Lee Fields re-imaged his career in recent years as a sweet-voiced R&B soul singer, complete with lush, orchestrated arrangements, and he's done pretty well at it. But back in the early 1970s, after a stint with Kool & the Gang, Fields released a series of hard-hitting, James Brown-influenced funk singles on assorted small labels, over-seeing all the arranging, production, and promotion on his own. He never really sought any kind of major-label deal, and his debut LP, 1979's Let's Talk It Over, was self-released, with distribution essentially amounting to Fields selling copies at shows and out of the trunk of his car as he navigated the bar tour circuit. Times change, and things change, and eventually copies of the LP became highly sought after by collectors, a kind of Holy Grail for funk fans, and a favorite sample set for the hip-hop era. This reissue finally brings Fields' lost gem into the digital world, adding in seven additional tracks that were released as independent singles. The end result is a treasure chest of funk and soul, with hard-hitting production and mega-tons of energy and verve. It's a wonderful resurrection for a lost gem in a new century, and proves once again that funk and soul never die. ~ Steve Leggett

• Genre: Pop
• RSD Date: DDD
• Format: Vinyl
• Internal ID: JITRE
• Released: 01/29/2013