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One of the few ECM sides recorded by the Art Ensemble Of Chicago – easily some of the hippest work the label issued at the time, and a key way for the avant collective to get a bit of large audience exposure! The sound is still very much in the best AEC style here – and if anything, ECM's sensitivity to sound has allowed the group to explore some of the farther reaches of their sonic sensibilities – those contemplative moments that could sometimes be lost in the hands of other producers, captured beautifully here in a range of instruments far too many to mention! Some of the bolder tracks have Lester Bowie's trumpet right out front – almost hinting at his own solo association with the label – and titles include "Care Free", "Magg Zelma", "Full Force", and "Old Time Southside Street Dance".

Surprisingly great work from Full Force – a set that seems to only get better with the passage of time, set apart nicely from most of its 80s soul contemporaries with a good deal of homegrown charm! Sure, there's some pretty heavy beats here – and sure, the sound is a few notches towards commercial/crossover territory – but there's also a really honest appeal to the record, a kind of intimate group feel that's an update of 70s funky groups – taken more strongly into an electric 80s style! Vocals come through nicely on some of the best tracks, and relax into the groove on some of the others – and titles include "Unfaithful", "Never Had Another Love", "Temporary Love Thing", "Old Flames Never Die", "Child's Play (parts 1 & 2)", and "Chain Me To The Night". CD also features lots of bonus tracks – including "Only Temporary", "Temporary Bow Legged Theatre", "Unfaithful (faithful rmx)", "Old Flames (My Desire My Burning Fire)", "Love Scene (12" mix)", and "Unfaithful (doctor no na na no no no)".

An 80s pop soul classic from Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam With Full Force – with a sound that's insistent and irresistible to this day! This is a solid album full of tunes that stand up strongly with their unstoppable hit singles of the period. Yes, the sound would get a bit too cutesy and played out by the end of the 80s, if you lived through those years, but it's amazing how nice it sounds all these years later! There's a heavy dose of electro and early hip hop creeping in, throughout the album – and the breakout "I Wonder If I Take You Home" is one of our favorite mid 80s mainstream R&B jams – straight up! Also includes "Can You Feel The Beat", "You'll Never Change", "All Cried Out", "This Is Cult Jam", "Behind My Eyes", "Private Property" and "Take Me Home (Rap)". 5 bonus versions on this Big Break CD edition: the 12" Full Force Remixes of "I Wonder If I Take You Home", "Can You Feel The Beat", plus "I Wonder If I Take You Home (Shep Pettibone Remix)", "Beat The Feel You Can (12" Dub Mix)" and "If I Take You Home (Cult Jam Dub Edit)".

One of the few ECM sides recorded by the Art Ensemble Of Chicago – easily some of the hippest work the label issued at the time, and a key way for the avant collective to get a bit of large audience exposure! The sound is still very much in the best AEC style here – and if anything, ECM's sensitivity to sound has allowed the group to explore some of the farther reaches of their sonic sensibilities – those contemplative moments that could sometimes be lost in the hands of other producers, captured beautifully here in a range of instruments far too many to mention! Some of the bolder tracks have Lester Bowie's trumpet right out front – almost hinting at his own solo association with the label – and titles include "Care Free", "Magg Zelma", "Full Force", and "Old Time Southside Street Dance".

A brilliant funky soundtrack – with great work from a number of different artists! The Buddah soul stable came out in full force for this soundtrack, including Harvy Fuqua, The New Birth, Barbara Mason, and Horace Ott – as well as the little known group Badder Than Evil! They play on the great instrumental track "Hot Wheels", which is the chase theme in the film, and a great sample track! Also includes "Super Shine #9", sung by Sister Goose & the Ducklings, which is a very groovy, goofy, soulful number – plus the tracks "Child Of Tomorrow", "Harlem Dreams", "Child Of Tomorrow", and "Come On & Dream Some Paradise".

Out of the wreckage of Cream came some very hip grooves! Ginger Baker was the hippest of the group's 3 members – and although he's often credited by soul fans for his work with Fela, he should also get a hats off for his work with the group Air Force – essentially a 10-piece (which seems to have been expanded beyond even that number for this set) that came up with some of the most monstrous art funk jamming we've heard! At its base, the group's in the jazz rock mode – with players that include Brit jazz luminaries Phil Seamen, Harold McNair, and Graham Bond, plus rockers like Baker, Steve Winwood, Denny Laine, and Rick Grech. The tracks are all long groovers in a post-beat group mode – and the best tracks have a jamming sound that's pretty over the top! It's full of the propulsive, Afro-influenced bass and percussion, some wild, jazz funk flute and sax, plus amazing work on violin, guitar and occasional, ephemeral vocals. Awesome stuff – one of the best and most innovative live albums of the era! Titles include "Da Da Man", "Aiko Biaye", "Do What You Like", "Doin It", and "Don't Care". It's about time this thing arrived on CD!

Hip hop lifers and genre-defiant pop art blenders The Beastie Boys deliver the Hot Sauce – either their 8th or 9th album in 25 years, depending on how you count the Mix Up instrumentals set – and it sounds to us like a return to the good times hip hop funk style-hopping that the Boys flaunted so brilliantly in the period from Check Your Head to Hello Nasty! Hot Sauce was initially solicited as Part 1 to be followed by a Part 2, but the album was put on hold while Yauch battled cancer, which gave the Beasties plenty of time to finess the material and release it as the definitive project we have here. It's solid stuff and a Beastie Boys album through-and-through – and they're as immune to trends as ever. Guests include Nas, Santigold and Switch. Tracks include "Make Some Noise", "Nonstop Disco Powerpack", "Too Many Rappers (New Reactionaries Version)" with Nas, "Lee Majors Comes Again", "Don't Play No Game That I Can't Win" feat Santigold, "Tadlock's Glasses", "The Lisa Lisa/Full Force Routine", "Here's A Little Something For Ya" and more.

Six albums in, and these guys still aren't losing their groove – and if anything, they seem to be getting even tighter and funkier with the 80s groove generation! Randy Muller's still the main man making things happen here – giving the group their trademark horn sound, and that fantastically tight approach to rhythm – one that's very much inherited from the early BT Express groove, but which is almost sharper and more mature. There's a lean quality to these tracks that's quite surprising, given the nine piece lineup of the group – but that's very much the Muller touch, and its in full force here. Titles include "Do Ya", "Working Harder Every Day", "We Can Do It", "I'm Not Gonna Stop", "Don't Try To Change Me", and "We Are Brass".

Rare stuff from John Coltrane! The album features Trane playing tenor on only 4 of the album's 8 tracks – making it kind of surprising that they used his name in the title – but the album is a lesser-known batch of large group recordings that offer an interesting early chapter in his career! The main force behind the album is arranger Harry Tubbs – possibly not a name that's as sexy as John Coltrane, hence the billing – but a worthy leader for the date, given the quality of the music. Many of the other players here are small combo heroes who can also shine brightly in bigger groups – such as Donald Byrd and Art Farmer on trumpets, Kenny Burrell on guitar, Al Cohn on baritone sax, Eddie Costa on piano and vibes, and Oscar Pettiford on bass – plus Rolf Kuhn, making an early American appearance on clarinet. Coltrane gets in some nice, but short moments on the date – but the bigger charm is the full ensemble work – on titles that include "She Didn't Say Yes", "Turtle Walk", "At Home With The Blues", "Seabreeze", and "Love & The Weather".

A sweet set of sounds from disco maestro Boris Midney – an artist who rarely recorded under his own name, but was the guiding force behind a great range of famous studio projects! The first half of the set features music from the Companion album – a set moves along in a way that's really a cut above the usual dancefloor groove – tight, lean grooves that draw a lot from just a little – never too overblown, in the way that mainstream disco might be – and instead this nicely compressed blend of tight drums, sweet keyboards, and other instrumental lines fused together in a way that works well with the spare vocals. Titles include "This Is A Test", "There's A Way", "Step On Out", "Living Up To Love", and "I Feel Delight" – plus bonus tracks "Living Up To Love (12" mix)", "Step On Out (12" mix)", and "Step On Out (rhythm track)". The second half features some great singles from Midney – real one-off projects, but offered in enough mixes to almost make for a full LP apiece! Titles include "Can He Find Another One (west side)", "Can He Find Another One (east side)", and "Can He Find Another One (inst west)" by Double Discovery; "Dddance (voc)", "Dddance (beats)", "Dddance (inst)", and "Dddance (alt mix)" by Boris Midney; and "Thanks For Loving Me" by Boris Midney.

Far more than just a full album from keyboard wiz and producer Mark De Clive-Lowe – a much-needed collection of his various remixes, small label recordings, and small projects from the past few years – pulled from a variety of labels around the globe, and packaged into one overstuffed set! The tunes all have different lives and histories, but they're linked together here by Mark's wonderfully spacey sound and cosmic musical vision – a key force in 21st century soul, heard to positive effect on every tune on the collection. Titles include "Pan Africa (Melodious rmx)" by Danilo Perez, "Life Mirrors" by Beatless, "Africa (Restless Soul mix)" by Meitz, "No Fusion Generation (rmx)" by Til Bronner, "Return To Paradise (rmx)" by Shirley Horn, and the tracks "Relax Unwind", "Move On Up (Opaque rmx)", "The Way It Goes", "Day By Day (DJ Spinna rmx)", and "Nites Like These" – all by Mark.

American sounds, but forged in Sweden – a surprisingly great batch of work from expatriate Jack Downing – including some rare singles, previously unreleased tunes, and even some live material too! Downing clearly picks up some of the folk rock styles of the post-Dylan generation – but he's also got this rough, raspy style of singing that's much more garagey at points than any folkies in the US – a weird sort of hybrid that only gets more interesting as the music here moves into the early 70s! The package brings together a full album recorded for RCA in Sweden, singles for Karusell, RCA, and CBS, and some live material recorded for Swedish radio too – 37 tracks that include "No Man's Land", "Out My Light", "Muddy Water", "Queen Jane Approximately", "Branded Man", "Only Dadd That'll Walk The Line", "The Kind Of Words", "Greenback Dollar", and "Going To California".

Incredible work by The Exciters – material we totally love to death, most of which is a lot harder-hitting than the group's earlier hits in the 60s! The package pulls together their post-UA recordings for the Bang, Shout, and RCA labels – the first to of which are represented by singles, the last by a full LP and some great extra material from 45s – all of which is really incredible stuff that moves way past any pop soul expectations you may have! Production is by Bert Berns on the non-RCA material, and Larry Banks on the RCA sides – and both producers bring an incredibly hip sound to the recordings, mixing the unique deep soul lead of Brenda Reid with some very groovy backings – arranged by Artie Butler, George Patterson, and Teacho Wiltshire, all of whom bring something unique to the mix. The force of these sides is amazing – almost a revolution in female soul, captured in the history of one group – and the booklet features very full notes on the girls, culled from interviews, and telling the story of their legendary years in the 60s. CD contains all of the legendary Caviar & Chitlins LP, plus lots of singles – 21 tracks that include "Take One Step I'll Take Two", "Soul Motion", "Number One", "A Little Bit Of Soap", "Number One", "You Don't Know What You're Missing", "Blowing Up My Mind", "Movin Too Slow", "Turn Me On", "A Year Ago", "You Got Me", "Always", "Fight That Feelin", "Give It All", and "Weddings Make Me Cry".

A great revolution in record cover art – the early 90s rise of the hand-made package in the punk rock underground! 7" singles were a key force in punk and other underground styles of the time – and these small pressings were often hand-assembled by the bands themselves – sometimes printed one by one, or hand-stickered – sometimes glued together from other images, and sometimes made from old record covers themselves! The approach also infected a lot of album cover art of the time too – in ways that would make even multiple copies of a record seem very individual – thanks to the variations in the packaging. This well-done book lovingly documents this moment in musical packaging – and has a look that's quite like the records themselves – a beautiful approach to the cover and binding which really lives up to the full color images inside. 142 pages, hardcover.

A mindblower from Jamiroquai – the album that really broke them out of the box, thanks to an increasingly complicated sense of rhythm! For the set, Jay and the group pulled up some of the more dynamic sounds from the London underground, and wove them together with their increasingly great songwriting – coming up with tunes that played beautifully on the dancefloor, yet also offered deeper listening than on previous Jamiroquai efforts! There's still some great 70s elements here, but there's also a more cosmic, righteous vibe too – a hint at spacey London to come, but sent home with a bit more polish here. Titles include "Virtual Insanity", "Cosmic Girl", "Everyday", "Alright", "High Times", "Travelling Without Moving", "Spend A Lifetime", "Use The Force", and "Didjital Vibrations". 2CD version features lots of bonus tracks – including "Cosmic Girl (Quasar mix)", "Virtual Insanity (Salaam Remi mix)", "Alright (Alan Braxe & Fred Falke rmx)", "Do You Know Where You're Coming From (full horns mix)", "High Times (Sanchez radio edit)", "Bullet", "Slippin N Slidin", "Hollywood Swingin", and live versions of "Alright" and "Virtual Insanity".

One of the greatest records we've heard from Al Jarreau in years – a set that features his incredible vocals backed by the Metropol Orkest – a large ensemble who help the legendary singer find a whole new sort of groove! The bold backings are really wonderful – full and flowing, with loads of warm jazz energy that seems to push Al's vocals even more than before – giving them a force that's hardly what you might expect from the aging Jarreau, and really helping to recover that jazzy core that's always made his singing so special. Many of the tunes here are older numbers, but really given an unusual twist in the process – overflowing with a live, ebullient quality that comes through from the very first note. Titles include "Flame", "Agua De Beber", "Cold Duck", "Jacaranda Bougainvillea", "We're In This Love Together", "Midnight Sun", "Something That You Said", "After All", "Spain", and "Scootcha Booty".

They might be borrowing her band, but they sure can't dampen her soul – because Sharon Jones is strongly back in action, and sounding funkier and more deeply soulful than ever! Given that Sharon wasn't singing back in the 60s, it's hard to think we'd be calling her the real deal – but in a world of crossover classic-copping soul singers, or slightly rewarmed older acts, Jones is a true treat through and through – the kind of soul singer whose work still recalls the best era of the funky 45 underground! The mighty Dap-Kings are in full force here – snapping along the groove with a range of classic soul influences – styles borrowed from Memphis, Miami, Muscle Shoals, and more – all sifted down to some of the tightest grooves any singer ever had the chance of working with! The production is amazing – as sharp-edged as the music – and handled by Bosco Mann with a sound that's as faithful to the roots as the cover might imply. Titles include "100 Days 100 Nights", "Tell Me", "Be Easy", "Nobody's Baby", "When The Other Foot Drops Uncle", "Something's Changed", "Keep On Looking", "Answer Me", and "Humble Me".

A trio of classics from the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra! First up is the initial Presenting album – great music by one of the hippest large American ensembles of the late 60s – almost a US equivalent to the groovy sound of the Clark Boland Big Band over in Europe! Trumpeter Thad Jones and drummer Mel Lewis had already made some great music together on their own – but once they came together in a record like this, they really found a great new direction for their energy – a bold musical force that's strong enough to also encompass the rich talents of players who include Pepper Adams on baritone sax, Joe Farrell on tenor, Jerome Richardson on soprano sax, Richard Williams on trumpet, Bob Brookmeyer and Tom McIntosh on trombones, Hank Jones on piano, and Richard Davis on bass! The sound is full, but never overwhelming – and like the Clark Boland group, this one has a great way of breaking open to allow key soloists to have some great space on their own – a modern approach, and one that still never has the band losing its groove. Titles include "ABC Blues", "Mean What You Say", "Three & One", and "Once Around". The next album was recorded live in the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis home turf at the Village Vanguard! The group at this point was a freshly-created outfit filled with some of the best large group jazz soloists of the time – players that included Jerome Richardson, Joe Farrell, Eddie Daniels, Pepper Adams, Richard Williams, and Bob Brookmeyer – not to mention Jones and Lewis themselves! The style here is very much in the mode that the Clarke Boland Band was crafting in Europe during the same period – a redefinition of the larger jazz group, in a way that allowed it to swing with the dynamic energy and soul of some of the smaller combos of the 60s. And while the Jones/Lewis group had many years over which to hone their craft, they've never sounded better than on these initial recordings – as you'll hear on tracks that include "Samba Con Getchu", "A That's Freedom", "Bachafillen", and "Little Pixie". On the last album in the set, Ruth Brown joins the big band of Thad Jones and Mel Lewis – in a set that's a real standout in the career of all three artists! Thad and Mel already have a pretty great groove going at this point – a large ensemble approach to jazz, yet one that's swingingly soulful – very much on a par with some of Gerald Wilson's hip work of the same time at time. And adding in Ruth Brown's vocals is a great choice – as she not only needs a great showcase like this for her amazing voice, but also because she really helps unlock a soulful sort of energy that the group always had in their instrumental music. The approach is a bit like some of Etta Jones' best 60s recordings – a nice shift for Brown – and titles include "Black Coffee", "Fine Brown Frame", "You Won't Let Go", "Trouble In Mind", and "Be Anything (But Be Mine)".

Neither pop nor fusion – but a great little record that reminds us why we love William Kurk so much! There's definitely some of the jazzy styles promised by the title, but they're mixed in with Kurk's inventive approach to soul music – warm instrumentation wrapped around compelling lyricism, but in a bouncy, playful way that's light years from the usual! This time around, there's a slight echo of 80s ideals – not so much in the music, which still has lots of 70s warmth – but in the criss-crossing of modes, and in the way that acoustic and electric elements are used together to create a really full sound. Titles include "9 by 3", "Revenge Of Mega Man", "Star Of The Sky", "All Of The Time", "Moonrise", "2012", and "Dragon Force".

Neither pop nor fusion – but a great little record that reminds us why we love William Kurk so much! There's definitely some of the jazzy styles promised by the title, but they're mixed in with Kurk's inventive approach to soul music – warm instrumentation wrapped around compelling lyricism, but in a bouncy, playful way that's light years from the usual! This time around, there's a slight echo of 80s ideals – not so much in the music, which still has lots of 70s warmth – but in the criss-crossing of modes, and in the way that acoustic and electric elements are used together to create a really full sound. Titles include "9 by 3", "Revenge Of Mega Man", "Star Of The Sky", "All Of The Time", "Moonrise", "2012", and "Dragon Force".

A great early record by Larry Harlow's famous combo – every bit the "smokin" set that the title might imply! Harlow and the group are in full force here – ripping through a set of short tracks that really groove with a darkly percussive edge. There's a surprising amount of traditional instrumentation in the set – especially considering the stoned out image on the cover – but that's no problem for us, given the overall quality of the set! Tracks include "Chancletas", "Orchestra Harlow", "Mi Guaguanco", "Adios Mama", and "Rica Combinacion".

An overlooked fusion set from guitarist David Pritchard – maybe not the biggest name in jazz in the late 70s, but working here with a really heavy-hitting lineup! Pritchard plays acoustic and electric guitar on the set, and he's joined by players who include Patrice Rushen on acoustic and electric piano, Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, and Chester Thompson on drums – plus the lesser-known Charles Orena, who handles both tenor and soprano sax here. Some numbers have a full-out fusion feel, which others hit some tones that are more spacious and relaxed – almost heading into the airiness of Pat Metheney, yet always retaining a bit more force. Titles include "Bright Depths", "Hog Futures", "Black & White", "As Day & Night", and "Angel's Flight".

A funky funky big band – and one that blasts away with a power that's just incredible – almost the force of some small combo from the funky 45 universe, stretched out over a wide range of heavy horns! The album's light years past the previous album from Samuel Jon Samuelsson – and we like that one a lot, so that will tell you what we think of this one – a record that's unlike anything else we can think of, almost a distillation of 70s funky big band modes, run through a razor-sharp sense of rhythm – and topped with a few slight keyboard touches amidst the full-on brace of horns, guitar, and percussion! The sound is mindblowing – "fokking" amazing, if we can pun off the title – and tracks include "Ahoba Rodney", "International Monetary Funk", "God Blessi Island", "Chicken Street", and "Phobos & Deimos".

A seminal live set from tenorist Archie Shepp – and some of his freest, least-structured material ever! Shepp's still a righteous force here on his horn, but there also seems to be equal emphasis on the contributions of all members of the group – woven together in a really rich tapestry of sound, but with less of the structuring righteous concepts of some of Archie's other work – especially his sides for Impulse. Shepp had really been experiencing some new freedoms on the French scene of the late 60s – even more so than in the US avant outfield – and you can definitely hear him taking flight here, with a like-minded group of players that includes Clifford Thornton on trombone and shenai, Alan Shorter on flugelhorn, Joseph Dujean on guitar, Beb Guerin on bass, and Claud Delcloo on drums. This first part of the live set features one long track – "The Early Bird" – a slow building number that goes increasingly outside as it progresses, featuring some very over the top solo work from Shepp, who also plays a bit of piano on the set! Piano returns on "Huru" – another long track that has Shepp laying down these beautiful blocky passages that are surprisingly personal amidst the freer energy of the group. Great package – with heavy book-styled cover, new notes, and lots of photos!

The second chapter of Steeleye Span on Chrysalis Records – and a set that still has the group hewing strongly to the acoustic roots of their early years! At a time when many of their contemporaries were tempted to go for more commercial, more mainstream modes, Steeleye Span only seemed to get more traditional – really holding onto the Celtic folk roots that made them so great in the first place – with amazing lead vocals from the legendary Maddy Prior, and strong vocal support from other group members Tim Hart, Bob Johnson, Rick Kemp, and Peter Knight – who all seem to have really learned how to harmonize together over the years. The set features one live album and four studio sets – the full records Rocket Cottage, Storm Force Ten, Live At Last, Sails Of Silver, and Tempted & Tried – a whopping 47 tracks in all!

A much-needed look at a key force in Italian disco – the legendary Baia Degli Angeli, a club that was as important to Europe as the Paradise Garage was to New York! The set features a hardcover book that's loaded with full color images, photos, and essays on the club – packaged beautifully with a 16 track CD in the back cover. And the CD itself is almost worth the price of admission – a great selection of numbers that played strongly on Angeli's dancefloor in the late 70s, most of which have a spacey electronic quality that links them strongly to some of the best underground club of New York at the time. The CD's mixed together in a way that recreates the feel of the legendary floor – and titles include "Midnight Madness" by Don Ray, "Zone" by Rhythm Makers, "Don't You Know Who Did It" by John Forde, "Pazuzu" by Tony Silvester & The New Ingredient, "Surprise" by Andre Gagnon, "Sweet Lady" by Chain Reaction, "Timing Forget The Timing" by Black Devil, "Magnifico Mambo" by Five Letters, "Come On & Rock" by Needa, "Point Zero" by Voyage, "Un Habit En La Bemol" by Flashback Roger Gravel, and "Monkey Star" by Arpadys.

Hip hop, street soul, and lots lots more – a really revolutionary selection of music from the legendary Celluloid Records – a label that was virtually a genre unto itself! Celluloid was a key force tying together the New York downtown scene at the start of the 80s, and the postcolonial music world of Paris – and as a result, they always operated with a culture-crossing style that few other companies of the time managed to hit – merging together sounds in really unlikely ways, and often coming up with fresh new styles in the process! The label's known for crate-diggers for its hip hop releases – and to world music fans for its electric Africa work – but they also were on the forefront of New York No Wave, avant jazz, and post-punk – and somehow found a way to integrate both young new talents, and older experimentalists who still had plenty to offer. This package finally does Celluloid justice – and goes way past the few simplistic comps of the label's work over the years – training the skilled Strut ear to the whole thing, and also serving up the full story of the label in the process. Titles include "I'm The One" by Material, "Day Tripper" by Shockabilly, "Tele Apres La Meteo" by Fredinand, "Disco Rough (long version)" by Mathematiques Modernes, "Electrique Sylvie (full length version)" by Modern Guy, "Mean Machine Chant/Mean Machine" by Last Poets, "Abele Dance ('85 rmx)" by Manu Dibango, "Change The Beat (French & English)" by Fab 5 Freddy, "The Escapades Of Futura 2000" by Futura 2000 with The Clash, and "Downing Street Rock" by Winston Edwards & Blackbeard. 26 tracks in all!

Hip hop, street soul, and lots lots more – a really revolutionary selection of music from the legendary Celluloid Records – a label that was virtually a genre unto itself! Celluloid was a key force tying together the New York downtown scene at the start of the 80s, and the postcolonial music world of Paris – and as a result, they always operated with a culture-crossing style that few other companies of the time managed to hit – merging together sounds in really unlikely ways, and often coming up with fresh new styles in the process! The label's known for crate-diggers for its hip hop releases – and to world music fans for its electric Africa work – but they also were on the forefront of New York No Wave, avant jazz, and post-punk – and somehow found a way to integrate both young new talents, and older experimentalists who still had plenty to offer. This package finally does Celluloid justice – and goes way past the few simplistic comps of the label's work over the years – training the skilled Strut ear to the whole thing, and also serving up the full story of the label in the process. Titles include "I'm The One" by Material, "Day Tripper" by Shockabilly, "Tele Apres La Meteo" by Fredinand, "Disco Rough (long version)" by Mathematiques Modernes, "Electrique Sylvie (full length version)" by Modern Guy, "Mean Machine Chant/Mean Machine" by Last Poets, "Abele Dance ('85 rmx)" by Manu Dibango, "Change The Beat (French & English)" by Fab 5 Freddy, "The Escapades Of Futura 2000" by Futura 2000 with The Clash, and "Downing Street Rock" by Winston Edwards & Blackbeard.

More Lost Legends Of Surf Guitar put together by Sundazed – absolutely killer tunes from the crème of the underground crop! These are the inventors and originators of the seedy surf garage sound – including The Trashmen, The Belairs, Jan Davis, The Gladiators, The Avengers VI and many more. All the hallmark elements of classic surf are here in full force – the reverb guitar sound, heavy sax, shouted vocals and the all around rumbling vibe. Sundazed gives it the reverent treatment these tunes deserve, but it's still presented in a fun, unfussy way. Incredible! 28 tracks on 2LPs – including a few previously unissued tunes – and it's all in the original mono mixes. Includes "Time Bomb" by The Avengers VI, "Surfbuster" by Jan Davis, "Volcanic Action" by The Belairs, "The Hearse" by Al Casey, "(They Call The Wind) Maria" by PJ And Artie, "Surfbeat" by The Surfriders, "Istambul" by The Gladiators, "Moon Race" by The Citations, "Strange Fever" by Thom Starr And The Galaxies, "The Truant" by The Truants, "Raw-Hide" by The Pastels.

An amazing set of funky 45s from New Orleans and other points deep south – with a mix of obscure bits and a few "classic" Crescent City grooves! Southern Fried Funk is a collection of singles originally issued on regional labels such as Tou-Sea, Deesu, Quinvu, Budd, Gold Cup, Malaco, Milk and more – corralled here on CD by the reverent revivalists at Grapevine Records – who respect the more famous numbers, but also include plenty of other rare ones to keep the interest of more hardcore collectors! What we really love about this particular comp is the deep soul feel of the tracks – with all of the raw, thundering, sweaty funk elements in full force – but the material still has a soul feel underneath. It's the real thing! 22 tracks in all: "Get Out Of My Life Woman", "Underdog Backstreet" by Warren Lee, "Everything I Do Gonh Be Funky (From Now On)" by Lee Dorsey, "It's A Hang Up Baby" by ZZ Hill, "Real Soul" by Ted Ford, "Make It Real (Right On)" by Betty Ford, "I'm A Carpenter (Parts 1 & 2)" by David Robinson, "I Tired it And I Liked It' by Jewel Bass, "You Made Your Bed" by Eddie Bradford and more!

Some of the wildest sounds we've ever heard from the piano – a record with energy that's somewhere between John Cage and Cecil Taylor! At times, Patrizio Fariselli plays with a great sensitivity to silence – letting it emerge with as much force as his well-placed work on the keys of the piano. But at other times, he comes off with a full, frenzied sound that's really dynamic and almost explosive – so much so that we're left wondering about the state of the piano after he's walked away! There's a bit of vocalization on the record, and titles include "In Side Out Side", "Lenny Tristano", "Anthropafagia", and "Scorie".

Rochelle and the girls are in full force on this late 70s Salsoul groover – and with production by Norman Harris and Tom Moulton, they're in a perfect setting to open up and do their thing. Titles include "Hold Your Horses", "Great Expectations", "Love Thang", and "Double Cross". You know the groove!

One of the greatest records we've heard from Al Jarreau in years – a set that features his incredible vocals backed by the Metropol Orkest – a large ensemble who help the legendary singer find a whole new sort of groove! The bold backings are really wonderful – full and flowing, with loads of warm jazz energy that seems to push Al's vocals even more than before – giving them a force that's hardly what you might expect from the aging Jarreau, and really helping to recover that jazzy core that's always made his singing so special. Many of the tunes here are older numbers, but really given an unusual twist in the process – overflowing with a live, ebullient quality that comes through from the very first note. Titles include "Flame", "Agua De Beber", "Cold Duck", "Jacaranda Bougainvillea", "We're In This Love Together", "Midnight Sun", "Something That You Said", "After All", "Spain", and "Scootcha Booty".

Plenty of disco love here – a really heartfelt selection of rare club tunes – great little numbers that are as funky and soulful as they are obscure! These aren't the disco hits of the late 70s, but they're also not clunkers that are just rare either – and instead, they're great little tunes that hardly got discovered back in the day – but are brought together here in a wicked collection by collector Al Kent! There's a freshness to the material that takes us way past the obvious – funky basslines, snapping drums, and lots of wonderful keyboards and guitar – all wrapped up in a near-perfect way, and usually set to some smoking vocals too. Many of the cuts here are rare to even our crate-tuned ears – and titles include "Mighty Gents" by The Mighty Gents, "Hungry" by Sandy's Gang, "Oh Baby/Get On Down" by Bo Galigher & TSB, "Something About You" by Moses, "Disco Fever (part 3)" by Rhond Durand, "Disco Music" by Sil Austin, "Hustle On Down (part 3)" by Michael Legrair, "I Want To Be With You" by Gregory Andre & Two Plus Three, "How Long Is Forever" by Frank & James, "Human" by Neo Experience, "Waiting In the Wings" by Marion Javius, and "Is It Wrong" by Magnetic Force. 2CD version features a full mix of all tracks by Al Kent – plus an unmixed CD with 15 individual tracks.

Wonderful wonderful wonderful – and one of the best albums we've ever heard of modern bossa and soundtrack grooves! For years, Nicola Conte has been a seminal force in the new Italian scene – working as a DJ, promoter, producer, and sometimes recording artist under the odd 12" single. This album marks his first full effort – and after years of bubbling under in the Italian scene, Nicola emerges as one of the most perfect-formed artists we've heard in years. The whole album's a breathtaking mix of 60s bossa, soundtrack, and easy themes – put together with never a dull moment, and always a focus on the kind of mid and uptempo grooves that have been pushing the Italian and German scenes for the last 5 years. The record features great mixes from a few of Nicola's 12" singles, plus a wealth of excellent new material that really expands his groove wonderfully – with a totally real, totally honest sound that pushes past the gazillion retro remix throwaway albums that you'll find stuffing the listening stations at the megastores! Tracks include "Il Cerchio Rosso", "Dossier Omega", "Trappola Mortale", "Jazz Pour Dadine", and "Bossa Per Due".

A massive tribute to the overlooked John Danser – a force on the New York scene for decades – but an artist whose genius is only finally getting its due! Danser's 70s groovers have been causing ripples with crate diggers for years – but this set stretches back to show the full picture of the mighty man – and includes some brilliant numbers that blend hardbop and Latin jazz, others which have a groovy sort of soundtrack feel, and some of the more classic Danser modes – which come across in a funky big band style that's mighty nice! Notes are all in Japanese, so we can't tell you much about the dates or players – but the grooves alone are more than worth the price of admission, and have a soulful brilliance that speaks volumes on their own. Titles include "Burnito", "The Wanderer", "Bossana", "The Alcove", "Moods", "Mucho Loco", "Istanbul Express", and "Have Axe Will Swing".

Charming early recordings from Alick Nkhata, one of Zambia's most influential and popular musicians! His fascinating career included stints making field recordings with the legendary Hugh Tracey throughout the continent, as well as serving as a long-time director of the Zambia Broadcast Service –where he was key force in recording and disseminating traditional African music. Considering those credentials it's interesting that his own music was so heavily influenced by American jazz and hep harmony – at times, this stuff sounds like Africa's answer to the Mills Brothers or Three Cats and a Fiddle. Some of the songs are delightfully spare, his piquant acoustic guitar lines accompanied only by elaborate vocal harmonies, while the full band tracks reveal a strong swing feel. There's also a discernable influence of calypso and other Caribbean styles here. Tracks include his biggest hit "Shalapo", "Maliya", "Chisoni", "Ifilamba", and "Abalumendo Bamo"

Way more than just a simple "survey" of Chicago soul – and instead, a whopping collection of work from the vaults of Dakar Records – nearly all of it produced by Chi-soul genius Carl Davis! Back in the 60s, Davis' work was a seminal force in shaping the sound of the Windy City – particularly that lightly stepping, sometimes loping groove that showed up in Carl's productions for Okeh and Brunswick, and which was used even more heavily once he launched Dakar! And while Dakar was kind of a partner label to Brunswick for many years, the company also had much firmer Chicago roots – and mostly issued a variety of rare singles by artists who never cut full LPs – either for the bigger labels at the time, or at all! This extremely well-done package digs through the finest Dakar work of the late 60s and early 70s – tracing a groove that starts with the trademark Chicago sound of the 60s, then moves into a much more righteous style as the 70s move in. CD features 28 titles in all – including "Love Had To Be You" by Jean Shy, "Forever & A Day" by Wales Wallace, "Cowboys To Girls" by Jalynne Sound, "Just To Make You Happy" by Shirley Karol, "Baby Jane" by Otis Clay, "I'm In Danger" by The Visitors, "You're So Right For Me" by Johnny Sayles, "You Babe" by Carl Davis, "Love Uprising" by Mister T, "You Brought Out The Good In Me" by Otis Leavill, "Follow The Leader" by Major Lance, "I Choose You" by Donald Height, "Broken Home" by Ben Monroe, and "It's All Over Between Us" by Lee Charles.

A key look at the influence of Italian rhythms on American dancefloors – tracks from a magical time when Italian artists were hitting big in clubs on the US scene! The work here is from an early 80s moment when disco was on the downturn – leaving space for Italian imports to hit our shores with bigger force than before – bringing with them a range of romping rhythms, electronic sounds, and other odd touches that really set the scene for house music to come! A few cuts here have a slightly cold feel – a bit like the electronic post-punk imports from the UK or Germany – but most numbers are still quite warm and soulful, yet tuned differently than American club of the time – a bit more emphasis on the beats and basslines, even though there's still plenty of vocals and keyboards as well. The set features full notes on this time and the music by Bill Brewster – author of Last Night A DJ Saved My Life – and it features a great array of under-reissued tracks, including "Dreaming" by Rainbow Team, "Burning Love" by DD Sound, "Love" by Firefly, "Wojtyla Disco Dance (part 1)" by Freddy The Flying Ducthman & The Sistina Band, "Brazilian Dancer (DJ version)" by Kasso, "Tha Kee Tha Tha" by Five Letters, "Flor De Coca" by Number One Ensemble, "E Fatto E Sorde E (Maxessa edit)" by Tullio De Piscopo, "Tina Are You Ready (inst)" by Valentine, and "Do It Again" by Easy Going.

A beautiful look at the groundbreaking Vanguard Records label – a key force in the sound of folk music in the 60s – and a hell of a great place for blues, jazz, and psych as well! The package really brings together the full scope of the Vanguard contribution to music at the time – and goes out of its way to select key tracks that are career-defining moments for some artists, and important early and offbeat appearances for others – these wonderful little gems that really show the freedom and opportunities that Vanguard offers for so many artists. The package features 83 tracks in all – wrapped up with a heavy book that runs through the music on a track-by-track basis – offering up plenty of history along the way! Titles include "Rock & Roll Music" by Circus Maximus, "North Country Blues" by Bob Dylan, "Easy Does It" by Sandy Bull, "Janis" by Country Joe & The Fish, "I'm So Glad" by Skip James, "Deep River Blues" by Doc Watson, "Walls Of Time" by Bill Monroe, "Many A Mile" by Patrick Sky, "Wish I Was A Punk" by Notes From The Underground, "Soldier Blue" by Buffy Saint Marie, "Rene's Theme" by Larry Coryelle, "Sold American" by Kinky Friedman, "Sail" by Oregon, "Mobile Line" by Jim Kweskin, "Dope Again" by Serpent Power, "Hello Stranger" by Mike Seeger, and "The Death Of Stephen Biko" by Tom Paxton.

Hip hop lifers and genre-defiant pop art blenders The Beastie Boys deliver the Hot Sauce – either their 8th or 9th album in 25 years, depending on how you count the Mix Up instrumentals set – and it sounds to us like a return to the good times hip hop funk style-hopping that the Boys flaunted so brilliantly in the period from Check Your Head to Hello Nasty! Hot Sauce was initially solicited as Part 1 to be followed by a Part 2, but the album was put on hold while Yauch battled cancer, which gave the Beasties plenty of time to finess the material and release it as the definitive project we have here. It's solid stuff and a Beastie Boys album through-and-through – and they're as immune to trends as ever. Guests include Nas, Santigold and Switch. Tracks include "Make Some Noise", "Nonstop Disco Powerpack", "Too Many Rappers (New Reactionaries Version)" with Nas, "Lee Majors Comes Again", "Don't Play No Game That I Can't Win" feat Santigold, "Tadlock's Glasses", "The Lisa Lisa/Full Force Routine", "Here's A Little Something For Ya" and more.

A treasure trove of 70s work from Wayne Shorter – his four albums for Columbia Records, plus two more CDs' worth of music recorded with Weather Report! The music here really represents a flowering of Shorter's talents – a way to focus some of the experiments he began at Blue Note at the end of the 60s – and find a way to bring back some of the warmth and soulfulness of his earliest years – yet all within a freer setting that has styles mixing wonderfully! The package features the full albums Atlantis, Phantom Navigator, Joy Ryder, and Native Dancer – the last of which is an especial favorite for us, given that it shows Shorter's love of Brazilian music. And the set also features two full CDs of Weather Report recordings of Wayne Shorter compositions – a great example of Wayne's important force within that seminal 70s group!

The first full album recorded by A Certain Ratio – and a mad mix of styles that's immediately compelling! The group are a key link here in so many traditions – British punk, 70s funk, dub, and late prog – all coming together under the godlike production talents of Martin Hannett to make the album one of the gleaming jewels in the crown of the young Factory Records label. There's never been a record of such scattered, skittish darkness – and even though short songs like "The Fox", "Forced Laugh", "Felch", "My Spirit", and "Loss" are arresting, the whole thing's magnificently capped off by the extended percussion jam "Winter Hill" – a tune that sounds like a batucada group trying to drum their way across a post-apocalyptic landscape!

This former member of the Rena Rama group steps out in a loving tribute to Don Cherry – who was himself an importance force on the Swedish scene at the same time as Aberg's earlier fame! The album's got a slow-building quality that reminds us a fair bit of the Cherry of later years – a great sense of space and sound, and one that really benefits from an expanded lineup of musicians on the set. Some tracks are quite laidback and atmospheric, but the best ones are fuller and more driving – and apart from drummer Peter Erskine, Palle Mikkelborg also plays the role of Cherry on trumpet on a medley of tracks from Don's Relativity Suite! Titles include "Arthur", "Rain", "Amarone", "Kashmir", "Folkvisa", "In Memoriam", and "Tantra/Mali Doussn'Gouni/Desireless".

Carl Craig meets Tony Allen – in a wonderfully warm remix of Allen's "Kilode"! Craig really helps add a lot to the tune here – taking the strong vocals and forceful rhythms of the original, and inflecting them with a slight bit of spacier soul – not nearly as cold or abstract as some of Carl's other work at first, but then really running away with some heavier bass near the end!

The brilliant full exposure of the voice that was always buried in the larger sounds of Pink Floyd – a definite madcap romp from the amazing Syd Barrett – and a record that still sounds as captivatingly chilling all these many decades later! There's a stripping-down here that's really tremendous – no need for all the overblown, long-winded excursions of other forces in the psych generation – as Syd takes the whole thing down to its core, and carries it off with a charm that's almost folksy – yet which, like David Bowie at about this point in his career, manages to manipulate and dismiss the folk generation as much as it does the psych one too! David Gilmour and Roger Waters are on hand to help a bit with production – and titles include "Octopus", "Golden Hair", "Long Gone", "She Took A Long Cool Look", "Late Night", "If It's In You", "Love You", and "Terrapin". CD features 6 more bonus tracks – alternate takes of songs on the album!

Wonderful work from Brook Benton – and the kind of record that always gets overlooked in discussions of southern soul, but which is proof that Benton's always been a key force in the genre! Brook virtually invented the style with his earlier country soul recordings – and by the time of this 1970 set, he's in perfect form vocally – and working under some wonderfully sophisticated arrangements by Arif Mardin. The result is the kind of cross-genre record that Brook could do effortlessly – and which should have made him huge, but instead kind of got him left behind by all the other folks who were copping his style. Yet with the strength of a record like this, we'll take that overlooked fame as still OK – because the set's a gem just waiting to be discovered by later generations like us! Rhythm's by the Dixie Flyers – augmented by jazz players that include King Curtis, Pepper Adams, and Joe Newman. Titles include "Aspen Colorado", "For Lee An", "Whoever Finds This, I Love You", "Don't It Make You Wanta Go Home", and "Let Me Fix It".

Cindy Blackman's looking a bit foxy on the cover, but her sound here is solidly soulful – a forceful batch of tunes that really match the best energy of the Muse Records soulbop scene of the early 90s! There's a nice blend of modern ideas and straight jazz energy here – sounds that grow strongly from the contributions of quintet members Steve Coleman on alto, Wallace Roney on trumpet, Kenny Barron on piano, and Lonnie Plaxico on drums – almost all Muse Records labelmates of Blackman, working here with energy that reminds us a lot of Roney's excellent sides for the company at the time. Blackman's the real boss, though – guiding things forcefully with her work on drums, and contributing a wealth of original numbers to the set – tunes that include "Code Red", "Anxiety", "Green", "Face In The Dark", and "Circles".

A lost treasure – never-issued material from the legendary Blue Notes combo – and a set that really helps fill some space in their all-too-small recorded catalog! The set captures the group at the end of the 70s, working in their most openly-creative mode – a style that partly shows their strong roots in the South African jazz scene of the 60s, but which also really opens up with some of the freer modes of the following decade – hitting a mix of modes that's not unlike some of the AACM at their best, although often with a lot more intensity, too! The group at this point is a quartet – with Chris McGregor on piano, Johnny Dyani on bass, Louis Moholo on drums, and Dudu Pukwana on some especially amazing alto sax – blown with such righteous force, we might well say that his instrument is center stage on the record – were it not for the wonderfully complex rhythms from the other three group members too! Tracks are long, and filled with righteous soul – and titles inlcude "Ithi Gui", "Mange", "Lonta Uyagula", "Lakutshonga Ilanga", "The Bride", and "Funk Dem Dudu".

A great lost performance from David Boykin's Expanse group – one of the boldest forces in Chicago underground jazz a few years back! The lineup here is great – with Boykin on tenor, Nicole Mitchell on flute, Josh Abrams on bass, James Baker on piano, and Myron Cherry on drums – working together beautifully in a tribute to the late Hazel Boykin – at a level that arguably has more structure and force than even other great Boykin recordings of the time! The interplay between tenor and flute is wonderful – very complex, but also deeply soulful, and quite organic – and David's especially great, blowing with that spiritual power that really made us sit up and take notice when he first came onto the scene. Titles include "His & Hers", "1/20/03", "Eli Whitney", "Gates", and "Big & Fine".

Five killer albums from Billy Cobham – all records that really define his strength on the drums in the 70s! The music here is a groundbreaking mix of jazz, rock, and a bit of funk – a style of which Billy was one of the greatest proponents at the time – not just on albums like these, but in other key collaborations and session work as well! Yet these records really showcase Cobham at his best and boldest – working with a strength on the drum kit that's as forceful as most funk players of the period, yet which often takes off in even more propulsively jamming ways. Things are mixed up nicely a bit over the course of the records, but there's definitely a unified groove that holds the whole thing together! Features the full albums Spectrum, Total Eclipse, Crosswinds, Funky Thide Of Sings, and Shabazz – all packaged in tiny LP sleeves!

A great set of tracks that represents some of Chris Connor's first recordings as a solo act – a classic album originally issued as a 10" LP by the Bethlehem label – but expanded here with lots of extra tracks to make a full length record! Backing is by the trio of Ellis Larkins – a great pianist with a really moody style that perfectly fits Connor's vocals – and Chris is in fine fine form, singing with that icy tone we love so much – a bit sad, and a bit mellow, but always heartfelt, without the forced emotion of other singers of her generation. Titles include "I Hear Music", "What Is There To Say", "Why Shouldn't I", "All About Ronnie", and "Spring Is Here". CD features two bonus tracks – alternate takes on "Stella By Starlight" and "Why Shouldn't I".

Magical early work from Erroll Garner – a 10" LP featuring sides done for Savoy Records, all in that wonderfully evocative, wonderfully fluid Garner style! There's a bit less rhythmic force here than on some of Erroll's more famous work in the 50s, and most tunes have a very gentle, late nite sort of feel. Titles include "Moon Glow", "Confessin", "I Want A Little Girl", "She's Funny That Way", and "Stormy Weather".

Solo Burton Greene – beautifully recorded – in ways that have his already-wonderful lines on piano echoing out in the performance space, and almost folding back on themselves in waves of sound! Given Greene's striking touch on the keyboard – sharp, yet always melodic, which we really love – this presence of "room" really illuminates the record – and makes each statement seem even more forceful, and a more personal utterance that really sends the whole thing home. The whole thing's as tuneful as it is creative – a wonderful demonstration of Burton's talents in these later years – and titles include "Elevation", "Greene Mansions", "Freebop The 4th", "Space Is Still The Place", "Get Through It", "Little Song", and "Tree".

Quite possibly the greatest album ever cut by pianist Duke Jordan – a seminal force in bop, both for his writing and playing – but an artist who rarely ever got the chance to work as a leader! This session's a prime bit of lost Blue Note – with an unusual and edgey lineup that includes Dizzy Reece on trumpet, Stanley Turrentine on tenor, Reggie Workman on bass, and Art Taylor on drums – all coming together under Jordan's direction. The set's got a wonderfully classic feel – a mix of hardbop with slightly more lyrical leanings, and a few darker undercurrents – heard to best effect in Jordan's writing, which reminds us of some of his work on French soundtracks from the same time. Titles include "Deacon Joe", "Si-Joya", "Flight To Jordan", and "Squawkin".

Kool & The Gang's a little bit slicker and a little bit smoother on The Force than on earlier classic records – but thankfully, they're still getting on down to the funky sounds! The Force does indeed have more of a spacey boogie than a jungle boogie vibe, but they're still doing what we love to hear from them. Party funk and soul from this legendary group – and the soul comes out especially well on the mellower numbers, which seem to take off from classics on albums like Love & Understanding or Open Sesame. Titles include "Free", "Slick Superchick", "Just Be True", "Mighty Mighty High", "Oasis", "The Force" and "Life's A Song".

Incredible work from Sory Kandia Kouyate – not just an amazing singer, but also a powerful political force in independent Guinea as well! This 2CD collection brings together music from Sory's best period – very heavy on early 70s numbers that feature enigmatic instrumentation on kora, tenor sax, balafon, and percussion – with accompaniment by either the Trio De Musique, Ensemble National Djoiba, or Keltgui Et Ses Tambourinis – all groups who create these amazingly-woven backdrops that are perfect for Koyate's long-spun style of storytelling singing! The whole thing is captivating right from the start – with that incredible freshness we first felt when hearing the Ethiopiques series – a great reminder that there's still a hell of a lot of African music for our ears to discover. Wonderfully packaged by Sterns, with notes in French and English –a nd tracks that include "Kedo", "Douga", "Toubaka", "Siiba", "Nina", "Souaressi", "Minawa", "Djoliba", "Fouaba", "Tara", and "N'Na".

Sparkling work from singer Irene Kral – and possibly the best album she ever cut! The backings here are by the Herb Pomeroy group – a slightly modern ensemble that still knows how to swing with a good dose of Boston soul – and the overall feel of the album's a lot more forceful than some of Irene's other albums, packing a punch we didn't know she had, and which we're happy to hear! There's a few cooler overtones here – somewhat in the June Christie mode – but overall the sound is upbeat, full, and swinging – served up with in arrangements by Ernie Wilkins and Al Cohn. Titles include "This Little Love", "What's Right For You", "Comes Love", "Lazy Afternoon", "I'd Know You Anywhere", and "It Isn't So Good".

Some of the greatest albums in rock and roll are those that were never released – including some that finally saw the light of day after decades, like the Beach Boys' Smile! This book really gets at that fact beautifully – showing how, although never issued, some of these key creative projects really represent the ongoing struggle of rock music in the music business – the push and pull between different forces, and the resulting crash when musical moments never come to be! Each chapter tells the tale of a different album that didn't make it – David Bowie's Toy, Seal's Wonderland, and other projects by The Beastie Boys, Beck, Chicago, Ray Davies, Adam Ant, The Jungle Brothers, and others – almost a musical version of the comic book What If? There's also a final chapter on other almost-rans, including a few that might just make it – and the book has a nice breezy style that's nicely journalistic at times. 319 pages, softcover.

A beautiful book on five key forces in American advertising of the 20th Century – and one with an especially strong focus on the important work of the Mad Men generation! The lavish book is filled with full color images, printed on heavy paper in an oversized format – and interspersed with details on the careers of each of the five ad men named in the title – Leo Burnett, David Ogilvy, Marcel Bleustein Blanchet, Bill Bernbach, and Albert Lasker – each given their own section in the book, laid out to show an aesthetic progression up through the 70s. The presentation is wonderful – like finding a pile of old magazines to pore through, and about the same size as well – and the full color book is 140 pages, with heavy stock paperback covers.

Slow sexy grooves from Robbie M – an artist with a vibe that's just what you'd expect from his look on the cover! The tunes here are beautifully laidback, and have this slow-percolating quality that's like a mellower take on 80s club – all instrumental, and still with lots of beats and keyboards – just put together at a pace that takes it easy, and never works too hard to force the groove! The album's surprisingly seductive, and a great change from some of the overdone 80s modes floating around out there of late – kind of a cool quiet storm approach to club music – with a mighty nice sound. Titles include "Down With It", "Armed & Dangerous", "Let's Groove", "Stretch Limos", "I'm So In Love With You", "What Is It Girl", "It's Tearin Me Up", and "You've Been Acting Strange Lately".

One of the most spiritual albums to come from the young AACM movement in Chicago – a session that's somewhat equal in expression to some of the best post-Coltrane work on Impulse Records! Maurice McIntyre plays here with a sound that's already fully formed – an approach to the tenor that's as searingly human as that of Pharoah Sanders or Albert Ayler – but which is also played with a sharpness at times that recalls a young Marion Brown. The rest of the group is equally well-matched – a tremendous array of talent from the Chicago scene, with Malachi Favors on bass, Thurman Barker and Ajaramu on drums, Leo Smith on trumpet and flugelhorn, John Stubblefield on soprano sax, and Amina Claudine Myers on piano. George Hines vocalizes a bit on a few tracks – singing in a spiritual tone that's somewhat like Leon Thomas, but much freer and more abstract – and the album beautifully balances shorter musical statements with a fuller suite on side two – showing the deeper, more ambitious expressions that were starting to well up in the AACM. Titles include the tremendous "Humility In The Light Of Creator", plus "Hexagon", "Kcab Emoh", "Pluto Calling", "Life Force", and "Suite – Ensemble Fate". CD also features a bonus version of the title track!

A brilliantly evocative album from Pat Metheny – one that's got a quietly epic feel, as Pat and group soar out across the American landscape in a set of tunes that subtly explore space and sound while still remaining wonderfully fluid. There's nothing forced here, and nothing too slick – just a magical blend of acoustic and electric sounds, touched with those mystical notes that seem to flow effortlessly from the hands of keyboardist Lyle Mays. Titles include "The Epic", "American Garage", "Cross The Heartland", "Airstream", and "The Search".

A wonderful little record – one that's much richer and more compelling than you might expect from ESP Record's billing of Mij as a "Yodeling Astrologer"! The album's very heavy on reverb – used to really wonderful effect to expand and abstract the sounds created by Mij on vocals and guitar – recorded here without any other instrumentation at all, but spilling out wonderfully in the wide space of the studio with a tremendous sort of force. There's a flowing brilliance to the record that recalls the sound of Tim Buckley's music – but with some of the darker elements of Tom Rapp – although in the end, Mij's music sounds nothing like either – but would sit equally well in a collection that included both. Titles include "Little Boy", "Door Keys", "Planet Of A Flower", "Never Be Free", "Look Into The Knight", "Two Stars", "Grok", and "Romeo & Juliet".

Weird and spooky sounds from Oscillotron – a one-man outfit, but working here in sharply cinematic splendor! The music here takes plenty of cues from the late 70s/early 80s horror generation – with some wonderfully dark keyboard lines that resonate strongly throughout the entire set – sometimes spare and moody, sometimes quite full and forceful! Like other titles on the great Cineploit label, this one has a new artist picking up a sweet retro cinematic vibe – and honestly carrying off the whole thing almost better than original film scores from years back. Titles include "Embryo", "Oracle", "Dawn", "Eclipse", and "Assembly".

Weird and spooky sounds from Oscillotron – a one-man outfit, but working here in sharply cinematic splendor! The music here takes plenty of cues from the late 70s/early 80s horror generation – with some wonderfully dark keyboard lines that resonate strongly throughout the entire set – sometimes spare and moody, sometimes quite full and forceful! Like other titles on the great Cineploit label, this one has a new artist picking up a sweet retro cinematic vibe – and honestly carrying off the whole thing almost better than original film scores from years back. Titles include "Embryo", "Oracle", "Dawn", "Eclipse", "Terror" and "Assembly".

A real gem in the 50s catalog of bassist Oscar Pettiford, and one of his strongest dates as a leader! Pettiford really sparkles here – leading a great group that features key 50s modernists like Gigi Gryce on alto, Jerome Richardson on tenor, Bob Brookmeyer on trombone, and Donald Byrd on trumpet – all tightly arranged at most moments, but given enough space on the set to strike out and state their own ideas. Pettiford's bass is wonderfully upfront in the mix, leading off most tunes with a nice sense of force – and titles include some really wonderful original material – like "Oscalypso", "Don't Squawk", "Bohemia After Dark", "Minor Seventh Heaven", and "Kamman's A Comin".

A full three albums by the legendary Pyramids – all packaged together in one complete set, with a bonus video too! The Pyramids recorded three key records during the 70s – each of them an underground classic, all served up in a wonderful bit of spiritual soul jazz with a really cosmic feel! The group are heavy on percussion and reeds – blending congas and assorted other percussion instruments with soprano sax, alto, and flute – all in a captivating sound that builds up nicely over the course of the album's two long tracks! The music is very organic – never too forced, nor never too far out – and there's a majestic quality to the whole thing, one that really lives up to the group's name and image on the cover. And although the ensemble hail from Ohio – hardly a spot you'd peg for spiritual jazz in the 70s – they're a key link between the early 70s avant movements in Chicago and St Louis, some of the hip grooves in Detroit's Tribe Records scene, and the growing loft jazz movement in New York. The reeds are especially nice – alto sax from Idris Ackamoor and flute from Margo Ackamoor – and all other group members play percussion, and vocalize too – singing along with some of the tunes in chanting, chorus formation, which adds an even further element of soul to the mix. Includes the full albums Lalibela, King Of Kings, and Birth Speed Merging – with bonus video content of The Pyramids Live On KQED in 1975.

A bold step forward for British soul in the 21st century – and the smash second album from the great Terri Walker! Terri's got a sound that's loud, proud, and completely in the pocket – emerging here with a fully-formed groove that should not only please the fans of underground soul who dug her first album, but which should also push her out into new audiences very strongly! There's a punctuated quality to the production on the set that almost seems to further enforce the power of Terri's great voice – a snapping sort of rhythm that really pushes the whole thing over the top. Titles include "What The Hell", "Hurt By Love", "LOVE", "Whoopsie Daisy", "The Woman You Want", "Feel Love", "The One That Got Away", and "Star".

A crucial look at the Chicago scene in the 1980s – and the first collection to really get at the roots of that city's legendary house music scene! Although later labels – like Trax or DJ International – became known as global forces for dance music in the 80s, the big wave of new sounds from the Windy City was really started by a much smaller company – the tiny Mitchbal label, and related Chicago Connection Records! This wonderful package really does a great job of bringing the Mitchbal contribution to light – with lavish notes, almost Numero-style, that fully detail the way the label mixed unique strands on the scene – British imports, new wave rhythms, and a younger generation of soul musicians still looking for an outlet in the post-disco years. These forces, and more, all came together to make the mighty sound of Mitchbal – featured here in a collection of the label's rare singles, some unreleased tracks, and other essential bits. 3CD package features a full bonus mix CD, plus a whopping 24 tracks that include "Fantasy (inst)" by Z Factor, "Shake Your Body" by Jeanette Thomas, "When I Hear The Music" by Mitchbal & The Housemasters, "The House Is On Fire" by Dezz & Grant, "Do Dat Stuff (dance mix)" by Mitchbal & Larry Williams, "I Am Music (inst)" by Libra Libra, "That's The Beat" by Risque Rhythm Team, "Fast Cars" by Z Factor, "More Than Just A Dance (backyard mix)" by Rique Rhythm Team, "I Got Broke Breakdancing (inst)" by MC Ghee, and "I Can't Forget" by Mr Lee.

A crucial look at the Chicago scene in the 1980s – and the first collection to really get at the roots of that city's legendary house music scene! Although later labels – like Trax or DJ International – became known as global forces for dance music in the 80s, the big wave of new sounds from the Windy City was really started by a much smaller company – the tiny Mitchbal label, and related Chicago Connection Records! This wonderful package really does a great job of bringing the Mitchbal contribution to light – with lavish notes, almost Numero-style, that fully detail the way the label mixed unique strands on the scene – British imports, new wave rhythms, and a younger generation of soul musicians still looking for an outlet in the post-disco years. These forces, and more, all came together to make the mighty sound of Mitchbal – featured here in a collection of the label's rare singles, some unreleased tracks, and other essential bits. 2LP package features some of the best club cuts – 8 tracks that include "Fantasy (inst)" by Z Factor, "The Jackin Zone" by Risque Rhythm Team, "Fast Cars" by Z Factor, "I Got Broke Breakdancing (inst)" by MC Ghee, "Shake Your Body" by Jeanette Thomas, "I Am The DJ (jazzy mix)" by Z Factor, "Do Dat Stuff (dance mix)" by Mitchbal & Larry Williams, and "I Like It (club)" by Libra Libra.

Raw rock from the El Paso scene of the early 60s – most of it material produced by local music hound Calvin Boles – a force as important to that scene as Lee Hazlewood was to Phoenix! Boles has a great ear for a sharp guitar line – and really manages to bring the best out of all the players here, giving the tunes an echoey feel that's mighty nice – and which really serves to fan the sparks of genius into a much longer-burning flame! Norton's done a great job with this volume – and have managed to unearth some rare Bobby Fuller tracks, along with gems from contemporaries on the Yucca and Exeter labels. Titles include "Black Out" and "Tickler" by The Sherwoods, "Hot Rod Ford" by DY & The Motivaters, "Lonely" by David Hayes & The Pawns, "Pawn" by The Pawns, "You Hold My Letters" by Bill Taylor & The Sherwoods, "Judy" by The Chancellers, "Dance To The Palisades" by Frank Gonzales & The Palisades, and "You're In Love" and "Say Honey" by Bobby Fuller.

Raw rock from the El Paso scene of the early 60s – most of it material produced by local music hound Calvin Boles – a force as important to that scene as Lee Hazlewood was to Phoenix! Boles has a great ear for a sharp guitar line – and really manages to bring the best out of all the players here, giving the tunes an echoey feel that's mighty nice – and which really serves to fan the sparks of genius into a much longer-burning flame! Norton's done a great job with this volume – and have managed to unearth some rare Bobby Fuller tracks, along with gems from contemporaries on the Yucca and Exeter labels. Titles include "Black Out" and "Tickler" by The Sherwoods, "Hot Rod Ford" by DY & The Motivaters, "Lonely" by David Hayes & The Pawns, "Pawn" by The Pawns, "You Hold My Letters" by Bill Taylor & The Sherwoods, "Judy" by The Chancellers, "Dance To The Palisades" by Frank Gonzales & The Palisades, and "You're In Love" and "Say Honey" by Bobby Fuller.

Essential work from the African scene of the 70s – a collection of tracks that goes way beyond the more familiar grooves of Fela Kuti and Manu Dibango! The set may well be the deepest so far we've heard from the always-amazing Soundway Records – a package that digs into a wealth of under-heard music from early 70s Nigeria, all of it beyond simple stylistic definitions and overplayed world music cliches! Many of the grooves here are wonderfully unique – odd fusions of styles that include highlife, jazz, soul, Afrobeat, and other regional influences – sifted and shaken together, and spilled out in the studio with a really fresh sort of feel. Rhythms are at the core of most numbers here, but even those are often unfamiliar – skittish, soulful, and often somewhat playful – and the other instrumentation on the tracks is great too, and often resonates with some of the odd sounds and tunings we love in work on the Ethiopiques series. 2CD set features 26 tracks that include "Okwuke Na Nchekwube" by Celestine Ukwu & His Philosophers National, "Nekwaha Semi Colon" by The Semi Colon, "Osalobua Rekpama" by Sir Victor Owaifo & His Melody Maestros, "Onwu Ama Dike" by St Augustine & His Rovers Dance Band, "Feso Jaiye" by The Sahara All Stars Of Jos, "To Whom It May Concern" by Tunji Oyelana & The Benders, "Akula Owu Onyeara" by The Funkees, "Koma Mosi" by The Harbours Band, "Belema" by Opotopo, "Asiko Mi Ni" by Nigerian Police Force Band, "Alabeke" by Dan Satch & His Atomic 8 Dance Band, "Blak Sound" by Leo Fadaka & The Heroes, "Arraino" by Popular Cooper & His All Beats Band, "Ugali" by Tony Benson Sextet, "Akpaisong" by Etubom Rex Williams & His Nigerian Allstars, "Eguae Oba" by Osayomore Joseph & The Creative 7, "Torri Wowo" by Godwin Ezike & The Ambassadors, "Buroda Mase" by Bola Johnson & His Easy Life Top Beats, "I Want A Break Thru" by The Hykkers, and "Eguae Oba" by Osayomore Joseph & The Creative 7.

Essential work from the African scene of the 70s – a collection of tracks that goes way beyond the more familiar grooves of Fela Kuti and Manu Dibango! The set may well be the deepest so far we've heard from the always-amazing Soundway Records – a package that digs into a wealth of under-heard music from early 70s Nigeria, all of it beyond simple stylistic definitions and overplayed world music cliches! Many of the grooves here are wonderfully unique – odd fusions of styles that include highlife, jazz, soul, Afrobeat, and other regional influences – sifted and shaken together, and spilled out in the studio with a really fresh sort of feel. Rhythms are at the core of most numbers here, but even those are often unfamiliar – skittish, soulful, and often somewhat playful – and the other instrumentation on the tracks is great too, and often resonates with some of the odd sounds and tunings we love in work on the Ethiopiques series. Vinyl part 2 features 14 tracks that include "Belema" by Opotopo, "Asiko Mi Ni" by Nigerian Police Force Band, "Alabeke" by Dan Satch & His Atomic 8 Dance Band, "Blak Sound" by Leo Fadaka & The Heroes, "Arraino" by Popular Cooper & His All Beats Band, "Ugali" by Tony Benson Sextet, "Akpaisong" by Etubom Rex Williams & His Nigerian Allstars, "Eguae Oba" by Osayomore Joseph & The Creative 7, "Torri Wowo" by Godwin Ezike & The Ambassadors, "Buroda Mase" by Bola Johnson & His Easy Life Top Beats, "I Want A Break Thru" by The Hykkers, and "Eguae Oba" by Osayomore Joseph & The Creative 7.

A crucially important slice of work – and maybe one of the most striking sets in this all-great Spiritual Jazz series! The focus here is on some of the great American players working in Europe during the late 60s and early 70s – often in collaboration with equally forward-thinking Europeans, and with results that are still musically amazing all these many years later! The collection has American flautist Sahib Shihab working with Swiss guitarist Pierre Cavalli, sound library maestro Johnny Hawksworth with west coast giant Hampton Hawes, Don Cherry working with Krzysztof Penderecki, a rare version of "Enlightenment" by Sun Ra in France and other legendary European recordings by Albert Ayler, Billy Gault, and Lee Konitz – a wonderfully rich blend of players. The tracks are pulled from records we almost never see – especially on vinyl – titles include "Studie Nr 1 Fur 12 Saitige Gitarre" by Pierre Cavalli & Sahib Shihab, "Jazz Rule" by Johnny Hawksworth & Hampton Hawes, "Born & Shake" by Clarence Peters, "Enlightenment by Sun Ra, "Summertime" by Albert Ayler, "T & W" by Frank Wright Sextet, "Humus The Life Exploring Force" by Don Cherry & The New Eternal Rhythm Orchestra, "Five, Four, & Three" by Lee Konitz, "The Creators" by Bobby Hutcherson with Harold Land, and the masterful, nearly 20-minute "Springtime" by Eric Dolphy. Includes a great essay on the scene by Francis Gooding, plus extensive info for each track!

A stone slammer from saxophonist Steve Grossman – a record that's essentially a Stone Alliance album with added keyboards from Jan Hammer! Steve's blowing hard, free, and soulfully with his regular bandmates Gene Perla on bass and Don Alias on drums – and Hammer's nicely restrained here, never jamming too much but really bringing a heck of a lot of force to the record with his work on electric piano and moog! Tracks are mostly in the hard choppy funk of the Stone Alliance mode, but have a few freer jazz touches at times – and titles include "This Way Out", "Inmate Man", "Katonah", "Enya", and "In It".

A seminal set from Max Roach – the start of his more righteous stretch in jazz, as you might guess from the title of the album! At some level, the record's got a bit of the feel of the post-Clifford Brown Mercury years from Roach – but at another, it's stretching out towards the directions Max would explore fully on the Candid, Impulse, and Fantasy labels in the 60s – an approach to hardbop that often really pushes its limits – not content to simply set up solos for the players, and instead moving with a much more forceful energy overall! Group members include Booker Little on trumpet, George Coleman on tenor, Ray Draper on tuba, and Art Davis on bass – and the lack of a piano makes for a very exciting sound! The album's got 2 great originals by Bill Lee – "Jodie's Cha Cha" and "Deeds Not Words" – plus Draper's classic "Filide", and the groundbreaking "Conversation" – a very cool solo by Roach on the drums!

Incredible work from the amazing Dorothy Ashby – a brilliant set of funky and spiritual tunes, set to full backings from Chicago soul arranger Richard Evans! This album is easily one of Ashby's greatest, and it's dedicated to the writings of Omar Khayyam – one of the forces guiding Dorothy's more spiritual sound at the end of the 60s, clearly opened up in a way that's not unlike the direction of Alice Coltrane's work, but a lot more focused and a lot more funky! Ashby not only plays her usual jazz harp, but also koto as well, and even sings a bit too – and the larger group directed by Evans features work by Stu Katz on vibes and kalimba, Lenny Druss on flutes, and Cash McCall on guitar – all in a groove that's really a precursor to the Earth Wind & Fire generation of the Chicago scene! Titles include the amazing break "The Moving Finger" – worth the price of the album alone – plus "Dust", "Joyful Grass & Grape", "Heaven & Hell", "Wax & Wane", "Shadow Shapes", "For Some When Young", "Myself When Young", and "Drink".

Some of the most ambitious electric work from Joe Henderson to date – a record that really has him stretching out from his previous small combo keyboard sets, into a space that's much fuller and even more righteous! Frequent partner George Cables is very much in force on electric piano – helping create that floating middle-level sound that really lets Henderson find some new space on tenor – as well as soprano sax and flute. Other players are a range of different musicians with a similar spirit – and include David Horowitz on synthesizer, Ralph MacDonald and Airto on percussion, Jack DeJohnette on drums and electric piano, Dave Holland on acoustic bass, Ron Carter on electric bass, and Georg Waldenius on guitar. Some of the cuts have a Brazilian tinge, others have a moody fusiony feel – really stretching out with intensity! Titles include "Black Is The Color Of My True Love's Mind", "Terra Firma", "Current Events", and "Vis-a-Vis".

Maybe the deepest book we've ever read on the life and music of James Brown – and certainly one to really get past the monolithic moments, and really serve up the full details of The Godfather at work! There's a surprising amount of research that went into the project – way more than some of those star bios on Brown that were issued years back – and RJ Smith definitely digs James from the same perspective that we do, and really gets at the important forces that helped shape the sound of his music, and its exposure to the world at large! 455 pages, with some black and white images, hardcover.

A crucially important slice of work – and maybe one of the most striking sets in this all-great Spiritual Jazz series! The focus here is on some of the great American players working in Europe during the late 60s and early 70s – often in collaboration with equally forward-thinking Europeans, and with results that are still musically amazing all these many years later! The collection has American flautist Sahib Shihab working with Swiss guitarist Pierre Cavalli, sound library maestro Johnny Hawksworth with west coast giant Hampton Hawes, Don Cherry working with Krzysztof Penderecki, a rare version of "Enlightenment" by Sun Ra in France and other legendary European recordings by Albert Ayler, Billy Gault, and Lee Konitz – a wonderfully rich blend of players. The tracks are pulled from records we almost never see – especially on vinyl – titles include "Studie Nr 1 Fur 12 Saitige Gitarre" by Pierre Cavalli & Sahib Shihab, "Jazz Rule" by Johnny Hawksworth & Hampton Hawes, "Born & Shake" by Clarence Peters, "Enlightenment by Sun Ra, "Summertime" by Albert Ayler, "T & W" by Frank Wright Sextet, "Humus The Life Exploring Force" by Don Cherry & The New Eternal Rhythm Orchestra, "Five, Four, & Three" by Lee Konitz, "The Creators" by Bobby Hutcherson with Harold Land, and the masterful, nearly 20-minute "Springtime" by Eric Dolphy. Includes a great essay on the scene by Francis Gooding, plus extensive info for each track!

Maucha sings and Helio plays – in a sweet set that makes for a wonderfully warm and stripped down batch of Brazilian vocals! The album's got a sound that's a bit different than the usual bossa outing – given Helio's rich touch on the piano, which isn't afraid to go for bolder notes at times – and given the freer runs that Adnet sometimes takes on vocals – not always, but sometimes with a force that reminds us that she's a great jazz singer on other material too. Maucha plays a bit of percussion on the record – but most of the sounds are just vocals and piano, on titles that include "Waters Of March", "Gabriela", "O Cantador", "April Child", "Canto Triste", "Tico Tico No Fuba", "Milagre", and "Vale Do Ribeira".

Quite possibly THE key example of the magic of Clifford Brown and Max Roach on record – a brilliant studio session that really has the group "incorporating" their sound – forging a bold musical statement that would forever leave its imprint on jazz for years to come! The format here shows Brown and Roach as a key force in 50s hardbop – extending Max's bop idiom of years back, and using Clifford's more lyrical approach to solo work to expand the tone, color, and spirit of their music – linking styles and worlds wonderfully, and forging a sound that's tight, yet also beautifully spontaneous and personal. The rest of the group includes Harold Land on tenor, Richie Powell on piano, and George Morrow on bass – and titles include "Sweet Clifford", "Ghost Of A Chance", "Stompin At The Savoy", "I'll String Along With You", "Mildama", "Darn That Dream", and "I Get A Kick Out Of You".

Righteous, renegade hip hop from Capital D – a singular effort full of forceful, focused, stark and angry hip hop like they just don't make anymore. Cap D is clearly fed up with the status quo (in the hip hop scene and in the greater culture), and delivers these cuts accordingly. It's a strong set – very tight, and very well conceived for a full length listen. We're putting it on the short list of the best Chicago hip hop of '04. It's certainly one of the most focused and original sets we've heard in a while. You don't hear many lines like "I pump Akbar, sit & study prophecies/read Franz Kafka make my metamorphoses". Tracks include "The Awakening", "Start The Revolution", "Live On Arrival", "Miss America", "Culture Of Terrorism", "Vent", "Toy Soldiers", "U Still Ain't Ready", "Renegades", "Enough Already", "1984", "Transformations", "Iman" and more.

Smoking tenor work from the legendary Willis Jackson – and a key record in Jackson's transition from 50s R&B to 60s soul jazz! Willis gets some great help on the session from Jack McDuff on organ and Wild Bill Jennings on guitar – both of whom craft some rootsy grooves that further enforce the strength of Jackson's tenor lead, and which also allow for a bit more improvisation alongside the tight grooves of the set. McDuff's got his organ in that full-on early mode – lots of vibrato to fill up the space – and Jennings' guitar comes across with that wonderfully raspy tone that was a good precursor to the work of George Freeman. Titles include "Cool Grits", "Dinky's Mood", "Please Mr. Jackson", and "633 Knock".

Kool & The Gang's a little bit slicker and a little bit smoother on The Force than on earlier classic records – but thankfully, they're still getting on down to the funky sounds! The Force does indeed have more of a spacey boogie than a jungle boogie vibe, but they're still doing what we love to hear from them. Party funk and soul from this legendary group – and the soul comes out especially well on the mellower numbers, which seem to take off from classics on albums like Love & Understanding or Open Sesame. Titles include "Free", "Slick Superchick", "Just Be True", "Mighty Mighty High", "Oasis", "The Force" and "Life's A Song".

One of the greatest Kool & The Gang albums ever – a monster live session that almost blows away their studio classics! The groove here is far more freewheeling and complex than some of their singles from the 70s – longer, tripped-out tunes with a definite undercurrent of jazz amidst the funk – loads of wicked horn bits from Ronnie Bell and Dennis Thomas that complicate things up nicely, while still staying soulfully in the groove. There's no vocals at all on the record – which further enforces the Kool Jazz sound of the set – and the album's even harder-hitting than their previous Sex Machine live album, so much so, the PJ's club had to close its doors shortly after the Gang's performance! Titles include the all-time killer sample cut "Duji" – plus "NT", "Ronnie's Groove", "Ricksonata", "Lucky For Me", "Sombrero Sam", and a medley of "Ike's Groove/You've Lost That Lovin Feeling".

One of the greatest soundtracks ever – an archetypal album from French composer Francis Lai, and a record that set the tone for countless other imitations to come – yet which is still the best! The groove here is really unique – a spare blend of bossa influences, jazzy organ lines, and wordless vocals that are sung beautifully by French singers Nicole Croisille and Pierre Barouh – and although a mainstream success, the record was the initial force behind the legendary Saravah imprint that Barouh would form later, to record a wide range of groundbreaking work in a variety of genres. But history aside, the music here is plenty – and from the very first note the whole soundtrack grabs you with a sense of warmth and sentiment that defy description – modes never heard before in the soundtrack world, and which really broke the mold from Hollywood conventions! Titles include the seminal bossa number "Samba Saravah", plus "A Man & A Woman", "Today It's You", "In Our Shadow", "At 200 MPH", and "Stronger Than Us".

A pivotal early 70s set of Peruvian Cumbia from Enrique Delgado and Los Destellos – the rare Constelacion LP from 1971 – a great album that's definitely in the more cosmic realm of the style! Guitarist Delgado was one of more creative forces in cumbia, credited as one of the first, if not THE first figures to bring electric guitar out into to the forefront of the sound. That's likely true, but the percussion is sharing the wheel! Even more impressive is the range of styles that so deftly blend with Peruvian rhythms on this album – from spindly, dexterous lead guitar to fuzzed out, surf and psych informed washes – paired masterfully with more traditional sounds. Includes "A Patricia", "Senorita", "El Corneta", "Constelacion", "Onsta La Yerbita", "Pasion Oriental", "Otro Ano", "La Cancion De Lily", "Pachanga Espanola", "Azuquita" and "La Aranita".

No gravity here – in fact, quite the reverse, as gravity almost seems suspended in the way these guys work together with a beautifully fluid vibe! The tenor of Donny McCaslin's very firmly in the lead on the set – sometimes amidst spare instrumentation, often standing as the prow of the quartet's rhythmic progression – sounds that stem from the keyboards of Jason Linder, bass of Tim Lefebvre, and drums of Mark Guiliana. Things are sometimes spacey, sometimes a bit more forceful – and always a clear expression of McCaslin's unique musical vision. Titles include "Says Who", "Stadium Jazz", "Love Song For An Echo", "Praia Grande", and "Alpha & Omega".

A seminal set from Max Roach – the start of his more righteous stretch in jazz, as you might guess from the title of the album! At some level, the record's got a bit of the feel of the post-Clifford Brown Mercury years from Roach – but at another, it's stretching out towards the directions Max would explore fully on the Candid, Impulse, and Fantasy labels in the 60s – an approach to hardbop that often really pushes its limits – not content to simply set up solos for the players, and instead moving with a much more forceful energy overall! Group members include Booker Little on trumpet, George Coleman on tenor, Ray Draper on tuba, and Art Davis on bass – and the lack of a piano makes for a very exciting sound! The album's got 2 great originals by Bill Lee – "Jodie's Cha Cha" and "Deeds Not Words" – plus Draper's classic "Filide", and the groundbreaking "Conversation" – a very cool solo by Roach on the drums!

What can we say? "Ring My Bell" was one of the biggest crossover disco tracks of the late 70s – with a cool electronic groove on the beat, and lyrics and production by Frederick Knight, making the southern soul singer one of the more unlikely disco forces of the time. This 12" single features the full 8 minute version – with the "Midnight Mix" by Richie Rivera.

A great solo set from pianist Spike Wilner – the driving force behind the whole Smalls Live series as a producer, but a hell of a musician as well! Wilner's got a great style that draws strongly from jazz piano tradition, but really makes things his own – using strands of 20th century technique on the keys, yet inflecting them with a wonderfully personal voice – a sound that's far more introspective than you might guess at the outset, and which really has us rapt in ways that are different than the experience we get from other contemporary piano solo albums. Titles include "All Too Soon", "Elite Syncopations", "Echoes Of Spring", "Gone With The Wind", "Lullaby Of The Leaves", "Tea For Two", and "Bodhisattva Blues".

Smooth and soulful club from the mighty Capitol Records – one of the few major labels to really understand a groove at the end of the 70s! The 2CD package is a wonderful tribute to the hipper soul coming out of Capitol at the time – a set that features some hits, some album tracks, and a fair bit of rarities that we've never seen on CD before – some lesser-known club cuts that sit beautifully here next to the bigger names in the collection. But big or small, the artists here are all pretty darn great – much more soul artists heading for the clubs in the late 70s than quickie disco acts just looking for a buck. The collection features 31 tracks in all – including a few non-Capitol cuts – with tracks that include "A Little Bit Of Love" by Gentle Persuasion, "Expressway To Your Heart" by Margo Thunder, "Sophisticated Lady" by Natalie Cole, "Windstorm" by Gloria Jones, "One Thing On My Mind" by Evie Sands, "Surrender" by Barrett Strong, "Do It Good" by Taste Of Honey, "I'm Back For More" by Tavares, "Save Your Love For Me" by Donna Washington, "Conscience" by Sun, "Party In Me" by Gene Dunlap, "Our Love Is Insane" by Desmond Child, "I'm Going Through Changes Now" by Brown Sugar, "Southern Girl (live)" by Maze, "Adventures In Paradise" by Minnie Riperton, "Man Up In The Sky" by Barrett Strong, "Positive Forces" by Tavares, "Sixty Thrills A Minute" by Mystic Merlin, "Street Corner" by Ashford & Simpson, "We All Need Love" by Troiano, "Annie Mae" by Natalie Cole, "Don't Tie Me Down" by Brown Sugar, and "Ooh Child" by Charles Jackson.

The first full album recorded by A Certain Ratio – and a mad mix of styles that's immediately compelling! The group are a key link here in so many traditions – British punk, 70s funk, dub, and late prog – all coming together under the godlike production talents of Martin Hannett to make the album one of the gleaming jewels in the crown of the young Factory Records label. There's never been a record of such scattered, skittish darkness – and even though short songs like "The Fox", "Forced Laugh", "Felch", "My Spirit", and "Loss" are arresting, the whole thing's magnificently capped off by the extended percussion jam "Winter Hill" – a tune that sounds like a batucada group trying to drum their way across a post-apocalyptic landscape!

A sublime second solo effort from Syd Barrett – and maybe his most perfectly-formed album ever! There's a sinister balance to the record right from the start – a gentle approach to the offbeat themes that is almost more unsettling than if the matter was undertaken more forcefully – weird little bits just tossed off by Syd as if they're really the ramblings of the madman promised on the cover of his first LP – almost with a deadpan quality that makes the whole thing even more unsettling with repeated listenings! Instrumentation is relatively lean – almost a folksy mix of acoustic guitar, electric, sullen bass, and some haunting keyboards – all as if someone picked apart Pink Floyd, then started to construct a rough sketch from the parts that lay scattered on the floor. The album's had an influence from psych through punk and many years beyond – and titles include "Baby Lemonade", "Gigolo Aunt", "Wolfpack", "Effervescing Elephant", "Winde & Dined", "Rats", and "It Is Obvious". CD features loads of bonus tracks too – lots of alternate takes of tunes on the album!

Ascendant Detroit hip hop forces Black Milk & Danny Brown team up for Black And Brown! Smart, yet profane rhymes from Danny Brown, forcefully spit out for the most part – and Black Milk beats and production that are hard-hitting and insistent at the core, with layers you'll still be hearing new elements in after a dozen listens – which is to say, typically brilliant Black Milk. Includes "Sound Check", "Wake Up", "Loosie", "Zap", "Jordan VIII", "Dada", "WTF", "LOL", "Dark Sunshine" and "Black And Brown".

A recent tribute to Albert Ayler – but one that's performed by some of his immediate musical heirs of the 70s! The performance picks up nicely where Ayler left off – and although some of the tunes are famous Ayler numbers, the overall style is almost a loft jazz extrapolation of Albert's ideals – deconstructing them a bit from their original intensity, and allowing new avenues of sound to open up in the process! Tracks are quite long, and build with a beautifully organic sensibility – and Campbell's great work on trumpet is mixed with McPhee's tenor and pocket trumpet – in a group that also features William Parker on bass and Warren Smith on drums and percussion. Titles include "Prophet John", "Universal Indians", "Music Is The Healing Force Of The Universe", "Muntu", "Obama Victory Shoutout", and "Truth Is Marching In".

A stone slammer from saxophonist Steve Grossman – a record that's essentially a Stone Alliance album with added keyboards from Jan Hammer! Steve's blowing hard, free, and soulfully with his regular bandmates Gene Perla on bass and Don Alias on drums – and Hammer's nicely restrained here, never jamming too much but really bringing a heck of a lot of force to the record with his work on electric piano and moog! Tracks are mostly in the hard choppy funk of the Stone Alliance mode, but have a few freer jazz touches at times – and titles include "This Way Out", "Inmate Man", "Katonah", "Enya", and "In It".