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A landmark set from the German prog scene – the first amazing utterance of Ash Ra Tempel, and a standard-setting album that few others could ever hope to match! The sound here builds beautifully – coming out of abstract, noisy territory, then finding shape as the record goes on – a perfect blend between the instruments and new studio modes that really help the textures and tones come to the forefront! The group features Klaus Schulze on drums and electronics, Manuel Gotsching on guitar, and Hartmut Enke on bass – and Conny Plank worked the knobs, to help the whole thing come together like magic! Each song takes up a side of the record – and titles include "Amboss" and "Traummaschine".

A slightly sweeter version of Cluster than on previous records – a bit more focused, tuneful, and rhythmic – thanks to some great use of the "rhythmusmaschine"! Most numbers here have a slightly pulsating feel – one that really prefaces the electronic modes that would come from the UK at the end of the decade, especially the best work of the Sheffield scene. Cluster here show the way brilliantly – taking the longer jams of earlier years, and honing them down into simple melodies and rhythms – yet still delivered with a fair bit of edge throughout, and not nearly as much of the softness that would characterize later work by Moebius or Roedelius. Tracks include "Hollywood", "Caramel", "James", "Rote Riki", "Fotschi Tong", and "Marzipan".

A heavenly soundtrack from Ennio Morricone – written for a film set in a convent, and scored with some really unique touches! Given the spiritual nature of the film, Morricone uses this spooky chorus – singing in a staccato style at first, but then opening up in a mode that's almost a Latinized version of the Swingle Singers! The album's got a fantastic track called "Veni Sancte Spiritus" that starts out slow and spooky, then gets funky with the chorus over the top – but other tracks have a similar juxtaposition too, bringing together darkly spiritual elements with some really redemptive touches – and some very weird funky moments! Titles include "Stabat Mater", "Dies Irae", "Lauda Sion", "Veni Sancte Spiritus", and "Victima Paschali Laudes".

One of the best albums ever recorded by this Brazilian saxophone giant! This rare 1968 album features Moura working with a quartet that includes Wagner Tiso on piano, Luiz Carlos on bass, and Paschoal Meirelles on drums – gently grooving with a darker edge than usual, and a definite modernist bent. There's very little bossa in the grooves here – and instead, the set's more in the mode of a late 60s American soul jazz set, with a definite turn towards more righteous themes and melodic exploration. Tracks are still relatively short, but both Moura and Tiso pack a lot of creative energy into them. Titles include "Meu Lugar", "Razao", "Terra", "Feitico De Oracao", "Samarina", "Eu E A Briza", and "Aos Pes Da Santa Cruz".

Wild! The Nutty Squirrels were an obvious attempt to cash in on the success of Alvin & The Chipmunks during the late 50s – a studio-trickery session handled with the voices of Don Elliott and Sascha Burland – but to our ears, honestly, the album's a lot better! You see, both Elliott and Burland had their jazz chops down pretty tight – and the record is less an album of novelty pop numbers, than it is a set of jazz vocal tunes, scatted along over small combo backing, with the voices sped up on tape so that they sound like a pair of jazzy squirrels! The album's got none of the cloying aspects of The Chimpunks' work – and if you can get past the squeakiness of the vocals, you'll actually find the record pretty appealing from a jazz perspective. Titles include "Bob White", "That's Owl, Brother", "Yardbird Suite", "Flamingo", "Bird Watching", "Sparrow In The Treetop", and "Didee Bird". Imagine Jon Hendricks and Dave Lambert locked in a studio with a tank of helium – and you'll get the idea!

A hip Finnish take on soul jazz – headed up by drummer Matti Oiling! The groove here is tight and very straightforward – almost an amped-up European groove based on American soul jazz of the 60s – similar to some of Charly Antolini's excellent work for Saba/MPS! Instrumentation includes some nice trumpet and sax passages – often tightly arranged, but in ways that work with the drums in a cool sort of soundtrack funk feel – usually leaving Matti plenty of room to open up on the kit. Titles do a good job of summing up the energy of the record – with cuts that include "Boom Bang Basch", "Soul Rock", "Chicken Nerve", "Road Runner's Waltz", and "Steam Train".

That's Paul Williams, lost amidst the whiteness of the cover – kind of fuzzy around the edges, just like the warm feelings in his music! The album's got all the best elements that Williams had to offer in the 70s – some incredible songs that are instantly more personal and more upfront than most of his contemporaries, sung by Paul in that weird, raspy style that really makes you know he's not making any of this up – no false bravado, or pop star cockiness – just that up-close element that made this lil' ol' short guy a surprisingly strong singer in the 70s. Arrangements are by Kenny Ascher, and are some of the best that Williams got at the time – and titles include "Sunday", "Margarita", "Sleep Warm", "A Little Bit Of Love", "The Family Of Man", "California Roses", "She Sings For Free", and "Sad Song".

A wealth of rare work from the Italian scene of the 60s – some amazing tracks we never would have heard otherwise! Instead of other sets of this nature, which are often straight beat, garage, or psyche – this collection features a really great range of styles – kind of a true spectrum of Italian pop in the 60s – yet without any of the cloying commercial modes that a term like "pop" might imply! Production on most of the tracks is really great – lots of cool twists and turns and studio touches that keep things interesting – and which almost make a lot of these numbers feel like some of the occasional rock numbers you'd hear blaring from a radio or jukebox in an early 60s Italian film. Features 18 tracks in all, with a nice booklet of original record art too – on titles that include "Thunderball" by Bob Mitchell, "Dormi Dormi" by Oscar, "L'Apassionata" by Enzo Jannacci, "Ascolta Mio Dio" by Peppino Gagliardi, "Impazzivo Per Te" by Adriano Celentano, "Chiaccio Bollente" by Tony Dallarna, "Lo Spillo" by Fausto Mola, and "Gira Gira" by I Fuggiaschi.

A landmark set from the German prog scene – the first amazing utterance of Ash Ra Tempel, and a standard-setting album that few others could ever hope to match! The sound here builds beautifully – coming out of abstract, noisy territory, then finding shape as the record goes on – a perfect blend between the instruments and new studio modes that really help the textures and tones come to the forefront! The group features Klaus Schulze on drums and electronics, Manuel Gotsching on guitar, and Hartmut Enke on bass – and Conny Plank worked the knobs, to help the whole thing come together like magic! Each song takes up a side of the record – and titles include "Amboss" and "Traummaschine".

Rare work from this legendary Italian improvisational group – a lineup that features famous modernists Mario Bertoncini, Egisto Macchi, and Walter Bianchi – as well as soundtrack genius Ennio Morricone! The sounds are quite dark and abstract – often somewhere out in the space of Morricone's more atonal soundtracks from the early 70s, but even looser overall – as you can feel the improvisational energy of the players coming together – feeling out space between spare percussion, strings, and horns. The record actually has one famous funky number – "Haschich", which has this amazing break underneath some off-tuned sitar and other odd noises – but most other tracks are much darker and more outside. Other titles include "Orgasmo", "Eroina", "Aghi", "Warum", "Raptus", and "Stridori" – plus another take on "Haschich".