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One of Airto's most polished records, and an album that we've really grown to love over the years! There's a pretty strong modern soul/R&B component to the album – but at the core, there's still a strong feeling for Brazilian rhythms, and the record's got a wonderfully warm Brazilian... read more

A lesser-remembered album from America, and one with some surprisingly nice moments, too! The group here are still working with producer George Martin – but they're recording in Hawaii, with some tight studio help – and almost hitting that sound they helped inspire in so many others... read more

A well-titled album, given that the overall feel here is maybe a bit more stripped-down and almost rootsy at times – even though the trio's still working with producer George Martin! The set was recorded in just a week at Caribou Ranch – and it's almost a return to the core harmonies... read more

A mid 70s winner from Ashford & Simpson – one of their earlier efforts, and a record that finds them fleshed out as a top notch act of their end – even if it'd be yeas before they'd net the kind of huge chart success that they deserved! Come As You Are is filled with solid soul... read more

Sublimely satisfying work from Ashford & Simpson – a stone killer from the height of their late 70s glory days on Warner Brothers! The pair are working together wonderfully at this point – wrapped up in that blend of upbeat soul and righteous undercurrents that made them a real cut... read more

Really great work by The Association – recorded a few years after their "Cherish" and "Along Came Mary" singles, and with a sound that's a lot more sophisticated and far-reaching! The band still has their sweet harmony sound in place, but the arrangements and songwriting... read more

Mindblowing music from The Association – a heady double-length package that features every single the group ever cut for the Valiant and Warner Brothers label – which together make for an amazing evolution in sound! Although best remembered for their few soft rock hits, The Association... read more

Fantastic dreamy pop! Despite the fact that this one yielded the super-huge hits "Windy" and "Never My Love", the album's also filled with great 60s pop tunes that you've probably never heard before – all as fantastically well-crafted and delicately strung-out as the big... read more

A super huge hit for George – the record that took him from being a funky jazz guitarist into an R&B superstar! The album features George playing and singing over arrangements by Claus Ogerman – some of Ogerman's best of the 70s, ones that mix together his trademark pillow of sound... read more

A beautiful little soundtrack for this late John Wayne western – scored by Elmer Bernstein in a wonderfully expressive way – with a quality that goes way past the usual entries in the genre! There's almost a slight undercurrent of sentimentality to the music – not in a cloying... read more

A lost southern soul gem – cut at the end of the 70s, in that rare blend of southern and modern styles that few performers could really carry off well! Frederick Knight produced the album, and it really steps off of his own mellow work of earlier years – taking things even further,... read more

Built To Spill at their late 90s live peak – on the Keep It Like A Secret tour! 2013 version includes the previously unreleased bonus tracks "Forget Remember When" and "Now and Then".... read more

Smoking sounds from this legendary Brazilian flautist – a really stripped-down session that's easily one of the greatest documents of his talents we've ever heard! The performance was done for the TV show Ensaio, and has that wonderfully personal feel of most of the program's recordings... read more

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Lovely sounds from the legendary Nelson Cavaquinho – a rare TV appearance from the early 70s, presented here on record for the first time ever! The music's got that great personal feel of the Ensaio series – and mostly features a strong focus on Nelson's namesake instrument –... read more

Two great albums back to back in one set – with a full CD's worth of bonus material too! First up is The Glow Of Love – the classic debut from Change, and the start of an amazing run of groovers in the early 80s! The set's got a tight, jazzy feel throughout – a stripped-down... read more

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The third album from Alice Cooper and perhaps the first great one – starting the 70s sleaze show win streak with the massive "I'm Eighteen" –and a record full of great, gritty and grimy rock 'n' roll. Bob Ezrin's producing for the first time, and if the songs and the whole... read more

One of those great records where Paulinho Da Viola wonderfully demonstrates why he's so different than some of his contemporaries – a samba singer at heart, but also a poet with a depth that goes way beyond the usual! The tunes here have a simple sort of start, but often unfold with a... read more

Wonderfully warm work from Paulinho Da Viola – an overlooked gem from the early 80s, and a set that bristles with all the classic energy of his music from the decade before! The overall sound is strongly acoustic – loads of great percussion underneath the guitar and vocals, with only a... read more

A record that acts just like its title – as the set really helps focus the brilliance of Paulinho Da Viola into bright rays of color – showing different tones and feelings with each new tune on the set! By that, we don't mean that the album's schizophrenic – just that it's got a... read more

The first big Paul Desmond solo album of the 60s – and a standout set that's very much in the tradition of his best work on RCA! This rare side was cut for Warner Brothers during a time when they were taking a brief dip into jazz – and it's a rarely-heard set that features Jim Hall on... read more

One of the few larger group Bill Evans sessions from the later years – an album that features sax and flute from Larry Schneider and trumpet from Tom Harrell – in addition to core trio instrumentation from Bill on piano, Marc Johnson on bass, and Joe LaBarbera on drums. The added horns... read more

The Wild Bunch just got even wilder – with three full CDs of music – including the whole film score, plus alternate music, demo tracks, additional recordings, and the full 1969 soundtrack album too! The music is wonderful – a surprisingly poignant score – especially when... read more

A sweet overview of work from the second stretch of the career of Gilberto Gil – and a set that's worth it alone for two of the five albums in the package! The set begins with Refazenda and Refavela – both fantastically funky albums that have Gilberto Gil hitting a soulful style that's... read more

A bold score for a famous 70s astronaut film – penned by Jerry Goldsmith with almost the same sort of drama he might bring to a war thriller! The story itself is pretty dark – as the astronauts don't make it to space, but are forced into a Air Force base – and Goldsmith's music... read more

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Quite possibly the best album to feature the talents of Chico Hamilton and Eric Dolphy – a set recorded at a time when Dolphy was an up-and-coming player on the west coast scene! Although Chico Hamilton had recorded with unusual reed players before, Dolphy brings a depth of soul and spirit... read more

Very interesting work from Chico Hamilton – one of his most compelling albums of the 50s! The three "faces" of Chico are as follows: his vocals, his solo percussion, and his quintet. Forget the vocals, because they're just OK (and Chico hardly embarked on a singing career after... read more

One of the best records that Chico Hamilton cut during the 50s – and one that features Eric Dolphy, who was with Chico's group for a short while! The record's got the quintet (which also includes the excellent Dennis Budimir on guitar) fronting larger string arrangements by Fred Katz (no... read more

The start of funky funky Herbie Hancock! This album's the first to feature Herbie really breaking away from his straight jazz work – moving into a groove that's nice and funky, using electric piano along with acoustic, to forge the sound that he'd develop famously over the 70s. The album's... read more

Seminal sides from Herbie Hancock – amazing material recorded for Warner Brothers in the years between his time at Blue Note and his big fame at Columbia Records – all sides that definitely show Hancock as one mighty righteous cat! Herbie's really stretching past his more conventional... read more

Bizarre is right – and incredibly hip too! This was the group's second album – and while it has a lot of similarities with the first, it's also a lot deeper of an expression of their strange blend of harmony vocals, sweet 60s pop, and the nostalgia for the early 20th century that was... read more

A dream – and the fab first LP by Harpers Bizarre! The group were one of the strangest pop ensembles operating in the seminal LA scene of the mid 60s – ostensibly a sweet harmony vocal group, but with a strangely childish approach that also had an ear open for the mind-blowing... read more

A pair of classics from John Hartford – with bonus tracks too! First up is Aereo Plain – a groundbreaking album from the young John Hartford – not really folk, not really country – but a unique hybrid of both, and done with a good ear for unique sounds as well! Hartford's... read more

Two live albums and three studio classics – the near-complete Atlantic recordings of the legendary Donny Hathaway! Donny's one of our favorite soul artists of all time – not just because he hails from our hometown of Chicago, but also because his music is beautiful, brilliant, and... read more

A massively tripped-out set of guitar-based funk – played to perfection by the legendary Eddie Hazel, best known for his work in the George Clinton P-Funk empire! The album offers a different side of Eddie's talents – one that's produced with a smoothly compressed California groove, in... read more

Ahh, the glory days of the Native Tongues. Remember a time when dropping knowledge and keeping rumps bumpin' weren't mutually exclusive? This sophomore LP from the J Beez is a smorgasbord of funky breaks, jazzy samples and lyrical niceness from the golden era of hip hop. An unimpeachable hip hop... read more

Later genius from Rahsaan Roland Kirk – a record of wonderful depth and soul, and a session that moves back to the straighter jazz focus of some of his work from the Mercury years – yet still keeps all the personality and charm of the best Atlantic sides! Roland's playing in a warm... read more

A beautiful late chapter in the jazz journey of Rahsaan Roland Kirk – and an album of subtle genius that's really opened up to us over the years! The setting here isn't as "hit you over the head" as on some of Kirk's Atlantic Records – because at one level, the tunes are... read more

A beautiful late chapter in the jazz journey of Rahsaan Roland Kirk – and an album of subtle genius that's really opened up to us over the years! The setting here isn't as "hit you over the head" as on some of Kirk's Atlantic Records – because at one level, the tunes are... read more

The third album from Little Feat – and one that brings a bit of Crescent City rock and soul into the mix – but it's still Little Feat, so it's got a restless creative energy that's beautifully tough to classify! There's quite a bit of soul influences in the mix – especially the... read more

The last album of the 70s by Little Feat – and it's a strange one! On one hand, Little Feat is revisiting some of their country rock and New Orleans-inspired roots of years past – as well as the self-conciously oddball humor. But they're also working in a tighter, leaner and cleaner... read more

Little Feat's third, and maybe best their album – the adventurous country rock, soul, boogie blender Feats Don't Fail Me Know! Oh, this group wasn't going to fail anytime soon – not creatively, anyway. Nope! They really come into their own here – mixing up distinct styles into... read more

Of course, this is not the last record album – it's not even the last album by Little Feat – but it's a damn good one! The Last Record Album isn't as creatively restless as the previous few albums, with kind of a laidback groove, overall – and we actually really dig Little Feat... read more

The first album from the great, freewheeling, genre-defying Little Feat! This album, like all the others from Little Feat, isn't easy to pigeonhole – rolling from sun-toasted country rock to roadhouse-y blues and beyond – in a way that feels perfectly right and natural. It's not as... read more

A later album from Little Feat – and one that adds some new dimensions to their ever-searching vibe! On Time Loves A Hero, Little Feat takes some surprising steps – even for them – into a bit of a fusiony rock vibe some of the time. Still, the soulful boogie rock and stripped... read more

Features a few moments with some nice Fender Rhodes – and even a piano solo by Dudley Moore!... read more

The emotions may be intense, but they're never overdone – thanks to the great standards set by the legendary Ensaio TV show – easily one of the best ways to hear a Brazilian artist up close! The set's from the 70s, a time when Maysa wasn't recording as much as during her 60s fame... read more

Brilliantly funky! This is the greatest album they cut for Warner Brothers – and it's one of the few that ever really approaches the genius of their early work for Josie. The record features the incredible breakbeat cut "Just Kissed My Baby" – worth the price of the album... read more

A beautiful way to dive right into the some of best work ever by Joni Mitchell – a 10CD set that brings together her first 10 albums in a single set – including her great couple of early efforts for Reprise and her incredible Asylum work from throughout the 70s! These albums travel... read more

Zeze Motta sings songs by Rita Lee, Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso, and Chico Buarque. Arrangements were done Liminha. Songs include "Baba Alapala", "Pecado Original", and "Trocando Em Miudos".... read more

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A great later journey in music from Milton Nascimento – a set that has him faltering a bit in the 90s, then really finding his sound! The first three albums in the set – Angelus, Amigo, and Nascimento – each have a slightly ambitious feel, but are often a bit more restrained than... read more

A beautiful later appearance from Milton Nascimento – songs recorded for a TV performance in Brazil, and arguably better than any of his studio albums from the time! The setting is quite spare – Milton on guitar and vocals, and longtime partner Wagner Tiso playing a strongly resonant... read more

A very high-art moment for Jack Nitzsche – and a set that prefaces most of his famous soundtrack work to come! The album's completely different than Jack's earlier work in the 60s – and is more of a full-scale orchestral session, done with the London Symphony Orchestra, and featuring... read more

A sweet live performance from Joao Nogueira – originally done for the Ensaio TV program in Brazil – with all the up-close qualities that always make that show so great! The set's actually a bit more electric than other Ensaio sets – a surprising change, given the sometimes rootsy... read more

The second album from O Terco – the guitar-heavy power trio who were one of the hardest things going in Brazil during the early 70s! The album's got a style that's somewhat progressive, but which also still holds onto plenty of late 60s psychedelic elements – qualities both sweet and... read more

Marty Paich takes on a host of Broadway tunes from the 50s – but as always with his best work, the result is something quite far from its roots – an amazing batch of jazzy instrumentals that owes very little to the original conception of the tunes! Paich's got an incredible ear for... read more

Overlooked later gems from Elis Regina – some of her late-life albums recorded for Warner Brothers! Essa Mulher is a killer – recorded in the company of arranger Cesar Mariano, whose masterful touch made for some of Elis' best albums of the 70s! Cesar arranged and conducted here, and... read more

REM's major label debut – the culmination of years spent inching closer and closer to the mainstream – and one of the best examples of the past several decades of a band rooted in the indie rock underground reinventing themselves as superstars, without compromising their uniqueness or... read more

Easily the best record so far from Maria Rita – a set that really pushes her talents a lot, and reaches for a wider range of expression! The vocals are still very much at the forefront – that great legacy from mother Elis Regina, with a similar heavenly approach that works with just... read more

A rare 60s album by the lovely Sonia Rosa – lots of sweet bossa tunes, handled with a very light touch! The set's got Rosa singing and playing acoustic guitar in front of larger backings by Chiquinho Moraes – nice and jazzy on most of the tracks, with a sound that pushes Rosa past the... read more

A blaring batch of tracks played by an all-star all-sax group that includes Herb Geller, Phil Woods, Gene Quill, Al Cohn, Zoot Sims, Seldon Powell, Hal McKusick, and Georgie Auld. Bob Prince arranged and conducted, and the approach is surprisingly modernist, with the saxes carrying the bulk of the... read more

Lots of Penderecki compositions – including his great "Cannon For Orchestra & Tape" – plus George Crumb's "Night Of The Electric Instruments", the great "Beginnings" from the Wind Harp record, and Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells" – the... read more

Soaring, sweeping piano work from Paul Smith – a fluid player who was already known for his "liquid sounds" of the 50s, and who gets a great showcase here in a batch of bossa-inflected material! The style here is less straight bossa than you might think – and Smith really... read more

Soaring piano work from the great Paul Smith – a player who's working here with a much more vibrant sound than on some of his Capitol sides of the 50s! Smith's got a much harder approach to the keys than during his "liquid sounds" years – one that's possibly a bit influenced... read more

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A great little record that's way more jazz than some of Joanie Sommers' other albums – thanks to arrangements from Marty Paich and Tommy Oliver – both of whom help things stay lively, even when sweet – and almost give the album a similar feel to some of the best Bethlehem or Mode... read more

A whole new dimension of pop from the lovely Joanie Sommers – an album of bossa tunes, recorded with strings and backing by the great Laurindo Almeida! The style is wonderfully sweet – and works perfectly with Joanie's gentle vocals – and although not all the tunes are strict... read more

An album of season-themed tunes – similar to Julie London's Calender Girl album – although not as month-specific. Stan Applebaum's on hand to help with arrangements, and his styles here are a mix of jazzy backgrounds and some fuller, lusher styles that still have plenty of space for... read more

Joanie's second album for Warner Brothers – and a date that features some especially nice backings from Neal Hefti, who helps swing Sommers into some great jazzy territory, but always with that playful Hefti touch that we love so much! Instrumentation is always interesting, even underneath... read more

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The Staples and Curtis Mayfield – working together here in a very Curtom groove! This great little set picks off where the group's work on the Let's Do It Again soundtrack left off – taking The Staples far past their Memphis sound of the Stax years, into a hipper, more adult kind of... read more

Classic! The third LP from the Time, and last before Morris Day went off and started his solo career – though by this point Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis had departed the group. Nonetheless, the sound is still tight modern funk, with Jesse Johnson and crew keeping things in the great post-Prince... read more

One of the two 80s masterpieces by this amazing Minneapolis group, before Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis left to change the face of commercial R&B! This first album and it's follow-up remain as a couple of the more enduring moments of slick, stylish American pop soul, and represent just a huge... read more

A unique session with heavy trombone work from both coastal jazz scenes in the 50s – an "east" group produced by George Avakian, with arrangements by JJ Johnson, and other players who include Bob Brookmeyer, Melba Liston, and Bennie Green – and a "west" group... read more

A great Marcos Valle appearance from recent years – a set that captures him at the time of his excellent comeback on Far Out Records – but in a way that's different than his recordings for that label! The recording is nice and intimate, in that great Ensaio way – very classic,... read more

Can 60s pop get any better than this? It's hard to think so – given the near-perfect sound of this album, and its unique blend of soul, vocal, and mainstream modes! The album's only the second in the career of Dionne Warwick, but she's already at the top of her game – singing with a... read more

A great post-Scepter album by Dionne Warwick – one that still has her working with Burt Bacharach, but at a level that's somehow more mature, more adult than even before! There's a gentle quality here that gets beyond the straighter pop of Warwick's 60s hits, and moves into the realm... read more

A unique concert album from Dionne Warwick – proof that her talents weren't always restricted to Burt Bacharach arrangements in the studio! The setting is the classy Olympia Theater in Paris, and the style is a bit more open than on Dionne's studio albums – with less material by... read more

Dionne Warwick's making a bit of a break from formula for this album – by singing a batch of tunes from films and shows, none of which were written by Burt Bacharach & Hal David! Yet despite this change from earlier records, the album's still got a sound that's strongly in keeping with... read more

An album that collects a number of groovy tunes by Dionne – some from movies she starred in, some from soundtracks she recorded, and others from films that she never had a hand in at all! Arrangements are by Burt Barcharach, Pat Williams, Garry Sherman, and Bobby Scott – and titles... read more

Although this one looks like a greatest hits set, it's actually a live show that features Dionne running through most of her big Bacharach hits during the Scepter years. The set features impersonations by Dionne on tracks like "Baby Love", "Bill Bailey", and "Falling In... read more

Dionne's working with Memphis producer Chips Moman, in a mode that's clearly designed to give her more credibility with the hipper soul scene at the end of the 60s! Burt Bacharach's still in the shadows, but Moman's the real genius on this set – working with Dionne to create a style that's... read more

Five albums into Dionne Warwick's classic run for Scepter Records, and she's still sounding great – head and shoulders above most other female pop singers of her generation, with a style that really sets a whole new standard for the time! Burt Bacharach handled most of the arrangements here... read more

Dionne Warwick's missing from the cover of this album, but the record still managed to be one of her biggest of the 60s – thanks to a near-classic selection of tunes, and sublime arrangements from the mighty Burt Bacharach! There's a confident, mature approach to the record that's arguably... read more

Wonderfully mature work from Dionne Warwick – one of her last few albums for the Scepter label,with a sense of maturity, poise, and grace that tops even Dionne's earliest classics for the label. She's still working heavily here with Burt Bacharach – who produced and arranged most of... read more

While the title may claim that Dionne Warwick is "Just Being Myself", the sound of the set is something completely different – a surprisingly great album that has the lady working with the post-Motown production team of Holland-Dozier-Holland! There's a quality here that resonates... read more

The final Warner Brothers album from Dionne Warwick – and a smooth, sophisticated affair done with full arrangements from Michael Omartian! The sound's still not as pop disco as you might expect from the time, and Dionne's gentle vocals are often cast in backings that step along nicely with... read more

Quite an unusual album for Dionne Warwick – a late 60s effort that has her returning to her gospel roots, and singing with backing from The Drinkard Sisters – a group originally founded by Dionne's mother, and which featured a young Cissy Houston! The sound here isn't as strictly... read more

It's plenty easy to make way for Dionne Warwick with an album as great as this – the kind of set that spawned countless imitators in later years, but which still sounds better than most of the rest! Hearing the record is almost like going back to the headwaters of 60s pop – especially... read more

The birth of a genius – and Dionne Warwick's first album in a mighty 60s run for Scepter Records! The album's the first full length collaboration between Warwick and the team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David – but it's already the stuff of legend – an album that easily bridges the... read more

Produced by Burt Bacharach – with a classic set of arrangements by Burt, Don Sebesky, and Peter Matz, all in that breathy gentle style that works so well with Dionne's vocals. Titles include "Promises Promises", "This Girl's In Love With You", "Where Is Love",... read more

Sensitive, but never sleepy – a perfect balance between gentle pop and deeper soul – served up with masterful arrangements and production from Burt Bacharach! The album's an early treasure in Dionne's 60s run for Scepter Records – an album that features a bit less Bacharach/David... read more

Dionne's certainly winning the "soulful" tag on this albums – working with Memphis producer Chips Moman, in a mode that's clearly designed to give her more credibility with the hipper soul scene at the end of the 60s! Burt Bacharach's still in the shadows, but Moman's the real... read more

A surprise mid 70s hit for Dionne Warwick – a warm and bubbling bit of soul, done with uptown maestro Jerry Ragovoy in a perfect AM pop style! The centerpiece of the album is the super-hit tune "Then Came You" – a duet with The Spinners produced and arranged by Thom Bell at... read more

A wonderful album from Dionne Warwick – probably her greatest record after the early years! The session was recorded with production by Thom Bell at Sigma Sound in Philly – and the style is a sweet blend of Philly modes, from fragile ballads to midtempo groovers, all done in a warm and... read more

Not so much a soundtrack, as it is a great set of Bacharach/David tunes, with arrangements by Burt, Manny Albam, and Pat Williams, structured around the title hit, and featuring tunes with a similar somber quality. Gone is the dreamy optimism of some of Dionne's earlier albums – and in its... read more

Dionne Warwick's last Bacharach album for Scepter Records. Burt's still very much at the helm on Very Dionne – working with Warwick in an ever-maturing mode that's expanded a bit with some help on arrangements from Marty Paich and Larry Wilcox. The mood is adult, but still has some of the... read more