... 7-inch, Vinyl record

Fruupp are a group who may use ancient imagery on their covers, but who work with a very modern feel overall – or at least one that was pretty darn contemporary at the time of this release from 1973! The vibe is prog, but a bit more focused than tied around album-side jams – as Fruupp always bring things back with a nice sort of vocal presence in their music – one that's balanced equally well with some of the more full-on guitar or keyboard passages on the record! The album's got a strength that's wonderful, and which really lives up to the other great work from the group – on titles that include "Future Legends", "Decision", "As Day Breaks With Dawn", "Song For A Thought", "Olde Tyme Future", and "Lorde Of The Incubus". LP, Vinyl record album

Great work from a really overlooked group – one who have the skills of a prog act, but some of the sensitivity of a more folksy combo – which maybe is why they were such a perfect fit for the unusual sound of the Dawn label in the UK! These guys clearly have chops – the keyboard and guitar solos certainly testify to that – but they also space things out with some gentler, more personal moments – and here are also maybe a bit more hook-heavy than in the past, with a sense of almost crossing over with a few key cuts on the set. One of the catchiest numbers here is the great "Janet Planet", which has really cool production from Ian McDonald, who brings out all the best elements in the tune – and other titles include "Gormenghast", "Misty Morning Way", "Sheba's Song", "Mystery Might", and "Why". LP, Vinyl record album

Very cool work from Fruupp – one of the more progressive acts on the legendary Dawn label from the UK, and one who aren't afraid to mix in a bit of oboe with their freewheeling guitar and keyboard lines! The group have a sound that's a bit hard to peg – maybe a slight classical influence at times, although they never stop rocking either – and their sense of a tune is a bit different than most, with a slight touch of whimsy that maybe comes through as much in the instrumentation as in the lyrics! Peter Farrelly handles lead vocals – and titles include "Garden Lady", "Three Spires", "White Eyes", "Wise As Wisdom", and "Faced With Shekinah". LP, Vinyl record album

The lost second album from Stray – a very cool UK group who've got a sound that's very different than most of their contemporaries on the Transatlantic label – much heavier work on electric guitars, and a fair bit of hard rock elements – but fleshed out with a style that's very much their own! The drums are nice and heavy, and the bass has some heavy fuzz on the best tracks – but those are also mixed with some more thoughtful instrumentation on guitars and keyboards from Del Bromham, who penned most of the tunes, and shares vocals with singer Steve Gadd. Titles include "Son Of The Father", "Suicide", "Run Mister Run", "Do You Miss Me", and "Where Do Our Children Belong". LP, Vinyl record album

Long hair, jazzy riffing, and all the best hope that the early years of prog had to offer – all coming together on a record that's years ahead of its time! It's really hard to put a label on Pete Brown's sounds with Piblokto – music that's maybe more poetic than most of its contemporaries, but also has more of a bite, too – definitely that wit of Brown's that never dimmed at all, and instrumentation that's super-sharp, and super-smart – but never too full of itself to be overly indulgent. The songs are longer than on the previous Piblokto record, but in ways that only flesh out the ideas even more fully – on titles that include "Highland Song", "Aeroplane Head Woman", "Got A Letter From A Computer", "Thousands On A Raft", and "Station Song Platform Two". LP, Vinyl record album

An underground classic from Karen Dalton – a record that's almost out of time, given its early 70s release – as Karen sings with spare backings that are almost in a Folkway Records mode at points, but with all these headier currents that are also indicative of the Bay Area generation too! Dalton's voice is completely unique too – unlike anything you'll ever hear – phrasing that almost hearkens back both to vintage jazz and Appalachian folk, but a style that's more long hair – as are some of the backings too. The set was recorded upstate in Bearsville – and really has all the hallmarks of the freedoms of that scene at the time – summed up beautifully on material that includes "Something On Your Mind", "In A Station", "Take Me", "Same Old Man", Are You Leaving For The Country", "Katie Cruel", and "How Sweet It Is". CD

An underground classic from Karen Dalton – a record that's almost out of time, given its early 70s release – as Karen sings with spare backings that are almost in a Folkway Records mode at points, but with all these headier currents that are also indicative of the Bay Area generation too! Dalton's voice is completely unique too – unlike anything you'll ever hear – phrasing that almost hearkens back both to vintage jazz and Appalachian folk, but a style that's more long hair – as are some of the backings too. The set was recorded upstate in Bearsville – and really has all the hallmarks of the freedoms of that scene at the time – summed up beautifully on material that includes "Something On Your Mind", "In A Station", "Take Me", "Same Old Man", Are You Leaving For The Country", "Katie Cruel", and "How Sweet It Is". LP, Vinyl record album

An underground classic from Karen Dalton – a record that's almost out of time, given its early 70s release – as Karen sings with spare backings that are almost in a Folkway Records mode at points, but with all these headier currents that are also indicative of the Bay Area generation too! Dalton's voice is completely unique too – unlike anything you'll ever hear – phrasing that almost hearkens back both to vintage jazz and Appalachian folk, but a style that's more long hair – as are some of the backings too. The set was recorded upstate in Bearsville – and really has all the hallmarks of the freedoms of that scene at the time – summed up beautifully on material that includes "Something On Your Mind", "In A Station", "Take Me", "Same Old Man", Are You Leaving For The Country", "Katie Cruel", and "How Sweet It Is". Features a huge amount of bonus material – three alternate takes from the album sessions, and six more live tracks from 1971! CD

An underground classic from Karen Dalton – a record that's almost out of time, given its early 70s release – as Karen sings with spare backings that are almost in a Folkway Records mode at points, but with all these headier currents that are also indicative of the Bay Area generation too! Dalton's voice is completely unique too – unlike anything you'll ever hear – phrasing that almost hearkens back both to vintage jazz and Appalachian folk, but a style that's more long hair – as are some of the backings too. The set was recorded upstate in Bearsville – and really has all the hallmarks of the freedoms of that scene at the time – summed up beautifully on material that includes "Something On Your Mind", "In A Station", "Take Me", "Same Old Man", Are You Leaving For The Country", "Katie Cruel", and "How Sweet It Is". LP, Vinyl record album

An underground classic from Karen Dalton – a record that's almost out of time, given its early 70s release – as Karen sings with spare backings that are almost in a Folkway Records mode at points, but with all these headier currents that are also indicative of the Bay Area generation too! Dalton's voice is completely unique too – unlike anything you'll ever hear – phrasing that almost hearkens back both to vintage jazz and Appalachian folk, but a style that's more long hair – as are some of the backings too. The set was recorded upstate in Bearsville – and really has all the hallmarks of the freedoms of that scene at the time – summed up beautifully on material that includes "Something On Your Mind", "In A Station", "Take Me", "Same Old Man", Are You Leaving For The Country", "Katie Cruel", and "How Sweet It Is". Features a huge amount of bonus material – three alternate takes from the album sessions, and six more live tracks from 1971! LP, Vinyl record album

A long awaited reunion of west coast indie psych pop masterminds Ty Segall & Tim Presley aka White Fence! It's a gem, and best of all, not a sequel or rehash of thier beloved earlier collaboratorative LP Hair, this one's got it's own vibe! Most of the songs are really short, given it a restless energy that's really great – still a masterclass in neo-classic garage psych, a la Hair, but bursting from one tune to the next at an exciting pace. Includes "Beginning", "Please Don't Leave", "Room Connection", "Body Behavior", "Good Boy", "Hey Joel, Where You Going With That", "Rock Flute", "A Nod", "Other Way", "Prettiest Dog", "She Is Gold", "Tommy's Place", "My Friend" and more. CD

Great material from the second chapter of Del Shannon – a time when the previous pop legend opened up to trippier modes – which makes for a really great blend on this gem of an album from 1968! Even at his pop best, there was always a genuine strain of soul-searching sadness in his voice that underscored the material, going all the way back to "Runaway" and on some of the better, if lesser-remembered work after that immortal hit. He manages to carry that trait strongly into the psych era here, with a lot of lusher baroque pop elements, and some great instrumentation – all orchestrated by Don Peake. Includes "Thinking It Over", "Be My Friend", "Silver Birch", "Rover Cool", "Colour Flashing Hair", "Gemini", "Runnin' On Back", "Conquer", "Been So Long", "Magical Musical Box", and "New Orleans (Mardi Gras)". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic CD collection – one that brings together all five volumes of Stereolab's Switched On albums in one set – a huge collection of unusual material and rare singles! On the original Switched On record, moog, fuzz, and farfisa have never sounded so great together – and although these guys drank deep of the well of 60s pop magic before making this modern-day classic – they also come off sounding pretty darn original on their own! When this gem of a record first hit the world, it was as if all of us were hearing music from the cosmos for years, but could never find a way to make it part of our everyday lives. Then along come Tim Gane, Laetitia Sadier, and crew – and completely change the world for the better! An album that no home should be without – with titles that include "Contact", "Super-Electric", "Doubt", "Brittle", "Au Grand Jour", "The Way Will Be Opening", and "Changer". Refried Ectoplasm is the second in the holy trinity of "switched on" albums from Stereolab – a set that collects together all the unusual recordings and other side bits the group were doing in the early years of their career – standing strong as a testament to their non-stop efforts to forever push the boundaries of electric fuzzy pop! The vocals Laetitia Sadier are completely sublime – almost a bridge between the darker modes of the previous pop generation and all the new ideas of the world to come – when the rest of rock music would finally catch up to these guys, and realize that the best path to the future is through the past! Titles include "Farfisa", "John Cage Bubblegum", "Tempter", "Exploding Head Movie", "French Disko", "Harmonium", "Revox", "Mountain", and "Sadistic". By the time of Aluminum Tunes (Switched On Vol 3) – it had only been a few years since the previous Switched On set, but Stereolab had already created so much musical magic, they needed a double-length record to keep the whole thing intact! The sound here is somehow getting even more dreamy and wonderful – definitely showing their work with the mighty Sean O'Hagan, and also really opening up into all the many musical ideas that Tim Gane was picking up from his never-ending search for unusual records! The 60s swirl through time and space, and make the future sound even better than we could have imagined it – while the Channel is drained, and England and France become one in a genius marriage of pure pop modes. Titles include "The Extension Trip", "How To Play Your Internal Organs Overnight", "Space Moment", "Iron Man", "The Long Hair Of Death", "One Note Samba/Surfboard", "Percolations", "1000 Miles An Hour", "Klang Tone", and a great take on the theme to "Get Carter". Switched On 4 is full of fantastic sounds from Stereolab – an assortment of rare singles and other unusual recordings that were mostly issued on their own Duophonic label, and which are far more obscure than their bigger label albums during the same period! Even though Stereolab gave the world some undeniable classics in the late 90s and early 00s, they were also working endlessly, and seemed to record more than they could ever fit on a full length set – which resulted in all the cool singles, limited releases, and other material included here – not dusty tapes pulled from the archives, but beautiful work that often returns the group to all the space age charms of their first few records! The package is huge – 25 tracks in all, of varying length – and titles include "Barok Plastik", "Calimero", "Fried Monkey Eggs (voc)", "Solar Throw Away", "Variation One", "Monkey Jelly", "Explosante Fixe", "Jump Drive Shut Out", "The Super-It", "L'Exotisme Interieur", "Pandora's Box Of Worms", "Retrograde Mirror Form", "Nomus E Phusis", "I Feel The Air Of Another Planet", "Outer Bongolia", and "Intervals". Includes tracks from Duophonic 45s, Underground Is Coming EP, Moog, First Of The Microbe Hunters, and work from compilations, unreleased tracks, and even a collaboration with Brigitte Fontaine! Switched On 5 is maybe the coolest entry so far in this really wonderful series – a set that's overflowing with rare and unusual work from Stereolab – most of it done at a time when the group were riding high on a major label, but still managed to issued a huge amount of music on their own, and work in a variety of collaborative settings too! One of our favorite is their work with Nurse With Wound, and tracks from that partnership begin this set – which then moves into rare singles, work with artists, compilation contributions, and plenty more – all with the usual Stereolab charm, but often with a nicely different vibe too! Titles include "Simple Headphone Mind", "Symbolic Logic Of Now", "Magne Music", "Forensic Itch", "Spool Of Collusion", "Robot Riot", "Trippin With The Birds", "Cybele's Reverie (live)", "Nth Degrees, "Refractions In The Plastic Pulse (Autechre Feebate mix)", and "Plastic Mile (original version)". CD

An obscure set from Jacksonville, FL – served up by a metal-looking group with long hair and some nicely exposed biceps! Titles include "Jack The Ripper Style", "Your Place Or Mine"- "Turn Out The Light", "The Kid", and "Something Good". LP, Vinyl record album

Incredible work from one of the maddest talents in rock and roll – the amazing Kim Fowley, one of THE most important forces on the LA scene of the 60s! Kim's known for many things – producer, arranger, musician, and insane performer – and this set really does a great job of bringing together all of those aspects – really getting at the "rockin hipster around town" persona that was Kim's calling card through over 3 decades of rock in the city. The package features 32 tracks in all – numbers that Kim recorded under his own name, or produced for other labels – all packaged with a stunning set of notes that's filled with stories, suspect history, and other dark chapters from the Kim Fowley past! Titles include "Animal Man", "Bubblegum", "The Trip", and "Space Odyssey" by Kim Fowley, "Wild Thing" by Cathy Rich, "Fallin Off The Edge Of My Mind" by The Seeds, "Pink Dominos" by The Crescents, "Honest I Do" by The Innocents, "Papa Oom Mow Mow" by The Rivingtons, "Like Long Hair" by Paul Revere & The Raiders, "Security" by N Betweens, "The Comedown Song" by Spider, "Popsicles & Icicles" by The Murmaids, and "Satans Holiday" by The Lancasters. CD

A French group from the 70s, but one with a lead singer from Tunisia – the freaky-looking Mahmoud Ayari, who's got his feet up on the cover! The group are fiercely jamming – with a really heavy, driving percussion approach, and lots and lots of freaky guitar fuzz – often used in these really dark ways, which then seems to bring out even more darkness from Ayari's vocals – which act almost like loud calls to action than standard lyrics! A number of tunes are heavy on the instrumental section – which makes for even more great focus on the excellent guitar – and titles include "To Where I Belong", "Lot Of Things", "Explosion", "We All Come & Go", and "My Sorrow" – plus two tunes with really great special effects from Jean Pierre Massiera – "Pop Orbite" and "Pop Pull Hair". LP, Vinyl record album

Hey, don't hold Wayne Cochran's hair against him – because he's one massively soulful dude, despite a high white pompadour – and really knew how to rock the clubs back in the 60s! Cochran's a really unique figure – working with a look that was whiter-than-white, but coming across with a groove that was right up there in the best funky soul mode of the time! Wayne played for the same sort of crowds that went to see Baby Huey & The Babysitters – blending together soul and R&B influences with a really party-oriented groove laid down by his legendary CC Riders backup group – and crossing countless borders along the way, all in pursuit of a socking soul sound! This wonderful set is the best we've ever seen on his music – and features tracks pulled from his sessions for King, Chess, and Mercury – plus a full never-issued live album for King, titled The Wayne Cochran Show. There's more than a few covers here of other 60s soul tunes, but Wayne somehow manages to make most of them sound even better than the originals – bringing in funky arrangements that weren't even used on the hits, and making us wish we'd had a chance to catch his cooking show back in the day. 38 tracks in all – with titles that include "Dance To The Music", "Hold On I'm Coming", "Fa Fa Fa Fa Fa (Sad Song)", "I Can't Turn You Loose", "Hard To Handle", "Chopper 70", "Everybody", "Let Me Come With You", "My Machine", "Get Ready", "Which One Should I Choose", "I'm In Trouble", "The Peak Of Love", "Somebody Please", "I'm Leaving It Up To You", and "Big City Woman". (Soul, Rock) CD

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

Great solo work from Jerry Corbetta – an artist who first rose to fame in the long-haired Sugarloaf group at the start of the 70s – but who here steps out as a sweet AOR act on his own, from the other side of the decade! Steve Barri produced the set, and gives it some soulful currents that really work well with Jerry's vocals – a mode that's smooth, but never too polished – which really makes for a great change for Corbetta – and a perfect showcase for his surprisingly well-written songs! We're not sure how long Jerry continued in this vein, but this album's a gem from the farther reaches of 70s AOR – and titles include "Free Man", "If I Never Had Your Love", "Sensitive Soul", "Between A Rock & A Hard Place", and "I Wish That I Was Making Love To You Tonight" – plus a nice remake of "Green Eyed Lady"! LP, Vinyl record album

A mellow masterpiece of sunshine country rock from Dillard & Clark – a duo that featured Gene Clark of the Byrds and Doug Dillard of the Dillards – in a wonderful blend of Cali longhair harmonies, back porch psych, and expert Byrds-y tunefulness! Dillard provides lots of great banjo and some chirping fiddle – along with mandolin and chiming acoustic guitars that bring a bit of bluegrass into the sound – but the record has California written all over it thanks to the vocal harmonies and wistful tune craft. Really close to perfection – and deserves as much praise as the better known country rock benchmarks of the era – including the early two classics by Flying Burrito Brothers. Tracks include "Out On The Side", "She Darked The Sun", "Train Leaves Here This Mornin", "With Care From Somewhere", "Git It On Brother", "In The Plan", and "Don't Come Rolling". LP, Vinyl record album

Two seminal albums from Doug Dillard and Gene Clark – back to back in a single set! Fantastic Expedition is a mellow masterpiece of sunshine country rock from Dillard & Clark – a duo that featured Gene Clark of the Byrds and Doug Dillard of the Dillards – in a wonderful blend of Cali longhair harmonies, back porch psych, and expert Byrds-y tunefulness! Dillard provides lots of great banjo and some chirping fiddle – along with mandolin and chiming acoustic guitars that bring a bit of bluegrass into the sound – but the record has California written all over it thanks to the vocal harmonies and wistful tune craft. Really close to perfection – and deserves as much praise as the better known country rock benchmarks of the era – including the early two classics by Flying Burrito Brothers. Tracks include "Out On The Side", "She Darked The Sun", "Train Leaves Here This Mornin", "With Care From Somewhere", "Git It On Brother", "In The Plan", and "Don't Come Rolling". Through The Morning Through The Night is the amazing second album from the great duo of Gene Clark and Doug Dillard – and a record that's maybe even better than the first! Even though the set's a key part of the late 60s Byrds and Flying Burrito Brothers legacy – the vibe is probably more like the latter than the former – that is, more country than rock – in a way that really has the Clark/Dillard team getting even more confident with that side of their sound – drawing both on Doug's roots, and pointing the way toward his years to come. Clark provides some excellent songwriting, and his vocals are what really set the album apart – and the album also features some backing vocals from Donna Washington, amidst a mostly acoustic lineup that includes bluegrass instrumentation – and guest work from Sneaky Pete Kleinow on steel guitar, Chris Hillman on mandolin, and Bernie Leadon on guitar. Titles include "So Sad", "Corner Street Bar", "I Bowed My Head & Cried Holy", "Kansas City Southern", "No Longer A Sweetheart Of Mine", "Polly", "Four Walls", and "Through The Morning Through The Night". CD

Two seminal albums from Doug Dillard and Gene Clark – back to back in a single set, and with bonus tracks too! Fantastic Expedition is a mellow masterpiece of sunshine country rock from Dillard & Clark – a duo that featured Gene Clark of the Byrds and Doug Dillard of the Dillards – in a wonderful blend of Cali longhair harmonies, back porch psych, and expert Byrds-y tunefulness! Dillard provides lots of great banjo and some chirping fiddle – along with mandolin and chiming acoustic guitars that bring a bit of bluegrass into the sound – but the record has California written all over it thanks to the vocal harmonies and wistful tune craft. Really close to perfection – and deserves as much praise as the better known country rock benchmarks of the era – including the early two classics by Flying Burrito Brothers. Tracks include "Out On The Side", "She Darked The Sun", "Train Leaves Here This Mornin", "With Care From Somewhere", "Git It On Brother", "In The Plan", and "Don't Come Rolling". Through The Morning Through The Night is the amazing second album from the great duo of Gene Clark and Doug Dillard – and a record that's maybe even better than the first! Even though the set's a key part of the late 60s Byrds and Flying Burrito Brothers legacy – the vibe is probably more like the latter than the former – that is, more country than rock – in a way that really has the Clark/Dillard team getting even more confident with that side of their sound – drawing both on Doug's roots, and pointing the way toward his years to come. Clark provides some excellent songwriting, and his vocals are what really set the album apart – and the album also features some backing vocals from Donna Washington, amidst a mostly acoustic lineup that includes bluegrass instrumentation – and guest work from Sneaky Pete Kleinow on steel guitar, Chris Hillman on mandolin, and Bernie Leadon on guitar. Titles include "So Sad", "Corner Street Bar", "I Bowed My Head & Cried Holy", "Kansas City Southern", "No Longer A Sweetheart Of Mine", "Polly", "Four Walls", and "Through The Morning Through The Night". Bonus tracks include "Why Not Your Baby", "Lyin Down The Middle", and "Don't Be Cruel". CD

Far-reaching sounds from The Flock – a group who were maybe one of the best American acts at the end of the 60s to blend trippy rock with the big new wave of jazz fusion! These guys definitely use horns in a way that link them to the chunky groove of early work by Chicago or Blood Sweat & Tears – but they're also clearly going for a more long-haired vibe, too – especially when they open up on some acoustic stringed instrumentation – such as 12-string guitar or violin, both of which are handled by Jerry Goodman in a really great way! These instruments really shape some of the sound of the set – especially the violin when it's used in these freewheeling passages that might give Jean-Luc Ponty a run for his money – but there's also a core, tight soulful sound that balances things out nicely – as does some of the heavy drums and fuzzy guitar! Titles include "Clown", "I Am The Tall Tree", "Store Bought Store Thought", and "Truth" – plus a very cool funky cover of The Kinks' "Tired Of Waiting". CD

A really cool record from Jerry Hahn – a guitarist who's maybe known for his initial work in jazz, but who steps out here with a very groovy mix of those roots and long-haired, lyrical psychedelic sounds too! The set's got vocals on nearly every track, but Jerry still gets in all these fantastic guitar licks too – strong single-note lines that really show his roots in other styles of music, mixed with some roots rock touches on the rhythms and lyrics, and sweeet use of organ and piano by Mike Finnigan. Mike often harmonizes with Jerry on the lyrics – and titles include "Martha's Madman", "Comin Down", "Captain Bobby Stout", "Thursday Thing", and "What I Gave Away". CD

A heck of a charmer from Haircut 100 – one of a handful of great UK albums from the early 80s that mixed post-punk energy with warmer touches from jazz and Latin – all in a blend that's completely wonderful overall! Haircut 100 were never trying to change the world – and they certainly never passed themselves off as a real jazz combo – but they've got a great way of adding in just the right touches on sax, congas, and even a bit of vibes – all to create a captivating setting alongside Britpop guitar lines and the great vocals of Nik Heyward. Nik's way more appealing here than on his later work – unabashedly groovy, on tunes that include the classic "Love Plus One", alongside "Snow Girl", "Lemon Firebrigade", "Favourite Shirts", "Milk Film", "Surprise Me Again", and "Fantastic Day". LP, Vinyl record album

A heck of a charmer from Haircut 100 – one of a handful of great UK albums from the early 80s that mixed post-punk energy with warmer touches from jazz and Latin – all in a blend that's completely wonderful overall! Haircut 100 were never trying to change the world – and they certainly never passed themselves off as a real jazz combo – but they've got a great way of adding in just the right touches on sax, congas, and even a bit of vibes – all to create a captivating setting alongside Britpop guitar lines and the great vocals of Nik Heyward. Nik's way more appealing here than on his later work – unabashedly groovy, on tunes that include the classic "Love Plus One", alongside "Snow Girl", "Lemon Firebrigade", "Favourite Shirts", "Milk Film", "Surprise Me Again", and "Fantastic Day". This 4CD package is totally great – in a 7" square book, with a bonus 44 page booklet of notes and new interviews! CD2 features Pelican Plus – 15 more bonus tracks that include the non LP cuts "Skip Club" and "Ski Club Of Great Britain" – plus all sorts of 12", 7" , and extended versions. CD3 features Junction Box – 11 more unfinished tracks, including some very cool instrumentals that really show the jazzier side of the group. And CD4 features a 14 track live set, recorded at Hammersmith Odeon in 1982! CD

A heck of a charmer from Haircut 100 – one of a handful of great UK albums from the early 80s that mixed post-punk energy with warmer touches from jazz and Latin – all in a blend that's completely wonderful overall! Haircut 100 were never trying to change the world – and they certainly never passed themselves off as a real jazz combo – but they've got a great way of adding in just the right touches on sax, congas, and even a bit of vibes – all to create a captivating setting alongside Britpop guitar lines and the great vocals of Nik Heyward. Nik's way more appealing here than on his later work – unabashedly groovy, on tunes that include the classic "Love Plus One", alongside "Snow Girl", "Lemon Firebrigade", "Favourite Shirts", "Milk Film", "Surprise Me Again", and "Fantastic Day". This 4CD package is totally great – in a 7" square book, with a bonus 44 page booklet of notes and new interviews! CD2 features Pelican Plus – 15 more bonus tracks that include the non LP cuts "Skip Club" and "Ski Club Of Great Britain" – plus all sorts of 12", 7" , and extended versions. CD3 features Junction Box – 11 more unfinished tracks, including some very cool instrumentals that really show the jazzier side of the group. And CD4 features a 14 track live set, recorded at Hammersmith Odeon in 1982! CD

A heck of a charmer from Haircut 100 – one of a handful of great UK albums from the early 80s that mixed post-punk energy with warmer touches from jazz and Latin – all in a blend that's completely wonderful overall! Haircut 100 were never trying to change the world – and they certainly never passed themselves off as a real jazz combo – but they've got a great way of adding in just the right touches on sax, congas, and even a bit of vibes – all to create a captivating setting alongside Britpop guitar lines and the great vocals of Nik Heyward. Nik's way more appealing here than on his later work – unabashedly groovy, on tunes that include the classic "Love Plus One", alongside "Snow Girl", "Lemon Firebrigade", "Favourite Shirts", "Milk Film", "Surprise Me Again", and "Fantastic Day". CD features 5 bonus cuts from singles – including "Boat Party", "Ski Club", and "October Is Orange Today". CD

The McCoys really let their hair down and freak flag fly for this ultra-cool set at the end of the 60s – coming across in all sorts of really great ways that are light years beyond their early material! The set moves effortlessly between material that's groovy, bluesy, and sometimes warmly harmonic – all with the same sense of experimentation the group brought to their great Infinite album, but a bit more compact in terms of arrangements and expression! The group produced the set themselves, and there's some cool surprises along the way – like steel guitar from Pete Drake – on titles that include "Clergy Lies", "Daybreak", "Only Human", "Human Ball Blues", and "It Really Doesn't Matter". CD

Very cool work from Psi – a hip 70s German group who were partly fusion, partly prog – in that special sort of blend shared by a rare few contemporaries – such as Embryo, Perigeo, or Zzebra! As with all three of those groups, the musicians here are clearly schooled in jazz, but also really want to open up in some of the freedoms explored by the long-haired younger generation – not in an avant way, but in a style that mixes some funky currents in the rhythms with more freewheeling solos and the occasional jamming passage – served up by a quintet lineup that includes loads of wonderful keyboards, plus tenor, guitar, bass, drums, and percussion! There's no vocals at all on the record – no need, as the instruments speak volumes – and titles include "Elektrische Kall Heinzje", "Horizonte", "Under Der Schurze Liegt Die Wurze", and "Bettgerausche". (Jazz, Rock) CD

Absolutely brilliant numbers from Charlie Rich – one of the greatest and most versative voices ever to come out of the 50s rock & roll and country scenes – his impeccable work for Smash in the 60s, long before he'd hit mainstream country pay dirt (finally) in the mid 70s! Charlie was both blessed and cursed by his gifted vocal chords, in that he could do anything with them – nascent blue-eyed soul, pop, country, rock & roll – which made it all too easy for his labels, producers and handlers to move him onto a new thing if the singles or LPs didn't stick commercially. They couldn't wedge him comfortably into a niche, but damned if he didn't knock everything they threw at him right outta the park. So very highly recommended! 29 tracks in all: "It Ain't Gonna Be That Way", "Party Girl", "I Can't Go On", "So Long", "Just A Bit Of You", "So Long", "Down And Out", "Moonshine Minnie", "Hawg Jaw", "Lonely Weekends", "Tars A Go-Go", "She's A Yum Yum", "Man About Town", "Mohair Sam", "So Long" and many more. CD

Absolutely brilliant numbers from Charlie Rich – one of the greatest and most versative voices ever to come out of the 50s rock & roll and country scenes – his impeccable work for Smash in the 60s, long before he'd hit mainstream country pay dirt (finally) in the mid 70s! Charlie was both blessed and cursed by his gifted vocal chords, in that he could do anything with them – nascent blue-eyed soul, pop, country, rock & roll – which made it all too easy for his labels, producers and handlers to move him onto a new thing if the singles or LPs didn't stick commercially. They couldn't wedge him comfortably into a niche, but damned if he didn't knock everything they threw at him right outta the park. So very highly recommended! 29 tracks in all: "It Ain't Gonna Be That Way", "Party Girl", "I Can't Go On", "So Long", "Just A Bit Of You", "So Long", "Down And Out", "Moonshine Minnie", "Hawg Jaw", "Lonely Weekends", "Tars A Go-Go", "She's A Yum Yum", "Man About Town", "Mohair Sam", "So Long" and many more. 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

Great work by one of the most compelling groups in the Kama Sutra bubble gum stable! Sopwith Camel always seemed a bit headier than their contemporaries – part Spanky & Our Gang type pop, part long-haired hipster rock – handled with some introspective touches that almost feel like Leonard Cohen at times. This early album's hard to describe, but it's a lost pop gem – and one of those west coast late 60s sides that make you realize that there was a heck of a lot of great music that got lost in the shuffle of the summer of love! Titles include "Walk In The Park", "Postcard From Jamaica", "Cellophane Woman", "Maybe In A Dream", "Saga Of The Low Down Let Down", "Hello Hello", and "Frantic Desolation". LP, Vinyl record album

A huge package of material from The Sorrows – one full album, a wealth of rare singles, and even some solo material by group member Don Fardon too! The set begins with the album Take A Heart – a searing set from the mid 60s wave of the British scene – delivered with this mix of tunefulness and raw guitars that's totally great, echoed most strongly in the vocals, which really have an edge, even when delivering familiar themes on the lyrics – moodier than most, and in a really great way! The set then moves into a massive 28 more tracks that make up the a-sides and b-sides of the group's singles for Pye Records at the time – titles that include "Baby", "Gonna Find A Cave", "We Should Get Along Fine", "Pink Purple Yellow & Red", "My Gal", "Don't Sing No Sad Songs For Me", "Hooky", "Vivi", "Armchair King", and "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes". The set then concludes with 10 more solo tracks from Don Fardon – some of the hardest to find material in the collection, and some of the most interesting too. Titles include "Lament Of The Cherokee Reservation Indian", "Daytripper", "Coming On Strong", "Ruby's Picture On My Wall", "We Can Make It Together", "Dreamin Room", and "I Need Somebody". 50 tracks in all! CD