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A great look at the never-ending genius of the legendary Steve Ditko – one of the greatest comic book artists of all time, and someone who's given us decades of enjoyment! This beautiful oversized book is a great companion to all the vintage Ditko material that's been reissued in recent years – and features a brilliantly-illustrated bio of Steve – with loads of images from his work at Marvel, Charlton, DC, Warren, and on his own – plus a key look at the influence of Ayn Rand on Ditko's images and ideas. A very hefty book, filled with color images – hardcover, and oversized!

A cool German book with a great sense of global street culture – photos from around the world, brought together with a National Geographic brand, but much grittier than anything we ever remember seeing in the magazine! The hefty tome is almost 400 pages, in full color, and is filled with images of global graffiti, underground art, skateboard culture, gang symbols, street festivals, t-shirts, and many other modes of expression – more than enough to save you an around the world trip to view local street culture. Notes are in German, but the book is mostly photos – and those are all pretty darn great!

A beautiful set of jazz album cover art from the 50s and 60s – hardcover, in full color, and packed with hundreds of classic images! The title's a reflection of the strong scope of material – work from both the east and west coast scenes, pulled from labels like Prestige, Atlantic, Riverside, Pacific Jazz, and Contemporary – all known for their great sense of cover design – as well as amazing music! In many cases, the covers are grouped together to show thematic elements from a specific designer – and in others, they show the different labels each reflecting the others with some very cool trends for representation. Images are all shot from original copies of LPs – including some UK issues which belie the British origins of the compilers (also known for their famous Blue Note volume) – and the hefty book is 10" square, which will nestle nicely next to your collection of rare early jazz albums! 222 pages, hardcover, in full color.

An amazing collection of music from legendary bassist William Parker – 6 CDs' worth of performances, all of them unreleased, packaged together in a limited edition box set with a detailed booklet as well! The scope of the sounds is amazing – almost like finding the full career of a jazz musician in one space – even though it's only a slice of the rich contributions that Parker has made to music over his decades in jazz! A number of the tracks features important large ensembles that push forward ideas from the loft jazz generation – with players who include Daniel Carter on saxes, David S Ware on tenor, Jemeel Moondoc on alto, Charles Tyler on baritone, Roy Campbell and Raphe Malik on trumpets, Billy Bang on violin, and Rashid Bakr and Dennis Charles on drums. Other tracks feature sparer pairings that are especially haunting – duets between Parker's bass and the alto and trumpet of Daniel Carter, a trio with David S Ware on tenor and Dennis Charles on drums, and two long duo tracks with tenorist Charles Gayle! The whole thing's amazing – worth far more in music than its hefty price tag – and a huge discovery throughout!

A really compelling project that's very much in the spirit of work by Lynda Barry or Debbie Dreschler – served up in a cool slipcover package! The book is loosely based on a teenage diary found in a gas station bathroom in the 80s – and tells the tale of a high school sophomore in 1985, through starkly powerful images from Esther Pearl Watson. The story's presented over many pages in one panel images, but these weave together slowly, and present the tale with a well-rounded vibe that would otherwise be more exploitative in a more direct format. Both books are hardcover, and the small slipcase is pretty hefty too!

Author Mick Brown chronicles the fascinating, tragic world of the Phil Spector – the most fascinating figure in American pop music history – thanks to both his unrivaled genius and artistry, his fabled reclusiveness and ultimately, real life crime noir tragedy. From his epic work with the Ronettes, the Righteous Brothers, The Beatles, The Ramones and the many less iconic artists, to the recluse years and the bizarre shooting in his home, this is richly researched, very well done bio by Brown. Engrossing and briskly readable, even as a fairly hefty girth, Hardcover, more than 500 pages.

The amazing story of Ahmet Ertegun – the driving force behind Atlantic Records, and a crucial figure in popular music in the 20th Century! Ahmet's story is the stuff of legend – and this book delivers the whole thing in stunning detail – from Ertegun's early years as the child of the Turkish ambassador, to his adolescent love of jazz and blues, to his launching Atlantic with his brother – initially to dominate the field of rhythm and blues, then jazz and soul, then even mainstream rock and roll! The hefty book is over 400 pages in length, and features a handful of black and white images too.

A beautiful book that documents the overlooked legacy of Brion Gysin – contemporary and collaborator of William S Burroughs and other important beat figures – but also an artist with a vision that goes way beyond that initial moment! The book brings together a wealth of images of Gysin's creations – his paintings, photos, printed work, and even instructions for building your own version of his legendary dream machine – alongside historical details on Brion and key moments of his life, plus reflections on his importance by John Giorno, Genesis P Orridge, and others. A hefty museum book – 196 pages, full color, and hardcover!

Nice, nice 70s material by this oft-overlooked AACM member from Chicago, one of the few documents of hismind blowing playing from that era. Anderson's hefty tenor is captured live at the Moers festival of new jazz in a quartet setting with other great Chicago players like the equally underheard Billy Brimfield on trumpet, a young George Lewis on trombone, Brian Smith on bass, and a then young Hank (Hamid) Drake on percussion in what is probably one of his earliest recording dates. The nice, lengthy titles include "Saxoon", "The Bull", and "Another Place".

A hefty art book on the story of the Stooges – filled with oversized vintage photos in both color and black and white – and supported by writings that tell the history of the band! If you think the front of Raw Power is a striking image, you'll be blown away with the photos in this volume – lots of which capture Iggy Pop in live action, plus some studio shots as well – mixed with a few other candid takes of the band. The book also features a full discography, with images, and even details on bootlegs – and the hardcover book is 192 pages, and oversize.

A hefty issue of one of the grooviest magazines around – a great publication that we can really trust to cover all things trippy! The cover feature is a big article on Shocking Blue – a long one that really gets at the full details of the group, with lots of vintage pix, too – and other nice features include the Bevis Frond Family Tree, a look at Sundazed Records, 20 Questions with Richard Thompson, and the cool Simon's Record Challenge – filled with rare vinyl from around the world! Also includes articles on The Rolling Stones, Jelly Fish, and Ian Matthews – and loads of reviews and news!

Damn! The MASSIVE collaborative album from the dynamic duo of Madlib and J Dilla re-upped – a deluxe 2CD edition packed with bonus tracks, remixes and the much heralded instrumentals! Essentially, Madlib handles the production on the even numbers in the main set with Dilla on the vocals, and the roles are reversed on the odd numbers. Each producer does his own thing, as only he can do it – Madlib brings the funky sampler genius – and Dilla rocks the thumping Detroit hip hop soul crunch. A number of guest rhymers step to the mic, including Talib Kweli, Percee P, Frank-N-Dank & Guilty Simpson, and the flow is seamless. Not only was this one of the best hip hop albums of '03, it also has a dyed-in-the-wool classic production style, and it sounds just as great a few years later! So very highly recommended! Main album tracks include "L.A. To Detroit", "McNasty Filth" with Frank-n-Dank, "Nowadayz", "Champion Sound", "The Red", "Heavy", "Raw S*!t" with Kweli, "The Official", "The Heist", "The Mission", "React" with Quasimodo, "The Exclusive" with Percee P, "Survival Test", "Starz" and "No Games". The hefty list of bonus material includes "Raw Addict", "Pillz", "Da Rawkus" (Sir Bang version), "Heavy" (Chronic mix), "Survival Test" (Rasta dub version), "The Mission" (Stringed Out mix) and many more, plus the Champion Sound Beats – 15 instrumental tracks!!!