Cool later work from Horace Silver – with some nicely complicated horn parts that remind us of his hip Blue Note projects of the 70s! Features a bit of vocals from Andy Bey – and horn solos from Red Holloway and Eddie Harris! CD

One of the most righteous Horace Silver albums for Blue Note – and a far-reaching, politically-bent batch of tracks that feature vocals by Andy Bey, in a similar style to the work he did on the Gary Bartz records from the time – very hip, and quite different than other jazz vocal work from other singers! Silver plays electric piano on most of the record – and other musicians include Houston Person on tenor and Idris Muhammad on drums – both of whom figure on cuts that feature singer Jackie Verdell replacing Andy Bey. The groove is pretty great throughout – lots of those offbeat lines that you might hear on other Bey albums, warmed up with some of Silver's more familiar soul jazz – and the album is volume 1 (or "Phase 1") of Horace's trippy United States Of Mind series, a series of records on the state of the then-trashed union (proving once again that what goes around, comes around!) Tracks include "The Happy Medium", "Permit Me To Introduce Myself", "Wipe Away the Evil", and "Love Vibrations". LP, Vinyl record album

A brilliant bit of psychedelia – still as fresh today as it was many decades back – and the crowning achievement of Pink Floyd during the early Syd Barrett years! The album's got all the best elements of the group firmly in place – the penchant for long-jamming tracks that still manage to always maintain a sharp edge – mixed with some of the wittier, more playful lyrics that Barrett brought to the group – all wrapped up with a sense of depth and darkness that goes way beyond most of their contemporaries. The record's a masterpiece through and through – from its first guitar-heavy jam on "Astronomy Domine", through the strutting, vamping madness of "Bike" – all up and down other gems that include "Lucifer Sam", "The Gnome", "Take Up Thy Stethoscope & Walk", "Interstellar Overdrive", "Chapter 24", and "The Scarecrow". 3CD set features a full CD of the mono version, a full CD of the stereo version, and a bonus CD with the tracks "Arnold Layne", "Candy & A Currant Bun", "See Emily Play", "Apples & Oranges", "Paintbox", "Interstellar Overdrive (take 2)", and "Matilda Mother (previously unreleased alt version)". Plus, the package is a hardcover book-styled one – with lyrics, photos, and a pull-out booklet of artwork! CD

Groovy work from one of the greatest voices in American pop in the 60s – the amazing Joanie Sommers, a singer whose style went way beyond most of her contemporaries! Right from the start, Joanie's got a range that's breathtaking – a voice that's equally comfortable in jazz, rock, or mainstream vocals – and which is often recorded by Warner Brothers with some impeccable production that brings it out even more! There's usually a slight sense of echo, a dash of drama, and some well-constructed rhythm patterns used on these early 60s singles – very top-shelf studio work that's made these Sommers singles sparkle for decades – even though most of them barely cracked the charts at the time! The package is a treasure trove of great girl pop from a bygone age – and with a focus on singles, you'll find plenty that hasn't already hit the reissue market – including a fab duet with Ed Kookie Byrnes! Titles include "Ruby Duby Du", "When The Boys Get Together", "My Block", "The Great Divide", "Goodbye Summer", "I'd Be So Good For You", "One Boy", "Why Don't You Do Right", "Since Randy Moved Away", "Big Man", "Passing Strangers", "Johnny Get Angry", "Kookie's Love Song", "I'll Never Be Free", and "Talk Until Daylight". CD

The genius of Richie Havens at this point is beyond compare – a unique take on the dying folk sound of the 60s, one that infused it with a deeper sense of soul that helped it get new legs in the Woodstock generation – yet which is also heard here before any of the post-hippie cliches that would bog down some of Richie's later work. There's an earnestness to this music that's also touched with a good degree of worldly sense – a notion that the world was changing, but one person at a time, and mostly through the gentle efforts and honest efforts of souls like Richie. This LP features 11 tracks in all – with titles that include "High Flyin' Bird", "San Francisco Bay Blues", "Just Like A Woman", "Sandy", "Three Day Eternity", "Follow", and "Handsome Johny". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic window into the record bar scene in Japan – served up here in a beautiful publication that's filled with photos of all these cool little clubs that are stuffed full of records – dedicated to presenting quality jazz music on vinyl, over a top-notch sound system – all while also serving up great drinks and light food in an intimate setting! These aren't the kinds of clubs where DJs go nuts for dancers – and instead, the experience is very intimate, very relaxing, and very Japanese – a way of digging jazz in a public space that's beyond compare, and which is very unique to their scene. The rooms are often little temples to vinyl and jazz – filled with thousands of records in a beautiful space, as you'll see as you flip through the many full color images in the book. This first volume documents bars in and around Tokyo – special spots with names that include Mingus, Half Note, Candy, Jazz Time Disk, Brooklyn, and dozens of others – served up in a beautiful softcover edition, 140 pages, full color throughout – and stuffed with fantastic photos! Book

A trio of classics from this groundbreaking group! First up is Living With The Animals – fantastic early work from Mother Earth – one of those special late 60s groups who emerged out of the rock, folk, and blues scenes – but who somehow managed to make a very special sound of their own! Part of the group's strength is the lovely Tracey Nelson – a singer who could have been a soul artist if she wanted – but who works here with a looser approach to generic conventions as she moves through a number of different modes – sometimes stepping aside for the group's lead singer, R Powell St John Jr, who also plays a bit of harmonica. Instrumentation is given some stronger currents from a combo that features Mike Bloomfield on guitar, Barry Goldberg on organ, and Luis Gasca on trumpet – and titles include "Marvel Group", "Mother Earth", "It Won't Be Long", "Down So Low", "The Kingdom Of Heaven", and "My Love Will Never Die". Make A Joyful Noise is an album that has slightly fuller backings than their debut, but in a way that only seems to bring out more of the soulful currents of their sound! The mix of rural inspiration and tighter presentation is a great illustration of the changing North Cali style of the period – and no surprise, a young Boz Scaggs is in the group, providing rhythm guitar next to the vocals of Tracy Nelson and R Powell St John. A few country legends provide extra support on fiddle, dobro, and steel – balanced nicely by a strong horn section too – on titles that include "Stop The Train", "Soul Of The Man", "Blues For The Road", "Come On & See", "I The Fly", "Wait Wait Wait", "I Wanna Be Your Mama Again", and "Then I'll Be Moving On". Last up is Satisfied – countrified rock from Tracy Nelson and Mother Earth – done in a warm and sincere style that goes way beyond any of the cliches of the genre! There's something about the way the group put together the tunes that really makes us like this one – an honesty that's not bogged down in any hippy dippy expectations, and which never tries to be anything other that what it is. And yes, that's not much of a good description of the set – but it's also our way of identifying the uniqueness that set Mother Earth apart from a lot of their contemporaries. Titles include "Satisfied", "Groovy Way", "Andy's Song", "Ruler Of My Heart", "This Feeling", and "You Won't Be Passing Here No More". CD