A legendary funk set from late 70s Chicago – served up by our own Captain Sky, aka Daryl Cameron – an imposing figure who often worked in the same space-themed territory as the P-Funk empire in the mid 70s! The difference here, though, is that Cameron wrote, produced, and put the whole thing together himself – with help from a few friends in the studio – making the album a great homegrown attempt to rival the strength of the bigger funk ensembles of the period – something The Captain and crew do pretty darn well throughout! There's lots of heavy bass on the set – a strong precursor of modes to come – mixed with riffing guitar, sweet keyboards, and plenty of tight rhythms – on cuts that include the famous sample cut "Super Sporm" – a killer extended track with a great conga break, and a tight old school sample sound – plus "Now That I Have You", "Saturday Night Move-Ease", "Wonder Worm" and "Can't Stop Now". CD

The second smoking album from Captain Sky – a Windy City funk legend, and one who's cut from some of the same cloth as Bootsy Collins or Rick James! Like both of those artists, the Captain's a pretty imposing figure, with a bit of future flash to his looks – and while he uses lots of the basslines that might tie him to Bootsy and the P-Funk universe, he's also got a groove that mixes in some of the more sophisticated modes you'd know from the Chicago scene at the time! There's almost a late Curtom feel to the record – tight funk, a bit faster than early in the decade, but still not really disco – and with some mellow midtempo tracks that balance things out beautifully – and really show Sky evolving past the style of his first record. Tracks include "Moonchild", "Fearless", "Cream & Sugar", "Rebirth", "Hero", "Double You SKY", and "Ker-Runch". CD

Classic madness from William Shatner – a whole set of tunes performed in his famous role as Captain Kirk! The album's got a creepy sort of darkness that's hard to deny – especially as Shatner speaks, more than sings, most of the tunes on the set – giving them a very dramatic sort of reading, which is further underscored by his recitations of bits of Shakespeare too! Don Ralke did the arrangements, which move between serious and groovy – and titles include "How Insensitive", "Mr Tambourine Man", "The Transformed Man", "It Was A Very Good Year", "Elegy For The Brave", and "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds". CD

A damn classic entry in the Super Breaks series from BGP – one that's filled with crucial sample cuts from the old school – some really wonderful funky nuggets, brought together here as a great reminder of the tracks that first got us digging back in the day! There's less of the totally obscure numbers here than you might find on other Super Breaks volumes, but things aren't totally mainstream either – and the compilers have not only done a great job of pulling together tracks that were really important for hip hop, but have also managed to put a really fresh spin on the music altogether – reminding us once again that even in the age of digital music, nothing beats a well-done compilation! Titles include "Shifting Gears" by Johnny Hammond, "Mary Mary" by The Monkees, "Scratchin" by Magic Disco Machine, "It's Just Begun" by Jimmy Castor, "Africano" by Earth Wind & Fire, "Apache" by Incredible Bongo Band, "Got To Get A Knutt" by New Birth, "Get Up & Dance" by Freedom, "Super Sporm" by Captain Sky, "Who Is He & What Is He To You" by Creative Source, "Funky President" by James Brown, "Blow Your Head" by The JBs, "Johnny The Fox" by Thin Lizzy, "Let A Woman Be A Woman Let A Man Be A Man" by Dyke & The Blazers, "The Clapping Song" by Shirley Ellis, and "Get Ya Some" by Melvin Sparks. CD

A nice little set that delivers exactly what's promised in the title – sweet soul music from back in the day, plus a few tracks from the contemporary Philly scene! The cuts here nicely move between styles – many are the warm harmony cuts that were the calling card of Philly and New Jersey at the start of the 70s – and the rhythms here move from completely mellow to midtempo – that shift in harmony soul towards the club that was so influential from some of these artists at the time. Tracks include "Me & My Gemini" by First Class, "Carla My Love" by Softones, "Together" by Tony Strong & The Philly Soul, "Babies Having Babies" by Terry Tate, "Sure Thing" by New Birth, "Hypnotized" by Linda Jones, "My Ebony Princess" by Jimmy Briscoe & The Little Beavers, "Special Lady" by Ray Goodman & Brown, "Natural High" by Captain Sky, "Reunited" by Johnny Ingram with Sherena Khan, "You Know How To Make Me Feel So Good" by Glenn Leonard with Jean Carne, "Didn't Anyone Ever Tell You I Love You" by Philly Devotions, "Yes I'm Ready" by Barbara Mason, "A Lover's Stand" by Norma Jenkins & The Dolls, and "Your Love Is So Doggone Good" by The Whispers. CD

A bit of a notorious record in the good Captain's career, cut in the transition between the original Magic Band and the fine later lineup that was responsible for the excellent LPs on Virgin. The sound is pretty spare, and without the mindbending twists and turns that Beefheart had made his trademark up to this point, and as such, is more of a straight blues and rock record. Van Vliet still sounds great, croaking his idiosyncratic lyrics in his own bad to the bone manner. 9 tracks in all, including "Party Of Special Things", "Same Old Blues", "Observatory Crest", "Pompadour Swamp", "Captains Holiday", "Rock N Roll's Evil Doll", "Further Than We've Gone", "Twist Ah Luck" and "Bluejeans & Moonbeams". LP, Vinyl record album

Live recordings from 1975 at the Reefer Cabaret in Melbourne, Australia – with performances by Renee Geyer Band, Split Enz, Ayers Rock, Ariel, Captain Matchbox Whoopee Band, and Skyhooks. LP, Vinyl record album