A true late 60s rock masterpiece – and like albums by Love and The Velvet Underground, a set that barely made a mainstream impact at the time – but which has gone on to be the stuff of influence and legend over the decades! The album's the first from Gram Parsons and the group – one of only two they would cut together – and the whole thing is a perfect blend of rough-edged rock and country influences rising up from the LA scene – all those glimmers of brilliance that Parsons had brought to the Byrds and other projects, maybe given their full flowering here in a mode that's unabashed about its country music influences – maybe even more so than some of Gram's later solo work. Sneeky Pete Kleinow's steel guitar really adds a lot – but so does the presence of Chris Hillman on guitar and mandolin, and Chris Ethridge on bass and piano. Titles include the brilliant "Sin City" – a track we'll love until we die – plus "Christine's Tune", "Do Right Woman", "Dark End Of The Street", "My Uncle", "Wheels", "Juanita", "Hot Burrito No 1", "Hot Burrito No 2", "Do You Know How It Feels", and "Hippy Boy". (Rock, Folk/Country) LP, Vinyl record album

A set that's way more than just a "best of" sort of anthology – as the package features three full albums by the group, plus other material too! The set begins with the classic debut, Gilded Palace Of Sin – a true late 60s rock masterpiece – and like albums by Love and The Velvet Underground, a set that barely made a mainstream impact at the time – but which has gone on to be the stuff of influence and legend over the decades! The album's the first from Gram Parsons and the group – one of only two they would cut together – and the whole thing is a perfect blend of rough-edged rock and country influences rising up from the LA scene – all those glimmers of brilliance that Parsons had brought to the Byrds and other projects, maybe given their full flowering here in a mode that's unabashed about its country music influences – maybe even more so than some of Gram's later solo work. Sneeky Pete Kleinow's steel guitar really adds a lot – but so does the presence of Chris Hillman on guitar and mandolin, and Chris Ethridge on bass and piano. Titles include the brilliant "Sin City" – a track we'll love until we die – plus "Christine's Tune", "Do Right Woman", "Dark End Of The Street", "My Uncle", "Wheels", "Juanita", "Hot Burrito No 1", "Hot Burrito No 2", "Do You Know How It Feels", and "Hippy Boy". Burrito Deluxe is the second of only two albums recorded by Gram Parsons with the Flying Burrito Brothers – and a masterpiece that pushes the group's sound even farther than their debut! The set is filled with special moments – songs that show just why these guys were such a special bridge between late 60s country and rock music – and why all of the other groups they inspired just never came close to serving things up this well! Gram Parsons is fantastic on vocals, of course – but the whole group is great, especially Sneaky Pete on steel guitar. Titles include the fantastic romper "Man In The Fog", the very groovy "Lazy Days", the haunting "God's Own Singer", and the group's Jagger/Richards' approved take on "Wild Horses – plus other cuts that include "High Fashion Queen", "Image Of Me", "Older Guys", and "If You Gotta Go". Flying Burrito Brothers is The Burritos first LP, post-Parsons – and a pretty strong statement for the merits of the now unquestioned leader, Rick Roberts, and multi-instrumentalist new guy Bernie Leadon, who would later turn to the dark side and join the Eagles! Roberts penned or co-penned seven of the album's ten tunes, including "Colorado", "Hand To Mouth", "Just Can't Be", and "Four Days Of Rain". His contributions are for the most part nicely fragile, with just the right doses of sweetness and sadness. The group also covers Merle Haggard's "White Line Fever", Gene Clark's "Tried So Hard", and Dylan's "To Ramona". This is one of the band's rarer LPs, probably because of the absence of hipster hero Gram Parsons – truly a worthy piece of work! CD also features some other tracks recorded by Parsons with the group – including "Six Days On The Road", "Break My Mind", "Sing Me Back Home", and "Close Up The Honky Tonks" – and live tracks "Ain't That A Lot Of Love" and "Losing Game" – plus Gene Clark singing on "Here Tonight". (Rock, Folk/Country) CD

A set that's way more than just a "best of" sort of anthology – as the package features three full albums by the group, plus other material too! The set begins with the classic debut, Gilded Palace Of Sin – a true late 60s rock masterpiece – and like albums by Love and The Velvet Underground, a set that barely made a mainstream impact at the time – but which has gone on to be the stuff of influence and legend over the decades! The album's the first from Gram Parsons and the group – one of only two they would cut together – and the whole thing is a perfect blend of rough-edged rock and country influences rising up from the LA scene – all those glimmers of brilliance that Parsons had brought to the Byrds and other projects, maybe given their full flowering here in a mode that's unabashed about its country music influences – maybe even more so than some of Gram's later solo work. Sneeky Pete Kleinow's steel guitar really adds a lot – but so does the presence of Chris Hillman on guitar and mandolin, and Chris Ethridge on bass and piano. Titles include the brilliant "Sin City" – a track we'll love until we die – plus "Christine's Tune", "Do Right Woman", "Dark End Of The Street", "My Uncle", "Wheels", "Juanita", "Hot Burrito No 1", "Hot Burrito No 2", "Do You Know How It Feels", and "Hippy Boy". Burrito Deluxe is the second of only two albums recorded by Gram Parsons with the Flying Burrito Brothers – and a masterpiece that pushes the group's sound even farther than their debut! The set is filled with special moments – songs that show just why these guys were such a special bridge between late 60s country and rock music – and why all of the other groups they inspired just never came close to serving things up this well! Gram Parsons is fantastic on vocals, of course – but the whole group is great, especially Sneaky Pete on steel guitar. Titles include the fantastic romper "Man In The Fog", the very groovy "Lazy Days", the haunting "God's Own Singer", and the group's Jagger/Richards' approved take on "Wild Horses – plus other cuts that include "High Fashion Queen", "Image Of Me", "Older Guys", and "If You Gotta Go". Flying Burrito Brothers is The Burritos first LP, post-Parsons – and a pretty strong statement for the merits of the now unquestioned leader, Rick Roberts, and multi-instrumentalist new guy Bernie Leadon, who would later turn to the dark side and join the Eagles! Roberts penned or co-penned seven of the album's ten tunes, including "Colorado", "Hand To Mouth", "Just Can't Be", and "Four Days Of Rain". His contributions are for the most part nicely fragile, with just the right doses of sweetness and sadness. The group also covers Merle Haggard's "White Line Fever", Gene Clark's "Tried So Hard", and Dylan's "To Ramona". This is one of the band's rarer LPs, probably because of the absence of hipster hero Gram Parsons – truly a worthy piece of work! CD also features some other tracks recorded by Parsons with the group – including "Six Days On The Road", "Break My Mind", "Sing Me Back Home", and "Close Up The Honky Tonks" – and live tracks "Ain't That A Lot Of Love" and "Losing Game" – plus Gene Clark singing on "Here Tonight". (Rock, Folk/Country) CD

Folk soul guitar player, singer, songwriter, storyteller and genuine character Abner Jay's brilliant home recordings – the first release of his "terrible comedy blues" in far too long – courtesy of the always deep digging Mississippi label! Abner takes on the topical issues of the days with a skewed sensibility that's brilliant, and his singing, the performances and the recording quality aren't really as rough and raw as you might expect, though nowhere even close to manicured and clean sound – it's just right really for the material. Great stuff! Titles include "I'm So Depressed", "Cocaine", "Vietnam", "St James Infirmary Blues", "Cleo", "Woke Up This Morning", "Don't Mess With My Baby", "I'm Georgia Bound" and "The Reason Young People Use Drugs". (Blues, Folk/Country) LP, Vinyl record album

Genius early work from Kris Kristofferson – four great albums in a single package, with SACD mastering too! First up is The Silver Tongued Devil & I – a masterful tribute to the genius of Kris Kristofferson, and a record that perfectly illustrates that unique place he held in music at the start of the 70s! The album's Kris' second, and has maybe a more unified vibe than his debut – filled with original material that has that open, honest quality that Kristofferson brought to country music – and which also had a surprisingly strong impact on mainstream rock and singer/songwriter material too! There's both a frankness of feeling and sharpness of wit that make the whole thing wonderful – and the album's overflowing with original gems that include "Jody & The Kid", "Billy Dee", "Loving Her Was Easier", "The Taker", "When I Loved Her", "The Pilgrim Chapter 33" and "Epitaph" – plus a great reading of the Bobby Bare/Billy Joe Shaver tune "Good Christian Soldier". Border Lord is a wonderful album, and one that's full of lesser-known gems from Kris Kristofferson – from a time when he'd started sharing his songs with other singers first, and started to hold back all the good stuff for himself! The album's got help from some country music studio greats, but it's clearly Kristofferson's show, right from the start – overflowing with tunes that get delivery from Kris that nobody else can match – with a special understanding of the choice of words, balance of wit, and depth of feeling that makes him so great on record. Titles include "Burden Of Freedom", "Border Lord", "When She's Wrong", "Kiss The World Goodbye", "Getting By High & Strange", "Somebody Nobody Knows", and "Josie". Jesus Was A Capricorn is one of those records in which Kris Kristofferson takes on the 70s, and comes up with a sound and style that's completely his own – even when working within the mainstream of the time! His label, Monument, could do plenty of hokey stuff – and even arranger Bill Justis wasn't always the hippest of cats – nor producer Fred Foster. Yet working here, they all rise to the occasion under the majesty of the man's music – a soaring batch of original tunes, of that special sort that Kris was always keeping to himself after his early years writing hits for others. Titles include "Why Me", "Give It Time To Be Tender", "It Sure Was Love", "Nobody Wins", "Enough For You", and the title cut "Jesus Was A Capricorn", owed to John Prine! Spooky Lady's Sideshow is a record that has Kris Kristofferson loosening up his mix of styles slightly, almost a nod back to his debut – but all in a way that only seems to bring an even greater range of feeling to his songwriting! Kristofferson maybe looks a bit more casual and laidback on the cover than some previous sets, but he's still got all the sharpness of delivery that makes him so great, and which really matches his magical words – on titles that include "Broken Freedom Song", "Star Spangled Bummer", "Smile At Me Again", "I May Smoke Too Much", "Stairway To The Bottom", and "Rescue Mission". CD

The one and only full LP ever recorded by Harry Taussig – blending folk & blues based solo guitar traditions with his unique style – on this great, private press rarity from 1965, dug up by the folk & roots heroes at Tompkins Square! It's really fine stuff, which should appeal to folks who dig the Fahey & Basho style of primitive guitar, but Taussig brings his own flavor to the pot. The tunes have a bit more rag in them, and a real love of lonely blues guitar, and his playing the right kind of ragged to our ears, giving it a natural and truthful resonance that cuts deeper to our souls than players who go for perfection or prettiness. Very highly recommended! Tracks include Taussig's adaptation of "Baby Let Me Lay It On You/That'll Never Happen No More" by Reverend Gary Davis, plus "Blues For Zone VII", "Rev's Rag", "Sugar Babe, YOur Papa Cares For You", "Rondo To Death", "Dorian Sonata", "Fate Is Only Once" and more. CD

Just a slight step down from the monumental Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc., but still a near masterpiece of neo-traditional Bakersfield country. Producer-guitarist Pete Anderson is a wizard for this kind of stuff, and that sharp lap steel sound he captures really needs to be heard on vinyl to be fully appreciated. And lest we forget, Dwight's minimal range and infinite emotion carries that voice further than the best country vocalists out there right now, and he's got the swagger and tight pants to pull it all off even if he wasn't such a pure spirit! Includes Lefty Frizell's immortal "Always Late With Your Kisses", "Smoke Along The Track", "1,000 Miles", "Little Sister", "This Drinkin' Will Kill Me", and more. Great! LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderful collection of obscure solo acoustic guitar tunes from the mid 60s up to the dawn of the 80s – beautiful work from a slew of players we've never heard of – but we'd put right up there with Fahey and Basho in the way they reach from the back porch to the cosmos with just their fingers and some strings! One thing we love about this set, and the Numero Group releases to date, is how deep they dig and what beauty they unearth, somehow with impeccable sound quality. Some tunes are starkly beautiful, some chime on fairly intently, some do both those things and more – and it's very heartening and instantly appealing stuff – wordless tunes that carry a lot of sensitivity and emotion! The 40 page booklet features detailed notes and bio material for each track, plus an introduction by Numero's Rob Sevier and essays by Dan Lambert and Jim Ohlschmidt. Titles include "Beginning" by Dana Westover", "Raga In D" by Ted Lucas, "Sailor's Dream" by Scotte Witte, "Flight" by George Cromarty, "Diagonal" by Richard Crandell, "Baha Dream Songs" by Daniel Hecht, "Delta Freeze" by Jim Ohlschmidt, "No More School" by Stephen Cohen, "Strawberry Man" by Mark Lang, "Warm River" by Bread Chequer, "One Forty Eight" by Swayne Canna and more. CD

A wonderful collection of obscure solo acoustic guitar tunes from the mid 60s up to the dawn of the 80s – beautiful work from a slew of players we've never heard of – but we'd put right up there with Fahey and Basho in the way they reach from the back porch to the cosmos with just their fingers and some strings! One thing we love about this set, and the Numero Group releases to date, is how deep they dig and what beauty they unearth, somehow with impeccable sound quality. Some tunes are starkly beautiful, some chime on fairly intently, some do both those things and more – and it's very heartening and instantly appealing stuff – wordless tunes that carry a lot of sensitivity and emotion! The 40 page booklet features detailed notes and bio material for each track, plus an introduction by Numero's Rob Sevier and essays by Dan Lambert and Jim Ohlschmidt. Titles include "Beginning" by Dana Westover", "Raga In D" by Ted Lucas, "Sailor's Dream" by Scotte Witte, "Flight" by George Cromarty, "Diagonal" by Richard Crandell, "Baha Dream Songs" by Daniel Hecht, "Delta Freeze" by Jim Ohlschmidt, "No More School" by Stephen Cohen, "Strawberry Man" by Mark Lang, "Warm River" by Bread Chequer, "One Forty Eight" by Swayne Canna and more. CD

A wealth of live solo Bob Dylan from the early to mid 60s – material that was once in the deepest darkest corners of Columbia's Dylan archives and have only scarcely seen any kind official release before now! Of course it's wonderful stuff, from the earnest early recordings from '62 and the next couple years – when even his studio recordings were still solo, but the live versions just have that urgent, unmanicured edge that's vital to have on record – to recordings from '65 & '66 of songs that were fleshed out big in the studio and on the road, too, which was once controversial and now just legendary, but here it's just Dylan with his guitar and harmonica for maximum intimacy. The recordings were done on the east cost of the US and throughout the UK, sequenced by recording dates – and it's a generous 2CD set of 29 songs – including "Blowing In The Wind", "Corrina, Corrina", "Seven Curses", "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright", "To Ramona", "When My Ship Comes In", Chimes Of Freedom", "One Too Many Mornings", "It's Alright Ma, I'm Only Bleeding", "She Belongs To Me", "Maggie's Farm", "Desolation Row", "Ballad Of A Thin Man", "Visions Of Johanna" and more. (Rock, Folk/Country) CD