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10 hip hop instrumentals from one of the originators, DJ Mark the 45 King. Includes a bonus double copy with the same tracks, so you can get busy on the 1's and 2's. Includes "Killer Strings", "Overture", "Mad Fat Beat", "Sexy Lady", "Greedy Beats", "Magic Dust", "Pop Up", "TV Tune", "Coyote" and "Pyramids".

One of Harley's beautiful albums for Atlantic, and a record that shouldn't work at all – but it does! Harley plays bagpipes throughout the album, and he does so in a way that sounds nothing like any of the snoozy Scottish assumptions you may have about the instrument. Instead, Harley draws from a rich African reed tradition, and gets these amazing off-kilter tones with a deep spiritual feel. It helps that he's backed by some great players here, including Richard Tee on piano, Chuck Raney on bass, and Eric Gale on guitar – plus some other African instrumentation on a few cuts. Tracks include "Kings", "Queens", and surprisingly wonderful covers of "8 Miles High" and "Windy".

A brilliant debut from Clydie King – a singer who worked countless backing vocal sessions on the LA scene of the 70s, but who really shines here on her own! Clydie's got a rough and raw vocal style that you might guess from the hip-looking cover – a slightly rootsy mode that's clearly inspired by southern soul of the late 60s, but given a funkier LA touch here – a very tight groove that's laid down by backings from Billy Preston on organ, Sonny Fortune on saxes, David T Walker on guitar, and Paul Humphrey on drums – plus heavy congas from William Allen, who also handled arrangements and production for the set! Definitely a funky soul sister classic – with tracks that include "First Time, Last Time", "There's A Long Road Ahead", "B Minor", "Direct Me", "'Bout Love", "You Can't Go On Without Love", and "Ain't My Stuff Good Enough?".

Hardly the surf album you might expect from the title – although the set is a killer batch of guitar instrumentals – with more than enough power to blow any west coast groups right off the beach! At this early point in his career, Freddie King is way more than just a blues guitarist, and his style here was a definite precursor to funk – hard, heavy, and with the kinds of little tricks that would be taken up a lot by other players in the funky 45 era. The recording quality is great, and really brings out the deeper tones in King's instrument – creating a great link between the earlier T Bone Walker generation, and lots of heavy guitarists to come. Tracks are all nice, and titles include "San Ho Zay", "Side Tracked", "Wash Out", "In The Open", "Heads Up", "Just Pickin", and "Swooshy".

Very nice record of lost soul from LA, recorded for Hanna-Barbera, who are much better known as purveyors of cartoons, not music! We don't know much about Jean, but she's got a lovely voice, and the setup for the record – which is an intimate live setting – gives her perfect space to groove around a lot. She's backed by a tiny combo that has Pete Jolly on piano, Howard Roberts on guitar, Hal Blaine on drums, and Emil Richards on percussion. Shorty Rogers and Gene Page did the arrangements, and they did a nice job coming up with tight jazzy backings that have a bit of an uptown sound, but which sound a lot harder because of the live setting. Great stuff, and a record we almost never see! Tracks include "All I Really Want To Do", "Just My Style", "England Swings", "Watermelon Man", and "I Got You".

A completely hip little record from Morgana King – one that takes her amazing voice, and sets it amidst some expansive arrangements that push past jazz to include some trippier 70s styles! The whole session's got a nice mix of the mellow and baroque – with a subtle funky undercurrent at points, and definitely a fair bit more soul than we're used to hearing from Morgana! Arrangements are by Torrie Zito and Bob James – and the production often compresses the vocals in a really cool way – sliding them amidst the instrumentation with a haunting quality that's hard to describe in words, but which makes the album one of King's most breathtaking ever! The back cover has Morgana getting props from Donny Hathaway, Stevie Wonder, Paul Williams, and Kenny Rankin – all names we can certainly trust – and titles include a great version of "We Could Be Flying", "All In All", "A Song For You", "Like A Seed", and "The Sands Of Time & Changes".

A playfully swinging little set from Morgana King – given the groovy, latenight lounge Reprise sound by producer Jimmy Bowen! This second album for Reprise is a much more extroverted than the quite strong It's A Quiet Thing LP from a year before – with arranger Torrie Zito grooving out into a lightly swinging sound, in place of his chillier, almost noir approach on the previous LP! Morgana's vocals are tastefully grand – doing more with a hushed tone and an unrivaled vibrato than many more famous peers can do with a showier style! Titles include "Anything Goes", "Nobody Else But Me", "I Thought Of You Last Night", "You Fascinate Me So", "The Best Is Yet To Come", "Wild Is Love" and more.

Surprisingly enjoyable record in which King Curtis runs through a number of C&W favorites, and turns them into R&B sax instrumentals. The album shows what a clear link there was between the two musical traditions, and includes classics like "Night Train To Memphis", "You're Cheatin Heart", "High Noon", "I'm Movin' On", and "Walkin The Floor Over You".

An instant groove from King Curtis – and a record that's even more deeply soulful than some of his other Atlantic albums! The title cut's a killer – a hard-vamping number that pushed funk further into the mainstream back in the day – and lots of the rest of the album follows suit, by bringing in some of the rougher King Curtis edges that usually only showed up on b-sides of 45s – while other full albums usually focused on sweeter sounds. There's a few of those here too – but even those tracks have a looser, more personal feel than before – not as much "perfect" soul sax, and a bit more grit. Arrangements are by Arif Mardin and King Curtis – and Duane Allman plays guiter on some cuts! Titles include "The Weight", "Sing A Simple Song", "Instant Groove", "Hey Jude", "Games People Play", "La Jeanne", and "Foot Pattin".

Warm wonderful whitebread work from the King Family! A great example of the way the large King ensemble really shone in the space of a concert performance – filling up the space well with all the different voices in the extended family, and shifting into different groupings that keep things interesting throughout! Titles include "The Men In My Little Girl's Life", "What The World Needs Now", "On A Clear Day", "I Said No", "Why Did I Choose You", "Guadalajara", and "Baby Sitter's Blues".

Sure, they were one hit wonders – but oh what a hit! We totally love the title track "Dancing In The Moonlight" – a magical number that begins with this excellent electric piano riff, then rolls into some totally captivating blue eyed soul lyrics that really send the whole thing over the top! Raspy lyrics, hippie soul, and a wonderful tune that's always tops in our book! The rest of the album's not bad either – and has a similar soulful feel.

Classic mid 70s dub – purportedly with King Tubby handling the controls on one side, and Lee Perry on the other – and Winston Edwards and the Natty Locks laying down the unstoppable backing tracks! The King Tubby side is particularly heavy – with the bass and percussion rumbling so strong underneath some sweetly soulful bits of horn and guitar – straight-up excellent mid 70s dubs! The purported Upsetter side isn't as heavy in mood or tricked out – but it's still pretty great – and in a way that really allows the Natty Dread backdrops to stand up strongly in their own light. With "Blood Of Africa", "Wood Roots", "Luke Lane Rock", "People From The Grass Roots", "Crime Wave" and "No Justice For The Poor".

10 excellent roots rock rhythms given a nice dub treatment, and though we're selling this record as most shops do, as a King Tubby side, we'd be willing to wager he actually wasn't around his studio when this was mixed, and certainly wasn't around Joe Gibbs' or Bullwackies when the cuts included here from those spots were mixed. Still it's a great set of rhythms, all with excellent spaced out dub mixes, and burning performances at the hands of Sly & Robbie, Family Man, Bagga Morris, Santa Davis, Augustus Pablo and others. With "Rocker's Almighty Dub", "Dunza Dub", "Storm & Lightning", "Something Nice Bout Da Dub", "Upful & Positive Dread", "Hold this Dub" and "21 Gun Salute to Brother Marcus".

A rare document of a short-lived slice of the King Kong myth – a Saturday morning cartoon in which Kong was the friend of some little kids in the jungle, and a much less threatening force than when climbing the Empire State Building! The soundtrack offers capsulized episodes of the show – with music by Jules Bass & Maury Laws, plus narrated adventures by Bob McFadden, voices from the show, and even a bit of sound effects! Adventures include "Under The Volcano", "Dr Who", "The Treasure Trap", and "The African Bees" – as well as nice versions of the cool theme song!

A rare gem from Maceo Parker – the second album cut with his King's Men group in the short time he was away from James Brown in the early 70s! The set was done for the Excello southern soul label, and it's got a bit of a different groove than his work for House Of Fox with the same group – a style that's got a bit more conventional southern production overall, and grooves that run towards soul a bit more than funk – although the whole record is still pretty darn funky overall! Players in the group include Charles Sherrell, Melvin Parker, and Jimmy Nolen – and titles include "Funky Music Machine", "Dreams", "TSU (Aristocrat of Bands)", "Funky Tale To Tell", and "Born to Wander".

A beautiful Japanese package – featuring A&M material, but in a completely unique cover, with lavish production!

This is definitely not your father's calypso – no living room limbo or Harry Belafonte cliches – and instead, a smoking batch of Caribbean grooves from The Mighty Sparrow! Sparrow was very much on the edge of the best styles in the 60s and early 70s – and although his basic groove might be termed calypso, he also brought in plenty of Cuban, Haitian, and Jamaican rhythms to his music too – as well as an occasional does of American soul! Like some of the best early sounds from Kingston, the grooves here often echo a deeper R&B sensibility, turned towards island rhythms – and really hit home strongly by Sparrow's wonderful vocals – as catchy, compelling, and charming as some of the best US singers of the time – with touches of the wit of Oscar Brown Jr, the warmth of Lou Rawls, the swing of a young Marvin Gaye, and the spookiness of Screamin Jay Hawkins! This massive collection is the first to really dig through his older records to pull out the best tunes – just the kind of special focus we'd expect from the Strut label, with a wicked track selection and great notes too! Titles include "Bongo", "Calypso Boogaloo", "Zinah", "Fool Fool Fool", "Ah Diggin Horrors", "Jook For Jook", "Sparrow Come Back Home", "Slave", "She's Been Gone Too Long", "Congo Man", "Ten To One Is Murder", and "Kennedy & Kruschev".

This is the kind of battle we like to see! Three heavy tenors – Nelson, King, and Jimmy Forrest – come head to head in a relaxed set of tunes cut in that Prestige blowing session mode, but tweaked with a bit more tightness, in the style of some of the label's emerging soul jazz sides of the 60s. Nelson's gutsy tenor will shock you if you haven't heard him in this sort of less restrained setting – and Forrest's work from this time is always a treat. Titles include "Blues For MF", "Anacruses", "Perdido", and "In Passing".

Truly, truly one of the most essential reggae albums of all time, and without a doubt one of our top dub albums. While we may be known for our hyperbolic comments on LPs here at Dusty, this album is very much deserving of the praise, and if you don't own it, you need to. Basically a collection of dubs of rhythms for some of Pablo's most popular productions as vocal cuts on 45s that had rocked the sound systems, this set features a mighty rockers rhythm team and mixing courtesy Errol Thompson and King Tubby. Includes "Keep On Dubbing", "Stop Them Jah", "Young Generation Dub", "Each One Dub", "555 Dub Street", "Braces Tower Dub", "King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown", "Corner Crew Dub", "Say So", "Skanking Dub" "Satta Dub" and "Frozen Dub". This Get On Down vinyl version is a box set of 3 X 10-inches with a 16-page booklet of notes and photos.

Pete Terrace challenges Pete Rodriguez for the title of "King Of The Boogaloo" in this live set recorded at Chez Jose in New York! The album's got a few tracks that say boogaloo, but which aren't – but that's still ok with us, because the bulk of the set is a hard grooving batch of uptempo groovers that would make anyone proud – and the record's easily one of Pete's best from the 60s! Includes covers of "El Pito", "At The Party", and "Bang Bang" – plus Marty Sheller-penned originals like "Do The Boogaloo", "I'm Gonna Make It", "Here Comes Pete", and "No! No! No!". Pete's vibes sound mighty nice, and the pianist in the group is nice and firey!

Some of the hippest sounds ever recorded on the Afghan scene – and a great reminder that the nation's got some standout music if you know where to look! The package is the third whopping volume in Pharaway's look at Ahmad Zahir – a charismatic singer who rose to huge fame in the 70s, but still has a sound that's pretty darn fresh to our Western ears – a mix of psychedelic production, exotic instrumentation, and some surprisingly compelling lead vocals – which tend to hold us rapt, even though we can't understand the language! Instrumentation often features plenty of raw percussion and offbeat reed lines – mixed with keyboards and guitar, to create this pan-generational sound that's really unique. Titles include "Shaady Kunaid Aye Dostan", "Tu Barayem Mogadasi", "Duzdi Eshgam", "Ansiman Begoyed", "Kai Bashad Kai", and "Nay Nay Hargez".

One of the heaviest early King Crimson albums – a set that really has the group taking off even more than before! The core is Fripp on guitars, John Wetton on bass and vocals, and Bill Bruford on drums – and titles include "Starless", "Providence", "One More Red Nightmare", and "Red".

King Geedorah aka MF Doom, aka Zev Love X, aka Metalface, etc. etc., drops the sideways intergalactic rhymes on his first full length visit to the planet Earth. A baker's dozen of that modern weirdo-hop you kids can't get enough of, so you won't find any backpacker or the throw your hands in the air type of beats or rhymes on this journey into the mind of the alien visitor. Includes "Fazers", "Monster Zero", "No Snakes Alive", 'Anti Matter", "Take Me To Your Leader" and "The Fine Print".

The undisputed King, even to this day! 10 more blazing Tubby dub rubs, ample evidence to why he's remained enthroned to this day: space echo drops and reverb adding some tasty dub sauce to chugging rhythms from Sly & Robbie, Fully Fullwood, Santa Davis, Wire Lindo, Chinna Smith and others. Includes "Super Star Dub", "King Zion Dub", "Rubba Dunza", "Blood, Sweat & Dunza Dub", "King, Queen & Minstrel Dub", "Easy Dread & Check This Dub", "Fancy Up A Dub" and "Stalag 80 Dub".

One of our favorites by King Crimson – and a record with a lot more jazz than some of their others! Players include Mel Collins on lots of flutes and saxes – plus guests Keith Tippett on piano, Mark Charig on cornet, and Harry Miller on bass!

Another massive Tubby dub collection, but you might never know it from the cheap looking cover. Mid to late 70s dub workouts of Striker Lee tracks cut by the mighty Aggrovators, some with radical dub effects and one drops, others with a nice and subtle touch flavoring the mix. 14 tracks: "Bondage Dub", "Irce Man Dub", "Spliff Dub", "Babylon Dub", "Giveaway Love Dub", "African Congo Dub", "Ready Out Dub", "African Tribal Dub", "Winds Of Dub", "Forgive & Forget Dub", "Strong Love Dub", "Me Lover Gone Dub", "Wicked Man Dub" and "Out Of This World Dub".

A great double-header – one that features 2 classic Jean-Luc Ponty albums from the 60s! Record one presents the album King Kong – an album that features Ponty, who was working with Frank Zappa at the time, playing a set of electric jazz takes on Zappa tunes – with lots of added help from George Duke, who was also working with Zappa too! The set's almost a "birth of fusion" one – with Zappa arrangements that are clearly in a jazz-rock mode – and lots of electric bass, electric piano, and electric violin in the set. Tracks are long, and riff-heavy – and other players include Ernie Watts, Wilton Felder, Buell Neidlinger, and Ian Underwood. Titles include "America Drinks & Goes Home", "Music For Electric Violin & Low Budget Orchestra", "King Kong", and "Twenty Small Cigars". Record two features The Jean Luc Ponty Experience With The George Duke Trio – a much better album than you'd expect, without any of the noodling of the players' later albums! At the time of this set, Duke and Ponty are breaking out of the hippie weirdness of the Zappa records, and get a bit more serious – working through some long, extended modal grooves that rank with the best MPS work by either player. Duke's on electric piano, ringing out in a weird spacy sound, and Ponty's violin is mostly restrained, used to cast waves of sound over the top of the tracks, in a way that works well with Duke's soulful resonant approach. Titles include "Foosh", "Cantaloupe Island", and "Starlight Starbright".

The third and tightest of Ade's albums for Island. The sound here is a hybrid of his Ju Ju style with a bit of Afrobeat thrown in, with Tony Allen guesting on one number. The percolating multi-guitar and talking drum sound that was Ade's signature keeps the set gliding along nicely. 6 longer numbers in all: "Gboromiro", "Oremi", "Ire", "Iro", "Ogunja", and "Ase".

King Sunny Ade's first major label LP, that helped him bring his juju music to the world. The blueprint of juju's laid down hear, with loads of intertwining guitar lines and tallking drums chattering away in a driving but never-too-busy fashion underneath. Includes "Sunny Ti De Arya", "Ja Funmi" and "365 Is My Number/The Message".

Ben E King joins the Average White Band for this sweet 70s set – a killer record that not only stands as one of King's best efforts of the decade, but one that also gives the group a great new frontman! Ben's not the only singer on the record, but his presence here can definitely be felt – deepening up the grooves nicely, and giving the already-great AWB sound an even more badass feel! Titles include the classic "Star In The Ghetto", a funky remake of "What Is Soul", an earlier hit for King – plus "Keepin It To Myself", "Imagine", "Someday We'll All Be Free", "Get It Up For Love", and "The Message".

Sweet 70s funk from George Benson – an album that's a bit smoother than some of his earlier work, but still free from the commercial polish of his later hits! Maestro David Matthews is at the helm for this session – and most numbers have a full backing from players who include some of the best of the CTI/Kudu generation – including Ronnie Foster and Bobby Lyle on keyboards, Joe Farrell on flute, Fred Wesley on trombone, Eric Gale on rhythm guitar, Dave Friedman on vibes, and Steve Gadd on drums – who manages to kick in a nicely funky undercurrent, even on some of the mellower numbers. George's guitar is filled with warmly chromatic hues – gliding away nicely on titles that include the slow funky "Em", plus "Siberian Workout", "Shell Of A Man", "Hold On I'm Coming", "One Rock Don't Make No Boulder", and "Theme From Good King Bad".

Titles include "Let The Good Times Roll", and lots of medley numbers of classic blues!

Genius work from Solomon Burke – the kind of all-out, no-nonsense soul album that made Atlantic Records one of the strongest forces in the genre during the 60s! If you've ever bought one of Solomon's weaker recent albums, you owe it to yourself to check this one out – as it's a brilliant batch of tunes, 12 in all, with not a dud in the lot! The vocals are incredible, production is sublime, and the style is a teetering blend of country, gospel, R&B, and soul – never duplicated so well again on wax. Titles include "Can't Nobody Love You", "Goodbye Baby", "Cry To Me", "If You Need Me", "Just Out Of Reach", "You're Good For Me", "Someone To Love Me", and the incredible "He'll Have To Go".

A classic from Nat King Cole – one of his greatest albums of the 50s, and a mature batch of ballads that show he had really developed into a heck of a singer! Arrangements are by Gordon Jenkins, and the set features a rich array of moody material – including "When I Fall In Love", "Stardust", "Stay As Sweet As You Are", "Love Letters", and "Where Can I Go Without You".

We love Kim Fowley, and can never get enough of his genius – and no matter what the setting, Fowley always seems to move around the maddest corners of rock and pop music! This raw batch of gems is all pulled from the Fowley vaults – and features a host of indie singles recorded in LA between his bigger bursts of fame – some with Kim in the lead, lots more with lesser-known talents all given Fowley's forceful treatment in the studio – a push forward that makes just about every track here sparkle like some long-lost garage rocker or weird novelty number. Norton provides very detailed notes that are as much a musical journey as the cuts themselves – and titles include "The Knight In Shining Armor" by Knights Of The Round Table, "Kalani Honey" by John Paul Jones, "Young & Wild" by Renegade Five, "Big Bad Wolf" by Kim Garry & The Rhythm Kings, "Watch Your Step" by Larry Green & The Rhythmaires, "Goin Away Baby" and "Golden Apples Of The Sun" by Grains Of Sand, "Wanted Dead Or Alive" by The Rogues, "Moses" by Navarros, and "The Trip", "Astrology", and a rare radio spot all by Kim Fowley.

A well-titled record, as Albert King here plays with the large sound and big tone that would make him one of the best up-and-coming bluesmen of the 60s – a key player in the already-electrified generation, and possibly the greatest example of the new confidence that was coming into the genre at the time! This early King Records session captures Albert at a great early point in his career – a bit free of some of the more standard modes that would come with his later fame – yet already a hell of a powerhouse on the scene. Titles include "Let's Have A Natural Ball", "Travelin To California", "Dyna Flow", "This Funny Feeling", "I've Made Nights By Myself", and "I Walked All Night Long".

A tight date from 1977, and one that follows nicely in the spirit of King's later Stax sides, but with a slightly smoother groove. There's a bit of the Detroit 70s mode going on in the set – that rough-and-smooth quality that you'd find on a Don Davis production, which proves to be a wonderful blend for King's music, especially on some of the album's funkier numbers. Titles include "Chump Change", "You Upset Me Babe", "Let Me Rock You", "Boot Lace", "Love Mechanic", "Call My Job", and "Good Time Charlie".

A nice little batch of Albert King's raw blues, we're guessing all pulled from 45s. Titles include "Travelin To California", "I Get Evil", "What Can I Do To Change Your Mind", "Let's Have A Natural Ball", "Dyna Flow", "Ooh Ee Baby", and "This Funny Feeling".

BB King soars into the 70s with this smoking little set – a record that still holds onto all the raw energy of his best 60s recordings, but which also gives the whole thing an even more soulful focus too! There's no arranger credited for the core of the record – which is attributed to "everybody" in the group, which you can definitely hear in the wickedly spontaneous playing of the combo – especially the mighty drummer Herbie Lovelle, whose work here really gives King a new sort of kick. Bert DeCoteaux adds a bit of larger backings at points, but usually very gently – in ways that are hardly noticeable at all – as BB's guitar is right out front, wailing with lots of raw energy. Titles include "Key To My Kingdom", "Confessin The Blues", "No Good", "You're Losing Me", "So Excited", and the classic "Thrill Is Gone".

One of the most political of Dr King's albums – recorded in 1967, but issued after his death when the Vietnam War was still going strong. The album's one of the great titles on Motown's short-lived Black Forum imprint, and is a lot stronger stuff than some of the other King albums they continued to keep in print.

A rich effort from Morgana King – the first of her rare Reprise LPs – and a record that shows incredible range and an ability to bring a heavy, textural mood to just about any kind of tune! Torrie Zito's arrangements on It's A Quiet Thing are lush, but, well, quietly so – and Morgana's vocals can build from what's kind of a deep vibrato hush to a really soaring affect! It's nice stuff – with an approach to well known songs of the time that's quite unique! Titles include "It's A Quiet Thing", "Dindi", "Gone With The Wind", "Little Blue Girl", "Mountain High, Valley Low", "How Insensitive", "Here's That Rainy Day", "Deep Song" and "If You Should Leave Me".

Titles include "Elephant Talk", "Frame By Frame", "Thela Hun Ginjeet", and "The Sheltering Sky".

One of our favorites by King Crimson – and a record with a lot more jazz than some of their others! Players include Mel Collins on lots of flutes and saxes – plus guests Keith Tippett on piano, Mark Charig on cornet, and Harry Miller on bass!

The last of the "revival" King Crimson from the early 80s – featuring the lineup that included Robert Fripp, Adrian Belew, Bill Bruford, and Tony Levin. The style is fairly academic, but Belew's presence still gives the record a bit of heart – something that Fripp had trouble doing on his own, even after all these years. Titles include "Dig Me", "Industry", "Lark's Tongue In Aspic Part 3", "Three Of a Perfect Pair", and "Sleepless".

Beautiful beautiful record, and still one of the greatest jazz vocal albums ever made. The great King Pleasure sings in a raspy vocalese style similar to Jon Hendricks or Eddie Jefferson, but with a sense of warmth and delivery that the two of them never seem to reach. The set list here features a stellar batch of tracks with lyrics by Pleasure, including "The New Symphony Sid", "No, Not Much", "Parker's Mood", and "Golden Days". There's some great accompaniment by LA hard bop players like Teddy Edwards, Gerald Wiggins, and Harold Land, and the whole set sparkles with imagination and warmth. Plus, the liner notes include a cool set of notes about Pleasure's crazy philosophy called Planetism. Wild stuff!

A dozen Aggrovators jams from the golden age of Jamaican music, all with Tubby's expert knob twirling taking them into the next dimension. We aren't entirely certain, we'd hazard a guess that these are all Bunny Lee productions, filled out nicely with fat bass, crisp hi hats and a heavy thumping kick, punctuated nicely by dubby reverb and echoplex. With "King Of The Arena Dub", "No Partial Dub", "Crazy Baldhead Dub", "A Living Dub", "Destroy Dub Style", "Book Of Numbers Dub" and "Natty Roots Man Dub".

Killer funky organ – and 100% Dynamite! Jackie Mittoo is one of the all-time great organists – as essential to Jamaica as Booker T was to Memphis, or Jimmy McGriff was to New York. He's legendary these days as the player who completely transformed the Hammond sound with his unique Jamaican instrumental style during his early years with the Skatalites, and on his later solo recordings for Studio One. This set's probably the first time Mittoo's work has been properly packaged and remastered – and the folks at Soul Jazz have done an amazing job of selecting just the right tracks for such a project. The whole thing wails along with a stone rocksteady groove – with plenty of nice drum parts and funky rhythm bits underneath Jackie's soulful organ. If you dug the label's 100% Dynamite series, you'll really dig this one – and the whole thing's very much in the same vein. Tracks include "Drum Song", "Reggae Rock", "Hot Tamale", "Killer Diller", "Black Organ", "Stereo Freeze", "Wall Street", "Darker Shade Of Black", "Juice Box", and "Killer Diller".

A great record of mambo tracks from Prado and his orchestra! Tracks include "The Whistling Mambo", "Pachito E-Che", "Cuban Mambo", "Perdido", "Pianola", and "Mambo Jambo". Some of the songs have vocals and each have really nice moments!

A big crossover record for the golden guy – with cuts that include "Jamaica Nice/Take Me Home Country Roads", "Wha Dat", "Disco Reggae", "Reggae Calypso", "If You Should Lose Me/You'll Lose A Good Thing", and "Mi Believe/Summer Holiday".

Very unique work from Dr Buzzard's Savannah Band – a set that bears all the unmistakeable touches of group leader August Darnell! The set's definitely got the older aesthetic that Darnell brought to his work at the time – possibly even more so than the group's first album – and it's also got a wonderfully acoustic approach to the music, one that uses older jazz inflections mixed with rootsier percussion – almost a late 70s club update of older swing and Latin modes! The tunes are beautifully penned too – most often starting out with a real sort of 30s or 40s style, then sweeping nicely into more of a 70s groove – but always without any sense of gimmick or trickery. Vocals are by the lovely Cory Daye, with a bit of help from Darnell – and titles include "Transistor Madness", "Organ Grinder's Tale", "Mister Love", "The Gigolo & I", "Nocturnal Interludes", and "I'll Always Have A Smile For You".

BB King live at the Cook County Jail in Chicago – and given the amount of great live shows going on in the institution during the early 70s, the jail must have been one hell of a place to be incarcerated! This classic features BB King entertaining the prisoners with a wickedly sharp blues set – done, like most prison live shows, with an edge that's often missing from more conventional concerts – plenty gritty, both on the vocals and guitar, with a sound the Chicago audience must have loved! Titles include "How Blue Can You Get", "Worry Worry", "Sweet Sixteen", "The Thrill Is Gone", "Please Accept My Love", and "Every Day I Have The Blues".

A pretty dark little record from the waning mid 70s version of King Crimson – recorded on tour in the US by a quartet of David Cross, Bill Bruford, John Wetton, and Robert Fripp. The tracks are mostly live takes of tunes from earlier albums – "Easy Money", "21st Century Schizoid Man", "Lament", and "Larks Tongue In Aspic" – done in versions that are considerably more turgid than the originals, with lots of heavy guitar work.

Classic mid 70s dub – purportedly with King Tubby handling the controls on one side, and Lee Perry on the other – and Winston Edwards and the Natty Locks laying down the unstoppable backing tracks! The King Tubby side is particularly heavy – with the bass and percussion rumbling so strong underneath some sweetly soulful bits of horn and guitar – straight-up excellent mid 70s dubs! The purported Upsetter side isn't as heavy in mood or tricked out – but it's still pretty great – and in a way that really allows the Natty Dread backdrops to stand up strongly in their own light. With "Blood Of Africa", "Wood Roots", "Luke Lane Rock", "People From The Grass Roots", "Crime Wave" and "No Justice For The Poor".

The Roots Of Dub from The Dub Master – the one-and-only King Tubby. That's pretty much all you need to hear to know that this album rumbles with floor shaking bass, thunderous reverb drops and chattering echo, nicing up the heavy duty rhythms laid down by the Aggrovators. Hail to the King! Includes "Natty Dub", "Dub Magnificent", "A First Class Dub", "the Stepping Dub", "Rude Boy Dub", "Dub You Can Feel" and "Dread Locks Dub".

Classic guitar from one of the all-time greats – a smoking selection of rare Capitol and Deltone Records singles from the legendary Dick Dale – and virtually a blueprint for generations of surf guitar to come! Sure, there were loads of other great players up and down the Pacific coast back in the 60s – but Dick had a way of making things cook that was unlike anyone else – more of an edge, more of a rocking raw feel, and honestly, a lot more balls than most of his contemporary – as you'll hear in this classic set of cuts that includes "Tidal Wave", "Surfing Dreams", "Mr Peppermint Man", "A Run For Life", "Death Of A Gremmie", "Surfin Rebel", "The Wedge", "Shake N Stomp", "Surfing Drums" and an archetypal recording of "Miserlou". 14 on the vinyl version.

Very groovy work from the Four King Cousins – a sweet quartet of lovely voices peeled off of the larger King Family ensemble, singing here in a spare and syncopated groove with lots of late 60s Capitol touches! Maestro Lex De Azevedo produced, arranged, and conducted – and the album's got a really unified sound that links together harmonies from Sunshine Pop and a bit of the loping styles that were showing up in mainstream easy at the time – a sublime blend of vocals and lightly snapping rhythms that's totally outta site! All tracks are covers, but done in really wonderful versions – and tunes include the great Roger Nichols track "I Fell", plus "Love So Fine", "God Only Knows", "California Nights", "This Girl's In Love With You", and "I Wanna Be Free".

Vintage dubs from Scientist and King Tubby's – mostly produced by Jah Thomas, mixed by Scientist and with instrumentation laid down by The Roots Radics Band! On side one, the odd numbered tracks belong to King Tubby's and Scientist gets the evens – and the opposite is the case on side two – and with Tubby's tracks often herbal themed, and Scientists named for liquid remedies. Strong stuff on both fronts! Includes "Ke-Ke Dub", "Collie Weed Dub", "Sensie Dub", "Hi-Grade Dub", "Ganja Dub", "Lambs Bread Dub" and "Tombana Dub" credited to King Tubby's, plus "White Rum Dub", "White Wine Dub", "Red Wine Dub", "Champagne Dub", "Vodka Dub", "Rum Cream Dub" and "Martini Dub" credited to the mighty Scientist.

Prime early electro hip hop genius from Mantronix – and a set that includes tight singles, 12" mixes and some classic production work for T La Rock, Just Ice and more – 2CDs that cover the vital mid 80s period! Here are those classic early hits with the booming 808 and all the trademark elements – heavy bass, handclaps, high hats, vocoder vox and party rap. Vinyl version features 13 tracks on 2LPs: "Bassline", "Needle To The Groove (12" Version)", "Fresh is The Word (12" Version)" and "We Control The Dice" by Mantronix proper, plus "Turbo Charged" and "Cold Getting Dumb" (parts I and II) by Just Ice, "Breaking Bells" (12" and dub versions) by T La Rock and "Johnny The Fox" by Tricky Tee.

One of Morgana's moody LPs for Reprise, with Don Costa arrangements of cuts like "Sunny", "Watch What Happens", and "Amor En Paz". Very nice, very moody vocals, with a haunting feel that you don't always find in her other records!

An unlikely bit of southern funk! Richard Newell – aka King Biscuit Boy – is a white Canadian blues performer, and not the kind of guy we'd normally rate – but on this album, he's lucky enough to get production from Allen Toussaint, who goes full-out to make this a fine fine funky session! The record's got plenty of nice snapping bass and drum parts, very much in the tradition of Toussaint's own best funky work – and it really grooves along nicely with a heavy New Orleans sound. Titles include "The Bum Is Mine", "Mean Old Lady", "Mind Over Matter", "Lovers & Leapers", and "Deaf Dumb Crippled & Blind".

TI returns with King – featuring production by Just Blaze, Mannie Fresh, Toomp, Keith Mack, Neptunes and others. Tracks include "King Back", "Front Back" feat UGK, "That You Know", "Live In The Sky" feat Jamie Foxx, "Ride Wit Me", "Why You Wanna", "Top Back", "I'm Straight" feat BG & Young Jeezy, "Undertaker" feat Young Buck & Young Dro, "You Know Who", "Goodlife" feat Pharrell & Common, "Told You So" and more.