Rock — All Formats  

A psychedelic gem recorded at Gold Star Studios at the end of the 60s – one that brings a fair bit of British influences into play with the trippier sounds of the American underground of the time! This Atlantic debut by the group shows a tremendous amount of promise – and an approach to the music that sometimes takes on loftier ambitions through its use of bit of brass and reeds amidst the core keyboards, guitar, bass, and drums of the tunes. The songs are tight and sharp, but have some nice flourishes too – almost in the later Chad & Jeremy mode, with a real "British through LA" sort of sound. Titles include "RCMPB", "Don't", "Have You Ever", "To Be", "Sunrise #7", "Sparkle", and "Just Try".

Out of the wreckage of Cream came some very hip grooves! Ginger Baker was the hippest of the group's 3 members – and although he's often credited by soul fans for his work with Fela, he should also get a hats off for his work with the group Air Force – essentially a 10-piece (which seems to have been expanded beyond even that number for this set) that came up with some of the most monstrous art funk jamming we've heard! At its base, the group's in the jazz rock mode – with players that include Brit jazz luminaries Phil Seamen, Harold McNair, and Graham Bond, plus rockers like Baker, Steve Winwood, Denny Laine, and Rick Grech. The tracks are all long groovers in a post-beat group mode – and the best tracks have a jamming sound that's pretty over the top! It's full of the propulsive, Afro-influenced bass and percussion, some wild, jazz funk flute and sax, plus amazing work on violin, guitar and occasional, ephemeral vocals. Awesome stuff – one of the best and most innovative live albums of the era! Titles include "Da Da Man", "Aiko Biaye", "Do What You Like", "Doin It", and "Don't Care". It's about time this thing arrived on CD!

Things are getting slightly more complicated for the Bee Gees here – but we mean that in a good way! The vocals are superb – soaring forth with this unique sort of majesty, and light years away from their 70s disco pop styles – and the backings are a strange mix of rootsy and orchestral – making for a very odd juxtaposition that really seems to push the whole thing forward brilliantly! There's nobody else like the Bee Gees at this point in their career – a possible acquired taste, but one that's got you hooked once you get it! Titles include "When The Swallows Fly", "In The Summer Of His Years", "Indian Gin And Whiskey Dry", "I've Gotta Get A Message To You", "Kilburn Towers", and "I Started A Joke".

Hard to go wrong with the insanity of this one! The record broke the bank of Genesis, but really allowed Peter Gabriel to trip out nicely as his swan song to the band.

A classic! Where would electronic pop be without Gary Numan's "Cars"? Alongside Kraftwerk's classic 80s albums and Yellow Magic Orchestra's first LP, this album by Gary Numan ranks as one of the most essential synth driven LPs. Brilliant pop numbers that awash with robotic tones that will forever vindicate 80s new wave. Includes "Airlane", "Metal", "Complex", "Films", "ME", "Tracks", "Observer", "Conversation", "Cars" and "Engineers".

The Rascals' last album for Atlantic Records – and a set that has the combo relying more than ever on the talents of organist Felix Cavaliere! There's a great New York blend of rock and soul going on in the set – a confident, soaring sort of approach to the tunes that's past caring what any simple genre conventions might mean, or which tracks might end up on radio – even though most of the tunes here are still plenty darn catchy. The piano and organ lines on the album snap along nicely, as do some of the drums (especially on the break cut "You Don't Know") – and although group member Eddie Brigati had left by the time the album was released, he still sings lead on a few tracks. Titles include the jazzy "Nama", which is a wonderful surprise – plus "You Don't Know", "Right On", "Ready For Love", "Fortunes", "Glory Glory", and "The Letter".

The incredible second album from Roxy Music – picking up right where the self titled album left off – ratcheting up the excitement even more thanks to Ferry's extra dramatic songs, Eno's unpredictable synthesizer and tape manipulations, and a driving approach to the performances by the rest of the group! The songs range from fairly straight forward fiery glam rock, to more complicated, evolving structural tension. We hear strains of this record in so many great rock albums that followed, from the punk era all the way up to post millenium indie rock – but as influential as it is, it's an amazing experience all its own! Titles include "Do The Strand", "Beauty Queen", 'Strictly Confidential", "Editions Of You", "In Every Dream Home A Heartache", "The Bogus Man", "Grey Lagoons" and "For Your Pleasure".

A great little record – and perhaps the most soulful outing by this white rock band with a great talent for crossing over! The record was partially produced by Gamble & Huff, and partially produced by Rick Hall at Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals – and it's a wonderful blend of the two styles that these massive forces in soul music were laying down at the time. Gamble & Huff retain the group's sweet post-harmony combo "Expressway To Your Heart" sound forged on their first album, and Rick Hall gives the band a funkier rawer sound that has them giving up a few nice funky moments. Titles include "Darkness", "Turn Out My Fire", "We Got A Job To Do", "Tell Daddy", "Go Out Walkin", and a nice cover of Calvin Arnold's "Funky Way To Treat Somebody".

Titles include "Illusions Of My Childhood", "Eleanor Rigby", "Ticket To Ride", "Bang Bang", "She's Not There", and "You Keep Me Hanging On".

Mac really steps out on this one – pushing past his usual hip studio take on New Orleans soul, to a more expansive style that includes performances by a host of surprise guests like Mick Jagger, Eric Clapton, PP Arnold, Graham Bond, and Doris Troy. That loping, trippy groove of John's is still firmly in place, shifted slightly – kind of a New Orleans meets post 60s London style. There's also a really unique, kind of mellow Cajun folk blues thing going on, and it balances a lot of really disparate elements in a fairly unified feel. It's sort of like Captain Beefheart playing lounge piano in a swamp – an ambitious style that you really have to respect and appreciate. Titles include "Craney Crow", "Black John The Conqueror", "Zu Zu Mamou", and "Pots On Fiyo" "Where Ya At Mule", "Familiar Reality", and more.

Peter Gabriel gets a bit bolder and more confident here in his solo role – coming out with some of the bite of his Rael character from years back, but with a tighter, more focused mode that's pretty darn great! You can hear the early touch of the styles that would wander too strongly into the wrong territory a decade later – but here, things are all pretty darn fresh – wrapped around song themes that feel like very new ones for Gabriel, in ways that almost have you feeling him pick and choose the topics as the record moves on. Production is tight, but never too uptight – and titles include "On The Air", "DIY", "Exposure", "Animal Magic", "Flotsam & Jetsam", "Perspective", and "White Shadow".

A standard-setting debut – with amazing early electronics from Brian Eno, sublime vocals from Bryan Ferry, and offbeat classics that never get old – like "Remake/Remodel", "Virginia Plain", "2 HB", "Bitters End", "Chance Meeting", and "Ladytron".

The incredible second album from Roxy Music – picking up right where the self titled album left off – ratcheting up the excitement even more thanks to Ferry's extra dramatic songs, Eno's unpredictable synthesizer and tape manipulations, and a driving approach to the performances by the rest of the group! The songs range from fairly straight forward fiery glam rock, to more complicated, evolving structural tension. We hear strains of this record in so many great rock albums that followed, from the punk era all the way up to post millenium indie rock – but as influential as it is, it's an amazing experience all its own! Titles include "Do The Strand", "Beauty Queen", 'Strictly Confidential", "Editions Of You", "In Every Dream Home A Heartache", "The Bogus Man", "Grey Lagoons" and "For Your Pleasure".

An album of surprising brilliance – recorded late in the career of Yes, but one of the group's biggest hits ever! And while we've always been fans of Anderson, Squire, & Co, we're also ready to admit that the real star here is Trevor Horn – who produced the album and put the whole thing together with the kind of choppy feel as his best early productions for ZTT, especially work by Art Of Noise. The album's "Owner Of A Lonely Heart" still has a great resonance to our ears as a street-grooving number from the electro years – even despite its chart and radio fame at the time – and other tracks on the album follow in a nicely similar groove. Other titles include "Hold On", "It Can Happen", "Cinema", "Leave It", "Our Song", "City of Love", and "Hearts".

Still hard to beat the genius of this early moment on the LA scene – no surprise, given that the group features a young Neil Young, Steven Stills, and Richie Furay! Titles include the classic "For What It's Worth" – plus "Nowadays Clancy Can't", "Leave", "Pay The Price", "Burned", "Do I Have To Come Right Out & Say It", and "Everybody's Wrong".

Titles include "Mr Soul", "Sad Memory", "Hung Upside Down", "Good Time Boy", "Rock & Roll Woman", "Broken Arrow", "A Child's Claim To Fame", and "Expecting To Fly".

The classic – with "Strange Brew", "Sunshine Of Your Love", "Tales Of Brave Ulysses", and "Take It Back".

A brilliant little comeback album for Roxy Music – their first album in 4 years after Siren, and a well-done departure that takes off from older records without losing any of their greatness! In a way, the set's almost the group's Lodger – a similar effort to Bowie's record from the same time that reflects a move away from heavier styles of earlier years, but never loses the edge of the group's best work. Manifesto also reflects some of the lessons learned by Bryan Ferry on his solo records – a bit leaner and cleaner presentation of the songs – but the album itself is also strongly a group production effort, and certainly feels that way in its use of Phil Manzenera's great guitars and Andy Mackay's horn arrangements. Titles include "Ain't That So", "Stranger Through The Years", "Trash", "Manifesto", "Angel Eyes", "Spin Me Round", "Cry Cry Cry", and "My Little Girl".

Titles include "Revival", "Don't Keep Me Wonderin", "Midnight Rider", "Hoochie Coochie Man", and "Please Call Home".