John Savage offers us a mighty nice look at the years of post-disco, and post-post-punk – served up here in a great mix of music from a time when soulful styles were mixing it up with returning rock on the dancefloor! The work here is from a time when the UK scene was having big global impact with a new sort of sound – often with a fair dose of electric energy, sometimes darker and more industrialized, sometimes lighter and catchy – and a perfect fit for some of the street soul styles happing in the US as well! Most acts here are British, but there's a few key American groups two – blended together in the kind of cuts that made clubs like Danceteria or The Hacienda such a delight back in the day. As usual, the notes are superb – a special Savage touch – and titles include "Techno City (voc)" by Cybotron, "Telephone Operator" by Pete Shelly, "Soweto" by Malcolm McLaren, "All Tomorrow's Parties" by Japan, "Bright Lights" by The Special AKA, "What Presence" by Orange Juice, "No Sell Out" by Malcom X mixed by Keith LeBlanc, "I Want You" by Cabaret Voltaire, "Think Fast" by Pamela Joy, "Looking From A Hilltop" by Section 25, "Why" by Bronski Beat, "Sunspots" by Julian Cope, "Never Understand" by Jesus & Mary Chain, "Heat" by Soft Cell, "The Rock Steady Grew" by Rock Steady Crew, "Disappearing Act" by Shalamar, "Lined Up" by Shriekback, and "Life's A Scream" by A Certain Ratio. CD

The rainy season's plenty pleasant with a collection like this – a batch of 30 rain-themed tunes from the worlds of soul, rock, country, and vocal music of the 50s and 60s – all served up with the top-shelf level of presentation we love from Bear Family! The cuts are great – a really unusual mix of material that will help make the cloudiest day a lot more pleasant – all presented with detailed notes on all the many different artists you'll find within! Titles include "Just Walkin In The Rain" by The Prisonaires, "Face In The Rain" by Chas McDevitt, "Raining" by Jerry Byrne, "So What Let It Rain" by Lefty Frizell, "Sittin Home Prayin For The Rain" by Bobby Lord, "It Rains Rain" by Bill Wimberley & The Country Rhythm Boys, "The Rains Came Down" by Dorsey Burnette, "Ain't Never Seen So Much Rain Before" by Christine Kittrell, "Raindrops Keep A Fallin" by El Pauling & Royal Abbit, "Rhythm Of The Rain" by The Cascades, "It Might As Well Rain Until September" by Carole King, "Walking In The Rain" by Robert & Johnny, and "Rain Rain" by George Jones. CD

Seminal sounds from this legendary group – a combo who feature a young Ted Nugent on some complete amazing guitar, but in a way that's very different than Ted's big arena rock albums of the 70s! The Amboy Dukes have a way of combining the rawness of garage rock with the headiness of psych, all while also reaching a bit into blues roots to really let the guitars speak loudly – one of those really important 60s records that twisted up different rock genres at once, and helped pave the way for a unique generation to come! Singer John JB Drake is pretty great too – and titles include great versions of "I Feel Free", "Let's Go Get Stoned", "Baby Please Don't Go", and "It's Not True" – plus the originals "Young Love", "Colors", "Down On Philips Escalator", and "Gimme Love". LP, Vinyl record album

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 true classic by Jimi with the original Experience lineup – the third of three straight up masterpiece LPs to comeout in just over a year's time by the group! You could call the leftfield astral effects in the mix experimental if you had to – innovations in the studio with echo, that hallucinatory backwards sound effect and other stranger bits – but the passionate, naturally expressive playing and singing by Jimi makes it all fell just right, and the Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell still don't get enough credit for being at the heart of such greatness. A massive 2LP effort that includes "Voodoo Chile", "Crosstown Traffic", "Electric Ladyland", "Little Miss Strange", "Moon Turn The Tides", "Still Raining Still Dreaming" and "All Along The Watchtower". CD

A true classic by Jimi with the original Experience lineup – the third of three straight up masterpiece LPs to come out in just over a year's time by the group! You could call the leftfield astral effects in the mix experimental if you had to – innovations in the studio with echo, that hallucinatory backwards sound effect and other stranger bits – but the passionate, naturally expressive playing and singing by Jimi makes it all fell just right, and the Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell still don't get enough credit for being at the heart of such greatness. A massive 2LP effort that includes "Voodoo Chile", "Crosstown Traffic", "Electric Ladyland", "Little Miss Strange", "Moon Turn The Tides", "Still Raining Still Dreaming" and "All Along The Watchtower". CD

A set that may well be the record where Elton John totally gets it together – transcending his already-brilliant previous recordings, and finding a way to the special spot that would forever make him a legend! There's a mix of well-crafted songs and soulful presentation that's completely superb here – very personal, very much that new Elton John mode that made thte approach of him and Bernie Taupin so different than so many others in this heady generation of singer/songwriters – and that's really saying a lot! Production and arrangements are great, too – up-close when needed, and never overdone – testified to by the album's classic lineup of tracks that includes "Tiny Dancer", "Levon", "Razor Face", "Madman Across The Water", "Holiday Inn", "Indian Sunset", and "All The Nasties". LP, Vinyl record album

A British group, but one who also bring in a bit of American straightforwardness as well – mostly in the way they strip down the vibe of the record, harmonize their vocals, and go for an approach that avoids some of the overblown modes of their contemporaries! There's definitely some great hard rock guitar in the mix – played by Les Nicol, who can really tear it up – yet the whole thing also has a way of sounding nicely different than late psych or nascent prog, maybe in part because of the American production and the album's initial release only in the US. Titles include "My Poor Mary", "Matthew", "Mark", "Luke", "John", "High In The Tower Of Coombe", and "Methuselah". CD reissue features seven more bonus tracks from the original sessions – including "Don't Ask Me & I Won't Lie", "Put Me Down Woman", "You Are My Sunshine", and other mixes of tunes on the album! CD

A heady concept album from this legendary group – one that features a suite of tracks that all share concerns for the environment! Given the amount of electricity at play, the album's maybe not as "green" of a set as it might be – but Nektar definitely seem to create some energy of their own in a heady blend of keyboards, guitars, bass, and drums! The familiar instruments are used in really powerful, soaring styles – and the production has some cool touches around the edges that change things up nicely, and add in just the right sort of spacey currents. Lead vocals follow the message in the music – and titles include "Cybernetic Consumption", "Recycle Countdown", "Flight To Reality", "Unendless Imaginations", "Sao Paulo Sunrise", "It's All Over", and "Costa Del Sol". 5CD set features bonus tracks "Flight To Reality (single)" and "It's All Over (single) – plus the 2024 Geoff Emerick mix, and bonus live material recorded in Toronto and Long Island in 1976! CD

The groundbreaking first album from Neu – maybe not the earliest record in the Krautrock generation – but a set that certainly set a new sort of standard after it was released! The group mix together slow-building rhythms and plenty of fuzz – all recorded by the great Conny Plank, who has a way of blending the songs and all their many elements – instrumentation put together by ex-Kraftwerk members Klaus Dinger and Michael Rother – who mostly use guitars, bass, and drums – but end up turning them into something completely different with the help of Plank! Some of the tracks are quite long, and really take a great path to find their way forward – very different than Can or Cluster, at least from an outside perspective – but equally classic. Titles include "Hallogallo", "Sonderangerbot", "Im Gluck", "Negativland", "Weissensee", and "Lieber Honig". CD

The groundbreaking first album from Neu – maybe not the earliest record in the Krautrock generation – but a set that certainly set a new sort of standard after it was released! The group mix together slow-building rhythms and plenty of fuzz – all recorded by the great Conny Plank, who has a way of blending the songs and all their many elements – instrumentation put together by ex-Kraftwerk members Klaus Dinger and Michael Rother – who mostly use guitars, bass, and drums – but end up turning them into something completely different with the help of Plank! Some of the tracks are quite long, and really take a great path to find their way forward – very different than Can or Cluster, at least from an outside perspective – but equally classic. Titles include "Hallogallo", "Sonderangerbot", "Im Gluck", "Negativland", "Weissensee", and "Lieber Honig". CD

A great audio documentary of a really mindblowing film – one that captures the Rolling Stones at that key late 60s point when they were stepping into really sinister territory – playing in a very vivid setting, along with some of their key up-and-coming contemporaries on the scene! The whole thing builds up with the energy of a circus – the Stones are last, and there's a growing mix of performers introduced by various members of the band – really presented in a carnivalesque array, before the lead act comes in and knocks it out of the park. The set features a killer early version of "A Quick One While He's Away" by The Who – maybe one of the high points of the set – plus "Song For Jeffrey" by Jethro Tull, Whole Lotta Yoko" by Yoko Ono & The Dirty Mac (John Lennon), "Ain't That A Lot Of Love" by Taj Mahal, and "Something Better" by Marianne Faithfull. The Rolling Stones round things out with performances of "Sympathy For The Devil", "Parachute Woman", "Jumpin Jack Flash", "Salt Of The Earth", "No Expectations", and "You Can't Always Get What You Want". 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

A beautiful collection of modern mellow music – served up in a set that features very different territory than the usual sorts of compilations given to us by Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs – not the older music that they put together so well, but work from an early 90s moment when the duo were a rising part of the British scene as Saint Etienne! Yet despite that connection, they nicely provide a generous overview of a slightly different vibe – mellow tracks that followed in the wake of the big Brit dance explosion of the late 80s – not entirely the downtempo modes that you might expect, at least in the way that "downtempo" has come to mean instrumental hip hop over the years – and instead, some nicely kicked back tracks from some of the more creative studio talents of the time! Titles include "Never Get Out The Boat (flying mix)" by The Aloof, "Spiritual High (moodfood megamix)" by Moodswings, "Floatation" by The Grid, "Afrika (love & laughter rmx)" by History, "Cascades (hypnotone mix)" by Sheer Taft, "It Could Not Happen (essential trance hall mix)" by Critical Rhythm, "Higher Than The Sun (higher than the Orb ext mix)" by Primal Scream, "Snappiness (7" edit)" by BBG, "I Don't Even Know If I Should Call You (Marshall Jefferson symphony mix)" by Soul Family Sensation, "Temple Head (Pacific mix airwaves)" by Transglobal Underground, and "Speedwell (radio edit)" by Saint Etienne. CD

Two jazz rock classics – back to back as a 2CD set! Solar Plexus was a pivotal album in the career of British jazzman Ian Carr – one that had him really opening up into some trippy, spacey grooves – adding in a lot of keyboards, kicking up the grooves, yet still never losing the strong jazzy finish that was the best part of his earlier work. Players on the set include trumpeters Harry Beckett and Kenny Wheeler, guitarist Chris Spedding, and keyboardist Karl Jekins, who really throws in some groovy lines on the set! Titles include "Elements 1 & 2", "Snakehips Dream", "Torso", "Spirit Level", and "Bedrock Deadlock". Belladonna is one of the heaviest electric sets from UK trumpeter Ian Carr – and that's really saying a lot, given how much heavy work he cut with his group Nucleus! The sound here is a groundbreaking mix of acoustic horns and keyboards – trumpet from Carr, and a mix of tenor, soprano, alto, and flute from Brian Smith – coming into contact with the Fender Rhodes of Dave MacRae and the Hohner electric of Gordon Beck! The pairing of keys is wonderful – and the whole thing is sewn together by the guitar of a young Allan Holdsworth, who's very much in the sway of Carr's sound here, instead of the later directions he'd take as a leader. The set might be worth it alone for the massive "Summer Rain" – a slow funk track that trips along beautifully – but the whole thing's great, and other titles include "Belladonna", "Mayday", "Suspension", and "Hector's House". (Jazz, Rock) CD

A mighty tribute to one of the coolest bands to emerge from the American underground of the late 70s – and one of the few who were able to both end up on a larger label, and yet still continue the genius that made them such a powerful presence on the arty, edgy Ohio scene from which they sprang! The set spans the gamut of Devo work – and features tracks from albums mixed with rare singles and more obscure material – including some great early rarities! Titles include "Disco Dancer (7" version)", "Mongoloid (Warner version)", "Jocko Homo (Warner version)", "Through Being Cool", "Here To Go (go mix)", "Smart Patrol", "Secret Agent Man", "The Day My Baby Gave Me A Surprize", "Whip It", "Gates Of Steel", "Time Out For Fun", "That's Good", "Beautiful World", "Big Mess", "Post Post Modern Man", "Fresh", and "Peek A Boo". LP, Vinyl record album

The first album in Dylan's so-called "Christian Period", but it's not really the uber-dramatic departure from the "old" Dylan that it was treated as at the time – gospel soul backing vocals and testifying lyricism for sure, but it sounds more like gospel has come to Dylan than it sounds like Dylan has "gone gospel". Slow Train Coming has a focused approach, ala Blood On The Tracks, even if this train doesn't come close to crossing over onto those particular tracks – and the return to a leaner, more focused vibe is welcome one. It's got stellar studio players in the mix, and producer Jerry Wexler's production touches on a soul sound, but smartly hews to Dylan's vocal style and lyrical focus. Dylan's high bar for a masterpiece given his trailblazing past didn't give this record or the following couple much a chance to succeed on their own merits back in the day, but all these years later...wow, this is really good, passionate stuff. Includes "Gotta Serve Somebody", "Precious Angel", "I Believe In You", "Slow Trait", "Gonna Change My Way Of Thinking", "Do Right To Me Baby (Do Unto Others)", "When You Gonna Wake Up", "Man Gave Name To All The Animals", "When He Returns". (Cassettes, Rock) Cassette

A nice little package, one that brings together three American releases of music by London's legendary Georgie Fame! First up is the classic Yeh Yeh – 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 Fame'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", "I Love The Life I Live", "Point Of No Return", "Preach & Teach", "Get On The Right Track Baby", and the hit "Yeh Yeh". Next is Get Away – a great little album from Georgie Fame – with a hard raw soul sound that shows what a big crossover potential he had with the UK soul market – so much so that this batch of material was issued in the US as well! The album's got some wonderful arrangements – quite raw, with some nice organ, and plenty of heavy vocals from Georgie in a strong blue eyed soul mode. Titles include "Sitting In The Park", "Get Away", "Sweet Thing", "Ride Your Pony", "The In Crowd", "Last Night", and "Music Talk". Hall Of Fame is a bit of a best-of – a record that features some singles, and some album tracks – the latter of which aren't included here, as they'd be duplicated. The remaining material is Fame at his raw early best – working in a great soulful style, with plenty of jazzy charms – on cuts that include "Outrage", "Lil Darlin", "Sunny", "In The Meantime", "Something", "Do Re Mi", and Fame's own "Like We Used To Be". CD also features 9 more bonus tracks, some live recordings – titles that include "Bend A Little", "Telegram", "It Ain't Right", "Don't Make Promises", "Many Happy Returns", "I'm In Love With You", "Shop Around", "Green Onions", and "Do The Dog". (Vocalists, Rock) CD

One of Kim Fowley's best records as an artist – and way up there in greatness with some of the best he produced for everyone else, too! '73's International Heroes was Kim's second album for Capitol Records, and unlike the strange, underground rock vibe on his first Capitol effort, this one has a far more ambitious production aesthetic. It's a cool mix of trashy and rambunctious rockers, with more adventurous acoustic instrumentation at times. Kim's vocals are as great here as they'd ever be – not nearly as gruff as on I'm Bad – and sweetened even more here by some groovy backing vocals. We REALLY love this record! Includes "International Heroes", "ESP Reader", "Ugly Stories About Rock Stars And The War", "I Hate You", "Born Dancer", "World Wide Love", "Dancing All Nite" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

A stunner from Charlotte Gainsbourg – in keeping with her style of crafting a diverse body of avant pop sounds by working with stellar collaborators – this time with producer/composer Beck, and it's her best to date! A few tunes are sung in French and have a kind of dramatic French pop noir vibe that would made Serge proud, a mix of sweet and sultry, lightness and drama. Others have more of a raw and messed up vibe with heavier percussion and more of a leftfield sound, and still others have kind of a freaky folk funk sound with horns, drums and more. She covers a lot of stylistic terrain with equally successful wins all around. It's the mark of a true talent that Charlotte can invite such hugely impacting collaborators onto her albums – Beck and his stable of amazing studio musicians on this album, and previous collaborators from Jarvis Cocker to Air – yet it's her show all the way. Titles include "Master's Hands", "IRM", "Le Chat Du Cafe Des Artistes", "In The End", "Heaven Can Wait", "Vanities", "Time Of The Assassins", "Trick Pony", "Greenwich Mean Time", "La Collectionneuse" and more. (French, Rock) CD

A true classic by Jimi with the original Experience lineup – the third of three straight up masterpiece LPs to comeout in just over a year's time by the group! You could call the leftfield astral effects in the mix experimental if you had to – innovations in the studio with echo, that hallucinatory backwards sound effect and other stranger bits – but the passionate, naturally expressive playing and singing by Jimi makes it all fell just right, and the Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell still don't get enough credit for being at the heart of such greatness. A massive 2LP effort that include s"Voodoo Chile", "Crosstown Traffic", "Electric Ladyland", "Little Miss Strange", "Moon Turn The Tides", "Still Raining Still Dreaming" and "All Along The Watchtower". CD

One of the wildest records of the early 70s – and it's still pretty darn hard to argue with the power of this one – even if the purists' issues with the production are nearly as legendary as the album itself! There's plenty of manic energy the original release mix – one that clearly inspired, if not altogether gave birth to the punk scene – and make the album one of those quintessential examples of great art being made under compromising circumstances. Fierceness personified! Includes classics like "Search & Destroy", "Death Trip", "Gimme Danger", "Your Pretty Face Is Going To Hell (aka Hard To Beat)", "Raw Power", "Shake Appeal", and "Death Trip". This legacy edition includes the original 1973 David Bowie mix, now remastered, with a second disc featuring a previously unreleased hour long live set from Richards in Atlanta, recorded in October of 1973 (titled Georgia Peaches) featuring Raw Power tracks plus "Head On", "Heavy Liquid", "Cock In My Pocket" and "Open Up And Bleed". Includes 2 bonus studio tracks, too: "Doojiman" (Raw Power sessions outtake) and "Head On" (rehearsal performance). Also includes a 24 page color booklet with new liner notes and previously unseen photos. CD

One of those amazing obscure records that seems to come out of nowhere – sounding nothing like most of the mainstream work of the time, with a power that might have shaped the world of music for years to come – if the album hadn't been issued in a tiny pressing of only 60 copies! There's a darkness here that's mindblowing – not just in the vocals, and the weird echoey way they've been recorded – but also in the overall instrumentation and pacing of the record – kind of a melancholy, slow progression that almost prefaces 80s styles on 4AD, but with a much rougher feel overall! Any psyche impulses are broken down into much sparer, earthier sounds – and there seems to be a bit of electronics in the mix – or is it just noise from the guitar? Yet lyrical themes are up-close and personal too – almost chance-taking in their earnestness, without the somberness of the instrumentation. All of this makes for a sublime mix – and a record that's as captivating as it is rare. Titles include "Lonely Again", "I Want To Love You", "Goodbye Sunshine", "Candleman", and "Seagulls" – and 2CD set features a whopping 23 bonus tracks – a huge amount of unreleased material, and a few other singles by the group. CD

A trio of key albums from the Pink Fairies – served up with lots of bonus tracks too! First up is Never Never Land – the fantastic debut of the Pink Fairies – easily one of the shaggiest, headiest bands on the UK scene at the start of the 70s – and a group who rose from the ashes of the equally important Deviants! The record's an unusual mishmash of modes – a set that confidently swaggers between psych, hard rock, and maybe even a bit of proto-punk – very confident in its approach, and coolly compressed in the production, but never in the slick style that would dominate British rock more strongly in the mid 70s. The Fairies aren't afraid to let their freak flag fly, but they're also clearly moving past hippiedom too – on titles that include "War Girl", "Do It", "Say You Love Me", "Tack One Side Two", "Thor", "Uncle Harry's Last Freakout", and "The Dream Is Just Beginning". What A Bunch Of Sweeties is filled with freaky fuzz from the Pink Fairies – a seminal UK group who were maybe trapped in a space between late psych and early glam – and somehow equally important to both! There's lots going on in the set – modes that are as offbeat as styles put forth by The Fugs in the late 60s, but a lot sharper overall from a musical perspective – especially in the way the group uses great guitar work and a few catchy numbers to sew the whole thing together – on titles that include "Portobello Shuffle", "Marilyn", "Pigs Of Uranus", "Walk Don't Run", "X-Ray", "I Went Up I Went Down", and "I Saw Her Standing There". Kings Of Oblivion is maybe the most fully-formed album from the legendary Pink Fairies – and a set that's got some really searing guitar from Larry Wallis – a melodic genius whose sound really holds things together, and gives the group a stronger focus than ever before! The guitar lines seem to bring out and amplify all the ideas the group were going for before – and maybe give the group a sense of darkness that they never fully reached – not hard rock cliche, but this tightness that's also completely individual – maybe like early Thin Lizzy at their best, yet in a completely different way. Titles include "I Wish I Was A Girl", "City Kids", "When's The Fun Begin", "Chromium Plating", "Street Urchin", and "Chamber Maid". Bonus tracks include "Going Down", "Walk Don't Run (first version)", "War Girl (alt mix)", "The Snake", "Do It (single mix)", "Uncle Harry's Last Freakout (alt mix)", "Well Well Well (alt mix)", "City Kids (alt)", and "Hold On (single)". CD

A seminal punk-funk classic from the end of the 70s – one that's as brilliantly abrasive and brashly fresh today as it was when it was released! The group are working here in equal parts dub, funk, and lots of scratchy guitars and heady bass – with a style that would later be picked up more strongly by On-U in the 80s, but which is executed here with a much clearer vision that's free of any of the cliches that would later overcome the genre. Even the politics are surprisingly pointed – and Paul Stewart's vocalizations of most of the tunes is really dead on the money! Titles include "Thief Of Fire", "Snowgirl", "Blood Money", "We Are Time", "Don't Sell Your Dreams", "Words Disobey Me", and "Don't Call Me Pain". CD2 features lots of bonus tracks – some from an unreleased album – including "She Is Beyond Good & Evil", "Kiss The Book", "Thief Of Fire (bass addict)", "Words Disobey Me (Dennis the Menace mix)", "Don't Sell Your Dreams (a mix)", "3:38", "Boys From Brazil (ridge reels)", and "Blood Money (slow thief)". CD3 is Y Live – an unreleased live set with 9 more tracks! CD

Overlooked genius from the scene in Athens, GA – served up by a group who also borrow plenty of influences from the UK post-punk world too! Pylon are heavy on bass that might be borrowed from Young Marble Giants, but then turned up in sound and speed – matched with these great guitar lines that are complex in sound, but right on the money in terms of placement – all topped with the vocals of Vanessa Biscoe Hay – a singer who's nicely understated, and as much a part of the sonic mix as the other elements in the group! Titles include "Feast On My Heart", "Precaution", "Driving School", "Gravity", "Working Is No Problem", "Stop It", "Danger", and "Read A Book". LP, Vinyl record album

An amazing second set from Sixto Rodriguez – recorded in the legendary Landsdowne Studios in London, with a groove that's a great extension from his debut! All of Rodriguez's best elements are in place here – his folksy guitar, personal lyrical style, and surprisingly biting approach to a variety of topics – and the London setting provides him with an even more sophisticated backdrop than before, one that creates a rich palette of sounds that takes the music in some really wonderful directions! There's a bit of strings at times, but most instrumentation is by a small combo – which includes Chris Spedding on guitar and Tony Carr on percussion – so that Rodriguez's vocals and guitar are really right up front in the mix, recorded with a brilliant balance between sharpness and compassion. Titles include "Climb Up On My Music", "Silver Words", "Heikki's Suburbia Bus Tour", "I Think Of You", "To Whom It May Concern", "Halfway Up The Stairs", and "Cause". (Soul, Rock) CD

Sweet folksy pop from the glory days of A&M! Evie Sands has a voice that's emotive in a folk rock way, but which is here produced with smoother west coast arrangements that are more in an LA mode – which makes for a very cool mix of modes! The overall sound of the album is very hip – with that cool late 60s approach that never gets picked up by oldies stations, and which is only the province of records like this – odd mis-shots in the pop economy that often got cut out as soon as they were produced, shunned by an uncaring record buying public – but waiting to be discovered by your ears all these many years later. Titles include "Crazy Annie", "It's This I Am", "Shadow Of The Evening", "Close Your Eyes, Cross Your Fingers", "Any Way That You Want Me", "One Find Summer Morning", and "I'll Hold Out My Hand". Also includes the bonus track "Maybe Tomorrow". CD

A groovy, far reaching blend of moddish funk rock, organ groovers, and sounds both spacey and laidback from the Shadows – a mix of rock & soul instrumental covers tight arrangements that leave just enough room for the players to bring just enough intensity to their parts! The instrumentation is very impressive, with the legendary Alan Hawkshaw lighting up his Hammond organ, but it's impressive stuff all the way, with some innovative production touches, too. Includes versions of "Proud Mary", "My Babe", "Lucille", "Paperback Writer", "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction", "Get Back", "Memphis", "What I Say", "River Deep Mountain High" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

A huge package of material from The Sorrows – one full album, a wealth of rare singles, and even some solo material by group member Don Fardon too! The set begins with the album Take A Heart – a searing set from the mid 60s wave of the British scene – delivered with this mix of tunefulness and raw guitars that's totally great, echoed most strongly in the vocals, which really have an edge, even when delivering familiar themes on the lyrics – moodier than most, and in a really great way! The set then moves into a massive 28 more tracks that make up the a-sides and b-sides of the group's singles for Pye Records at the time – titles that include "Baby", "Gonna Find A Cave", "We Should Get Along Fine", "Pink Purple Yellow & Red", "My Gal", "Don't Sing No Sad Songs For Me", "Hooky", "Vivi", "Armchair King", and "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes". The set then concludes with 10 more solo tracks from Don Fardon – some of the hardest to find material in the collection, and some of the most interesting too. Titles include "Lament Of The Cherokee Reservation Indian", "Daytripper", "Coming On Strong", "Ruby's Picture On My Wall", "We Can Make It Together", "Dreamin Room", and "I Need Somebody". 50 tracks in all! CD

Four albums from this wonderful group – all brought together in a single set! First up is the self-titled Spanky & Our Gang – the first, and perhaps the most conventional album by the group, but still pretty darn insane! Spanky & Our Gang are a strange mix of 60s styles – with bits of We Five, bits of Harpers Bizarre, bits of The Association – but a totally strange and totally fun approach to pop that's very much their own. Cuts on the album are a mix of originals and covers – and highlights include the incredible "5 Definitions Of Love" by Bob Dorough, "Distance" by Joe Renzetti, "Commercial" by the band, and the track "It Ain't Necessarily Bird Avenue". Great groovy stuff – and with arrangements by Renzetti, Dorough, and Stuart Scharf. Like To Get To Know You is a tiny little pop masterpiece was produced and arranged by Stuart Scharf and the great Bob Dorough, and is filled with one of the grooviest approaches to pop we've heard in ages. The album includes the sublime hit "Like To Get To Know You", set in a very different LP setting – plus great versions of "Suzanne" and "Everybody's Talkin", and the cuts "Stardust", "The Swingin Gate", and "My Bill". Anything You Choose is the third movement in the fantastic pop symphony that is Spanky & Our Gang! The record's perhaps their oddest to date – and mixes groovy vocal stylings with some fairly advanced production approaches that work perfectly with the incredible songs written by Stuart Scharf and Bob Dorough. The voices swirl about in a mad rush – interweaving lines of melody and poetry, punctuated by strange sounds, spacey airy instrumentation, and wonderful little rhythms. Titles include "Anything You Choose", "1-3-5-8", "Without Rhyme Or Reason", "Give A Damn", and "Nowhere To Go". Live is an unusual album from this groovy group – especially given that most of their famous work was in the studio – and done with really inventive arrangements and production! Yet those qualities still come through here, even in a live setting – as the record's got this stripped-down approach that shows just how much of the group's own inventive vocal interplay and harmonies were part of their fantastically groovy style! Titles include "Wasn't It You", "Dirty Old Man", "The Klan", "Nagasaki", "Amelia Earhart's Last Flight", and "That's What You Get For Lovin Me". CD

A fantastic CD collection – one that brings together all five volumes of Stereolab's Switched On albums in one set – a huge collection of unusual material and rare singles! On the original Switched On record, moog, fuzz, and farfisa have never sounded so great together – and although these guys drank deep of the well of 60s pop magic before making this modern-day classic – they also come off sounding pretty darn original on their own! When this gem of a record first hit the world, it was as if all of us were hearing music from the cosmos for years, but could never find a way to make it part of our everyday lives. Then along come Tim Gane, Laetitia Sadier, and crew – and completely change the world for the better! An album that no home should be without – with titles that include "Contact", "Super-Electric", "Doubt", "Brittle", "Au Grand Jour", "The Way Will Be Opening", and "Changer". Refried Ectoplasm is the second in the holy trinity of "switched on" albums from Stereolab – a set that collects together all the unusual recordings and other side bits the group were doing in the early years of their career – standing strong as a testament to their non-stop efforts to forever push the boundaries of electric fuzzy pop! The vocals Laetitia Sadier are completely sublime – almost a bridge between the darker modes of the previous pop generation and all the new ideas of the world to come – when the rest of rock music would finally catch up to these guys, and realize that the best path to the future is through the past! Titles include "Farfisa", "John Cage Bubblegum", "Tempter", "Exploding Head Movie", "French Disko", "Harmonium", "Revox", "Mountain", and "Sadistic". By the time of Aluminum Tunes (Switched On Vol 3) – it had only been a few years since the previous Switched On set, but Stereolab had already created so much musical magic, they needed a double-length record to keep the whole thing intact! The sound here is somehow getting even more dreamy and wonderful – definitely showing their work with the mighty Sean O'Hagan, and also really opening up into all the many musical ideas that Tim Gane was picking up from his never-ending search for unusual records! The 60s swirl through time and space, and make the future sound even better than we could have imagined it – while the Channel is drained, and England and France become one in a genius marriage of pure pop modes. Titles include "The Extension Trip", "How To Play Your Internal Organs Overnight", "Space Moment", "Iron Man", "The Long Hair Of Death", "One Note Samba/Surfboard", "Percolations", "1000 Miles An Hour", "Klang Tone", and a great take on the theme to "Get Carter". Switched On 4 is full of fantastic sounds from Stereolab – an assortment of rare singles and other unusual recordings that were mostly issued on their own Duophonic label, and which are far more obscure than their bigger label albums during the same period! Even though Stereolab gave the world some undeniable classics in the late 90s and early 00s, they were also working endlessly, and seemed to record more than they could ever fit on a full length set – which resulted in all the cool singles, limited releases, and other material included here – not dusty tapes pulled from the archives, but beautiful work that often returns the group to all the space age charms of their first few records! The package is huge – 25 tracks in all, of varying length – and titles include "Barok Plastik", "Calimero", "Fried Monkey Eggs (voc)", "Solar Throw Away", "Variation One", "Monkey Jelly", "Explosante Fixe", "Jump Drive Shut Out", "The Super-It", "L'Exotisme Interieur", "Pandora's Box Of Worms", "Retrograde Mirror Form", "Nomus E Phusis", "I Feel The Air Of Another Planet", "Outer Bongolia", and "Intervals". Includes tracks from Duophonic 45s, Underground Is Coming EP, Moog, First Of The Microbe Hunters, and work from compilations, unreleased tracks, and even a collaboration with Brigitte Fontaine! Switched On 5 is maybe the coolest entry so far in this really wonderful series – a set that's overflowing with rare and unusual work from Stereolab – most of it done at a time when the group were riding high on a major label, but still managed to issued a huge amount of music on their own, and work in a variety of collaborative settings too! One of our favorite is their work with Nurse With Wound, and tracks from that partnership begin this set – which then moves into rare singles, work with artists, compilation contributions, and plenty more – all with the usual Stereolab charm, but often with a nicely different vibe too! Titles include "Simple Headphone Mind", "Symbolic Logic Of Now", "Magne Music", "Forensic Itch", "Spool Of Collusion", "Robot Riot", "Trippin With The Birds", "Cybele's Reverie (live)", "Nth Degrees, "Refractions In The Plastic Pulse (Autechre Feebate mix)", and "Plastic Mile (original version)". CD

One of the building blocks of the late 60s Tropicalia scene in Brazil – and a standout solo debut from the young Caetano Veloso! The album's got an approach that's as dynamic and trippy as its cover image might imply – the same amazing blend of sounds and styles you'd hear on contemporaneous records by Gal Costa or Os Mutantes – served up with similar wit, wisdom, and charm! Caetano's vocals are amazing throughout – filled with raspy power that goes beyond the barriers of language – and the production has loads of surprising elements tripping through the mix – some rootsy, some slightly orchestrated – but with a softer approach that resonates strongly with more psychedelic use of organ and guitar. The album's as powerful today as it was decades ago – an essential recording that holds up beautifully year after year! The kickoff track is "Tropicalia" (surprisingly enough!), and the album is a non-stop ride through gems like "Alegria, Alegria", "Onde Andaras", "Paisagem Util", "Ave Maria", and the groovy "Soy Loco Por Ti America", written by Gilberto Gil. (Brazil, Rock) CD

One of the building blocks of the late 60s Tropicalia scene in Brazil – and a standout solo debut from the young Caetano Veloso! The album's got an approach that's as dynamic and trippy as its cover image might imply – the same amazing blend of sounds and styles you'd hear on contemporaneous records by Gal Costa or Os Mutantes – served up with similar wit, wisdom, and charm! Caetano's vocals are amazing throughout – filled with raspy power that goes beyond the barriers of language – and the production has loads of surprising elements tripping through the mix – some rootsy, some slightly orchestrated – but with a softer approach that resonates strongly with more psychedelic use of organ and guitar. The album's as powerful today as it was decades ago – an essential recording that holds up beautifully year after year! The kickoff track is "Tropicalia" (surprisingly enough!), and the album is a non-stop ride through gems like "Alegria, Alegria", "Onde Andaras", "Paisagem Util", "Ave Maria", and the groovy "Soy Loco Por Ti America", written by Gilberto Gil. (Brazil, Rock) CD

One of the building blocks of the late 60s Tropicalia scene in Brazil – and a standout solo debut from the young Caetano Veloso! The album's got an approach that's as dynamic and trippy as its cover image might imply – the same amazing blend of sounds and styles you'd hear on contemporaneous records by Gal Costa or Os Mutantes – served up with similar wit, wisdom, and charm! Caetano's vocals are amazing throughout – filled with raspy power that goes beyond the barriers of language – and the production has loads of surprising elements tripping through the mix – some rootsy, some slightly orchestrated – but with a softer approach that resonates strongly with more psychedelic use of organ and guitar. The album's as powerful today as it was decades ago – an essential recording that holds up beautifully year after year! The kickoff track is "Tropicalia" (surprisingly enough!), and the album is a non-stop ride through gems like "Alegria, Alegria", "Onde Andaras", "Paisagem Util", "Ave Maria", and the groovy "Soy Loco Por Ti America", written by Gilberto Gil. (Brazil, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

A set that might have you rethinking the early years of punk – as it shows that right next to the short sharp shocks of the new sound, there was also a rebirth of tight tuneful music too – a style that became known as power pop, even though many of the acts were ever bit as indie as the punk rockers! Don't mistake the "pop" for thinking that these are big commercial productions – as most of the work here is really back to basics rock and roll – a focus on sharp guitars, great rhythms, and excellent songwriting – served up in a wonderful mix of lesser-known artists, plus a few that went on to be timeless stars. The box set is every bit as great as other Cherry Red 3CD packages – detailed notes, 75 tracks in all, and work by artists who include Filmstars, Elvis Costello, The Questions, Rollers, Bram Tchaikovsky, The Deaf Aids, Undertones, Pinkees, Rudi, Gross Club, Stiff Little Fingers, The Monks, Backseat Romeos, The Flys, Pleasers, Leyton Buzzards, Purple Hearts, Elevators, Public Skool, The Cartoons, Excel, The Quads, Squeeze, Linda & The Dark, The Aces, and many others. CD

A really great collection of unusual female soul and pop from the 60s – a package that features rare singles, unreleased tracks, and other gems we never would have heard otherwise! Few folks know 60s music as well as the folks at Ace/Kent Records in the UK – which means that you can really trust them to serve up the best when it comes to a collection of girl group music – the sort of tracks that go way past the obvious, and really get at the fantastic range of sounds that were transforming the female side of the spectrum in the US! The package features 16 tracks in all, and spans a nice mix of artists and styles – with titles that include "Too bad He's Bad" by Beverly Williams, "Cupid's Got A Hold On Me" by The Belles, "Whirlwind" by The Rev-Lons, "First Love Baby" by Lena Calhoun & The Emotions, "So In Luv" by Othello Robertson, "You Are My First Love" by Pat Hunt, "I Need A Guy" by The Lovettes, "He's All Right With Me" by The Mirettes, "Mr Everything" by Little Eva Harris, "Sing Me A Love Song" by Felice Taylor, "Sir Galahad" by The Elites, "I Say Yeah" by The Pets, "Summertime Is Surfin Time" by The Surf Bunnies, and "It's Better To Live Or Die" by Mary Saxton. (Soul, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

The roots of British mod, served up here in a fantastic package that's overflowing with soulful, jazzy, and groovy gems that we might never have heard otherwise! The big British Invasion love of American sounds is no secret to anyone – but the cuts here are all from a moment before on the London scene, and represent some really wonderful experiments in ways of mixing together elements of jazz, soul, and blues – and coming up with something really fresh and unique! Tracks are a great mix of instrumental and vocal modes – and as usual with Ace, they're supported by detailed notes that really open up our understanding of both the music, and this point in time. Titles include "Danger Man" by Red Price Combo, "A New Kind Of Lovin" by Eden Kane, "Christine" by Miss X, "Sugar Baby (parts 1 & 2)" by Jimmy Powell, "When You Walked Out" by Alex Murray, "Chicago Calling" by Cyril Davies & His Rhythm & Blues All Stars, "King Of Kings" by Jimmy Cliff, "It Ain't Necessarily So" by Duffy Power, "Gurney Slade" by Max Harris, "Moanin" by Lynn Cornell, "I'm Just A Baby" by Louis Cordet, "Orange Street" by The Blue Flames, "Strawberry Fair" by Anthony Newley, "Sounds Like Locomotion" by Sounds Inc, and "Air Travel" by Chris Farlowe. CD

An overstuffed album of early greatness – served up with a classic image of the Fab Four on the cover! The tunes are a mix of Lennon/McCartney originals and American soul and rock numbers that are reinterpreted wonderfully by the group – in ways that perfectly show why, unlike most of their contemporaries, The Beatles weren't just trying for slavish imitation of American authenticity – and instead were already taking off with new ideas inspired by the music! Titles include "Please Please Me", "Love Me Do", "Misery", "Anna", "I Saw Her Standing There", "Boys", "Baby IT's You", "Do You Want To Know A Secret", "Twist & Shout", "A Taste Of Honey", and "Chains". CD

Way more than just another look at the music of this legendary group – as the huge package brings together a wealth of rare material, including 36 tracks that appear here for the first time ever – all wrapped up in a beautiful package with a huge set of notes, photographs, and other information too! Erin Osmon serves up a massive oral history of the group, worth the price of the box alone – and there's also interviews and discographical information too – far more than you usually get with a box set of this nature. But honestly, the real charm is all the great unreleased material, added to the too-small catalog of the group's work from these classic years – Titles that include "I'll Never Break Away From This Heart Of Mine", "I Love You Honey Give Me A Bear", "Live It Up (Giorgio Moroder demo)", "Will Anything Happen (inst)", "Spaghetti Song (Atomic part 2)", "Once I Had A Love (Mike Chapman demo)", "Denis (Terry Ellis mix)", "Underground Girl", "Call Me (Chris Stein mix)", "Hardest Part (home tape)", "Theme From Topkapi (home tape)", "Mr Sightseer", "Ring Of Fire (home tape)", "Tide Is High (demo)", and "Susie & Jeffrey". 3CD set features 52 tracks in all – including some great material from are singles and early work too! CD

A late 70s return to glory for the Captain – and a set that has a bit of a checkered path, in that it was originally done for Frank Zappa's Discreet label as the album Bat Chain Puller – then was held back, and mostly re-recorded for this seminal release on Warner Brothers! The set shows all the grown that Don Van Vliet had undergone during the decade – and also echoes his previous collaboration with Zappa – served up with instrumentation that is wonderfully complex, but still quite personal and earthy – a blend of composition, improvisation, and individuality that almost has Beefheart rivaling the work of Hermeto Pascoal during the decade, yet in a very different mode – given his vocal styles and occasional spoken musings! The Cap sings, plays harmonica, and blows soprano sax – alongside Jeff Moris Tepper on slide guitar and spell guitar, Bruce Lambourne Fowler on trombone, Eric Drew Friedman on Fender Rhodes and bass, Art Tripp III on marimba and percussion, Robert Arthur Williams on drums, and Richard Redus on slide guitar, bottleneck guitar, fretless bass, accordion, and guitar. Tracks include "The Floppy Boot Stomp", "Ice Rose", "Bat Chain Puller", "Candle Mambo", "Love Lies", and "Suction Prints". This 2LP version features a full bonus record of rare material – including "Love Lies (demo)", "Harry Irene (rough mix)", "Witch Doctor Life (demo)", "Brickbats (inst rough mix)", "Suction Prints (inst demo)", "You Know You're A Man (inst alt version)", and "When I See Mommy I Feel Like A Mummy (demo)". LP, Vinyl record album

The legendary 1970 recordings Alex Chilton made at Ardent Studios – recorded in a brief moment after the bust up of the Box Tops and before the debut of Big Star – and a truly powerful precursor to that most iconic of soulful Memphis rock acts! For the longest time, the 1970 sessions were something of a rock & roll holy grail – having been oft-discussed, if rarely heard, by Chilton and Big Star diehards. In the mid 90s, Ardent Records finally released the heart of this collection as 1970 – and here it's done up with even more love and respect by Omnivore, which over the course of just a handful of releases has become one of the very best deep digging reissuers of great, should-be classic soul & rock treasures. The vibe swings from stripped down, soulful rock that sometimes flirts with country rock – those songs featuring gruff, bluesy vocals from Chilton that belie his actual youth, just as greatly as his vox for The Box Tops – to gentler soul pop numbers that truly prefigure the Big Star sound to come. The collection features 20 tracks: all of the material from the long out of print 1970, plus other songs from the period, including demos (these are raw in the right kind of way, as finished as we'd ever want to hear them) and some original mono mixes. Great liner notes by Bob Mehr, a living encyclopedia of Memphis musical knowledge. Includes "Free Again (Original Mono Mix)", "Come On Honey", "Something Deep Inside", "I Can Dig It", "The EMI Song (Smile For Me)", "Every Day As We Grow Closer/Funky National", "I Wish I Could Meet Elvis", "All We Ever Got From Them Was Pain", "Sugar, Sugar/I Got That Feeling", "All I Really Want Is Money", "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and more. CD

We love the idea of spending the summer with Shelly Fabares – especially if it would sound as groovy as this rare gem from the 60s! Shelly's not the best singer you'll ever find, and the tunes here are hardly personal tunes from her heart – but the album's production and presentation are flawless – and one of the best examples of great girl pop you'll ever find from the time! Maestro Stu Phillips arranged and produced, and has a very good ear for the right mix of jaunty and weepy sounds that work with Fabares vocal range – at a level that often leans heavy on echo to really resonate some of the best moments in the set. The album's a real pop masterpiece – and titles include "Johnny Loves Me", "Johnny Get Angry", "See You In September", "Palisades Park", "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do", "The Things We Did Last Summer", and "It Keeps Right On A Hurtin". LP, Vinyl record album

Killer work from The Flamin Groovies – a group who were already a bit out of time at their start, and who continue that approach here during the late 70s punk years – but at a way that maybe makes them stand out even more than before! The set's got a style that mixes rock roots with some rawer punk-styled production – a mode that really fits the Groovies, and seems to intensify their sound more than before – especially the lead guitar work of Cyril Jordan, who co-produced the set, and makes sure that he's right up front in the mix! The set includes a great version of the Warren Zevon tune "Werewolves Of London", a nice remake of Dylan's "Absolutely Sweet Marie", and the tracks "Jumpin' In The Night", "Next One Crying", "First Plane Home", "In The USA", "Down Down Down", "It Won't Be Wrong", "Ladyfriend", and "Tell Me Again". LP, Vinyl record album

A true classic by Jimi with the original Experience lineup – the third of three straight up masterpiece LPs to come out in just over a year's time by the group! You could call the leftfield astral effects in the mix experimental if you had to – innovations in the studio with echo, that hallucinatory backwards sound effect and other stranger bits – but the passionate, naturally expressive playing and singing by Jimi makes it all feel just right, and that Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell still don't get enough credit for being at the heart of such greatness. A massive 2LP effort that includes "Voodoo Chile", "Crosstown Traffic", "Electric Ladyland", "Little Miss Strange", "Moon Turn The Tides", "Still Raining Still Dreaming" and "All Along The Watchtower". LP, Vinyl record album

A true classic by Jimi with the original Experience lineup – the third of three straight up masterpiece LPs to come out in just over a year's time by the group! You could call the leftfield astral effects in the mix experimental if you had to – innovations in the studio with echo, that hallucinatory backwards sound effect and other stranger bits – but the passionate, naturally expressive playing and singing by Jimi makes it all fell just right, and the Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell still don't get enough credit for being at the heart of such greatness. A massive 2LP effort that includes "Voodoo Chile", "Crosstown Traffic", "Electric Ladyland", "Little Miss Strange", "Moon Turn The Tides", "Still Raining Still Dreaming" and "All Along The Watchtower". LP, Vinyl record album

A set that may well be the record where Elton John totally gets it together – transcending his already-brilliant previous recordings, and finding a way to the special spot that would forever make him a legend! There's a mix of well-crafted songs and soulful presentation that's completely superb here – very personal, very much that new Elton John mode that made thte approach of him and Bernie Taupin so different than so many others in this heady generation of singer/songwriters – and that's really saying a lot! Production and arrangements are great, too – up-close when needed, and never overdone – testified to by the album's classic lineup of tracks that includes "Tiny Dancer", "Levon", "Razor Face", "Madman Across The Water", "Holiday Inn", "Indian Sunset", and "All The Nasties". CD

A set that may well be the record where Elton John totally gets it together – transcending his already-brilliant previous recordings, and finding a way to the special spot that would forever make him a legend! There's a mix of well-crafted songs and soulful presentation that's completely superb here – very personal, very much that new Elton John mode that made thte approach of him and Bernie Taupin so different than so many others in this heady generation of singer/songwriters – and that's really saying a lot! Production and arrangements are great, too – up-close when needed, and never overdone – testified to by the album's classic lineup of tracks that includes "Tiny Dancer", "Levon", "Razor Face", "Madman Across The Water", "Holiday Inn", "Indian Sunset", and "All The Nasties". CD

Genius early work from Kris Kristofferson – four great albums in a single package, with SACD mastering too! First up is The Silver Tongued Devil & I – a masterful tribute to the genius of Kris Kristofferson, and a record that perfectly illustrates that unique place he held in music at the start of the 70s! The album's Kris' second, and has maybe a more unified vibe than his debut – filled with original material that has that open, honest quality that Kristofferson brought to country music – and which also had a surprisingly strong impact on mainstream rock and singer/songwriter material too! There's both a frankness of feeling and sharpness of wit that make the whole thing wonderful – and the album's overflowing with original gems that include "Jody & The Kid", "Billy Dee", "Loving Her Was Easier", "The Taker", "When I Loved Her", "The Pilgrim Chapter 33" and "Epitaph" – plus a great reading of the Bobby Bare/Billy Joe Shaver tune "Good Christian Soldier". Border Lord is a wonderful album, and one that's full of lesser-known gems from Kris Kristofferson – from a time when he'd started sharing his songs with other singers first, and started to hold back all the good stuff for himself! The album's got help from some country music studio greats, but it's clearly Kristofferson's show, right from the start – overflowing with tunes that get delivery from Kris that nobody else can match – with a special understanding of the choice of words, balance of wit, and depth of feeling that makes him so great on record. Titles include "Burden Of Freedom", "Border Lord", "When She's Wrong", "Kiss The World Goodbye", "Getting By High & Strange", "Somebody Nobody Knows", and "Josie". Jesus Was A Capricorn is one of those records in which Kris Kristofferson takes on the 70s, and comes up with a sound and style that's completely his own – even when working within the mainstream of the time! His label, Monument, could do plenty of hokey stuff – and even arranger Bill Justis wasn't always the hippest of cats – nor producer Fred Foster. Yet working here, they all rise to the occasion under the majesty of the man's music – a soaring batch of original tunes, of that special sort that Kris was always keeping to himself after his early years writing hits for others. Titles include "Why Me", "Give It Time To Be Tender", "It Sure Was Love", "Nobody Wins", "Enough For You", and the title cut "Jesus Was A Capricorn", owed to John Prine! Spooky Lady's Sideshow is a record that has Kris Kristofferson loosening up his mix of styles slightly, almost a nod back to his debut – but all in a way that only seems to bring an even greater range of feeling to his songwriting! Kristofferson maybe looks a bit more casual and laidback on the cover than some previous sets, but he's still got all the sharpness of delivery that makes him so great, and which really matches his magical words – on titles that include "Broken Freedom Song", "Star Spangled Bummer", "Smile At Me Again", "I May Smoke Too Much", "Stairway To The Bottom", and "Rescue Mission". (Folk/Country, Rock) CD

The first record by Lighthouse – a strange band that's always incredibly hard to peg, but who have a sound that we always end up liking a lot! The group mix together folk rock styles with a touch of soul and funk – going for some nice grooves that build up from lots of drum work and airy vocal production, touched here by lots of horns, in a style that's a bit like Blood Sweat & Tears, but a lot lot cooler! This first album is something of a landmark in the jazz/rock vein – and titles include "Never Say Goodbye", "Follow The Stars", "Mountain Man", "Whatever Forever", "Marsha Marsha", and a great cover of "Eight Miles High". CD

It's Christmas time in East LA – and Los Lobos have gotten together to give us a real standout of a holiday album! The tunes are mostly originals by the group, and done up in that mix of modes that's always made them so great – border-styled instrumentation on some cuts, straighter sounds on others – and all recorded with a stripped-down, personal vibe that may well make the record one of their most satisfying in years! But, if anything, the group have seemed to just get better with age – something we might never have expected decades ago – and a record like this is proof that they're one of the few older groups who deserve to keep on creating into their twilight years. Titles include "La Rama", "Donde Esta Santa Claus", "La Murga", "Christmas & You", "Regalo De Reyes", "Feliz Navidad", "Reluciente Sol", and "It's Christmas Time In Texas". (Holiday Music, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

A pretty great idea for a late 60s rock record – even if the record itself is even better than its idea! The whole concept of the "masked marauders" was that the group was supposedly formed by big rockers of the time – unable to be listed on the cover, because of contractual obligations. And in truth, the set does sound a lot like it could have been lifted from sessions by The Rolling Stones, or Get Back-era Beatles – plus maybe a few other contemporaries too – yet it's all actually the work of some great unknowns, who came up with a sweet gimmick to get the record out there! On its own, the set's a real charmer – and has a mix of rootsy modes and tighter, deeper ideas that's not unlike some of the George Harrison/Phil Spector work – save for those moments when the Marauders are clearly trying to sound a bit more like a big name act. Titles include "I Can't Get No Nookie", "Cow Pie", "Duke Of Earl", "I Am The Japanese Sandman", "Later", "More Or Less Hudson's Bay Again", and "Season Of The Witch". Also features two mono single tracks – "Cow Pie" and "I Can't Get No Nookie". CD

Four heavy classics from Buddy Miles – all together in a single set! First up is Expressway To Your Skull – a super tripped-out blend of rock, funk, and soul – easily one of Buddy Miles' most mindblowing albums – and a classic that never lets up at all! Buddy's leading the whole group on drums – really kicking things large from behind the kit – while the rest of the group jams in a heavy style that's got plenty of fuzzed-out guitar and jazzy horn riffs – virtually a blueprint for countless other rock funk groups that copped Buddy's style in years to come. The drums alone are worth the price of admission – but the whole album's so right, tight, and outta sight that it's been a favorite in our crates for years! Titles include "Train", "Let Your Lovelight Shine", "Don't Mess With Cupid", "Funky Mule", and "Wrap It Up". Electric Church is filled with bluesy soul from Buddy Miles – an album that was half-produced by Jimi Hendrix, and which showcases the really crowd-pleasing side of Miles' sound! Tracks are a mix of soul covers and original numbers – done in a mode that puts plenty of guitar out front in the mix, and which uses Buddy's screaming vocals a bit more than his heavier drums. Horns are used on most numbers to give them a bit of southern soul inflection, and titles include a great live jamming take on "Wrap It Up", the funky "Destructive Love", and the cuts "Cigarettes & Coffee", "Miss Lady", "Texas", and "My Chant". Them Changes is a landmark album of crossover funk – fuzzed out rock, soul, and jazzy licks all coming into play together – held totally tight by drummer Buddy Miles, the undisputed king of his scene! Buddy's drums are super-heavy – holding down his Freedom Express group with a heavy jazz-rock sound that would soon have a huge influence on other groups. Includes Buddy's original version of "Them Changes" – a tune that was instantly covered by everyone at the time – plus the cuts "Memphis Train", "Your Feeling Is Mine", "Dreams", and "Down By The River". Last up is We Got To Live Together – pure crossover genius from Buddy Miles – a great mix of funky soul and rockish touches – and the kind of record that easily put Buddy in the same camp as Sly Stone or The Isley Brothers with mainstream audiences of the time! Tracks here are a bit longer and more jamming than work by either of those two artists – with the kind of heavy guitar and horns that played heavily to the Fillmore crowd – but the overall sound of the record is a fair bit more soulful and even funkier than some other Miles' efforts from the earlier years too, with plenty of his tight drums in the mix! Titles include a great 12 minute reading of the title track "We Got To Live Together" – plus "Take It Off Him & Put It On Me", "Runaway Child", "Walking Down The Highway", and "Easy Greasy". (Soul, Rock) CD

A trio of classics from this groundbreaking group! First up is Living With The Animals – fantastic early work from Mother Earth – one of those special late 60s groups who emerged out of the rock, folk, and blues scenes – but who somehow managed to make a very special sound of their own! Part of the group's strength is the lovely Tracey Nelson – a singer who could have been a soul artist if she wanted – but who works here with a looser approach to generic conventions as she moves through a number of different modes – sometimes stepping aside for the group's lead singer, R Powell St John Jr, who also plays a bit of harmonica. Instrumentation is given some stronger currents from a combo that features Mike Bloomfield on guitar, Barry Goldberg on organ, and Luis Gasca on trumpet – and titles include "Marvel Group", "Mother Earth", "It Won't Be Long", "Down So Low", "The Kingdom Of Heaven", and "My Love Will Never Die". Make A Joyful Noise is an album that has slightly fuller backings than their debut, but in a way that only seems to bring out more of the soulful currents of their sound! The mix of rural inspiration and tighter presentation is a great illustration of the changing North Cali style of the period – and no surprise, a young Boz Scaggs is in the group, providing rhythm guitar next to the vocals of Tracy Nelson and R Powell St John. A few country legends provide extra support on fiddle, dobro, and steel – balanced nicely by a strong horn section too – on titles that include "Stop The Train", "Soul Of The Man", "Blues For The Road", "Come On & See", "I The Fly", "Wait Wait Wait", "I Wanna Be Your Mama Again", and "Then I'll Be Moving On". Last up is Satisfied – countrified rock from Tracy Nelson and Mother Earth – done in a warm and sincere style that goes way beyond any of the cliches of the genre! There's something about the way the group put together the tunes that really makes us like this one – an honesty that's not bogged down in any hippy dippy expectations, and which never tries to be anything other that what it is. And yes, that's not much of a good description of the set – but it's also our way of identifying the uniqueness that set Mother Earth apart from a lot of their contemporaries. Titles include "Satisfied", "Groovy Way", "Andy's Song", "Ruler Of My Heart", "This Feeling", and "You Won't Be Passing Here No More". CD

An excellent rock album with lots of funky breaks, and some very very heavy drums by Rupert Baer! The set was put together by Shel Talmy, but he also got some help from the great Alan Hawkshaw, of funky KPM and Serge Gainsbourg fame – who seems to hone the record into a groove that goes way beyond its initial potential! The overall concept is a bit silly – as you might guess from the cover – and although some of the lyrics are lackluster, the record more than makes up for it with the mix of drums, bass, and organ in the instrumental sections – and there's more than a few nice moments here to please the beatheads! Tracks include "Make Me Make You", "No One To Turn To", "Squadron Leader Johnson", "Pate De Foie Gras", and "Knock On My Door". LP, Vinyl record album

Music beyond description – a unique blend of disco, funk, avant garde, and dub – the wonderful world of the late Arthur Russell! Russell was a bass player by trade, but he was schooled in both classical and Eastern music forms – and brought an incredibly fresh vision to his work in New York in the late 70s and early 80s. To some, Russell was a groundbreaking disco pioneer – with an offbeat production style and unique conception of rhythm. To others, Russell was a performance artist and avant garde musician – working in circles that included Phillip Glass, David Byrne, and Robert Wilson. This mix of modes was very much a part of the post-disco, post-punk sound of New York at the time – and nobody summarized it (or allowed it!) better than Russell himself. This excellent set from Soul Jazz is one of the first to truly give him his due – and it brings together a large amount of his disco-related projects, plus a few more introspective numbers cut under his own name. The sound is incredible – unlike anything you could categorize – especially on the Russell-titled numbers – and as always with Soul Jazz, the whole thing's beautifully packaged, with rich notes on the music and the person behind it! Titles include "Go Bang (Francois K mix)" by Dinosaur L, "Wax The Van" by Lola, "Is It All Over My Face (Larry Levan mix)" by Loose Joints, "In The Cornbelt (Larry Levan mix)" by Dinosaur L, "Pop Your Funk" by Loose Joints, "Schoolbell/Treehouse (Walter Gibbons mix)" by Indian Ocean, and "Let's Go Swimming (Walter Gibbons mix)", "A Little Lost", "In The Light Of The Miracle", and "Keeping Up" by Arthur Russell himself! CD

Blue-eyed soul from the legendary Mitch Ryder – and pretty darn gritty at that – steeped in styles borrowed from Memphis and Muscle Shoals, and given a bit of a color-blind twist on the Detroit scene of the late 60s! Mitch clearly loves the motor city sound of the 60s, but also takes things to farther points south, too – using elements that would be right at home on Stax or Atlantic Records, and coming up with a crossover sound that had his recorded almost ending up in more soul collections over the years than rock ones! Production is by pop maestro Bob Crewe, but it's surprisingly unadorned compared to some of Crewe's other work of the time – and the album bristles with sock-soul instrumentation from the Detroit Wheels, and loud, proud vocals from Mitch. There's a bit of garaey guitars in the mix, too – making for a mighty nice hybrid of styles – and titles include "Shakin With Linda", "You Get Your Kicks", "Any Day Now", "I Need Help", "Little Latin Lupe Lu", "Walkin The Dog", "I Had It Made", and the classic "Breakout". LP, Vinyl record album

There's nobody like The Small Faces at their best – as you'll hear from the group's killer 1966 album on Decca! The style here is tight, right, and fully-formed straight from the start – easily one of the best UK 60s hybrids of American influences from R&B, garage rock, and early psych – sorted out perfectly by a quartet of lads who really know what they're doing. And the album's maybe even more focused than the group's later album on Immediate – as here, The Small Faces are all business, and the right kind of gritty – just fantastic stuff that's fresh and exciting even today! Titles include "Shake", "Come On Children", "You Better Believe It", "IT's Too Late", "One Night Stand", "Sorry She's Mine", "Sha La La Lee", and "Own Up Time". 2CD version is filled with great stuff – the full mono mix of the album, plus bonus tracks that include "Patterns", "Grow Your Own", "What's A Matter Baby", and "I've Got Mine". CD

Indie rock elders Sonic Youth's first high profile album on an indie label in about 20 years – the group's first for Matador, and a skillful mix of insistent, exciting melodic precision, barbed lyricism, random bursts of noise, and enough layered hypnotic guitar errata that you'll hear something new each time you come back to it! Through the years they continued to be pretty exciting, and for the most part managed to avoid repeating themselves, while still working in something of a comfort zone – once throwing a screwdriver in the old noise rock guitar neck with the addition of Jim O'Rourke to the group, and with O'Rourke's departure, former Pavement player Mark Ibold on bass. Kim Gordon is now freed up to be play guitar, making for a triple threat along with Thurston Moore and Lee Renaldo – and it's a riveting sound. They don't reinvent the wheel on The Eternal – but they steer into adventurous waters – and as long as they're making records this good we're hoping they live up to title! Includes "Sacred Trickster", "Anti-Orgasm", "Leaky Lifeboat (For Gregory Corso)", "Antenna", "What We Know", "Calming The Snake", "Poison Arrow", "Malibu Gas Station", "Thunderclap For Bobby Pyn", "No Way", "Walkin Blue", "Massage The History". CD

A wonderful little record from the 70s – not nearly the cosmic set you might imagine from the title, and instead a warmly-produced album that's in the best 70s smooth mellow style! These guys would fit nicely in a collection next to Crosby Stills & Nash or America – as they've got a strong sense of harmony in their vocal approach – one that's schooled in the SoCal generation of the 60s, but taken to a whole new 70s territory in the studio – and supported by instrumentation that has some occasional jazz inflections which further warms the whole thing up! The group mix a bit of flute in with the keyboards, which seems to resonate almost as another voice – and although the guitar gets a bit stronger on a few numbers, it's usually more in the background to let the vocals rise up front. Titles include "My Telephone Artist", "Country Max", "Holy River", "Outlines", "Guitar Suite", "Lookout",a nd "Over & Over". CD