... LP, Vinyl record album

A cheapo package, but some really great material! Side one features two long cuts recorded live – with Gato Barbieri on tenor, Don Cherry on trumpet, and Karl Berger on vibes – on "OCDC" and "Third Movement". Next is another live track – Albert Ayler's tenor on a version of "Ghosts" with Norman Howard on trumpet, Earle Henderson and Henry Grimes on basses, and Sonny Murray on drums. Last is a side-long take of "If Only We Knew" – led by John Handy on alto – with Michael Sampson on violin, George Tucker on bass, and Bobby Fuhlrodt on drums. LP, Vinyl record album

The great saxophonist Joki Freund leads an unusual group here in a very unusual setting! The lineup features Freund on tenor and soprano, Emil Mangelsdorff on alto and flute, Wolfgang Dauner on piano, Eberhard Weber on bass, and Peter Baumeister on drums – all working under the direction of producer Joachim E Berendt, who invited Harald Leipnitz to the session to read works by Jack Kerouac, William S Burroughs, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and Allen Ginsberg! LP, Vinyl record album

A French session from harmonica player Sugar Blue – with titles that include "Shed No Tears", "War Zone", "Pontiac", "My Baby Caught The Train", "Another Man Done Gone", and "Begging The Girl To Go". LP, Vinyl record album

Experimental noise compilation featuring work by Claustrofobia, MCH Band, Gerogerigegege, Bene Gesserit, De Fabriek, Masters Of The Napalm Death, Vox Populi, FAR, Tzarina Q Cut, Algebra Suicide, Merzdow Shek, and Crime O Nautix. LP, Vinyl record album

One of Gato Barbieri's later recordings – but don't hold that against it! The set's a smoother effort than most of Gato's earlier work, but it's also still pretty darn soulful – done in a way that allows plenty of space for his raspy reed work on tenor to flow over the top of larger arrangements that have a nice electric touch. Players include Eric Gale and Joe Beck on guitars, Don Grolnick on keyboards, and Mtume and Ralph MacDonald on percussion – both of whom give the tunes a nice earthy undercurrent when needed. And while we might be put off by the larger, more heavily-arranged sound – Gato himself is still in charge of the charts, and keeps things nicely focused in a soulfully expressive way! Titles include "Firelies", "Fiesta", "Europa", "Don't Cry Rochelle", "Behind The Rain", "Los Desperados", and "I Want You". LP, Vinyl record album

The biggest sounding Blondie album by far – and a radical leap from New York new wave scene band to a wildly ambitious pop pastiche machine! The band always had a fearless way of filtering far-reaching pop sounds into their material, even when they were still on the CBGBs scene, and while their stylistic reach grew with each successive album, Autoamerican really takes it to extremes. It's somewhat notorious for favoring session players over the core band, but given how crazy the stylistic breadth is – no disrespect to that incredible core band – it's a creative win, as much BECAUSE they bit off more than they could chew production wise, as it is despite that. It's most famous (or infamous, depending on who's talking about it) for "Rapture", and other tracks include "Europa", "Live It Up", their classic, breezy cover of "The Tide Is High", "Here's Looking At You", "Faces", "Follow Me" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

An unusual later Chet Baker album – one of those overlooked gems from the years when he was maybe a bit more wayward, but also taking some really unusual chances with his music! Chet plays trumpet and sings a bit here – but some of the key contributions come from the European group who really help shape the record – a lineup that includes Jean Paul Florens on guitar, Henry Florens on piano, Jim Richardson on bass, and Tony Mann on drums. LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include "Europa & The Pirate Twins", "Flying North", "Weightless", "Leipzig", "Windpower", "Commercial Breakup", "Urges", "Airwaves", "Radio Silence" and "Cloudburst At Shingle Street". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album