Arguably their biggest hit, with the infectious "Hi Jack" sample! "Turn It Out" features Greg Nice. 12-inch, Vinyl record

One of a handful of totally wonderful albums cut by Blossom Dearie in London – a gem of a set, and one that really takes off from the style of her earlier American albums on Verve, thanks to some hip Brit arrangements from Reg Guest! Blossom embraces all sorts of sounds here that she hadn't touched before – a bit of bossa, French soundtrack, and material from other sources – all wrapped up with those wonderfully charming vocals that are unlike anyone else at all – in a way that makes even familiar tunes sound very much like Dearie's own! There's some great jazzy elements in the music – including alto sax from Keith Bird – and titles include "Dindi", "Once I Loved", "Trains & Boats & Planes", "Watch What Happens", "Sunny", "The Folks Who Live On The Hill", "Once I Loved", "A Wonderful Guy", "Meditation", and the incredible "Soon It's Gonna Rain". CD features two bonus tracks – mono single versions of "Discover Who I Am" and "The Music Played". CD

A wonderful little record that sounds nothing like Kansas City or something you might expect from a group with "jammers" in their name – as there's a sweet harmony style to the whole album that's a lot more like Cali work of the time! The trio harmonize together beautifully, and they mix acoustic and electric instrumentation in a nicely lean mode – yet with a quality that's still well-produced for such a small label indie release at the time! We might make an obvious comparison to CSNY, but the song themes are very different, as is the mood – and these guys are much more down to earth in a really great way! Titles include "For A Sign". "Live In Harmony", "Messiah", "For Father" "Chess Piece", "Hairy Tongued Turtle", "Midnight Watch", "Fall", "Fingers Foot & Fade", and "For Marti". 2CD edition features a full bonus disc – 14 more rare tracks from the time, a great expansion to the too-small legacy of the group! CD

The massive second album by PE – and the one where where the hit their full creative stride, and their politics and philosphy hit at full force – moving Public Enemy from an imposing threat to both the hip hop and pop music status quo to a straight up cultural phenomenon! There's little we can add to canon of critical regard this unimpeachable classic – just know that it's as essential as any hip hop album of the era. Includes "Bring The Noise", "Don't Believe The Hype", "Prophets Of Rage" and "Rebel Without A Pause", "Cold Lampin With Flavor", "Terminator X To The Edge Of Panic", "Louder Than A Bomb", "Caught, Can We Get A Witness", "She Watch Channel Zero", "Night Of The Living Baseheads", "Black Steel In The Hour Of Chaos", "Prophets For Right To Fight" and more. CD

The massive second album by PE – and the one where where the hit their full creative stride, and their politics and philosphy hit at full force – moving Public Enemy from an imposing threat to both the hip hop and pop music status quo to a straight up cultural phenomenon! There's little we can add to canon of critical regard this unimpeachable classic – just know that it's as essential as any hip hop album of the era. Includes "Bring The Noise", "Don't Believe The Hype", "Prophets Of Rage" and "Rebel Without A Pause", "Cold Lampin With Flavor", "Terminator X To The Edge Of Panic", "Louder Than A Bomb", "Caught, Can We Get A Witness", "She Watch Channel Zero", "Night Of The Living Baseheads", "Black Steel In The Hour Of Chaos", "Prophets For Right To Fight" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

The massive second album by PE – and the one where where the hit their full creative stride, and their politics and philosphy hit at full force – moving Public Enemy from an imposing threat to both the hip hop and pop music status quo to a straight up cultural phenomenon! There's little we can add to canon of critical regard this unimpeachable classic – just know that it's as essential as any hip hop album of the era. Includes "Bring The Noise", "Don't Believe The Hype", "Prophets Of Rage" and "Rebel Without A Pause", "Cold Lampin With Flavor", "Terminator X To The Edge Of Panic", "Louder Than A Bomb", "Caught, Can We Get A Witness", "She Watch Channel Zero", "Night Of The Living Baseheads", "Black Steel In The Hour Of Chaos", "Prophets For Right To Fight" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

One of a handful of totally wonderful albums cut by Blossom Dearie in London – a gem of a set, and one that really takes off from the style of her earlier American albums on Verve, thanks to some hip Brit arrangements from Reg Guest! Blossom embraces all sorts of sounds here that she hadn't touched before – a bit of bossa, French soundtrack, and material from other sources – all wrapped up with those wonderfully charming vocals that are unlike anyone else at all – in a way that makes even familiar tunes sound very much like Dearie's own! There's some great jazzy elements in the music – including alto sax from Keith Bird – and titles include "Dindi", "Once I Loved", "Trains & Boats & Planes", "Watch What Happens", "Sunny", "The Folks Who Live On The Hill", "Once I Loved", "A Wonderful Guy", "Meditation", and the incredible "Soon It's Gonna Rain". CD features two bonus tracks – mono single versions of "Discover Who I Am" and "The Music Played". CD

A real breakthrough album for George Duke – one of his earliest for the Epic label, and an album that took him from the space funk underground to the top of the jazz charts! The album's got a great sound that mixes together all of Duke's influences – Latin rhythms, electric keyboard funk, and some of the freer jamming styles he picked up in the Bay Area scene – and he's joined here by strong crossover fusion players like Ndugu Chancler, Raul De Souza, and Stanley Clarke, all of whom help him forge a groove that's nice and tight. Includes the hit title track "Reach For It", plus the cuts "The End", "Diamonds", "Watch Out Baby", "Lemme At It", "Just For You", "Omi", and "Searchin My Mind". LP, Vinyl record album

Ice T's third album, and a set that still has all the nicely biting style of his early best! The approach here is great – as political as the cover implies, but with a nice sense of wit, too – that quality that already made Ice stand so far apart from others who were getting mired down in their hardass stance – but without also ever sounding too flip about the subject matter. The balance is what soon brought him to Hollywood, but it's always got a lot more edge on record – served up here with superb production and beats from Afrika Islam. Titles include "You Played Yourself", "The Girl Tried To Kill Me", "Freedom Of Speech", "What Ya Wanna Do", "Hit The Deck", "Peel Their Caps Back", "Shut Up Be Happy", "Lethal Weapon", and "The Hunted Child". CD

The massive second album by PE – and the one where where the hit their full creative stride, and their politics and philosphy hit at full force – moving Public Enemy from an imposing threat to both the hip hop and pop music status quo to a straight up cultural phenomenon! There's little we can add to canon of critical regard this unimpeachable classic – just know that it's as essential as any hip hop album of the era. Includes "Bring The Noise", "Don't Believe The Hype", "Prophets Of Rage" and "Rebel Without A Pause", "Cold Lampin With Flavor", "Terminator X To The Edge Of Panic", "Louder Than A Bomb", "Caught, Can We Get A Witness", "She Watch Channel Zero", "Night Of The Living Baseheads", "Black Steel In The Hour Of Chaos", "Prophets For Right To Fight" and more. CD

Patrice Rushen in a crisp 80s soul mode! Watch Out finds Patrice really cutting down the keyboards in favor of stronger vocals right out front – breaking all the rules, as the title of second song tells it – and it works really well! Most of the arrangements, synth and drum programming are by Patrice herself, and she has a more sure-footed control of the era's R&B style than we remembered! The title track is fantastic, with a tight synth funk undercurrent and hooky, insistent vocals from Patrice – facets that carry throughout the album – plus strong ballads in "Somewhere" and "Till She's Out Of Your Mind". Patrice's only album for Arista – and it's a nice one! Other tracks include "All My Love", "Anything Can Happen", "Burnin", "Breakin All The Rules" and "Come Back To Me". CD

The long-teased, finally delivered joint full length from Jay-Z and Kanye West. It's impossible to consider the music purely on its own terms given the outsized personalities and absolutely gigantic presences of both – which makes it pretty fascinating. It's definitely not on the level of the best solo albums by either force, but it's probably a whole lot better than it's being dismissed as in some circles. Bottom line – it's worth picking up. We'll see how history treats it. Includes "No Church In The Wild" feat Frank Ocean, "Lift Off" with Beyonce, "Ni**as In paris", the single "Otis" with that reanimated Otis Redding vocal, "Gotta Have It", "New Day", "That's My B**ch", "Why I Love Yu" feat Mr Hudson and more. The deluxe edition has 4 bonus tracks: "Illest M*****ker Alive" (with an intentional 3 minutes of silence), "HAM", "Primetime" and "The Joy". CD

A fantastic first chapter in the career of Labi Siffre – the completely unique British soul singer who gave the world an incredible run of records in the 70s! If you've not heard Labi before, you're in for a treat – as he's got a way of blending singer/songwriter modes into his music to create these really playful passages of lyrics – often using acoustic guitar in these early tunes, with a folk/soul style that's beautiful! This set features material that predates Siffre's first album on EMI – and includes some early singles, and other tracks that were not issued at the time - - almost a preface to the complete run of records that followed. Titles include "Why Did You Go Why Did You Leave Me", "You Make It Easy", "Watch Me", "Good Old Days", "For The Lovin", "Pristine Verses", "Crying Laughing Loving Lying", "You'll Let Me Know", and "It Must Be Love". LP, Vinyl record album

Unity Sounds was one of the top, if not the top sound system in London throughout the 80s, and like so many Jamaican greats, went on to start cutting their own rhythms. In the post Jammy's era, this meant stripped down digital beats – round, bouncing basslines and tinny Casio drums, the reggae equivalent to the nascent electro sound of early hip hop. Each of the tracks here is followed by it's version, and they're all voiced by singers, no deejays, twenty one tracks in all, over seven mighty rhythms, including Selah Collins' "Pick A Sound", Richie Davis "You Ha Fe Cool", Kenny Knots "Ring My Number", "Run Come Call Me" and "Watch How The People Dancing", Peter Bouncer "Ready For The Dancehall Tonight" and Mikey Murka "Ride The Rhythm". Plus there's a nice fold out with photos and an extensive interview with Ribs of Unity Sounds. LP, Vinyl record album

The first-ever full length set from The Grasshoppers – a killer combo who made plenty of waves on the live music scene in the Twin Cities during the 60s, but one who only ever issued a single 45 at the time! Yet despite that lack of wax, the group have the sort of razor sharp sound that so many hard working combos of the generation had – really tight, groovy performances of material that's mostly original by members of the group – served up with twin guitars, bass, drums, and these great vocals from lead singer Jiggs Lee – an artist who knows how to put just the right sort of presence in the music! The whole thing is plenty darn catchy, and has the feel of stumbling onto a cool combo at some great backroom gig during these key years of homegrown scenes – on titles that include "Watch People", "Let It Be That Way", "Lonely Me", "Paper Cup Beggar", "Riding In My Car", "Still In Love With You Baby", "Sugar & Spice", and "Our Love". CD

Ice T's third album, and a set that still has all the nicely biting style of his early best! The approach here is great – as political as the cover implies, but with a nice sense of wit, too – that quality that already made Ice stand so far apart from others who were getting mired down in their hardass stance – but without also ever sounding too flip about the subject matter. The balance is what soon brought him to Hollywood, but it's always got a lot more edge on record – served up here with superb production and beats from Afrika Islam. Titles include "You Played Yourself", "The Girl Tried To Kill Me", "Freedom Of Speech", "What Ya Wanna Do", "Hit The Deck", "Peel Their Caps Back", "Shut Up Be Happy", "Lethal Weapon", and "The Hunted Child". LP, Vinyl record album

A treasure trove of greatness from British folk rock legend John Renbourn – all of his late 60s solo work, done before moving on to greater fame in Pentangle! First up is There You Go – a rare one from singer Dorris Henderson and future Pentangle founder John Rensbourn! Florida born, LA raised singer Dorris Henderson moved to London in 1965 and was soon singing London's folk clubs, where she met Rensbourn. A solid mix of traditionals and then contemporary folk songs – stripped down and honest takes on "Saly Free And Easy", "Cotton Eyed Joe", "Mr Tamborine Man", "Going To Memphis", Something Lonesome", "Mist On The Mountain" and more. This edition includes bonus tracks from a rare 45 – "Hangman" and "Leaves That Are Green". Next is the self-titled John Renbourn from 1965 – a set that would not only establish John's legacy for years to come, but also have a very strong impact upon the role of the guitar on the British scene too! The album's definitely in a mode that owes something to an American folk legacy – but it also really breaks from the past with unusual phrasings and colorings in Renbourn's guitar – certainly with an ear towards ancient English modes, but also at once very fresh and contemporary – a strong precursor to the waves of new acoustic talents that would flow from the UK a few years later, but maybe even more revolutionary – given that John's mostly just working here with his guitar and voice. Bert Jansch adds guitar to a few tracks – and titles include "Song", "Down On The Barge", "Plainsong", "Judy", "Beth's Blues", "Blue Bones", "Train Tune", "Winter Is Gone", and "Noah & Rabbit". Bert & John is a hell of a collaboration between British legends Bert Jansch and John Renbourn – both working here together to completely redefine the sound of their music for the generation to come! This one album may well hold all the sense of subtle power and possibility that was about to flower in the Brit movement often known as "acid folk" – that reworking of older aesthetics with modern conceptions, and doing so mostly with their work on acoustic guitar – quite a feat, given the stripped-down instrumentation of the set! Bert sings a bit – in that incredible style of his – but the real attraction here is the guitar interplay, which is always fresh, never hokey, neither familiar American folk nor forced singer-songwriter backup material. Titles include a wonderful reworking of Charles Mingus' "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat" – plus "Red's Favourite", "Orlando", "Soho", "Piano Tune", "East Wind", "After The Dance", and "The Time Has Come". Another Monday is maybe the most obscure album in the collection – a set that is mostly instrumental, with some completely fantastic work by Renbourn on guitar – but which also features a bit of guest vocals from singer Jacqui McShee – whose warmer presence next to John really makes for a nice pairing. The album's as powerful as it is subtle, really beautiful in its sense of variety – with titles that include "Buffalo", "One For William", "Lost Lover Blues", "Another Monday", "Day At The Seaside", "Nobody's Fault But Mine", and "Waltz". Watch The Stars is another great collaboration with Dorris Henderson – an American singer, but one who moved to London in the 60s – where she cut this rare gem with guitarist John Renbourn! The album's got a righteous vibe that's hipper than the usual folk set – with some traditional tunes and some contemporary material – recorded with that amazing phrasing that made Renbourn's guitar so distinct right from the start, with lots of those jazzy currents we love so much – and which really fit the creative vocal approach of Henderson! Dorris also plays some autoharp, and there's a bit of bass in the backings – although overall the main focus here is on Renbourn's guitar and Henderson's vocals. Titles include "Come Up Horsey", "God Bless The Child", "Watch The Stars", "30 Days In Jail", "Mosaic Patterns", "Tomorrow Is A Long Time", and "There's Anger In This Land". Sir John A Lot Of is perhaps one of the best-known albums from British guitar legend John Renbourn – as it was issued widely in the US, and kept in print for a surprisingly long time over the years! The approach here is slightly different than Renbourn's previous records – a bit in the image presented by the cover, although with maybe not as slavish a sound – as John just uses the whole thing to go a bit more ancient than before, in ways that echo the time travel that the whole British folk scene was taking as the 70s approached. The tunes are done in ways that are really beautiful – still lots of the incredible guitar work that made Renbourn such a standout on the scene – plus flute from jazzman Ray Warleigh, who's very different here than usual – and spare use of finger cymbals, African drums, and glockenspiel by Terry Cox. Titles include "Morgana", "Transfusion", "The Trees They Do Grow High", "Sweet Potato", "Seven Up", and "White Fishes". 6CD box features all records in original artwork sleeves, with a booklet of notes – and bonus tracks that include "Message To Pretty", "The Waggoner's Lad", "Lucky Thirteen", "Blues Run The Game", "The Wildest Pig In Captivity (alt)", "Can't Keep From Crying", "Transfusion (alt)", and "The Leaves Are Green". CD

Big Pun was maybe the biggest of the "big" rappers of his generation, and he left our planet way too early – but not before delivering this final sendoff as a record that most folks didn't hear until after Big Pun passed away! The set does a great job of mixing wit and edge, augmented by appearances from Tony Sunshine, Fat Joe, MOP, Cuban Link, and Donnell Jones – who help Pun strike just the right balance on tunes that include "Leather Face", "Wrong Ones", "Laughing At You", "Watch Those", "Off Wit His Head", "We Don't Care", "My Dick", "New York Giants", "It's So Hard", and "Ms Martin". LP, Vinyl record album

The amazing first album from Big Star – a set that came out of nowhere, made hardly a ripple on the charts, yet went onto crash in big waves of sound for generations to come! The style here is unlike thing else before – hardly what you'd expect from the group's Memphis roots or Alex Chilton's previous performances – yet the group's music has become a generation-defining sound in the way it blends southern inflections with harder rock influences, and a lean, gritty quality that's arguably in a late 70s space between punk and power pop. Every element is wonderful – guitars that are powerful, but never indulgent – vocals that are moving, but never overly emotive – and a balance between sensitive and searing moments that even The Replacements could never hope to match. A landmark all the way through – with tracks that include "Feel", "Ballad Of El Goodo", "In The Street", "The India Song", "When My Baby's Beside Me", "Give Me Another Chance", "Don't Lie To Me", "Thirteen", "Watch The Sunrise", and "Try Again". LP, Vinyl record album

Very groovy stuff from Cugie! It's the late 60s, and he's got more of a pop Latin groove than earlier – and lays down some nice peppy covers of pop material, plus a few other Latin standards. Not exactly Latin soul – but not that far off, either. Includes a great version of "Samba Saravah", plus "Mellow Yellow", "Compadre Pedro Juan", "Shadow Of Your Smile", "Jungle Rhumba", and the perennial favorite "Music To Watch Girls By". LP, Vinyl record album

With a record like this, it's clear that bassist Jamale Davis is a player to watch – as he's got a way of really bringing something new to the table, and presenting us with a very fresh conception of jazz! Way back through a legacy that includes albums by Ron Carter, Richard Davis, and Oscar Pettiford, it's often the case that groups led by a bassist can really deliver something different – not just a way of pushing a player who's sometimes in the background to the front, but maybe changing up approaches to rhythm and melody in all these really inventive ways – something that Jamale definitely does here – working with a lineup who shape their sounds beautifully – Dario Terzuolo on tenor, John Mosca on trombone, Mferghu on piano, and Ben Zweig on drums and pandeiro. The mix of tenor and trombone is beautiful next to the bass – and the album has a good blend of unusual tunes and a few well-chosen remakes – in a set list that includes "Rabbit Island", "Indra", "Taxi Bird", "Star Eyes", "Run With The Hunted", "Congo Blues", and "Hello I Must Be Going". CD