Timeless metal from Black Sabbath and their first album with Ronnie James Dio out front – and we'd honestly put it up there with the best work of all their careers! No disrespect to Ozzy or the early, definitive era of Black Sabbath – those first few album are among the most influential rock & roll albums of all time and Heaven & Hell doesn't reinvent the wheel – but this new phase with another veteran front man is a masterclass heavy riffs, soaring vocals and hasn't aged a day. Includes the classic title track and "Neon Knights", "Children Of The Sea", "Wishing Well", "Die Young", "Walk Away" and "Lonely Is The Word". LP, Vinyl record album

The first full album that Felt cut for Creation Records – and a tremendous selection of timeless pop tunes that shows that their move to the label was the best thing they ever did! The band's sound is tightened up considerably from their Cherry Red years – compressing organ solos, guitar passages, and Lawrence's introspective vocals into tunes that were filled with a sort of timeless sense of pop – never cloying, never witless – just magically "Felt-like", with an aura that was all its own. One of the finest rock records of the past 30 years, and a real bright spot in the 80s! Titles include "Down But Not Yet Out", "September Lady", "Gather Up Your Wings & Fly", "Hours Of Darkness Have Changed My Mind", and "Rain Of Crystal Spires". LP, Vinyl record album

A trio of albums from The Grass Roots – plus lots of bonus tracks too! First up is Leaving It All Behind – a really great shift for the Grass Roots – a set that has the group sounding more confident before, and maybe a bit more soulful too – really coming at things with this nice sense of punch both in the lead vocals, and the way the overall groove drives the set! The arrangements are superb – handled by Sid Feller and Jimmie Haskell – and we can especially hear the talents of the latter, in the way that Jimmie can take simple elements and make them sound groovy – but all in a very unassuming way. Titles include "Out Of This World", "I'm Lovin For You Girl", "Wait A Million Years", "Take Him While You Can", "Walking Through The Country", and "Truck Drivin Man". Move Along is a record with a big, bold sound – lots of soulful arrangements from Jimmie Haskell, full of horns and driven by great basslines – all of which really pushes the dynamic energy of the group! The Grass Roots look a bit more mature on the cover, and that comes through in their vocals too – some raspier charms that really reflect the passage of years, and enforce a bit more feeling in the lyrics – giving a heft to the album that's an unexpected surprise, especially if you only know their earlier hits. Titles include "Move Along", "Two Divided By Love", "Monday Love", "One Word", "Runnin Just To Get Her Home Again", and "Anyway The Wind Blows". Alotta Mileage is a 70s standout from The Grass Roots! Back in the 60s, the Grass Roots already had this tight, compressed energy that was totally great – a quality that also makes their 70s work like this so wonderful too! There's a focus here that's totally great – horns informed by earlier soul music styles, and vocals that borrow a bit too – upbeat and bubbling, but with maybe a nicely mature vibe too – still hook-heavy, but slightly different than the earlier hits – on titles that include "Just A Little Tear", "Pick Up Your Feet", "Where There's Smoke There's Fire", "Ballad Of Billy Joe", "We Almost Made It Together", "Ain't No Way To Go Home", and "Claudia". 2CD set features 14 more bonus tracks – including "Temptation Eyes", "Sooner Or Later", "Bella Linda (single version)", "Get It Together", "Baby Hold On", "I'd Wait A Million Years (single version)", "We Can't Dance To Your Music", and "I Can Turn Off The Rain". CD

The very first album from long-running Japanese singer Akira Kushida – a set that bursts out with the word "soulful" on the cover, and definitely follows through with its promise! Given that Akira sings in Japanese on many cuts, the sound isn't exactly the same as James Brown on King Records – but it's also clear that Kushida draws plenty of inspiration from American soul, which is also reflected in the arrangements, not just the raspy style that he brings to the lyrics! There's definitely a fair bit of English on the record – and the vibe is maybe a bit like some of the blue-eyed soul styles of the UK mod scene, served up on titles that include "Vecchio Sam", "For The Love Of A Woman", "Cry Like A Baby", "Forgive Me My Love", and "Lonesome Sad & Blue". (Japanese, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

Never-issued material from the great John Prine – recorded towards the end of his Atlantic Records years, at a time when the label was clearly going to give the world a demonstration of Prine's many charms in a concert setting! Prine was, above all, the kind of artist who was maybe at his best when able to open up in the warmth of a welcoming audience – the kind that first supported him when he emerged from the Chicago club scene at the start of the 70s – and who are definitely in place here! The album features two full sets, but without any sort of repetition – and Prine delivers these wonderful versions of early Atlantic material, plus other tunes too – sometimes with spoken intros, and with guest help from Steve Goodman on two titles too. Titles include "Great Rain", "Often Is A Word I Seldom Use", "Flashback Blues", "way Down", "Spanish Pipedream", "Middle Man", "Saddle In The Rain", "Everybody", "Hello In There", "The Late John Garfield Blues", "The Accident", "Donald & Lydia", "Sour Grapes", "Common Sense", "The Torch Singer", "Mexican Home", "Illegal Smile", and "Sam Stone". (Folk/Country, Rock) CD

A Tom Verlaine double header – two albums back to back on a single CD! First up is the fantastic first solo album from Tom Verlaine – a set recorded shortly after the breakup of Television, but with a vibe that almost makes it feel like the group's third album! The songs are maybe a bit tighter, but no less creative – both from a lyrical and sonic perspective – and Verlaine's got that fantastic sense of edge in his vocals, which can even make some of the nicer lyrics feel a bit nasty – but all at a level that's never overstated, and which should be a blueprint for later generations of singers who always try too hard. Titles include "The Grip Of Love", "Kingdom Come", "Mr Bingo", "Yonki Time", "Red Leaves", and "Last Night". On Dreamtime, Tom Verlaine has lost none of his edge – and instead has almost emerged as one of the most mature singer/songwriters on the New York scene – an underground-to-mainstream poet to match the skills of Lou Reed and Patti Smith! The album's got a vibe that's almost like Reed's work of the time – in that Tom's an artist who clearly knows the path to the dark side, and ways to overindulge – but always instead finds a way to keep things well-crafted and economical, but without sacrificing his sound or his intellect. Titles include "Penetration", "The Blue Robe", "Mr Blur", "A Future In Noise", "Down On The Farm", "Without A Word", and "Fragile". CD

A Tom Verlaine double header – two albums back to back on a single CD! First up is the fantastic first solo album from Tom Verlaine – a set recorded shortly after the breakup of Television, but with a vibe that almost makes it feel like the group's third album! The songs are maybe a bit tighter, but no less creative – both from a lyrical and sonic perspective – and Verlaine's got that fantastic sense of edge in his vocals, which can even make some of the nicer lyrics feel a bit nasty – but all at a level that's never overstated, and which should be a blueprint for later generations of singers who always try too hard. Titles include "The Grip Of Love", "Kingdom Come", "Mr Bingo", "Yonki Time", "Red Leaves", and "Last Night". On Dreamtime, Tom Verlaine has lost none of his edge – and instead has almost emerged as one of the most mature singer/songwriters on the New York scene – an underground-to-mainstream poet to match the skills of Lou Reed and Patti Smith! The album's got a vibe that's almost like Reed's work of the time – in that Tom's an artist who clearly knows the path to the dark side, and ways to overindulge – but always instead finds a way to keep things well-crafted and economical, but without sacrificing his sound or his intellect. Titles include "Penetration", "The Blue Robe", "Mr Blur", "A Future In Noise", "Down On The Farm", "Without A Word", and "Fragile". CD

The Allman Brothers at their best – and a key 70s set that may well have the group working at their peak! All their best southern roots are firmly tied together here – not just the country-touched approach to rock that was the group's calling card, but also their ties to some of the Georgia soul scene as well – an element that really surfaces in some of the album's piano lines and rhythms, which really help underscore the depth of the tunes – and give the group a solid footing that's stronger than some of their more cliched contemporaries. These tunes hold up wonderfully over the years – and have a visionary approach that almost sparkles even more strongly here in the 21st Century than when we first started digging their sounds on radio back in the 70s. Titles include "Southbound", "Jessica", "Pony Boy", "Wasted Words", "Ramblin Man", "Come & Go Blues", and "Jelly Jelly". LP, Vinyl record album

The amazing debut of Be Bop Deluxe – a record that's made up of all sorts of familiar parts, yet somehow really manages to set itself apart as a whole! The young Bill Nelson is at the top of his game here – a hell of a guitarist, which we sometimes forget in his later work – and a vocalist with a sinister edge that gives the record a sense of darkness that matches the compressed production and overall moody vibe – a child of the Bowie/Bolan generation, but one that's a real black sheep of the family too! The strength of the record is impossible to sum up in easy words – but it's there for the hearing, right from the very first note – on titles that include "Jet Silver & The Dolls Of Venus", "Axe Victim", "Love Is Swift Arrows", "No Trains To Heaven", "Jets At Dawn", "Rocket Cathedrals", and "Third Floor Heaven". LP, Vinyl record album

Heavy psych from the Toronto scene of the 60s – a record that died instantly after it was recorded, but only because it was years ahead of its time! Bent Wind are incredible from the very first note – playing with this intensity that's really hard to sum up in words, often with guitar lines to rival the best of the new hard rock generation in the UK – but lyrics that are moodier and muddier, and which give these guys an almost spooky sort of feel! There's plenty of power on the record throughout – and a youthful freshness that comes through right away, even after all these years – on titles that include "Hate", "The Lions", "Goin To The City", "Riverside", "Mystify", "Touch Of Red", and "Sacred Cows". LP, Vinyl record album

A well-remembered set from The Cocteau Twins' sublime 80s run on the 4AD label – a set that was one of the duo's first American titles, culled together from some of their early singles and import EP releases! The song choices are wonderful – some of the most focused, expressive cuts from the first few Cocteau years – magical moments that have the wordless vocals of Liz Frazier carving out these really beautiful melodies – while lush keyboards and splashy rhythms fill in the background with that unique 4AD style of production. There's still never been anything like the group at this point over all the years that have past – and the album's filled with gems that include "Wax & Wane", "Pearly Dewdrop Drops", "From The Flagstones", "Lorelei", "Aikea Guinea", "Pepper Tree", and "Musette & Drums". LP, Vinyl record album

An amazing legacy in music from Mike Cooper – a British musician who started out in the world of folk blues, but never ended up moving towards some of the rockish modes of his contemporaries – instead finding his very own sort of special space in the freedom allowed by the Dawn Records label! The set begins with the very spare Oh Really – a set that has Mike Cooper mostly on guitar and vocals, in a style that's part Piedmont, part Delta blues – but also given a more folksy spin, and graced with Cooper's unusual vocals – almost making the whole thing feel like a spare acoustic version of Canned Heat territory – with titles that include "Maggie Campbell", "Saturday Blues", "Electric Chair", "Crow Jane", and "You're Gonna Be Sorry". Do I Know you is a record that follows up with a sound that's maybe a bit fuller than Mike Cooper's debut, but still relatively spare – with Mike on acoustic guitar and slide guitar, Harry Miller on bass (really great bass, by the way!), and Poor Little Anne on a bit of vocals. Miller brings these deep tones to the record that really transform things – and titles include "Do I Know You", "Start Of A Journey", "First Song", "Theme In C", and "The Link". Trout Steel is a beautiful set from the British scene at the start of the 70s – a record that's got a fairly folksy tone, but lots of jazzy currents as well! The set was issued on the seminal Dawn Records label – and really shows that imprint's commitment to the left side of the spectrum – as Mike Cooper's vocals and acoustic guitar come into play with more guitar from Stefan Grossman – plus alto sax from Mike Osborne, tenor and soprano from Alan Skidmore, piano from John Taylor, and bass from the late Harry Miller – all key players on the UK avant jazz scene of the time! The mix of these players with Cooper's core inspiration is not unlike some of the most progressive material coming from Island Records – or, even better, the special jazzy moments on records by Tim Buckley or Tim Hardin – company that Cooper could very easily keep, given the strength of his songwriting. Titles include "Don't Talk Too Fast", "On My Way", "Hope You See", "Weeping Rose", "Trout Steel", "I've Got Mine", "That's How", and "Pharoah's March". Places I Know blends Cooper's acoustic guitar and rootsy vocals with some very compelling arrangements from Mike Gibbs – the British jazz talent who was already known for his larger ensemble creations at the time, but who works here in these really subtle ways – to inflect Cooper's core inspirations with just some slight instrumental colors, tones, and phrases on most numbers – while Cooper brings in the core Machine Gun Co group on a few more. The result is a record that's way more than familiar folk – and arguably a lot hipper than most of the British acid folk of the time, too – on titles that include "Night Journey", "Paper & Smoke", "Country Water", "Time To Time", "Goodbye Blues Goodbye", and "Places I Know". The Machine Gun Co album is a partner record to Places I Know – recorded in the same sessions, but with tracks that are longer, and even more openly expressive – all with backings from the sweet Machine Gun Co quartet, a group with some especially nice electric piano from Alan Cook! Heavy use of that instrument really works against some of the folksier elements in Cooper's music – with these blocks of warm sound and color that really illuminate the tunes, and almost unlock a new level in the vocals. Cooper plays a bit of electric guitar at times – and titles include "So Glad That I Found You", "Lady Anne", "Midnight Words", and "Song For Abigail". CD also features songs from singles – "Your Lovely Ways (parts 1 & 2)", "Time In Hand", and "Schaabisch Hall". CD

The wonderful voice of Marianne Faithfull in all its 60s glory – set up here with sublime arrangements from Mike Leander, in a style that's unlike just about anything else we can think of! Marianne's got a bit of a trill – as you might hear in female folk singers of the decade – but the overall presentation is something completely different altogether – kind of a dark recasting of the usual pop modes you might hear from Leander, with all these blue undertones and weird intonations that kind of point the way towards moodier female singers to come at the end of the 60s – but still with enough ties to the mainstream to make Faithfull's music even more powerful! The balance is hard to describe in words, but hits you right away from the very first note – and titles include "Counting", "Ne Me Quitte Pas", "In The Night Time", "Tomorrow's Calling", "With You In Mind", "I'm The Sky", "Lucky Girl", and "I Have A Love". LP, Vinyl record album

The wonderful voice of Marianne Faithfull in all its 60s glory – set up here with sublime arrangements from Mike Leander, in a style that's unlike just about anything else we can think of! Marianne's got a bit of a trill – as you might hear in female folk singers of the decade – but the overall presentation is something completely different altogether – kind of a dark recasting of the usual pop modes you might hear from Leander, with all these blue undertones and weird intonations that kind of point the way towards moodier female singers to come at the end of the 60s – but still with enough ties to the mainstream to make Faithfull's music even more powerful! The balance is hard to describe in words, but hits you right away from the very first note – and titles include "Counting", "Ne Me Quitte Pas", "In The Night Time", "Tomorrow's Calling", "With You In Mind", "I'm The Sky", "Lucky Girl", and "I Have A Love". LP, Vinyl record album

A late masterpiece from the Flaming Lips – one of their most unique and uncompromising records since they became leftfield hitmakers – and a record that works best as a whole! Embryonic is a grower, and the first record since The Soft Bulletin which, to our ears anyway, doesn't seem to have any illusions of a crossover ready single in the lineup. It's really a space rock record with fuzzy guitars and echoing noisiness, and a confident step out of "Do You Realize?" style speaks-to-everyone art pop, and into more of a dissonant, messy sound. It's a real thrill for us to see a longtime favorite not only get over into the mainstream consciousness and stay there for years, but to continue to challenge and innovate while they're hanging out there. Titles include "Convinced Of The Hex", "The Sparrow Looks Up At The Machine", "Evil", "Aquarius Sabotage", "See The Leaves", "Your Bats", "Powerless", "Scorpio Sword", "Watching The Planets" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Mia Joy blends layered, dreamy atmosphere and strongly personal songwriting with such surehanded craft on Spirit Tamer, it's hard to believe it's only her first album! The vibe is the kind of softly layered, gently expansive guitar and synth atmosphere that's a bit reminiscent of classic 4AD and Creation label heroes and heroines, but in Mia's hands it's in the service of personal songwriting, which never gets lost under the airy sound or hazy mood. Such a strong debut! Includes "Spirit Tamer", "Ye Old Man", "Heaven Forbid", "Across Water", "See Us", "Saturn", "Sword (I Carry)", "Phone Home", "Candle Prayer", "Haha" and "Last Night Together (Arthur)". LP, Vinyl record album

Genius early work from Kris Kristofferson – four great albums in a single package, with SACD mastering too! First up is The Silver Tongued Devil & I – a masterful tribute to the genius of Kris Kristofferson, and a record that perfectly illustrates that unique place he held in music at the start of the 70s! The album's Kris' second, and has maybe a more unified vibe than his debut – filled with original material that has that open, honest quality that Kristofferson brought to country music – and which also had a surprisingly strong impact on mainstream rock and singer/songwriter material too! There's both a frankness of feeling and sharpness of wit that make the whole thing wonderful – and the album's overflowing with original gems that include "Jody & The Kid", "Billy Dee", "Loving Her Was Easier", "The Taker", "When I Loved Her", "The Pilgrim Chapter 33" and "Epitaph" – plus a great reading of the Bobby Bare/Billy Joe Shaver tune "Good Christian Soldier". Border Lord is a wonderful album, and one that's full of lesser-known gems from Kris Kristofferson – from a time when he'd started sharing his songs with other singers first, and started to hold back all the good stuff for himself! The album's got help from some country music studio greats, but it's clearly Kristofferson's show, right from the start – overflowing with tunes that get delivery from Kris that nobody else can match – with a special understanding of the choice of words, balance of wit, and depth of feeling that makes him so great on record. Titles include "Burden Of Freedom", "Border Lord", "When She's Wrong", "Kiss The World Goodbye", "Getting By High & Strange", "Somebody Nobody Knows", and "Josie". Jesus Was A Capricorn is one of those records in which Kris Kristofferson takes on the 70s, and comes up with a sound and style that's completely his own – even when working within the mainstream of the time! His label, Monument, could do plenty of hokey stuff – and even arranger Bill Justis wasn't always the hippest of cats – nor producer Fred Foster. Yet working here, they all rise to the occasion under the majesty of the man's music – a soaring batch of original tunes, of that special sort that Kris was always keeping to himself after his early years writing hits for others. Titles include "Why Me", "Give It Time To Be Tender", "It Sure Was Love", "Nobody Wins", "Enough For You", and the title cut "Jesus Was A Capricorn", owed to John Prine! Spooky Lady's Sideshow is a record that has Kris Kristofferson loosening up his mix of styles slightly, almost a nod back to his debut – but all in a way that only seems to bring an even greater range of feeling to his songwriting! Kristofferson maybe looks a bit more casual and laidback on the cover than some previous sets, but he's still got all the sharpness of delivery that makes him so great, and which really matches his magical words – on titles that include "Broken Freedom Song", "Star Spangled Bummer", "Smile At Me Again", "I May Smoke Too Much", "Stairway To The Bottom", and "Rescue Mission". (Folk/Country, Rock) CD

A live counterpart to the first Motorhead album on Chiswick – a set that's got the same weird blend of proto-punk and pub rock – all served up with a bit of a hint of the style to come! The guitars are even heavier than on the studio set – and the drums are too – and there's a nicely muddy quality to the mix that makes the whole thing sound sneeringly wonderful, and which links Motorhead more closely to the punk generation of the time than you might expect! Titles include "Iron Horse/Born To Lose", "White Line Fever", "The Watcher", "On Parole", "City Kids", "Train Kept A Rollin", and "Keep Us On The Road". LP, Vinyl record album

A really great collection of work from the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band – a set that's a collection of mostly older tracks, but which also includes a dozen unissued numbers – all put together with that special flair that always made the group's mid-70s records so different than work of their contemporaries! In other words, this is hardly a lean "greatest hits" collection – and instead, the 3LP collection has bits from the first decade of the group's career coming together in all sorts of different ways – almost with the longform exploratory sense of Will The Circle Be Unbroken, and the playful interplay of their Stars & Stripes set – both expanded packages like this. There's many gems here in an array of styles – and titles include "Bayou Jubilee/Sally Was A Goodun", "Some Of Shelly's Blues", "Ripplin Waters", "You Are My Flower", "Creepin Round Your Back Door", "Sixteen Tracks", "Honky Tonkin", "Soldier's Joy", "Buy For Me The Rain", "Melissa", "Woody Woodpecker", "Cosmic Cowboy (part 1)", "Mother Earth Provides For Me", "Jamaica Lady", "Gavotte No 2", "All I Have To Do Is Dream", "Visiting An Old Friend", and "Win Or Lose". CD

Very hip work from guitarist Chris Spedding – one of his first albums as a solo artist, but a set that was cut with some of his old bandmates from The Battered Ornaments! Like Spedding, most of the musicians here approach the record with an equal sense of jazz and rock – which often makes for very interesting rhythms and changes, and progressions in the tunes that are quite different both from the mainstream, and more commercial jazz rock albums from the UK scene at the start of the 70s. Spedding's vocals are subtle – usually a bit down in the mix next to the guitar, Hammond, and deft rhythms – and the tracks are shorter than you'd expect – nicely understated, and not nearly the progressive, jamming approach you'd expect from such a lineup. Titles include "Words Don't Come", "The Hill", "Session Man", "Please Mrs Henry", "Out To Be A Law", and "Should The Occasion Arise". LP, Vinyl record album

Two classic country narrative LPs from the unapologetic showman and honky tonk kingpin Porter Wagoner – the adultery themed Cold Hard Facts Of Life and the behind bars concept album Soul Of A Convict – back to back with rare bonus tracks! Cold Hard Facts Of Life is peak Porter, balancing a core of rugged honky tonk with lush arrangements better than anyone in the business (then or now) and with songs that teeter on the edge of nudge & wink hokum without losing the sincerity. Titles include "First Miss Jones", "Words And Music", "Cold Hard Facts Of Life", "Tragic Romance", "Julie" and more. Soul Of A Convict And Other Great Prison Songs, also from 1967, takes the trademark Wagoner approach to the jailhouse, with Porter doing justice to Cash and Hag classics, and other great tunes, including "Boston Jail", "Convict And The Rose", "I'm Just Here To Get My Baby Out Of Jail", "Green Green Grass Of Home", "Soul Of A Convict" and more. This great Omni edition includes 6 bonus tracks including "I Lived So Fast And Hard", "House Of Shame" and more. (Folk/Country, Rock) CD

One of the greatest albums from Tom Waits's peak years at Island – carrying on with the clattering, defiantly vintage-sounding instrumentation – especially given the obsessively modern production aesthetic on most major label albums in the mid 80s. This album also just so happens to feature at least a few of the best songs Waits ever wrote! Rain Dogs follows Swordfishtrombones, his first really drastic step into eccentrically gritty songs – and this one carries on that vibe, while also delivering some gritty ballads and a less out-there songs, too. Includes the much-loved (and deservedly so) "Downtown Train", "Singapore", "Clap Hands", "Tango Till They're Sore", "Hang Down Your Head", "Time", "Rain Dogs", "Gun Street Girl", "Walking Spanish" LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic sounds from the Wilde Flowers – a group who were an undeniable precursor to Soft Machine and Caravan, and who also were one of the first to explore some of the farther reaches that would soon explode in the worlds of British prog and psych! The group never issued a full album at the time, which makes this collection of rare recordings completely essential – as it features early work from Robert Wyatt on drums and vocals, Hugh Hopper on bass, Pye Hastings on guitar, Richard Sinclair on vocals, Mike Ratledge on flute, and David Sinclair on keyboards. The lineup shifts from track to track – really showing the woodshedding experiments of the musicians – and a young Kevin Ayers even makes a few appearances on vocals too. Titles include "Impotence", "Those Words They Say", "He's Bad For You", "Never Leave Me", "Time After Time", "No Game When You Lose", "The Big Show", "She Loves To Hurt", "Memories", "Slow Walkin Talk", "Parchman Farm", and "She's Gone". LP, Vinyl record album

Lucinda Williams second album for Folkways – and the first to feature her own material – introducing one of the best Americana singer songwriters of the past few decades! Happy Woman Blues has an apt title, and although there's plenty of heartache in her radiating from her vocal chords and in her words, it's done with passionate, unflinching confidence and charisma the brings a smile to our faces as wide as the one she's wearing in the cover photo. More of a honky tonk record than a blues record, and a great one! Essential! Titles include "Lafayette", "Lost It", "Maria", "Happy Woman Blues", "Rolling Along", "Howlin At Midnight", "Hard Road", "Louisiana Man" and more. (Folk/Country, Rock) CD

The title's a bit of a joke – given that in all his many decades of music, Robert Wyatt never really had any hits – although he's continued to have a profound influence on audiences for many many years! Wyatt first started out in Soft Machine, but a freak accident forced him to refigure his physical reality – and he emerged in the 70s as one of the most unique songsmiths of his generation – a poet in both words and sound, working a more personal, compressed version of the early prog sounds that he'd inspired – with a style that was lean enough to survive decades of musical changes – many of which still found Wyatt at the forefront of the underground! This double length set is a great testament to that long musical journey – packaged with cover art done by Robert at age 6 – and packed with gems that include "Solar Flares", "At Last I Am Free", "Little Red Robin Hood Hit The Road", "I'm A Believer", "Last Will & Testament", "Heaps Of Sheeps", "Worship", "PLA", "Foreign Accents", "Mister E", "Alien", and "Shipbuilding" – the last of which was almost a hit when covered by Elvis Costello! CD

A record of incredible beauty, yet one that's also almost impossible to describe in words – as this second set from Japanese singer Hako Yamasaki has her really moving past the first one – coming across with an even richer sound in her vocals, and mixing just the right amount of electric piano and electric guitar in with the acoustic elements in the music! The song styles here join together wonderfully – and the album's a rich tapestry of subtle emotions that transcends the boundaries of language – and which is very different than both the quirky Japanese rock experiments of the time, or the more polished work of the city pop generation to come. Titles include "Shiroi Hana, "Mukai Kaze", "Tsunawatari", "Harmonica Fuki No Otoko", "Help Me", and "Tanjo Iwai". (Japanese, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

The great Jimmy Webb is one of our favorite songwriters of the 60s – a young man at the start, but one who could come across with a maturity that few of his contemporaries could match – arguably setting the scene for a key step into adult pop that would really explode in the 70s! Yet by that, we don't mean that Webb is any sort of "adult contemporary" figure from the softer side of the spectrum – as his tunes are open, honest, and filled with an understanding of the heart and its ability to break, delivered in ways that are still as powerful today as they were back when first written. The package features some of Jimmy's greatest songs, some in their famous recordings, but many more in lesser-known takes that only stand as further testament to Webb's words on the page – which really work some magic, no matter what the setting! In the best Ace tradition, the whole thing comes with a superb set of notes and details on the material – mostly late 60s tracks from Jimmy's key years, but a few gems from later too. Titles include "If This Was The Last Song" by Dee Dee Warwick, "I Keep It Hid" by The Supremes, "Carpet Man" by The Nocturnes, "I Need You" by Shane Martin, "Midnight Mail" by Joey Scarbury, "MacArthur Park" by Waylon Jennings, "Do What You Gotta Do" by Nina Simone, "The Worst That Could Happen" by BJ Thomas, "Requiem 820 Latham" by Mel Torme, "Magic Garden" by Dusty Springfield, "Rosecrans Blvd" by 5th Dimension, "Honey Come Back" by Chuck Jackson, "Wichita Lineman" by Tony Joe White, "Didn't We" by James Darren, "Which Way To Nowhere" by Brooklyn Bridge, and "Clowns Exit Laughing" by The Fortunes. CD