A long-overdue full length album from Ace Of Cups – a really unusual female group from the Bay Area scene of the late 60s – but one who never hit the heights of their bigger San Francisco contemporaries! The girls have this really great look on the back – kind of flower power, but with a bit more charm – a quality that comes through in the music, with is often more garagey than trippy – but which also has a way of putting forth female vocals and honest ideas that might not flourish this strongly for similar groups until the post-punk years. That approach makes the whole thing a truly timeless collection of tracks – of the sort that maybe resonate more strongly today than they did back in the 60s. Titles include "Music", "Glue", "Taste Of One", "Stones", "Pretty Boy", "Waller Street Blues", "Simplicity", and a great version of "Afro Blue". LP, Vinyl record album

The first-known recordings of the young Aerosmith – pulled from the group's own vaults, and issued here for the first time! The sound of the group is already strongly in place, and you'll know some of these cuts from their first studio album – but the versions here have a quality that's even more raw and urgent, and a sound that's pretty darn mindblowing! The material was all recorded in October of 1971, in the group's Boston home turf – and titles include "Reefer Head Woman", "Movin Out", "Major Barbara", "Dream On", "Mama Kin", "Somebody", and "Walkin The Dog". LP, Vinyl record album

A totally cool bit of French prog from the 70s – served up by a group who definitely have some vocals, but who often seem very content to just focus on their instrumentation – a warmly wonderful blend of guitar, organ, bass, and drums! There's a quality here that's really nice – never too-jamming, nor too concerned with trying to show off the way they can be complex with their instrumentation – and instead, the group are happy to let the sounds gel nicely, often with a slightly gentle vibe – in that laidback way that can make French prog so different than other work on the Euro scene. Titles include "L'Arbre", "La Montre", "Cages En Beton", "Sans Nom", and "Passant De La Nuit". LP, Vinyl record album

Wonderfully fuzzy work from Amanaz – one of the trippiest, headiest groups of the Zamrock scene of the 70s! The guitars here are very full and present – not at a hit you over the head jamming label, but with this rich sonic element that has lots of bassy undercurrents – at a level that makes the album a head-nodding gem all the way through – poised perfectly between some of the more psyche styles of the African scene of the time, and some of the more thoughtful singer-songwriter material. The group have a quality that's surprisingly deep – very soulful, and with a subtle power that comes through strongly – thanks to a mostly-English batch of lyrics (although a few tunes here are in their native Bemba.) No cuts are all-out funky, but all have this great slow-funk sort of charm – and titles include "I Am Very Far", "Sunday Morning", "Khala My Friend", "Green Apple", "Africa", "Making The Scene", "Easy Street", "Big Enough" and "Kale". (Global Grooves, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderful departure for Kevin Ayers – an album that's a lot lighter and more whimsical than his original fame with Soft Machine! The tunes are extremely playful, and often quite catchy – almost a Donovan-esque blend of folksy roots and jazz inflections – but tuned a bit more towards trippier ends, thanks to instrumentation that includes celeste, electronics, flute, oboe, kazoo, cello, organ, and a wide range of different guitars! David Bedford handled arrangements, and other players on the session include some ex-Soft Machine comrades – like Hugh Hopper and Robert Wyatt! Ayers' vocals are produced with a nicely compressed quality that squeezes them in alongside the instrumentation – and titles include "Joy Of A Toy Continued", "The Lady Rachel", "All This Crazy Gift Of Time", "Eleanor's Cake", and "Girl On A Swing". LP, Vinyl record album

A sweet bit of Argentine prog, served up with a slightly jazzy vibe at times – maybe in part because by the end of the 70s, so many groups didn't care as much about the lines in the sand that were being drawn a few years before! The keyboards are definitely proggy – spun out by singer Cesar Pueyrredon with an effortless quality – but grounded a bit more by the guitar work, and some rock solid drums and bass – augmented just slightly by guest tenor on one cut. Titles include "Au Es Tiempo De Sonar", "Vispera", "Preguntas Al Cielo", "Quien Se Acordara", and the long "El Escultor Y La Estatua". LP, Vinyl record album

The amazing first album from Big Star – a set that came out of nowhere, made hardly a ripple on the charts, yet went onto crash in big waves of sound for generations to come! The style here is unlike thing else before – hardly what you'd expect from the group's Memphis roots or Alex Chilton's previous performances – yet the group's music has become a generation-defining sound in the way it blends southern inflections with harder rock influences, and a lean, gritty quality that's arguably in a late 70s space between punk and power pop. Every element is wonderful – guitars that are powerful, but never indulgent – vocals that are moving, but never overly emotive – and a balance between sensitive and searing moments that even The Replacements could never hope to match. A landmark all the way through – with tracks that include "Feel", "Ballad Of El Goodo", "In The Street", "The India Song", "When My Baby's Beside Me", "Give Me Another Chance", "Don't Lie To Me", "Thirteen", "Watch The Sunrise", and "Try Again". LP, Vinyl record album

It's been quite a few years since Bombino's previous record – and in that time, it almost feels as if he's locked himself up somewhere and learned how to be even more amazing on guitar! His sense of sound, tone, and timing is incredible – and the record's one of those Tuareg sets that can easily stand next to Anglo greats from the years of psych and hard rock – but with that special sub-Saharan quality that also makes a player like Bombino so unique – as he spins out long lines of freedom and fuzz over plenty of driving rhythms! Titles include "Darfuq", "Alwane", "Tazidert", "Aitma", Si Chilan", "Mes Amis", "Ayes Sachen", and "Nik Sant Awanha". (Global Grooves, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

It's been quite a few years since Bombino's previous record – and in that time, it almost feels as if he's locked himself up somewhere and learned how to be even more amazing on guitar! His sense of sound, tone, and timing is incredible – and the record's one of those Tuareg sets that can easily stand next to Anglo greats from the years of psych and hard rock – but with that special sub-Saharan quality that also makes a player like Bombino so unique – as he spins out long lines of freedom and fuzz over plenty of driving rhythms! Titles include "Darfuq", "Alwane", "Tazidert", "Aitma", Si Chilan", "Mes Amis", "Ayes Sachen", and "Nik Sant Awanha". (Global Grooves, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

An amazing departure for David Bowie – hardly the kind of record you would expect from his oboe-filled tunes of a few years before – and really the start of the groundbreaking, earthshaking, reinventionist era of his genius! There's a spacious, soaring quality to Space Oddity that's every bit the kind of magical music you might hope for in a set recorded at the close of the 60s – a shift into new modes, new sounds that seem to suck up all the best influences in rock from the previous few years, but fuse it into a new cosmic vision for the next decade. And while others might stumble on cliche with the weight of such a task, Bowie pulls it off brilliantly – mixing his fuzzier feelings with some of his more personal leanings – and showcasing a newly deep sense of songwriting here that's really amazing. Some tunes have the sensitivity of work on Hunky Dory, while others burn with the fire of Man Who Sold The World – all in a balance that never sounds schizophrenic at all. Titles include"Space Oddity", "Memory Of A Free Festival", "God Knows I'm Good", "Cygnet Committee", and "Unwashed & Somewhat Slightly Dazed". LP, Vinyl record album

A lost prog nugget from a group who mix keyboards and woodwinds in a really great way – almost complicated, but with a down to earth quality overall – and one that seems to work especially well with the French language lyrics of the set! The record's one of those obscure French sets from the mid 70s with a sound that almost seems out of time – made far away from the mainstream, without any idea of the punk or disco changes that were taking place elsewhere – and with that more intellectual, more personal approach that often marked records of this nature as both a standout strength, and quality that would keep them from forever getting picked up by bigger labels for global circulation. Yet that balance is what makes the record so great, especially decades later – with titles that include "Divertimento", "Tramontane", "Laure", "Naissance", "Premiers Pas", and "Dernier Village Premieres Neiges". LP, Vinyl record album

A really cool Canadian group from the 60s – an all-native lineup of members from the Tsimshian Nation – but working here in a raw garagey style that's totally great! The drums are lean and powerful, guitar follows suit, and vocals often have a surprisingly charming quality – tuneful, and harmonized with a nice sort of sweetness at times. The group famously recorded on Wisconsin's powerhouse Cuca label, home to some great raw singles back in the day – and this set brings together their rare 45 for that label, plus rare demos and unissued material – in their first-ever full length set, with titles that include "Don't Let It Bother You", "Do Lord", "I Won't Be Around", "The Sun Is Shining", "Ebony Eyes", "You Don't Need Me Anymore", "Don't You Leave Me Behind", "I Shouldn't Have Did What I Done", and "I Need Your Lovin". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the tightest, grooviest albums on the short-lived rock years of the mostly-jazz Mainstream Records label – a treasure trove of tuneful tracks that spin out like some of the best late 60s work by The Zombies or The Left Banke! There's a starkness to the tunes that recalls some of the other Mainstream efforts of the period – although the overall sound is warmer, with great harmonies from two singers, in a way that really opens up the more melodic elements of the tunes, while still keeping some of that psychedelic edge that makes all the Mainstream releases from this time so wonderful. The album has a vibe that's all its down – definitely different than some bigger label effort or a more mainstream Cali production – and the quality of songwriting is superb throughout. Titles include "Seems I've Changed", "No Thanks Mr Mann", "Winner Loser", "Seven North Frederick", "Remembering Sunnybrook", and "Caught In The Rain". LP, Vinyl record album

A key lost chapter in the career of Kevin Godley and Lol Creme – material recorded for the Marmalade label in the years before they burst forth to greater fame in 10CC – all with a very different vibe than the sound of that later group! There's still plenty of the heavenly quality of Godley & Creme material going on here – but with a vibe that's maybe got some of the same post-folk elements as the coolest LA Sunshine pop – almost as if Godley were singing on a Millennium album, but with all the spaced-out, completely sublime approach that Creme would bring to the sessions. Titles include "Cowboys & Indians", "Take Me Back", "Today", "Hot Sun", "Virgin Soldiers", "To Fly Away", "Seeing Things Green", and "Animal Song". LP, Vinyl record album

Some of the trippiest work ever issued by New Zealand's Peter Gutteridge – music that's much more spare and spooky than his work with The Clean and The Chills – and which has a freaky fuzzy quality that's somewhere in a space between Suicide and Spacemen 3! The album was originally only issued on cassette, and has a sound that's perfect for that format – stark and somewhat distorted – with vocals that are nicely muddy, and slip right down in alongside the fuzzy guitar – sometimes joined by other voices, but always with a murky, muddy quality that's totally great – reflective of that excellent late 80s generation who embraced distortion, fuzz, and psych – but took the music to much deeper, darker territory than some of the cleaner bands from a few years before. Titles include "Lonely", "Hang On", "Ocean", "Cause Of You", "Rubout", "Planet Phrom", "Having Fun", "First Instrumental", "Exhibition 2", "Fifty Seven Seconds", and "Chinese Garden". LP, Vinyl record album

A real oddity from George Harrison – a record of abstract electronics, cut right around the same time as his bigger mainstream solo hits! The record is a highly experimental one – a session that has Harrison working with Bernie Krause, and exploring territory that's much more in the late 60s Limelight Records mode than it is that of Apple – which is quite possibly why the label is listed as "Zapple", not "Apple"! Each tune takes up a full side of the album – and builds slowly out of soundshapes and textures, very much in the manner of some of the best work from the academic electronic music centers in the US at the time. And while the album may be a bit loose and unfocused overall, it's actually got a really appealing quality that we love a lot – a sense of free and naive exploration that's pretty great. Titles include "Under The Mersey Wall" and "No Time Or Space". LP, Vinyl record album

To most ears, trumpeter Jon Hassell first burst on to the world through his experiments with Brian Eno on EG Records, or maybe his 80s work on ECM – but here, on his debut for the small avant label Lovely Music, it's clear that Jon's already in complete control of his sound – and is ready to become the kind of performer that would captivate listeners for decades to come! Hassell's horn has that special sort of effect quality on most numbers here – spacey, but never slick – and electrified, but far from any sort of Miles Davis mode – especially considering that the music is full of earthy, organic percussion from Nana Vasconcelos and some other players, who balance out the set's work on Fender Rhodes, Arp, and Serge synthesizer. The spirit of the set is very much in Hassell's classic "fourth world" recordings – and titles include "Toucan Ocean", "Hex", "Blues Nile", "Vernal Equinox", and "Caracas Night September 11, 1975". LP, Vinyl record album

Amazing sounds from Lee Hazlewood – some of his most offbeat, unbridled recordings ever – and that's saying a lot if you've already heard his classics for Mercury, MGM, and Reprise! The package here brings together rare work from Lee's own LHI label – packaged beautifully with a rich set of notes, session details, and some amazing photos that follow in the spirit of the nutty-looking cover image! Hazlewood's voice is sublime throughout – that deeper-than-deep quality that always leaves us breathless – perfect for the sly wit and and "aw shucks" sensibility of the tunes – and also for unlocking the growing adult sensuality that Lee was letting into his work at the time. A few female singers step forth in that great Hazlewood duet mode – Nina Lizell, Suzi Jane Hokom, and Ann Margret – who each sing on a few tracks – but Lee's in the lead on most numbers, and titles include the previously unreleased "I Just Learned To Run" – plus "The Bed", "Sleep In The Grass", "The Night Before", "If It's Monday Morning", "Won't You Tell Your Dreams", "Hey Cowboy", "No Train To Stockholm", "What's More I Don't Need Her", "Trouble Maker", and "Nobody Like You". (Vocalists, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

Totally wonderful work from this overlooked 60s duo – Jon Abdnor and Javonne Braga – a pair who recorded for the very cool underground pop powerhouse Abnak Records, and have this rough-edged quality that really makes the music wonderful all the way through! The style is as groovy and pop psych as you might expect from the image on the cover – but there's a particular sort of execution here that really makes the music stand out – in part a sense of male/female vocal pairing that has all the unique charms of a Lee Hazlewood project, but more rough around the edges – so much so at some times they almost come across like John Doe and Exene singing on early records by X. A tremendous treat throughout – with titles that include "Gift Of Love", "You Don't Care", "How Come", "I Want Some More", "Thursday Morning", "Drums", "Doctor Jon The Medicine Man", and "Truly Truly True". LP, Vinyl record album

A trippier version of Khruangbin than we're used to – but that's maybe no surprise, given that the whole album's a dub version of the Con Todo El Mundo record – with all the best funky currents of that sweet set, and some wilder modes as well! Drums and bass really get a great workout – and the production isn't the usual Jamaican-inspired dub, but a mode that's maybe partly got a David Axelrod quality – as these guys use the instrumental moments to open up into all these dark, moody corners – while still keeping things nicely funky overall. Titles include "With All The World", "Sisters & Brothers", "How I Love", "Four Of Five", "Hasta El Cielo", and "Order Of Operations". Also includes bonus Scientist mixes on a 7" single – "Rules (Scientist dub)" and "Como Te Quiero (Scientist dub)". (Deep Funk, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album