... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Very groovy work from one of Sweden's hippest jazz singers! The recordings on the set capture Alice Babs in her early years, singing with the Swe-Danes trio – a group that featured Alice on lead vocals, plus male support by violinist Sven Asmussen and guitarist Ulrik Neumann – both of whom also sing harmony vocals behind Alice's lead. The approach is light and groovy – kind of The Chordettes meet Lambert Hendricks & Ross – with a blend of harmony and vocalese styles, all done with a nice jazzy flourish. Titles include "Swe Dane Shuffle", "Scandinavian Shuffle", "Hot Toddy", "Goofus", "Paul's Chicken", and "Not Yet". LP, Vinyl record album

Bottazz keep things nice and lean here – drawing on a style of vintage funk, but also coming across with energy that's more suited to the 21st Century – really bridging generations with their music, which is heavy on basslines, wah wah guitar, and mighty sweet keyboard parts – all delivered with the spare energy of the sound library scene, but on cuts that stretch out a bit more too! There's a no-nonsense approach to the record that's totally great – these guys never try to be something they're not, and instead focus on their strong instrumental and rhythmic skills – while occasionally using the production to trip things out just slightly. Titles include "Metadone", "Cardosa", "Palamito", "Mokaba", and "Saturno Nudo". LP, Vinyl record album

Legendary drummer Tullio De Piscopo is all by himself on the cover, and that's how he sounds on the record – just playing solo, but with amazing grooves that hardly make you miss the other instruments at all! Tullio's got a long legacy in both jazz and club music – yet this set may be one of his most unique, and one of the purest demonstrations of his talents as a musician – as he manages to serve up these solo tracks that are all rhythmic and very groovy, with a melodic command of the drum kit that fills in all the other elements you might miss – on tracks that move between classic hip hop break cuts, to Brazilian-inflected groovers, to some other rhythmic masterpieces that were certainly years ahead of their time back in 1974! Titles include "Afro Cubano", "Samba Carnival", "Rocking Special", "Afro Jazz", "7/4 Rock", "Fast Afro Samba", "Drum Fantasy", "Onda Nueva 3/4", "Moderato Swing", and "Dodiciottavi". LP, Vinyl record album

These guys are definitely Latin Freaks – of the sort who like to mix heavy percussion with some clubbier instrumentation – all at a level that would make 70s salsa disco giants like Joe Bataan or Eddie Drennon mighty proud! This Italian group have a great way with the music, and have really crafted something wonderful and amazing – a full, rich sound that draws from the sharpness of salsa instrumentation, yet which has more focused grooves for the dancefloor – tight horns on top, nice percussion on the bottom, and sweet keyboards and basslines right down the middle! There's vocals on the set from a few female singers – and the great Joe Bataan joins the group on the title "Can't Help Foolin" – next to other cuts that include "Juanita Shing A Ling", "Divine Dance", "Boogie With Your Baby", "Little Black Woman", "Latin Freak", and "Tiene O Tempo". LP, Vinyl record album

A collection of hip work from this famous Brazilian song festival – with other material by Quarteto Em Cy, Claudette Soares, Guetemberg Guarabyra & Grupo Manifesto, and Mario Teles! LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A selection of late 50s and 60s hits featured in the iconic movie, including the name-sake tune by Ben E King, "Everyday" by Buddy Holly, "Come Go With Me" by The Del Vikings, "Lollipop" by The Chordettes, and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Features work by Geraldo Vandre, Leny Eversong, Maria Odette, Elis Regina, Chico Buarque, Paulinho Da Viola, and others! LP, Vinyl record album

The Heavenly Sweetness label celebrates its first ten years in business – with a special birthday present of all-exclusive unreleased tracks! This set doesn't look back at the previous decade of the label, but instead points the way forward – with a wonderful selection of newly-recorded tracks by some of hte label's best artists – including some who've helped define their groove strongly in recent years, and some whose talents are soon to be presenting full length sets for the company! As with the previous ten years of records, the music here is a fantastic blend of new styles and global elements – some strands of soul, jazz, and hip hop influences – but often used in ways that are completely fresh and contemporary – at a level that's made Heavenly Sweetness one of our go-to labels for new and interesting sounds over the past decade. Titles include "You Party Too Much" by The Mule, "O Circo" by Cotonete", "Have A Little Faith" by Blundetto and Ken Boothe, "An Ba Galba" by Roger Raspail and Vincent Segal, "Tijan Ka (2017 version)" by Edmondy Krater and I Live, "Tijan (Hugh LX rmx)" by Edmondy Krater, "F*ck With The Police" by Florian Pellissier Quintet with Roger Raspail and Nawer, "Hip Hop Muse (Lefto rmx)" by Rongetz Foundation, "Be The River" by Anthony Joseph and Hanyo, and "Move In Silence" by Guts with Patrice, Feve, Djeuhdjoah, and Lieutenant Nicholson. LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic entry in this really great series – a set that's not really disco or reggae, but which reimagines classic soul and funk tracks with a blend of laidback rhythms and contemporary instrumentation! True, you might play this stuff at a club – but the overall vibe here is a lot deeper, and the music is a great summation of the spirit that the Stix label has put into their singles over the years – usually very expensive on their own, which makes this full length set a really great introduction to their music! Titles include remakes of "We Love In Brooklyn" by Soul Sugar, "Take Me With You (unreleased discomix)" by Blundetto & Booker Gee, "Summertime" by Wolfgang, "Boogie Oogie Oogie" by Mato, "Risin To The Top" by Hawa, and the cuts "She Can't Love You", "Radiactivity", and "Forget Me Nots" by Taggy Matcher. LP, Vinyl record album

A pretty darn big collection of work from the 4 Tops – collecting the best of their early years at Motown on up through the 70s. There's a total of 39 tracks on the set, and titles include "Baby I Need Your Loving", "Ask The Lonely", "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)", "It's The Same Old Song", "Something About You", "Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever", "Reach Out I'll Be There", "Standing In The Shadows Of Love", "I Got A Feeling", "Bernadette", "I'll Turn To Stone", "You Keep Running Away", "Walk Away Renee","If I Were A Carpenter", "Yesterday's Dreams", "Climb Ev'ry Mountain", "Everybody's Talking", "Reflections", "For Once In My Life", "A Place In The Sun", "Can't Seem To Get You Out Of My Mind", "Don't Let Him Take Your Love From Me", "It's All In The Game", "Still Water (Love)", "In These Changing Times", "You Gotta Have Love In Your Heart" and "(It's) The Way Nature Planned It". LP, Vinyl record album

Despite the fame of their big hits – like "Reach Out I'll Be There", "I Can't Help Myself", "Baby I Need Your Loving", and "It's The Same Old Song", all of which are on this set, and which have been heard ad infinitum – the Four Tops are actually a heck of a great vocal group, with harmonies that blew away many of their contemporaries, and which keep their work shining long past the hits. This set's got some nice cuts that fall into that category – like "Bernadette", and "Ask The Lonely" – and the package is about as solid as you'd expect. LP, Vinyl record album

A classic 60s album by the Four Tops – really one of their better efforts of the period – a record that finds the group working some soulful magic on a couple of their best known tunes, as well as adding a dose of deeper emotion to some hit songs of the time! Like other Motown success stories from that time, this set features some pop tunes and standard chart material, done by the group in their inimitable harmony style – with a few hits like "Reach Out, I'll Be There" and "7 Rooms Of Gloom" – plus wonderful interpretations of songs like "Walk Away Renee", "Last Train To Clarksville", and "I'm A Believer". Also includes "What Else Is There To Do", "Bernadette", and "Standing In The Shadows Of Love". LP, Vinyl record album

A hip collection of some of Gilberto Gil's best compositions – performed by Gil and some of the best talents of his generation. The material is mostly lifted from other LPs on Philips in Brazil, but the whole set works very well together, due to the strength of Gil's writing. Titles include "Lugar Comum" by Joao Donato, "Louvacao" by Elis Regina & Jair Rodriguez, "Ladainha" by Nara Leao, "Expresso 2222" by MPB 4, "Preciso Aprender A So Ser" by Maria Bethania, "Mancada" by Claudette Soares, "Procissao" by Quinteto Violado, "O Sonho Acabou" by Alcione, and "Copo Vazio" by Chico Buarque. LP, Vinyl record album

A classic set from Silverhead – a group who never fully got their due! Frontman Michael Des Barres is a SiriusXM dj these days, but he really gives these guys the right sort of badass energy to go with their searing guitar-heavy sound – a mix of two electrics, plus bass, at a level that has the same focused fuzz of Thin Lizzy, but maybe a bit more sexy strut overall. Titles include "Hello New York", "More Than Your Mouth Can Hold", "Rock Out Claudette Rock Out", "16 & Savaged", "This Ain't A Parody", and "Heavy Hammer". LP, Vinyl record album

Starring Mandy Patinkin and Bernadette Peters. LP, Vinyl record album

A great vintage-styled record – but one that features a host of contemporary artists, all working in the best spirit of 70s funky reggae! The set features tunes by Herbie Hancock, The Commodores, The Sugarhill Gang, and others – but all served up as dubby numbers with lots of funky elements – in the same style as the recent run of excellent 45s from the Stix Records label. A few of these cuts originally appeared as those singles, and they're mixed here with other tracks showing up for the first time ever – a great run of grooves that includes "Chameleon (Taggy Matcher disco mix)", "Money (7 Samurai disco 12" version)", "Music (The Dynamics disco 7" version)", "Brick House (Taggy Matcher disco mix)", "Suit & Tie (John Milk reggae version)", "Everybody's Talkin (Blundetto & Granmagneto orig 7" version)", "Rapper's Delight (Taggy Matcher dub)", and "Saturday Night Fever (Grandmagneto orig 7" version)". LP, Vinyl record album

Features work by Richie Havens, Joan Baez, Odetta, Ramblin Jack Elliott, Tom Paxton, Country Joe McDonald, and Pete Seeger – plus narration by Peter Fonda and Robert Ryan! LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic French material from Chet Baker – one of his legendary albums recorded for the Barclay label in Paris – and a set that's noteworthy for also featuring work from modern jazz pianist Richard (Dick) Twardzik – who passed away shortly after the sessions! The pairing of Baker and Twardzik is one of the best of Chet's 50s years – and the group here is rounded out by the excellent Jimmy Bond on bass, and Peter Littman on drums. There's a nice bite to the set – a bit more than some of Baker's west coast material from the year or two before – and there's also an undercurrent of some of the soul that would emerge in his solos in coming years. Titles include "Rondette", "Piece Caprice", "Sad Walk", "Mid Forte", "The Girl From Greeland", "Just Duo", and "Pomp" LP, Vinyl record album

The weird, ambitious double album by The Damned! The Damned is definitely one of the more unpredictable punk bands of the era, and they upped the ante on The Black Album, with some creatively restless material on all 4 sides – which is ambitious in and of itself, given the less-is-more ethic followed by a lot of the seminal punks of the era. It's got some loud-fast "traditional" punk, darker,plus some darker, stranger cuts – including one that fills a side alll by itself in "Curtain Call" – plus a 4th side of live tracks. Includes ""Wait For The Blackout", "Lively Arts", "Silly Kids Games", "Drinking About My Baby", "Twisted Nerve", "Hit Or Miss", "Dr. Jeckyll And Mr. Hyde","13th Floor Vendetta", "Therapy", "New Rose", "I Just Can't Be Happy Today" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Incredible work from Smokey Robinson & The Miracles – a set that's not only one of the first great records on Motown, but a set that also really links the label to the vocal scene in the rest of the country too! Although the record features a few hits, the overall presentation is nicely free of the Motown mode that would later become quite standard – and many tracks have this very relaxed, unadorned approach that's a lot more like the group soul coming from small labels in New York, Philly, and Chicago! The group harmonize with even more soul and feeling than any of their Motown contemporaries – and the presence of Claudette Rogers gives the group a high tenor voice that really creates some amazing vocal interplay. The whole thing's stunning – a record that will really revise any simple thoughts you might have about Smokey and the group – and titles include "Shop Around", "Cause I Love You", "Don't Leave Me", "Your Love", "Depend On Me", and "Heart Like Mine". LP, Vinyl record album

With Odetta, Ian & Sylvia, Joan Baez, Doc Watson, Weavers, Mississippi John Hurt, and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Includes Odetta, Weavers, Cisco Houston, Deller Consort, Leon Bibb, Ronnie Gilbert, Ed McCurdy, Jimmy Driftwood, and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Pretty cool – an album of socially-conscious folk songs, collected together by the United Auto Workers union! The set features Pete Seeger's great version of "Little Houses" – plus work by Odetta, The Weavers, Tarriers, Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Fred Hellerman, Cisco Houston, and Ian & Sylvia – plus Billie Holiday singing "Strange Fruit". Nice to remember when the working class could be a bit lefty! LP, Vinyl record album

A classic 60s album by the Four Tops – really one of their better efforts of the period – a record that finds the group working some soulful magic on a couple of their best known tunes, as well as adding a dose of deeper emotion to some hit songs of the time! Like other Motown success stories from that time, this set features some pop tunes and standard chart material, done by the group in their inimitable harmony style – with a few hits like "Reach Out, I'll Be There" and "7 Rooms Of Gloom" – plus wonderful interpretations of songs like "Walk Away Renee", "Last Train To Clarksville", and "I'm A Believer". Also includes "What Else Is There To Do", "Bernadette", and "Standing In The Shadows Of Love". LP, Vinyl record album

Sublime sound library work from Lesiman – one of the more obscure talents of the 70s scene, and one who really had an ear for mixing more dramatic and experimental elements with some mighty nice grooves! Lesiman, aka Paolo Renosto, was at one time a member of Gruppo d'Improvvisazione – and he uses his experience in that ensemble to create some really wild sounds at times, but also brings things back to groovier territory too – all with the sense of tension in the music you'd expect from the title! There's some especially nice metallic elements on the record at times – oddly-tuned vibes and offbeat piano – on titles that include "Panico", "Insidia", "Restless", "Reticolato", "Incubo Di Prigionia", "Cupa Atmosfera", "Sbarramento", and "Confine". LP, Vinyl record album

Not the Melanie of famous folk rock fame – but instead a cool contemporary artist from France, and one who's got this wonderfully laidback way of putting over a tune! Melanie often speaks as much as she sings – a bit like Jane Birkin or Claudette Longet – and she works with these mellow backings that are mostly electric, but handled in a nicely subtle way – gentle currents of funk, loosely tinkling keyboards, and often this subtle sonic palette that really shades things in beautifully next to the vocals! There's a very timeless vibe to the record, and titles include "Le Pornographe", "La Belle Histoire", "Folk Silencio", "C'Est Dans L'Air", "L'Alpha Beta", and "It's Not Too Late". LP, Vinyl record album

Heavy funk from Speedometer – a UK power-combo who've really grown their sound over the years! This one's the group's first full-length effort, and it's a really kickin little record with even more to offer than their great 45s! The group's expanded their lineup to feature some great horn work, smoking Hammond, and even some occasional sock-soul vocals from The Speedettes – a female group with a really great sound – not hokey or cliched at all, but with the searing style of some of the best deep soul female groups of the funk years, like The Emotions or The Exciters in their later recordings. The sets shifts easily from vocals to instrumentals – staying funky all the time, but nicely changing up the mode of the tunes. Titles include "What Am I Gonna Do", "Monkey Stick", "Wait Up", "It's Our Turn", "You Know You Can", "Mullet", "Growbag", and "Episode In Palmetto". LP, Vinyl record album

Not girl pop, not chart hits, and instead a whole host of hard-burning tracks from the underground – a well-done collection that showcases a huge range of positive, powerful female musical expressions from the mid 70s onward! The set begins during the heyday of the early punk years, and focuses on a few key acts who were offering a great antidote to some of the more testosterone-fueled work of the time – then picks up some especially great pos-punk tracks, before making a brief stop in the early 90s, and ending up with a few key grrrl power cuts from the current century! As always with Ace records, the presentation is as great as the music – very detailed notes that tell as much of a store as the songs themselves – in support of a set list that includes "Survive" by The Bags, "Iama Poseur" by X-Ray Spex, "Kray Twins" by Mo-Dettes, "Popcorn Boy" by Essential Logic, "It's About Time" by The Pandoras, "Shakedown" by Au Pairs, "Das Ah Riot" by Bush Tetras, "Earthbeat" by The Slits, "Come On Now" by The Pussywillows, "Rules & Regulations" by We've Got A Fuzzbox, "What's Wrong With You" by Bratmobile, "Rebel Girl" by Bikini Kill, "I Gave My Punk Jacket To Rickie" by Mary Monday & The Bitches, "You're A Million" by The Raincoats, and "Expert" by Pragvec. LP, Vinyl record album