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Fab early work from unsung British studio genius John Carter – 2 albums from his Ministry Of Sound group in the 60s! Carter's best known for his later, more baroque productions – but here he's working in a great blend of jangle pop and trippier influences – almost the British equivalent of some of the hipper LA groups of the time, but with bits of Hollies and Kinks-era pop in the mix as well! Tracks are relatively short and straightforward – based around catchy choruses, but often hitting on deeper themes, especially on the later work represented on the set. The 2CD package features the full tracks from the albums Men From The Ministry (1966) and Midsummer Nights Dreaming (1968), plus 11 more bonus singles from the group's Sunny Records sessions of the time. Titles include "I'm Coming Home", "Something Very Good", "Goodbye To Rosalie", "White Collar Worker", "In The Sky", "Sequin Sally", "Rain Raiin Rain", "Roberto Billow", "Love Equals Love", "Memory", "Turn Around", "Time & Motion Man", "Sunday In The Park", and "Magic People".

A big, warm sunshine psychedelic pop set from John Carter and the Flower Pot Men – built around the richly groovy Brian Wilson styled gem "Let Go To San Francisco" – featuring a number of tunes credited to the Flower Pot Men proper and a slew of related material! Listen To The Flowers Grow features a bunch of sweet summer of love style pop gems – including demos and previously unreleased bits buy the Flower Pot Men and their circle of cast members, related projects and pseudonyms – including work credited to John Carter, the Ministry Of Sound, Haystack, Dawn Chorus and more. Titles include "What's The Matter With Juliet" (demo), "Rain, Rain, Rain" (Ministry Of Sound/John Carter vocal), "Let's Go To San Francisco Pt 1", "Let's Go To San Francisco Pt 2", "A Walk In The Sky", "Am I Losing You", "A Man Without A Woman", "You Can Never Be Wrong", "Letter To Josephine" (as Haystack), "A Night To Be Remembered" (as Dawn Chorus) and more!

A nice bit of psych folk from the UK – Paul Korda's Passing Stranger record from 1971. It's pretty driving set in moments, and quite delicate in others – voiced impressively by Korda, who's also really strong in the songwriting arena! The songs are really inspired, still carrying some of the romance and idealism of the later 60s, and his voice is quite soulful, too! It's co-produced by Vic Smith and features some stellar guests on the sessions, including AWB guitarist Alan Gorrie, plus Chris Spedding, Onnie McIntyre, Madeline Bell and Doris Troy. Includes "Between The Road", "Morning Wakes The Sun", "Dover Ferry", "Ode To The Ministry", "Into Your Station", "Pass Me Winter", "Rubble My Cauldron", "We Are Each Other", "A Passing Stranger", "Mud Mother" and more. 2 bonus tracks: "English Country Garden" and "Seagull" – pulled from rare singles!

Killer jazzy Brazilian grooves! It's common knowledge that Brazilian music has always found a wider audience in Europe than America (at least for most of the past 30 years) – and that a large number of European jazz and groove artists have created their own versions of the music, coming up with some killer hybrids of funk, fusion, and Brazilian rhythms. This excellent set brings together a dozen great cuts in that style – mostly from French, Italian, and German sources recorded during the 70s. The cuts are all super-rare (natch), and the selection of material is put together in a great way that keeps the whole thing very lively. Titles include "Ye Me Le" by Brazil Selection, "Kinky Peanuts" by Sesso Matto, "Bamba" by Dimenzio, "Vai Vai" by Jean Pierre Sabar, "Batucada Erotica" by Michel Colombier, "Senhor Piloto" by Tega & Ricardo, and "Casa Di Moda" by G & Moi Angeus. Also features one authentic Brazilian groover, the great cut "Agibore" by MPB4 – a killer funky number issued only on a 1973 promo LP by the Brazilian Ministry of Telecommunications for a European meeting!

Pure greatness from Brand Nubian at their early best! The Nubes' have made a handful of solid-to-great albums, but none could top this essential debut. Grand Puba, Sadat X and Lord Jamar are on point with the politicized rhymes over classic early 90s jazzed up, funky beats, built from now well known breaks – and truly raising the bar for classic east coast production. With the classics "All For One", "Slow Down", "Drop The Bomb", "Concerto In X Minor", and 2 mixes of "Wake Up" (Stimulated Dummies mix and the penultimate reprise), plus "Who Can Get Busy Like This Man. . .", "Ragtime", "To The Right", "Dance To My Ministry", "Step To The Rear", "Try To Do Me", "Grand Puba, Positive & LG" and "Dedication".

Early to mid 70s Persian Funk – a nicely compiled set featuring some of the funkiest music released on Iran's Ahang Rooz label from the early-to-mid 70s! It's got instrumental stormers and vocal numbers – in Farsi and English – funk and soul steeped Persian grooves from an incredible period for modern music in the Middle East! Ahang Rooz rose up during a much different period in Iran, when government's Ministry Of Culture nurtured the label and grew to release albums by the biggest acts in the region. From the outset, the label produced music that blended regional folk styles and instrumentation with globally popular genres. Secret Stash celebrates the funky stuff for Persian Funk – be it straight forward or global pop and psych infused. Includes a few great covers, include Martik's take on Stevie Wonder's "Past Time Paradise" and Googoosh's raw and funky version of "Respect" – and other tracks include "Cheshm Be Rah" by Shohreh, "Hard Groove" by Ahamaizadeh, "Soul Raga" by Mehrpouya, "Prison Song" by Shahram Shabpareh, "Del Dare Pir Misheh" by Kourosh Yaghmaei, "Morteza" by Morteza and more. 11 in all.

A pivotal piece of Mali music history – the first LP by The Rail Band – the Orchestre Rail-Band D Bamako album from 1970! This legendary material comes from their early days from their time at the Station Hotel of Bamako and were sponsored by Mali's Ministry Of Information – modernizing traditional Mali music and combining it with cross cultural soul, Latin percussion and more – paving the way for Afro Soul and funk to come. Includes "Rail Band", "Koro Koni", "Gansan", "Mali Cebalenw" and "Sunjata".