A trio of key albums from the Pink Fairies – served up with lots of bonus tracks too! First up is Never Never Land – the fantastic debut of the Pink Fairies – easily one of the shaggiest, headiest bands on the UK scene at the start of the 70s – and a group who rose from the ashes of the equally important Deviants! The record's an unusual mishmash of modes – a set that confidently swaggers between psych, hard rock, and maybe even a bit of proto-punk – very confident in its approach, and coolly compressed in the production, but never in the slick style that would dominate British rock more strongly in the mid 70s. The Fairies aren't afraid to let their freak flag fly, but they're also clearly moving past hippiedom too – on titles that include "War Girl", "Do It", "Say You Love Me", "Tack One Side Two", "Thor", "Uncle Harry's Last Freakout", and "The Dream Is Just Beginning". What A Bunch Of Sweeties is filled with freaky fuzz from the Pink Fairies – a seminal UK group who were maybe trapped in a space between late psych and early glam – and somehow equally important to both! There's lots going on in the set – modes that are as offbeat as styles put forth by The Fugs in the late 60s, but a lot sharper overall from a musical perspective – especially in the way the group uses great guitar work and a few catchy numbers to sew the whole thing together – on titles that include "Portobello Shuffle", "Marilyn", "Pigs Of Uranus", "Walk Don't Run", "X-Ray", "I Went Up I Went Down", and "I Saw Her Standing There". Kings Of Oblivion is maybe the most fully-formed album from the legendary Pink Fairies – and a set that's got some really searing guitar from Larry Wallis – a melodic genius whose sound really holds things together, and gives the group a stronger focus than ever before! The guitar lines seem to bring out and amplify all the ideas the group were going for before – and maybe give the group a sense of darkness that they never fully reached – not hard rock cliche, but this tightness that's also completely individual – maybe like early Thin Lizzy at their best, yet in a completely different way. Titles include "I Wish I Was A Girl", "City Kids", "When's The Fun Begin", "Chromium Plating", "Street Urchin", and "Chamber Maid". Bonus tracks include "Going Down", "Walk Don't Run (first version)", "War Girl (alt mix)", "The Snake", "Do It (single mix)", "Uncle Harry's Last Freakout (alt mix)", "Well Well Well (alt mix)", "City Kids (alt)", and "Hold On (single)". CD

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

Titles include "Moody Manitoba Morning", "I Can Make It With You", "Yesterday Will Never Come", "Proud Mary", "Stay Awhile", "Maxwell's Silver Hammer", "Rain", and "Sing A Song Of Freedom". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

One of the superest of the late 60s supergroups – with Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Ginger Baker, and Rick Grech! Titles include "Had To Cry Today", "Presence Of The Lord", "Do What You Like", "Sea Of Joy", and "Well All Right". CD

A wild batch of jazz rock tunes – recorded by ex-Cream bassist Jack Bruce, along with a host of like-minded luminaries that include Chris Spedding, Harry Beckett, Dick Heckstall-Smith, and John Hisemann. Unlike Bruce's first solo album – Things We Like – which was an all-jazz outing, this album features Bruce singing as well, and an overall approach that has more of a rock-based song structure – yet still many of the expansive styles embraced by the Brit jazz rock generation of the time. Titles include "Rope Ladder To The Moon", "Theme For An Imaginary Western", "Tickets To Water Falls", and "The Clearout". Plus, CD features 4 bonus tracks – "Ministry Of Bag (demo)", "Weird Of Hermiston (alt mix)", "The Clearout (alt mix)", and "Ministry of Bag (alt mix)". CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

The pre-Fleetwood Mac LP that Lindsay Buckingham & Stevie Nicks recorded. Ten tracks, including "Don't Let Me Down Again", "Crying In The Night", "Lola (My Love)", "Races Are Run", "Frozen Love", and an early version of "Crystal". LP, Vinyl record album

A legendary batch of funky rock tracks – noteworthy not only for production by Jimi Hendrix, but also for the group's insanely great groove! There's a bluesy undercurrent here, but sharpened much more strongly for the funk generation – which takes Cat Mother way past contemporaries like Canned Heat or The Steve Miller Band – yet also still has the gritty power of both of those groups. Jimi's production is surprisingly great – fused tightly at times, in ways that almost preface some modes that bigger acts would take rootsy sounds in the 70s, but much more revolutionary here. The set's worth it alone for the trippy instrumental jam "Track In A", and other tracks include "Can You Dance To It", "Marie", "How I Spent My Summer", "Bramble Bush", "Boston Burglar", and "Favors". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

... CD

... CD

The classic – with "Strange Brew", "Sunshine Of Your Love", "Tales Of Brave Ulysses", and "Take It Back". CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

The brilliant first album from Fairport Convention – working here in a sound that's much less fully-formed than in later years, but in a really great way! So many things are different here – the guitars are maybe harder and more electric, the vocals of a young Ian Matthews (as Ian MacDonald) are really wonderful, and even female singer Judy Dyble brings a very different quality to the group than the later work of Sandy Denny! These guys are less straight folk here, and more open to a lot of new ideas – great ideas, and ones that really keep things creative and interesting – and maybe looking forward more musically, than the later (and important) backward look the group would take. Titles include a brilliant remake of Emmitt Rhodes' "Time Will Show The Wiser" – plus "I Don't Know Where I Stand", "Chelsea Morning", "It's Alright Ma It's Only Witchcraft", "One Sure Thing", "M1 Breakdown", and "Jack O'Diamonds". CD features four bonus tracks – "Reno Nevada", "Morning Glory", "If I Had A Ribbon Bow", and "Suzanne". (Folk/Country, Rock) CD

An incredible package of work by the legendary Georgie Fame – the first to ever fully document his talents, and also present a lot of rare work from every different stage in his career! Yes, there's already been a box on the market that documents Fame's early work – but that material only makes up the first CD or two on this set, and is quickly followed by loads of unusual tracks from the 70s – a time when Georgie was moving past the R&B-inspired sounds of his early career, taking off in new soulful modes, then returning to straighter jazz in later years. All that great span of sounds is here – and is a wonderful journey in music, as Fame never lost his charm, or the groove that first got him going – and the package brings together early Polydor material with later sides for Columbia, Island, Pye, and other labels – and includes 18 tracks that have never appeared before from the late 60s and early 70s, plus lots of other rare singles and unusual cuts too. There's a full unreleased live show from 1974 that's wonderful, some sweet electric early 70s sides that are appearing for the first time, and lots more too – all in a special box with 6CDs, a 48 page hardcover book, and a whopping 110 tracks in all. Take it from us – we're MASSIVE fans of this totally unique singer – and even though we have just about everything else we can get from him, there's still plenty here to make the box totally essential for our collection! (Vocalists, Rock) CD

A beautiful bit of folk-psyche from the late 60s UK scene – recorded for Polydor in 1969, but never issued at the time – now finally getting its first exposure to the world at large! The group have a really easygoing approach – blending fuzzy electric and softer acoustic guitars, slow-stepping rhythms, and some slightly more tripped-out instrumentation – all with vocals that take on a nicely lyrical approach – never too hippy-dippy, but with an evocative quality that has echoes of the ancient. Group members have ties to Band Of Joy and Velvett Fogg – and the set features uncredited work from Peter Frampton, and members of The Herd and East of Eden. Like other Lion reissues, the quality here is top-shelf – full notes, photos, and lots of information on the lost album – presented here with 12 tracks that include "Execution Of The Child", "Rain Day Julep", "Hello Goodbye Victoria Cane", "Hanna Wife Of Thomas Kite", "Harpsichord", "Roses & Ribbons", "Masochists Of Strangulation", and "The Story Of Acorn Rose". CD

For some folks, this might be the purest moment of sonic genius from King Crimson – a record that has this incredible dynamic range, with ultra-low passages followed by soaring highs – all delivered by a group that might well be one of the most technically skilled that Robert Fripp had put together by the time! Fripp himself handles many guitars and devices – alongside drums from Bill Bruford, viola and violin from David Cross, percussion from Jamie Muir, and superb bass and vocals from John Wetton – who really gives the group a focus and soul that balances out he geekier technical moments. Titles include the soaring two-part title track – plus "Easy Money", "Talking Drum", "Book Of Saturday", and "Exiles". LP, Vinyl record album

The last slice of work to be released from the incredible Monks – a group of American servicemen who rocked the German scene in the mid 60s – and have gone onto become the stuff of legend over the years! The group's Polydor recordings have been issued and reissued many times – but this shorter batch of tracks features five tunes recorded at the Top Ten Club in the summer of 1967 – evidently the last work that the group did together before breaking up – with a sound that's every bit as amazing as their famous album, if not more adventurous overall! The Monks' approach is very hard to peg – certainly elements of garage and psych, but with a madness that really makes these guys completely unique – maybe even more so here, as they weren't trying to please any execs at a record company. Titles include "I Need U Shatzi", "Yellow Grass", "Julia", "PO Box 3291", and "I'm Watching You" CD

Delicate dissonance, bruised beauty, and hazy noise pop – all in one of the best rock albums ever made – the amazing first album from the Velvet Underground and Nico! The album's the stuff of legend – and for good reason, too – a surprising slab of vinyl that barely set the world on its ear when first issued back in the mid 60s – yet a record that's gone onto have an influence felt for decades to come – arguably one of the most important rock records of all time. There's a really sinister edge to the record, even when things are sweet – and the range of subject matter and handling here is brilliant – from the dream pop slice of heaven "Sunday Morning", the melodic bitterness of "Femme Fatale", the massive White Light-esque freakout "European Son", and the sublime "Heroin" – quite possibly the inspiration for generations of drug use to come. The whole thing's a classic – with wonderful vocals from both Nico and Lou Reed – and titles include "Venus In Furs", "Run Run Run", "Black Angel's Death Song", "I'll Be Your Mirror", and "All Tomorrow's Parties". LP, Vinyl record album