... CD

One of the boldest albums ever from this legendary spiritual jazz ensemble – and a set that has them reaching even further heights in their music! There's a bit more focus here than before – tunes that are somewhat shorter, and really hone in on the best elements in the group's sound – the amazing reed lines of Idris Ackamoor, and the building percussion in the grooves – often touched with odd sounds and unusual elements that give the record a similar feel to some of the more percussive Sun Ra albums on Saturn. There's a bit of vocals at points, but really just used to augment the instrumentation – and the album's got the sharply righteous tones you might expect to hear in some of the hippest Strata East work of the period! Titles include "Aomawa", "Black Man & Woman Of The Nile", "Jamaican Carnival", "Birth Speed Merging", and "Reaffirmation". LP, Vinyl record album

An album with a very personal vibe, maybe even more so than other recent work on the Steeplechase label – as Andrew Rathbun composed all the tunes himself, and really seems to have a commanding sense of timing throughout the album! The music swings, but also stops for some more contemplative moments too – and in both modes, there's a really keen sense of feeling for sound and tone – almost painterly at points, and moving with bolder strokes at others. Gary Versace contributes some wonderful piano to the set – really resonating strongly with Rathbun – and the group also features bass from John Hebert and drums from Tom Rainey, on titles that include "Widen The Doorway", "Wandering", "Fast 5th", "Tooth & Nail", "Velocity Unknown", and "Still A Thing". CD

An album with a very personal vibe, maybe even more so than other recent work on the Steeplechase label – as Andrew Rathbun composed all the tunes himself, and really seems to have a commanding sense of timing throughout the album! The music swings, but also stops for some more contemplative moments too – and in both modes, there's a really keen sense of feeling for sound and tone – almost painterly at points, and moving with bolder strokes at others. Gary Versace contributes some wonderful piano to the set – really resonating strongly with Rathbun – and the group also features bass from John Hebert and drums from Tom Rainey, on titles that include "Widen The Doorway", "Wandering", "Fast 5th", "Tooth & Nail", "Velocity Unknown", and "Still A Thing". CD

The fourth album from Roxy Music – a brilliant statement of their early genius through and through! The album has the group moving strongly past the Eno years, into a tighter framework that still contains many of the darker themes of earlier records. Ferry's lead vocals are incredibly majestic – rising to heights to match the European greats of years past who were his inspiration – and the group's tight blend of reeds, guitar, and moody keyboards gives the whole album an off-kilter sense of instrumentation that really sets it apart from the pack. There's an artfulness here that's never overdone, and the whole thing comes together with a magic that's impossible to describe, but which is Roxy at their best. Titles include "Out Of The Blue", "The Thrill Of It All", "Three & Nine", "Triptych", "Casanova", and "Prairie Rose". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic start to the second chapter of Roxy Music – a time when the group was stripped down to a trio, and almost seemed to arise as a way to answer the newer music that was coming up from all the younger groups that Bryan Ferry had influenced with his work in the 70s! Things aren't as weird and wild as at their start, but the instrumentation is impeccable – thanks to guitars from Phil Manzanera and saxes from Andy MacKay – and an approach that has the group bringing in some key other players from track to track, expanding the sound but never going too far. The vibe is a bit like the feel of some of Bryan Ferry's best solo work from the years before – but more Roxy-like too – and still head and shoulders above anything the new romantics had to offer. Titles include "Same Old Scene", "Flesh & Blood", "My Only Love", "Oh Yeah", "No Strange Delight", and "Running Wild". LP, Vinyl record album

Roxy Music's third album, and a record that really shows that the group have found a tremendous voice of their own – quite a thing to do, given the heady brew of records that were coming out in the year of 1973! There's a style here that's familiar enough to draw the listener in – maybe some echoes of territory you might hear in work from David Bowie, Lou Reed, John Cale, or the now-solo Brian Eno – but once inside, you find yourself in a completely different world – a mad blend of guitars and strings, saxophones and electronics, all used in these ways that are tuneful enough to be catchy, but also deeply unsettling too – as are the lead vocals of Bryan Ferry, who comes across like some older European singer who's been let out of the madhouse for the sessions. This isn't a singles-heavy record, but instead an album-length journey that never gets old, even as the years move on – and which is as powerful to new ears discovering the record for the first time as to longtime fans. Titles include "Street Life", "Just Like You", "Amazona", "Psalm", "Serenade", "A Song For Europe", "Mother Of Pearl", and "Sunset". LP, Vinyl record album

A set that's way more than the classic rock outing of some of the group's Bay Area contemporaries – as the young Carlos Santana finds a way to mix inspirations from blues and Latin music into this fierce fusion of so many different elements at once – stretching out, jamming, and touching decades of listeners in the process! The whole thing's a perfect sonic blend – guitar, keyboards, and plenty of percussion – on the group's stunning remake of "Oye Como Va", their fusion of "Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen", and the cuts "Se A Cabo", "Samba Pa Ti", "El Nicoya", and "Singing Winds Crying Beasts". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Chris Speed on clarinet and tenor saxophone, Jamie Saft on organ and synthesizer, and Ben Perowsky on drums. CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible album from the Japanese scene at the start of the 70s – served up by a group with a name that might be clunky, but which also belies one of that nation's heaviest combos of the time! The approach here is a bit like some of the tripped-out blues-influenced rock of the Led Zep generation in the UK – but as with some of this band's contemporaries in Japan, there's also a wilder, wiggier vibe going on too – more freewheeling, especially on the fuzz – and driven by tremendous drums that make for some great changes in some of the more hard-rocking numbers. Titles include "Mr Walking Drugstore Man", "Stoned Out Of My Mind", "Big Headed Woman", and "Ode To The Bad People" – plus the experimental "M Glue", and the acoustic "Sometime We'll All Fall Down". LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible album from the Japanese scene at the start of the 70s – served up by a group with a name that might be clunky, but which also belies one of that nation's heaviest combos of the time! The approach here is a bit like some of the tripped-out blues-influenced rock of the Led Zep generation in the UK – but as with some of this band's contemporaries in Japan, there's also a wilder, wiggier vibe going on too – more freewheeling, especially on the fuzz – and driven by tremendous drums that make for some great changes in some of the more hard-rocking numbers. Titles include "Mr Walking Drugstore Man", "Stoned Out Of My Mind", "Big Headed Woman", and "Ode To The Bad People" – plus the experimental "M Glue", and the acoustic "Sometime We'll All Fall Down". LP, Vinyl record album

A hell of a record from a Japanese band who answered to nobody else – a combo who could come on with the ferocity of James Gang or some of their contemporaries, but also hit some even wilder, more experimental moments too – something they definitely do here in the space of the double-length of the album – which mixes full-on jammers full of fuzz and bluesy riffs with some of the weirder moments you might find on the farther reaches of The Beatles' White Album! Vocals are all in English, and given that the album was issued on Atlantic, we're not sure why they never tried to push these guys bigger in the states – as they're better than most of the rest of the period. Titles include "Sniffin & Snortin", "Run And Hide", "Bad Woman", "Red Doll", "Flat Fret Swing", "Calm Down", "Search For Love", "Wanna Take You You", and "Song For An Angel". LP, Vinyl record album

Includes "Rock This Town", "Stray Cat Strut", "Runaway Boys", and more. LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Speed, space, and plenty more – all going on in the hands of a quartet led by drummer Masahiko Togashi – a Japanese player who's at his most youthfully creative on this album! Togashi was part of a new generation of musicians on his scene who were moving past conventional jazz modes – not just the free jazz styles that European improvisers were bringing to the music, but also maybe a more organic approach that was years ahead of its time, and not as widely recognized by the rest of the world until many years later. Togashi himself plays a big range of percussion instruments and vibes next to his drums – and the rest of the group features the great Masahiko Sato on piano, Mototeru Takagi on tenor and bass clarinet, and Yoshio Ikeda on bass – all moving effortlessly through a variety of modes of expression, on titles that include "Presage", "Speed & Space", "Expectation", and "Panorama". LP, Vinyl record album

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

A great debut from Tata Vega – her first album for Motown, and a sparkling soul effort – recorded after an early career stretch with some headier crossover groups! Vega's got a positive, upbeat feel on the record that's mighty nice – a sort of energy that really draws from her roots, but points things in a sparkling new direction – still mostly sticking in mature soul modes, and avoiding any of the easier disco pitfalls that might have been taken at the time! Al Johnson handles the arrangements – with the same sort of balance of smooth and mature styles he brought to his own great records – a balance that works perfectly for Tata, as it allows her to work the full, wide range of her vocals, yet without ever going too far to end up as a cliche. Titles include "Try Love From The Inside", "Full Speed Ahead", "Keep It Coming", "Just As Long As There Is You", "Just When Things Are Getting Good", and "Music In My Heart". LP, Vinyl record album

A great debut from Tata Vega – her first album for Motown, and a sparkling soul effort – recorded after an early career stretch with some headier crossover groups! Vega's got a positive, upbeat feel on the record that's mighty nice – a sort of energy that really draws from her roots, but points things in a sparkling new direction – still mostly sticking in mature soul modes, and avoiding any of the easier disco pitfalls that might have been taken at the time! Al Johnson handles the arrangements – with the same sort of balance of smooth and mature styles he brought to his own great records – a balance that works perfectly for Tata, as it allows her to work the full, wide range of her vocals, yet without ever going too far to end up as a cliche. Titles include "Try Love From The Inside", "Full Speed Ahead", "Keep It Coming", "Just As Long As There Is You", "Just When Things Are Getting Good", and "Music In My Heart". CD features 3 bonus tracks – "Full Speed Ahead (disco version)", and the cuts "Sunshine Man" and "Soul Eyes", both recorded with Tata's old group, Earthquire! CD

Fantastic tracks from two ultra-rare labels from the New York scene – the Latin Soul empire Speed Records, and the super-tight Fonseca label – which provided a real mainline to Puerto Rican grooves at the time! Both labels cut some of the hardest-hitting Latin tracks of the time – music that was often rawer and more unbridled than material for other indies, like Tico or Fania – and the tracks here are from some of the obscure albums issued by both imprints, and some even-rare 7" singles – all with an upbeat groove, and a sound that's much more the Latin groove of the streets uptown, instead of the bigger ballrooms down in midtown. Titles include "Descarga Los Bravos" by Kent Gomez, "Asi Asi Descarga" by Mike Hernandez & Su Sonora Casino, "El Bembe" by Terrible Frankie Nieves, "Milton's Jala Jala" by Milton Zapata, "Palos Bravos De St John" by Orquesta Oliveri, "Yemaja" by Kent Gomez, "Palacio Descarga" by Danny Palacios, and "Melao Melaito" by Orquesta Oliveri. LP, Vinyl record album

A sweet collection of the best tracks from the "at the track" recording line from Riverside Records! LP, Vinyl record album

Features tracks from Testament, Motorhead, Pantera, Flotsam & Jetsam and others. CD

Includes selections by The Fall, Beastie Boys, Live Skull, Sonic Youth, Lydia Lunch, Carbon, Swans, and Toy Killer. LP, Vinyl record album

The Thin White Duke turns to the east – and gets a whole new sound with help from Brian Eno! The album is an amazing departure from some of David Bowie's previous work – a set that's sparer, more spacious, and which is often instrumental – quite a statement, given Bowie's reputation as a songwriter at the time! It's almost like Bowie's shaking off all the confused stardom of the previous parts of the 70s – and is stepping forward as a new being from a new space – cleaner, leaner, and simpler than before – but hardly evacuated of soul at all, certainly not as much as you might guess from the Man Who Fell To Earth image on the cover. Titles include "Speed Of Life", "Be My Wife", "A New Career In A New Town", "Warsawza", "Art Decade", "Weeping Wall", and "Sound & Vision". LP, Vinyl record album

The Thin White Duke turns to the east – and gets a whole new sound with help from Brian Eno! The album is an amazing departure from some of David Bowie's previous work – a set that's sparer, more spacious, and which is often instrumental – quite a statement, given Bowie's reputation as a songwriter at the time! It's almost like Bowie's shaking off all the confused stardom of the previous parts of the 70s – and is stepping forward as a new being from a new space – cleaner, leaner, and simpler than before – but hardly evacuated of soul at all, certainly not as much as you might guess from the Man Who Fell To Earth image on the cover. Titles include "Speed Of Life", "Be My Wife", "A New Career In A New Town", "Warsawza", "Art Decade", "Weeping Wall", and "Sound & Vision". Features great bonus tracks – "Some Are", "Sound & Vision (rmx)", and "All Saints". CD

A tremendous live set cut during the height of David Bowie's years in Berlin – and the kind of performance that showed that his more experimental work from this time could be every bit as appealing as the classics! The first half of the set features some amazing numbers from the Heroes and Low years – presented here with some darker orchestrations that sound really wonderful, and which slightly recast the styles of the tunes on the albums. The second half mixes in some older classics with a few surprising bits – making for the kind of "star appeal" that must have been welcome to more mainstream Bowie fans during these more obscure years. 20 tracks in all – including "Beauty & The Beast", "Breaking Glass", "Speed Of Life", "What In The World", "Heroes", "Warszawa", "Be My Wife", "Soul Love", "Star", "Art Decade", "Alabama Song", "TVC 15", and "Ziggy Stardust". CD

Some of Bobby Byrd's best work ever! "If You Don't Work" is a hard funky killer – done in a tight James Brown way, with lots of choppy guitar, and Bobby's vocals coming off at breakneck speed, just to keep up with the band. Nice simple message, too! "You've Got To Change Your Mind" is a great duet between Bobby and James. It's got a totally catchy hook, and a nice rolling groove that's extremely satisfying. James beats Bobby in the vocal department, but Bobby adds a nice bit of soul in the mix. 7-inch, Vinyl record

The first album from this legendary group – an important American hard rock powerhouse, driven by the famous rhythm duo of Tim Bogert on bass and Carmine Appice on drums – both of whom roll out of the gate here with amazingly frenetic energy! They're maybe only topped by the guitar work of Jim McCarty, whose searing lines are clearly learned from blues inspirations, then turned up in both speed and power – to match the vocals and harmonica of Rusty Day! There's nothing going on here that sounds like blues rock at all – even though the set begins with a cover of "Parchman Farm" – next to other titles that include "My Lady From South Of Detroit", "No Need To Worry", "You Can't Judge A Book By The Cover", and "Let Me Swim". CD

The first four albums from this crucial group – along with four more CDs of rare live material too! First up is the self-titled Cactus – the first album from this legendary group – an important American hard rock powerhouse, driven by the famous rhythm duo of Tim Bogert on bass and Carmine Appice on drums – both of whom roll out of the gate here with amazingly frenetic energy! They're maybe only topped by the guitar work of Jim McCarty, whose searing lines are clearly learned from blues inspirations, then turned up in both speed and power – to match the vocals and harmonica of Rusty Day! There's nothing going on here that sounds like blues rock at all – even though the set begins with a cover of "Parchman Farm" – next to other titles that include "My Lady From South Of Detroit", "No Need To Worry", "You Can't Judge A Book By The Cover", and "Let Me Swim". On One Way Or Another, Cactus are totally at the top of their game – and the guitar of Jim McCarthy really sets the record on fire, right from the very first note – at a level that should have made Jim one of the real guitar hero legends of his generation! Yet there's also power from the whole group going on too – tight rhythms from the team of Carmine Appice and Jim Bogert, the latter of whom starts to bring in his own vocals a fair bit more, offering backup to the raspy lead of Rusty Day. And while there's a few currents that show their older influence from blues, the sound here is massively hard rock all the way through – making the record a great illustration of the way that slavish blues rock gave birth to a fresh new jamming sound in a matter of just a few short years. Titles include "Rockout Whatever You Feel Like", "Song For Aries", "Feel So Bad", "Rock N Roll Children", and "Hometown Bust". Restrictions is next, and despite the title, there's no restrictions at all – as Cactus seem to be even more confident, more able to stretch their wings and fly than ever before – even adding in some extra piano and keyboards at points to the core guitar-heavy sound of the quartet! All the group's best elements are very firmly in place – searing guitar, righteously confident vocals, and a strutting sensibility that makes this early 70s album way ahead of the game in terms of territory that so many bigger groups would later copy for their own classic records. Titles include "Guiltless Glider", "Evil Alaska", "Sweet Sixteen", "Bag Drag", "Restrictions", and "Mean Night In Cleveland". Ot N Sweaty is a record that's got a bit of a shift in the classic Cactus lineup – as the group's still driven strongly by the work of Carmine Appice on drums and Tim Bogert on bass, but get guitar power from Werner Fritzschings, who's a pretty amazing player – next to some added keyboards from Duane Hitchings, and vocals from Peter French – a singer who's ballsy power might be even more in line with the group than their previous lead singer! The album's got an unusual approach in that side one was recorded live, side two in the studio – each with a nicely different flavor as a result – on titles that include "Swim", "Our Lil Rock N Roll Thing", "Bedroom Mazurka", "Telling You", "Bad Stuff", and "Bringing Me Down". 8CD set is overflowing with great material – bonus tracks added to three of the four albums in the collection, than a further 4CDs worth of live material – titled Fully Unleashed – The Live Gigs Vols 1 & 2. The live material is great – and really shows the tightness of the group at their best! CD

Uri Caine on piano, Joyce Hammann on violin, Chris Speed on clarinet, Ralph Alessi on trumpet, Nguyen Le on electric guitar, Dj Olive on turntables, Drew Gress on double bass, and Jim Black on drums. CD

Fantastic forro from the Brazilian scene of the 60s – a really hard-hitting collection of work from Camarao – and some of the sharpest use of the accordion you'll ever hear! This isn't the accordion of the polka world, Lawrence Welk, Paris musette, or even Tex-Mex music – as the rhythms to the tunes are incredibly infectious – often just served up on a spare bass drum, which is used as if it's both an acoustic bass and a percussion instrument at once – setting up tunes which move quickly and with a frenzied sort of action – followed by bits of saxophone or other reeds, and lots of incredibly deft keyboard work from Camarao – who's clearly pumping his instrument with incredible speed to match his energy on the keys! If you've never heard Brazilian forro, you're about to hear one of the best – and even if you have, the excellent presentation here by Analog Africa makes the set really stand out from some of the blander collections on the market. Titles include "Rio Antigo", "Xeem", "Xaxando Com Garibaldi", "Os Camaroes", "De Serra Em Serra", "Camaro No Oriente", "Nao Interessa Nao", "Fim De Festa", "Voce Passa Eu Acho Graca", "Forrozinho Moderno", and "Retrato De Um Forro". LP, Vinyl record album

Wonderful sounds from the great John Carpenter – one of those records that reminds us that his music is often just as important as the images he puts on the screen! Carpenter's music for The Fog follows nicely in his work for other films – particularly Halloween – in that it's got this slow-building style that often makes great use of keyboards – often used sparely, with a really spooky sort of energy – and even more space, and at slower speed than his other horror soundtracks! The style really fits the "fog" theme of the film! CD

Wonderful sounds from the great John Carpenter – one of those records that reminds us that his music is often just as important as the images he puts on the screen! Carpenter's music for The Fog follows nicely in his work for other films – particularly Halloween – in that it's got this slow-building style that often makes great use of keyboards – often used sparely, with a really spooky sort of energy – and even more space, and at slower speed than his other horror soundtracks! The style really fits the "fog" theme of the film! LP, Vinyl record album

Worth it alone for the Brighter Side of Darkness send-up "Basketball Jones" (with a George Harrison on guitar!) but with other classic skits, including quite a few that aren't about pot, believe it or not, like "White World Of Sports", "Evelyn Woodhead Speed Reading Course" and "The Strawberry Revival Festival". Also includes "Sargent Stadanko", "Up His Nose", "Pedro & Man At The Drive-Inn" and more! Did you know that Billy Preston, Nicky Hopkins, & Carole King play on this record too? LP, Vinyl record album

Vic Chesnutt's debut, produced by Vic fan and champion Michael Stipe of REM, who smartly puts Vic's distinctive drawl and unvarnished guitar strumming front-and-center! His voice and these songs might not be conventionally pretty, but they sure are beautiful in their one-of-a-kind, uncompromising approach to the singer-songwriter genre. Recorded in a single day, Little is a defining early effort that would set the stage for a remarkable run of wonderful recordings by Vic, who lived to see his work loved and appreciated by peers and devoted fanbase, if never coming close to a mainstream breakthrough. Vic's voice, guitar, and the pictures they paint are the main thing here, with some occasional, spare bits of keyboards and backing vocals, adding just a bit of texture. You either "get" Vic or you don't. We we think he was a genius. Includes "Isadora Duncan", "Danny Carlisle", "Mr. Reilly", "Rabbit Box", "Speed Racer", "Soft Picasso", "Geppetto", "Bakersfield" and more. This great 2016 pressing on New West has 5 bonus tracks: "Bernadette", "Vernon", "Acting So Bad", "Miss Mary" and "Elberton Fair". CD

John Hollenbeck on drums and percussion, Chris Speed on clarinet and tenor saxophone, Red Wierenga on accordion, Matt Moran on vibraphone, and Drew Gress on acoustic bass. CD

One of the few 70s albums as a leader from reedman Ronnie Cuber – a player who'd already been making some great appearances on studio sessions with giants like George Benson, Mongo Santamria, and Lonnie Smith – as well as even a few Steely Dan records! But despite that ability to sound tight in the studio, Ronnie really shows a completely different side of his talents here – a hard-burning approach to baritone sax, with a deftness that rivals Pepper Adams in a similar setting – a quality that almost feels like a tenor at times, given Cuber's dexterity and speed of improvisation. The rest of the group's great, too – and includes Barry Harris on piano, Sam Jones on bass, and Albert Heath on drums – who really provide the right amount of soulful hardbop to keep things crackling. Titles include "Star Eyes", "Rifftide", "Tin Tin Deo", "Samba D'Orfeo", "Misty", "Sudwest Funk", and "Prince Albert". CD

One of the few 70s albums as a leader from reedman Ronnie Cuber – a player who'd already been making some great appearances on studio sessions with giants like George Benson, Mongo Santamria, and Lonnie Smith – as well as even a few Steely Dan records! But despite that ability to sound tight in the studio, Ronnie really shows a completely different side of his talents here – a hard-burning approach to baritone sax, with a deftness that rivals Pepper Adams in a similar setting – a quality that almost feels like a tenor at times, given Cuber's dexterity and speed of improvisation. The rest of the group's great, too – and includes Barry Harris on piano, Sam Jones on bass, and Albert Heath on drums – who really provide the right amount of soulful hardbop to keep things crackling. Titles include "Star Eyes", "Rifftide", "Tin Tin Deo", "Samba D'Orfeo", "Misty", "Sudwest Funk", and "Prince Albert". LP, Vinyl record album

Miles must have turned over in his grave with this one – although it went on to influence a decade of jazz remix projects! Miles spacey trumpet is remixed from tapes recorded before his death, and production is handled by Easy Mo Bee, with kind of a "hip hop meets jazz" sort of flair. Titles include "Chocolate Chip", "High Speed Chase", "Fantasy", "Duke Booty", "Mystery", and "The Doo Bop Song". CD

Miles must have turned over in his grave with this one – although it went on to influence a decade of jazz remix projects! Miles spacey trumpet is remixed from tapes recorded before his death, and production is handled by Easy Mo Bee, with kind of a "hip hop meets jazz" sort of flair. Titles include "Chocolate Chip", "High Speed Chase", "Fantasy", "Duke Booty", "Mystery", and "The Doo Bop Song". LP, Vinyl record album

Deep Purple may be asking a lot to knock the faces of the presidents off Mount Rushmore, and put up their own images instead – but given the force of this classic early 70s set, they may well have the musical power on their own to carve up a whole mountainside! The album's a ripper right from the start – a tight barrage of fierce guitars and heavy drums from the legendary lineup that included Roger Glover, Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillian, Jon Lord, and Ian Paice – a group so tight, so tremendous, the only way to proper describe them is to encourage you to drop the needle on a classic gem like this! A non-stop barrage from start to finish – with tracks that include "Speed King", "Bloodsucker", "Child In Time", Into The Fire", "Flight Of The Rat", and "Living Wreck". CD

Deep Purple may be asking a lot to knock the faces of the presidents off Mount Rushmore, and put up their own images instead – but given the force of this classic early 70s set, they may well have the musical power on their own to carve up a whole mountainside! The album's a ripper right from the start – a tight barrage of fierce guitars and heavy drums from the legendary lineup that included Roger Glover, Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillian, Jon Lord, and Ian Paice – a group so tight, so tremendous, the only way to proper describe them is to encourage you to drop the needle on a classic gem like this! A non-stop barrage from start to finish – with tracks that include "Speed King", "Bloodsucker", "Child In Time", Into The Fire", "Flight Of The Rat", and "Living Wreck". CD

The second of Dio's twin masterpieces – a second album knockout that followed Holy Diver by a single year! The biggest difference this time out is the addition of full time keyboard player Claude Schnell to the band, making Dio a quintet – but what the keyboards do NOT do is air out the heaviness. This remains a headbanging classic, with songs as heavy as any in the Dio canon. Like they did on Holy Diver, the band balances a melodic sensibility with heavy rock in a way that would prove hugely influential – we can't imagine the quietly melodic to massively heavy transitions on Metallica's Master Of Puppets LP could've been what they are without the opening minute of the title track here, but this whole thing is a win – with "We Rock", "Mystery", Breathless", "I Speed At Night", "One Night In The City", "Evil Eyes", "Eat Your Heart Out" and "Egypt (The Chains Are On)". CD

Dave Douglas on trumpet, Chris Speed on clarinet and tenor saxophone, Joshua Roseman on trombone, Greg Tardy on clarinet, bass clarinet and tenor saxophone, Uri Caine on piano, James Genus on bass, and Joey Baron on drums. Tracks are a mix of originals and compositions by Mary Lou Williams. CD

Features Dave Douglas on trumpet – with Chris Speed on tenor, Joshua Roseman on trombone, and Uri Caine on piano! CD

The highly anticipated solo album from Def Jux CEO and Company Flow vet El-Producto is all that and a bucket of black hole warp speed 9 intensity. Excellent, dark, space age, new millennial hip hop.. This album flows from many songs without breaks between them, with jagged, scattered beats and lush synth-scapes. At points it sounds very cinematic, yet very grounded in thick, pounding break beats. The whole thing is produced by El-P himself, with Rhyme Sayer Entertainment's DJ Abilities on all the scratching, with many Def Jux guests like Aesop, Lif, CamuTao, and Vast. Ill Bill, C Rayz Walz, Rob Sonic, and Cage also make appearances. Songs include "Deep Space 9mm" with the raw Rawkus dis, "Tuned Mass Damper" with awesome scream samples, "Dead Disnee", "Delorean", the biting "Stepfather Factory", "Lazerfaces' Warning", "Constellation Funk" and more! 3LPs! LP, Vinyl record album

Two rainy bits: "Ultimate Thunderstorm" and "Gentle Rain in a Pine Forest". The sticker on the front says "Contains Synthetic Silence", whatever that is. As the notes say, play at any speed, for different psychological effects. LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic early work from Gil Evans – emerging here in this early session as an already far-thinking modernist. The tracks are shorter and less ambitious than some of Evans' work on Impulse, but the group is excellent – and even in a shorter format, the conception of the work still contains plenty of rich new ideas. Players include Louis Mucci, John Carisi, Steve Lacy, Willie Ruff, Paul Chambers, Nick Stabulis, and "Zeke Tolin" on alto, who is certainly a more famous player under a fake name. Titles include "Ella Speed", "Big Stuff", "Jambangle", "Nobody's Heart", and "Remember". LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic early work from Gil Evans – emerging here in this early session as an already far-thinking modernist. The tracks are shorter and less ambitious than some of Evans' work on Impulse, but the group is excellent – and even in a shorter format, the conception of the work still contains plenty of rich new ideas. Players include Louis Mucci, John Carisi, Steve Lacy, Willie Ruff, Paul Chambers, Nick Stabulis, and "Zeke Tolin" on alto, who is certainly a more famous player under a fake name. Titles include "Ella Speed", "Big Stuff", "Jambangle", "Nobody's Heart", and "Remember". CD

Fantastic early work from Gil Evans – emerging here in this early session as an already far-thinking modernist. The tracks are shorter and less ambitious than some of Evans' work on Impulse, but the group is excellent – and even in a shorter format, the conception of the work still contains plenty of rich new ideas. Players include Louis Mucci, John Carisi, Steve Lacy, Willie Ruff, Paul Chambers, Nick Stabulis, and "Zeke Tolin" on alto, who is certainly a more famous player under a fake name. Titles include "Ella Speed", "Big Stuff", "Jambangle", "Nobody's Heart", and "Remember". LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic early work from Gil Evans – emerging here in this early session as an already far-thinking modernist. The tracks are shorter and less ambitious than some of Evans' work on Impulse, but the group is excellent – and even in a shorter format, the conception of the work still contains plenty of rich new ideas. Players include Louis Mucci, John Carisi, Steve Lacy, Willie Ruff, Paul Chambers, Nick Stabulis, and "Zeke Tolin" on alto, who is certainly a more famous player under a fake name. Titles include "Ella Speed", "Big Stuff", "Jambangle", "Nobody's Heart", and "Remember". CD

Mid 70's 2LP set that combines fantastic early work from Gil Evans and Tadd Dameron. The Gil Evans tracks are shorter and less ambitious than some of Evans' work on Impulse, but the group is excellent – and even in a shorter format, the conception of the work still contains plenty of rich new ideas. Players include Louis Mucci, John Carisi, Steve Lacy, Willie Ruff, Paul Chambers, Nick Stabulis, and Lee Konitz on alto. Titles include "Ella Speed", "Big Stuff", "Jambangle", "Nobody's Heart", and "Remember". Tadd Dameron's contributions here are from a wonderful modernist session – and one that's especially great because it's filled with fresh themes that get past some of his over-reissued standards! Players here include Clifford Brown and Idrees Sulieman on trumpets, Gigi Gryce on alto, Benny Golson on tenor, and Dameron on piano. Titles include "Philly JJ", "Choose Now", "Theme Of No Repeat", and "Dial B For Beauty". Also included are readings of classic Dameron compositions – like "The Scene Is Clean", "Fontainebleau", and "Delerium" – all played by a great little group that includes Dameron on piano, plus Joe Alexander on tenor, Sahib Shihab on alto, Kenny Dorham on trumpet, and Henry Coker on trombone. LP, Vinyl record album

A stunner from Fela – a record that really leaps right into the groove right from the very first note – then never lets up at all! Igo Chiko provides some fantastic tenor sax solos on the tunes – and both Tunde Williams and Eddie Faychum serve up some killer trumpet – while the rest of the group moves at amazing speed, driven on by the legendary drums of Tony Allen! Fela handles a bit of keyboards, with a really cool, moody sound alongside the groove – and the whole thing was recorded at Abbey Road Studios, which might have been a surprising change from some of the more staid material in the halls of EMI. Titles include "Alu Jon Jonki Jon", "Jeu Ko Ku", and "Eko Ile". LP, Vinyl record album

One of Fela's greatest albums – and one of the few that got any sort of international circulation in the 70s! "Zombie" shows Fela at the height of his powers – grooving away in incredibly fast, incredibly tight Afro Funk lines, weaving guitar, sax, and keyboards together with a speed that still leaves us breathless. No wonder the track had a history of causing riots when it was played! "Mr Follow Follow" is a bit mellower, but even stronger on the message tip, and graced with a sublime snakey sax solo. LP, Vinyl record album

A sweet little score from Italian composer Nico Fidenco – best known round these parts for his sultry work for some of the 70s Emmanuelle films, sounding equally groovy on this more obscure album from the time! There's a light groove throughout the album – sometimes a slinky Euro sex sort of vibe, other times a much more pronounced approach to funk – with a mix of electric and acoustic elements that includes vibes, keyboards, flute, piano, and other great touches – all recorded with the spaciousness and care you'd expect from the generation. Titles include "La Ragazzina", "Speed", "Monica's Love", "Sandra's Dream", "Monica's Mirror", "Sandra", "Motor Ship", "Duello In 3/4", "Sandra In Love", and "Monica's Flight". CD features 15 tracks from the original promo-only album – plus 12 more previously-unissued numbers! CD

Killer late 70s work from Aretha Franklin – and a set that features production by Curtis Mayfield, in a style that's quite similar to his work with the lady on the Sparkle soundtrack! Aretha somehow sounds deeper here in Curtis' company than on some of her other 70s recordings – and there's a definite Curtom bent to the entire production, given that Rich Tufo handles all the arrangements, and backings feature instrumentation from both him and Mayfield. The album's nicely restrained at most points – never reaching too far to fall into cliche – and Franklin's vocals are as great as ever. Titles are almost all originals by Curtis – and tunes include "Lady Lady", "Almighty Fire", "I Needed You Baby", "Close To You", "No Matter Who You Love", and "I'm Your Speed". LP, Vinyl record album