One of the headiest albums ever recorded by the Art Ensemble of Chicago – a brilliant mix of noise and silence that rivals some of the greatest genius of the 20th century avant composition! The album's lead track "Ohnedaruth" builds slowly with a variety of percussion – traveling in People In Sorrow territory that shows a remarkable sense of sound and space. All members of the group pick up some percussion to build the track as it goes along – then follow suit with a more reed-based approach on the other extended tune on the album, "Lebert Aaly" – the group's brilliant tribute to the late Albert Ayler! The sound is incredibly deep and textured – and draws a clear line between creative improvisation and technical composition that puts the group alongside Cage and Hindemuth! LP, Vinyl record album

Prince certainly hit and run with this record – as the set was so secret, we couldn't even announce it until it was released! But the lack of advance fame certainly doesn't hold it back – as the whole thing is one of Prince's strongest efforts in years – a record that echoes lots of his 80s famous funk right at the start, then breaks out into a mode that's a lot more brash and almost brutal at times – as if the purple one's expressing anger and emotion we never would have heard in his music from years back! Everything is very much right on the money – vocals, instruments, and all the rhythms woven together with that magic that Prince first created decades ago – but with a fresher 21st Century spirit that still blows away most of the younger generation he's inspired. Titles include "Hardrocklover", "Fallinlove2nite", "Mr Nelson", "June", "Million $ Show", "Ain't About 2 Stop", and "This Could B Us". CD

Four of the more obscure RCA albums from the great Bobby Bare – all brought together here in a single set! First up is the very unusual English Countryside album – a special set that has the vocals of Bobby Bare paired with a group from the UK – Liverpool's Hillsiders, who sing with a style that's a bit folk, and a bit rock – but which takes on a very distinct country vibe amidst the RCA production of Chet Atkins! Both Bare and The Hillsiders sing solo on the record – but most of the set has them paired together, and the presence of all those voices on the tracks create a nice sense of spontaneity – maybe a hint at the more relaxed recording approach that Bobby would use on his big albums of the mid 70s! Titles include "Sweet Dreams", "Six Days On The Road", "Find Out What's Happening", "Love's Gonna Live Here", "Goin Home", "Blue Is My Lonely Room", and "I Washed My Face In The Mountain Dew". Margie's At The Lincoln Park Inn is a seminal album in the career of Bobby Bare – and the record that really has him turning from a young smiling country singer to the kind of more adult, mature talent that would really send him over the top! The album's promise of "controversial country songs" is certainly apt – as in addition to the great Tom T Hall title cut, the album also features Bare taking on great material from Kris Kristoffersen, Mel Tillis, and even the team of Spooner Oldham and Dan Penn – all set to arrangements that are nicely more sophisticated than those used on the more pop productions of some of Bobby's earlier albums. Titles include "Margie's At The Lincoln Park Inn,", "The Law Is For The Protection Of The People", "Watching The Trains Go By", "Skip A Rope", "Rainy Day In Richmond", "Cincinnati Jail", "Wild As The Wind", and "Drink Up & Go Home". I Hate Goodbyes is the record that marked the return of Bobby Bare to RCA Records in the early 70s – and one that also marks the start of a very different phase in Bare's career! This time around, Bobby's handling the production himself – working with the kind of thoughtful, mature material that would really let him open up – songs from Billy Joe Shaver, Mickey Newbury, the team of Bill Rice and Jerry Foster, and even an early tune from Shel Silverstein – who would soon become one of the biggest contributors to Bobby's records. The vibe is very different than his RCA material of the mid 60s, and in a great way – on titles that include "I Hate Goodbyes", "Restless Wind", "Ride Me Down Easy", "Send Tomorrow To The Moon", "You Know Who", "An Offer She Couldn't Refuse", "What's Your Mama's Name Child", and "Poison Red Berries". Last up is Cowboys & Daddys – an overlooked gem in the mid 70s RCA years of the great Bobby Bare – and a set that really shows the dedication that Bare had during these years to finding the most sophisticated material of the new country generation! The list of songwriters alone is great – as the set features tracks from Terry Allen, Shel Silverstein, David Hickey, and Tom T Hall – plus an early contribution from Bob McDill, with whom Bare would soon record a lot more material on albums to come. There's a mature, laidback vibe to the whole set – different than some of the more playful Bobby Bare albums of the time – and titles include "Chester", "The Cowboy & The Poet", "Amarillo Highway", "Speckled Pony", "Calgary Snow", "Last Dance At The Old Texas Moon", "Pretty Painted Ladies", and "The Stranger". CD

Tremendously tight grooves from Hamilton Bohannon – tunes that have this amazing way of wrapping together the bass, drums, and guitar – all in this fast-chugging style that's plenty funky all the way through! Bohannon was one of the most minimal of his 70s funk contemporaries – and has this way of really focusing in on one key rhythm, then rolling it out with incredible tightness – slowly changing things with some slight phase shifts in tone or timing, but always returning to the core of the tune. The approach is maybe even more striking here than on his previous records – and far grittier than on his later 70s work, too – and at some level, the vocals are almost thrown in as an afterthought, once Bo and the combo get things grooving! Titles include "Come Winter", "South Africa 76", "Feel Good At Midnight", "Gittin Off", and "I'm In Love". CD features two bonus tracks – single versions of "Gittin Off" and "Come Winter". CD

A stunning double-length collection of work from dub producer Errol Brown – a massive 42 tracks in all, each of which definitely live up to the "tip top" promised in the title! The work here is from the years 1977 and 1978 – all originally issued on the High Note or Sky Note labels, at a time when Brown's talents in the studio were able to completely transform elements from contemporary tunes, and take them into all sorts of wonderful new directions with instrumentation help from The Revolutionaries! There's plenty of echo throughout, but most tunes also have a very straightforward vibe too – lean and forward-moving, without getting too bogged down in the production – just using the right elements to make everything sound super-cool throughout. The set features 25 tracks that have never been on CD amidst the total of 42 – and tracks include "Phase One Special", "Roots Man Dub", "Dancing Dub", "Wooga Man", "King Ruler", "Ital Dub", "Dub Walla", "Chapter 15", "Know Your Friend Version", "Strictly Roots"- "Lizard Version", and "Dub In Dreamland". CD

Ted Daniel may be one of the most compelling sound-shapers we've ever heard on the trumpet – a very under-acknowledged musician whose playing of the 70s and 80s continues to really grab us over the years! This unissued live set is from 1981, and it features Ted on a variety of horns – blowing in a special way that both links to more conventional trumpet modes, yet also shows a knowledge of the more open phrasing that some of his generation were using – like Lester Bowie or Leo Smith. Yet unlike some of those artists, Ted's performance, although free, is never that far from the more familiar roots of trumpet expression – a fantastic balance that really comes through beautifully in the music. There's a few unusual approaches here – one track features a trumpet played into a grand piano, another a flugelhorn through a phase shifter – but even these never go too far out. Titles include "Sunny Side Up", "Closer & Closer", "Vicissitudes Of A Lover", "Al Fine", "Ciao Bene", and "Deac's Ceremonial Testimonial". CD

Really great work from Arnold Dreyblatt – a set that's almost a distillation of his excited strings material from many years back, taken into rock minimalism territory that almost seems to tie it to early projects from composer Glenn Branca too! The strings here are all electric – Arnold on excited strings bass, next to two live guitars, and one computer-controlled guitar – all moving in these modal rhythms that build nicely, with some slight phase shifts and inflections – but also enough punch at the core with some drums, so that the tunes almost seem to have more rock appeal than some of Dreyblatt's other material. Titles include the very long "Auditoria", plus the cuts "Shuffle Effect", "Container", and "Flight Path". LP, Vinyl record album

A cool sextet session from Benny Goodman – one that recalls the best fluid groove of his late 30s small combo sides! The setting here is live, but the recording features excellent sound – all to capture a mix of Benny's clarinet, Zoot Sims' tenor, Bill McGuffie's piano, Bucky Pizzarelli's guitar, and some especially nice vibes from Peter Appleyard – ringing out to really color the sound of the entire record. There's a leanness here that gets past any hoke that you might expect – and the presence of such good musicians in the small combo means that the record offers plenty more than Goodman's already great solo work. Titles include "Where Or When", "I Want To Be Happy", "A Smooth One", "Shine", "Flying Home", "I've Found A New Baby", "The Sheik Of Araby", and "Too Close For Comfort". LP, Vinyl record album

Beatles Back & Bacharach presents the Ted Heath group in some very groovy territory – playing a fair bit of the first and third "B" in the title, plus a little bit of the second! Heath's instrumentation is quite far from the brassier horns used on his earlier records – and Johnny Keating's sensitive arrangements for the date bring in a fair bit of groovier elements – electric bass, guitar, flute, and even some electric harpsichord! In a way, the record's much more of a Keating album than a Heath one – right down to the subtle dose of funk that Johnny was bringing to his music at this time – and titles include "This Guy's In Love With You", "Norwegian Wood", "B B & B", "Air On The G String", "Let It Be", "You'll Never Get To Heaven", and "I'll Never Fall In Love Again". LP, Vinyl record album

An album with a classic modernist cover image – and one that's also got the same sort of sound to match – brilliant early work from trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, who's really coming into his own as a leader with this date! Freddie's really finding a voice here – a sharper edge than on some of his later albums, at the beginning of a more modernist phase in the mid-60s – when his efforts would mark him as one of the more straight ahead players of the "new thing" scene. There's a careful balance in Hubbard's work here – spurred on by youthful energy of group mates Herbie Hancock on piano, James Spaulding on alto and flute, Reggie Workman on bass, and Clifford Jarvis on drums. Hubbard is really brimming over with new ideas – as are the other players – and titles include "Lament for Booker", "Prophet Jennings", "Hub Tones", "For Spee's Sake", and "You're My Everything". LP, Vinyl record album

An album with a classic modernist cover image – and one that's also got the same sort of sound to match – brilliant early work from trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, who's really coming into his own as a leader with this date! Freddie's really finding a voice here – a sharper edge than on some of his later albums, at the beginning of a more modernist phase in the mid-60s – when his efforts would mark him as one of the more straight ahead players of the "new thing" scene. There's a careful balance in Hubbard's work here – spurred on by youthful energy of group mates Herbie Hancock on piano, James Spaulding on alto and flute, Reggie Workman on bass, and Clifford Jarvis on drums. Hubbard is really brimming over with new ideas – as are the other players – and titles include "Lament for Booker", "Prophet Jennings", "Hub Tones", "For Spee's Sake", and "You're My Everything". CD also includes 3 alternate takes of titles on the album. CD

An album with a classic modernist cover image – and one that's also got the same sort of sound to match – brilliant early work from trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, who's really coming into his own as a leader with this date! Freddie's really finding a voice here – a sharper edge than on some of his later albums, at the beginning of a more modernist phase in the mid-60s – when his efforts would mark him as one of the more straight ahead players of the "new thing" scene. There's a careful balance in Hubbard's work here – spurred on by youthful energy of group mates Herbie Hancock on piano, James Spaulding on alto and flute, Reggie Workman on bass, and Clifford Jarvis on drums. Hubbard is really brimming over with new ideas – as are the other players – and titles include "Lament for Booker", "Prophet Jennings", "Hub Tones", "For Spee's Sake", and "You're My Everything". CD reissue also includes 2 bonus tracks which are alternate takes of titles on the album! CD

A beautiful little album of sweet late 60s easy – originally recorded by British producer Mike Hurts for Phase 4 at the end of the 60s, but never issued until now! The set has a really warm and glowing sort of groove – one that's a fair bit more dynamic than most of the rest of the Phase 4 sets, with evocative qualities that almost push the record more into the soundtrack side of the spectrum. Hurst's arrangements of the tunes are often quite driving, but never too dramatic – and although the set's an orchestral one, there's a great sense of pacing, timing, and rhythm to all the numbers. Titles include "April Fools", "Cool", "Sound Of Silence", "Wednesday's Child", "Good Vibrations", "Image", "Mission Impossible", and "Theme From The Wild Ones". CD

A groovy record from the International Pop All Stars for Decca's Phase 4 label of percussion & strings oriented LPs! Vibrations Around The World has a groovy, moddish, cheeky charm with an international focus, picking themes to represent countries as if this were some kind of easy listening Olympics! "Aquarius" reps the USA, "Greensleeves" is for the UK, "Tulips From Amsterdam" represents Holland, "One One Samba" stands for Brazil, and more. LP, Vinyl record album

The Isley Brothers in prime 70s mode here – hitting a warm and wonderful blend of soul and funk throughout – always delivered with that sweet talent for smooth understatement that makes them so great! The costumes on the front cover may be freaky, but the grooves are nicely restrained – and by this point in the decade, the brothers have definitely learned that their strongest suit is often their mellow one – tracks that groove, but often in more subtle ways! Titles include the massive slow jam track "Groove With You", plus "Take Me To The Next Phase (parts 1 & 2)", "Love Fever (parts 1 & 2)", "Fun & Games", "Ain't Givin Up No Love", and "Coolin Me Out (parts 1 & 2)". LP, Vinyl record album

A pivotal session from the late 60s – one that has Jackie McLean pulling things back a bit from his "new thing" period, and turning towards the spiritual soulful groove that would characterize his early 70s work! The album bristles with excitement – still very much informed by a knowledge of the space explored during Jackie's avant years, but never quite willing to go to that space – especially if it means sacrificing the soulful swing of the set! The group's filled with young soulful modernists – including Woody Shaw on trumpet, Lamont Johnson on piano, Scott Holt on bass, and Jack DeJohnette on drums – and Jackie himself seems to be working out a whole new phase of his career with each new track – showing that even when he was at his "new thing" best, he was still ready to move on! Tremendous stuff, and one of our favorite Blue Notes from the time – and one of the most soulful too! Titles include "Floogeh", "Message From Trane", "Toyland", and "Boo Ann's Grind". CD

A pivotal session from the late 60s – one that has Jackie McLean pulling things back a bit from his "new thing" period, and turning towards the spiritual soulful groove that would characterize his early 70s work! The album bristles with excitement – still very much informed by a knowledge of the space explored during Jackie's avant years, but never quite willing to go to that space – especially if it means sacrificing the soulful swing of the set! The group's filled with young soulful modernists – including Woody Shaw on trumpet, Lamont Johnson on piano, Scott Holt on bass, and Jack DeJohnette on drums – and Jackie himself seems to be working out a whole new phase of his career with each new track – showing that even when he was at his "new thing" best, he was still ready to move on! Tremendous stuff, and one of our favorite Blue Notes from the time – and one of the most soulful too! Titles include "Floogeh", "Message From Trane", "Toyland", and "Boo Ann's Grind". LP, Vinyl record album

A pivotal session from the late 60s – one that has Jackie McLean pulling things back a bit from his "new thing" period, and turning towards the spiritual soulful groove that would characterize his early 70s work! The album bristles with excitement – still very much informed by a knowledge of the space explored during Jackie's avant years, but never quite willing to go to that space – especially if it means sacrificing the soulful swing of the set! The group's filled with young soulful modernists – including Woody Shaw on trumpet, Lamont Johnson on piano, Scott Holt on bass, and Jack DeJohnette on drums – and Jackie himself seems to be working out a whole new phase of his career with each new track – showing that even when he was at his "new thing" best, he was still ready to move on! Tremendous stuff, and one of our favorite Blue Notes from the time – and one of the most soulful too! Titles include "Floogeh", "Message From Trane", "Toyland", and "Boo Ann's Grind". LP, Vinyl record album

A pivotal session from the late 60s – one that has Jackie McLean pulling things back a bit from his "new thing" period, and turning towards the spiritual soulful groove that would characterize his early 70s work! The album bristles with excitement – still very much informed by a knowledge of the space explored during Jackie's avant years, but never quite willing to go to that space – especially if it means sacrificing the soulful swing of the set! The group's filled with young soulful modernists – including Woody Shaw on trumpet, Lamont Johnson on piano, Scott Holt on bass, and Jack DeJohnette on drums – and Jackie himself seems to be working out a whole new phase of his career with each new track – showing that even when he was at his "new thing" best, he was still ready to move on! Tremendous stuff, and one of our favorite Blue Notes from the time – and one of the most soulful too! Titles include "Floogeh", "Message From Trane", "Toyland", and "Boo Ann's Grind". CD

A near-legendary album from Pat Metheny – the real birth of the "Metheny sound" on record, and a perfect example of the magically fluid groove that he crafted with keyboardist Lyle Mays! The sound here is hard to describe – and even harder when you try to pick out the individual keyboard and guitar bits – because the overall feel of the record is so well wrapped up and lyrically together, yet manages to do so without falling into any too-slick styles or cliched approaches to fusion. We're stunned at how much this one still delights us over the years, and the record still stands as a landmark in its field. Titles include "San Lorenzo", "Phase Dance", "Jaco", "Aprilwind", "Lonejack", and "Apriljoy". LP, Vinyl record album

A live album, but every bit as seminal as the studio sides that Pat Metheny cut for ECM at the time – and proof that the Metheny magic was clearly his own, and not just a product of studio tricks by Manfred Eicher! The set reprises tunes and themes from a variety of Metheny's earlier ECM albums – but the live presentation of the material somehow really transforms a number of them – pushing them into a soundspace that's similar to the one explored by Pat on the Offramp album, augmented especially by the presence of percussionist Nana Vasconcelos in the group. Titles include "Phase Dance", "Farmer's Trust", "Straight On Red", "The Fields The Sky", "Are You Going With Me", "Extradition", "Going Ahead", "As Falls Wichita So Falls Wichita Falls", and "Travels". LP, Vinyl record album

All 3 Move albums remastered and collected in 1 massive set! This anthology includes basically everything you could ever want by these psychedelic pop maestros – including their self-titled 1st LP, Shazam, Looking On, singles, un-issued tracks, as well as the 1st ever CD version of the live Something Else EP – showcasing each phase of the group's influential career. Essentially the brainchild of songwriter/lead guitarist Roy Wood, the Move were arguably one of the best and most important British groups of the late 60s to never make a dent on the American charts, combining shimmering psych-pop with a harder edge and a sometimes morbid lyrical twist (as evident on the first 2 discs). The 3rd CD contains the band's final album and 1st to feature a new member – guitarist Jeff Lynne (formerly of the Idle Race and future of Electric Light Orchestra) – whose cheerier pop notions proved an interesting, if not frustrating counterpoint to Wood's darker, ironic sensibilities. Wood and Lynne's growing fascination with orchestral rock would cause them to disband the Move in 1972 and form ELO – opening up a new chapter in the history of British rock, but this anthology contains a whopping 54 tracks including; "I Can Hear The Grass Grow", "Lemon Tree", Walk Upon The Water", "Flowers In The Rain", "Fire Brigade", from The Move, "Blackberry Way", "Cherry Blossom Clinic Revisited", and "Beautiful Daughter" from Shazam, and "Brontosaurus", "Looking On", and "Feel Too Good" from Looking On – Essential stuff! CD

Amazing work from Stanley Black – honest! The album's far funkier and far more dynamic than most of Stanley's other albums in the past – and is a sweet electric 70s session with plenty of elements you'd expect to find in some of the Brit Easy or sound library albums of the time! The arrangements are full, with a fair bit of electricity – but also some heavy percussion on the bottom on some funkier tracks too. Titles include versions of "Love In The Rain", "All It Takes Is Two", "Berimbau", "Wave", "Shaft", "The Hustle", and "Volare". LP, Vinyl record album

Timeless metal from Black Sabbath and their first album with Ronnie James Dio out front – and we'd honestly put it up there with the best work of all their careers! No disrespect to Ozzy or the early, definitive era of Black Sabbath – those first few album are among the most influential rock & roll albums of all time and Heaven & Hell doesn't reinvent the wheel – but this new phase with another veteran front man is a masterclass heavy riffs, soaring vocals and hasn't aged a day. Includes the classic title track and "Neon Knights", "Children Of The Sea", "Wishing Well", "Die Young", "Walk Away" and "Lonely Is The Word". LP, Vinyl record album

A really wonderful setting for the vibes of Gary Burton – a special ECM session that pairs his quartet with larger orchestral backdrops – all conducted by Michael Gibbs, who also wrote the music for the date! Gibbs had already risen to fame by the time of this record – thanks to some groundbreaking albums for large ensembles on the British jazz scene of the late 60s – where he demonstrated a tremendous ear for intimate tones and subtle sounds amidst a larger group. Here, that talent turns out to work perfectly for the rich tones of Burton's vibes – allowing them to develop slowly and spaciously, despite the larger orchestra. The core quartet also features Michael Goodrick on guitar, Steve Swallow on bass, and Ted Seibs on drums – and titles include "The Rain Before It Falls", "Three", "Phases", "Throb", and "Nocturne Vulgaire/Arise Her Eyes". CD

One of the richest albums we've ever heard from saxophonist James Carter – and one of the sparest too, given that he only blows solo throughout the entire album! We're much more used to hearing Carter on tenor sax – and usually in the company of a small combo, where his classic tone has created great albums for many years. Yet here, he's blowing baritone throughout, and with this open style that still manages to swing nicely without any other backing – a balance between jazz tradition and open improvisation that makes the record so wonderful! There's definitely moments here that resonate with solo work by Hamiet Bluiett or David Murray, but Carter has an approach that's very much his own. Most titles are originals – and tunes include "Shipyard Ramble", "UN", "Ming", "Life Phases Take 2", "Nemesis", "Prince Lasha", and "Stepping Into Beauty". LP, Vinyl record album

Mindblowing work from the legendary Fela – definitely at the top of his game here, and brimming over with energy supplied by the Africa 70 ensemble! The tracks are long and freewheeling – but never without a sense of direction – as every ounce of the music is devoted to serving up the message of the man – from the way the keyboards step out over the grooves, to the sublime saxophone solos, to the rising energy when the vocals take flight in call/response mode! "Upside Down" is a monster groover with great rumbling sound – and "Go Slow" is slightly mellower, but no less soulful and funky. LP, Vinyl record album

The coolest record so far from this totally great combo – a live recording done on the home turf of the Greg Foat Group – the Playboy Club in London! The retro venue really fits the slinky, sexy vibe of the group's music – and although we already loved these guys before, this album has a really special sort of feel – with loads of wonderful keyboard lines from Greg on Hohner Electra piano, Elka Rhapsody, Hammond L 100, and Mutron Phaser – almost always distorted with a nice degree of fuzz, but still a straight ahead approach, and some great undercurrents of fuzz too! The group also features tenor and trumpet – which sometimes sound distorted, ala Varitone modes – and the overall sound feels like some lost jazzy club combo from the late 60s, really tripping out in a very comfortable space. We'd easily stack this one next to our favorite funky Fender Rhodes records from back in the day – and titles include "By The Grace Of God I Am", "Ingen Reklam", "Funky Fanfare", "Madrid", and "Mr Minor". CD features two bonus tracks – "Finky Minky" and "Papa's Got A Brand New Pigbag". CD

Great work from Moody's "second phase" – the post-Overbrook time in which he picks up the flute, drops a bit of the bop style, and starts working in a much more complicated style that showed that he had a hell of a lot of room to grow as an artist! This album's Moody's second for Argo – recorded in 1959, with help from the brilliant arranger Tom McIntosh. Players include Johnny Coles, Musa Kaleem, Gene Kee, and McIntosh – and the album features the first reading of Moody's famous "Darben The Redd Foxx", plus "Cookie", "RBQ", "Daahoud", and McIntosh's perennial favorite, "With Malice Toward None". CD

Great work from Moody's "second phase" – the post-Overbrook time in which he picks up the flute, drops a bit of the bop style, and starts working in a much more complicated style that showed that he had a hell of a lot of room to grow as an artist! This album's Moody's second for Argo – recorded in 1959, with help from the brilliant arranger Tom McIntosh. Players include Johnny Coles, Musa Kaleem, Gene Kee, and McIntosh – and the album features the first reading of Moody's famous "Darben The Redd Foxx", plus "Cookie", "RBQ", "Daahoud", and McIntosh's perennial favorite, "With Malice Toward None". LP, Vinyl record album

An album that wasn't much of a success when released, yet one that really helped define a new era in the sound of Willie Nelson – one that's both as introspective as the concept albums he would soon issue on Columbia, and which also maybe has a bit of the Austin underground creeping into his sound as well! The record has a unified vibe – the story of a couple going through phases and stages, good and bad – mixed with a few bits that preface the "skit" style of later hip hop records, and which really tie things together. Titles include the classic "Bloody Mary Morning", the excellent "Pretend I Never Happened", and the tracks "Walkin", "Down At The Corner Beer Joint", "Pick Up The Tempo", "It's Not Supposed To Be That Way", and "No Love Around". CD

An album that wasn't much of a success when released, yet one that really helped define a new era in the sound of Willie Nelson – one that's both as introspective as the concept albums he would soon issue on Columbia, and which also maybe has a bit of the Austin underground creeping into his sound as well! The record has a unified vibe – the story of a couple going through phases and stages, good and bad – mixed with a few bits that preface the "skit" style of later hip hop records, and which really tie things together. Titles include the classic "Bloody Mary Morning", the excellent "Pretend I Never Happened", and the tracks "Walkin", "Down At The Corner Beer Joint", "Pick Up The Tempo", "It's Not Supposed To Be That Way", and "No Love Around". LP, Vinyl record album

An album that wasn't much of a success when released, yet one that really helped define a new era in the sound of Willie Nelson – one that's both as introspective as the concept albums he would soon issue on Columbia, and which also maybe has a bit of the Austin underground creeping into his sound as well! The record has a unified vibe – the story of a couple going through phases and stages, good and bad – mixed with a few bits that preface the "skit" style of later hip hop records, and which really tie things together. Titles include the classic "Bloody Mary Morning", the excellent "Pretend I Never Happened", and the tracks "Walkin", "Down At The Corner Beer Joint", "Pick Up The Tempo", "It's Not Supposed To Be That Way", and "No Love Around". 2LP version features all sorts of rare bonus material – alternates of most of the tracks on the album – some nicely different! LP, Vinyl record album

A great bit of Aloha Soul from Phase 7 – a Hawaiian group who are right on the money from the very first note, and continue throughout with a wonderfully warm sound! The record's a bit upbeat, but not really clubby – more in the kind of sunny free soul vibe that we love from some of the best island soul groups of the time – delivered with a style that's upfront and unadorned, maybe a more honest take on some of the Cali soul that was coming out of the bigger studios on the west coast in the late 70s. The album's rock-solid throughout – crafted more as a whole set than going for a few singles – and titles include "Could It Be Love", "Chotto Matte Kudasai", "Playtime", "Slip Away", "You & Me", "So Good To Be In Love", and "Love Lifted Me". CD

Landmark music from Steve Reich – a set that takes his previous experiments in minimalism and phase shifting, and moves them into a highly percussive mode! The rhythms here become melodies – the sorts that you'd hear on other Reich keyboard albums, but played live with incredible dexterity – as each player puts together their passage in ways that interlocks with the other – than slowly moves in space over time – and letting in marimba, voice, piccolo, and glockenspiel to the mix as well. The shift over time is amazing – something that so many others have copied over the years, but never done this well again! CD

Includes "Triple Quartet", "Electric Guitar Phase","Music For Large Ensemble" and "Tokyo/Vermont Counterpoint". CD

A fantastic recording of two minimalist classics – each done here in an unique sort of way! The reading of Steve Reich's "Six Pianos" features six different artists on the instrument – but each recorded by themselves, away from the others, using their own piano – which is quite different from any sort of unified group recording of the work! The differing spaces and types of instrument maybe makes for more of a sense of individual "voice" to the performance than some others – yet the whole work still adhere's brilliantly to Reich's compositional ideas – especially his idea of phase shift over time! And on that note, the version of Terry Riley's "Keyboard Study #1" is wonderful too – featuring acoustic piano from Gregor Schwellenbach (who produced the record) – plus delays imposed on the performance by Lukas Vogel, whose almost working a Steve Reich tape trick into the more organic compositional ideals of Riley! CD

A wonderful mellow session from this great guitarist – with Hank Jones on piano, George Duvivier on bass, and Derryl Goes on drums. Titles include "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You", "Don't Sleep In The Subway", "Sunny", "Wave", "Exodus", and "Emily". LP, Vinyl record album

A full funky set of tracks from Will Sessions – a record that more than lives up to the group's previous legacy, but also seems to take them into this cool cosmic territory – maybe even the "electromagnetic reality" promised in the title! There was always raw funk energy at the Will Sessions core, but this time around it's almost as if it's wrapped up in some sweet spacey sounds that echo the 70s revolution of artists like Lonnie Liston Smith or Larry Mizell – which, as you can imagine, only makes the elements at the core even sound better! The whole thing's great – and titles include "Coffee Cup", "Lil Picasso", "Seagulls", "Out Done", "Yeah Yeah", "Phase Shift", and "Planet Jumper". CD

A full funky set of tracks from Will Sessions – a record that more than lives up to the group's previous legacy, but also seems to take them into this cool cosmic territory – maybe even the "electromagnetic reality" promised in the title! There was always raw funk energy at the Will Sessions core, but this time around it's almost as if it's wrapped up in some sweet spacey sounds that echo the 70s revolution of artists like Lonnie Liston Smith or Larry Mizell – which, as you can imagine, only makes the elements at the core even sound better! The whole thing's great – and titles include "Coffee Cup", "Lil Picasso", "Seagulls", "Out Done", "Yeah Yeah", "Phase Shift", and "Planet Jumper". LP, Vinyl record album

Keyboardist Bernie Worrell first rose to fame in the P-Funk universe of George Clinton – but as the decades moved on, he also became a very different sort of keyboardist overall – one with a lot more way out sounds than he ever would have contributed to a record by Funkadelic – as you'll hear on this set with the contemporary group Khueex! The music is some of the last that Bernie ever recorded before leaving this planet all too soon – and the keyboard work here is right up there with the wildness he really unleashed from the late 80s onward – with lots of great organ lines that are especially nice, interwoven with the heavy bass, guitar, and keyboards from the core group. Titles include "T Funk", "Going North", "The Phaser Is Broken", "No More Planks", "Angry Bear", "Killer Whale Creation", "Spiritual Warfare", and "Receiving Alien Transmission". CD

Keyboardist Bernie Worrell first rose to fame in the P-Funk universe of George Clinton – but as the decades moved on, he also became a very different sort of keyboardist overall – one with a lot more way out sounds than he ever would have contributed to a record by Funkadelic – as you'll hear on this set with the contemporary group Khueex! The music is some of the last that Bernie ever recorded before leaving this planet all too soon – and the keyboard work here is right up there with the wildness he really unleashed from the late 80s onward – with lots of great organ lines that are especially nice, interwoven with the heavy bass, guitar, and keyboards from the core group. Titles include "T Funk", "Going North", "The Phaser Is Broken", "No More Planks", "Angry Bear", "Killer Whale Creation", "Spiritual Warfare", and "Receiving Alien Transmission". LP, Vinyl record album