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". LP, Vinyl record album

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New Wave hits Brazil – in case you couldn't tell by the album's op-art cover, and Dusek's sunglassed trendoid image on the front! The album seems to be relatively tongue in cheek – although it's a bit hard to tell if you don't speak the language – and titles include "Rock Da Cachorra", "Barrados No Baile", "Nao Minta Vovo", "Cabelos Negros", and "Enfant Terrible". (Brazil, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

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Man, these guys are really opening up their sound a lot with this release – moving into the heavier, harder rock territory that would bring them big fame in the 70s! The whole thing's a lot more tripped-out than before – none of the sweeter, lyrical modes of the group's earliest hits – and instead, a lot more moody numbers that really brood nicely on heavy basslines, fuzzy guitar, and some arch vocals sung in English throughout, despite the Dutch origins of the band. Why this one didn't rock the UK and US scenes bigger at the time is a mystery – but the record's ripe for rediscovery now, and filled with great cuts that include "The Truth About Arthur", "Who Cares", "Mr Fortune's Wife", "Must I Cry", "Magnificent Magistral", "I've Just Lost Somebody", "Sam & Sue", and "Crystal Heaven". LP, Vinyl record album

A pretty fierce and fantastic album from Golden Earring – one that's very different than you might think if you only know the group from their later hits on radio! The sound here is completely full-on – heavy drums, rumbling bass, and stunning guitar work from George Kooymans – touched with some jazzier elements at times on flute and organ, which links the record a bit to that moment when the UK scene had turned blues inspirations to prog explorations – yet served up by Golden Earring with a much more hard rock approach throughout! Titles include a side-long workout on "Eight Miles High", which takes up all of side two – plus "One Huge Road", "Everyday's Torture", "Landing", and "Song Of A Devil's Servant". LP, Vinyl record album

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A legendary live performance – recorded at the Isle Of Wight Festival in 1970, with long takes of "Freedom", "All Along The Watchtower", "In From The Storm", "Foxy Lady", and "Midnight Lightning". LP, Vinyl record album

Late loose ends from Jimi Hendrix – material unissued during his life, but brought alive again at Electric Lady studios! The core trio features Mitch Mitchell on drums and Billy Cox on bass – but some cuts have Buddy Miles on drums, and Noel Redding on bass. Titles include "Jam 292", "The Drifter's Escape", "Have You Ever Been To Electric Ladyland", "Burning Desire", "Born A Hootchie Kootchie Man", and "The Stars That Play With Laughing Sam's Dice". LP, Vinyl record album

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The classic opening salvo from The Jam! In The City finds the band in prime form right out of the, already blending their love of 60s beat and R&B with fast, infectious energy of first wave punk rock. They stood out from the pack tremendously back in the day, and that uniqueness kept the best of their records from ever aging a day – it's as incredible as ever! Includes "In The City", "I've Changed My Address", "Slow Down", "I Got In Time", "Away From The Numbers", their mod punk riff on Neal Hefti's "Batman Theme", "In The City", "Sounds From The Street", "Non-Stop Dancing", "Time For Truth" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

A great later record by The Jam – a little bit of a step back into a rawer sound than they're somewhat slick sounding Setting Sons from the year before – but it's ultimately a pretty big creative step! While the sound a little more raw than on Setting Sons, The Jam is diversely inspired here as ever – really kind of achieving a deft balance between the feral energy of their earliest records and the moody mod melodicism of their more manicured work. Includes a couple of their greatest songs, too! Titles include "Pretty Green","Monday", "But I'm Different Now", the all time greats "Start" and "That's Entertainment", "Scrape Away", "Dream Time", Man In The Corner Shop" and "Music For The Last Couple". LP, Vinyl record album

A seminal session from 70s French synth maestro Jean-Michel Jarre – his 8-part "Equinoxe" suite, a great bit of electronics that was almost France's answer to Kraftwerk at the time! Jarre's style is a bit warmer and more focused on the melody – and the range of keyboards and synthesizers used on the album create a rich tapestry of sound that almost has a soundtrack-y feel at the best moments. LP, Vinyl record album

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Very experimental work from this loose Canadian collective of the late 60s – but a set that's filled with some surprisingly cool touches too! The album's almost more of a "happening" in the studio at times – with free-flowing energy between jazz musicians, rockers, poets, electronocists, and more experimentally sonic scientists – shifting styles quickly from track to track, but occasionally hitting some straighter, funkier moments that are totally great – almost a more tripped-out version of some of the French electronique work we love so much from the 60s – and a record that's mindblowingly beautiful in its sense of freedom and creativity. The whole thing's a sonic trip through incredibly fresh territory – never too overindulgent, and beautifully balanced both in sound and execution. Titles include "Ode A L'Affaire", "J'Ai Perdue 15 Cents Dans Le Nez Froid", "Finale", "Viens Danser Le OK La", "Agnus Dei", "Desafinado", "She's Leaving Home", and "Intermezzo". LP, Vinyl record album

A crossover classic from Level 42 – a set that catapulted the soulful British group into international stardom! The tunes are catchy, filled with electro bits, and produced with some great bubbling touches from Wally Badarou – whose hand in the studio really keeps things from ever getting too cheesy, despite the commercial fame of the set. There's a balance here that's hard to describe, but it's one that's allowed the record to hold up well over the years – almost waiting to be rediscovered by a younger generation who'd appreciate whole other aspects in the music. Titles include "World Machine", "Physical Presence", "It's Not The Same For Us", "Lying Still", "Coup D'Etat", "Dream Crazy", and "Good Man In A Storm". (Soul, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

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Filled with those soulful-oriented grooves that make the band sound a lot better to our ears than most other rock acts from the time. Titles include "Man Woman Child", "Reincarnate Nation", "Be Here Now", "White Buffalo", "Going Down Town", and "Mighty Waters". LP, Vinyl record album

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Great work from Maneige – a French Canadian group who work in an instrumental mode that's partly jazz, and partly prog – but very much their own sort of vibe! The group had already cut some other excellent records before this one, and they're razor-sharp throughout – tight, but never in any sort of smooth fusion way – in part because the music has a great sense of humanity, which comes especially from the flute and alto work of Alain Bergeron, whose solos really hang in the special space that the group created. There's both a drummer and percussionist on the set – next to piano, guitars, and bass – and those added elements really help give the music an organic quality, and offset the electric instrumentation. Titles include "Bagdad", "Celebration", "La Noce", "Miro Vibro", "Troizix", and "L'Envol Des Singes Latins". LP, Vinyl record album

Maneige maybe have a bit more fusion here than on their earliest albums, but they still also offer up plenty of instrumental rock elements as well – tight work from all the members of the group, often focused in a rhythmic way, and with breakout solos on guitar and alto sax! Some of the more sensitive qualities of their first few records are traded in for moments that are more compact, and really show the evolution of the members as musicians – yet the group also stay true to their sound by letting a few nice mellow moments flow into the mix as well. Titles include "Mambo Chant", "Douce Amere", "Time Square", "11 Julliet", "Les Folleries", "La Fin De L'Histoire", and "Le Gai Marvin". LP, Vinyl record album

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Quite possibly the best of the solo Phil Manzanera projects – a wonderfully tight album that's surprisingly soulful and funky at times! Phil gets some great studio help from Eno and Godley & Creme – the latter two of who can really be felt on the record's well-penned lyrical numbers – sung by Simon Ainley with these great compressed vocals! LP, Vinyl record album

The title certainly gets it right – as the album definitely brings a bit of jazz into the mix for the great John Mayall – given that the set features strong work from funky jazz heavyweights Blue Mitchell on trumpet and Freddy Robinson on guitar! Both are musicians that we love for their late 60s records on their own, and they work mighty nicely here with Mayall in a live setting – alongside heavy saxes from Clifford Solomon, and lots of great guitar, harmonica, and piano from John Mayall himself! The style is still more blues than jazz, but definitely shows an expanding style past the more slavish roots of Mayall's early years – especially reflecting his new interaction with the American scene after the breakup of the Blues Breakers. The first side of the album features a live set from Boston – and includes "Country Road", "Mess Around", "Good Time Boogie", and "Change Your Ways" – side two is from New York shows, and features three longish tracks – "Dry Throat", "Exercise In C Major", and "Got To Be This Way". LP, Vinyl record album

Bill Cosby introduces this hip little live set from the John Mayall group – which is fitting, as there's definitely a bit of an LA groove on the set! Mayall's still in very bluesy territory, but he also gets some great soul jazz support too – from players who include Charles Owens on flute and soprano sax, Ernie Watts on tenor, and even the great Fred Jackson on baritone! Keef Hartley adds in some mighty heavy drums, but the group's further expanded by even more American players too – including Blue Mitchell on trumpet and Freddie Robinson on guitar – both players who definitely leave their mark on the set. There's some great electric piano too – and titles include the classic "Keep Our Country Green" – plus "Christmas 71", "Things Go Wrong", "Do It", "Moving On", "Red Sky", "Reasons", "High Pressure Living", and "Worried Mind". LP, Vinyl record album

An album that definitely lives up to its title – as the set is definitely a turning point in the career of John Mayall, and the debut of brand new lineup that helped move his music past a the straighter sound of American blues! There's still plenty of blues at the core – and great vocals and harmonica from the leader – but the lineup also features no drums at all, which gives very open space to freeplay between the acoustic guitar of Jon Mark, the bass of Steve Thompson, and the wicked work of Johnny Almond on tenor, alto, and flute! The jazzy elements that Almond brings to the music are wonderful – and really open up the sound, and showcase a whole new side of Mayall's talents too – as the group here play live at the Fillmore East, on titles that include "The Laws Must Change", "California", "I'm Gonna Fight For You JB", "Room To Move", and "Saw Mill Gulch Road". LP, Vinyl record album

Definitely a USA union from John Mayall – given that he's got great American work here from Harvey Mandel on guitar and Don Sugarcane Harris on violin! LP, Vinyl record album

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Lots of eerie electronics! LP, Vinyl record album

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Ronnie James Dio's final album fronting Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow – and one of the better albums from that 70s hard rock/proto metal behemoth! It's got 2 tracks per side, each with a shorter song and a more epic rocker – lumbering, catchy, and heavy rock that's a helluva lot of fun all these years later! Dio's at his 70s best here, too, before going all out with the sword-wielding macabre sagas, but the Rock God anthems were in full force with Rainbow. Includes "Lady Of The Lake", "Gates Of Babylon" The Shed (Subtle)" and "Rainbow Eyes". LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include "Kill The King", "Man On The Silver Mountain", "Starstruck", "Catch The Rainbow", "Mistreated", and "Sixteenth Century Greensleeves". LP, Vinyl record album

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A great German set from the 60s – nice and raw, almost garagey, but also really trying for a Brit vibe as well! Titles include "Misconception", "Nobody Cares About Me", "I'm On The Outside Looking In", "Days", "Oxford Street 43", and "I'm Ready For The Show". LP, Vinyl record album

Stark, simple early work from Siouxsie & The Banshees – a set recorded when the punk scene that birthed them was only a few years old – but which already has them seeking out a great new sound of their own! Some of the songs here have a short, sharp approach – but others have a slower, spookier vibe – a bit like the same shift that John Lydon took when he formed Pil after the Sex Pistols – but with an obviously different pitch! Production is relatively simple and straightforward – leaving most of the energy to come from the fantastic guitars and Siouxsie's lead – on titles that include "Jigsaw Feeling", "Pure", "Carcass", "Helter Skelter", "Mirage", "Nicotine Stain", "Metal Postcard", and "Suburban Relapse". LP, Vinyl record album

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All the classics – including "Big Bottom", "Sex Farm", "Stonehenge", "Listen To The Flower People", and "Hell Hole". (Soundtracks, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

Say what you want, we love this album! When it came out, we were such big Jam fans that we could never forgive Paul Weller – but now, nearly 20 years later, we're stunned at how great some of the soul songs on the album are. Sure, you've got to throw away about half the tracks – because they're silly early 80s bad funk numbers – but the remaining half is way more soulful than you'd remember, with a sweet, sincere, compressed sound that's made all the better by jazzy touches from Mick Talbot and Steve White. Includes the classics "My Ever Changing Moods", "You're The Best Thing", "Blue Cafe", "Paris Match", and "Dropping Bombs On The White House". This is the original UK version of the album issued in the US as My Ever Changing Moods. (Rock, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

Pure greatness from post-Jam Paul Weller – still in a very classic sort of jazzy soul mode here in the early days of Style Council! Titles include "Money Go Round", "Long Hot Summer", "Speak Like A Child", "Headstart For Happiness", and "The Paris Match". (Rock, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible swan song from Talk Talk – a group that nobody would have guessed would go in this direction from the early years of their catchy crossover new romantic pop! The sound here is something else entirely – a fully-formed extension of the ideas they'd been exploring on Spirit Of Eden – in these beautiful soundscapes guided by Mark Hollis and the rest of the group – and filled in with work from a range of jazz and string players, including the legendary Brit jazz trumpeter Henry Lowther! There's a sense of denseness and texture that really marks the music – and a lot more warmth than similar 80s projects that might have come from 4AD, Factory, or ZTT – instead almost a "new subtlety" that had a huge influence on so many other groups to come. Tracks include "Myrrhman", "Ascension Day", "After The Flood", "Taphead", "New Grass", and "Runeii". LP, Vinyl record album

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A brilliant debut from Bram Tchaikovsky – a power pop genius, and one who may not be that well remembered these days – but who was equally grabbed up by folks who drinking deep of late 70s sounds by artists like Elvis Costello, Marshall Crenshaw, and The Jam! There's a bit of Paul Weller in Bram's vocal style – but that might just come from the way he goes deeper than some of his contemporaries in range, all while keeping pace with the strong fast-riffing sound of his songs – which are almost always extra-catchy numbers! Titles include "Robber", "Lonely Danger", "Turn On The Light", "Sarah Smiles", "I'm The One That's Leaving", "Girl Of My Dreams", and "Bloodline". LP, Vinyl record album