Search - Harlem Sessions, Various Artists :: Harlem Sessions

This album sounds as cool as the cover looks.

S. Warren | St. Catharines, Ontario Canada | 06/21/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There was a lot of really bland, unstylish music made in the 70's, but you won't find any of it here. While many of the films that these tunes eminate from are downright awful, the music is still incredibly strong after all these years. Yes, it's got the obligitory inclusion of Isaac Hayes "Shaft" and the brilliant Curtis Mayfield's classic "Superfly", but it's Harlem Sessions' more obscure tracks that make it a must-have for any funkhead. From the sweet sway of Millie Jackson's "It Hurts So Good" to Billy Paul's ridiculously infectious "Am I Black Enough For You?" to the tasteful groove of Gary Bartz NTU Troop's "Celestial Blues", this collection is solid all the way through (no small feat for any compilation, never mind a 2CD set). The only disappointment is the lack of liner notes. It would have been nice to have had some info on Pucho & the Latin Soul Brothers, for instance."

An Old-School Trip Through Harlem World.

The Groove | Boston, MA | 03/30/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Harlem Sessions" sounds like your favorite mix tape you made many years ago; the one that you keep playing over and over because it has all your favorite, desert-island songs. It's a groovilicious compilation of killer soul cuts from the 1970s, with blaxploitation films as the main theme. Of course, you can't realistically include EVERY great soul joint from the 1970s on two CDs, but this compilation does a great job trying. A collection of this nature has some of the usual cast of characters like Curtis Mayfield ("Superfly" and "Little Child Running Wild" from his must-have soundtrack to "Superfly") and Isaac Hayes ("Shaft"), but we also get unexpected nuggets from Cuban jazz legend Mongo Santamaria ("We Got Latin Soul"), Gil Scott-Heron's "The Bottle," Shirley Brown's sassy "Woman to Woman," Bob James' "Night Crawler," and Bootsy Collins' hugely influential and oft-sampled "I'd Rather Be With You." This collection gets it right in so many ways that's impossible to pass this winner up. All that's missing are the bell-bottoms and an Afro wig."