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An amazing document of one of the grooviest groups to emerge from the UK at the start of the 80s – not just their three full albums, but almost as much rare bonus material as well! The English Beat came a bit later than the initial wave of Two Tone ska revival groups – and they came with a difference, too – a bit more soul, and a slightly more contemporary approach to their music – one that pushed Jamaican roots into mod London modes – particularly the best sorts that were bubbling up in the post-punk generation! The group really helped revive some warmer sounds in British music – yet without just copying older modes from the other side of the Atlantic, too – and these three great albums definitely went onto set a fire in a host of other groups as well – the first wave of some surprisingly soulful moments from the UK in the 80s. The box set features the full albums I Just Can't Stop It, Wha'ppen, and Special Beat Service – all with bonus tracks not on the original albums. Then, the set also features more bonus material that includes 15 12" and dub versions of album tracks – and three Peel Session recordings from 1979, 1980, and 1982 – plus a live Boston recording from 1982! Comes in a great box, with a 24 page booklet of essays and rare photos! CD

The American debut of The English Beat – aka the UK group The Beat, who'd been making some big waves with import 45s on the 2Tone label, the burst forth on our US market with a slight shift in name, due to another group hogging their original moniker on our side of the Atlantic! That bit of backstory hardly need matter, though – as the group wear their English loud and proud here, setting off a huge ska revival as they blend Jamaican roots with London attitude in the post-punk years – stacking up a set of classics that continue to groove many turntables all these many years later. Titles include "Mirror In The Bathroom", "Hands Off She's Mine", "Twist & Crawl", "Big Shot", "Best Friend", and "Jackpot". CD

The third album from The English Beat and another step further away from their rougher roots – which may not have sat well with strident fans of their earlier, punchier ska revival sounds – but it stands up today as one of the most timeless leftfield pop albums of the early 80s! The Beat never discarded their calypso, ska, rocksteady inspirations, they simply expanded upon them – and there's plenty of hooky, catchy songcraft on Special Beat Service – as well as the uncommonly soulful pop of songs like "Save It For Later"! Other tracks include "I Confess", "Jeanette", "Sorry", "Sole Salvation", "She's Going", "End OF The Party", "Ackee 1 2 3" and more. CD

One of best ever albums by The English Beat – one that cemented their status as one of the most creative groups to come out of the ska revival scene! Wha'ppen has lots of fresh instrumentation and experimentation – but that's in service of some tight, insistent songcraft – and they never ever bury their their Caribbean influences. There's a bit more Afro Beat-inspired rhythms and some atmospheric underground pop touches, but it's still get plenty of the Jamaican style we loved about their earlier work, too – on a record that didn't get the acclaim it deserved at the time! Titles include "Monkey Murders", "I Am Your Flag", "Walk Away", "Get A Job", "The Limits We Set", "Dream Home In NZ", and "Drowning". CD

First up is Can't Stand The Rezillos – a record with guitars fast and hard enough to almost be late 70s punk rock, but which often comes off with a more playful, whimsical new wave sort of approach! Tracks are short and hook-heavy – produced by Bob Clearmountain with that razor-edged quality he brought to his best work of the time – and the trading off of lead vocals between Fay Fife and Eugene Reynolds makes the record hang nicely in a space between Blondie and The Ramones! Titles include "Flying Saucer Attach", "No", "Top Of The Pops", "2000 AD", "It Gets Me", "Glad All Over", and "Cold Wars". Next is Mission Accomplished – a fierce little live set from The Rezillos – one that comes as quite a surprise, since the group had only issued one studio set before – but a great choice overall, as the live setting really seems to set them on fire! Things here are harder, faster, and sharper than on their debut – with more punk speed and energy in the guitars, even if the songs themselves are more in a power pop mode – as tuneful as they are quick-moving! The concert was actually the group's last – recorded at a time when they'd announced a breakup – and that maybe gives the whole thing an urgency that was missing before, and which really makes us wish they'd kept recording. Titles include "Top Of The Pops"," Mystery Action", "Somebody's Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonite", "Thunderbirds Are Go", "No", "Teenbeat", "Ballroom Blitz", "Destination Venus", and "Culture Shock". CD

Includes tracks by the Byrds, Mamas & the Papas, Beach Boys, Tommy James & the Shondells, the Knickerbockers, Lou Christie, Paul Revere & the Raiders, the Capitols, and Los Bravos – 22 tracks total. CD

Music from The Honeycombs, The Supremes, The Dixie Cups, Don Covay, The Murmaids, Roy Orbison, The Kingsmen, The Shangri-Las, The Impressions, Maxine Brown, The Beach Boys, The Searchers, The Reflections, and more - 22 tracks in all. CD

Music fromBarry McGuire, Fontella Bass, Len Barry, The Beach Boys, The Beau Brummels, The Miracles, The Kinks, Martha And The Vandellas, Roy Head, The Ad Libs, Otis Redding, The Byrds, and more - 22 songs in all. CD

londie had a lot to live up to after Parallel Lines, but they pulled it off here – Eat To The Beat is another classic! Downtown cool, a strong sense of pop history and tight production by Mike Chapman make for a really distinct sound on this one. Standouts include the excellent opener "Dreaming" (one of the finest Harry/Stein songs ever, if you ask us), the punky title track, "Union City Blue" and "Accidents Never Happen", and while Blondie albums are by nature hit-and-miss given the fearless mish-mash of styles they always brought in, the whole thing is pretty great! Other tracks include "Shayla", "Die Young Stay Pretty" and "Living In The Real World". CD

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A deep deep look at a side of the British 60s scene that didn't always make big waves here in the US – but one that had a huge influence on UK sounds for years to come! The mighty book-like package documents the rich stream of sounds that exploded during the beat group years – a moment that was partly graced by some of the names that we'd know here as the Brit Invasion, but which soon moved off into much more expansive sounds that include mod moments, freakbeat grooves, and a fair bit of tunes influenced by American jazz and soul! The 6CD set features a whopping 165 tracks in all, plus a huge booklet of notes – and a number of the tracks are pulled from the Pye Records catalog – one of the most important Brit labels of the period – but the set also includes lot of bits from elsewhere too. Includes work by The Rogers, Marmalade, The Baskervilles, The Web, The Mighty Atoms, Glenda Collins, The Mike Stuart Span, Bobbi Rio & The Revelles, Carl Wayne & The Vikings, The Mike Cotton Sound, Ray Singer, Marilyn Powell, Just Four Men, Twinkle, Tony Jackson, The Cops N Robbers, Major Rowley, Paddy Klaus & Gibson, David Bowie & The Lower Third, The Lancastrians, New Faces, The Limeys, Mick & Malcolm, Kind, Episode Six, and many others! CD

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Music from Shorty Ashford, Billy Nix, Bobby Sisco, Chuck Dallis, Harry Carter, Chuck Dallis, Ginnie Carter, Rem Wall, Lorenzo Smith, Mel Kimbrough, Bob Burton, and more. CD

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Includes music by Tracy Rogers, Bimbi Worrick, Claire Francis, Angela Deen, The Carolines, Lesley Dawson, Diane Lancaster, Kiki Dee, Lori Balmer, and others – 20 tracks total. CD

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A fab collection of work from the second great wave of girl group music – the great run of female groups that rose to the forefront during the power pop generation, then continued to burn strongly all through the following decade! You'll recognize a few of the names here from bigger hits on the radio – but as with the previous Ace Records collection in this series, the focus is on tight early tunes that really hew to the sharp, catchy vibe of the power pop generation – music that's as lean as punk, but a lot more friendly – and free from some of the moodier modes that would later emerge in grunge, shoegaze, and other styles to come! The music is as playful as the cover – and supported with the usual great Ace Records notes and attention to detail – in a package that features 25 titles that include "Hit The Ground" by The Darling Buds, "Knock Knock Knock" by The MnMs, "The Real World" by The Bangles, "Goodbye To You" by Scandal, "Cherry Bomb" by The Runaways, "Dream Lover" by The Rebel Pebbles, "Just Before Mary Goes" by Universal Honey, "Jimmy Loves Maryann" by Josie Cotton, "Way Behind Me" by The Primitives, "Cruel To Be Kind" by Letters To Cleo, "Lipstuck" by Eve's Plum, "I Wanna Go Home" by Holly & The Italians, "Vacation" by The Textones, "Glad Again" by Fuzzy, and "Boys Are Drinking" by The B Girls. CD

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Lothar & The Hand People gave the world one of the greatest psych albums ever issued by Capitol Records – but this set of earlier recordings shows the group in a very different light – raw, noisy, and very garagey – much more in the territory of The Seeds or The Sonics! The recording is live, but feels more like it was captured in a small basement room than a larger rock club – as there's a very forward sound to the whole thing, as if the group were trying to rip the performance space out of its foundations, while they work their own rough-edged magic on tunes that are familiar, but which sound very different in this setting – a perfect illustration of the genius of garage at its best! The guitar lines are wonderful – and titles include "If I Have To Choose", "Walking The Dog", "Baby Please Don't Go", "Come Along", "Who's Been Talking", "Gloria", "That's Another Story", and "Nobody Knows". CD

A very hip group from the Michigan scene of the 60s – an all-female outfit, but one with a sound that's a lot more raw than the sweet girl group sounds you might be expecting! The Luv'd Ones have a great way with a bassline and sinister guitar riff – at a level that often gives these tracks a garagey vibe that's really outta sight, and which is even more surprising when the vocals come into play with the instrumentation – very different than other 60s standards, with a quality that really sets these guys apart from the pack! The set brings together rare singles and a number of unissued tracks – all to make for a lost girl rock treasure that includes the titles "Scratchy", "Please Get Up", "He Cried", "Dance Kid Dance", "Stand Tall", "Yeah I'm Feelin Fine", "The Memory Of It All", "Up Down Sue", "Truth Gotta Stand", "Walk Me Too The Door", and "Stand Tall". CD

There's a nicely cinematic image on the cover of this second album from Portishead – and the sound is very cinematic too – a real genre-setting standard for the kinds of new territory the group and some of their key contemporaries began to explore in the 90s! The overall style is a bit hard to define – far better than the simple moniker of downtempo might warrant – with a richer quality that shows that these guys weren't just making beats in their bedrooms! In fact, there's some key talent on board, in addition to the group – including a great contribution from Nick Ingman, who handles a lot of larger orchestrations, in a manner that comes from his many years in the British sound library scene. Strings, brass, percussion, and cinematic guitar all coalesce under the vocals of Beth Gibbons for the signature Portishead sound – on titles that include "Cowboys", "All Mine", "Mourning Air", "Only You", "Seven Months", "Western Eyes", "Udenied", and "Elysium". (New Grooves, Rock) CD

A double length set – with the complete ABC/Probe recordings of Soft Machine! The first disc features the amazing debut of Soft Machine! It's hard to find a more seminal moment of jazz rock from the British scene – and there's certainly few albums from its generation that stand up as well over the years as this one! The trio of Robert Wyatt, Kevin Ayers, and Michael Ratledge carve out the future of progressive playing on this excellent set of shorter tunes that still offer up all the hard jamming of later years. Beat group morphs into prog jazz before your very eyes – on tracks like "Hope For Happiness", "Why Am I So Short", "Save Yourself", "Priscilla", "So Boot If At All", "A Certain Kind", "Lullabye Letter", and "Why Are We Sleeping?". Soft Machine Two is sublime early work from Robert Wyatt and crew – a psychedelic accented jazz rock classic that never gets old – and a visionary set that inspired a generation! The heavily fuzzy guitar sound is transcendent on Volume Two – with sudden jazzy changes, augmented by horns, and all done with a sly sense of humour for which the group doesn't get enough credit. The set's broken up into two different "concept" halves – and side one is "Rivmic Melodies" – and includes "Pataphysical Introduction", "A Concise British Alphabet", "Dada Was Here", and "Out Of Tunes". Side two is "Esther's Nose Job" – with the parts "Pig", "Fire Engine Passing With Bells Clanging", "Orange Skin Food", and "A Door Opens & Closes". Wyatt's on vocals and drums; Hugh Hopper is on bass, guitar, and alto; and Mike Ratledge plays some great Lowry and Hammond organ, plus a bit of harpsichord and flute! CD

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Two sweet duet LPs from Porter Wagoner & Dolly Partner – '69's Always, Always and 71's Two Of Kind – back-to-back on this great CD! Porter & Dolly were one of the great teams of the era – with Porter's unrivaled flash and showmanship going down extremely well with Dolly's quivering vocals and far more earnest presence than the Dolly of the decades to come! Always, Always kicks off with the totally great rave up "Milwaukee, Here I Come" – and segues nicely into classic honky tonk duets mode, the polished Nashville Sound, and oddball Porter recitations! Other tracks include "Yours Love", "Malena", "Why Don't You Haul Off And Love Me", "Always, Always" and more. The Two Of A Kind LPs travels in the same trajectory with equal appeal – with the tracks "Oh, The Pain Of Loving You", "Possum Holler", "The Flame", "The Fighting Kind", "Two Of A Kind", "There'll Be Love" and more! CD

An incredible album – one of the greatest rock albums of the 60s, and a record we'd place right up there on the shelf next to Pet Sounds or Forever Changes! The arrangements are sublime – proof that the Zombies were growing way past just a simple Brit Invasion style, into a world of complicated orchestrations, subtle songwriting, and some of the most baroquely beautiful vocals ever recorded in the service of pop music! The whole thing's amazing – the kind of essential record we never tire of – and tracks include "Changes", "Care of Cell 44", "Rose For Emily", "Hung Up On A Dream", "Friends Of Mine", and "Butcher's Tale". Plus, this CD version features bonus mono mixes of the whole set of tracks, plus bonus alternate mixes of "Rose For Emily" and "Time Of The Season", and the backing track for "Prison Song". CD

Features music from Butch Paulson, the Invasion, Johnny Bond, Wesley Reynolds, Royce Simpson, Smiley Smith, Johnny Perry, Mighty Joe Young, Ronnie Allen, Terry Ann, the Mustangs, Billy Mure and more. CD

A smoking live set from the Butterfield Blues Band – and like all the group's work, as much of a jazz and soul album as a blues one! Butterfield drew his inspiration from the Chicago bluesmen, it's true – but his style also has plenty of echoes of New Orleans soul, Memphis R&B, and other strands of American work – in a mode that's quite similar to some of the changes that were going on in the British beat group scene at the end of the 60s. The lineup here features some really nice touches on sax from Trevor Lawrence and Gene Dinwiddie – and the live setting only seems to loosen all the players up even more than usual, and let them hit a few nice funky moments. Titles include "Get Together Again", "Love Disease", "The Boxer", "No Amount Of Loving", "Driftin & Driftin", "Number Nine", and "Born Under A Bad Sign". CD

The feather light, atmospheric beats and aural scenery we've come to expect from Kieran Hebden splinter out hard and heavy in the frentic opener "A Joy" on Everything Ecstatic – fair warning that Kieran's Four Tet isn't going to fall into realm of expectation without a fight! Kieren has dabbled in ambient jazz, post rock and Jay Dee-influenced hip hop beat craft on previous albums and singles, and he's running the gamut pretty well on this effort – managing to catch us off guard just when we're ready to settle into a groove. Tracks include "A Joy", "Smile Around The Face", "Sun Drums And Soil", "Turtle Turtle Up", "High Fives", "Sleep, Eat Food, Have Visions", ". . .You Were There With Me" and more. (New Grooves, Rock) CD

The legendary first album by The Fugs – a set that was first issued on Folkways Records, then later on ESP – and which is maybe a perfect bridge between these different underground worlds in the 60s! Ed Sanders, Tuli Kupferberg, Peter Stampfel, and the others are clearly budding hippies – but there's also a quality here that's different than the scene a few years later – maybe pulled equally from the late beat world, and the underground film world – no surprise, as Harry Smith produced the record for the group, and really has a great ear for their rootsier elements on acoustic instruments. The whole thing was recorded in two afternoon sessions in 1965, and still remains a record with surprising power after all these years – on titles that include "Slum Goddess", "Swinburn Stomp", "Supergirl", "Boobs A Lot", "My Baby Done Left Me", and "I Couldn't Get High". CD adds in 11 more bonus tracks - additional material from the original sessions – plus material recorded at the Night Of Napalm at St Marks place in 1965! CD

As great of a rock & roll album as there's ever been! It's impossible to describe this record without sounding like a blow hard, but you really can't overstate what these four goony guys from Queens accomplished. 30-odd years of the most visceral pop music concentrated into 2 minute, 3 chord blasts of beautiful sonic catharsis – and they could barely even play. Thanks boys. Tracks include "Blitzkreig Bop", "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend", "Beat On The Brat", "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue", "I Don't Wanna Around With You", "Loudmouth", and "Today Your Love", Tomorrow The World". 8 bonus tracks include original demo versions of many of the album tracks – plus never officially released outtakes from the sessions including "I Can't Be" and "I Don't Wanna Be Learned/I Don't Wanna Be Tamed". CD

The amazing debut of Soft Machine! It's hard to find a more seminal moment of jazz rock from the British scene – and there's certainly few albums from its generation that stand up as well over the years as this one! The trio of Robert Wyatt, Kevin Ayers, and Michael Ratledge carve out the future of progressive playing on this excellent set of shorter tunes that still offer up all the hard jamming of later years. Beat group morphs into prog jazz before your very eyes – on tracks like "Hope For Happiness", "Why Am I So Short", "Save Yourself", "Priscilla", "So Boot If At All", "A Certain Kind", "Lullabye Letter", and "Why Are We Sleeping?". CD

19 tracks from ther Cryers, the Rubinoos, Gary Valentine, Prix, 20/20, Shoes, the Beat, the Pop, Pearl Harbor & the Explosions, Off Broadway USA, the Know & more. CD

One of the wildest records of the early 70s – and it's still pretty darn hard to argue with the power of this one – even if the meddling of the producers are nearly as legendary as the album itself! There's still such a manic energy the original release mix – one that clearly inspired, if not altogether gave birth to the punk scene – and make the album one of those quintessential examples of great art being made under compromising circumstances. Fierceness personified! Includes classics like "Search & Destroy", "Death Trip", "Gimme Danger", "Your Pretty Face Is Going To Hell (aka Hard To Beat)", "Raw Power", "Shake Appeal", and "Death Trip". CD

The Ramones really caught their classic recorded sound for the first time on Leave Home – the second of their three perfect late 70s milestones. As amazing as the debut is, its two-channel shrieking buzz saw sound bowed nicely to the slightly more digestible but just as cathartic roar of the follow ups. Titles include "California Sun", "Glad To See You Go", "Suzy Is A Headbanger", "Pinhead", "What's Your Game", "Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment", and "I Remember You". Also included on the CD are "Babysitter" and the great "Carbona Not Glue" – previously left off all but the first vinyl pressing to accommodate the minor hit they had in "Rock 'N' Roll High School". The bonus material on this Rhino edition consists of a 16 track, 1976 live recording from the Hollywood Roxy – not bad for a record that only had 15 tracks to begin with! The live set is heavy on tracks from the debut, and includes "Loudmouth", "Beat On The Brat", "Chain Saw", "53rd & 3rd", "Today Your Love, Tomorrow The World", "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue", and "Havana Affair". CD

A bit of an odd album, but one that showed the Stones were alive and kicking in the 80s. Taking off from the Stones' take on disco from their previous couple of LPs but keeping a nice rough edge on the proceedings, Jagger and Richards turned in what's probably their last great studio LP. 10 tracks in all, including "Undercover Of The Night", "She Was Hot", "Tie You Up (The Pain Of Love)", "Wanna Hold You", "Feel On Baby", 'Too Much Blood", "Pretty Beat Up", "All The Way Down" and "It Must Be Hell". CD

A fantastic introduction to the world of power pop – that tight, fast, catchy style of music that came about at the same time as punk – and which flourished for a few short years as a more tuneful take on the sound of the underground! Some of the artists here hit big in the years before, others were later smothered in the world of 80s chart hits and music videos – but for a brief, wonderful time, the record racks exploded with great singles and album tracks like these – tunes that almost were a back-to-basics approach after the era of AOR and classic rock, but without some of the sneering attitudes of punk. Most of the artists here are American, and there's a few gems here from the early 70s – key tracks that point the way towards the golden era – all captured beautifully by Ace/Big Beat with their usual detailed notes and history on the music. Titles include "Let Go" by Dirty Looks, "Come On Let's Go" by The Paley Brothers with The Ramones, "Baby It's You" by The Boys, "Nothing Comes Close" by Bill Lloyd, "Better Than Anyone Else" by The Toms, "Nuclear Boy" by 20/20, "Rock & Roll Is Dead" by The Rubinos, "One World" by Utopia, "Andy Please" by Van Duren & The Jody Stephens, "The Trains" by Nashville Ramblers, "Shake Some Action (first version)" by The Flamin Groovies, "What I Like About You" by The Romantics, "I Need That Record" by The Tweeds, "Looking For The Magic" by Dwight Twilley Band, "Kerri" by Robert Johnson, "Radio Heart" by The Secrets, and "Teen Line" by The Shivvers. CD

The longest album ever from The Clash – a stunning triple LP set that really shows the group bristling with new ideas and energy throughout! There's a hell of a lot going on here – some cuts that are every bit as strong as the previous records, others that offer a few mis-steps but in a wonderfully playful way – and a few more that really hit this sort of unique mix of genres and politics that could only be summed up as Clash-like at its best! Bits of hip hop, reggae, new wave, funk, and more mix together beautifully – and the album's got a hell of a lot of charm and character, even if you're skipping past a few of the cuts you don't like as much as the others. 36 tracks in all – and titles include "The Magnificent Seven", "Hitsville UK", "Junco Partner", "The Leader", "Police On My Back", "Midnight Log", "The Call Up", "Washington Bullets", "Broadway", "Rebel Waltz", "Look Here", "The Crooked Beat", "Somebody Got Murdered", "Lose This Skin", "Charlie Don't Surf", "Kingston Advice", "Corner Soul", "Let's Go Crazy", "The Sound Of Sinners", "Living In Fame", "Silicone On Sapphire", and "Career Opportunities". CD

Fantastic work from Colosseum – a record that really stands out as one of those completely unique hybrids from the British jazz rock years! Although Colosseum are probably best known as a progressive band, they certainly had plenty of jazz touches – and this album spawned the great groover "Elegy", which has become something of a jazzy dancefloor classic over the years. Overall, the record's got some very tight drumming, plenty of wailing organ work, and a basic groove that takes off where the beat groups of the 60s left off. Chris Farlowe's vocals can be good or bad, depending on the moment – but on the funkier cuts, like "Elegy" and "The Machine Demands a Sacrifice", they have a sort of madness that makes sense! The album also includes the freer jazzy "Valentyne Suite", which is pretty nice. CD