A pair of albums from this near-forgotten group – both originally issued by Elektra, and presented here with bonus tracks too! First up is the self-titled Crabby Appleton – a set that's got a surprising sort of late psych vibe at times – almost as if the group were hanging on to some of the modes that first got them started, while also stretching out with some of the new sophistication that the 70s had to offer! That psych touch is maybe no surprise, though, given that the group's singer Michael Fennelly was in The Millennium – and works here with some heavier rockers who were in Stonehenge – all in a surprising mix of modes that really keeps things interesting throughout! Titles include the big single "Go Back", plus "Peace By Peace", "To All My Friends", "Some Madness", "Hunger For Love", "Last Night In Your Sleep Fred", "Some Madness", and "The Other Side". Next is Rotten To The Core, the second and last album from Crabby Appleton, and a record that's got the group picking up some harder edges than before – shedding some of the lighter psych elements for harder modes on the downturning grooves, almost as if the group had some blues inspirations they didn't showcase the first time around! The shift is one that has us almost thinking that the group could have hit the heights of 70s AM rock, had they held the course – with lots of surprising nuggets throughout, in a set list that includes "Makes No Difference", "Lucy", "It's So Hard", "Tomorrow's A New Day", "You Make Me Hot", "Gonna Save You", and "Love Can Change Everything". 2CD set features bonus material – "Go Back (alt mono single)", "Try (alt mono single)", "My Little Lucy (alt mono single)", "Some Madness (mono single)", "Can't Live My Life (alt mono single)", "Grab On", "Tomorrow's A New Day (alt mono single)", and "It's So Hard (alt mono single)". CD

A pair of mod classics from The Creation – back to back in a single package! First up is We Are Paintermen – a gem of a record from one of the coolest UK groups of the 60s – served up here in a German release that maybe gives The Creation one of their most vibrant covers ever! Despite the European issue of the material, the tracks here are all Brit brilliance from the group and producer Shel Talmy – served up in their incredible blend of mod grooves, garagey rawness, and early psych production – sharp and tight at the same time, and years ahead of its time! Titles include "Can I Join Your Band", "Making Time", "Tom Tom", "Biff Bang Pow", "Painterman", and "Nightmares" – plus covers of "Cool Jerk", "Hey Joe", and "Like A Rolling Stone". Next is How Does It Feel To Feel – genius work from The Creation at their best – tunes that really get at that special sort of something that set the group apart from so many others in the late 60s scene – a kind of compression of mod, garage, and psych elements into these short little tracks that still have all of their brilliance after so many years! The intensity here is maybe right up there with the early Who at their best – and the album brings together Shel Talmy-produced tracks that were originally issued as singles on the Decca, Polydor, and Hit-ton labels. Titles include "Uncle Bert", "Midway Down", "Girls Are Naked", "Sweet Helen", "Ostrich Man", "Life Is Just Beginning", "I Am The Walker", "For All That I Am", and "How Does It Feel To Feel" in both US and UK versions! CD

The heavy groove of Deep Purple continues – in a style that's a bit more song-focused and guitar-led than the group's debut – but still pretty darn great nonetheless! Some of the rumbling bass of before has been toned down a bit, but that leaves plenty of space for more jamming guitar work from Ritchie Blackmore – as well as more soaring Hammond lines, and vocals that almost hint at soulful influences from time to time. The record's got a slightly heartfelt quality that's almost a surprise – and titles include covers of "Kentucky Woman", "We Can Work It Out", and "River Deep Mountain High" – plus the originals "Wring That Neck", "Listen Learn Read On", and "The Shield". LP, Vinyl record album

The birth of a legend, and easily one of the heaviest records to hit the mainstream in the late 60s! The album's got a sinister quality that you can hear on the first few notes – a low-end, rumbling approach that brings in a lot more fuzzy bass than other groups of the time had ever thought to use – all topped with some of the most wickedly edgey guitar put on record to date, and undercut by drums that are almost verging on funk at times! Basslines set the tone for most of the tunes in the set – creating a bottom-heavy groove that would be copped many times in years to come, but which still sounds tremendously fresh here in the original. Titles include "Mandrake Root", "I'm So Glad", "One More Rainy Day", "Help", "Love Help Me", "And The Address", and "Hey Joe". LP, Vinyl record album

Heady work from one of the heaviest Mexican rock acts of their generation – a group who are as wild and wooly as they look on the cover – and who deliver a set that's got all the punch, power, and psych genius of some of the best UK material from a few years before! There's a really sinister vibe to the record, right from the start – sounds that emerge from the darkness as the drums explode and the guitar sends up a wail of fuzz – yet matched at times with some richer tones on acoustic guitar and even a bit of flute – showing that these guys weren't just being crazy for crazy's sake – and instead really had a sense of vision and purpose. The whole thing's wonderful, and done with English lyrics that should have made it a big global hit – thanks to titles that include "Lost In My World", "Without Thinking", "Eclipse", "Sometimes", "Let's Make It Now", "World Of Love", "I Got The People", "It's Over", "Going Home", and "Who Would Look At Me". CD

Bob Dylan's fourth record, and close runner up to Freewheelin' as the masterpiece of this early stage of his career. While the overly arch Times They Are A Changin' pretty much stood as the cornerstone of classifiable folk rock at the time, Another Side is just that. Dense, elliptical, and downright surreal at times, with some of the protesty stuff that made the media so happy & hungry, but much more layered and poetic. Another side is also much more reverent of and indebted to the Harry Smith field recordings that Bob studied so hard, the stuff that finally caught on with the general public in the early 90s. Titles include "Spanish Harlem Incident", "It Ain't Me Babe", "Ballad In Plain D", "Black Crow Blues", "I Don't Believe You", "Motorpsycho Nitemare", "To Ramona", "Chimes Of Freedom", "My Back Pages", and "I Shall Be Free No 10". LP, Vinyl record album

The American debut of The English Beat – aka the UK group The Beat, who'd been making some big waves with import 45s on the 2Tone label, the burst forth on our US market with a slight shift in name, due to another group hogging their original moniker on our side of the Atlantic! That bit of backstory hardly need matter, though – as the group wear their English loud and proud here, setting off a huge ska revival as they blend Jamaican roots with London attitude in the post-punk years – stacking up a set of classics that continue to groove many turntables all these many years later. Titles include "Mirror In The Bathroom", "Hands Off She's Mine", "Twist & Crawl", "Big Shot", "Best Friend", and "Jackpot". LP, Vinyl record album

The American debut of The English Beat – aka the UK group The Beat, who'd been making some big waves with import 45s on the 2Tone label, the burst forth on our US market with a slight shift in name, due to another group hogging their original moniker on our side of the Atlantic! That bit of backstory hardly need matter, though – as the group wear their English loud and proud here, setting off a huge ska revival as they blend Jamaican roots with London attitude in the post-punk years – stacking up a set of classics that continue to groove many turntables all these many years later. Titles include "Mirror In The Bathroom", "Hands Off She's Mine", "Twist & Crawl", "Big Shot", "Best Friend", and "Jackpot". LP, Vinyl record album

A groundbreaking collaboration between Brian Eno & David Byrne – recorded with a spare, stripped down love of electronics and found sound samples – in a mode that would have a huge influence on countless records to come! Part of the set resonates with the quirky grooves found in Byrne's early Talking Heads records – but the overall sound is much more stark than that work, and is characterized by key found vocals and odd ethnic bits that really set the tone for each new tune. Eno's influence is felt strongly in the simplicity of the tracks, and in the darkly resonant production modes – that classic Eno touch used here before it became a bit too trademark, in a way that could still make a record like this sound great, even when coming from major label sources! A key force in shaping countless genres to come in the next 25 years – with great tracks that include "America Is Waiting", 'Regiment", "The Jezebel Spirit", "Qu'ran", "Moonlight In Glory", "A Secret Life", "Come With Us", and "Mountain Of Needles". LP, Vinyl record album

The wonderful voice of Marianne Faithfull in all its 60s glory – set up here with sublime arrangements from Mike Leander, in a style that's unlike just about anything else we can think of! Marianne's got a bit of a trill – as you might hear in female folk singers of the decade – but the overall presentation is something completely different altogether – kind of a dark recasting of the usual pop modes you might hear from Leander, with all these blue undertones and weird intonations that kind of point the way towards moodier female singers to come at the end of the 60s – but still with enough ties to the mainstream to make Faithfull's music even more powerful! The balance is hard to describe in words, but hits you right away from the very first note – and titles include "Counting", "Ne Me Quitte Pas", "In The Night Time", "Tomorrow's Calling", "With You In Mind", "I'm The Sky", "Lucky Girl", and "I Have A Love". LP, Vinyl record album

A stone classic from Flaming Ember – a combo with a sound rooted in rock, but filled with plenty of soul too – making they a key funky crossover act in the early 70s! These guys borrow the best of Motown soul and the best of the jazzier rock groups of the time – and often use lots of raw congas in with their percussion – which keeps things grooving with plenty of soulful inflections. There's some nice psych production at times – a bit like the best Norman Whitfield modes at the start of the 70s – and titles include "Flashbacks & Reruns", "The Empty Crowded Room", "Going In Circles", "Westbound #9", "Spinning Wheel", and "Shades Of Green". (Soul, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible album from guitarist Fred Frith – his solo debut, and a record that really set the tone for so many other musicians for years to come! Frith wasn't the first person to improvise on the guitar – but he might have been the first to use an electric in ways that tied together new ideas in jazz, prog, and other experimental musics – all at a level that made his playing a hero to many different scenes at once, and really helped open ears to all the different changes that were taking places in the 70s! The whole thing is a monstrous musical message from the pre-punk years – one that has really strong resonance all these many years later – thanks to titles that include "Hollow Music", "No Birds", "Out Of Their Heads", "Glass c/w Steel", "Hello Music", and "Not Forgotton". This great "Fifty" version features a full bonus album of new recordings in the spirit of the original – titles that include "Quicksilver", "Phalaropes", "Jack's Neap Tide", "Move Indigo", "To Do", and "The Map Of Dreams". LP, Vinyl record album

One of those really great records from a time on the UK scene when some groups were effortlessly mixing jazz and rock elements up in the mix – but in ways that are very different than some of the more familiar jazz rock modes of the mainstream! Gaillard have plenty of strong horn solos on this set – not in a brassy bigger lineup, but as a way of bringing in tenor, trumpet, or other instruments where you might normally have a guitar solo – also blown with qualities that show that the musicians in the group are doing a lot more than just flavoring in the tunes! Players include Tony Roberts on tenor and flute, Lyle Jenkins on tenor and baritone, Dave Caswell on trumpet, and even the great jazz musician Harry Beckett on flugelhorn – and the record also sports some nice sitar, Hammond, and electric piano as well. Geoff Brown and Andy Abbott handle vocals – and titles include "Open Up Your Mind", "Something's Going On", "Premonition", "In Your Minds Eye", "Winter Spring Summer", "Ask For Nothing", and "New Dawn Breaking". CD

A fantastic lost psych album – with a moody spacey sound augmented by lots of organ, harpsichord, and electric piano! The best cuts are short and echoey – with kind of a trippy pop feel that sounds like post-Brit invasion lyricism, mixed with LA stoner freedom, and a good dash of Love-esque soul. Titles include Tim Hardin's great "You Upset the Grace of Living", "Hang Onto A Dream", and "Never Too Far" – plus a very cool version of "Nature Boy", and the tracks "Tiffany Rings", "I Watch The Moon", and "Me About You". (Note: This item is not for sale online until 7:00am on Sunday, April 21. It is in limited supply – and by nature of the Record Store Day rules it will be offered for sale first to customers who visit the Dusty Groove retail outlet in Chicago the morning of Saturday, April 20. It will not be pre-sold or reserved in any way. However, after 7:00am on April 21 we will offer up whatever we have left for sale online.) LP, Vinyl record album

A four-pack of albums from this seminal group – all brought together in a single set! Where Were You is a seminal set from the Sunset Strip scene of the 60s – and just the kind of record that shows why the changes taking place in Cali were so important to the growth of so much other music at the time! A few years before, and The Grass Roots would have been a pop folk combo re-tuning traditional tracks for the coffeehouse scene – but here they're taking off with some post-folk modes that are partly sunshine pop, partly the headier currents that were the darker side of the west coast – all put together with superb production by PF Sloan and Steve Barri – who also penned some of the best tunes on the record. Titles include the great "Where Were You When I Needed You" – plus "Only When You're Lonely", "Look Out Girl", "Ain't That Loving You Baby", "I've Got No More To Say", "I Am A Rock", "Tell Me", and "Mr Jones". Let's Live For Today is maybe the most famous record ever given to the world by California quartet The Grass Roots – famous for its title tune, and for the way that it effortlessly blends together folk inclinations and psych inspirations! The record's definitely one of those that showed the world that there was something new in the air at the time – put together with perfect production in the studio from Steve Barri and PF Sloan – who are in territory that's somewhere between the best from Brian Wilson and Abbey Road Studios – but a bit more understated than both! Titles include the classic "Let's Live For Today" – plus "Things I Should Have Said", "Wake Up Wake Up", "No Exit", "This Precious Time", "House Of Stone", "Is It Any Wonder", and "Tip Of My Tongue". Feelings is a great departure for The Grass Roots – a set that has the group taking a stronger role overall in the instrumentation and songwriting on the record – at a level that makes the whole thing a fabulous extension of all the genius they'd given the world on previous sets! There's still that cool blend of post-folk and psychedelic elements taking place here – gently swirled together with acoustic and electric guitars setting the tunes up just right – all with a late 60s Cali vibe that's as great today as when it was recorded. Titles include "The Sins Of A Family Fall On The Daughter", "Melody For You", "You Might As Well Go My Way", "Dinner For Eight", "Good Things Come To An End", "You & Love Are The Same", and "Hey Friend". CD

The seminal debut of Hatfield & The North – a group that maybe came a bit late in the UK prog scene of the early 70s, but who had a huge influence for decades to come! The quartet are a late transformation of the earlier Canterbury sound – leaner, maybe jazzier, and with a great ear for warm tones and organic elements that help hold the complexity of their music to the surface of the planet. Plus, there's this more open, honest quality to some of the work – especially the vocals – that quality, say, that made Matching Mole so different than Soft Machine. The whole lineup is an all-star affair – Richard Sinclair on bass and vocals, Pip Pyle on drums, Phil Miller on guitars, and Dave Stewart on organ, piano, and tone generator – plus some nice guest sax and flute from Geoff Leigh of Henry Cow, and vocals from Robert Wyatt on one track. Titles include "The Stubbs Effect", "Calyx", "Licks For Ladies", "Bossa Nochance", "Big Jobs No 2", "Lobster In A Cleavage Probe", and "Rifferama". This CD edition includes the bonus tracks "Let's Eat Real Soon", "Fitter Stoke Has A Bath" and "Your Majesty Is Like A Cream Donut". CD

One of John Cale's greatest moments as a solo artist – a wonderfully dark record that also features lots of great guitar from Chris Spedding, plus electronics from Brian Eno too! There's a stark, flat tone to Cale's lyrics here – a quality that almost echoes some of Eno's albums from around the time, especially the first two – but which takes on some shapes and phrasing that are definitely in the spirit of John's larger body of work too. But man, there's some very spooky bits here – even where you wouldn't expect them – that sense of surprise that Cale could always bring to sweeter moments with the Velvet Underground, re-focused here wonderfully for his own needs. Titles include "Cable Hogue", "Engine", "Save Us", "My Maria", "I Keep A Close Watch", "Helen Of Troy", and "Sudden Death" – plus a cover of Jonathan Richman's "Pablo Picasso". CD

A record that really has Fairport Convention knocking it out of the park – making a bold turn towards British traditional music, but in a way that imbues these relics with a whole new life of their own! The album came at a key turning point – after an accident that took one of their members, and which almost saw the group disband – but instead turn towards the past for even deeper inspiration than some of their contemporaries, whom they'd covered on other records – at a level that seems to set Sandy Denny free into this sublime territory of her own! Denny's vocals are incredible – like a thing unlocked from some ancient vault – and they're given this wonderful focus through the growing complexity of Richard Thompson's guitar work, and the understated brilliance of Ashley Hutchings' bass – both of which bring in these modal inflections that are very 60s, and hardly conceived of as accompaniment with the original tunes. The result is tremendous – tunes that are completely transformed, as a touchstone for generations. Titles include "Matty Groves", "Reynardine", "Come All Ye", "The Deserter", "Tam Lin", and "Crazy Man Michael". (Folk/Country, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

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", "Boy What You'll Do Then", "Glue", "Taste Of One", "Stones", "Looking For My Man", "Pretty Boy", "Waller Street Blues", "Catch You Later", "Simplicity", "I Wanna Testify", "Hear Every Sound", and a great version of "Afro Blue". CD

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

Seminal sounds from this legendary group – a combo who feature a young Ted Nugent on some complete amazing guitar, but in a way that's very different than Ted's big arena rock albums of the 70s! The Amboy Dukes have a way of combining the rawness of garage rock with the headiness of psych, all while also reaching a bit into blues roots to really let the guitars speak loudly – one of those really important 60s records that twisted up different rock genres at once, and helped pave the way for a unique generation to come! Singer John JB Drake is pretty great too – and titles include great versions of "I Feel Free", "Let's Go Get Stoned", "Baby Please Don't Go", and "It's Not True" – plus the originals "Young Love", "Colors", "Down On Philips Escalator", and "Gimme Love". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most creative albums ever from UK composer Neil Ardley – and that's saying a lot, given the complexity of his other work! The set's got a wonderful blend of jazz arrangements and some freer passages – scored by Ardley with some of his most sensitive, most beautiful music ever – almost as if the whole thing's an extended soundtrack for a passage in time – or at least a sonic journey that's filled with some wonderful twists and turns! There's definitely some jazz/rock elements in the music, but the main focus is jazz – and Ardley has that same strong sense of large charts and forward-moving rhythms that you'd find in the best early work of Mike Westbrook, particularly his albums for Deram. Players are a very familiar, and very top-shelf batch of British musicians – including Barbara Thompson, Dick Heckstall-Smith, and Don Rendell on reeds; Harry Beckett and Henry Lowther on trumpets; Derek Wadsworth on trombone, Frank Rocotti on vibes, and Stan Tracey on both piano and celeste. Ardley plays prepared piano, and Ivor Cutler makes a great guest appearance on one track – reciting "The Dong With A Luminous Nose" – and Norma Winstone sings on "Will You Walk A Little Faster". The title track – "A Symphony Of Amaranths" – is dedicated to Duke Ellington and Gil Evans – with a feel that more than lives up to both! CD features the bonus track "National Anthem & Tango". (Jazz, Rock) CD

The first great, label-spanning compilation of great 50s & 60s tracks by a variety of artists with some little in common in some cases, but share at least one unbreakable bond – they recorded these tracks with the incredible James Burton on guitar! It's got fiery, pivotal rockabilly Dale Hawkins and Bob Luman, pop takeover numbers by Ricky Nelson, rustic charisma from Lee Hazlewood, benchmark honky tonk from Merle Haggard, harmony country rock from Buffalo Springfield and much more – including numbers credited to James Burton himself and with Ralph Mooney. Includes "Susie-Q" by Dale Hawkins, "Red Hot" by Bob Luman, "Cannonball Rag" by James Burton, "Blood From A Stone" by Ricky Nelson, "A Child's Claim To Fame" by Buffalo Springfield, "Swamp Surfer" by Jimmy Dobro, "Someday, Someday" by The Shindogs, "Just For A While" by Carol Williams, "Tryin' To Be Someone" by David & Lee and more. (Folk/Country, Rock) CD

Loads of classics – including "Blowin In The Wind", "It Ain't Me Babe", "Like A Rolling Stone", "Rainy Day Women #12 & #35", "Positively 4th Street", "Just Like A Woman", "Mr Tambourine Man", and "I Want You". LP, Vinyl record album

A pivotal moment for Bob Dylan – and maybe one of THE albums of the 60s! The newly-electrified Dylan really takes off here – putting more punch and bit into his already-strong lyrical approach – and twisting things in amazing ways that still leave us breathless all these many years later! And sure, the album gave Bob a few hits – which are nestled in here next to headier tunes that work together perfectly. Titles include "Like A Rolling Stone", "Ballad Of A Thin Man", "It Takes A Lot To Laugh It Takes A Train To Cry", "From A Buick 6", "Desolation Row", "Highway 61 Revisited", and "Queen Jane Approximately". LP, Vinyl record album

A pivotal moment for Bob Dylan – and maybe one of THE albums of the 60s! The newly-electrified Dylan really takes off here – putting more punch and bit into his already-strong lyrical approach – and twisting things in amazing ways that still leave us breathless all these many years later! And sure, the album gave Bob a few hits – which are nestled in here next to headier tunes that work together perfectly. Titles include "Like A Rolling Stone", "Ballad Of A Thin Man", "It Takes A Lot To Laugh It Takes A Train To Cry", "From A Buick 6", "Desolation Row", "Highway 61 Revisited", and "Queen Jane Approximately". CD

A pretty wild set from Elephants Memory – one that's as trippy as you'd guess from the group's image on the cover – and equally collaborative too! There's a strong mix of male and female vocals here – over guitar and rhythms that move effortlessly between blues rock and psych – all with a pretty loose, freewheeling sense of production – but enough tightness to make some of the chorus moments snap out nicely! Wes Farrell produced, but seems to really let the band do their thing – and in addition to songs written by group members Stan Bronstein, Michal Shapiro, and Richard Sussman – there also seems to be some song contributions from Tony Visconti too. Titles include "Hot Dog Man", "Talkin A Walk", "RIP", "Jungle Gym At The Zoo", "Don't Put Me On Trial No More", "Crossroads Of The Stepping Stones", "Band Of Love", and "Brief Encounter". LP, Vinyl record album