The twilight renaissance of Leonard Cohen continues on Popular Problems – which joins the preceding Old Ideas album up on the top shelf with some of his best work of the past couple decades! The heaviness of the years in his voice is the album's second strongest element, after the inimitably phrased poetry of his lyricism – backed with angelic female backing vocals and spare instrumentation – led by keyboards, bass, light drums and guitar and some violin. Includes "Slow", "Almost Like The Blues", "Samson In New Orleans", "Did I Ever Love You", "Born In Chains", "You Got Me Singing", "A Street" and more. CD

Leonard Cohen's debut for Columbia, one of the most astounding first albums of its era, and to this day a towering achievement in both songwriting and myth making! The production is that perfectly haunting mix of sparseness and grandeur, with Cohen's lyricism piercing and penetrating wonderfully – his voice never sounded better, and this is certainly one of the great "lightening in a bottle" efforts that was hard to top by Cohen or anyone else in the more poetic upper levels of pop music. Includes ""Suzanne", "Master Song", "Winter Lady", "The Stranger Song", "Sisters Of Mercy", "So Long, Marianne", "Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye", "Stories Of The Street", "Teachers" and "One Of Us Cannot Be Wrong". LP, Vinyl record album

A really beautiful solo album from Jon Anderson – best known as the lead singer of Yes, stepping out here with a set that matches the solo projects of Chris Squire and Steve Howe from the same time! Yet unlike those efforts, this one is truly a solo recording – as Anderson not only sings, but handles all the instruments himself – keyboards, guitars, and everything else – folded together in a sound that's very faithful, thanks to work from Mike Dunne, who'd handled a lot of the sound for recordings by Yes! Given that Anderson's not an instrumental virtuoso, like some of his bandmates, the record is a nice change from some of the side-long power jams of mid 70s Yes – tunes that together tell a story, but which have a lyrical, personal vibe that also really suits the charms of Jon's vocals. The set feels nicely like a mid 70s side-chapter of Yes – in ways that are different than the solo records by Howe and Squire – and titles include "Ocean Song", "To The Runner", "Flight Of The Moorglade", "Solid Space", "Dance Of Rampart/Olias", and "Meeting/Sound Out The Galleon". LP, Vinyl record album

Four lost albums from David Blue – a really compelling singer/songwriter, ripe for rediscovery! First up is These 23 Days In September, recorded for Reprise – a really moody little record from David Blue – a folksy singer who's got a style that definitely lives up to the melancholy promise of his name! Blue's definitely an artist with a difference – working in the familiar mode of vocals and acoustic guitar, but with an edge and distinctness that really sets him apart from the folkies of a few year before – that sense of different that really set apart a new wave of contemporaries, like Leonard Cohen, Fred Neill, or Tom Rapp. Titles include "These 23 Days In September", "The Sailor's Lament", "Scales For A Window Thief", "You Will Come Back Again", "Slow & Easy", and "The Grand Hotel". Stories is an overlooked early set on Asylum – the kind of really special singer/songwriter material that really set the label apart at the start of the 70s! David Blue has this compelling vocal style that's moody, but down to earth – inflected here and there with guitar contributions from Ry Cooder, who's understated, but really brings out some special qualities in the tunes. Jack Nitzsche adds in some light strings at points – but overall, things are pretty spare and personal – and titles include "Looking For A Friend", "Another One Like Me", "Sister Rose", "The Blues", "Come On John", "Marianne", and "Fire In The Morning". Nice Baby & The Angel shows David Blue really starting to get some star power in his mix – a fuller set, produced by Graham Nash – with work from Nash on guitar, plus more guitar from Dave Mason and David Lindley – in a nice mix of roots elements, but which never overwhelm that unique sense of songwriting and vocals that set David Blue apart from the rest. Titles include "Darlin Jenny", "Troubadour Song", "Train To Anaheim", "True To You", "On Sunday Any Sunday", and "Outlaw Man". On the cover of Cupid's Arrow, David Blue might look a bit cheesy, what with his open shirt and all – but he's definitely the real deal, and very down to earth in his singer/songwriter approach – with a quality that's only underscored by the lineup on the set – a group that features Levon Helm on drums, Jesse Ed Davis on guitar, David Lindley on mandolin and slide, and Barry Goldberg on piano and organ, and also handling production of the album too. The shift from David's roots is a bit like that taken by other contemporaries who once started in more folksy territory, then found a new way to grow in the west coast singer/songwriter scene – and that means that things are more electrified, but still quite far from mainstream music – with original tunes from Blue throughout, and titles that include "I Feel Bad", "Maria Maria", "Primeval Tune", She's Got You", "Tom's Song", and "Run Run Run". CD

A landmark album from Joe Cocker – and a set that took blue-eyed soul in a whole new direction at the end of the 60s! The album's a surprising stunner all the way through – one that really gets past some of the overdone Cocker cliches that held on a bit too strongly in later years – served up here in relative simplicity, with core backing by Chris Stainton and The Grease Band, plus some key LA help from Leon Russell, and a bevy of backup singers that includes Merry Clayton, Bonnie Bramlett, Rita Coolidge, and Patrice Holloway. Russell co-produced the set, and his soulful touch definitely helps do a lot for Cocker's already-amazing vocals – adding in an undercurrent of funk that wasn't heard on Joe's first album. Titles include a classic remake of "She Came In Through The Bathroom Window", plus "Delta Lady", "Something", "That's Your Business Now", "Hitchcock Railway", "Dear Landlord", "Darling Be Home Soon", and "Hello Little Friend". LP, Vinyl record album

A landmark album from the mighty Bob Dylan – a 2LP set of studio work, which was quite rare at the time – and a set that has Dylan stretching out all his creative powers in newly different directions! The album had a long genesis in the studio – some early work with The Band, then Dylan breaking off with Al Kooper and Robbie Robertson to head down to Nashville – where they interacted with key country session musicians to make this masterful blend of music – work that's not country at all, but which is also moving past Dylan's folk roots too – with a blend of music that still as mindblowing today as it was back in the mid 60s! This is definitely one of those double-length sets that makes fantastic use of all the extra space – overflowing with gems that include "Rainy Day Women # 12 & 35", "Visions Of Johanna", "Pledging My Time", "Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again", "Leopard-Skin Pill Box Hat", and "Just Like A Woman". CD

A cabinet full of psychedelic wonders from Dutch genius Jacco Gardner! Jacco carries a torch from some of the more swirling psych era sounds from around the world – getting a little bit of assistance on the drums – but he otherwise wrote, produced, and plays everything on this excellent record himself. There's a lot going here, so that's mighty impressive! Reminiscent of some of our favorite late 60s psych that blends gentle melodies with thick atmosphere – with echoey vocals, organ, harpsichord and more. Nice! Includes "Clear The Air", "The One Eyed King", "Puppets Dangling", "Where Will You Go", "Watching The Moon", "Cabinet Of Curiosities", "The Riddle", "Lullaby", "Help Me Out", "Summer's Game", "Chameleon" and "The Ballad Of Little Jane". CD

... CD

A comeback album of sorts for Lonnie Mack, recorded for Elektra with a really down-home sound that's almost verging on southern soul at points! In a way, the set's kind of a nod to the sorts of genres in rock that Mack's music first helped unlock in earlier years – done at a time when it was a bit more acceptable to cross boundaries and reference roots that weren't actually yours in your music! The execution here is surprisingly strong and without hoke – a few notches up from Leon Russell – and Mack's guitar is in fine fine form, supported by a good deal of organ in the backings. Titles include "Gotta Be An Answer", "Untouched By Human Love", "I Found A Love", "Baby What You Want Me To Do", "Mt Healthy Blues", "What Kind Of World Is This", and "Things Have Gone To Pieces". LP, Vinyl record album

Dave Mason's first solo album – and a pretty a great one! Alone Together wasn't a huge hit back in the day, but man is a ever a pleasing set. It's rich with blues & soul steeped lead vocals and sweet backing harmonies and bed of acoustic guitars at the core of most of the tunes – sometimes with a driving intensity, others with a lightly gliding pace. The production is a nice mix of blue-eyed blues and southern skewing wah wah rock – with great musicians in the mix, from Leon Russell to Eric Clapton. Tracks include "Only You Know And I Know", "Can't Stop Worrying, Can't Stop Loving", "Waitin' On You", "Shouldn't Have Took More Than You Gave", "World In Changes", "Sand And Deep As You", "Just A Song" and "Look At You, Look At Me". LP, Vinyl record album

A sharp blend of edgey guitar, offbeat vocals, and lots of other electronic elements – but still served up with plenty of warmth, thanks to the unique approach of Thiago Nassif! Nassif works here with contributions from Vinicius Cantuaria and Arto Lindsay – and in a way, his music is in a similar territory to both of those artists – but as unique as any of their recordings over the years too! Nassif clearly understands the deeper corners of Brazilian music, and has an ear for more experimental modes – but also finds a way to make music with a very personal statement, as he weaves together electric drums with real percussion, guitar loops and keyboards, and even some "Venom synth" of his own. Titles include "Pele De Leopardo", "Voz Unica Foto Sem Calcinha", "Plastico", "Trepa Trepa", "Feral Fox", and "Transparente". (Brazil, Rock) CD

A sharp blend of edgey guitar, offbeat vocals, and lots of other electronic elements – but still served up with plenty of warmth, thanks to the unique approach of Thiago Nassif! Nassif works here with contributions from Vinicius Cantuaria and Arto Lindsay – and in a way, his music is in a similar territory to both of those artists – but as unique as any of their recordings over the years too! Nassif clearly understands the deeper corners of Brazilian music, and has an ear for more experimental modes – but also finds a way to make music with a very personal statement, as he weaves together electric drums with real percussion, guitar loops and keyboards, and even some "Venom synth" of his own. Titles include "Pele De Leopardo", "Voz Unica Foto Sem Calcinha", "Plastico", "Trepa Trepa", "Feral Fox", and "Transparente". (Brazil, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

The incredible debut from Pearls Before Swine – a group who were a bit late to the New York folk party of the 60s – but at a level that really helped them evolve past the rest of their scene! The album's sometimes a bit overlooked – as it came out on the mostly-jazz ESP label – but it's a mindblowing treasure from the year of 1967, and one of the most forward-thinking albums of the time! The group begin with folk constructions, but really take off quickly with some trippier elements too – especially when they mix organ, vibes, or electronics with more familiar guitar and mandolin. Singer Tom Rapp maybe has a slight touch of Dylan in his approach, but he's already up there as his own man – and we love Rapp so much, we'd place him in the same heady territory as Tim Buckley, Tim Hardin, or Leonard Cohen – all of whose work is a good match for the energy here. There's a wonderfully dark quality to this album that gives it a timeless feel – strains of avant instrumentation underneath the gentler sound of Rapp's voice, and an undying sadness that's matched by the feel of songs like "Another Time", "Playmate", "Drop Out", "Ballad To An Amber Lady", "Miss Morse", "I Shall Not Care", and "Morning Song". LP, Vinyl record album

A return to folksier forms for Tom Rapp and Pearls Before Swine – working here in territory that's very different than some of the baroque light arrangements used on previous records. Rapp's emerging as a more confident singer/songwriter – recording in an almost Dylan-like setting, but with more of the irony of Leonard Cohen, and as always, working in a timeless idiom that's still beginning to be understood more than 30 years after its inception. Beautiful work throughout – as earthy as it is majestic – and with titles that include "My Father", "The Man", "Once Upon A Time", "City Of Gold", "Nancy", and "Wedding". LP, Vinyl record album

Overlooked mid-period work from this legendary Korean trio – music the group recorded after their first three albums – all records that have been reissued a bit over the years, which these tracks have not! There's a deeply moody vibe to the music – still all the fuzz, freak, and messed-up elements of the past – but sometimes a bit more focused and tuneful – not in a way that has you thinking that these guys are going for hits at all, but just with this quality that shows them maybe finding a way to bring subtle power to their psychedelic leanings, and slip them into the mainstream! Given the timing of the tracks here – from the late 70s/early 80s generation – the music is almost a bridge between older psych modes and that huge explosion of new psychedelic energy that would show up on the UK scene in the latter half of the 80s – music that certainly resonates well with some of these cuts. 2LP set features 23 tracks in all – with titles that include "Dreaming Doll", "Red Balloon", "A Teacup", "Let's Go To The Vineyard", "Portrait Of A Lady Shaman", An Hourglass In Midday", "Chameleon", "Tomorrow & Tomorrow Again", "Fly Away Bird", "A Strange Day Like This", and "Naughty Boy". LP, Vinyl record album

Raucous drag strip rockers and driving R&B-fueled instrumentals by The T-Bones – killer material on Liberty from a group of young session wizards – including Hal Blaine, Glen Campbell, Leon Russell, Dave Pell, Steve Douglas and others! It's wildly fun stuff that goes all in with the drag strip novelty – but totally transcends it – with some rubber-burning, rumbling excellence! Killer guitars, sax, organ drums from a one-time relatively anonymous cast of players. Includes "Hey Little Cobra", "Shut Down", "Drag City", "Draggin'", "Scorchin", "Little Deuce Coupe", "Boss Drag" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

A tremendous document of work by Jake Thackray – one of the most unique talents on the British music scene of the 60s, but an artist who's sadly been un-remembered over the years! At first glance, Jake's definitely a folkie, but he's also one with a strong influence from French singer/songwriters like Jacques Brel or George Brassens – and takes key inspiration from them in the depth and darkness of his work. Like both Brel and Brassens, Thackray's got a style that's almost out of time – one that's ageless at some points, but with a very contemporary way of viewing the world – personal, pointed, and penned with an incredible sense of wit. In an era when most folkies were attacking the political or pushing into the fantastic, Jake spent careful time looking at human foibles and the complexities of interpersonal relationships – always from a distance, but close enough to note the odd humor in even the most banal situations. This wonderful set brings together 4 of Thackray's albums for EMI – Bantam Cock, Last Will & Testament, Jake's Progress, and On Again On Again – all of which feature Jake's slightly jazz-inflected vocals alongside acoustic guitar and very spare, but well-chosen additional instrumentation. Package also features a full disc of unreleased material – including different versions of other tunes on the albums. 97 tracks in all, and a wonderful musical discovery throughout! Titles include "The Cactus", "Country Bus", "Brother Gorilla", "The Girl In The Window", "Ulysses", "Scallywag", "Salvation Army Girl", "On The Shelf", "Go Little Swale", "Isabel Makes Love On National Monuments", "Joseph", "Famous People", "The Gravedigger", and "Leopold Alcocks". CD

The Hawkwind sax man himself, at the head of a live band featuring Helios Creed, Del Dettmar, Genesis P. Orridge, Alan Powell and members of Pressurehed – blasting through 21 classic Hawkwind songs! CD

(Folk/Country, Rock) CD

There's a 4AD-styled image on the cover – and the set looks at a moment in late 80s music when things were nicely swirling together – when production was getting a bit more layered and sophisticated from a few years before – yet not in a way that was overly polished or commercial! Instead, the style represented a new level of sonic sophistication – ways of taking core sounds and spinning them out with greater depth – which made for some really wonderful textures and shapes in the music – pushing things forward in ways that helped the vocals a lot too! The title references a few styles of the time, but there's plenty more going on within – a huge array of work on a special book-style, 4CD package that comes complete with loads of detailed notes on the music. Dozens of tracks in all – work by Ultra Vivid Scene, This Mortal Coil, Shelleyan Orphan, The Chameleons, Louis Philippe, Cranes, Breathless, Kitchens Of Distinction, The Wake, Lush, His Name Is Alive, Lycia, The Sweetest Ache, Smashing Orange, Sweet Jesus, Cranberries, Telescopes, Innocence Mission, Mazzy Star, St Etienne, Low, Dubstar, Pale Saints, and many others. CD

A hip little set that's as groovy as its cover – a whole batch of cat-themed tunes from the 50s and 60s, most of them in a hip jazzy sort of style! Things are never too kitty-creepy – as they are with that lady down the street who owns way too many cats – and instead, most of the numbers here have a clean, lean sort of sound that's more in the mode of a 50s jazz "cat" than that of the four-legged, furry type. About half the numbers here are instrumentals with a really mod feel, and the rest are vocal numbers, of a variety of different genres – all put together in a way that's surprisingly fresh, and plenty darn groovy throughout. Titles include "The Cat" by Eddie & Ernie, "Three Cool Cats" by The Coasters, "Cleo" by Rene Hall, "Kitty Kat" by Paul Ott, "El Pussy Cat" by Mongo Santamaria, "Sneakin Up On You" by Peggy Lee, "Cat Nip" by Dave Baby Cortez, "Cat Hop" by The Dodgers, "Walkin My Cat Named Dog" by Norma Tanega, "The Cat" by Jimmy Smith, "The Cat Came Back" by Sonny James, "That Darned Cat" by Buddy Greco, "The Kitty Kat Song" by Lee Dorsey, "If You Play With Cats" by Charles Brown, "Tom Cat" by The Rooftop Singers, and "Top Cat Theme Song" by Top Cat Orchestra. (Funky Compilations, Rock) CD

With selections by The Vandals, Bouncing Souls, Mr T Experience, NOFX, Tilt, Sublime, New Bomb Turks, and others. (Soundtracks, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

Hawaiian compilation featuring Glenn Pinho, John Lincoln, Breezin', Byl Leonard, Bert Bascone, Cooper's Still, Wedell Ing, Country Living, Hoapili, Shak-Bait, Norm Su'a and Starbird, and Kawika. (Global Grooves, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

A really great package, and one that shows all the cool criss-crossings of styles that we happening up in the hills of LA at the end of the 60s! The artists here are all part of the famous Laurel Canyon scene – a place where late folk, new psych, country rock, and other modes criss-crossed in loose social networks, music studios, and clubs – creating an array of sounds here that really might catch you by surprise! You'll know most of the artists within, but the presentation of them together makes for a very cool compilation – especially as the 3CD set begins with lesser-known early work, then tracks shifts in sounds and styles – moving into later years when the artists and sounds had shifted down into the Hollywood scene. At another level, the whole thing also just makes for a great evolution of Cali rock and pop over a few short years – presented with detailed notes on the artists, songs, and scene – with a set list of 72 tracks that includes work by The Turtles, Rick Nelson, Love, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Gentle Soul, Clear Light, Peanut Butter Conspiracy, Stephen Stills, JD Souther, Judee Sill, Crazy Horse, Nilsson, Ned Doheny, Leon Russell, Howdy Moon, Jo Mama, The Leaves, Byrds, MFQ, Steve Noonan, Barry McGuire, Holy Mackerel, Ruthann Friedman, Smokey Roberds, Susan Carter, Loggins & Messina, Gram Parsons, and many others! CD

With selections by Chase, Ten Years After, Santana, Paul Simon, Miles Davis, Morton Subotnick, New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein, Ray Coniff, Barbra Streisand, and others. LP, Vinyl record album

Here's where it started getting weird for Bolan & T Rex – with strange bits of soul and other elements in the shiny, spacey veneer! Includes "Venus Loon", "Sound Pit", "Galaxy", "Change", "Teenage Dream", "Interstellar Soul", "The Meathawk Immaculate", "Nameless Wildness", "Liquid Gang", "The Leopards Featuring Gerdenia & The Mighty Slug" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

A landmark album from the mighty Bob Dylan – a 2LP set of studio work, which was quite rare at the time – and a set that has Dylan stretching out all his creative powers in newly different directions! The album had a long genesis in the studio – some early work with The Band, then Dylan breaking off with Al Kooper and Robbie Robertson to head down to Nashville – where they interacted with key country session musicians to make this masterful blend of music – work that's not country at all, but which is also moving past Dylan's folk roots too – with a blend of music that still as mindblowing today as it was back in the mid 60s! This is definitely one of those double-length sets that makes fantastic use of all the extra space – overflowing with gems that include "Rainy Day Women # 12 & 35", "Visions Of Johanna", "Pledging My Time", "Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again", "Leopard-Skin Pill Box Hat", and "Just Like A Woman". LP, Vinyl record album

Dave Mason's first solo album – and a pretty a great one! Alone Together wasn't a huge hit back in the day, but man is a ever a pleasing set. It's rich with blues & soul steeped lead vocals and sweet backing harmonies and bed of acoustic guitars at the core of most of the tunes – sometimes with a driving intensity, others with a lightly gliding pace. The production is a nice mix of blue-eyed blues and southern skewing wah wah rock – with great musicians in the mix, from Leon Russell to Eric Clapton. Tracks include "Only You Know And I Know", "Can't Stop Worrying, Can't Stop Loving", "Waitin' On You", "Shouldn't Have Took More Than You Gave", "World In Changes", "Sand And Deep As You", "Just A Song" and "Look At You, Look At Me". CD

A great live Santana set, recorded in Japan in '73 and never released on vinyl in the US! The band here is at their peak, and this set features a nice large lineup that includes Tom Coster, Richard Kermode, Doug Rauch, Armando Peraza, Jose Chepito Areas and Michael Shreve, plus Leon Thomas on vocals! Some tracks show the clear influence of Miles' electric jazz recordings from the same period, while others have a hardcore Latin percussion base, and as you can imagine there's no shortage of full on guitar pyrotechnics and jamming on all the band members' parts. Most of the group's tracks that have entered classic status are here, but the moments that shine the brightest are the lesser known numbers and extended passages where the group really gets into the groove! Includes "A 1 Funk", "Gypsy Queen", "Oye Como Va", "Yours Is The Light", "Batuka", "Xibaba", 'Waiting", "Free Angela", "Samba De Sausalito", "Mantra", "Kyoto", "Incident At Neshabur" and "Toussaint L'Overture". CD

A landmark album from Skip Spence – the onetime lead singer of Moby Grape, cast out of the group on his own by the time of this debut solo album – a record that's as powerful as it is fragile, and which has been the one lasting musical legacy of the man himself! The record almost sunk without a trace at the time, but has gone onto become the stuff of legend over the decade – supported by fellow singers, songwriters, and even a fair bit of the music press – who all shine key light on the record's unique, ahead of its time quality! Spence recorded the set for the same Columbia Records that was willing to take a chance on the early Leonard Cohen records – and there's a similarly singular vibe to Skip's approach – one that puts the whole thing at the level of "missed the first time around – but never again!" albums by later-decade legends like Big Star, Nick Drake, and maybe even Cohen. The style is hard to describe – similar reworking of roots-though-psych as Moby Grape, but a lot more intimate too – with so many lost dark corners, the set will be rewarding your ears for years to come! Titles include his original "Cripple Creek", plus "Diana", "Margaret Tiger Rug", "Weighted Down", "Little Hands", "Books Of Moses", "All Come To Meet Her", "Broken Heart", and "War In Peace" – plus 10 bonus tracks!! CD

A very groovy record – kind of a mix of rock and blue eyed soul, recorded by the twin-guitar team of Pat & Lolly Vegas – a big act on the Sunset Strip scene of the 60s who later morphed into Native American rock group Redbone! On this early set, Pat and Lolly have a pretty hard-hitting sound – one that soaks up a lot of influences from southern and east coast soul, and fuses it into a vocal/guitar groove that's got plenty of rough edges! Snuff Garrett & Leon Russell produced this little gem, giving it a sound that's a bit hipper than you might expect – and titles include "Any Old Time", "Keep Me Up Tight", "Here I Go", "Baby I Need Your Loving", "Under You", "Let's Get It On", "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag", and "Walk On". LP, Vinyl record album

An early one from Waits – his second album – and it's a great one! Like a lot of his early oeuvre, this is a kind of like a street-savvy, hipster cabaret affair, with less of the eccentricity that would reveal itself later in his career. Still a great record though, rendered with a Bukowski-esque salt of the earth palette. Includes "Fumblin' With The Blues", "Please Call Me, Baby", "Diamonds On My Windshield", "New Coat Of Paint", "The Heart Of Saturday Night", "Drunk On The Moon", "Shiver Me Timbers", "San Diego Serenade", "Semi Suite", "Depot, Depot", and "The Ghosts Of Saturday Night (After Hours At Napoleone's Pizza House)". CD

Includes performances by Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Winter, Sly & The Family Stone, Ten Years After, Miles Davis, Mountain, Kris Kristofferson, Mountain, Allman Brothers, Poco, Procol Harum, Chambers Brothers, Cactus, Leonard Cohen, and David Bromberg. LP, Vinyl record album

A fab collection of work from the second great wave of girl group music – the great run of female groups that rose to the forefront during the power pop generation, then continued to burn strongly all through the following decade! You'll recognize a few of the names here from bigger hits on the radio – but as with the previous Ace Records collection in this series, the focus is on tight early tunes that really hew to the sharp, catchy vibe of the power pop generation – music that's as lean as punk, but a lot more friendly – and free from some of the moodier modes that would later emerge in grunge, shoegaze, and other styles to come! The music is as playful as the cover – and supported with the usual great Ace Records notes and attention to detail – in a package that features 25 titles that include "Hit The Ground" by The Darling Buds, "Knock Knock Knock" by The MnMs, "The Real World" by The Bangles, "Goodbye To You" by Scandal, "Cherry Bomb" by The Runaways, "Dream Lover" by The Rebel Pebbles, "Just Before Mary Goes" by Universal Honey, "Jimmy Loves Maryann" by Josie Cotton, "Way Behind Me" by The Primitives, "Cruel To Be Kind" by Letters To Cleo, "Lipstuck" by Eve's Plum, "I Wanna Go Home" by Holly & The Italians, "Vacation" by The Textones, "Glad Again" by Fuzzy, and "Boys Are Drinking" by The B Girls. CD

... CD

The first solo album from John Cale – and a record that's about as different a statement as he could have made from his previous work in the Velvet Underground! There's an approach here in both the songwriting and instrumentation that's instantly Cale-like – sounds that have a knowledge of all the newer ideas that have been brewing up in the underground throughout the 60s – both in rock and more "serious" forms of art music – yet a way of putting over the tunes with undeniable charm, and which have Cale rising to the forefront as a surprisingly strong lead. A few steps further, and John might well have been a compelling crossover pop singer with a record like this – yet it's also his way of holding back that really makes things interesting – especially given all the different directions his career would take in the next few years – all hinted at here, but hidden in some surprisingly tuneful songs. Titles include "Ghost Story", "Amsterdam", "Charlemagne", "Hello There", "Gideon's Bible", "Adelaide", "Cleo", and "Big White Cloud". CD

The first solo album from John Cale – and a record that's about as different a statement as he could have made from his previous work in the Velvet Underground! There's an approach here in both the songwriting and instrumentation that's instantly Cale-like – sounds that have a knowledge of all the newer ideas that have been brewing up in the underground throughout the 60s – both in rock and more "serious" forms of art music – yet a way of putting over the tunes with undeniable charm, and which have Cale rising to the forefront as a surprisingly strong lead. A few steps further, and John might well have been a compelling crossover pop singer with a record like this – yet it's also his way of holding back that really makes things interesting – especially given all the different directions his career would take in the next few years – all hinted at here, but hidden in some surprisingly tuneful songs. Titles include "Ghost Story", "Amsterdam", "Charlemagne", "Hello There", "Gideon's Bible", "Adelaide", "Cleo", and "Big White Cloud". LP, Vinyl record album

This album set a new level for live music at the time – and is quite possibly one of the greatest presentation of Cocker's talents on record – a set that gives him plenty of space to open up, let loose, and really dig into his repertoire of soul-drenched work. The group on the album's quite tight – with Leon Russell on piano and guitar, Don Preston on rhythm guitar, Bobby Keys on tenor, and Chris Stainton on piano and organ – as well as a huge backing choir of musicians and soul singers backing Joe up, plus solo vocal performances by Leon Russell, Rita Coolidge, Don Preston, and others. Titles include a number of soul, rock, and R&B classics, plus originals by Russell and others. LP, Vinyl record album

Southern rock meets southern soul – all in this groundbreaking set from the team of Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett! The quality quotient here is quite high – light years beyond so many later folks who tried for this territory, but then slicked it up for radio airplay – and in another world, both singers might have been just cutting gritty 45s for a colorblind local audience – had Elektra Records not given them such a great shot with this classic! The already great Bramlett core sound gets strong support here from studio stalwarts like Bobby Whitlock, Bobby Keys, and Jim Price – and Leon Russell and Rita Coolidge also lend their talents to the proceedings too – on titles that include "Get Ourselves Together", "Ghetto", "Love Me A Little Bit Longer", "Soldiers Of The Cross", "Dirty Old Man", and a great take on "Do Right Woman". CD

(Cassettes, Rock) Cassette

A landmark album from the mighty Bob Dylan – a 2LP set of studio work, which was quite rare at the time – and a set that has Dylan stretching out all his creative powers in newly different directions! The album had a long genesis in the studio – some early work with The Band, then Dylan breaking off with Al Kooper and Robbie Robertson to head down to Nashville – where they interacted with key country session musicians to make this masterful blend of music – work that's not country at all, but which is also moving past Dylan's folk roots too – with a blend of music that still as mindblowing today as it was back in the mid 60s! This is definitely one of those double-length sets that makes fantastic use of all the extra space – overflowing with gems that include "Rainy Day Women # 12 & 35", "Visions Of Johanna", "Pledging My Time", "Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again", "Leopard-Skin Pill Box Hat", and "Just Like A Woman". CD