Somehow, someway, Bob Dylan and Columbia Records can keep returning to the well of unreleased material – and draw jaw droppingly brilliant recordings that are mostly unheard to the general population of non Dylan diehard archaeologists! Here lies the fabled Witmark Demos – early recordings of treasured Dylan classics and rarities alike recorded raw and unencumbered, just Dylan's voice, guitar and occasional harmonica or piano – recorded in 1962 for Leeds Music (a few) and M. Witmark & Sons (most of 'em) in the early-to-mid 60s. Dylan was one of the first wave of 60s folk songwriters brought into the Tin Pan Alley machinations, a pretty amazing moment considering that this gruff, nasal voiced figure was soon to revolutionize popular music and there's no way Witmark could have known it. Hey, maybe this kid will make us a few bucks in the urban folk racket, eh? Wow. Of course many of these songs would be recorded by a who's who of 60s & 70s singers of all stripes, but it's always great to here Dylan's own early, raw sketches. Some of the performances come somewhat close to the way Dylan would cut them for his own landmark albums with just a bit more polish, others are close(ish) to how they sounded in earlier Dylan "bootlegs" (officially and not so official), and most of it has never been officially released commercially. Columbia continues the terrific Official Bootleg Series with a thick booklet of rare photos and notes by Colin Escott. Includes versions of "Hard Times In New York Town", "A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall", "Ballad Of Hollis Brown, "Long Time Gone", "Farewell", "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright", "Girl From North Country", "Only A Hobo", "Guess I'm Doing Fine", "Mr Tamborine Man", "I'll Keep It With Mine" and many more. 47 tracks on 2 CDs. (Rock, Folk/Country) CD

A fantastic return to form for the great Tom T Hall – and a record that hints a bit at the bluegrass direction his later small label records would take! Earl Scruggs and his sons provide great musical backing, while Tom sings lead in that fantastic style of his – sometimes telling his own stories, sometimes singing the words of others – all in a lean, respectful, acoustic-driven setting that's maybe even better than most of Hall's own records at the time! Titles include "Shackles & Chains", "The Engineers Don't Wave From The Trains Anymore", "Song Of The South", "Don't Give Your Heart To A Rambler", "Dim Lights Thick Smoke", "No Expectations", "There Ain't Country Music On The Jukebox", and "Don't This Road Look Rough & Rocky". LP, Vinyl record album

A really weird, really moody sort of record – one that was issued in the mid 80s, but by a guy who seems to think that he's still working in the singer/songwriter generation of the late 70s! For Scott Seskind, punk and new wave never happened – as the songs here are personal, heartfelt, and delivered with this darkly-presented folk style – not the sunny optimism of the early 60s, but more that smoky haze from the second half of the decade – infused with the realization that the revolution wasn't gonna happen, with more focus on personal issues. There's some great moody echo in the production, which really helps set the tone – and titles include "War", "Empty Arms", "Unknown & Disliked", "Bobby Sands", "You're The Reason", "This Is My Country", "Out Of The Blue", "Our Ring", and "Been Waitin". (Rock, Folk/Country) CD

A really weird, really moody sort of record – one that was issued in the mid 80s, but by a guy who seems to think that he's still working in the singer/songwriter generation of the late 70s! For Scott Seskind, punk and new wave never happened – as the songs here are personal, heartfelt, and delivered with this darkly-presented folk style – not the sunny optimism of the early 60s, but more that smoky haze from the second half of the decade – infused with the realization that the revolution wasn't gonna happen, with more focus on personal issues. There's some great moody echo in the production, which really helps set the tone – and titles include "War", "Empty Arms", "Unknown & Disliked", "Bobby Sands", "You're The Reason", "This Is My Country", "Out Of The Blue", "Our Ring", and "Been Waitin". (Rock, Folk/Country) LP, Vinyl record album

A fabulous look at a new wave of music that hit the American scene at the end of the 60s – sophisticated songs with a deep sense of narrative that went way beyond the usual – first sprung by the world of country music, but with an influence that went on to touch all other styles too! This set goes right to the core – and brings together cuts from the hippest songwriters of the period, delivered in versions that may well be the best to ever make it on records – including a few tunes that will really come as a surprise if you think you know the artists from their hits! As you'd guess from the title, the world here is very similar to that in "Ode To Billie Joe" – a world that's also given great illumination by the detailed notes within. Titles include "Endless Miles Of Highway" by Jerry Reed, "If Only She Had Stayed" by Chris Gantry, "July 12, 1939" by Charlie Rich, "What Am I Doing In LA" by Nat Stuckey, "The House Song" by Lee Hazlewood, "Mr Jackson's Got Nothing To Do" by John Hartford, "Widow Wimberley" by Tony Joe White, "Mr Walker It's All Over" by Billie Jo Spears, "Drivin Nails In The Walls" by Waylon Jennings, "Four Shades Of Love" by Henson Cargill, "The Back Side Of Dallas" by Jeanne C Riley, "Way Before The Time Of Towns" by Hoyt Axton, "Down From Dover" by Dolly Parton, "Fabulous Body & Smile" by Sir Robert Charles Griggs, and "Why Can't I Come Home" by Ed Bruce. LP, Vinyl record album

A surprising side of the legendary Stax Records – especially if you only know the Memphis powerhouse as an outlet for funk and soul! There was always a bit of crossover between country and soul – even in the early days, a label like King Records could easily handle both – or a company like Atlantic could find a way to make its soul singers handle country tunes with ease. Yet the approach here is pure country – tracks recorded during the final few years of Stax – at a time when the company was both growing strongly, thanks to the fame of Isaac Hayes and others – and also trying out new ideas to round out the strength of their operation. Given their proximity to Nashville, and the fact that Memphis studios like Sun or Ardent had handled country-styled sounds – the move seemed to be a good one, and definitely comes across here in the quality of the tracks! The music has a nice left-of-Nashville vibe – almost like some of the growing wave from Austin soon to come, but also a bit like the cooler indie 45 country market of the 70s – which is finally getting its due these days. Either way, the sounds here are way past the hits, and way past the more standard modes of the time – and show that Stax Records could bring as much of a magic touch to country as they could to other sounds they recorded. Titles include "Hippie From The Hills" by Roland Eaton, "The River's Too Wide" by Karen Casey, "That Glass" by Eddie Bond, "Sweet Country Music" by Becki Bluefield, "My Girl" by Danny Bryan, "Satisfied Woman" by Paige O'Brian, "All The Love You'll Ever Need" by Cliff Cochran, "A Mom & A Dad For Christmas" by Lee Denson, and "Truck Driver's Heaven" by Roger Hallmark. LP, Vinyl record album