... CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

The amazing first album from Gentle Giant – a crucially overlooked group from the key years of the UK jazz-rock scene! The album definitely comes at things from a rock perspective, but there's a hell of a lot of fusion in the mix too – especially in the guitar and keyboard parts, which jump around with these sharp edges that rival some of the more jazz-based fusion from the European scene of the 70s – played to perfection, even amidst some of the record's higher-concept lyrics – which themselves kind of fall into a King Crimson camp. In fact, the mix of lyricism and all-out jamming makes the record a good comparison to the Crimson camp of the time – yet for some reason, these guys have never gotten as much cred over the years as that group. Titles include "Nothing At All", "Isn't It Quiet & Cold", "Why Not", "Giant", and "Funny Ways". CD

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

... LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Beautifully melodic work from Gentle Giant – one of the jazziest combos of the British progressive years – heard here in a set that was one of their biggest over here in the US! There's a slight undercurrent of funk to the record – a choppy, romping quality in some of the rhythms that takes the group past modes of some of their contemporaries – and the album's inventive use of multiple voices further expands the sound, into a range that's sweetly harmonic at some of the best moments. Instrumentation includes a fair bit of keyboards – plus vibes, violin, guitar, and alto sax – and titles include "The Advent Of Panurge", "Knots", "A Cry For Everyone", "Raconteur Troubadour", "River", and "Dog's Life". CD

Beautifully melodic work from Gentle Giant – one of the jazziest combos of the British progressive years – heard here in a set that was one of their biggest over here in the US! There's a slight undercurrent of funk to the record – a choppy, romping quality in some of the rhythms that takes the group past modes of some of their contemporaries – and the album's inventive use of multiple voices further expands the sound, into a range that's sweetly harmonic at some of the best moments. Instrumentation includes a fair bit of keyboards – plus vibes, violin, guitar, and alto sax – and titles include "The Advent Of Panurge", "Knots", "A Cry For Everyone", "Raconteur Troubadour", "River", and "Dog's Life". CD

... CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

An unusual little concept record from Gentle Giant – one based around the story of three childhood friends each going their own separate ways – but served up with enough of the group's usual jazzy flair to keep things interesting! As on other records from the time, there's almost a fusion inspiration going on here – really jamming guitar and keyboard parts – sometimes at a level that matches the bigger mainstream groups of the time, but more often in the prog hinterlands, especially on the vocal parts, which have a flowing quality that really matches the keyboards. Titles include "Prologue", "Schooldays", "Peel The Paint", and "Mister Class & Quality". LP, Vinyl record album

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

... CD

Rare material from the group that eventually became Unwound – high school recordings by the band of Justin Trosper and Vern Rumsey – pressed up here in a limited package with silkscreened cover – to kick off the full Numero reissue of Unwound material! LP, Vinyl record album

Includes "Wabash Cannonball", "I Walk The Line", "San Antonio Rose", "I Can't Stop Loving You", and "Oh, Lonesome Me". LP, Vinyl record album

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

... CD

... CD

... CD

REM minus Michael Stipe plus Warren Zevon. (Cassettes, Rock) Cassette

A collision of generations – as giants of the world of 70s and 80s AOR come together to pay tribute to the soulful styles of the years before! At the time, the album was the sort that really made us cringe – since we were such soul purists back in the 90s – but over the years, we've really come to accept the whole thing both as a well-meaning effort, and more importantly, as a lost chapter of the Donald Fagan/Steely Dan genius – as Fagan produced the set, and really brings a lot of his older music into play! Other artists include Boz Scaggs, Phoebe Snow, and Michael McDonald – but the set also features work from older bluesman Charles Brown – and titles include remakes of "Madison Time", "Knock On Wood", "Shakey Ground", "Lonely Teardrops", "Downing In The Sea Of Love", "Groovin", and "People Got To Be Free" – plus nice takes on "Chain Lightning", "Pretzel Logic", and "Green Flower Street". CD

Titles include "Gaslighting Abbie", "Janie Runaway", "Almost Gothic", "Negative Girl", "West Of Hollywood", and "Jack Of Speed". CD

Music from Jumpin' Jesus, New Order, Dominique, The Hood, Arthur Baker, and Cabaret Voltaire. (Soundtracks, Rock) CD

With selections by New Order, Cabaret Voltaire, Arthur Baker, The Hood, Dominique, and Jumpin' Jesus. (Soundtracks, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

An obscure UK group, and one who blend together hard rock modes with some slightly more sensitive moments – all with production and arrangements from John Weathers, in his years before more progressive sounds with Gentle Giant! The music here is a lot more down to earth, and plenty earthy too – and showcases that post-psych, post-blues rock use of guitar turned up to 11 – a quality that also comes through in the vocals of Gareth Mortimer, who sometimes sounds as if he's processed a bit to blow out the speakers with the guitars! Titles include "Eagle Song", "Where The Snow Lies Forever", "Odd Song", "Don't Want", "Mystic Mountain", and "Prelude To A Blind Man". Features the bonus track "Freedom Train (alternate)". CD

Fantastic dreamy pop from one of the greatest harmony groups of the 60s – a set that really has The Association hitting their stride, and finding a way to really let their vocals soar! The sound here really sets the group apart from some of the more old-school harmony acts of the decade – and the shift is almost like that in the Beach Boys at mid 60s, the way that things got more complicated and sophisticated, but more powerful too – even when the tunes have some really sing-song charms that made them hits! Production is by Bones Howe, who really gets the sound right – and the album features the giant hits "Windy" and "Never My Love" – plus "Happiness Is", "On A Quiet Night", "We Love Us", "Reputation", and "Requiem For The Masses". This great expanded mono edition has 11 bonus tracks – including "Autumn Afternoon", "Windy (Mono 45)", "Requiem For The Masses (Mono 45)", "Sometime (Instrumental)", "We Love Us (Instrumental)" and more. CD

The incredible debut of Blondie! Before branching out into 70s NYC club culture informed pop, Blondie was first-and-formost an incredibly cool punk-era rock & roll band, though never really straight-up punkers themselves – filtering a love of 60s girl group vocals and seedier surf rock influences into catchy songs still raucous enough for CBGBs. While the live gig grit is buffed out of in the studio, there's no lack of game-changing greatness here – and titles include "X Offender", "Little Girls Lie", "In The Sun", "In The Flesh", "Rifle Range", "Kung Fu Girls", "The Attack Of The Giant Ants" and more. CD

A long-overdue look at a little-heard side of the career of 60s pop giant Lou Christie – his great but ill-fated recordings for Columbia Records – most of which appear here for the first time ever! Lou hit the label right after a massive hit for MGM – and Columbia gave him plenty of time in the studio, and continued his work with producer Charles Calello – the genius who crafted so many wonderful settings for Christie, as well as the Four Seasons at the time. Calello's genius is in full effect here – creating these incredible backdrops for Christie's stunning vocals – really pushing him past simple pop into a whole host of different modes that make the whole thing a great "what if" – had the label not given up on Lou so quickly. The CD features great sound, detailed notes, and 24 tracks in all – 15 of which appear here for the first time ever – a blindingly great mix of tracks that includes "I Remember Gina", "The Greatest Show On Earth", "Blue Champagne", "Tender Loving Care", "Gypsy Bells, "Escape", "Standing On My Promises", "Shake Hands & Walk Away Cryin", "Self Expression", "Yellow Lights Say", "Meditation", and "How Many Days Of Sadness". CD

Two fantastic albums from this legendary Italian group – back to back in a single set, with bonus material too! First up is the self-titled debut of Circus 2000 – a group who've got a sound that still sounds amazing after all these years, and really a kind of cut above so many of their contemporaries! One of the most distinct features of the group is their lead singer, Silvana Aliotta – a vocals with a range to maybe match Grace Slick, Julie Driscoll, or some of the more important singers to emerge in the late 60s – but very particularly tuned here towards some of the darker, moodier elements of the group's music. These guys could clearly play freewheeling prog or hard rock, but also hold back nicely and avoid overblown moments to really fit their sound perfectly around Silvana's amazing vocals – sung in English throughout, with a wonderfully edgey vibe. Titles include "I Am The Witch", "Magic Bean", "Sun Will Shine", "I Can't Believe", "Must Walk Forever", "The Lord He Has No Hands", and "Try All Day". Their second album, Escape From A Box, is a real step forward for Circus 2000 – a set that has the group stretching out a bit more on their instrumentation, with even more complexity than before – yet still never losing the focus that comes from the tremendous lead vocals of Silvana Aliotta! Aliotta seems to have matured as a singer since the first record – also really finding her own spirit in the way she expresses herself, but at a level that's no less compelling than her previous efforts – the kind of voice that would have made her a giant in the field, had the group been recording in the UK or US. Titles include "When The Sun Refused To Shine", "Our Father", "Need", "Hey Man", and "You Aren't Listening". 2CD set features great sound, detailed notes, and bonus tracks that include "L'Uomo Paese", "Dove Va La Mia Gente", "Hey Man (parts 1 & 2)", "Ho Regalato I Capelli", "Io La Strega", "I Can't Believe", "Pioggia Sottile", "Regalami Un Sabato Sera", and "Need (edited version)". CD

Fantastic freewheeling sounds from Cos – a 70s Belgian group who were equal parts jazz and prog – often working with a tight quality that really drew the best of both worlds together! Cos has a lineup that changes often over the years – and which includes work on keyboards from the mighty Marc Moulin, and bass from Marc Hollander – before his later fame in Aksak Maboul – but the real giant here might well be multi-instrumentalist Daniel Schell, whose work got the group going in the first place, alongside female vocalist Pascale Son! Like Schell, Son's got plenty of roots in jazz – but the duo work here with the other musicians in this evolving exploration of the hippest corners of 70s music – a journey that's got plenty of funky jazz along the way, and the great keyboards you'd expect from Marc Moulin – but also some nicely offbeat art rock moments too. This collection brings together the group's best tracks from their mighty run – and titles include "Einstein J'Taime", "Oostend Oostend", "Babel", "L'Idiot Leon", "Nog Verder", "Flamboya", "Postaeolian Train Robbery", "Achtung TV Watchers", "Perhaps Next Record", and "Halucal". LP, Vinyl record album

The Electric Prunes get back to basics – as you might guess from the title here – shaking off some of the larger, more ambitious modes of their albums with David Axelrod, yet still retaining a nicely trippy sound overall! The lineup of the group has shifted a bit – hence their billing as "the new improved" Electric Prunes – but although things are stripped-down and simple, there's still some amazing music on the record – a blend of guitar, flute, organ, and vocals that flows along wonderfully with some unusual sounds that we wouldn't expect! And while there's certainly a bit of "good old rock and roll" going on here on a few more straightforward songs, it's not like the album's Let It Be or anything like that – because the group are really more just getting back to the garagey psych of their roots, but doing it a bit better than before! Titles include "Sell", "14 Year Old Funk", "Love Grows", "Giant Sunhorse", "Silver Passion Mine", "Sing To Me", "Tracks", and "Finders Keepers Losers Weepers". LP, Vinyl record album

The definitive classic of the post-millennium Flaming Lips! Weird and bubbly and soul-searchingly introspective at the the same time, metaphorically at least – there's only so much navel gazing that can happen on an album with a young girl vs giant robots motif – this one to another step in their newfound love of more layered sounds and electronics that came out so strong on the critically and fan-beloved, but at the time commercially overlooked The Soft Bulletin, with songs that manage to some of their oddest and catchiest at the same time. Includes "Fight Test", "One More Robot/Sympathy 3000-21", "Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots" (Pts 1 & 2), "Egotripping At The Gates Of Hell", "Are You A Hypnotist??", "Do You Realize??", "All We Have Is Now" and more. CD

An early masterpiece from Genesis – the kind of visionary record that really set them apart from the rest of their generation – an incredible building-up in sound from their previous two albums, and proof that Peter Gabriel's talents were finally getting focused in the right direction! Keyboards cascade heavily – hitting Yes-like proportions, but with more structure, too – as time changes abound, scene changes match the energy of theme-changes – and the whole album falls into place beautifully, but with plenty of surprises along the way. Every song is a compelling little story – from the leadoff "Musical Box", to the spooky "Return Of The Giant Hogweed", and the playful "Harold The Barrel" – with sweeter moments that include "For Absent Friends" and "Harlequin" – just hinting at the crossover ballad style the group would embrace later, but without any of the cloying commerciality at all. CD

An early masterpiece from Genesis – the kind of visionary record that really set them apart from the rest of their generation – an incredible building-up in sound from their previous two albums, and proof that Peter Gabriel's talents were finally getting focused in the right direction! Keyboards cascade heavily – hitting Yes-like proportions, but with more structure, too – as time changes abound, scene changes match the energy of theme-changes – and the whole album falls into place beautifully, but with plenty of surprises along the way. Every song is a compelling little story – from the leadoff "Musical Box", to the spooky "Return Of The Giant Hogweed", and the playful "Harold The Barrel" – with sweeter moments that include "For Absent Friends" and "Harlequin" – just hinting at the crossover ballad style the group would embrace later, but without any of the cloying commerciality at all. CD

An early masterpiece from Genesis – the kind of visionary record that really set them apart from the rest of their generation – an incredible building-up in sound from their previous two albums, and proof that Peter Gabriel's talents were finally getting focused in the right direction! Keyboards cascade heavily – hitting Yes-like proportions, but with more structure, too – as time changes abound, scene changes match the energy of theme-changes – and the whole album falls into place beautifully, but with plenty of surprises along the way. Every song is a compelling little story – from the leadoff "Musical Box", to the spooky "Return Of The Giant Hogweed", and the playful "Harold The Barrel" – with sweeter moments that include "For Absent Friends" and "Harlequin" – just hinting at the crossover ballad style the group would embrace later, but without any of the cloying commerciality at all. LP, Vinyl record album

One of the first giant hits by the Grateful Dead – and a record that has the group tightening things up a bit more, and stepping into some of the country-tinged territory of The Byrds and Flying Burrito Brothers! Turns out, the move is a great one – as the songs come across with a real down to earth charm that maybe humanizes the group a bit more for the uninitiated listener – a mix of northern Cali pastoral with some of the musical dexterity they'd brought with them from the Haight – folded together perfectly, with a quality that's made the album one of their best-remembered over the decades. Titles include "Uncle John's Band" – maybe their biggest hit at the time – plus "Dire Wolf", "New Speedway Boogie", "Cumberland Blues", "Casey Jones", "Easy Wind", "High Time", and "Black Peter". LP, Vinyl record album

The self-titled groovy rock masterpiece from Moby Grape – one of the greatest things to come out of San Francisco after Ghiradelli Chocolate and sourdough bread! The Moby Grape LP is one of the finest, and leanest LPs we can think of from the '67 school of Bay Area psychedelic rock – with ome genius work by a young Skip Spence & co that leans on a sound that grows up and out from a blues based approach into the stratophere! – original LP tracks include "Omaha", "Hey Grandma", "Changes", "Sitting By The Window", "Ain't No Use", "Mr Blues", "Naked, If I Want To", "8:05", "Lazy Me", "Someday" and more LP, Vinyl record album

The first-ever album from The Monkees – a set that's overflowing with great numbers from the teams of Boyce & Hart and Goffin & King – plus one original by Mike Nesmith himself! The whole thing's groovy as groovy can be – and despite any thoughts that folks at the time might have had about these guys being just a TV one-off, the album's got fantastic staying power over the years – thanks to wonderful vocals, impeccable production, and a great selection of songs! Titles include "Theme From The Monkees", "Just Doesn't Seem To Be My Day", "Last Train To Clarksville", "Sweet Young Thing", "Papa Gene's Blues", "Take A Giant Step", "Tomorrow's Gonna Be Another Day", and "Saturday's Child". CD

The first-ever album from The Monkees – a set that's overflowing with great numbers from the teams of Boyce & Hart and Goffin & King – plus one original by Mike Nesmith himself! The whole thing's groovy as groovy can be – and despite any thoughts that folks at the time might have had about these guys being just a TV one-off, the album's got fantastic staying power over the years – thanks to wonderful vocals, impeccable production, and a great selection of songs! Titles include "Theme From The Monkees", "Just Doesn't Seem To Be My Day", "Last Train To Clarksville", "Sweet Young Thing", "Papa Gene's Blues", "Take A Giant Step", "Tomorrow's Gonna Be Another Day", and "Saturday's Child". LP, Vinyl record album

A massive prog album from the Dutch scene – yet one that never really got much global exposure back in the day, given that the whole thing was issued at a time when most of the rest of the world were interested in punk rock and disco! Don't let the poor timing put you off, though, as these guys move with the sharpness of the best of the Italian scene at the start of the 70s – and have some of the intensity of the hippest groups on the UK scene, a sense of timing that rivals that of Gentle Giant or King Crimson at their best – served up on a core blend of guitars, bass, and drums – with just a bit of guest flute and organ too. Titles include "Door Mekaar", "Ritme 7000", "Drei", "Karrotten", and "Kanon Pittoresk". 2LP reissue features some great bonus material too – including rare improvs, and other titles from the time! LP, Vinyl record album

A vital performance by Pete Seeger at a pivotal point in his career – captured at Maine's Bowdoin College in 1960 – the complete performance! You really get a powerful portrait of this good-natured giant of American musical history here. At a time when Seeger was under intense political scrutiny, he delivers a charismatic and inventively musical show for the people of Maine! He tells stories, leads sing-a-longs and plays the heck out of his banjo and acoustic guitar, and it's captured very well by Folkways. He more about honoring American folk songs and traditions here, but he does slyly put forward his beliefs, with subtlety and grace. A pretty amazing set, not only for how well documented it is, but for the wealth of material – a few dozen songs if you count the medleys (and you should!) with avuncular monologues and commentary on 2CDs – plus a generous booklet of notes. Includes "Penny's Farm", "He Lies In The American Land", "Oh, Riley", "D-Day Dodgers", "Al Smith Holds The Bottle", "Goodnight Irene", "Living In The Country", "Water Is Wide", "Big Rock Candy Mountain", "Last Night I Had The Strangest Dream", "Wimoweh", "Bourgeois Blues", "Tzena, Tzena, Tzena", "Cripple Creek/Old Joe Clark/Old Dan Tucker" (in a brilliant banjo medley) and much more!" (Folk/Country, Rock) CD

Ronnie Self was a little guy with blonde hair, but he was a giant during the early years of rock and roll – when he cut some searing sides for Columbia Records that have gone on to become rockabilly classics over the years! Ronnie maybe never saw the big time, but he was a hell of a force on record – graced with this voice that was not only raw, but able to move pretty darn fast – which he often does here alongside some quick-twanging guitar and mighty romping rhythms! 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! Titles include "Benjamin's Giant Onion", "Grease Paint Smiles", "Spin Around The Room", "Rufus T Firefly", "No One's More Important Than The Earthworm", and "Highbury Incident". 2CD set features a full bonus CD of live BBC material! CD

A seminal pop psych classic from the UK scene – served up here by a group that seem to borrow a bit of the energy from the late 60s Bee Gees at their trippiest, but who also really have a way for turning out a tune that has a very groovy vibe! Part of the credit might go to producer John Schroeder – a Brit sound library giant in his own right, and clearly able to make the sound of the records guitars, organ, and vocals sound incredibly groovy. But it's also clear that the group have plenty of great energy of their own – as they kept on going strongly, even after this early breakout record. Titles include their seminal "Pictures Of Matchstick Men", plus "Ice In The Sun", "Elizabeth Dreams", "Sunny Cellophane Sky", and "Spicks & Specks". Groovy cover, too, with the band sitting on a pile of matchbooks! LP, Vinyl record album

A lost hard rock gem from a Milwaukee quartet – produced by Kim Fowley with a sound that's as raw and garagey as his best indie productions from the mid 60s! These guys have all sorts of familiar elements in the mix – an influence from blues, a trippier style of guitar, and some nicely soulful currents in the vocals of Den Geyer – but there's a special brew that takes all of these qualities into special territory, making for the kind of standout set that was mysteriously overlooked at the time – but which makes for one of those rare treasures that lie far below the giants of the classic rock generation. Titles include "Gotta Be Free", "Hope For The Future", "Pearl", "Lady In The Dark", "I'm Walkin", "Trackin Shoes", "Sweet Mother Earth", and the jazzy guitar tune "Gazebo" – dedicated to the great Gabor Szabo! LP, Vinyl record album

A really unusual second chapter of the first album from 80s underground psych giants Black Sun Ensemble – material that was recorded for that initial record, but which was lost in all sorts of different ways over the years – finally unearthed and brought together here as a stunning second album, thanks to the research that went into a recent reissue of the debut! There's plenty of freak, fuzz, and drone going on here – the group in territory that just about nobody else was touching on the American scene at the time – very dark, heady styles that are completely different from the polished pop of the paisley underground, and much more like some of the more substance-altered psych that was beginning to emerge in the UK. Titles include "Mayan Dance", "Ice Breaker (alt)", "Red Ocean", "Blue Thunder", "Heart Of The Sky", "Ruby Eyes Of China", "Mandolin Winds", "A Chunk Of Mandolin Love", and "Dove Of The Desert". LP, Vinyl record album

A very different album than some of the earlier records that we love from Michael Chapman – but a set that's equally wonderful in its own sort of way! The set is initially exactly what's promised in the title – a record of guitar instruction, but one that's delivered with all the complex and subtle styles that Chapman brought to his own music – at a level that would have really frustrated any beginning guitar player trying to keep up! Think of the set as an all-instrumental outing from Chapman, one that really shows the special touches on his instrument – presented at a level that's a bit like earlier work from other UK giants, like Bert Jansch or John Renbourn. Titles include "Normal Norman", "Loop The Loop", "A Scholarly Man", "Rockport Sunday", "High Wide & Handsome", and "Pipe Dreams". CD

The first rumblings of genius from German electronic giants Cluster – but oddly, a record recorded without any synthesizers at all! The team of Dieter Moebius and Hans-Joachim Rodelius are both playing organ here – as well as cello and Hawaiian guitar, and some "audio-generator" and amplifier effects – and they're recording with some excellent production help from the legendary Conny Plank, who uses all sorts of weird techniques to mess up the sound in really great ways. Ordinary notes are completely abstracted here – given cosmic tones and echoey rumblings that are far more challenging than most of the later work by Cluster, especially the pair's more ambient late 70s recordings. The 3 long songs are identified only by their timings – "15:33", "7:38", and "21:17". CD

The first rumblings of genius from German electronic giants Cluster – but oddly, a record recorded without any synthesizers at all! The team of Dieter Moebius and Hans-Joachim Rodelius are both playing organ here – as well as cello and Hawaiian guitar, and some "audio-generator" and amplifier effects – and they're recording with some excellent production help from the legendary Conny Plank, who uses all sorts of weird techniques to mess up the sound in really great ways. Ordinary notes are completely abstracted here – given cosmic tones and echoey rumblings that are far more challenging than most of the later work by Cluster, especially the pair's more ambient late 70s recordings. The 3 long songs are identified only by their timings – "15:33", "7:38", and "21:17". LP, Vinyl record album

A completely mesmerizing performance from these three avant giants – all working in longform territory that owes a lot to Tony Conrad's sense of sound – but at a level that really draws plenty from the contributions of all three players! Jim O'Rourke handles harmonium, cranking the instrument at a constant level to create these beautiful tones – next to some sharper lines from Arnold Dreyblatt on equally drone-like violin – matched with these long bowed sonic passages from Conrad on cello. The album features a full 41 minute performance, recorded at Tonic in New York – split over both sides of the record. (Out Sound, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

A totally wonderful little record – one that really lives up to the sci-fi party promised in its title – but with all the German 70s elements you'd guess from the cover! The quintet here is a supergroup of Krautrock giants – a lineup that includes Manuel Gottsching on guitar, Klaus Schulze on drums, Jurgen Dollase on keyboards and vocals, Harald Grosskopf on drums, and Dieter Dierks on bass – the last of whom produced the set with all sorts of electronics, effects, and other weird touches – at a level that maybe even blows away some of the 70s production of Conny Plank! Titles include "Der Herrscher", "Kinger Des Alls 1", "The Electronic Scene", "Planeten Sit In", "Interplay Of Forces", and "The Cosmic Couriers Meet South Philly Willy". CD

A fantastic hard rock set from the Argentine scene of the 70s – and a record that shows that nation could boast the kind of power trio to match the giants on the UK and US scenes! Nacho Smilari may well be the powerhouse driving the whole thing – as his vocals are already strong, but he seems to sing even more strongly on his guitar – in modes that are clearly rooted in blues, but in that best blues-into-hard rock tradition – with plenty of sinister fuzz around the edges, and echoey production that really brings all the best elements out into the open. The group also features heavy drums from Carlos Calabro and rumbling bass from Enrique Masllorens – on titles that include "Jungla De Neon", "Nuevamente El Momento", "Tiempo Despues", "Parientes Del Mundo Interior", and "Escucha Mi Voz". CD

A huge one for Depeche Mode – an album that laid the ground work for pretty much all their big records to come! The album's one that moved them from being just another electro group in the post-punk years to pop giants, with a sense of songcraft that helped them rise to become one of the more enduring acts of this scene – with surprising longevity in their catalog, thanks to a record like this! The group hit it both hard and sweet on classics "Master & Servant" and "Blasphemous Rumors" – plus the huge crossover hit "People Are People" – and cuts that include "Something To Do", "Lie To Me", "Stories Of Old", "If You Want", and "Somebody". LP, Vinyl record album

The debut of one of the most forward-thinking, longest living, unique pop music phenomenons of the 80s onward! Although Depeche Mode diehards might bristle at being lumped in with pop music giants, you really can't deny that they're often emotionally raw, even morose songs, married with a range of synth friendly production got over with a huge audience with pretty astounding success. Here where it all started, with Vince Clarke writing all the songs on this one. Titles include "New Life", "I Sometimes Wish I Was Dead", "Puppets", "No Disco", "Photographic", "Dreaming Of Me" and more. CD

The legendary Charlie Feathers is best known as one of the rawest rockers on the Memphis scene of the 50s – but during the decade, he cut some of his best work for King Records in Cincinnati – a label who captured the dynamic energy of Charlie with the same skill they brought to their R&B work at the time! These sides are completely smoking – arguably some of the best recordings that Feathers cut during this initial burst of activity – work that we'd stand side by side next to some of the best that Sun Records has to offer – and by that, we'd even include some of the famous giants on that label! Both Charlie's guitar work and vocals are wonderfully distinct – and titles include "When You Decide", "Too Much Alike", "One Hand Loose", "Bottle To The Baby", "Everybody's Loving My Baby", "Can't Hardly Stand It", "Nobody's Woman", and "When You Come Around". CD

The fantastic debut of Gypsy – a group who blend wonderful harmonies with really well-crafted inspiration – very much in the jazz-inspired jamming of some of the headier California groups, like Spirit or Santana at their best! The group use a swirling blend of organ and guitar next to their really beautiful vocals – warm and sweet at some of the best moments, but never in a way that ever feels like soft rock – given the intensity of the instrumentation! The album was issued on the Metromedia label, and never got the attention it would have deserved had it hit the racks from a company like Columbia or Warner – but it's every bit as great as some of their giants from the time, with titles that include "Last December", "Man Of Reason", "Third Eye", "Tomorrow Is The Last To Be Heard", "Here In My Loneliness", "Dead & Gone", "Dream If You Can", "Decisions", and "Gypsy Queen". CD

An amazing set – all four of the legendary Warner Brothers albums by harmony giants Harpers Bizarre – plus bonus tracks too! First up is Feelin Groovy – the fab first LP by Harpers Bizarre! The group were one of the strangest pop ensembles operating in the seminal LA scene of the mid 60s – ostensibly a sweet harmony vocal group, but with a strangely childish approach that also had an ear open for the mind-blowing production styles of the Brian Wilson era. Van Dyke Parks was a big supporter of the group – and they perform a sublime version of his tune "Come To The Sunshine" as the leadoff track on the album – and even though Van Dyke didn't handle the arrangements of the record, the style of the music is very similar to his own, with guitar, bass, and drums coming into play with strings, woodwinds, and baroque orchestral touches. The record is as dark as it is sublime – one of those pop gems that hit big, but which has a brooding depth bubbling underneath the sugary coating – ala Pet Sounds. Tracks include "Happy Talk", "The Debutantes Ball", "I Can Hear The Darkness", "Raspberry Rug", and their huge hit version of "59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin Groovy)". Next is Anything Goes – the group's second album – and while it has a lot of similarities with the first, it's also a lot deeper of an expression of their strange blend of harmony vocals, sweet 60s pop, and the nostalgia for the early 20th century that was running through the Burbank Warner scene that included a young Van Dyke Parks, Randy Newman, Lenny Waronker, and other LA underground of the mid 60s. The whole record fits together beautifully – beginning with an old-timey radio kind of announcer, then sliding into sublimely crafted harmony tunes that include originals from the LA luminaries and the group, plus a few other surprising covers. Titles include the hit version of "Anything Goes", plus "The Biggest Night Of Her Life", "Milord", "Virginia City", "High Coin", "Jessie", "This Is Only The Beginning", and "You Need A Change". The Secret Life Of Harpers Bizarre is the third album by Harpers Bizarre – and one that shows them growing in leaps and bounds with each new release! The record is a sublime fusion of sweet pop California 60s harmonies (ala The Sandpipers or The Lettermen), baroque arrangements with a fake dreamy nostalgia (ala Van Dyke Parks or Randy Newman), and drug-addled underground takes on the eazy sound of the generation (ala Brian Wilson or Love). This album is one of their most perfectly-realized visions, and it features a great blend of older songs, all hipped-up to modern LA arrangements by the likes of Nick De Caro, Perry Botkin, and others. The record has an approach that's simply mindblowing when you consider the amount of funds and effort that must have been put into a record that would only be truly appreciated 40 years later – and it's filled with great titles that include "Me, Japanese Boy", "Look To The Rainbow", "Funny How Love Can Be", "Mad", "Green Apple Tree", and "Las Mananitas". Last up is the group's fourth album, unfortunately, the last Warner album by Harpers Bizarre – one of the few testaments of genius left to us by this incredible group! The record shows the group moving past the sweet pop and dreamy nostalgia of earlier albums – tentatively stepping into the haze of the late 60s LA scene with a blend of songs that share a lot musically with earlier work, but which also seem to have a more adult approach to some of their themes. Arrangements are by the group mostly – with help from pop geniuses like Jack Nitzsche, Nick De Caro, Lenny Waronker, Harry Nilsson, and Perry Botkin Jr. The harmonies are sublime – and the group effortlessly blends original tunes like "Soft Soundin Music", "All Through The Night", "When The Band Begins To Play", and "There's No Time Like Today, along with bizarre covers like "Hard To Handle", "Something Better", "I Love You Alice B Toklas", and Jim Pepper's "Witchi Tai To", which is worth the price of the record alone! Bonus tracks include "Both Sides Now", "Small Talk", "Poly High", "If We Ever Needed The Lord Before", "Malibu U", "Cotton Candy Sandman", "Lost My Love Today", and "Bye Bye Bye". CD

HP Lovecraft drummer Michael Tegza soldiers on with a new group as Lovecraft – with a tighter sound that blends hard driving drums and guitars with more delicate, harmony vocal accented songcraft! It's a far cry from the psychedelic experimentation of HP Lovecraft – but it's actually a pretty impressive rock record in its own right – prefiguring the later 70s rock sounds long before the better known giants of the decade! Titles include "We Can All Have It Together", "Brother I Wonder", "Love Has Come To Me", "Will I Know When My Time Comes", "Two Step Hustle", "Lady Come Softly", "The Dawn", "Never Gonna Go Back", "Dear" and "Hopefully". LP, Vinyl record album

Late 60s recordings from the Chicago scene – with nicely raw work from these up and coming giants! (Blues, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

A record with a very plain cover, but one that contains some of the most searing guitar work of the early 70s – the one and only album by a short-lived group from Brazil – one who mix Sabbath-style hard rock with some more experimental modes – all at a level that's completely unlike anything we can think of from the time! There's some really offbeat production twists that almost seem to be learned from the Tropicalia generation – although the music here is much more straightforward, and delivered with familiar guitar, organ, bass, and drums – familiar instruments that, as in the hands of some of the giants of the time, take on raw power and sounds of their own when pushed to their limits! Lyrics are all in Portuguese, but that hardly matters, given the instrumental intensity of the set – which includes the titles "Turpe Est Sine Crine Caput", "Nao Fale Com Paredes", "Metro Mental", "Animaia", and "Espelho". The CD version is loaded with bonus tracks, too – including rare singles released under the name Modulo 1000 and the pseudonymous Love Machine – with titles include including "Ferrugem E Fuligem", "The Cancer Stick", "Waiting For Tomorrow", "Gloriosa", "Cafusa" and more. 17 tracks in all! CD

A great relic from the cold wave scene of the early 80s – material that was originally issued on a small-run cassette, mostly as a demo for the group – but more than strong enough to finally be released as a full-length album! Mystery Plane work here in a spare, electric style that has that special warmth we love in a rare few UK acts from the same time – maybe some of the charm of Young Marble Giants, mixed with a few more tuneful tracks that almost seem to be going for the dark club territory of the early Sheffield scene. A few more tweaks, and these guys might have been huge – but we like them best this way, and love the honest approach of their music! Titles include "Telephone", "This Is Your Life", "Something To Prove", "Silence After Midnight", "Still Life", "Crying Again", and "Death Sentence". CD features bonus tracks "Heart Of Darkness" and "Graveyard In The Sky". CD

Beautiful work from The Paris Sisters – one of the coolest, grooviest girl groups of the 60s – and one who've got a sound that's really a cut above most of their contemporaries! There's something strangely sinister about this trio – not just the sweet sounds you might expect, but also this undercurrent of darkness that often seems emphasized in the hip production they receive – work on these cuts by 60s studio giants like Phil Spector, Jack Nitzsche, Nik Venet, and Terry Melcher – who move these gals past simple Brill Building pop, into territory that's often a lot spookier. The package is the first to really offer up the full spectrum of the trio's genius – and features five never-issued tracks, plus work the girls did for Reprise, MGM, Columbia, Mercury, and Capitol Records – all with the usual top-shelf Ace Records presentation and notes. Titles include "Stand Naked Clown", "You", "Baby That's Me", "Lonely Girl", "When I'm Alone With You", "See That Boy", "Greener Days", "He Knows I Love Him Too Much", "My Good Friend", "Be My Boy", "Play It One More Time", "I Came A Long Way To Nowhere", "Long After Tonight Is Over", "Dream Lover", and even a "Diet Rite Commercial". CD

Overlooked genius from the scene in Athens, GA – served up by a group who also borrow plenty of influences from the UK post-punk world too! Pylon are heavy on bass that might be borrowed from Young Marble Giants, but then turned up in sound and speed – matched with these great guitar lines that are complex in sound, but right on the money in terms of placement – all topped with the vocals of Vanessa Biscoe Hay – a singer who's nicely understated, and as much a part of the sonic mix as the other elements in the group! Titles include "Feast On My Heart", "Precaution", "Driving School", "Gravity", "Working Is No Problem", "Stop It", "Danger", and "Read A Book". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the true giants from the Harvest Records prog years – a masterpiece of a trio album, and one that has even more power than most fuller groups of the time! The core lineup features John Gustafson on bass and vocals, Pete Robinson on keyboards, and Mick Underwood on drums – and the trio do a fantastic job of shifting modes from track to track, really keeping things interesting as the subject matter and song length shifts. There's also some nice use of additional strings – arranged by Robinson, handled by Paul Buckmaster – and titles include "Gemini", "Laughin Tackle", "Entropy", "Black Sheep Of The Family", "Good Lord Knows", and "Up On The Ground". LP, Vinyl record album