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If you're like us, you've probably been frustrated over the years at trying to find nicely remastered copies of many Studio One classics, which have been kicking around in one form or another for years and years, often seemingly out of print or available only on poor quality pressings. So we barely need to mention how satisfying it is that Heartbeat has issued this sweet and long awaited set of seminal Studio One sides from Burning Spear. These early recordings stand out as some of the finest primal work from Winston Rodney, soulful seeds of the heavy roots rock he'd later become known for, wrapped up in a nicely annotated package with numerous hard-to-get mixes, many of which were previously unreleased on CD! 20 tracks in all, including "Foggy Road", "Rocking Time (rare stereo mix)", "Down By The River", "New Civilization (rare stereo mix)", "Door Peeper (original single mix)", "This Race (rare stereo mix)", "This Population", "Bad To Worst (rare stereo mix)", "Pick Up The Pieces", "Zion Higher (rare stereo mix)", "Swell Headed", "Creation Rebel", "Ethiopians Live It Out", "Get Ready", "Weeping And Waiting (rare stereo mix)" and loads more!

Despite the title of the album, the group's a sharp-edged fusion combo – one that hails from late 70s Japan, and who works here in the best mainstream fusion mode of the time! The tunes are mostly jazz funk with a bit of polish – heavy on guitars from Kazuo Takeda, who also takes off on some pretty nice solos – and also featuring keyboards from Hisao Sakurai and tenor from Mitsuru Kanekuni. The record is never too jamming, nor too smooth – but one number does feature some unfortunate blues vocals from Takeda. Titles include "Spinning Toe Hold No 2", "No Problem", "Wild Cat", "Swamp Boy", and "Fou Fou Gun Gun".

We love The Creation, but never knew their full story until now – a really compelling tale that not only gets at the greatness of their music in the 60s, but which also explains why they never reached the sort of fame they deserved! The story here is incredibly detailed – not just fan fluff pulled from vintage music mags, but well-researched information, fleshed out by surviving group members, producers, and key contemporaries and later influences too – plenty of details that will have you going back to your Creation records and hearing them all over again in a very different light! The book is almost 400 pages, with some black and white photos, and a helpful discography at the back.

Wicked stuff – and 2 tracks that offer a whole new take on the modern sound of deep funk! "Creation" is a weird little offbeat number that snaps along the beats, blasts them with horns, and almost goes for a Chicago Brunswick sort of style! There's a bit of strings lilting along with the grooves, and even some vibes that seem to sneak out from time to time! The vibes come in even more strongly on the flipside – making "Behind The Blue Curtains" sound somewhere between the work of Lionel Hampton on Brunswick, and some of the recent instrumental funk from the Madlib side of the spectrum!

Reedman Oliver Lake at his most creative – stepping out here on a sublime set of 70s improvisations – all put together with a really spiritual feel! There's a very open, collaborative feel to the music – and the set was recorded in St Louis, at a time when Lake was a key part of that city's scene – and who here also seems able to attract some other musicians from the AACM in Chicago as well! As a result, the album's a wonderful document of the new ideas bursting forth at the start of the 70s – that richly creative moment when local scenes were coming together in various cities to find new ways of jazz beyond Coltrane and Dolphy – giving a player like Lake some of the most imaginative outlets of his career. Oliver plays alto, soprano, flute, and other small instruments – and other players include Baikida Carroll and Floyd Leflore on trumpets, Joseph Bowie on trombone, John Hicks on piano, Clovis Bordeaux on electric piano, Don Officer on bass, Charles Bobo Shaw on drums, and Don Moye on congas too. Titles include "Africa", "Tse Lane", "Eriee", "Zip", and "Electric Freedom".

Reedman Oliver Lake at his most creative – stepping out here on a sublime set of 70s improvisations – all put together with a really spiritual feel! There's a very open, collaborative feel to the music – and the set was recorded in St Louis, at a time when Lake was a key part of that city's scene – and who here also seems able to attract some other musicians from the AACM in Chicago as well! As a result, the album's a wonderful document of the new ideas bursting forth at the start of the 70s – that richly creative moment when local scenes were coming together in various cities to find new ways of jazz beyond Coltrane and Dolphy – giving a player like Lake some of the most imaginative outlets of his career. Oliver plays alto, soprano, flute, and other small instruments – and other players include Baikida Carroll and Floyd Leflore on trumpets, Joseph Bowie on trombone, John Hicks on piano, Clovis Bordeaux on electric piano, Don Officer on bass, Charles Bobo Shaw on drums, and Don Moye on congas too. Titles include "Africa", "Tse Lane", "Eriee", "Zip", and "Electric Freedom".

Early grooves from Leon Pattillo – later a club maestro, but working here in a much rootsier style at the head of Leon's Creation – an ultra-cool funk combo from San Francisco! The album's got a groove that really lives up to the promise of its title – a heady brew of funky tracks played by a tight young group – often with vocals in the lead from Leon and a female singer, but sometimes featuring other group members – adding a nice sense of variety while the players riff away with boundless energy! Pattillo plays some great organ at times – and other instrumentation includes guitar, bass, trumpet, tenor, and even some cool violin – and titles include "Confusion", "If I Had The Power", "Sightless", "Back Roads", "This Is The Beginning", and "Mirage".

A tremendous bit of psychedelic pop from sunny California at the end of the 60s – one of those records that has a heck of a lot more going on than most of the bigger sets at the time! Sunlight work in territory that's not unfamiliar – harmony vocals, guitar-based grooves, and slightly hippieish lyrics – but they've got a way of putting together the tunes that's really a cut above – a compelling style that somehow makes all the best elements really resonate strongly, with a perfection that delights more and more with each new track on the album! There's kind of a timeless quality to the record that almost makes it feel like something recorded many years later – but the overall production and instrumentation are very 60s-based, with a really great sound throughout. CD features the full album plus bonus tracks – and titles include "David", "Light Without Heat", "Hammond Eggs", "Sometimes A Woman", "Second Thoughts", "Seven Times Infinity", and "The Fun Machine".

A classic album of jazzed-up funk – the one lasting legacy by this oft-sampled group – reissued here with its original title and cover art! 9th Creation originally hailed from west of the Bay Area scene of the 70s – and this album was recorded in Oakland with the same sweet jazzy finish as work by some of the other big Northern California funk acts of the time, especially Pleasure, who are the closest comparison to the group's sound. The album is best known for the cut "Bubble Gum" – a great number with lots of jazzy changes, and a modern funky groove that still sounds pretty darn fresh – but the whole album is totally great, and filled with plenty of other songs that have the same feel as the title cut! Tracks include "Sexy Girl", "Quit It", "Falling In Love", "We Need Love", and "Rule Of Mind".

Includes tracks by Sly & Robbie, the Orb, Mad Professor & DJ Spooky.

Completely bizarre, and wonderfully beautiful images from Fletcher Hanks – an overlooked cartoonist from the early days of comic books – and a talent as weirdly unique as bigger names like Basil Wolverton or Virgil Finlay! The cover and title offer stark testimony to the genius within – presented over a few different strips pulled from obscure action, sci fi, and jungle comics from the first few years of the Golden Age – a wonderful time before comics had become too standardized, and folks like Hanks were left to work their own original vision of the art form. Most stories are a few pages in length, but have a magic that's undeniable – served up in brilliant color, in the book's 230 oversized pages!

An obscure Motown group from the end of the 70s – 21st Creation had a strident uptempo group sound that reminds us of some of the more successful disco hits of Tavares from the same time. The arrangements are mostly club-oriented – handled by Willie Hutch, Gene Page, and Harold Johnson – and you can hear the group's style to best effect on tracks like their remake of Marvin Gaye's "After The Dance", Willie Hutch's "You Gotta Dance To My Music", or the hard grooving "Thanks For Saving Me". Not totally standout material, but with a few nice moments. Other tracks include "Funk Machine", "Tailgate", and "Baby, I'm For Real".

One of the most legendary albums of jazz funk ever recorded! Rufus Harley was a saxophone player who also picked up the bagpipes for a few excellent 60s albums for Atlantic Records – and although those records are great, this 1972 independent album is a real mind blower! By the time of this set, Rufus had really stretched out – both creatively and spiritually – working his standard bagpipe jazz groove into a much trippier sound, one that explored the tonal and modal properties of the instrument. Not only that, Rufus got a lot funkier than ever before – working here with organist Bill Mason, a sonic contemporary of Leon Spencer and Charles Earland – and the resultant mix of organ and bagpipes creates a monstrous sound that's unlike anything we can describe! The album's a mixture of Sufi and Biblical statements – fused into long funky jazz tracks, stretching out into some incredible grooves. Includes the classic "Malika", plus the cuts "Etymology", "Hypothesis", and "Nobody Knows The Trouble I've Seen", done in a great heavy version! CD also features a bonus 10 minute jam not on the original album!

Four great albums from this hip Haitian group – all packaged together in one nicely-priced set! First up is Back To Stay – a set that features Haitian grooves, but from the New York scene – making for an excellent mix of modes that really keeps things interesting! The core sounds have that bouncy vibe you'd expect from the Caribbean, but there's definitely some horn arrangements that show some American influences from funk and Latin, and maybe even a bit of jazz – all well-recorded here with a style that avoids any of the too-polished modes that can sometimes hold back a record like this. Tony Moise handles most of the arrangements and music – and also plays lead tenor – and titles include "Haiti", "Mariage", "Devine", and "Boat People". The other three albums – Les Bibles De Orchestras, Original Shleu Shleu, and Creation – all have a similar feel – and the 2CD package features 25 tracks in all!

A much-needed tribute to one of the greatest groups on Creation Records – one of the few to really get the label's aesthetic perfectly right – and a vastly overlooked group that's finally getting its due! House Of Love had a near-perfect revision of psychedelia going on in the mid 80s – a style that honed the 60s genre down to all its best bits, yet without any of the clunky or commercial leaning that you'd find in any other acts of the time – particularly the paisley underground from LA – and without any of the too-stoned traps that so many Brit groups fell into a few years later. House Of Love know that guitars are god – and use them here in some of the same echoey territory of Felt, but a lot more deftly too – sometimes pretty darn fuzzy, yet always a lot more tunefully focused than Jesus & Mary Chain too. And while the group only recorded for two short years, they really left behind an amazing legacy – served up here in the core House Of Love album, and augmented by a huge amount of important singles, b-sides, and compilation tracks – then further expanded by a wealth of unissued tracks and demos as well. The 3CD package is way way more than any of us got back in the day – and we're hoping that it will finally get these guys the appreciation they deserve. Titles include "Shine", "Love", "Real Animal", "Christine", "Destroy The Heart", "Blind", "Mr Jo", "Plastic", "Nothing To Me", "Man To Child", "Salome", "Read", and "Happy".

Here's another excellent Felt reissue from our heroes at Cherry Red – the bands 8th album, originally released on Creation in 1988! The album proved that longevity was a big part of the Felt equation, bringing their pretty much timelessly appealing, Hammand organ grooving mood rock into the late 80s. It's easily one of their best late albums! Tracks include "Apple Boutique", "Ivory Past", "Until The Fools Get Wise", "Bitter End", "How Spook Got Her Man", "Christopher Street", "Under A Pale Light", "Don't Die On My Doorstep" and more.

A guide to essential Old School Rap & Hip Hop from team at the indespensible All Music Guide – featuring more than 500 music reviews of important records by Grandmaster Flash, Run-DMC, NWA, Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, Public Enemy and so much more – plus reviews on soul and funk LPs that were instrumental in the creation of hip hop, from ESG, The Emotions, Gil Scott-Heron, Marva Whitney and many more! The book is divided into 2 parts, The Roots Of Rap and Digging In The Crates, and organized alphabetically. Paperback, 166 pages, with several reviews per page.

An incendiary collection of mid-to-late 60s material from The Attack – a proponent of the same UK scene that spawned The Creation and The Who – and influenced later firebrands like The Buzzcocks and other punk era greats! About Time includes the group's Decca singles, rare radio sessions, and previously unreleased records – some with a slight bluesy guitar tinge, but nearly all of them heavy and driving – way ahead of their time! Tracks include "Any More Than I Do", "Feel Like Flying", "Created by Clive", "Try It", "Go Your Way", "Strange House", "Freedom For You", "Hi Ho Silver Lining", "Magic In The Air (aka Watch With Mother)", and "We Don't Know". 15 tracks in all – and slightly different than the Cherry Red version.

A rare and beautiful treasure from Chicago's Phil Cohran and his legendary Artistic Heritage Ensemble – material recorded at the end of the 60s, but only issued here for the first time ever! The sound on the record is amazing – much deeper, and more forceful than anything else we've ever heard from Cohran – almost in Sun Ra Arkestra territory at times, given the group's out-there playing, and bold collective action! The lineup is similar to other Cohran recordings from the time – Phil on cornet, Henry Gibson on congas, Pete Cosey on guitar, Louis Satterfield on bass, Charles Williams on alto, Don Myrick on tenor, Charles Handy on trumpet, Willie Woods on trombone, and Aaron Dodd on tuba – a group that's a wonderful bridge between the two important Chicago generations headed by Sun Ra and Earth Wind & Fire. Armageddon is an extended piece, divided up into five different musical acts – conceived by Cohran in the late 50s, and recorded here in 1968 – with some great help from The Spencer Jackson Family on the leadoff track "Motherless Child". Other titles include "Creation Of The Beast", "The Warning", "The Window", and "Armageddon" – a clear reference to the power of the atom bomb!

Tremendous work from Rodney Franklin – one of our favorite soulful fusion players from the end of the 70s! The album's a keyboard delight through and through – and Rodney plays both acoustic and electric piano, often on the same track – which creates this nicely expanded sound that works well with the album's tight arrangements! There's a fair bit of soul in the mix too – some rhythms that make a few numbers great groovers, courtesy of Tom Tom arrangements – and some other full moments handled by Patrick Williams. Titles include a wonderful version of "Windy City" – the cut you might know from a classic Carl Davis recording – plus "On The Path", "I Like The Music Make It Hot", "Life Moves On", "Creation", and "In The Center".

Tremendous work from Rodney Franklin – one of our favorite soulful fusion players of the era – and 2 albums back-to-back! The Rodney Franklin album is a keyboard delight through and through – and Rodney plays both acoustic and electric piano, often on the same track – which creates this nicely expanded sound that works well with the album's tight arrangements! There's a fair bit of soul in the mix too – some rhythms that make a few numbers great groovers, courtesy of Tom Tom arrangements – and some other full moments handled by Patrick Williams. Titles include a wonderful version of "Windy City" – the cut you might know from a classic Carl Davis recording – plus "On The Path", "I Like The Music Make It Hot", "Life Moves On", "Creation", and "In The Center". You'll Never Know is more fully-formed genius from Franklin – one of the best keyboard stars to emerge from the late 70s scene! Rodney again plays both acoustic and electric keys – blending them wonderfully for a very deep sound – and the group behind him features some especially nice work on reeds, which bring sharper edges to some of the best tracks on the set. There's a wonderfully deep feel to the whole thing – way more than you'd expect for a major label release at the time – and titles include "Felix Leo", "The Watcher", "The Groove", "Journey", "You'll Never Know", "Return", and "Parkay Man".

2 Isley Brothers gems from 2 different eras – back-to-back on a single CD! 1969's It's Our Thing is a stone classic – the album that kicked off their successful T-Neck label, and established that mighty Isleys sound that would have such a huge influence in the 70s! It's filled with sinister, sexy numbers that bristle with energy that's still heard best here at the point of its creation! Tracks include "It's Your Thing", "Give the Women What They Want", "He's Got Your Love", "I Know Who You Been Socking It To", "Don't Give It Away", "He's Got Your Love", "Save Me", "Feel Like The World", and "Somebody Been Messin". Go All The way came about a decade later – at the end of the 70s, and the Isleys are still going strong – keeping it real and going for a smooth soul sound that would be one of their biggest strengths during the early 80s! This sound can be heard to perfection on the tracks "Say You Will" and "Here We Go Again", both wonderful numbers that have this strident groove that's part "Harvest For The World", part compressed guitars and keyboards working in a smooth wall of sound. Those two alone are more than worth the price of the record, and other titles include "Pass It On", "Go All The Way", and "The Belly Dancer" – all done in the Isleys' trademarked "part 1 & 2" style!

The first record in awhile from Patricia Marx – but a set that's definitely worth the wait! Patricia's working here with partner Bruno E – and they've both moved into territory that's quite different than their skittish, clubby work of the Trama years – a warmly gentle groove that's perfect for the most soulful aspects of Patricia's vocals! The approach is almost bossa – but a bit more expansive, thanks to Bruno's thoughtful creation of the tunes – and there's a larger, more ambitious feel that really puts the whole thing in classic Brazilian territory – a welcome return to greatness for both artists! The set features some guest appearances by Xanton Blacq and Osvaldinho Da Cuica – and titles include "Danca Das Flores", "Three Short Stories", "Baiao De Janeiro", "Passaredo", "Minha Paz", "Terra Seca", and "You're Free". Also features a full DVD, too – with 7 songs from the album, plus some bonus features too – including subtitles in English, French, and Portuguese.

New recordings of older compositions by one of the greatest songwriters of our generation! The tracks are mostly of mid/late 80s vintage, when Momus was writing some of his best work – and the re-recordings here are very very different from the versions that appeared on the original Creation LPs, as most of tracks are done in the more electronically-based style that Momus has been using lately. In some cases, the new versions are far far superior to the silly pop instrumentation used on the originsl – and titles include "The Homosexual", "Closer To You", "Lifestyles Of the Rich & Famous", "The Charm Of Innocence", "A Complete History Of Sexual Jealousy", "Hotel Marquis De Sade", "The Gatecrasher", and "The Hairstyle Of The Devil". Plus, there's also a few hidden parody versions of songs at the end – with very bawdy lyrics!

A really cool avant single that's unlike anything else! It's from Sierra Leone-born vocalist Sahr Ngaujah and collaborator Stuart Bogie of Antibalas – both of whom work in the Broadway production Fela! – but Sahr Ngaujah Vs Superhuman Happiness has in otherwordly approach that's more of a cosmic creation than you'd expect given their "day job". Tripped out avant dancefloor atmosphere that's also a great headphones listen. The Superhuman Happiness players bring bits of sax, trumpet guitar, bass, bongos and synth.

Wonderful work from Horace Silver – part of a great run of late 70s sides for Blue Note that unlock a whole new side of his soulful talents! The vibe here is different than the previous United States trilogy – still very righteous, with an overt message too – but served up in these wonderfully warm tones – with loads of great woodwind passages over these wickedly angular rhythms – grooves that are somewhat like those Silver first started forging on his 27th Man album! The arrangements are sublime – and on some cuts handled by Silver, but orchestrated by Wade Marcus – with players who include Tom Harrell on trumpet, Bob Berg on tenor, Buddy Collette and Fred Jackson on flutes, and Jerome Richardson on soprano sax. The rhythm section is key, too – and features Ron Carter on bass and Al Foster on drums! Side one features "The Tranquilizer Suite" – with passages that icnlude "Keep On Getting Up", "Time & Effort", and "Perseverance & Endurance" – and side two includes the excellent "The Process Of Creation Suite" – with "Motivation", "Activation", and "Assimilation".

Wonderful work from Horace Silver – part of a great run of late 70s sides for Blue Note that unlock a whole new side of his soulful talents! The vibe here is different than the previous United States trilogy – still very righteous, with an overt message too – but served up in these wonderfully warm tones – with loads of great woodwind passages over these wickedly angular rhythms – grooves that are somewhat like those Silver first started forging on his 27th Man album! The arrangements are sublime – and on some cuts handled by Silver, but orchestrated by Wade Marcus – with players who include Tom Harrell on trumpet, Bob Berg on tenor, Buddy Collette and Fred Jackson on flutes, and Jerome Richardson on soprano sax. The rhythm section is key, too – and features Ron Carter on bass and Al Foster on drums! Side one features "The Tranquilizer Suite" – with passages that icnlude "Keep On Getting Up", "Time & Effort", and "Perseverance & Endurance" – and side two includes the excellent "The Process Of Creation Suite" – with "Motivation", "Activation", and "Assimilation".

One of the most soul-based albums in Michal Urbaniak's catalog – a session originally done with TK records during the height of their dancefloor years, fitted up with some really great clubby grooves! The sound here is a mix of fusion and soul – done in a way that still gives Urbaniak plenty of room to solo on violin, sax, and keys – but which also sets up a warmer groove overall and really lets the vocals come center stage. Urszula Dudziak sings on about half the tracks – and other vocals are by Kenyatta and Calvin Brown – and the jazzy inflections of the tune really set this apart from lots of the other Miami disco on Marlin, giving the record a much deeper feel overall, and a quality that's held up very nicely through the years! Dark edges mix with warmer moments nicely, almost in a Roy Ayers way – and titles include "A Day In The Park", "Just A Funky Feeling", "Body Rub", "Ecstasy", "Creation", and "Want's Ta Make You Feel Good".

We're not usually fans of books on a single album – but in this case, we gladly make an exception – as the creation and circulation of Miles Davis' Kind Of Blue is definitely powerful enough to fill volumes of writing! Author Richard Williams does a great job of exploring this crucial piece of jazz – not only detailing the important session and musical moment that led to the record's creation, but also looking it its influence for decades after its release – not just in jazz, but in American popular culture as well! Hardcover book is 309 pages.

A sweet little set of 70s dubs – recorded at Channel 1, Harry J's, Randy's and King Tubbys in the heart of the dub era – with dubby takes on classic cuts by Barry Brown, Horace Andy, Don Carlos and others. The rhythms were laid down by the cream of the crop, too – Santa Davis, Sly Dunbar, Robby Shakespeare, Chinna Smith, Tommy McCook, Deadley Headley, Bobby Ellis, Sculla Sims and others. Includes "Why Fight The Dub", "Conversation Dub", "A Better Version", "Care Free Dub", "Step Inna Dub Style", "Creation Of Dub", "My Brethren In Dub", "A Wicked Dub", "Rub This Dub", "The Jehovah Version" and more. 2 CD bonus tracks: "Invasion Dub" and "A Lonely Dub".

Buzzingly melodic psychedelic gems from the Brit scene of the mid 60s to early 70s – a pretty large assortment of aromatic obscurities – creeping dangerously close to 100 songs on 5CDs, with a glossy booklet of notes, too! The groups throughout this set weren't afraid to heap a little bit of heft to the vibe, particularly in the fuzzed out guitars dept, but they do so pretty a sweet sense of melody. Pretty great stuff, not out of the realm of better known groups like The Creation. 82 tracks on 5CDs: "Try A Little Sunshine" by Factory, "Floatin'" by Vamp, "Reputation" by Shy Limbs, "Magic Potion" by Open Mind, "No Home Today" by Kult, "Baby Don't You Doi It" by poets, "Red Sky At Night" by Accent, "Take Her Any Time" by Longboatmen, "Hold On" by Rupert's People, "Dinosaur" by Joint, "Leg" by Arzachel, "Jamie's Song" by Deviants, "Feelin Free" by Pacific Drift", "Mr Sunshine" by Dogfeet, "Extensive Corrosion" by Bram Stoker.

Lee Perry's monster dub records – Super Ape and Return Of The Super Ape – in a 2CD set with bonus tracks! Super Ape is an essential dub album, rendering Scratch's dense, multi-layered Black Ark rhythms in all their raw glory, with toasts and vocal snippets darting in and out of the dubs courtesy Prince Jazzbo, the Heptones, Dillinger and Scratch himself. Includes "Zion's Blood", "Croaking Lizard", "Dread Lion", "Patience", "Dub Along", "Black Vest", "Underground", "Curly Dub" "Three In One", "Super Ape" and more. Return Of The Super Ape is instrumental, but not strictly dub, and some cuts do have Perry's vocals on top. Slow rolling and a bit murky, yet infused with Perry's unique vision. Includes "Bird In Hand", "Psyche And Trim", "Huzza A Haha", "High Rankin Sammy" and many more. Each CD has a slew of bonus tracks – 11 in all: "When Jah Come", "From Creation", "Sufferer's Time (extended version)", "Party Time Parts 1 & 2" and more.

An incredible set of low rolling, hypnotic dub genius from true reggae Revolutionaries – a batch of amazing tunes centered around the amazing drums of Sly Dunbar – cut in the mid-to-late 70s height of the Channel One groove! This might be the strongest collection of dubs that Pressure Sounds has ever compiled – benchmark work all the way – from the chugging, echoey guitar groove, to the heavy bass lines, to the sublime vocals. Amazing stuff mined from singles on the Channel One, Well Charge and Disco Mix labels. The set starts out with the incredible "Kunta Kinte Version One" – one of the most legendary dub plates ever, and other titles include "Hotter Fire Version", "Rootes Dub", "Pride & Ambition Version", "Dunkirk", "War Version", "Jah Creation Version", "Rude On Marchus Version", "Swell Headed", "Catonine Version", "Tivoli Skank", "Plantation Heights Version" and more.

A hip bit of sound library funk from the Italian Giraffa label – a batch of tunes that's almost a mix between horror soundtracks and jazz funk – served up with all the right keyboard and guitar touches of both! There's a slight electro vibe to the record at points – almost a mode that would be right at home in the Cosmic scene – but there's also a bit more warmth too, a sensitivity that makes the longer tunes really shimmer and sparkle nicely. And although a sound library set, the tracks have a much deeper sense of composition – not just simple rhythms, but tunes that change up nicely as they roll on. Titles include "The End", "Creation", "Soft Melody", "Leaving", "Take Flight", "Drops In The Wind", and "Transvesuvian".

A rare and beautiful treasure from Chicago's Phil Cohran and his legendary Artistic Heritage Ensemble – material recorded at the end of the 60s, but only issued here for the first time ever! The sound on the record is amazing – much deeper, and more forceful than anything else we've ever heard from Cohran – almost in Sun Ra Arkestra territory at times, given the group's out-there playing, and bold collective action! The lineup is similar to other Cohran recordings from the time – Phil on cornet, Henry Gibson on congas, Pete Cosey on guitar, Louis Satterfield on bass, Charles Williams on alto, Don Myrick on tenor, Charles Handy on trumpet, Willie Woods on trombone, and Aaron Dodd on tuba – a group that's a wonderful bridge between the two important Chicago generations headed by Sun Ra and Earth Wind & Fire. Armageddon is an extended piece, divided up into five different musical acts – conceived by Cohran in the late 50s, and recorded here in 1968 – with some great help from The Spencer Jackson Family on the leadoff track "Motherless Child". Other titles include "Creation Of The Beast", "The Warning", "The Window", and "Armageddon" – a clear reference to the power of the atom bomb!

A nice box of classic and rare reggae from Fred Locks – his mid 70s masterpiece Black Star Liner, plus Black Star Liner In Dub, Love And Only Love with The Creation Steppers and The Missing Link – in a 4CD set! Black Star Liner is an underappreciated classic from '76 and it's a must have for diggers of harder-to-find mid 70s – recorded at Randy's, Channel One and Harry J's. The set also includes a complete set of rare dub versions – plus the Love And Only Love with the Creation Steppers and the Missing Link record. Each disc comes in slim, LP-style sleeve – with 47 tracks on 4CDs: "Black Star Liner", "Vision Of Redemption", "Sing-A-Long", "Walls", "Time To Change", "Love", "Love And Only Love", "Eternally", "Africa Africa", "No Further Woman", "Homeward Bound", "Rastafari Rule", "I Know", "Child Of The King", "Judge Not", "What You're Not Supposed To Do", "No Further Woman", "Wolf Wolf" and more.

A pretty compelling album for Sidney – a selection of poems written by African Americans – stretching back across a variety of styles, and read to musical accompaniment and strange production effects! Sidney's joined by Doris Belack, who provides a female voice on a few numbers – and the overall style of the album is quite dark, almost somber – with lots of echo on the vocals, and added percussion, harp, piano, and other incidental sound bits. Titles include "When Malinda Sings", "Mother To Son", "The Debt", "At Candle Lightin Time", "The Creation", "Yet I Do Marvel", "Debate Of Dark Brothers", "Epigram", "We Wear The Mask", and "When You Have Forgotten Sunday".

A sweet little set of 70s dubs – recorded at Channel 1, Harry J's, Randy's and King Tubbys in the heart of the dub era – with dubby takes on classic cuts by Barry Brown, Horace Andy, Don Carlos and others. The rhythms were laid down by the cream of the crop, too – Santa Davis, Sly Dunbar, Robby Shakespeare, Chinna Smith, Tommy McCook, Deadley Headley, Bobby Ellis, Sculla Sims and others. Includes "Why Fight The Dub", "Conversation Dub", "A Better Version", "Care Free Dub", "Step Inna Dub Style", "Creation Of Dub", "My Brethren In Dub", "A Wicked Dub", "Rub This Dub", "The Jehovah Version" and more.

A hearty collection of The Originator at his most influential – the mighty mid 70s period when he was defining the DJ landscape of Kingston and beyond! U-Roy toasts or otherwise reworks Delroy Wilson, Cornell Campbell, Johnny Clarke and many more – on cuts produced for the most party by Bunny Lee in the heart of the 70s. Includes "Call On Me", "You Never Get Away", "Every Knee Shall Bow", "Gorgon Wise", "Hold On", "Joyful Locks', "Cool Down Your Temper", "Stick Together", "King Of The Road", "Creation Rebel". CD has 2 bonus tracks: "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" and "I Shall Not Remove".

A great look at one of the more modern sides of our fair city – a beautiful book that focuses on the Lake Shore Drive apartments of architect Mies Van Der Rohe! Mies had a huge influence on the city's look in the postwar years – and some of his most striking creations are a set of apartment buildings at the cusp of Lake Shore as it hugs the shore of Lake Michigan – beautifully modern buildings that still have a tremendous sense of form, style, and purpose all these many years later – captured here in an array of well-done black and white photographs that showcase the buildings inside and out. The book offers shots both inside and out, as well as architectural plans and other images too – and also features notes in German and English. 90 pages, hardcover, and done with a sharp sense of style!

The first record from Cheeba in many years – and definitely his funkiest so far! The production of this one is right on the money – filled with sharp, funky, 70s-styled riffs – very much in the best blacksploitation style from back in the day! Years back, we'd always like Cheeba's records, but sometimes found them rough around the edges – yet this time around, he's totally got it right – perfect production, just the right amount of space in between the grooves, and key help from some younger session players who really make the whole thing come out right – like a recreation of some hip 70s studio band. Titles include "Paisley Garden", "Looing For My Brother", "Message Force Multipliers", "Extend The Knowledge", "The Denunciation", "Return From Exile", and "2nd & Cedar".

The first record from Cheeba in many years – and definitely his funkiest so far! The production of this one is right on the money – filled with sharp, funky, 70s-styled riffs – very much in the best blacksploitation style from back in the day! Years back, we'd always like Cheeba's records, but sometimes found them rough around the edges – yet this time around, he's totally got it right – perfect production, just the right amount of space in between the grooves, and key help from some younger session players who really make the whole thing come out right – like a recreation of some hip 70s studio band. Titles include "Paisley Garden", "Looing For My Brother", "Message Force Multipliers", "Extend The Knowledge", "The Denunciation", "Return From Exile", and "2nd & Cedar".

A long-overdue recognition of the blues contributions of Willie Dixon – a set that pulls him out of the indie ghetto and pushes him firmly into the mainstream with this key release on Columbia Records! Yet despite that placement, the style is nicely down home – a strong recreation of older Chicago blues modes by producer Abner Spector – one that has Willie singing versions of his classic tunes like "Back Door Man", "The Seventh Son", "Little Red Rooster", "I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man", and "The Same Thing".

A mix of storming instrumentals and vocal tunes by The Eliminators – one of the great 60s studio creations tailor-made to rip it up on surf, drag and any kinda thematic grooves! This one includes some takes on the Liverpool sound, as well – and the players include a few soon-to-be legends like Leon Russell – who serves as the musical arranger here! A nice mix of groovy and seedy stormers. Includes "Can't Buy Me Love", "Twist And Shout", "Needles And Pins", "Classy Lotus Chassis", "Surfing Iguana", "Malibu Wipeout", "The Challenger", "Hillclimb Hilda", "Red Hot Scrambler – Go!" and more.

Was Clinton in jail when this one came out? We can't remember, but the back cover does say specifically "This album does not include any performances or creations by George Clinton." The band does include Fuzzy Haskins, Grady Thomas, Ken Blackmon, Calvin Simon, and others – and the sound is not bad early 80s slap-bass funk, with lots of nice electronified moments. Titles include "Phunklords", "The Witch", "Connections & Disconnections", "Call The Doctor", and "Who's A Funkadelic".

Possibly the only Liberace album you'll ever see at Dusty Groove – mostly because it's plenty darn groovy! As you might guess from the date and the title, the record presents a hipper Liberace than on earlier sets – a late 60s approach to his earlier piano stylings, with tunes that are more contemporary, and backings from arranger Emory Gordy, done in a style that moves towards the cooler side of easy listening at the time. Liberace plays all the acoustic piano lines in the set, but the arrangements are what really make it work – coming off with some cooler sounds that update the more flowery piano stylings nicely. Titles include a great remake of Johnny Harris' "Footprints On The Moon", plus "Traces", "Suite Judy Blue Eyes", "Parks & Recreation", "A Brand New Me", "Mixed Emotions", and "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye".

A rare session of violin-led jazz – recorded for Atlantic Records in 1960! Harry Lookofsky may not be a famous name as a leader in jazz, but he scored strings for many pop and instrumental outings during the 60s – and he also has the distinction of being the father of one of the members of The Left Banke (which is why they got a record deal so early on!). Here, he's working as the leader of a jazz combo, playing violin and viola in a mode that would make Stephane Grappelli proud – but which also has some much darker edges, and a style that's hardly a recreation of older jazz violin modes. The tunes have a hip edge that's almost third stream jazz at times – with arrangements by Bob Brookmeyer and Hank Jones that keep a tightly swinging beat on most tracks, and which also feature solos by the two, plus drums by Elvin Jones and bass by either Paul Chambers or Milt Hinton. Titles include "Dancing On The Grave", "Move", "Champagne Blues", and "Little Willie Leaps".

Gentle genius from the legendary Moondog – a rare album recorded right around the same time as his mindblowing work for Prestige! The style here is very similar to those Prestige albums – very spare and rhythmic – often just using simple acoustic percussion alongside an instrument or two, such as flute, bass, or one of Moondog's own unusual creations! The sound is really otherworldly – at once both cosmic and earthy, with sounds that are light years ahead of most of Moondog's contemporaries. Titles include "Tree Frog", "Oasis", "Suite No 1", "Suite No 2", "Dragon's Teeth", "Rim Shot", and "Why Spend The Dark Night With You?"

A lengthy discussion with Chris James of the stellar seventies sweet soul act The Natural Four, Nardwuar vs Queens of the Stone Age, interviews with the last living brother of The Maddox Brothers and Rose, Mark Ridlen of 70s/80s Texas punk/psych band Lithium Xmas (also a member of Rapid Fire, the evil band from Ron Howard's "Cotton Candy"), New Orleans musical eccentric Quintron on his return to his ravaged city, Brazilian guitar legend Toquino, and Beach Boys' biographer Domenic Priore. Also, the scrapbook of Black punk legend Neon Leon, a Clancy Eccles tribute, hundreds of novelty celebrity records profiled, and a history of Diabolik. Plus, lots of great comix, including Freaky Bear by Plastic Crimewave, an incredible recreation of R. Kelly's "Trapped in the Closet" starring Batman by K. Thor Jensen, and lost comics and 70s rock writing by Funkadelic's Pedro Bell.

A beautiful book that documents the overlooked legacy of Brion Gysin – contemporary and collaborator of William S Burroughs and other important beat figures – but also an artist with a vision that goes way beyond that initial moment! The book brings together a wealth of images of Gysin's creations – his paintings, photos, printed work, and even instructions for building your own version of his legendary dream machine – alongside historical details on Brion and key moments of his life, plus reflections on his importance by John Giorno, Genesis P Orridge, and others. A hefty museum book – 196 pages, full color, and hardcover!

An obscure 70s gem from Italian pianist Mario Rusca – a blend of modal grooving, Latin-tinged rhythms, and straight hard blowing. The group's a quintet – with Rusca on piano and electric piano, Larry Nocella on soprano and tenor sax, and rhythm on electric bass, drums, and percussion. Rusca's style on the keys is loping and looping – moving in wide-ranging shades of color, while Nocella's sharp-edged reedwork peppers across the top of the groove. The whole thing's nice, fresh, and very tasty – and tracks include "Dynamic", "Black Safari", "Astral Bird", "Smiling Harry", and "Free Impulse".

A sweet package of dub – four classic albums in one cool little box – each with their original cover art, in tiny LP-styled sleeves! First up is Natty Locks Dub – a brilliant set of cuts arranged and produced by Winston Edwards, with some amazingly otherworldly instrumentation over slow-moving dubby beats – easily one of the most evocative reggae instrumental sets we've ever heard! Next is the classic King Tubby Meets The Upsetter At The Grass Roots Of Dub – the set supposedly features one side recorded by King Tubby, the other by Lee Perry at Black Art – but the record has a really unified feel, thanks to more Winston Edwards production! More wild dub breaks through on King Tubby Surrounded By The Dreads At The National Arena – not really a live record, but some amazing studio extrapolations of cuts that Tubby let loose at a famous concert with The Wailers – reworked beautifully in the studio with some really incredible sounds! Last up is the great Dub Conference classic – a blazing early dub outing from producer Winston Edwards – featuring Blackbeard taking the Wellpack Band into a deep dubby corner of outer space! A wonderful package all the way through – filled with records we almost never see on wax.

Weird and wonderful collages from Robert Pollard of Guided By Voices – accompanied by some of his lyrics, but mostly focusing on full-color reproductions of the original creations! There's a great use of juxtaposition here – images that have a nice sense of surprise, and a good sense of humor, too – not the kind of over-the-top collages you might have seen in the post-Hippie or Brit Marxist years – but a bit more subtle, and with a keen eye for texture, too. The book is full color, about the size of an album cover – but nice and heavy, too!

What a subtitle – "The Cult Tracks Given Birth By The Superheroes Of The 70s"! And if you're thinking that the tracks are by Wolverine, Firestorm, and other 70s comic book creations, that's not the case – as the superheroes here are funky ones! More specifically, the tracks are great little groovers from the funky 45 underground – the kind of groups that really bubbled under in the charts at the time, many of whom never cut a full LP, but who released some monstrously great singles that made more than a bit of impact at the time. The set's got 20 tracks in all – all hard and funky – with titles that include "Super Soul Brother" by Timmie Rodgers, "Stand Up (part 1)" by Maskman & The Agents, "Spanky's Day Off" by Swingin Soul Machine, "It's The Real Thing (part 1)" by Electric Express, "Get It" by Wilmer & The Dukes, "Feelin Funky" by Brother Soul, "Cramp Your Style" by All the People, "Can't Get Satisfied" by Brother Jack McDuff, "Dynomite" by Tony Camillo's Bazuka, and "Foxy Lady" by Don Thompson.