Reedman Nat Birchall digs deep for this masterful set – creating timeless music that easily stands next to the work of some of his key ancestors in jazz – especially musicians of the generation of John Coltrane! The set is one that has Birchall layering his tenor, soprano, and baritone solos with other self-created sounds – on piano, organ, balaphon, shruti box, bass, and other percussion – all with this slow-building, extremely spiritual quality that never lets up! The music feels much more like the work of a cohesive jazz combo than it does a solo performance by one artist – and that's another testament to the ever-growing powers of Nat, one of our favorite forces in jazz for more than the past decade! Titles include "The Drum Thing", "Sun In Libra", "Song Of The Ancestors, "Ogunde Uarerre", "Africa", and "One For The Son". LP, Vinyl record album

A great document of the way that Jane Birkin really flourished in the second half of her musical career, especially in the years after the passing of Serge Gainsbourg – a time when Birkin was emerging to be one of the real giants of French music on her own, as testified to in the power of this series of live performances! The Jane Birkin here is very different than the breathy voice next to Serge on her early recordings – and instead, she commands the stage with the presence of singers like Maria Bethania or Gal Costa – maybe no surprise, as the very generous presentation of these performances will attest. The box brings together live sets from 1987 up to 2023 – albums that include Au Bataclan, Au Casino De Paris, A L'Olympia, En Concert Au Japon, Arabesque, Au Palace, Sings Serge Gainsbourg Via Japan, Le Symphonique Live, and Oh Pardon Tu Dormais. CD

Way more than just another look at the music of this legendary group – as the huge package brings together a wealth of rare material, including 36 tracks that appear here for the first time ever – all wrapped up in a beautiful package with a huge set of notes, photographs, and other information too! Erin Osmon serves up a massive oral history of the group, worth the price of the box alone – and there's also interviews and discographical information too – far more than you usually get with a box set of this nature. But honestly, the real charm is all the great unreleased material, added to the too-small catalog of the group's work from these classic years – Titles that include "I'll Never Break Away From This Heart Of Mine", "I Love You Honey Give Me A Bear", "Live It Up (Giorgio Moroder demo)", "Will Anything Happen (inst)", "Spaghetti Song (Atomic part 2)", "Once I Had A Love (Mike Chapman demo)", "Denis (Terry Ellis mix)", "Underground Girl", "Call Me (Chris Stein mix)", "Hardest Part (home tape)", "Theme From Topkapi (home tape)", "Mr Sightseer", "Ring Of Fire (home tape)", "Tide Is High (demo)", and "Susie & Jeffrey". 3CD set features 52 tracks in all – including some great material from are singles and early work too! CD

A long-overdue look at one of the most important groups to grace the British jazz scene of the 60s and 70s – the legendary Blue Notes, a group of South African expatriates with an undeniably huge influence on the music of their new homeland! The ensemble featured key players who went onto do some amazing work on their own, but first came together in this group – trumpeter Mongezi Feza, saxophonist Dudu Pukwana, pianist Chris McGregor, bassist Johnny Dyani, and drummer Louis Moholo – all players as dynamic together and important on their own as the members of the Art Emsemble of Chicago from the US. The set finally brings out all of the group's key albums for the Ogun label, plus some great bonus material too – a rich tapestry of work that shows the combo's evolution from African-tinged jazz of the 60s to some much more farther-reaching sounds in the 70s – all beautifully packaged, with each album presented on its own inside a larger slipcase! The set features The Blue Notes Legacy, a live date in South Africa from 1964; Blue Notes For Mongezi, a double-length set recorded after the passing of group trumpeter Mongezi Feza; Blue Notes For Johnny, a date recorded after the passing of bassist Johnny Dyani; and Blue Notes In Concert, a great live date recorded in 1977. There's a wealth of wonderful music here – and along with the bonus tracks, the set also features a great booklet of remembrances and vintage photos! CD

Amazing music from one of our most-treasured stretches of David Bowie's career – that creatively-fertile time when he escaped to West Berlin, hid from the mainstream, and made some groundbreaking records with Brian Eno – then returned to the limelight to remind us all that he was still a hell of a force to be reckoned with! The set includes everything post-Thin White Duke, and pre-Let's Dance – a run of music that's still shaping new sounds on this planet all these many years later. The set begins with Low – the mix of experimental instrumentals and subtle vocal tracks that was a complete change from Ziggy Stardust – and follows with Heroes, Lodger, and Scary Monsters & Super Creeps – all albums that reintroduce some sense of song and lyrical interplay, but at a level that clearly indicates how important Bowie was to the generation of post-punk and new wave as his earlier work was to psych, prog, and glam! But the package isn't just a standard collection of albums – because along with those four studio records, it also features the live album Stage, presented here in two different full mixes – plus a new 2017 mix of Lodger, which really increases the edge. There's also a special Heroes EP, with all the different language versions of the song – and a very cool Re:Call 3 album – which features all the singles that were issued at the time, plus other rare material – and Bowie's very unique take on Bertolt Brecht's Baal. Titles on this album include "Alabama Song", "Crystal Japan", "Under Pressure", "Remembering Marie A", "The Drowned Girl", "The Dirty Song", "Cat People", and even his "Peace On Earth/Little Drummer Boy" duet with Bing Crosby. As with other entries in this complete Bowie series, the presentation is wonderful – album sleeve replicas, great packaging, and lots of notes – kind of a treasure, even if you already own some of the records! CD

Beautiful work from The Box Tops – a set that has the group moving way past their early hits, and finding this really sort of special place in the world of up-and-coming artists in the 60s! The Box Tops were maybe one of the first Memphis rock groups to really put together all the great elements that were bubbling in that city's scene during the 60s – the unique hybrid of soul, country, R&B, and other influences that were filtering into groups via the cross-cultural vibe of the city. That quality really comes through here – partly in the group's performance and the lead vocals of Alex Chilton, partly in the great production by Dann Penn, who also wrote a number of tracks with Spooner Oldham, and partly in the way that fuller arrangements are used to underscore some more soulful touches in the music. Titles include "Sandman", "Choo Choo Train", "I'm Movin On", "People Gonna Talk", "She Shot A Hole In My Soul", "I Met Her In Church", "I Can Dig It", and "If I Had Let You In". LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderful little set – one that features all four FMP albums recorded by Peter Brotzmann and his Die Like A Dog quartet – a cool combo that features Brotzmann on reeds, Toshinori Kondo on trumpet and electronics, William Parker on bass, and Hamid Drake on drums! The group's got a style that draws heavily from Brotzmann's earlier improvisatory work, and really draws him back to his roots after some of his 80s recordings. The reed work is especially great here – and Brotzmann plays alto, tenor, tarogato, and clarinet – but Kondo's trumpet is no slouch either, and really adds a bracing quality to some of the more dynamic numbers. The pairing of Drake and Parker sets the group on very solid, almost soulful rhythmic ground at points – and the 4CD package features the full albums Little Birds Have Fast Hearts 1, Little Birds Have Fast Hearts 2, Fragments Of Music Life & Death Of Albert Ayler, and Aoyama Crows – plus an added booklet of notes. CD

72 tracks – and a fantastic overview of the music of James Brown – from the gritty R&B years to his classic moments of 60s soul, to his mindblowing 70s funk and beyond! CD

Mindblowing music from The Byrds – and one of the greatest evolutions in pop music from the 60s! The Byrds were always at the forefront of their generation – starting out as a folksy act mixing in early psychedelia, then reaching for deeper roots with a love of country, yet also really keeping their own unique identity – and finding a way for most group members to grow their own interests and help shape the sound of the band! This balance is unique, as is the mighty range of records that encompassed it – their legendary sounds for Columbia Records, which are presented here in a beautiful box of 13 CDs, featuring 11 full albums, all with their original artwork in LP-styled sleeves! Titles include Mr Tambourine Man, Turn Turn Turn, Fifth Dimension, Younger Than Yesterday, Notorious Byrd Brothers, Sweetheart Of The Rodeo, Dr Byrds & Mr Hyde, Ballad Of Easy Rider, Untitled Unissued, Byrdmaniax, and Farther Along. CD

An incredible collection of records – a series of albums that forever changed the sound of Latin music around the world! These five sets were all cooked up in the changing Cuban scene at the start of the 60s – where musicians were getting looser and freer, with a sound that was quite different than the tighter big bands of a few years before – strongly influenced by changes in American jazz, including the jam session mode that was big on record during the 50s! In a way, these sides are an answer to that – as they feature all-star musicians coming together on long, more spontaneous tracks – often in smaller combos with heavy influence on rhythm, and lots of work from the key soloists on the dates. Each record has a different leader, but often some of the same musicians – and there's some especially great work on trumpet and tenor by other members of the group – at a level that went on to influence the small combo sound of artists like Joe Cuba, the grooves of the Latin Soul/boogaloo scene, and even the all-star American groups like the Alegre All Stars and Fania All stars in years to come. Records 1 and 2 feature leadership by Julio Gutierrez, record 3 is led by Nino Rivera, record 4 (the most famous) is led by bassist Cachao, and record 5 is led by flautist Fajardo. Great box set – all CDs in small LP-styled sleeves with original art – alongside a 96 page booklet of notes and photos! CD

A beautiful book, and one that's almost as enjoyable as finding a box of rare records from the funk and soul underground of the 60s and 70s! The book is a huge overview of funk and soul from Ohio – starting with the early 60s, and running up to the big years of Ohio funk that rose on the charts into the 80s – presented here with information on 1700 different artists, 500 record companies, and over 3000 different albums – many presented with label scans and other visual information too! Both the Numero Group and soul historian Dante Carfagna are no strangers to the Ohio scene – as they've both plumbed the depths in recent decades, and have given us no end of fantastic discoveries that we never would have heard otherwise – really wonderful material from Cinncinnatti, Cleveland, Columbus, and other cities – all music that makes up the rich array of scenes and talents presented in the book. There's a very visual presentation to the book – with over 125 pages alone of rare photos, posters, and other images from the scene – next to another huge chapter that features almost 80 more pages of rare record label scans and covers! Next to that, you'll find chapters that list different Ohio record labels, along with releases; Ohio pressing plants and recording studios; and even Ohio funk and soul artists who recorded for non-Ohio and national labels, and some who made no records at all! We love the presentation – as the huge book is very image and information-heavy, with no essays or other writing at all – beautifully done in a hardcover volume, with 350 pages – super-hefty, and a great gateway to continued digging for rare material from this surprising hotbed of funk and soul. And hopefully, we'll see books on the rest of the 49 states to follow in this format! Book

"Eighty three tracks on 4 CDs celebrating 40 years of Martin McCarthy's life and music" CD

Don't even think about the other collections of Johnny Cash's Sun recordings – this is the motherlode, and features just about every single note that he recorded for the legendary label! The mantra of the set is "the singer is more important than the song", and it's certainly true in the case of Johnny. He broke all kinds of barriers between country and early rock music with his sparse, raw and economical productions highlighting the amazingly great rough hewn song style he perfected. The set includes 138 tracks total, including lots of alternate versions, even a bonus disc of an entire unedited recording session. It also includes a huge book with a meticulously researched biography, recording notes, a great wealth of publicity shots, and even childhood photos! Everything's here folks, and sequenced chronologically according to recording dates – "Wide Open Road", "You're My Baby", "My Treasure", "Hey Porter", "I Walk The Line", "Folson Prison Blues", "Don't Make Me Go", "Next In Line", "Big River", "Ballad Of A Teenage Queen", "Cry, Cry, Cry", "The Ways Of A Woman In Love", "Story Of A Broken Heart" – what, you're still reading? Buy this! CD

Some of the best work ever recorded by bassist Paul Chambers – one of the greatest bass players in jazz! This excellent 3CD box set features the bulk of albums that Paul Chambers recorded for Blue Note as a leader, plus an earlier gem recorded for the Imperial label, and another session for the Transition label. Together, the records give an incredible picture of Chambers' work – showing why most jazz players of the 50s regarded him as one of the most important forces on his instrument, and why Chambers had some unique talents that made him one of the few bassists to regularly record albums as a leader. Players on the albums include John Coltrane, Kenny Burrell, Donald Byrd, Clifford Jordan, Pepper Adams, and Curtis Fuller – and the albums include Chamber's Music, Whims Of Chambers, Paul Chambers Quintet, Bass On Top, and Transition Session. 32 tracks in all! CD

One of the coolest projects ever from electronic music pioneer Suzanne Ciani – sounds done for the groundbreaking Xenon pinball machine – released in 1980, and filled with unusual sounds and tones created by Ciani! One of these was her very cool "voice box" – which gave the pinball machine a female identity – heard here, mixed with all sorts of Synclavier and other sounds from the always-great Ciani! 7-inch, Vinyl record

Two fantastic albums from this legendary Italian group – back to back in a single set, with bonus material too! First up is the self-titled debut of Circus 2000 – a group who've got a sound that still sounds amazing after all these years, and really a kind of cut above so many of their contemporaries! One of the most distinct features of the group is their lead singer, Silvana Aliotta – a vocals with a range to maybe match Grace Slick, Julie Driscoll, or some of the more important singers to emerge in the late 60s – but very particularly tuned here towards some of the darker, moodier elements of the group's music. These guys could clearly play freewheeling prog or hard rock, but also hold back nicely and avoid overblown moments to really fit their sound perfectly around Silvana's amazing vocals – sung in English throughout, with a wonderfully edgey vibe. Titles include "I Am The Witch", "Magic Bean", "Sun Will Shine", "I Can't Believe", "Must Walk Forever", "The Lord He Has No Hands", and "Try All Day". Their second album, Escape From A Box, is a real step forward for Circus 2000 – a set that has the group stretching out a bit more on their instrumentation, with even more complexity than before – yet still never losing the focus that comes from the tremendous lead vocals of Silvana Aliotta! Aliotta seems to have matured as a singer since the first record – also really finding her own spirit in the way she expresses herself, but at a level that's no less compelling than her previous efforts – the kind of voice that would have made her a giant in the field, had the group been recording in the UK or US. Titles include "When The Sun Refused To Shine", "Our Father", "Need", "Hey Man", and "You Aren't Listening". 2CD set features great sound, detailed notes, and bonus tracks that include "L'Uomo Paese", "Dove Va La Mia Gente", "Hey Man (parts 1 & 2)", "Ho Regalato I Capelli", "Io La Strega", "I Can't Believe", "Pioggia Sottile", "Regalami Un Sabato Sera", and "Need (edited version)". CD

Great early genius from the Clarke Boland Big Band – proof that Kenny and Francy were onto something great, right from the start! The album really has the group hitting the heights of their MPS years – stretching out way past earlier big band modes, into the hip mix of rhythms and soulful solos that made the ensemble unlike any other group in the 60s – a really groundbreaking approach to their music, delivered by a range of top-shelf players! Arrangements are by Boland, who also plays piano – and other group members include Benny Bailey and Jimmy Deuchar on trumpets, Derek Humble on alto sax, Carl Drewo and Zoot Sims on tenor, Sahib Shihab on baritone sax and flute, and Ake Persson on trombone – plus rhythm from the rock-solid duo of Jimmy Woode on bass and Kenny Clarke on drums. Titles include the Latin-tinged "Los Bravos", and more great originals by Boland – including "Volutes", "The Styx", "Charon's Ferry", and "Box 703 Washington DC" – plus versions of "Gloria" and "Last Train From Overbrook". CD

20 years of greatness – starting with early trio material by Nat King Cole, right up through his sublime mature recordings for Capitol in the later years! 100 tracks in all! CD

We'll be honest with you – we love this stuff! Sure, Ornette made some great recordings for a number of other labels – but as a whole, his Atlantic stuff is some of the greatest modern jazz ever recorded, and no other period of an artist is more worth collecting and having in a complete format than this one! The package is unbelievably thorough – and includes not only all the tracks from classic albums like Change Of The Century, This Is Our Music, Free Jazz, Shape Of Jazz To Come, Ornette!, Ornette On Tenor, The Art Of The Improvisors and Twins – but also 6 previously unreleased tracks, and rare material like Ornette's Japanese-only LP To Whom Who Keeps A Record plus 2 selections from Gunther Schuller's Jazz Abstractions featuring Ornette! There's 6CDs in all – packaged in a great case with a well annotated booklet. Titles include "Proof Readers", "Revolving Doors", "Joy Of A Toy", "Cross Breeding", "Variants On A Theme Of Thelonious Monk", "Eos", "Focus On Sanity", "Una Muy Bonita", "Lomely Woman", "Little Symphony", "The Circle With The Hole In The Middle", "Beauty Is A Rare Thing", "Folk Tale", "The Face Of The Bass", "Brings Goodness", "Rise & Shine", and lots and lots more! CD

An amazing set of work by John Coltrane – some of his best recordings ever, tracks that form a pivotal point between his later 50s work with Miles Davis and his mid 60s spiritual searching years. The set's unbelievably exhaustive – and includes every track that was ever issued by Coltrane on an Atlantic album, plus some great alternate takes, plus a 72 page hardbound book of photos and writings, plus a whole CD of rare material that was never issued before! (The folks at Atlantic say that they would have loved to make an even bigger set – but after a fire in their warehouse in the 70s, this one CD of tapes is all that ever remained!) The whole package is incredibly well put together – in a small discrete box with some great fold-out CD cases, and a wonderful mechanism for storage that's as great as the music in the set. Titles include "Syeeda's Song Flute", "Ole", "My Favorite Things", "Cousin Mary", "Giant Steps", "Mr Day", "Blues To Elvin", "Satellite", "Liberia", "Dahomey Dance", and sooooo much more! CD

A legendary group who never fully got their due – and maybe one of the creepier acts on the British scene at the start of the 70s! The cover art probably gives things away – but the sound of the record is even more haunting – with some acoustic elements that echo the acid folk movement of the time, but more dynamic energy at other spots that resonate more with prog – all topped by vocals that have a completely sinister sound that really makes the group stand out! Despite the acoustic guitars, these guys are hardly the traditional-leaning style of some of their folk rock contemporaries – and, if anything, it feels like they opened up some Pandora's box from the past, and let out all this weird Wicker Man energy. Titles include "Bitten", "The Prisoner", "Diana", "The Herald", "Song To Comus", and "Drip Drip". LP, Vinyl record album

A really great step forward for alto saxophonist Patrick Cornelius – a set that's overflowing with great original material that really expands the palette of his sound, served up with help from a great lineup of players who really help the music find its direction! The vibes of Behn Gillece are a key part of the album, as is the piano of Art Hirahara – and the rest of the group features Peter Slavov on bass and Vinnie Sperazz on drums – joined at points by the guests Diego Rivera on tenor and Altin Sencalar on trombone. Titles include "Puzzle Box", "Inner Sanctum", "The Way", "Days End", "A Wish", "Book Of Secres", "Lady Of The Clouds", and "Legend Has It". CD

A long-awaited addition to the Miles Davis electric catalog – and a package that features over 4 hours of newly-discovered music! The 6CD set documents 4 nights of performance by Miles at the Cellar Door in Washington DC – recorded in December of 1970, and featuring a mindblowing group that includes Gary Bartz on soprano and alto sax, Keith Jarrett on Fender Rhodes and organ, Airto on percussion, Michael Henderson on bass, Jack DeJohnette on drums, and a bit of guitar from John McLaughlin on the last 2 CDs. There's a really hard and heavy feel here that's steeped in rock and soul influences – and the package is even more amazing, considering how little work has been offered from this unique point in Davis' career. Presentation of the material is in the same high standards as other Miles Davis boxes on Sony – with a 96 page book with notes and reflections by each band member, and a whopping 6 CDs of music, featuring mostly really long takes on the tunes! Titles include "Directions", "What'd I Say", "Honky Tonk", "Sanctuary", "Improvisation #3", "Inamorata", "It's About That Time", and "Yesternow". CD

Wow! An incredible collection of seminal recordings from one of the most important figures in modern music! All of Miles' recordings from the Prestige label in one place, bound up in a well annotated box, and given a complete discography and lots of excellent photos. It's almost too much astounding jazz in one place! The list of sidemen and great LPs is almost too long to go over, but in addition to Miles' remarkable Cookin'/Relaxin'/Walkin'/Workin' sessions, there's all of the material issued as Bags' Groove, with the Modern Jazz Giants and loads more, and some of the stellar accompanists includes John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Charlie Parker, Lee Konitz, Red Garland, Thelonious Monk, Horace Silver, Milt Jackson, Paul Chambers, Art Blakey, Philly Joe Jones, and Max Roach, just to name a few. There's far too many tracks to list here, but there's takes of "Blue Room", "Conception", "Compulsion", "Miles Ahead", "Blue Haze", "Airegin", "Bag's Groove", "The Man I Love", "Green Haze", "Dr Jackle", "The Theme", "Trane's Blues", "'Round About Midnight", "Half Nelson", "My Funny Valentine" and loads more! CD

This stunning live set has been hailed by many as one of the finest moments of Miles' mid 60s career – music played with a frenetic energy that even blows away the famous studio sessions of the time! The group here is a landmark lineup – young modernists Wayne Shorter on tenor, Herbie Hancock on piano, and Tony Williams on drums – all reaching out to really increase their craft, and work through new ideas alongside Miles' trumpet. CD

Right On! Quite possibly the heaviest, baddest music ever laid to tape, this set offers up over 6 hours of some of the deepest, darkest free jazz, afro funk, fist in the air post-modern musique concrete to sprout from Miles' horn and crew! This box closes the door on the studio side of what may be the most influential studio jams wrought at the turn of the 70s, issuing the unedited original takes of the material that Miles and Teo Macero would parse down and edit into On The Corner and Big Fun, plus some material that made it out on various compilations later issued on Columbia, and best of all, a dozen never before released tracks! The core group here is Miles, Michael Henderson, Mtume, Al Foster and Reggie Lucas, but Dave Liebman, Carlos Garnett, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Jack Dejohnette, Pete Cosey, Badal Roy, Bennie Maupin and John McLaughlin, as well as a number of other players, are all featured, which isn't surprising when you consider the ground covered here! The groove here is unstoppable funk, as on the nearly 20 minute jam that is the unedited full take of "On The Corner" and drawn out renditions of "Mtume", "Turnaround", "Ife" and "Helen Butte/Mr Freedom X", but the vibe veers in other directions too, as with the breezy "Maiysha", the multilayered "Calypso Frelimo" and the spacious "He Loved Him Madly". There's 31 tracks spread out over the 6 discs, ther unissued gems include "Hip-Skip", "Chieftain", "What They Do", "Peace" and "Mr Foster", and as you'd expect, the box is extra deluxe, with a thick booklet full of notes and some great quotes from the band, and a sweet metallic box to hold it all together! Vote Miles! CD

Promo only CD – with spoken interview passages, plus music from the Miles/Evans box set! CD

An incredible album from Dinosaur L – the legendary New York dancefloor project of Arthur Russell! – fleshed out and expanded more than ever before by Sleeping Bag and Get On Down Records! The group's core sound is a punky, funky, chunky amalgam of bass thumping, guitar riffing, keyboard filling, and sax honking – all very much in the spirit of Russell's best quirky club work of the time, but with the added sound here of a more expanded approach – one that takes the tunes in a whole new territory than the more famous 12" singles! The tracks on the original set were simply numbered – "1", "2", "3", and so on – and come across almost as free-jamming instrumentals – but this reissue appends the songs with their 12" titles, so "#1" gets parenthetically entitled "You're Gonna Be Clean On Your Bean" and "#5" as "Go Bang!", plus this disc adds several 12" versions that were not on the original LP release, like Francois K's mix of 'Go Bang!" and Larry Levan's mix of "In The Corn Belt". Totally great stuff – as experimental as it is funky! This 2CD box set edition is amazing – coming in a heavy-duty box with each disc in an oversized gatefold style sleeve – and it includes more Arthur Russell collaborative and/or pseudonymous material for Sleeping Bag with or as Bonzo Goes To Washington, Felix, Sounds Of JHS Brooklyn and Indian Ocean. Other tracks include "School Bell/Treehouse" (Indian Ocean), "You Can't Hold Me Down (Extended Version)" (Felix), "5 Minutes (R-r-r Radio Mix)" (Bonzo Goes To Washington) and more. Also includes a nice booklet of photos, artwork and artist testimonials – plus notes by Russell biographer Tim Lawrence. CD

An incredible album from Dinosaur L – the legendary New York dancefloor project of Arthur Russell! – fleshed out and expanded more than ever before by Sleeping Bag and Get On Down Records! The group's core sound is a punky, funky, chunky amalgam of bass thumping, guitar riffing, keyboard filling, and sax honking – all very much in the spirit of Russell's best quirky club work of the time, but with the added sound here of a more expanded approach – one that takes the tunes in a whole new territory than the more famous 12" singles! The tracks on the original set were simply numbered – "1", "2", "3", and so on – and come across almost as free-jamming instrumentals – but this reissue appends the songs with their 12" titles, so "#1" gets parenthetically entitled "You're Gonna Be Clean On Your Bean" and "#5" as "Go Bang!", plus this disc adds several 12" versions that were not on the original LP release, like Francois K's mix of 'Go Bang!" and Larry Levan's mix of "In The Corn Belt". Totally great stuff – as experimental as it is funky! This 2CD box set edition is amazing – coming in a heavy-duty box with each disc in an oversized gatefold style sleeve – and it includes more Arthur Russell collaborative and/or pseudonymous material for Sleeping Bag with or as Bonzo Goes To Washington, Felix, Sounds Of JHS Brooklyn and Indian Ocean. Other tracks include "School Bell/Treehouse" (Indian Ocean), "You Can't Hold Me Down (Extended Version)" (Felix), "5 Minutes (R-r-r Radio Mix)" (Bonzo Goes To Washington) and more. Also includes a nice booklet of photos, artwork and artist testimonials – plus notes by Russell biographer Tim Lawrence. CD

A really mindblowing collection of work from trumpeter Bill Dixon – and a package that does full justice to the other sides of his creative activity too! Odyssey is a limited, numbered box set – filled with 6CDs that include music from Dixon, and two books that also display his artwork and paintings – and also offer up some commentary on his music as well. 5CDs feature Dixon on mostly solo trumpet – with some of the recordings going as far back as the early 70s, but most of more recent vintage – and CD6 features Dixon speaking – in ways that really get at some of the larger ideas he explores in his recordings and paintings. The box also contains some great vintage paper inserts, too – almost as documents of the avant underground in which Dixon circulated in the 60s and 70s – and the book also features a few contributions from later students too. Even for the music alone, the set is a treasure – but the extra items all make it especially wonderful! CD

The title here is very apt – as this fantastic quartet seem to set a different kind of fire on every one of the CDs in the set – six different performances, recorded over the space of two months – in Paris, Chicago, Milwaukee, and Poland! The group should be well-known to lovers of improvised music from earlier Okka Disk recordings in the 90s – and the passage of two decades has only made them sharper and more intense – especially when the tenor and pocket trumpet of Joe McPhee joins the lineup of Ken Vandermark on reeds, Kent Kessler on bass, and Hamid Drake on drums. The set of recordings is dedicated to James Baldwin – which you might have guessed from the title – and the whole thing is a fitting tribute to the transformation of ideas about freedom and identity over the passage of time. CD

A really cool document from the contemporary Finnish scene – a large multi-generational group organized by trumpeter Hernik Otto Donner – with lots of original music by Donner and pianist Seppo Kantonen! CD

A landmark album from the mighty Bob Dylan – a 2LP set of studio work, which was quite rare at the time – and a set that has Dylan stretching out all his creative powers in newly different directions! The album had a long genesis in the studio – some early work with The Band, then Dylan breaking off with Al Kooper and Robbie Robertson to head down to Nashville – where they interacted with key country session musicians to make this masterful blend of music – work that's not country at all, but which is also moving past Dylan's folk roots too – with a blend of music that still as mindblowing today as it was back in the mid 60s! This is definitely one of those double-length sets that makes fantastic use of all the extra space – overflowing with gems that include "Rainy Day Women # 12 & 35", "Visions Of Johanna", "Pledging My Time", "Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again", "Leopard-Skin Pill Box Hat", and "Just Like A Woman". CD

A landmark album from the mighty Bob Dylan – a 2LP set of studio work, which was quite rare at the time – and a set that has Dylan stretching out all his creative powers in newly different directions! The album had a long genesis in the studio – some early work with The Band, then Dylan breaking off with Al Kooper and Robbie Robertson to head down to Nashville – where they interacted with key country session musicians to make this masterful blend of music – work that's not country at all, but which is also moving past Dylan's folk roots too – with a blend of music that still as mindblowing today as it was back in the mid 60s! This is definitely one of those double-length sets that makes fantastic use of all the extra space – overflowing with gems that include "Rainy Day Women # 12 & 35", "Visions Of Johanna", "Pledging My Time", "Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again", "Leopard-Skin Pill Box Hat", and "Just Like A Woman". CD

A landmark album from the mighty Bob Dylan – a 2LP set of studio work, which was quite rare at the time – and a set that has Dylan stretching out all his creative powers in newly different directions! The album had a long genesis in the studio – some early work with The Band, then Dylan breaking off with Al Kooper and Robbie Robertson to head down to Nashville – where they interacted with key country session musicians to make this masterful blend of music – work that's not country at all, but which is also moving past Dylan's folk roots too – with a blend of music that still as mindblowing today as it was back in the mid 60s! This is definitely one of those double-length sets that makes fantastic use of all the extra space – overflowing with gems that include "Rainy Day Women # 12 & 35", "Visions Of Johanna", "Pledging My Time", "Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again", "Leopard-Skin Pill Box Hat", and "Just Like A Woman". LP, Vinyl record album

A landmark album from the mighty Bob Dylan – a 2LP set of studio work, which was quite rare at the time – and a set that has Dylan stretching out all his creative powers in newly different directions! The album had a long genesis in the studio – some early work with The Band, then Dylan breaking off with Al Kooper and Robbie Robertson to head down to Nashville – where they interacted with key country session musicians to make this masterful blend of music – work that's not country at all, but which is also moving past Dylan's folk roots too – with a blend of music that still as mindblowing today as it was back in the mid 60s! This is definitely one of those double-length sets that makes fantastic use of all the extra space – overflowing with gems that include "Rainy Day Women # 12 & 35", "Visions Of Johanna", "Pledging My Time", "Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again", "Leopard-Skin Pill Box Hat", and "Just Like A Woman". LP, Vinyl record album

A landmark album from the mighty Bob Dylan – a 2LP set of studio work, which was quite rare at the time – and a set that has Dylan stretching out all his creative powers in newly different directions! The album had a long genesis in the studio – some early work with The Band, then Dylan breaking off with Al Kooper and Robbie Robertson to head down to Nashville – where they interacted with key country session musicians to make this masterful blend of music – work that's not country at all, but which is also moving past Dylan's folk roots too – with a blend of music that still as mindblowing today as it was back in the mid 60s! This is definitely one of those double-length sets that makes fantastic use of all the extra space – overflowing with gems that include "Rainy Day Women # 12 & 35", "Visions Of Johanna", "Pledging My Time", "Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again", "Leopard-Skin Pill Box Hat", and "Just Like A Woman". CD

Really inventive sounds from this hip Italian trio – a combo who have a way of mixing acoustic and electric elements in ways that echo recent experiments on both the Chicago and London scenes! The music is jazz, but with a strong reliance on larger soundscapes – a quality that's echoed here by the appearance of Rob Mazurek on one track, who seems to be a great inspiration for the way the group approaches their music! The core trio features Gabriele Mitelli on trumpets and electronics, Cristiano Calcagnile on drums and percussion, and Pasquale Mirra on vibes and korg minilogue – all of which makes for a great layering of creative sounds. The set also features guest work from Damon Locks and Cristina Dona – and titles include "The Black Shining Of The Sea", "Hey Mary", "The Elephant", "Fata Morgana", "Cherry Juice In A Box", and "Awakening". LP, Vinyl record album

A magnificent decade of music from Duke Ellington – the bulk of his fifties recordings for Columbia Records – all albums that really show the Duke stretching forth and greatly developing his style! The scope of performances here is breathtaking – as Ellington works with key sidemen of the postwar years, and moves into much longer-form recordings that before – tracks that help him deeply express his new ideas, and also make way for a few guest performers too. Each album comes in a tiny LP-styled sleeve, replicating the original record – and the box features the albums Masterpieces By Ellington, Ellington Uptown, A Drum Is A Woman, Such Sweet Thunder, Ellington Indigos, The Cosmic Scene, and At The Bal Masque – plus the Black Brown & Beige suite with Mahalia Jackson, and the Blue Rose album with vocals by Rosemary Clooney! CD

An amazing document of one of the grooviest groups to emerge from the UK at the start of the 80s – not just their three full albums, but almost as much rare bonus material as well! The English Beat came a bit later than the initial wave of Two Tone ska revival groups – and they came with a difference, too – a bit more soul, and a slightly more contemporary approach to their music – one that pushed Jamaican roots into mod London modes – particularly the best sorts that were bubbling up in the post-punk generation! The group really helped revive some warmer sounds in British music – yet without just copying older modes from the other side of the Atlantic, too – and these three great albums definitely went onto set a fire in a host of other groups as well – the first wave of some surprisingly soulful moments from the UK in the 80s. The box set features the full albums I Just Can't Stop It, Wha'ppen, and Special Beat Service – all with bonus tracks not on the original albums. Then, the set also features more bonus material that includes 15 12" and dub versions of album tracks – and three Peel Session recordings from 1979, 1980, and 1982 – plus a live Boston recording from 1982! Comes in a great box, with a 24 page booklet of essays and rare photos! CD

Magical trio recordings from the classic trio that featured Bill Evans on piano, Scott LaFaro on bass, and Paul Motian on drums – a massive 3CD set of music, and one that brings together the complete June 1961 Village Vanguard recordings! The revolutionary bass work of LaFaro, and free-thinking rhythms of Motian really helped open up Evans' work on piano at the time – and their influence is heard to best effect on this spontaneous live set, spread out over the course of 22 tunes, recorded throughout the afternoon and evening on June 25, 1961. The package features one newly-discovered take, plus a number of alternates, spoken bits from Bill, and even a few final bars of music. Titles include "Solar", "Milestones", "All Of You", "Gloria's Step", "My Man's Gone Now", "Detour Ahead", "My Romance", and "Waltz For Debby". CD

Magical trio recordings from the classic trio that featured Bill Evans on piano, Scott LaFaro on bass, and Paul Motian on drums – a massive 3CD set of music, and one that brings together the complete June 1961 Village Vanguard recordings! The revolutionary bass work of LaFaro, and free-thinking rhythms of Motian really helped open up Evans' work on piano at the time – and their influence is heard to best effect on this spontaneous live set, spread out over the course of 22 tunes, recorded throughout the afternoon and evening on June 25, 1961. The package features one newly-discovered take, plus a number of alternates, spoken bits from Bill, and even a few final bars of music. Titles include "Solar", "Milestones", "All Of You", "Gloria's Step", "My Man's Gone Now", "Detour Ahead", "My Romance", and "Waltz For Debby". Special box is on 180 gram vinyl, with new liner notes, limited poster, and even recording sheets with original producer notes! LP, Vinyl record album

A real treasure trove of music from the legendary Bill Evans – the complete recordings the pianist made for Verve Records in the 60s, including trio sessions, solo material, and interesting larger projects as well – plus alternate takes, unissued material, and lots more gems! Evans hit Verve at the height of his powers – already coming off important early records for the Riverside label, and working with Verve with superb recording quality, and great care for Evans as an artist – which allowed Bill to further flower in his familiar trio setting, and also try out solo recordings, and work with other co-leaders who include arranger Gary McFarland, tenorist Stan Getz, guitarist Jim Hall, and singer Monica Zetterlund – all of whom work closely with Evans on a session. The box features remastering for all sides, and includes over 250 tracks in a really overstuffed package! CD

A huge legacy of music from Eyeless In Gaza – an important British duo from the post-punk years, and one with a sound that definitely went on to shape the style of much bigger acts at the time! As with some of their darker contemporaries, the group began in a style that was stark and electric, but warmed things up as the records moved on, and they really learned how to hone their craft – especially the vocals of Martyn Bates, who has a pre-goth way of sounding spooky and soulful at the same time – all in a mode that's very British as well! Most tracks are pretty spare – lots of keyboards, moody bass, and guitar – and the set brings together 102 tracks from their albums for the Cherry Red label, plus singles too – in a box that has each of the five CDs divided up into thematic styles – running from catchy cuts on one disc to much more experimental work on another! CD

Way more than just another box set by a well-established act – as this collection moves way past their hits, and pulls together a huge amount of unreleased material that really testifies to the long-running genius of one of the most unique British groups to emerge in the late 60s! The set does feature key album highlights, but also includes 55 previously-unissued tracks, and lots of rare material too – as well as a fair bit of live recordings that really show the role that improvisation played in the group's performance – that odd current of jazz that could sometimes show up and color the way that the group presented its influences from more ancient forms of music. The group also shifted members with ease, and really moved their sound around over the years – in a way that many fans would say was only a continued refinement of their aims. The huge set documents this change, and also includes the unreleased Manor album – and comes in a special box with 48-page book, and a total of 121 tracks on 7 CDs, nearly half of which (55 tracks) are previously unreleased. CD

Four incredible albums from the young Georgie Fame – plus a bonus CD of rare material, bonus tracks on all CDs, and 18 previously unreleased tracks – all in a box set with a 48 page book, 5 postcards, and a poster too! First up is Rhythm & Blues At The Flamingo – blistering early work from a young Georgie Fame – a set that definitely lives up to the Rhythm & Blues in the title! The set was recorded live at London's hip Flamingo club – and Georgie and The Blue Flames are very much in command of the crowd – burning with the intensity of a American small organ combo, especially the early 60s variety that often played equal parts soul jazz and R&B! Georgie's on the Hammond, and also sings with a rough-edged style that's plenty soulful, and incredibly appealing – a mode that oozes charisma, but never sounds fake or forced. Titles include "Do The Dog", "Eso Beso", "Work Song", "Baby Please Don't Go", "Shop Around", "Humpty Dumpty", and "You Can't Sit Down". Fame At Last is a brilliant mix of jazz, soul, and R&B – all filtered through a mod sort of London freshness, as early proof that the city could always take some great things from our own musical roots, and feed it back to us with a whole new flavor! Georgie's no copycat here, though – and the sound is instantly Fame-like – a style that's really not the sort that any Americans were doing at the time, and certainly never this well. Hard-burning Hammond colors most of the tunes here – played with a tightly vamping quality – but it's Georgie's charmingly crackling vocals that really win us over! Titles include "Gimme That Wine", "Pink Champagne", "Monkeying Around", "Green Onions", "Let The Sunshine In", "Get On The Right Track Baby", "I'm In The Mood For Love", and "I Love The Life I Live". Sweet Things is a definite sweet thing from Georgie Fame – a record that has him filling in his sound even more than before, with tremendously soulful results! The backings here are bigger than before – a bit tooled in an American soul mode, but still with that beautifully raspy Georgie Fame touch – lots of jazzy inflections on the vocals, and a way of handling a tune, even a familiar one, and really working it on his own level. Hammond still fills in most of the tunes, but other instrumentation includes some nice African percussion from Speedy Acquaye, saxes from Pete Coe, and some nice bold drums from John Mitchell. These come out to the forefront on the classic funky tune "Music Talk" – and still sound great on other numbers that include "The World Is Round", "Last Night", "Dr Kitch", "My Girl", "Ride Your Pony", and "Sweet Thing". Sound Venture is one of the jazziest early albums from Georgie Fame – a set that has him singing with the big band of Harry South, at a level that's a lot more complicated than some of his other work with The Blue Flames! The style here still has that mod 60s London feel, but it also has some deeper inflections as well – modes borrowed a bit from Jon Hendricks or Mose Allison, yet served up with even greater complexity – at a level that really points towards the tremendous growth Fame would unleash over the next few years. Members of the group include Tubby Hayes, Ronnie Scott, Tony Coe, Dick Morrisey, Kenny Wheeler, and many other key Brit jazz figures of the time – and titles include "Three Blind Mice", "Dawn Yawn", "Feed Me", "Lovey Dovey", "Lil Darlin", "Lil Pony", "I Am Missing You", and "Many Happy Returns". CD5 is Bend A Little – a package with 20 unusual titles – demos, rare tracks, and outtakes – including unreleased tracks, IBC recordings, and even two German tracks too! Plus, each individual CD comes with bonus tracks – 40 bonus tracks, in addition to the 20 more titles on the Bend A Little set – a huge amount of material! CD

A long-overdue package – one that finally brings together all the many strands of music from underground Cali rock legend Merrell Fankhauser! CD1 features some of Merrell's earliest music – a host of early singles by Merrell & The Exiles, some of which were issued on the Glenn and Golden Crown labels – mixed here with rare unissued titles too – for a whopping 19 tracks that offer up a rare look at Fankhauser's earliest years! CD2 features the classic Fapardokly record – a lost bit of legend from the west coast scene of the 60s – and a record that's maybe best-known as a showcase for the early genius of Merrell Fankhauser – who wrote most of the songs on the set, a good number of which were actually recorded for the record by his previous group, The Exiles! Yet despite that little bit of trivia, there's a great vibe going on here – a seminal shift in the Cali scene from garagey work to trippier modes – served up beautifully on titles that include "Glass Chandelier", "Suzie Cryin", "Tomorrow's Girl", "Lila", "Mr Clock", "No Retreat", "Gone To Pot", "When I Get Home", "Supermarket", and "The Music Scene". CD3 features the album Things, recorded by Merrell Fankhauser & HMS Bounty – a perfect blend of Fankhauser's earlier garage rock modes and latter trippier styles! The tunes are short and wonderfully tuneful – produced at Gold Star studios, with a simple, straightforward style that makes all the deftness of the songwriting come through even more – an approach that, although supposedly steeped in Pacific Ocean inspiration, almost feels more like that great moment when some UK groups of the mid 60s were tripping out, but not too much. Titles include "Lost In The City", "Your Painted Lives", "In A Minute Not Too Soon", "A Visit With Ashiya", "The Big Gray Sky", and "Rich Man's Fable". CD4 features MU – an incredible record, and one that really lives up to all its well-deserved legend over the years – one of those sets that's not just rare, but which has all the chops to really deliver the goods! A few short years before, Merrell Fankhauser was recording garage and psych on the LA scene – but here, he steps off the latter with a bit of post-60s hangover – working with a current of darkness that really changes things up, while still providing a great outlet for his legendary work on guitar – and his mindblowing sense of a lyric! Titles include "Ballad Of Brother Lew", "Eternal Thirst", "Too Naked For Demetrius", "Mumbella Baye Tu La", "The Clouds Went That Way", and "Nobody Wants To Shine". CD5 features MU's The Last Album – 20 more tracks recorded in 1974, but unissued for many years – and CD6 features the legendary Maui album from the enigmatic Merrell Fankhauser – a self-released set that drew inspiration from his time in Hawaii – even though the set was mostly recorded in LA and San Francisco! The tunes are beautiful – nicely evolved from Merrell's psych of earlier years, with a much more personal vibe – yet all without some of those west coast cliches that were creeping into more mainstream music of the period. You might get the vibe partly right if you could maybe imagine a more personal singer/songwriter take on the AOR vibe of the period – with leaner, better instrumentation and unslick production – but that's also only part of the picture too! Titles include "On Our Way To Hana", "Make A Joyful Noise", "Garden In The Rain", "Waterfall", "The Source", "Sail It Over The Ocean", and "We Were All Free". Box set features a very detailed book of notes – bonus tracks added to most of the albums, and a massive 95 tracks in all! CD

A totally amazing little package – every single album recorded by Fela Kuti, served up in tiny LP-style sleeves, and brought together in one excellent box set – with a bonus movie as well! The collection features a total of 51 albums, most of which are paired up with crucial counterparts, as on some of the previous CD releases of the material. But this time around, there's way more than you might imagine in one place – classic records that include Afrodisiac, Confusion, Shakara, Fela's London Scene, He Miss Road, Kalakuta Show, Music Of Many Colors, Beasts Of No Nation, Army Arrangement, Coffin For Head Of State, Original Sufferhead, ITT, The Fela Singles, Roforofo Fight, Excuse O, Moise For Vendor Mouth, Why Black Man Dey Suffer, Na Poi, Authority Stealing, VIP, Fela With Ginger Baker Live, Underground System, Zombie, and lots lots more – a truly amazing run of music! Also features the bonus DVD – A Slice Of Fela. Plus, this package also features 3 more CDs than the previous complete box set – filled with loads of rarities, and 2 previously-unissued tracks! Also features a 52 page booklet with a biography and album commentary. CD

A very cool set of work – a box set that brings together six different pic sleeve singles from Roxy Music legend Bryan Ferry – most of which were not issued in the US! The images alone are great – shots of Ferry in his youth, including a few images with a surprisingly slick moustache – and most of the work here dovetails nicely with the classic Roxy Music material, with some of the same musicians on hand, but given a slightly different spin in Ferry's company. Titles include the original tracks "Sea Breezes", "Remake/Remodel", "2HB", "Another Time Another Place", and "Chance Meeting" – plus versions of "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes", "Hard Rain's Gonna Fall", "You Go To My Head", "The In Crowd", and "Let's Stick Together". Also features the very cool Extended Play EP – with versions of "It's Only Love", "Heart On My Sleeve", "Shame Shame Shame", and "The Price Of Love". 7-inch, Vinyl record

Massive music from Ella Fitzgerald – 2CDs worth of sublime small group recordings – all of them live, and all of them previously unissued before the Hip-O/Verve Select box set! The set follows the same format of the Verve Ella In Hollywood album – recorded in a small club setting, with combo backing that really lets Fitzgerald open up and swing – inflecting the tunes with the kind of warmth and spontaneity that she brought to her famous live performances of the time – which were almost always more compelling than her studio sides, no matter how great those were too! Vols 1 & 2s feature material from two weeks' worth of recording in May of 1961 – with backing from Jim Hall on guitar, Lou Levy on piano, Wilfred Middlebrooks on bass, and Gus Johnson on drums. A brief intro rolls into beautiful material on 2CDs – 37 tracks in all: "Lover Come Back To Me", "Too Close For Comfort", "Little White Lies", "I Found A New Baby", "Perdido", "'Round Midnight", "Take The 'A' Train", "Mr Paganini", "Nice Work If You Can Get It", "I Can't Get It Started", "Give Me The Simple Life", "Lorelei", "Witchcraft", "That Old Black Magic", "Lullaby Of Birdland", "Imagination", "Joe Williams' Blues" and more. CD

Massive music from Ella Fitzgerald – 4CDs worth of sublime small group recordings – all of them live, and all of them previously unissued! The set follows the same format of the Verve Ella In Hollywood album – recorded in a small club setting, with combo backing that really lets Fitzgerald open up and swing – inflecting the tunes with the kind of warmth and spontaneity that she brought to her famous live performances of the time – which were almost always more compelling than her studio sides, no matter how great those were too! The first 3CDs feature material from two weeks' worth of recording in May of 1961 – with backing from Jim Hall on guitar, Lou Levy on piano, Wilfred Middlebrooks on bass, and Gus Johnson on drums – and CD four features Ella returning to Hollywood for two more nights in 1962, with trio backing from Paul Smith on piano, Middlebrooks on bass, and Stan Levey on drums. There's a massive 77 tracks in all – handsomely package in a hardcover 7" square book – which also features beautiful color pages inside, lots of notes on the music, and design that's every bit as groovy as the old albums on Verve. Titles include "Joe Williams' Blues", "It's De-Lovely", "Lorelei", "I Can't Get Started", "Round Midnight", "Perdido", "Little White Lies", "Lover Come Back To Me", "Across The Alley From The Alamo", "Love For Sale", "Exactly Like You", "Mack The Knife", "Teach Me Tonight", "My Kind Of Boy", "It Had To Be You", "Hard Hearted Hannah", "All Of Me", and "Too Darn Hot/Ella's Twist". And, in case you're wondering, there's almost no repetition in the set at all – all discreet, unique tunes – not just the sort of rehash you might get in other concert box sets of this nature! CD

A very cool collaboration between Greg Foat and James Thorpe – a set that's billed more as a sound library session than some of Foat's other jazz projects – even though the sound is equally appealing if you love those records too! The set is self-described as "futuristic analogue cosmic synth library cues for TV, film, and radio" – but it's also got a much warmer sound than you might expect, very much in keeping with the natural image on the cover – as Foat and Thorpe eschew some of the colder keyboard styles of other library records, and instead really let things glow with that organic vibe that usually informs Greg's music, as gentle rhythms set the pace for Fender Rhodes, Hohner pianet, and a host of Korg and Roland keys. There's also a touch of vibes, some field recordings, and other cool touches – on tracks that include "Balloon Ride", "Circadian Rhythms", "Grockle Box", "Living The Dream", "Platform Game", "Stacey's Theme", and "Elementary Physiology (parts 1 & 2)". CD

A very cool collaboration between Greg Foat and James Thorpe – a set that's billed more as a sound library session than some of Foat's other jazz projects – even though the sound is equally appealing if you love those records too! The set is self-described as "futuristic analogue cosmic synth library cues for TV, film, and radio" – but it's also got a much warmer sound than you might expect, very much in keeping with the natural image on the cover – as Foat and Thorpe eschew some of the colder keyboard styles of other library records, and instead really let things glow with that organic vibe that usually informs Greg's music, as gentle rhythms set the pace for Fender Rhodes, Hohner pianet, and a host of Korg and Roland keys. There's also a touch of vibes, some field recordings, and other cool touches – on tracks that include "Balloon Ride", "Circadian Rhythms", "Grockle Box", "Living The Dream", "Platform Game", "Stacey's Theme", and "Elementary Physiology (parts 1 & 2)". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the darkest records to ever come out of the Detroit soul scene! As you might guess from the title, the album is Funkadelic's first – and it's a swirling mass of psychedelic guitars, echoey drums, and bass-heavy riffing, all topped off by the band's harmony vocals, which sound like a perversion of the deep-Motown styles of groups like The Temptations or Undisputed Truth – taken into even headier territory! The original 5-member version of the group includes Eddie Hazel, Mickey Atkins, Tawl Ross, Bill Nelson, and Tiki Fulwood – all working here with some mindblowing George Clinton production! Tracks include classics like "I Bet You", "Mommy, What's a Funkadelic", "Music for My Mother", and "What Is Soul" – and the album's the stuff that made these guys a legend right out of the box! LP, Vinyl record album

One of the darkest records to ever come out of the Detroit soul scene! As you might guess from the title, the album is Funkadelic's first – and it's a swirling mass of psychedelic guitars, echoey drums, and bass-heavy riffing, all topped off by the band's harmony vocals, which sound like a perversion of the deep-Motown styles of groups like The Temptations or Undisputed Truth – taken into even headier territory! The original 5-member version of the group includes Eddie Hazel, Mickey Atkins, Tawl Ross, Bill Nelson, and Tiki Fulwood – all working here with some mindblowing George Clinton production! Tracks include classics like "I Bet You", "Mommy, What's a Funkadelic", "Music for My Mother", and "What Is Soul" – and the album's the stuff that made these guys a legend right out of the box! This hugely expanded version features 7 bonus tracks that include alternate 45 versions and non-LP cuts from the time. Titles include "Music For My Mother (instrumental)", "I'll Be You", "Can't Shake It Loose", "As Good As I Can Feel", and "Open Our Eyes". CD

Nine incredible albums from the legendary Serge Gainsbourg – all presented together here in a limited box set, with very high quality vinyl, and half-speed mastering that makes the records sound even better than ever before! The set begins with a number of key early albums by Serge – work that shows him emerging from the postwar left bank scene, and working in a mix of jazz and Latin styles, always with the sharp edge, wit, and offbeat approach to material that made his music so great! Next are two records with famous female co-stars – one record that has the lovely Brigitte Bardot working with Serge – getting some fantastic grooves in the process, and also pushing boundaries of sexual liberation in the 60s! That same mode follows in Gainsbourg's famous album with life partner Jane Birkin – barely an adult at the time of recording, but a fantastic muse for Serge's music! The set also features a record exclusive to this set – rare 60s material from singles and soundtracks – featuring some of Gainsbourg's famous cinematic performances! Other albums on the set include Du Chant A La Lune, Serge Gainsbourg No 2, L'Etonnant Serge Gainsbourg, Serge Gainsbourg No 4, Confidentiel, Gainsbourg Percussions, Initials BB, and Jane Birkin & Serge Gainsbourg – and all albums come with their original artwork inside the slipcase! LP, Vinyl record album

A stunning tribute to the wonderful Bobbie Gentry – and maybe the first package to really show the world how much she has to offer past her one classic crossover hit! Bobbie started out like a rocket with the country gem "Ode To Billie Joe" – a tune she wrote herself, and followed with lots of other great music on the original debut album here – which then set the scene for a great expansion into other modes, as Capitol Records really opened up their resources for Gentry to record in the late 60s! This huge package features everything that Bobbie ever recorded for the label – not just some great full albums, but also some rare singles, demos, and alternate takes – plus 75 unreleased tracks (!) – and then a full incredible album Live At The BBC – which features 26 tracks of Gentry really knocking it out of the park. The BBC material has these really dark, brooding orchestrations – almost like Bobbie's getting some Scott Walker late 60s backings – and the whole box set might be worth it alone for that double-length album! The package is a very cool 10" slipcover – with a huge booklet of notes, postcards, lyric inserts, and more – 177 tracks in all, with albums that include Ode To Billie Joe, The Delta Sweete, Local Gentry, Bobbie Gentry & Glen Campbell, Touch Em With Love, Fancy, Patchwork, and Live At The BBC. CD

Amazing work from Philip Glass – his second great opera, and a long-overdue follow-up to Einstein On The Beach – a set of music that's every bit as great as that groundbreaking work, but maybe even with stronger, fuller execution overall! The piece looks at the early political years of Gandhi – the title is a term coined by him, as a reference to his philosophy of truth and love – with words by Constance DeJohng, and these amazing minimalist orchestrations by Glass – filled with the kind of long-spun lines you'd find in his instrumental work, but somehow made even more amazing with the presence of lyrics! Douglas Perry handles the role of Gandhi – and the performance is by the New York City Opera Orchestra and Chorus, directed by Christopher Keene. LP, Vinyl record album