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One of those bright, charismatic Billy Ocean records from a couple years before his massive pop soul crossover – just a sublime 80s club groover that pumps along at a nice mid tempo clip – a real favorite around these parts! This was Billy's debut for Epic and there's plenty of signposts here of his potential to bust out in a big way commercially – it's hooky and insistent, but still plenty soulful, less steeped in pop gloss and with fewer ballads – lean, danceable soul that holds up very, very well. Also includes "Stay The Night", "Whatever Turns You On", "Don't Say Stop", "Another Day Won't Matter", and "Taking Chances". This Big Break UK remastered edition has 4 bonus tracks: 12 inch versions of "Are You Ready" and "Stay The Night" and single versions of the title track and "Another Day Won't Matter".

The breakout album for singer Frank Ocean – the featured voice and name attached to some stellar material by other acts leading up to this career-making set for Interscope! Simply put, Channel ORANGE is the hella rare pop phenomenon that not only lives up to the pre-release hype, it actually transcends it! Ocean has a unique and distinct voice and style, and we hope he's here to stay. Includes "Thinkin' About You", "Sierra Leone", "Sweet Life", "Super Rich Kids", "Pilot Jones", "Crack Rock", "Pyramids", "Lost", "Bad Religion", "Pink Matter" and more.

One of the few cats who could ever make us learn to love the violin in jazz – presented here in a host of classic 70s albums for Atlantic Records! By the time of these sides, Ponty had already been making some key sounds in the European and American scenes for a decade or more – yet these records really showcase a new evolution of his style – one that really picks up strongly from the growth of fusion in the 70s, and finds a perfect space for the violin next to the keyboards, reeds, and grooves! The change is somewhere in the territory of Michal Urbaniak, yet possibly not as freewheeling – showing a soulful focus that really helped these records reach heights that Ponty wouldn't have expected when working with Frank Zappa. The set features the full albums Upon The Wings Of Love, Aurora, Imaginary Voyage, Enigmatic Ocean, and Cosmic Messenger – all in tiny LP-styled sleeves!

A surprisingly sweet solo effort from Beach Boy Dennis Wilson – a record of surprising depth and darkness, and arguably stronger than most of the albums at the time from the larger group! Dennis produced the album himself, with some executive help from James William Guerico – whose guidance here seems key, given the overall quality of the set. There's some echoes of Beach Boys' styles in the music, but the sound is much more personal as well – Wilson's ragged vocals in the lead on all numbers, sometimes upfront and fragile, sometimes given a bit more umph through the use of processing – at that level that the whole group would often experience in the studio during the 70s. The album's as much of a showcase for Dennis' writing skills as it is for his vocals – and songs are co-written with co-producer Gregg Jakobson, as well as Carl Wilson, Mike Love, and Karen Lamm-Wilson. Titles include "River Song", "Friday Night", "Thoughts Of You", "Dreamer", "Time", "You And I", and "What's Wrong". This Japanese edition of the vital 2CD version of the album is totally great - with a booklet with notes and photos – notes in Japanese, but the track info and personnel details are included in English – and all those great bonus tracks that include "Mexico", "Holy Man", "Only With You", and "Tug Of Love". Disc Two includes with the sessions for the unreleased Bambu album – with tracks that include "School Girl", "It's Not Too Late", "Under The Moonlight", "Are You Real", "He's A Bum", "Cocktails", "I Love You", "Constant Companion", and "Time For Bed", "Holy Man Taylor Hawkins Version)" and more.

Excellent early albums from Billy Ocean – 1975's Billy Ocean and 1980's City Limit – back-to-back with some solid bonus tracks, too! Billy Ocean is his first, and probably best album ever – a mix of uptempo anthemic r&b tunes and sophisticated ballads that are truly Motown worthy! His vocals are deeply soulful, and the tunes have little in common with his mid 80s hits, but they are hugely catchy and should have been bigger! Titles include "Tell Him To Move Over", "Let's Put Our Emotions In Motion", "Let's Do It All Over Again", "Soul Rock", "LOD (Love On Delivery)" and more, plus 5 bonus tracks. City Limits, from 1980, has more of Billy's Caribbean roots in the sound than the earlier self-titled set, and a little bit of fusiony funk, too! Another totally solid set from Billy, who doesn't get enough respect for his tight early LPs. Titles include "Stay The Night", "What You Doing To Me", "Who's Gonna Rock You", "Are You Ready", "Taking Chances" and more, plus 2 bonus tracks.

The album that made Billy Ocean a superstar for a little while, one that had a HUGE couple of years on the charts, even longer service as a snapshot of its era, and is now one that we can look at freshly and appreciate for all of the unstoppably catchy pop soul craft that made it so massive in the first place! Billy's earlier Caribbean inflected pop and R&B was good stuff that deserved a bigger audience and boy did it ever find him with the mid 80s hits "Caribbean Queen", the killer ballad "Suddenly" and the crazy fun "Loverboy". Other tracks include "Mystery Lady", "Lucky Man", "Dancefloor" and "If I Should Lose You". This Cherry Pop UK edition has 4 bonus tracks: extended versions of "Caribbean Queen", "Lucky Man", "Mystery Lady" and "Loverboy".

We love this one – a lot more than we expected from the stupid cover! The record is a great blend of retro and easy tunes – some with a bit of a beat to them – but a lot more that are in a mode that's completely Bacharach, completely baroque, with bits of soul, soundtrack, and bossa running through the mix. These guys actually do the job right – and take the easy tunes at an easy pace, the breezy ones at a breezy pace, and don't try to muddle things up with too much remixology. They're also great writers and darn good producers – and the record sparkles on many tracks like some lost A&M classic! Titles include "Coconut Conga", "Freedom Right Now", "We Are A&C", "Up", "BB Electro", "5th Dimension", and "Ocean Drive".

Phase 4 ventures into nautically themed territory, and then casts the limelight on theater tunes on this two-fer reissue from Frank Chacksfield. The orchestra lays out smooth, string and brass laden arrangements of popular numbers with water themes, then reprises famous show tunes with a similar approach. 33 numbers in all, including "Ebb Tide", "How Deep Is The Ocean", "Stranger On The Shore", "Moon River", "Limelight", "In The Still Of The Night", "Smile", "Come Rain Or Come Shine" and "Here I Am".

Tenors can't get any more conclaved than this – as the record brings together 4 players on the instrument in a great match from 2 of the best sides of 50s jazz! John Coltrane and Hank Mobley represent the more open, soulful side of the spectrum – and Al Cohn and Zoot Sims the tighter, more smartly arranged aspect. Together, the quartet of horns work in an open-ended blowing mode with rhythm by Red Garland, Paul Chambers, and Art Taylor – in a way that almost makes the set a "Coltrane plus" album for Prestige – one that has the structure of some of the best Trane/Garland sides for the label, but which blows in some other horns with different voicings. If you ever needed a record to demonstrate the subtler shadings of genius within 50s modern jazz, yet still convince you that it could also be relaxed and spontaneous, this record may well be the one. Titles include 2 standards – "Just You, Just Me" and "How Deep Is The Ocean" – plus 2 Mobley originals – "Tenor Conclave" and "Bob's Boys".

An excellent album by vibist Walt Dickerson – perhaps his most adventurous work from the early days! The title track's a seventeen minute long swirling mix of vibes, piano, bass, and drums – with an excellent moody feel and a cool set of chromatic changes of the sort that characterized Walt's early work. The other two tracks are standards, but they're given the Dickerson twist, and sound beautiful and haunting, with an off-kilter edge. Andrew Hill plays piano, Andrew Cyrille's on drums – and titles include "To My Queen", "How Deep Is The Ocean", and "God Bless The Child". The recording is one of the high points of the Prestige catalog from the time!

An incredible album from Dinosaur L – the legendary New York dancefloor project of Arthur Russell! – fleshed out and expanded more than ever before by Sleeping Bag and Get On Down Records! The group's core sound is a punky, funky, chunky amalgam of bass thumping, guitar riffing, keyboard filling, and sax honking – all very much in the spirit of Russell's best quirky club work of the time, but with the added sound here of a more expanded approach – one that takes the tunes in a whole new territory than the more famous 12" singles! The tracks on the original set were simply numbered – "1", "2", "3", and so on – and come across almost as free-jamming instrumentals – but this reissue appends the songs with their 12" titles, so "#1" gets parenthetically entitled "You're Gonna Be Clean On Your Bean" and "#5" as "Go Bang!", plus this disc adds several 12" versions that were not on the original LP release, like Francois K's mix of 'Go Bang!" and Larry Levan's mix of "In The Corn Belt". Totally great stuff – as experimental as it is funky! This 4LP box set edition is amazing – coming in a beautiful hand-pulled silkscreen box – and it includes more Arthur Russell collaborative and/or pseudonymous material for Sleeping Bag with or as Bonzo Goes To Washington, Felix, Sounds Of JHS Brooklyn and Indian Ocean. Other tracks include "School Bell/Treehouse" (Indian Ocean), "You Can't Hold Me Down (Extended Version)" (Felix), "5 Minutes (R-r-r Radio Mix)" (Bonzo Goes To Washington) and more. Also includes an oversized booklet of photos, artwork and artist testimonials – plus notes by Russell biographer Tim Lawrence.

Two dramatic scores from Leigh Harline – a sometimes-overlooked composer from the great years of Hollywood soundtracks! The Wayward Bus is put together with some really beautiful charts – filled with sadder tones and bluer notes amidst the orchestrations – that wonderful late 50s move to more adult dramatic inflections – conducted by Lionel Newman with a great sense of care. Things are never too overdone, yet build with this really personal quality – a sense of tension that breaks into gentle redemption at the end – on titles that include "Johnny & Alice", "The Old Road/Mirror Mirror", "Lonesome Alice", "Mildred & Johnny", and "A Time For Contemplation". Harline's music for The Enemy Below is a bit more driving – full of the sorts of bold movement and quiet reflection that you'd expect in a submarine thriller – balancing between modes almost as if the submarine itself was diving and resurfacing. Titles include "Radar Contact", "Charting Tables", "Counter Attack", "Abandon Ship", "Ocean Bottom", "Target Safe", "Target Waiting", and "The Enemy Below".

A classic session of music from the mighty Raymond Scott – performed here by a small combo led by Scott's old tenor player Dave Harris! All of the tunes here were written by Scott, and many are of the vintage that stretches back to his cool cartoon work – those jaunty, jagged little songs that have been revived heavily in the past decade or so, thanks to renewal of interest in Scott's music. This album's sort of its own "revival" – one that features excellent lat 50s studio sound, which really updates the tracks wonderfully, and offers them up in even sharper-edged versions than some of the originals. Harris plays a host of reeds, and although this album's the only one he ever did as a leader, it more than lives up to the memory of his old mentor – and to the wacky image on the cover! Titles include "Dinner Music For A Pack Of Hungry Cannibals", "Siberian Sleighride", "Reckless Night On Board An Ocean Liner", "Twilight In Turkey", "Minuet In Jazz", "Powerhouse", and "The Toy Trumpet".

A great album that Brit tenor giant Tubby Hayes recorded on a trip to the U.S. during the early 60's. The set's a great batch of hard bop tracks recorded during the same time that Epic was doing great stuff like the Dave Bailey LPs, or some of the Charlie Rouse solo records. Dave Bailey's on drums, Horace Parlan's on piano, Clark Terry plays trumpet, and Eddie Costa plays vibes. The LP is magnificent, and perfectly captures Hayes' genius on the tenor in a way that few of his other recordings ever do. Tracks include "Pint Of Bitter", "Opus Ocean", "Soon", and "You For Me".

Not an orchestra, but the work of a single individual – yet served up with a sound that's more blistering than most large ensemble! Michel Coffi conceives the record as a "new challenge for the music of the future" – an "interactive collaboration" that heavily mixes and processes sounds from a wide array of sources – sometimes found, sometimes performed – all brought together in Coffi's larger sound design with a very explosive aesthetic! Many sounds are so compressed together they explode like beats, and most of the elements in the blend are just on the cusp of recognition – so that you keep thinking you hear something you know, but aren't entirely sure. Definitely a record that lives up to its promise – with titles that include "Blue Ocean", "Total Clash", "Electro Breakdown", "Peppermint Sax", "Natural Swing", "Black Tribal Imbroglio", and "Red Track".

Sweet grooves from this hip Italian combo – a group with a name that reminds us of some of our favorite sound library ensembles from years back, and a musical style to match! Magnetic 4 are heavy on 60s bossa and modal styles – jazzy in the instrumentation, but often set to dancefloor rhythms too – a bit in the mode we first came to love during the early years of the Schema Records label – no surprise, really, given that Magnetic 4 also hail from the same Italian scene! The bossa rhythms are especially nice, and really warm things up – and although there's vocals on a few tracks, the main vibe is instrumental – heavy on Fender Rhodes and other keyboards, plus a bit of vibes as well. Titles include "Sushi Run", "Ocean 99", "The King Of Swing", "Boa Vida", "Vertigo Bossa", "Bebogaloo", "Chilly On The Rocks", and "Afro Sex Sound Machine".

That's the Modern Jazz Sextet – not the Modern Jazz Quartet – although the group definitely borrows a bit of energy from the MJQ, and some personnel too! The group was only put together for this date – and combines the subtle touches of MJQ members John Lewis on piano and Percy Heath on bass, with some harder-edged, hardbop-driven sounds from Dizzy Gillespie on trumpet, Sonny Stitt on alto, Skeeter Best on guitar, and Charlie Persip on drums! The set's got an open, easygoing feel – that loose Verve studio mode of the time – which stems from their jam session modes, but is a bit tighter overall – in ways that really help the players find their energy together in the tunes. Titles include 2 standards, in the usual Verve style – "Mean To Me" and a ballad medley of "Old Folks", "What's New" and "How Deep Is The Ocean" – plus 3 originals – "Blues For Bird", "Tour De Force", and "Dizzy Meets Sonny".

Just a few of the songs here are from the 60s, and many of the rest are written by Gaetano Partipilo himself – and mixed with a few Brazilian numbers as well – all to round out a wonderfully rich sounding album that really lives up to the best Schema tradition! Instrumentation is mostly live jazz – played by Gaetano on alto sax, as well as Nicola Conte on guitar, Pietro Lusso on Fender Rhodes, Pasquale Bardaro on vibes, and Fabrizio Bosso on trumpet – but maybe best of all are the vocals, which shift a bit over the course of the record, and include raspy soul lines from MR Natural, and warmer female vocals from Alice Ricciardi, Heidi Vogel, and Rosalia De Souza. Half the tracks are instrumentals, and the mix of modes really makes the album great – never settled too far into one comfortable corner, and really taking the listener on a great journey overall! Titles include "Essa Mulher", "Se Voce Pensa", "Beyond The Days", "Jive Samba", "Right Now", "13 Death March", "Wall & Water", "Atras Da Porta", "The Sticks", "Moon Flower", and "Ocean Dance".

Music beyond description – a unique blend of disco, funk, avant garde, and dub – the wonderful world of the late Arthur Russell! Russell was a bass player by trade, but he was schooled in both classical and Eastern music forms – and brought an incredibly fresh vision to his work in New York in the late 70s and early 80s. To some, Russell was a groundbreaking disco pioneer – with an offbeat production style and unique conception of rhythm. To others, Russell was a performance artist and avant garde musician – working in circles that included Phillip Glass, David Byrne, and Robert Wilson. This mix of modes was very much a part of the post-disco, post-punk sound of New York at the time – and nobody summarized it (or allowed it!) better than Russell himself. This excellent set from Soul Jazz is one of the first to truly give him his due – and it brings together a large amount of his disco-related projects, plus a few more introspective numbers cut under his own name. The sound is incredible – unlike anything you could categorize – especially on the Russell-titled numbers – and as always with Soul Jazz, the whole thing's beautifully packaged, with rich notes on the music and the person behind it! Titles include "Go Bang (Francois K mix)" by Dinosaur L, "Wax The Van" by Lola, "Is It All Over My Face (Larry Levan mix)" by Loose Joints, "In The Cornbelt (Larry Levan mix)" by Dinosaur L, "Pop Your Funk" by Loose Joints, "Schoolbell/Treehouse (Walter Gibbons mix)" by Indian Ocean, and "Let's Go Swimming (Walter Gibbons mix)", "A Little Lost", "In The Light Of The Miracle", and "Keeping Up" by Arthur Russell himself!

A later recording from Pharoah, when he was working with Bill Laswell in the mid and late 90s. Laswell's on production, and the lineup features some of his international and funk-based crew like Foday Muso Sosa, Bernie Worrell and Aiyb Deng, plus older collaborators like Michael White, and some of the then young newer scene liek Charnett Moffett. The vibe is definitely of the times, with some heavier elements and hip hop influenced beats, but a few classic spiritual grooves too. 6 numbers in all, including "Our Roots (Began In Afrca)", "Nozipho", "Tomoki", "Ocean Song", "Kumba" and "Country Mile".

Sy Smith and Mark De Clive-Lowe – an amazing combination that makes for an equally amazing record! Sy's always been great, no matter what the setting – but this time around, all instruments and production are handled by Mark, who gives the record a sweetly cosmic groove! The album bristles with excitement from the very first note – and Smith's singing has this wickedly spacious quality – all the depth of soul we've loved from the start, but a new sense of power that slides in perfectly with the crackling rhythms and jazzy keyboards from De Clive-Lowe. Rahsaan Patterson guests on the cut "Nights (Feel Like Getting Down)" – a beautiful remake of the Billy Ocean classic – and other tunes include a version of Teena Marie's "Teena" – plus great Smith originals that include "The Fast & Curious", "Truth", "Personal Paradise", "The Primacy Effect", "Messages From The Stars", and "The Ooh To My Aah".

An unusual 60s comeback for singer Margaret Whiting – and a set that firmly established her as both a country singer, and a singer of jazz! The set's got full backings from Arnold Goland – often done in a way that carries a slight undercurrent of Nashville – not full-blown country, but the kind of country pop that you might hear from a singer like Kay Starr crossing over big. Other cuts echo some of the better Brit girl modes of the time – such as work by Petula Clark – and these are maybe some of the best, and really seem to open up the best vocal side of Whiting. Titles include "The Wheel Of Hurt", "The World Inside Your Arms", "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me", "Time After Time", and "Nothing Lasts Forever". CD features 13 more bonus tracks from singles – including "Where Was I", "Love's The Only Answer", "At The Edge Of The Ocean", "Love Has A Way", "Life Goes On", "I'll Tell Him Today", and "Can't Get You Out Of My Mind" – plus two German tracks as well!

Dust To Digital moves across the Atlantic Ocean – and brings the same great skill to African music they've already brought to blues, folk, and gospel! This package is amazing – 100 rare 78rpm recordings, appearing here on CD for the first time ever – not just wonderful music, but music that's wonderfully put together – with detailed notes that really blow us away as much as the sounds on the discs! The beautiful thing is that these guys not only know how to pick the best tracks, but that they also know what the music is about – and can prove it with a lavish 112 page book that features very rich information on all the obscure recordings – an archival feat that's a real bargain at this price. Heck, some guys would spend an entire career just to excavate and annotate this much great music – yet it's all in a day's work for this legendary label. And we haven't even told you about the actual music yet – but trust us, it's wonderful – the kind of mindblowing 78-era tracks that will really open up your understanding of global sounds!

A great little James Bond soundtrack – written for one of the lesser-remembered Bond films, but filled with nice moments! There's a darker, moodier feel here than on some of Barry's other Bond scores – lots of stretched out tracks that have a bit more space than usual, and odd instruments punctuating the themes with an eerie, other-worldly edge that almost reminds us of some of the best Italian thriller work from the time. Nancy Sinatra sings a very moody title track – and other tunes include "Takana's World", "The Wedding", "Mountains & Sunsets", "A Drop In The Ocean", "Bond Averts World War Three", and "The Death Of Aki".

An amazing follow-up to the original Book Of Am project from the 70s acid folk underground – a recording that brings back lost material from the original, and mixes it with new recordings that have a surprisingly vintage feel! The package continues the "progress through a day" trajectory of the first two parts – and although most of the material was not recorded in the 70s, it's presented here with a very faithful feel that's every bit as creepy and compelling as the first half – almost like some of the acoustic folksy work of Current 93 – with a definite Wicker Man sensibility in the percussion, guitar, and eerie vocals! Song titles offer up plenty of hint at this – with tunes that include "Awareness Of Voidness", "What Is The Mind", "Bowl Woman Song", "Sleep Sleepless Sleep", "Nightfall", and "The Swing Of The Ocean Of Joy".

A windy city hero – the amazing Garland Green, a singer who makes us mighty proud we hail from Chicago! Garland's got an incredible style that few others can touch – partly schooled in the 60s iceman modes of Jerry Butler and Walter Jackson, with all the sophistication that might imply – but also often given a raspier twist, with slightly southern echoes that make Garland's music feel even more deeply personal! And while most folks know Green's big hits for the Uni label, this package shows a rich legacy that goes much father than that – work recorded for labels that include Cotillion, Spring, RCA, Ocean Front, and Revue – in addition to some key Uni tracks. This trans-label set really does a wonderful job of showing the full range of Garland's mighty talents – a sublime set of soul cuts that run from the start of the 70s right up to the early 80s modern years – packaged with detailed notes too. Titles include "Since You've Been Gone", "These Arms", "Just Loving You", "Just My Way Of Loving You", "He Didn't Know", "Don't Think That I'm A Violent Guy", "Love's Calling", "Just What The Doctor Ordered", "Sweet Loving Woman", "Ask Me What You Want", "You Played On A Player", "Don't Let Love Walk Out On Us", and "Sending My Best Wishes".

Rare English language recordings from the sublime Francoise Hardy – music that's every bit as wonderful as her famous French recordings – and even more compelling to our Anglo-styled ears! The vocals are wonderful – sung with this sense of darkness that's almost got an echo of Nico at points, given the accent – set to backings that balance this darkness with a bit more light, but never in ways that are overly poppy – and which definitely continue that more sophisticated style that Hardy always brought to her music! There's less "yeh yeh" to the tracks than a few years before – and Francoise is definitely digging deeper music at this point in her career – sometimes with a breathy brilliance that's a bit like Jane Birkin too. Titles include "Bown Bown Bown", "Till The Morning Comes", "Loving You", "In The Sky", "Midnight Blues", "Magic Horse", "Song Of Winter", "Strange Shadows", "Ocean", "The Garden Of Jane Delawney", "Sometimes", "Let My Name Be Sorrow", "Times Passing By", "I Just Want To Be Alone", and "Suzanne".

Led Zeppelin at peak power – mixing hard rock bombast with deep, genuine love for blues and folk guitars! Houses Of The Holy is the essential the blueprint for countless imitators to come – but it's also got smarts, subtleties and creative ambitious that's just plain lost on the watered wannabes that floated up in Zeppelin's wake. Titles include "The Crunge", "Over The Hills & Far Away", "The Song Remains The Same", "The Rain Song", "Dancing Days", "Dyer Maker", "No Quarter", and "The Ocean".

Insanely fantastic! Ananda Shankar was one of the hippest sitar players of the 60s – an artist who was not only steeped in the strongest traditions of Indian music heard in other more mainstream players, but one who also had a keen ear for modder and funkier grooves of the time! This rare American set by Ananda is one of his greatest ever – a brilliant mix of funky backings and tripped out sitar work – done in a way that blends together soul, funk, and rock – all given a particularly cool Indian twist. The vibe is very much in the best funky Bollywood style – but was actually done years before most Bollywood funk – and the set includes great covers of "Jumpin Jack Flash" and "Light My Fire", plus great original tracks like "Sagar (The Ocean)", "Snow Flower", "Dance Indra", and "Metamorphosis".

Music that no home should be without – presented here in a lavish package, with rare mono mixes too! The set's a wonderful way to get these early gems from Lou Reed, Nico, and The Velvet Underground – and the box set features the first three Velvet Underground albums for Verve, plus Nico's legendary Chelsea Girl debut, and the sublime unreleased 1969 album – filled with tracks that appeared elsewhere later ("Ocean", "Foggy Notion", "I Can't Stand It", "Rock & Roll", "Ride Into The Sun", "Lisa Says", and "I'm Sticking With You") – presented here as they were originally intended for record! The box features all original artwork, and heavy Sundazed vinyl with great remastering – with two bonus posters too.

An excellent little collection – one that shows that the Chicago-based United Records label cut vocal work to match the best New York indies in the 50s! The tunes here are mostly jazz, but have some of the harder edges that you'd guess from United's R&B work too – and the singers are all wonderfully top-shelf – a fair bit of names you might not know at all, which makes the package a real revelation to our ears – mixed with rare recordings by a few others, including the first sides ever from Della Reese! Backings are great – tight and jazzy, often with a strong element of bop – and titles include "Never To Cry Again" and "Fallen" by Bixie Crawford, "Until I Fell For You" by Vanita Smythe, "I Can't Forget" and "Somebody Will Understand" by Terry Timmons, "How Deep Is The Ocean" and "A Fool Was I" by Helen Fox with Jimmy Coe, "Mays' Haze" and "Old Mill Stream" by Betty Mays with JJ Johnson & Kai Winding, "Please Wait For Me" by Debbie Andrews, and "Yes Indeed" and "Blue & Orange Birds & Silver Bells" by Della Reese with Jimmy Hamilton.

Brazilian vocals, with plenty of jazz – a smoker of a set from singer Clarice Assad – with a feel that takes us back to rare indie albums of the 70s and 80s! The instrumentation is great – lots of hard-grooving piano from Clarice, played in these inventive ways that often infuse odd melodic touches with a key sense of rhythm – one that's augmented by lots of additional percussion, including djembe, pandeiro, tamborim, ocean drum, and more – used sparely, but with great effect to drive along the piano and vocals! And Assad has his great way of singing and scatting too – a style that's rooted a bit in 70s modes from Tania Maria or Flora Purim – but which takes off with its own sort of earthy experimentalism as well. Titles include "20 Anos Blues"," Dora", "The Last Song", "Cajuina", "Ad Lib", and "For Elis" – a great medley that's a tribute to Elis Regina!

Smooth soul from Cliff Dawson – a singer as classy as his look on the cover, and definitely a cut above most of the mainstream soul artists of his time! The album's an overlooked gem that's very nicely put together – well recorded, arranged with a subtle flair, and usually done with a warmer sound than you might guess for the vintage of the set – almost like some late 70s underground modern soul set, which is saying plenty to ears like ours! Thor Baldursson did most of the arrangements, but in ways that are much more restrained than his disco years – and titles include "It's Not Me You Love", "Waiting For Your Love", "Betcha Didn't Know", "I Can Love You Better", "Ocean Green Eyes", and "Never Say I Do".

Just a few of the songs here are from the 60s, and many of the rest are written by Gaetano Partipilo himself – and mixed with a few Brazilian numbers as well – all to round out a wonderfully rich sounding album that really lives up to the best Schema tradition! Instrumentation is mostly live jazz – played by Gaetano on alto sax, as well as Nicola Conte on guitar, Pietro Lusso on Fender Rhodes, Pasquale Bardaro on vibes, and Fabrizio Bosso on trumpet – but maybe best of all are the vocals, which shift a bit over the course of the record, and include raspy soul lines from MR Natural, and warmer female vocals from Alice Ricciardi, Heidi Vogel, and Rosalia De Souza. Half the tracks are instrumentals, and the mix of modes really makes the album great – never settled too far into one comfortable corner, and really taking the listener on a great journey overall! Titles include "Essa Mulher", "Se Voce Pensa", "Beyond The Days", "Jive Samba", "Right Now", "13 Death March", "Wall & Water", "Atras Da Porta", "The Sticks", "Moon Flower", and "Ocean Dance".

Music beyond description – a unique blend of disco, funk, avant garde, and dub – the wonderful world of the late Arthur Russell! Russell was a bass player by trade, but he was schooled in both classical and Eastern music forms – and brought an incredibly fresh vision to his work in New York in the late 70s and early 80s. To some, Russell was a groundbreaking disco pioneer – with an offbeat production style and unique conception of rhythm. To others, Russell was a performance artist and avant garde musician – working in circles that included Phillip Glass, David Byrne, and Robert Wilson. This mix of modes was very much a part of the post-disco, post-punk sound of New York at the time – and nobody summarized it (or allowed it!) better than Russell himself. This excellent set from Soul Jazz is one of the first to truly give him his due – and it brings together a large amount of his disco-related projects, plus a few more introspective numbers cut under his own name. The sound is incredible – unlike anything you could categorize – especially on the Russell-titled numbers – and as always with Soul Jazz, the whole thing's beautifully packaged, with rich notes on the music and the person behind it! Titles include "Go Bang (Francois K mix)" by Dinosaur L, "Wax The Van" by Lola, "Is It All Over My Face (Larry Levan mix)" by Loose Joints, "In The Cornbelt (Larry Levan mix)" by Dinosaur L, "Pop Your Funk" by Loose Joints, "Schoolbell/Treehouse (Walter Gibbons mix)" by Indian Ocean, and "Let's Go Swimming (Walter Gibbons mix)", "A Little Lost", "In The Light Of The Miracle", and "Keeping Up" by Arthur Russell himself!

A long-overdue return from Alice Smith – somehow sounding even better here than before! The songs are every bit as catchy as Smith's previous work, and also have an equally great genre-crossing quality – not really just soul, but with a songsmith appeal that's bound to reach out and grab Alice new listeners from a whole range of scenes. Yet the record's not really commercial, either – especially given the upfront presentation of the music – which often has a core combo serving up the tunes with Smith's vocals – and added elements brought in once things get going. Definitely worth the wait – and titles include "Ocean", "Cabaret", "Another Love", "The One", "Shot", "Loyalty", "With You", and "Be Easy".

A key slice of Scott Walker genius – and his only recording from the 80s, cut on the heels of a re-discovery of his older music, but a far step ahead than anything Walker had done before! Climate Of Hunter is far darker than the famous Philips albums – and carries with it echoes of his last few tunes with the re-formed Walker Brothers in the late 70s – a bleaker look at life than ever before, but one that's still touched with the sense of poetry that Scott always brought to his work, and sung in that godlike voice we love so much! Instrumentation carries a definite feel of the time – with some echoes of British post-punk production, especially in the way the drums and guitar are recorded. Yet there's also a timeless quality to the album here too – and each year past its release settles it more warmly into the classic and better-known Scott Walker catalog. Surprising guest appearances on the set include Evan Parker, Ray Russell, Mark Isham, and even Billy Ocean – and titles include "Rawhide", "Dealer", "Track 3", "Sleepwalkers Woman", "Track 5", and "Track 7".

Rare solo piano work from the great Joe Albany – heard here in a beautifully unfettered setting! There's a fluid sort of magic here – that special quality that Albany was always cited for in his piano work, but which unfortunately was tragically under-recorded over the years. Most tunes are quite short, and have an echoey quality that's quite striking – a sense of room and space that comes from the recording, and which seems to fold back the sound and make Albany's moves on the keys even more striking. Titles include "Bluebird", "Slow Blues In F", "How Deep Is The Ocean", "Jitterbug Waltz", "Old Old Friends", "Woody N You", and "For Heaven's Sake".

Led Zeppelin at peak power – mixing hard rock bombast with deep, genuine love for blues and folk guitars! Houses Of The Holy is essential the blueprint for countless imitators to come – but it's also got smarts, subtleties and a creative ambition that's just plain lost on the watered wannabes that floated up in Zeppelin's wake. Titles include "The Crunge", "Over The Hills & Far Away", "The Song Remains The Same", "The Rain Song", "Dancing Days", "Dyer Maker", "No Quarter", and "The Ocean".

A killer electric piano jam from the great Mike Longo – stone funky, and one of his best albums ever! The whole thing's done in a really laidback style that's simply amazing – a lot like the best CTI work of the time, but somehow rougher, and with a darker edge. Longo riffs out on the keys over rhythm by Ron Carter, Mickey Roker, and Ralph MacDonald – and Joe Farrell and Randy Brecker add in some great horn work that fleshes out the tunes with a deeply soulful jazzy feel. The whole album's great, with a range of moods, emotions, and grooves that Longo hardly ever hit again – and titles include "Summers Gone", "El Moodo Grande", "Like a Thief In the Night", "Ocean Of His Might", and "Magic Number".

Amazing sounds from Moonchild – a group as lovely as their name! The style here is slinky and stellar – spacey funk that's heavy on keyboards, yet really laidback too – stepping along in a cool cosmic vibe that's perfect for the lead vocals of Amber Navran – a hell of a great singer who really makes her voice work well with the keys! The album's really a cut above the rest – very fresh, with a crisp edge that's wonderful – and proof that there's still some great folks out there in the underground making righteous music like this! Titles include "Back To Me", "Be Free", "Out Of My Mind", "Ocean Deep", "Gone", "What Shall We Do", and "Turn It Up".

That's the Modern Jazz Sextet – not the Modern Jazz Quartet – although the group definitely borrows a bit of energy from the MJQ, and some personnel too! The group was only put together for this date – and combines the subtle touches of MJQ members John Lewis on piano and Percy Heath on bass, with some harder-edged, hardbop-driven sounds from Dizzy Gillespie on trumpet, Sonny Stitt on alto, Skeeter Best on guitar, and Charlie Persip on drums! The set's got an open, easygoing feel – that loose Verve studio mode of the time – which stems from their jam session modes, but is a bit tighter overall – in ways that really help the players find their energy together in the tunes. Titles include 2 standards, in the usual Verve style – "Mean To Me" and a ballad medley of "Old Folks", "What's New" and "How Deep Is The Ocean" – plus 3 originals – "Blues For Bird", "Tour De Force", and "Dizzy Meets Sonny".

The first new music by Bill Fay in decades – and it's wonderful stuff – just a beautiful set of songs that balance hauntingly subtle sounds with more enigmatic touches! Bill's voice and piano are front and center for the most part here. The lyrics are poetic, but unpretentious – covering life, love, loss and the big issues we deal with – in a really artful way. Producer Joshua Henry does a great job of creating a stirring sound, without layering anything on too thickly, so not to bury the intimate charm of the songs – and using a subtle backing vocal choir, some lovely strings and additional keys at times. Includes "There Is A Valley", "Big Painter", "The Never Ending Happening", ", "The Healing Day", "City Of Dreams", a wonderfully spare cover of Wilco's "Jesus, Etc.", "This World" featuring Jeff Tweedy (speaking of Wilco), "Empires", "The Coast Man Can Tell" and more.

The first new music by Bill Fay in decades – and it's wonderful stuff – just a beautiful set of songs that balance hauntingly subtle sounds with more enigmatic touches! Bill's voice and piano are front and center for the most part here. The lyrics are poetic, but unpretentious – covering life, love, loss and the big issues we deal with – in a really artful way. Producer Joshua Henry does a great job of creating a stirring sound, without layering anything on too thickly, so not to bury the intimate charm of the songs – and using a subtle backing vocal choir, some lovely strings and additional keys at times. Includes "There Is A Valley", "Big Painter", "The Never Ending Happening", ", "The Healing Day", "City Of Dreams", a wonderfully spare cover of Wilco's "Jesus, Etc.", "This World" featuring Jeff Tweedy (speaking of Wilco), "Empires", "The Coast Man Can Tell" and more.

A really unusual project from bassist William Parker – a great tribute to the legendary Godard film Alphaville, done with music that's a surprisingly great fit! There's almost a jazz soundtrack feel to the record at points – a bit straighter than usual for Parker, but still with plenty of edge – although other tracks sometimes get a bit more outside and improvisational, making for a really nice balance in the record. The core group features Parker on bass, Rob Brown on alto, Lewis Barnes on trumpet, and Hamid Drake on drums – which is then augmented by two cellos, violin, and viola – shading in the sound nicely. Parker really does a great job of capturing the quick shifts, bold moments, and striking qualities that make Godard's film so great – and titles include "Alphaville Main Theme", "Interrogation", "Alph 60", "Doctor Badguy", "Oceanville Evening", and "Civilization Of Light" – plus two versions of the great track "Natasha's Theme", a spiritual soulful number with vocals by Leena Conquest!

Tripped-out funk from contemporary Colombia – played by a group who've clearly dug all the nation's rich legacy of groove-heavy music! The album's got a vintage feel at points – especially when the heavy drums are mixed with weirdly-distorted guitars – which almost have the feel of some of the chicha grooves from other scenes, but also share the sweet fuzzy sounds we love in vintage Colombian funk! The combo's clearly got a psychedelic streak to their leanings – given the way the whole thing comes together – and titles include "Champeta De La Corrupcion Y La Desagna", "Lambada De Oceania Africa & America", "Toma Tu Jabon Kapax", "Quiero Plata", and "Lgbtrago Y Mas Trago".

There's not much of a cover on this one – but the music is plenty plenty funky – and the set features a great selection of rare work recorded as funky 45s for the TK family of labels in the 60s and 70s! The groove here is much harder and deeper than you'd expect if you only know TK from its bigger hits of the time – a fiercely wailing approach that shows that the label could record some excellent funk that easily matched the best work coming out of the northern cities at the time. And in fact, there's very few "Miami" touches here overall – because the groove these guys lay down is often much more in keeping with styles we know from Ohio, Chicago, and New York groups of the time. But whatever the origin or label, we can say that the set's an excellent one for any fan of deep deep deep funk – and it features a total of 14 tracks that include "Cutting Room (Hot Pants)" and "It's Allright" byOcean Liners, "Lay It On Me Baby" by Willie Johnson, "Hey Sexy" by King Tutt, "I'm Afraid Of The Dark" by Jonny K, "Funky Cat" by James Knight, "Look What You Can Get" by Funky Nassau, "Nasty Dog" by The Mighty Dogcatchers, "Soul Food" by Franky Seay, and "I Got A Thing For You Baby" by Mr Percolator.

A Place To Bury Strangers covers Dead Moon!

Tripped-out funk from contemporary Colombia – played by a group who've clearly dug all the nation's rich legacy of groove-heavy music! The album's got a vintage feel at points – especially when the heavy drums are mixed with weirdly-distorted guitars – which almost have the feel of some of the chicha grooves from other scenes, but also share the sweet fuzzy sounds we love in vintage Colombian funk! The combo's clearly got a psychedelic streak to their leanings – given the way the whole thing comes together – and titles include "Champeta De La Corrupcion Y La Desagna", "Lambada De Oceania Africa & America", "Toma Tu Jabon Kapax", "Quiero Plata", and "Lgbtrago Y Mas Trago".

The funkiest cuts from the legendary TK family of labels – all perfectly selected and laid out together in one mindblowing mix! The sound here is tremendous – way harder and deeper than the TK sound you might know from their disco tracks, or their top 40 hits – and is proof that down at the bottom, the label had some killer funky material – some of which easily rivals the best funky 45s of the time! Production is great, and the track selection is brilliant – a non-stop blend of killer numbers, put together in a way that packs plenty of punch – yet still respects the integrity of the original song structures too. Titles include "The Fly" by The Kinfolks, "The More Things Change" by King Sporty, "Miss Hot Stuff" by Clarence Reid, "Look What You Can Get" by Funky Nassau, "Keep Me Satisfied" by JP Robinson, "Hey There Jim" by Jimmy Bo Horne, "Life Goes On" by Freak, "Confusion" by Leno Philips, "Funky Pants" by The Oceanliners, "Lay It On Me" by Willie Johnson, "Tears Of The World" by Robert Moore, "Good Love" by The Rising Son, "Sleep On Dream On" by Ralphael Munnings, and "Cramp Your Style" by All The People.