A smoking live performance from Yes – heard here in all the glory of their Atlantic Records material at the start of the 70s! The lineup here is the stuff of legends – Jon Anderson on vocals, Chris Squire on bass, Steve Howe on guitar, Tony Kaye on keyboards, and Bill Bruford on drums – spinning out long takes on the two early classics "Yours Is No Disgrace" and "I've Seen All Good People" – both really shining moments for Anderson – plus a wonderful blend of "Clap/Classical Gas" – the latter of which has some nice work from Howe – and the group's complex gem "Perpetual Change". LP, Vinyl record album

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". LP, Vinyl record album

Tom Waits's follow-up to Rain Dogs – and a batch of songs that do double duty as a straight-up, stand alone record from his wild years at Island Records – and also as the musical accompaniment to a play he co-wrote with wife Kathleen Brennan! (As Chicagoans, we have a special fondness for that side of the project, since the play premiered here with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company.) It's a prime batch of Waits songcraft from this most amazing creative peak period – with the trademark gritty, howled vocals, primal drums, pre-rock horns. Titles include "More Than Rain", "Way Down In The Hole", "Straight To The Top", "Telephone Call From Istanbul", "Train Song", "Cold Cold Ground", "I'll Be Gone", "Yesterday Is Here", "Blow Wind Blow", and "Hang On St Christopher". LP, Vinyl record album

One of those few classic cases where a compilation of tracks was maybe even more influential than the original music itself – as this early 70s collection of 60s material turned out to shape and influence generations for decades to come! Guitar genius Lenny Kaye put the set together famously for Elektra Records in 1972 – as a reminder that, just a few years before, there were some amazing sounds that were not only brewing up in local indie scenes around the country, but also on the radio as well – even though most of those groups had been pushed into relative obscurity by the rise of soft rock, hard rock, and classic rock of the early 70s! The package is a return to the pre-prog years, with an especially strong ear for garage-tuned tracks that would go on to shape later punk, 80s indie, and lots more underground sounds in the future. Titles include "I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night)" by Electric Prunes, "Dirty Water" by the Standells, "Respect" by Vagrants, "No Time Like The Right Time" by Blues Project, "Invitation To Cry" by Magicians, "You're Gonna Miss Me" by Thirteenth Floor Elevators, "Psychotic Reaction" by Count Five, "Baby Please Don't Go" by Amboy Dukes, "My World Fell Down" by Sagittarius, "Open My Eyes" by Nazz, "It's A Happening" by The Magic Mushrooms, "Lies" by The Knickerbockers, "Oh Yeah" by Shadows Of Knight, "Sit Down I Think I Love You" by The Mojo Men, "Just Like Romeo & Juliet" by Michael & The Messengers, "Hey Joe" by The Leaves, and "Farmer John" by The Premiers. LP, Vinyl record album

Great early work from Biting Tongues – a group who gave Factory Records a few great singles in the mid 80s, but who are heard here a few years before – on an album that was only issued on cassette at the time! We've always loved these guys – and they've got a way of mixing the punk/funk of A Certain Ratio with some of the moodier currents of the Manchester scene – touched also by lots of great lines on trumpet and tenor sax, the latter of which almost gives their music some Blurt-like qualities! Yet the rhythms also move more in the cold wave mode – which mixes with the horns and live percussion to create a very cool blend – on titles that include "Denture Beach", "Read This", "Unhook That Boy", "Forty Three", "Evening State", "Or With Eyes Closed", and "Reflector". LP, Vinyl record album

The first-ever release of some incredible funky folk tunes from vocalist Susan Christie – originally recorded as demos in the years before her work at Columbia Records, and arguably even better than those classic singles! Backings here are by John Hill, who inflects Susan's folksy style with a heavier undercurrent – one that's subtly funky at the best moments, and which also pushes fuller strings and more baroque instrumentation into the mix – all in a way that almost sounds like David Axlerod might, had he started making folk records! Titles include the amazing 9 minute "Yesterday, Where's My Mind" – a funky mini-suite that's worth the price of the record alone – plus "Paint A Lady", "Rainy Day", "Ghost Riders In The Sky", "Echo In Your Mind", "When Love Comes", and "For The Love Of A Soldier". (Folk/Country, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

Greasy Mike's been making the global rounds on records like this – serving up an imagined landscape of weird and wonderful sounds, all pulled from rare singles of late 50s/early 60s vintage! We're not sure Mike's efforts will ever win him a harem, but he's done a great job here – coming up with tunes that often have some slight exotic or Eastern sort of vibe, mixed with more familiar American sounds of the time – like electric guitar or Latin percussion! Titles include "Ole Tsasa" by Valisas & His Slaves, "Desert Wind" by The Vaqueros, "Cairo Twist" by The Royce McAfee Combo, "Cobra" by The Boys, "Sahara" by The Cotillions, "Port Said" by The Kasuals, "Moroc-Kin" by Arabian Knights, "Snake Charmer" by Torrents, "The Bagdad Fantasy" by Ilo Kay & His Trio, and "Istanbul" by Jol Coyes Boys. LP, Vinyl record album