The Monkees had so many fantastic records during their short span of recording, nearly all of them might well be "greatest hits" – but this set does a nice job of slimming the selection down to focus on some of the most long-lasting tracks from the group! There's a few killer Boyce & Hart compositions, produced by the duo too – and the set also features contributions from other 60s pop heavyweights, like Chip Douglas, Neil Diamond, Jeff Barry, and the duo of Carole King & Gerry Goffin – all of whim give the foursome some great material, on tunes that include "Theme From The Monkees", "Last Train To Clarksville", "She", "Listen To The Band", "A Little Bit Me A Little Bit You", "Daydream Believer", "Pleasant Valley Sunday", "Steppin Stone", "I'm A Believer", and "I Wanna Be Free". LP, Vinyl record album

A heady bit of work from this obscure Caribbean band – much more rock than funk, but put together with a nice combination of both in the mix! We might link these guys slightly to a group like Merda/Black Merda – maybe given some inspiration from the work of Jimi Hendrix, but sometimes coming across with an equal dose from Sly Stone as well – all of which makes for a mighty great sound in the music! Guitar, organ, and bass are very strong in the mix – and titles include "A Jam Of Love", "The Next Morning", "Faces Are Smiling", "Back To The Stone Age", and "Life". (Soul, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

A landmark album from John Prine – his Atlantic debut, done at a time when he was emerging from the second generation of the Chicago folk scene – with a style that set the tone for countless singer/songwriters in years to come! The record has immediate appeal to ears tuned towards hip country, folk, and the more personal side of rock at the time – as Prine sings his material with a wry wit that's simultaneously heartbreaking, with support from the great Reggie Young on guitar and Bobby Emmons on organ – plus work on two tracks from scenemate and soon-to-be-star Steve Goodman on guitar. Titles include the seminal "Hello In There" – a tune that's hard to believe was written by a 24 year old – plus "Six O'Clock News", "Sam Stone", "Donald & Lydia", "Illegal Smile", "Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore", and "Far From Me". (Folk/Country, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

A stone classic from the team of Morrissey and Marr – a record that manages to wear its politics on its sleeve, yet still express things in a highly personal way! The balance is a key part of what made The Smiths go farther than just about all their 80s Brit indie contemporaries – and is what still keeps them going so many years later – not to mention great songwriting, haunting vocals, and some damn catchy guitar! Titles include "The Headmaster Ritual", "What She Said", "I Want The One I Can't Have", "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore", "Nowhere Fast", "Barbarism Begins At Home", and "Well I Wonder". LP, Vinyl record album

A set that's not entirely funky, but maybe not that far off either – as the whole thing features unreleased material that was recorded by Zappa in the studio after Hot Rats – including some nicely jamming cuts that really have the group letting loose in maybe a more spontaneous, organic sort of way! All that Zappa sharpness is still present in the instrumentation, but things are maybe a bit more soulful – which seems a strange word to use, but definitely fits at times – as the hip group features performances from Sugarcane Harris, as well as drums from Aynsley Dunbar! Titles include "Basement Jam", "I'm A Rollin Stone", "Tommy/Vincent Duo 1", "Funky Nothingness", "Work With Me Annie/Annie Had A Baby", "Khaki Sack", "Twinkle Tits", "Chunga's Revenge (basement version)", and "Tommy/Vincent Duo 2". LP, Vinyl record album

A massive collection of work from these important years in music – and even if you don't know or care about Gary Crowley, who's pictured on the cover, you'll find plenty to love here if you dig UK sounds from the late 70s and early 80s! As indicated by the title, the set focuses on new wave and punk tracks – which also means that there's plenty of post-punk too – and the package does a really great job of offering up music that stands the test of time, even though much of it never got much play on American airwaves back in the day – music that really helped set the tone for a generation, and whose effects are still resonating all these many years later. As with volume one, the presentation is great – a very nice package, with detailed notes – and the 2LP version features 28 titles – with work by The Times, Shake, The Limps, Newtown Neurotics, The Slits, Gary Valentine, Basement 5, Dolly Mixture, Liquid Stone, The Subterraneans, Stiff Little Fingers, The Jam, Zounds, The Cure, The City Limits, Moving England, The Barracudas, Penetration, X-Ray Spex, The Limit, Magazine, Golinski Brothers, The Clash, and others. LP, Vinyl record album

Incredible female pop from 60s France – not weepy ballads or old school Paris numbers, but the kind of hip-snapping, all-groovy material that made the 60s French scene so great! Loads of these tracks are new to our ears (and we love French grooves a lot!) – and this volume of the series seems to dig even deeper than before – through a range of rare 7" EP material and singles, to come up with some killer tracks that will move way beyond the bigger cuts you might know from Francoise Hardy or Brigitte Bardot. The production and instrumentation is superb throughout – often with these funky currents that make these tracks feel years ahead of their time – and as usual with Ace, the whole presentation is great – from ultra-clear sound through full notes on the music too. Titles include "Rouge Rouge" by Christie Laume, "Pour La Gloire" by Annie Philippe, "Demain" by Zouzou, "Cours Si Tu As Peur" by Fabienne, "A La Fin De La Soiree" by Sheila, "Cette Nuit" by Pussycat, "Angel Of Sin" by Charlotte Walters, "Les Prisons De Sa Majeste" by Delphine, and "Le Nenuphar" by Stone. (French, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

Not experienced? Well, this album will help push you over the top – as it's done for decades of listeners from the heyday of young Jimi Hendrix all the way up to the present! The set's a classic through and through – a blueprint not just for the genius of Hendrix, but for generations of guitar heroes to come – as you might expect with a lineup that includes "Hey Joe", "Manic Depression", "The Wind Cries Mary", "Fire", "Third Stone From The Sun", "Are You Experienced", and "Purple Haze". LP, Vinyl record album

A stone classic from the legendary Hawkwind – a set that's steeped in all their best space rock modes of the 70s – yet which also has a wonderfully sharp sort of focus too! Keyboards, guitars, and drums soar to the skies right from the start – prefacing an intensity that so many others would later cop from the group, but never get this right – quite possibly because the simple 70s production really helps bring all the best elements right down on the money! In ways, the set almost echoes earlier psych performance and production – yet there's also a cleaner, clearer vibe going on – one that magically steps around the overindulgence of prog and the thinness of some of the later psych of the next decade. Titles include "The Demented Man", "Magnu", "Standing At The Edge", "Warriors", "Kings Of Speed", and "The Wizard Blew His Horn". LP, Vinyl record album

It's been quite awhile since the last High Llamas album – and in that time, the genius of Sean O'Hagan seems to have distilled even more – to a point where all those great elements he was able to layer together on previous records come out with a spare focus that maybe makes the whole thing even more wonderful! The album's as completely charming as its title and title track – and maybe seems to even borrow a bit from the coolest currents of the Japanese indie scene in the 90s, while also letting Sean's wonderful vocals warm things up – every bit as great as when we first fell in love with his music in Microdisney, but maybe even better with age. The record features guest appearances from Bonnie Prince Billy, Rae Morris, and Fryars – and titles include "Hey Panda", "Sisters Friends", "Hungriest Man", "The Water Moves", "Yoga Goat", "Stone Cold Slow", "The Grade", and "Fall Off The Mountain". LP, Vinyl record album

A masterpiece of electronic work from Ryuichi Sakamoto – and a record that may well be reaching for the universal language promised in the title! The set's not nearly as pop-oriented as some of Sakamoto's other work from the time – mostly instrumental, and with a spirit that's like some of his best soundtrack material, and maybe a bit like some of the other minimalist work coming from Japan during the period – save for the fact that Sakamoto always brings in a bit more, and has some unusual sonic elements that lurk in the background and make for a nice amount of surprises! Titles include "A Carved Stone", "Angelic Penguins", "Rain Song", "Dolphins", "A Wongga Dance Song", "The Dreaming", "A Human Tube", and "Ulu Watu". (Japanese, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album