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Dylan & The Band's legendary Basement Tapes – those amazing late 60s Woodstock recordings – and an album that was a classic long before it was officially released in the mid 70s! Bootleg after bootleg of some these recordings might have sold enough copies on the grey market in the early 70s to go platinum back in the day, so there's little wonder that Columbia would finally get some kind of official release out there – and it lives up to the legend! Dylan's conversational, seemingly spontaneous lyricism stretches over a good portion of it, with some much more soulful numbers, too – and those are all the more effective with The Band's incredible instrumentation, backing and occasional lead vocals. Includes "Odds And Ends", "Million Dollar Bash", "Tears Of Rage", "Tiny Montgomery", "Nothing Was Delivered", "Too Much Of Nothing", "Clothes Line Saga", "You Ain't Goin Nowhere", "Open The Door, Homer", "This Wheel's On Fire, "Crash On the Levee (Down In The Flood)", "Long Distance Operator".

Includes "One Step Ahead", "Runnin' Out Of Fools", "Sweet Bitter Love", "Rock-A-Bye Your Baby With A Dixie Melody", "Cry Like A Baby", and "Evil Gal Blues".

The Pointer Sisters were superstars before 1983's Break Out, and this appropriately titled album shot them to stratospheric heights in popularity – with good reason, as this is some of the catchiest, hookiest pop and/or soul of the past few decades! Stellar Pointer Sisters vocals and the unshakable synth heavy, dancefloor ready production by Richard Perry. What more can we say! Hit after hit on this set: includes "Jump (For My Love)", "Automatic", "I'm So Excited", "I Need You", "Neutron Dance", "Easy Persuasion", "Baby Come And Get It", "Telegraph Your Love" and "Operator".

A later gem from Prince Buster – the early 70s Sister Big Stuff album – one that finds his voice as charismatic and soulful as ever! The record finds Buster not only adapting pretty nicely to the more upbeat reggae style on the period, but he's also successfully adapting some surprising numbers! It kicks off with "South Of The Border", a tune popularized by cowboy movie/country & western star Gene Autry – with thick bits of organ, a heavy rhythm, and Buster's easygoing vocals. There's more great numbers in a similar vein, plus takes on tunes made famous by Abyssinians, the title track, which is a riff on Stax soul heroine Jean Knight's "Mister Big Stuff" and more! Other tracks include "Still", "Why Not Tonight", "Wish Your Picture", "Sata A Masa Gana", "Stick By Me", "Young, Gifted And Black", "Stick By Me", "Cool Operator", "Stand Accused", "Protection" and more. 3 bonus tracks on the CD: "Police Trim Rasta" and "My Happiness",.

A beautifully illustrated little book devoted to the coolest musical toys of the past half century – from the collection of Eric Schneider – and featuring a forward by DJ Spooky! It's all about the images in this book, photographs of these incredible, colorful musical kitsch relics of their time – classic toy organs of the 50s & 60s, robot voice changers, noise generators, musical kits, toy drums, rhythm machines, kiddie turntables and more. A wonderful look back – we remember many of these from childhood, and boy do we wish we still had our old Mattel Magical Musical Thing! Hardcover, 190 pages.

Really rich sounds from Woody Shaw – one of his sublime studio sessions for Columbia Records – a major label, but one who really let Woody explore some new ideas in his music! There's a depth here that surpasses some of Shaw's straight small group sessions – really magnificent sounds that push the boundaries of soulful jazz at the end of the 70s, yet still hold onto all the best aspects of Woody's roots – kind of a distillation of all the soulful, spiritual experiments of the past 10 years – delivered in ways that really help them reach out to new ears! The core group features Woody on trumpet and flugelhorn, Larry Willis on piano, Stafford James on bass, and Victor Lewis on drums – but each track features some key guest appearance too – by artists who include Gary Bartz on alto, Curtis Fuller and Steve Turre on trombones, Carter Jefferson on tenor and soprano sax, James Spaulding on flute, Nana Vasconcelos on percussion, and Judi Singh on vocals – singing beautifully on the cuts "Time Is Right" and "Why" – alongside other instrumental numbers that include "Opec", "Josua C", "Isabel The Liberator", and "Ginseng People".

Lots going on this time – a totally great article on Record Hunting In Jakarta – worth the price of the magazine alone – plus features on Generator Records, Shaking Ray Levis, Jozef Van Wissem, and Matthew Shaw! Also loads of reviews and ads for lots of music you won't find at your local store!

An amazing collaboration – with equally amazing sounds to boot! The album's an experiment between sculptor Betha Sarasin and electronic musician Bruno Spoerri (who you might know from jazz and sound library recordings too) – who create a "instrument sculpture" based along geometric progressions – then played on lyricon, soprano sax, ring emulator, Prophet synth, vocoder, and computer generators – as well as the sculpture itself! The explanation is a bit obtuse – as is the music – but the whole thing has a powerful analogue quality that's wonderful – almost 50s/60s musique concrete, but a bit more cyclical overall – especially as the album progresses.

A pair of incredible early Motown albums from Mary Wells – one of the label's first truly great singers – in a great single set from Kent UK! Mary Wells never sounded better than in her Motown years – and 1962's The One Who Really Loves You is key proof of her talents, as it's overflowing with laidback and mellow soul tunes – done in Mary's great blend of bluesy and classy styles! Titles include classics like "Drifting Love", "Strange Love", "The Day Will Come", "I've Got A Notion", "The One Who Really Loves You", "You Beat Me To The Punch", "Two Wrongs Don't Make A Right", "I'll Still Be Around" and more. The follow-up Two Lovers features the subtitle And Other Greatest Hits, but it's actually a great batch of songs that were most newly-recorded by Mary at the time – and not at all a simple round-up of singles! The approach here has just a little more rawness than some of the girl groups Berry Gordy was scoring hits with at the time, but also a sense of urban classiness. As is their wonderful way, Kent goes above and beyond here – with a great booklet of notes and photos – which shines a light on the making of these great records. Wonderful stuff! Titles include "Two Lovers", "Guess Who", "My 2 Arms - You = Tears", "Goody, Goody", "Stop Right Here", "Laughing Boy", "Looking Back", "(I Guess There's) No Love", "Was It Worth It" and "Operator".

B-sides, remixes and exclusive tracks from team Record Kicks – tracks by Third Coast Kings, Kokolo, Nick Pride & The Pimptones, Crabs Corporation, Diplomats Of Solid Sound, Ray Harris & The Fusion Exerience and more! Funk DJ and producer Smoove and picked the tracks, and the titles include "Spicy Brown" by Third Coast Kings, "Prophets Bound To Christ" by William Joseph Fowler & The Disciples, "Fuoco" by Trio Valore, "Give Me One More Chance (Lack Of Afro Mix)" by Diplomats Of Solid Sound, "Rags To Riches (Ray Lugo rmx)" by The Liberators, "Under My Skin" by The Hawk feat Little Hannah Collins, "Deep Fried Funk" by Hannah Williams & The Tastemakers, "Witness" by New Mastersounds and more. 18 tracks on the CD.

Heavy electro work from Suzanne Ciani – an artist who peaked a bit later than some of her sound library contemporaries – which means she was able to contribute music experimental films, record productions, and video games – and not just the usual mainstream outlets! Ciani's electronics here are a great mix of modes – both analogue and digital – and her sounds often have a darkness that's really compelling, especially when you consider the ways some of them were used in areas that reached some larger audiences – really cool little spooky bits that underscore the more potent ways that electronic sounds were often used in the 70s generation. The music is light years beyond the playfulness of Perry & Kingsley – and has none of the softness of Ciani's later new age sides – a great revelation that will hopefully get her the recognition she deserves. Titles include "Atari Video Games Logo", "Princess With Orange Feet", "Paris 1971", "Live Buchla Concert 1975", "Sound Of Wetness", "Eighth Wave", "Liberator Atari TV Spot", "Pop & Pour Coca Cola Logo", and "Lixiviation".

A groovy early score from Armando Trovajoli – and one that's definitely got a number of tracks in the mod side of his spectrum! The main theme and a few other numbers use plenty of guitar – romping in a style that echoes some London modes of the mid 60s, but with a definite Trovajoli twist! Yet others bring in more jazz – and echo Armando's roots in that style – shown with a bit more flourish than his earlier records, yet a style that's also different than his soundtrack work in years to come. The set features piano from Trovajoli himself, and a bit of harmonica from Franco De Gemini – and vocals are by Michele on the title track, and by I Cantori Moderni on a few others. CD features 23 tracks in all – including "Se Permette Parliamo Di Donne", "Lo Stracciarolo", "Un Amore Difficile", and "Il Carcerato".

A dozen classics from sassy Sarah Vaughan's Mercury years, including "Misty", "Broken Hearted Melody", "Make Yourself Comfortable", "Autumn In New York", "Moonlight In Vermont", "How Important Can It Be", "Smooth Operator", "Whatever Lola Wants", "Lullaby Of Birdland", "Eternally", "Poor Butterfly" and "Close To You".

A very personal tale of this wonderful group – one that's brought together out of recollections by each of the group members, as well as by key members of the Minneapolis scene as well! Jim Walsh isn't really the author so much as the moderator – he structures the book like one long group discussion – snipping comments from all these different figures, and lining them up together to form a very vivid narrative of the group – early days, their climb to fame, and missteps along the way – all told from a perspective that you'd never find in a conventional biography! Pretty neat stuff, and with notes on each of the discussants at the end. 304 pages, hardcover, with black and white photos.

One of our favorite 60s surf soundtracks ever – an amazing blend of Stu Phillips orchestrations with some key vocal moments from the trio of Dino Desi & Billy! The album's got a wonderful theme – "Thru Spray Colored Glasses" – sung initially by the trio, then served up by Stu in a number of variations that change with the different exotic locales of the film – India, Hong Kong, Hawaii, and Morocco – all referenced slightly in the instrumentation, but in ways that always retain Phillips' grooviest inspirations! Strings blend with bits of harpsichord, vibes, voices, Spanish guitar, and these "watery" woodwinds that almost remind us of Australian jazz in the same period – and titles include "Thru Spray Colored Glasses", "Big Wave Bay", "Incinerator", "Ranee Express", "Nazare", and "Cascis".

Blistering underground rock from Pussy Galore – one of our favorite noise generators of late 80s! They had pretty much perfected their mess by the time Right Now came out. The group still have that shrapnel guitar sound in full effect, and with all of the barbed ferocity of the meanest MFs in the darkest corners of late 80s indie rock – but unlike your Big Blacks, Scratch Acids and Butthole Surfers, Pussy Galore seems to genuinely love old school rock 'n' roll – even while they stomp it to death! A true anti-classic from the pre-Royal Trux, JBX years, when these fellas still seemed genuinely dangerous. Includes "Pig Sweat", "White Noise", "Uptight", "Biker Rock Loser", "Rope Legend", "Alright", "New Breed", "Knock Up", "Punch Out", "Pussy Stomp", "Trashcan Oil Drum", "Fix It", "Rancid", "Hell Spawn".

Heavy electro work from Suzanne Ciani – an artist who peaked a bit later than some of her sound library contemporaries – which means she was able to contribute music experimental films, record productions, and video games – and not just the usual mainstream outlets! Ciani's electronics here are a great mix of modes – both analogue and digital – and her sounds often have a darkness that's really compelling, especially when you consider the ways some of them were used in areas that reached some larger audiences – really cool little spooky bits that underscore the more potent ways that electronic sounds were often used in the 70s generation. The music is light years beyond the playfulness of Perry & Kingsley – and has none of the softness of Ciani's later new age sides – a great revelation that will hopefully get her the recognition she deserves. Titles include "Atari Video Games Logo", "Princess With Orange Feet", "Paris 1971", "Live Buchla Concert 1975", "Sound Of Wetness", "Eighth Wave", "Liberator Atari TV Spot", "Pop & Pour Coca Cola Logo", and "Lixiviation".

Woody Shaw's debut for Columbia Records – and easily one of the most soulful major label jazz sessions of the 70s! The album's a beautiful summation of all that Shaw had done in the years before – his soaring, searing lines that first came to play as a sidemen for others, then took new shape on the Muse label as a leader – all really hitting home here in an immaculately put-together set! The album's still got all the best soul jazz elements of Shaw's work from a few years before, but it's even more powerful in its presentation – with none of the mis-steps that could sometimes mar Woody's albums when he wasn't hitting on all burners. Shaw plays both trumpet and flugelhorn, and the rest of the lineup includes Carter Jefferson on tenor and soprano sax, Onaje Allen Gumbs on piano, Clint Houston on bass, and Victor Lewis on drums. Joe Henderson blows on three number – and titles include "Rosewood", "Every Time I See You", "The Legend Of Cheops", "Rahsaan's Run", "Sunshowers" and "Theme For Maxine". CD features 3 bonus tracks too – "Isabel The Liberator", "Joshua C", and "Why".

Solid!! 19 burning shots of prototypical island jams! The sounds of Studio One have been passed down from generation to generation of musicians, even being sampled by some of today's digital producers, and recut in version after version, and with their series of Studio One reissues, Soul Jazz illustrates why. Coxsonne Dodd was not only a genius producer of rhythms, but assembled some of the finest musicians not just on the island, but anywhere in the world to cut these mighty tracks, including the Skatalites "Coconut Rock", Cedric Im Brooks "Mun-Dun-Gu", Tommy McCook "Shocker's Rock", Jackie Mittoo & Ernest Ranglin "Jerico Skank", Karl Bryan & Teh Afrokats "Money Generator", Lester Sterling "Afrikaan Beat", Sound Dimension "Heavy Rock", Sugar Belly "In Cold Blood", Soul Bros "Bugaloo", Vin Gordon 'Red Blood", Pablove Black "Push Pull" and Karl Bryan & Count Ossie "Black Up".

More book than magazine – rules breaking music & arts journal Alarm sounds in Issue 47 for the generators of the modern Soul Revival, Tortoise, the late Vic Chesnutt, Califone, Converge, Baroness, Place To Bury Strangers, Why?, Themselves, Rupa & April Fishes, Vernon Chatman, Jason Adasiewicz, Joao Orecchia and many more – plus 20 pages of reviews. 207 pages in all!

MF Doom and Ghostface Killah team up for this mighty slab of wax – a very limited Serato single, pressed up on pic-disc vinyl that's as great as the music itself! The single features vocal and instrumentals of both the core track and a Madvillainz remix – and the flipside features a special Serato control tone – proving that the record's as useful as it is enjoyable!