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Despite blaring its title in Christmas-y, green-and-red cover lettering, \u003cem\u003eDresses Too Short\u003c\/em\u003e never found its season creatively or commercially, selling just a few thousand copies before being discontinued in the mid ’70s.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cfigure\u003e\t\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/numero-cdn\/images\/atoms\/syl-johnson-dresses-too-short\/atom-1605112069.jpg\"\u003e\t\u003cfigcaption\u003eSprite Bottle Green Edition\u003c\/figcaption\u003e\n\u003c\/figure\u003e","brand":"Numero","offers":[{"title":"LP (Sprite Bottle Green)","offer_id":40260920082630,"sku":"NUM1207LP-C1","price":25.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"LP","offer_id":40260920049862,"sku":"NUM1207lp","price":23.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Digital","offer_id":40260920017094,"sku":"NUM1207dig1","price":10.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0573\/1650\/7846\/files\/atom-1605112069.jpg?v=1701885636"},{"product_id":"syl-johnson-is-it-because-im-black-deluxe-50th-anniversary-edition","title":"Is It Because I’m Black (Deluxe 50th Anniversary Edition)","description":"\u003cblockquote\u003eAfter Martin Luther King got killed, I wanted to write a song.\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"dropcap\"\u003eTen years into his role as poster boy for pop soul and peak-hour R\u0026amp;B, Syl Johnson did an unlikely about-face and cut the most inspiring and powerful song he’d ever touch. “I didn’t want to write no song about hating this people or hating that people,” Johnson said. “I really didn’t have no vendetta against people. It’s a sympathy song.” Issued on 45 in September of 1969, “Is It Because I’m Black” struck an immediate chord within the black community, forcing the song up the charts by sheer volume of call-in requests. It would be Syl’s biggest hit for Twinight, climbing as high as #11 on the \u003cem\u003eBillboard\u003c\/em\u003e R\u0026amp;B chart during its 14-week stay, marking the defining moment of what had become more than just an occupation. Syl had his hands on a career.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nThe days of shuckin’ and jivin’ through dance songs were over, replaced by a heavy and sometimes cynical undertone that would dominate Syl’s output for the foreseeable future. As the world-at-large was changing, so was Syl’s personal life. Fed up with 13 years of her husband’s life-on-the-road, Hazel Thompson checked out of their bungalow at 6843 S. Aberdeen. The formerly rock-solid band was beginning to show cracks too, as the pressures of an offstage life took their toll. Willie Henderson was the first to duck out, grabbing his shot at producing Tyrone Davis for Brunswick. “It kind of fell apart,” Syl lamented. “Zachary became an entrepreneur. George Moss couldn’t travel. Harvey Burton was teaching school. And Cameron couldn’t go on the road. His wife wouldn’t let him.” For the first time in 33 years, Syl Johnson found himself alone. He holed up at Twinight’s woodshedding studio at 2131 S. Michigan (the former address of both King and USA Records) and spent the bulk of 1969 tinkering. That storefront space would host the rehearsal of several Johnson productions, before Syl made an 11-door journey north to Chess’s Ter-Mar studios, where many of his Twinight records, and those of others, were ultimately set to tape. But first he had to find a new band.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nSeven blocks north of Ter-Mar, Brunswick's Jalynne Sound house band was feeling awfully underappreciated at the hands of A\u0026amp;R director Carl Davis. Davis had put the group together piecemeal after walking out of OKeh in 1965, installing Bernard Reed on bass, guitarist John Bishop, trumpeter Michael Davis, alto saxist Jerry Wilson, and drummer Hal “Heavy” Nesbitt. Jalynne Productions set up shop at Roosevelt and Wabash, housing Davis’ publishing and managing concerns, the latter of which boasted a stable of Gene Chandler, Otis Leavill, the Opals, Major Lance, Billy Butler, and Walter Jackson. When Jackie Wilson showed up at Jalynne, looking for a hit to revive his faltering career, everything changed. Following Wilson’s success with the Barbara Acklin\/Eugene Record penned “Whispers” for Brunswick in 1966, Davis leveraged his new job at the label to set up a Jalynne writing workshop and studio in the old Vee-Jay offices at 1449 S. Michigan. The group would be used on many Brunswick and Dakar recordings between 1967 and 1969. But they were most egregiously offended at being left off the credits on Young-Holt Unlimited’s “Soulful Strut” (when, in fact, neither Eldee Young nor Isaac “Red” Holt had even played on the Top 5 Pop hit).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBassist Bernard Reed recalls Jalynne’s acrimonious split with Brunswick: \u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n“I was a little disillusioned with how things were going for me down there. So we left Brunswick, and we got downstairs, and Jerry Wilson, the horn player, he said, ‘Well, hey, Syl Johnson is right up the street. We can go down there and talk to him. I know he’s looking for a band.’ And that’s what we did. We walked down the street to Syl’s place. He was right across the street from Chess Records then. We were on Record Row. Syl had a little rehearsal studio there set up. He wasn’t doing any major recording, but he had a machine there where we could make little dubs of what we wrote. Syl let us come in in the mornings, and we’d stay there up until the late hours of the night, practicing and performing new songs and putting together our own act. We dropped the Jalynne Sounds when we left Brunswick, I came up with the name Pieces of Peace. It just came to me as sort of a play on words. It was during that whole era—peace, flower power, during the end of the ’60s. It sounded good to me, and I mentioned it to the fellows, and they said, ‘Well, that’s who we are now! The Pieces of Peace!’”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSyl put the Pieces of Peace rhythm section to work immediately, employing Reed, Bishop, and Nesbitt on the no-frills “Is It Because I’m Black.” Before the single even hit the streets, much less the charts, the full band was marked present on the Dynamic Tints’ Reed-composed “Package of Love Pt. 1 \u0026amp; 2” and had backed up Syl up on a handful of regional dates. With no one waiting at home and a band with nowhere else to go, Syl worked tirelessly rehearsing his next opus, an album of songs reflective of the changing times. With “Is It Because I’m Black” still bolding the pages of \u003cem\u003eBillboard\u003c\/em\u003e, the coming LP’s title appeared to Syl plain as day—or, in this case, black as night.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nIssued in April 1970—a full 13 months before Marvin Gaye’s \u003cem\u003eWhat’s Going On\u003c\/em\u003e—\u003cem\u003eIs It Because I’m Black\u003c\/em\u003e can rightly be called the first black concept album, a distinction few give it credit for. But that factoid, whatever its meaning then or now, failed to inspire music buyers: Johnson’s record never got a whiff of the two million copies Gaye’s did in its first year of availability. Syl lays the blame squarely on the record’s lack of marketability to a white audience: \u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n“That was a college record. Black college kids. They’re political. But these kind of records tend to hurt you a bit. You’ve got white people, and then you’ve got white liberals. But you’ve got white people who care nothing about you talking about being black. They say ‘Why shouldn’t I sing “Is It Because I’m White”?’ They just don’t care for it. Not that they hate it, but they’re not going to pay five or six dollars to buy an album of it.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe album’s cover didn’t exactly move units either. Photographer Jerry Griffith dragged Syl to a burned-out building on 43rd Street to shoot the back cover image, and he finger-painted the iconic title over a stock photo of an eroding brick wall. The title track, coupled with the politically charged “I’m Talking About Freedom” and ghetto conscious “Concrete Reservation” sealed the album’s cool reception as the work of an “angry black man.” Which is unfortunate, as “Together Forever,” “Come Together,” and “Black Balloons” are positively uplifting, forming their own pot of gold at the end of a grayscale rainbow. The album’s closer burns the brightest. “Right On” devolves into a full-on party track, ending with Syl riffing on the line “I’m gonna keep on doing my thing,” as if to answer his critics before their needles reached the run-out groove.\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Numero","offers":[{"title":"Grey\/Back Swirl Vinyl","offer_id":41641088909510,"sku":"NUM1208LP-C1","price":25.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Black Vinyl","offer_id":42872870895814,"sku":"NUM1208lp","price":25.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Deluxe Vinyl","offer_id":40260925423814,"sku":"NUM1208LP-DLX","price":25.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Digital","offer_id":40260925391046,"sku":"NUM1208digital","price":8.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0573\/1650\/7846\/products\/NUM1208lp-C1_MockUP-Edited.png?v=1671838705"},{"product_id":"sixth-station-deep-night","title":"Deep Night","description":"\u003cp\u003eA raw cry from the dark night of one man’s soul. 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This getaway ride mixtape strips aesthetics from the timeless \u003cem\u003eEast Side Story\u003c\/em\u003e series, and poaches music from Chicago soul groups (mostly, of course, from the historically soulful South Side). Tracks never before issued ride shotgun with songs known only from minuscule 45 pressings, with a few chromed-up classics to boot. Roll with a jacked-up masterpiece.\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Numbero","offers":[{"title":"LP (Tri-Color)","offer_id":40261062230214,"sku":"NBR003lp-C1","price":25.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Digital","offer_id":40261062164678,"sku":"NBR003digital","price":10.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0573\/1650\/7846\/products\/NBR003_SouthSideStory_Vol23_LP_TriColor.jpg?v=1661968570"},{"product_id":"ultra-high-frequencies-the-chicago-party","title":"The Chicago Party","description":"\u003cp\u003eFor 23 straight Saturday nights of 1982, “The Chicago Party” dance show assaulted Chicagoland UHF eyeballs with Spandex, Southside fly guys, tender tenderonies, magicians, contortionists, prismatic video gimmickry, and lip-synched singles by a rising regime of local post-disco casualties. Unfettered nightlife and outlandish humor poured out of oddball outpost The CopHerBox II and onto TV screens, presented here as a 100-minute video mixtape on DVD. Its companion compilation features five previously unreleased tracks, joined by music culled from a trove of self-released 45s and small-time 12\"s. Die-cut cathode-ray jacket and six in-package stills put the Party at your fingertips.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAvailable on CD or 2LP, each edition of \u003cem\u003eUltra-High Frequencies: The Chicago Party\u003c\/em\u003e will arrive in one of six cover configurations, all of which are interchangeable via printed inner sleeves and enclosed booklet. Original pressing editions include our entertaining DVD mixtape, isolating the most absurd and outrageous moments from the original broadcasts. 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Gibson directed the music video for the Universal Togetherness Band’s “More Than Enough.” Backed with the unreleased party anthem “Saturday Night,” “More Than Enough” is available for the first time in an attractive picture-sleeve 45.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n","brand":"Numero Group","offers":[{"title":"45","offer_id":40261225513158,"sku":"ES044LP","price":12.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"Digital","offer_id":40261225480390,"sku":"ES044dig","price":2.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0573\/1650\/7846\/products\/ES044_UniversalTogethernessBand_SaturdayNight_45_Black.jpg?v=1660761708"},{"product_id":"the-notations-still-here-1967-1973","title":"Still Here: 1967-1973","description":"\u003cp\u003eFrom the dawn of doo-wop to the death of disco, the Notations saw—and sang—it all. 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Heavy drums, soaring falsettos, euphoric tambourines, sharp horns, and Barrett’s unwavering devotion dance around a 40-strong choir, working together to form sanctified slab of gospel funk. Pressed in a minuscule quantity in 1973, \u003cem\u003eDo Not Pass Me By\u003c\/em\u003e was sold primarily from the pulpit of Barrett’s Mt. Zion Baptist Church, disappearing into Chicago’s south side for 45 years before Numero’s excavation. The ten-song album has been remastered, it’s generic album cover updated to match Barrett’s vision. 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With little more than a Hammond organ, a piano, and a two-track tape machine, Gene Cash's one-room enterprise quickly became a destination for local gospel and R\u0026amp;B groups looking to cut a record for pennies on the dollar. Beginning in 1967, Cash issued hundreds of singles on his Cash, Coin, Jade, and C.R.A. labels, all obscurities from the moment they fell off the press. Featuring otherwise unrecorded artists Iron Jaw Harris, Skip Drake, Soul Revival, and the brilliantly named Harlem Meat Company, alongside Chicago soul luminaries the Notations and Harrison \u0026amp; the Majestic Kind, \u003cem\u003eEccentric Soul: The Cash Label\u003c\/em\u003e is a vital testimony for a scene that blinked once and then disappeared into the wind. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Numero","offers":[{"title":"LP","offer_id":41156170875078,"sku":"NUM1259lp","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":40262060638406,"sku":"NUM1259CD","price":12.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"Digital","offer_id":40262060671174,"sku":"NUM1259dig1","price":10.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0573\/1650\/7846\/products\/NUM1259_EccentricSoul_TheCashLabel_LP_Black.jpg?v=1657756941"},{"product_id":"express-rising-fixed-rope","title":"Fixed Rope","description":"\u003cp\u003eOne-take ambient instrumental travels, composed in strict committee by the trio of Kevin Blagg, William Suran, and Dante Carfagna. Recorded spontaneously in rural Arkansas, bulging sub-woofers lope through fissures of skeletal banjo and pitched down pedal steel, while delicately arranged basins of synth and guitar reverberate, providing a steady stream of granular epiphanies. Utterly faded, yet still possessing crystalline clarity, these twelve songs continually attain summits rarely reached within the span of four-minute transmissions.\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Numero Group","offers":[{"title":"LP","offer_id":40262148161734,"sku":"ER5015LP","price":15.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":40262148096198,"sku":"ER5015CD","price":12.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0573\/1650\/7846\/products\/NUM5015_ExpressRising_FixedRope_LP_Black.jpg?v=1657748791"},{"product_id":"express-rising-fixed-rope-ii","title":"Fixed Rope II","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe fourth Express Rising LP (and second featuring the expanded lineup of William Suran and Kevin Blagg, in addition to leader Dante Carfagna) finds the trio largely eschewing percussion in favor of twelve concise, three-minute-or-so-long bittersweet excursions that nevertheless retain the restrained, measured, and highly melodic scaffolding of their previous work. There’s more than a bit of Santo \u0026amp; Johnny at their most somnambulant here, slightly glazed, definitely reverb’d out, mysteriously bottling the flaring, saturated light of the desert at dusk. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\n","brand":"Other","offers":[{"title":"LP","offer_id":40262153666758,"sku":"ER8016LP","price":15.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":45535814516934,"sku":"ER8016cd","price":10.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"Digital","offer_id":40262153601222,"sku":"ER8016dig1","price":10.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0573\/1650\/7846\/products\/NUM8016_ExpressRising_FixedRopeII_LP_Black.jpg?v=1657748060"},{"product_id":"otis-brown-southside-chicago","title":"Southside Chicago","description":"\u003cp\u003eChicago’s tangled web of micro labels and small time players is no better illustrated than by the career of Otis Brown. In his ten years on the scene, Brown ran four imprints, warmed stages for Muddy Waters, Jimmy Reed, and Alvin Cash, greased the palms of the city’s top DJs, wrote a theme song for his beloved southside, recorded a Jackson 5 cash-in with his son Otis III, and produced a handful of heavenly girl group sides. Brown arrived in Chicago with his mother in the early ’50s by way of Memphis. His first forays in the music business came via his mother’s occasional boyfriend Browley Guy, a slick crooner who’d cut 78s for Checker and States, but was looking to make a label play. Brown, his uncle King David Bevill, and Browley set up Olé Records in the summer of 1966 to issue Otis Brown \u0026amp; the Delights’ “Southside Chicago,” which despite a lot of palm greasing and cajoling by all three partners failed to break outside the eponymous geographic area. Other than Brown, the label only issued a single by his girlfriend Rose Rice’s group, The Para-Monts. He felt burned by his older partners and restarted under the banner of Lujuna Records, named for his eldest daughter. Primarily a vanity imprint for his own efforts, Brown also recruited local talent, including The Soulettes, Samuel Lovelee, Brand New Faces, Presidents Council, and WVON DJ Joe Cobb. To keep his brand fresh, he also issued some titles under the ExSpectMore imprint, though the catalog system was consistent between the two brands (and some titles came out under either heading, confusingly). Although several titles sold well, the losses mounted up and he cut them loose, moving to Dallas in 1972, ceasing his efforts as producer, performer, and entrepreneur.\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Numero","offers":[{"title":"LP","offer_id":40262545047750,"sku":"NUM1265lp","price":21.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Digital","offer_id":40262545014982,"sku":"NUM1265dig1","price":10.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0573\/1650\/7846\/products\/Num1265_OtisBrown_SouthsideChicago_LP_Black.jpg?v=1657301870"},{"product_id":"trey-gruber-herculean-house-of-cards","title":"Herculean House of Cards","description":"\u003cp class=\"dropcap\"\u003eA tortured songwriter and struggling addict who jolted the tired Chicago DIY scene with his own brand of primal despair, Trey Gruber and his band Parent were on track to join the ranks of Twin Peaks, Mild High Club, and Whitney. His death in 2017 at the age of 26 brought it all to a halt. In his final years Trey wrote and recorded hundreds of previously unheard demos, dandelions in the cracked concrete of 21st century disconnect, an alphabet’s worth of which have been compiled by his family and friends for his only album: Herculean House Of Cards.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e For more information on Trey and his story, visit the full feature \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/numerogroup.com\/blogs\/stories\/trey-gruber-hammer-out-the-edges\"\u003ehere\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/numero-cdn\/images\/atoms\/trey-gruber-herculean-house-of-cards\/atom-1559675495.jpg\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Last July\"\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Sometime in the fall of 2015 at his Humboldt Park apartment, Gruber recorded the haunting demo “Last July” on his Tascam 424 Portastudio. His cousin Garret Knisely recalls, “I sat on his bed that night after he got off work and watched while he did nearly 20 takes on his cheap Memphis bass that he had just bought. We didn’t get to bed until like 3am.” On the song, he reflects about the dissolve of a tumultuous relationship. Singing with clarity that some time and sobriety had afforded him “It’s true, the more we tried\/The more we fell apart \/ You and I, girl, were just doomed\/ Doomed\/ From the start\".\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/numero-cdn\/images\/atoms\/trey-gruber-herculean-house-of-cards-2\/atom-1559773607.jpg\"\u003e\n\u003cfigure\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/figure\u003e","brand":"Numero","offers":[{"title":"2xLP (Fool's Gold Vinyl)","offer_id":42638129037510,"sku":"NUM1273lp-C2","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"2xLP (Blue Heaven)","offer_id":40262750961862,"sku":"NUM1273lp-C1","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"2xLP (Black Vinyl)","offer_id":42638129070278,"sku":"NUM1273lp","price":27.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Digital","offer_id":40262750929094,"sku":"NUM1273digital","price":10.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0573\/1650\/7846\/products\/NUM1273lp-C2TreyGruberHerculeanHouseofCards_Fool_sGoldVinyl.png?v=1679439190"},{"product_id":"universal-togetherness-band-dreamality-bw-lucky-stars","title":"Dreamality b\/w Lucky Stars","description":"\u003cp class=\"dropcap\"\u003eTwo brilliant, previously unissued modern soul discoveries from the archive of U.T.B. mastermind Andre Gibson. “My Lucky Stars” rides the 120 BPM crest, with sharp horns, handclaps, triangle, and a wild guitar solo filling out the four and a half minute ride. “Dreamality” cops a Steve Miller vibe and goes on a spaced-out future funk adventure. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\t\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/numero-cdn\/images\/atoms\/universal-togetherness-band-dreamality-bw-lucky-stars\/atom-1562700301.jpg\"\u003e\n","brand":"Numero","offers":[{"title":"45","offer_id":40262793691334,"sku":"ES067lp","price":12.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Digital","offer_id":40262793658566,"sku":"ES067digital","price":2.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0573\/1650\/7846\/products\/ES067_UniversalTogethernessBand_Dreamality_45_Black.jpg?v=1657146998"},{"product_id":"pastor-t-l-barrett-do-not-pass-me-by-vol-i","title":"Do Not Pass Me By Vol. I","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe final album in Pastor T.L. Barrett’s 1970s four-part suite of gospel funk LPs, \u003cem\u003eDo Not Pass Me By\u003c\/em\u003e finds the fiery preacher getting spaced out on God’s love. Accompanied by his Youth For Christ Choir, the eight-song record is buoyed by the seven-minute opus “Father Stretch My Hands,” later sampled by Kanye West on 2016’s \u003cem\u003eThe Life of Pablo\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRed Vinyl will begin shipping in late-March!\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Numero","offers":[{"title":"Be In Love Red Vinyl","offer_id":43193328730310,"sku":"NUM1269lp-C2","price":27.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"LP","offer_id":43193331810502,"sku":"NUM1269lp","price":25.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Digital","offer_id":40263126089926,"sku":"NUM1269digital","price":8.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0573\/1650\/7846\/files\/NUM1269lp-C2PastorT.L.Barrett-DoNotPassMeByVol.I_BeInLoveRedVinyl.png?v=1708978620"},{"product_id":"dan-boadi-and-the-african-internationals-money-is-the-root-of-evil","title":"Money Is The Root Of Evil","description":"\u003cp class=\"dropcap\"\u003eAfter receiving regional praise for his 1976 debut Abrabo, Dan Boadi set his sights on leaving Ghana and bringing his highlife sensibilities to an American audience. Recorded at Paul Serrano’s namesake studio on E. 23rd St. in Chicago, Boadi’s U.S. debut showcased the true scope of his musical range; weaving in and out of funk, highlife, afrobeat, and reggae. The title track immediately demands the listener’s attention with a chugging drum lead by The African International’s King Tuch, setting the pace for Boadi’s colorful orchestration to follow. \u003cem\u003eMoney Is The Root of Evil\u003c\/em\u003e claims it’s own space as a musical melting pot and reflects the excitement Boadi was learning to harness as a musician in his newfound home of Chicago.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Numero","offers":[{"title":"7\" (Clear Orange Vinyl)","offer_id":42340730077382,"sku":"ES075lp-C1","price":13.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"7\" (Clear Vinyl)","offer_id":42340730437830,"sku":"ES075lp-C2","price":13.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"7\" (Black Vinyl)","offer_id":42340728504518,"sku":"ES075lp","price":12.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Digital","offer_id":40263254474950,"sku":"NUM1277digital","price":6.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0573\/1650\/7846\/products\/ES075_DanBoadiAndTheAfricanInternationals_MoneyIsTheRootOfEvil_45_ClearOrange.jpg?v=1663173311"},{"product_id":"pastor-t-l-barrett-and-the-youth-for-christ-choir-i-shall-wear-a-crown","title":"I Shall Wear A Crown","description":"\u003cp\u003eA Civil Rights activist who marched alongside Jesse Jackson, preacher for Earth Wind \u0026amp; Fire, Stax recording artist, “Family Feud” contestant, Stephen Curry soundtracker, high school drop out, and Kanye samplee, Pastor T. L. Barrett stuffed a dozen lives into one. His signature 1971 spiritual soul jam “Like A Ship” has transcended its humble South Side Chicago beginnings, rediscovered by Leon Bridges and Beck and described by Radiohead’s Colin Greenwood as \"The most euphoric celebratory music that makes you want to jump around the house and explode with joy.\" This box is the definitive statement on Barrett’s two decades of recordings, 49 tracks spread across five LPs, including Like A Ship, Do Not Pass Me By Volume 1 \u0026amp; 2, I Found The Answer, plus a bonus album of singles and sermons, a 10,000 word blow-by-blow, and illustrated discography.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e Digital download and streaming does not contain disc 4 - I Found The Answer (physical only)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0573\/1650\/7846\/products\/NUM077_PastorTLBarret_IShallWearACrown_LP_Gold_02_480x480.jpg?v=1656442300\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/numero-cdn\/images\/atoms\/pastor-t-l-barrett-and-the-youth-for-christ-choir-i-shall-wear-a-crown\/atom-1624290592.jpg\"\u003e \u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/numero-cdn\/images\/atoms\/pastor-t-l-barrett-and-the-youth-for-christ-choir-i-shall-wear-a-crown\/atom-1624290687.jpg\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003eThe kids are singing so loud that your stereo is going to explode and the groove being laid down by Barrett, Richard Evans, and drummer Charles Pittman is arguably one of the greatest the good Lord ever beamed down to earth for us to hear.\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\u003ciframe title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/tS4lQLFUTKU\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/blockquote\u003e","brand":"Numero","offers":[{"title":"5xLP Box Set (Joyful White \u0026 Gold Vinyl Edition)","offer_id":44765944512710,"sku":"NUM077lp-C2","price":75.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"5xLP Box Set (Blessed Black and Gold Vinyl Edition)","offer_id":40263466811590,"sku":"NUM077lp-C1","price":75.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"5xLP Box Set","offer_id":40263466746054,"sku":"NUM077LP","price":75.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"5xCD","offer_id":40263466778822,"sku":"NUM077CD","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Digital","offer_id":40263466713286,"sku":"NUM077digital","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0573\/1650\/7846\/products\/NUM077_PastorTLBarret_IShallWearACrown_LP_Gold_b2eb7f22-1070-4e72-83cb-d6c962972491.jpg?v=1656442300"},{"product_id":"junei-lets-ride-original-version-bw-you-must-go-on","title":"Let's Ride (Original Version) b\/w You Must Go On","description":"\u003cp class=\"dropcap\"\u003eWillie “Junei” Lee spent the first half of the 1970s playing guitar with his older brother Robert Lee in the self-contained band Lost Weekend, recording a handful of singles and a still unreleased LP. The back half of the decade was spent touring with Albert King, Curtis Mayfield, and The Emotions, before returning home to Gary, Indiana, to focus on his own sound. In 1985, Junei’s girlfriend brought home a suite of Fostex home studio gear, including a 12 channel board, 8-track tape machine, and a halftrack for mix downs. He added a Yamaha drum machine and a Maestro echoplex and started his solo project.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e “The only artists I listened to was Hendrix and Santana,” Junei said. The emissions coming from his home studio were entirely different, however, as “Let’s Ride” channels the Euro sensibilities of Kraftwerk or Italo over virtuosic guitar. “I just didn’t want to sound like anyone else,” he continued. “Let’s Ride” achieved that differentiation, and managed to anticipate Chicago house by a few years. Pressed in minuscule numbers in 1987 on Pharaohs Records, the 45 never connected with the nearby scenes in Chicago and Detroit where it might have found purchase in fertile soils. Decades later “Let’s Ride” found new life as the bed for KAYTRANADA’s “Scared To Death,” and the track has slowly worked its way through the algorithm to a new generation of vapor huffers. “I am all for experimentation, trying new things, etc,” Junei said. “Kaytranada is a visionary and a talented producer. He has my respect.”\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Numero","offers":[{"title":"7\" (Clear Green Vinyl)","offer_id":42340718313670,"sku":"ES074lp-C1","price":13.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"7\" (Clear Vinyl)","offer_id":42340718575814,"sku":"ES074lp-C2","price":13.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"7\" (Black Vinyl)","offer_id":42340715757766,"sku":"ES074lp","price":12.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Digital","offer_id":40263490699462,"sku":"NUM5571digital","price":2.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0573\/1650\/7846\/products\/ES074_Junei_LetsRideOriginalVersion_45_ClearGreen.jpg?v=1662055063"},{"product_id":"donnell-pitman-burning-up-bw-the-taste-of-honey","title":"Burning Up b\/w The Taste Of Honey","description":"\u003cp\u003eAlthough Donnell Pitman is championed in modern disco cliques for his infectious rarity “Love Explosion,” it was the unreleased masterpiece “Burning Up” that he brought aboard \u003ca href=\"ultra-high-frequencies-the-chicago-party\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Chicago Party\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e in April of 1982. Recorded at Chicago’s Paragon Studios, both the A-Side and the exquisite flip “A Taste Of Honey” were rescued from oblivion when a cassette master was discovered in the brief case of a former manager. Both songs were written by Jesus Wayne and represent a high-water mark in the canon of Chicago disco\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Numero Group","offers":[{"title":"45","offer_id":40311225352390,"sku":"ES045LP","price":12.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Digital","offer_id":40311225319622,"sku":"ES045dig","price":2.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0573\/1650\/7846\/products\/ES045_DonnellPitman_BurningUp_45.jpg?v=1656095001"},{"product_id":"jesus-wayne-rush-bw-you-bring-me-up","title":"Rush b\/w You Bring Me Up","description":"\u003cp\u003eHaving written the infectious theme song to \u003cem\u003eThe Chicago Party\u003c\/em\u003e television series, we felt necessary to bring the pianist\/composer into the foreground for his own proper two-parter. This very demo of “Rush” made it into the hands of Charles Davis, who re-recorded the tune for a stray single on Sutra Records in 1982. Included on \u003ca href=\"ultra-high-frequencies-the-chicago-party\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eUltra-High Frequencies: The Chicago Party\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e, “You Bring Me Up” is completely unreleased and represents the pinnacle of early ’80s R\u0026amp;B from Chicago.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Numero Group","offers":[{"title":"45","offer_id":40311226269894,"sku":"ES047LP","price":12.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Digital","offer_id":40311226204358,"sku":"ES047dig","price":2.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0573\/1650\/7846\/products\/ES047_JesusWayne_Rush_45.jpg?v=1656094832"},{"product_id":"pastor-t-l-barrett-like-a-ship-t-shirt","title":"Like A Ship T-Shirt","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003ePastor T.L. Barrett\u003c\/span\u003e lovers rejoice! Finally, there's a T-shirt out there just for you. Rep your love of soaring spirits and youthful harmonies with the Like a Ship T-Shirt. Designed and printed by High Desert Debris. 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