The debut album from Meiko Kaji – an artist most folks knew first as an actress, but whose voice finds a wonderful setting in this record! There's a gentle current of funk to most tracks – stepping electric bass next to soaring strings, a bit of horns, and great use of koto from time to time – all to create this mellow groove that's totally great, and instantly appealling – which then opens the door to the subtle drama that Meiko brings to her vocals – beautifully sung, but with a presence that's very gripping, even if you don't understand the lyrics – and really served up in the best way possible, given the arrangements! Lyrics and titles are in Japanese – and tunes include "Shitto", "Aieno Kitai", "Ginchou Wataridori", "Jingi Komoriuta", "Ginchou Buruusu", "Hamabeno Meruhen", and "Yogiro Sukina Anata". (Japanese, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

Really wonderful sounds from Meiko Kaji – an actress as well as a singer, one who was famous for her Nikkatsu work at the start of the 70s – and who delivers the songs here with a similar sense of darkly moody drama! The music often mixes rock touches with larger arrangements – and the recording quality is completely sublime – so that Meiko's voice is right out front in the mix, really commanding the proceedings with a vibe that's expressive, but in ways that are very different than Japanese female vocals from the decade before. You might recognize her voice from use of her music by Quentin Tarantino – but you hardly need that reference to enjoy this set – a wonderful album full of gems that include "Wara No Ue", "Onna Somuki Uta", "Onna Hagure Uta", "Nigori Onna", "Urami Bushi", "Betuni Doutte Koto Demo Nishi", "Hitora Kaze", and "Onna Kawaki Uta". (Japanese, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

The amazing first album from Procol Harum – a group with a sound that's still unlike anyone else we can think of – even though they were a key part of the London scene of the 60s! The group are steeped in all of the blues, soul, and jazz elements that influenced so many other British acts of the period – but they have this way of presenting the music that brings a whole new sort of drama to the music – this flair that never overwhelms, and instead embellishes the music in this really special way – so that the tunes have this brilliance that's kept them fresh for many decades to follow! Lead singer Gary Brooker is a key part of the record's magic – a very distinctive singer – and a young Robin Trower contributes plenty on guitar, as does Matthew Fisher on Hammond. But there's also some arrangements that really set the whole thing in an unusual direction – and which make the record way more than just another bluesy rock set from the time. Hard to argue with the baroque brilliance of "She Wandered Through The Garden Fence", "A Christmas Camel", "Salad Days", "Repent Walpurgis", and "Conquistador" – not to mention the hit, "Whiter Shade Of Pale". LP, Vinyl record album

Live Roxy Music, from a time when John Wetton was in the group on bass – with titles that include "Do The Strand", "Out Of The Blue", "The Bogus Man", "Both Ends Burning", "Chance Meeting", "If There Is Something", "In Every Dream Home A Heartache", and "Pyjamarama". LP, Vinyl record album

It's easy for Yumi Seino to be a natural woman with backings this great – really jazzy instrumentation that helps set a style that keeps things moving throughout – and which definitely has the record on the more soulful R&B side of the city pop spectrum! Yumi's voice is great – rich and strong, yet never too overly dramatic – just able to convey the right spirit of the lyric, even when the language is Japanese – helping bring a really sort of universal appeal to the record along with the music. Titles include "Caledonia Love Day", "December", "Les Memories D'Un Con", "Tokyo City Nights", "Airport 4:30pm", and "You & I". (Japanese, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

A dramatic, dynamic set from the early 70s Aussie scene – a record that's got a lot more grace, power, and flight than you might guess from its cover – and a vibe that also doesn't entirely fit the group's Lord Of The Rings reference in their name! The set's definitely in the prog side of the spectrum, but it's also delivered with an instrumental complexity, especially on the piano lines – which have a similar vibe to some of the live tracks on Jethro Tull's Living In The Past 2LP set – echoed by the phrasing in the vocals, and the album's great use of flute. Yet this is hardly a Tull set either, as there's no blues rock references – and maybe more of an inspiration from higher concept jazz fusion projects, reflected especially on the longer instrumental passages on the record. Titles include "Rivendell", "Land Of Mordor", "Trees & Grass", "A History Book", "Sky", "Dark Lord", "Aragorn", and "Dance Of The Ring". LP, Vinyl record album

Jefferson Airplane flying high in the late 60s – both a creative and commercial triumph for the band – balancing the tripped out adventurousness of their earlier work, with a more focused approach that brought them to bigger and bigger audiences! Front loaded with moodier, acoustic-based songs that build into heavier rock as the record plays on – with some really great use of sound effects for added drama on here and there! Titles include "Lather", "In Time", "Star Track", "Chushingura", "If You Feel", "Ice Cream Phoenix", "The House At Pooniel Corners" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

A major extension of the concept albums first begun by The Kinks with Village Green and Arthur – taken fully to the next level, and conceived as a theatrical work with a strong message-oriented base of songs! The vibe here is kind of an exaggeration of the "preservation" feeling of the "Village Green Preservation Society" single – carried out in a variety of dramatic rock styles that shift with the mood of the scenes, and which show Ray and the group working in Tommy-like spectacle , with a subsequent range of musical modes on the set. Titles include "Morning Song", "Demotion", "Sitting In The Midday Sun", "There's A Change In The Weather", "Where Are They Now", and "Cricket". LP, Vinyl record album

Procol Harum were one of those groups who continued to sound amazing, even way past their initial hits – as you'll discover here on this wonderful gem from 1974! The album's got everything we love in the group very firmly in place – that strange mix of blues roots and drama, fused with loads of great organ and piano lines, and topped with the always-unique vocals of Gary Brooker – a singer who can make even the simplest lyric sound wonderful, but always without ever overstating his case! The balance is hard to describe in words, but it's perfectly Procol-like throughout – on well-penned, well-produced tracks that include "Beyond The Pale", "Nothing But The Truth", "The Idol", "Thin End Of The Wedge", "New Lamps For Old", "Butterfly Boys", and "As Strong As Sampson". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most dramatically poppy albums from Yello – a set that takes their older electric groove and infuses it with a bit more theatrics and dancefloor-styled rhythms! Flag's really the record that probably sums up the mainstream vision of Yello the best – that image of mustachioed Europeans acting goofy in cleverly cartoony music videos, while referencing an imagined nostalgia in definite 80s trappings, and avoiding any real direct attempt at songwriting. Yet amidst the showiness and oddball characters, the core Yello sound is still at the bottom of the mix – lost a bit, to be sure, but still more compelling and longer-lasting than much other electric pop spawned by their generation. Titles include "Tied Up In Red", "Blazing Saddles", "The Race", "Otto Di Cantania", "Tied Up", and "3rd Of June". LP, Vinyl record album

A set that's heavy on the kind of country artists who often made key appearances on TV in the 60s – artists who were as much visual showfolks as they were singers – with an illuminating quality that really holds through in their recordings, even if you can't see their images on the screen! The cuts here often have a very animated, well-presented approach – especially on some of the numbers that require a slight current of drama or wit to send the lyric home! The package features 18 titles in all – and tracks include "A Million Years Or So" by Roger Miller, "The Good Lord Giveth" by Webb Pierce, "I Am The Grass" by The Stonemans, "Wino" by Porter Wagoner, "I Wouldn't Buy A Used Car From Him" by Norma Jean, "I Could Have Gone Right" by Mel Tillis, "Oriental Twist" by Pete Drake, and "Loser's Cocktail" by Dick Curless. (Folk/Country, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

Heavy fusion from Brand X – the late 70s heirs to some of the harder, rock-inspired modes of the earlier part of the decade! The music is still mostly jazz, but there's a lot of mainstream influence here – especially in the guitars played by John Goodsall, and the drums, which are handled by Mike Clarke, or Phil Collins on a few famous tracks. Keyboards are by Peter Robinson and Robin Lumley – and titles include "Act Of Will", "Voidarama", "Noddy Goes To Sweden", "Triumphant Limp", and "Cambodia". (Jazz, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

The second chapter of one of the most obscure set recordings by this amazing duo – singers Brigitte Fontaine and Areski, who you might know best from their work on the legendary Saravah Records at the start of the 70s! The work here isn't musical theater, but was instead recorded for French radio in 1973 – and is maybe even more experimental than some of the duo's other albums of the time – still this amazing blend of poetic lyrics, matched-up voices, and light acoustic instrumentation – but sometimes less song-based than at other points – with Fontaine really bringing a lot of subtle drama into her performance! The whole thing is beautiful – a much-needed addition to the small catalog of this legendary duo. Titles on this volume include "Les Murailles", "Apres La Guerre", "L'Ete L'Ete", "Il Pleut Sur La Gare", "Ragalia", "Les Borias", "Le Six Septembre", and "Les Petits Chevaux". (French, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album