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Ruthless Cali group gangsta from Above the Law – the first and probably their best LP! A benchmark – one of the planks on the bridge between the earlier efforts from NWA, Eazy E and the click and the later Dre & Snoop heyday. Livin' Like Hustlers has a few tracks produced by Dr Dre, and the rest by ATL and Laylaw. Includes "Murder Rap", "Livin Like Hustlers", "Menace To Society", "Just Kickin Lyrics", "Untouchable", "Another Execution", "Freedome Of Speech", "Flow On" and "Ballin".

One of the grooviest albums ever recorded – a set that's funky, offbeat, and has way more to offer than most American album of the time! Swedish singer Doris really knocked it out of the park with this one – working with arranger Bert Egerbladh, who gives the set some nicely unusual grooves, often augmented by his own work on organ! The album is famous amongst the break crowd for the track "You Never Come Closer", which has a deep groove and weird fuzzy piano that's been sampled by more than a few folks over the years – but over and above that, the record's an excellent batch of off-beat pop tunes – and it feels like some of the nuttier work that came out on Capitol Records during the late 70s, as evidenced by the Blue Juice/Blue Breaks love of the record in the past decade or two. Tracks include "Did You Give The World Some Love Today Baby", "I'm Pushing You Out", "Beatmaker", "Don't", "Waiting At The Station", "Bath", "You Never Come Closer", and "I Wish I Knew". 2CD version features an insane amount of extra material – 20 more tracks recorded with The Plums and The Dandys in 1969, plus the full bonus album Svenssons Doris – all equally groovy stuff! Bonus tracks include "Benny Law", "Why Did You Go", "Let The Sunshine In", "Wouldn't That Be Groovy", "Don't Let It Rain", "What A Lovely Way", "Boom Bang A Bang", and "Karlekens ABC".

A really amazing little record – way more than usual for this sort of live recording – given that it features some very unique performances together by artists we've never heard on the same stage otherwise! The premise is simple, but wonderfully effective – in that the album brings together some of the leading lights of the Columbia/CBS jazz stable at the time – a massive lineup of talent from a few key generations in jazz, sounding surprisingly great hear together! All tracks are nice and long – and titles include a brilliant version of "Infant Eyes" by a quartet with Stan Getz on tenor and Bob James on piano; "Fried Bananas" with Dexter Gordon on tenor, Slide Hampton on trombone, Woody Shaw on trumpet, and George Duke on piano; "Bahama Mama" with Bob James on keyboards, Bobbi Humphrey on flute, Eric Gale and Steve Kahn on guitars, and Billy Cobham on drums – and the long jam session tracks "Montreux Summit", "Blues March", and "Andromeda" – which feature work from most of the players above, all working in one large group – plus added flute from Hubert Laws and Thijs Van Leer, percussion from Ralph Maconald, and bass from Alphonso Johnson.

Pac's breakout LP, if you ask us. Just before he got too hot for Jive and jumped to Death Row, this is the album where Pac moves above the Thug Life image he worked so hard to craft and delivered the lyrical goods with both his street stories and more introspective rhymes. Includes "If I Die 2 Nite", "Me Against The World", "So Many Tears", "Temptations", "Heavy In The Game", "Dear Mama", "Old School", "F*ck The World", "Death Around The Corner" and "Outlaw".

An excellent bit of modern soul by Debra Laws – really her only album, but an instant classic nonetheless! The set's an impeccable batch of smooth tracks – recorded with production by brothers Ronnie and Hubert – and Debra's vocals have a sophisticated jazzy touch that sets the record strongly above most other female soul records of the time. Includes the incredible title cut "Very Special" – a classic mellow groover that we'll never tire of – plus loads of other great tracks, like "Be Yourself", "Your Love", and "Long As We're Together".