Recorded live in Rotterdam 1991. CD

A special holiday package – one that brings together Charles Brown's classic Christmas Recordings for King Records – plus a few later tracks by organist Bill Doggett! Brown was one of the first guys to ever record an important R&B Christmas tune in the postwar years – and here, he's featured in a full album of music of the same nature – which really furthers his legacy in the genre! Brown's approach is groundbreaking – as he has both the depth of a blues singer and the class of a more polished artist – balanced beautifully in a way that's light years away from earlier blues Christmas tunes, but a lot richer than some of the pop patter of the years. The King production and presentation help tremendously, too – and titles include "Please Come Home For Christmas", "Christmas With No One To Love", "Christmas Blues", "It's Christmas All Year Round", "Merry Christmas Baby", "Christmas Questions", and "Wrap Yourself In A Christmas Package". Added to these tracks are some sweet Hammond Holiday instrumentals from Bill Doggett – titles that include "I'll Be Home For Christmas", "Blue Christmas", "The Christmas Song", and "Winger Wonderland". CD

The second step into the world of Cousin Zaka from French producer Blundetto, and one that's maybe even more powerful than the first – really continuing the journey of warmer, more organic music that Blundetto's been giving us in recent years – all at a level that's a lot richer than you might guess from the spare cover image on the set! The album's a bit of a nod to the world of sound library music, and some tracks here have the stark rhythms of funky 70s library groove – but overall, the record's got a lot more depth, and even though the tracks are instrumental, they may have a lot more going on than some of Blundetto's earlier work for singers. Titles include "West Highland", "Les Dumands", "La Puce", "Count Duke", "Nanana", "Les Fleurs De Carole", and "Melloguinche". LP, Vinyl record album

An overlooked gem from Finnish hard rock powerhouse Kalavala – renamed here as an Orchestra, but still working with the lean, sharp sound of their previous two albums! There's a nice evolution here from the earlier sound of the Scandia scene – maybe a bit of northern inspiration thrown into the music, which seems to elevate things to a new level – as does the subtle but sophisticated production! Titles include "Panamanian Red", "Playground", "Highland Temple", "Brown'll Suit You", "Forever Train", "Silver Fish", and "Lighthouse". CD

An overlooked gem from Finnish hard rock powerhouse Kalavala – renamed here as an Orchestra, but still working with the lean, sharp sound of their previous two albums! There's a nice evolution here from the earlier sound of the Scandia scene – maybe a bit of northern inspiration thrown into the music, which seems to elevate things to a new level – as does the subtle but sophisticated production! Titles include "Panamanian Red", "Playground", "Highland Temple", "Brown'll Suit You", "Forever Train", "Silver Fish", and "Lighthouse". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

24 groovy Northern soul tracks, culled from obscure west coast labels like Renfro, Mira, Highland, Discovery, Dee Gee, Wind Hit, and Audio Arts! As with any compilation on the Goldmine label, this one's got a tasty batch of rare tracks that you'll be hard pressed to find on the original 45s – and as usual, the selection is great. Titles include "Another Sundown In Watts" by The Exits, "On Main Street" by The Magnificents, "Life Is Love" by Sam Cox, "Girl I Love You" by West Coast Distributors, "Sad Sad Memories (inst)" by Tempos Band, "What Good Am I" by The Phonetics, and "Just Go For Me" by The Groovers. CD

Early greatness from Lorez Alexandria – and proof that she was a singer who could handle a tune like nobody else! At one level, the set appears to be a simple batch of standards, given a slight jazz twist – but as usual for the great one, Lorez manages to inflect each and every note with her own approach – stretching things, turning them, and pushing the whole album into a space that's far and away quite different than the usual staid vocal set it might appear to be. There's a heck of a lot of soul here – not just on the vocals, but also in the swinging jazzy backdrops – which are, unfortunately, uncredited. Titles include "Don't Blame Me", "You're My Thrill", "Love Is Just Around The Corner", "Just You Just Me", "Thrill Is Gone", and "All The Things You Are". LP, Vinyl record album

Music from Tone Depth, Chilled Eskimos, Led Zeppelin, Timo Maas LSG, Planet Perfecto, Brancaccio & Aisher, Dead Can Dance, Highland, Max Graham, and more. CD

... CD

A critical comeback album for Dylan – who never really went away, he was just floundering a bit commercially and critically for a number of years – one that set him up to ride high again for years to come! This is his second album working with producer Daniel Lanois, who helmed the pretty excellent Oh Mercy a few years earlier. Lanois's trademark haze and mood hover over Dylan and his band's wonderful take on timeless folk-blues-roots rock and some of best, most forthright lyricism since Blood On The Tracks. Wrestling with mortality, Dylan delivers a late career classic. Includes "Love Sick", "Dirt Road Blues", "Standing In The Doorway", "Million Miles", "Trying To Get To Heaven", "Til I Fell In Love With You", "Not Dark Yet", "Cold Irons Bound", "Can't Wait", "Make You Feel My Live" and the seemingly improvised, old school Dylan-styled (if more meandering) "Highlands". CD