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A tremendous bit of harmony soul from Chicago – one of the few cases where the Windy City really gave the east coast a run for its money – and the landmark album from teen soul quartet Brighter Side Of Darkness! Although young, Brighter Side managed to bring a depth to their work that was way more than kiddie soul – a heartfelt, heartbreaking quality that was all adult, no matter how youthful the themes – and their vocals are a perfect contrast to the fuller arrangements from producers Clarence Johnson and Johnny Cameron. The set contains the group's classic "Love Jones", still one of the best fragile harmony tracks of the early 70s – plus loads of other great numbers like "I Owe You Love", "I'm A Loser", "Just A Little Bit", and a superb remake of "Summer Ride".

"It's not a sequel – there's never been anything like it." Finally, an awesome reissue of the classically groovy camp soundtrack to "king of the nudies" Russ Meyer's crazy non-sequel to Valley Of The Dolls – one of the greatest exploitation movies of all time! The music is almost unbelievably great for what was essentially supposed to be an X-rated cheapie (little did 20th Century Fox know) – with a wonderfully huge & string heavy score by composer Stu Phillips, insanely groovy, stomping mod rock from the Sandpipers, Strawberry Alarm Clock, and the film's busty real-life Playboy Bunny heroines the Carrie Nations/Kelly Affair! "This is MY happening, and IT FREAKS ME OUT!" Titles include the Carrie Nations tunes "Find It" and "Come With The Gentle People", the Strawberry Alarm Clock's "Incense & Peppermints" and "I'm Coming Home", the Sandpipers groovy "Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls Theme", and tons more.

One of Hugo Montenegro's greatest soundtracks ever – and one of the grooviest 60s scores we can think of! The album's filled with incredible jazzy tracks – darkly tinged, but bubbling, upbeat, and wonderful – the kind of hard-driving numbers that make a soundtrack like this so great, and which you rarely find in such strong form overall. A few tunes are standards, but even these are handled well – and titles include "Lady In Cement", "Jilly's Joint", "Kit", "The Shark", "Yale's Pool Room", "Ruby's Burlesque", "Again", and "Tony's Theme".

Instrumental guitar great William Tyler's second album under his own name, and his first for indie powerhouse Merge Records – and it's an exceptionally beautiful piece of work from a player who's really just getting started! Tyler strikes a youthful presense, but he's actually been playing around a lot behind the scenes – as a studio and/or touring guitarist for Lambchop, Candi Staton, Charlie Louvin and others wise enough to record with producer Mark Nevers – who's works on this record, too. Tyler is definitely inspired by finger style folk guitarists from the mid 20th Century onward, but he's also got a hypnotic style that feels like it's inspired by more atmospheric country rock and rustic 70s soundtracks. Here he's mixing it all it into a brilliant style all his own, and it's SO good. Guest musicians include fellow youthful Nashville string genius Chris Scruggs, drummer Scott Martin, steel player Luke Schneider and Roy Agee on trombone. Includes "Country Of Illusion", "The Geography Of Nowhere", "Cadillac Desert", "We Can't Go Home Again", "A Portrait Of Sarah", "Hotel Catatonia", "The Last Residents Of Westfall" and "The World Set Free".

A startlingly deep and diverse second volume of ethnographic recordings from the first half of the 20th century – Secret Museum Of Mankind Volume 2 – material culled from archival 78s of recordings made all over the world! Includes recordings from Bulgaria, Puerto Rico, India, Mozambique, Ukraine, Trinidad, Kazakhstan, Ceylon, Tibet and many more points globally – compiled by archivist Pat Conte and seeing a very well done vinyl pressing of the series after initial CD sets in the 90s. Amazing! 23 tracks on 2LPs: "Storise Khoro Goliamo" by Mita Stoycheva (Bulgaria), "Old Time Cat-O'-Nine" by Lord Invader (Trinidad), "Paghjelle" by Corale Corse (Corsica), "Kaike Ena Sholio" by A Kostis (Greece), "Umakotshaha" by John Bhengu (South Africa), "Liau Kwo Da Tsaou Yuen" by Bau In Da Li Ga (Tibet) and much more!

The third volume the great Secret Museum Of Mankind series – beautifully well compiled ethnographic recordings from the first half of the 20th century – the great Secret Museum Of Mankind series! The music comes archival 78s of recordings made all over the world – made in Poland, Spain, China, Angola, Turkey, Mongolia, Russia, the Congo, and elsewhere – compiled by archivist Pat Conte. 24 tracks on 2LPs: "Indaba Yomkonto" by Tain Native Girls' Choir, "Dilbar" by A. Mirzaeva, "Ta Magia Sto Pegadi" by Georgios Trakis, "Verrá Quel Di di Lune" by Canto Di Soldati, "Lugger Song" by Fly River Singers and many more.

A collection of tracks that amount to some of incredibly deep audio archaeology – a wonderful, consciousness wakening collection of globe spanning 78s from the first half of the 20th Century – all from the darkest corners of the EMI Vaults! Honest Jons does an impressive job of collecting recordings that are first and foremost exciting pieces of music – and they reportedly spent a couple of years going through thousands and thousands of 78s and to put this thing together. It was worth the effort! The album includes recordings from China in the 10s, Bali and London in the 20s, Constantinople, Kenya and Spain in the 30s, Uganda & Trinidad in the 50s, and much more from each decade in many parts of the world. Cuban rumbas, Middle Eastern & African string tunes, more pop oriented British tunes, vocal and pop with a global focus. Wonderful stuff! Titles include "The English Sound Table" by GU Hsu, "Lagu Kebiar" by Gamelan Gong, "Rumba Negra" by Sacasas, "Laughing" by Vemngopal Chari, "Different Kind Of Motor Car Noises" by Vengopal Chari, "The Queen's Canary" by Mighty Sparrow and more.

Damn amazing work from Charles Bradley – an instant soul classic for all generations, as you'll hear from the very first note! Not only are Bradley's vocals incredible – the kind of once-in-a-long-time approach he brought to his debut – but the backings and production are completely sublime too – magical music from the Menahan Street Band, who sound here like some lost combo from 60s Memphis, but without any of the hoke that reference might imply – instead that really unique approach that you'd only find on one of your few favorite vintage soul albums – maybe Bobby Taylor & The Vancouvers, or Jesse James on his 60s album for 20th Century! Yet the sound here isn't just vintage for vintage sake, either – as there's an intensity that's very present, contemporary, and urgent – a sound that doesn't die – and which just gets better and better with each new listen. Tremendous stuff – even from the Daptone universe we've been loving for years and years – with titles that include "Strictly Reserved For You", "You Put The Flame On It", "Dusty Blue", "Love Bug Blues", "Hurricane", "Through The Storm", "Confusion", and "Where Do We Go From Here".

An amazing introduction to one of the most significant cultural movements in the latter half of the 20th Century – the groundbreaking years of Tropicalia in late 60s Brazil! The music and legacy of Tropicalia are referenced often, but hardly ever presented this well – and this package is everything we could have hoped for as an introduction to the movement – filled with key late 60s works from the most important musicians associated with Tropicalia – an great starting point for the movement that's filled with most essential tracks! And even if you have some of this stuff already on individual albums, it really sounds great together – a rich document of this amazing musical moment. Titles include "Bat Macumba" by Gilberto Gil, "Tuareg" and "Sebastiana" by Gal Costa, "A Minha Menina" and "Panis Et Circenses" by Os Mutantes, "Alfo Mega" and "Tropicalia" by Caetano Veloso, "Gloria" and "Jimmy Renda-Se" by Tom Ze, "Procissao" by Gilberto Gil, "Ave Genghis Khan" by Os Mutantes, "Take It Easy My Brother Charles" by Jorge Ben, "Quero Sambal Meu Bem" by Tom Ze, "Lost In The Paradise" by Caetano Veloso, "Bat Macumba" by Os Mutantes, "Domingo No Parque" by Gilberto Gil & Os Mutantes, and "Irene" by Caetano Veloso.

An incredible collection of work from Jesse James – a soul singer who's hardly ever gotten his due on the reissue market – until the release of this sweet little collection! Jesse's probably best known to our ears for his sublime album for 20th Century in the late 60s, and for a handful of really rare singles – and he's got this blend of raspiness and groove that's really wonderful – kind of southern styled, but with the warmth of modern soul too – a blend that's not unlike the mix of rough and smooth you'd find in the work of Freddie Hughes – but very much Jesse's own sound too. This collection is filled with wonderful moments from this crucially overlooked singer – including some rare singles from the late 60s and early 70s, plus cuts of similar vintage, but never issued before – really wonderful tunes that include "I'm In Love With Loving You", "I Feel Your Love Changing", "One & Only Love", "When We Become As One", "I Gave You Love With A Plus", "I Don't Want An Undivided Love", "Just As Long As We're In Love", "Visiting Rights", and "Let Me Show You".

Timeless blues work from Boyd Rivers – played on both acoustic and electric guitar, but with a classic spirit that stretches back to the days of the delta! The recordings are from the early 90s, but done in a way that feels like they're from decades before – clear enough to bring out the best tones in Rivers' guitar and vocals, yet with a spare, stripped-down vibe that shows little change in the evolution of the blues over the 20th century! Titles include "Won't It Be Grand", "I Want To Be At The Meeting", "Get Away Jordan", "That Fire Shed In My Bones", "You Can't Make Me Doubt", "Church House Rock", and "When The World Seems Cold".