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Seminal record from one of the most important hardcore bands to walk the earth – and DC underground classic that hit the scene like a lightning bolt to White House – that cover art speaks the truth! Bad Brains (the album) was originally issued on the then cassette-only ROIR label – this version restores the iconic original cover art and features 15 listed tracks – and adds an unlisted bonus cut! Titles include "Sail On", "Don't Need It", "Attitude", "The Regulator", "Banned In DC", "Jah Calling", "Supertouch/Shitfit", "Leaving Babylon", "Fearless Vampire Killers", "I", "Big Take Over", "Pay To Cum", "Right Brigade", "I Luv I Jah" and "Intro".

Seminal record from one of the most important hardcore bands to walk the earth – and DC underground classic that hit the scene like a lightning bolt to White House – that cover art speaks the truth! Bad Brains (the album) was originally issued on the then cassette-only ROIR label – -this version restores the iconic original cover art and features 15 tracks: Titles include "Sail On", "Don't Need It", "Attitude", "The Regulator", "Banned In DC", "Jah Calling", "Supertouch/Shitfit", "Leaving Babylon", "Fearless Vampire Killers", "I", "Big Take Over", "Pay To Cum", "Right Brigade", "I Luv I Jah" and "Intro".

The game-changing Def Jam classic from the mid 80s – and still possibly the greatest album by the Beastie Boys – even though they'd grow up a whole lot after this! The Beasties later distanced themselves from much of the attitude of this album, and you can't fault the Boys for maturing. Their genesis from stoopid (as opposed to stupid) to thoughtful and playful innovators is as impressive as just about any artistic evolution we can think of, but that doesn't make these party anthems any less amazing! With all the killer cuts you remember – "Rhymin & Stealin", "The New Style", "Girls", "Fight For Your Right To Party", "No Sleep Til Brooklyn", "Paul Revere", "Hold It Now Hit It", "She's Crafty", and more.

The oddball early 80s debut of The Big Boys – a slice of weirdness from the Austin, TX underground that paved the way for stylistically sprawling 80s punk and hardcore to come! One thing that sets The Big Boys apart is the bass sound, which is way up there in the mix. As paired with shredded-chord vocals and the brute force of the guitar and drums, the group had a really unique, nearly unprecedented sound. Oddball songs mixed with irascible punk attitude! This great reissue from Light In The Attic's Modern Classic imprint gives it the proper respect – with heavy vinyl, packaging and insert. Includes "Security", "TV", "I Don't Wanna Dance", "Identity Crisis", "Thin Line", "Advice", "Complete Control", "Work Without Pay", "Spit", "Act/Reaction", "Self-Contortion" and "Wise Up".

A seminal session from one of the greatest large groups ever! This one captures the Clarke-Boland ensemble at the peak of their creativity – swinging hard in that tight firey way that was virtually their trademark during the late 60s. The players are a top-shelf mix of European and American jazz legends – coming together without ego, without attitude, and having a hell of a time working through groundbreaking arrangements from leader Francy Boland. Soloists include Sahib Shihab, Tony Coe, Dusko Goykovich, Ronnie Scott, Jimmy Woode, and Benny Bailey – and the tracks are all short, but swing like a mofo, with plenty of solo action in the mix. Titles include "Love For Sale", "November Girl", "All Through The Night", "Lullaby Of The Leaves", and "Bei Dir War Es Immer So Schon".

A lost album from 70s funk diva Betty Davis – and one that's every bit as essential as her music released back in the day! The set was recorded hot on the heels of Betty's classic Nasty Gal album – but it's got a groove that's almost more in the territory of her first two records on the Just Sunshine label – very hard, heavy, freaky, and fuzzy – with lots of sharp-edged guitar licks wrapped up around Davis' badass vocals – which have just as much attitude as ever! It's not clear why the album never saw the light of day back in the 70s, but it's an essential follow-up to Davis key classics – undeniably funky music by one of the most unique figures ever in soul – the kind of set that would have been a bomb, had it dropped in the 70s – and which will have an even greater impact when let loose in the 21st Century. Titles include "Stars Starve You Know", "Bottom Of The Barrel", "Crashin From Passion", "Whorey Angel", "It's So Good", "Is It Love Or Desire", "Bar Hoppin", and "Let's Get Personal".

A lost album from 70s funk diva Betty Davis – and one that's every bit as essential as her music released back in the day! The set was recorded hot on the heels of Betty's classic Nasty Gal album – but it's got a groove that's almost more in the territory of her first two records on the Just Sunshine label – very hard, heavy, freaky, and fuzzy – with lots of sharp-edged guitar licks wrapped up around Davis' badass vocals – which have just as much attitude as ever! It's not clear why the album never saw the light of day back in the 70s, but it's an essential follow-up to Davis key classics – undeniably funky music by one of the most unique figures ever in soul – the kind of set that would have been a bomb, had it dropped in the 70s – and which will have an even greater impact when let loose in the 21st Century. Titles include "Stars Serve You Know", "Bottom Of The Barrel", "Crashin From Passion", "Whorey Angel", "It's So Good", "Is It Love Or Desire", "Bar Hoppin", and "Let's Get Personal".

A great mix of glam grooves and electronics – served up with almost the same sort of gothy undercurrent you see in the title! Gina X is probably a singer more rooted in the disco/downtown modes of artists like Christina or The Waitresses – and this record definitely would have been right at home on Z Records. But some tracks also percolate with more of a Euro/electro vibe that seems to skirt punk attitude without ever picking up its aesthetics – that cool late 70s German way of dabbling in so many genres at once, yet never pledging full allegiance to any! Titles include "No GDM", "Nice Mover", "Be A Boy", "Exhibitionism", "Tropical Comic Strip", and "Black Sheep".

Once again the GZA shines as the true Genius of the Wu Tang Clan. He continues to move in a more straight ahead rhyme direction, but there's still some nice metaphorical, numerological and knowledge dropping moments sprinkled in between the all-up-in-your-face Wu attitude alongside his acronym rhyme style, over crisp Wu beats. 14 tracks, without any skits to waste your time, unless you count the obligatory intro, including "Did Ya Say That", "Silent", "Knock, Knock", "Animal Planet", "Fam (Members Only)", "Legend Of The Liquid Sword", "Luminal", "Sparring Minds", "Rough Cut"and "Uncut Material".

Breakout sounds from Shoes – and an album that may well stand as the group's lasting treasure! The set's got a sharp-edged quality that still sounds pretty tremendous all these many years later – power pop, but without any commercial elements to smooth out its energy – served up with a raw, earnest quality that's neither punk nor hard rock – yet which deserved to be praised every bit as much as the best contemporary efforts in those genres too! These guys have a hell of a way with a hook, yet never hit you over the head with it either – and there's a lack of posturing that's really refreshing – a key difference between the sound of Shoes and their bigger Northern Illinois contemporaries Cheap Trick – an attitude that's different than, yet not that far off from the energy of The Replacements to come. Titles include "Capital Gain", "Boys Don't Lie", "She'll Disappear", "Fatal", "It Really Hurts", "Nowhere So Fast", and "Fire For Awhile".

Dark 80s electronics from X Ray Pop – a record that has all the freaky, fuzzy touches of some of the best work coming out of the North of England in the late 70s – but was recorded a few years later, and originally only issued as a limited edition cassette tape! That format is the only reason the record never got wider acclaim at the time – as it's a corker, and would easily have become one of the best-remembered electro-trash sets of the time – punky in attitude, but electro in presentation – and topped with some surprisingly sweet French language vocals from the lovely Zouka Dzaza. Doc Pilot handles all the keyboards and beats – and titles include "Chapeau Volant", "Bobby Bonbek", "Nana Electronique", "Nous Sommes", "Gogol Le Mongol", "Funky Cat", and "Cobaye".

The kind of record that makes us mighty proud to live in the Windy City – and a long-overdue look at the wealth of rare club, disco, and soul cuts bubbling in the Chicago underground at the end of the 70s! During the early part of the decade, the city was widely known for some super-huge soul acts – and in the 80s, house would raise Chicago to international fame – but in the space between, the city kept on putting out some really wonderful music – wicked little cuts issued on small indie labels, most of which never got any circulation outside the midwest! The Mr Peabody crate-digging team's collected together the best of the best from these overlooked years – and also threw in a few of their own edits too – furthering the dancefloor potential of some of the best rare nuggets. Titles include "Your Love Is In The Pocket" by Premonition, "Love So New" by Loveship, "A Challenge" by Billy Hinton, "BT" by Yohon, "Attitude Believe & Determination" by Martin L Dumas, "School Days (Mr Peabody's edit)" by Ghalib Ghallab, "Look Let's Make Love" by Sidney Thomas, "Don't Touch It" by Maxx Traxx, "Hooked On Your Love" by On Stage, "Promise (inst)" by Larry Houston, "Runnin To A Disco (Mr Peabody's edit)" by Lonnie Givens, "Funky Preacher (Mr Peabody's edit)" by Cold T, "We Fall In Love" by Cheryl Berdell, "The Composer (Mr Peabody's edit)" by Fantasie, "Disco Ball" by Brighter Side Of Darkness, "Can You Feel It" by Synergy, "What Good Is Music" by The Esquires, "Open Soul" by Tomorrow's People, "Road To Sunshine" by Expo, and "Happy Baby" by Gregory James.

A great little set of smooth soul tunes – put together from the Chicago Stepper's scene, and featuring some great obscure gems from the late 70s, 80s, and 90s! Titles include "Long Distance Love" by Faze, "Got The Right Attitude" by Tashan, "The Affair" by Lonnie Jordan, "So I Like You" by Degree Of Motion, "Hail The Word (deep state dub)" by Isis, "Day Dream" by Mark Johnson, "True Love" by Billy Porter, "Little Red Boat (Gizmo's Groove)" by Angel Grant, and "Close" by Mark Winkler.

Nothing fancy, but a great back to basics session from Byrd – very solidly played, with a tight group, in a style that recalls his best mid 60s work for Blue Note! Players include Kenny Garrett, Joe Henderson, Donald Brown, Peter Washington, and the great Al Foster on drums – and the strength of Garrett and Henderson makes for some excellent tracks that rank with Byrd's best work of his late career. Titles include "Around The Corner", "Theme For Malcolm", "Popmponio", "A Certain Attitude", and "The Onliest".

James Carr is really maturing here – stepping forth with a sound that's every bit as great as his early Goldwax singles, yet also hitting a newly sophisticated vibe that helps take southern soul to a whole new level! Recordings were done both in Memphis and Muscle Shoals – and in addition to opening up a few more bluesy sounds in his style, James also brings in some of the more adult modes that he'd really help inspire in other singers in years to come – that open, honest attitude that really comes through in the more heartbreaking numbers. Titles include the classic "Dark End Of The Street" – plus "You Don't Want Me", "Hit & Run", "Bring Her Back", "Stronger Than Love", "More Love", "Gonna Send You Back To Georgia", "The Word Is Out", and "What The World Needs Now Is Love".

George Jones in one of his most classic periods – singles he cut with producer Pappy Daily for United Artists from the early-to-mid 60s – and some of the greatest barroom laments and rave up honky tonk treasures ever! Producer Pappy Daily frames the inherent sorrow, boozy slur and sly pug attitude of The Possum's voice with near-perfect backing of solid waltz patterns, laid down by session legends like Pig Robbins, Grady Martin and Billy Strange – along with effective, ghostly choruses by The Jordanaires. Classics and relatively forgotten gems alike – including "The Race Is On", "She Thinks I Still Care", "Magic Valley", "Big Fool Of The Year", "My Tears Are Overdue", "Your Heart Turned Left (And I Was On The Right)", "Brown To Blue", "Wrong Number", "Least Of All", "World's Worst Lover", "A Good Old Fashioned Cry" and many more. 32 in all!

A cool Capitol quartet from the end of the 60s – every bit as Sunshine Pop sounding as you'd guess from their name and image on the cover! There's a style here that's a bit different than some of the sweeter pop of the time – a slight undercurrent of darkness that's hard to peg easily, but which comes a bit from the way the male and female voices interact – and from the slightly unusual arrangements, which seem to rely heavily on some of the bluer notes in the spectrum. Vocals are arranged by Peter Mann, the leader of the group – and the instrumentation is by Mort Garson, whose presence is always appreciated. Titles include "Take Me Away", "Privilege", "Hanging Together", "The Candy Children Song", "Papa Won't You Let Me Go To Town With You", "Baby Baby", "Let The Truth Come Out", and "The Attitude". CD features lots of bonus tracks too – acetate takes of "Easy To Be Hard" and "Save The Country, a live version of "Charlie & Fred", and mono versions of "Let The Truth Come Out", "Privilege", and "Skip A Long Sam".

Dark 80s electronics from X Ray Pop – a record that has all the freaky, fuzzy touches of some of the best work coming out of the North of England in the late 70s – but was recorded a few years later, and originally only issued as a limited edition cassette tape! That format is the only reason the record never got wider acclaim at the time – as it's a corker, and would easily have become one of the best-remembered electro-trash sets of the time – punky in attitude, but electro in presentation – and topped with some surprisingly sweet French language vocals from the lovely Zouka Dzaza. Doc Pilot handles all the keyboards and beats – and titles include "Chapeau Volant", "Bobby Bonbek", "Nana Electronique", "Nous Sommes", "Gogol Le Mongol", "Funky Cat", and "Cobaye".

The game-changing Def Jam classic from the mid 80s – and still possibly the greatest album by the Beastie Boys – even though they'd grow up a whole lot after this! The Beasties later distanced themselves from much of the attitude of this album, and you can't fault the Boys for maturing. Their genesis from stoopid (as opposed to stupid) to thoughtful and playful innovators is as impressive as just about any artistic evolution we can think of, but that doesn't make these party anthems any less amazing! With all the killer cuts you remember – "Rhymin & Stealin", "The New Style", "Girls", "Fight For Your Right To Party", "No Sleep Til Brooklyn", "Paul Revere", "Hold It Now Hit It", "She's Crafty", and more.

A lost album from 70s funk diva Betty Davis – and one that's every bit as essential as her music released back in the day! The set was recorded hot on the heels of Betty's classic Nasty Gal album – but it's got a groove that's almost more in the territory of her first two records on the Just Sunshine label – very hard, heavy, freaky, and fuzzy – with lots of sharp-edged guitar licks wrapped up around Davis' badass vocals – which have just as much attitude as ever! It's not clear why the album never saw the light of day back in the 70s, but it's an essential follow-up to Davis key classics – undeniably funky music by one of the most unique figures ever in soul – the kind of set that would have been a bomb, had it dropped in the 70s – and which will have an even greater impact when let loose in the 21st Century. Titles include "Stars Serve You Know", "Bottom Of The Barrel", "Crashin From Passion", "Whorey Angel", "It's So Good", "Is It Love Or Desire", "Bar Hoppin", and "Let's Get Personal".

13 cuts, counting interludes, includes "Attitudes", "I-N-I","Mushroom Talk", 'Theramixx", "Hi Volume", "Mad MF's", "Sweet Therapy", "Hudz" and "Earthquake".