An excellent collection of rare female soul from the 60s – a set that not only features overlooked 45rpm singles from Warner Brothers at the time – but also some great gems from their famous Loma Records imprint too! If you think you know this territory, think again – as there's a huge amount of tracks here that are completely fresh to our ears – the kind of material that a label as big as Warner was able to cut with their ample staff and studio time, then never did a think to promote the singles at all – leaving a space of decades before all these 7" gems were finally able to get exposure on a set like this! The package moves between catchy group soul and deeper-burning solo material – and the whole thing's done with the usual high quality we love from Ace, from the sound quality right down to the notes in the book. Titles include "There He Goes" by The Royalettes, "We Can Find That Love" by Vickie Baines, "He's Good" by Barbara Jackson, "Contact" by Three Degrees, "Wounded" by The Cookies, "My Soul Concerto" by The Apollas, "I Taught Him (part 1)" by Gloria Scott & The Tonettes, "All Because I Love Somebody" by Barbara English, "Don't Come A Knockin" by Mary Lee Whitney, "Here I Come" by Joyce Alexander, "Jive Jimmy" by The Socialites, "The Reason Why" by The Dolls, "Bright Lights" by Delilah Kennebreuw, and "Oh Eddy My Baby" by Brenda Hall. (Soul, Rock) CD

A totally great entry in this always-great series – and one that looks at a slice of raunchy rock that's a bit different than usual! The Warner Brothers label started up right at the end of the 50s – after most of the other rock powerhouse imprints – and they also had more of an ear for pop and mainstream sounds, given their Hollywood home. Yet they also quickly found a way to turn out some really remarkable 45s – music that was maybe even just recorded with leftover studio time, or between the bigger projects on the label – funded by bigger money from films, and often done in a top-shelf studio setting! This legacy of Warner isn't nearly as well-known as their 60s pop and vocal material, but it's equally groovy – if not more so – and gets fantastic treatment here from Bear Family, who not only present a whopping 30 tracks, but also accompany the whole thing with a wonderful booklet that's filled with notes, photos, and record images. The set even includes some surprising rockers by unlikely sources – and titles include "Shimmy Shake" by Billy Land, "The Swing" by Johnny Carroll, "Teen Beat" by Don Ralke, "Road Hog" by Johnny Zorro, "Hanna Lee" by Shelly Dane, "The Fool" by Bob Luman, "Lucille" by The Everly Brothers, "Baby Please Don't Go" by Troyce Key with Eddie Cochran, "Drum Twist" by Buddy Harman, "Saturday Night Fish Fry" by Eddie & Betty, and "Forbidden City" by John Buck & His Blazers. CD

Excellent live work by The Association – quite different than their earlier pop hits, but still with the same great harmony feel! The style here is in the rougher, more guitar-based mode of albums like Birthday and Stop Your Motor – and the band really sounds great in this live setting, which helps us to understand just how much of their magical sound came from the group itself, and not just Warner Brothers studio tricks. The set's got 22 tracks in all – 2LPs worth of music – and titles include "Dream Girl", "Goodbye Columbus", "I'll Be Your Man", "Never My Love", "Seven Man Band", "Cherish", "Requiem For The Masses", "Are You Ready", "Just About The Same", and "Along Comes Mary". CD

Another dose of retro party rock from one of the first groups to come out of the Athens scene. Includes "Legal tender", "Whammy Kiss", "Song For A Future Generation", "Butterbean", "Trism", "Queen Of Las Vegas", "Big Bird" and "Work That Skirt". CD

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An amazing second chapter for The Music Machine – working here with the last name of leader Sean Bonniwell in their name – in a groove that's even weirder and wilder than before! The group take on an odd new sound here – still the heady brew of fuzz and Hammond on their original garagey recordings from LA – but with a mode that also really lets Bonniwell's offbeat character come to the forefront – both in the odd lyrics, and his stark presentation in the lead – a Sunset Strip sense of personality that's almost up there with Kim Fowley at times! The record's definitely one of the weirder, more edgey sides cut for Warner Brothers in the mid 60s – and titles include "Astrologically Incompatible", "Double Yellow Line", "The Trap", "Soul Love", "Bottom Of The Soul", "Me Myself & I", and "The Eagle Never Hunts The Fly". CD features an insane 49 tracks in all – the full 14 track album, other Warner singles, and demos and rare material that includes solo tracks by Sean Bonniwell too! CD

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Non-stop screamers from the initial Alice Cooper run at Warner Brothers – a hefty set list that includes "School's Out", "Be My Lover", "I'm Eighteen", "No More Mr Nice Guy", "Elected", "Billion Dollar Babies", "Teenage Lament", "Muscle Of Love", "Is It My Body", "Under My Wheels", and "Hello Hooray" – 22 tracks total. CD

The second of Dio's twin masterpieces – a second album knockout that followed Holy Diver by a single year! The biggest difference this time out is the addition of full time keyboard player Claude Schnell to the band, making Dio a quintet – but what the keyboards do NOT do is air out the heaviness. This remains a headbanging classic, with songs as heavy as any in the Dio canon. Like they did on Holy Diver, the band balances a melodic sensibility with heavy rock in a way that would prove hugely influential – we can't imagine the quietly melodic to massively heavy transitions on Metallica's Master Of Puppets LP could've been what they are without the opening minute of the title track here, but this whole thing is a win – with "We Rock", "Mystery", Breathless", "I Speed At Night", "One Night In The City", "Evil Eyes", "Eat Your Heart Out" and "Egypt (The Chains Are On)". CD

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An amazing collection – filled with rare material, live recordings, and other gems that will help expand the all-too-small catalog of Faces albums! Completely essential if you love The Faces – with lots of new stuff. CD

Flaming Lips at their most gonzo – the 4 disc set Zaireeka – with each intended to be played simultaneously! CD

One of the key genre-starting records from Perry Farrell and Jane's Addiction – work that sprung out of the tail end of the 80s with many of its musical changes intact, but which also isn't really like any of them at all! The record's not really punk, metal, or even some of the hard rock that was morphing into grunge – although it borrows the best of all those styles, and serves things up with that really unique charm that made Farrell such a compelling frontman. The album was the group's last in their initial burst of genius – and fits nicely alongside the other two – with tracks that incude "Been Caught Stealing", "Stop", "No One's Leaving", "Classic Girl", "Then She Did", and "Ain't No Right". CD

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Two albums from the duo of Neil Larsen & Buzz Feiten – back to back in a single set! First up is the self-titled Larsen Feiten Band – a fantastic bit of AOR – served up here by two musicians with a background in jazz, and a great way of harmonizing their vocals together! Larsen is Neil Larsen, who plays keyboards and sings – and Feiten is Buzz Feiten – guitarist and musical partner who helps make Neil sound even tighter and groovier here than on his solo records! The duo work with a core quintet, plus some added horn arrangements – in a style that's definitely in the hipper side of the AOR spectrum, which yields up plenty of rewarding listening all these many years later. Titles include "She's Not In Love", "Aztec Legend", "Make It", "Morning Star", "Over", "Danger Zone", and "Who'll Be The Fool Tonight". On Full Moon, the duo of Neil Larsen and Buzz Feiten sound mighty nice – Buzz on guitars and vocals, Neil on keyboards – stepping out with some added horns, tight arrangements, and a groove that takes the 70s AOR ethos into great territory for the 80s! The record's almost more of the sort you'd expect to hear in 1977 – no tinny production, no shift to drum machines for the rhythms – just rock-solid instrumentation from a really great group, tight songwriting, and catchy tunes that include "Twilight Moon", "Little Cowboys", "Standing In Line", "Hero's Welcome", "The Visitor", and "Phantom Of The Footlights". CD

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The first album from the great, freewheeling, genre-defying Little Feat! This album, like all the others from Little Feat, isn't easy to pigeonhole – rolling from sun-toasted country rock to roadhouse-y blues and beyond – in a way that feels perfectly right and natural. It's not as out there as a few of the later albums, but it's certainly among their best! Titles include "Snakes On Everything", "Strawberry Flats", "Forty Four Blues/How Many More Years", "Crack In Your Door", and "Takin My Time". CD

A mighty tribute to one of the coolest bands to emerge from the American underground of the late 70s – and one of the few who were able to both end up on a larger label, and yet still continue the genius that made them such a powerful presence on the arty, edgy Ohio scene from which they sprang! The set spans the gamut of Devo work – and features tracks from albums mixed with rare singles and more obscure material – including some great early rarities! Titles include "Disco Dancer (7" version)", "Mongoloid (Warner version)", "Jocko Homo (Warner version)", "Through Being Cool", "Here To Go (go mix)", "Smart Patrol", "Secret Agent Man", "The Day My Baby Gave Me A Surprize", "Whip It", "Gates Of Steel", "Time Out For Fun", "That's Good", "Beautiful World", "Big Mess", "Post Post Modern Man (macro post-modern mix)", "Fresh", and "Peek A Boo". 2CD set features double the material on the vinyl version – including "Be Stiff (Stiff version)", "Mongoloid (Booji Boy version)", "Baby Doll (Devo single mix)", "I'm A Potato (1974 demo)", "Jocko Homo (Boogji Boy version)", "Uncontrollable Urge", "Soo Bawls", "It Takes A Worried Man", "Mr B's Ballroom", "Gut Feeling/Slap Your Mammy", and "Watch Us Work It". CD

A pair of wonderful albums from the great John Fahey – back to back on a single CD! First up is Rivers & Religion – a really unique album by John Fahey – issued during a short stretch of initial mainstream approval, and a brief time of recording for Warner Brothers! Some of the album's quite different than the spare, solo Fahey you might know – and mixes his legendary guitar work with more elaborate elements than usual – additional instrumentation that includes bass, banjo, clarinet, piano, trombone, and fiddle – but all used at a level that really supports John's presence, not occludes it. Other tracks return to spare acoustic steel string guitar – creating an evocative balance that's mighty nice. Titles include "Funeral Song For Mississippi John Hurt", "Texas & Pacific Blues", "Dixie Pig Bar B Q Blues", "Lord Have Mercy Song", and "Deep River". After The Ball is a set with a disco ball on the cover, but a record that fits right in with the best early 20th century aesthetic in the work of John Fahey – particularly his way of reiimagining older musical traditions! There's a bit of added instrumentation on the record – two tracks that have some slight trad jazz flourishes – but overall, the album's mostly a solo effort with loads of wonderful guitar work from John – still as creative and as complicated as in his best recordings for Takoma! Other added instrumentation sometimes expands the sound with mandolin or banjo, but again in very sensitive ways – and titles include "Bucktown Stomp", "Om Shanthi Norris", "Beverly", and "Horses". (Folk/Country, Rock) CD

The first album issued by the Grateful Dead on their own label – a setting that might make you think they'd act with less control than when at Warner Brothers, but which actually seems to have them doing the reverse! The whole thing's a great back-to-basics effort – sharp songs, rootsy instrumentation, and this nicely compact presentation of all the best ideas they'd been percolating for the past five years – maybe expanded a bit on the longer "Weather Report Suite" that ends the record, but tight and sing-songy on most of the rest – titles that include "Row Jimmy", "Stella Blue", "Let Me Sing Your Blues Away", "Eyes Of The World", and "Here Comes Sunshine". This 50th Anniversary is loaded with bonus material, too – with demo versions of "Eyes Of The World" and Here Comes Sunshine" – plus a second CD featuring previously unreleased live material recorded at Northwestern University's McGaw Hall, on November 1, 1973 – with their "Weather Report Suite" and more! CD

The fantastic debut of Gypsy – a group who blend wonderful harmonies with really well-crafted inspiration – very much in the jazz-inspired jamming of some of the headier California groups, like Spirit or Santana at their best! The group use a swirling blend of organ and guitar next to their really beautiful vocals – warm and sweet at some of the best moments, but never in a way that ever feels like soft rock – given the intensity of the instrumentation! The album was issued on the Metromedia label, and never got the attention it would have deserved had it hit the racks from a company like Columbia or Warner – but it's every bit as great as some of their giants from the time, with titles that include "Last December", "Man Of Reason", "Third Eye", "Tomorrow Is The Last To Be Heard", "Here In My Loneliness", "Dead & Gone", "Dream If You Can", "Decisions", and "Gypsy Queen". CD

Really wonderful work from the young Michael Hurley – one of his first records to get somewhat wide exposure, thanks to the help of Jesse Colin Young, who signed Hurley up to his Raccoon label at Warner Brothers! The vibe here is right up there with some of the best offbeat acoustic work cut during that stretch at the label – not the same in sound, but not far in spirit from unique records by Steve Young, John Hartford, and others – not to mention the cooler currents from Jesse's scene too! Hurley's vocal style changes nicely to fit the mood of each tune, really bringing the most out of the sorts of lyrics that were his special stock in trade – while the guitar playing is nicely unified, and although spare, really does a great job of holding the album together. Titles include "Blue Driver", "Water Train", "The Sun Is Slowly Sinking", "I'm Worried I'm Worried", "In Florida", "Lilly Pads Upon The Pond", and "Trinidad". (Folk/Country, Rock) CD

A long-overdue full length album from The Mojo Men – one that's comprised of rare singles and early demo cuts by the group – a killer act on the San Francisco scene who followed the same Beau Brummels path from Autumn Records to Warner Brothers! The music definitely echoes some of that legacy, but also has a vibe that's very much its own – psychedelic garage at times, and delivered in a way that's nicely lean, and unadorned by the kind of larger production that another label might have used to either muddle or ruin their sound. The lean brilliance is right up there with some heady Cali favorites that were issued by Warner and Reprise at the time – and had the label had the smarts, this record would have been another classic catalog release from those glory days! Titles include "Watch You Walk Away", "Sure Of Your Love", "When You're Down", "I Wish Today Was Yesterday", "Take Me Away", "Unaware Of Me", "Candy", and "It's Okay". CD