Various Artists - Capitol Rare: Funky Notes From The West Coast (1999)

Part of The Blue Series, issued by Blue Note Records.

Blue Note was originally a jazz label, but when it was purchased by EMI, it began a new life as an adult contemporary/jazz/reissue label. Current diversity on the label includes Wynton Marsalis, Al Green, Jeff Bridges, and Norah Jones. Here we have a compilation album that puts together some soul-jazz, funk and soul originally released in the '70s by Capitol/EMI.

The overall groove of the record could best be described as Earth, Wind & Fire meets Weather Report performed by Donny Hathaway. Overall, it's a mixed bag that bounces from heavy funk to soft rock to experimental jazz to disco to soul to gospel to Latin. It isn't a cohesive album, but you can discover some hidden gems here. Music here released in the years 1970 - 1980, with more than half the tracks released in 1977. It is difficult to find much information about The Blue Series online and the liner notes on this CD don't provide much help. This release was the first time many hard-to-find songs were available on CD.

Tracks:

Artist	Song	Original Album	Year
Gary Bartz	Music Is My Sanctuary	Music Is My Sanctuary	1977
Caldera	Sky Islands	Sky Islands	1977
Natalie Cole	Annie Mae	Thankful	1977
Nancy Wilson	Sunshine	Life, Love And Harmony	1979
Gene Harris	As	Tone Tantrum	1977
Bobby Lyle	The Genie	The Genie	1977
A Taste Of Honey	I Love You	Another Taste	1979
Maze	While I'm Alone	Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly	1977
Rance Allen Group	Peace Of Mind	Say My Friend	1977
Eddie Henderson	Inside You	Heritage	1976
Ronnie Laws	Every Generation	Every Generation	1980
The Reflections	She's My Summer Breeze	Love On Delivery	1975
Gene Harris	Losalamitoslatinfunklovesong	Astralsignal	1974
Ben Sidran	About Love	Feel Your Groove	1971
Janet Lawson	Dindi	single only release	1970

Tracks worth ripping to iTunes are Music Is My Sanctuary, the Gene Harris cover of Stevie Wonder's As, I Love You by A Taste Of Honey, While I'm Alone by Maze, Peace Of Mind by Rance Allen Group, and Inside You by Eddie Henderson.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I picked up this CD about 5 years ago at a used CD store. I've gotten in the habit of buying any CD in The Blue Series when I see them. Some are fantastic, some are just average.