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Four lost albums from David Blue – a really compelling singer/songwriter, ripe for rediscovery! First up is These 23 Days In September, recorded for Reprise – a really moody little record from David Blue – a folksy singer who's got a style that definitely lives up to the melancholy promise of his name! Blue's definitely an artist with a difference – working in the familiar mode of vocals and acoustic guitar, but with an edge and distinctness that really sets him apart from the folkies of a few year before – that sense of different that really set apart a new wave of contemporaries, like Leonard Cohen, Fred Neill, or Tom Rapp. Titles include "These 23 Days In September", "The Sailor's Lament", "Scales For A Window Thief", "You Will Come Back Again", "Slow & Easy", and "The Grand Hotel". Stories is an overlooked early set on Asylum – the kind of really special singer/songwriter material that really set the label apart at the start of the 70s! David Blue has this compelling vocal style that's moody, but down to earth – inflected here and there with guitar contributions from Ry Cooder, who's understated, but really brings out some special qualities in the tunes. Jack Nitzsche adds in some light strings at points – but overall, things are pretty spare and personal – and titles include "Looking For A Friend", "Another One Like Me", "Sister Rose", "The Blues", "Come On John", "Marianne", and "Fire In The Morning". Nice Baby & The Angel shows David Blue really starting to get some star power in his mix – a fuller set, produced by Graham Nash – with work from Nash on guitar, plus more guitar from Dave Mason and David Lindley – in a nice mix of roots elements, but which never overwhelm that unique sense of songwriting and vocals that set David Blue apart from the rest. Titles include "Darlin Jenny", "Troubadour Song", "Train To Anaheim", "True To You", "On Sunday Any Sunday", and "Outlaw Man". On the cover of Cupid's Arrow, David Blue might look a bit cheesy, what with his open shirt and all – but he's definitely the real deal, and very down to earth in his singer/songwriter approach – with a quality that's only underscored by the lineup on the set – a group that features Levon Helm on drums, Jesse Ed Davis on guitar, David Lindley on mandolin and slide, and Barry Goldberg on piano and organ, and also handling production of the album too. The shift from David's roots is a bit like that taken by other contemporaries who once started in more folksy territory, then found a new way to grow in the west coast singer/songwriter scene – and that means that things are more electrified, but still quite far from mainstream music – with original tunes from Blue throughout, and titles that include "I Feel Bad", "Maria Maria", "Primeval Tune", She's Got You", "Tom's Song", and "Run Run Run". CD

An amazing second chapter for The Music Machine – working here with the last name of leader Sean Bonniwell in their name – in a groove that's even weirder and wilder than before! The group take on an odd new sound here – still the heady brew of fuzz and Hammond on their original garagey recordings from LA – but with a mode that also really lets Bonniwell's offbeat character come to the forefront – both in the odd lyrics, and his stark presentation in the lead – a Sunset Strip sense of personality that's almost up there with Kim Fowley at times! The record's definitely one of the weirder, more edgey sides cut for Warner Brothers in the mid 60s – and titles include "Astrologically Incompatible", "Double Yellow Line", "The Trap", "Soul Love", "Bottom Of The Soul", "Me Myself & I", and "The Eagle Never Hunts The Fly". CD features an insane 49 tracks in all – the full 14 track album, other Warner singles, and demos and rare material that includes solo tracks by Sean Bonniwell too! CD

The brilliant consummation of Bowie's late 70s years in Berlin – a record that showed he could take the experiments in sound he was crafting with Brian Eno, and turn them back into the kind of creepily catchy rock tunes that first made him a legend! Eno's help on the record is still quite strong – heard very well in the record's use of odd electronics and exotic themes – of a sort that Eno would later explore on his own with David Byrne. But the real charm here is pure Bowie – with an unabashed flair for a dramatic lyric, a well-chosen use of a heavier guitar, and a sense of personality and poise that makes the record one of his most unified ever! Titles include "Red Sails", "Look Back In Anger", "Repetition", "Boys Keep Swinging", "Red Money", "Yassassin", and "DJ". LP, Vinyl record album

The brilliant consummation of Bowie's late 70s years in Berlin – a record that showed he could take the experiments in sound he was crafting with Brian Eno, and turn them back into the kind of creepily catchy rock tunes that first made him a legend! Eno's help on the record is still quite strong – heard very well in the record's use of odd electronics and exotic themes – of a sort that Eno would later explore on his own with David Byrne. But the real charm here is pure Bowie – with an unabashed flair for a dramatic lyric, a well-chosen use of a heavier guitar, and a sense of personality and poise that makes the record one of his most unified ever! Titles include "Red Sails", "Look Back In Anger", "Repetition", "Boys Keep Swinging", "Red Money", "Yassassin", and "DJ". LP, Vinyl record album

A key blend of two chapters in David Bowie's career – his guitar-heavy groove with the Spiders From Mars, and his 60s roots in mod London! The tracks here all date from the mid 60s, and are Bowie's homage to that period in his life – but they're all played with a glammish 70s sensibility, and some definite Ziggy Stardust elements in the way the guitars come into the mix. Given Bowie's rise as a key songwriter of his time, the step back to an album of all covers is a surprising, but genius move – and the execution of the tunes here comes off brilliantly – with plenty of personal spirit that keeps them from being simple rehashes of hits! Tracks include "See Emily Play", "Friday On My Mind", "I Can't Explain", "Everything's Alright", "Don't Bring Me Down", "Shapes Of Things", and "Here Comes The Night". LP, Vinyl record album

A key blend of two chapters in David Bowie's career – his guitar-heavy groove with the Spiders From Mars, and his 60s roots in mod London! The tracks here all date from the mid 60s, and are Bowie's homage to that period in his life – but they're all played with a glammish 70s sensibility, and some definite Ziggy Stardust elements in the way the guitars come into the mix. Given Bowie's rise as a key songwriter of his time, the step back to an album of all covers is a surprising, but genius move – and the execution of the tunes here comes off brilliantly – with plenty of personal spirit that keeps them from being simple rehashes of hits! Tracks include "See Emily Play", "Friday On My Mind", "I Can't Explain", "Everything's Alright", "Don't Bring Me Down", "Shapes Of Things", and "Here Comes The Night". 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

One of those 70s records that has everything going for it, but somehow never got a chance to get off the mark – well-written and catchy tunes, a tight approach to production that's also somehow fresh, and a sense of personality that marks this second set by the band to be one where they're really hitting their stride! The record's of the AOR generation, but it's also got a sense of individuality that really shines through – never too polished, but also not an indie effort as well – and some nice echoes of the kind of cuts that would have peaked on British radio a few years before. Titles include "Confident Man", "Coaltown", "As A Lover I'm A Loser", "Alone Tonight", "Good To Me", "Free & Easy", and "Faith In The Family". CD

A surprisingly wonderful solo album from Jack Bruce – one that's got a tighter approach to the songwriting, and done in a strange jazz-rock-folk style that at times recalls the early work of Roy Wood, or some of the later work of Tim Hardin. The album's got a strangely personal feel – as Bruce stretches himself a bit more on the lyrics, and goes for a few passages that are more intimate than one might expect from other work. The result is possibly his most cohesive album overall, and a real treat to anyone with ears for a solid jazz rock outing! Titles include "Folk Song", "Morning Story", "There's A Forest", "Can You Follow", "Victoria Sage", "Letter Of Thanks", and "Post War". LP, Vinyl record album

An amazing little record from Joe Byrd – an artist with roots in serious music, but who's serving things up here with a wild hippie aesthetic that makes the whole thing come across more like a "happening" than the usual sort of studio album – but in ways that also echo an earlier generation of Americanist composition too. The process of the record mimics some of Byrd's famous work in New York – and has a very collaborative feel overall, with elements of electronics, acoustics, and vocals coming together beautifully! There's some great tabla, harpsichord, moog, and organ on the record – plus more serious woodwinds and brass – and vocals from Victoria Bond, Susan De Lange, Christie Thompson, and Ernie Anderson – plus Joe himself. Titles include "Kalyani", "Moonsong Pelog", "You Can't Ever Come Down", "Gospel Music", "Nightmare Train", "Leisure World", and "The Elephant At The Door". CD

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

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

A strong 80s set from Gene Clark – with guest vocals from Chris Hillman and Thomas Jefferson Kaye – and titles that include "Something About You Baby", "Rain Song", "Made For Love", "Feel A Whole Lot Better", and "Vanessa". LP, Vinyl record album

Sleazy, greasy early 80s trash rock from the one-and-only Cramps – live at New York's Peppermint Lounge! Includes Cramps classics "You Got Good Taste", "I Ain't Nothin But A Gorehound", "Beautiful Gardens" and more, plus that vicious Cramps take on "She Said" by hillbilly trash rock progenitor Hasil Adkins, "Faster Pussycat" and more. Lux sounds lucid as he ever does one second and like he's about the choke death seconds later, which is The Cramps personified, right? LP, Vinyl record album

One of the great lost groups of the UK scene of the 60s – not lost to UK audiences, or to hipsters over the generations – but still an act that never made the impact on these shores that they should! The Creation are step in step right up there with early material by The Who or Small Faces – and share a similar groundbreaking re-fusion of American roots into a new London groove – all with searing guitars, clever wordplay, and a cutting-edge spirit that may well have kept them off our charts – but which makes them so great to discover all these many years later. You might have caught a few of their songs over the years – thanks to soundtrack placement from directors like Wes Anderson, or covers by many of their bigger fans. This 2CD set features 46 tracks in all, with remastering overseen by original producer Shel Talmy – and the set includes early sides by The Mark Four, some alternate takes, and even new mixes – plus an 80 page hardcover book with scores of photos, other images, session and discographical details, and a new essay too. CD

One of the headier groups in the Mainstream Records psychedelic scene of the late 60s – and that's saying a lot, considering the company the act were keeping on the label! December's Children features both a male and female vocalist, each of whom sing a bit solo, but also come together in occasionally majestic ways – a bit like the mode of Jefferson Airplane at times, but with a lot more complexity. Styles range from funky blues rock to gentler, folksier modes – and although the instrumentation is conventional for a rock combo, the group manage to get a lot of unusual sounds out of what they have on hand. Titles include "Afternoon", "Hide The Water", "Sweet Talkin Woman", "Slow It Down", "Livin Way Too Fast", and "Back Road Rider". LP, Vinyl record album

Darkly beautiful sounds from the duo of Don & Stevie Gere – a husband and wife who work here with a style that's folksy, but a bit spooky too – possibly due to the fact that the music within was recorded in their California home, and never issued for years! There's a deeply personal feel to the songs here – almost like we're peeking in on the intimacy of the couple, but as they try to put together a message to reach outside of their home too – themes of their own love mixed with greater societal issues – later taken up as some of the songs were reworked by other artists like David Gates, Curt Boettcher, and Waddy Wachtel. Yet there's an innocence to these original recordings that's really mindblowing – rescued from oblivion on aging acetates, and represented here on cuts that include "Sweet Sugar", "Keep An Eye On You", "Another Blue Day", "What Do You Think Of Me", "Kindly", and "Tell Me Now". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the great, lost, under-discovered albums on Atlantic from the late 60s – the little-circulated debut of singer Scott Fagan – a very unusual talent who mixes soulful currents with a very personal singer-songwriter approach! Scott's sound is never too polished – he's certainly not trying to be a blue-eyed soul act here – but the music has these currents of organ, electric bass, and occasional groovy rhythms that make for a very compelling counterpoint to his raspy, island-bred vocals. All tunes are originals by Scott – and arrangements are by Horace Ott on most numbers, which might account for the soulful vibe. The album is completely unique – one of those sets that, if you dig it, you'll never find anything to match it – and titles include "In My Head", "South Atlantic Blues", "Crying", "Nothing But Love", "Tenement Hall", "Crystal Ball", and "In Your Hands". LP, Vinyl record album

A long-forgotten effort from the Burritos – recorded two years after the death of Gram Parsons, and a great set overall! The set features vocals from Joel Scott Hill, Gib Gilbeau, and Gene Parsons – and titles include "Easy To Get On", "Wind And Rain", "Dim Lights, Thick Smoke","You Left The Water Running", "Hot Burrito #3", and more. LP, Vinyl record album

A true late 60s rock masterpiece – and like albums by Love and The Velvet Underground, a set that barely made a mainstream impact at the time – but which has gone on to be the stuff of influence and legend over the decades! The album's the first from Gram Parsons and the group – one of only two they would cut together – and the whole thing is a perfect blend of rough-edged rock and country influences rising up from the LA scene – all those glimmers of brilliance that Parsons had brought to the Byrds and other projects, maybe given their full flowering here in a mode that's unabashed about its country music influences – maybe even more so than some of Gram's later solo work. Sneeky Pete Kleinow's steel guitar really adds a lot – but so does the presence of Chris Hillman on guitar and mandolin, and Chris Ethridge on bass and piano. Titles include the brilliant "Sin City" – a track we'll love until we die – plus "Christine's Tune", "Do Right Woman", "Dark End Of The Street", "My Uncle", "Wheels", "Juanita", "Hot Burrito No 1", "Hot Burrito No 2", "Do You Know How It Feels", and "Hippy Boy". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most fully-formed albums from The Fugs – still quite hippy dippy, but with a focus that's sometimes missing in their other work! And despite the somewhat major label placement of the set, there's arguably even more power here than on the group's earlier indie sides – thanks to strong use of the best elements that make up the tunes. There's still a great mix of styles going on – from Buddist chanting, to sing-song poetry, to some countrified rock – and the album's got enough room for playful detours, but always snaps back into some stronger song-based modes. Allen Ginsberg and Gregory Corso both make guest appearances, and titles include "Exorcising The Evil Spirits From The Pentagon October 21, 1967", "War Song", "Dover Beach", "Turn On/Tune In/Drop Out", "Wet Dream", "Hare Krishna", and "Aphrodite Mass". LP, Vinyl record album

A rock/soul outing from Gale Force – a group comprised of brothers Len and Ken Gale, hence the name! The set's an odd one – as it was produced by Wayne Henderson during the height of his glory days at Fantasy, and features keyboards by Bobby Lyle – so you'd guess that it would have some sort of a jazz funk component. But overall, it's a pretty strict rock outing – although not without some soulful charms – as the brothers seem to pick up the Fantasy Records groove where Creedence left off – going for compressed and rhythmic tunes that almost have a Steve Miller style at times. Titles include "Reach On Out", "I Was Made To Love Her", "Amourena", "Turn On The Blue Lights", and "Let My Love In". LP, Vinyl record album

An album we come back to more and more over the years – a bit more subtle than some of the other Gabriel-era Genesis records, but in a really great way! You'll not get any overly-heavy concepts here, yet the album still retains all the instrumental complexity the group was getting so great at – nicely subtle at times, a bit more expanded at others – and with a balance of bigger songs and more personal moments that hints at the direction the group would take after Peter Gabriel. Instrumentation is superb, especially the keyboards – and titles include "Aisle Of Plenty", "Firth Of Fifth", "Dancing With The Moonlit Knight", "I Know What I Like", "Battle Of Epping Forest", "The Cinema Show", and "More Fool Me" – the last of which was a key early vocal moment for Phil Collins. LP, Vinyl record album

A really great record from French rocker Johnny Hallyday – a great artist who's really letting his style open up here – recording in London, and using some modes that are a bit funky at times, and also touched with some elements that were coming out of the LA scene at the start of the 70s too! Arrangements are mostly by Mickey Jones and Tommy Brown, who'd done some excellent work with Hallyday on earlier records – and the music is kind of a post-Muscle Shoals/Memphis sound, with lots of soulful piano, bubbling organ riffs, riffing guitar, and backings that are generally more in the soul/rock camp than in Hallyday's earlier pop rock style – all of which seems to really bring out some great qualities in Johnny's vocals too! Titles include "La Joi", "L'Autre Motif", "Flagrant Delit", "Fils De Personne", and "Fille De La Nuit". 2LP set features a full bonus record of unissued material from the original sessions – lots of alternate takes, and the unissued tunes "Waterloo" and "Reste". (French, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

A really great record from French rocker Johnny Hallyday – a great artist who's really letting his style open up here – recording in London, and using some modes that are a bit funky at times, and also touched with some elements that were coming out of the LA scene at the start of the 70s too! Arrangements are mostly by Mickey Jones and Tommy Brown, who'd done some excellent work with Hallyday on earlier records – and the music is kind of a post-Muscle Shoals/Memphis sound, with lots of soulful piano, bubbling organ riffs, riffing guitar, and backings that are generally more in the soul/rock camp than in Hallyday's earlier pop rock style – all of which seems to really bring out some great qualities in Johnny's vocals too! Titles include "La Joi", "L'Autre Motif", "Flagrant Delit", "Fils De Personne", and "Fille De La Nuit". This totally cool package is filled with great material – a CD and LP version of the original album, then a bonus CD and LP that features a full bonus record of unissued material from the original sessions – lots of alternate takes, and the unissued tunes "Waterloo" and "Reste". Also features a 3rd CD, with a full Paris live show from September of 1971 – and a 4th CD that features another French live show from August of 1971. Also includes a DVD with an interview with Philippe Labro too. Plus, the whole thing comes in a heavy book-style package with a huge 48 page booklet of images and notes! (French, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

French rocker Johnny Hallyday hits the 70s, with a sound and style that's a bit funky, and a bit touched by some of the crossover American trends coming out of the LA rock scene. This one's arranged mostly by Mickey Jones and Tommy Brown, who'd done some excellent work with Hallyday on earlier records – and the music is kind of a post-Muscle Shoals/Memphis sound, with lots of honky tonk piano, bubbling organ riffs, and backings that are generally more in the soul/rock camp than in Hallyday's earlier pop rock style. Titles include "La Joi", "L'Autre Motif", "Flagrant Delit", "Fils De Personne", and "Fille De La Nuit". (French, Rock) CD

A seminal bit of Japanese rock from the early 70s – performed by a group that included Haruomi Hosono, and who has a style that borrows from the best of the LA scene of the late 60s! The tunes are extremely catchy – done in a folksy style that has compressed guitars and spacious production that evoke bits of The Byrds, Graham Parsons, Beau Brummels, late Association, and some of our other favorite work from those magical years. Lyrics are all in Japanese, but sung in a simple and compelling style that somehow makes you forget that fact! LP, Vinyl record album

A brilliant little set from Keef Hartley – a blend of jazz, blues, and rock that's really tremendous – quite different than other efforts of its sort at the time, with a gritty edge that really makes the record stand up strongly over the years! Keef's on drums, and has a great way of rumbling up the bottom of the tunes – a feature that's always made his records a favorite of beatheads – and vocals here are from Miller Anderson, who definitely has a touch of Eric Burdon in his approach. Other instrumentation includes organ, harpsichord, and some wickedly fuzzy guitar – plus occasional brass from a section that includes Harry Beckett and Henry Lowther, the latter of whom did arrangements. Titles include "Born To Die", "Just To Cry", "Think It Over/Too Much To Take", "Just To Cry", "Leavin Trunk", and "Sinnin For You". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the rarest Lee Hazlewood albums ever – a mid 70s set recorded for Polydor in Sweden, and one that represents a really unique chapter in Lee's career overseas! At times, the album's got a very strong country feel – more so than even other Hazlewood records, which always had a bit of twang – yet at other points, the record moves into more familiar vocal work – recalling some of the modes that Lee had laid down on his best work of the late 60s. Not all songs are originals, but Lee definitely makes all the music his own – and the arrangements by David Whitaker and Lars Samuelson move around in good ways to match the spirit of Hazlewood's mood on each tune. This reissue features some really great notes – filled with the kind of personal recollections that make Lee's life seem like it was always a blast to live – and titles include "The Rising Star", "Come On Home To Me", "It's For My Dad", "Paris Bells", "Hello Saturday Morning", "Wait Till Next Year", "LA Lady", "I've Got To Be Moving", "Mother Country Music", and a great version of "It Was A Very Good Year". (Vocalists, Rock) CD

Some of our favorite work ever from the mighty Lee Hazlewood – material recorded under his own name for Reprise Records – during a stretch when he was also producing for the label with Nancy Sinatra and Dean Martin! The 2CD set features 3 full albums, plus great bonus tracks too – and the assembled lot is as great of a tribute to Hazlewood's genius as we've ever seen! First up is The NSVIPs – a set that follows up the same sort of "story song" format that Lee laid down on his wonderful Trouble album for Mercury – but done here with themes that are a bit hipper, and more wry – in keeping with his Reprise persona. Next is Friday's Child, which has some of Hazlewood's most beautifully-penned tunes – tracks that mix the whimsy of his bigger hits with some great darker elements. Last up is the amazing Love & Other Crimes – one of our favorite albums of the 60s, magically recorded in Paris with a very unique sound – and a style that's a bit different than some of Hazlewood's other records. Titles include "First Street Blues", "I Had A Friend", "Everybody Calls Me Something", "Me & Charlie", "A Real Live Fool", "Hutchinson Jail", "By The Way", "Houston", "Morning Dew", "The House Song", "Love & Other Crimes", "Pour Man", and "Wait & See". Bonus tracks are great too – and include Hazlewood tracks "Ode To Billie Joe", "Rainbow Woman", "I Am You Are", and "Charlie Bill Nelson" – plus other gems that include "Just Bluesin" and "Houston" by Sanford Clark, "A Stranger In Town" by The Vanguards, "The Whisk" by The Whisk Kids, "Zapata" by Jack Nitzsche, "What Are We Gonna Do In 64" by The Wildcats, "Our Man Flint" by The Ring A Dings, and "This Town" by Duane Eddy. 55 tracks in all. (Vocalists, Rock) CD

Great experimental work from Holger Hiller – a set that was issued on the important German new wave label Ata Tak, but which was maybe even more revolutionary than most other records on the imprint at the time! Hiller bridges so many different worlds here – earlier German electronic experimentation at an academic level, some of the spacier sounds of the prog generation, and the really creative exploration of earlier ideas in a more personal level that marked the new wave of the post-punk years – using some elements here that would be right at home on a cold wave recording, but with modes that are sometimes more playful, and almost in territory that Holger Czukay would explore on some of his solo work of the decade. The mix of keyboards, vocals, and analog elements is great – and titles include "Jonny", "Hosen Die Nicht Aneinander Passen", "Mutter Der Frohlichkeit", "Das Feuer", "Ein Hoch Auf Das Bugeln", and "Budapest Bukarest". CD

Great experimental work from Holger Hiller – a set that was issued on the important German new wave label Ata Tak, but which was maybe even more revolutionary than most other records on the imprint at the time! Hiller bridges so many different worlds here – earlier German electronic experimentation at an academic level, some of the spacier sounds of the prog generation, and the really creative exploration of earlier ideas in a more personal level that marked the new wave of the post-punk years – using some elements here that would be right at home on a cold wave recording, but with modes that are sometimes more playful, and almost in territory that Holger Czukay would explore on some of his solo work of the decade. The mix of keyboards, vocals, and analog elements is great – and titles include "Jonny", "Hosen Die Nicht Aneinander Passen", "Mutter Der Frohlichkeit", "Das Feuer", "Ein Hoch Auf Das Bugeln", and "Budapest Bukarest". LP, Vinyl record album

A nicely focused little collection on the great Ferlin Husky – one that brings together some of his more upbeat tunes from the early generation of rock and roll – although the music is still pretty darn country overall! Or rather, hillbilly – said in the most respectful way of the time – as the cuts often have some bumping basslines that are clearly borrowed a bit from rockabilly, and have that wonderfully full Capitol Records production style of the late 50s – which can illuminate even a casual moment in a tune, and make Ferlin's wit and personality really come through in the vocals! The CD's one of the best collections we've ever seen to focus on this side of Husky's great, and overlooked talent – and titles include "I Feel Better All Over", "Slow Down Brother", "Cross Eyed Gal From The Ozarks", "Detour", "Prize Possession", "Black Sheep", "Eli The Camel", "Excuse Me Stranger", "Wang Dang Doo", "I Will", and "Muki Ruki". (Folk/Country, Rock) CD

One of the wildest records of the early 70s – and it's still pretty darn hard to argue with the power of this one – even if the meddling of the producers are nearly as legendary as the album itself! There's still such a manic energy the original release mix – one that clearly inspired, if not altogether gave birth to the punk scene – and make the album one of those quintessential examples of great art being made under compromising circumstances. Fierceness personified! Includes classics like "Search & Destroy", "Death Trip", "Gimme Danger", "Your Pretty Face Is Going To Hell (aka Hard To Beat)", "Raw Power", "Shake Appeal", and "Death Trip". LP, Vinyl record album

An incredibly ambitious record – despite the fact that it was recorded in a tiny home studio! Ithaca are basically the same group who recorded the Agincourt album a few years before – and like that one, this set is awash in some of the best elements from bigger progressive groups of the time – filtered down into much leaner, more personal levels of presentation. The tunes are all longish, and build with a gently layered blend of guitars, piano, organ, mandolin, flute, and recorder – plus some especially cool tape effects, which are used to electrify a few moments, and create some subtle sonic intensity. There's also a beautiful female voice on the record – floating through the tunes with an eerie feel – and the overall sound is almost a folksy take on Pink Floyd – with great acoustic and electric elements slowly simmering together. Titles include "Journey", "Feelings", "Dreams", "Times", and "Questions". CD also features 3 bonus tracks – and a well-done set of notes! CD