Rock — All Formats  

A mind-blowing collection of work from Kaleidoscope – the ultra-hip psych combo who recorded some great work for Epic Records at the end of the 60s! This package not only features all the group's important albums, but also includes a wealth of rare singles too – including some surprising gems recorded for Epic in unusual situations, proof that the label really expected the band to break big at the time! The 3CD package features 45 tracks in all – with titles that include "Egyptian Gardens", "I Found Out", "Little Orphan Nannie", "Please", "Rampe Rampe", "Love Games", "Egyptian Candy", "Lie To Me", "Let The Good Love Flow", "Cuckoo", "Seven-Ate Sweet", "Banjo", "Why Try", "New Blue Ooze", "Lie & Hide", "Sefan", "Chocolate Whale", "Another Lover", "Sneakin In The Ghetto", and "Ballad Of Tommy Udo".

The classic debut! Tracks include "More Than A Feeling", "Peace Of Mind", "Hitch A Ride", "Smokin", "Let Me Take You Home Tonight", and "Foreplay/Long Time".

A mixture of folksy and jazzy vocals from singer Susan Carter – part of the Laurel Canyon scene of the late 60s! Although Susan was one of the "Ladies Of The Canyon", she's got a sound here that's much more wider-ranging than that of Joni Mitchell – a unique mixture of jazz and rock influences that come across with a different sound on nearly every track on the set. The arranger for the album is Dick Halligan, who we've never heard of before – but who should get a lot of credit for the way that he mixes together odd phrasings and timings to match the shifting styles of Susan's vocals. Titles include "I'm So Tired", "I Need A Good Man Bad", "Medley For Billie Holiday", "Bluebird", and "Jam Session".

Aggro hip hop/noise rock from Death Grips – one of the more surprising major label pick ups in years! Includes "Get Got", "The Fryer", "Lost Boys", "Black Jack", "System Blower", "Hacker", "Bitch Please", "F*** That", "Hacker" and more.

The rare mono mix of Hurdy Gurdy Man – easily one of the headiest Donovan albums of the 60s – a record that moves past the simple psychedelic pop of earlier hits, and into a range of mind-expanding themes and styles! There's a cerebral quality here that seems to take hold even on the simpler, catchier tunes – a deeply introspective approach that has Donovan working in a world that's really all his own – less concerned with hit singles, and more focused on a personal journey in music, one that ties together many strands of music borrowed from Celtic, West Indian, jazz, and folk sources. Arrangers are John Cameron and John Paul Jones – and titles include "Get Thy Bearings", "Peregrine", "The Entertaining Of A Shy Girl", "West Indian Lady", "Jennifer Juniper", "Tangier", "The River Song", "The Sun Is A Very Magic Fellow", and "Hi It's Been A Long Time".

Easily one of Donovan's most successful albums – but also a brilliant blend of folk and jazz that forged a bold new sound in the 60s – here in the original mono mix! Part of the strength of the set comes from arranger John Cameron – an artist that we love for his jazz and easy work of the late 60s, and who's working here with players that include British jazzmen Phil Seamen, Tony Carr, Ronnie Ross, and Harold McNair! The instrumental component of the album alone is worth the price of admission – as Cameron gently blends together moddish and trippy styles, alongside some folksier vocals and guitar from Donovan. But it's also Donovan's own extrapolation of styles of the time that really makes the album a masterpiece – a strange post-folk mode of expression that's almost a British counterpart to the genius of Simon & Garfunkel, but which is arguably darker and more intellectual. Apart from classic hits like "Museum" and "Mellow Yellow", the album also features some moodier brilliance on tracks that include "The Observation", "Hampstead Incident", "Sunny South Kensington", "Writer In The Sun", "Sand & Foam", and "House Of Jansch".

One of Donovan's greatest albums – and in the original mono mix, too! Wear Your Love Like Heaven is a perfect blend of pop psychedelia – complicated little songs that sum more in a short space than some of Donovan's contemporaries could do in a single album side. Nearly every cut on here is a tiny little 3 minute gem – with a sunny and accessible psych folk vibe – but that doesn't overshadow the deeper, more complex and adventurous arrangements underneath. Classic! Tunes include "There Was A Time", "Sun", "The Land Of Doesn't Have To Be", "Wear Your Love Like Heaven", "Little Boy In Corduroy", and "Mad John's Escape".

The first true moment of genius from the legendary Curt Boettcher – an early 60s folk-rock set that's already overflowing with the warm harmonies and creative arrangements of his later classics! The Goldebriars boast some incredible vocals in the duo of Sheri and Dottie Holmberg – both of whom take the lead on most tracks here, sometimes singing solo, but often harmonizing beautifully – in a mode that's nearly timeless, but which has some incredible musical touches from Boettcher, who pushes the vocals far from traditional folk mode, into a really unique sound that points the way towards countless post-folk imitators in years to come! Titles include "Long Time Travellin", "No More Auction Block", "Voyager's Lament", "Railroad Boy", "Come Walk Me Out", and "He Was A Friend Of Mine".

The second fab album from Curt Boettcher's legendary Goldebriars group – even dreamier and more unconventional than the first, and filled with beautiful harmony vocals! As on the group's debut, singers Dotti and Sheri Holmberg take the lead on most of the tunes – but Boettcher's also singing along with them a bit too, starting to develop the styles he'd use later on, and really giving a weird sort of sound to the music. Arrangements have their roots in folk, but really change things up a lot – still using simple acoustic instruments, but in modes and rhythms that are a far cry from both mainstream and rootsy folkies of the 60s! There's an eerie, otherworldly feel to the whole record that's amazing – like finding some lost Pandora's Box of music buried deep in the mountains – opened up and floating magically through the skies. Titles include "Zum Gale Gale", "Ride That Chariot", "Jump Down", "Haiku", "Sweet Potatoes", "Sea Of Tears", "MacDougal Street", "Joy Joy Joy", and "No More Bomb".

The debut album from Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks – a brilliant little set, and quite possibly the truest realization of his subtle acoustic genius! The sound here is free from cliches that later got in the way with Hicks – and the album's a refreshing return to roots, but without any of the too-posturing modes of other groups like this from the time! Hicks keeps things real cool here – very subtle, and quite spare at times – with elements of acoustic swing, bluegrass, and country all bubbling underneath – but an overall execution that's somewhat focused and urbane. There's none of the too old-timey moments you might expect – and if anything, we're impressed at how freshly contemporary a bunch of acoustic hippies can sound here! Titles include "Slow Movin", "I Scare Myself", "Canned Music", "How Can I Miss You When You Won't Go Away", "It's Bad Grammar Baby", and "Jukie's Ball".

Easily one of the most successful albums of the British jazz rock years – but still a longtime favorite of ours as well! Mike Oldfield sets a whole new standard here for concept rock – not only by working on a single album-length composition that spans all of sides one and two, but also by playing all instruments himself – in a one man symphony of sound that's pretty darn great! The main theme of the piece will be recognizable from it's stripped-down use in The Exorcist – but we really love Oldfield's expansion on it here in a range of different overdubbed instruments, which are also sometimes processed – and then introduced by Mike in a spoken part that's one of the highlights of the album.

The second album from Spirit – and a standout powerhouse of late 60s rock! The combo have a great way of hitting a groove without losing their cool – as heard on the classic "I Got A Line On You", which leads off the set – and unlike most of their contemporaries, who could be too bluesy for their own good, or too indulgent to keep a good hook going, Spirit here really know how to dip around all the best bits of the late 60s underground, and bring them into tighter focus for deeper penetration into the mainstream. The sound is driven strongly by drums from Ed Cassidy and guitar from Randy California – but the record's also got some nicely sweeter moments too, bits of jazz that slide into a few of the best tracks to complicate the vibe. Titles include "I Got A Line On You", "It Shall Be", "Poor Richard", "Drunkard", "Silky Sam", "Jewish", "Dream Within A Dream", and "She Smiles".

Featuring Aimee Mann.

Without a doubt, their finest! Nearly every cut's a classic – and titles include "Janie Jones", "Career Opportunities", "Police & Thieves", "Garageland", "Clash City Rockers", "I Fought The Law", "White Riot", "London's Burning", "White Man In Hammersmith Palais", and "I'm So Bored With The USA".

Titles include "You Know What I Mean", "Air Blower", "Scatterbrain", "Cause We've Ended As Lovers", "She's A Woman", and "Freeway Jam".

Titles include "Blue Wind", "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat", "Play With Me", "Love Is Green", "Head For Backstage Pass", and "Come Dancing".

A trio of albums from Chase – one of the hippest jazz rock combos of the 70s! The self-titled Chase album first burned onto the market in 1971 – and it's a great distillation of a groove that was bubbling around in various other segments at the time – some of the tighter big band rhythms of the late 60s, as you might find in the work of Maynard Ferguson or Woody Herman – mixed with the hipper rhythms from the rockish underground, particularly in the work of Blood Sweat & Tears or Chicago. Chase is a fair bit jazzier than both of those groups – as they often put the horns more upfront than the vocals – although most numbers do have some sort of vocals as well. Instrumentation is heavy on trumpets – which come together in blasting, blaring groove, even despite the smaller size of the combo – and Phil Porter lays down some great keyboard lines that really help some of the best tracks cook nicely. Titles include "Handbags & Gladrags", "Livin In Heat", "Open Up Wide", "Hello Groceries", "Boys & Girls Together", and "Invitation To A River". Ennea is a jazz rock classic that still sounds pretty darn tasty today – forged on the heels of Chicago and Blood Sweat & Tears, but with a sound that's leaner and meaner! The group's led by trumpeter Bill Chase – hence their name – and features lead vocals by GG Shinn and Terry Richards, both in a style that's got the same blue-eyed jazz soul overtones as that used by the groups mentioned above. The real strength of the tracks, though, is their jazzy backings – horn-heavy, as you'd expect, and hitting some great riffs and licks on the album's side-long title "suite", which features many instrumental passages. Titles include "Hades", "Aphrodite (parts 1 & 2)", "Zeus", "Poseidon", "Cronus", "It Won't Be Long", "I Can Feel It", and "Night". Pure Music is the third album from the mighty Chase – and proof that the group was still going strong even after their groundbreaking debut! The grooves here are almost tighter than before – a bit more complicated instrumentally, with some of the trumpets backed off a bit, to leave more room for great lines on guitar and keyboards. There's still some vocals on the record, but they seem a bit more on the backburner than before – and titles include "Close Up Tight", "Twinkles", "Weird Song #1", "Run Back To Mama", and "Bochawa".

Depending on your perspective, this is either the zenith of the Clash's career, or the beginning of the end, but a classic nonetheless. Certainly as raw and unbridled as their best pure punk efforts, but Mick, Joe, Paul and Topper are beginning to spread their wings a touch here. 18 tracks in all, including "London Calling", "Jimmy Jazz", "Spanish Bombs", "Clampdown", "The Guns Of Brixton", "Wrong 'Em Boyo", "Death Or Glory", 'I'm Not Down" and "Revolution Rock".

The crowning achievement of Spirit – and a record that you probably could have found in any college dorm room in the early 70s! The record's really a cut above for their generation – an expansive effort that hangs together with a bit of a concept, and which interweaves strands of rock, folk, and a bit of jazz – yet also a record that has a lot more polish than other efforts of its type, and which trades a bit of psychedelic indulgence for a tighter focus that really lets the best tunes sparkle wonderfully! Production is great – clear, but trippy at the same time – and Randy California's guitar work has never sounded better. Titles include "Nature's Way", "Animal Zoo", "Love Has Found A Way", "Mr Skin", "Soldier", "Street Worm", and "Space Child".

A super rare electric blues-rock LP, recorded for Epic sometime in the late 60s! Organ and keyboard pounder Barry Goldberg jokingly dubbed his style "Jew Blues" – and it's really that kind of playful spirit that really kind of makes frenetic LP a minor gem, and well worth whatever effort it took to dig this out of Epic's expansive vaults. Goldberg's rough, barking vocals kind of give it strong garage rock feel, too – albeit with the rock-solid backing of session titans Charlie Musselwhite on blues harp, Chicago powerhouse Harvey Mandel and Roy Ruby on guitar, and wild Chicago drummer Maurice McKinley on the kit. Tracks include "Getting' It Down", "Mean Old World", "Twice A Man", "Big Boss Man", "Blowing My Mind", "Put Me Down", "That'll Be The Day", "Can't Stand To See You Go" and more.

A mixture of folksy and jazzy vocals from singer Susan Carter – part of the Laurel Canyon scene of the late 60s! Although Susan was one of the "Ladies Of The Canyon", she's got a sound here that's much more wider-ranging than that of Joni Mitchell – a unique mixture of jazz and rock influences that come across with a different sound on nearly every track on the set. The arranger for the album is Dick Halligan, who we've never heard of before – but who should get a lot of credit for the way that he mixes together odd phrasings and timings to match the shifting styles of Susan's vocals. Titles include "I'm So Tired", "I Need A Good Man Bad", "Medley For Billie Holiday", "Bluebird", and "Jam Session".

The classic agit-rap-rock debut of Rage Against The Machine – with the most fiery political lyricism and imagery of any massively popular record of its time – and as great of a pairing of revolutionary rap and heavy guitars as there ever was! It's hard to imagine now, but there were very few straight up rap rock bands before Rage Against The Machine. Hard rock breaks were ample, of course, but straight up rap rock bands were pretty scarce, pre-Rage. Rage Against The Machine's pop culture revolution was as massive as the social and political revolution that their songs called for! Includes "Bombtrack", "Killing In The Name", "Take The Power Back", "Settle For Nothing", "Bullet In The Head", "Know Your Enemy", "Wake Up", "Fistful Of Steel", "Township Rebellion" and "Freedom".

Officially sanctioned live material from Ginger Baker's archives – jamming hard in 1976 with his African Friends in Berlin – including Fela & Tony Allen! Baker lived and worked in Nigeria as far back as the early 70s, as famously documented in the classic Fela/Ginger Baker Live set from 1971 – and the friends found themselves together in Germany for this 1978 recording, with players including members of the Anikulapo Kuti family, Leke Benson, Nwokoma Ikem and others. Includes an epic 2 part jam, the 22 minute "Drum/Percussion Jam Part 1" and the 11 minute "Drum/Percussion Jam Part 2".

Can opens up a bit with Unlimited Edition – expanding upon their earlier Limited Edition compilation – fleshing out that set of archival Can errata into a sprawling, boundless 70+ minute set of brilliant, yet largely unused genius from the group's earlier archives! Can is legendary for constructing their greatest studio material out of freewheeling studio experimentation, so it stands to reason that there was a whole heck of a lot of worthy material left out. Boy, was there ever! It's got bits from both the Mooney and Suzuki periods, as well as spacious Can instrumental material. It's made up largely of brief bits that didn't find their way into a whole piece, but there's some longer numbers, too – and one epic: the 17+ minute "Cutaway". Titles icnlde "Gomorrha", "Doko E", "The Anpress And The Ukraine Song", "TV Spot", "Mother Upduff", "Connection", "Fall Of Another Year", "Transcendental Express", "Ibis", "Blue Bag (Inside Paper)", "Musette", "EFS No. 10", "I'm Too Leise" and more.

The album that started it all for Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band – the monumental Safe As Milk – a more focused effort the epic strangeness to come, but still a freak rock masterpiece! Don Van Vliet and the first Magic Band get loose on some messed up, raw white boy blues, filterede through a fish eye lens with an unbridled energy and the good Captain's unique approach that just begins to hint at the sublime weirdness he'd unleash later on. Includes "Abba Zabba", "Dropout Boogie", "Zig Zag Wanderer", "Electricity", "Yellow Brick Road", "Grown So Ugly", "Autumn's Child" and more.

The album that started it all for Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band – the monumental Safe As Milk – a more focused effort the epic strangeness to come, but still a freak rock masterpiece! Don Van Vliet and the first Magic Band get loose on some messed up, raw white boy blues, filterede through a fish eye lens with an unbridled energy and the good Captain's unique approach that just begins to hint at the sublime weirdness he'd unleash later on. Includes "Abba Zabba", "Dropout Boogie", "Zig Zag Wanderer", "Electricity", "Yellow Brick Road", "Grown So Ugly", "Autumn's Child" and more.

Two incredibly groovy records that will completely redefine your expectations for religious music – both put together by the Rev Nick Freund! Montgomery Chapel is an incredibly dark album that's way more acid folk than anything else – recorded by a group named The Search Party, and served up with spare acoustic guitar, trippy electric, and this etherel organ that really makes the whole thing feel like an acid trip right from the start – as do the lyrics, which are often sung by a female singer who sounds like Grace Slick really trying to push even farther past the darkness of "White Rabbit"! A few tunes are upbeat, but most are very slow and sad – almost Wicker Man in mood – with titles that include "The News Is You", "All But This", "Renee Child", "Speak To Me", "When He Calls", and "The Decidedly Short Epic Of Mr Alvira". The second album is titled after a creepy line from the Bible – Each One Heard In His Own Language About The Marvels Of God – quoted later by Aphrodite's Child on their 666 album, and presented here at the start of the record by the St Pius X Seminary Choir, in ways that oddly have the same sort of eerie undercurrents! The set's more of a straight vocal affair, but with plenty of folksy undertones – and there's also an undeniable sense of darkness that completely undercuts any brighter spirit of faith. Titles include "Who is This Man", "Get Together", "Come Children Hear Me", and "Mass For The Secular City". 2CD set features great notes, in the usual Lion style – plus a dozen more bonus tracks too!

Truth in album titles from Manuel Goettsching – inventive soundscapes from the Ash Ra Tempel founder – played entirely on electric guitar, though it's all about hypnotic layering and effects. It's amazing stuff, evolving guitar notes manipulated into the studio. "Echo Waves" is a 17+ minute, uber-hypnotic piece that's another case of material living up to the title, one that reminds us a bit of some of Tangerine Dream's soundtrack work of a decade later. "Quasarsphere" is atmospheric and spacey, a shorter piece. "Pluralis" is the 20+ minute epic closer, very much akin to "Echo Waves".

Rare 1967 BBC Sessions from Hendrix! Includes a cover of Dylan's "Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?" from the BBC Radio's Rhythm And Blues on October 17, 1967 – plus a newly unearthed take on Hendrix's own "Burning Of The Midnight Lamp" as performed on Top Of The Pops on August 24, 1967. The epic backdrop of Mitch Mitchell's drums and Noel Redding's bass are so underappreciated these days, though there's no overlooking how incredible Jimi is out front. Hendrix plays a bit of harpsichord here, too!

The Jimi Hendrix Experience at their most classic! Tripped out bluesy cosmic rock ferocity and great songs, too – firing on all cylinders here on the middle record of their ultra epic three LP series of unimpeachable greatness. Titles include "EXP", "Up From The Skies", "Spanish Castle Magic", "Castles Made Of Sand", "She's So Fine", "One Rainy Wish", "Bold As Love" and more.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience at their most classic! Tripped out bluesy cosmic rock ferocity and great songs, too – firing on all cylinders here on the middle record of their ultra epic three LP series of unimpeachable greatness. Titles include "EXP", "Up From The Skies", "Spanish Castle Magic", "Castles Made Of Sand", "She's So Fine", "One Rainy Wish", "Bold As Love" and more.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience at their most classic! Tripped out bluesy cosmic rock ferocity and great songs, too – firing on all cylinders here on the middle record of their ultra epic three LP series of unimpeachable greatness. Titles include "EXP", "Up From The Skies", "Spanish Castle Magic", "Castles Made Of Sand", "She's So Fine", "One Rainy Wish", "Bold As Love" and more.

The Rolling Stones at their rawest, most shambling, sleazy and brilliant – the epic, unimpeachable Exile On Main Street! What can we say about one of the most iconic LPs of all time other than chime in with our agreement that it's one of the greatest rock albums ever! Big choruses come and go, but the easy hooks of earlier and later Stones hits are buried in mud, grit and a sleazy bluesy groove. Titles include "Rocks Off", "Rip This Joint", "Tumbing Dice", "Sweet Virginia", "Loving Cub", "Torn And Frayed", "Let It Loose", "All Down The Line", "Shine A Light", "Soul Survivor" and more.

A killer EP from Royal Trux – released after the classic Accelerator album – with an altogether different, yet equally great vibe! Includes 2 shorter cuts with a longer middle piece, and to the Trux eternal credit, it's a unique little gem and completely vital piece of their catalog. "Deafer Than Bland" sounds like a swaggery, subterranean Stones-y soul rocker with the wheels just about to come off, with some of the clearer Herrema & Hagerty traded vocals in their canon. "The United States Vs One 1974 Cadillac El Dorado Sedan" is as epic as the title and "Run, Shaker Life" is the perfectly shambling closer.

Even more experimental than the first album from The Swell Maps – a set that features some longer songs and a bit more tunes, but also a lot more weird sounds as well! Instrumentation is often slightly more conventional here, but usually taken to some very unusual places – odd tones and phrases that really mark the Maps as a key link between pre and post-punk sides of the British scene – and which give this record a timeless quality that's kept it essential for years! Epic Soundtracks serves up loads of cool instruments along with his drums – including some toys, violin, typewriter, and even a bit of mumbling – and Nikki Sudden drives the whole thing home with his droney guitar and great vocals. Titles include "Let's Buy A Bridge", "Robot Factory", "Big Maz In The Desert From The Trolley", "Mining Villages", "Collision With A Frogman Vs The Mangrove Delta Plan", "Whatever Happens Next", and "The Helicopter Spies".

Beautiful field recordings of American folk, blues, gospel, and more – the epic, truly wonderful Art Of Field Recording Vol 2 – collected by Art Rosenbaum in the Harry Smith tradition! It's impossible to get around the Harry Smith comparison for a box of treasures like this, but it's especially apt, given that must be one of the best of it's kind since the 90s reissues of Smith's Anthology Of American Folk Music. Rosenbaum has been recording traditional music from the south and around the US for half century himself – and Volume 2 if what we can only hope will be an ongoing series captures spirituals, gospel, blues, bluegrass, fiddle tunes, vocal tunes, guitar tunes, lonely homespun balladry, and lots more – much of it from the 60s, 70s & 80s and some earlier and more recent recordings. It couldn't be more exciting that the traditions of non-professional, home based American folk music have survived all this time, and it's just as wonderful that Rosenbaum has been there to document it. More than 100 songs on 4 CDs, with a thick, beautiful, well researched and illustrated book – with notes on each of the tracks, and tons of photographs. Essential!!!

Beautiful field recordings of American folk, blues, gospel, and more – the epic, truly wonderful Art Of Field Recording Vol 2 – collected by Art Rosenbaum in the Harry Smith tradition! It's impossible to get around the Harry Smith comparison for a box of treasures like this, but it's especially apt, given that must be one of the best of it's kind since the 90s reissues of Smith's Anthology Of American Folk Music. Rosenbaum has been recording traditional music from the south and around the US for half century himself – and Volume 2 if what we can only hope will be an ongoing series captures spirituals, gospel, blues, bluegrass, fiddle tunes, vocal tunes, guitar tunes, lonely homespun balladry, and lots more – much of it from the 60s, 70s & 80s and some earlier and more recent recordings. It couldn't be more exciting that the traditions of non-professional, home based American folk music have survived all this time, and it's just as wonderful that Rosenbaum has been there to document it. More than 100 songs on 4 CDs, with a thick, beautiful, well researched and illustrated book – with notes on each of the tracks, and tons of photographs. Essential!!!

The album that started it all for Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band – the monumental Safe As Milk – a more focused effort than the epic strangeness to come, but still a freak rock masterpiece! Don Van Vliet and the first Magic Band get loose on some messed up, raw, white boy blues, filtered through a fish eye lens with an unbridled energy and the good Captain's unique approach – just beginning to hint at the sublime weirdness he'd unleash later on. Original LP tracks include "Abba Zabba", "Dropout Boogie", "Zig Zag Wanderer", "Electricity", "Yellow Brick Road", "Grown So Ugly", "Autumn's Child" and more – and the CD version has 7 bonus tracks, with alternate takes and more. Essential!

Calexico live in Gemany with Radio Symphonie Orchestre Wien – and giving songs from throughout there career a full on orchestral presentation. 10 tracks in all: "Frontera/Trigger", "Epic", "The News About William", "Black Heart", "Minas De Cobre", "Inspiracion", "Two Silver Trees", "Para", "Crystal Frontier" and "The Vanishing Mind"

The Jimi Hendrix Experience at their most classic! Tripped out bluesy cosmic rock ferocity and great songs, too – firing on all cylinders here on the middle record of their ultra epic three LP series of unimpeachable greatness. Titles include "EXP", "Up From The Skies", "Spanish Castle Magic", "Castles Made Of Sand", "She's So Fine", "One Rainy Wish", "Bold As Love" and more.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience at their most classic! Tripped out bluesy cosmic rock ferocity and great songs, too – firing on all cylinders here on the middle record of their ultra epic three LP series of unimpeachable greatness. Titles include "EXP", "Up From The Skies", "Spanish Castle Magic", "Castles Made Of Sand", "She's So Fine", "One Rainy Wish", "Bold As Love" and more.

An excellent psych/prog sidebar in the history of late 60s and early 70s British rock! Recorded not too long after the duo of McDonald & Giles left the original lineup of King Crimson, this set is a mellower affair, without too many of the hard rock pretensions of Crimson, and without too much of the epic grandiosity that would cluttered up some of their other contemporaries work. The numbers are still pretty lengthy, with lots of clever twist and turns, and enough production flourishes to please the heaviest prog-head, and the group features Steve Winwood and Peter Giles alongside the core duo of Ian McDonald and Michael Giles. Definitley up your alley if you like the rock band with flute thing – and the drums are amazing – very funky at times! Includes "Suite In C", "Flight Of The Ibis", "Is She Waiting", "Tomorrow's People The Children Of Today", and "Birdman".

Excellent early work from Giorgio Moroder – recorded in the pre-disco years, with a trippy rock style that mixes electronics and some surprisingly soulful guitar work! The overall style is almost a prog take on the beat group sound with some poppy touches – a cool blend that was shared briefly by other European groups of the time, before they stretched out and got a bit more trippy. The album's got some nice moogy touches, tight drums by Keith Forsey, and even a bit of keyboards from Max Gregor Jr. Most tracks have vocals, but also kick off with a strong foot instrumentally – making for some great rock break moments that are worth the album alone, even though the full songs are pretty nice too! Titles include the epic "Tears", "Lord Release Me", "Watch Your Step", "Pauline", "Son Of My Father", "Automation", "London Traffic", "Spanish Disaster", and "Underdog". CD features lots of bonus tracks too – including "Today's A Tomorrow", "Everybody Join Hands", "I'm Free Now", "Non Ci Sto", "Take It Shake It Break My Heart", and "Underdog (mono)".

The "biggest" album of Lou Reed's career – in the grand sense – with epic production and a small army of superstar session players and production by spectacle specialist Bob Ezrin – but that's paired with arguably the darkest, gloomiest songcycle ever composed by Lou Reed! The dichotomy works, and Lou apparently agrees, having revisited the material in the mid aughties to great acclaim. Ultimately, this and the previous year's Transformer makes for one of the strangest and most incredible transitions over a short period of time in pop music history. Titles include "Berlin", "Lady Day", "Men Of Good Fortune", "Caroline Says" (I & II), "The Kids", "The Bed", "Sad Song" and more.

The Rolling Stones at their rawest, most shambling, sleazy and brilliant – the epic, unimpeachable Exile On Main Street! What can we say about one of the most iconic LPs of all time other than chime in with our agreement that it's one of the greatest rock albums ever! Big choruses come and go, but the easy hooks of earlier and later Stones hits are buried in mud, grit and a sleazy bluesy groove. Titles include "Rocks Off", "Rip This Joint", "Tumbing Dice", "Sweet Virginia", "Loving Cub", "Torn And Frayed", "Let It Loose", "All Down The Line", "Shine A Light", "Soul Survivor" and more.

The 16th entry in the epic Psychedelic Underground series – one that moves well past the 60s to include prog and post punk era numbers that splintered off and reconstituted from particles launched in the psychedelic 60s! Includes tracks by Tetragon, Xhol, Guru Guru, Surgery, Embryo, Radio Noisz Ensemble and more. Titles include "Snowstorm" by Tetragon, "Surrealistic Scenery" by Xhol, "Wellengamg" by Zoppo Trump", "Dance Of Some Broken Glasses" by Embryo, "Intro" by Surgery and more.

A seminal set from The Swell Maps – at one level a record that's completely of its moment, and at another, a completely unique set that's never been matched since! The Swell Maps were part of the UK scene of the punk years, but were already embracing a lot of post-punk energy in their sound – or, in a way, some pre-punk experimentation – as they mixed in some prog-like instrumentation, creative studio production, and a great ear for mixing up modes – in ways that make the record way way different than just the usual full length set from the time! There's lots of odd percussion at times – occasionally quite cacophonous – and a sense of drone that's years ahead of its time – or maybe leftover from the psych years, too – thanks to the presence of Nikki Sudden in the group, who'd explore that side of the music more on his own during the 80s. Epic Soundtracks provides amazing inspiration on drums – and titles include "Vertical Slum", "Spitfire Parade", "Harmony In Your Bathroom", "Don't Throw Ashtrays At Me", "Midget Submarines", and "Bridge Head (part nine)".

Wicked post-psychedelic rock from Wicked Lady – which are purportedly the group's final recordings – and it's incredible stuff! It's a slab pre-metal heaviness that balance fuzzy guitars and trudging rhythms with a killer groove! The guitars are epic – with swirling psych-indebted fuzz and trudging, Sabbath-y riffs. What's great about the group is the way they carry the influences of both late 60s psych and early 70s proto-metal, while skirting the cliches of both. It sounds great – and it's the kind of thing that still makes waves in underground rock – even decades later! Includes "I'm A Freak", "Tell The Truth", "Passion" a wooly cover of Jimi Hendrix's "Voodoo Chile", "Why Don't You Let Me Try", "Sin City" and the epic closer "Ship Of Ghosts", which spans side four on its own.

Some of the most heavenly pop ever recorded – and a wonderful 2LP collection of work from the later years of The Zombies! A big chunk of the set features work from the group's landmark Odyssey & Oracle – a tremendous album that we'd rank right up there with Pet Sounds for sheer 60s brilliance – plus some other earlier singles, as well as some gems from Colin Blunstone's solo recordings for Epic in the post-Zombies years! Titles include "Care Of Cell 44", "A Rose For Emily", "Maybe After He's Gone", "Beechwood Park", "Brief Candles", "Friends Of Mine", "Butcher's Tale", "Walking In The Sun", "Smokey Day", "She Loves The Way They Love Her", "Imagine The Swan", "If It Don't Work Out", "She's Coming Home", "Tell Her No", "Don't Cry For Me", "I'll Call You Mine", and "You Make Me Feel Good".

One of the more far out-sounding records we've heard on Far Out Records – a wild one from Rio's Dos Cafundos! It's a sometimes funky, sometimes noisy, but always evolving sound – with raw tropical funk mixed with diverse strains of noise rock and jazz, a la Zorn and Zappa. It's never predictable, even if they proudly wear myriad influences on their sleeves! It's got lots of great acoustic and electric guitar work, plus heavy drums and percussion, flutes, violin and more in the mix. There's a lot going on here that would make the group sound right at home on Ipecac Records as much as they do on Far Out – but the Brazilian roots are still very strong! Includes "Coriza", "Disse Me Disse". "Tupraca", "Carnica (O Barao Da Birosca)", "Carranca", "Un -Berum" and the 5-part epic title track.

Iron Maiden at their mid 80s peak – and along with Number Of Beast and Piece Of Mind, Powerslave completes one of the mightiest trilogies in metal history – pretty much cementing the Maiden legend! Kicking off with the incredible one-two punch of "Aces High" and "2 Minutes To Midnight" and closing up with the title track and the epic "Rime Of The Ancient Mariner", there's really no way to call this anything but a classic – but the remaining album tracks are among Maiden's finest, too! Those include killer instrumental "Losver Words (Big 'Orra)", "Flash OF The Blade", "The Duellists" and "Back In The Village".

Even more experimental than the first album from The Swell Maps – a set that features some longer songs and a bit more tunes, but also a lot more weird sounds as well! Instrumentation is often slightly more conventional here, but usually taken to some very unusual places – odd tones and phrases that really mark the Maps as a key link between pre and post-punk sides of the British scene – and which give this record a timeless quality that's kept it essential for years! Epic Soundtracks serves up loads of cool instruments along with his drums – including some toys, violin, typewriter, and even a bit of mumbling – and Nikki Sudden drives the whole thing home with his droney guitar and great vocals. Titles include "Let's Buy A Bridge", "Robot Factory", "Big Maz In The Desert From The Trolley", "Mining Villages", "Collision With A Frogman Vs The Mangrove Delta Plan", "Whatever Happens Next", and "The Helicopter Spies".