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A pretty darn cool little record – even if it is a bunch of cover versions! As the title proclaims, the set presents the winners of a US Army competition for its members stationed in Europe in the early 70s – one that chose The Black Seeds for side one of the album, and Sound Trek for side two! The Black Seeds are a sweet harmony group with a really heartbreaking feel – very much in the New Jersey/Philly mode, and sounding great on a number of roughly-done covers that include "Go Outside In The Rain", "Black Magic Woman", "Do Your Thing", "Backstabbers", and "Ain't No Sunshine". The Sound Trek are a bit more groove-oriented – kicking off their set with an instrumental reading of "Kool & The Gang", but then rolling into a batch of vocal soul covers that include "Walking In The Rain", "Backstabbers" (again!), "Coldest Days Of My Life", and "I Love Everything About You".

BB King hips up his groove a bit here – picking up some of the crossover soul and rock touches used by contemporaries over at Chess/Cadet, and expanding his sound with a range of guests that include Leon Russell, Joe Walsh, and Carole King! Despite the presence of these bigger names, the set's very much in BB's own spirit – mostly focused on his vocals and guitar work, and still mostly including original compositions. A few tunes get nice and funky on the rhythms, although still very much in a blues-based way – and Jimmie Haskell contributes a few larger arrangements from time to time. Titles include "King's Special", "Until I'm Dead & Cold", "You're Still My Woman", "Hummingbird", "Go Underground", and "Chains & Things".

A stunner from Georgia Anne Muldrow – a record that makes us love her even more than before – and that's saying a lot, given the love we've shown her over the years! The cover's got the feel of some dusty old record, and many of the tunes do too – some wicked 70s soul elements that are layered in nicely by Madlib, who produced the whole set – and comes up with this great blend of older warmth and that contemporary crispness that usually makes Georgia Anne sound so great! The lyrics slide wonderfully into the grooves – and although the set's often laidback, it's got a mighty punch that's undeniable – as you'll hear on tracks that include "Husfriend", "Kneecap Jelly", "Seeds", "Wind", "Calabash", "Kali Yuga", and "The Birth Of Petey Wheatstraw".

A groundbreaking debut from The Seeds – one of those albums that seemed to come out of nowhere back in the 60s, then went onto have an undeniable influence on music for decades to come! The music is gritty and garagey right from the start – but also has a sinister focus that really sets the group apart from some of their contemporaries – a knowing way of putting the whole thing over that makes the whole thing way more than just a happy accident! Vocals are by leader Sky Saxon, and the set features some classic ripping guitars from Jan Savage – and also has great use of piano and melodica – in a mode that's a bit like some of the more rock-oriented work by Love, but a bit looser and more garagey. Titles include "No Escape", "Try To Understand", "Girl I Want You", "Lose Your Mind", "Evil Hoodoo", and the searing classic "Pushin Too Hard". CD features 10 bonus tracks, including some previously unreleased numbers – titles that include "Girl I Want You (alt overdub)", "Evil Hoodoo (unedited take)", "Nobody Spoil My Fun (alt overdub)", "She's Wrong", "Daisy Mae", "Dreaming Of Your Love", "Pushin Too Hard (take 1)", and "Out Of The Question (version 1)".

Fuzzed-out LA wonderfulness from Sky Saxon and his legendary Seeds – a garagey barrage of guitar, organ, and raspy vocals – and it's fleshed out brilliantly on this 2CD edition with the complete stereo and mono mixes, alternate versions and the rare original mono version of Sly Saxon's Spoonful Of Seedy Blues album in full! First and foremost is Web Of Sound – virtually the definition for garage rock in the mid 60s – and certainly one of our favorites! It all builds up to the super-long closer "Up In Her Room" – and before that is one raucous should-be classic after another, including "Pictures And Designs", "Just Let Go", "A Faded Picture", "Tripmaker", "Mr Farmer", and "Rollin Machine". Disc One features the stereo version followed by 7 bonus tracks. Disc Two features the mono version of Web Of Sound, followed by the mono version of Sky Saxon's A Full Spoon Of Seedy Blues – a record that really gets at the sheer raw power of his best work! Despite the title, the album's hardly a straight set of blues – more a blend of rock, psychedelia, and rootsy influences – in the manner of some of the earliest work by Love, but done with a healthy nod to Chicago electric blues. Saxon wrote most of the tunes – and titles include "Moth & The Flame", "I'll Help You", "Cry Wolf", "The Gardener", and "Creepin About".

A legendary album from saxophonist Sahib Shihab – a record that's gone onto become the birth of all things modal and club jazz in the current scene! Shihab always sounded great, no matter what the setting, but there was definitely something magical going on with this session – a one-of-a-kind energy that made his baritone and flute work sound incredibly soulful, searching, and searing – set up with a tight small combo that includes Francy Boland on piano, Fats Sadi on vibes, Jimmy Woode on bass, and Kenny Clarke on drums – a hip slice of the Clarke Boland Big Band that works beautifully together! Every tune here is wonderful, and you're bound to recognized a few covered or sampled classics over the years – on cuts that include "Seeds", "Peter's Waltz", "Who'll Buy My Dream", "Another Samba", "Jay Jay", "Uma Fita De Tres Cores", and "Mauve".

Although Dave Holland has led and participated in many great groups, large and small, his 80squintet that recorded for ECM is arguably the best. Featuring Steve Coleman, Julian Priester, Marvin Smitty Smith and Kenny Wheeler, the group manages to swing and dance hard around some fairly complex numbers, mostly written by the group members. The tracks ever sound too intellectual or pretentious, and the interplay and solos throughout are tremendous. 9 numbers in all, including "Uhren", "Homecoming", "Perspecuity", "Celebration", "World Protection Blues", "Gridlock (Opus 8)", "Walk-a-way", "The Good Doctor" and "Double Vision".

A stunner from Georgia Anne Muldrow – a record that makes us love her even more than before – and that's saying a lot, given the love we've shown her over the years! The cover's got the feel of some dusty old record, and many of the tunes do too – some wicked 70s soul elements that are layered in nicely by Madlib, who produced the whole set – and comes up with this great blend of older warmth and that contemporary crispness that usually makes Georgia Anne sound so great! The lyrics slide wonderfully into the grooves – and although the set's often laidback, it's got a mighty punch that's undeniable – as you'll hear on tracks that include "Husfriend", "Kneecap Jelly", "Seeds", "Wind", "Calabash", "Kali Yuga", and "The Birth Of Petey Wheatstraw".

Proof that the US Army had plenty going on during the 70s – as you'll hear from this killer set of military-produced grooves from East Of Underground! The set goes way past the previous East Of Underground reissue – to feature work by the groups Soap, Black Seeds, and Sound Trek – all wrapped up in a beautiful package that's as visually pleasing as the music is funky! The cuts here were all recorded by US Army servicemen during the height of the Vietnam war – as Army-issued albums designed to encourage recruitment (as if a few funky grooves could help offset the bad press the war was getting on TV!) But despite that odd origin, the music here is all pretty great – mostly covers of familiar tunes from the time, but recorded with a nicely gritty quality that's mighty nice – and which makes the overall feel of the records like digging into some lost small studio tapes – ala Numero! Now Again have done a great job of putting together the whole package, too – contributing a wealth of notes and photos, and really digging deep into the scene in which these unique records were created. Not only that, but the packaging also replicates the style of the original odd releases too! The set features an LP each of music by East Of Underground and Soap – plus another LP that features a side each by the groups Black Seeds and Sound Trek. Titles include "I Just Want To Celebrate", "Kool & The Gang", "Walking In The Rain", "Backstabbers", "I Love Everything About You", "Ain't No Sunshine", "Go Outside In The Rain", "Black Magic Woman", "Hell Below", "Higher", "Popcorn/Santana", "Walk On By", "Java Girl", and "Get Together".

Rare MGM recordings by The Seeds in a double 7" set!

A legendary album from saxophonist Sahib Shihab – a record that's gone onto become the birth of all things modal and club jazz in the current scene! Shihab always sounded great, no matter what the setting, but there was definitely something magical going on with this session – a one-of-a-kind energy that made his baritone and flute work sound incredibly soulful, searching, and searing – set up with a tight small combo that includes Francy Boland on piano, Fats Sadi on vibes, Jimmy Woode on bass, and Kenny Clarke on drums – a hip slice of the Clarke Boland Big Band that works beautifully together! Every tune here is wonderful, and you're bound to recognized a few covered or sampled classics over the years – on cuts that include "Seeds", "Peter's Waltz", "Who'll Buy My Dream", "Another Samba", "Jay Jay", "Uma Fita De Tres Cores", and "Mauve".

Proof that the US Army had plenty going on during the 70s – as you'll hear from this killer set of military-produced grooves from East Of Underground! The set goes way past the previous East Of Underground reissue – to feature work by the groups Soap, Black Seeds, and Sound Trek – all wrapped up in a beautiful package that's as visually pleasing as the music is funky! The cuts here were all recorded by US Army servicemen during the height of the Vietnam war – as Army-issued albums designed to encourage recruitment (as if a few funky grooves could help offset the bad press the war was getting on TV!) But despite that odd origin, the music here is all pretty great – mostly covers of familiar tunes from the time, but recorded with a nicely gritty quality that's mighty nice – and which makes the overall feel of the records like digging into some lost small studio tapes – ala Numero! Now Again have done a great job of putting together the whole package, too – contributing a wealth of notes and photos, and really digging deep into the scene in which these unique records were created. Not only that, but the packaging also replicates the style of the original odd releases too! The set features a CD each of music by East Of Underground and Soap – plus another CD that brings together an unusual double LP by the groups Black Seeds and Sound Trek. Titles include "I Just Want To Celebrate", "Kool & The Gang", "Walking In The Rain", "Backstabbers", "I Love Everything About You", "Ain't No Sunshine", "Go Outside In The Rain", "Black Magic Woman", "Hell Below", "Higher", "Popcorn/Santana", "Walk On By", "Java Girl", and "Get Together".

A groundbreaking debut from The Seeds – one of those albums that seemed to come out of nowhere back in the 60s, then went onto have an undeniable influence on music for decades to come! The music is gritty and garagey right from the start – but also has a sinister focus that really sets the group apart from some of their contemporaries – a knowing way of putting the whole thing over that makes the whole thing way more than just a happy accident! Vocals are by leader Sky Saxon, and the set features some classic ripping guitars from Jan Savage – and also has great use of piano and melodica – in a mode that's a bit like some of the more rock-oriented work by Love, but a bit looser and more garagey. Titles include "No Escape", "Try To Understand", "Girl I Want You", "Lose Your Mind", "Evil Hoodoo", and the searing classic "Pushin Too Hard".

If you're like us, you've probably been frustrated over the years at trying to find nicely remastered copies of many Studio One classics, which have been kicking around in one form or another for years and years, often seemingly out of print or available only on poor quality pressings. So we barely need to mention how satisfying it is that Heartbeat has issued this sweet and long awaited set of seminal Studio One sides from Burning Spear. These early recordings stand out as some of the finest primal work from Winston Rodney, soulful seeds of the heavy roots rock he'd later become known for, wrapped up in a nicely annotated package with numerous hard-to-get mixes, many of which were previously unreleased on CD! 20 tracks in all, including "Foggy Road", "Rocking Time (rare stereo mix)", "Down By The River", "New Civilization (rare stereo mix)", "Door Peeper (original single mix)", "This Race (rare stereo mix)", "This Population", "Bad To Worst (rare stereo mix)", "Pick Up The Pieces", "Zion Higher (rare stereo mix)", "Swell Headed", "Creation Rebel", "Ethiopians Live It Out", "Get Ready", "Weeping And Waiting (rare stereo mix)" and loads more!

A weird and wonderful little record – the only album ever made by American singer Emily Bindiger – cut at the tender age of 16 in France, with backing from the band that usually supported Michel Polnareff! The style here has that sweet mix of acoustic and electric elements we love in Polnareff's music – recorded in a similarly echoey way – but Emily's English language inflections and lyrical presentation also make the record sound quite different overall – often times as dark and spooky as you might guess from the image on the cover! Titles include "Song For Steven", "Jesus Said", "Confession", "Sunflower Seeds", "Song Of Decision", and "Old Lace".

The story of the Creole Band – the 7-piece group that took to touring the US in the 1910s – and thusly introduced a lot of people to the pioneering strains of New Orleans-style jazz to heck of a lot people for the very first time – and planting seeds for much of the jazz music to come! Author Lawrence Gushee details how the band's runs through the vaudeville circuit brought pivotal, early instrumental jazz styles to much wider audiences than ever before. As widely known as it is that early 20th Century New Orleans style music paved the way for jazz, it's pretty remarkable to read how important this one group was to the entire culture!

Classic work from Hugh Masekela – and the album that pushed him over the top! The record features his version of "Grazin In The Grass", a runaway instrumental hit when it was issued – and a sly little groover that was based upon some earlier South African pop melodies that Hugh copped from his roots. The group's a tight little quintet with Al Abreu on tenor and soprano sax, William Henderson on piano, Chuck Carter on drums, and Henry Franklin on bass. The whole thing's great – and tracks include "Stop", "Bajabula Bonke", "There Are Seeds To Sow", "Vuca", "Almost Seedless", and "No Face, No Name, and No Number".

An overlooked record in the grand scheme – which is unforgivable in our book! This self-titled album Prince's second LP, and already his vision is becoming a little more focused, and you could really hear the seeds of his later efforts – and really remarkable, unique, and fascinating record that stands up with some of his best work, and bucks all late 70s trends and cliches in pop, soul and funk. In some ways this is one of our favorite Prince LPs, as it has a kind of intimacy that was lacking on later LPs, or maybe it's because the hit "I Wanna Be Your Lover" has such a mad groove! "Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad" has the sly sound that would run throughout the rest of Prince's better work for years to come and Chaka Khan would later cover "I Feel for You" and hit large with it in the 80s. Also includes "Sexy Dancer", "With You" and "When We're Dancing Close And Slow".

A fantastic early record by Sahib Shihab – a motherlode of modal jazz grooves, cut during the early days of the Clarke-Boland Big Band! The record features a core group of players from that ensemble – including Shihab on alto, baritone, and flute, plus Francy Boland on piano, Jimmy Woode on bass, Ake Persson on trombone, Francy Boland on piano, Joe Harris on bongos, and Kenny Clarke on drums – all coming together here with a groove that's really groundbreaking – a style that's sweet and soulful, but rhythmically revolutionary too! The tracks are all long and grooving – with the kind of dancing jazz tone that you'd expect from the Saba/MPS label during the mid 60s – a big change from the Argo label that originally issued the record. But that's no surprise, either, as the session was actually recorded in Europe by Gigi Campi – the man behind the CBBB albums on MPS – with a feel that's quite similar to other Shihab classics, like Companionship or Seeds. The whole thing's great – one of Shihab's most wonderful records, and totally worth owning – and titles include "Lillemor", "Please Don't Leave Me", "Waltz For Seth", and "Herr Fixit".

A beautiful little record from Matt Ulery – double-length in size, and even more than double in terms of feeling and depth! Matt's a figure on the Chicago scene – and in a way, his music represents the return to arrangements in the city's recent avant jazz world – yet his music is also even more compellingly concise, and handled with a strong ear towards thoughtful, tuneful compositions that have fluid, expressive feel – hardly outside at all, although always with an edge – and handled with a soundtrack-like sense of color and scene. In a way, there's almost a Kip Hanrahan sort of vibe to the music – especially in the way it goes way past familiar jazz – especially on the few vocals numbers, which feature lyrics sung by the lovely Grazyna Agusick. Other musicians include Ulery on bass, Ben Lewis on piano, Zach Brock on violin, James Davis on trumpet, Matthew Duval on vibes, and Jon Deitmeyer on drums. Titles include "Dark Harvest", "Processional", "By A Little Light", "To Lose Your Mind", "Wilder Years", "Sow The Deep Seeds", and "To The Brim".

The funky foundations of rap – and one of the best, most focused compilations of its kind we've ever stocked! You can truthfully call the treasure trove of funk singles here "pre-rap". Every track is a direct precursor. We mean that on the vocal tip – and also for the heavy funk bass and drums on the bottom end. We've seen some similar sets that go back to the 50s and even earlier – with jump jivin' R&B that originally planted the seeds – but this one focuses squarely on the late 60s and 70s material that most directly fertilized all rap to come! It also largely eschews the righteous and political precursors of the Last Poets and Gil Scott-Heron school, for party funk proto rappers such as Pigmeat Markam, Bill "Butter Ball" Crane, Blowfly and others – but there's some socially aware cuts here, too. Great stuff with a just a couple of well-known numbers and many more funky rarities! 16 in all: "We Got The Number" by Pigmeat Markham, "Butterballs" by Butterball, "Get On The Good Foot" by James Brown, "Sesame Street" by Blowfly, "Smoke My Pipe" by AJ Rowe, "Snake Hips" by Timmy Rogers, "Everybody Says" by Billy Dee & Sugar Bear, "Do You Have A Good Woman" by Rufus Beacham and more.

The funky foundations of rap – and one of the best, most focused compilations of its kind we've ever stocked! You can truthfully call the treasure trove of funk singles here "pre-rap". Every track is a direct precursor. We mean that on the vocal tip – and also for the heavy funk bass and drums on the bottom end. We've seen some similar sets that go back to the 50s and even earlier – with jump jivin' R&B that originally planted the seeds – but this one focuses squarely on the late 60s and 70s material that most directly fertilized all rap to come! It also largely eschews the righteous and political precursors of the Last Poets and Gil Scott-Heron school, for party funk proto rappers such as Pigmeat Markam, Bill "Butter Ball" Crane, Blowfly and others – but there's some socially aware cuts here, too. Great stuff with a just a couple of well-known numbers and many more funky rarities! 16 in all: "We Got The Number" by Pigmeat Markham, "Butterballs" by Butterball, "Get On The Good Foot" by James Brown, "Sesame Street" by Blowfly, "Smoke My Pipe" by AJ Rowe, "Snake Hips" by Timmy Rogers, "Everybody Says" by Billy Dee & Sugar Bear, "Do You Have A Good Woman" by Rufus Beacham and more.

Grooviness galore – and a wonderful selection of obscure psychedelic numbers from the deep deep vaults of EMI Records! The cuts here are mostly of British late 60s origin, and they feature a really fuzzed-up approach to pop – complete with odd production techniques, off-kilter arrangements, and a pretty heady brew of guitar, bass, drums, and tripped-out vocals – all served up with top-shelf sound, as proof that even on the bigger labels of the 60s, lots of younger artists were still taking plenty of chances! The package has complete track-by-track notes in a full color book with photos, labels, and album sleeve images too – and the CD features 25 tracks that include "Dandelion Seeds" by July, "Real Life Permanent Dream" by Tomorrow, "Hold On" by Ipsissimus, "Dog Presides" by Paul Jones, "Model Village" by Pennyh Peeps, "Towards The Skies" by The Gods, "Strange Walking Man" by Mandrake Paddle Steamer, "Mr Commuter" by Mike Proctor, "William Chalker's Time Machine" by The Lemon Tree, "Barricades" by The Koobas, "Please Leave My Mind" by Herbal Mixture, "World Of You" by The Aerovons, and "Monday Morning" by Tales Of Justine.

Oooooooh-weeee! Is this a funky monster, or what? The set's easily the best in this great series – a really hard and heavy batch of rare funk tunes that pushes past the cliches of the title to come up with an all-solid batch of tracks that's sure to please any fan of deep funk. Loads of great little groovers from a range of different labels – organ jazz meets heavy soul vocals meets dancing bassline funk, hard drums, heavy riffing, and beyond – all wrapped up together with a sound that never lets up. Tracks include "Mary Jane" by Bobby Rush, "Bustin Outta The Ghetto" by Carlos Malcolm, "I'm A Good Woman" by The Generation, "Dance Girl" by The Mighty Tom Cats, "Peace Love Not War" by Johnny King with The Fatback Band, "The Truth Shall Make You Free" by King Hannibal, "I'm Wishin" by Lorez Alexandria, "I've Known Rivers" by Gary Bartz, "Viva" by Jade, "Seeds Of Life" by East LA Car Pool, "Starvin" by Winfield Parker, and "He Called Me Baby" by Spanky Wilson.

The immortal collection of psychedelic era garage rock and proto-punk gems – originally released on Elektra in 1972, where it influenced many of the great 70s underground pioneers, long before being reborn as an expanded box set in the late 90s! Lenny Kaye and Elekra Records big wig Jac Holzman put Nuggets together in 1972, mixing a bunch of great buzzsaw rock singles, indiscriminately melding hits and underground cuts alike – 27 great tracks by the likes of the Amboy Dukes, Standells, Castaways, Magicians, the Seeds, the Electric Prunes, Sagittarius, the Magic Mushrooms and many more! Tracks include "I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night)" by Electric Prunes, "Dirty Water" by the Standells, "Respect" by Vagrants, "No Time Like The Right Time" by Blues Project, "Invitation To Cry" by Magicians, "You're Gonna Miss Me" by Thirteenth Floor Elevators, "Psychotic Reaction" by Count Five, "Baby Please Don't Go" by Amboy Dukes, "My World Fell Down" by Sagittarius, "Open My Eyes" by Nazz and more! One of the first great rock anthologies!

A remarkable collection of psychedelic and garage rock that at this point really needs no introduction from us. 27 amazing tracks of seminal rock, including the Electric Prunes "I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night", the Standells "Dirty Water", the Shadows Of Knight "Oh Yeah", the Seeds "Pushin' Too Hard", the 13th Floor Elevators "You're Gonna Miss Me", Count Five "Psychotic Reaction", the Leaves "Hey Joe", the Cryan Shames "Sugar & Spice", the Blues Magoos "Tobacco Road", Chocolate Watch Band "Let's Talk About Girls", and the Nazz "Open My Eyes", plus loads more!

Some of the greatest work ever by The Main Ingredient – a selection of their singles for RCA records from the late 60s and early 70s – but one that goes way past just the hits, in order to fully trace the evolution of their heavenly vocal style! The trio started out as an already-great harmony act in the late 60s – a group who were even sweeter and more soaring than some of their contemporaries – making them perfectly placed to move into some of the more righteous harmony modes of the 70s – including some surprising turns towards more righteous, political material. The 22 track package is the greatest we've ever seen on the group – 15 pages of deeply detailed notes, in true Ace/Kent mode – plus singles that include three by The Insiders, "I'm Better Off Without You", "If You Had A Heart", and "I'm Just A Man" – as well as Main Ingredient singles that include "Black Seeds Keep On Growing", "California My Way", "Magic Shoes", "Everybody Plays The Fool", "You've Got To Take It If You Want It", "Girl Blue", "Happiness Is Just Around The Bend", "I Was Born To Lose You", "Brotherly Love", "You've Been My Inspiration", "I'm So Proud", "Spinning Around", "I'm Leaving This Time", "Rolling Down A Mountainside", "The Gold Old Days", and "Shame On The World".

A legendary Latin funk album – spearheaded by Eddie Palmieri! The record is a landmark crossover album from the early 70s – cut at the end of the Latin soul era, but featuring that genre's wonderful mix of Puerto Rican soul, Spanish Harlem Latin, and New York funk. The grooves are all nice and long – with plenty of hard jamming, and soulful lyrics in English that have a very positive message. All tracks are great – and titles include "Seeds Of Life", "Harlem River Drive", and "Idle Hands". Eddie Palmieri plays piano, and the group grooves hard with a killer Latin funk sound!

A legendary Latin funk album – spearheaded by Eddie Palmieri! The record is a landmark crossover album from the early 70s – cut at the end of the Latin soul era, but featuring that genre's wonderful mix of Puerto Rican soul, Spanish Harlem Latin, and New York funk. The grooves are all nice and long – with plenty of hard jamming, and soulful lyrics in English that have a very positive message. All tracks are great – and titles include "Seeds Of Life", "Harlem River Drive", and "Idle Hands". Eddie Palmieri plays piano, and the group grooves hard with a killer Latin funk sound!

Nothing ugly about this issue – as the heavy volume celebrates the 30th Anniversary of this wonderful publication – stuffed to the gills with great bits on great sounds from the 60s and 70s! This time around, the big articles are on The Nazz, The Seeds, and Radiators From Space – with smaller bits on Cyril Jordan, Ty Wagner, and New York Dolls. And although the cover bills the magazine as "The fanzine that refuses to die" – the book-heavy contents are way more than any zine might offer – a whopping 175 pages, filled with dense writing and lots of images – and a good number of reviews as well!

Great work from OV Wright – one of the few singers who was still strongly carrying the Hi Records torch at the end of the 70s! Although Wright had sometimes been bluesier in the past, his late 70s Hi sides have a much mellower, mature sort of feel – a ripening of the seeds in his Backbeat label work, taken to nice new heights at Hi in the hands of Willie Mitchell. Mitchell's backings have a feel that's somewhat like his work with Al Green, but OV's style of singing is completely different – not as overtly sexy, but really personal in approach. Titles include "That's The Way I Feel About Cha", "A Little More Time", "I Don't Know Why", "No Easy Way To Say Goodbye", "Let's Straighten It Out", and "The Bottom Line".

A completely sublime collection of spiritual jazz numbers from the 70s – put together by the legendary Kev Beadle, one of the first cats to spin the music with Gilles Peterson on the UK scene! The package is a great mix of essentials from years back, plus some under-discovered nuggets from the American underground – all with a nice emphasis on the grooves and rhythms – in a way that you might have heard back at Dingwalls on a Sunday afternoon! The set's a great reminder that music can be progressive and groovy at the same time – and the whole thing's overflowing with righteous treasures that include "Jessica" by Roy Porter, Namaste" by Seeds Of Fulfillment", "In Every Way" by Reverie, "Open Your Mind" by Southern Energy Ensemble, "Flying Colors" by James Williams, "Dipping" by Johnny Walker, "Here Comes The Family" by Peter Giger's Family Of Percussion & Archie Shepp, "Brotherhood" by Kamal Abdul Alim, "Sun Shower" by Byron Morris & Unity, and "Freedom Road" by The Pharoahs.

A real classic – one of Tania Maria's greatest American albums, and a sublime blend of styles that shows that her move to the US was not in vein! The group's an easy going west coast Latin ensemble with Eddie Duran on guitar, and the style is a breezy Brazilian one – perfectly situated on the bay shores of the Concord scene, with a nice modern grooving style. Includes the classic "Come With Me", plus "Lost In Amazonia", "Sangria", "Nega", and "Sementes, Graines & Seeds".

Raw r&b, uptempo blues & hard soul from the vaults of Cobra Records – a Chicago label that really only operated from the mid-to-late 50s – but for a time rivaled Chess and helped form the seeds of some of the most incredible soul & blues for decades to come! Cobra and its subsidiary Artistic released really nice early sides by young Ike Turner, Betty Everett and Buddy Guy – plus work by comparative veterans of the time like Duke Reid and Harold Burrage – artists whose legacy would loom large in the years to come. Load of rollicking raw greatness – work that no doubt hugely helped influence loads of incredible Midwestern soul in the early 60s and onward! Titles include "This Is The End" and You Sure Can't Do" by Buddy Guy, "Roll Your Moneymaker" by Shakey Jake, "I'm Gonna Forget About You" and "You've Got To Lose" by Ike Turner's Kings Of Rhythm, "Something Else" and "The Duke Walks" by Duke Jenkins, "My Love" by Betty Everett, "Messed Up" by Harold Burrage, "I'll Just Keep Walkin'" by Lee Jackson, "Irma Lee" by Guitar Shorty and more!

The immortal collection of psychedelic era garage rock and proto-punk gems – originally released on Elektra in 1972, where it influenced many of the great 70s underground pioneers, long before being reborn as an expanded box set in the late 90s! Lenny Kaye and Elekra Records big wig Jac Holzman put Nuggets together in '72, mixing a bunch of great buzzsaw rock singles, indiscriminately melding hits and underground cuts alike – 27 great tracks by the likes of the Amboy Dukes, Standells, Castaways, Magicians, the Seeds, the Electric Prunes, Sagittarius, the Magic Mushrooms and many more! Tracks include "I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night)" by Electric Prunes, "Dirty Water" by the Standells, "Respect" by Vagrants, "No Time Like The Right Time" by Blues Project, "Invitation To Cry" by Magicians, "You're Gonna Miss Me" by Thirteenth Floor Elevators, "Psychotic Reaction" by Count Five, "Baby Please Don't Go" by Amboy Dukes, "My World Fell Down" by Sagittarius, "Open My Eyes" by Nazz and more! One of the first great rock anthologies!

A bunch of classic tunes that inspired – and were covered by punk rock founders The Ramones – with some that you'd expect and many more that might surprise you! If you're a fan of The Ramones, you know that they were students of rock and pop history. They really had an ear for the most irresistibly catchy songs, with the rawest underbellies. This set has feral tunes by The Stooges, The Seeds and The Trashmen – along with classic Phil Spector productions, some of the greatest surf pop and much more – all of which were covered by The Ramones at one point or another – and all of it great! Includes "Let's Dance" by Chris Montez, "California Sun" by The Rivieras, "Do You Want To Dance" by The Beach Boys, "Surfin Bird" by The Trashmen, "Baby, I Love You" by The Ronettes, "My Back Pages" by The Byrds, "Can't Seem To Make You Mind" by The Seeds, "7 And 7 Is" by Love, "I Don't Wanna Grow Up" by Tom Waits, "What A Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong, "Little Bit O' Soul" by Music Explosion and more. 24 in all.