An incredible concept album from the South African scene of the early 70s – a record that mixes rootsy percussion with plenty of freak and fuzz – all in a style that seems to take UK psychedelic inspirations and forge them into a very unique Johannesburg expression! Acoustic elements are every bit as important to the music as the electric ones – creating this earthy vibe that's very different than Anglo records of its type – and the soulful vocals from singer Dave Ornellas really send things over the top! The album begins with a seventeen minute, side-long track that's completely beautiful – and side two moves on with similar beauty, on a set of shorter tracks that balance things out nicely. Titles include "African Day", "Here Comes The Sun", "Look Up Brother"," Kissed By The Sun", "Happy Man", and "Love Song". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the greatest records of all time – and don't you forget it! Despite the countless lines of type that have been written about this record, nothing does it full justice like an all-through listen – something we're reminded of every time we put this one on the turntable, which is a heck of a lot over the years! Brian Wilson busted his ass making this little gem – and the rest of the world, and the band, were never the same again – awash in harmonies that most other groups tried to match, set to themes of young loss, longing, and frustration that really mark an emotional development – not just in the Beach Boys, but in pop music in general. And although some of the tracks are ones you've heard a million times on oldies stations, they somehow resonate together much more strongly here – taking on new meaning as the smaller elements of each song come into constellation with each other – creating a complicated tapestry of feelings set to near-godlike orchestrations. Titles include "God Only Knows", "Caroline No", "Pet Sounds", "I Just Wasn't Made for These Times", "Wouldn't It Be Nice", and "You Still Believe In Me". LP, Vinyl record album

Spooky keyboards galore – and a classic horror soundtrack from Goblin – done with just the right blend of rock influences and film score modes to live up to their well-deserved legacy! As on other records, the approach here is more that of a rock group – with guitar, bass, keyboards, and drums as the main instrumentation – but the sound is less jamming and very spare at times – so that these familiar elements get a weird sort of twist, and head into styles that are as tense as some of the images on the screen! A few numbers get slightly funky, but overall things are more in a slasher-type mode – and titles include "The Carver", "Rush", "Time Is On", "Ogre", "Quiet Drops", "Bikini Island", and "Flood". (Soundtracks, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

A really heady record from this obscure LA group – one of the few albums of its type issued on the Tetragrammaton label, and maybe a good precursor to the famous role that Deep Purple would have on the imprint! Yet while Quatrain are in the same heady company as that famous group, they also have a style that maybe reflects their scene a bit more – a trippy blend of earlier garage styles and newer psych influences – not yet hard rock, and with a sense of fuzz that really follows from their image on the cover – making everything sound a bit distorted and nicely out of focus. Titles include "Try To Live Again", "Black Lily", "Early Morning Company", "Ask Me No Questions", "Unconquered Islands", "Fields Of Love", and "Canyon Woman". LP, Vinyl record album

A very different record than usual for Arto Lindsay – definitely one that's at the more artistic side of his spectrum – as the music was done for a sonic installation at a gallery in Switzerland, and is very different than some of Lindsay's guitar work and vocals! In fact, Arto didn't play most of the sounds within himself – and instead, the package features percussion recorded at a temple in Brazil, used in slow-building ways to recreate the energy of a carnaval experience – but with a leaner level that's more suited to the artistic nature of the work. The original 27 channel presentation of the music was reworked into a style that is more suitable for vinyl playback. LP, Vinyl record album

Heady sounds from the Cambodian scene of the late 60s – a set of work that mixes together modes that may well have Cambodia sounding like the the most psychedelic nation in Southeast Asia! The music here is of two types – one a transformation of older Cambodian styles with a strong influence from European pop and rock, the other a more direct version of psychedelic modes – with lots of heavy, freaky guitar lines in the mix! The vocals on both styles are often recorded with a version of echo that's much more East Asian than anything ever used in the Anglo world – and taken together, the two modes of expression make the whole album a really rich collection of fresh sounds. Titles include "I Wonder" by Eng Nary, "Navy A Go Go" by Sinn Sisamout, "Rom Sue Sue" by Liev Tuk, "Jam 10 Kai Thiet" by Ros Serey Sothea, "Yuvajon Kouge Jet" by Yol Aularong, "Jomreang Oun Chreang" by Choun Malai, "Do You No Wrong Again" by Thra Kha Band, and "De Quoi Pleures-Tu" by Baksey Cham Krong & Mol Kamach. (Global Grooves, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album