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One of the Last Poets greatest albums – and one of their most sophisticated as well! Gone are the rough-hewn rhymes of the group's first album, and in their place are better arranged, more thought-out tracks that mix in a wealth of musical influences – and which expand the group's verbal expression past simple protests, and into the realm of Jazzoetry that became their trademark during the mid 70s. Tracks include "Related to What", "Black Is", "White Man's Got a God Complex", "Black People What Y'All Gonna Do", and "This is Madness" – and a number of tracks are preceded by strong and forceful chants before the lyrics kick in! Reissue of the 80s Celluloid pressing – with a different cover than the original version.

Hip hop, street soul, and lots lots more – a really revolutionary selection of music from the legendary Celluloid Records – a label that was virtually a genre unto itself! Celluloid was a key force tying together the New York downtown scene at the start of the 80s, and the postcolonial music world of Paris – and as a result, they always operated with a culture-crossing style that few other companies of the time managed to hit – merging together sounds in really unlikely ways, and often coming up with fresh new styles in the process! The label's known for crate-diggers for its hip hop releases – and to world music fans for its electric Africa work – but they also were on the forefront of New York No Wave, avant jazz, and post-punk – and somehow found a way to integrate both young new talents, and older experimentalists who still had plenty to offer. This package finally does Celluloid justice – and goes way past the few simplistic comps of the label's work over the years – training the skilled Strut ear to the whole thing, and also serving up the full story of the label in the process. Titles include "I'm The One" by Material, "Day Tripper" by Shockabilly, "Tele Apres La Meteo" by Fredinand, "Disco Rough (long version)" by Mathematiques Modernes, "Electrique Sylvie (full length version)" by Modern Guy, "Mean Machine Chant/Mean Machine" by Last Poets, "Abele Dance ('85 rmx)" by Manu Dibango, "Change The Beat (French & English)" by Fab 5 Freddy, "The Escapades Of Futura 2000" by Futura 2000 with The Clash, and "Downing Street Rock" by Winston Edwards & Blackbeard.

Fantastic stuff – incredibly hard and incredibly funky, and a masterpiece all the way through! Long before there was any talk of gangster rap, Jalal of the Last Poets recorded this album of gamblin', pimpin', and hard double dealin'. It's a fantastic album-long ride through the dark side of the black underworld, and is the aural equivalent of a blacksploitation flick. Kool & The Gang provided the music – and Jalal tells the whole story throughout, in the same hard rappin' style he used with the Last Poets! The record's an undisputed classic, and includes the sample classic "Sport", plus loads of other righteous funky cuts like "Spoon", "Grit's Den", and "Sentenced To The Chair"!

Gong's not dead – and in fact, they sound better than ever in this great live set from 1977 – recorded on the Paris scene that was still plenty appreciative of their most trippy touches! The set's got the best aspects of the best Gong studio work – including lots of plenty playful lyrics sung by Daevid Allen, Gilly Smith, and Tim Blake – all couched in some freaky, fuzzy guitar work, a fair bit of keyboards, and some cool electric touches as well! The record's definitely one of those that reminds us that in some corners of the world, punk never really happened – as you'll hear on trippy tunes that include "Can't Kill Me", "Outer Temple", "Zero The Hero & The Witch's Spell", "Flute Salade", "You Never Blow Your Trip For Ever", and "I've Been Stoned Before".

A seminal set from Eric Dolphy – one of his most perfectly realized moments at the head of a larger ensemble – and a record that definitely set the tone for countless spiritual jazz sessions of the 70s! Dolphy recorded this session for Alan Douglas in 1962, and it features a larger array of players than you'll find on most of his records for other labels – the cream of the "new thing" players that were around New York at the time, including Bobby Hutcherson on vibes, Woody Shaw on trumpet, Prince Lasha on flute, Sonny Simmons on alto, and even Clifford Jordan on soprano sax – making a rare appearance on record on that instrument! Together, the players create a set of soundscapes that lies somewhere between Dolphy's Out To Lunch album, and some of the more modernist work by Mingus – a stunning batch of tracks that go out, but never too far. Titles include "Ode to CP", "Burning Spear", "Iron Man", and "Mandrake".