... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

(Funky 45's, Rock) 7-inch, Vinyl record

... CD

... CD

... CD

... CD

... CD

A wonderful world of weird and wild tracks from the 45rpm underground – exactly the kind of unusual records that first got Lux and Ivy inspired when they were first forming The Cramps! The mix of artists here is great – there's a bit of soul, a bit of rock, a touch of exotica, and plenty other unusual styles too – and cuts are marked both with unusual instrumentation and production techniques, and just an all-out effort to have as much fun as possible in the recording studio! Titles include "Leather Jacket Cowboy" by Pepper Pots, "You Tarzan Me Jane" by Glen Willings, "Mr Cool" by The Leeds, "Sugar Diabetes" by Eddie Banks, "Voo Doo Drums" by Aki Aleong, "Lose My Mind" by Herbert Henson, "Sound Off" by Titus Turner, "Pulp Wood Charley" by Wee Willie, "Pug Nose & Pony Tail" by Wally Hughes, "Atlantis" by The Blue Bells, "Shawnee" by The Premiers, "Cave Man" by The Vibrations, "The Inebriated Surfer" by Tornadoes, and "Black Lace" by April Stevens. CD

We're always happy to take a trip to Crampsville – as the journey means that we not only get to live within the world of Lux Interior and Poison Ivy, we also get to discover a huge amount of obscure singles from the glory days of the indie 45! The Cramps built their music on building blocks like these – weird, obscure tunes from the late 50s and early 60s – often leaping across genres in a single tune – mixing rock and R&B, slinky lounge with gritty sleaze, and always exploding with the kind of energy that never could have lasted past the few minutes of music that fit on a 7" record. The set's very much in the great mode of other Righteous Cramps-inspired titles – and features 52 tracks that include "Love Slave" by Bart Mattson, "She'll Never Let Him Go" by Gin Gillette, "Little Joe" by Jack Day, "I'm Blue" by The Ikettes, "Chicken Rock" by Scott Wood & His Band, "Big Foot" by Googie Rene, "The Tingle" by Jackie Weaver, "She's Mine" by Johnny Strickland, "I Got School" by Scott Miller, "Stop At The Hop" by Don Eee, "Rock & Roll Fever" by Gene Ray, "The Gorilla Walk" by Sascha Burland, "The Cat" by Rod Willis, "Watch Your Step" by Bobby Parker, and "I'm Buggin Out Little Baby" by Donny Lee Moore. CD

A really great take on the sort of territory that's usually covered in Cramps-related compilations like this – a set of tracks that still trawls through the weird and wooly world of the 7" single in the late 50s and early 60s, but one that does so here with a special ear towards British 45s from the time – stacked up with a whole host of cool, offbeat tracks we never would have heard otherwise! The set mixes instrumentals, rockers, vocal numbers, and other modes together – with a total of 28 weird tracks that really work wonders together – and make you feel like you've found some very old jukebox in the back room of some east end pub that has been standing in the same place for decades. Titles include "Cool Gool" by Sharkey Todd & The Monsters, "Demon Lover" by Lynn Cornell, "The Mole In The Hole" by The Southlanders, "My Baby's Crazy Bout Elvis" by Billy Boyle, "Diabolical Twist" by Max Bygraves, "Taboo" by Sounds Inc, "Death Valley" by Charles Blackwell, "Fried Onions" by Ted Taylor Four, "African Waltz" by Johnny Dankworth, "Payroll" by Reg Owen, "Juvenile Delinquent" by Suzy Cope, and "Just Couldn't Resist Her With Her Pocket Transistor" by Alma Cogan. CD

Lux and Ivy serve up a whole host of records from death row – not the famous hip hop label, but the end of the line for those that pay the ultimate price for their crimes – served up here in a weird and wild blend of rare 45s from the postwar years! The music here is almost in Bear Family territory, but a bit wider – rock, blues, rockabilly, country, and other styles all mixed together – with a really wonderful blend of offbeat singles that we might never have heard otherwise! The set's one of the best Lux & Ivy collections in awhile – and features 28 tracks that include "Death Row" by Jimmy Minor, "Big Mouth Bill" by Phil McLean, "The Legend Of The Birds & Bees" by Hank Hornsby, "So Tuff" by The Furys, "Down In The Basement" by King Coleman, "Devil Is A Busy Man" by Sunnyland Slim, "Stack A Records" by Tom Tall, "The Last Drag" by The Voxpoppers, "Rompin" by Jerry Warren, "Ragged & Hungry" by Lightning Junior & The Empires, "The Plea" by The Chantels, and "Crash Out" by Jaycee Hill. CD

The title's a bit confusing, but that's the way we like it – as the package brings together all sorts of weird and wonderful tunes – work that maybe even pushes past the boundaries of the other wild work we've loved on previous volumes in this series! The set list is huge – 50 tracks in all – and the package runs the gamut of unusual rare singles, with certainly some that might reference the odd jumble of words in the title – but others that all take off in the wonderful melange of modes. We'd not heard most of the work here before – and once again our hat's off to Lux & Ivy for hipping us to so many underground gems – in a huge set list that includes "Rat A Ma Cue" by Pat Patterson, "You're Gone I'm Left" by Tyrone Schmidling, "Red Tiger Shoes" by The Century Five, "Busy Line" by Billy Williams, "Chilli Dippin Baby" by Joyce Poynter, "Big Bowl Of Soul" by The Huntsmen, "I've Been Wrong" by Sweetie Jones, "Hot Shot" by Ronnie Pearson, "Lover Boy" by Chris Christian & The Chordaires, "Ford & Shaker" by James Gallagher, "Leather Jacket Cowboy" by Pepper Pots, "Oh Death" by John Reedy & His Stone Mountain Trio, and "Bongosera" by Grupo Afro Cubano. CD

One of the craziest collections of Christmas music you'll ever hope to own – a fantastic assortment of rare and obscure Holiday singles from the record collection of The Cramps! The music is mostly from the end of the 50s and start of the 60s – a heyday not just for the 45rpm format, but also for mad experimentation in many styles of mainstream music – moments that could sometimes have the wit of a novelty single, or the searing power of a sonic powerhouse punch – all of which you'll get here on a hip assortment of 31 unusual songs of the season! Titles include "Santa Done Got Hip" by The Marquees, "Jingle Bell Hop" by Jackson Trio, "Santa Claus" by Bo Carter, "Did You Spend Christmas Day In Jail" by The Reverend JM Gates, "Eskimo Pie" by George Jones, "Swingin Santa" by Sandy Baron, "Christmas Boogie" by Sugarchile Robinson, "I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas" by Gayla Peevey, "Cool Yule" by Tony Rodelle Larson, "I Want A Man For Christmas" by Joan Shaw, and "Bring That Cadillac Back" by Harry Crafton. (Holiday Music, Rock) CD

A great little package, and way more than just the familiar exotica moments on mainstream compilations – as your guides here are Lux Interior and Poison Ivy of The Cramps – two folks who know more than plenty about the music of the farther reaches of the postwar years! And although their other collections for this label have gone way out to pull in some totally obscure material, the blend here is more measured – so that you'll get great cuts by some of the bigger exotica names, mixed with other numbers that are more unusual – and some that we wouldn't have even thought to include in such a package – all awash in sounds from the islands, tropical percussion, and even a few birdcalls and chants along the way! The 2CD set features a great range of material – and titles include "The Twisters" by Mel Henke, "Hampi" by Yma Sumac, "Mystery Of Love" by Olatunji, "Jardin De La Noche" by Robert Drasnin, "Mood For You" by Phil Moore, "Alegres Conga" by Cal Tlader, Envy" by Bill Russo, "Kele Kele" by Johnny Richards, "African Bossa Nova" by Ahmed Abdul Malik, "Tabu" by Augie Colon, "Pua Carnaeon" by Arthur Lyman, "Adventures In Paradise" by Leo Addeo, "Dance Of The Nustas" by Elisabeth Waldo, "Pagan Love Song" by Alex Stordal, "Balikpapan" by Jimmy Namaro Trio, and "Train To Ranchipur" by Markko Polo Adventurers. (Now Sound, Rock) CD

Who better to spend Halloween with than Lux and Ivy of The Cramps – a pair who almost act like it's the last day of October all year long! Lux and Ivy are well-known as collectors of strange and offbeat 45s from the late 50s and early 60s – and that period also coincides with a great run of horror rock, monster novelties, and other spook-oriented singles – the sorts that are almost like the audio equivalent of catching a schlocky film on the late late show, or sitting at the drive-in watching some low-budget monster movie! The package features a whopping 50 tracks in all – tunes that are maybe more funny and groovy than downright scary – but that's OK with us, because the whole thing's great. Titles include "He's A Vampire" by Archie King, "She's My Witch" by Kip Tyler, "Cannibal Stew" by Jerry & Mel, "Graveyard" by Leroy Bowman & The Arrows, "Beware" by Bill Buchanan, "Voodoo Kiss" by Don Sargent & The Buddies, "Rock N Bones" by Elro Dietzel & The Rhythm Bandits, "The Cave (part 1)" by Gary Spider Webb, "Strollin Spooks" by Ken Nordine, "The Rockin Ghost" by Archie Bleyer, "The Mummy's Bracelet" by Lee Ross, "Swamp Girl" by Kay Martin, "The Spook" by The Tomkos, "Mr Ghost Goes To Town" by The Five Jones Boys, and "The Fang" by Nervous Norvus. (Halloween, Rock) CD

Oh for the glory days of the 7" single – that magical late 50s/early 60s time when it seemed like there was an endless supply of weird and wonderful records all the time – and at prices that allowed them to circulate easily, even if they weren't big hits! (And why are 7" singles so expensive these days?) The package is a fantastic testament to that wonderful musical moment – when you might stumble across a backroom jukebox, stuffed with overlooked gems – just waiting for you to discover them, and get them blasting out of the bassy speaker with the drop of your dime. Few folks know this generation better than Lux and Ivy of The Cramps – a pair who were record collectors before they even made a single of their own – and the set features a stunning 50 rare nuggets – with titles that include "The Mash" by Bud Spudd & The Sprouts, "No Time" by The Titans, "Purr Kitty Purr" by Sid King & The Five Strings, "Time Machine" by The Gamblers, "Little Bitty Girl" by The Memories, "The Little Martian" by Jan Amber, "The Last Meal" by Hurricane Harry, "Hello Schoolteacher" by The 4 After 5s, "Peach Fuzz" by Bob Taylor, "Zindy Lou" by The Mariners, "My Memories Of You" by Yolanda & The Natural, "Wolf Call" by Mark Anthony, "Nameless" by Bob Strauss, "Heartbeat" by The Threeteens, "I Dreamed I Was Elvis" by Sonny Cole & The Rhythm Roamers, "Mental Cruelty" by Larry & Dixie Davis, and "Bodacious" by The US Rockets. CD

A collection of classic country that's got way more to offer than the "depressing" in the title might make you think – not tracks that are purposely over the top and full of bad feeling – but instead the kind of well-crafted work that makes postwar country some of the most carefully emotive music of the time! The set's overflowing with themes of love and loss, but handled with a mature, honest, very human approach – never wallowing too much in depression, and instead often coming across with a slightly redemptive spirit in the realization of the loss. The set features 30 tracks in all – and titles include "Letter Edged In Black" by Hank Snow, "Teardrops & Empty Arms" by Texas Ruby, "A Church A Courtroom & Then Goodbye" by Patsy Cline, "Lonely Street" by Don Gibson, "Call Of The Wedding" by Goldie Hill, "There'll Be No Teardrops Tonight by George Jones, "Tramp On The Street" by Carlisle Brothers, "The Old Crossroad Is Waitin" by Rose Maddox, "Lonely Side Of Town" by Kitty Wells, "Are You Afraid To Die" by Stanley Brothers, and "I'm Reading Yaur Letter Again" by Wilma Lee & Stoney Cooper. (Folk/Country, Rock) CD

A classic set of British soul by PP Arnold – LA native, and a onetime member of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue who ended up staying behind in the UK after a mid 60s tour! The album's got a very interesting approach that's quite a bit more sophisticated than the sound of the Ike Turner group – with production by Andrew Loog Oldham, and rich arrangements by Tony Meehan that float in bits of Brit easy, and full-styled 60s pop orchestrations, alongside more righteous straighter soul backings – all for a mix that's great, and which makes this mod treasure a very different album than American soul of the period! Titles include "Letter To Bill", "Dreamin", "Eleanor Rigby", "As Tears Go By", "To Love Somebody", and a great version of "God Only Knows". (Soul, Rock) CD

A classic set of British soul by PP Arnold – LA native, and a onetime member of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue who ended up staying behind in the UK after a mid 60s tour! The album's got a very interesting approach that's quite a bit more sophisticated than the sound of the Ike Turner group – with production by Andrew Loog Oldham, and rich arrangements by Tony Meehan that float in bits of Brit easy, and full-styled 60s pop orchestrations, alongside more righteous straighter soul backings – all for a mix that's great, and which makes this mod treasure a very different album than American soul of the period! Titles include "Letter To Bill", "Dreamin", "Eleanor Rigby", "As Tears Go By", "To Love Somebody", and a great version of "God Only Knows". (Soul, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

Four classic albums from Jackie DeShannon – all in a single set! First up is Me About You – sophisticated Jackie at her best – working with great arrangements from Jack Nitzsche and Nick DeCaro – both cats from the California scene we can really trust for "cut-above" pop work like this – music that goes way past the simple sounds of DeShannon's start – into cool adult territory that really makes the album great. Jackie's vocals are surprisingly soulful in the setting – even more so than before – and the tunes include lots of gems, including versions of Van Dyke Parks' "High Coin", John Sebastian's "Didn't Want To Have To Do It", and Tim Hardin's "Baby Close Its Eyes". Also includes "I Keep Wanting You", "Me About You", and "Nicole". Next is Laurel Canyon – heady work from Jackie DeShannon's later years in 60s pop – an album with themes and styles that go way beyond her earlier recordings – as you might guess from the hip Laurel Canyon reference in the title! Jackie's working here in a mode that's much more strongly in a singer-songwriter style than before – with arrangements and backings that are a lot more organic, and less pop-tuned than ever – almost in a Laura Nyro approach on some numbers. As usual, a good portion of the tracks were written by Jackie herself – including "Holly Would", "Come & Stay With Me", "LA", "Too Close", and "Laurel Canyon" – and the album also features a few well chosen tracks by other writers too, like "Bitter Honey" by Paul Williams & Roger Nichols, "I Got My Reason" by Barry White, and "You've Really Got A Hold On Me" by Smokey Robinson. Put A Little Love In Your Heart is quite possibly the last great hit from singer Jackie DeShannon – an album built around the righteous spirit of the title track – filled with really wonderful original tunes penned by Jackie and soul singer Jimmy Holiday! The album may well be the best to explore the space between pop and soul that often characterized Jackie's work – and the overall sound is somewhat similar to some of Dusty Springfield's best pop/soul work from the same stretch. 10 of the album's 12 tracks are originals by Holiday and DeShannon – all set to soaring orchestrations by James Langeford, which often have a pronounced influence from the sound of Atlantic Records in the late 60s! Titles include "Put A Little Love In Your Heart", "You Are The Real Thing", "River Of Love", "Movin", "You Can Come To Me", "You Have A Way With Me", and "I Let Go Completely". To Be Free is an interesting little record – with kind of a crossover California soul feel overall – recorded with Rene Hall arrangements that echo a few rootsy modes at times, mixed in with fuller orchestrations that step a bit back towards Jackie's earlier years on Imperial – a surprisingly nice blend, with a fresh sound for the 70s. The album features a number of great tracks co-written with Jimmy Holiday – a fellow Imperial talent – and titles include "Mediterranean Sky", "Sooner Or Later", "What Was Your Day Like", "Livin On The Easy Side", "Brighton Hill", and "When Morning Comes Again". CD

Quite possibly the last great hit from singer Jackie DeShannon – an album built around the righteous spirit of the title track – filled with really wonderful original tunes penned by Jackie and soul singer Jimmy Holiday! The album may well be the best to explore the space between pop and soul that often characterized Jackie's work – and the overall sound is somewhat similar to some of Dusty Springfield's best pop/soul work from the same stretch. 10 of the album's 12 tracks are originals by Holiday and DeShannon – all set to soaring orchestrations by James Langeford, which often have a pronounced influence from the sound of Atlantic Records in the late 60s! Titles include "Put A Little Love In Your Heart", "You Are The Real Thing", "River Of Love", "Movin", "You Can Come To Me", "You Have A Way With Me", and "I Let Go Completely". LP, Vinyl record album

Oh, the feeling here is more than good – as the album's a stunner from the legendary Jose Feliciano, the kind of set that never fails to make us smile when we hear it! Jose's really evolved here from his earliest days – going even farther past the genius of his late 60s work for RCA, and picking up a host of more righteous soul influences in the process – really coming up with a great sound for the 70s! The record is filled with surprising gems – the kind of cuts that will make you go "damn!", and have you digging for other Feliciano records from the same time. Highlights include an excellent remake of Stevie Wonder's "Golden Lady", with loads of jazzy changes – plus the originals "Virgo", "Hard Times In El Barrio", and his classic theme to "Chico and the Man" – a cut that sounds especially great on this album, in ways we never appreciated when watching the show. Other numbers include "Essence Of Love", "Stay With Me", "You're No Good", and "I've Got To Convince Myself". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most supremely classic of all classic hard rock albums! As huge as the debut was, Led Zeppelin II is the record that proved that the group were going to be in it for the long haul – with a righteous raw power that's still being felt all these many decades later! Nobody else could touch this one – and the album is filled with iconic cuts that include "Whole Lotta Love", "Ramble On", and"Heartbreaker" – plus the ridiculous Bonzo showcase "Moby Dick", and "Bring It On Home". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most supremely classic of all classic hard rock albums! As huge as the debut was, Led Zeppelin II is the record that proved that the group were going to be in it for the long haul – with a righteous raw power that's still being felt all these many decades later! Nobody else could touch this one – and the album is filled with iconic cuts that include "Whole Lotta Love", "Ramble On", and"Heartbreaker" – plus the ridiculous Bonzo showcase "Moby Dick", and "Bring It On Home". LP, Vinyl record album

Nothing too peaceful here – at least not in a sleepy sort of way – as The Rascals are really hitting on all burners, and starting to mix a bit of funk in with their groove! The record's a great extension of the group's last work on Atlantic – and it takes that already-righteous territory, and furthers it a bit more with some heavy rhythms on the bottom, and nicely jamming guitar work on the top! There's a great sense of soul that informs the whole album – even at some of the more rockish points – and titles include the excellent side-long cut "Peaceful World", a long instrumental workout with a nice slow bubbling funky sound that's almost in the style of Chicano rock. The albumf eatures guest work from jazz players like Hubert Laws on flute, Alice Coltrane on harp, Garnett Brown on trombone, Joe Garrell on tenor sax, and Joe Newman on trumpet – and other titles include "Little Dove", "Visit To Mother Nature Land", "Happy Song", "Icy Water", "Sky Trane", and "In & Out Of Love". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the stranger chapters of the Holland-Dozier-Holland story of the early 70s – and one of the coolest, too! Warlock are a jazzy rock combo with plenty of soul – a bit like a twisted version of Blood Sweat & Tears, but with all the sinister energy you'd guess from the image on the cover! Most of the numbers have a nasty scratchy sort of vocal – almost Alice Cooper-ish, in keeping with the Warlock name of the group – but a few others get a bit more soulful and funky, belying the HDH connection of the group – sometimes even showing a righteous jazzy vibe, as kind of an odd echo of the Detroit Tribe Records scene. The best tracks have some jazzy phrasing in the mix, and let the guitars go off to the side – and titles include "Love Girl", "You've Been My Rock", "So Can Woman", "Thrills Of Love", and the 14 minute jammer "As You Die/Music Box", which almost has a Colosseum build to it! LP, Vinyl record album

Music from The Byrds, The Yardbirds, Wilson Pickett, The Miracles, The Beau Brummels, The Righteous Brothers, The Temptations, Sam The Sham And The Pharaohs, Billy Joe Royal, The Beach Boys, Barbara Lewis, and more - 22 songs in all. CD

Fantastic sounds for fans of funk and rock alike – music from the freaky, fuzzy 70s scene in Zambia – a place where styles effortlessly criss-crossed to really produce something new and unique! The work here is often heavy on fuzz guitars, but also has some wickedly soulful basslines and drums – so that although the tunes can be psych-styled, they're also pretty darn funky too – often at a level that's a bit like the Nigerian Afro Funk of the time, but much grittier and more righteous! The quality of the music and scene is explored in depth in the package – which includes a very detailed booklet of notes and photos – all to support the selection of music, which may well be the hippest so far from the Now Again label – and that's really saying a lot, if you know their other titles! Tracks include "Funky Lady" by Teddy Chisi, "Fast" by Salty Dog, "Rain & Sunshine" by Crossbones, "I Don't Know" by Born Free, "Fwe Bena Zambia" by Five Revolutions, "Who's That Guy" by Ricky Banda, "Changa Namwele" by Machine Gunners, "Poverty" by Cosmos Zani, "Dzikolino Ni Zambia" by Keith Mlevhu, "Running" by Blackfoot, and "Everyday Has Got A New Dream" by Dr Footswitch. (Global Grooves, Rock) CD

Fantastic sounds for fans of funk and rock alike – music from the freaky, fuzzy 70s scene in Zambia – a place where styles effortlessly criss-crossed to really produce something new and unique! The work here is often heavy on fuzz guitars, but also has some wickedly soulful basslines and drums – so that although the tunes can be psych-styled, they're also pretty darn funky too – often at a level that's a bit like the Nigerian Afro Funk of the time, but much grittier and more righteous! The quality of the music and scene is explored in depth in the package – which includes a very detailed booklet of notes and photos – all to support the selection of music, which may well be the hippest so far from the Now Again label – and that's really saying a lot, if you know their other titles! Titles on volume 2 include "Really" by Crossbones, "History Of Man" by Amanaz, "Poor Man" by Five Revolutions, "Hold On" by Ngozi Family, "Katonga" by Musi-O-Tunya, "Request To God" by Oscillations, "Mpundu" by Tinkles, "Otenta" by Dr Footswitch, "Mad Man" by Born Free, "SM" by Mike Nyoni, "Hot Do" by Jesper Siliya Lungu, "I'm Not Made Of Iron" by Chrissy Zebby Tembo, "Umbwalwa Ne Chamba" by Peace, "Umwana Wakusanga Mung'Anda" by Fire Balls, and "See The Storm" by Salty Dog. (Global Grooves, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album