R&B or pop crossover songs they had been landing in the '80s. It was a well-produced effort, and Knight sang with her usual vigor, spirit, and intensity, but nothing seemed to click on the level that Knight And The Pips expected.

Gladys Knight & The Pips - Visions 1983 (Expanded Edition)

 Leon Sylvers produced one of the finest uptempo hits Gladys Knight & the Pips ever made in "Save the Overtime for Me." It was the kind of jubilant, celebratory, rousing performance that had marked their best Motown singles, and it put some fresh life into what had become a stagnant group. The rest of this album wasn't that good, but it hardly mattered. They got a follow-up number five single, another chart hit with a third release, and were back in the game.

Bob Marley & The Wailers - The Rasta Groove Anthology , Remixes & Rarities

Bob Marley and the Wailers (previously known as the Wailers and prior to that the Wailing Rudeboys, the Wailing Wailers and the Teenagers) were a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae band. The founding members, in 1963, were Bob Marley (Robert Nesta Marley), Peter Tosh (Winston Hubert McIntosh), and Bunny Wailer (Neville Livingston).

During 1970 and 1971, Wailer, Marley and Tosh worked with renowned reggae producers Leslie Kong and Lee "Scratch" Perry.

Before signing to Island Records in 1972, the band released four albums. Two additional albums were produced before Tosh and Wailer departed from the band in 1974, citing dissatisfaction with their treatment by the label and ideological disagreements. Marley continued with a new lineup, which included the I-Threes, and went on to release seven more albums. Marley died from cancer in 1981, at which point the group disbanded.

The Wailers were a groundbreaking ska and reggae group, noted for songs such as "Simmer Down", "Trenchtown Rock", "Nice Time", "War", "Stir It Up", "Get Up, Stand Up" and "I Shot the Sheriff".

 

Regina Belle - The Belle Anthology

 Regina Belle (born July 17, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter who started her career in the mid-1980s. Known for her singles "Baby Come to Me" (1989) and "Make It Like It Was" (1990), Belle is most notable for three hit duets, all with Peabo Bryson: "Without You", the love theme from the comedy film Leonard Part 6, recorded in 1987; "A Whole New World", the main theme of the Disney's animated feature film Aladdin recorded in 1992, with which Belle and Bryson won a Grammy Award; and "I Just Can't Imagine". The theme song "Far Longer than Forever" from the animated movie The Swan Princess, performed with Jeffrey Osborne, was nominated for a Golden Globe in 1995 for Best Original Song.

The System - History (Box set Deluxe Edition)

 

O'Bryan - Breakin Together (The Anthology)

 

Miki Howard - The Complete Albums Collection

 

25% Off Selected CDs and Vinyl

 

Heaven and Earth (1978) Heaven and Earth (PTG 2012)

 

Soul on The Real Side 18 (2026)

 

GSF Free Soul (2025)

 

Chapter 8 - Collection

1970s-1980s soul group from Detroit, Michigan.

Best known as the band that helped launch the career of Anita Baker.
Released three albums in ten years at three different record labels.
 

Gerald Alston - Collection

Gerald Alston (born November 8, 1951) is an American soul/R&B singer,^[1] and the lead singer of the Manhattans. Between late 1970 and 1988, the group had 25 top 40 R&B and 12 Hot 100 hit singles.^[2][3] Alston was lead singer on their most successful 1976 platinum^[4] song "Kiss and Say Goodbye", which topped the U.S. Pop and R&B charts and was number one in four countries. Alston left the group in 1988 to pursue a solo career and recorded five albums and ten singles, including the hit singles "Take Me Where You Want To", "Slow Motion" and "Getting Back into Love". He also recorded a remake of Atlantic Starr's "Send for Me", most of which was for Motown Records.
 

The Deele - The Studio Anthology & More....

The Deele (pronounced like "deal") is an American band from Cincinnati, Ohio that achieved success in the 1980s with such hit singles as "Body Talk" and "Two Occasions". When the group began recording in the early 1980s, the lineup consisted of Indianapolis native Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds along with Cincinnati musicians Antonio "L.A." Reid, Carlos "Satin" Greene, Darnell "Dee" Bristol, Stanley "Stick" Burke, and Kevin "Kayo" Roberson.^[1] In 2007, Bristol, Greene, Roberson, and Burke reformed the group with several new members.

A March 2016 BET Honors performance, featuring Babyface and Reid reuniting with their former bandmates on stage, led to a more permanent reunion of the classic Deele lineup that has continued to the present.

 

Funk Bombs Collectors 247 (2019)

 

Funk Bombs Collectors 147 - Boogie Boutique (2CD) 2014

 

FBC 344 Back To Vinyl 5 / 2026

Available to members,

 along with all our other compilations and the latest releases.

To join, send an email to bentleyfunk@hotmail.com

 

Skool Boyz The Discography

Skool Boyz was a continuation of the group Flavor featuring the same members - Stan Sheppard (lead vocals), Chauncey Matthews (vocals and keyboards), and Fred Brown (vocals and guitar), with Stan's brother William "Billy" Sheppard (vocals and bass guitar) joining the group. Billy and Stan are the sons of R&B legend Bill Bunky Sheppard. After the group disbanded, Billy Sheppard joined the group By All Means. Stan created the group and produced their recordings. Chauncey Matthews and Fred Brown continued to work as session men and backing vocalists after the group Skool Boyz disbanded.
 

Rachel Gonzales - Rachel (1984)

 

Maurice Starr - Spacey Lady 1983

 

Maurice Starr - Flaming Starr 1980

 

Lejenz – Chapter 1 The Beginning... (1987)

 

Shirley Jones (1986) Always In The Mood...Plus (1998)

 

Robert Brookins - Let It Be Me (1988)

 

Paul Laurence - Underexposed 1989

 

Paul Laurence - Haven't You Heard 1985

 

Heaven & Earth 天と地 (1976) I Can't Seem To Forget You どうしても君のことを忘れられない +1 (2006)

Chicago's Heaven and Earth were one of those soul groups that should have been major stars, but due to unfortunate timing, lousy management, a never ending series of personnel issues and other misfortunes, never managed to break through outside of their native Chicago.
Brothers Dwight and James Dukes decided to form a vocal group in 1974 while attending Chicago's South Shore High School. They quickly recruited friends Michael Brown and Keith Stewart. The quartet subsequently caught the attention of sometimes promoter Lil Schneider who brought them to the attention of label owner/producer Clarence Johnson. Together with partner Lucky Cordell, Johnson was suitably impressed, signing the quartet to their new G.E.C. (General Entertainment Corporation) label.
1977 saw the group undergo a nasty personnel shakeup with original lead singer Brown being dumped in favor of former The Soul Majestics lead Dean Williams. The move was instigated by now-manager/producer Johnson and proved extremely unpopular with the Dukes bothers and Stewart. At the same time, using his connections, Johnson arranged for the new line up to sign with Mercury.
Members were : Michael Brown - vocals (tenor) (1974-77) - Dwight Dukes - lead vocals (falsetto) (1974-82) - James Dukes - vocals (bass) (1974-82) - Greg Rose - vocals (baritone) (replaced Dean Williams) (1978-82) - Keith Steward - vocals (tenor and baritoner) (-82) - Dean Williams - lead vocals (baritone) (replaced Michael Brown) (1978)
They released four albums.
 

Joe Simon - Soul for the Dancefloor (The Collection)