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... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

The incredible first album from Traffic – a record that was already way ahead of the pack, and would set the tone for so many other sounds and modes from others in years to come! At some level, the group were just coming off the big beat group years in the UK – that time of strong inspiration from American soul, jazz, and R&B – but they're already pushing all these elements in very different ways – certainly psychedelic, as you'd guess from the image on the cover – but also still holding onto a lot of the soul and jazz that first inspired them! To our ears, the reed work of Chris Wood is as important to the record as the Hammond from Steve Winwood, guitar from Dave Mason, and drums from Jim Capaldi – plus the vocals from all three – and in addition to the classic title cut "Mr Fantasy", other tunes include "Dealer", "House For Everyone", "Berkshire Poppies", "No Face No Name No Number", and "Coloured Rain". LP, Vinyl record album

The incredible first album from Traffic – a record that was already way ahead of the pack, and would set the tone for so many other sounds and modes from others in years to come! At some level, the group were just coming off the big beat group years in the UK – that time of strong inspiration from American soul, jazz, and R&B – but they're already pushing all these elements in very different ways – certainly psychedelic, as you'd guess from the image on the cover – but also still holding onto a lot of the soul and jazz that first inspired them! To our ears, the reed work of Chris Woods is as important to the record as the Hammond from Steve Winwood, guitar from Dave Mason, and drums from Jim Capaldi – plus the vocals from all three – and in addition to the classic title cut "Mr Fantasy", other tunes include "Dealer", "House For Everyone", "Berkshire Poppies", "No Face No Name No Number", and "Coloured Rain". LP, Vinyl record album

The incredible first album from Traffic – a record that was already way ahead of the pack, and would set the tone for so many other sounds and modes from others in years to come! At some level, the group were just coming off the big beat group years in the UK – that time of strong inspiration from American soul, jazz, and R&B – but they're already pushing all these elements in very different ways – certainly psychedelic, as you'd guess from the image on the cover – but also still holding onto a lot of the soul and jazz that first inspired them! To our ears, the reed work of Chris Woods is as important to the record as the Hammond from Steve Winwood, guitar from Dave Mason, and drums from Jim Capaldi – plus the vocals from all three – and in addition to the classic title cut "Mr Fantasy", other tunes include "Dealer", "House For Everyone", "Berkshire Poppies", "No Face No Name No Number", and "Coloured Rain". CD

Traffic get some help here from Muscle Shoals heavyweights Barry Beckett, Roger Hawkins, and Jimmy Johnson – a trio who help the group continue that richer, more expanded sound that was first unfurled on the group's Low Spark album! The sound is maybe a more focused attempt at territory from that record, but one that also really stretches things out too – long tracks that have just the right balance, and which never make the extra long space of the tunes feel like their wasted at all – just perfect settings for the energy of the tunes composed by Steve Winwood and Jim Capaldi. Titles include "Roll Right Stones", "Tragic Magic", "Evening Blue", and "Shoot Out At The Fantasy Factory". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

The amazing first album from Big Star – a set that came out of nowhere, made hardly a ripple on the charts, yet went onto crash in big waves of sound for generations to come! The style here is unlike thing else before – hardly what you'd expect from the group's Memphis roots or Alex Chilton's previous performances – yet the group's music has become a generation-defining sound in the way it blends southern inflections with harder rock influences, and a lean, gritty quality that's arguably in a late 70s space between punk and power pop. Every element is wonderful – guitars that are powerful, but never indulgent – vocals that are moving, but never overly emotive – and a balance between sensitive and searing moments that even The Replacements could never hope to match. A landmark all the way through – with tracks that include "Feel", "Ballad Of El Goodo", "In The Street", "The India Song", "When My Baby's Beside Me", "Give Me Another Chance", "Don't Lie To Me", "Thirteen", "Watch The Sunrise", and "Try Again". CD

The 2 great albums by Big Star – back-to-back on CD! #1 Record is simply one of the best rock albums of the 70s – partly remembered as a defining moment in power pop, but to us there's a depth of emotion here that goes way beyond chords and choruses, and sinks into our very souls every time we listen to it! Indespensible Memphis rock, to say the very least. Titles include "Feel", "Ballad Of El Goodo", "In The Street", "The India Song", "When My Baby's Beside Me", "Give Me Another Chance", "Watch The Sunrise" and more. Radio City is also one of 70s rock's finest moments. With Chris Bell out of the picture, one could successfully argue the traits that it lacks from the first album, but this thing stands up as work of genius all its own – with a raw, shambling immediacy to the songs that cut incredibly deep. Amazing stuff all around – totally indispensable! Titles include "O My Soul", "Life Is White", "Way Out West", "You Get What You Deserve", "Mod Lang", "She's A Mover", "Morpha Too", "I'm In Love With A Girl". CD

A record that may have never hit the radio city it wished for in the title – but a classic that's gone onto have an undeniable influence on so many scenes and styles over the years! This sublime second set from Big Star is even leaner and more focused than the first – a record that has the group losing Chris Bell, yet still retaining a lot of his influence – while the main focus moves over to Alex Chilton, whose ability to sing and write is simply mindblowing! The tunes have these dark, melancholy moments that are unlike anything either Chilton or rock had given the world up to the time – and really almost feel much more like work from a decade later in terms of execution and production. There's no easy labels, no easy terms you could ever hope to ascribe to the record – and that's fine, because it stands majestically well on its own. Titles include "O My Soul", "Life Is White", "Way Out West", "You Get What You Deserve", "Mod Lang", "She's A Mover", "Morpha Girl", "I'm In Love With A Girl". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

An unusual set – more country than you might expect for Fantasy Records, but produced and arranged by John Fogerty! LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

Creedence Clearwater Revival may not have actually been born on the bayou – they were long-timers in the San Francisco scene of the 60s – but they do a hell of a job of reinventing swamp rock on this second stunning album! The quartet are a masterpiece of spare, unbridled power – the tremendous guitar and vocals of John Fogerty, strong rhythm guitar support of brother Tom, driving drums of Doug Clifford, and rolling bass of Stu Cook – all forged into a sound that's maybe more perfectly a summation of the blend of blues, funk, rock, and soul than some of the groups of the south were turning out at the time. Tracks include the huge hits "Born On The Bayou" and "Proud Mary" – sitting nicely alongside even more compelling numbers like "Bootleg", "Graveyard Train", "Penthouse Pauper", and "Keep On Chooglin". CD

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... CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

All nine CCR Fantasy albums in newly remastered form and an entire CD of pre-CCR recordingsby Tommy Fogerty & The Blue Velvets, followed by 21 Golliwogs tracks, nine unreleased. Classic albums included are Creedence Clearwater Revival, Bayou Country, Willy and The Poor Boys, Cosmo's Factory, Pendulum, Mardi Gras, The Concert and Live In Europe. CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

It's hard to get any more classic than this for Creedence Clearwater Revival – as this legendary late 60s album is definitely the place where it all comes together! The pairing of John Fogerty's lead guitar and the scratching rhythm guitar of brother Tom really sounds wonderful here – driven on by tight bass and drums, but always with this rootsy edge that stretches from the Bay Area scene way down to the bayou! Titles include the classic "Down On The Corner" and a great version of "The Midnight Special" – plus "It Came Out Of The Sky", "Side Of The Road", "Effigy", "Don't Look Now", and "Fortunate Son". LP, Vinyl record album

It's hard to get any more classic than this for Creedence Clearwater Revival – as this legendary late 60s album is definitely the place where it all comes together! The pairing of John Fogerty's lead guitar and the scratching rhythm guitar of brother Tom really sounds wonderful here – driven on by tight bass and drums, but always with this rootsy edge that stretches from the Bay Area scene way down to the bayou! Titles include the classic "Down On The Corner" and a great version of "The Midnight Special" – plus "It Came Out Of The Sky", "Side Of The Road", "Effigy", "Don't Look Now", and "Fortunate Son". CD

A real enigma from the late 70s southern scene in the US – a surprisingly soulful set cut by a group who should have been a rock or country combo, but who come off here with a really deep sound – a groove that feels a lot more like some of the work from the Bay Area on Fantasy Records, or some of the groovier groups out of Austin! Vocals have a definite blue-eyed soul feel – and the instrumentation is sharp and jazzy – played at a level that's really professional for such a small label release, with production to match – yet all with a sound that's never commercial at all, and which really keeps a spontaneous, organic, and personal feel to the music. Titles include "I Don't Want To Lose You", "When Did You Lose Your Love For Me", "Puerto Rican Hotel", "When I Call Your Name", "Trip On Your Lip", and "Time Stops". (Soul, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

Guitarist Jan Akkerman bridges many worlds here – deftly stepping between spare acoustic guitar modes and some much more dynamic electric ones – but all with a sense of care and vision that really makes the record come together! The set begins with a few themes from John Dowland, updated by Akkerman, but still played with an ancient sort of vibe – one that leads into some very cool fusion moments that mix centuries-old aesthetics with the modern – creating a sense of anachronism that really keeps things interesting. Gene Orloff handled some of the larger arrangements, but the focus is always on Akkerman's deft work on the guitar – and titles include "Britannia", "House Of The King", "Javeh", "Lammy", and "A Fantasy". (Jazz, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

Don't let the pot reference on the cover put you off, or give you the wrong sort of idea about the record – as the whole thing's tight, sharp, and pretty darn groovy – a wicked batch of blue-eyed soul from the Bay Area scene of the mid 70s, served up at a level that's not too far from some of the best work on Fantasy Records at the time! These guys are clearly a rock band, but have drunk up a heady brew of funk and soul – augmented in both the rhythm elements and the nice use of horns, as well as some of the great lead vocals from singer Paulette Collins! The record's a lost one, but definitely continues that great late 60s Bay Area mode of mixing soul and rock together in a very joyous way – on titles that include the funky sample cut "Mess Up Your Mind", plus "You Got Something", "Clap Your Hands", "First Taste Of Love", "Gonna Make It", "Sativa", "Don't You Worry", "Trying To Hold It Down", and "Skyrocket". This CD includes 3 bonus tracks: "Catch A Falling Star", "Evil That Brings You Down" and "It's A Feeling". CD

Includes "Rock & Roll Fantasy". LP, Vinyl record album

A weird set of sitar and bongos backed sing-speak about gurus, devil gods, leprechauns, elves, opium, the wind, hippie boys and other oddball psychedelia enhanced storytelling from Kali,The Gypsy Star Child! We don't know a thing about Kali – she has a cute, girly-girl, Anytown, USA voice, but the hippie fantasy, pseudo spiritual storytelling is weird, yet genuinely committed – with droning, Eastern-tinged psych backdrops. Includes "A Game Called Who Am I", "Cosmic Remembrance", "A Cosmic Telephone Call", "From The Angel Liesle & The Buddha" and "How Can I Tell My Guru?" LP, Vinyl record album

Mindblowing minimalism from the legendary Sandy Bull – an artist who might have had acoustic roots in folk music, but who was instantly turning his music into something else – drawing on modal styles of Eastern music, European generations of expression on guitar, jazz-based improvisation – and maybe even prefiguring work to come from composers like Terry Riley and La Monte Young! This album's one of Bull's first, and it's pure genius right from the start – with a side-long performance on the incredible "Blend", which features slight drums from jazz musician Billy Higgins – which Sandy extrapolates these long passages on acoustic guitar. Side two features the fantastic "Carmina Burana Fantasy" on banjo – a kind of trans-historical performance that's right up there with John Fahey's best of the decade – alongside equally mindblowing "Non Nobis Domine" and "Little Maggie" – and the closing electric guitar genius of "Gospel Tune". (Folk/Country, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

The set has a cover proclaiming that the set is "a new musical path" – and producer Jimmy Bowen works with bigger backings from Larry Muhuberac to use soaring strings next to the acoustic core, in ways that push Glen into some of the more soulful expressions he had to offer. The approach is a bit hard to describe, but it's different both from country roots, and from Jimmy Webb territory – that majestic Glen Campbell sound rising up nicely – on tunes that include "One Last Time", "I Will Never Pass This Way Again", "Sweet Fantasy", "Running Scared", "Just For What I Am", and "The Last Thing On My Mind". LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible fantasy of California pop – recorded too late in the 60s to really strike big, but with a perfect approach to mid-decade Beach Boys at their best! Mark Eric's clearly borrowing plenty of pages from Brian Wilson's bag for this set (and maybe Brian Hyland too) – and the original tunes have the beautiful quality of Wilson's best writing in the pre-Pet Sounds years – dealing with deeper themes, but in a very careful and sometimes guarded way that makes the tunes that much more heartfelt. The arrangements are Wilson-inspired too – but have a more mature style than the lyrics – handled by Vic Briggs with a quality that's similar to the brilliant Surf Symphony album of the same year – almost a dreamy remembrance of the sweeter side of California earlier in the decade, but undercut with some of the bluer, more adult modes of the time. Backings feature swirling strings, ringing vibes, and some groovy guitar – and Mark's vocals are often recorded in a way that harmonizes them against the lead – a one-man vocal group, with echoes of The Four Freshmen at times. Titles include "California Home", "Move With The Dawn", "Laura's Changing", "Lynn's Baby", "Just Passing By", "Sad Is The Way That I Feel", and "Take Me With You". LP, Vinyl record album

A sweet little record from this Japanese trio – all instrumental, and put together in a style that blends elements of electro pop, electric fusion, and maybe a bit of sound library funk! The tunes are all pretty vivid – maybe evoking the scene in the title – but they also have elements that tie them more strongly to the emerging electronic groove coming from the Japanese scene at the end of the 70s – almost as if you were stripping away vocals, and coming up with spare tracks that are heavy on keyboards and other eletric touches. Titles are all in Japanese – but translate as "Aegean Fantasy", "Rose Between The Waves", "Image", "Daybreak", "Aphrodite's Mourning", and "Mykonos' Bride". (Japanese, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

A high point of the Arista years – with cuts that include "Get Up", "Rock N Roll Fantasy", "Live Life", "Hay Fever", "Misfits", and "Black Messiah". LP, Vinyl record album

Heady sounds from Bahrain – recorded in the early 80s by this ultra-cool group who would have been right at home in the European prog scene at the start of the decade before! Drums are heavy, guitar lines are great, and there's some especially cool moogy moments – including some solos that may well be the centerpiece of the album! There's a bit of vocals, but most of the record's got an instrumental appeal that's universal – and which has the same touches of exotic and funky bits that we love in Turkish rock of the early 70s – although maybe with slightly more proggy results overall. Titles include "Sailor On The Seas Of Fate", "Struggle To Survive", "Fantasy", "Embers Of A Flame", "Autumn", and "Paradox In A Major". Includes bonus insert with notes, too! (Global Grooves, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

A really incredible batch of work from a very unique group – a Cali sunshine pop combo, but one who could let loose with some headier psych touches as well – which they definitely do on the mindblowing title track of the record! Mike Nesmith produced the set, but the work is much deeper than any of his Monkees music – and very different than the country rock he'd soon be giving the world – as the group mix sharp guitars with some sunnier vocals, but often have this undercurrent of darkness – in a way that's inexplicable, but extremely powerful too! This edition brings in additional material discovered after the previous reissue – and the whole thing has been cleaned up and repackaged wonderfully – with titles that include "Not The Freeze", "Century Of Distance", "Love Rain", "Voodoo Spell", "Color Fantasy", "Swim", "Thesis", and "Lights Of Dawn". CD

A surprisingly compelling album from Michelle Phillips – recorded years after the breakup of The Mamas & The Papas – with a smooth late 70s LA sound that works perfectly for her more mature sexy approach! Jack Nitzsche handled the production and arrangements on most of it, and the album's got more of an edge than you might think from first look or listen – slightly self-reflexive, and less a comeback attempt than an expression of identity finally put on record. Wonderful! Titles include "Aching Kind", "Trashy Rumors", "Let The Music Begin", "Victim Of Romance", "Where's Mine", "Just One Look", "Paid The Price", "Lady Of Fantasy" (the lone track here produced & arranged by John Phillips) and more LP, Vinyl record album

Wonderful! Shawn Phillips started his career as a shaggy folk rocker with a bit of a jazzy twinge – but this album collects odd bits and pieces that were left off of earlier albums, and works perfectly as a record that shows a whole new side of his genius! The album shows Phillips as a master of the funky jazz groove – and although he's still singing on some of the songs, he also lets loose with a number of instrumental cuts, laid out in a tight well-produced mode that puts them up there with some of the best work coming out on labels like Fantasy or Blue Note during the mid 70s. The centerpiece of these is the massive long cut "We Came To Say Goodbye", which builds and builds over the course of 15 minutes, with cool keyboards, great guitar, and the kind of tightly compressed grooves you'd expect to find on a Headhunters album (no surprise, since Headhunters Mike Clark, Bill Summers, and Paul Jackson are on the cut!) Other instrumental tracks include "Prelude To A Leaving" and "Italian Phases" – and strong vocal numbers include "Parisian Plight 1" and "Your Eyes". LP, Vinyl record album

The second album from Queen, and a record that definitely has some ties to the prog and hard rock generation from which they emerged – but also a set that clearly has the group really coming into their own! There's a few thematic moments on here that are maybe more fantasy-based than fans of the group's later hits might expect – but they're also delivered with the sort of searing intensity that Brian May can bring to the group, and really driven far past familiar modes by Freddie Mercury's amazing vocals. Titles include the hit vocal version of "Seven Seas Of Rhye" – plus "Ogre Battle", "The Fairy Feller's Master Stroke", "White Queen", "Father To Son", "Some Day One Day", "The Loser In The End", "Funny How Love Is", "The March Of The Black Queen", and "Never More". LP, Vinyl record album

Not the Eleventh House group with guitarist Larry Coryell, and instead this very cool spoken word record from Milwaukee – one that features light instrumentation on organ, flute, guitars, percussion, and even electric sitar – kind of a cross between some of the beat-era Fantasy Records poetry albums, and the trippier 70s work of Ken Nordine! (Spoken Word, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

There's nothing slow about this mid 70s album from Steppenwolf – a set that has the group really coming back into the fray, after John Kay had left for a bit and recorded as a solo act! All the raw power of the group is still very much at play here – plenty of searing guitars, at that level that made Steppenwolf such a key precursor to the hard rock sound of the 70s – maybe answered to by the group themselves here, who felt a need to reform and show the younger acts how things were done! But there's also some fuller production at times too – touches of soul inspiration that hit a few of the songs, but without ever knocking the guitars out too much – on titles that include "Get Into The Wind", "Children Of The Night", "Smokey Factory Blues", "Morning Blue", "A Fool's Fantasy", and "Gang War Blues". CD

There's nothing slow about this mid 70s album from Steppenwolf – a set that has the group really coming back into the fray, after John Kay had left for a bit and recorded as a solo act! All the raw power of the group is still very much at play here – plenty of searing guitars, at that level that made Steppenwolf such a key precursor to the hard rock sound of the 70s – maybe answered to by the group themselves here, who felt a need to reform and show the younger acts how things were done! But there's also some fuller production at times too – touches of soul inspiration that hit a few of the songs, but without ever knocking the guitars out too much – on titles that include "Get Into The Wind", "Children Of The Night", "Smokey Factory Blues", "Morning Blue", "A Fool's Fantasy", and "Gang War Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

Recorded live on tour in Germany. Titles include "(Sometimes I Feel So) Uninspired", "Shoot Out At The Fantasy Factory", "Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys", and "Light Up Or Leave Me Alone". LP, Vinyl record album

A spooky space age fantasy put together by electronic music Joel Vandroogenbroeck as a sound library project – done right around the early years of his famous group Brainticket, but with a much more abstract quality overall! The tunes are sometimes groovy, but mostly fall on that darker side of the sound library spectrum – all sorts of cool elements rumbling down at the bottom of the sonic palette, mixed with some higher-soaring electronics and keyboards – yet all at a level that really fits the dark-tinged image on the cover! Titles include "Riflessione Introspettiva", "Hertz Blues", "Risonanze Estaiche", "Curva Di Energia", "Angolazione Acustiche", "Eco Cosmico", and "Ricerca Di Sintonia". (Sound Library, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album