A sweet set of grooves from this obscure Texas group of the early 80s – a blue-eyed combo who draw plenty of inspiration from the more soulful side of AOR – and who serve up tracks here that nicely span both sides of the spectrum! There's an inherent warmth to the sharp instrumentation on the record, giving the whole thing a similar funky soul quality to some of the work on the Austin Fable Records label from a few years before – and although the group recorded these tracks over the span of a few years, and put them together as an album of demos, the whole thing finally gets a proper release after all these years – complete with new liner notes by David Ritz! Titles include "Say It", "Endless Possibilities", "Day Or Night", "Shock Proof", and two versions of the super-catchy "Baby Don't Lie". LP, Vinyl record album

A long-overdue package – one that finally brings together all the many strands of music from underground Cali rock legend Merrell Fankhauser! CD1 features some of Merrell's earliest music – a host of early singles by Merrell & The Exiles, some of which were issued on the Glenn and Golden Crown labels – mixed here with rare unissued titles too – for a whopping 19 tracks that offer up a rare look at Fankhauser's earliest years! CD2 features the classic Fapardokly record – a lost bit of legend from the west coast scene of the 60s – and a record that's maybe best-known as a showcase for the early genius of Merrell Fankhauser – who wrote most of the songs on the set, a good number of which were actually recorded for the record by his previous group, The Exiles! Yet despite that little bit of trivia, there's a great vibe going on here – a seminal shift in the Cali scene from garagey work to trippier modes – served up beautifully on titles that include "Glass Chandelier", "Suzie Cryin", "Tomorrow's Girl", "Lila", "Mr Clock", "No Retreat", "Gone To Pot", "When I Get Home", "Supermarket", and "The Music Scene". CD3 features the album Things, recorded by Merrell Fankhauser & HMS Bounty – a perfect blend of Fankhauser's earlier garage rock modes and latter trippier styles! The tunes are short and wonderfully tuneful – produced at Gold Star studios, with a simple, straightforward style that makes all the deftness of the songwriting come through even more – an approach that, although supposedly steeped in Pacific Ocean inspiration, almost feels more like that great moment when some UK groups of the mid 60s were tripping out, but not too much. Titles include "Lost In The City", "Your Painted Lives", "In A Minute Not Too Soon", "A Visit With Ashiya", "The Big Gray Sky", and "Rich Man's Fable". CD4 features MU – an incredible record, and one that really lives up to all its well-deserved legend over the years – one of those sets that's not just rare, but which has all the chops to really deliver the goods! A few short years before, Merrell Fankhauser was recording garage and psych on the LA scene – but here, he steps off the latter with a bit of post-60s hangover – working with a current of darkness that really changes things up, while still providing a great outlet for his legendary work on guitar – and his mindblowing sense of a lyric! Titles include "Ballad Of Brother Lew", "Eternal Thirst", "Too Naked For Demetrius", "Mumbella Baye Tu La", "The Clouds Went That Way", and "Nobody Wants To Shine". CD5 features MU's The Last Album – 20 more tracks recorded in 1974, but unissued for many years – and CD6 features the legendary Maui album from the enigmatic Merrell Fankhauser – a self-released set that drew inspiration from his time in Hawaii – even though the set was mostly recorded in LA and San Francisco! The tunes are beautiful – nicely evolved from Merrell's psych of earlier years, with a much more personal vibe – yet all without some of those west coast cliches that were creeping into more mainstream music of the period. You might get the vibe partly right if you could maybe imagine a more personal singer/songwriter take on the AOR vibe of the period – with leaner, better instrumentation and unslick production – but that's also only part of the picture too! Titles include "On Our Way To Hana", "Make A Joyful Noise", "Garden In The Rain", "Waterfall", "The Source", "Sail It Over The Ocean", and "We Were All Free". Box set features a very detailed book of notes – bonus tracks added to most of the albums, and a massive 95 tracks in all! CD

A west coast psychedelic classic from the legendary Merrell Fankhauser – one of his earliest moments on record, and a perfect blend of his earlier garage rock modes and latter trippier styles! The tunes are short and wonderfully tuneful – produced at Gold Star studios, with a simple, straightforward style that makes all the deftness of the songwriting come through even more – an approach that, although supposedly steeped in Pacific Ocean inspiration, almost feels more like that great moment when some UK groups of the mid 60s were tripping out, but not too much. Titles include "Lost In The City", "Your Painted Lives", "In A Minute Not Too Soon", "A Visit With Ashiya", "The Big Gray Sky", and "Rich Man's Fable". CD

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. CD

John Lennon's fabled "Lost Weekend" LP, self produced and another kinda strange mix of weighty material and messy fun composed, produced and recorded in LA while he was estranged from Yoko! Includes some meditations on love and loss, unpretentious horn accented rock & roll tunes and combinations of the two – with a spiritual restlessness underlying even the more straightforward numbers. Includes the rave up "Whatever Gets You Through The Night" with Elton John, the alluring "#9 Dream", "Old Dirt Road", "Bless You", "Steel And Glass", "Ya Ya", "Going Down On Love" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

Sonic Youth near the end of the 90s – once again in creative ascension! After flirting with mainstream appeal a bit earlier in the 90s – without going too far out of their alt noise comfort zone – they seemed to lean more and more towards their slow-building exploratory facets as the years went on. A Thousand Leaves is probably their boldest Geffen record to that point ,with longer songs that are just "out" enough. Includes "Contre Le Sexism", "Sunday", "Female Mechanic Now On Duty", "Wildflower Soul", "Hoarfrost", "French Tickler", "Hits Of Sunshine (For Allen Ginsberg)", "Karen Koltrane", "The Ineffable Me", "Snare, Girl" and "Heather Angel". CD

A lost jazz gem from guitarist Chris Spedding – a musician whose work was such a key component of many other important albums from the time, but who hardly ever made a record like this! The album's much more jazz than the rock you might normally expect from Spedding – strongly linked to his sessions with players like Mike Westbrook, Ian Carr, or Frank Ricotti – with an all-instrumental approach that's spun out on some beautiful extended tracks! Chris plays both acoustic and electric guitar, but the album's really a full group effort – and features material by Roger Potter on bass, John Mitchell on acoustic piano and Fender Rhodes, Paul Rutherford on trombone, and John Marshall on drums. There's a moody, understated vibe to the record – never jamming at all, and this very introspective side of Spedding that we really love. For some reason, although the set was recorded for the Harvest label in 1970, Spedding didn't want it issued at the time – and it initially was only released in Japan. Titles include "Plain Song", "Station Song", "Song Of The Deep", "The Forest Of Fables", and "New Song Of Experience". CD

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. (Folk/Country, Rock) CD

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. (Folk/Country, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album