Music from Boobis & Bobby, Junior Shank, the Nite Rockers, Sonny Geno, the Dual Tones, Royce Porter, Clyde Stacy, Joey Preston, Wayne Cochran, and others – 28 tracks total. CD

With selections by Jay & The Americans, The Astronauts, Dick & Dee Dee, The Beau Brummels and Jackie & Gayle. (Soundtracks, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

The feather light, atmospheric beats and aural scenery we've come to expect from Kieran Hebden splinter out hard and heavy in the frentic opener "A Joy" on Everything Ecstatic – fair warning that Kieran's Four Tet isn't going to fall into realm of expectation without a fight! Kieren has dabbled in ambient jazz, post rock and Jay Dee-influenced hip hop beat craft on previous albums and singles, and he's running the gamut pretty well on this effort – managing to catch us off guard just when we're ready to settle into a groove. Tracks include "A Joy", "Smile Around The Face", "Sun Drums And Soil", "Turtle Turtle Up", "High Fives", "Sleep, Eat Food, Have Visions", ". . .You Were There With Me" and more. (New Grooves, Rock) CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A killer beat group set – with some nice psych touches, but still very raw at the core! LP, Vinyl record album

That's a Paul Weller-looking chap on the front cover – and it's no surprise that his work in The Jam helped usher in a huge new crop of British mods in the 80s and 90s – groups who were really inspired by the same 60s influences that got Weller and his group going a few years before – but also ready to take all those inspirations into great new directions as the scene moved on! There's been other collections to look at UK mod material from the post-punk years onward – but this package does an even better job of tracing those influences in less obvious ways – especially as it stretches to include some of the surprising successes from acts who were less slavish to the initial mod aesthetic, and really did something interesting with it. As with all Cherry Red boxes of this nature, the choice of cuts is as great as the detailed notes on the music – and the 4CD set features 92 tracks in all – by artists who include Knave, The Aardvarks, Five Thirty, James Taylor Quartet, Mood Six, Biff Bang Pow, The Clique, Fine Young Cannibals, Inspiral Carpets, The Undertones, The Times, The Nerve, Dee Walker, Playn Jayn, Big Boss Man, New Jersey Kings, Charlatans, The La's, Stone Roses, and many others. CD

The oft-covered Bob Dylan songbook never sounds so soulful – classic interpretations of Dylan's canon from a great, far reaching roster of black artists – from the the ever-stirring Staple Singers, southern soul heroes Howard Tate and OV Wright, charismatic country soul from Brook Benton, great gender role perspective flipped versions by Nina Simone and Patti LaBelle, a funky tamborine take by Con Funk Shun and much more! It's another excellent entry in the Songwriter Series from Ace Records, extra excellent in that it takes an obvious hero of 60s Songwriter – and actually pulls together songs that'll take you by surprise for their depth – whether you treasure Dylan, deep 60s & 70s solo & group R&B, funk, folk soul...or all of the above! Includes "Blowin In The Wind" by OV Wright, "Girl From The North Country" by Howard Tate, "The Man In Me" by The Persuations, "Lay lady Lay" by The Isley Brothers, "Emotionally Yours" by The O'Jays, "All Along The Watchtower" by Bobby Womack, "Maggie's Farm" by Soloman Burke, "Mr. Tamborine Man" by Con Funk Shun and more. 20 tracks in all. (Soul, Rock) CD