(Rock, Folk/Country) CD

There's a slight shift here from the first album by Steeleye Span – a bit of a shift to just a touch of electric guitar and organ next to the bass guitar lines of Ashley Hutchings – which makes for an even more sinister sound than before! In keeping with their approach, most songs are from older British sources – but they really get transformed by the presentation, which creates an acid folk vibe that really sets the stage for the Wicker Man scene – including some of the strange folk experiments of Current 93 many years later! Most of the rest of the instrumentation is acoustic, used in a way that creates this time-tripping approach that's really amazing – on titles that include "Boys Of Bedlam", "Cold Haily Windy Night", "The Blacksmith", "Female Drummer", "The King", "Lovely On The Water", and "The Lark In The Morning". LP, Vinyl record album

Lots of older record companies got in on the action during the early days of rock and roll – but few folks did it as well as RCA Records – home, of course, to Elvis Presley – and also to all the great lesser-known gems featured in this set! Some tracks are by artists who would break big on later labels, or others who might have stepped over a bit from country – but the bulk of the collection represents all the great singles that RCA cut during the late 50s and early 60s – including some on its sub-labels, where the company was going strong in the worlds of underground styles! Given that this excellent series already looked at RCA once before, it's a further testament that there's an additional 35 rocking gems to be pulled from the label's catalog – as you'll hear on cuts that include "Wild Child" by David Hill, "Get On The Right Track" by Joe Clay, "Rainbow Doll" by Jimmy Dell, "Welcome To The Club" by Jean Chapel, "Wolf Boy" by Sammy Salvo, "Hoebe Snow" by Benny Martin, "Never Been Kissed" by Marlin Greene, "Chicken House" by Dave Rich, "Heart Of A Fool" by Lee Denson, "Almost Eighteen" by Roy Orbison, "That Weepin Willow Tree" by Ray Griff, and "Dumb Bunny" by Bill Carlis. (Rock, Folk/Country) CD

A sweet UK compilation of some of Nick's best work – and covering the stylistic breadth of it – from the somewhat underappreciated studio band backed gems, to the stripped down and rawly intimate songcraft that cemented his incredible legacy. With the exception of a couple tracks from the posthumous Made To Love Magic collection, Treasury draws pretty equally from each of this iconic Island LPs – so nearly every track is purely classic – so the biggest and only flaw here is that it has 15 incredible tracks, rather than all of them! "River Man", "Cello Song", "Poor Boy", "Hazey Jane II", "Magic", "Place To Be", "From The Morning", "Fruit Tree", "Road", and "Way To Blue". (Rock, Folk/Country) LP, Vinyl record album

You won't find Joyce Street in the Country Music Hall Of Fame, but she's the kind of singer who definitely could have been huge, had she ever hit the big time – yet maybe one who's even more fascinating on this series of singles recorded for a variety of small labels in the 70s – all the kind of heartfelt, honest work that's very different than the arena-filling music of the outlaw generation! Joyce has a voice that recalls some of our favorite female country singers to emerge in the 60s, and hearing this work is like catching one of them before they were picked up by a major label – recording with a real since of sincerity that definitely does justice to her music. Titles include "Life Ain't Worth Livin", "Back Streets Of The City", "Love In My Heart", "California You're Slippin", "Mississippi Moonshine", "Woman Do Something Nice", and "That Man Of Mine". LP, Vinyl record album

A sweet little set that definitely aims to stake out its own little territory – with a groove that lives up surprisingly well to the title! The music here is way funkier than you might expect – and comes from a time when many popular singers were working in studios staffed by cats who were pretty darn cool – and had a great ear for picking up some of the best musical undercurrents from other scenes – including some of the best soul and funk that was really breaking out in the US at the start of the 70s! As a result, many of these tracks have unexpectedly funky rhythms at the bottom – way different than the kind of backings that you might have heard in country soul records from a few years before – and different too than the redneck rock that was becoming more popular with some of the bigger acts on the charts. You're bound to recognize a few bigger names here – as the set's not just country artists – and as usual, the Light In The Attic crew have done a stunning job of putting the whole thing together. Titles include "LA Memphis Tyler Texas" by Dale Hawkins, "Georgia Mountain Dew" by Johnny Adams, "Light Blue" by Bobby Darin, "I Wanta Make Her Love Me" by Jim Ford, "Hawg Frog" by Gray Fox, "Fire & Brimstone" by Link Wray, "Street People" by Bobby Charles, "Bayou Country" by Gritz, "I Walk On Gilded Splinters" by Johnny Jenkins, and "Studspider" by Tony Joe White. (Funky Compilations, Folk/Country) CD

Country music Christmas in all its glory – served up here in a whole host of tracks that mix bigger names with lesser-knowns, familiar songs with some unusual numbers that really keep things interesting! The themes here have a lot more to do with just daddy and drinking – and the package features a massive 30 tracks in all – with titles that include "Twisting Santa Claus" by Del Reeves, "Christmas At The Opry" by George Owens, "We Must Be Having One" by Tammy Wynette, "Gonna Wrap My Heart In Ribbons" by Hank Thompson, "Christmas Doll" by Reno & Smiley, "One Of You" by Marty Robbins, "Truckin Trees For Christmas" by Red Simpson, "Nuttin Fer Christmas" by Homer & Jethro, "It Won't Seem Like Christmas" by Loretta Lynn, "Merry Christmas Anyway" by Louise Johnson, "Mr & Mrs Santa Claus" by George Jones & Tammy Wynette, "Lonely Christmas Call" by Tamm Wynette, "Jingle Bells" by Johnny Paycheck, and "Christmas Greeting" by Liz Anderson, (Holiday Music, Folk/Country) CD