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A mix of hip folk and blues – with work by John Koerner, Geoff Muldaur, Dave Ray, Danny Kalb, Ian Buchanan, Mark Spoelstra, and Eric Von Schmidt. (Blues, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

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Music from Jad Fair & Daniel Johnston, The Frogs, Eugene Chadbourne, Noise Addict, Kimya Dawson & Jeffrey Lewis, Prewar Yardsale, Double Deuce, Diane Cluck, Jeffrey Lewis, Hiperjinx Tricycle, The Babyskins, and more - 20 tracks in all. CD

From Bauhaus – with Peter Murphy and Sonic Boom guesting. (Cassettes, Rock) Cassette

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With help from Lou Reed on vocals on "Aye Co'lorado" LP, Vinyl record album

This hip Chicago group reference our mighty 606 urban trail here – and come across with a sound that's equally city gritty – served up in a blend of elements borrowed from blues, funk, soul, and rock! There's plenty of great harmonica in the grooves – performed by lead singer James Porter, a vocalist with a very distinct, powerful sound – one that really resonates with some of the work he's given our city over the past few decades as both a force in radio and in print! Titles include "Walkin The 606", "What's The Deal", "Play Me Or Trade Me", "Your Way Ain't Workin", and "Hidey Hole". CD

With selections by Johnny Todd, Rock Rogers, Glen Glenn, Hershel Almond, Jesse James, Jimmie Dale, Don Cole, Chester McIntyre, The Poorboys, Al Urban, Gene Wyatt, Sleepy La Beef, Benny Joy, Hal Harris, Les Cole, Sonny Fisher, George Jones, Matchbox, and Benny Barnes. LP, Vinyl record album

Haunting traditional country-inspired songwriting a la Carter Family, Louvin Brothers, etc from Freakwater – one of their great early 90s albums on Thrill Jockey. The were young-ish and urban-ish at the time, but they are absolutely the real thing. Aching harmonies, dusty melodies and good damn songs. It can't be overstated how unique Freakwater was in an early-to-mid 90s indie rock atmosphere, either. Includes "Crazy Man", "Pale Horse", "My Old Drunk Friend", "Amelia Earhart", "Are You Ready", "Lullaby" and more. (Folk/Country, Rock) CD

A great late 80s return to form for Lou Reed – a record set in a New York that's a bit different than the gritty one of his youth, but which is captured here by Lou with that vivid sense of songwriting that always made his urban themes some of the best in rock and roll! The set's designed to be listened to straight through – like a book or a movie, Lou mentions in the notes – and the songs are set to well-crafted guitar work mostly by Reed, augmented with work from Mike Rathke – delivered in a vocal style that's found a newly-confident way of moving between singing and speech. Titles include "Dirty Blvd", "Endless Cycle", "Busload Of Faith", "Sick Of You", "Hold On Mr Waldheim", "Xmas In February", "Strawman", "Dime Store Mstery", "Romeo Had Juliette", and "The Last Great American Whale". CD

A brilliant set from Santigold – blending a world of sounds and styles into one of the more exciting and unique major label pop album's '12 – build to last! African, Caribbean and urban American sounds blend very well here – in both the the electronic and organic instrumentation and in Santi White's voice – and the songs are make deep impact, too. Pretty exciting stuff! Includes "Go", "Disparate Youth", "God From The Machine", "Fame", "Freak Like Me", "This Isn't Our Parade", "Riot's Gone", "Pirate In Water", "The Keepers", "Look At These Hoes", "Big Mouth" and more. (New Grooves, Rock) CD

A great look at the huge second wave of UK punk after the bigger labels were leaving the music behind at the end of the 70s – a bold surge of independent sounds from the underground, including a fair bit of work that was really pushing the boundaries of the music and its politics at the time! Some of these groups are strongly in the spirit of 1977, others are even more radical, and still others are maybe more rough around the edges with an agenda that's a bit hard to figure out – a bit like the way that the LA hardcore scene was changing at the time too. The package provides a huge amount of detail on the moment – a lavish book-style set with pages of notes on the groups and their music, and lots of great images too – all to support a whopping 117 tracks by the likes of Urban Dogs, Anthrax, Anti Pasti, Poison Girls, Cockney Rejects, The Toy Dolls, Blitz, The Ejected, Chelsea, Rudi, GBH, 4 Skins, Charge, Vice Squad, The Mob, UK Subs, Blitzkrieg, The Insane, Damned, Erazerhead, The Samples, Chaotic Dischord, The Adicts, Anti-Nowhere League, Angelic Upstarts, Rabid, Violators, Crash TV, Icons Of Filth, Ultra Violent, Omega Tribe, Subculture, Criminal Justice, and dozens of others! CD

A very different picture of the British scene than you might know from the worlds of classic rock and chart hits of the early 70s – as this collection focuses on a really special sort of sound that hints at the bleaker, less satisfying sides of English life – often with a slightly sinister quality that might come as a big surprise! The package is a follow-up to previous gems from compilers Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs – like the compilations English Weather and State Of The Union – and like those, there's a wonderfully unified vision to the whole package – almost a mini-sociology statement, but one that's completely fun – given the fantastic range of music chosen for the album. Tracks are a non-stop surprise all the way through – as glammy bits mix with offbeat pop, catchy prog, and plenty of other tunes that maybe defy any sort of generic description altogether! Titles include "Rod" by Matchbox, "Kill" by Mike McGear, "Part Of The Union" by The Brothers, "The Hertfordshire Rock" by Ricky Wilde, "Sailing" by Sutherland Brothers Band, "And The Fun Goes On" by Lieutenant Pigeon, "War Against War" by Pheon Bear, "Roly Pin" by Roly, "Stardust" by David Essex, "What Ruthy Said" by Cockney Rebel, "Why Am I Waiting" by Robin Goodfellow, "Urban Guerilla" by Hawkwind, "Londonderry" by Phil Cordell, and "Cut Loose" by Stud Leather. CD

Covers from Ritchie Blackmore, Brian May, Tony Iommi, Steve Stevens, Hank Marvin, Peter Green Splinter Group, Neil Young & Randy Bachman, Mark Knopfler, Peter Frampton, Keith Urban, Andy Summers, and Bela Fleck & The Flecktones. CD

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 fantastic classic from Genesis – a record that really has the early version of the group at their height – able to spin out longform instrumental passages that would go onto shape a generation of proggers who tried to copy their sound – amidst lyrical moments that really have Peter Gabriel hitting his imaginative stride! The set's worth it alone for the amazing side-length "Supper's Ready" – a track so trippy, it's completely different than the Phil Collins-led era of Genesis – and the record features so many other great moments – like the commentary on urban housing that is "Get Em Out By Friday", the soaring keyboard-driven "Watcher Of The Skies", and the majestic "Can Utility & The Coastliners". All that and one of the strangest covers of all time too! CD

A fantastic classic from Genesis – a record that really has the early version of the group at their height – able to spin out longform instrumental passages that would go onto shape a generation of proggers who tried to copy their sound – amidst lyrical moments that really have Peter Gabriel hitting his imaginative stride! The set's worth it alone for the amazing side-length "Supper's Ready" – a track so trippy, it's completely different than the Phil Collins-led era of Genesis – and the record features so many other great moments – like the commentary on urban housing that is "Get Em Out By Friday", the soaring keyboard-driven "Watcher Of The Skies", and the majestic "Can Utility & The Coastliners". All that and one of the strangest covers of all time too! CD

A fantastic classic from Genesis – a record that really has the early version of the group at their height – able to spin out longform instrumental passages that would go onto shape a generation of proggers who tried to copy their sound – amidst lyrical moments that really have Peter Gabriel hitting his imaginative stride! The set's worth it alone for the amazing side-length "Supper's Ready" – a track so trippy, it's completely different than the Phil Collins-led era of Genesis – and the record features so many other great moments – like the commentary on urban housing that is "Get Em Out By Friday", the soaring keyboard-driven "Watcher Of The Skies", and the majestic "Can Utility & The Coastliners". All that and one of the strangest covers of all time too! LP, Vinyl record album

Laidback psychedelia from this hip British trio – a group that was something of a placeholder in between Peter Dunton's work in The Flies and Please – but which are plenty darn great on their own! Most of the tunes here have a style that's spare and melodic amidst the fuzz – a quality that almost reminds us of Spacemen 3 at times, especially given that the group's a trio. There's some vocals on the record, but they always seem to take second seat next to the guitar bits and keyboards – possibly because no singing could ever match the subtle sonic genius of these more electric elements. Titles include "What You See", "Dream Scream", "Out Of Sight", "Just Another Day", "Forever", "Going With The Flow", "Urban Ways", "Going Back", and "Dream". CD

Some of the most compelling grooves the Talking Heads ever recorded – a set that sparkles with imaginative touches, and railroads forward on a wave of complicated rhythms! The sound is brilliant throughout – a genre-less approach that sheds the group's earlier art nerd aesthetic for one that's clearly influenced by late 70s funk and club – but takes that influence in a whole new direction! The whole thing's even fresher than some of the artier downtown moments that bubbled around at the time – as David Byrne and the group actually managed to cross over big with the record – hitting not only urban markets, but also getting some play from the classic rock crowd too. Brian Eno produced, and co-wrote the songs with the group – and some great Green World-esque electronics bubble through the mix, and hold the whole thing together beautifully. Titles include "Houses In Motion", "Once In A Lifetime", "The Great Curve", "Crosseyed & Painless", "Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)", "Listening Wind", "Seen & Not Seen", and "The Overload". CD

Some of the most compelling grooves the Talking Heads ever recorded – a set that sparkles with imaginative touches, and railroads forward on a wave of complicated rhythms! The sound is brilliant throughout – a genre-less approach that sheds the group's earlier art nerd aesthetic for one that's clearly influenced by late 70s funk and club – but takes that influence in a whole new direction! The whole thing's even fresher than some of the artier downtown moments that bubbled around at the time – as David Byrne and the group actually managed to cross over big with the record – hitting not only urban markets, but also getting some play from the classic rock crowd too. Brian Eno produced, and co-wrote the songs with the group – and some great Green World-esque electronics bubble through the mix, and hold the whole thing together beautifully. Titles include "Houses In Motion", "Once In A Lifetime", "The Great Curve", "Crosseyed & Painless", "Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)", "Listening Wind", "Seen & Not Seen", and "The Overload". LP, Vinyl record album

A deep dive into the sound of Los Angeles in the middle of the 60s – a really well-done box that somehow manages to mix together all the different strains of music that were going on in the city of angels at the time – sunshine pop, garage rock, psych, pop, and even more experimental modes – served up here in a set list that's full of some of the coolest, hippest groups of the time! The box takes its title from a Beach Boys tune, but this isn't a set of well-played oldies from AM radio – and instead, the selection demonstrates the continued appreciation of this period of music over the decades, and the shift in interest to some of the more groundbreaking, obscure groups of the period – served up here with bigger names as well – all with the detailed notes and overflowing amount of tracks that we love from these boxes on the Grapefruit label! There's a massive 90 tracks in all – with work from Mark Eric, Jim & The Lords, The Heroes, Candy Company, Odds & Ends, Spirit, The Misunderstood, Urban Renewal Project, Peanut Butter Conspiracy, Captain Beefheart, Ruthann Friedman, The Rogues, Music Machine, Whatt Four, Velvet Illusions, Merrell & The Xiles, Sanctions, Grass Roots, New Wave, West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band, Grains Of Sand, Merry Go Round, Human Expression, Love, Laughing Wind, Roger Nichols & The Small Circle Of Friends, Boystown, Gene Clark, and many others! CD

A great late 80s return to form for Lou Reed – a record set in a New York that's a bit different than the gritty one of his youth, but which is captured here by Lou with that vivid sense of songwriting that always made his urban themes some of the best in rock and roll! The set's designed to be listened to straight through – like a book or a movie, Lou mentions in the notes – and the songs are set to well-crafted guitar work mostly by Reed, augmented with work from Mike Rathke – delivered in a vocal style that's found a newly-confident way of moving between singing and speech. Titles include "Dirty Blvd", "Endless Cycle", "Busload Of Faith", "Sick Of You", "Hold On Mr Waldheim", "Xmas In February", "Strawman", "Dime Store Mstery", "Romeo Had Juliette", and "The Last Great American Whale". LP, Vinyl record album

A great look at a really lost legacy in music from Charlie Rich – obscure sides recorded for RCA Records in the early 60s – done after his initial rush of genius on Sun Records, and before his later commercial success on Epic! Charlie's got one of the all-time great voices in pop music – a richness that easily rivals that of Memphis contemporary Elvis Presley, and which never fully got its due at the time – even though labels like RCA and Smash provided Rich with some fantastic material and production! Charlie's work for Smash has been picked up by the cognoscenti in recent years, and we'd honestly put these RCA tracks right up alongside them – with a similar Tennessee blend of soul and rock, rural and urban – all delivered by Charlie's incredibly charming vocal approach, and recorded with a depth that goes way beyond the usual RCA production modes of the time. There's plenty of currents of soul in the mix – even some New York-styled modes, which really work well with Rich – and this 40 track set is the first time this material has ever been pulled together – long-overdue, and a real treat to our ears! Titles include "Like Someone In Love", "Lady Love", "Nice & Easy", "Big Boss Man", "It's All Over Now", "The Grass Is Always Greener", "Now Everybody Knows", "My Mountain Dew", "The Big Build Up", "She Called Me Baby", "Gentleman Jim", "Christmas Greetings", "All Of My Friends Are Gonna Be Strangers", "Is Goodbye That Easy To Say", "Tragedy", "Ten Dollars & A Clean White Shirt", "Tomorrow Night", and "No Room To Dance". (Folk/Country, Rock) CD

A classic compilation that was a key primer on punk rock and new wave for the mainstream in the US – one that pulls together some of the best late 70s tracks from both sides of the Atlantic, into one package that's overstuffed with great work! Most of these numbers have gone onto be classics, but a few are ones that didn't stand the test of time – and titles include "Subways" by Urban Verbs, "Map Reference 41 N 93 W" by Wire, "Temper" by John Cale, "Social Fools" by Devo, "I'm Straight" by Modern Lovers, "Busy Little B Side" by Pearl Harbor & The Explosions, "Swan Lake" by Public Image, "Anthrax" by Gang Of Four, "No Fun" by Sex Pistols, "Video Killed The Radio Star" by Buggles, and "Nervous Breakdown" by Brian Briggs. LP, Vinyl record album

The only full length album ever issued by Suburban Lawns – a real standout in the southern California scene at the end of the 70s, and a group whose potential seems to know no bounds! These guys are clearly rooted in punk, but already reaching past it – getting creative and playful with their song structure, then rolling back into these short, sharp bursts of guitar energy that shows that they can go head to head with the best of them – a combination that makes the record pretty darn fantastic all the way through! Vocals are nice and jagged, and really fit the spirit of the songs – which were all penned by Su Tissue, who sings lead on a number of them. Titles include "Janitor", "Flying Saucer Safari", "Anything", "Green Eyes", "Jam The Controls", "Intellectual Rock", "Gossip", "Unable", "When In The World", "Not Allowed", and "Mom & Dad & God". LP, Vinyl record album

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Little Feat's third, and maybe best their album – the adventurous country rock, soul, boogie blender Feats Don't Fail Me Know! Oh, this group wasn't going to fail anytime soon – not creatively, anyway. Nope! They really come into their own here – mixing up distinct styles into a groove all their own. Includes "Rock And Roll Doctor", "Oh Atlanta", "Skin It Back", "Down The Road", "Spanish Moon", "Feats Don't Fail Me Know", "The Fan" and that killer closing medley, "Cold Cold Cold/Triple Face Boogie". LP, Vinyl record album

A killer second set from Section – a combo made up of key 70s studio players like Danny Kootch Kortchmar and drummer Craig Doerge! The style here is partly fusion, partly instrumental rock – but never too jamming overall, and recorded with a good spacious sound. Because of the restraint the group uses, there's a tight, crisp sound to the record that results in some solidly grooving numbers – recorded with a bit of a Southern California flourish in the production, but never as slick as the super-huge records these players would work on in years to come! Titles include "Smilin Ed", "El Mirador Bolero", "A Kind OF Albatross", "One Drum", "Bullet Train", "Forward Motion", "Baby Lame", "Get Down Piltdown", "The Garden Of Ryoanji", and "Burning Bush". (Jazz, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

A stone classic from Chip Taylor – a very hip cat who was raised in New York, wrote a number of big pop hits in the 60s, but was always much more comfortable with country music in the end! The album's not straight country – but instead that perfect blend of rock roots and Nashville inspiration that was bubbling up in the American underground in the wake of the Byrds and Burrito Brothers – tried by many, but delivered by only a rare few like Chip at a level this good! The tunes are great – very thoughtful songwriting that puts Taylor on a par with Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson – and the backup group features some great steel guitar from Pete Drake, who really helps set the mood. Titles include "I Read It In Rolling Stone", "Son Of A Rotten Gambler", "The Real Thing", "101 In Cashbox", "Last Chance", and "I Wasn't Born In Tennessee". LP, Vinyl record album

Amazing stuff – one of those records you see for years, and always pass by – but which yields some real surprises once you dig in! Mason Williams is one of the cooler cats in the Warner Brothers stable of the late 60s – but he's also one of the more subtle, too – a folkie at heart, but an artist with a really great sense of wit, warmth, and variety – very much in the best genre-stepping style of the Burbank scene of the time. The set features, of course, Mason's huge hit "Classical Gas" – an instrumental you'll recognize instantly – but next to that is the sublime "Baroque A Nova", a very cool scatting harmony track that's like some lost late 60s Hugo Montenegro gem – and the camp psych gem "The Prince's Panties" – done with all the wit of late 60s Warner – as is the whole album! Other tracks include "Wanderlove", "Overture", "All The Time", and "She's Gone Away". LP, Vinyl record album

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A massive look at the huge legacy of North American punk in the late 70s – culled together from scenes in New York, Ohio, Boston, and LA – plus other surprising spots around the country – as artists were working separately, but together, to completely reinvent both the sound of the nation, and the way that records were made! Because of the geographic range of the scenes, US and Canadian acts had a great sense of variety – the sometime wit of LA, the noisier experimentation of Ohio, oddball creations of San Francisco, and searing artistic side of New York – all brought together here with a range of other styles too. The package is great, and includes so many artists we'd forgotten about, next to giants of the field who are still completely crucial today – brought together in a book-style package with 130 tracks and very detailed notes – in support of work from groups who include X, Adolescents, Flesh Eaters, Lyres, The Jetsons, Slickee Boys, Feelies, Bush Tetras, Suburban Lawns, Mission Of Burma, The Bizarros, Nervous Rex, The Dickies, Pagans, The Last, Mars, Devo, Destroy All Monsters, Avengers, Residents, Pere Ubu, Suicide, and dozens of others! CD

Alice Cooper at his most sinister – crossing over big, but still keeping plenty of the lean, mean edge from the early days! The package does more than enough to live up to the hype that was building around Cooper at the time – building hip up as much as a baby-chopping monster as much as a hard Detroit rocker – and the album's filled with well-focused tunes that definitely helped propel hard rock into the American mainstream! Titles include the classic "No More Mr Nice Guy" – plus "Elected", "I Love The Dead", "Hello Hooray", "Sick Things", and "Billion Dollar Babies". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most classic albums of the 70s – a never-ending hit that's continued to inspire generations! Back in the early years of punk, we were thinking that Rumours was a record that would pass by quickly – but it turns out to have a fair bit more staying power than Never Mind The Bollocks – and continues to get new interest and new appreciation as the years go on! And, after decades, we're finally on board with the greatness of the record, and everything the group was going through, and put into the songs within – a classic lineup that includes "Dreams", "Don't Stop", "Never Going Back Again", "Go Your Own Way", "The Chain", "You Make Loving Fun", "Oh Daddy", and "Gold Dust Woman". LP, Vinyl record album

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Maybe the greatest album ever from Van Morrison – and a set that broke into a whole new side of his talents! Van's producing himself on the record – not really in the conventional role as a producer, but in a way that has him really writing most of the album as he goes along in the studio – using core ideas for tunes, and fleshing them out in a relatively spontaneous way with the musicians involved – at a level that also shows some of the most jazzy elements of Morrison's music to date! That approach is heard to key effect in the sublime title cut "Moondance" – but it also echoes over the course of the whole album's stellar set list – tracks that include "Caravan", "Into The Mystic", "Come Running", "Glad Tidings", and "And It Stoned Me". LP, Vinyl record album

A weird and wonderful collection from Warner Brothers – with tracks that include "War Song" by Neil Young with Graham Nash, "Strutter" by Kiss, "Vegetables" by The Beach Boys, "The 68 Nixon" by Denver Boise & Johnson, "Sweet Revenge" by Ted Nugent, "Cosmic Debris" by Frank Zappa, "A 200" by Deep Purple, "Atlantic Liner" by Chunky Novi & Ernie, "We've Been Waiting" by Graham Central Station, and "Dr Horowitz" by Terry Melcher. LP, Vinyl record album

A killer collection of the early greatness of prime era Sabbath – great tracks from the first handful of albums of the Ozzy years! If there's a problem with We Sold Our Souls For Rock & Roll, it's that there was too much greatness on the early albums for them to put compilation out that could make everyone happy – but you get "Paranoid", "War Pigs", "Iron Man", "Fairies Wear Boots", "Sweet Leaf", "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath", "Snow Blind", "NIB". "The Wizard" and more. 17 tracks on 2LPs. LP, Vinyl record album

Their 4th album. Amazing traditional country songwriting a la Carter Family, Louvin Brothers, etc. They may be young-ish, urbanish, hipster-ish, but they are absolutely the real thing. CD

An amazing set – all four of the legendary Warner Brothers albums by harmony giants Harpers Bizarre – plus bonus tracks too! First up is Feelin Groovy – the fab first LP by Harpers Bizarre! The group were one of the strangest pop ensembles operating in the seminal LA scene of the mid 60s – ostensibly a sweet harmony vocal group, but with a strangely childish approach that also had an ear open for the mind-blowing production styles of the Brian Wilson era. Van Dyke Parks was a big supporter of the group – and they perform a sublime version of his tune "Come To The Sunshine" as the leadoff track on the album – and even though Van Dyke didn't handle the arrangements of the record, the style of the music is very similar to his own, with guitar, bass, and drums coming into play with strings, woodwinds, and baroque orchestral touches. The record is as dark as it is sublime – one of those pop gems that hit big, but which has a brooding depth bubbling underneath the sugary coating – ala Pet Sounds. Tracks include "Happy Talk", "The Debutantes Ball", "I Can Hear The Darkness", "Raspberry Rug", and their huge hit version of "59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin Groovy)". Next is Anything Goes – the group's second album – and while it has a lot of similarities with the first, it's also a lot deeper of an expression of their strange blend of harmony vocals, sweet 60s pop, and the nostalgia for the early 20th century that was running through the Burbank Warner scene that included a young Van Dyke Parks, Randy Newman, Lenny Waronker, and other LA underground of the mid 60s. The whole record fits together beautifully – beginning with an old-timey radio kind of announcer, then sliding into sublimely crafted harmony tunes that include originals from the LA luminaries and the group, plus a few other surprising covers. Titles include the hit version of "Anything Goes", plus "The Biggest Night Of Her Life", "Milord", "Virginia City", "High Coin", "Jessie", "This Is Only The Beginning", and "You Need A Change". The Secret Life Of Harpers Bizarre is the third album by Harpers Bizarre – and one that shows them growing in leaps and bounds with each new release! The record is a sublime fusion of sweet pop California 60s harmonies (ala The Sandpipers or The Lettermen), baroque arrangements with a fake dreamy nostalgia (ala Van Dyke Parks or Randy Newman), and drug-addled underground takes on the eazy sound of the generation (ala Brian Wilson or Love). This album is one of their most perfectly-realized visions, and it features a great blend of older songs, all hipped-up to modern LA arrangements by the likes of Nick De Caro, Perry Botkin, and others. The record has an approach that's simply mindblowing when you consider the amount of funds and effort that must have been put into a record that would only be truly appreciated 40 years later – and it's filled with great titles that include "Me, Japanese Boy", "Look To The Rainbow", "Funny How Love Can Be", "Mad", "Green Apple Tree", and "Las Mananitas". Last up is the group's fourth album, unfortunately, the last Warner album by Harpers Bizarre – one of the few testaments of genius left to us by this incredible group! The record shows the group moving past the sweet pop and dreamy nostalgia of earlier albums – tentatively stepping into the haze of the late 60s LA scene with a blend of songs that share a lot musically with earlier work, but which also seem to have a more adult approach to some of their themes. Arrangements are by the group mostly – with help from pop geniuses like Jack Nitzsche, Nick De Caro, Lenny Waronker, Harry Nilsson, and Perry Botkin Jr. The harmonies are sublime – and the group effortlessly blends original tunes like "Soft Soundin Music", "All Through The Night", "When The Band Begins To Play", and "There's No Time Like Today, along with bizarre covers like "Hard To Handle", "Something Better", "I Love You Alice B Toklas", and Jim Pepper's "Witchi Tai To", which is worth the price of the record alone! Bonus tracks include "Both Sides Now", "Small Talk", "Poly High", "If We Ever Needed The Lord Before", "Malibu U", "Cotton Candy Sandman", "Lost My Love Today", and "Bye Bye Bye". CD

Van's debut album for Warner Brothers and a pretty radical departure from anything he'd done before – breaking all kinds of new ground for his own most creative work and helping pave the way for all kinds of hauntingly poetic rock, folk rock, and singer-songwriter records to come! It doesn't take more than a few seconds of opening title track, with Morrison's rawly passionate voice and spiritually yearning lyrics, to know this is a pretty remarkable creative leap from pop leaning sound of "Brown Eyed Girl" and other preceding efforts – , and it gets even more far out from there both lyrically and instrumentally! It's almost folk jazz, arrangements wise, with flute and largely acoustic instrumentation, a really spontaneous feel to the sessions, and always hypnotic, seemingly stream of consciousness vocals by Van. As loose and spacious as the sound is, the emotional resonance is pretty heavy, and sequenced as a cycle: part one In The Beginning on side 1 and part two Afterwards on side 2. A stunner! Titles include "Astral Weeks", "Beside You", "Cyprus Avenue", "Sweet Thing", "Slim Slow Slider", and "Madame George". LP, Vinyl record album

Features Link Davis Jr on saxes, piano, and organ – and titles include "Just Groove Me", "Girls Today", "Groover's Paradise", "Houston Chicks", "Beautiful Texas Sunshine", and "Her Dream Man Never Came". LP, Vinyl record album

A pivotal album for Black Sabbath – a set that further expanded the instrumental palette of their previous work, but all without losing an edge at all – for a record that forever helped cement their role in both the classic and hard rock canons of the 70s! Ozzy is great throughout, and both he and Tony Iommi bring in a bit of keyboard work, but in just the right way – almost adding a more sinister edge to the guitars – echoed by some especially nice acoustic piano at times, particularly on the instrumental cut "Fluff". Titles include the seminal title track "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" – plus "A National Acrobat", "Sabbra Cadabra", "Spiral Architect", "Looking For Today", and "Killing Yourself To Live". LP, Vinyl record album