The towering Marshall amps on the cover will give you a good idea of what's going on here – as this heavy 70s combo really turn things up to 11 with their searing power trio style! The group recall earlier efforts from that moment when three-member rock groups really set fire to the new generation of hard rock – drawing plenty of inspiration from lean blues of vintage years, but amping things up with all the fuzz of the psychedelic years, while also proving that guitar, bass, and drums were more than enough to resonate with a hell of a lot of power! Yet the album's also got a different vibe than work from bigger early 70s acts – cut almost in obscurity, with no attempts at commerciality, which really keeps things hard and heavy – on tracks that include "My Mind", "Remember", "Down The Road I Go", "No Rest For The Wicked", "The Light", and "It's All Above Us". LP, Vinyl record album

Ben Webster's tone is wonderful here – that mature, mellow sound that he brought to some of his standout live dates – and which is captured here in the kind of relaxed, soloist-focused setting that always makes 60s recordings from the Cafe Montmartre so great! The group is a familiar one for the house – Kenny Drew on piano, Nils Henning Orsted Pedersen on bass, and Alex Riel on drums – but it's clear that Ben's the main star, and steps out on the kind of tenor solos really set him apart from the rest – on a record that's also one of his best from the decade! Titles include "I Can't Get Started", "Londonderry Air", "My Romance", and "Blues For Herluf". LP, Vinyl record album

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Rare late work from Thelonious Monk – recorded in London, with Al McKibbon on bass and Art Blakey on drums – mostly trio material, but with some piano solos too! LP, Vinyl record album

Monk plays solo piano and is joined on some of the tracks by Art Blakey on drums and Al McKibbon on bass. The songs are all originals except for "Nice Work If You Can Get It" and they include "Blue Sphere", "Hackensack", "Criss Cross", "Something In Blue", "Evidence", "Jackie-ing", and "Nutty". The album was recorded in London and produced by Alan Bates. LP, Vinyl record album

A rich testament to the strength of the Parisian traditional jazz scene in the early 70s – as key players Coleman and Lafitte work here with a quintet live at the Montreux jazz fest in 1973. Lafitte's tenor is always a treasure, warm and rich, but moody and edgey at the same time – like the best late work of Coleman Hawkins. The longish tracks on the set give him plenty of space to solo – and titles include "Sur Les Quais Du Vieux Paris", "L and L Blues", "Tour De Force", and "Montreux Jump". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the first great European statements from tenorist Dexter Gordon – a 1967 live recording that really lets Dexter stretch out, and show an even deeper side of his talents than on his 60s albums for Blue Note! The rhythm section here is rock solid – Kenny Drew on piano, Neils Henning Orsted Pedersen on bass, and Albert Tootie Heath on drums – a unit that still retains the sharpness of the Blue Note dates, but also has the energy to "go long" as Gordon pushes a few of the numbers on the set well past the ten minute mark. Gordon's solos are wonderfully imaginative and expressive – and titles include "Devilette", "For All We Know", "Doxy", and "Sonnymoon For Two". LP, Vinyl record album

With Marc Hemmeler on piano, Jack Sewing on bass, and Daniel Humair on drums. LP, Vinyl record album

Overlooked genius from Hampton Hawes – one of a number of excellent albums made during a late 60s stint on the European scene – and a set that really has Hamp pushing forward from his previous albums in the US! The tracks are wonderfully fluid – set fire with that Hawes style that was already magical at the start, but which really seemed to find a new sort of energy overseas – possibly here because of the excellent rhythms from Jimmy Woode on bass and Art Taylor on drums – also two players who were really coming into their own at the time. Hampton's got this great blend of lyricism and soulful swing – one that feels a bit like some of the MPS projects that Woode was recording at the time with other players, and which makes the album a real treasure in Hawes' catalog. Every cut save one is an original – and titles include "Sonora", "Blues Enough", "Black Forest", "Spanish Steps", and "Dangerous". LP, Vinyl record album

Solo piano – with tracks that include "When Your Lover Has Gone", "I Never Knew", "Say It Isn't So", and "Lonesome Road". LP, Vinyl record album

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An album that has European jazz great Stephane Grapelli revising the format of his legendary Hot Club Of France with guitarist Django Reinhardt – but in a very different mode, given that this group features electric guitar from Barney Kessel! Kessel is great, and his warm, round tones do very little to change things up from his usual groove – but the setting is definitely a fresh one for Barney, given that the combo features rhythm guitar from Nini Rosso, and sweetly-crafted violin lines from Grappelli! The rest of the group features Michel Gaudry on bass and Jean-Louis Viale on drums. LP, Vinyl record album

One of those rare European sessions by bassist Oscar Pettiford that far outshines most of his American work from the 50s! The set's a very hip one – cut with a quartet that includes German modernists Hans Koller on tenor and Atilla Zoller on guitar, plus American Jimmy Pratt on drums. Pettiford plays a bit of Cello on the set, and the string treatment that he delivers, next to Zoller's unique style of guitar, really makes the album a great one. Added to all of this is Koller's fantastic tone on tenor – an icy cool one that slices through the guitar and bass with dexterity. Titles include "Cohn's Limit", "Oscar's Blues", "Blues In The Closet", and "The Gentle Art Of Love". LP, Vinyl record album

A heavy, heavy monster from the New Jersey scene at the start of the 70s – the kind of hard rock gem that was years ahead of its time – and which shows that the American underground had more than enough to beat the bigger Brit groups of the time! Sainte Anthony's Fyre have a name that's a bit flowery, but their music is lean, mean, and packs one hell of a punch – blistering drums and guitar lines that are filled with frenzy – never as indulgent or cocky as later metal, but a lot sharper and more driven than previous psych as well! The album definitely puts the "hard" in "hard rock" – and is a no-nonsense gem all the way through. Titles include "Get Off", "Love Over You", "Lone Soul Road", "Chance Of Fate", and "Wet Back". LP, Vinyl record album

Great early tenor from Buddy Tate – with piano on some tracks by Bill Doggett! LP, Vinyl record album

Solo tribute to Fats Waller. LP, Vinyl record album

Early recordings by Dollar Brand – recorded in London in 1965, playing solo on a batch of tunes dedicated to two big influences – Duke Ellington and Randy Weston – and also featuring a number of his own compositions. Titles include "Pye R Squared", "Knights Night", "Mood Indigo", "On The Banks Of Allen Waters", "Little Niles", and "Resolution". LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible album of electronic music – and one that definitely lives up to its title, as every selection is played live – quite a unique thing as the set was recorded at a time when programming was really beginning to take hold! In a way, Jeff Carney is evoking that first great moment when more expensive electronics were able to get in the hands of more homegrown musicians – using technology that was previously the stuff of academic labs, but in ways that were much more down to earth! You can definitely feel that vibe here – as Carney works magic at a level that has us imagining him just sitting alone in the echoey space of recording – revelling in each new fingertouch on the keyboards – as he spins out the long tracks "Questions Unanswered", "Arp 2600 Improvisations", and "Pensive Mood". LP, Vinyl record album

A very heady batch of tracks from a young South African group – one who are working in acid-drenched territory years before the bigger fusions of the Zamrock generation – with a raw sound and very trippy vibe, and music that's overflowing in fuzzy guitar work! The music here was never issued at the time – but it feels like some of the freakiest work coming out of underground Texas and Michigan scenes in the late 60s – raw energy that grabs you right from the very first note, and a strong use of distortion that really blows the whole record way into the red, all the way through! There's vocals on the set, but most of the tracks have the guitars so far up in the lead that they dominate strongly – even next to the equally powerful bass and drums. The tracks here are all from demos, recorded with a very gritty edge – and titles include "Free To Blow With The Wind", "Early Morning Haze", "Metal Sludge", and "Sunshine Comes My Way" – all originally unnamed on the tapes, but titled after some barely-perceptible lyrics on the songs. LP, Vinyl record album

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A record that's virtually impossible to describe in words – partly because it's got a trans-historical, trans-spatial sort of vibe – effortlessly filtering together the best roots of older French pop music, and combining them with a range of underground pop elements that reach out to the farther reaches of the globe! Jean Emmanuel Deluxe sings lead – often with a raspy style that's partly sung, partly spoken – but never in a Serge Gainsbourg mode. Instead, he gets lots of spacey support on keyboards, echoey drums, and other instrumentation that feels like reworked 60s modes – ala Stereolab, High Llamas, or Pearlfishers. Yet the record is nothing like any of those references at all – even though Sean O'Hagan provides some guest work – as does Bertrand Burgalat, Misawa Masanori, and drummer Werner "Zappi" Diermaier of Faust. Titles include "Lushy Life", "The Girl Who Was Talking In Reverse", "Claire", "La Gourveneur De California", "Hollywood Parties", and "Comme Une Video Star". LP, Vinyl record album

There's nothing folk about the Folklords – and the group are overall maybe more in the best mode of the Sunshine Pop generation, as you'd guess from their dreamy image on the cover! The group features a trio of singers – two guys, one gal – trading leads and harmonies, and coming off with these really easygoing, sparkling sort of glow – supported with a bit of work on guitar, bass, drums, and autoharp – the last of which adds a cool an unique vibe to the record! Titles include "Jennifer Lee", "Don't Hide Your Love From Me", "Child", "Windows", "Pardon Me Judas", "Thank You For Your Kindness", "We'll Love Like Before", "Suzanne Marie", "Don't Look Back", and "The Slave" – plus bonus tracks "Unspoken Love" and "Forty Second River". LP, Vinyl record album

The only album ever recorded by this obscure Canadian group – and a pretty darn great mix of hard rock influences and hippy, dippier touches! The group use Hammond organ as much as guitar on most of the tracks – creating a sound that's swirling, building, and almost spiritual at times – thanks to some higher ideals espoused in the lyrics! Other instrumentation includes heavy bass and drums – the usual, but used in ways that reach some loftier new heights, especially on the more extended numbers – which have jazzy, proggy elements. Titles include the jamming "Dil Kusha", plus "Of Lambs & Wolves", "Eyes Of Nature", "Seasons Of Change", and "Sun Shines In The Winter". LP, Vinyl record album

Recorded in London at the end of the 60s – with Ronnie Gleaves on vibes and Dave Shepherd on clarinet! LP, Vinyl record album

One of the three great collaborations between David Bowie and Brian Eno – and possibly the ultimate statement from his years in Berlin! The album's got some tunes that still show some of the guitar power of the early 70s Bowie – but it's also got some of the beautiful spacier moments brought forward on Low – and which are every bit the Brian Eno of Another Green World. The balance is beautiful – stark and dark on one half, then airy and spacious on the next – handled without any sense of gimmickry, and a bold mainstream experiment that still resonates strongly today. Titles include "Beauty & The Beast", "Joe The Lion", "Heroes", "Sons Of The Silent Age", "Blackout", "V-2 Schneider", "Sense Of Doubt", "Moss Garden", "Neukoln", and "The Secret Life Of Arabia". LP, Vinyl record album

An album as lovely as its title, and John Fahey's 8th record – mostly solo guitar, but with guest drums and bass on 2 cuts – "March For Martin Luther King" and "Dance of The Inhabitants Of The Invisible City Of Bladensburg". The sound is extremely magical – introspective, yet far-seeing – with that fragile sense of being in the world that's made Fahey's work endure far longer than that of most of his contemporaries. Other titles include "Irish Setter", "Commemorative Transfiguration & Communion At Magruder Park", and "Lion". LP, Vinyl record album

A huge collection of material that Dexter recorded for Savoy in the early bop years – mostly issued as 78 rpm singles, but also including a number of tracks from the album Dexter Rides Again. The set brings together a wealth of alternate takes of the material, including a number of unissued ones – as well as great notes on the material, and a higher level of sound quality than the original vinyl. Titles include "The Lion Roars", "After Hours Bop", "Dexter Digs In", "Settin The Pace", "Blow Mr Dexter", "Long Tall Dexter", and "Dexter Rides Again". LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful early 70s psych folk set from the angelic vocal and songwriting duo of Pat Gefell and Jo D Andrews – their Refuge album for Ovation in 1973 – highlighted by their gorgeous vocals, but committed with lovely, lightly soaring arrangements! Save for a solid cover of the Elton John/Bernie Taupin penned "Sixty Years On", Gefell and Andrews wrote the songs here, and it's remarkably strong stuff! The duo vocals and harmonies are especially sweet. The Chicago-based production wisely leaves ample space in the arrangements for them to sort of loosely, emotively embellish with their voices – with string arrangements by co-producer George Andrews and an impressive roster of session players including bassist Phil Upchurch, drummer Don Simmons and percussionist Bobby Christian. Includes "Jenny", "Voice In The Wind", "To A Flame", "Tomorrow Is A Long Time", "Refuge", "Song For Craig", "A Light Is Shining", "Feel The Spirit" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderfully mellow record by John Lewis – recorded with some great European jazzmen! Lewis leads the group on piano – and he's joined by Bobby Jaspar on flute and tenor, Giovanni Tomasso on bass, and Rene Thomas on guitar. The tracks are long, and a number of them also feature a string quartet behind the jazz group. Titles include "Monday In Milan", "Danielle In The Lion's Den", "In A Crowd", and "Winter Tale". LP, Vinyl record album

The first-ever full length global collection of material by one of the funkiest cats working the Ethiopian scene in the early 70s – an artist who works here in a mode that's even more hard-hitting and funk based than contemporaries like Mulatu or Mahmoud Ahmed! The band on most tracks is the Black Lion Band, who've clearly learned the best modes of the James Brown Band of the late 60s – with riffing guitars and horn blasts that are right on the rhythms – moving, grooving, doing it to the max – while Ayalew Mesfin sings in these wonderfully-inflected vocals that are pure Ethio soul all the way through, and also provides some great lines on organs and keyboards! The set brings together cuts from a host of rare funky 45s – most lost to the sands of time after Ayalew had to go underground after the Ethiopian governmental change in 1974. Titles include "Hasabe", "Wubeet", "Yewefe Ber Abeba", "Sak Sak Beyelegni", "Gubeleye", "Endet Liyesh", "Tezetash Rekik", and "Ewedish Neber". LP, Vinyl record album

Van Morrison at the height of his solo powers – working here in an extended live set that opens up with all the genius for vocal expression and inflection he developed during his initial solo years at Warner Brothers! The setting is perfect to show the growing confidence Morrison has in his talents – an unbridled sense of soul that comes on even more strongly on some of these versions than on earlier takes of the tunes in the studio – especially as they mix with a few great covers here that further illustrate the wide range of inspirations that Van brings into his music. Backing is by a tight, soulful combo – and tracks include "Domino", "Wild Children", "I Believe To My Soul", "I Just Want To Make Love To You", "These Dreams Of You", "Into The Mystic", "Warm Love", "Saint Dominic's Preview", "Bring It On Home To Me", "Listen To The Lion", "Gloria", "Cyprus Avenue", "Caravan", and "Take Your Hand Out Of My Pocket". LP, Vinyl record album

The first record in years from these Afro Funk giants – but don't hold it against them, as the whole thing's pretty darn wonderful! There's a rich, vibrant sound here that really lives up to the group's legacy from years back – and production is right on the money to keep things right – recorded in Paris with a relatively stripped-down quality – just right for bringing all the tight rhythms of the set right to the foreground, without any overdone mass market cliches to hold things back! Even the appearances of a few famous guest stars can't get in the way of the energy of the Orchestre – and this new album should be more than proof that the originators are still alive and well. Titles include "Pardon", "Von Vo Nono", "Oce", "Koumi Dede", "Tegbe", "Lion Is Burning", "Ne Te Fache Pas", and "Gbeti Madjro". LP, Vinyl record album

One of those great "never was" Blue Note sessions – recorded in the 60s, but never issued until years later – even though the label had assigned it a cover, title, and catalog number! The album was the last session by baritone sax player Leo Parker – a bop and R&B legend who sadly passed along at the young age of 36, but left a really rich legacy of music. Parker has a way with the baritone that's almost as lean as a tenorist – blowing the horn with sharp, well-placed notes that really make this session cook – somewhere in the R&B-influenced territory of Don Wilkerson's work on Blue Note. Other players include the great Dave Burns on trumpet – always a welcome presence on any date – plus Bill Swindell on tenor sax, Johnny Acea on piano, Al Lucas or Stan Conover on bass, and Wilbert Hogan or Purnell Rice on drums. Tracks include "The Lion's Roar", "Rollin With Leo", "Jumpin Leo", "Talkin The Blues", "Mad Lad Returns", and Illinois Jacquet's "Music Hall Beat". LP, Vinyl record album

One of those great "never was" Blue Note sessions – recorded in the 60s, but never issued until years later – even though the label had assigned it a cover, title, and catalog number! The album was the last session by baritone sax player Leo Parker – a bop and R&B legend who sadly passed along at the young age of 36, but left a really rich legacy of music. Parker has a way with the baritone that's almost as lean as a tenorist – blowing the horn with sharp, well-placed notes that really make this session cook – somewhere in the R&B-influenced territory of Don Wilkerson's work on Blue Note. Other players include the great Dave Burns on trumpet – always a welcome presence on any date – plus Bill Swindell on tenor sax, Johnny Acea on piano, Al Lucas or Stan Conover on bass, and Wilbert Hogan or Purnell Rice on drums. Tracks include "The Lion's Roar", "Rollin With Leo", "Jumpin Leo", "Talkin The Blues", "Mad Lad Returns", and Illinois Jacquet's "Music Hall Beat". LP, Vinyl record album

The Super Ape returns, but in a way that's very different than the previous album with the monkey's name in the title – as this set's got a much more raw, stripped-down vibe – mostly instrumental, and from the farther reaches of the imagination of Lee Scratch Perry! Maybe think of this one as bonus tracks that could be added to the original Super Ape album – but also that, given Perry's genius in the studio, the work here is more main album material for most of his contemporaries! Titles include "Return Of The Super Ape", "Bird In Hand", "Psyche & Trim", "Huzza A Haha", "The Lion", and "High Rankin Sammy". LP, Vinyl record album

Brilliant early work from Lee Perry & The Upsetters – and an album that already shows that Perry's got a fantastic production style firmly in place! The rhythms are great – the kind of laidback, bad-stepping grooves you'd expect from The Upsetters – but there's also a special finish to the album, as Lee works the studio knobs with some subtle tricks to make the tunes explode with strange sonic elements – never in a way that gets in the way of the vocals, when they're important – but always enough to augment the record in really thrilling ways. Titles include "Kentucky Shank", "In The Iaah", "Jungle Lion", "Hail Stones", "Ironside", "Soul Man", and "Cold Weather" by The Upsetters – plus "Stick Together" and "Double Six" by U Roy, "We Are Neighbours" and "Just Enough" by David Isaacs, and "High Fashion" by I Roy. LP, Vinyl record album

The King Kong of dub albums, a real standard-setting record that put both the movement and Lee Perry forever on the musical map! The whole thing is classic Lee Perry and an essential dub album – one that mixes Scratch's dense, multi-layered Black Ark rhythms in all their raw glory, with toasts and vocal snippets darting in and out of the dubs – courtesy of a lineup that includes Prince Jazzbo, the Heptones, Dillinger and Scratch himself! With 10 essential tracks from the original release: "Zion's Blood", "Croaking Lizard", "Dread Lion", "Patience", "Dub Along", "Black Vest", "Underground", "Curly Dub" "Three In One" and "Super Ape". LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderful mid 80s effort from the Don Pullen Quintet – a group that features young lion Donald Harrison on alto sax – recording in a setting that's nicely fresh, compared to some of his other work! Other players include the under-recorded trumpeter Olu Dara, and a wonderful elastic rhythm section of Fred Hopkins on bass and Bobby Battle on drums – all working with Pullen's piano in a groove that's angular at times, but never loses its sense of swing – that wonderful balance that always made Pullen a real standout amongst the jazz communities in which he worked. Titles include "The Sixth Sense", "In The Beginning", "Tales From The Bright Side", "Gratitude", and "All Is Well". LP, Vinyl record album

Heaven might be a blast, but The Wilson McKinley are having a plenty good time on earth, too – really honing their craft for this obscure album of spirit-filled rock from the Seattle scene! The album's got the same gentle message of faith as the group's previous records, but also has the group picking up a bit more bite on their guitars, too – solos that are maybe a bit more prominent in the mix, and played with surprising intensity for a combo who also dedicated some of their time to street level ministry in the city. Vocals often have a nice sense of harmony – almost Grateful Dead-like at times – and titles include "Never Cry No More", "A Warm Summer Day", "Standin At The Crossroads", "I'm Only Smilin", and "Words To Tell You". LP, Vinyl record album

An obscure bit of Christian rock from the Seattle scene at the start of the 70s – but a record that's got a lot more to offer than just that unusual pedigree! Don't think "Jesus rock", think instead of some of the more laidback, open-minded singer/songwriter material of the Bay Area scene – especially Marin County, with its elements of rootsy instrumentation and warmly collaborative spirit in the musicianship – a perfect fit for the gently spiritual messages of Wilson McKinley, which are mostly aimed at living a good life with a clear conscience. Production is lean, but in a great way – and the strength of the music's spirit comes through wonderfully on cuts that include "Crown Of Glory", "All My Life", "Tree Of Life", "One In The Spirit", and "It's Up To You". LP, Vinyl record album

There's no music per se on this disc, just grunts, groans, howls and other sounds from the wild. Twelve different animals are featured, from the fierce, man-eating leopard, to the playful vervet monkey, the timid hyrax, the mighty rhinocerous, the peaceful and beautiful zebra, the strange wildebeest, the regal lion, the cackling hyena, the vicious wild dog, the crafty silver-backed jackal, the enormous elephant and the bovine hippopotamus. LP, Vinyl record album

An amazing collection – and one that really helped completely revise our understanding of Caribbean music! The collection features a fair bit of artists with roots in the West Indies, but who made a huge impact on London's postwar immigrant population – the new rise of non-native residents who were swelling the ranks of the city in the years after the way – bringing with them new cultures, new sounds, and new traditions – with all the requisite ideas and politics that might imply! The work here often has a subtle social agenda – working through themes important to these new Londoners, yet still echoing modes of the homeland as well – often with great musical backings that's heavy on percussion, jazzy instrumentation, and very upbeat rhythms. Titles include "London Is The Place For Me" by Lord Kitchener, "I Was There" by Young Tiger, "Some Girl Something" by The Lion, "No Carnival In Britain" by Mighty Terror, "Jamaica Hurricane" by Lord Beginner, "Birth Of Ghana" by Lord Kitchener, "Victory Test Match" by Lord Beginner, "Spanish Calypso" by The Lion, "Bulldog Don't Bite Me" by Timothy, "My Landlady" by Lord Kitchener, "If You're Not White You're Black" by Lord Kitchener, and "Aguiti" by Lord Invader. LP, Vinyl record album

With Benny Carter, Bud Freeman, and Willie The Lion Smith! LP, Vinyl record album

Blue-eyed funky soul from Miles Mosley – an artist who's working here with the West Coast Get Down group that features Cameron Graves on piano and Kamasai Washington on tenor sax! The vocals are definitely in the lead, though – as Miles draws on classic soul and jazz that really push his vocal range – on material that's nicely open and expressive, maybe more so than other singers of this nature. There's some larger arrangements at times – but most of the energy seems to come from the core combo, of which Miles is definitely in the lead – on tracks that include "LA Won't Bring You Down", "Heartbreaking Efforts Of Others", "Your Only Cover", "More Than This", "Reap A Soul", and "Young Lion". LP, Vinyl record album

A mighty tribute to the genius of one of the greatest producers of all time – a figure who helped not only shape the sound of Jamaican music from the late 60s onwards, but also influence a fair bit of the rest of the world as well! The set's a well-chosen collection of material from a range of different segments of Perry's career – impossible to sum up perfectly in a short space, but very well-conveyed here! Titles include "Tighten Up" by The Inspiration, "Return Of Django" by The Upsetters, "Words Of My Mouth" by The Gatherers, "Beat Down Babylon" by Junior Byles, "Do It Baby (7" mix)" by Susan Cadogan, "Three Blind Mice" by Max Romeo, "Bushweek Corntrash" by Bunny & Ricky, "Sufferer's Time" by The Heptones, and "Natty Pass Through Rome" by Prince Jazzbo – plus Perry tracks that include "Roast Fish & Corn Bread (Jamaican mix)", "Bucky Skank", "Stay Dread", "People Funny Boy", and "Jungle Lion (7" mix)". LP, Vinyl record album

One of greatest of all British punk era records – released in '77 and one that transcends mid-to-late 70s punk cultural baggage better than just about any other – a real benchmark! Wire kept it short and sweet on Pink Flag – with 21 tracks in about 35 minutes – and it's as artful as it is succinct. They'd prove to be as creatively ambitious as any of their peers and the brevity Pink Flag would soon make way for experimental flourishes that are ultimately just as important and influential, but this still might be their best. Includes "Reuters", "Field Day For The Sundays", "Three Girl Rumba", "Ex Lion Tamer", "The Commercial", "Strange", "Different To Me", "12 X U", "Start To Move", "Lowdown", "Surgeon's Girl", "Pink Flag" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

A fascinating look at musical modes in London during the big years of postwar immigration – a time when former residents of the crumbling British Empire were flooding to London for jobs and a better way of life – often bringing along a huge amount of cultural experience in the process! This set follows wonderfully in the spirit of previous volumes of the series – bringing together a range of different sonic styles that were originally recorded in London as 78rpm singles – where a new wave of Caribbean and West African immigrants were fusing older styles with a newly modern sensibility, and often a fair bit of jazz as well! The set list is wonderful – a great array of well-chosen material – and titles include "Wa Sise" by Willie Payne & The Starlite Tempos, "The Emperor Of Africa" by The Mighty Terror, "Royal Wedding" by The Lion, "Modern Telephone" by Dai Dai Simba, "Sons & Daughters Of Africa" by Lord Beginner, "Caroline" by Trinidad Steel Band, "Ema Foju Ana Woku" by West African Rhythm Brothers, "Kana Kana" by Billy Sholanke, "Boul Ve Se" by Calypso Rhythm Kings, and "My Handy Man" by Marie Bryant. LP, Vinyl record album