... LP, Vinyl record album

Arguably one of the greatest pop albums of all time – a pure act of genius from Todd Rundgren, and one of the few cases in rock music where two records are actually better than one! The double-length set was Rundgren's third solo effort after the breakup of Nazz – but it's a broad step ahead from the first two, and a strong move into the kind of near-perfect, yet always-human pop that made Rundgren so great in the 70s. Sides one through three of the album were completely done by Todd himself – all instruments, voices, and production handled through the then-new magic of the 16 track studio – and Rundgren's really at his best here, working in the kind of personal modes that make his tunes so great, some of the best of the mainstream singer/songwriter generation. Side four has fuller arrangements and other players coming into the mix, but the core feel of the rest of the record is very nicely preserved – apart from a few tunes that perhaps get a bit too goofy. It's hard to imagine more great pop songs in one album – and the set's overflowing with genius moments that include "Marlene", "I Saw The Light", "I Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference", "It Takes Two To Tango", "Sweeter Memories", "I Went To The Mirror", "One More Day", "Song Of The Viking", and "Hello It's Me". LP, Vinyl record album

Heavy psych from Detroit, in the years before Bob Seger became a "lighters in the air" peddler of redneck theme songs. Cut from the same cloth as the early Mitch Ryder, Amboy Dukes and Grand Funk that were the hallmark of the Motor City rock sound of the day, most of the tracks on this outing are concise rockers, but the band delves into a bit of nice jamminess on side 2. Includes 'Tales Of Lucy Blue", "Ivory", "Gone Down Home", "Train Man", "White Wall", "Black Eyed Girl", "2 + 2 = ?" and "Doctor Fine". LP, Vinyl record album

The only real full length document ever issued by the Sex Pistols – an album that came out almost as the group was falling apart – yet one that's still gone on to have a hell of a place in rock and roll history! There's no denying the power of these songs, even all these many years later – and together, this mix of important singles and key album cuts offers up a bleak picture of modern life that still resonates pretty darn strongly all these many years later! The whole thing's great, and as instrumentally intense as its lyrics – with classics that include "Holidays In The Sun", "Bodies", "Anarchy In The UK", "No Feelings", "Problems", "Pretty Vacant", "God Save The Queen", "New York", "EMI", "Liar", "Submission", and "Seventeen". LP, Vinyl record album

(Rock, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

A set that's got a slightly different vibe than previous Stackridge albums – yet which also continues that special sort of hard to define quality that always made the group so unique! There's a feel to the set that's maybe a bit in keeping with the image on the cover – slight touches of an older carnivalesque aesthetic, yet filtered through that cool British 70s production style – compressing any prog influences down to modes that often have some very slight glammy touches around the edges, which also steps up some of the hooks on the tunes as well! LP, Vinyl record album

Breathy brilliance from April Stevens – the sexy west coast singer who made some really wonderful records in the 50s! At some level, April was a bit like Julie London – in that she sang in a laidback, seductive tone that was quite risque at times – but she was also a bit more pop than jazz, and was always up for a catchy arrangement or a slight production gimmick to really help send over a tune! The title track was a hit single, but the whole album's great – and titles include "I'm In Love Again", "Do It Again", "Teach Me Tiger", "That's My Name", "When My Baby Smiles At Me", "I Want A Lip", and "In Other Words". (Vocalists, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Delicate dissonance, bruised beauty, and hazy noise pop – all in one of the best rock albums ever made – the amazing first album from the Velvet Underground and Nico! The album's the stuff of legend – and for good reason, too – a surprising slab of vinyl that barely set the world on its ear when first issued back in the mid 60s – yet a record that's gone onto have an influence felt for decades to come – arguably one of the most important rock records of all time. There's a really sinister edge to the record, even when things are sweet – and the range of subject matter and handling here is brilliant – from the dream pop slice of heaven "Sunday Morning", the melodic bitterness of "Femme Fatale", the massive White Light-esque freakout "European Son", and the sublime "Heroin" – quite possibly the inspiration for generations of drug use to come. The whole thing's a classic – with wonderful vocals from both Nico and Lou Reed – and titles include "Venus In Furs", "Run Run Run", "Black Angel's Death Song", "I'll Be Your Mirror", and "All Tomorrow's Parties". CD

Delicate dissonance, bruised beauty, and hazy noise pop – all in one of the best rock albums ever made – the amazing first album from the Velvet Underground and Nico! The album's the stuff of legend – and for good reason, too – a surprising slab of vinyl that barely set the world on its ear when first issued back in the mid 60s – yet a record that's gone onto have an influence felt for decades to come – arguably one of the most important rock records of all time. There's a really sinister edge to the record, even when things are sweet – and the range of subject matter and handling here is brilliant – from the dream pop slice of heaven "Sunday Morning", the melodic bitterness of "Femme Fatale", the massive White Light-esque freakout "European Son", and the sublime "Heroin" – quite possibly the inspiration for generations of drug use to come. The whole thing's a classic – with wonderful vocals from both Nico and Lou Reed – and titles include "Venus In Furs", "Run Run Run", "Black Angel's Death Song", "I'll Be Your Mirror", and "All Tomorrow's Parties". LP, Vinyl record album

The rare first solo album from Gary Walker of the Walker Brothers – originally released only in Japan in 1968 – compiled on CD with some equally rare singles! Gary's solo work really is a world away from the baroque noir of his "brother" Scott's solo LPs of the 60s – a buzzing, melodic batch of chiming psychedelic pop with strong harmonies from his Rain band members – which included a pre-Badfinger Joey Molland. Titles include "Magazine Woman", "The Sun Shines", "Doctor Doctor", "I Can't Stand To Lose You", "Market Tavern", "Spooky", "The View", "If You Don't Come Back", Thoughts Of An Old Man", "Francis", "I Promise To Love You" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

The most stylistically sprawling record yet from Jack White! White's trajectory from Detroit garage-blues-punk wunderkind to Nashville record biz provocateur/label magnate is pretty damn impressive – and he really lets his far-reaching impulses fly on Lazzaretto. Unpredictable twists and turns abound, bu t it's all held together by an undercurrent of pummeling, unpretentious rock and roll, with a rootsy swagger. Titles include "Three Women", "Lazaretto", "Temoprary Ground", "Would You Fight For My Love?", "High Ball Stepper", "Just One Drink", "Alone In My Home", "That Black Bat Licorice", "Entitlement", "I Think I Found The Culprit" and "Want And Able". CD

Frenetic and energetic work from James White and the Blacks – a seminal album in the post-punk New York scene, and one of the fiercest documents of the no wave sound! White combines jagged punk rock guitars with some more funk-inspired rhythms and odd traces of free jazz – all sifted into one genre-f*cking album that grabs you from the get-go! The sound is incredible – an inspiration for countless other groups, but rarely duplicated as well – with tracks that include "Bleached Black", "White Devil", "Almost Black", "Heat Wave", "Stained Sheets", and "Contort Yourself". LP, Vinyl record album

The complete Monument recordings of southern soul-tinged swamp rock trailblazer Tony Joe White – in a wonderful box set from the deep catalog explorers at Rhino Handmade! Swamp Rock contains everything from the Black & White, Continued and Tony Joe LPs – with dozens of previously unreleased work from the era. Unlike the most famous dude we can think of who wears the swamp rock genre tag, Tony Joe White really was reared in the swamp country of Louisiana – and genuineness shows on these fine recordings! His vocals here have a bit of that laconic storyteller vibe of a Bobby Bare type character – but the production and arrangements have a real feel for the Stax and Muscle Shoals sounds. It's a blend of styles that's quite unique – and well worth rediscovery! Includes all the tracks from Tony Joe's 3 LPs for Monument plus a swampful of great bonus numbers from those sessions and more – a whopping 81 tracks on four CDs! Disc one includes the Black & White LP and much more: "Willie And Laura Mae Jones", "Soul Francisco", "Whompt Out On You", "Wichita Lineman" and more. Disc 2 features the Continued LP and more: "Elements And Things", "Woodpecker", "Old Man Willis", "Woman With Soul" and much more. Disc 3 includes the Tony Joe LP tracks and more: "Stud-Spider", "Widow Wimberly", "Save Your Sugar For Me", "Hard To Handle" and more. Disc 4 includes a slew of previously unreleased material cut at Barclay Studios in Paris, plus live work from Tony Joe at the Isle Of Wight: titles include "Mississippi Delta", "Chain Of Blues", "Ballad Of Hollis Brown" and more from the Barclay sessions, plus "Boom Boom", "I Want You", "Groupy Girl" and more from Isle Of Wight. CD

A wonderfully spaced-out album of electronic rock from the early days of Island Records! White Noise are a bit like Silver Apples – mixing trippy rock with odd electronic twists that are all very much in a heady late 60s sort of way. But the "rock" component of the album is a very small one – and the record's got equal parts of the audio trickery of contemporaneous work by Bruce Haack or Jon Appleton. Most of the record is the brainchild of David Vorhaus, but the record also features a bit of drum work by Paul Lytton (who would later do a lot of electronics himself), plus oddly-keyed strings and some goofy vocals from Annie Bird. Tracks include "Love Without Sound", "Here Come the Fleas", and the very long cuts "The Visitation" and "Black Mass". US pressing of the album issued under White Noise in the UK. (Out Sound, Rock) CD

A wonderfully spaced-out album of electronic rock from the early days of Island Records! White Noise are a bit like Silver Apples – mixing trippy rock with odd electronic twists that are all very much in a heady late 60s sort of way. But the "rock" component of the album is a very small one – and the record's got equal parts of the audio trickery of contemporaneous work by Bruce Haack or Jon Appleton. Most of the record is the brainchild of David Vorhaus, but the record also features a bit of drum work by Paul Lytton (who would later do a lot of electronics himself), plus oddly-keyed strings and some goofy vocals from Annie Bird. Tracks include "Love Without Sound", "Here Come the Fleas", and the very long cuts "The Visitation" and "Black Mass". (Out Sound, Rock) CD

One of the best by The White Stripes – delivering on the rambunctiousness of their blues punk roots while making their greatest creative strides yet! There's a few more tracks with acoustic guitar and keyboards here, and some songs that honestly feels a bit like Led Zeppelin with the indulgent rock star bombast trimmed away. It's a more ambitious set from Jack and Meg than we expected to come after their more primal early recordings – and that's a good thing! Includes the hits "Seven Nation Army" and "The Hardest Button To Button" – plus "Black Math", "In The Cold, Cold, Night", "Ball And Biscuit", "Little Acorns", "Hypnotize", "Girl, You Have No Faith In Medicine", "It's True That We Love One Another" and more. CD

One of the best by The White Stripes – delivering on the rambunctiousness of their blues punk roots while making their greatest creative strides yet! There's a few more tracks with acoustic guitar and keyboards here, and some songs that honestly feels a bit like Led Zeppelin with the indulgent rock star bombast trimmed away. It's a more ambitious set from Jack and Meg than we expected to come after their more primal early recordings – and that's a good thing! Includes the hits "Seven Nation Army" and "The Hardest Button To Button" – plus "Black Math", "In The Cold, Cold, Night", "Ball And Biscuit", "Little Acorns", "Hypnotize", "Girl, You Have No Faith In Medicine", "It's True That We Love One Another" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Wilco's post-millennium masterpiece! After years of adventurous sounds and increasingly poetic lyrics being subtly layered over their country rock roots, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was such a radical departure from their first couple albums that it was legendary upon arrival. What's so amazing about it is that it's essentially an art rock album with rootsy heart, somehow carrying the emotional resonance of earlier heart-on-sleeve songcraft with hardly a twangy riff to be found. Titles include "Kamera", "Radio Cure", "Jesus Etc", "Heavy Metal Drummer", "Reservations", "Poor Places", "Pot Kettle Black", "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart", and "Ashes Of American Flags". LP, Vinyl record album

A pretty astonishing creative leap for Wire – a record that still holds all the short, sharp, energy of their Pink Flag debut – but which also opens up the group to all these weird elements they'd explore in later years and solo work too! The record is almost the group's equivalent of work by Swell Maps – still very punk in construction, but already getting experimental too – a mix that instantly set the group apart, and has kept them in territory that nobody else has ever been able to touch. Titles include "Heartbeat", "Practice Makes Perfect", "Being Sucked In Again", "I Am The Fly", "Outdoor Miner", "Sand In My Joints", "I Feel Mysterious Today", "Marooned", "French Film Blurred", "Mercy" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Gritty and powerful grooves from The Yardbirds – a set that mixes bluesy guitars and psych in a pretty incredible way – all infused by excellent work from the young Jimmy Page, at a level that predicts course he's take with Led Zeppelin just a few years later! By the time of Little Games, the group are really hitting their stride – moving way past simple mod modes or garage grit, to find that sharp-edged sound that made the Yardbirds one of the best of their generation – and a huge influence on groups for years to come. The set was produced by Mickie Most – and titles include "Little Games", "Smile On Me", "White Summer", "Glimpses", "Drinking Muddy Water", "Little Soldier Boy", "Only The Black Rose", "No Excess Baggage", and "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Sailor". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A hot host of killer rockabilly, R&B, and other smoking styles from the late 50s and early 60s – all pulled together in tribute to the long-running Rocks series from Bear Family records! The package has 30 tracks in all, the the blend of artists is really great, and shows just how much blues, R&B, and other pre-soul styles were important on the scene next to the rising wave of rockabilly and other early rock styles. And in fact, the package probably has more from those worlds of music than you'd expect from an collection that foregrounds the word "rock" – key proof that the name was initially lifted from black music, then used to peddle white pop as the years went on. Features work from The Treniers, Roy Milton, Little Junior Parker, Ella Mae Morse, Arthur Crudup, The Drifters, 5 Royales, Shirley & Lee, Amos Milburn, Lloyd Price, Slim Harp, Clyde McPhatter, Louis Prima, and many others! CD

Soundtrack to the much-hyped full length animated feature film – based on the popular sci-fi magazine of the time! The music here has little to do with the story, but there are plenty of great late 70s major label rockers in the lineup – on a set of tracks that includes "I Must Be Dreamin" and "Reach Out" by Cheap Trick, "Heavy Metal" by Sammy Hagar, "Veteran Of The Psychic Wars" by Blue Oyster Cult, "Mob Rules" by Black Sabbath, "True Companion" by Donald Fagen, "Prefabricated" by Trust, "Blue Lamp" by Stevie Nicks, "Crazy" by Nazareth, "Open Arms" by Journey, "Queen Bee" by Grand Funk Railroad, "All Of You" and "Heavy Metal" by Don Felder, "Radar Rider" by Riggs, and "Working In The Coal Mine" by Devo. (Soundtracks, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most awe-inspiring Nuggets sets yet – a massive ode to the late 60s San Francisco scene – a wide, wide breadth of amazing singles from a disparate selection of acts – bound by a 120-page hardcover, richly illustrated book! Love Is The Song We Sing isn't at all the lumbering box of hippie nostalgia you might be expecting – it's weighted very heavily in leftfield obscurities, out numbering the big hits by at least 10-to-1 – with harshly buzzing tunes, groovy psychedelia, and topical folk tunes alike. The book is full of great photos, in buoyant color and stately black & white, with notes on each individual track, an essay & track commentary by Alec Palao, a piece by early Rolling Stone figurehead Ben Fong Torres, and an additional piece by Gene Sculatti. This is one of the best Rhino boxes we've ever seen, and that's saying something, isn't it – with amazing songs by Dino Valente, Country Joe & The Fish, Blue Cheer, Sly Stone, Ace Of Cups, Count Five, Moby Grape, Beau Brummels, Flamin' Groovies and many more! Disc one "Seismic Rumbles" includes "Let's Get Together" by Dino Valente, "You Were On My Mind" by We Five, "Number One" by Charlatans, "Can't Come Down" by Warlocks, "She's My Baby" by Mojo Men, "Human Monkey" by Frantics and loads more. Disc 2 "Suburbia" includes "Psychotic Reaction" by Count Five, "Foolish Woman" by Oxford Circle, "Rubiyat" by Immediate Family, "Hearts To Cry" by Frumious Bandersnatch and more. Disc 3 "Summer Of Love" includes "Carl Street" by Mystery Trend, "Superbird" by Country Joe & The Fish, "White Rabbit" by Jefferson Airplane, "Summertime Blues" by Blue Cheer, "Underdog" by Sly & The Family Stone, "Loading Zone" by Bells and lots more. Disc 4 "The Man Can't Bust Our Music" includes "Evil Ways" by Santana, "Revolution" by Mother Earth, "I'm Drowning" by Flamin' Groovies, "Dark Star" (single version) by Grateful Dead, "Get Together" by The Youngbloods and more. 77 tracks on 4CDs! CD

A heavy tribute to Black Sabbath – with work from Megadeth, White Zombie, Sepultura, Corrosion Of Conformity, Ozzy Osbourne, Faith No More, Ugly Kid Joe, and 1000 Homo DJs with Al Jourgensen! (Cassettes, Rock) Cassette

Includes tracks by Sherri Jericho, Barry McKight, Randy Thomas, Boots Walker, Robin Garrett, Ruby Wright, Sharon Black, the Astronauts, Roger White, Anna King, String Shifter, Johnny Geer, Waldo, Dudley & Dora, Jeffrey J Jeffrey and more. CD