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Not necessarily the true story of house music – but a set that's mighty darn nice – and filled with a range of grooves that will definitely make you a fan of Elbee Bad right from the start! The music here is often way more complex than both standard dance and house – and certainly much more striking than the space where the two would often collide in too-commercial work from the start of the 90s. Instead, Elbee seems to echo some of the more experimental electronics of the German scene while also having an ear for Chicago and Detroit – completely confident in putting together his own version of modern music – yet also in ways that are not nearly as indulgent as the generation to come! The balance is key to the strength of this set – and titles include "Mr Terry Meets Mr Fingers", "I'm So Alone", "This Dream Is Real", "The Music Is Kicking", "S Shuffle", "Just Let Your Body Ride", "Just Don't Stop The Dance", "New Age House", and "I Like To Move (solid mixx)".

Not necessarily the true story of house music – but a set that's mighty darn nice – and filled with a range of grooves that will definitely make you a fan of Elbee Bad right from the start! The music here is often way more complex than both standard dance and house – and certainly much more striking than the space where the two would often collide in too-commercial work from the start of the 90s. Instead, Elbee seems to echo some of the more experimental electronics of the German scene while also having an ear for Chicago and Detroit – completely confident in putting together his own version of modern music – yet also in ways that are not nearly as indulgent as the generation to come! The balance is key to the strength of this set – and titles include "Mr Terry Meets Mr Fingers", "I'm So Alone", "This Dream Is Real", "The Music Is Kicking", "S Shuffle", "Just Let Your Body Ride", "Just Don't Stop The Dance", "New Age House", and "I Like To Move (solid mixx)".

A killer bit of jazz funk from the great James Mason! The cut's an old one – but has never been properly issued before, save for a brief appearance on a 12" single in 1996. "I Want Your Love" is our favorite here – over 11 minutes long, and it begins with this cool building moog/drum part that reminds us a lot of the excellent work on tracks like "Sweet Power" and "Free". The cut's got some female vocals that come into the mix about 1/3 of the way through – and they really help the track build its vibe as it goes along! Single also features "Night Gruv", which has a lot more modern sound, with jazzy keyboards over a pounding midtempo groove, a spacey insistent groove that has the feel of some of the best jazzy Detroit electronic sounds.

Classic stuff from the man who brought the Exotica sound to the mainstream! We hardly need to tell you about these albums – as they're virtually the blueprint for countless exotica albums to come, a mixture of 50s easy listening, strange tropical rhythms, and odd little sound effects! Denny's playing with his original combo of Arthur Lyman, Augie Colon, and John Cramer – in a mixture of piano, percussion, vibes, and lots of bird calls! Tracks include "Stone God", "Island Of Dreams", "Escales", "When First I Love", "Bacoa", "Ebb Tide", "Rush Hour In Hong Kong", "Singing Bamboos", "Jungle Flower", "Busy Port", "Lotus Land", and his hit recording of "Quiet Village".

A record that really lives up to its title, given the sweet Philly grooves of the set – a real surprise, given that the album was recorded in Germany! The session's a rare studio project in the early years of the German disco scene – and comes off with the best soulful styles that were bubbling up in the US at the time – clubby instrumental grooves that are filled with soaring strings and tight rhythms – yet served up in ways that are never too overdone! In fact, if you slapped some obscure US label on this one, folks would be more than willing to believe that the set's some underground corner from the New York scene – quite a surprise for a record that was initially cut just for sound library usage. Titles include "City Train", "Alaska Flight", "Skyline", "Night Shift", "Full House", "Star Shot", "Rush Hour", "Sun Ship", and "Flash Point".

A record that really lives up to its title, given the sweet Philly grooves of the set – a real surprise, given that the album was recorded in Germany! The session's a rare studio project in the early years of the German disco scene – and comes off with the best soulful styles that were bubbling up in the US at the time – clubby instrumental grooves that are filled with soaring strings and tight rhythms – yet served up in ways that are never too overdone! In fact, if you slapped some obscure US label on this one, folks would be more than willing to believe that the set's some underground corner from the New York scene – quite a surprise for a record that was initially cut just for sound library usage. Titles include "City Train", "Alaska Flight", "Skyline", "Night Shift", "Full House", "Star Shot", "Rush Hour", "Sun Ship", and "Flash Point".

The complete Public Enemy Def Jam collection on vinyl – Yo! Bum Rush The Show, It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back, Fear Of A Black Planet, Apocalypse '91. . .The Enemy Strikes Black, Muse Sick-N-Hour Mess Age and the He Got Game soundtrack – that's 6 albums on 9 pieces of vinyl in a heavy-duty box! Put together to commemorate PE's 25th Anniversary, it's really beautifully done. Little more needs to be said about PE's late 80s/early 90s golden age of classic records – all of which are included here, of course – but the one-time panned later Def Jam recordings are pretty damn great, too – and you also get those here – and on vinyl, they way always sounded best! Everything Public Enemy Def Jam studio release from 1987 to 1998 is here.

Fantastic! You've heard us rave here before about how much we love Gil Melle, and this CD contains one of his best-ever albums! Primitive Modern is an incredible record that features the arrangements and playing of Gil's great quartet (with Joe Cinderella on guitar, and Ed Thigpen on drums), plus a number of strange and unusual instruments created by Melle himself. The resultant sound is a strange blend of tightly arranged jazz and free flowing Moondog-ish material, and tracks like "Ironworks", "Dominica", "Mark One", and "Dedicatory Piece To The Geophysical Year Of 1957" are out of this world! Coupled with this album is another great quartet album, Quadrama – one that has more of a straight jazz feel, but which is also great. Titles on that one include "Full House", "Quadrama", "Rush Hour In Hong Kong", and "Walter Ego". Great stuff all round!

The second bright blast of garage psych grooves from Blues Magoos – their excellent Electric Comic Book set for Mercury – just as great as the first album! At this early point, the group brings a deliriously high energy approach, even in the studio – we can only imagine how incredible the live show must have been – but still with catchy harmonies and a wicked sense of humor. The organ and heavy drums is the bedrock for garage rock to come, too! Titles include "Pipe Dream", "There's A Chance We Can Make It", "Gloria", "Summer Is The man", "Baby I Want You", "Take My Love", "Rush Hour" and more.

A much-needed look at one of our favorite instruments ever – the irreplaceable Fender Rhodes keyboard! The Rhodes has a sound that's unlike anything else – and has become a favorite of musicians over decades of use – as you'll hear in the film's interviews with Deodato, George Duke, Stanley Clarke, Patrice Rushen, Ramsey Lewis, Dave Grusin, Rodney Franklin, Joe Sample, Jerry Peters, Les McCann, Maurice White, Ronnie Foster, D'Angelo, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, and other jazz and soul legends – an incredibly large roster for a project like this! The film was partially put together by Gerald McCauley – a keyboardist himself – and it shows a love and respect of the Rhodes that really comes through. Almost 2 hours long, in color, with a special "Rhodes Scholars" feature.

A really great album by Billy Eckstine – much more swinging and upbeat than some of his other 50s sessions, and with a strongly pronounced jazz flair overall! The album's supposedly recorded live in Vegas in the wee hours of the morning, and features Billy blowing a bit of trumpet as well as singing – all set to some nicely thumping orchestrations by Bobby Tucker, who really knows how to hit the right groove for this sort of a set. Titles include "Lady Luck", "Have A Song On Me", "Deed I Do", "Without A Song", "Moonlight In Vermont", and "Lush Life". CD features a huge amount of previously unissued bonus tracks – titles that include "Prelude To A Kiss", "Fools Rush In", "I Apologize", "Little Mama", "Prisoner Of Love", "Alright Okay You Win", and "In The Still Of The Night".

Masta Ace does his initimable, classic era-schooled, longtime mic master thing over beats by MF Doom! Son Of Yvonne also includes vocal cameo by Doom on a track that also features the legendary Big Daddy Kane – plus appearances by Reggie B and Pav Bundy 15 tracks on the 2LP version: "Son Of Yvonne", "Me And My Gang", "Fresh Fest" feat Reggie B, "Thing I Am" with Big Daddy Kane & MF Doom, "I Did It", "Dedication", "Da' Pro", "Slow Down", "Crush Hour feat Pav Bundy, "Store Frontin'" and more.