What It Is! Funky Soul and Rare Grooves (2006)

About this title: A righteous undertaking of great magnitude, What It Is! Funky Soul and Rare Grooves trawls through a decade-long stretch of the Warner-distributed archive -- taking in the catalogs of Warner Bros., Atlantic, Reprise, Atco, and smaller nodes like Cotillion, Curtom, Alston, and Jonie -- and pulls up 80 soul/funk truffles, almost all of which were left for dead shortly after release. While many of these cuts have been repurposed as vital ingredients of hip-hop tracks, which has in turn fostered a voracious collector's market (it would cost a fortune to collect these songs in their original ... read more

Tracks:

1. Spreadin' Honey [Smith/Nathan]
2. Soul Finger [King/Jones/Cunningh]
3. The Shadow of Your Smile [Mandel/Webster]
4. Gangster of Love, Pts. 1 & 2 [Watson]
5. The Memphis Train [Thomas/Rice/Sparks]
6. Get out of My Life Woman [Toussaint]
7. Live Right Now [Harris]
8. Pig Snoots, Pt. 1 [Williams/Sain]
9. Soul Sound System [Henderson]
10. Snatching It Back [Carter/Jackson]
11. Stoned Soul [Wells/Freeman]
12. Getting the Corners [Lewis]
13. Sexy Coffee Pot [Hill/Stiles]
14. Don't Come Around Here Anymore [Thomas]
15. Keep on Dancing [Cash/Scott/Gates/Sc]
16. Right on Brother, Pt. 1 [Pegue/Pinchback]
17. Pop, Popcorn Children [Holmes]
18. It's Your Thing [Isley/Isley/Isley]
19. It's All in Your Mind [Height/Webb]
20. Funky John [Cameron/Johnson/All]
21. Help Me Make Up My Mind [Hines/Jones]
22. Rock Me Baby [Josea/King]
23. Sing a Simple Song [Stewart]
24. Do You Dig It [Turner]
25. Funky Canyon [Moore]
26. Jan Jan [Davis]
27. Tampin [Toussaint]
28. Gossip [Nocentelli]
29. Somebody in the World for You [Shaw]
30. Stanga [Stewart]
31. Jumpin' Jack Flash [Jagger/Richards]
32. The Deacon [Daniel]
33. Sookie Sookie [Covay/Cropper]
34. Right On [Roland]
35. (Don't Worry) If There's a Hell Below We're All Going to Go [Mayfield]
36. Stepping Stones [Harris]
37. I'm Just Like You [Stewart]
38. Funky Thing, Pt. 1 [Adams/Broussard/Que]
39. Messie Bessie [Scott]
40. Fairchild [Toussaint]
41. Cold Bear [Turbinton/Charles]
42. I Can't Get Next to You [Whitfield/Strong]
43. Feelin' Alright [Mason]
44. Soul Bowel [Jackson/Love]
45. Tuane [Landsberg]
46. Take It Off, Pt. 2 [Tolbert]
47. Seeds of Life [Palmieri/Clash]
48. Engine Number 9 [Gamble/Huff]
49. Hard Times [Mayfield]
50. What So Never the Dance, Pts. 1 & 2 [Collins/Collins/Gun]
51. Headless Heroes [McDaniels]
52. Spinning Wheel [Clayton-Thomas]
53. Bad Tune [White/Flemons/White]
54. Mr. Cool [Willis/Dumas]
55. Don't Cha Hear Me Callin' to Ya [Stevenson]
56. Hang on in There [Moss]
57. Funky Nassau, Pt. 2 [Munnings/Fitzgerald]
58. Whatever's Fair [Holder]
59. Face It [Robinson]
60. Wah Wah Man [Young]
61. Rock Steady [Alternate Mix] [Franklin]
62. Won't Nobody Listen [Gardner/Simmons/Hit]
63. Goin' Down [Toussaint]
64. Suavecito [Bean/Zarate/Tellez]
65. You Gotta Know Whatcha Doin' [Wright]
66. Mo Jo Hanna [Williams]
67. Ridin' Thumb [Seals]
68. Almendra [Valdes]
69. Nuki Suki [Hemmons]

Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is further described below.