One of the heaviest electric sets from UK trumpeter Ian Carr – and that's really saying a lot, given how much heavy work he cut with his group Nucleus! The sound here is a groundbreaking mix of acoustic horns and keyboards – trumpet from Carr, and a mix of tenor, soprano, alto, and flute from Brian Smith – coming into contact with the Fender Rhodes of Dave MacRae and the Hohner electric of Gordon Beck! The pairing of keys is wonderful – and the whole thing is sewn together by the guitar of a young Allan Holdsworth, who's very much in the sway of Carr's sound here, instead of the later directions he'd take as a leader. The set might be worth it alone for the massive "Summer Rain" – a slow funk track that trips along beautifully – but the whole thing's great, and other titles include "Belladonna", "Mayday", "Suspension", and "Hector's House". (Jazz, Rock) CD

One of the heaviest electric sets from UK trumpeter Ian Carr – and that's really saying a lot, given how much heavy work he cut with his group Nucleus! The sound here is a groundbreaking mix of acoustic horns and keyboards – trumpet from Carr, and a mix of tenor, soprano, alto, and flute from Brian Smith – coming into contact with the Fender Rhodes of Dave MacRae and the Hohner electric of Gordon Beck! The pairing of keys is wonderful – and the whole thing is sewn together by the guitar of a young Allan Holdsworth, who's very much in the sway of Carr's sound here, instead of the later directions he'd take as a leader. The set might be worth it alone for the massive "Summer Rain" – a slow funk track that trips along beautifully – but the whole thing's great, and other titles include "Belladonna", "Mayday", "Suspension", and "Hector's House". (Jazz, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

A really fantastic album from trumpeter Ian Carr and his legendary Nucleus group – a combo who are really right on the money here, finding their own sort of space at a level that's very different than some of the other rock/jazz projects on the UK scene at the time! There's often a lot more space between the notes going on here than on more jamming, more progressive records – a laidback groove that's wonderfully soulful, and which ties this Nucleus set a bit more strongly to American jazz funk that was rising up at the time – or maybe like some of the better Euro work by groups like Cortex or Placebo! Ian Carr leads the group on trumpet, Dave MacRae plays a lot of great keyboards, and Brian Smith blows strong solos on tenor, soprano, and flute – on titles that include "Southern Roots & Celebration", "Capricorn", "Images", "Caliban", "Roots", and "Whapatiti". (Jazz, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

Two jazz rock classics – back to back as a 2CD set! Solar Plexus was a pivotal album in the career of British jazzman Ian Carr – one that had him really opening up into some trippy, spacey grooves – adding in a lot of keyboards, kicking up the grooves, yet still never losing the strong jazzy finish that was the best part of his earlier work. Players on the set include trumpeters Harry Beckett and Kenny Wheeler, guitarist Chris Spedding, and keyboardist Karl Jekins, who really throws in some groovy lines on the set! Titles include "Elements 1 & 2", "Snakehips Dream", "Torso", "Spirit Level", and "Bedrock Deadlock". Belladonna is one of the heaviest electric sets from UK trumpeter Ian Carr – and that's really saying a lot, given how much heavy work he cut with his group Nucleus! The sound here is a groundbreaking mix of acoustic horns and keyboards – trumpet from Carr, and a mix of tenor, soprano, alto, and flute from Brian Smith – coming into contact with the Fender Rhodes of Dave MacRae and the Hohner electric of Gordon Beck! The pairing of keys is wonderful – and the whole thing is sewn together by the guitar of a young Allan Holdsworth, who's very much in the sway of Carr's sound here, instead of the later directions he'd take as a leader. The set might be worth it alone for the massive "Summer Rain" – a slow funk track that trips along beautifully – but the whole thing's great, and other titles include "Belladonna", "Mayday", "Suspension", and "Hector's House". (Jazz, Rock) CD

Never-issued work from this legendary fusion group – a 1971 live performance recorded in Rotterdam, and a set of tracks that's a perfect complement to the legendary Nucleus albums issued by Vertigo at the time! Leader Ian Carr is upfront on trumpet – but as with the best Nucleus recordings, this is definitely an all-out group affair – driven by very strong work from John Marshall on drums and Roy Babbington on bass – and filled with work from two different simultaneous electric pianos, handled by both Hywel Thomas and Karl Jenkins, the latter of whom also blows a bit of oboe. Other reeds are from Brian Smith on tenor, soprano sax, and flute – and all tracks are nice and long, and often quite funky – with titles that include "Snakehips Dream", "We'll Talk About It Later", "Song For The Bearded Lady", "Exit Interlude 1", "Persephone's Jive", "Exit Interlude 2", and "Oasis". (Jazz, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

A seminal early album from Ian Carr's legendary Nucleus group – playing here in a version that includes Karl Jenkins and Brian Smith on reeds, and Chris Spedding on guitar! The band has a landmark sound that mixes progressive jazz and tight full-on rock fusion into a style that's sometimes funky, sometimes avant, and often pretty darn exciting! This album has lots of nice electric piano lines, and plenty of choppy sax parts that hit a nice groove in the manner that would later be taken up by a lot of European reed players. Tracks include "Torrid Zone", "Stonescape", "Striation", "1916 – The Battle Of Boogaloo", "Persephones Jive", and "Earth Mother". (Jazz, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

Don't confuse these guys with the British group of the same name, because this Nucleus is a Canadian rock group with a very heavy sound – a heady brew of fuzz guitar and freaky organ, all recorded with a nice raw edge! The group's one of the fiercest of the late 60s psych scene on Mainstream Records – and they jam here on 6 long tracks that build, burn, and bubble over with plenty of intensity – topped with some vocals that are surprisingly poetic at points, yet never in a way that's too soft to undercut the instrumental strength of the set. Titles include "Lost & Found", "Share Your Color", "Communication", "Judgement Day", "All About Me & The Spidery Bass", and "Jenny Wake Up". LP, Vinyl record album

Heavy hitting jazz rock from the UK underground of the early 70s! We'll Talk About It Later is a great early album from Ian Carr's legendary Nucleus group – playing here in a version that includes Karl Jenkins and Brian Smith on reeds, and Chris Spedding on guitar. The band had a landmark sound that mixed progressive jazz and tight full-on rock fusion into a style that was sometimes funky, sometimes avant, and often pretty darn exciting! This album has lots of nice electric piano lines, and plenty of choppy sax parts that hit a nice groove in the manner that would later be taken up by a lot of European reed players, with nice long songs with plenty of room for improvisation – and grooves that are still nice and jazzy. Titles include "Song for The Bearded Lady", "Oasis", "Ballad of Joe Pimp", "Easter 1916", and "Lullaby For A Lonely Child". (Jazz, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

Seminal sounds from trumpeter Ian Carr and his Nucleus group of the early 70s – maybe one of the few jazz rock groups that was ever able to work with a fair bit of jazz in their sound! Unlike his contemporaries, who often started in rock first, then added some horns – Carr was already coming off an important 60s legacy, co-leading a group with tenorist Don Rendell – so the vibe here is like an extension of that very rhythmic, very tonal modern work – but with the addition of electrified instrumentation – thanks to the guitar work of Chris Spedding and keyboards of Karl Jenkins – who plays some fantastic electric lines throughout! The vibe is maybe a bit in the territory of early 70s electric work by Miles Davis and Donald Byrd (pre-Mizell for the latter) – but there's maybe a farther-reaching concept at play on many of the records, at a level that always helped the group cross over to the prog crowd, and move beyond just a straight jazz audience. Other key players include Brian Smith on tenor and soprano saxes – a really fantastic part of the lineup – plus Jeff Clyne on bass and John Marshall on drums – and as the albums move along a bit, the lineup shifts slightly, and also opens up to guests who include Kenny Wheeler and Harry Beckett on trumpets, Tony Levin on drums, and Norma Winstone on voice. And although some of the albums have been reissued before, this is the first set to really dive in completely – and bring together material from the Vertigo Records releases that include Elastic Rock, We'll Talk About It Later, Solar Plexus, Belladonna, Labyrinth, Roots, Under The Sun, Snakehips Etcetera, and Alley Cat. (Jazz, Rock) CD

The fantastic debut of Cressida – a group who were one of the real standouts in the early Vertigo Records scene! While decidedly more rock-oriented than some of their progressive contemporaries in the UK jazz rock scene, Cressida still had a great approach to rock that used a lot of jazz-based chords and rhythms, in the manner that was being explored by other bands at the time – like Colosseum or Nucleus. The general instrumental mix features hard drums, organ, and guitars – plus vocals that are very much in a Moody Blues tradition, but which seem to have more of an early King Crimson approach to lyrics, touched by some of the Nick Drake chord progressions on guitar! A hard one to pin down, but surprisingly enjoyable today – and the kind of record that lives way way past its progressive roots – with titles that include "Lights In My Mind", "The Only Earthman In Town", "To Play Your Little Game", "Time For Bed", and "Down Down". CD

A document of the the loosely defined prog, psyche, and underground rock from the vaults of Vertigo Records – a moniker originally put together by Phillips to cover the obscure scene – but one that proved to be a starting point for some legendary hitmakers, too! On top of assembling the deep nuggets for which you'd pick up such a comp – cuts by Magna Carta, Colosseum, Gentle Giant and others – it also includes buried nuggets by Black Sabbath, Rod Stewart, Uriah Heep and more! 41 tracks on 3CDs: "The Kettle" by Colosseum, "Who Do You Love?" and "Thinking Of My Life" by Juicy Lucy, "Behind The Wall Of Sleep" and "Spiral Architect" by Black Sabbath, "Three Sisters" by Affinity, "Lady In Black" by Uriah Heep, "Borne On The Solar Wind" by Jade Warrior, "Mouthpiece" Warhorse, "Time Machine" by Beggars Opera, "Handbags And Gladrag" by Rod Stewart, "Song For The Bearded Lady" and "Torrid Zone" by Nucleus, "Lord Of Ages" by Magna Carta, "Paper Plane" by Status Quo and much more – plus a 48 page booklet! CD