Funky Town Grooves is planning on a busy February and March with a heaping helping of music from soul royalty including The Manhattans, Phyllis Hyman and Soul Brother No. 1 himself, James Brown.

FTG recently reissued four titles from The Manhattans’ long-neglected-on-CD Columbia discography: There’s No Good in Goodbye (1978), After Midnight (1980), Black Tie (1981) and Forever by Your Side (1983). Now, the label has recently announced the addition of three more of the group’s Columbia albums (including two with Philly soul legend Bobby Martin producing) as well as a two-fer dating to The Manhattans’ pre-Columbia period at DeLuxe Records. All five releases of silky smooth harmony soul are expected for February 24.

This wave begins with 1973’s There’s No Me Without You, The Manhattans’ fifth LP, first for Columbia, and first with Bobby Martin at the helm (as well as the core of MFSB among the musicians). It’s expanded with the single versions of “You’d Better Believe It” and “Wish That You Were Mine.” It’s followed chronologically by 1974’s That’s How Much I Love You, which also gains two single versions – “Don’t Take Your Love” and “Summertime in the City.” (Both LPs had previously been collected on one CD by Ace Records’ Kent label.) Funky Town skips over 1976’s The Manhattans (currently available on Superbird) and 1977’s It Feels So Good (recently reissued by SoulMusic Records), while the label has already reissued There’s No Good in Goodbye. The Manhattans followed that release with 1979’s Love Talk, currently available from Expansion Records, and with the aforementioned trio of After Midnight, Black Tie and Forever by Your Side. The final Columbia-era title on the FTG docket is 1985’s Too Hot to Stop It, previously on CD from Europe’s Vinyl Masterpiece label. Too Hot is expanded with the singles of “You Send Me” and “Don’t Say No.” The Manhattans series is rounded out with a 2-CD edition bringing together the rare LPs With These Hands (1970) and A Million to One (1972) plus seven bonus tracks.

Two reissues are also coming from the late, great Phyllis Hyman, beginning with a reissue of her self-titled debut album as originally released on Buddah Records in 1977. Containing production from John Davis of Monster Orchestra fame, Jerry Peters, and the team of Larry Alexander and Sandy Torano, the album featured two tracks penned by Thom Bell – Peters’ production of “Loving You – Losing You” and Davis’ of “I Don’t Want to Lose You.” (The former song was introduced by Johnny Mathis; his version is soon to be available on CD for the first time from Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music! The latter was introduced by The Spinners. Needless to say, Hyman made her own mark on both.) This remarkable debut for the striking vocalist was last reissued on CD in 2013 by SoulMusic Records with four bonus tracks. This edition doesn’t retain those bonuses (three songs from Hyman’s second Buddah LP Sing a Song, and one previously released outtake, "You're the One"), nor does it include the outtake "Sounds Like a Love Song" which premiered on the compilation The Classic Balladry of Phyllis Hyman.  It does add six bonuses: 12-inch mixes of “Loving You – Losing You” and another Thom Bell song, the Norman Connors duet “Betcha by Golly Wow” (which preceded Phyllis Hyman) and 7-inch mixes of “No One Can You Lose You More” and “Loving You – Losing You,” plus “Baby (I’m Gonna Love You)” and the provocatively-titled “Do Me.”

FTG also has Hyman’s fourth album and second for Arista Records, 1979’s You Know How to Love Me. Produced by James Mtume and Reggie Lucas, it yielded a dance hit in its title track. FTG adds eight bonus tracks. One, “You’re the One,” premiered on Arista’s 2002 reissue of You Know How to Love Me, but is an outtake produced by John Davis for the Phyllis Hyman sessions. Two single edits of the title track are here, along with the single version of “Under Your Spell.” Oddly, this reissue also includes the 12-inch version of “Tonight You and Me” and the 7-inch version of “You Sure Look Good to Me,” two songs from Hyman’s 1981 Can’t We Fall in Love Again, as well as the 7-inch and instrumental mixes of “Riding the Tiger” from 1983’s Goddess of Love. (The latter album has been reissued by SoulMusic Records.)

Lastly, James Brown’s 1988 album I’m Real, first released on the Scotti Bros. label, goes from one CD and 11 tracks to two CDs and 21 tracks. With all but one track produced, written and arranged by the R&B group Full Force, I’m Real followed The Godfather of Soul’s 1986 “comeback” Gravity with its smash hit single “Living in America.” The title song “I’m Real” became a No. 2 R&B hit, and follow-up single “Static” went to No. 5, becoming Brown’s final hit R&B single. The ten bonus tracks on this edition include various single versions and remixes of the album’s “I’m Real,” “Static,” “Time to Get Busy” and “Tribute.”

All of the remastered and expanded Manhattans titles from Funky Town Grooves are currently slated for February 24 release per Amazon. The Phyllis Hyman and James Brown releases are due on March 24.  You can pre-order at the links below!

The Manhattans, There’s No Me Without You: Expanded Edition (Columbia KC 32444, 1973 – reissued Funky Town Grooves FTG-407, 2015) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

1. There’s No Me Without You
2. We Made It
3. Wish That You Were Mine
4. I’m Not a Run Around
5. Soul Train
6. You’d Better Believe It
7. It’s So Hard Loving You
8. The Day the Robin Sang to Me
9. Falling Apart at the Seams
10. The Other Side of Me
11. You’d Better Believe It (Single Version)
12. Wish That You Were Mine (Single Version)

The Manhattans, That’s How Much I Love You: Expanded Edition (Columbia KC 33064, 1974 – reissued Funky Town Grooves FTG-406, 2015) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

1. Summertime In The City
2. Don t Take Your Love
3. Save Our Goodbye
4. I Don’t Want To Pay the Price of Losing You
5. That’s How Much I Love You
6. Blackbird
7. A Change Is Gonna Come
8. Strange Old World
9. Fever
10. Nursery Rhymes
11. Don’t Take Your Love (Single Version)
12. Summertime in the City (Single Version)

The Manhattans, Too Hot to Stop It: Expanded Edition (Columbia FC 39277, 1985 – reissued Funky Town Grooves FTG-409, 2015) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

1. Don't Say No
2. You Send Me
3. Angel Of The Night
4. When We Are Made As One
5. C'est La Vie
6. Dreamin’
7. You re Gonna Love Being Loved By Me
8. Too Hot To Stop It
9. You Send Me (Single Version)
10. Don’t Say No (Single Version)

The Manhattans, With These Hands/A Million to One (Funky Town Grooves FTG-408, 2015) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

CD 1: With These Hands (DeLuxe, 1970; Tracks 1-10) and bonus tracks

1. Can’t Take My Eyes Off You
2. Loneliness
3. By the Time I Get to Phoenix
4. Straight From My Heart
5. It’s Gonna Take A Lot to Bring Me Back
6. If My Heart Could Speak
7. With These Hands
8. Georgia On My Mind
9. Give Him Up
10. People Get Ready
11. From Atlanta To Goodbye
12. Rainbow Week
13. Let Them Talk
14. Fantastic Journey
15. Windmills of Your Mind (Single Version)
16. The Picture Became Quite Clear
17. Oh, Lord I Wish I Could Sleep

CD 2: A Million to One (DeLuxe, 1972)

1. A Million to One
2. It’s The Only Way
3. Back Up
4. You On My Mind
5. Fever
6. Do You Ever
7. Strange Old World
8. One Life to Love
9. Blackbird
10. Cry If You Wanna Cry
11. Teen Liberation
12. I Can’t Stand For You to Leave Me

Phyllis Hyman, Phyllis Hyman: Expanded Edition (Buddah BDS 5681, 1977 – reissued Funky Town Grooves FTG-411, 2015) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

1. Loving You - Losing You
2. No One can Love You More
3. One Thing In My Mind
4. I Don’t Want to Lose You
5. Deliver The Love
6. Was Yesterday Such A Long Time Ago
7. The Night Bird Gets The Love
8. Beautiful Man of Mine
9. Children of the World
10. Loving You - Losing You (12” Version)
11. Betcha by Golly Wow (12” Version) - Norman Connors feat. Phyllis Hyman
12. Loving You - Losing You (7” Version)
13. No One Can Love You More (7” Version)
14. Baby (I’m Gonna Love You) (Outtake)
15. Do Me (Outtake)

Phyllis Hyman, You Know How to Love Me: Expanded Edition (Arista AL 9509, 1979 – reissued Funky Town Grooves FTG-410, 2015) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

1. You Know How to Love Me
2. Some Way
3. Under Your Spell
4. This Feeling Must Be Love
5. But I Love You
6. Heavenly
7. Hold On
8. Give A Little More
9. Complete Me
10. You Know How to Love Me (7” Version)
11. You Know How to Love Me (Single Edit)
12. Under Your Spell (7” Version)
13. You’re The One (Outtake from Phyllis Hyman, previously released on You Know How to Love Me, Arista/BMG Heritage, 2002)
14. Tonight You & Me (12” Remix)
15. You Sure Look Good to Me (7” Version)
16. Riding The Tiger (7” Version)
17. Riding The Tiger (Instrumental)

James Brown, I’m Real: Deluxe Edition (Scotti Bros. FZ 44241, 1988 – reissued Funky Town Grooves, 2015) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

1. Tribute
2. I’m Real
3. Static (Parts 1 & 2)
4. Time to Get Busy
5. You and Me
6. Interview
7. She Looks All Types ‘a Good
8. Keep Keepin’
9. Can’t Git Enuf
10. It’s Your Money $
11. Godfather Runnin’ the Joint
12. Static (Single Version)
13. Static (Full Force Remix)
14. No Static (The 8-Minute Full Force Def Mix)
15. I’m Real (Single Version)
16. I’m Real (Special Version)
17. Real (Full Force Hyped-Up Mix)
18. Time to Get Busy (Single Version)
19. Time to Get Busy (Full Force Remix)
20. Busy J.B. (Time to Get Mix)
21. Tribute (Special Version)