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Prince in near-peak form in the mid 80 – creatively, anyway! Parade is a brilliant stand-alone album, tough it doubles as a soundtrack to a film that flopped – standing today as one of our favorite Prince albums from the 80s! Includes the massively funky "Kiss", the closest Prince ever got to James Brown – and the whole album's got some great orchestral arrangements by Clare Fischer. Titles include "Christopher Tracey's Parade", "I Wonder U", "Under The Cherry Moon", "Girls & Boys", and "Anotherloverholenyohead".

Titles include "Tell All The People", "Touch Me", "Shaman's Blues", "Easy Ride", "Wild Child", "Do It", and "Wishful Sinful".

Titles include "Tell All The People", "Touch Me", "Shaman's Blues", "Easy Ride", "Wild Child", "Do It", and "Wishful Sinful".

Prince in a grand groove – actually a better record overall than Around The World In A Day, and one of our favorite Prince albums! Sure, it was the soundtrack to a film that flopped – and that might be the reason this one can get slighted in discussion of his better albums. This one deserved better – and it includes the massively funky "Kiss", the closest Prince ever got to James Brown – but the whole album's got some great sweeping, pop psyche orchestral arrangements by Clare Fischer. Titles include "Christopher Tracey's Parade", "I Wonder U", "Under The Cherry Moon", "Girls & Boys", and "Anotherloverholenyohead".

Dave Rempis blows here in a mighty nice setting – a "percussion quartet" that features the twin drums of Tim Daisy and Frank Rosaly, along with some heavy basswork from Ingebrigt Haker Flaten! The album features two long tracks – both freewheeling and wonderful – with Rempis deftly moving between alto, tenor, and baritone sax – blowing openly, yet also swinging nicely too! Like some of the other best projects on the 482 label, there's a great balance here between improvisation and structure – a real return to the best modernist moments of decades back – handled here by a quartet of bold young players. Titles include "If You Were A Waffle & I Was A Bee" and "This Is Not A Tango".

Joe Gibbs and Errol Thompson more than live up to their title as the Mighty Two just as this heavy compilation more than lives up to the title of nothing but scorchers! Gibbs and ET showcase their mastery of all styles here, veering from hard and heavy roots to sweet lover's numbers and even a few bouncing tracks aimed a the dancehall! Top notch singers and dee jays are all featured over throbbing rhythms at the hands of Gibbs' Professionals crew, with 28 tracks in all, including "Two Sevens Clash" by Culture, "Babylon Too Rough" by Gregory Isaacs, "Cool Out Son" by Junior Murvin, "Boxing Around" and "No Man's Land" by Cornell Campbell, "Just Like A River" by the Mighty Diamonds, Left With A Broken Heart" by George Nooks, "Funeral" by Prince Alla,"Rockers A Nuh Crackers" by Glen Washington, "Jah Bring I Joy In The Morning" by Bobby Melody, "Burn Babylon" by Sylford Walker, "Keep On Knocking" by Jaco Miller, "Virgin Girl" by Eek-A-Mouse, "Hello Carol" by Enos McLeod, and "UptownTop Ranking" by Althea & Donna.

Pretty nice dub versions of Fred Locks' Black Star Liner record – an underappreciated mid 70s record – and these rare and largely unreleased dubs are excellent, too! The dubs are vintage, but as far as we know, most haven't been released commercially before – at least not in this great full length format. Wonderful stuff! Includes "Black Star Liner In Dub", "Redemption Dub", "I've Got A Dub", "Dub-A-Long", "True Rastaman Dub", "Blood Money Dub", "Wolf In Dub Clothing", "Last Days Dub", "Children Of Sedlassie Dub", "Wall Of Dub" and "True Rastaman Dub".

Yeah, it's spectacular alright – a sturdy box set featuring 7 X 7" singles from the Channel One vaults – all in replications of the original sleeves! It includes mid 70s singles originally issued on Well Charge and Channel One, plus a trio of early 80s Hitbound singles – stellar original tracks by Delroy Wilson, Leroy Smart, John Holt and Sammy Dread backed by the Revolutionaries versions, plus Michael Palmer, Barrington Levy, Roots Radics and more! Includes "It's A Shame" by Delroy Wilson w/ "Fire Bun" by Revolutionaries, "Jah Jah" by Leroy Smart w/ the Revolutionaries version on the flip, "Up Park Camp" by John Holt (plus Revolutionaries version)", "Jah Will Work It Out" by Mighty Diamonds w/ "Masculine Gender" by Ranking Trevor, "M16" by Sammy Dread w/ the Revolutionaries version, "Pon Your Toe" by Michael Palmer w/ "Unmetered Taxi" by Sly & Robbie, Dean Fraser & Robbie Lyn and "Black Rose" by Barrington Levy w/ Roots Radics version.

A beautiful box set of vintage roots 7-inch singles from Randy's – Clive Chin productions cut at the fabled Kingston studios from 1971-1975 – all killer 45s repressed and reproduced with the benchmark originals and flipside dubs! It's a beautiful format – with respect for the original singles. Includes classic and rare cuts by Augustus Pablo & Bongo Herman, Hortense Ellis, Black Uhuru, African Brothers, Roots & Wailers Band, Ansel Collins with Skin, Flesh & Bones and more. Each single comes in the Randy's sleeve with the original inner labels. Beautifully done! Includes "Java Passion" by Augustus Pablo & Bongo Herman, "Woodpecker' by Winston Wright & Impact All Stars, "Woman Of The Ghetto" by Hortense Ellis, "Guns In The Ghetto" by Broadway, "Evil That You Do" by Roots & Wailers Band, "Don Won Dub' by Wailers Band, "Spanish Town Road" by Ansel Collins/Skin, Flesh & Bones, "S-Corner Dub" by Impact All Stars, "The Race" by Gladiators, "Race Version" by Impact All-Stars, "Hod Tight" by African Brothers and more,

A brilliant tribute to the youthful talents of Barrington Levy – a set of sweetly soulful numbers that were mostly recorded when Levy was in his late teens! The package is overstuffed with goodness from these key Levy years – music that often moves through the groove with a really laidback vocal, yet still has this sharp bite underneath – that special mix that always made Barrington so great. And although young here, there's still a depth to his vocals that few other older acts can touch – a heartfelt, sometimes heartbreaking quality that really comes through. CD features a whopping 40 tracks in all – with titles that include "She Rob & Gorn", "Poor Man Style", "Rubber Man", "My Woman", "21 Girls Salute", "Collie Weed", "Bounty Hunter", "Walk 2000 Miles", "Mini Bus", "Black Hen Chicken", "Look Youthman", and "Wedding Ring".

A legendary piece of reggae history that should be better remembered – a rare live set recorded at the Turntable Club – originally released on Trojan and hard-to-find since! It's incredible stuff – produced by Niney The Observer and featuring numbers by Dennis Brown, Alexander "Bottlehead" Portious, Delroy Wilson and Big Youth – all backed masterfully by the Soul Syndicate Band! Recorded on a single evening at the club, it was the first ever live session captured at the iconic nightspot – and it still sounds great! Includes "Cassandra", "Rock With Me Baby" and Give A Helping Hand" by Dennis Brown, "Everything I Own" and "Love Overdue" by Alexander Portious, "I'm A Happy Man", "It's A Shame" and more by Delroy Wilson, "Dread In A Babylon" by Big Youth and more. The stage intros for each act are left in the recording, given the whole thing an air of importance and geniune sense of it's place in Jamaican music history. Nice!

A classic slice of Jamaican roots! No collection of Lee Perry's work is complete without this chapter, which has been hard to get in spite of being reissued in a number of different formats. This version features a slight twist on the original cover art, but is an expanded double LP set with a bonus disc of later self-produced material. On the original album, recorded at the Black Ark in 1976, Cedric Mytton teams up with Roy Johnson on harmony vocals, with Lee Perry steering the Ark with a heavyweight supporting crew, for a true milestone in Jamaican music, and a classic of universal proportions. The second LP features material from 4 different sessions, all great, with tracks from the 1979 LPs Cvongo Ashanti and Image of Africa, the 1981 LP Face The Music and a couple of tracks from 1999. 22 tracks in all, including "Fisherman", "Congoman", "Open Up The Gate", "Children Crying", "La La Bam-Bam", "Can't Come In", "Sodom & Gomorrow", "The Wrong Thing", "ArkOf Covenant", "Don't Blame On I", "Solid Foundation", "Days Chasing Days", "Youth Man", "Only Jah Know", "Music Maker", "Stay Alive (ext)", "Problems", "Face The Music", "Enemy & Spy (ext)" and "Aaron & Moses (ext)".

Essential! The mighty debut album from African disciples Culture pairing up with the Mighty Two, Joe Gibbs and Errol Thompson is one of the landmark sets of roots reggae, a defining moment of the genre dropped during the year when two sevens clashed. And though the apocalypse didn't rain down from the skies in '77, this album was certainly a world-changing event, one of the finest moments in Kingston's rich musical history! Gibbs provides the trio with a set of uplifting rhythms over which to harmonize, and Culture comes correct on every track, combining a tightly harmonized approach with a rawer, rootsier sound. 10 tracks in all, including "I'm Alone In The Wilderness", "Pirate Days", "Two Sevens Clash", "Caling Rastafari", "I'm Not Ashamed", 'Get Ready To Ride The Lion To Zion", "Black Starliner Must Come", "Jah Pretty Face", 'See Them A Come" and "Natty Dread Taking Over".

A nice box of classic and rare reggae from Fred Locks – his mid 70s masterpiece Black Star Liner, plus Black Star Liner In Dub, Love And Only Love with The Creation Steppers and The Missing Link – in a 4CD set! Black Star Liner is an underappreciated classic from '76 and it's a must have for diggers of harder-to-find mid 70s – recorded at Randy's, Channel One and Harry J's. The set also includes a complete set of rare dub versions – plus the Love And Only Love with the Creation Steppers and the Missing Link record. Each disc comes in slim, LP-style sleeve – with 47 tracks on 4CDs: "Black Star Liner", "Vision Of Redemption", "Sing-A-Long", "Walls", "Time To Change", "Love", "Love And Only Love", "Eternally", "Africa Africa", "No Further Woman", "Homeward Bound", "Rastafari Rule", "I Know", "Child Of The King", "Judge Not", "What You're Not Supposed To Do", "No Further Woman", "Wolf Wolf" and more.

A pretty darn obscure one – with a wild cover, wild title, and a goofy looking bandleader who definitely had a great sense of humor! Pijuan leads the group, sings, and plays organ – and the record's a weird mix of groovy 60s pop, shing-a-ling/boogaloo tracks, and other Latin groovers. The best track is the lively "Shing A Ling Boogaloo", which has some very sinister piano lines – and other highlights include a groovy take on "Up Up & Away", the drum-heavy "Comparsas", and the swinging "La Bala De Plata".

A career-spanning anthology of the legendary Yellowman – the Jamaican deejay whose longevity against all odds is nearly as surprising as the top notch quality of his best recordings – many of which you can find here! Yellowman's better known in some circles for being a pioneer, for better or worse, in a more sexually explicit lyricism – for good reason – but he's such a charismatic performer that he deserves to be better known for his style than his words. Lots of great material here, and a good deal of it is quite timeless! 40 tracks on 2CDs: "Mad Over Me", "Shorties", "Lost Mi Love", "Mister Chin", "Out Of Hand", "Death Of Barnabas", "Them A Fight I", "Night Flight", "Top Form", "Duppy Or A Gunman", "Zungguzungguguzungguzeng", "Galong Galong Galong", "Gregory Free", "King And Queen" and "Jah Mek Us Fi A Purpose" with Sister Nancy, "Mr. Wong", "Herbman Smuggling", "Water Rock" and "Bam Bam" with Fathead, "Bunn The Kutchie", "Blueberry Hill" and more. 40 tracks on 2CDs – plus the DVD Live At Sunsplash 1988!

The uber-classic Observer Book Of I-Roy – the masterful collection of mid 70s material, which collected, add up to some of the very finest recordings that great Jamaican deejay I-Roy recorded with writer, arranger, producer Niney The Observer! The album is essential a top notch round-up of singles that I Roy voiced for Niney in '76 and '77 – unbeatable versions of roots reggae classics! Includes "Jah Come Here", "Step On The Dragon", "Cam Road Skanking", "Sister Maggie Breast", "Water Rate", "Jamaican Girl", "Wicked Eat Dirt", "Roots Man" and more.

The stellar early 70s collection of Pablo instrumental sides, tracked between the groundbreaking Java, Java, Java and East Of The River Nile LPs! Like those, this album features Pablo's melodica prominently, over some nice roots rhythms laid down by an all star cast, including Carlton Barrett, Santa Davis, Familyman, Fully Fullwood, Chinna Smith, Ansell Collins and many more. Includes "Dub Organizer", "Arabian Rock", "Pablo In Dub", "Skateland Rock", "Dread Eye" and "Lover's Mood", This sweet 2011 edition has 3 bonus tracks: "Java", "Guiding Red" and Marabi".

Early genius from The Carpenters – a really tremendous little album, and one that's quite different than their soft rock hits of the 70s! There's a plenty playful feel to the set – energy that comes right off the best Sunshine Pop of late 60s A&M Records – to which this album is a perfect link – a mode in which the studio's as much a part of the sound as Richard and Karen's own contributions – wrapped up with a heavenly approach by producer Jack Daugherty. Tunes are simpler, sometimes more personal – and there's lots of nice basic music touches along the way – a piano here, sweet keyboard there, some gentle drums, and more – all to make the music sound totally groovy! If you've ever heard the Roger Nichols music for A&M, and wondered how he could have such a later link to this pair, this is the album to show you the way. Titles include "Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing", "Your Wonderful Parade", "Turn Away", "All Of My Life", "Ticket To Ride", "Don't Be Afraid", "What's The Use", and "Someday".

Droning soundscapes with dreamy atmosphere and ominous twists and turns from Ensemble Pearl! The ensemble is an international one – featuring Sunn O)))'s Stephen O'Malley, plus Atsuo from Boris, Boris-affiliate Michio Kurihara, William Herzog and guests – and their eponymous record for Drag City is one of cooler avant instrumental projects on DC in recent memory. It apparently came together from material recorded for a theater project a couple years earlier – and it has a bit of tripped out, spooky soundtrack-y feel to show for it – but it stands really strongly as a headphones experience all its own! Includes "Ghost Parade", "Painting On A Corpse", "Wray", "Island Epiphany", "Giant" and "Sexy Angle".

Two gems from Johnny Mathis' mid 60s years at Mercury Records – one classic album, and another previously unreleased session! First up is Love Is Everything – an album that's got Johnny working with arranger Glenn Osser – who always seemed to set the right tone to unlock the best side of Mathis' 60s vocals. Orchestrations are lush, but never sleeping – and have that wonderful pillow of sound approach that really lets Johnny open up and soar vocally. Titles include "A Thousand Blue Bubbles", "Never Let Me Go", "This Is All I Ask", "People", "One More Mountain", and "Go Away Little Girl". Next up is Broadway – a record that was recorded for Mercury, yet never issued at the time! The album's got a nicely unusual feel – a range of songs that really moves past the usual ballads and love songs you might normally know from Johnny Mathis – and which, at some times, shows sides that are a bit more upbeat and playful. Titles include "Get Out Of Town", "Manhattan", "Don't Rain On My Parade", "When I'm Not Near The Girl I Love", "Ridin High", "She Loves Me", and "Ain't It De Truth".

A contemporary riff on benchmark 70s soul jazz and funky fusion from French producer Medline – who reimagines classics by Roy Ayers, Lonnie Liston Smith, Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard and others! It's good, solid stuff – reinterpreting the material in a way that's very mindful of its influence on classic hip hop – with some tighter beats and other nods to classic 90s hip hop production – but it's done with an emphasis on live instrumentation that's pretty great! Medline plays most of the instruments himself, with lots of Afro percussion and jazzy flute – with guest vocals on a number of tunes by Roni Alkekengi. Includes "A New Day", "People Make The World Go Round", "Wind Parade","Expansion" and "Everybody Love The Sunshine" with Roni Alkekengi, "Eboness", "Red Clay" and more.

Toshiyuki Miyama really makes the New Herd cook with this cool 70s session – a smoker of a large group date, and one with a great mix of funky rhythms and complicated instrumentation! The set's got a feel that's as exotic as its cover, yet comes across with a solid, soulful punch throughout – a wonderful blend of elements that always maintains its swing – and which holds onto the older Herd reputation for tightness of horns, while still allowing lots of room for creative instrumental expression. The lineup is large, but often comes across with a nice lean groove – and titles include "Adult's Day", "Hide & Seek", "Sun Shower Parade", "When A Swan Goes To Sleep", and "Grief For Enka".

The first-ever dub album from Niney The Observer – based around rhythms he'd cooked up for Dennis Brown, Max Romeo, and Delroy Wilson – all transformed completely in the studio by King Tubby! The sounds here are often very abstract – light years away from the originals – and given these spacey, repetitive cycles that seem to trip out even more than conventional dub! A landmark little record, and one that sounds even darker all these many years later – with cuts that include "Casanova Dub", "Rebel Dance", "Jam Down", "Parade Dub", "Turntable Dub", "Corn Man", "Mister D Brown Skank", and "Youth Man".

Fantastic! This is Yma Sumac's rock album from the early 70s – and it's got a wild sound that's totally different from any of her work at Capitol! The record includes lots of electric instrumentation, and Yma's voice moves from the exotic to the psychedelic, as she sings along with some great organ/guitar small group backing produced by Les Baxter. Sounds weird at first, but it's great, and almost a bit funky! Titles include "Zebra", "El Condor Pasa", "Tree Of Life", "Flame Tree", "Looke Around", and "Let Me Hear You". This Omni CD version includes 3 previously unreleased bonus tracks: "Savage Rock" (plus an alternate version) and "Parade".

A seminal set from The Swell Maps – at one level a record that's completely of its moment, and at another, a completely unique set that's never been matched since! The Swell Maps were part of the UK scene of the punk years, but were already embracing a lot of post-punk energy in their sound – or, in a way, some pre-punk experimentation – as they mixed in some prog-like instrumentation, creative studio production, and a great ear for mixing up modes – in ways that make the record way way different than just the usual full length set from the time! There's lots of odd percussion at times – occasionally quite cacophonous – and a sense of drone that's years ahead of its time – or maybe leftover from the psych years, too – thanks to the presence of Nikki Sudden in the group, who'd explore that side of the music more on his own during the 80s. Epic Soundtracks provides amazing inspiration on drums – and titles include "Vertical Slum", "Spitfire Parade", "Harmony In Your Bathroom", "Don't Throw Ashtrays At Me", "Midget Submarines", and "Bridge Head (part nine)".

A bit trippy, but also pretty darn funky – a wonderfully groove-conscious assortment of work from Blue Note and some other EMI-related labels – most of it from the tail end of the 60s and the hip start of the 70s! There's a bit less psychedelia here than you might guess from the title, but that's ok with us – as the track list is wonderful – and features some of the hippest, most mature grooves coming out at the time – a blend of cuts that ranges from righteous soul jazz to the soaring productions of Larry Mizell! Titles include "Howling For Judy" by Jeremy Steig, "Streets Of Calcutta" by Ananda Shankar, "Light My Fire" by John Andrews Tartaglia, "Wind Parade" by Donald Byrd, "Hallelujah I'm Coming Home" by Candido, "Acid Pot Or Pills" by Horace Silver, "Music Is My Sanctuary" by Gary Bartz, "Harlem River Drive" by Bobbi Humphrey, "Cristo Redentor" by Donald Byrd, and "Love For Sale" by Gene Harris. 12 tracks in all!

Totally great – an amazing collection of music from the Tamil Film Industry in India – also known as Kollywood in some circles, and home to sounds that are quite different from more familiar Bollywood modes! The styles here are great – often a lot more offbeat and less straight pop than you'd know from more familiar Indian soundtracks – still done with the mix of a playback singer and composer, but often set to weird rhythms that bring in some nice touches from the 80s – used in ways that are pretty great and groovy overall! There's less of the full-on dance numbers at some points – and with the use of electronics, we'd almost be tempted to call some of this stuff more arty or new wave-styled Indian film music at times – especially on the two very moogy numbers included. The package is great – with notes on the music, scene, and singers – and titles include "Vikram Vikram", "Passing Out Parade (part 1)", "Love Theme", "Raaja Rajathi", and "Chittu Kuruvi" by Illaiyaraaja; "Cola Cola Coca Cola" by Shankar Ganesh, and "Nallavan Nallavan" by Hamsalekha,

The first-ever dub album from Niney The Observer – based around rhythms he'd cooked up for Dennis Brown, Max Romeo, and Delroy Wilson – all transformed completely in the studio by King Tubby! The sounds here are often very abstract – light years away from the originals – and given these spacey, repetitive cycles that seem to trip out even more than conventional dub! A landmark little record, and one that sounds even darker all these many years later – with cuts that include "Casanova Dub", "Rebel Dance", "Jam Down", "Parade Dub", "Turntable Dub", "Corn Man", "Mister D Brown Skank", and "Youth Man".

Two Amphonic sound library sets – back to back on a single CD! Shades Of Grey is a great set from Steve Gray – with some killer smooth jazz funk numbers! The feel's like a hip late 70s soundtrack, surprisingly wonderful overall – nice and tight, but never too uptight – that wonderful balance you'd find on some of the best sound library sets of the time! Steve Gray's at his best throughout – leading a large ensemble with the deftness of some of the best soundtrack maestros of the time – and titles include "El Sol", "Finely Fluted", "Simply Sophisticated", "Bill's Basement", "Only A Dream Away", and "Powerdrive". Brit Easy genius Syd Dale takes the helm on It's A Colourful World – a warm set of instrumental tunes dedicated to the west coast – topped with a San Francisco cover image, but with more than enough modes to stretch down highway 101 to Los Angeles! The sound is almost more early 70s than you'd guess from the date – not entirely funky, but quite picturesque – mixing some warm TV-styled soundtrack styles with evocative horns and woodwinds. Titles include "San Francisco Bay", "Redwood Valley", "Flamingo Parade", "The Puppet Factory", "Pink Bacardi", "Dancing At The Palace", and "French Lace".

An incredible record that was one of the highest points of Donald Byrd's career! The album's the third one he cut with producer/arranger Larry Mizell – and of all Byrd's work with Mizell, this one's the funkiest, the tightest, the most soulful, and the most perfectly realized vision of the smooth jazz funk sound that the team were aiming at. Every track is a winner – and the album glides along with a slippery sinewy groove, never pausing for a weak moment or a misplaced note, shimmering with pride in its own genius. Byrd's trumpet soars over the top, banking gracefully over waves of funky drums, spacey keyboards, and extremely well-placed vocals – all brought together perfectly by Mizell, with a tightly fused style that few people have ever been able to match in the studio since! Tracks include "Change (Makes You Want To Hustle)", "Dominoes", "Wind Parade", "Places & Spaces", and "Night Whistler".

A very weird one – as Henry Mancini pays tribute to the work of John Philip Sousa! As you'd expect from Sousa's marches, most of the work has a parade band military sound – and Mancini, despite his grooviness, hardly breaks format to change the style of the work. The approach has touches of some of Mancini's more military soundtrack work – and the recording quality definitely has a classic Hollywood approach – but overall, it's still Sousa. Titles include "The Gladiator", "Washington Post", "National Fencibles", "The Thunderer", and "Drum Corps".

A contemporary riff on benchmark 70s soul jazz and funky fusion from French producer Medline – who reimagines classics by Roy Ayers, Lonnie Liston Smith, Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard and others! It's good, solid stuff – reinterpreting the material in a way that's very mindful of its influence on classic hip hop – with some tighter beats and other nods to classic 90s hip hop production – but it's done with an emphasis on live instrumentation that's pretty great! Medline plays most of the instruments himself, with lots of Afro percussion and jazzy flute – with guest vocals on a number of tunes by Roni Alkekengi. Includes "A New Day", "People Make The World Go Round", "Wind Parade","Expansion" and "Everybody Love The Sunshine" with Roni Alkekengi, "Eboness" and "Red Clay".

The incredible debut of Phil Ochs – easily one of the most powerful folk albums of the 60s, and a set that wears its politics on its sleeve like few other records! In an era when many folkies worked a social agenda with sly jokes and twee metaphors, Ochs went straight for the jugular and took his topics head on – singing directly about the topics with a voice nearly shaking in anger, and working here with jagged guitar accompaniment that only further underscores the mood of the tunes. There's a rawness here that beats even Dylan's most political moments from the early albums, and the simple brilliance of the set makes it as powerful today as it was upon its release over 40 years ago. Titles include "Talking Vietnam", "One More Parade", "Automation Song", "Talking Cuban Crisis", "What's That I Hear", "Bound For Glory", "The Bells", and "Ballad Of William Worthy".

Droning soundscapes with dreamy atmosphere and ominous twists and turns from Ensemble Pearl! The ensemble is an international one – featuring Sunn O)))'s Stephen O'Malley, plus Atsuo from Boris, Boris-affiliate Michio Kurihara, William Herzog and guests – and their eponymous record for Drag City is one of cooler avant instrumental projects on DC in recent memory. It apparently came together from material recorded for a theater project a couple years earlier – and it has a bit of tripped out, spooky soundtrack-y feel to show for it – but it stands really strongly as a headphones experience all its own! Includes "Ghost Parade", "Painting On A Corpse", "Wray", "Island Epiphany", "Giant" and "Sexy Angle".

A rare American session from the Quarteto Em Cy – working here under the name of The Girls From Bahia, and singing in English as well as Portuguese! The album's got a sound that's quite similar to the group's classic 60s Brazilian records on Elenco – thanks to bossa-heavy backings from Oscar Castro Neves – and even when singing in a second language, the girls do a really great job of hitting the sweetest, warmest harmony notes they can – that trademark vocal brilliance that made them such a huge act back in Brazil! Sonny Burke produced, but he clearly gives plenty of space to Oscar – as the album's got little of his usual Warner touches – and instead shows that when you've got the right talent in the studio, you can do a pretty good job of recording bossa in the US. Titles include "Berimbau", "Tem Mais Samba", "Edmundo (In The Mood)", "Lai Ladaia", Morrer De Amor", "Sunny Side Of The Street", "Road To Nowhere", "Old Piano Roll Blues", "The Day It Rained", "E Nada Mais", "Manhattan", "Dindi", and "A Banda (Parade)".

One of the greatest soundtracks of the blacksploitation era – served up with some incredible grooves from maestro JJ Johnson! The album's got a non-stop, hard-hitting groove that ranks it with the best of its time – and which is arguably even better, because most of the record isn't nearly as well known as Shaft, Superfly, or other classics. Martha Reeves sings some of the deepest vocals of her career on the great title track "Willie D" – an old sample cut that you're sure to recognize – and the instrumental tunes are even better, filled with great percussion and jazzy flourishes from JJ – in a style that really keeps things interesting! There's plenty of "chase" riffing on the album – and titles include "Willie Chase", "Parade Strut", "Make It Right", "Gospel Family", "Keep On Movin", and "Willie Escapes".

One of the hippest Italian soundtracks of the 60s – and a motherlode of tracks by the great Piero Piccioni! The soundtrack is the source of the oft-compiled "Mr Dante Fontana", a nutty groover about the mod fashion scene in Italy – and it also features the famous tracks "Richmond Bridge" and "You Never Told Me". Most of the music is by Piccioni and the wonderful vocal group I Cantori Moderni, with Edda Dell'Orso on vocals – but the CD also features some work by Lydia Mac Donald, Julie Rogers, and Ennio Morricone. Includes a few versions of the "Fontana" and "Richmond", plus "Ascot Dream", "Magic Castle", "Tango Walk", "Drag Beat", "This Is Life", "Palace Parade March", "Babylon, I'm Coming", and "His Dream Has Come True". Very groovy – with loads of excellent material, and 27 cuts in all!

An incredible follow up to the first New Orleans Funk compilation on Soul Jazz – even harder-hitting than the first, and filled with funky rare gems! This set took nearly a decade to follow the first, but it's been well worth the wait – and the crew at Soul Jazz have clearly used all that time to dig way past the obvious on the New Orleans scene, and come up with a really incredible batch of all-funky cuts all the way through! Even if you've got a dozen other New Orleans funk collections in your collection, you'll find plenty here to win you over – as the package goes out of its way to pull cuts from rare singles and under-reissued material – then wraps the whole thing up with the usual extra-thorough Soul Jazz approach to liner notes and details. And while some of the names are familiar here, they're nicely interspersed with lesser-known folks who keep things fresh – making for a winning lineup that really sets a new standard for this sort of set. Titles include "The Twitch" by Danny White, "Street Parade" by Earl King, "Four Corners" by Lee Dorsey, "Hot Tamales" by The Prime Mates, "Tequila" by Allen Toussaint, "Right Place Wrong Time" by Ray J, "Gossip" by Cyril Neville, "Hold On Help Is On The Way" by G Davis & R Tyler, "Funky Belly" by Warren Lee, "I'm Mr Big Stuff" by Jimmy Hicks, "The Rubber Band" by Eddie Bo, "12 Red Roses" by Betty Harris, "What Do You See In Her" by Inell Young, "You Keep Me Hanging On" by Bonnie & Sheila, "Yeah You're Right You Know You're Right" by The Gaturs, "The Tap" by Porgy Jones, and "Bo Diddley" by Art Neville.

A brilliant set from Santigold – blending a world of sounds and styles into one of the more exciting and unique major label pop album's '12 – build to last! African, Caribbean and urban American sounds blend very well here – in both the the electronic and organic instrumentation and in Santi White's voice – and the songs are make deep impact, too. Pretty exciting stuff! Includes "Go", "Disparate Youth", "God From The Machine", "Fame", "Freak Like Me", "This Isn't Our Parade", "Riot's Gone", "Pirate In Water", "The Keepers", "Look At These Hoes", "Big Mouth" and more.

One of the weird Meters-related New Orleans parade bands from the 70s – similar to the group The Wild Magnolias, but with a sound that's more in a New Orleans mode than a 70s funk one. The Meters play on the record, and the group sings most of the vocals as well – and production is by Allen Toussaint and Marshall Sehorn, with that 70s New Orleans choppy style that was making them both buckets of money at the time! Tracks include "Brother John", "Indian Red", "Hey Hey", "Hey Mama", "Meet De Boys On The Battlefront", and a version of "Hey Pocky Way".

An incredible follow up to the first New Orleans Funk compilation on Soul Jazz – even harder-hitting than the first, and filled with funky rare gems! This set took nearly a decade to follow the first, but it's been well worth the wait – and the crew at Soul Jazz have clearly used all that time to dig way past the obvious on the New Orleans scene, and come up with a really incredible batch of all-funky cuts all the way through! Even if you've got a dozen other New Orleans funk collections in your collection, you'll find plenty here to win you over – as the package goes out of its way to pull cuts from rare singles and under-reissued material – then wraps the whole thing up with the usual extra-thorough Soul Jazz approach to liner notes and details. And while some of the names are familiar here, they're nicely interspersed with lesser-known folks who keep things fresh – making for a winning lineup that really sets a new standard for this sort of set. Titles include "The Twitch" by Danny White, "Street Parade" by Earl King, "Four Corners" by Lee Dorsey, "Hot Tamales" by The Prime Mates, "Tequila" by Allen Toussaint, "Right Place Wrong Time" by Ray J, "Gossip" by Cyril Neville, "Hold On Help Is On The Way" by G Davis & R Tyler, "Funky Belly" by Warren Lee, "I'm Mr Big Stuff" by Jimmy Hicks, "The Rubber Band" by Eddie Bo, "12 Red Roses" by Betty Harris, "What Do You See In Her" by Inell Young, "You Keep Me Hanging On" by Bonnie & Sheila, "Yeah You're Right You Know You're Right" by The Gaturs, "The Tap" by Porgy Jones, and "Bo Diddley" by Art Neville.

Features work by George Van Eps on guitar, Eddie Miller on tenor, Matty Matlock on clarinet, and Clyde Hurley on trumpet.