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Nice funky 70s instrumentals, composed by Alan Tew, and performed by the group Bullet – a hip electric combo with a tight sound library feel. The overall style reminds us of Lalo Schifrin or Quincy Jones cop show work from the early 70s – with some tasty keyboards, plenty of riffing, and tight fast rhythmic tunes. The original's rare as hen's teeth, and the record is some of Tew's finest Brit easy work from the time. Titles include "Contract Man", "Killer HIll", "The Heist", "GBH", "Blue Panther", "The Spic", "Funky Bear", and "The Peterman".

A legendary TV soundtrack – music for a show that only ran for 8 episodes, but which has lived on for decades past the original program! The Hanged Man features some of the funkiest grooves to ever come from the Themes International sound library label – cuts scored by Alan Tew, and played by the label's hip group of session musicians – including Alan Hawkshaw on keyboards and Alan Parker on guitar! Although originally billed to a group named Bullet, the recordings are actually straight sound library sessions – but funky enough to match the best cop/crime work of the time – similar to DeWolfe music used in The Sweeney! There's an armful of samples on here, and even more great funky instrumentals – and the set not only features the cuts issued as The Hanged Man soundtrack, but also the albums Drama Suite Vol 1 & 2 – the original sound library records that created the music. The CD features a whopping 47 tracks in all – including lots of short cuts never on any other Hanged Man releases – with titles that include "The Rub Contract Man", "Helicop", "Money Runner", "The Detectives", "Night Watch", "The Fence", "Total Silence", "Eyes", "Master Plan", "Big One Prelude", "Snout", "Car Patrol", and "The Heister".

One of the greatest of all Dusty Springfield albums – a gem of a record that mixes British pop, soul, and some very groovy orchestrations! The whole session has that kind of strident bounce that Dusty had on her best records – but which was possibly never done nearly as well as on this one! Backings are conducted by Alan Tew, Peter Night, Arthur Greenslade, and Wally Stott – Brit Easy giants all of them – and tracks include sublime gems like "Bring Him Back", "Don't Let Me Lost This Dream", "I Can't Wait Until I See My Baby's Face", "Sunny", "Welcome Home", and "Broken Blossoms".

Call it psycho-funk, call it Brit easy, call it downtempo abstract – whatever the case, it's all great! This second volume in one of our favorite all-time series is a stunner – and it comes up with a sparkling blend of very fresh grooves that we've only ever heard matched by a few other compilations over the past few years. The general vibe is rare soundtrack and sophisticated jazz funk material – and a huge amount of these cuts come from sources we've never seen before! Tracks include "The Rub" by Alan Tew, "Pretexte Indicatifs" by Guy Pederson, "Abstraction" by Projection, "Plummer Park" by Pete Jolly, "My Love For You & The Ugly" by Ed Green, "Beach Buggy" by Pierre Duchamp, "Beat Construction" by David Seeland Band, "Sour Soul" by Gentle Rain, "Night Is Blues" by Performance, "Name Of The Game" by Brian Bennet, and "Bass In Action #1" by Tonio Rubio. 19 cuts in all!

A fantastic funky follow-up to the first Mr Thing compilation from BBE – and a set that's equally filled with rare and soulful grooves! If we didn't know better, we'd swear he went into our crates and pilfered our own record collections – because the package contains plenty of overlooked cuts that we've loved for years, but which have never gotten their due – and not even all of them are from totally obscure pressings or small indie labels – just the kind of records that people pass over sometimes, because they don't know how great they sound! There's lots and lots and lots of deeply funky numbers on the collection – and the package really takes us back to the glory days when BBE compilations were always turning us onto something new – especially during the Keb Darge glory days. 2CD set features one mixed disc, one unmixed – with titles that include "Back Ground Music" by Kalyanji Anandji, "Searching For Soul" by Jake Wade & The Soul Searchers, "ABC" by Hot Butter & Soul, "Spooky Do" by Dick Walter, "The Horse" by Val Merral's Orchestra, "It's Just Begun" by Hot City Bump Band, "Sally" by Frank Pleyer Big Band, "Love Is Just A Word" by Johnny Griffith Inc, "Can't Stop Talkin" by Art & Ron, "Family Affair" by The Generation Gap, "Gacek" by Jerzy Milian, "Rockin Chair" by John L Watson with White Mouse, "Pink Panther" by Alan Tew, "Twinkle Stars Boo Galoo (live)" by Oscar Harris & The Twinkle Stars, "The Message" by Tinga Stewart, and "Pru Urebu" by The Rias Orchestra.

A treasure trove of rare work from the obscure German Ego label – four different albums, all of them great – packaged here in tiny LP-styled covers too! The set's especially noteworthy for the work of British saxophonist Alan Skidmore – working here on some of his best material of the late 70s – records that easily rival the best sides cut back home in the UK, but which also have a very different feel and flavor! On Morning Rise, Skidmore plays tenor and soprano sax, alongside Gerd Dudek, who also plays both horns too – in these long, textural lines that merge and diverge nicely with Skidmore's – creating these majestic shapes in sound, before then taking off towards much more powerful solos. Rhythm is from Adelhard Rodiginger on bass and Lala Kovacev on drums – and titles include "Morning Rise", "Macedonian Market", "Dr Les Mosses", and "Nakemiin". SOH is a trio outing from Alan Skidmore, drummer Tony Oxley, and bassist Ali Haurand – hence the title – and the set really allows Skidmore to expand on some of his most open, expressive lines on tenor and soprano sax! Tracks are quite long, and build with this almost late-Coltrane sort of energy – almost glowing with a sense of spirituality that's pushed along strongly by the reed lines. Titles include "One Two Free", "Das Ist Alice", "Lost In WG", and "Trio Nr 10". European Jazz Quintet features tremendous reeds from the trio of Alan Skidmore, Gerd Dudek, and Leszek Zadlo – all of whom play both tenor and soprano sax – and work alongside the bass of Ali Haurand and drums of Pierr Courbois! The set features two long tracks – "Das Ist Alice" and "Miss B" – both of them balanced nicely on the cusp between European free jazz and some stronger spiritual jazz structures, in a very nice way. Last up is Thoughts, from Leszek Zadlo – a record that has Zadlo on both flute and tenor, working with the excellent Ego Records rhythm trio of Joe Haider on piano, Isla Eckinger on bass, and Joe Nay on drums! The sound is quite different than other Ego sessions with the trio – as the tracks here build very slowly, often through the initial utterings of Zadlo on his reeds – kind of growing into a spiritually expressive style that gets increasingly focused as the set goes on – in ways that are a nice change from European free jazz. Titles include "Two Friends", "Some Body", "Struggle", and "Thoughts".

Completely sublime grooves from GQ – a second set that's almost even better than their first – thanks to perfect production, and wicked rhythms that are right on the money, track after track! The group start the set with a flurry of upbeat grooves that really show the full potential of ensemble funk at the end of the 70s – tight cuts that steer far from any disco or dancefloor cliches, and which have a bass-heavy sound that's completely infectious! Then, they flip things over with an equally great batch of ballads – mellow cuts that show that the group can handled the slower side of the tempo scale too – a perfect balance that really earns them the class you'd guess from a name like GQ. The set features a killer remake of Billy Stewart's "Sitting In The Park", plus the cuts "Standing Ovation", "Is It Cool", "Someday In Your Life", "Lies", "GQ Down", "Don't Stop This Feeling", and "Reason For The Season". CD features great bonus tracks – "Reason For The Season (12" version)", and "Standing Ovation (single version)".

Landmark work from Sun Ra – a rare 1964 performance that features some very early work from Pharoah Sanders, a good deal of which is appearing here for the first time ever! The material was recorded at Judson Hall, and only half the tracks came out on a rare Saturn LP – making this CD collection that first time that all 11 titles appear in their entirety. Ra and the group recorded the set on New Year's Eve, 1964 – at a time when John Gilmore had left the Arkestra to work with Art Blakey – leaving Pharoah Sanders to come and take his place on tenor. Also noteworthy is the presence of Black Harold (Harold Murray) on flute – blowing with a dark edge alongside other group members who include Al Evans on trumpet, Teddy Nance on trombone, Marshal Allen on alto sax, Pat Patrick on baritone sax, and both Alan Silva and Ronnie Boykins on bass. The performance starts with a relatively fierce sound, but then moves into some beautifully lyrical moments – and titles include "Gods On A Safari", "The New Tomorrow", "The Second Stop Is Jupiter", "Cosmic Interpretation", "The Other World", "Dawn Over Israel", and "Space Mates".

Landmark work from Sun Ra – a rare 1964 performance that features some very early work from Pharoah Sanders, a good deal of which is appearing here for the first time ever! The material was recorded at Judson Hall, and only half the tracks came out on a rare Saturn LP – making this CD collection that first time that all 11 titles appear in their entirety. Ra and the group recorded the set on New Year's Eve, 1964 – at a time when John Gilmore had left the Arkestra to work with Art Blakey – leaving Pharoah Sanders to come and take his place on tenor. Also noteworthy is the presence of Black Harold (Harold Murray) on flute – blowing with a dark edge alongside other group members who include Al Evans on trumpet, Teddy Nance on trombone, Marshal Allen on alto sax, Pat Patrick on baritone sax, and both Alan Silva and Ronnie Boykins on bass. The performance starts with a relatively fierce sound, but then moves into some beautifully lyrical moments – and titles include "Gods On A Safari", "The New Tomorrow", "The Second Stop Is Jupiter", "Cosmic Interpretation", "The Other World", "Dawn Over Israel", and "Space Mates".

Completely sublime grooves from GQ – a second set that's almost even better than their first – thanks to perfect production, and wicked rhythms that are right on the money, track after track! The group start the set with a flurry of upbeat grooves that really show the full potential of ensemble funk at the end of the 70s – tight cuts that steer far from any disco or dancefloor cliches, and which have a bass-heavy sound that's completely infectious! Then, they flip things over with an equally great batch of ballads – mellow cuts that show that the group can handled the slower side of the tempo scale too – a perfect balance that really earns them the class you'd guess from a name like GQ. The set features a killer remake of Billy Stewart's "Sitting In The Park", plus the cuts "Standing Ovation", "Is It Cool", "Someday In Your Life", "Lies", "GQ Down", "Don't Stop This Feeling", and "Reason For The Season".