The second great entry in the Changes series from David Bowie – and, like the first, a well-chosen array of tracks that really get at his creative genius as a pop star – which includes a few great titles from his post-Berlin years! The set does a great job of spanning the 70s – and includes the single-only "John I'm Only Dancing (Again)" – which is a clubbier take on the earlier song that was showcased on Changes One. Other tracks run from the Ziggy years onward – and include another great single, Bowie's take on "Oh You Pretty Things" – which was more famously recorded by Mott The Hoople, although written by Bowie – plus "Aladdin Sane", "Starman", "1984", "Ashes To Ashes", "Sound & Vision", "Fashion", "Wild Is The Wind", and "DJ". LP, Vinyl record album

A landmark album of vocal jazz – and one of the few sessions that John Coltrane ever cut with a singer! In a way, the album's more Hartman's than it is Coltrane's – given that Johnny's warm, mellow style of singing isn't as free and open as Trane at his most adventurous – but at another level, the album's got a great approach to Coltrane's gentler side, one that wasn't showing up on a lot of his Impulse albums of the time. Overall, the album's got an extremely haunting quality, and McCoy Tyner's piano adds as much to Hartman's hip voice as Coltrane's mellow tenor. Titles include some well-chosen moody standards – including "Lush Life", "Dedicated To You", and "Autumn Serenade". LP, Vinyl record album

Wynton Marsalis' second date for Columbia Records, and an album that already has him stretching out from the first! Unlike before, when Wynton was given a few older players to help establish his sound, the group here is all Marsalis' own – with brother Branford on tenor and soprano sax, Kenny Kirkland on piano, Jeff Watts on drums, and either Phil Bowler or Ray Drummond on bass. Tracks are a mix of originals, and well-chosen modern moments from years past – played with a mix of soulful colors and more angular sounds, almost in the manner of VSOP from a few years before. Titles include "Fuschia", "Knozz Moe King", "Later", "The Bell Ringer", "Think Of One", and "Melancholia". LP, Vinyl record album

One of a few great vocal jazz records cut by singer Kim Parker in the early 80s – a spare set that features backing by Mal Waldron on piano, Isla Eckinger on bass, and Ed Thigpen on drums. The tunes are all pretty hip – well chosen, with some good obscure numbers – and Kim's tone here is a bit lighter than on other albums, languidly drifting along with the gentle style of the set. Titles include "Devil May Care", "Angel Eyes", "Wistful Samba", "Pretty Girl", "Fiesta In Blue", and "Singing Dancing (On My Way)". LP, Vinyl record album

Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett certainly have some heavy friends here – a stunning host of guest help on the record, who make the whole thing come together with a sweet blend of southern rock and soul! The duo were always almost more of a soul act than a rock one, and that quality really shows through here – as they tear it up with help from The Memphis Horns, plus Duane Allman on slide guitar, Bobby Whitlock on organ, Charlie Freeman on guitar, and even a bit of guest help from King Curtis on tenor and Little Richard on piano! Tunes include some great originals that show why the Bramlett's were the premier roots rock act of the time – mixed with a few nicely-chosen cuts by other folks – in a lineup that includes "Lay Down My Burden", "God Knows I Love You", "Hard Luck & Troubles", "Soul Shake", "Miss Ann", "Living On The Open Road", "Free The People", "The Love Of My Man", and "Living On The Open Road". LP, Vinyl record album

This is the kind of moog album we can get behind – a sweet 70s update of the moogy groovy that Hugo Montenegro first started crafting in the 60s! The album's got both moog and Arp – the latter of which brings in more of a 70s electric vibe – and there's also some very cool sound effects on the record too, which really ups the ante for the sort of groove that Montenegro was creating! Tunes are all pretty well chosen – making for a super-dope batch of numbers that really gets past the usual – and the set includes an excellent reading of "Me & My Arrow", from Nilson's The Point; 2 versions of Nino Rota tracks from The Godfather; a nice version of Faure's "Pavane", with lots of spirally keyboards; a medley of "Baby Elephant Walk" and "Moon River"; and even a few nice originals, like "Quadimodo" and "Stutterology". LP, Vinyl record album

A pivotal 60s album in the shift from folk-rock to Sunshine Pop – and a standout gem from the early years of A&M Records! We Five are a group with a really groovy feel – a warm blend of male harmonies and one female voice – all in a style that, a few years earlier, might have been pointed towards more folksy material – but which here really takes off in a soaring sound that's completely sublime! The group have a nicely straight laced look on the front – matched by some of the material they've chosen – some older standards that get "groovied up" by the album – almost the same sort of transformation that Chris Montez was doing to older songs with his A&M work, but in a much more harmonic style by these guys! The set includes the amazing hit single "You Were On My Mind", plus I Got Plenty O Nuttin", "Softly As I Leave You", "Love Me Not Tomorrow", "Somewhere Beyond The Sea", and "Cast Your Fate To The Wind". LP, Vinyl record album

A fab set of James Bond tunes – performed by Brit easy maestro Roland Shaw, in a style that's arguably groovier than the original soundtracks themselves! There's some nice instrumental touches on a few of these that push the mood of the set in a good way – and Shaw's also chosen a lot of less-familiar numbers that have a more dramatic feel to them, getting past the obvious cliches of other albums of this type. Titles include "Kingston Calypso", "Thunderball", "Death Of Goldfinger", "Miami", "Spectre Island", "Underneath The Mango Tree", "Tania Meets Klebb", and "Arrival Of The Bomb & Countdown". LP, Vinyl record album