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Jam-packed with hit material by this always-popular 70s group – featuring 19 classic tracks that include "Dancing Queen", "Knowing Me Knowing You", "Take A Chance On Me", "Mamma Mia", "Super Trouper", "I Have A Dream", "Fernando", "SOS", "Voulez Vous", and "Waterloo".

Very early work from Captain Beefheart – recorded back when Ry Cooder was a member of The Magic Band – and packaged here on a limited edition 7" single! The cover image is unique to this release – and the original single is rare as hen's teeth too!

The album that started it all for Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band – the monumental Safe As Milk – a more focused effort the epic strangeness to come, but still a freak rock masterpiece! Don Van Vliet and the first Magic Band get loose on some messed up, raw white boy blues, filterede through a fish eye lens with an unbridled energy and the good Captain's unique approach that just begins to hint at the sublime weirdness he'd unleash later on. Includes "Abba Zabba", "Dropout Boogie", "Zig Zag Wanderer", "Electricity", "Yellow Brick Road", "Grown So Ugly", "Autumn's Child" and more.

The album that started it all for Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band – the monumental Safe As Milk – a more focused effort the epic strangeness to come, but still a freak rock masterpiece! Don Van Vliet and the first Magic Band get loose on some messed up, raw white boy blues, filterede through a fish eye lens with an unbridled energy and the good Captain's unique approach that just begins to hint at the sublime weirdness he'd unleash later on. Includes "Abba Zabba", "Dropout Boogie", "Zig Zag Wanderer", "Electricity", "Yellow Brick Road", "Grown So Ugly", "Autumn's Child" and more.

The album that started it all for Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band – the monumental Safe As Milk – a more focused effort than the epic strangeness to come, but still a freak rock masterpiece! Don Van Vliet and the first Magic Band get loose on some messed up, raw, white boy blues, filtered through a fish eye lens with an unbridled energy and the good Captain's unique approach – just beginning to hint at the sublime weirdness he'd unleash later on. Original LP tracks include "Abba Zabba", "Dropout Boogie", "Zig Zag Wanderer", "Electricity", "Yellow Brick Road", "Grown So Ugly", "Autumn's Child" and more – and the CD version has 7 bonus tracks, with alternate takes and more. Essential!

Some of the biggest singles by British reggae giants Aswad! Don't Turn Around his pretty heavy with material from the mid-to-late 80s period – when they were at a commercial peak – blending Lovers Rock and were crossing over in a major way. Breezy, easygoing stuff – plus some great rootsier material, too. Includes "Don't Turn Around", "Back To Africa", "How Long" feat Yazz, "Three Babylon", "Fire" with Shabba Ranks, "Set Them Free", "Rainbow Culture", "Chasing For The Breeze", "Beauty's Only Skin Deep", "Shy Guy" with Easther Bennett and more.

A nice set from these latter day Detroit free music explorers, with a spiritual vibe and a varied approach to improvisation that isn't afraid to groove at moments, but also involves some nice textural dynamic playing in a very post AACM mode. Anthony Holland plays reeds, Tani Tabal tablas and trap drums and Spencer Barefield a variety of guitars. 3 lengthy pieces and 1 shorter one: "Inbetween Song", "Roscoe Mitchell – Clouds Taking Pictures Of Birds", the 6-part "Transdimensional Space Window Suite" and "Dawudaphone Dance".

Quite an unusual soundtrack from Les Baxter – not just because it's a rare one done for an early 60s horror film, but also because this presentation of the music features a handful of very long songs – rather than the usual shorter film score numbers! In a way, the music works like one long suite, divided up into a few passages – heavy on the kind of exotic scoring that Baxter was using in his key Capitol Records sides a few years before – but also turned towards darkness a bit more, as you'd guess from the setting! Instrumentation isn't far off from Baxter's exotic records – light strings, percussion, vibes, offbeat woodwinds, and more – but the phrasing is a lot more eerie – and at points, a lot more dramatic too. Titles include the short "Main Title" – plus the longer "Drop Of Water", "The Telephone", and "The Wurdalak".

Huge! Dark, heavy – an album of mythical proportions, and that's a lot to say for a mainstream LP! It would be hard to imagine the modern rock landscape without this album or group, who provided the template for so much music to follow, and the soundtrack to many bong-fueled excursions to the dark side! Includes "Black Sabbath", "The Wizard", "Wasp/Behind The Wall Of Sleep/Bassically/NIB", "Wicked World", and "A Bit Of Finger/Sleeping Village/Warning".

The fourth nearly flawless album of heavy genius from Black Sabbath – featuring some of the mightiest rock riffs ever! Vol 4 is just the tiniest of notches below Master Of Reality and Paranoid in overall greatness – which is the tiniest of possible complaints given that those previous two albums are among the few truly perfect rock and roll albums ever recorded! But this one has "Supernaut". Enough said. Other titles include "Wheels Of Confusion", "Tomorrows Dreams", "Changes", "FX", "Snowblind", "Cornucopia", "Under The Sun" and more.

The third album by Black Sabbath – the album that put the heavy in metal – one of the most influential rock albums of all time and a record that finds Sabbath at absolute peak perfection! This is the one that set the Sabbath style in stone, honing in the the heavy riffs, thundering drums and eerie mood perfectly. Includes the ultra classics "Sweet Leaf" and "Children Of The Grave", plus "After Forever", "Lord Of This World", "Solitude", "Into The Void" and the instrumentals "Embryo" and "Orchid".

Quite possibly the greatest moment of genius ever from Black Sabbath – and a genre-changing record that influenced generations! The group are at their lean, raw best here – free from any cliches at all, and working in an incredibly heady brew of fuzzy guitar, romping bass, and dark drums – all topped by the instantly recognizeable screech of the young Ozzy Osborne! Guitarist Tony Iommi virtually redefines rock use of the guitar with this record alone – and the Oz follows suit with some of the creepiest vocals set to record ever. Titles include the classics "Paranoid" and "Iron Man", plus "War Pigs", "Planet Caravan", "Electric Funeral", "Hand Of Doom", and "Rat Salad".

The grandest scale and most elaborately furnished Black Sabbath album to this point – but they still bring the heavy! The title track is one of the most influential metal songs ever, with the foreboding lyrics, trudging stomp of a rhythmic pace and those bridges that are almost pretty – and the most of the rest of the album is great, too – more carefully produced than the previous few without compromising the menace. Titles include "A National Acrobat", "Fluff", "Sabbra Cadabra", "Spiral Architect", "Looking For Today", and "Who Are You".

Black Sabbath going strong – very much in their own space by this point in their career, setting a sound that countless others would try to follow – but never match for fierceness like this! The fuzz is definitely turned up to 11, the rhythms move at a breakneck speed, and Ozzy's vocals have all the mean, sinister sounds that set a generation on fire – plenty of energy to fill up long tracks that include "Megalomania", "Hole In The Sky", "Symptom Of The Universe", "Supertzar", "Am I Going Insane", and "The Writ".

A jazz funk masterpiece, and THE record by the legendary Don Blackman – the only one issued under his own name for many many years, and a famous little set that's been sampled endlessly over the years, and for good reason! The vibe here is one that's barely been matched again – a blend of 70s fusion, bassy funk, and even tighter riffing – all put together with a greater depth and sense of soul than most other records of its type. Blackman's a GRP contemporary of Bernard Wright, Tom Browne, and Weldon Irvine – and there's bits of all their sound in the work here, but somehow Don does it even better – hitting these grooves, notes, and lines that seem to fall from the heavens – and which still stand as some of the hippest music of his generation. A record to file proudly next to your copies of Ramp and James Mason – and like those gems, the kind of record that only happens once in an artists career! Titles include "You Ain't Hip", "Yabba Dabba Do", "Heart's Desire", "Deaf Hook Up Connection", "Never Miss A Thing", and "Holding You Loving You", and "Since You Been Away So Long".

A legendary bit of funky fusion from the French scene of the 70s – the standout set from Cortex, a combo who's very heavy on the keyboards! The tunes have a feel that's quite different than American electric work of the time – funky, but also a bit breezy too – with a strong Brazilian influence in some of the rhythms, and hip use of female vocals alongside the Fender Rhodes – which makes for a double layer of sound that's totally great! There's a bit of alto sax in the instrumentation, but most of the sound comes from the interplay between keyboards, voice, bass, and drums – rolling along in a sound that's stunningly soulful, and which makes the record one of the hippest European dates from the decade. Tremendous all the way through – with tracks that include "Automne", "L'Enfant Samba", "La Rue", "Go Round", "Madbass", "Sabbat", "Mary Et Jeff", and "Chanson D'Un Jour D'Hiver". This CD version includes the bonus track "Jazz Dance".

Just like the title says, two bad, bad Dee Jays plying their trade over niced up rhythms from Junjo Lawe – with all star backing that includes Flabba Holt, Sly & Robbie, Style Scott, Santa Davis, Sowell, Chinna Smith, Bo Pee, Bingy Bunny, Gladstone Anderson, Ansel Collins, Steelie, Winston Wright, Sky Juice, Skully Sims and others! 10 tracks in all, including "Can't TakeAnother World War", "Another One Bites The Dust", "Talk About Run", "Sweet Sweet Matilda", "Special Request To All Prisoner", "Dance It Have Fe Nice", "Gal Pon The Front Line", "Jack Spratt", "Tribute To General Echo" and "Hey Mr DJ".

Modern electronic grooves from Funkadiba – a duo that features the legendary Daniele Baldelli, the DJ reknowned for his contributions to the famous Cosmic nightclub! The styles here are definitely an update of that classic Cosmic groove – lots of spare, stark beats mixed with synth and keyboard parts – but usually handled with a slightly warmer feel overall – one that almost shifts back from the 80s roots to grab a bit more 70s funk too – which is mixed in with the rhythms to deepen the soul of the cuts nicely! Titles include "Dirty Sun", "Countdown", "I Must Feel Better", "Barabba Funk", "Funka Takin Over", and "Skippy & The Funky Boys".

A heady power trio, with a sound that's a lot more heavy than you'd guess from the cover! These guys come across looking like they might be a soft rock harmony group, but instead they wail away beautifully with a pre-metal sort of sound – lots of full, fierce rhythms and fuzzed-up guitar – very lean and mean, and quite uncharacteristic for the RCA label at the time. Solos are especially burning – right up there with Sabbath at the time – and believe it or not, the guys actually do harmonize a bit on the lyrics too! Titles include "Lazy Woman", "Mystery Rider", "Fifteen", "All I Need", "Promotion Man", and "Bells".

Nothin like the blues at all – and instead one of the most freeform, outside recordings we've ever heard from tenor player Jon Irabagon – working here in a mighty fierce trio with Mick Barr on guitar and Mike Pride on drums and nose whistle! The album is one long blast of noise – drums, guitar, and tenor all working together at an equal pace, and equal sonic sensibility – so that the whole thing's a lot more powerful than you might guess from the title or the cover. Jon's always grabbed our ears with his music – either solo or in the group Mostly Other People Do The Killing – but this is easily his most intense effort to date!

A great little album from talented tenorist Jon Irabagon – served up with a cover that's sort of a parody of a hip hop record – but delivered with a bold musical sound that's right up there with Jon's work in Mostly Other People Do The Killing! The tenor's really out front in most numbers – carving out a fresh space that changes throughout the set – sometimes spare and improvised, yet other times boldly swinging with lots of angular changes – setting fire to the group's lineup of trumpet, keyboards, bass, and drums. One track features a larger ensemble, and a few others feature guest players too – all integrated wonderfully into Irabagon's bold musical vision. Titles include "Lola Pastillas", "Camp Douglas", "Mourning In America", "Charles Barkley", "Parker Posey", and a nicely offbeat version of "Take Five".

A pretty killer slab of heavily-thumping early 70s rock from Megaton – a group with a Sabbath-like and a sound that definitely matches it – plus a surprising bit of bluesy heat in the mix! The album's got an impressive sound, somewhat in the vein of Free – and like Free, the vocalist seems to have a secret stash of bluesy soul records underneath his bed – as well as other contraband! There's some pretty shameless riffs on Zep and other hard rockers of the era – and that actually kind of adds the seedy charm of the record. Tracks include "Out Of Your Own Little World", "Niagara", "Wanna Be A Hero", "Coo Cooki Choo", "Woman I'm Gonna Make You Mine", "Life Was Easy Yesterday", and "Tomorrow Never Comes My Way".

Funky sitar work – but recorded in pre-revolution Iran – a really amazing blends of scenes and sounds from the legendary Abbas Mehrpouya! Abbas' music has hardly been heard outside of his own nation – especially given the cultural crackdown of the past 30 years – and this set is a long-overdue look at the damn groovy sounds that came from his deft hands on the sitar! But in addition to Mehrpouya's own lines in the lead, the tunes have some really great arrangements and production too – styles that echo the Indian grooves of Ananada Shankhar, but which also have exotic elements that really groovy and funky experiments from the US and Europe as well. This package is stunning throughout – and hopefully, Abbas will finally get his due as an exotic groove visionary – on tracks that include "African Jumbo", "Ghame Tanhai", "Man Ke Mordehan", "To Kojaye", "Solenzara", "Sareban", "Sahrah", "Lotfeh Kodaye", "Asfanseye Eshgh", and "Soul Raga".

Funky sitar work – but recorded in pre-revolution Iran – a really amazing blends of scenes and sounds from the legendary Abbas Mehrpouya! Abbas' music has hardly been heard outside of his own nation – especially given the cultural crackdown of the past 30 years – and this set is a long-overdue look at the damn groovy sounds that came from his deft hands on the sitar! But in addition to Mehrpouya's own lines in the lead, the tunes have some really great arrangements and production too – styles that echo the Indian grooves of Ananada Shankhar, but which also have exotic elements that really groovy and funky experiments from the US and Europe as well. This package is stunning throughout – and hopefully, Abbas will finally get his due as an exotic groove visionary – on tracks that include "African Jumbo", "Ghame Tanhai", "Man Ke Mordehan", "To Kojaye", "Solenzara", "Sareban", "Sahrah", "Lotfeh Kodaye", "Asfanseye Eshgh", and "Soul Raga".

Nice! US reissue of one of the better post-Josie albums by the Meters, with a groove that's a little New Orleans, and a little 70's funky soul. Not all cuts are great, but there's some nice funky tracks on here that make this one worth having, and which keep it from being a disappointment, like some of the other Reprise albums. Cuts include "Soul Island", "Flower Song", "Gettin Funkier All the Time", "Do the Dirt", "Cabbage Alley", and "Stay Away" – plus a version of Neil Young's "Birds"!

One of moodier and more atmospheric efforts from Markus Popp's creatively fruitful mid 90s period! On Systemisch, Oval is essentially a trio, featuring Popp, Frank Metzger and Sebastian Oschatz – and it marks a pretty big step forward for 90s electronic experimentalism. There's a bit of a minimalist vibe, with a sound being introduced and then revolving, and evolving, in subtle ways that are hypnotic all the way. Titles include "Textuell", "Aero Deck", "The Politics Of Digital Audio", "Schoner Wissen", "Mediaton", "Oval Office", "Gabba Nation", "Post Post" and more

A wicked fusion set from saxophonist Michael Paulo – noteworthy not just for the efforts of the leader, but for the album's sweet keyboards from Herbie Hancock too! The style's relatively stripped-down – electric, but never too polished, nor too jamming – often with the kind of gentle groove we love in the best late 70s Japanese fusion sessions. Paulo plays alto, tenor, soprano sax, and flute – and Herbie Hancock plays piano and prophet, alongside additional keyboards from Kimo Cornwell, guitar from Ray Obiedo and Ron Yuen, and drums from Alvin Fejarang. Titles include "Mr Spock's Revenge", "My Favorite Cousins", "Merry Go Round", "Eclipse Of The Full Moon", and "Rainbow Island".

Mostly a funk track, but with some nice Afro-styled horns on top – a rapid-fire blur of guitar riffs, basslines, and drums – all sewn together with an instrumental tightness that's impeccable! "Moon Cabbage" is mighty cool too – a slow funky stepper, with almost a "Cisco Kid" quality to the groove, and this cool spacey horn line that's definitely got a moon-like vibe!

12 tracks in all, including "Housecall", "Telephone Love Deh Pon Mi Mind", "The Jam", "Girls Whine", "Get Up Stand Up & Rock", "Pay Down Pon It", "Ting-A-Ling" and "Roots & Culture". Less slackness on this volume and more crossover material, some more hip hop oriented.

A batch of long, extremely inventive tracks from the quintet of reedman Tim Ries – a group that features just the right sort of heavyweight talents to make the whole thing work! The lineup features Chris Potter on tenor, alongside Ries' tenor and soprano sax – plus John Patitucci on bass, Kalman Olah on piano, and Billy Drummond on drums – players that have some wonderful interplay together – enough to really open up some new spaces for themselves, but manage to keep things swinging as well. Titles include the Ries originals "New View", "The Last Kabbalist Of Lisbon", and "A Summer To Remember" – plus a great jazz reworking of "Death & The Maiden".

A great Italian comedy score from the early 60s – put together in key transitional modes by composer Carlo Rustichelli! The music is a great mix of those older, more sentimental Italian styles with some of the cleaner, leaner, playful sounds that were beginning to emerge in the 60s – served up in a host of short tracks with a great deal of variety – some in a swinging jazz mode, a few in a twist party style, and others that are more serious. This CD version of the score is greatly expanded from any previous one – 44 tracks in all, with great remastering – and a huge amount of previously unreleased songs! Titles include "Ratto Twist", "Corrida Rumba", "Vampata D'Amuri", "Morte Di Ascalone", and "Dicerie".

Heavy rock with a killer groove and a mighty thing to behold – and from Brooklyn! Sir Lord Baltimore aren't mentioned enough among the first wave of groups that would seen be defined as heavy metal, but they absolutely deserve to be. Pure bombast and thunderous rock that's of the same school of brawn as Sabbath. Titles include "Master Headache", "Pumped Up", "Kingdom Come", "Hell Hound", "I Got A Woman" and more.

Pre-metal, post-psych, and an incredible batch of hard rock gems from Warpig – an obscure Canadian combo at the start of the 70s – but one who work here at a level that easily matches the best from early Deep Purple or Black Sabbath! Like both of those groups, there's a driving, intense feel to Warpig's music – fuzz borrowed from psych, but really focused in a forward-moving action – spurred on even more strongly by the driving drums and brooding basslines – which all serve to really shade the whole record in a hell of a lot of darkness, right from the start! This is no one-off, obscure-for-obscure-sakes sort of record – as the set's got the power to please even the most suspicious hard rock fan of the time – a flurry of great numbers that includes Flaggi", "Tough Nuts", "Advance Am", "Rockstar", and "Sunflight". Includes great notes too!

Wicked post-psychedelic rock from Wicked Lady – which are purportedly the group's final recordings – and it's incredible stuff! It's a slab pre-metal heaviness that balance fuzzy guitars and trudging rhythms with a killer groove! The guitars are epic – with swirling psych-indebted fuzz and trudging, Sabbath-y riffs. What's great about the group is the way they carry the influences of both late 60s psych and early 70s proto-metal, while skirting the cliches of both. It sounds great – and it's the kind of thing that still makes waves in underground rock – even decades later! Includes "I'm A Freak", "Tell The Truth", "Passion" a wooly cover of Jimi Hendrix's "Voodoo Chile", "Why Don't You Let Me Try", "Sin City" and the epic closer "Ship Of Ghosts", which spans side four on its own.

Includes the "Mantra","Vipassana", "Loving Kindness", "Karma Yoga", and "Kabbalah" meditations.

13 tracks: Resident Alien "Pum Pum Master", Sugabear & Silver "Boom Fi Di Red Alert" and "Papa Props", Shabba Ranks "Mi Nuh Ramp With It", Patra "Love All The Men", Cutty Ranks "Living Condition (special Red Alert rmx)", Vicious "the Glock", Shaka II "Black Busta", Red Fox & Naturally "Let's Chill", Daddy Sylva "Stretch To Fit", Red Fox & Screechie Dan "Pose Off (hip hop mix)", Bobby Konders with Mikey Jarrett "Mack Daddy (Red Alert special)" and Shaggy & Rayvon "Big Up (hip hop rmx)".

A great little set that really lives up to the promise of its title – and it's claim to offer up "commercial recordings of Anglo-European American vernacular music that challenges the stereotypes"! The set's a wealth of obscure 78rpm recordings that really defy genre convention – and which show that the 20s was easily one of the most experimental times in American music – a point when later common styles were really quite new, and still very fluid – bits of later blues, folk, or country intermingling equally – often from sources that you wouldn't expect a decade or two later. These tracks are all acoustic, but feature really inventive instrumentation – especially when modes of a generation or two before are pushed into new phrasings with decidedly (then) modern flavors. As usual with these Tompkins Square reissues, the sound quality is great – and the package offers up some good notes to help situate the music too. Titles include "Caliope" by Lewis Brothers, "Bacon & Cabbage" by Blind Joe Mangrum & Fred Shriver, "Don't Get One Woman On Your Mind" by Willard Hodgin, "The Whale Did I Know He Did" by Mustard & Gravy, "Ladies Quadrille" by The Happy Hayseeds, "Dill Pickles Rag" by McLaughlin's Old Time Melody Makers, and "Down In Tennessee Blues" by Homer Davenport.

A great little set that really lives up to the promise of its title – and it's claim to offer up "commercial recordings of Anglo-European American vernacular music that challenges the stereotypes"! The set's a wealth of obscure 78rpm recordings that really defy genre convention – and which show that the 20s was easily one of the most experimental times in American music – a point when later common styles were really quite new, and still very fluid – bits of later blues, folk, or country intermingling equally – often from sources that you wouldn't expect a decade or two later. These tracks are all acoustic, but feature really inventive instrumentation – especially when modes of a generation or two before are pushed into new phrasings with decidedly (then) modern flavors. As usual with these Tompkins Square reissues, the sound quality is great – and the package offers up some good notes to help situate the music too. Titles include "Caliope" by Lewis Brothers, "Bacon & Cabbage" by Blind Joe Mangrum & Fred Shriver, "Don't Get One Woman On Your Mind" by Willard Hodgin, "The Whale Did I Know He Did" by Mustard & Gravy, "Ladies Quadrille" by The Happy Hayseeds, "Dill Pickles Rag" by McLaughlin's Old Time Melody Makers, and "Down In Tennessee Blues" by Homer Davenport.

A jazz funk masterpiece, and THE record by the legendary Don Blackman – the only one issued under his own name for many many years, and a famous little set that's been sampled endlessly over the years, and for good reason! The vibe here is one that's barely been matched again – a blend of 70s fusion, bassy funk, and even tighter riffing – all put together with a greater depth and sense of soul than most other records of its type. Blackman's a GRP contemporary of Bernard Wright, Tom Browne, and Weldon Irvine – and there's bits of all their sound in the work here, but somehow Don does it even better – hitting these grooves, notes, and lines that seem to fall from the heavens – and which still stand as some of the hippest music of his generation. A record to file proudly next to your copies of Ramp and James Mason – and like those gems, the kind of record that only happens once in an artists career! Titles include "You Ain't Hip", "Yabba Dabba Do", "Heart's Desire", "Deaf Hook Up Connection", "Never Miss A Thing", and "Holding You Loving You", and "Since You Been Away So Long".

The fourth nearly flawless album of heavy genius from Black Sabbath – featuring some of the mightiest rock riffs ever! Vol 4 is just the tiniest of notches below Master Of Reality and Paranoid in overall greatness – which is the tiniest of possible complaints given that those previous two albums are among the few truly perfect rock and roll albums ever recorded! But this one has "Supernaut". Enough said. Other titles include "Wheels Of Confusion", "Tomorrows Dreams", "Changes", "FX", "Snowblind", "Cornucopia", "Under The Sun" and more.

The grandest scale and most elaborately furnished Black Sabbath album to this point – but they still bring the heavy! The title track is one of the most influential metal songs ever, with the foreboding lyrics, trudging stomp of a rhythmic pace and those bridges that are almost pretty – and the most of the rest of the album is great, too – more carefully produced than the previous few without compromising the menace. Titles include "A National Acrobat", "Fluff", "Sabbra Cadabra", "Spiral Architect", "Looking For Today", and "Who Are You".

Heavy mid 70s tuneful bombast from Cain – with hard charging, stoner grooves and soaring vocals – hard charging stuff, but done with finesse! This is the only record we've ever seen from Cain, and it's got that kind of post Sabbath, Deep Purple, etc kind of heaviness, but and vocals that remind is of Rainbow – but with interesting twists and turns floating over the heavy sounds, including some keys and some pretty impeccable layered vocals. Titles include "Queen Of The Night", "Katy", "Southside Queen", "Born Of The Wind", "Heed The Call", "All My Life" and more.

A legendary bit of funky fusion from the French scene of the 70s – the standout set from Cortex, a combo who's very heavy on the keyboards! The tunes have a feel that's quite different than American electric work of the time – funky, but also a bit breezy too – with a strong Brazilian influence in some of the rhythms, and hip use of female vocals alongside the Fender Rhodes – which makes for a double layer of sound that's totally great! There's a bit of alto sax in the instrumentation, but most of the sound comes from the interplay between keyboards, voice, bass, and drums – rolling along in a sound that's stunningly soulful, and which makes the record one of the hippest European dates from the decade. Tremendous all the way through – with tracks that include "Automne", "L'Enfant Samba", "La Rue", "Go Round", "Madbass", "Sabbat", "Mary Et Jeff", and "Chanson D'Un Jour D'Hiver".

A heady power trio, with a sound that's a lot more heavy than you'd guess from the cover! These guys come across looking like they might be a soft rock harmony group, but instead they wail away beautifully with a pre-metal sort of sound – lots of full, fierce rhythms and fuzzed-up guitar – very lean and mean, and quite uncharacteristic for the RCA label at the time. Solos are especially burning – right up there with Sabbath at the time – and believe it or not, the guys actually do harmonize a bit on the lyrics too! Titles include "Lazy Woman", "Mystery Rider", "Fifteen", "All I Need", "Promotion Man", and "Bells".

A wonderful session by Andrew Hill – recorded in 1968, but not issued until this 1980 pressing, which soon went out of print! The session is a key one in understanding Hill's work – as it's a bridge between the arch modernism of his early Blue Note sides, and the more soul-oriented playing of the Grass Roots album. The group features Joe Farrell and Charles Tolliver on horns – both of whom open up the sound at the same time they're giving it a nice bottom – and the rest of the combo includes Victor Sproles on bass and Billy Higgins on drums. The album's an enchanting one – lighter than earlier years, but still with a compelling vision that's all Hill's own. Titles include "Dance With Death", "Love Nocturne", "Black Sabbath", "Partitions", and "Fish N Rice".

A great little album from talented tenorist Jon Irabagon – served up with a cover that's sort of a parody of a hip hop record – but delivered with a bold musical sound that's right up there with Jon's work in Mostly Other People Do The Killing! The tenor's really out front in most numbers – carving out a fresh space that changes throughout the set – sometimes spare and improvised, yet other times boldly swinging with lots of angular changes – setting fire to the group's lineup of trumpet, keyboards, bass, and drums. One track features a larger ensemble, and a few others feature guest players too – all integrated wonderfully into Irabagon's bold musical vision. Titles include "Lola Pastillas", "Camp Douglas", "Mourning In America", "Charles Barkley", "Parker Posey", and a nicely offbeat version of "Take Five".

The 70s rock soundtrack classic for Dazed & Confused – pressed on vinyl to commemorate for the 20th anniversary Richard Linklater's stoner masterpiece – a double LP on hella appropriate green vinyl! On big loud dumb (in a good way) radio rock jam after another – with "Rock And Roll Hoochie Koo" by Rick Derringer, "Slow Ride" by Foghat, "School's Out" by Alice Cooper, "Jim Dandy" by Black Oak Arkansas, "Tish" by ZZ Top, "Love Hurts" by Nazareth, "Low Rider" by War, "Highway Star" by Deep Purple, "Paranoid" by Black Sabbath and more.

Previously unissued work from Swedish bandleader Harry Arnold – and material that's a lot hipper than any of the sides he released in the US during the 50s and early 60s! There's a distinctly modern feel to these recordings, even though Arnold always manages to keep things swinging – a subtle undercurrent of fresh ideas, a striking sort of edge – often on the piano lines from Jan Johansson, who handled a good deal of the arrangements on the set. Other soloists include Gosta Nilsson and Bengt-Arne Wallin on trumpets, Andreas Skjold on trombone, Arne Domnerus and Bjarne Nerem on saxes, and Rune Gustafson on guitar. The CD features a whopping 20 tracks, all recorded in Arnold's Swedish Radio Studio – with titles that include "Nagot Snabbare Blues", "Ramblin", "Unison Blues", "3 2 1 Go", "Just In Time", "I Sista Minuten", "Hastig Blues For Radiobandet", and "Vad Nu Da".

An amazing collection of work from the legendary Graham Bond – a 60s Hammond player who was incredibly important to the London scene during the best mod years of the decade! Bond was way more than just a jazz musician – and like George Fame, Zoot Money, and a few of his other contemporaries – he had a way of mixing together jazz and soul with a strong touch of blues – almost a new British version of soul jazz, similar to the way that some of the bigger English rock groups were drawing from American R&B! Graham sings on most tracks – with these raspy vocals that are incredibly charming, and downright soulful – and in addition to his own work on organ, instrumentation features lots of pre-Cream work from Ginger Baker on drums and Jack Bruce on bass – plus plenty of tenor from Dick Heckstall-Smith too. If you dig the mod work of Georgie Fame, you'll find plenty to love here too – but Bond also really helps point the way towards more progressive jazz-rock experiments of the future – although this set features mostly tracks from 1966 and before, without any of Graham's later trippier music. The 4CD package is the best collection we've ever seen of Bond's music from these years – and includes rare singles, unreleased cuts, and even some side projects with Ernest Ranglin and Duffy Power too. 98 tracks in all, with a great booklet as well – and titles that include "Cabbage Greens", "Harmonica", "Early In The Morning", "Tammy", "Honey Bee", "Long Tall Shorty", "Soul Tango", "Down In The Valley", "Waltz For A Pig", "Like A Baby", "Please Don't Say", "Walking In The Park", "Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf", "Dick's Instrumental", and lots lots more.

A wonderful session by Andrew Hill – recorded in 1968, but issued only briefly in 1981 – and out of print for years! The session is a key one in understanding Hill's work – as it's a bridge between the arch modernism of his early Blue Note sides, and the more soul-oriented playing of the Grass Roots album. The group features Joe Farrell and Charles Tolliver on horns – both of whom open up the sound at the same time they're giving it a nice bottom – and the rest of the combo includes Victor Sproles on bass and Billy Higgins on drums. The album's an enchanting one – lighter than earlier years, but still with a compelling vision that's all Hill's own. Titles include "Dance With Death", "Love Nocturne", "Black Sabbath", "Partitions", and "Fish N Rice".

A wonderful session by Andrew Hill – recorded in 1968, but issued only briefly in 1981 – and out of print for years! The session is a key one in understanding Hill's work – as it's a bridge between the arch modernism of his early Blue Note sides, and the more soul-oriented playing of the Grass Roots album. The group features Joe Farrell and Charles Tolliver on horns – both of whom open up the sound at the same time they're giving it a nice bottom – and the rest of the combo includes Victor Sproles on bass and Billy Higgins on drums. The album's an enchanting one – lighter than earlier years, but still with a compelling vision that's all Hill's own. Titles include "Dance With Death", "Love Nocturne", "Black Sabbath", "Partitions", and "Fish N Rice". CD features a bonus alternate take of the title cut.

Rock forbears of all things sludgy and metal, Black Sabbath get the much-deserved critical respect of a cover feature for Mojo – which includes an exclusive interview on the eve of their reunion album and tour! A couple more vital reunions are covered in this issue, too – including an interview with The Breeders and a talk with Iggy on The Stooges. Also includes pieces on Wings, Creedence, Deerhunter, Rod Stewarts' mod years and more. The free CD is Heavy Nuggets Vol 2 – 15 Hard Rock Gems From The British Underground – featuring The Pretty Things, Blossom Toes, Mighty Baby, Possessed, Jerusalem, Family, Twink and more.

A record as weird and wild as the cover – filled with really tripped-out sounds from the obscure Flipper sound library in Italy! The music follows strongly in the best style of the rock-driven sounds from Italian horror films – but there's also a more compact approach too, with some funky elements that really make the whole thing sparkle – and a restrained approach that's far less indulgent than the prog styles that Italy was famous for at the time. The whole thing's great – a wicked mix of freak and fuzz – and titles include "Perquisizione" by Alessandro Alessandroni, "Osessione Notturna" by Gerardo Iacoucci, "Black Sabbath" by Daniela Casa, "Violenza In Beat" by Umberto Santucci, "Percussion Blues" by Paolo Ferrara, "Ritmica" by Remigo Ducros, "Marker" by Paolo Ferrara, and "Una Storia" by Alessandro Alessandroni & I Cantori Moderni.

Overblown rock from an overblown cartoon – with cuts that include "Reach Out" by Cheap Trick, "Heavy Metal" by Sammy Hagar, "Veteran Of The Psychic Wars" by Blue Oyster Cult, "Mob Rules" by Black Sabbath, "True Companion" by Donald Fagen, and "Working In The Coal Mine" by Devo.

Mojo ranks the "100 Greatest Music Films Ever" for the cover feature – and because it's Mojo we're talking about, it's a damn good list – with Don't Look Back, Searching For Sugar Man, TAMI Show, Hard Day's Night, Fistful Of Dollars, Eraserhead, The Wicker Man – classics both mainstream and cultish! This issue also has pieces on The Flaming Lips, Undertones, Shuggie Otis, Black Sabbath, a look back at Jesus & Mary Chain and Blur's Rollercoaster tour and more! The free CD is Action – 15 Cult Movie Classics – with tracks by Rodriguez, Ennio Morricone, Bobby Womack, Arthur Russell, John Barry Orchestra, Brian Jonestown Massacre and more.

Heavy Mexican rock from Nahuatl – a power trio with a really sinister-sounding vocalist! There's echoes of Black Sabbath and Deep Purple in the group's music here – especially on the tunes that are full-on and fuzzy. A few numbers are a bit more introspective – almost that Led Zep sort of contemplation amidst more rocking frenzy – and the production of the record really does a good job of bringing out the right edges in the music. Titles include "Machismo", "Evolucion", "Volvere", "El Hongo", "Dejame", and "Watching The Sun Going Down". Features the bonus track – "La Pobreza".

The darkness rises again – as this issue features a heady look at the music of Black Sabbath – and all the rare collectibles they've left us! Other articles include Bowie On TV, a special on The Canterbury Scene, The James Taylor Quartet, Why Reissues Sound Different, the 80s Mod Revival, and Emmitt Rhodes – The One Man Beatles! As usual, the images are as great as the writing – and not only does the issue feature loads of great reviews, but it's also got plenty of ads for records too!

One of the greatest in Scientist's early 80s run of essential dub records! In The Kingdom Of Dub find's Scientist working his dub alchemy on a dozen Roy Cousins productions laid down by Sly & Robbie, Santa & Flabba, Ranchie McLean,Pablo Black and Skully. It's an excellent set of deep space dubs – and all the more exciting, given the too rarely heard source rhythms! Includes "18 Drumalie Avenue Dub", "14 Grass Quit Glade Dub", "Chariot Dub", "Thunder & Lightning Dub", "Disciple Dub", "Burning Sun Dub", "Next Door Dub", "11 Guava Road Dub", "Jurusalem Dub" and more.