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Some of Serge Gainsbourg's first recordings – a mixture of left bank chic, jazzy rhythms, and some of the strangest songwriting to grace the Parisian scene! All titles feature great backings by Alain Goraguer, Serge's longtime musical partner, who brings in some wonderful elements to the... read more

Serge's 4th album – and another wonderful gem from his early years! The record's like some of the others from the time, mixing together jazz, Latin rhythms, and all the offbeat existentialism of the postwar Paris scene. The record was originally only ever issued as a 10" LP – and... read more

A great Serge Gainsbourg album from 1973 – one that we'd rank right up there with his best work! The record's got a slinky funky groove that's right in a perfect post-Melody Nelson mode – music written by Serge, and played by a hip small combo that includes lots of great guitar from... read more

A landmark collaboration between Serge Gainsbourg and actress Jane Birkin – his paramour at the time, and a much younger woman! This album is perhaps the archetypal Gainsbourg erotic effort – and it's filled with wonderful duets set to breathy, bouncy orchestrations – tunes that... read more

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Don't mix these guys up with the bigger-name Genesis – because this combo doesn't feature Phil Collins or Peter Gabriel – and instead is an American group from the late 60s that works in a sweetly melodic approach to psychedelia! Some tunes are heavy on the fuzz, with guitars right out... read more

A pretty unique record by Gibbs – a set of Jewish tunes set to jazz, played by a group that includes vibes, piano, trombone, and clarinet. The clarinet's the main influence here on the sound – as it's used in a snakey way that instantly invokes Klezmer music, yet still retains the... read more

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Two albums that really show why we love Benny Golson so much! Turning Point is an incredible, and oft-overlooked album from the great Benny Golson – and one of the few early albums that really point the way to his huge run of work for decades to come! The style here is a bit looser, and... read more

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A great lost date from the wonderful Gigi Gryce – a set that features the altoist in an sextet, but often swinging with a looser vibe than on some of his better-known albums from the 50s! There's a mix of soulful and modern here that's not unlike the Art Farmer/Benny Golson Jazztet –... read more

Not classic Chico – but a pretty darn nice album of fusion tracks, very much in the spirit of other Mercury jazz work from the 1976/1977 generation! The tracks have a nice riffing groove to them – with fast tight drums from Chico, souflul sax work by Arthur Blythe and Gary Gordon, and... read more

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An amazing record from the young Lee Hazlewood – recorded in the years before working with Nancy Sinatra, and done with a very hip edge that stretches way past its date of origin – to a time ten years later, when the LA scene would be in the midst of a fascination with country and roots... read more

An amazing record from the young Lee Hazlewood – recorded in the years before working with Nancy Sinatra, and done with a very hip edge that stretches way past its date of origin – to a time ten years later, when the LA scene would be in the midst of a fascination with country and roots... read more

A crowning moment from the Chicago scene of the late 70s – the second Mercury album from Heaven & Earth, and a stunner all the way through! The set's an undisputed groover right from the start – thanks to the massive arrangements from the great Floyd Morris – an artist who... read more

Excellent work from this smooth Chicago vocal group! The album may well be the best the group ever recorded – and it features some stellar ballad work produced with a nice spacey tone, almost in a Rose Royce mellow mode – by Jerry Butler's Fountain Productions team and by Clarence... read more

Excellent work from this smooth Chicago vocal group! The album may well be the best the group ever recorded – and it features some stellar ballad work produced with a nice spacey tone, almost in a Rose Royce mellow mode – by Jerry Butler's Fountain Productions team and by Clarence... read more

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Groovy guitar instrumental tracks by one of the biggest international talents of the 60's. Ingmann's guitar has a unique hard edged sound that's in keeping with American instrumentalists of the same type, but which has a cool overdubbed guitar sound that's a bit like Les Paul. Titles include... read more

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Early early work by Bob James – recorded years before his classic 70s sides on electric piano, and in a brightly modern mode that recalls the spirit of Steve Kuhn and Paul Bley at the time! The set's a trio session – produced by Quincy Jones, who'd heard the young James and rushed him... read more

American release of this session by the famous French tenor and reed player, with backing by French players like Rene Urtreger, Sacha Distel, and Jean Louis Viale. The set's fairly straight boppish material, with occasional performances by Jaspar on flute. Tracks include "Minor Drops",... read more

This is the 14th in a the original 10" series of recordings at the Philharmonic. The line up on this set is pretty blistering, and includes Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young on tenor sax, William Smith on alto, Buck Clayton on trumpet, Buddy Rich on drums, Irving Ashby on guitar, Billy Hadnott... read more

A brilliant batch of funk – featuring every single chart hit by the JBs, the best of their hot funky singles for the People label, all recorded during the early 70s, under the supervision of James Brown! All tunes are offered here in their shorter single versions (save for "It's The JBs... read more

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An unusual package of Quincy Jones albums – featuring variations on two American records, presented here in offbeat German versions of the 60s! First up is Songs For Pussycats, kind of a mix of Quincy Jones' Pussycat album for Mercury with some tracks from other records too – all done... read more

Classic Quincy Jones from the 60s – a pair of records that really show why his jazz skills were unlike anyone else! Quincy Jones Plays Hip Hits is a very groovy record that was done with a feel that's somewhere in between his Big Band Bossa album and his best 60s soundtrack work! The format... read more

The standout classic from Junior Giscombe – one of the more unique soul artists of his generation! The set's probably best known for its huge hit single "Mama Used To Say" – a killer cut with an incredibly catchy hook, and a groove that's lasted for years on 80s groove... read more

A key early album from reedman Roland Kirk – at set that really has him strongly finding his voice in jazz, and transforming most of modern music in the process! The set's a perfect illustration of the way that Roland could swing with soul, yet still reach out with bold new ideas too –... read more

A pair of corkers from Roland Kirk – back to back on a single CD! Domino is a key early album from reedman Roland Kirk – at set that really has him strongly finding his voice in jazz, and transforming most of modern music in the process! The set's a perfect illustration of the way... read more

One of the rarest Roland Kirk albums – and a great one! The record features Kirk in his prime early years – before he got totally nutty, and when he would still play straight soul jazz/hard bop, but with kind of a mad twist, and with strange instrumentation. Horace Parlan's on piano,... read more

A rare slice of work by Roland Kirk from his early years – a great live set recorded in Europe in the mid 60's – done in a looser mode than his studio sessions from the time! Kirk's playing his usual array of incredible horns – tenor, stritch, flute, nose flute, and manzello... read more

Sure, they're a funk act – but Kool & The Gang also have a great way with a ballad, too – and as the 80s moved on, the laidback mode worked just as great for the group as their groovers! This mellow set features a dozen Kool & The Gang ballads – some gentle love songs... read more

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One of the biggest major label hip hop albums of the early 80s – and easily one of the best ever full length sets from Kurtis Blow! There's a straightforward simplicity here that's totally great – a slight elevation of the Sugar Hill groove towards a more mainstream audience –... read more

One of the later, post-Fantasy albums by the LA Boppers – a great one for Mercury! Bop Time has some of their nice smooth two step harmony vocals set amidst jazz-tinged arrangements – with plenty of funk in the mix, too – especially in those killer basslines! Augie Johnson... read more

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Lee, ever the entrepreneur, looks to capitalize on the huge stateside disco trend with this album, though there's little disco here, and mostly workman like reggae, that's not particularly outstanding. The sole disco effort is a take on "The Hustle", and the rest of set includes "Roc... read more

From their inception in late 1956, Ramsey Lewis and his famous Young/Holt-era trio were destined for great jazz fame. This 1958 session on Mercury (then based in the group's native Chicago) catches the trio right at the beginning – when they were taking tunes that were pretty well known, and... read more

An obscure group, but a wonderful one – and an ensemble we really wish we could hear more from! Yet thankfully, they've given us this wonderful album from the start of the 80s – a soaring, soulful set that seems to pick up the funky torch dropped by Earth Wind & Fire – and... read more

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Features a bit of bossa nova in some of the arrangements – a nice change for Gisele!... read more

A great debut from The Malemen – a short-lived group in the recording studio, but one who spent many years on the southern scene as a well-travelled showband! The group have a more modern vibe here than they might on the stage – a sweet 80s groove approach that features plenty of tight... read more

A great debut from The Malemen – a short-lived group in the recording studio, but one who spent many years on the southern scene as a well-travelled showband! The group have a more modern vibe here than they might on the stage – a sweet 80s groove approach that features plenty of tight... read more

With spoken word by William S Burroughs.... read more

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... read more

A pair of gems from Johnny Mathis' years at Mercury Records – back to back on a single CD! First up is So Nice, an album that definitely lives up to its title – with a sound that extends strongly from the lushness of Mathis' early 60s recordings, but which also has a bit of a nod to... read more

Two Johnny Mathis gems from his years at Mercury Records – back to back on a single CD! Sweetheart Tree is a unique album – in that it represents some unusual London sessions from Johnny Mathis – material recorded in the UK with different arrangers than usual – including... read more

A pair of Mercury Records albums from Johnny Mathis – on CD for the first time ever! Tender Is The Night is tremendous work from Johnny's short years on Mercury – a set that has the singer hitting a new level of maturity in his music – thanks in part to arrangements from Don... read more

A pair of Mercury Records albums from Johnny Mathis – back to back on a single CD! First up is This Is Love – a record that really sparkles, thanks to backings from Allyn Ferguson, done in that perfect mix of soft strings and shimmering brass that seems to work best for the vocals of... read more

Bennie Maupin's first LP for Mercury, and a great bit of spiritual funky jazz that recalls a lot of the sound of his work with The Headhunters. The first track, "It Remains to Be Seen", is an excellent groover, with some very dark keyboard work by Patrice Rushen, and the rest of the... read more

A pair of funky jazz sets from Bennie Maupin – '77's Slow Traffic To The Right and '78's Moonscapes – together in a single set! Slow Traffic To The Right is Maupin's first LP for Mercury, and a great bit of spiritual funky jazz that recalls a lot of the sound of his work with The... read more

Sublime mellow tracks from Curtis Mayfield & The Impressions – a great reminder that amidst all the uptempo groovers they gave us in the 60s, the group also could really make a ballad shine too! These slower-paced cuts feature harmonies that are even more sublime than on the upbeat... read more

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A wonderfully moody album from singer Helen Merrill – recorded with backing by pianist John Lewis, in an overall feel that's got some of the styles that Lewis forged with the Modern Jazz Quartet! The tunes are familiar ones, mostly, but arranged in a style that's got wonderfully sad and... read more

One of the most soulful sets ever recorded by the Buddy Miles Group – a really searing set of live performances from 1971, often done in a way that has the band stretching out and jamming heavily! The core group seems a bit bigger than usual – with a lineup that includes guitar and... read more

Bluesy soul from Buddy Miles – an album that was half-produced by Jimi Hendrix, and which showcases the really crowd-pleasing side of Miles' sound! Tracks are a mix of soul covers and original numbers – done in a mode that puts plenty of guitar out front in the mix, and which uses... read more

Bluesy soul from Buddy Miles – an album that was half-produced by Jimi Hendrix, and which showcases the really crowd-pleasing side of Miles' sound! Tracks are a mix of soul covers and original numbers – done in a mode that puts plenty of guitar out front in the mix, and which uses... read more

A classic bit of tripped-out soul from Buddy Miles – put together with a lot of nice psychedelic production, and an overall sound that stays nice and deep on the bottom end of things – and lets Buddy rock out heavily on rootsy vocals. There's no real standout funky numbers, but the... read more

An unusual chapter in the label-hopping career of Charles Mingus – a one-off date recorded for Mercury right after Mingus' legendary sessions for Columbia! The format here may well be Mingus' most ambitious to date – as the album features larger groups than before, exploring a range of... read more

Magical mainstream Morricone – a sublime score for Sergio Leone's epic tale of gangland growth in the 20th century! Although penned for a wider audience, most of the best Morricone elements are still at play in this soundtrack – a great sense of space and timing, and some key use of... read more

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Motorhead tearing it up in the early 80s and arguably hitting their absolute peak – the final album with the classic trio lineup of Lemmy, Fast Eddie Clarke and Philthy Animal Taylor – capping off one of the most trailblazing periods for any band in rock & roll history! Iron Fist... read more

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A sexy little set from singer Meg Myles – recorded live before a very adult nightclub crowd – with a great set of tunes to match! The record's got a lot more energy than Meg's previous material from the 50s – and Myles really has a way of swinging things with a sensual sort of... read more

"I need a fix – and a kiiiiiiiiiissssssss!" What can we say? Thunders, Sylvain, Johansen & co. re-invented the wheel with their brand of wildly hedonist glam skronk – five Noo Yawk mooks with big hair, tons of make up and heels, and they could still kick yer arse and... read more

Surprisingly nice work from The Nicholas Brothers – best known as the internationally famous dance duo who starred in a number of films in the 30s and early 40s, emerging here as a pretty good pair of vocalists – possibly to give their aging feet a rest! The brothers are actually... read more

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By this point the Players had moved into a smooth, polished territory that never betrayed their roots in a funkier sound, yet hitting a more gliding groove overall. Includes "Angel", "Merry-Go-Round", "Don't Fight My Love", "Body Vibes" and "O-H-I-O&quo... read more

One of the biggest albums ever for Ohio Players – a set that took their earlier funk sound and targeted firmly at the mainstream with a lean, mean groove that a million other groups copied at the time! There's still plenty of the soul of the early years in the group's approach here –... read more

A whopping 2CD compilation of some of the best funky moments from the Ohio Players post-Westbound work for Mercury! This is the stuff that brought funk into the top 10 in the US – and the Players manage to mix together a tight well-produced sound with the same raw funk sensibility that got... read more

It's the mid 70s, and the Ohio Players were certainly turning out a lot of gold! Their move to Mercury Records from the smaller indie Westbound was a real winning move – as it gave them a smoother soul feel that only expanded their groove, not restricted it! This tasty "best of"... read more

Great work from the Ohio Players – and proof that moving to a big label could be a good thing for a funky group! This was the band's first album for Mercury – and although one might have the temptation to say that the label cut down the radical funk sound of the trippy Westbound years,... read more

Great work from the Ohio Players – and proof that moving to a big label could be a good thing for a funky group! This was the band's first album for Mercury – and although one might have the temptation to say that the label cut down the radical funk sound of the trippy Westbound years,... read more

Great work from the Ohio Players – and proof that moving to a big label could be a good thing for a funky group! This was the band's first album for Mercury – and although one might have the temptation to say that the label cut down the radical funk sound of the trippy Westbound years,... read more

One of the few albums ever cut by singer Ruth Olay – a really unique 50s vocalist, working here in a sweetly jazzy setting! Ruth's vocals have a trill that almost takes us back to years before the session was cut – but the backings definitely modernize the set a lot – thanks to... read more

Patti Page at her grown up best – sounding wonderful on this 50s album that shows that she was way more than just a pop singer – and instead a rich-toned vocalist capable of surprisingly great delivery! The backings have a slightly modern edge – not June Christy at Capitol, but... read more

A travel-themed set from Patti Page – and a pretty darn great one at that! Patti nicely shakes off some of cliches here – working with full, jazzy backings, and often hitting sounds that are a bit more mature than on her familiar pop numbers – modes that nicely match the global... read more

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Patti Page is working here to class up her image from the country waltz sound of her biggest hit – and is going instead for a waltzing mode that's more traditional, and which brings out the duskier side of her vocal talents! Don't get us wrong, there's not a lot of Strauss in the mix –... read more

The first album by Palais Schaumburg – and easily the hardest set the group ever recorded – a really mad batch of rhythms that comes off with raw post punk energy! At some level, the group share a lot with some of their post-prog German contemporaries – some of the noisy elements... read more

A weird and wild concept album – a 70s recasting of Bizet's Carmen, with some cool moogy touches, and vocals from Melba Moore!... read more

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An amazing album that's probably one of the most unified albums that George Clinton ever recorded! The band's rawer style has been firmed up and economized – but a lot of the best elements are still in place, including a strange approach to vocals that has male and female voices interacting... read more

Here's where it all happens! George Clinton lands the mothership, forges the space-funk image, and blows the P-Funk empire into an arena-filling mega-star act! The record's got some extremely tight numbers that mix the best of the group's new slick playing with the edginess and naughtiness of the... read more

Funky Houston Person on Mercury – an album with some nice surprising touches! Person's blowing in a large group on this one – in a style that seemed to be an increasing refuge for some of the soul jazz players of the 60s during the time – but despite that setting, Houston keeps... read more

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Oscar Peterson's trio is augmented here by a famous guest – trumpeter Clark Terry, whose horn adds a nice bit of punctuation to the set, and makes the record a strong standout in the 60s catalogs of both players! The addition of Terry to the record is a great one – as Clark's rising... read more

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