Greg Wilson
West End Edits

BIG Strut reissue of Patrice Rushen's Elektra debut, the 1978 classic 'Patrice'. Not just a brilliant pianist, songwriter and arranger from a young age, Rushen took lead vocal reigns for the first time here with her heartfelt and vulnerable messages of hope and love. Elektra didn’t fully back her until the early ‘80s, but influential clubs and black radio DJs saw her unique talent and were constant supporters. This reissue features bonus 12” versions of the big singles ‘Hang It Up!’ and ‘Play’, the popular Danny Krivit re-edit of ‘Music Of The Earth’ and a previously unreleased version of ‘Didn’t You Know’ from the original session tapes.

Habibi Funk co-founder Jannis Stuertz first came across this record that he called "the Holy Grail of Sudanese funk" while browsing eBay a while back. Interest piqued, he went to Sudan and tracked down these musicians whose ridiculously rare LP was selling for thousands of pounds online. Some four years later, Stuertz's wish to reissue the record has finally come through. It was originally recorded in Kuwait in 1980 and brilliantly joins the dots between American funk, soul and rhythm and blues, traditional Sudanese vocals and rhythmic arrangements, and even a dash of Congolese soukous. Wow.

In 2017 Acid Jazz signed a deal with soul legend Leroy Hutson to license his vast catalogue of work. Having already reissued a number of key releases, the long-running London label has now put together this retrospective of his solo work. It contains material from albums and singles recorded between 1972 and '84, plus a couple of cuts that were previously unissued before they appeared on wax earlier this year (most notably the brilliant "Positive Forces"). Naturally, there are plenty of must-haves present, including classics such as "Cool Out", "Lover's Holiday", "So In Love With You" and "Closer To The Source", making it a near-perfect introduction to Hutson's sensual musical world.