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50 songs from The '4' Deuces, Billy Grammer, Gloria Lynne, The Baysiders, The Curls, The Lexingtons, Patsy Cline, Jimmy Isle, King Curtis, Doris Payne, The Renowns, Randy Lee, The Boulevards, The Supertones, and more. CD

A really cool collection of car-themed tunes – not 60s hot rod numbers, but mostly 50s tracks from those years when the automobile was really beginning to dominate American culture – and served as the inspiration for car-based cuts in a variety of different styles! A good number of the cuts here are 50s rockers, including some wild novelty-oriented numbers – but there's also country tracks, vocal tunes, and plenty more too – served up in a really well-done assortment of 33 songs that goes way past the familiar material you might find on a collection like this! As always, Bear Family have done a really great job – with presentation, notes, track selection, and more – on titles that include "Freeway USA" by The Bonnevilles, "Stop Jivin Start Drivin" by Bert Keyes, "Cruisin Central" by Faron Warmer, "Keep A Driving" by Chuck Willis, "Flat Tire" by The Del Vikings, "Wow Man" by Bobby Jackson, "The Drive In" by The Aquatones, "Get Out Of The Car" by The Lancers, "Cruisin" by Bucky & The Premieres, "Hey Little Car Hop" by George Weston, and "Big Green Car" by Jimmy Carroll. CD

Fantastic sounds from the man who opened up the electric guitar in a whole new way at the end of the 50s – one of the first players to really embrace fuzz and distortion, and use it to completely transform the sound of his instrument on record! Wray's one of those players who hit big at the start, then kept on recording for many years, even after his fame had died – never letting commercial temptations get in the way – and always staying true to the sort of raw sound that made him so important, right from the start! This career-spanning package features a whopping 25 tracks in all – lots of early singles for the Swan and Cadence labels, some tracks on Rollercoaster and Rumble – and other work done for Ace in later years. The whole thing's great – a blueprint for freaky guitar – from psych through hard rock through punk – with titles that include the landmark "Rumble", plus "Fat Back", "Mustang", "Black Widow", "Deuces Wild", "Jack The Ripper", "Hang On", "I'm Branded", "Ace Of Spades", "The Joker", "Green Hornet", "Moped Baby", "Geronimo", "Rumble On The Docks (edit)" and much more! CD

Rare Sonny Stitt from a great moment when he was really changing up his game – really long live tracks that stand in nice contrast to some of Sitt's tighter studio work of the early 70s! Here, Sonny's really in the kind of territory that lets his imagination as a soloist shine – blowing alto on tracks that mostly are in the ten minute range, with superb backing from the trio of Kenny Barron on piano, Sam Jones on bass, and Louis Hayes on drums! Barron is wonderful too – and again, sounds very different in this mode than on his Muse Records from the period – a further testament to the genius of some of these well-recorded sessions from Baltimore's Left Bank jazz society. Titles include "Deuces Wild", "Stella By Starlight", "A Different Blues", "Lover Man", "Star Eyes", and the 19 minute "Baltimore Blues". CD

A tasty little live set from Sonny Stitt – recorded in the company of organist Don Patterson! The set cooks with the fire of the best Patterson/Stitt studio sides for Prestige – and features a similar trio lineup that has the pair accompanied only by drummer Billy James – going for a really freewheeling trio sound that lets both leaders spin out some incredible long solos. The quality of the recording is great – part of the rare Left Bank archives – and was never issued until this CD – featuring tracks that include "Deuces Wild", "Blues Up & Down", "Shadow Of Your Smile", and "Cry Me A River". CD

Pee Wee Russell on clarinet with Eddie Condon on guitar, Bud Freeman on tenor sax, Jess Stacy on piano, Muggsy Spanier on cornet, Miff Mole on trombone, and many more. Includes "Jig Walk", "Last Time I Saw Chicago", "Deuces Wild", "Embraceable You", "Rosettta", "DA Blues", and "Squeeze Me" – plus a number of alternate takes. 22 cuts in all. CD

A set with "modernity" as the title, but a batch of tracks that sound plenty old all the way through – mostly the kind of upbeat soul tracks that played big with the 60s mod scene in London! Yet this isn't the usual collection of mod classics – as the work here is very obscure, and served up in the mix of rare singles and unreleased material that we totally love on other Ace/Kent Records collections – presented with great sound, and very detailed notes that are as fun to read as the songs are to hear! All the artists are American, and look very different than the dapper British gents on the cover – soaring out in a set list that includes "Deuces Wild" by Gary & Gary, "Just Can't Help Myself" by Birdlegs & Pauline, "Oh Lady Be Good" by Charles Hodges, "The Hawg (part 2)" by Eddie Kirk, "See See Rider" by Byrdie Green, "Walk Home With Me" by Ike & Tina Turner, "Sundown" by The Merced Blue Notes, "Go Away With Me" by Hollis Dixon & The Keynotes, "I Found A Little Girl" by Eddie Bo, "The Bounce" by Jackie Lee, "Earthquake" by The Fashionettes, "Air Travel" by Ray & Bob, "That's All I Want" by King Carl, "The Warm Up (part 1)" by Clifton White & His Royal Knights, "Soul Grabber" by Willis Jackson, and "Who Knows" by Willie Tee. CD

Includes the songs "Chantez Les Bas", "Stardust", "Who's Excited", "Prelude In C", "This Is Romance", "Dancing In The Dark", "I Cover The Waterfront", "Alone Together", "Blues In The Night", "Rockin' Chair", "Is It Taboo", "Beyond The Blue Horizon", "Take Your Shoes Off","Solid Sam", "Just Kiddin' Around", "To A Broadway Rose", "Deuces Wild", "Dusk Aka Evensong", "Suite No. 8", "Hindustan", "Carnival", "Needlenose", and "Two In One Blues". CD