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One of the all-time great ones by Ben Webster! The album was recorded near the end of Webster's all-too-short time on this planet – at a point when he had really perfected a sorrowful tone on tenor, and a strangely sinister approach to ballads – one that gave even familiar tunes an unusual edge. The great Johnny Richards handled backings for the set – in a mode that uses light strings in the background, and which lets the solos step right out front – in a style that rivals the great work of Ralph Burns for Verve's classic "with strings" albums. But the real strength here is Webster's tone, which is fantastic – as you'll hear on titles like "Stella By Starlight", "Nancy", "It's Easy To Remember", and "Accent On Youth".

A wonderful snapshot of the late 60s/early 70s underground rock scene in Vancouver! The original album was put together as a benefit for the Cool Aid House – a shelter for homeless youth in Vancouver, and no doubt a haven for hippie culture at the time. The album was and is a vital document of the scene – touching on the freedom-seeking vibe of the time in the lyricism, but free of hippie rock cliché –it's great stuff! Sunny and loose harmonies, deft acoustic and electric instrumentation, creative and inviting music from Spring, Route Nine, Mock Duck, Papa Bear's Medicine Show, Black Snake, Mock Duck and others. Includes "Girl Of The Night Suite" by Route Nine, "The Reason" and "Catfish" by Black Snake, "Do Re Me" by Mock Duck, "Gardens And Flowers" by Hydro Electric Streetcar and more. This beautiful joint effort reissue from Light In The Attic and Lion includes a bonus second LP of material! 9 on LP2: "Borrowed Song" by Mock Duck, "Wordplay" by Spring, "Carousel" by Black Snake, "The Planet Man" by Greydon Moore and Leo Jung and more.

A great solo record from Donald Fagen – tightly anchored by the best of his elegant jazz funk tendencies – and one that we're comfortable calling his best since The Nightfly! Shoot, we'll even go one step further and call this the best Steely Dan-related record since Two Against Nature. Sunken Condos is co-produced by frequent latter-day Dan collaborator Michael Leonhart, who put out a terrific record of his own on Truth & Soul a couple years prior, on top of serving as a go-to horn player for team Truth & Soul over the years. It's possible that working with a relatively youthful producer (Leonart was born the year that Pretzel Logic came out) has pushed Donald to raise the bar a bit, or perhaps he's been off the road long enough to take his time and deliver a stronger album in 2012. Whatever the reason – it's great stuff! They've put together a top notch studio band (naturally), and the slick groove sounds natural here, rather than shined to a high gloss, ala most Steely Dan and solo projects from Aja onward. We're so deep "in the tank" when it comes to Steely Dan that we're a pretty easy mark, but honestly, we can set aside our lifelong fandom to objectively tell you how good this one is! Titles include "Slink Thing", "I'm Not The Same Without You", "Memorabilia", "Weather In My Head", "The New Breed", "Out Of The Ghetto", "Miss Marlene", "Good Stuff" and "Planet D'Rhond A".