Some of the most obscure work ever recorded by Lebanese singer/songwriter Roger Fakhr – late 70s recordings that were originally only circulated on tape within a small community of friends and supporters, and material that has a vibe that almost feels like some of the best late 60s material from the American scene! Roger sings in this beautifully moody vocal style that's maybe somewhere between Bill Fay and Fred Neil – and the instrumentation, while gentle, is also well-pointed – so that slight electric elements mix with acoustic guitar in a very cool way, and always with a sense of arrangement and production that really distances these tracks from any sort of home recordings or demos. Plus, vocals are in English throughout – which furthers the Cali vibe of the material – and the whole thing could well be the record that gets the rest of the world to pay attention to Fakhr's overlooked genius! Titles include "Down To My Bones", "You Look So Funny", "Had To See Harry", "Drinking Tea", "Rainhill", "Road Of Farewell", and "East Of Any Place". (Global Grooves, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

Very cool work from the Irish avant garde of the early 70s – served up here by a key member of what must have been a pretty small scene! Roger Doyle is a drummer, with experience in jazz – but here, he's working in this huge variety of experimental sounds – leading a Moondog-like combo on one track, directing a trio of ancient instruments on another, playing solo piano with effects, and even creating some tape experiments too! There's a very freewheeling sound to the whole album – stepping between instrumental modes and styles in this way that we might dub as playful, but which has such a compelling quality, it's way deeper than you might expect. True genius from an overlooked talent – with titles that include "Why Is Kilkenny So Good", "Oizzo No", "Theme From Emptigon", "Extra Bit", "Obstinato", and "Bitter Sweet Suite". (Out Sound, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

Beautiful sounds from Roger Fahkr – a Lebanese singer/songwriter who recorded most of this music in the late 70s – but with a sound and style that's every bit as compelling as western talents from the earlier part of the decade! The tunes often begin with voice and acoustic guitar, but usually bring in a bit of keyboards or other elements to expand things slightly, but all while keeping the moody quality of Roger's English-language vocals intact – all with a quality that could easily have this work standing next to some of our favorite recordings by artists like Rodriguez, Terry Callier, or Alzo & Udine! There's an inexplicable quality to all of these cuts – a uniqueness that really lives up to our comparison with those other greats – and the whole pacakge is a huge discovery of an artist who might have been a huge global force, had he had the chance back in the 70s. Titles include "Sad Sad Songs", "My Baby She Is As Down As I Am", "Express Line", "Insomnia Blue", "Lady Rain", "Everybody Is Going Home", "Sitting In The Sun", "The Wizard", "Trip Thru Time", "Gone Away Again", and "Had To Come Back Wet". (Global Grooves, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic array of really cool songs – all written and recorded by Tom Dawes of The Cyrkle – as part of a big career as a jingle writer after his group cut a famous theme song for 7 Up! The music here is great – work from a time when jingles for TV and radio ads were like mini songs in and of themselves – often as catchy as anything on the charts, if not more so – so that the tunes you'd hear for a few short seconds would stick in your head all day long! If you dig sunshine pop, there's plenty to love here – and remember that the great Roger Nichols also gave the world a wonderful tune that was originally designed as a jingle. Some of the tracks here never made it to the TV screen, others are classics – and the set includes songs written for Windex, GI Joe, Alka Seltzer, Calgon, Stridex, Murine, Hartford Insurance, Thom McCann, Life Savers, Timex, Ford, and many others. (Sound Library, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

A set that was originally issued on the legendary Vertigo Records label, but one that's maybe a bit more down to earth than some of its cosmic contemporaries – as Hokus Poke have a style here that mixes some hard rock elements with maybe a more pastoral approach – all served up in a way that's easygoing and understated at times, but with top-shelf presentation throughout! Singer/guitarist Clive Benkhorn is great, and he gets additional guitar leads from Roger Clarke at times too – on original tunes written by various members of the group as they come together with this special sort of sonic ear that makes the album more and more hard to peg as the set goes on! Titles include "Living In Harmony", "The Poke", "Big World Small Girl", "Down In The Street", "Hag Rag", "HP Boogie", and "Sunrise Sunset". LP, Vinyl record album

A tremendous discovery in soul music – previously unreleased demos from the legendary Dan Penn – one of the key songwriters in the Fame Studios/Muscle Shoals scene of the 60s! Dan's tunes had an undeniable impact on southern soul for decades to come – yet Penn hardly issued any singles himself – just sang on these in-house recordings as a way of demonstrating the strength of his songs! Yet Penn's vocals are amazing – as raspy and soulful as any of the big names who recorded his work – and backed here by superb Fame support by the core combo of Spooner Oldham on piano and organ, Jimmy Johnson on guitar, and Roger Hawkins on drums. Oldham co-wrote most of the tunes with Penn, and really gives them a slow-burning, all-soul feel with his keyboard lines – and although demo recordings, the production here is every bit as great as commercially-released material from Fame – making the collection sparkle like the lost album (or albums!) that Dan Penn never had at the time. Titles include "Keep On Talking", "Feed The Flame", "Strangest Feeling", "I Do", "It Tears Me Up", "Uptight Good Woman", "Far From The Maddening Crowd", "The Puppet", "Long Ago", "Slippin Around With You", and "Do Something". (Soul, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

Incredible early work from Curt Boettcher and Sandy Salisbury – best known for their collaboration in the fantastic groups Ballroom and Millennium – but heard here in a set of intimate demos the pair recorded around the same time! There's plenty of Sunshine Pop genius on these cuts, even if the production isn't at a full studio level – as the tunes are wonderful even at the core, and the vocals by either of the pair really make the magic of the tunes shine through – with a warmth and intimacy that's even more striking than some of their better-known material. We'd rank this right up there with similar material from Roger Nichols and Paul Williams – and titles include "Spell On Me", "Opus To A Friend", "Really & Truly", "Sweet Tangerine", "Next Day Sad", "Love Is Good", "Soft Words", "The Sun Is Shining Now", and "Oops". LP, Vinyl record album

An early album from Japanese genius Akiko Yano, and one that features some key contributions from American jazz and fusion players – in a lineup that brings some surprisingly funky touches to the record too! Akiko's vocals and unique song structures still have all the charms you'll know from other records, but there's also a groove at points that's totally great – a vibe that's picking up from that moment when Japanese singers and musicians were traveling over the Pacific to work with American players for a really cool blend! The album features keyboards from Roger Powell, Hammond from Will Boulware, drums from Steve Jordan, and guitar from David Spinozza – plus plenty of moog and other keyboards from Akiko and Hideki Matsutake. Titles include "Yo Ro Ko Bi", "Uo Sao", "Katarun Kararan", "Kodomo Tachi", "Okina Ishi", "Two On The Stage", and "Andante Cantabile". (Japanese, Rock) 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

An amazing debut from Mighty Baby – a group that grew out of 60s mod rockers The Action – but who have a very different sound overall! In a way, the shift here is a more vivid step forward than some of the other British acts who slowly evolved from mod to prog – as the group work here in a freewheeling blend of guitars, drums, and some specially nice sax and organ lines – with with this swirling vibe that really moves past some of the straighter American jazz and soul elements that got them going! Ian Whiteman handles the vocals, saxes, and keyboards – and there's this soaring quality that's maybe somewhere between early Yes and some of the Brian Auger shifts at the start of the 70s – with a touch of the vocal warmth of CSNY – all held down by some great drumming from Roger Powell, in a group that also features Martin Stone on some mighty nice lead guitar. Titles include "Egyptian Tomb", "Trials Of A City", "Same Way From The Sun", "I've Been Down So Long", and "A Friend You Know But Never See". LP, Vinyl record album

A mid-70s classic from Ian Carr's Nucleus – a set that has the group still going strong, and still turning out one of the most amazing blends of jazz and progressive elements of their scene at the time! Carr's at the helm on both trumpet and flugelhorn, but also plays piano and moog as well – and Bob Bertles serves up killer reed lines on alto, soprano, baritone, and flute – while Ken Shaw rips through the whole proceedings with work on both electric and 12 string guitar. Geoff Castle adds in lots more keyboards, and Moog – and the rhythm's driven by the bass of Roger Sutton and drums of Roger Sellers. Tracks are longish, and just about every group member adds in percussion too – on titles that include "Rat's Bag", "Rachel's Tune", "Snakehips Etcetera", "Pussyfoot", and "Heyday". (Jazz, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

A very cool collection of early work on Harvest Records – a wonderful showcase of the way that branch of EMI Records was helping to create some crucial changes on the UK scene at the start of the 70s! The album's maybe most noteworthy for its inclusion of the rare Pink Floyd song "Embryo" – but the whole thing's great, and filled with hip gems that include "Octopus" and "Baby Lemonade" by Syd Barrett, "Rainmaker" and "Soulful Lady" by Michael Chapman, "Song From The Bottom Of The Well" and "Lady Rachel" by Kevin Ayers, "October 26" and "Grass" by The Pretty Things, "Druid One" by Third Ear Band, "Breathe" by Roger Waters, and "Careful With That Ax Eugene" by Pink Floyd. LP, Vinyl record album

A really key album in the early run of Yes – yet a set that's also nicely different too! The record is the first to feature keyboard genius Rick Wakeman joining the group – a player whose talents would really elevate their sound – but the record also has this nicely intimate vibe at moments, too – with shorter tracks that introduce the talents of each players – which are then matched with the kind of complex, soaring numbers that the group could always do so well! Roger Dean turns in the first of his legendary covers for the group, and the whole thing's a mini-masterpiece – with titles that include their classics "Roundabout" and "Long Distanced Runaround" – plus "Cans & Brahms", "We Have Heaven", "Mood For A Day", "Heart Of The Sunrise", "South Side Of The Sky", and "The Fish". LP, Vinyl record album

An album of pure genius – easily one of the greatest Brazilian albums ever, and a landmark set from the Tropicalia years! There's a brilliance here that's hard to describe accurately – quite possibly because the young Caetano Veloso is experimenting with so many new ideas, the album explodes with fresh energy on each new track! Offbeat bossa runs into weird production effects, subtle psychedelia, and heartfelt singer/songwriter material – all arranged by the mighty Rogerio Duprat, and featuring guest work from Gilberto Gil on guitar. The range of work here is tremendous – from the political "Empty Boat" to the fantastical "Lost in the Paradise", through other classics that include "Irene", "Os Argonautas", "Carolina", "Alfomega", "Chuvas De Verao", "Objeto Nao Identifcado", "Atras Do Trio Eletrico", and "Marinheiro So". (Brazil, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

A record that's almost a back to basics effort for the Talking Heads – produced with maybe a bit more crossover appeal than some of their early records, yet one that also shakes off some of the larger funk, soul, and global instrumentation that was part of their sound in the early 80s! David Byrne is at his charming best here – delivering tunes that have that new sense of wonder at the world that really marked the second chapter of the group's career – almost as if he were emerging from the late 70s punk world to become some sort of much-needed Mr Rogers for the following decade! The whole thing is wonderfully tight and well-crafted – different than "Psycho Killer", but great in its own sort of maturing way – on titles that include "And She Was", "Road To Nowhere", "The Lady Don't Mind", plus "Television Man", "Perfect World", and "Creatures Of Love". LP, Vinyl record album