CD version of the 2 LP companion to Ego Trip's Book of Rap Lists. They did a good job of including a lot of amazing old school tracks (1983-1989) that maybe not everyone knows about – but should, including some that are nearly impossible to find on 12". Every track here is worth it, and most haven't been on other compilations. Tracks include "Holy War (Live)" by Divine Force, "My Mic Is On Fire" by Lord Shafiyq, "Marly Marl Scratch" by Marly Marl featuring MC Shan, "Get Retarded" by MC EZ & Troup , "Get Down Grandmaster" by Grandmaster Caz, "Step Up Front" by Positive K, "This Cut's Got Flavor" by Latee, "Droppin' It" by Bizzie Boyz, "I'm Not Playing" by Ultimate Force,"Do It! Do It!" by Alliance, "Brooklyn Blew Up The Bridge" by MC Mitchski, and "Beat Bop" (full 10-minute version) by Rammelzee vs. K-Rob. CD

A killer collection of work from the great Howard Tate – a stunning soul singer who recorded mostly during an initial decade in the studio, then briefly returned to fame in the few short years before his death – always with a depth and vibrancy that set him apart right from the start! Tate was born in the south, but raised in Philly – and as such, has this unusual blend of deep soul vocals and more sophisticated modes – heard most famously in his early work with producer Jerry Ragovoy, but carried on strongly in his 70s records too – all of which are sampled here, in a collection that includes material from Howard's sessions for Verve, Atlantic, Epic, HT, and Turntable Records! CD features a massive 29 tracks in all – and titles include "My Soul's Got A Hole In It", "Shoot Em All Down", "Stop", "Strugglin", "Keep Cool", "She's A Burglar", "It's Too Late", "Can You Top This", "Brand New Me", "Get It While You Can", "The Bigger End", "Ain't Got Nobody To Give It To", "Half A Man", "You're Looking Good", "Question", "Have You Ever Had The Blues", and "Baby I Love You". CD

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28 tracks by Jimmy McCracklin, The Cheaters, Snookum Russell, Johnny Otis, Professor Longhair, The Sly Fox, Wynonie Harris, and more... CD

DTS surround mix with 3 exxclusive bonus tracks. CD

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A bold brilliant statement from pianist Steve Kuhn – his next great record after the seminal Three Waves, and a record that pushes the envelope even further! From the title, you might think that Kuhn's playing some familiar 60s standards for MPS – but he's really working strongly in his own agenda here, stepping forward in strong new voice he was bringing to piano at the time, and even going a bit more outside than ever before. The trio includes Palle Danielsson on bass and Jon Christensen on drums – and although familiar, some of the titles have a sense of freedom that really transforms them. Titles include Burt Bacharach's great "Windows On The World", Michel Legrand's "Watch What Happens", Gary McFarland's "Once We Loved", Carla Bley's "Ad Infinitum", and Kuhn's own "Silver". CD

Two wonderfully fresh works for orchestra – both conducted with plenty of inventive touches by Howard Hanson during his tenure with the Eastman Rochester Orchestra! "The Black Maskers" is a piece originally penned for a production of the dramatic work by Leonid Andreyev – but it works beautifully here on its own, in theses very vivid passages on woodwinds and percussion – recorded superbly, so that all of Hanson's energy from the stand flows through the playback of the performance. The flipside features "Tabuh Tabuhan" – a toccata for orchestra by Colin McPhee, done in a very modern sort of mode – one that mixes work on percussion that's almost gamelan-like at times, with brightly vivid orchestrations. The piece is beautiful – and almost seems like a precursor to later work by Lou Harrison, but mixed with some of the energy of the early century Russian composers. This CD version also includes Virgil Thomson's "Symphony On A Hymn Tune" and "The Feast Of Love". CD

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