Rock — CDs  

Lost funk rock from Ballinjack – the rare self-titled set for Columbia that's arguably best remembered for being so massively sampled – but the group that deserves a more widely-credited legacy! The sound is a bit like Mandrill on the best cuts, with the band going hard on the funky... read more

A stone classic from Blood Sweat & Tears – and a record that went onto have a tremendous impact in jazz, rock, funk, and soul! The group's format is plenty darn famous – adding a lot of horns to hip riffing grooves – but despite countless plays on oldies stations over the... read more

A wild debut from Blood Sweat & Tears – one of those records that forever changed the face of popular music! The set's noteworthy not just for early vocals from Al Kooper – who was a key part of the group at their start – but also for key production work from a young John... read more

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Blood Sweat & Tears are really stretching out here – working their already-famous magic through a range of great tunes, both originals and covers – and coming up with some great longer-form expressions of their sound in the process! David Clayton-Thomas is firmly in the lead on... read more

David Bowie's grabbing the cover of Heroes for this surprisingly great album – using the old cover art, then marking it over – in ways that definitely give a hint at the sound underneath! The style's darker and edgier than we've heard Bowie in years – kind of in "Joe The... read more

Mindblowing music from The Byrds – and one of the greatest evolutions in pop music from the 60s! The Byrds were always at the forefront of their generation – starting out as a folksy act mixing in early psychedelia, then reaching for deeper roots with a love of country, yet also really... read more

Another one of the greatest mid 60s Columbia albums by Cash, with a proper CD release! Orange Blossom Special is probably the most successful of Johnny's LPs in which he balances the profound influence of Bob Dylan with his own rough hewn style for something wholly unique. Cash covers 3 of Dylan's... read more

A slightly headier sound than before from Chad & Jeremy – music that's still in a great mix of Brit Invasion and Sunshine Pop, but which also shows a somewhat deeper sensibility too – a desire to reach past the simpler pop modes that first got the pair going here in the US! Chad... read more

The second album from Leonard Cohen – a more stripped down effort produced by Bob Johnston, with some really odd washes of sound on the outer edges of the sound – adding some slightly uneasy atmosphere that's paired masterfully with Cohen's moody pen. An album full of subtle triumphs,... read more

One of those great examples of a wildly successful songwriter recording a terrific album of his own, but not connecting with the pop consciousness – which is shame, because Roger James Cooke's Study is, well, a study in wonderful late 60s songcraft! Cook was actually no stranger to... read more

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A really wild little album – and exactly what it says in the title: hard rock from the Middle East! The album takes eastern instrumentation on oud, bouzoki, tamboura, and accordion – and fuses it with some hard grooving bass, guitar, and drums – all hitting heavy late 60s acid-ti... read more

Bob Dylan and his great band whip up a moody, yet darkly humorous Tempest – and while the overall greatness of his records came down just notch or two after Love And Theft – this one goes the other way and comes pretty damn close to his late-era peaks! Lyrically, it's definitely better... read more

A tremendous debut from this overlooked late 60s group from the UK – a powerhouse that would later go onto fuel bigger groups like Jethro Tull, Emerson Lake & Palmer, and Uriah Heep! This initial outing has a surprisingly soulful feel at times – still very rockish in the... read more

A smoking second set from The Gods – and a record that captures the British scene at a perfect point when new ideas were definitely coming into play, but could still be served up in a style that was pretty lean and mean overall! All the cuts on the set have the potential of being much longer... read more

One of the greatest moog albums ever – all original sounds and tunes from the legendary Bruce Haack! Haack had spent most of the 60s doing small label kiddie records on his own, but this late 60s gem on Columbia is probably his best known work – a masterpiece of short and groovy little... read more

A strange lost relic from Beach Boy Bruce Johnston – recorded in the mid 70s with some sweet AOR production work by Gary Usher. The album's actually a fantastic slice of late 60s sunny LA pop – and features work by Curt Boettcher, Chad Stuart, and a few other lost pop luminaries –... read more

Rare work from the west coast mainstream pop underground of the 60s – that magical musical place where cats who had bigger gigs were able to make some special sounds in between the chart singles – groovy little records that often got lost amidst the shifting sands of time! Two of the... read more

Fantastic work from this legendary British prog/jazz/rock group that featured Robert Wyatt and Phil Miller – with a full CD of bonus material! Little Red Record was originally one of the only two they ever cut, and it sounds like a mix between Wyatt-era Soft Machine material, and some of... read more

A wonderful set from Zoot Money – a solo project, away from his big band – recorded with a soulful groove that's right up there with the best 60s work by Georgie Fame! That's no surprise, though, given that Money and Fame were both key parts of the Brit scene of the time –... read more

A sweet harmony set from Pozo Seco – working here partly as the duo of Don Williams and Susan Taylor, and partly in the trio format known from their previous records as the Pozo Seco Singers! The duo tracks are especially nice, and really showcase Taylor's amazing vocals – and the... read more

A great assemblage of Billy Joe Shaver's excellent, overlooked 80s records for Columbia – from a time when most mainstream country was getting glossier and more cliched – and Billy was sticking to hardscrabble yet soulful outlaw roots! This 2CD set includes the complete I'm Just An Old... read more

A surprisingly sweet solo effort from Beach Boy Dennis Wilson – a record of surprising depth and darkness, and arguably stronger than most of the albums at the time from the larger group! Dennis produced the album himself, with some executive help from James William Guerico – whose... read more