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Peter Gabriel gets a bit bolder and more confident here in his solo role – coming out with some of the bite of his Rael character from years back, but with a tighter, more focused mode that's pretty darn great! You can hear the early touch of the styles that would wander too strongly into the wrong territory a decade later – but here, things are all pretty darn fresh – wrapped around song themes that feel like very new ones for Gabriel, in ways that almost have you feeling him pick and choose the topics as the record moves on. Production is tight, but never too uptight – and titles include "On The Air", "DIY", "Exposure", "Animal Magic", "Flotsam & Jetsam", "Perspective", and "White Shadow". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A stunner of a set from Ken Vandermark & co as Powerhouse Sound – a riveting 2CD batch of rhythmic juxtaposition inspired by dub, sound collage production, and free rock caterwauling – done with a pair of line-ups in both Oslo and Chicago! The Oslo group is heavy with bass and stuttering electronic manipulations, and features Vandermark, Ingebrigt Haker Flaten and Nate McBride on electric bass, Pall Nilssen-Love on drums and Lasse Marhaug on electronics. The Chicago crew runs through variations of the material and changes up the instrumentation with Vandermark, John Herndon on drums, Jeff Parker on guitar and McBride on bass. Disc one (Oslo version) includes "Shocklee (For Hank Shocklee)", "King To Crown (For King Tubby), "Coxsone (For Coxsone Dodd)", "2-1-75" (For Miles Davis), "Acid Scratch (For Lee Perry)", "Exit-Salida (For Burning Spear)" and "New Dirt (For The Stooges)". Disc two (Chicago version) includes "Old Dictionary (For Bernie Worrell)", "King To Crown Pt 1/Acid Scratch Pt 2", "Coxsonne", "2-1-75" and "New Dirt/King To Crown Pt 2". (Jazz, Rock) CD

Blistering raunch 'n' roll from Pussy Galore! They had pretty much perfected their mess by the time Right Now came out. The group still bring as much shrapnel-y noise and with all of the barbed ferocity of the meanests MFs in the darkest corners of late 80s indie rock – but unlike your Big Blacks, Scratch Acids and Butthole Surfers, Pussy Galore seems to genuinely love old school rock 'n' roll – even while they stomp it to death! A true anti-classic. Includes "Pig Sweat", "White Noise", "Uptight", "Biker Rock Loser", "Rope Legend", "Alright", "New Breed", "Knock Up", "Punch Out", "Pussy Stomp", "Trashcan Oil Drum", "Fix It", "Rancid", "Hell Spawn". LP, Vinyl record album

Music from the Bomboras, the Cave 4, the Fathoms, Four Piece Suit, Man Or Astroman?, Ben Vaughan, the Vice Royals, Eddie Angel, Scratch Bongowax, the Tiki Tones, the Tiki Men, Los Straitjackets, and more. CD

Features John Hartford's original recording of the title track, which many others would make a hit – plus other gems that include "The Six O'Clock Train & A Girl With Green Eyes", "California Earthquake", "Mouth To Mouth Resuscitation", "Untangle Your Mind", and "Front Porch". Great production and lots of odd arrangements! (Folk/Country, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

A brilliant bit of work from the UK scene of the early 80s – a group formed out of the ashes of The Prefects, and driven strongly by the uniquely bristling energy of frontman Robert Lloyd! The record's got lots of fantastically jagged moments – punk into post-punk, but without the freer frenzy of The Fall – maybe more the well-rooted basslines of Gang Of Four, although the style of The Nightingales is very different! Lloyd's vocals and presence are wonderful – and the songs are laced together with all these fast, jagged guitar lines that are fantastic – a bit like those from the Ron Johnson label scene to come. Tracks include "Blood For Dirt", "Start From Scratch", "One Mistake", "It Lives Again", "Joking Apart", "Yeah, It's OK", "Under The Lash", "Blisters", "Don't Blink", "Elvis The Last Ten Days", and "Make Good". CD

Those are some pretty crabby ladies on the front covers – workers for the Jugoton label, working on quality control – but they're probably not the right audience for the music on this set, which is very cool and groovy – and not the sort that would usually go for the blue-haired set! As you'll guess from the title, the sounds were all created in the 80s – partly following off the British electronic modes of the post-punk years, in both cold wave and new wave styles – then moving into some of the shifting styles as the decade moved on, although still often nicely not really in any sort of too-commercial territory! Given the wealth of Croatian, Serbian, and other talents handled by the label, there's a huge amount going on here – as you'll discover on titles that include "Ti I Ja" by Denis & Denis, "Pocket" by Master Scratch Band, "Kad Je Kraj Blizu" by Parliament, "Palcica" by Mato Dosen & HC Andersen, "On" by Zana, "Devica 69" by Laboratorija, "Zaba" by D'Boys, "Radio Video" by Nicky, and "Harakiri" by Dubravka – plus some short "Jugoton Express" tracks. (Funky Compilations, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

With selections by Jim Schwall, JEM, New Avenue, Rhythm Rockers, TUG, Psycho Gene & The Neons, Natty Scratch, PS, The Mudsharks, The Spoonbills, Hi Fi, and The Blue Collar Boys. LP, Vinyl record album

Funky punk from Medium Medium – one of the strongest proponents of such modes on the UK scene of the post-punk years, yet one who never issued much material at the time! The group are heavy on basslines mixed with scratchy guitars – all in this art funk approach that resonates strongly with some of the groundbreaking material issued on 99 Records at the start of the 80s – and although this set's put together by Cherry Red, the work inside has more of that aggro vibe you'd hear during the glorious early days of Rough Trade! This double-length set brings together rare singles, live material, unreleased tracks, and cuts from their sole full length album – a lineup that includes "Stir Me Up", "Full Of Secrecy", "Serbian Village", "7th Floor", "Hungry So Angry", "Guru Maharaji", "The Glitterhouse", and "Them Or Me". LP, Vinyl record album

A surprising classic from the early 80s underground – a record that came to the world from the scene in Milwaukee, where neither the group nor the rest of the world would have expected the album to have such staying power over the decades! And yet, from the very first needle drop, it's hard to imagine otherwise – as the record's got this raw intensity that's not really punk, certainly not new wave – almost an American primitivist energy that really gets to the heart of the matter from the very first note – and goes on to deliver a non-stop testament of angst and longing, set to scratchy guitar and fast-riffing drums! Gordon Gano's vocals perfectly fit the spirit of the songs – and the set's full of classics that include "Blister In The Sun", "Kiss Off", "Add It Up", "Gone Daddy Gone", and "Prove My Love". 3LP version features a huge amount of bonus material on the second disc – demos of most tracks for the album, and live recordings from the same time – plus UK single tracks "Ugly" and "Gimme The Car" on the bonus 7" single! LP, Vinyl record album

A surprising classic from the early 80s underground – a record that came to the world from the scene in Milwaukee, where neither the group nor the rest of the world would have expected the album to have such staying power over the decades! And yet, from the very first needle drop, it's hard to imagine otherwise – as the record's got this raw intensity that's not really punk, certainly not new wave – almost an American primitivist energy that really gets to the heart of the matter from the very first note – and goes on to deliver a non-stop testament of angst and longing, set to scratchy guitar and fast-riffing drums! Gordon Gano's vocals perfectly fit the spirit of the songs – and the set's full of classics that include "Blister In The Sun", "Kiss Off", "Add It Up", "Gone Daddy Gone", and "Prove My Love". LP, Vinyl record album

A surprising classic from the early 80s underground – a record that came to the world from the scene in Milwaukee, where neither the group nor the rest of the world would have expected the album to have such staying power over the decades! And yet, from the very first needle drop, it's hard to imagine otherwise – as the record's got this raw intensity that's not really punk, certainly not new wave – almost an American primitivist energy that really gets to the heart of the matter from the very first note – and goes on to deliver a non-stop testament of angst and longing, set to scratchy guitar and fast-riffing drums! Gordon Gano's vocals perfectly fit the spirit of the songs – and the set's full of classics that include "Blister In The Sun", "Kiss Off", "Add It Up", "Gone Daddy Gone", and "Prove My Love". 2CD version features a huge amount of bonus material on the second disc – demos of most tracks for the album, and live recordings from the same time – plus UK single tracks "Ugly" and "Gimme The Car". CD

A very hip Japanese group from the 70s – one based in Tokyo, but a combo who also featured Japanese/American members too – and who soar out nicely here on one of their best-remembered albums! The set's got this cool, compressed style that's a bit like glam – but it's also never too over the top either, so that there's a hard rock style that dominates many of the tracks, with guitar lines that really benefit a lot from the compression – as do the vocals when they are folded nicely down into the grooves! Lyrics are both in English and Japanese, and titles include "Billy Mars", "Automatic Pilot", "Vacuum Girl", "Scratchin", and "Pontiac Pan". (Japanese, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

One of the stranger chapters of the Holland-Dozier-Holland story of the early 70s – and one of the coolest, too! Warlock are a jazzy rock combo with plenty of soul – a bit like a twisted version of Blood Sweat & Tears, but with all the sinister energy you'd guess from the image on the cover! Most of the numbers have a nasty scratchy sort of vocal – almost Alice Cooper-ish, in keeping with the Warlock name of the group – but a few others get a bit more soulful and funky, belying the HDH connection of the group – sometimes even showing a righteous jazzy vibe, as kind of an odd echo of the Detroit Tribe Records scene. The best tracks have some jazzy phrasing in the mix, and let the guitars go off to the side – and titles include "Love Girl", "You've Been My Rock", "So Can Woman", "Thrills Of Love", and the 14 minute jammer "As You Die/Music Box", which almost has a Colosseum build to it! LP, Vinyl record album

It's hard to get any more classic than this for Creedence Clearwater Revival – as this legendary late 60s album is definitely the place where it all comes together! The pairing of John Fogerty's lead guitar and the scratching rhythm guitar of brother Tom really sounds wonderful here – driven on by tight bass and drums, but always with this rootsy edge that stretches from the Bay Area scene way down to the bayou! Titles include the classic "Down On The Corner" and a great version of "The Midnight Special" – plus "It Came Out Of The Sky", "Side Of The Road", "Effigy", "Don't Look Now", and "Fortunate Son". LP, Vinyl record album

The album that started the whole Daft Punk legend back in the day! At this point, the duo are maybe wearing their classic funk influences a bit more strongly – with plenty of 80s basslines and keyboards next to some more conventional clubby elements – but handled with a lot more depth than if these guys were just putting together a track here and there – a quality that helps set a new standard for clubby crossover sounds! Titles include "Da Funk", "Revolution 909", "Around The World", "Rollin & Scratchin", "High Fidelity", "Teachers", "Burnin", "Alive", "Indo Silver Club", and "WDPK 83.7 FM". (New Grooves, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

A hell of a package – two key albums from Gang Of Four, plus lots of other rare material from these crucial years! At the core of the package is the classic album Entertainment – one of the greatest debut albums of all time – a record that hit the world like a comet when it was released, and which will continue to burn brightly for many decades to come! There's few groups who get things so right as Gang Of Four on this set – balancing the sharp edges of UK punk with a deeper political sense – but one that puts its message across in these short, sharp, shocks that are often given an extra punch by some surprisingly strong basslines! The mix of rawness, message, and surprising groove really sets this one apart from the pack – and that includes the work by legions of groups who've tried to imitate it over the years. Tracks include "Ether", "Natural's Not In It", "Not Great Men", "Damaged Goods", "Return The Gift", "Guns Before Butter", "Glass", and "Contract". Solid Gold is a stunning second set from the mighty Gang Of Four – and a record that's got all the power and politics of their famous Entertainment debut! The set's got some wonderfully heavy basslines amidst the scratchy guitar that makes the group so great – but nothing's too polished, certainly not as in their crossover club modes to come – and the call/response vocal style of Andy Gill and Jon King is tremendous – a very fresh way to deliver the message, and one that's still never been matched all these many years later. Titles include "Paralyzed", "What We All Want", "Why Theory", "If I Could Keep It For Myself", "Cheeseburger", "The Republic", "Outside The Trains Don't Run On Time", "In The Ditch", "A Hole In The Wallet", and "He'd Send In The Army". Next, you get an exclusive Singles album – the first-ever LP collection of all the early singles and b-sides – including tracks from the EP releases Yellow, Damaged Goods, and Another Day Another Dollar. Next is an another exclusive vinyl release – the 2LP set recorded Live At The American Indian Center 1980. Plus, the box features a 100 page full-color, hardcover book – with rare photos, contributions from group members, original artwork, and rare posters – plus essays from Greil Marcus, Michael Stipe, Jon Langford, and others. Also includes posters, flyers, and ephemera! 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

It's hard to get any more classic than this for Creedence Clearwater Revival – as this legendary late 60s album is definitely the place where it all comes together! The pairing of John Fogerty's lead guitar and the scratching rhythm guitar of brother Tom really sounds wonderful here – driven on by tight bass and drums, but always with this rootsy edge that stretches from the Bay Area scene way down to the bayou! Titles include the classic "Down On The Corner" and a great version of "The Midnight Special" – plus "It Came Out Of The Sky", "Side Of The Road", "Effigy", "Don't Look Now", and "Fortunate Son". CD

Amazing stuff from No Wave legends DNA – 32 tracks from long out of print singles, EPs and live recordings – many on CD for the first time ever! DNA was one of the most uproarious acts in that increasingly legendary NYC scene – featuring Arto Lindsay's scratchy guitar and haggard banshee wail of a lead vocal presence, those primitive Bowery funk keyboards by Robin Krutchfield, and thumping, metronomic bass and drums by Tim Wright and Ikue Mori. The band's songs rarely marched past the 2 1/2 minute mark or so, getting in-and-out for a quick catharsis. These tracks trace the range of the under-recorded group perfectly, from the raw punk squall of the early singles to the funkier, sinister post disco sound later on. Amazing, awe inspiring stuff from a scene that keeps on belching greatness! Great notes and photos, here too! Includes "You & You", "Egomaniac's Kiss", "Not Moving", "Size", "New Fast", "New New", "Young Teenagers Talk Sex", "Police Chase", "Cop Buys A Donut", "Nearing", "Low", "Brand New", "Horse", "Forgery", "A New Low" and tons more! CD

One of the wildest of the classic Free Design albums, and one that will leave you scratching your head – thinking that these guys were either the biggest acid freaks around, or the most simplistic kiddie-minded adults you'll ever meet! We don't know what got into the water in the studio on this one, but the group are really expanding their minds here – taking on some groovy-as-groovy can be material – all with the sweet mixture of harmony vocals, easy instrumentation, and hippie-era naivete! The titles alone state the case – with tunes that include "Stay Off Your Frown", "Bubbles", "Kije's Ouji", "That's All, People", and "Butterflies Are Free" – plus a great cover of "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head". LP reissued on nice heavy vinyl, with a sweet gatefold cover! (Vocalists, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

A very hip group from the Michigan scene of the 60s – an all-female outfit, but one with a sound that's a lot more raw than the sweet girl group sounds you might be expecting! The Luv'd Ones have a great way with a bassline and sinister guitar riff – at a level that often gives these tracks a garagey vibe that's really outta sight, and which is even more surprising when the vocals come into play with the instrumentation – very different than other 60s standards, with a quality that really sets these guys apart from the pack! The set brings together rare singles and a number of unissued tracks – all to make for a lost girl rock treasure that includes the titles "Scratchy", "Please Get Up", "He Cried", "Dance Kid Dance", "Stand Tall", "Yeah I'm Feelin Fine", "The Memory Of It All", "Up Down Sue", "Truth Gotta Stand", "Walk Me Too The Door", and "Stand Tall". CD

One of the best records that Emitt Rhodes cut on his own after leaving The Merry Go Round – a slightly rough blend of rock, folk, and dimmed sunny pop influences – and a perfect document of the waning light of the west coast scene at the turn of the 70s. There's almost a boozy feel to the work – Rhodes' vocals a little scratchy, and the songs honestly plucked out like some of Nilsson's more intimate work – touched with occasionally more expansive instrumentation. Titles include "Side We Seldom Show", "Mirror", "Really Wanted You", "My Love Is Strong", "Better Side Of Life", "Love Will Stone You", and "Golden Child Of God". LP, Vinyl record album

Never-heard music from the enigmatic Jim Sullivan – the singer/songwriter who disappeared in the New Mexico desert after giving the world his fantastic album UFO! The style here is a bit different than that one, and maybe even more to the heart of Jim's spirit – as the work was all recorded in 1969, with just vocals and guitar – in a way that lets the brilliance of Jim's songcraft come across even more strongly than before – but all without ever feeling like scratchy demo tapes, or half-finished ideas! Instead, the album stands as a much-needed addition to the tiny Sullivan catalog – and really has us wondering what else Jim would have given us, if the shadows of mystery hadn't taken him away. Titles include "Roll Back The Time", "Walls", "Sandman", "Jerome", "Close My Eyes", "What Is My Name", and "So Natural". CD

The legendary debut of Hackamore Brick – a really unique little group who only gave the world this one little record, then disappeared for decades! Although issued on the mostly-pop Kama Sutra imprint, the album's got this earnest, honest quality that's really refreshing for the time – neither too-jamming rock or psych, but also not really singer-songwriter material either – and instead that kind of personal blend of acoustic elements and electric passion that's been rediscovered recently in the farther reaches of the "private" underground of the 70s. Yet here, the group are emerging already full-formed – with songwriting that's sublime, vocals that are transcendent, and mix of modes that was certainly a head-scratcher to the mainstream market of the time – but which has gone onto make the album a real treasure that's gotten some much-needed rediscovery in recent years. Titles include "Got A Gal Named Wilma", "Reachin", "Radio", "Peace Has Come", "Zip Gun Woman", "Someone You Know", and "Oh Those Sweet Bananas". CD