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The stellar remix version of DJ Shadow's early 00s masterpiece Private Press – made for the Japanese market and never released in the US – featuring remixes, b-sides and more – with mixes or appearances by Unkle, Roots Manuva, Mos Def, Z Trip and others! 14 tracks in all: "Six Days (Soulwax mix)", "GDMFSOB" (Unkle Undcensored) feat Roots Manuva, "Walkie Talkie" (extended radio edit), "Six Days" (rmx) feat Mos Def, "Mashin On The Motorway" (radio edit), "Right Thing" (Z-Trip 'Get The Party Off Mix' In Three Parts) and more. CD is enhanced, featuring videos for "Walkie Talkie" and "Six Days".

A great set of archival DJ Shadow instros from the early-to-mid 90s – from back when his primary means of production was the Akai MPC sampler – along with his endless arsenal of vinyl and limitless creative inspiration! This is formative, but essential material for fans of classic Shadow. It's a superior follow up to the 4 Track Era compilation, and a solid blueprint for his very best work to come! This is all previously unreleased, and it was produced from 1992 to 1996 – which is the period that beat heads and leftfield hip hop production historians outta know culminated in the release of the classic Endtroducing album. That said, this is not a set of Endtroducing leftovers – it's strong, original and legacy-building instrumental work from a crucial period – assembled by the man himself! 24 tracks on the CD. Includes "Intropy (Original Version)", "Vee In Detroit", "Alright", "Don't Try It", "Falling Up", "Aye", "Britty But Magic", "Atmospheric Disturbances", "Quickstep", "Freddi's Popcorn", "From The Old School", "Mystical With Solo", "Fast Rap Fanfare" and more.

It seems like when this came out, critics, promoters, and even DJs liked to drop the term "Trip Hop" whenever possible, and this album was held up as the watershed mark. A few years down the line and it still holds up, but as an instrumental hip hop LP, as much as a rock album (Shadow's gone on to show his true colors with subsequent efforts) or anything else. Cinematic and epic in scope, this LP as much as anything else helped resurrect the career of David Axelrod, though some of us were hip to him all along, but Josh Davis is clearly a fellow traveller in the coloristic approach he uses, that never forgets the funk. Includes "Building Steam With A Grain Of Salt", "The Number Song", "Changeling", "What Does Your Soul Look Like (pts 1 & 4)" and "Midnight In A Perfect World".

A pretty strong set of some of the more essential DJ Shadow – and one that smartly digs past the more obvious selections to include some great single edits, deeper mid- and later-era Shadow gems, one of the stronger Shadow-era UNKLE cuts and other leftfield choices! That said, there's some straight up essential DJ Shadow classics here, too – and it's well paced, to boot. If you don't already own most of Shadow's catalogue, you probably need this! Includes "Midnight In A Perfect World", "High Noon", "I've Been Trying", "This Time (I'm Gonna Try It My Way", "You Can't Go Home Again (Radio Edit)", "Scale It Back (Radio Edit)" feat Little Dragon, "Listen" feat Terry Reid, "Stem (Single Edit)", "Six Days", "Won't You Be", "Lonely Soul (7" Version)" with Richard Ashcroft, "Blood On The Motorway", "You Made It" with Chris James and "Redeemed".

A great set of archival DJ Shadow instros from the early-to-mid 90s – from back when his primary means of production was the Akai MPC sampler – along with his endless arsenal of vinyl and limitless creative inspiration! This is formative, but essential material for fans of classic Shadow. It's a superior follow up to the 4 Track Era compilation, and a solid blueprint for his very best work to come! This is all previously unreleased, and it was produced from 1992 to 1996 – which is the period that beat heads and leftfield hip hop production historians outta know culminated in the release of the classic Endtroducing album. That said, this is not a set of Endtroducing leftovers – it's strong, original and legacy-building instrumental work from a crucial period – assembled by the man himself! 22 tracks on the 2LP version. Includes "Intropy (Original Version)", "Vee In Detroit", "Alright", "Don't Try It", "Falling Up", "Aye", "Britty But Magic", "Atmospheric Disturbances", "Quickstep", "Freddi's Popcorn", "From The Old School", "Mystical With Solo", "Fast Rap Fanfare" and more.

A great title for this one – as the album's got a cool, laidback groove that's very much in a "night song" mode! Arrangements are by Don Sebesky – in that warm and fluid mode he was bringing to some of his best CTI sides at the time – and they push Kenny a bit more than usual, as he stretches out over the larger arrangements with some really great solo work that dips, turns, and rolls with incredibly warm hues of sound. Kenny plays solo on 2 tracks, and with a smaller quartet on a few more – and titles include "Night Song", "Love You Madly", "The Shadow Of Your Smile", "Brother Where Are You?", "Nighthawk", and "Teach Me Tonight".

How many different personalities does Dan the Automator have? Way better than we'd expected, but we were only expecting a sort of joke one-off project. We should have known better, given that Prince Paul's themed projects (like Prince Among Thieves) have been pretty dope. Guest spots by just about everyone: Money Mark, DJ Shadow, Del, J-Live, etc. etc. Tracks include "Metaphysical", "Waterworld", "Truth", "Projects", "Sunshine", "Runway Song" "Rock N Roll (Could Never Hip Hop Like This)" and more.

The incredibly rare underground funk of Stone Coal White – whose couple of raw, incendiary psych funk 45s have been furiously sought for years – fleshed out here with newly discovered and previously unissued tracks for this most amazing full length on DJ Shadow's Cali Tex label! Stone Coal White featured a core lineup of bassist Melvin Payne, drummer Joe Roddrick and guitarist Tommy Mundy (or is it Munday?) – busting out a hazy, raucous and fuzzed out groove that's steeped in both funk and psychedelia. It's got more of a raw edge than most of their contemporaries and the later 70s combos to come out of the fertile Dayton scene – really cool stuff that's a joy to see respectfully issued all these years later. Mucho thanks to Dante Carfagna and Josh Davis for seeing it through! There's a revolving cast of vocalists – Dennis Mundy on "You Know" and "Hell Below", King Solomon Prather on "People's", Robert "Dapp" Brown on the gritty cover of "Ain't No Sunshine" and a cat called Cookieman on "Move Your Hand". Also includes "Stone Coal White", "Warm Up" and "Free".

Was funk ever this great again? Maybe not – as Mickey & The Soul Generation were one of the greatest groups of their generation – a completely polished gem, in the sometimes rough-edged funky 45 rockpile! The band never cut a full album, but their 7" singles from the early 70s are the stuff of legend – some of the first funky 45s that started passing amongst collectors, prized for their incredibly tight sound – right up there with the JBs, Meters, and other established funky acts for pure "in the pocket" action. Most of that rare early work's never been reissued – save for the occasional dodgy boot – which is why it's even more wonderful to have this double-length set of work by the group, complete with a fuller track listing than we'd ever imagined they recorded, and full notes on the music and band by Josh Davis, aka DJ Shadow! The 2LP set features 19 tracks – including released and unreleased recordings – with numbers that include "Iron Leg", "Football", "Up The Stairs & Around The Bend", "Give Everybody Some", "Joint Session", "Chocolate", "Message From A Black Man", "Soulful Sickness", "UFO", "Hey Brother Man", "Southern Fried Funk", "How Good Is Good", and "We Got To Make A Change".

An incredible record from funky drummer Idris Muhammad! Idris is probably known for his funky break work on Blue Note and Prestige records sessions of the late 60s and early 70s – but by the time of this 1974 album, he was really expanding his style, hitting a laidback groove that went way beyond the simple drum break, into a world of complicated fills and riffs that forever changed the face of funk. The best example of this is the album's standout groove – the massive cut "Loran's Dance", which has a mellow jazzy vibe that you'll recognize from its popular use as a sample cut over the years (by the Beastie Boys, DJ Shadow, and others.) All cuts are long and mellow, and other titles include "Power Of Soul", "Saddest Thing" and "Piece of Mind".

Ahhh. . . Nice! Wonderful intelligent, spiritual rhymes, full of Islamic prayer references, blunt antagonist rhymes, a battle with the ugliest of inner demons and broken artist poverty all hugged by catchy bouncing hook filled choruses. And all the production is handled by Ant, a true autuer akin to Pete Rock, now becoming more comfortable with his art with each release: tight organ loops, snapping drums, bright horns and nice upright basslines. "Soulful" is the key adjective here. Tracks include "Star Quality", "Pay Them Back", "Shadows On The Sun", "Forest Whitiker", "Room With A View", "Back Stage Pacin", "Missing Teeth", "Dorian", "Soul Whisper", "Champion", "Prince Charming", and more! Side F to this triple vinyl set has 4 added instrumental versions!

One of the greatest steel band records ever – and a hip hop sample classic from way back! Sure, there were other hip steel bands back in the 70s – but nobody else ever got as far as 20th Century – ending up on a major label, cutting some key funky covers, and crossing over with their massive "Heaven & Hell" – a cut that was DJ Red Alert's theme song in the old days! The group have a wonderful sound – mixing familiar steel band modes with bits of American funk – and creating a unique hybrid that's way more than just reworked covers, or simple copycat styles. In addition to the classic "Heaven & Hell", the set also features versions of "Love's Theme", "Shaft", "Papa Was A Rolling Stone", and "Standing In The Shadows Of Love" – plus the cuts "Lazy Days", "Endless Vibrations", "No 1", "Never Keep Secrets", "We've Got To Work Together", and "Dance Away". CD also features a bonus 7" edit of "Heaven & Hell".

A long-overdue collection – and a rich document of one of our favorite sides of the Chicago soul scene! The package is devoted to the tiny Nickel and Penny labels, but it's also equally a set dedicated to legendary radio DJ Richard Pegue – whose work in both mainstream soul and later dusties formats really helped to shape our understanding of soul music! Pegue produced and wrote nearly every track on the set – which makes the collection one of the most unified the Numero Group has ever produced – a true tribute to Richard's great ear for a groovy soul record, and to all the smaller-name groups he helped support on the Windy City scene. The booklet does a great job of telling Pegue's story – really getting at the unique vision he brought to Chicago soul, and the wit and warmth that made him a favorite of many folks over the space of decades. The music alone is enough – stuff we've been waiting to get reissued for years – but together with the Numero research and booklet, the end result is sublime! Titles include "Just Say The Word" by Jerry Townes, "Fall In Love Again" by The Voices, "Never More" by Little Ben & The Cheers, "Why Do You Want To Make Me Sad" by The Norvells, "Instrumental 1" by Richard Terry & Company, "Shadows" by South Shore Commission, "This Is The Woman" by Sidney Pinchback, "The Ember Song" by Sidney Barnes, "Sign Of The Zodiac" by South Suburban Electric Strings, "This Love Of Mine" by Extensions, "Forever Is A Long Long Time" by The Voices, "Do The Pearl Girl (part 2)" by The Matta Baby, "I've Got To Find A Way" by Hallelujah Chorus, "First Thing I Do In The Morning" by Joyce Williams, and "I'm Gonna Get Even With You" by Little Ben & The Cheers.

A long-overdue collection – and a rich document of one of our favorite sides of the Chicago soul scene! The package is devoted to the tiny Nickel and Penny labels, but it's also equally a set dedicated to legendary radio DJ Richard Pegue – whose work in both mainstream soul and later dusties formats really helped to shape our understanding of soul music! Pegue produced and wrote nearly every track on the set – which makes the collection one of the most unified the Numero Group has ever produced – a true tribute to Richard's great ear for a groovy soul record, and to all the smaller-name groups he helped support on the Windy City scene. The booklet does a great job of telling Pegue's story – really getting at the unique vision he brought to Chicago soul, and the wit and warmth that made him a favorite of many folks over the space of decades. The music alone is enough – stuff we've been waiting to get reissued for years – but together with the Numero research and booklet, the end result is sublime! Titles include "Just Say The Word" by Jerry Townes, "Fall In Love Again" by The Voices, "Never More" by Little Ben & The Cheers, "Why Do You Want To Make Me Sad" by The Norvells, "Instrumental 1" by Richard Terry & Company, "Shadows" by South Shore Commission, "This Is The Woman" by Sidney Pinchback, "The Ember Song" by Sidney Barnes, "Sign Of The Zodiac" by South Suburban Electric Strings, "This Love Of Mine" by Extensions, "Forever Is A Long Long Time" by The Voices, "Do The Pearl Girl (part 2)" by The Matta Baby, "I've Got To Find A Way" by Hallelujah Chorus, "First Thing I Do In The Morning" by Joyce Williams, and "I'm Gonna Get Even With You" by Little Ben & The Cheers.

One of the greatest steel band records ever – and a hip hop sample classic from way back! Sure, there were other hip steel bands back in the 70s – but nobody else ever got as far as 20th Century – ending up on a major label, cutting some key funky covers, and crossing over with their massive "Heaven & Hell" – a cut that was DJ Red Alert's theme song in the old days! The group have a wonderful sound – mixing familiar steel band modes with bits of American funk – and creating a unique hybrid that's way more than just reworked covers, or simple copycat styles. In addition to the classic "Heaven & Hell", the set also features versions of "Love's Theme", "Shaft", "Papa Was A Rolling Stone", and "Standing In The Shadows Of Love" – plus the cuts "Lazy Days", "Endless Vibrations", "No 1", "Never Keep Secrets", "We've Got To Work Together", and "Dance Away". CD also features a bonus 7" edit of "Heaven & Hell".

One of the greatest steel band records ever – and a hip hop sample classic from way back! Sure, there were other hip steel bands back in the 70s – but nobody else ever got as far as 20th Century – ending up on a major label, cutting some key funky covers, and crossing over with their massive "Heaven & Hell" – a cut that was DJ Red Alert's theme song in the old days! The group have a wonderful sound – mixing familiar steel band modes with bits of American funk – and creating a unique hybrid that's way more than just reworked covers, or simple copycat styles. In addition to the classic "Heaven & Hell", the set also features versions of "Love's Theme", "Shaft", "Papa Was A Rolling Stone", and "Standing In The Shadows Of Love" – plus the cuts "Lazy Days", "Endless Vibrations", "No 1", "Never Keep Secrets", "We've Got To Work Together", and "Dance Away".