With selections by Love, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Earl Hooker, Robbie Basho, Aynsley Dunbar, Albert Collins, Ike & Tina Turner, Fred McDowell, Bossa Rio, Southwind, and more! LP, Vinyl record album

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One of our favorite records of all time! We've got to admit, this one's an acquired taste, but if you dig cool LA studio pop from the early 70's, this record's a real treasure! Nick DeCaro was probably best known to the world as an instrumental arranger for A&M (he did a lot of the Claudine Longet albums), but this record from the early 70's has him singing in a set of cool spacey tracks that mix studio pop and jazz for a sound that's unlike anything else we've ever heard before. Nick's backed by a tight group that includes LA jazz players like Arthur Adams, Wilton Felder, Paul Humphrey, Harvey Mason, and David T. Walker – and the sound is very compressed, very laidback, and very very hip. Tracks include "Under The Jamaican Moon", "Wailing Wall", and great versions of "Getting Mighty Crowded" and Stevie Wonder's "Angie Girl". Remember, it's an acquired taste, but if you like stuff like middle period Steely Dan or Maria Muldaur, you'll really dig this one! (Now Sound, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

Dave Mason's first solo album – and a pretty a great one! Alone Together wasn't a huge hit back in the day, but man is a ever a pleasing set. It's rich with blues & soul steeped lead vocals and sweet backing harmonies and bed of acoustic guitars at the core of most of the tunes – sometimes with a driving intensity, others with a lightly gliding pace. The production is a nice mix of blue-eyed blues and southern skewing wah wah rock – with great musicians in the mix, from Leon Russell to Eric Clapton. Tracks include "Only You Know And I Know", "Can't Stop Worrying, Can't Stop Loving", "Waitin' On You", "Shouldn't Have Took More Than You Gave", "World In Changes", "Sand And Deep As You", "Just A Song" and "Look At You, Look At Me". LP, Vinyl record album

A split album – one side live, one in the studio – one that features guest work from Graham Nash, Spencer Davis, and Rita Coolidge – on titles that include "Pearly Queen", "Just A Song", "To Be Free", "Headkeeper", "World In Changes", and "Feelin Alright". LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include "By The Light Of A Magical Moon", "Dove", "Wind Cheetah", "Fist Heart Mighty Dawn Dart", "Elemental Child", and "A Day Laye". LP, Vinyl record album

A really nice album from Dave Mason & Mama Cass – one that has Dave's vocals mostly in the lead, but which also brings him much closer in style to Mama's sweet and dreamy pop mode – a lovely little psychedelic folk pop record with soulful touches! The backing is mostly by a small combo, and the feel is alternately laidback and soaring – freed from the hits sound of early 70s LA, when some of the more creative work was coming out of the bigger stars. Titles include "Pleasing You", "On & On", "To Be Free", "Here We Go Again", "Walk To The Point", "Glittering Facade", and "Too Much Truth Too Much Love". LP, Vinyl record album

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A strange album when put next to Love's Elektra records – and one that's not without its weaknesses – but the band's got a kick-ass drummer, and the record's filled with more than a few tasty moments that have a bit of funk in them. Layered with Arthur Lee's hip guitar, the sound is great – and the record's still a great one if you like the band. Tracks include "Doggone", "Instra-mental", "Gather Round", "Run To the Top", "Abalony", "Signed DC", "Stand Out", and "Love Is More Than Words or Better Late Than Never". LP, Vinyl record album

Beautiful music from singer Tom Rapp – probably best known as the lead voice behind Pearls Before Swine, but a hell of a solo act on his own! The work here follows in the same moody, melancholic territory as the best ESP sides from Pearls Before Swine – but there's also a bit tighter feel too – not one that's commercial, but just very well put-together – with a vibe that's a bit like some of the best early Leonard Cohen material for Columbia. Rapp's got an extremely unique sound in his vocals – which makes the tunes come across with an eerie quality that goes well beyond their simple lyrical content – and the backing mixes familiar folk elements with undercurrents of percussion and bits of jazzy phrasing – a bit like you might find on some mellower late 60s moments from Donovan. Titles include "Stardancer", "Marshall", "Les Ans", "The Baptist", "Tiny Song", "Summer Of 55", and "For The Dead In Space". LP, Vinyl record album

The great Aynsley Dunbar on drums – with lots of piano and organ from Tommy Eyre and guitar solos from John Moorshead. Produced by John Mayall too! LP, Vinyl record album

We're not sure we'd go as far as to say that Mike Finnigan and Jerry Wood are the crazed hipsters promised in the title – but they do a very good job here of hitting some of the more offbeat sides of the scene in the early 70s! By the time of the record, Mike had plenty of experience on a variety of keyboards with other artists – and he's cutting loose here with Jerry, who plays guitar and sings – while the duo make their way through a rootsy blend of different styles – sometimes even a bit funky, other times a bit more relaxed and down home. At the best moments, Wood's guitar is sharp and fuzzy – and titles include "Down In The Flood", "Hard Times", "Tend To Your Own Business", "Laughing Eyes", "Highway", "Rock & Roll Show", "Don't Cry No More", and "Death Letter". LP, Vinyl record album

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Titles include "Paint It Black", "Stupid Girl", "Lady Jane", "Under My Thumb", "Flight 505", "High & Dry", and "Going Home". LP, Vinyl record album

Early live work from The Stones – titles include "Not Fade Away", "Under My Thumb", "Get Off My Cloud", "Lady Jane", "The Last Time", "Time Is On My Side", "Satisfaction", "I'm Alright", and "19th Nervous Breakdown" – plus a nice take on the New Orleans soul tune "Fortune Teller"! LP, Vinyl record album

Warmly stepping grooves from James Vincent – an under-acknowledged genius of the 70s crossover scene! Vincent works here in a title that's smooth and compressed – a bit like more popular AOR work of the time, but with some surprising soulful touches too – especially in the rhythms, which are extra-nice, given that drums are by Harvey Mason and Clyde Stubblefield! Instrumentation often has a warm 70s California glow – keyboards and guitar all wrapped up nicely together, with vocals folded in nicely – kind of a late 70s extension of the wonderful style of Nick DeCaro's album on Blue Thumb. There's a few great grooves in the mix, and titles include "Moonday", "Firefly", "Drifting Into Love", "Mankind", "Song For Jayme", and "Stepping Up". (Soul, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album