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

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

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

A really unique album from Yugoslavian group Angel's Breath – one recorded in Brazil, which might come as no surprise, given that one of the members of the duo is Mitar Subotic Suba – who you'll also know from his groundbreaking album Sao Paulo Confessions! Suba got his start in Serbia, but was crucial in the Brazilian advances in the 90s before his too-early death in 1999 – and the record's definitely got some of the same appeal as the best music of the scene from Chico Science or Arnaldo Antunes – especially in the way it uses offbeat guitar lines, crispy electronics, and unusual rhythms next to lyrics that often feel as poetically experimental as they are tuneful! The whole thing's very difficult to describe, but that really gives it a hell of a lot of charm – and if it were not for the turmoil in Yugoslavia at the time, the set might have seen bigger global attention from the same cultural scene who were embracing Brazilian experiments of the period. Titles include "Madalena", "Velvet", "Caura", "Assassino", "Aplauzi", "40 Seconds Of Love", and "Metak". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most creative albums ever from UK composer Neil Ardley – and that's saying a lot, given the complexity of his other work! The set's got a wonderful blend of jazz arrangements and some freer passages – scored by Ardley with some of his most sensitive, most beautiful music ever – almost as if the whole thing's an extended soundtrack for a passage in time – or at least a sonic journey that's filled with some wonderful twists and turns! There's definitely some jazz/rock elements in the music, but the main focus is jazz – and Ardley has that same strong sense of large charts and forward-moving rhythms that you'd find in the best early work of Mike Westbrook, particularly his albums for Deram. Players are a very familiar, and very top-shelf batch of British musicians – including Barbara Thompson, Dick Heckstall-Smith, and Don Rendell on reeds; Harry Beckett and Henry Lowther on trumpets; Derek Wadsworth on trombone, Frank Rocotti on vibes, and Stan Tracey on both piano and celeste. Ardley plays prepared piano, and Ivor Cutler makes a great guest appearance on one track – reciting "The Dong With A Luminous Nose" – and Norma Winstone sings on "Will You Walk A Little Faster". The title track – "A Symphony Of Amaranths" – is dedicated to Duke Ellington and Gil Evans – with a feel that more than lives up to both! CD features the bonus track "National Anthem & Tango". (Jazz, Rock) CD

One of the few albums ever issued by Ronnie Barron – an artist with a long range of work on the New Orleans scene, ties to Dr John, and even a role in the Woodstock scene of the early 70s – all of which really come through on this well-done set! Barron's got all the roots in his music that you'd guess from that legacy – some Nola moments in the rhythms, and a great ability to add a lot of character to his lyrics – sometimes shifting nicely from track to track, and bringing a lot of funky charm to the whole thing! Titles include "Duke Of Crenshaw", "Happy Happy Happy", "Let It Shine", "Freeway Mama", "Louisiana Flood", and "Don't Let My Husband Catch You". LP, Vinyl record album

Don't think "rock", think "groove" – because oud player John Berberian takes his instrument into some very groovy territory here – mixing its Mid-East roots with a sweet array of modal rhythms and psychedelic elements – all of which make for an album that's even trippier than you'd guess from its cover! The album's one of the few "jazz meets world" sets that really gets things right – bringing together different global elements to come up with a sound that's wonderfully new and fresh – and which moves the whole thing way past its roots in Turkish, Greek, Armenian, and North African styles! Joe Beck plays some great electric guitar on the record – but the main string focus is on the oud, which Berberian uses with this exotic tinge that rivals the instrument in the hands of Ahmed Abdul-Malik on his own albums like this. The lineup also includes tenor and other reeds from Souren Baronian, plus other percussion, and nice use of electric bass to hold the whole groove together – and titles include "The Oud & The Fuzz", "Tranquility", "Chem-oo-Chem", "Iron Maiden", "Flying Hye", "3/8=5/8=8/8", and "The Magic Ground". (Global Grooves, Rock) CD

Don't think "rock", think "groove" – because oud player John Berberian takes his instrument into some very groovy territory here – mixing its Mid-East roots with a sweet array of modal rhythms and psychedelic elements – all of which make for an album that's even trippier than you'd guess from its cover! The album's one of the few "jazz meets world" sets that really gets things right – bringing together different global elements to come up with a sound that's wonderfully new and fresh – and which moves the whole thing way past its roots in Turkish, Greek, Armenian, and North African styles! Joe Beck plays some great electric guitar on the record – but the main string focus is on the oud, which Berberian uses with this exotic tinge that rivals the instrument in the hands of Ahmed Abdul-Malik on his own albums like this. The lineup also includes tenor and other reeds from Souren Baronian, plus other percussion, and nice use of electric bass to hold the whole groove together – and titles include "The Oud & The Fuzz", "Tranquility", "Chem-oo-Chem", "Iron Maiden", "Flying Hye", "3/8=5/8=8/8", and "The Magic Ground". (Global Grooves, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

Raucous, rumbling and hard-charging Chess rhythms, rock and roll by Chuck Berry – his legendary After School Session – and possibly his greatest album ever! It features not only some of Chuck Berry's most famous material, but some of the best early rock songs, period –particularly the revolutionary "Brown Eyed Handsome Man" – plus"Berry Pickin", "Deep Feeling"," School Day", "Too Much Monkey Business", "Roly Poly", and "No Money Down". 3 bonus tracks on the CD: The fierce"Thirty Days", "You Can't Catch Me" and the uber-legendary "Maybelline". (Soul, Rock) CD

One of the darkest records we've ever heard from the Far Out label – a set that reminds us of some of the best Brazilian new wave that was showing up on compilations a few years back! Guitars are in the lead on most numbers – sometimes played with energy that's punkish, at other times psycheish – and the rhythms are quite powerful too – often a bit more complicated than standard Brazilian post-punk work, but equally driving. There's a bit of electronics in the mix at times – used sparely, again with sort of an early 80s vibe amidst the guitars – and the vocals are in Portuguese, with a pretty progressive sound. Titles include "Funeral", "LKJ", "Jazzhole", "Diretriz", "Tarde Demais", "Exprimental (Catnip)", and "Vamanda". (Brazil, Rock) CD

It's been quite a few years since Bombino's previous record – and in that time, it almost feels as if he's locked himself up somewhere and learned how to be even more amazing on guitar! His sense of sound, tone, and timing is incredible – and the record's one of those Tuareg sets that can easily stand next to Anglo greats from the years of psych and hard rock – but with that special sub-Saharan quality that also makes a player like Bombino so unique – as he spins out long lines of freedom and fuzz over plenty of driving rhythms! Titles include "Darfuq", "Alwane", "Tazidert", "Aitma", Si Chilan", "Mes Amis", "Ayes Sachen", and "Nik Sant Awanha". (Global Grooves, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

It's been quite a few years since Bombino's previous record – and in that time, it almost feels as if he's locked himself up somewhere and learned how to be even more amazing on guitar! His sense of sound, tone, and timing is incredible – and the record's one of those Tuareg sets that can easily stand next to Anglo greats from the years of psych and hard rock – but with that special sub-Saharan quality that also makes a player like Bombino so unique – as he spins out long lines of freedom and fuzz over plenty of driving rhythms! Titles include "Darfuq", "Alwane", "Tazidert", "Aitma", Si Chilan", "Mes Amis", "Ayes Sachen", and "Nik Sant Awanha". (Global Grooves, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

The first four albums from this crucial group – along with four more CDs of rare live material too! First up is the self-titled Cactus – the first album from this legendary group – an important American hard rock powerhouse, driven by the famous rhythm duo of Tim Bogert on bass and Carmine Appice on drums – both of whom roll out of the gate here with amazingly frenetic energy! They're maybe only topped by the guitar work of Jim McCarty, whose searing lines are clearly learned from blues inspirations, then turned up in both speed and power – to match the vocals and harmonica of Rusty Day! There's nothing going on here that sounds like blues rock at all – even though the set begins with a cover of "Parchman Farm" – next to other titles that include "My Lady From South Of Detroit", "No Need To Worry", "You Can't Judge A Book By The Cover", and "Let Me Swim". On One Way Or Another, Cactus are totally at the top of their game – and the guitar of Jim McCarthy really sets the record on fire, right from the very first note – at a level that should have made Jim one of the real guitar hero legends of his generation! Yet there's also power from the whole group going on too – tight rhythms from the team of Carmine Appice and Jim Bogert, the latter of whom starts to bring in his own vocals a fair bit more, offering backup to the raspy lead of Rusty Day. And while there's a few currents that show their older influence from blues, the sound here is massively hard rock all the way through – making the record a great illustration of the way that slavish blues rock gave birth to a fresh new jamming sound in a matter of just a few short years. Titles include "Rockout Whatever You Feel Like", "Song For Aries", "Feel So Bad", "Rock N Roll Children", and "Hometown Bust". Restrictions is next, and despite the title, there's no restrictions at all – as Cactus seem to be even more confident, more able to stretch their wings and fly than ever before – even adding in some extra piano and keyboards at points to the core guitar-heavy sound of the quartet! All the group's best elements are very firmly in place – searing guitar, righteously confident vocals, and a strutting sensibility that makes this early 70s album way ahead of the game in terms of territory that so many bigger groups would later copy for their own classic records. Titles include "Guiltless Glider", "Evil Alaska", "Sweet Sixteen", "Bag Drag", "Restrictions", and "Mean Night In Cleveland". Ot N Sweaty is a record that's got a bit of a shift in the classic Cactus lineup – as the group's still driven strongly by the work of Carmine Appice on drums and Tim Bogert on bass, but get guitar power from Werner Fritzschings, who's a pretty amazing player – next to some added keyboards from Duane Hitchings, and vocals from Peter French – a singer who's ballsy power might be even more in line with the group than their previous lead singer! The album's got an unusual approach in that side one was recorded live, side two in the studio – each with a nicely different flavor as a result – on titles that include "Swim", "Our Lil Rock N Roll Thing", "Bedroom Mazurka", "Telling You", "Bad Stuff", and "Bringing Me Down". 8CD set is overflowing with great material – bonus tracks added to three of the four albums in the collection, than a further 4CDs worth of live material – titled Fully Unleashed – The Live Gigs Vols 1 & 2. The live material is great – and really shows the tightness of the group at their best! CD

A shot of tequila and a whole lot more – one of the few albums issued by the legendary Champs, a group who helped reinvent the sound of instrumental rock at the start of the 60s! The group's classic "Tequila" is a very familiar mix of raunchy sax, strutting guitar, and some slightly south of the border rhythms – and the other tunes here follow suit beautifully – offering up some of the grittiest side of late 50s/early 60s instrumental rock you could hope to find. The album's a definitely all-killer, no-filler set – and in addition to "Tequila", titles also include "Go Champ Go", "I'll Be There", "Sky High", "Lollipop", "Night Beat", "Robot Walk", "Midnighter", and "Train To Nowhere". LP, Vinyl record album

A never-issued album from Cali surf legends The Chantays – and a set that offers up a surprisingly nice twist at this late point in their career! The surf guitars of before are still very much in place, but the rhythms and production have changed in a nice way – reflecting that moment when surf records were becoming a strong pathway to Sunshine Pop – a mode that's echoed here especially on three surprising vocal numbers on the album too! The shift also makes for a subtle current of darkness that the group never had before – one echoed on the sun setting down on them in the cover, and which really deepens the feel of the record in a wonderful way. Titles include "A Dawning Sun", "Copenhagen", "Raylene", "Now That It's Over", "Take It Like A Man", "Sentimental Guitar", "Mr Moto", and "Outside's Inside Sad". LP, Vinyl record album

A slightly sweeter version of Cluster than on previous records – a bit more focused, tuneful, and rhythmic – thanks to some great use of the "rhythmusmaschine"! Most numbers here have a slightly pulsating feel – one that really prefaces the electronic modes that would come from the UK at the end of the decade, especially the best work of the Sheffield scene. Cluster here show the way brilliantly – taking the longer jams of earlier years, and honing them down into simple melodies and rhythms – yet still delivered with a fair bit of edge throughout, and not nearly as much of the softness that would characterize later work by Moebius or Roedelius. Tracks include "Hollywood", "Caramel", "James", "Rote Riki", "Fotschi Tong", and "Marzipan". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic pairing of these two contemporary French acts – coming together here in a style that's even greater than the sum of their parts! The set is full on with all sorts of fuzzy elements and funky rhythms – a range of keyboards and other instruments from Pascal Comelade, more guitars and fuzz from Lionel Liminana, and drums from Marie Liminana – the latter two of whom also provide vocals! The set is heavy on the kind of tripped-out sounds that we love from both acts – who seem to whip each other into a frenzy here, with lots of other cool elements added into the mix – theremin, plastic guitars, and plenty more – on titles that include "Playitloudornotatall", "Le Retour De Black Sabata", "Concinacion", "Solo De Boxe En Conserve", "Contortionne Toi Toi Meme", and "Elvis Has Left The Building". (French, Rock) CD

A fantastic pairing of these two contemporary French acts – coming together here in a style that's even greater than the sum of their parts! The set is full on with all sorts of fuzzy elements and funky rhythms – a range of keyboards and other instruments from Pascal Comelade, more guitars and fuzz from Lionel Liminana, and drums from Marie Liminana – the latter two of whom also provide vocals! The set is heavy on the kind of tripped-out sounds that we love from both acts – who seem to whip each other into a frenzy here, with lots of other cool elements added into the mix – theremin, plastic guitars, and plenty more – on titles that include "Playitloudornotatall", "Le Retour De Black Sabata", "Concinacion", "Solo De Boxe En Conserve", "Contortionne Toi Toi Meme", and "Elvis Has Left The Building". (French, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

Current Rage were one of the more obscure groups to come out of the Athens, GA scene in the early 80s – but they've also got all the instantly creative energy that made that short-lived world of music every bit as exciting as some of the best New York sounds at the time! There's a nicely choppy approach to the rhythms going on here, and plenty of strong guitar play too – deft music that's somewhere in the territory of Pylon, and like that group, maybe a warmer US answer to British post-punk sounds of the same time. Titles include "Right Side Of The Brain", "Bitte Schoen", "Sweet Torture", "My Dog Sam", "Looking Through Gels", and "Scream In The Dark". Expanded version features bonus tracks that include "Adventures In America", "Punch A Clock", "The Theme", "Constant Hiss", and live tracks "My Dog Sam", "AF", "Tequila", and "The Book Pressed Flowers". LP, Vinyl record album

Really compelling work from the enigmatic Dino – a set recorded with slow, slinky backings from the Montevideo Blues combo! The album's a lot less blues than you might guess from the group's name – and in a way, the approach is almost more folksy, or singer/songwriter overall – with a key focus on Dino's political lyrics, and backings that often follow along with snakey guitar and slinky rhythms. There's a raspy brilliance to the whole set – and Dino almost sounds like Uruguay's equivalent of Geraldo Vandre – a powerful, positive singer, but one who never reached a bigger audience outside his homeland. Titles include "Sentimiento", "Si Te Vas", "Montevideo Blues", "Milonga De Pelo Largo", "Para Hacer Musica Para Hacer", and "Chamarrita El Chiquero". CD reissue is as amazing as the original – with a huge booklet with notes, history, and lyrics – plus 7 more bonus tracks too! CD

DMZ's badass self-titled set for Sire from '78 – buzzsaw guitars, driving rhythms, manic vocals and eerie organs – an incredible combination of 60s garage inspiration and ferocious punk-era urgency! DMZ migh have been weird fit at a Sire label that at the time was struggling to get The Ramones and Richard Hell into the mainstream – but boy, is it ever worthy stuff! Includes "Mighty Idy", "Bad Attitude", "Watch For Me Girl", "Cinderella", "Don't Jump Me Mother", "Destroyer", "Out Of Our Tree", "Border Line", "Do Not Enter" and "From Home". LP, Vinyl record album

Really great work from Arnold Dreyblatt – a set that's almost a distillation of his excited strings material from many years back, taken into rock minimalism territory that almost seems to tie it to early projects from composer Glenn Branca too! The strings here are all electric – Arnold on excited strings bass, next to two live guitars, and one computer-controlled guitar – all moving in these modal rhythms that build nicely, with some slight phase shifts and inflections – but also enough punch at the core with some drums, so that the tunes almost seem to have more rock appeal than some of Dreyblatt's other material. Titles include the very long "Auditoria", plus the cuts "Shuffle Effect", "Container", and "Flight Path". (Out Sound, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album