All Categories — All Formats  

An all time classic! While the back cover says that this records was recorded in 1965 it was actually recorded a couple of years later just before Trout Mask Replica. 4 long tracks that find the band stretching out from their bluesy roots into the outer limits before they reeled it back in for the skronky Trout Mask. Includes the tracks "Tarotplane", "Kandy Korn", "25th Century Quaker", and "Mirror Man".

The third album from Aztec Camera – and the one that showed the world they were way more than just an 80s Brit pop fluke! This one's got a great balance between the sweetness of their earlier work and some more chart-bound modes that really helped put the group on the map – a balance that's a bit like the sound that Style Council was hitting at the same point – yet less soul-based overall. Titles include "One & One", "Killermont Street", "More Than A Law", "How Men Are", "Everybody Is A Number One", and "Somewhere In My Heart". 2CD version features a cool book-style cover, great notes, and a full CD of bonus tracks that includes "Bad Education", "The Red Flag", and live versions of "I Threw It All Away", "Pillar To Post", and "Killermont Street" – as well as some mixes from singles!

Beautiful – and a record that still sounds pretty darn great today! When Tracy Thorn and Ben Watt first teamed up to produce this tight little jazz pop gem, little did they know that they'd unleash a landmark sound that would forever transform the face of modern music – a great breath of real acoustic energy in an 80s landscape that was way too overcome with synthesizers and programs! The record mixes jazz and Brit pop into a swirling blend of beautiful little tracks – all graced by the incredibly smart early writing of Thorn and Watt, and some spare arrangements that really retain all the charm of their earlier solo projects too – especially that mature songwriting that made them great from the start. Titles include "Another Bridge", "Bittersweet", "Spice Of Life", "Crabwalk", "Fascination", "Frost & Fire", and "Soft Touch". Incredible 2CD version – with tracks from singles, rare demo recordings, and even some BBC tracks too! Singles include "Laugh You Out Of The House", "Easy As Sin", "Native Land", and "Riverbed Dry" – demos include "Frost & Fire", "Soft Touch", and "Bittersweet" – and BBC tracks include "Never Could Have Been Worse" and "Another Bridge".

Everything But The Girl – smack dab in the middle of a great run during the 80s! The style here moves a bit more towards conventional pop – but there's a depth that still lives up to the group's initial genius – songwriting that's gently expressive, but never overdone – and backings that still steer clear of most of the clunkiest moments that were often holding back other groups at the time. The rich background of Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt is what really makes the whole thing sparkle – that care for a song that they had right from their solo starts – still very much intact here – on titles that include "Love Is Here Where I Live", "These Early Days", "I Always Was Your Girl", "Goodbye Sunday", "Shadow On A Harvest Moon", "Lonesome For A Place I Know", and "Apron Strings". 2CD version features tracks from singles that include – "Home From Home", "I Don't Want To Talk About It", "Another Day Another Dollar", "No Place Like Home", and "Dyed In The Grain" – plus demos of 8 more tracks from the album – and a bonus outtake of "Apron Strings (alt film version)".

A smashing second set from Everything But The Girl – a record that has the duo stretching out a bit more from the straight jazz leanings of their Eden debut – yet still sticking strongly in a mode that has their music moving with lots of classic influences! The songwriting is still top-shelf – not afraid to show its emotions, yet never over-mired in them either – a beautiful balance that really comes through in the vocals of Tracey Thorn. Production is a bit more mainstream, yet still light years away from the clunk of most mid 80s pop – and titles include "When All's Well", "Ugly Little Dreams", "Shoot Me Down", "Are You Trying To Be Funny", "Sean", "Anytown", and "Ballad Of The Times". 2CD book-style package is amazing – with tracks from singles that include "Kid", "Heaven Help Me", and "Pigeons In The Attic Room" – demos of "Angel", "Ugly Little Dreams", and "Are You Trying To Be Funny" – and BBC recordings of "This Love", "Ballad Of The Times", and "Are You Trying To Be Funny".

A pair of mid 70s classics from Heawave – Too Hot To Handle & Central Heating – in a 2CD set with bonus tracks! Too Hot To Handle is a killer album of crossover soul – one that dropped like a bomb when it hit, and gave this UK group a number of big hits in America! Keyboardist Rod Temperton wrote all the tracks on the album – and he's got keen talent for both funky numbers and ballads. If soul stations played album side specials the way that classic rock stations do, side one would be in heavy rotation – as it kicks off with the funky title cut, rolls into the hit "Boogie Nights", cuts to the sample classic "Ain't No Half Steppin" (forever made famous by Big Daddy Kane), and steps into the moody ballad "Always & Forever". It's hard to beat that lineup, but side two does a pretty good job – and includes a similar mix of titles like "Super Soul Sister", "All You Do Is Dial", and "Sho'nuff Must Be Love". The CD includes 4 bonus tracks: alternate versions of "Boogie Nights", plus "Special Offer" and "Slip Your Disc To This". Central Heating is another great effort that's almost as perfectly sublime as the first! Despite their UK origin, these guys really give American late 70s soul a run for its money – hitting in a sweetly compressed sound that fuses the vocals, keyboards, and grooves together wonderfully! The album hits equally well on all burners – with some key mellow cuts, and a few funkier upbeat numbers. Titles include loads of classics – like "Mind Blowing Decisions", "Star Of A Story", "Send Out For Sunshine", "Mind Blowing Decisions, "The Groove Line", "Central Heating", "Leavin For A Dream" and more. 2 bonus tracks: remixes of "Mind Blowing Decisions" and "The Groove Line".

Number five, and the Steve Miller Band is still going strong – working here with some great help from Area Code 615, who bring a slightly rootsy vibe to the set! That core Miller brilliance is still very firmly in place – and Steve's got an even sharper ear for writing songs this time around – working in more influences than before, and really finding his voice – or more appropriately, that great way his vocals can be filtered in with the production. Other guests include Ben Sidran and Nicky Hopkins – helping to reinstate the keyboard sound in the group – and titles include "Steve Miller's Midnight Tango", "Industrial Military Complex Hex", "Never Kill Another Man", "Going To The Country", and "Hot Chili".

Two classics from this legendary team – packaged here with bonus tracks too! First up is the self-titled Sam & Dave album – one of the best ever albums by this incredible soul duo! Sam & Dave may have been one of the bigger names on the 60s scene, but they also had a sheer raw soul approach that blew away most of their contemporaries – a way of trading vocal lines then combining them that infused their songs with a tremendous amount of power – and which gets past any easy cliches you may have about Atlantic or Stax soul of the time! The album's virtually a blueprint for countless other acts that cropped up to steal the duo's style in years to come – but it's still one of the best of the bunch, and almost without equal. Titles include "Soul Man", "May I Baby", "Hold It Baby", "I'm With You", and "Rich Kind Of Poverty". I Thank You is a killer by Sam & Dave – recorded in Memphis with crack work by the team of Isaac Hayes and David Porter, and unfortunately a record that was recorded by Stax, but stolen by Atlantic in their 1968 takeover of the label! Sam & Dave are at the height of their powers here – hitting on all burners with that tight funked-up southern soul style that made them one of the most popular acts of their generation – and although the pair may be familiar, they've got an energy that never fails to amaze us on a record like this! Titles include "I Thank You", "Don't Turn Your Heater On", "Love Is After Me", "Talk To The Man", "Don't Waste That Love", "Wrap It Up", and "You Don't Know What You Mean To Me". 2CD package features 9 bonus tracks – including "I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down", "Soothe Me (live)", "This Is Your World", "Can't You Find Another Way Of Doing It", "Still Is The Night", "Soul Sister Brown Sugar", "Come On In", "Born Again", and "Get It".

An 80s pop treasure – and a real bright spot in a mainstream world that often had plenty of clunky moments! The album represents a great step forward for the duo of Ben Watt and Tracey Thorn – as Watt's arrangements are even fuller and more focused than before – still lots of jazz in the mix, but on a larger scale that's really great – almost pushing them into a classic old school style – with a blend of orchestrations and vocals that's perfect for both the songwriting and Tracey Thorn's vocals! Titles include "Come On Home", "A Country Mile", "Careless", "Sugar Finney", "Come Hell Or High Water", "Fighting Talk", and "Little Hitler". 2CD version features an amazing package – plus b-sides that include "Draining The Bar", "I Fall To Pieces", "Come On Home (acoustic)", "Alfie", and "Almost Blue" – plus demos of "Come On Home", "Careless", "Little Hitler", and "Cross My Heart".

Heavy rock from the late 60s San Francisco scene – an obscure psychedelic group who cut this stunning record for Capitol! The album's got some really heavy guitar work and high-spirited vocals that predate many of the bigger concept 70s groups – done in a style that's pretty darn jamming, and which has a nice righteous edge at times. The album's got a number of nice long tracks, and titles include "Wind Chimes", "War Goes On", "Hush Julian", "Eastern Light", and "Amphetamine Gazelle".

Golden Touch, a well-rounded little set from Rose Royce – one that has the group hitting equally on uptempo funky tracks and chilled-out mellower numbers – the latter of which feature plenty of sweet moogy touches, in the group's best mode! There are standout moments, but overall the album has more of a cohesive flow than earlier ones, and the group sounds great – coming up with some excellent harmonies when needed, and dropping down to that sparer style of instrumentation on some of the record's best tracks. Titles include "Love Is In The Air", "You're A Winner", "And You Wish For Yesterday", "Funkin Around", "Help Yourself", and "I Wanna Make It With You". Jump Street, an overlooked later gem by Rose Royce – is a funky Norman Whitefield production released shortly after the similarly strong Golden Touch – a mix of funky numbers, more spaced out cosmic keys inflected grooves and a couple of mellow jams! The funkier numbers come earlier in the set, and again prove to be some of the strongest tracks – from the tighter couple of openers to the 12+ minute jam "RR Express". Other tracks include "Jump Street", "Illusions", "Famous Last Worlds", "Tell Me That I'm Dreaming", "Please Return Your Love To Me" and "Fight It".

Tracks from the Devotions, the Coasters, the Edsels, the Marcels & others,