Tommy Boy Records takes a new step into the hip hop archeology game with this series of essential hip hop hits – tracks ranging from late 70s bedrock slabs of essential old school to the 90s party movers – going well beyond Tommy Boy label staples to include pioneering tracks and hugely influential hits from across the hip hop spectrum! 12 tracks in all: "Rebel Without A Pause" by Public Enemy, "Nobody Beats The Biz", by Biz Markie, "Goin' Back To Cali" by LL Cool J, "Looking At The Front Door" by Main Source, "Cinderfella" by Dana Dane, "Be A Father To Your Child" by Ed O G & The Bulldogs, "Just Buggin'" by Whistle, "F**k Compton" by Tim Dog and more! CD

Anthrax's I'm The Man EP may be dumb fun, but it's high-minded dumb fun, and done with geniune love for classic rap. . .gutsy stuff from these true godfathers of thrash metal, from a time when their peers took themselves way too freaking seriously. Well, either gutsy, or maybe they just didn't give a s**t, which makes it all the more amusing. Punchy riffs, an obvious take on Billy Squier's "Big Beat" in the drums, and their knowingly goofy attempts at Beastie Boys-style comic rap. If rap metal began and ended right here we'd be better off, but we won't blame Anthrax for all the bad stuff to come! Includes "I'm The Man (Censored Radio Version)", "I'm The Man (DEF Uncensored Version)" – plus live versions Anthrax staples "Caught In A Mosh", "I Am The Law" and "I'm The Man". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the coolest club records ever cut – and one with a great gimmick too! That gimmick is the "hotel sheet" – an instrument created by percussionist Jack Ashford, which is a light piece of metal that's snapped back and worth to create these cool wibbly, wobbly waves of sound – almost like a moog at times, which gives some of these tracks a bit of a P&P Records vibe! Ashford was a member of The Funk Brothers – and a percussionist on countless classic Motown sessions – but this album was recorded in LA with a sweet electric groove, and a mix of strings and funk that almost rivals Jack's only other full album – a rare blacksploitation soundtrack. The set features full arrangements from Paul Riser, orchestrations from Gordon Staples, and the whole thing was recorded at the Marvin Gaye studios – which you can almost hear in Ashford's surprisingly great vocals. The title cut "Hotel Sheet" has this wonderful popping moogy sound that's very nice – and other tracks include "Funky Disco Party", "Shar", "Hi Mom, Hi Al", and "Get Right On Top". CD

Solid soul from Eddie Floyd – 2 tremendous albums on a single CD, plus bonus tracks too! I've Never Found A Girl is tremendous late 60s work from Eddie Floyd – a great date from the post-Atlantic years of Stax Records – material that really shows the hipper, more righteous sound of the label at the time! Eddie's moving way beyond the standard southern soul of his roots – recording with backings from Booker T & The MGs, plus horns from the Mar-Keys – a blend that makes for instrumental magic that's already plenty darn great before Eddie comes into the mix – a classic late 60s Memphis sound that's positive and progressive throughout. There's a bit of female backing vocals on the set – but these are used very sparely – and titles include "Never Give You Up", "Bring It On Home To Me", "I'm Just The Kind Of Fool", "I'll Take Her", "Sweet Things You Do", and "I Need You Woman". Rare Stamps is not really as "rare" as the title implies – but a great little record that easily stands as some of Eddie Floyd's best work of the 60s! The album features a few key cuts from earlier years, mixed with material from the second generation of Stax – the point when the label was moving into hipper territory, and really helping artists like Eddie expand their groove. Titles include "Knock On Wood", "Love Is A Doggone Good Thing", "On A Saturday Night", "Raise Your Head", and "Got To Make A Comeback". CD also adds in bonus tracks that include "I've Got To Have Your Love", "Laurie", and "Consider Me" – plus "Never Let You Go" and "Ain't That Good", which are duets with Mavis Staples! CD

George Jones sings with a big array of top-shelf talents – Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Paycheck, Mavis Staples, Emmylou Harris, James Taylor, Tammy Wynette, Linda Ronstadt, and even Elvis Costello! LP, Vinyl record album

Pianist Duke Jordan takes on the groovy score to the French film Les Liasions Dangereuses – material best known via Art Blakey's original recording with tenorist Barney Wilen – but equally great here in Jordan's lesser-known version! The group here is excellent – with some of Jordan's hardest-hitting piano of the time in the lead – plus creative work on drums from Art Taylor, who brings in a very different spirit than Blakey – and soulful tenor from the great Charlie Rouse – alongside trumpet from Sonny Cohn, and bass from Eddie Khan. Titles include three different variations on the famous theme "No Problem" – plus two takes on the moody "The Feeling Of Love", and the cuts "Jazz Vendor" and "Subway Inn". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Long buried live material from Gram Parsons & The Flying Burrito Brothers – captured at the dizzying heights of their cosmic American powers – over a couple shows at San Francisco's Avalon Ballroom in 1969! These were dates opening for the Grateful Dead – and it's from the Dead's massive recorded archives that this material comes – so the sound is really of fine caliber. Gram & the Burritos weren't shy about playing honky tonk standards, and the sets have a number of them, plus classics from the Gilded Palace album and more! The booklet features notes by Pamela Des Barres and Dave Prinz, with loads of photos. Disc 1 features the set from April 4, 1969, Disc 2 with the similar, and maybe a little stronger set from April 6, with bonus home recordings of "Thousand Dollar Wedding" and "When Will I Be Loved" at the end of the first disc. Titles include "Close Up The Honky Tonks", "Dark End Of The Street", medley of "Undo The Right and "Somebody's Back In Town", "She Once Lived Here", "Mental Revenge", "Sin City", "Lucille", "You Win Again", "Hot Burrito #1", "Hot Burrito #2", "Train Song" and more! CD

These guys just keep on digging and digging up more great soul music – and our record collections are certainly richer as a result! As with previous volumes, the focus here is on deep-burning, low-cooking tunes that are often heavily in the southern soul spectrum – the kind of tunes that lay hidden in the corners behind the bigger hits from labels like Atlantic or Stax, but which somehow strike a chord that's even richer, fuller, and less cliched than some of the overplayed styles of the genre. The set features 20 tracks in all – by the likes of Buddy Ace, Larry Davis, Richard Marks, Mavis Staples, Betty Harris and others. CD

Brilliant garage psych from Blues Magoos – a group that's raw and punchy enough to pummel, but pulled off some sweeter numbers and lighter harmonies incredibly well! Walloping drums, excitable vocals and wailing organ grooves – the cracked the charts, but still bring a fully charged proto punk vibe. Totally excellent, the kind of thing we wish were staples of oldies radio, but for whatever reason are left to deeper rock diggers to discover all these years later. Includes "Sometimes I Think About", "Love Seems Doomed", "Worried Life Blues", "Tobacco Road", "One By One" and "I'll Go Crazy". CD

A record that's not only a landmark in Jamaican music – but also a set that was to reggae what Curtis Mayfield's Superfly was to 70s soul! In other words, the set not only raised the bar for all the competition, it also ended up in a lot more record collections than most of them too – maybe in part because it was a soundtrack, as was Superfly – but also because it has this global power that makes it a defining album of the genre! Jimmy Cliff is obviously the mainman here, but there's help from other key players in the growing reggae scene – and titles include Jimmy's classic "You Can Get It If You Really Want", in two versions – plus two takes on "The Harder They Come", "Many Rivers To Cross", and "Sitting In Limbo" – plus "Sweet & Dandy" and "Pressure Drop" by The Maytals, "007" by Desmond Dekker, "Johnny Too Bad" by The Slicers, "Draw Your Brakes" by Scotty, and "Rivers Of Babylon" by The Melodians. In addition, you get another disc of bonus material, much of it recorded in the crucial years before the film's release, giving you a wonderful portrait of the Jamaican music scene at the time, a dozen and a half of the finest rocksteady and reggae jams of the day, including Desmond Dekker's "Israelites", The Ethiopians "Reggae Hit The Town", Dave & Ansel Collins "Double Barrel", Jimmy Cliff's "Let Your Yeah Be Yeah" and "Wonderful World, Beautiful People", The Maytals' "Do The Reggay" and "54-46 (That's My Number)", The Melodians "It's My Delight" and Eric Donaldson's "Cherry Oh Baby". 30 tracks in all on this awesome 2 disc set, packaged up nicely with notes by Dave Katz, photos from the film and full lyrics and track notations! CD

A soundtrack put together by Al Kooper for this unusual late 60s film about a white landlord in a neighborhood of color – one that has all the tense-but-funky moments you might expect! Al's music is in the lead, but apart from his vocals, what we really dig are the instrumental tunes – played by Al and The Landlords – a group that includes Eric Gale, Chuck Rainey, Joe Farrell, and Frank Owens. These tracks are short and funky – and include the titles "The Landlord", "Walter G's Boogaloo", and "Soul Hoedown", all nice funky numbers. Lorraine Ellison sings "Doin Me Dirty" and the famously sampled "Let Me Love You", and The Staples end out the record with "God Bless The Children". LP, Vinyl record album

RTJ come on with the force of a hurricane on the very first track – and don't let up throughout the course of this completely sharp 4th LP – a record that may owe plenty to the spirit of 2020, even if just as an antidote to what ails us! EL P and Killer Mike sound more urgent than ever before – clearly brimming over with energy and a sense of message – so much so that the album's guests almost dim in comparison – although we do appreciate the work from Mavis Staples, 2 Chainz, Greg Nice, DJ Premier, and Pharrell Williams! The record is full of sharp samples and production modes that punch with the force of a fist – and titles include "Out Of Sight", "Holy Calamafuck", "Goonies Vs ET", "Walking In The Snow", "Ju$t", "Yankee & The Brave", "Never Look Back", "Ooh La La", "A Few Words For The Firing Squad", and "Pulling The Pin". CD

Textbook Red Simpson readings of Christmas tunes – 18 wheels of shuffling Bakersfield rhythms and endearingly twangy holiday cheer! Red's best remembered in the mainstream for novelty truck driving honky tonk tunes, but thankfully more than a few folks know that he's truly a master of the Bakersfield Sound, with stripped down rhythms and rough hewn anthems that should be staples. His Christmas record is no exception – spreading cheer from the lost honky tonks of Bakersfield! Tracks include "Truckin' Trees For Christmas", "Blue Blue Christmas", "Toys For Tots", "Christmas Wheels", "Little Toy Trucks", "Gone Home For Christmas" and more! CD

A righteous early classic from The Staple Singers – a record that rings out with a spiritual note in the title, but one that also covers a whole host of social issues with its power too! The music has that sublime blend that the group perfected right from the start – almost a secret inclusion of a larger social agenda, presented amidst gospel tunes re-arranged by Pops Staples – plus a few of his own great tracks too. The result is a record of timeless power – different from the group's later 70s soul hits, but equally great – with titles that include "More A Hammer Than A Nail", "Nobody's Fault But Mine", "As A Eagle Stirreth Her Nest", "Do Something For Yourself", and "This Train". LP, Vinyl record album

All songs performed live and broadcast on 107.1 KGSR, Austin TX. Music from Buddy Miller, Mavis Staples, Sam Phillips, Tom Russell, Joseph Arthur, Ozomatli, Patty Griffin, Willie Nelson, The Neville Brothers, Steve Earle, Ani DiFranco, CD

Features music from Mavis Staples, Billy Preston, Ann Peebles, Irma Thomas, and Allen Toussaint. CD

One of the greatest female soul records ever to come from Chicago – a killer set of work from the legendary Ruby Andrews! Ruby's a hell of a talent that should have been huge at a national level – possessed with a deep soul style that matched the best from Betty Lavette or Mavis Staples, but often set up in more sophisticated arrangements too – in a mode that worked perfectly in a "double-edged sword" model that was often employed by other Chicago singers, like Barbara Acklin or Patty Drew. The album was issued as a follow-up to Ruby's massive cut "Casanova", which is a perfect example of this style – with Ruby's raw vocals over the top, some loping string arrangements underneath, and the whole thing working perfectly together in an amazing blend of styles! The whole album's incredibly strong, and other tracks include "Casanova 70", "You Made A Believer Out Of Me", "Tit For Tat", and "Can You Get Away". CD

Brilliant garage psych from Blues Magoos – a group that's raw and punchy enough to pummel, but pulled off some sweeter numbers and lighter harmonies incredibly well! Walloping drums, excitable vocals and wailing organ grooves – the cracked the charts, but still bring a fully charged proto punk vibe. Totally excellent, the kind of thing we wish were staples of oldies radio, but for whatever reason are left to deeper rock diggers to discover all these years later. Includes "Sometimes I Think About", "Love Seems Doomed", "Worried Life Blues", "Tobacco Road", "One By One" and "I'll Go Crazy". LP, Vinyl record album

A triumphant return for The Gorillaz – as improbably (impossibly!?) brilliant as ever! Much like the real life post-millennium culture we all inhabit, The Gorillaz exist in a world both virtual and physical – with artist and conceptualist Jamie Hewlett, singer/guiding force Damon Albarn, producer Twilite Tone and others providing a mood and aesthetic framework for an amazing roster of guest singers, rhymers and musicians on this one, who all really contribute a lot – especially to the lyricism and writing. Given the stylistically sprawling guests – both prominently billed and even more further behind the scenes – it's really impressive how well it holds together so cohesively from beginning-to-end. Way more than a cartoony supergroup, but you knew that already! Guests include Peven Everett, Mavis Staples, Danny Brown, Grace Jones, De La Soul and more, with an overall vibe Titles include "Ascension" with Vince Staples, "Strobelight" with Chicago indie soul legend in-the-making Peven Everett (and honestly one of the standout tracks, we're not just saying that out of hometown pride), "Momentz" with De La Soul, "Carnival" with Anthony Hamilton, "Let Me Out" with Mavis Staples & Pusha T, "Charger" with Grace Jones, "Submission" with Danny Brown & Keleta, "We Got The Power (Version 2:18:482) with Jehnny Beth (of Savages) and many more. 2CD deluxe edition includes a bonus CD with extra tracks – including "Halfway To A Halfway House" with Peven Everett, "Ticker Tape" with Carly Simon (!!!) & Kali Uchis and more. CD

The fourth Prince soundtrack in less than a decade – and a record that follows nicely after Purple Rain, Batman, and Parade, but with a slightly different spirit too – thanks to an ever-expanding Paisley Park family that included George Clinton, Morris Day, and Mavis Staples! The older funk acts are fine, and add to the spice – but it's clear that the main attraction here is Prince, although The Time are pretty darn welcome too! The set features vocal performances from Tevin Campbell, George Clinton, Mavis Staples, TC Ellis, and Robin Power – and titles include "New Power Generation", "Can't Stop This Feeling I Got", "Love Machine", "Tick Tick Bang", "Shake", "Thieves In The Temple", "Still Would Stand All Time", "Graffiti Bridge", and "The Latest Fashion". LP, Vinyl record album

A deep dive into the vaults of the legendary Stax Records – the Memphis label who helped usher in a whole new sound in soul music during the 60s, and was still going strong in the early part of the 70s! In the final years, Stax was hitting big with a number of stars, but also recording a bit more than they got the chance to issue at the time – all top-quality work, often with the key songwriters and studio talent behind the hits – some of which was lost to the sands of time, due to financial troubles in the label's last few years. Yet those rare gems live again here – as Ace/Kent do a superb job of dipping into the legacy of rare and unreleased material from this period – a good deal of which shows Stax moving the bar even further, by advancing the styles of southern soul with newly sophisticated modes. If you know the last few Soul Children records on Stax, you'll get the vibe here – spun out on a great run of 20 tracks that include "I'm Too Old To Play" by Jimmy Hughes, "How Can I Win Your Love" by Eddie Floyd, "I'm Tired" by Mavis Staples, "Come Get From Me (parts 1 & 2)" by David Porter, "You Need Love" by Chuck Brooks, "Ain't No Way" by Shirley Brown, "Did You Hear Yourself (part 1)" by Randy Brown & Company, "Ain't Nobody Like My Baby" by Lee Sain, "I'll Do Anything For Your Love (single edit)" by William Bell, "Standing In The Safety Zone" by Soul Children, "We've Got Love On Our Side" by Bettye Crutcher, "Guilty Of Loving You" by Veda Brown, "Let's Make A Deal" by Frederick Knight, and "A Smile Can't Hide A Broken Heart" by Ollie & The Nightingales. CD

The music of Leonard Cohen, but served up in a style that's quite different than you might expect – yet that's maybe no surprise, as right from the start, Cohen's magical songs were already getting interpretations by artists in a range of different styles! The setting here is Blue Note, but the artists are a wider range than those you'd normally hear on the label – with a mix of rock and soul talents next to jazz artists – on titles that include "If It Be Your Will" by Mavis Staples, "Suzanne" by Gregory Porter, "Steer Your Way" by Norah Jones, "Avalanche" by Immanuel Wilkins, "Hey That's No Way To Say Goodbye" by Luciana Souza, "Bird On The Wire" by Bill Frisell, "Famous Blue Raincoat" by Nathaniel Rateliff, "Coming Back To You" by James Taylor, "Here It Is" by Peter Gabriel, and "You Want It Darker" by Iggy Pop. CD