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Wow! An incredible collection of seminal recordings from one of the most important figures in modern music! The list of sidemen and great LPs is almost too long to go over, but in addition to Miles' remarkable Cookin'/Relaxin'/Walkin'/Workin' sessions, there's all of the material issued as Bags' Groove, with the Modern Jazz Giants and loads more, and some of the stellar accompanists includes John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Charlie Parker, Lee Konitz, Red Garland, Thelonious Monk, Horace Silver, Milt Jackson, Paul Chambers, Art Blakey, Philly Joe Jones, and Max Roach, just to name a few. 95 (!!) tracks in all are included, far too many to list here, but there's takes of "Blue Room", "Conception", "Compulsion", "Miles Ahead", "Blue Haze", "Airegin", "Bag's Groove", "The Man I Love", "Green Haze", "Dr Jackle", "The Theme", "Trane's Blues", "'Round About Midnight", "Half Nelson", "My Funny Valentine" and loads more!

A giant-sized tribute to the fanzine movement! The book is devoted to DIY zines from the 70s onward – not just the iconic underground music journals – all the great personal and passionate self-published subcultural screeds. Teal Triggs' book is beautiful, served well by the oversized format (13.4 x 9.5 inches) and in full color – with more than 750 illustrations. It's heavy with shots of zine covers and page scans, with loads of rarities celebrated – from Punk and Search And Destroy up to Bust and Giant Robot – even some pages devoted to webzines. Paperback, 256 pages.

A lavish book that documents the rich graphic legacy of McSweeney's – a press that makes books as beautiful to view as they are to read – thanks to work from some of the most forward-thinking graphic artists around! The huge volume features hundreds of images – from rough sketches to final publications – showing the full range of creative process that goes into each publication – not just the McSweeney's journal, individual books, and other projects as well! The book features contributions and commentary from a huge cast of folks – including Chris Ware, Michael Chabon, Charles Burns, Joyce Carol Oates, Dave Eggers, David Byrne, Tony Millionaire, and many others – and features loads of full-color images too. 262 pages, hardcover, and coffee table-sized!

Fantastic photos of Johnny Cash – mostly 60s and 70s material, plus a few later bits too – all in stunning black and white, and collected here in a magnificent volume! Images include rare pre-show shots from the famous concerts at San Quentin and Folsom Prison, bits from the Johnny Cash Show, and even shots with Bob Dylan and Waylon Jennings – and the book also features an introduction by John Carter Cash, plus text from Kris Kristofferson and Billy Bob Thornton. 159 pages, black and white, and with a nice heavy softbound cover.

A chronicle of African American Singing & Praying Bands in Maryland and Delaware – stirring spiritual music with roots in the Chesapeak Bay of the nineteenth century – and still thrives! It includes the first-person histories of the singers, players and prayers, musical annotion and photos. Text by Jonathan C David and some great b&w photography by Richard Holloway. Paperback, 231 pages. Comes with a CD of field recordings, too – audio snapshots of hymns, prayers, praise and services.

Sweet reeds and lots of Fender Rhodes – a lost 70s album from the Detroit underground, and one of the best-ever sets from saxophonist Larry Nozero! Larry's working here in close collaboration with keyboardist Dennis Tini – whose Rhodes and Clavinet work really make the album sparkle, giving the whole thing a spacey sound that really suits Larry's long-spun lines on flute, tenor, and soprano sax! The style is mellow, yet never sleepy – a vibe that's even deeper than the CTI sound at its best, and served up here with an underground style that really keeps a sharp edge throughout. Added strings seep into the mix at times, almost giving the record a soundtrack vibe at points – but most of the best action is from the interplay of Nozero and Tini, who dominate nearly every tune. Tini uses overdubs to create these scatting voices at a few points – and titles include "Tony", "Chronicle Of The Murdered House", "Tune For LN", "Two Worlds", "All The Things You Are", and "Impressions Of My Lady".

Sweet reeds and lots of Fender Rhodes – a lost 70s album from the Detroit underground, and one of the best-ever sets from saxophonist Larry Nozero! Larry's working here in close collaboration with keyboardist Dennis Tini – whose Rhodes and Clavinet work really make the album sparkle, giving the whole thing a spacey sound that really suits Larry's long-spun lines on flute, tenor, and soprano sax! The style is mellow, yet never sleepy – a vibe that's even deeper than the CTI sound at its best, and served up here with an underground style that really keeps a sharp edge throughout. Added strings seep into the mix at times, almost giving the record a soundtrack vibe at points – but most of the best action is from the interplay of Nozero and Tini, who dominate nearly every tune. Tini uses overdubs to create these scatting voices at a few points – and titles include "Tony", "Chronicle Of The Murdered House", "Tune For LN", "Two Worlds", "All The Things You Are", and "Impressions Of My Lady".

As warm and wonderful of a late 60s singer songwriter effort as we can imagine wanting to hear in the late 60s mainstream – so it's fitting that James Taylor was signed with the Beatles' Apple Records for this excellent self-titled album! The lyrics chronicle a troubled soul, but man, did James ever making encroaching personal horrors sound sweet at his best. We think he's at his best here, and titles include "Don't Talk Now", "Knocking 'Round The Zoo", "Carolina In My Mind", "Night Owl", "Rainy Day Man", "The Blues Is Just A Bad Dream" and more.

We can't think of a better title for this excellent compilation from Peanut Butter Wolf. The Badmeaningood series is a personal hip hop chronicle from the compiler, and as you'd expect from PBW, the definition here is taking somewhat less than literally, though there's no shortage of back in the day old school classics, mixed side by side with some unlikely candidates, but in a way that makes more than perfect sense. Mixed continuously front to back like your favorite mix tape this set takes you from Grandmaster Flash's "New Adventures Of Grandmaster Flash" to Keni Burke's "Risin' To The top (Snowboy's acoustic mix)" and stopping at all points in between, whether it's Iron Butterfly's "Soul Experience", Johnny Hammond's "Fantasy", The Cold Crush Brothers "Punk Rock Rap", Prince Far I's "Black Man Land", the Jungle Brother's "I'm Gonna Do You", the 45 King's "Funk Box (We Want To Hear The Beat box)", Roy Ayer's "Can't You See Me", The Human League's "Hard Times" and Alicia Myers "Don't Stop What You're Doin" and many more!

Author Mick Brown chronicles the fascinating, tragic world of the Phil Spector – the most fascinating figure in American pop music history – thanks to both his unrivaled genius and artistry, his fabled reclusiveness and ultimately, real life crime noir tragedy. From his epic work with the Ronettes, the Righteous Brothers, The Beatles, The Ramones and the many less iconic artists, to the recluse years and the bizarre shooting in his home, this is richly researched, very well done bio by Brown. Engrossing and briskly readable, even as a fairly hefty girth, Hardcover, more than 500 pages.

An absorbing biography of one legendary French singer Edith Piaf – one of the most alluring voices of the past century – and superbly written by Carolyn Burke! Edith Piaf lived as fascinating of a life as any international icon we can think of – musical or otherwise – and Burke does a terrific job of of telling her story in a way that chronicles her artisty on a deeper level. There's no way to tell the Piaf story without covering the more sensational aspects of it – but we're just as enthusiastic to read about her vocal and lyrical craft. Burke manages to make the story of Piaf the artist and it's a very, very engrossing one at that!

Classic Rock chronicles the legacy of Deep Purple – with a feature that covers their 45th anniversary – and a whole lot more! This issue has an interview with Neal Peart of Rush, the story of the Tom Waits uber-classic Swordfishtrombones, plus pieces on Pete Way, Alice In Chains, the new wave of Australian rock 'n' roll, The Moody Blues and much more! Also includes a free CD – 24 Carat Gold – with tracks by Deep Purple, Black Star Riders, Big Country, Tracer, Helldorado, The Deafening, Peanut Butter Lovesicle, Alice In Chains, Reagan Brown, Mother Of God, SUN, Scorpion Child, Eureka Machines, Kadavar and more. 15 in all.

Enigmatic folk rock and soulful bluesy vocals from Karen Dalton – her legendary lost 1971 album that's credited with inspiring some the most idiosyncratic work by folk rock superstars and contemporary freak folk heroes alike! Karen was a fixture on the 60s NY folk scene – Dylan even gives her props in his Chronicles Vol 1 memoirs – but she rarely recorded. Her voice carries a huge Billie Holiday influence – but the delivery is wholly unique in her earthy folk phrasing, a real dip back into Harry Smith territory. Her guitar and banjo picking is strong, too! In My Own Time was recorded for Paramount at the end of 1970 and beginning of '71, with really rich and surprisingly soulful backing on an interesting selection of material written or popularized by Dylan & The Band, George Jones, Paul Butterfield, and even a folksy soul take on "When A Man Loves A Woman". Light In The Attic shines a huge light for this reverential reissue – pristinely remastered, with a thick booklet of liner notes by Lenny Kaye, Nick Cave and Devendra Banhart. Other tracks include "Something On Your Mind", "In My Own Dream", the traditional "Katie Cruel", "One Night Of Love" and "Are You Leaving For The Country".

Enigmatic folk rock and soulful bluesy vocals from Karen Dalton – her legendary lost 1971 album that's credited with inspiring some the most idiosyncratic work by folk rock superstars and contemporary freak folk heroes alike! Karen was a fixture on the 60s NY folk scene – Dylan even gives her props in his Chronicles Vol 1 memoirs – but she rarely recorded. Her voice carries a huge Billie Holiday influence – but the delivery is wholly unique in her earthy folk phrasing, a real dip back into Harry Smith territory. Her guitar and banjo picking is strong, too! In My Own Time was recorded for Paramount at the end of 1970 and beginning of '71, with really rich and surprisingly soulful backing on an interesting selection of material written or popularized by Dylan & The Band, George Jones, Paul Butterfield, and even a folksy soul take on "When A Man Loves A Woman". Light In The Attic shines a huge light for this reverential reissue – pristinely remastered with notes by Lenny Kaye, Nick Cave and Devendra Banhart. Other tracks include "Something On Your Mind", "In My Own Dream", the traditional "Katie Cruel", "One Night Of Love" and "Are You Leaving For The Country".

The full scope of the mighty songwriting talents of Carole King and Gerry Goffin – a much-chronicled 60s team who had plenty of troubles of their own, but who brought some really amazing music to the world at the time! The package features songs in a variety of genres – soul, pop, rock, country, and more – including some appearing here on CD for the first time ever, and plenty more that aren't just the obvious Goffin/King hits! The CD features a huge booklet – nearly 25 pages in all – with track-by-track notes on the tunes, as well as on the songwriting team – and as with some of Ace's other explorations into 60s pop powerhouses, the single disc package is almost more informative and thorough than some bigger box sets. Titles include "He's In Town" by The Tokens, "Don't Ever Change" by The Crickets, "The First & The Last" by The Chiffons, "Brand New Man" by Richard Popcorn Wylie, "Let Me Get Close To You" by Skeeter Davis, "The Idol" by Bobby Vee, "I Can't Make It Alone" by PJ Proby, "Just A Little Girl" by Donna Loren, "I Can't Hear You" by Betty Everett, "I Just Can't Say Goodbye" by Bobby Rydell, "I Didn't Have Any Summer Romance" by The Satisfactions, "Yours Until Tomorrow" by Dee Dee Warwick, "So Much Love" by Ben E King, and "A Natural Woman" by Aretha Franklin.

A strong, well-assembled History Of Queensbridge – featuring rarities and freestyles from breakout hip hip superstars, blueprint era legends and longtime underground heavies alike – include Nas, Mobb Deep, Kool G Rap, Noreaga, Tragedi Khadafi, Cormega and more! Features MCs from Queensbridge proper and collabos with legends from elsewhere in and around NYC – and the titles include "Testaments" by Cormega, "Black Life" by Mobb Deep & ACD, ""Triple Threat" by Nas, Noreaga & Nature, "Holla Back To Dope" by Kool G Rap & Nas, "Freestyle S**t" by Cormega feat Busta Rhymes, "Real" by Tragedy Khadafi, 'Freestyle 1994" by Mobb Deep, "Gun Ring" by E Money Bags, "Thug Chronicles" by Kool G Rap & Havoc, "Betrayal" by Nature & Tragedy Khadafi and more. 20 tracks in all.

One of the coolest collections ever put out by The Numero Group – and that's saying a lot, given the hipness of the label! Downriver Revival chronicles the story of a unique studio in Michigan – Double U Sound, a custom recording spot that captured a wonderful range of soul, funk, gospel, and other sounds from the local community – beautifully presented here in a full 2LP set, plus a bonus DVD that features the near-complete 200 song archive of the studio! The DVD's really unique – so we'll talk about it first: Done with an interactive menu that lets you literally comb through the boxes of tapes in the Double U vault – selecting each reel recorded by the studio, and sampling the rich array of wonderful sounds from this untapped Michigan scene – a huge amount of music, far more than you'd ever find on a 2LP compilation. The DVD also features a documentary on the studio and Downriver Revial project – and that alone would be worth the price of admission – but the 2LP set then features 24 key numbers pulled from the vaults – tracks that were either issued on rare 45s, or never issued at all – and which represent a wonderful array of soulful sounds that definitely lives up to the Numero standard! Titles include "There's A Light" by Shirley Ann Lee, "Take Care Of Us" by The Revelations, "Untitled Jam" by Bobby Cook & The Explosions, "Foot Stumping (alt)" by Organics, "While You Were Gone" by Combinations, "Heaven" by Deliverance Echoes, "Untitled" by Burgess Band, "Round N Round" by Junior Mays Group, and "Walk With Me" by Calvin Cooke.

Rare rock from the Golden Triangle scene of Southeast TX in the late 60s and early 70s – a well-curated overview of the stylistically sprawling material being cut at Mickey Rouse's Lowland Recording Studio in Beaumont! Texas rock of the late 60s and early 70s justifiably brings to mind acts like The 13th Floor Elevators and The Bubble Puppy – tripped out psychedelia in other words, but Texas is huge, and there was a heck of a lot more going on than just the best remembered cult favorites. The music coming out of just the Beaumont, Port Arthur, Orange, Texas "triangle" chronicled here was incredibly diverse. It includes proto TX boogie rock that's a clear precursor to early ZZ Top, harmony flavored numbers that sound closer to Cali than they do The Lone Star State, one track that somehow fuses CS&N with The Beatles and does so with prominent cowbell in the mix (and it's good!!!), punchy psych grit, and swaggering country rock with some twang in the strings that feels a bit more profoundly Texan. You don't need our word that The Numero Group has devoted some serious attention to detail – with a large booklet of notes, photos and histories, plus the impressive Lost In The Golden Triangle "family tree" of the regional musicians involved – as if discovering these long buried regional relics wasn't impressive enough already. Beautiful! 28 tracks on the 2LP version...6 more than on the CD! "Trash One" by the Lowland Studio Band, "Live My Life Today" by Insight Out, "Simple House" by Mother Lion, "Love Of The Morning" by Circus, "Take A Look At Your Friends" by Next Exit, "You Know I Love You" by Roy Briggs & Alton Tew, "Calling Me Home (Demo)" by Donald Thomas and more, plus the LP only tracks "Lizard" by Lowland Studio Band, "Let Me Listen" by Sage, "Groundhog Day" by Boot Hill and more.

The RZA-curated Iron Fists Chronicles! This limited volume in the Man With The Iron Fists soundtrack series is a 2CD compilation of classic Stax deep soul – and it's not only the material that inspired the score for RZA's directorial debut – it's also the funky soul bedrock for his most legendary Wu Tang productions! It's got classics and relative rarities alike by The Dramatics, The Emotions, Soul Children, Mad Lads, Sweet Inspirations, Isaac Hayes, Mel & Tim, Booker T & The MGs, Johnnie Taylor, William Bell and many more! You know RZA isn't compromising or messing around when he's including Isaac Hayes' 15+ minute "Joy" in the set list – and the whole thing is great – really a top-shelf compilation from the Stax vaults! Nearly 2 1/2 hours of music on 2CDs! Includes "I Forgot To Be Your Lover" by The Mad Lads, "I Could Never Be Happy" by The Emotions, "All It Takes Is You And Me" by Sweet Inspirations, "Move Over" by Soul Children, "Steal Away" by Johnny Taylor, "Keep The Faith" by Mel & Tim, "Sing A Simple Song" and "LA Jazz Song" by Booker T & The MGs, "Poverty's Paradise" by 24-Carat Black and more.

The soundtrack to Soundtrack For A Revolution – a film that chronicles the sounds of the Civil Rights era – new recordings by a diverse, reverent roster of artists that ably demonstrate how deeply these songs continue to resonate! Includes legendary spiritual soul and folk songs by Angie Stone, The Roots, Vivian Green, Anthony Hamilton with The Blind Boys Of Alabama, Mary Mary, John Legend and Joss Stone and Wyclef Jean. Each brings earnest passion to the performances, many in a fairly raw and urgent mode. Includes "We Shall Not Be Moved" by Mary Mary, "Here's To The State Of Mississippi" by Wyclef, "Will The Circle Be Unbroken" by Richie Havens, "Wade In The Water" by Angie Stone. "Oh Freedom" by Vivian Green, "Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around" by The Roots and more.

A long spoken set that chronicles the story of African Americans from the days of slavery up through the 20th century. The album was produced by Pepsi, with a style that's kind of like a radio show – narration, plus sound effects, and some dramatized passages as well. The whole thing's a bit hokey and dated – but that's also part of its charm.

Booker T's definitely into a great new groove here – one that really extrapolates his Memphis roots through the haze of early 70s California – coming up with some wonderful sounds along the way! There's a definite A&M vibe to the record – that mix of rootsy modes and hipster polish that A&M was really pioneering alongside the Warner camp – and most of the instrumentation here is pretty stripped-down and laid back – sometimes played all by Booker in overdubs, sometimes with added studio help. Organ lines figure strongly, but not always – and vocals are mostly duets between Booker and Priscilla – on titles that include "Rings Around The World", "When Two People Are In Love", "The Crippled Crow", "Time", "Wild Fox", "Fly", and "Mendocino".

Killer work from a group that features the wonderful Jessica Lauren on keyboards – a player who was such a big part of London work we loved in the 90s, sounding even more amazing here! The group's got a decidedly jazzy tip – one that really makes the best use of Jessica's keys, which include Fender Rhodes, clavinet, moog, and lots more – all layered in with some sweet flute and sax lines, over warm rhythms with lots of great percussion. There's vocals at points, but the overall feel really focuses on the instrumental energy of the tunes – and even though there's a bit of beats on some of the remixes, most things still have a live, fusiony sort of vibe. Singers include Deborah Jordan and Liz Elensky – and Matthew Halsall plays a bit of trumpet on the record, too. Titles include "Eastern Orbit", "Lights On/Off", "Space In Veda (Emanative dub mix)", "Naima", "Illusions (Kay Suzuki conscious mix)", "When On Earth (Marc Rapson rmx)", and "Wind Sand & Stars (Jazz Chronicles rmx)".

One of the greatest albums ever by one of the most compelling figures in Indian music! Ananda Shankar's been chronicled elsewhere and often on these pages – so by this point, you probably already know that he's a renegade pioneer who combined funky grooves with sitars and tablas, forging a whole new sound in Indian music that's still having quite a bit of influence today. This 1975 album is a stunner – way more open-minded than his other album for Reprise (which we've also got on reissue!), with tracks that push the funky groove a lot farther than you'd expect, swirling percussion, organ, guitar, tablas, moog, and sitar all together into an unbelievable sound that will leave you breathless! Titles include "Dancing Drums", "Streets Of Calcutta", "Back Home", "Renunciation", "Dawn", and "The Lonely Rider".

One of the coolest collections ever put out by The Numero Group – and that's saying a lot, given the hipness of the label! Downriver Revival chronicles the story of a unique studio in Michigan – Double U Sound, a custom recording spot that captured a wonderful range of soul, funk, gospel, and other sounds from the local community – beautifully presented here in a full CD, plus a bonus DVD that features the near-complete 200 song archive of the studio! The DVD's really unique – so we'll talk about it first: Done with an interactive menu that lets you literally comb through the boxes of tapes in the Double U vault – selecting each reel recorded by the studio, and sampling the rich array of wonderful sounds from this untapped Michigan scene – a huge amount of music, far more than you'd ever find on a CD compilation. The DVD also features a documentary on the studio and Downriver Revial project – and that alone would be worth the price of admission – but the CD then features 24 key numbers pulled from the vaults – tracks that were either issued on rare 45s, or never issued at all – and which represent a wonderful array of soulful sounds that definitely lives up to the Numero standard! Titles include "There's A Light" by Shirley Ann Lee, "Take Care Of Us" by The Revelations, "Untitled Jam" by Bobby Cook & The Explosions, "Foot Stumping (alt)" by Organics, "While You Were Gone" by Combinations, "Heaven" by Deliverance Echoes, "Untitled" by Burgess Band, "Round N Round" by Junior Mays Group, and "Walk With Me" by Calvin Cooke.