Roy Ayers – Virgin Ubiquity (Unreleased Recordings 1976-1981)

This is an excellent compilation of previously unreleased 1970s and early 1980s material from vibes legend Roy Ayers. The big question is, why did so many of these tracks go unreleased at the time when Roy had a prolific output as both a solo artist and producer for other acts? Maybe it was because the majority feature guest female vocalists rather than showcasing Roy's singing.
Thankfully, they have now seen the light of the day as there are some really great tunes on here. Many of them are arguably better than some of the tracks that Roy released at the time. Both Merry Clayton and Carla Vaughn are excellent vocalists. The latter features on the funky opener "Boogie Down" (not the Eddie Kendricks song) and duets to cool effect with Roy on "Sugar". For my money these are the best two tracks on the album but the tracks featuring Merry, especially "Mystery of Love", are also great. Only a couple of tracks feature Roy on vibes, maybe another reason they were not issued at the time, but alongside his keyboard playing is a great ing cast of musicians. Besides his regular sidemen, there are appearances from legendary session drummer Bernard Purdie and of the band Pleasure. The good news is that these were not the only hidden treasures in Roy Ayers attic as the follow up compilations from BBE demonstrate.