One of Emmylou Harris's best loved albums, and for good reason – it's a major departure from the some of the more straightforward, if neo classic country of her late 80s and earlier 90s work, taking on a more atmospheric sound with producer Daniel Lanois. Lanois deserves credit for inspiring a new direction for Emmylou, but Wrecking Ball is her show – and of all the folk, country and roots-oriented artists Lanois worked with over the years, Harris is the one with a voice big enough fill the atmosphere, and intimate enough to pull it back down to earth. Includes "Where Will I Be", "Goodbye", "All My Tears", "Wrecking Ball", "Goin' Back To Harlan", "Blackhawk", "Orphan Girl", "May This Be Love" and "Waltz Across Texas". (Folk/Country, Rock) CD

One of the rarest Lee Hazlewood albums, and one of the coolest, too – the set falls a bit later than some of his other work on the Swedish scene – and, like Cowboy In Sweden, it's also a soundtrack too – but the vibe is different than that one, and almost shows this maturation of Lee's style – as if he's absorbing even more unusual elements during his time overseas, and finding a way to keep growing his sound away from his American years in LA! All the Hazlewood craft for songs and nicely wry vocals is still very much in place – but there's also some nice shifts in the arrangements, too – deepening things some fuller elements at times, yet stepping back into tighter elements at others. Titles include "Soul's Island", "A House Safe For Tigers", "Our Little Boy Blue", "Sand Hill Anna & The Russian", "Absent Friends", and a nice remake of "The Nights"! (Vocalists, Rock) CD

If this is reality, lead us onward – as the set is a mindblowing batch of trippy psych-funk from The Heliocentrics – even more offbeat and experimental than before, in ways that make the combo the true heirs to the legacy first begun by Stark Reality! The album's definitely funky at the core, but it's also filled with loads of amazing sounds – instruments tuned weirdly, played weirdly, and produced weirdly – so that over the heavy drums, there's often lots of freaky, fuzzy bits and tripped-out sounds – in ways that make the record feel like some lost acid trip outtakes from the Westbound studios of the early 70s – or like some obscure funk band that dropped acid at Andy Warhol's loft! The packaging offers up a visual example of what your ears will be going through when you tune into the music – and titles include "Mysterious Ways", "Collateral Damage", "Black Sky", "Calabash", "Path Of The Black Sun", "Mr Owusu I Presume", "Eastern Begena", and loads of cool interlude tracks too. (Deep Funk, Rock) CD

Jefferson Airplane's weirder follow-up to Surrealistic Pillow – and a pretty incredible record – concentrating their sprawling psychedelic impulses into fairly succinct 3 to 4 minute songs, for the most part! It's a creative approach,and it's a brave record. If Surrealistic Pillow lured the mainstream into the rabbit hole, this one is the tripped out tea party inside! Only a couple of tunes roll past the 5 minute mark, so it never gets too far out, and it's got plenty of chugging, bluesy rock to keep it neat. Includes "The Ballad Of You & Me & Pooneil", "Young Girl Sunday Blues", "Martha", "Wild Tyme", "Two Heads", "Watch Her Ride", "Won't You Try/Sunday Afternoon"and more. CD

Jefferson Airplane flying high in the late 60s – and Crown Of Creation was both a creative and commercial triumph for the band – balancing the tripped out adventurousness of their earlier work, with a more focused approach! Front loaded with moodier, acoustic-based songs that build into heavier rock as the record plays on – with some really great use of sound effects for added drama here and there! Titles include "Lather", "In Time", "Star Track", "Chushingura", "If You Feel", "Ice Cream Phoenix", "The House At Pooniel Corners" and more. CD

A classic run of records from Waylon Jennings – brought together in a single package! First up is Lonesome Onry & Mean – a pivotal album for Waylon Jennings – the record where he really found the new direction that would finally get him the fame he deserved – delivered in a way that's free from all the later cliches, and which also ties Waylon pretty strongly to the hipper currents of the underground – especially that point where singer/songwriter genius intersected with country! The production is his own, and vastly different than the late 60s records – even though we love those to death too – and that magical Jennings vocal approach does fantastic things to tunes by Steve Young, Mickey Newbury, Kris Kristofferson, and others! Titles include the fantastic "Lonesome Onry & Mean", plus "Good Time Charlie's Got The Blues", "Freedom To Stay", "Lay It Down", "You Can Have Her", "Pretend I Never Happened", "San Francisco Mabel Joy", "Sandy Sends Her Best", and a great take on "Me &Bobby McGee". Honky Tonk Heroes is genius material from Waylon Jennings – one of those career-defining records from the early 70s that completely put him on top, and heralded a whole new generation in country music! The set's maybe equally noteworthy as a showcase for the up-and-coming Billy Joe Shaver, who wrote much of the songs on the record – and it's also a great showcase for the important production talents of Tompall Glaser, who really gets the spirit of the music right! Titles include great versions of "Honky Tonk Heroes", "Old Five & Dimers Like Me", "Ride Me Down Easy", "Black Rose", "Willy The Wandering Gypsy & Me", "Omaha", and "Ain't No God In Mexico". This Time is one of those Waylon Jennings records from a time when he could do no wrong – fighting the stronger powers at RCA to really find his voice – recording at the studio of Tompall Glaser, with great production help from Willie Nelson – who was enjoying his own transformation at the time too! As with the previous two gems from this period, the choice of material and presentation is great – songs by Willie, JJ Cale, and Billy Joe Shavers – in a set of titles that include "Heaven Or Hell", "It's Not Supposed To Be That Way", "This Time", "Pick Up The Tempo", "If You Could Touch Her At All", "Walkin", "Slow Rollin Low", "Louisiana Woman", and "Slow Movin Outlaw". Ramblin Man is Waylon Jennings at peak mid 70s perfection! Ramblin' Man fits in stylistically with the gruff honky tonk hero mode he first fully realized a couple albums earlier, but he's still fiercely blazing trails here, pairing his gruff lead vocals with sweeter female harmonies on some tracks, changing the groove from laidback swagger to fast-paced honky tonk, working in some tender ballads with the gruffer numbers...Waylon at his best. Starts up with the eternal title track and equally classic "Rainy Day Woman" and hardly lets up in greatness from there, with "Cloudy Days", "The Hunger", "It'll Be Her", a great cover of the Allman Brothers' "Midnight Rider", "Memories Of You And Me", "Amanda" and more. Features bonus tracks too – "Laid Back Country Picker", "The Last One To Leave Seattle", "Big Big Love", "Got A Lot Going For Me", "The Last Letter", and "The One I Sing My Love Songs To". (Folk/Country, Rock) CD

The debut album from Meiko Kaji – an artist most folks knew first as an actress, but whose voice finds a wonderful setting in this record! There's a gentle current of funk to most tracks – stepping electric bass next to soaring strings, a bit of horns, and great use of koto from time to time – all to create this mellow groove that's totally great, and instantly appealing – which then opens the door to the subtle drama that Meiko brings to her vocals – beautifully sung, but with a presence that's very gripping, even if you don't understand the lyrics – and really served up in the best way possible, given the arrangements! Lyrics and titles are in Japanese – and tunes include "Shitto", "Aieno Kitai", "Ginchou Wataridori", "Jingi Komoriuta", "Ginchou Buruusu", "Hamabeno Meruhen", and "Yogiro Sukina Anata". (Japanese, Rock) CD

Overlooked genius from Led Zeppelin – an album that was missed by many the first time around, because of it's tight focus and simplicity! For the set, the group step back just a bit from their more stylistically sprawling tendencies – almost as if they got some of the more ambitious ideas out of their system with Physical Graffiti, or simply wanted to get out there and kick some ass – a back to basics move, and one that sees some tremendous guitar work from Jimmy Page! The album still has some longer songs and complicated changes – this is Led Zeppelin, after all – and the lack of over-played classic rock radio fodder actually makes this one a better listen nowadays than the more iconic albums. Includes "Achilles Last Stand", "For Your Life", "Nobody's Fault But Mine", "Candy Store Rock", "Hots On For Nowhere", and "Tea For One". CD

A southwestern group, and one with a very groovy vibe – thanks to a great way of mixing together well-crafted guitar lines and harmonized vocals, all at a level that competes with some of the bigger names out in LA at the time! The set features recordings done in sessions from 1964, 1966, and 1967 – the latter two of which really have the Lewallen Brothers stepping into Sunset Strip territory – both in the catchy quality of their vocals, and in the way they use very slight psych touches in their music. CD features 14 tracks in all – and titles include "Together Forever", "Kind Hearted", "Think It Over", "Alone Again", "It Must Be Love", "What More Can I Say", "Only A Dream", and "If I Were You". CD

Huey's biggest album of the 80s – with hits that include "I Want A New Drug", "Heart & Soul", "If This Is It", and "The Heart Of Rock & Roll". CD

Trini Lopez blew up in pretty big way in the early 60s, circa "If I Had A Hammer", but in the preceding years he cut a slew of great singles for King & DRA – early rock style rumblers and moodier numbers that are just as great – collected here nicely by Ace! Trini's vocals are charismatic as can be, whether it's the slyly menacing way he does on this set's title track, or on more yearning, romantic stylist, and always with cool guitar work. Many of those tunes were released with overdubs, but these rawer, superior versions are seeing reissue for the first time in a generation here. Includes "Sinner Not A Saint", "Rock On", "Where Can My Baby Be", "The Club For Broken Hearts", "Rosita", "Chain Of Love", "Sweet Thing", "My Runaway Heart", "You Broke The Only Heart That Ever Loved You", "It Hurts To Be In Love", "Since I Don't Have You", "Don't Go" and more. 29 tracks in all. CD