The glory days of this legendary group, served up here in a double-length collection of tracks – not just the hits promised in the title, but a few overlooked gems too! The set features 18 tracks in all – and titles include "52 Girls", "Rock Lobster", "Planet Claire", "Private Idaho", "Quiche Lorraine", "Mesopotamia", "Strobe Light", "Party Out Of Bounds", "Love Shack", "Good Stuff", "Hallucinating Pluto", "Summer Of Love", "Song For A Future Generation", "Roam", "Channel Z", "Debbie", "Is That You Mo Dean", and "Deadbeat Club". CD

The glory days of this legendary group, served up here in a double-length collection of tracks – not just the hits promised in the title, but a few overlooked gems too! The set features 18 tracks in all – and titles include "52 Girls", "Rock Lobster", "Planet Claire", "Private Idaho", "Quiche Lorraine", "Mesopotamia", "Strobe Light", "Party Out Of Bounds", "Love Shack", "Good Stuff", "Hallucinating Pluto", "Summer Of Love", "Song For A Future Generation", "Roam", "Channel Z", "Debbie", "Is That You Mo Dean", and "Deadbeat Club". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most beautiful records to come out of the early 70s – a tremendous indie effort from a young Weldon Irvine! Irvine put this album together as sort of a musical "time capsule" of his generation – an effort to capture the era's thoughts, feelings, and emotions through a mix of music, vocals, and a few spoken bits – all woven together in a way that changes moods nicely, but always keeps the same righteously spiritual vibe! Weldon plays keys that are both electric and acoustic throughout – and he's joined by a very hip batch of players who include Jimmy Owens, Lenny White, Alex Blake, George Cables, and others – all working here in a very rough-edged and soulful mode. Titles include the classic break track "Bananas", the sweet vocal number "Deja Vu",and the soul classic "Feelin' Mellow" – also covered by Fatback Band, but even better here in the original! Other tracks include "Soul Sisters", "Watergate Don't Bug Me", "Spontaneous Interaction", and "I Am". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most beautiful records to come out of the early 70s – a tremendous indie effort from a young Weldon Irvine! Irvine put this album together as sort of a musical "time capsule" of his generation – an effort to capture the era's thoughts, feelings, and emotions through a mix of music, vocals, and a few spoken bits – all woven together in a way that changes moods nicely, but always keeps the same righteously spiritual vibe! Weldon plays keys that are both electric and acoustic throughout – and he's joined by a very hip batch of players who include Jimmy Owens, Lenny White, Alex Blake, George Cables, and others – all working here in a very rough-edged and soulful mode. Titles include the classic break track "Bananas", the sweet vocal number "Deja Vu",and the soul classic "Feelin' Mellow" – also covered by Fatback Band, but even better here in the original! Other tracks include "Soul Sisters", "Watergate Don't Bug Me", "Spontaneous Interaction", and "I Am". CD

One of the most beautiful records to come out of the early 70s – a tremendous indie effort from a young Weldon Irvine! Irvine put this album together as sort of a musical "time capsule" of his generation – an effort to capture the era's thoughts, feelings, and emotions through a mix of music, vocals, and a few spoken bits – all woven together in a way that changes moods nicely, but always keeps the same righteously spiritual vibe! Weldon plays keys that are both electric and acoustic throughout – and he's joined by a very hip batch of players who include Jimmy Owens, Lenny White, Alex Blake, George Cables, and others – all working here in a very rough-edged and soulful mode. Titles include the classic break track "Bananas", the sweet vocal number "Deja Vu",and the soul classic "Feelin' Mellow" – also covered by Fatback Band, but even better here in the original! Other tracks include "Soul Sisters", "Watergate Don't Bug Me", "Spontaneous Interaction", and "I Am". LP, Vinyl record album

A totally great package – one that brings together some of the coolest cuts ever from the early solo years of Weldon Irvine! Side one of the record features two takes on his great "Deja Vu" – the initial short version, which has more of a take on the catchy jazzy lyrics – and the longer version, which runs for almost ten minutes, and has more jazzy solo work! The flipside features the totally wonderful "Feelin Mellow" – a cut with a few singers working next to Weldon's electric piano lines, giving the whole thing a very righteous vibe – which is carried through on the cool "Watergate Don't Bug Me" – complete with melodica from Weldon, Fender Rhodes from George Cables, and some cool extemporaneous lyrics about Watergate! LP, Vinyl record album

Stories from another time and place – and music that's almost without comparison, either – as the set brings together material recorded by Angolan guitarist Mario Rui Silva, a musician whose range of expression stretches far past his West African roots! There's a heck of a lot going on here – definitely plenty of the acoustic guitar pictured on the cover, but often used with sensitivity that's more Brazilian than you'd expect – and interspersed with tracks that have other instrumentation in the lead, including balafon – sometimes spare instrumentals, sometimes vocal numbers – mostly acoustic, but with a few electric elements from time to time. The music has both a complexity and really organic mixing of modes – maybe a bit like some of the global experiments that you might have found on the Crammed label at the time, but also very unique to Mario himself too. Titles include "Ngisumba", "Mgeni", "Kazum Zum Zum", "Maniku", "Lembranca De Um Veho", "Depois De Uma Conversa", "Kabanza K'Etu", and "Dembita". LP, Vinyl record album

A great look at a key moment in the Japanese scene – an early 70s stretch when musicians were going for a style that was warmer and more intimate overall – which would then lead to all the big changes in music to come, but in very surprising ways! Gone are the more postured rock modes and Anglo-aping styles of the previous decade – and in their place are more confident, personal styles delivered in this mix of acoustic and electric instrumentation that maybe echoes some of the sophistication of the early 70s Cali scene, but which has a very unique approach overall. Most music here is from the first few years of the decade – and titles include "Beautiful Song" by Hiroki Tamaki, "Hitoribotchi" by Niningashi, "Gingatetsudo No Yoru" by Ken Narita, "Man In No Ki" by Takashi Nishioka, "Kawa" by Hiroki Tamaki, "Anmari Fukasugite" by Tokedashita Galasubako, and "Kaze Wo Atsumete" by Happy End. LP, Vinyl record album

A record that picks up on a very particular strand of Japanese music in the 70s – and one that's maybe not even fully described with all the evocative words in the title! The sounds here are leaner and more open than work you'd know from the city pop years – but also not like Japanese rock of the late 60s, and maybe not even like some of the bigger names of the 70s who crossed over to American audiences. Instead, the whole package is very creative and inventive – certainly with currents of psych and soul, but often moving into territories that really defy easy categorization – as if these Japanese artists feel free to pick and choose whatever they want to put in the mix! The sound is great, and the album is a treasure trove of discoveries – with sounds that include "Aoi Galasu Dama Blue Glass Ball" by Yoshiko Sai, "Have You Smoked Gauloise" by Hiroshi Kamayatsu, "Jikan Wo Koero Go Beyond Time" by Tadashi Goino Group, "Omae You" by Jun Fukamachi, and "Hachigatsu No Inshow Augusts Impression" by Momotaro Pink. LP, Vinyl record album

A really unique selection of Japanese reggae tracks from back in the day – and work that's very different than sounds from both the underground scene in Kingston, and the big wave of reggae hits on the major labels! The pace of many of these cuts has them moving in almost a lovers rock sort of mode – easygoing, warm, and with lots of soulful touches – often served up with instrumentation that echoes some of the city pop generation as well, although maybe a bit more down to earth, given the genre! You might almost think of these tunes as city pop reggae variants – mostly with female singers in the lead – and titles include "Hittin Me Where It Hurts" by Marlene, "Johannesburg" by Junko Yagami, "Coffee Break" by Miharu Koshi, "Tsukikage No Nagisa" by Miki Hirayama, "Music" by Chu Kosaka, "Lazy Love" by Izumi Kobayashi, and "Tenkini Naare" by Lily. LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful set of soundscapes from Chris Bowden and the legendary 4-Hero! Although this is a 12" single, both sides have an awesome majesty to them – reaching forth with a scope and power far beyond any dance track. Indeed, both sides are more sound sculptures, in the manner of Bowden's Time Capsule LP – and they both extend beautifully past any expectations! 12-inch, Vinyl record

The era that catapulted cult heroes Devo into pop culture history – with bubblier synths, catchier hooks, and crazier multimedia shenanigans than ever before from these pioneers of the video era – and time capsule pop angle aside, it's still one of the best and most innovate albums of its time! It's pretty hard to imagine the early 80s without Devo, but the group and this record is just as amazing decades later, since there was never anyone else like them! Includes "Girl U Want", "It's Not Right", "Whip It", "Freedom Of Coice", "Cold War", "Don't You Know", "Gates Of Steel" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Super-righteous work from William S Fischer – the ultra-hip arranger who was one of the most important forces in the late 60s underground soul jazz scene! Fischer is best known for his work with Eugene McDaniels, Eddie Harris, and Les McCann – almost akin to the sorts of collaborative influence that David Axelrod had with Cannonball Adderley or Lou Rawls, but with a style that was decidedly darker, and trippier. This album's one of the few ever recorded under his own name – originally done for the tripped-out jazz imprint Embryo, and featuring a unique blend of moog, strings, funk, and soul! Billy Cobham plays drums and percussion on the set, Bill Robinson sings on a few numbers, and Walter Sear adds in some extra moog next to Fischer's own work – but the real brilliance comes from the overall concept – funky one minute, laidback and trippy the next, very much in the spirit of some of the righteous crossover funk, soul, and rock recordings coming from McDaniels and Axelrod at the time! Titles include "Patience Is Virtue", "Saigon", "Green Forever", "Chains", "Electrix", "Capsule", and "There's A Light That Shines". LP, Vinyl record album

Super-righteous work from William S Fischer – the ultra-hip arranger who was one of the most important forces in the late 60s underground soul jazz scene! Fischer is best known for his work with Eugene McDaniels, Eddie Harris, and Les McCann – almost akin to the sorts of collaborative influence that David Axelrod had with Cannonball Adderley or Lou Rawls, but with a style that was decidedly darker, and trippier. This album's one of the few ever recorded under his own name – originally done for the tripped-out jazz imprint Embryo, and featuring a unique blend of moog, strings, funk, and soul! Billy Cobham plays drums and percussion on the set, Bill Robinson sings on a few numbers, and Walter Sear adds in some extra moog next to Fischer's own work – but the real brilliance comes from the overall concept – funky one minute, laidback and trippy the next, very much in the spirit of some of the righteous crossover funk, soul, and rock recordings coming from McDaniels and Axelrod at the time! Titles include "Patience Is Virtue", "Saigon", "Green Forever", "Chains", "Electrix", "Capsule", and "There's A Light That Shines". LP, Vinyl record album

On Things Fall Apart ?uestlove, Black Thought, DJ Scratch, Rahzel and co. reinvigorated the scene with a Philly style soulful, melancholy groove that seemingly influenced the entirety of the NuSoul world – and it could even be argued that the Roots birthed that whole scene. Phrenology carries that torch, but it's so, SO much more, as the heady nature weighed the previous LP down in spots, and Phrenology is a sprawling exercise in expectation-busting perfection! "Rock You" kicks things off in explosive fashion, forgoing the laid back, yet angry soul backbone the group pioneered in hop hop, for a massive electro pulse pounding style – with Black Thought frenetically spitting confrontational wisdom until the synth unexpectedly dives into a short burst of live hardcore punk with "!!!!!!!" (we know what you're thinking, but trust us, it REALLY works). "Sacrifice" features a surprisingly effective chorus sung by Nelly Furtado, and other guest spots include Kweli heating up "Rolling With Heat", Ursula Rucker kicking some reverential poetry on "Waok (ay) Rollcall", and Musiq on the single "Break You Off". Other highlights include the late 80s Bomb Squad-like production on "Thought @ Work", the group's live instrumentation (and ?uestlove's always great trap work) and soul claps on tunes like "The Seed (2.0)", the epic "Water", and "Complexity" with Jill Scott. If you're solely of the 2 turntables and a mic camp you may want to head elsewhere, but if you've been anxiously awaiting the new Roots LP like we have, you'll be knocked straight on your arse, welled up with tears of joy. The best major label hip hop album of '02, and a beauty to go in the time capsule for future generations to learn, and mourn what they missed first hand. Amazing!!! Other tracks include "Quills", "Pussy Galore", and "Something In The Way Of Things (In Town)". CD

The later years of the Sound Of Memphis studio – cuts from a time when the legendary deep soul powerhouse was trying on some of the newer modes from the end of the 70s! The work here is a real lost slice of Memphis soul – music from a time when the heyday of Stax and Hi Records had long passed, but smaller indies like SOM were going strong – and able to capture the shifting sound in the great soul city – as singers worked in the sorts of funky club and boogie modes you'd more regularly associate with New York or Chicago! The quality level is surprisingly great – especially since there's a nicely indie vibe to these cuts – not polished disco rehash, but the sort of underground club material that we've always loved from reissues on labels like Numero or Soul Cal – coming here from the surprising source of Memphis. Even more importantly, almost all this material never saw the light of day at the time – since the SOM connections to bigger labels had faded – so the whole thing's like a time capsule, taking you back to some real under-exposed days on the Memphis scene! Titles include "Dream Girl" and "Groove With A Feeling" by Freedom Express, "You Can Bet I Can Get You Yet" and "What You Do For Love" by Lee Moore, "Ridin" and "Attraction" by Erma Shaw, "Cold Blooded Sally" by Fran Farley, "New Lang Syne" by Kannon, "I'll Be Around" by The Jacksonians, "Gone" by Vision, "We Need Love" by Donald O'Connor, "Tighter Tighter" by Demetrius & Takelia, and "Don't Fight It" by Louis Williams. CD