"Do you want me in the way I really need you?" UK soul revivers Expansion Records collect the 12 most-sweated (for good reason) tunes from Uno Melodic and Gold Mink, boutique labels set up in 1980 to accommodate the production work of Roy Ayers. What I love most about Ayers productions are the dark and dissonant chords that always find their way into his lighthearted boogie grooves (DJ Rashad made great use of them throughout his career as well). Case in point: the smokey “Remember To Remember” featuring radio DJ Rick Holmes rattling off a list of black heroes past & present, or Ethel Beatty’s sensual boogie singalong “I Know You Care”… there’s a certain moodiness that’s just simply not present in Mizell Bros productions or the hottest Salsoul / West End twelves (which are all perfectly fine!). Well thank god I can finally part with my scratchy beater copy of Sylvia Striplin’s “Give Me Your Love” twelve, as it’s included here along with the equally crucial b-side “You Can’t Turn Me Away” (“Spin my V, smoke all my weed…”). Also: Eighties Ladies’ “Turned On To You,” Justo Almerio’s “Interlude” (if anyone’s reading this, we desperately need a reissue of the entire LP), 70s jazz-funk flute queen Bobbi Humphrey’s (moonlighting from Blue Note) sparkling rollerdisco jam “Baby Don’t You Know,” Jaymz Bedford’s “Just Keep My Boogie.” Best of all is the inclusion of rare Ayers solo joints “Everybody,” “And Then We Were One,” and the relentlessly cool “Chicago,” making this a layup for the ‘comp you didn’t know you needed of 2018’ award. 12 tracks in total, 3 per side, with extensive liner notes on the back cover. Recommended.

• black double vinyl pressing
• music label: Expansion 2018

reviewed by Putting On Ayers 10/2018