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Features backing from Marc Ribot, James Carter, Cyrus Chestnut, Regina Carter, and others. CD

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A broad leap forward for Detroit, from a few years back, with Carl Craig establishing himself as a visionary not only amongst the first wave of techno artists, but for the new beat generation too – alongside like minded producers like Kirk Degiorio and Larry Heard. Electronic music imbued with a sense of human warmth, and one of the few techno full lengths we enjoy listening to front to back. 15 tracks in all, with 4 more than the LP, some quite short, others song length, including "Goodbye World", "Alien Talk", "Dreamland", "Butterfly", "Suspiria"and "Frustration". CD

Sublime vocals from one of our favorite male vocalists of the 60s – the deep voiced Jack Jones, one of the best at putting over a ballad or a love song at the time! Jack's got a style that's smooth and sophisticated – but never soppy or slick – kind of a mature, grown-up poise that really transforms any of the material he sings, as you'll hear on this well-selected batch of work from Jones' key years at Kapp Records. Jones' work from the time was a strong influence on the work of Scott Walker – and there's a really direct line between these tunes and some of the material that Walker did during his Philips years. (Ever wonder about Walker's influences? Try going past the obvious Jacques Brel to look at Icemen like Jerry Butler and Jack Jones! This 2CD collection is a wonderful introduction to some of Jack Jones' greatest recordings – and despite the "love collection" title, it's far better than you'd think! 34 tracks in all – with titles that include "What The World Needs Now Is Love", "True Love", "And I Love Her", "Charade", "If You Go Away", "Hit The Road To Dreamland", "Rosalie", "Somewhere Along The Way", "You're Sensational", "You're My Girl", "Dear Heart", "Close Your Eyes", "Summertime Promises", "Fly Me To The Moon", and "Love With The Proper Stranger". CD

Three dub classics, two of them impossible to get for years, except for the occasional "unofficial" LP repressing. On the first LP of the set, Scratch teams up with the great Tommy McCook for one of his hardest to find gems, recorded in the late 70s, when his wigged out follies at the Black Ark had reached their peak, and though there's a bit of debate over whether these tracks were actually recorded at the Black Ark, this was originally one of the first LPs issued after the studio burned to the ground. In any case, you can't argue with the tracks on this one: spare instrumentals with jaunty guitar, loping syncopated drums and bouncing bass, a baker's dozen tracks, including "Cloak & Dagger", "Musical Transplant", "Liquid Serenade", "Iron Claw", "Rude Walking", "Caveman Skank" and "Pee-Wee Special". Blackboard Jungle Dub, the second album of the triptych, is widely cited as the first full length dub LP, though we'd rather not get too academic about it. Besides, this is one mighty set of Perryisms, wrought in the pre-Black Ark era, with a dozen of the Upsetter's finest rhythms rendered in dub versions here, and with King Tubby reportedly responsible for the wonderful reverb and mixing console action taking these tracks to the next level. An essential dub masterpiece, with 14 tracks on this version of the LP, including "Black Panta", "Khasha Macka", "African Skank", "Dreamland Skank", "Jungle Jim", "Dub Organizer", "Apeman Skank" and "Jungle Fever". The third album included is another tough one to get, originally issued in a tiny, tiny batch, though it's been bootlegged more than a few times over the years. 10 tracks in all, a tasty stew with that Black Ark groove running through it pretty heavily, with some nice guitar and a really spare approach to the often murky Perry tone poetry. Includes "Dub Revelations", "Womans Dub", "Kojak", "Doctor On The Go", "Bush Weed", "Dreadlock Talking", "Own Man", "Dub The Rhythm", "Black Hand" and "Rain Drops". CD

A great quintet date – drummer Tony Williams leads a group with Wallace Roney on trumpet, Billy Pierce on tenor and soprano, Mulgrew Miller on piano, and Charnett Moffet on bass. Titles include "Angel Street", "Touch Me", "Red Mask", "Dreamland", and "Obsession". CD