The first full-length set from The Who – a blistering batch of rough-edged tunes that run the gamut from bluesy soul to sweeter pop to guitar-driven grinders that show an incredible amount of power – even at this early point! The album's somewhat all over the map, but in a good way – in that it already displays the rich talent the group had for many styles of music – that hard-to-peg quality that made The Who so undeniably Who-like over the years. Titles include the classics "The Kids Are Alright" and "My Generation" – plus "Instant Party", "A Legal Matter", "Out In The Street", "The Good's Gone", "La La La Lies", and "It's Not True". CD

In Bizarroland, low fi pioneer and semi-unhinged cult icon Gary Wilson will put a record out on Stones Throw, and said comeback album will be reviewed in hip hop and DJ-centered publications and receive favorable notices. By Bizarroland, we mean the real world in 2004. The detached, minimalist low fi electro soul frappe of his You Think You Really Know Me, recorded way back in the late 70s, is taken to the next obvious step here, with the childlike melancholy just a little bit more blue. The vocal distortion has the appropriately disquieting effect, as it did back in the day. Tracks include "A Very Small Town", "Linda Wants To Be Alone", "Shauna Made Me Cry", "Gary's In The Park", "Sodus Point", "Gary Saw Linda Last Night", "Electric Depression", "She Makes Me Think Of Endicott", "Hold Back The Daylight" and more – plus the bonus tracks "6.4=Makeout" and "Chromium Bitch" – recorded in 1976! CD

Four incredible albums from the young Georgie Fame – plus a bonus CD of rare material, bonus tracks on all CDs, and 18 previously unreleased tracks – all in a box set with a 48 page book, 5 postcards, and a poster too! First up is Rhythm & Blues At The Flamingo – blistering early work from a young Georgie Fame – a set that definitely lives up to the Rhythm & Blues in the title! The set was recorded live at London's hip Flamingo club – and Georgie and The Blue Flames are very much in command of the crowd – burning with the intensity of a American small organ combo, especially the early 60s variety that often played equal parts soul jazz and R&B! Georgie's on the Hammond, and also sings with a rough-edged style that's plenty soulful, and incredibly appealing – a mode that oozes charisma, but never sounds fake or forced. Titles include "Do The Dog", "Eso Beso", "Work Song", "Baby Please Don't Go", "Shop Around", "Humpty Dumpty", and "You Can't Sit Down". Fame At Last is a brilliant mix of jazz, soul, and R&B – all filtered through a mod sort of London freshness, as early proof that the city could always take some great things from our own musical roots, and feed it back to us with a whole new flavor! Georgie's no copycat here, though – and the sound is instantly Fame-like – a style that's really not the sort that any Americans were doing at the time, and certainly never this well. Hard-burning Hammond colors most of the tunes here – played with a tightly vamping quality – but it's Georgie's charmingly crackling vocals that really win us over! Titles include "Gimme That Wine", "Pink Champagne", "Monkeying Around", "Green Onions", "Let The Sunshine In", "Get On The Right Track Baby", "I'm In The Mood For Love", and "I Love The Life I Live". Sweet Things is a definite sweet thing from Georgie Fame – a record that has him filling in his sound even more than before, with tremendously soulful results! The backings here are bigger than before – a bit tooled in an American soul mode, but still with that beautifully raspy Georgie Fame touch – lots of jazzy inflections on the vocals, and a way of handling a tune, even a familiar one, and really working it on his own level. Hammond still fills in most of the tunes, but other instrumentation includes some nice African percussion from Speedy Acquaye, saxes from Pete Coe, and some nice bold drums from John Mitchell. These come out to the forefront on the classic funky tune "Music Talk" – and still sound great on other numbers that include "The World Is Round", "Last Night", "Dr Kitch", "My Girl", "Ride Your Pony", and "Sweet Thing". Sound Venture is one of the jazziest early albums from Georgie Fame – a set that has him singing with the big band of Harry South, at a level that's a lot more complicated than some of his other work with The Blue Flames! The style here still has that mod 60s London feel, but it also has some deeper inflections as well – modes borrowed a bit from Jon Hendricks or Mose Allison, yet served up with even greater complexity – at a level that really points towards the tremendous growth Fame would unleash over the next few years. Members of the group include Tubby Hayes, Ronnie Scott, Tony Coe, Dick Morrisey, Kenny Wheeler, and many other key Brit jazz figures of the time – and titles include "Three Blind Mice", "Dawn Yawn", "Feed Me", "Lovey Dovey", "Lil Darlin", "Lil Pony", "I Am Missing You", and "Many Happy Returns". CD5 is Bend A Little – a package with 20 unusual titles – demos, rare tracks, and outtakes – including unreleased tracks, IBC recordings, and even two German tracks too! Plus, each individual CD comes with bonus tracks – 40 bonus tracks, in addition to the 20 more titles on the Bend A Little set – a huge amount of material! (Vocalists, Rock) CD

A seminal criss-crossing of styles from the late 60s Cali scene – served up by a group who were steeped in blues, but a big part of the psychedelic scene at the time – and somehow managed to merge both of their worlds effortlessly, at a level that was even more powerful and effective than most of their contemporaries! Leigh Stephen is a monster on guitar – already using lots more freak and fuzz than the earlier generations who inspired him – and bassist Dick Peterson also sings, almost as if he's channeling his instrument to give him the same soulful depth that would later come from Phil Lynott – all supported by the driving drums of Paul Whaley. The whole thing's got a nice freaky sound, thanks to production from Abe Voco Kesh – and titles include the great long original "Doctor Please", plus takes on "Summertime Blues" and "Parchment Farm" – and the titles "Out Of Focus", "Rock Me Baby", and "Second Time Around". CD

Far-reaching sounds from The Flock – a group who were maybe one of the best American acts at the end of the 60s to blend trippy rock with the big new wave of jazz fusion! These guys definitely use horns in a way that link them to the chunky groove of early work by Chicago or Blood Sweat & Tears – but they're also clearly going for a more long-haired vibe, too – especially when they open up on some acoustic stringed instrumentation – such as 12-string guitar or violin, both of which are handled by Jerry Goodman in a really great way! These instruments really shape some of the sound of the set – especially the violin when it's used in these freewheeling passages that might give Jean-Luc Ponty a run for his money – but there's also a core, tight soulful sound that balances things out nicely – as does some of the heavy drums and fuzzy guitar! Titles include "Clown", "I Am The Tall Tree", "Store Bought Store Thought", and "Truth" – plus a very cool funky cover of The Kinks' "Tired Of Waiting". CD

Two very cool, very unusual albums from The McCoys! Infinite McCoys is really weird, wonderful work from The McCoys – a group who've definitely drunk deep of the psychedelic brew since the years of their more soulful "Hang On Sloopy" hit! There's a richly expanded set of instrumentation going on here – all arranged by the group, with all sorts of things going on – including organ, ondioline, harpsichord, vibes, tablas, and a whole host of other things – like whip, bottle, machinery, and other things used to create odd sounds throughout the record! The set has a few more direct numbers mixed with some much more experimental ones – and includes some great jazzy use of horns, including alto from Freddy Lipsius and trumpet from Randy Brecker. Titles include "Hell", "Rosa Rodriguez", "Faces", "Resurrection", "Genesis Through A Window", "Melodrama", and "Union City Waltz". On Human Ball, the McCoys really let their hair down and freak flag fly – coming across in all sorts of really great ways that are light years beyond their early material! The set moves effortlessly between material that's groovy, bluesy, and sometimes warmly harmonic – all with the same sense of experimentation the group brought to their great Infinite album, but a bit more compact in terms of arrangements and expression! Titles include "Clergy Lies", "Daybreak", "Only Human", "Human Ball Blues", and "It Really Doesn't Matter". CD