... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A killer set of New York Latin from vocalist Papo Felix and bandleader Ray Rodriguez – recorded slightly after the Latin Soul generation, but done with plenty of dark little edges – thanks to production from Joe Bataan! There's a bit of salsa in the mix here, and a bit of descarga jazz too – all coming together in a tightly rhythmic mode that's almost better than most of the bigger name work coming from the scene at the time. Most tunes have a sharp, catchy sort of groove – definitely an heir to the Latin Soul sound – and titles include "Senor Fluta", "Felix The Cat", "Workout (parts 1 & 2)", "Para Puerto Rico Voy", "Bob & Bill In Manor E", and "Hechate Pa Ya". LP, Vinyl record album

Felix Cavaliere may be best known to some for his work in the Rascals – but years later, he stepped out as a solo act on his own – with a sound that nicely drew from all of his early work on Atlantic Records! The sound here is kind of a late 70s update of the blue-eyed mode that Felix had with his earlier group – given a bit more of an AOR spin in the production, through use of a top-shelf array of jazz fusion players in the backings. Despite the pianos on the cover, Cavaliere mostly plays Fender Rhodes and organ next to his vocals – on titles that include "Only A Lonely Heart Sees", "All Or Nothing", "People Got To Be Free", "Outside Your Window", "Love Is The First Day Of Spring", "You Turned Me Around", and "Good To Have Love Back". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A weird set of compressed 70s rock – and one of the few releases on the tiny Guiness label. Felix has an approach here that's almost like some of the best crossover British rock of the time – jangly and earthy at times, but with a nice studio approach to the production – in a way that spaces out the vocals nicely next to the guitars in a post-glam sort of way. Titles include "Try Not To Listen", "My Love & I", "Love Is All Around", "Dear", "Black", "Mother", and "Jackie's Back In Town". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Late 60s psyche pop on Atco from Bo Grumpus – a Boston group who only ever cut this one LP that we know of – and it's a groovy one! The sound has kind of tight pop combo groove with catchy melodies – fleshed out into trippier territory with some keys, trumpet, and overall bigger arrangements – some of which was done by Felix Pappalardi, who would go onto to bigger things with Mountain! Titles include "Sparrow Tune", "Think Twice", "Yesterday's Street", "The Breath O'Love", "A Knowing Young Touch", "Ragtimey Love", "Travelin In The Dark", "Brooklyn", "The Moon Will Rise" and "If I Came To You". LP, Vinyl record album

A searing standout from Mountain – a studio album, but one that also really captures some of the freewheeling energy that made the group such a great live act at the time – especially given that the studio sessions here are mixed with a bit of improvisation from a live concert too! The double-headed team of Leslie West and Felix Pappalardi are very firmly in charge – the latter with loads of heavy bass, the former with that fuzzy guitar that mixes so well with the heavy drums of the group and titles include "Flowers Of Evil", "King's Chorale", "One Last Cold Kiss", "Crossroader", and "Pride & Passion" – plus a long improvisation that blends together "Dream Sequence Guitar Solo/Roll Over Beethoven/Dreams Of Milk & Honey/Variations/Swan Theme" – and a live take on their classic "Mississippi Queen". LP, Vinyl record album

An interesting mix of 70s radio ready rock and harder edged numbers from Treasure – a group featuring vocals, keys and synth from one time Young Rascal Felix Cavaliere – and hard rock guitar guru Vinnie Cusano, later to go by Vinnie Vincent and join Kiss! The sound is catchy and tailor made for 70s stadium rock, but the group never hit that kinda pay dirt. Titles include "I Wanna Love You", "Turn Yourself Around", "My Lady Once Told Me", "When The Sun Shines", "Jubilation" and more, plus bonus single version of "I Wanna Love You". LP, Vinyl record album

Leslie West is a mountain of a man – and although his greatest fame may have been in the group Mountain, this initial solo set has all the power of that famous group – and maybe a leaner, meaner sound overall! West is clearly working in the power trio style that was emerging from the British rock scene of the time – using his raw vocals and heavy guitar next to the drums of ND Smart, and the bass and keyboards of the great Felix Pappalardi – who produced and put the whole thing together in the studio! Titles include the funky rock classic "Long Red", which has great organ and drums – plus "Southbound Train", "Blood Of The Sun", "Blind Man", "Baby I'm Down", "This Whee's On Fire", "Storyteller Man", and "Because You Are My Friend". LP, Vinyl record album

Jammin! For heavy guitars and high-stepping vocals, Mountain couldn't be beat – and this early album was one of the group's best! The set kicks off with their stone classic "Mississippi Queen", then rolls into other heavy numbers like "Theme From An Imaginary Western", "To My Friend", "Sittin On A Rainbow", "Boys In The Band", "Silver Paper", and "Never In My Life" – all served up with great guitars from Leslie West and heavy bass from Felix Pappalardi. LP, Vinyl record album

With Dino and Celso Saluzzi on bandoneon, percussion, and voice; Felix "Cuchara" Saluzzi on saxophones and clarinet, Armando Alonso on guitar, Guillermo Vadala on bass, Jose Maria Saluzzi on drums and percussion, and Arto Tuncboyaci on percussion. LP, Vinyl record album

Felix Slatkin conducts on both recordings – originally 10" Capitol sessions, put together here on a full LP! LP, Vinyl record album

An obscure salsa set from the start of the 70s, and a stone cooker too – thanks to top-shelf production from Joe Bataan – a great artist in his own right, and a surprising choice to helm this set! Yet the credit here really goes to leader Paul Ortiz – who plays piano and leads the group through some very fresh salsa changes – that new young spirit of pride and power that was bubbling on on Fania at the time, handled here with equal care, and arrangements from Jose Madera Jr, who plays timbales in the group! Papo Felix delivers lead vocals, and the group has a bold four-trumpet frontline – which really soars on titles that include "Guajiron", "Quien Quita", "Total", "Mi Amiga", "Son Los Que Son", "Despierta Puertoriqueno", and "Me Negra Va A Gozar". LP, Vinyl record album

A double-length set from The Rascals – possibly their most stretched-out exploration of ideas, at least during their initial run for Atlantic Records! The 2LP set features a fair bit of shorter, catchier tunes on the first record – many with some righteous soul overtones – but on the second record, the group really open up – hitting some longer jamming tunes on side three, and moving into a 15 minute instrumental on side four! Vocals are great from all three singers – Gene Cornish, Eddie Brigati, and Felix Cavaliere – and the rhythms are rock-solid too, often augmented with a bit of Atlantic-styled backings by Arif Mardin, to further enforce the soulfulness of the set. Titles include the hit "People Got To Be Free", plus "American The Beautiful", "Any Dance'll Do", "A Ray Of Hope", "Look Around", "Boom", "Heaven", "Cute", "Baby I'm Blue", and "Adrian's Birthday". LP, Vinyl record album

Solid jamming from Mountain – one of the tightest guitar-based groups of their day, and hard rockers that could serve up a nice dose of soul! Tunes have a great mix of tight rhythms and fierce guitars – a bit dated at times, but with some nice production overall by Felix Pappalardi. Titles include "Don't Look Around", "Taunta", "Nantucket Sleighride", "Tired Angels", "The Great Train Robbery", and "The Animal Trainer & The Toad". LP, Vinyl record album

The first full album from the great Fred Neil – recorded for Elektra Records in the years before his underground fame on Capitol – and with a sound that's maybe a bit more bluesy overall, but in a very cool way! Fred's songwriting strengths are very much at play here – as almost all songs are originals – but there's also a tighter focus that compresses most numbers to the 2/3 minute range – instead of making them more of the wispier workouts of later years. The group's quite an interesting one – with on guitar and dobro from Pete Childs, bass from Felix Pappalardi, and harmonica from John Sebastian – all at a young point that has them bringing plenty of folk blues inflections to their performances, but in a way that's completely free of any hoke or cliche. Titles include "Travelin Shoes", "Water Is Wide", "Gone Again", "Candy Man", "Yonder Comes The Blues", and "Little Bit Of Rain". LP, Vinyl record album

A really unusual set of 70s grooves from the African scene – tracks that almost seem to be out of time, as many of them have electric touches and driving rhythms that sometimes feel as if they are laying the groundwork for clubbier styles in years to come! Yet these also aren't synth-heavy tracks, as in the South African pop to come in the mid 80s – as they're filled with plenty of live instrumentation, soulful vocals, and basslines and drum parts that really keep things gritty! Many of the cuts have unusual production elements and spacey instrumental touches – almost as if you're listening to a P&P take on the styles of West Africa at the time – on titles that include "Jungle Magic" by Benis Cletin, "I Got To Make It" by Joe Kemfa, "Save Me" by Blo, "10 Years In Love" by Danny Offia & The Friks, "Boys & Girls" by Joe Moks, "BMS Bowl" by Goldfinger Doe & BMS, and "Girls For Sale" by Felix Labarty. LP, Vinyl record album

If the "figures" in the title here sounds a bit familiar, it's because Figures was a great return to form for the legendary Aksak Maboul – a record that showed that their unusual mix of sounds and styles was alive and well into the 21st Century – used here as a platform for new creation by a hosts of artists and producers invited to the project by the group! These tracks aren't remixes, and are definitely "redrawn" in the spirit of the title – fresh music that moves between a variety of modes, but which often still retains the leaner feel of the group in their current incarnation. Titles on this second volume include "Un Caid (Hello Skinny rmx)", "Retour Chez A (Felix Kubin rmx)", "Fin (Stubbleman rmx)", "Anatomy Of A Dramuscule (Matias Aguayo interpretation)", "L'Adieu A L'Histoire (Tolouse Low Trax rmx)", and "Dramuscule (Ohh Luuu rmx)". LP, Vinyl record album

A searing set from Bedlam – a group who only ever gave the world one full album at the time, a set that stands as a great bridge between generations and styles on the UK hard rock scene! The group's most famous member is drummer Cozy Powell – the ersatz leader of the lineup – but the whole combo hits on all burners, with great lead vocals from Frank Aiello, guitar from Dave Ball, and bass from Dennis Ball – plus keyboards on the set from both Max Middleton and Felix Pappalardi – the latter of whom produced. Powell's drums are fantastic throughout – really driving the whole thing along – and Aiello comes across like some lost lead act from the glory days of the arena scene. The set features one killer break track called "Seven Long Years" – a stone jammer that begins with some great drums that break nicely into guitars – and other titles include "Believe In You", "Hot Lips", "Sweet Sister Mary", "Putting On The Flesh", "Set Me Free", and "The Beast". LP, Vinyl record album

A percussion heavy Latin set from the start of the 80s – one that has a very classic Cuban descarga approach to the instrumentation, yet which also sparkles with some more contemporary arrangements as well! Chico Alvarez handles most of the vocals, and plenty of percussion too – but there's also some great players in the mix on other instruments too – including Felix Vega and Chocolate Armanteros on trumpets, Jose Rodriguez on trombone, and Xavier Lynch on some mighty nice soprano sax and baritone – really giving the whole record a nicely jazzy vibe! Yet the percussion persists too, and with a bit of tres from Victor Trias, there's plenty of very rootsy elements to the record too – on titles that include "Chino's Yambu", "Rumba En El Solar", "Con El Ritmo Del Tambo", "El Eden De Los Roncos", "Pineiro", "Esa Brujeira", and "Yo Tengo A Chango". LP, Vinyl record album