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A beautiful set of rare Burmese music compiled from incredibly rare 78s – spanning a half century of recordings – which goes to show just how stunningly beautiful and ageless the music really is! One one side features recordings from as far back as 1909 and 1911 – with the second side starting off with a couple of songs from the late 20s and subsequently devoted to material from the mid-to-late 50s. As the title suggests, it's got a lot of female vocal songs that convey raw emotion, yearning and beauty – with harp, string and percussion backdrops on the earlier recordings – plus electric guitar and other more modern songcraft and instrumentation on the later recordings. 14 tracks in all – compiled on trips to modern Myanmar – with "Maung Sein Mida Part 1" by Po Sein, "Maung Sein Mida Part 2" by Aung Bala, "Romantic Duet" by Po Sein and Ma Kyin U, "Perfumed Forest Part 1" by Yadana Myit, "Ma Sawa" by Thein Zaw and Myint Myint San, "Shan Village" (Parts 1 & 2) by St Gun Khin May and more.

Scattered Melodies spun from traditional Korean Kayagum Sanjo recordings – and the deepest vinyl excavation to date by Sublime Frequencies – the label's first compilation material culled from rare 78s! The music is mostly from the 20s & 30s, but it has at least one piece from the 50s - all spare, hypnotic string melodies and raw drum accompaniment! The titles refer to tempo and rhythmic patterns, as opposed to standing as subjective song titles, with the slowly plucked "Chinyangjo", the faster "Chungmori" and the even faster "Chungchungmori" alternately played by Kim Hae Sun, Jung Nam Hee, An Ki-Ok, Kim Chongi-Ki and Shim Sang-Gun, plus some additional/alternately-titled movements. It's a riveting look at a Korean folk tradition that we'd never had the pleasure of hearing before this – and another great reason to cherish the deep diggers at Sublime Frequencies – with a concise, yet informative set of notes. 13 performances in all – each as captivating as the one before!

Ten years since his underground Headphone Masterpiece and Cody Chesnutt is finally back with a proper follow up – one that has a more fully-fleshed out production – and it's pretty damn great! There's some striking differences in approach, but thankfully, the idiosyncratic creative bent remains! Where Headphones Masterpiece was a mind-bogglingly ambitious low fi bedroom production, this one was at least partially recorded at Willie Mitchell's legendary Royal Studios in Memphis, with a great group of studio musicians. This one is also more focused – and features a tight batch of 12 songs – as opposed to the sprawling double album debut. Cody's ear for classic southern soul craft informs this one – but his raw lyricism and great voice are still the focus, and that ultimately makes it another near-classic! We hope it won't take 10 years to make another record, but we're sure glad we finally got this one! Includes "'Til I Met Thee", "I've Been Life", "That's Still Mama", "Don't Follow Me", "Everybody's Brother", "Love Is More Than A Wedding Day", "Under The Spell Of The Handout", "Don't Wanna Go The Other Way", "Where Is All The Money Going", "Scroll Call" and more.

An excellent collection of Billie's 30s work for Columbia Records – featuring 3LPs worth of material, represented with much better sound than the original 78 rpm release of the songs. Billie's in the company of a host of great jazzmen – including Count Basie, Lester Young, Teddy Wilson, Charlie Shavers, Artie Shaw, Cozy Cole, Roy Eldridge, Red Allen, and countless others. 48 tracks in all – with titles that include "Your Mother's Son In Law", "Riffin The Scotch", "Them There Eyes", "Without Your Love", "Swing Brother Swing", "Back In Your Own Back Yard", "You Go To My Head", "Long Gone Blues", "I Can't Get Started", "All Of Me", "God Bless The Child", and "Gloomy Sunday".

Talib Kweli & producer Hi Tek reunite as Reflection Eternal – a solid return to from one of the most championed underground duos of the late 90s – still sharp and vital at the end of 00s! Titles include "RPM's", "City Playgrounds", "Back Again" feat RES, "Strangers (Paranoid)" feat Bun B, "In This World", "Got Work", "Midnight Hour" feat Estelle, "Just Begun" feat Jay Electronica, J Cole & Mos Def, "Long Hot Summer", "Get Loose" feat Chester French, "So Good", "Ends" feat Bilal and more.

2XLP 45rpm, 10 songs, including two brand new ones from his popular series Phantom 45

A beautiful collection of rare 78 rpm material – the complete 1929 recordings of Charlie Poole & The Highlanders – some of the smokingest string band music you'll ever find on wax! The set was lovingly remastered from vintage 78s – and titles include "A Trip To New York (parts 1, 2, 3, & 4)", "Flop Eared Mule", "Under The Double Eagle", "Lynchburg Town", and "Richmond Square".

The title's almost redundant – as the words "Westbound" and "Funk" mean virtually the same thing! From the late 60s through the mid 70s, Westbound was one of the key record labels in the sound of raw heavy funk – working with hit groups like Funkadelic and the Ohio Players to craft a sound that laid the blueprint for countless other groups of the time, and also featuring a wealth of obscurer artists with an even harder-hitting sound! The key styles of Westbound and related jazz label Eastbound were heavy and fuzzy ones – picking up off the heady and trippy styles of the late 60s Detroit scene, mixing things up with MC5 guitars, Norman Whitfield bass, and deep underground Tribe-styled jazz touches. This 20 track masterpiece is a brilliant summation of the important Westbound sound – and includes a few hits, some funky 45 classics, and an even bigger number of tracks we might not have heard otherwise! The notes are great, the tunes are super-funky, and the whole thing's one of the best funky collections you could ever hope to purchase. Titles include "You're Messing Up My Mind" by Albert Washington, "Back To Funk" by Robert Lowe, "You Caught Me Smilin" by The 19th Whole, "Conga Man" by King Errison, "Shake Your Head" by Spanky Wilson, "I Love You" by The Motivations, "I Don't Know What It Is But It Sure Is Funky" by Mighty Elegant, "Crazy Legs" by Donald Austin, "Stone Thing (part 1)" by Alvin Cash, "RPM" by Boots, "Funky World (part 1)" by Silky Vincent, "Get Funky Sweet A Little Bit" by Jackie Harris & The Exciters, "I'll Bet You" by Funkadelic, and "Why Not Start All Over Again" by The Counts.

A great record with all the known recordings of the Sea-Ders (or Cedars) – a beat combo from mid-to-late 60s Lebanon – and a pretty much perfect mix of period rock & roll hooks and rhythms with Middle Eastern string buzz in place of a Stratocaster! The vocals are in English and the tunes are as catchy and accessible as can be – with either an electric bouzouki or oud bring the stringed heat – and it's a perfect fit! Includes "For Your Information", "Hide If You Want To Hide". "I Like The Way", "Thanks A Lot", "Better Loved", "Undecidedly", "'Cause I Do Care" and more. 8 tracks in all – and some nice back cover notes by Mike Stax of Ugly Things Magazine.

Amazing work from the 78rpm days of Blue Note!

A historic pairing of blues talents – one that only flourished for a few short years, but created some wonderful music together! Leroy Carr brings lots of jazz inflections to his work on piano, but the overall sound is definitely blues – thanks strongly to the guitar lines of Scrapper Blackwell, who really helps give the tunes a nice rough edge, and hammers home the punch of the lyrics too! This LP is a beautiful presentation of rare 78rpm material from the pair – and titles include "What More Can I Do", "Fore Day Rider", "How About Me", "Memphis Town", "Getting All Wet", "Naptown Blues", "Carried Water For The Elephant", and "Papa Wants To Knock A Jug".

Hell, Boots, it's not a bother – we actually dig Sorry To Bother You as much as any Coup music since Steal This Album! There's a great vibe on Sorry To Bother you – with rebellious, progressive lyricism, of course – but musically, this one surpasses the preceding Coup album, in our opinion. It's got an organic feel – lots of live drums and funky handclaps, bass, guitars and keys – and kind of a party funk vibe overall – which pairs very nicely with the strident Coup lyricism. Includes "The Magic Clap", "Your Parents' Cocaine", "The Gods Of Science", "My Murder, My Love", "You Are Not A Riot (An RSVP From David Siqueiros To Andy Warhol)", "Land Of 7 Billion Dances", "Violet", "This Year", "Long Island Iced Tea, Neat", "Wavip" and more.

A great Riverside LP that brings together early material from the 78rpm generation!

Great material from the 78rpm years of Savoy Records – early singles by Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, Illinois Jacquet, Ike Quebec, and John Hardee – sides that nicely skirt the worlds of bop and swing!

Very cool! This is a nifty new reproduction of one of the classic Vogue picture disc records from the 40s. The record is a 10" single with a cool vintage illustration on each side – and unlike the original single, this one plays at 45rpm – so you can play it on any sort of record player – but other than that, every detail's the same as the original!

An amazing collaboration – with equally amazing sounds to boot! The album's an experiment between sculptor Betha Sarasin and electronic musician Bruno Spoerri (who you might know from jazz and sound library recordings too) – who create a "instrument sculpture" based along geometric progressions – then played on lyricon, soprano sax, ring emulator, Prophet synth, vocoder, and computer generators – as well as the sculpture itself! The explanation is a bit obtuse – as is the music – but the whole thing has a powerful analogue quality that's wonderful – almost 50s/60s musique concrete, but a bit more cyclical overall – especially as the album progresses.

A classic full album that brings together some of Muddy Waters' earliest recordings for Chess – a great collection of early singles recorded in Chicago between 1950 and 1954 – most originally issued on 78rpm singles, and beautifully presented in this set! The work's relatively spare and rootsy overall – a great example of Chicago blues in its formative years, with some traces of a more southern style still in the mix – and titles include "Hoochie Coochie Man", "I'm Ready", "Rollin Stone", "Honey Bee", "She Moves Me", "I Can't Be Satisfied", "Standing Around Crying", "Long Distance Call", and "I Just Want To Make Love To You".

Rare material from the 78rpm years of Decca – with work by singers who include Joe Turner, Peetie Wheatstraw, Rosetta Howard, and Cousin Joe – and musicians who include Art Tatum, Willie The Lion Smith, Sam Price, James P Johnson, Sidney Bechet, Buster Bailey, Milt Mezzrow, and others!

A slew of vintage gospel material from the 78rpm generation – some of it with a definite country tinge, some of it a bit more bluesy – and all of it great! The package really lives up to the shellac-digging strengths of other compilations on Mississippi – and really opens us up to a world we might never have experienced otherwise – wonderful rare material that already great on its own, but which resonates strongly in the company of all the other tracks on the set – pressed up on vinyl, which furthers the classic feel of the music too! Titles include "I Had A Dream" by Lottie Bracy, "I'll Be Rested" by Blind Roosevelt Graves, "I Can't Tarry" by Two Gospel Keys, "You Can't Hide" by Mother McCollum, "Where The Soul Of A Man Never Dies" by The Anglin Brothers, "Gods Little Birds" by Sister OM Terrell, and "No Drunkard Can Enter" by The Delmore Brothers.

Early harmonic blues, pulled from vintage 78rpm recordings, and wrapped up in a great Robert Crumb cover – exactly the kind of album that makes the Yazoo label so great! Most tracks here appear on LP for the first time ever – and the set does a wonderful job of digging through some very vivid uses of the instrument in 20s and 30s blues – work that's arguably every bit as complex, if not more so, than any of the harp bluesmen in later years. Titles include "My Driving Wheel" by Lee Brown, "Crazy About You" by State Street Boys, "Railroad Blues" by Freeman Stowers, "Friday Moan Blues" by Alfred Lewis, "Harmonica Rag" by Chuck Darling, "I Want You By My Side" by Jazz Gillum, and "House Snake Blues" by Chicken Wilson & Skeeter Hinton.

An amazing portrait of America between the wars – served up over dozens of vintage 78rpm recordings – all based around themes of daily life mentioned in the title! The collection is an incredible historical document – pulled mostly from the collection of Louisville 78 collector Don Wahle, and remastered and re-presented beautifully by the folks at Tompkins Square – who not only sort the songs into key categories, but also provide a wealth of notes and images to further illuminate the tunes! There's a number of tracks on here that have never been reissued before, mixed with others that are still plenty darn rare – and the 3LP vinyl version comes in a beautiful box that reminds us a bit of classic Folkways – the size of which allows for a bigger, nicer booklet! It features 42 tracks that include "Climbing The Golden Stairs" by Happy Four, "Oh Declare His Glory" by McDonald Quartette, "Fourth Of July At The County Fair" by Bill Chitwood, "Tennessee Coon Hunt" by Whit Gaydon, "Hide Away" by Oscar Ford, "Poor Man Rich Man" by David McCarn, "Driving Saw Logs On The Plover" by Pierre La Dieu, and "Flat Wheel Train Blues (parts 1 & 2)" by Red Gay & Jack Wellman.

A masterpiece of early electric Dylan – featuring classics like "Subterranean Homesick Blues", "Maggie's Farm", "Mr Tambourine Man", "Gates Of Eden", "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue", "It's Alright Ma", and "Bob Dylan's 115th Dream". This Sundazed edition on 180 gram vinyl is the first original mono reissue in more than 3 decades!

A key early appearance on record by Sonny Rollins – recorded here with Miles Davis and Jackie McLean in the landmark Dig session! The album's the stuff that 50s bop dreams are made of – a session that has up-and-coming modernists working in the new freedom of the long playing record, in a way that allows them to break past the shorter, more urgent sound of the 78rpm single! Rollins is young, but a surprisingly strong voice on the set – and Jackie McLean's alto is incredibly sharp at this point, with strong hints of the genius to come later in the decade. The rest of the lineup includes Walter Bishop on piano, Tommy Potter on bass, and Art Blakey on drums – and tracks include Miles' classic version of "It's Only A Paper Moon", plus "Denial", "Out Of The Blue", "Dig", and "Bluing".

A rarity from the bop era – hard-blowing tracks that run for a duration that's way longer than the standard three minutes of most 78rpm singles. Here, Gordon and Gray blow head to head in some of their famous "battle" sessions – working with players like Sonny Criss, Howard McGhee, Hampton Hawes, and Barney Kessel in a format that was very popular on the LA bop scene. Each side of the 2LP set features one long track – and titles include "Disorder At The Border", "Cherokee", "Byas A Drink", and "The Hunt". Great 70s package – with notes on all the material the material.

He may be blind, but he's plenty satisfied – and so are we, with this excellent package of rare 78rpm recordings from Willie Johnson! The sound quality is great – which is important, as Willie's got a style of guitar that's almost lighter in tone than some of his contemporaries – a deft thinness that really comes through well in this presentation of the music, really showing his skill on the strings. Vocals are surprisingly raw at points, making for a real contrast to the guitar – and titles include "I Know His Blood Can Make Me Whole", "Praise God I'm Satisfied", "Dark Was The Night Cold Was The Ground", "When The War Was On", and "Mother's Children Have A Hard Time".

A cool collection from the early years of Blue Note – a 10" LP that brings together a wonderful batch of mellow, late nite jazz numbers – all ostensibly issued earlier as 78rpm singles! Performances include "I Surrender Dear" with Ike Quebec on tenor and Buck Clayton on trumpet, "Sweet & Lovely" with John Hardee on tenor and William Bivens on vibes, "If I Had You" with Ike Quebec on tenor and Tyree Glenn on trombone, "My Old Flame" with Ben Webster on tenor and Benny Morton on trombone, and "She's Funny That Way" with Ike Quebec on tenor and Tiny Grimes on guitar.

Great sounds from vintage 78s – a collection of regional Greek music, all pulled together in a collection filled with detailed notes, and a great cover from Robert Crumb! The music here really represents a lost era – and offers a great demonstration of the way that, when spun at 78rpm, Greek music can really take on an intensity that you'll never get on CD – as there's a quality to the reed work that's simply mindblowing and very edgey, and a very urgent presence to the voices and other acoustic instruments! Titles include "Skaro" by Kitsos Harisiadis, "Para Mikri Sagapisa" by Trio Tsitsomitsos, "Merko Mirologi" by Manthos Halkias, "Mperati Pogonisio" by Nick Halkias, and "Skaros" by Elias Litos & Lazaros Rouvas.

A sweet collection of music from the early films of Jean Luc Godard – mostly tracks that initially appeared on 45rpm EP releases in France – but brought together here in an overstuffed double LP set! The package features a fair bit of jazzy tracks from Godard's key films of the nouvelle vague, plus a few vocal moments from Chantal Goya too – and the set features music from A Bout De Souffle by Martial Solal, Une Femme Est Une Femme by Michel Legrand, Le Meprise by Georges Delerue, Alphaville by Paul Misraki, Pierre Le Fou by Antoine Duhamel, Masculin Feminin by Chantal Goya, Sauve Qui Peut by Gabriel Yared, Weekend by Antoine Duhamel, and Vivre Sa Vie by Michel Legrand. Comes with an insert too!

One of our favorite volumes in the London Is The Place For Me collection – and a brilliant batch of work that criss-crosses West African, West Indian, and postwar jazz styles! Most of the recordings here were done under the leadership of Ambrose Adekoya Campbell – a transplant to London from Lagos in the postwar year, and an artist who had a huge influence on the changing rhythms of his scene. Campbell mixed styles of his roots with those of the larger London community around him – in a way that let in more Latin and Caribbean influences to more traditional African styles – often using guitar in a high-life styled way, but also bringing in some key jazz phrasings as well. As usual with Honest Jons' reissues, the notes are quite detailed, but ultimately a bit unspecific about the actual recordings in the set – although we can say that Campbell's on nearly all of these, and they were all done as 50s 78rpm singles for the Melodisc label. Titles include "We Have It In Africa", "Iku Koni Payin", "I Am A Stranger", "Lagos Mambo", "Ela Da Awa", "and "Calabar-O" by West African Rhythm Brothers; "The Wind In A Frolic" and "Unity" by Nigerian Union Rhythm Group; "Ibikunle Alakija" by Ayinde Bakare & His Meranda Orchestra; and "Late Ojo Davies" and "Geneva Conference" by West African Rhythm Stars.

A wild mix of improvised music and electronics from Chicago drummer Frank Rosaly – a really unique album that has Franky taking previous recordings of improvised performance, then laying them out by chance operation – and further restructuring them by the orchestrations of a sound program! Things get quite noisy at points, but there's also a really compelling quality to the music – as order re-forms out of chaos – unlocking an inherent musicality amidst the freer elements, but in ways that are quite different than the usual record of this nature. Plays at 45rpm – and pressed up in a very groovy package!

A really great collection of Dizzy Gillespie 78rpm material for RCA – wrapped up in a beautiful cover too!