A sublime second solo effort from Syd Barrett – and maybe his most perfectly-formed album ever! There's a sinister balance to the record right from the start – a gentle approach to the offbeat themes that is almost more unsettling than if the matter was undertaken more forcefully – weird little bits just tossed off by Syd as if they're really the ramblings of the madman promised on the cover of his first LP – almost with a deadpan quality that makes the whole thing even more unsettling with repeated listenings! Instrumentation is relatively lean – almost a folksy mix of acoustic guitar, electric, sullen bass, and some haunting keyboards – all as if someone picked apart Pink Floyd, then started to construct a rough sketch from the parts that lay scattered on the floor. The album's had an influence from psych through punk and many years beyond – and titles include "Baby Lemonade", "Gigolo Aunt", "Wolfpack", "Effervescing Elephant", "Winde & Dined", "Rats", and "It Is Obvious". CD

A sublime second solo effort from Syd Barrett – and maybe his most perfectly-formed album ever! There's a sinister balance to the record right from the start – a gentle approach to the offbeat themes that is almost more unsettling than if the matter was undertaken more forcefully – weird little bits just tossed off by Syd as if they're really the ramblings of the madman promised on the cover of his first LP – almost with a deadpan quality that makes the whole thing even more unsettling with repeated listenings! Instrumentation is relatively lean – almost a folksy mix of acoustic guitar, electric, sullen bass, and some haunting keyboards – all as if someone picked apart Pink Floyd, then started to construct a rough sketch from the parts that lay scattered on the floor. The album's had an influence from psych through punk and many years beyond – and titles include "Baby Lemonade", "Gigolo Aunt", "Wolfpack", "Effervescing Elephant", "Winde & Dined", "Rats", and "It Is Obvious". LP, Vinyl record album

A pivotal record in the career of the great Matt Berry – a set that firmly established him as a musical act away from his work on the screen – not his first album, but one that really seems to have Berry finding his very unique voice! A number of the tunes have a slight nod to spookiness – an element that maybe prefaces Berry's role in What We Do In The Shadows – and the instrumentation has more Wicker Man-like elements at times than some of the mod-styled backings on other of Matt's records – although you can definitely hear his love of vintage keyboards on the album too. Tracks include "Vintage Dance", "Farewell Summer Sun", "Bonfire", "The Signs", "Solstice", "Wolf Quartet", "Fallen Angel", and "October Sun". This edition features all sorts of great tracks recorded at the original sessions – almost doubling the size of the record with cuts that include "Fire Chant", "Food Chain Blues", "October", "Sea Chant", "Honky Knock", "Venison Sketch", "The Dawn", and "To The Floor". CD

An incredible chapter in the Arthur Russell story – and one that's not nearly as well-known as his club singles and art rock work of the 80s! The 2CD package presents some long-lost longer form work by Russell – instrumental pieces composed and recorded in the 70s and early 80s, most of which have a decidedly minimalist feel! In addition to being a dancefloor artist in the post-disco years, Russell was also music director of The Kitchen, and had ties to the more experimental side of the New York scene – and worked in a world that included Philip Glass, Laurie Anderson, Rhys Chatham, and many others from time. There's echoes of all 3 on this collection, and a large number of tracks that recall the brighter, more optimistic years of modern music – the almost DIY style that hit composition and performance in the stretch after early minimalism, conveyed beautifully on these recordings done for smaller ensembles, often in a mix of electric and acoustic instrumentation. A number of the titles here have never been released at all, and even those that did see the light of day did so only briefly – and often not under optimal conditions. The 2CD package features full notes on the music, and titles that include "Instrumentals Vol 1", "Instrumentals Vol 2", "Reach One – With Two Fender Rhodes (1973)", "Tower Of Meaning", and "Sketch For The Face Of Helen". CD

An earnest, kinda lovable hard rock soundtrack to the modern classic movie version of the earnest, TOTALLY lovable SNL-sketch Wayne's World! Naturally opening with Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody", thanks the flick's most unforgettable scene, the soundtrack is a goofy, but fun mix of glammy and hard rock, classic 70s jams and early alt rock of the time, plus glam pop tunes by co-star Tia Carrarre and Mike Myers and Dana Carvey on the Wayne's World theme. Party on! Includes "Foxey Lady" by Jimi Hendrix, "Ballroom Blitz" by Tia Carrere, "Feed My Frankenstein" by Alice Cooper, "Dream Weaver" by Gary Wright, "Time Machine" by Black Sabbath, "Loving Your Lovin" by Eric Clapton and more. (Soundtracks, Rock) CD

Features Mick Abrams on lead vocals and guitar – and titles that include "Variations On Nainos", "San Francisco Sketches", "Toys", "Send Your Son To Die", "The Squirreling Must Go On", and "Meanie Monday". LP, Vinyl record album

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

... LP, Vinyl record album

Somehow, someway, Bob Dylan and Columbia Records can keep returning to the well of unreleased material – and draw jaw droppingly brilliant recordings that are mostly unheard to the general population of non Dylan diehard archaeologists! Here lies the fabled Witmark Demos – early recordings of treasured Dylan classics and rarities alike recorded raw and unencumbered, just Dylan's voice, guitar and occasional harmonica or piano – recorded in 1962 for Leeds Music (a few) and M. Witmark & Sons (most of 'em) in the early-to-mid 60s. Dylan was one of the first wave of 60s folk songwriters brought into the Tin Pan Alley machinations, a pretty amazing moment considering that this gruff, nasal voiced figure was soon to revolutionize popular music and there's no way Witmark could have known it. Hey, maybe this kid will make us a few bucks in the urban folk racket, eh? Wow. Of course many of these songs would be recorded by a who's who of 60s & 70s singers of all stripes, but it's always great to here Dylan's own early, raw sketches. Some of the performances come somewhat close to the way Dylan would cut them for his own landmark albums with just a bit more polish, others are close(ish) to how they sounded in earlier Dylan "bootlegs" (officially and not so official), and most of it has never been officially released commercially. Columbia continues the terrific Official Bootleg Series with a thick booklet of rare photos and notes by Colin Escott. Includes versions of "Hard Times In New York Town", "A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall", "Ballad Of Hollis Brown, "Long Time Gone", "Farewell", "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright", "Girl From North Country", "Only A Hobo", "Guess I'm Doing Fine", "Mr Tamborine Man", "I'll Keep It With Mine" and many more. 47 tracks on 2 CDs. CD

A key history lesson for those who thought that pot culture in music only started with Cypress Hill – a weird sound play album originally issued by Elektra Records in the early 70s! The album's the brainchild of producer/director Ron Jacobs – who put the whole thing together with a feel that's almost like freeform FM radio from the left end of the dial at the time – little bits and sketches that are often satiric stabs at the mainstream, although delivered with a lot more wit than we'd expect from the average pothead! The whole thing's kind of like Free To Be You & Me for the stoner crowd – and titles include "Getting Hung-Up", "Creativity", "Funniness", "Physical Effects", "The History Of Marijuana", and "Eating Food". (Comedy, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

A classic set from that second chapter on the California scene – that moment when the big initial wave of successful groups had rose and broke, leaving behind all sorts of new creative partnerships! This set's a great example of one of those – as Jefferson Airplane members Paul Kantner and Grace Slick come together with David Freiberg of Quicksilver Messenger Service – then open the door to a whole host of guests who really help make the whole thing an all-star Bay Area affair! You can definitely hear some echoes of Quicksilver, especially some of the more down to earth modes of the later records by that group – which fit perfectly with the vocals – and the lineup features work by Jerry Garcia on guitar on most tracks, plus Mickey Hart on percussion, Papa John Creach on violin, Jorma Kaukonen on guitar, Jack Casady on bass, The Pointer Sisters on backup vocals, and even David Crosby on guest vocals on one track. Titles include "White Boy", "Fishman", "Sketches Of China", "Ballad Of The Chrome Nun", "Flowers Of The Night", and "Across The Board". LP, Vinyl record album