... 7-inch, Vinyl record

Proof that at his start, Jimmy Smith had a greatness that knew no bounds – as the album's one of a few that Blue Note recorded in the late 50s, but never issued until many years later – even though they had already released so many amazing records from this period! The set has Jimmy really cooking away – playing live at Small's Paradise, in a group that has Lou Donaldson's alto on just about every track, and tenor from Tina Brooks on most of the others too. Tunes are tighter and shorter than on the more jam session albums, which makes for a nice change – and titles include "Groovin At Smalls", "Dark Eyes", "Cool Blues", and "A Night In Tunisia" – which begins with an announcement from Babs Gonzales! LP, Vinyl record album

Includes 16 tracks by Allen Ginsburg, Oscar Brown Jor, Phillipa Fallon, Babs Gonzales, Elmer Bernstein, Don Morrow, Ben Hecht, Jack Kerouac, and Kenny Clarke. CD

A crazy collection of singles from the pre-hippie years of the beatnik – that cool cat who loved jazz, read poetry, and dug the scene with plenty of attitude! That attitude is the main focus of most of the cuts here – obscure tracks from the late 50s and early 60s that poke fun at the heady thoughts and easy intellectualism of the beat scene – presented in a range of different styles that really run the gamut – from jazz, to rock, to many other genres in between – including a fair bit of offbeat spoken word and instrumental records too! The vibe here follows nicely in the other Lux & Ivy collections on the Righteous label – full of weird and wild records we never would have discovered otherwise – with cuts that include "Dog" by Bob Dorough, "Laffin Beatnik" by Johnny Beeman, "Reaching Into In" by Ken Nordine, "No Pictures Please" by Rod McKuen, "Manhattan Fable" by Babs Gonzales, "Pimples & Braces" by Spike Jones & The City Slickers, "Teenage Beatnik" by Louis Nye, "A Beatnik Story" by The Expressos, "Meet The Bongo Man" by Johnny O, and "William Butler Yeats On The Third Avenue El" by Lawrence Ferlinghetti. CD

The title might be Blues For Christmas, but lots of these tunes are pretty bright and jumpy, too – a nice mix of 50s R&B and early soul styles, served up here in a mighty sweet little package that's a great antidote to some of too-familiar Christmas collections on the market! Most of the artists are names you'll know already – especially if you've got some 50s blues in your collection – but the setting is mighty fresh, and the tunes together spin out for a nicely extended batch of Holiday listening that goes way past the obvious! Titles include "Oh Holy Night" by The Blue Notes, "Christmas Letter" by La Fets & Kitty, "Christmas In Jail" by The Youngsters, "Christmas Time (part 1)" by Jimmy McCracklin, "Can This Be Christmas" by Eddie Floyd & The Falcons, "Rock & Roll Santa Claus" by Huey Smith & The Clowns, "Christmas Celebration" by BB King, "Christmas Tears" by Freddy King, "Rock & Roll Santa Claus" by Babs Gonzales, "When Was Jesus Born" by Marian Williams, "After New Years Eve" by The Heartbeats, "It's Christmas Time" by Marvin & Johnny, and "Santa" by Lightnin Hopkins. CD

Well, they definitely got the "strange" in the title right here – as the collection is one of the oddest assortment of Holiday tunes we've ever heard – but that's also what makes us like it so much too! We love Christmas music – and while we were raised on the classics, we're always a lot more partial to the weirder corners of the sound of December – the sorts of one-off recordings or overlooked singles that offer up a greatly expanded vision of Christmas in the US, and which reminds us just how big the Holiday music industry is, if you know where to look! The folks who put together this set definitely knew where to look – as they've come up with 20 tracks across a variety of genres – including 60s soul and rock – almost all of which we'd never heard before. Titles include "Please Come Home For Christmas" by Johnny Winter, "Blue Grey Christmas" by King Coleman, "Moisha Got Run Over By A Wheelchair" by 2 Live Jews, "The Real Meaning Of Christmas" by Nino & The Ebb Tides, "El Burrito De Belen" by Lazarito, "Jingle Bells" by Rita Moss, "White Christmas Disco" by Back To Back, "Merry Twistmas" by Milt Patrick, "Give Me Christmas Time" by The Reindeers, "Hawaiian Santa" by The Surfers, "Santa Won't Be Blue This Christmas" by Jimmy Charles, "Christmas In November" by Slim Pickens, "Teenage Santa Claus" by Babs Gonzales, and "Santa Claus Has Fallen In Love" by Swamp Dogg. CD