A beautifully vivid set from Jack Kerouac – one that has him reading his own music set to spare piano accompaniment by Steve Allen – most of which was improvised for the set! The pairing of Kerouac and Allen seems an unlikely one, but it really works well here – as Jack's quite relaxed in the studio, and really reads with a bit more feeling than usual – really put at ease by Allen's surprisingly great piano lines, which never try to dominate, and mostly just tinkle lightly behind Kerouac's recitations. Most numbers are short, and titles include "October In The Railroad Earth", "Deadbelly", "McDougal Street Blues", "I'd Rather Be Thin Than Famous", "Charlie Parker", "Dave Brubeck", and "The Sounds of the Universe Coming in My Window". LP, Vinyl record album

A great colleciton – spoken word material, hip singers, and more – with tracks from Jack Kerouac, Lord Buckley, Babs Gonzalez, Carl Sandburg, Allen Ginsberg, Del Close, Dizzy Gillespie, William S Burroughs, King Pleasure, Ken Nordine, Langston Hughes, The Gordons, and many more! CD

The first-ever record to capture the amazing voice of William S Burroughs – the author who helped transform fiction forms in the 60s, but also somewhat of a public figure too – thanks to albums like this! The set's was recorded in France, and given wider circulation in the US by seminal indie ESP Records – and the record presents Burroughs reading from his important novels Naked Lunch and The Nova Express. There's less of the cutup and experimental recordings of other later Burroughs records – but given that the books were both written under the influence of those modes, even the reading of the text still has a very unusual quality – especially given the author's incredible voice. CD

Right from the start of his career, poet Allen Ginsberg experimented with recording and music – maybe not a surprise, because as a young beat poet, he grew up in the era when long playing records were really taking off – yet still delivered in a way that was often very different than recorded projects by contemporaries like Lawrence Ferlinghetti or Jack Kerouac! For one thing, Ginsberg was never afraid to sing – which he definitely does here – and as a poet with an already-striking voice for reading, his vocals really follow suit – as does his collaborative spirit that ran through all generations of his creativity – leading him to work on some of these tracks with artists as diverse as Paul McCartney, Elvin Jones, Bob Dylan, Arthur Russell, and Philip Glass. The set was done in collaboration with Ginsberg's estate, and brings together both vocal and spoken selections, some never issued before – with selections that include "First Party At Ken Kesey's With Hell's Angels", "Raghupati Raghava", "Ballad Of The Skeletons", "Hum Bum", "Birdbrain", "Grey Monk", "Prayer For John Sinclair", "Put Down Yr Cigarette Rag", "Gospel Noble Truths", and "Ballad Of The Skeletons". CD

Includes "Poetry For The Beat Generation", "Blues & Haikus", and "Readings By Jack Kerouac On The Beat Generation" and a beautiful 40 page book! A classic meeting of jazz and beat poetry – packaged beautifully too! CD

A crazy batch of jazz-meets-beat poetry-meets-goofy stuff. Ken Nordine's wit is razor sharp as usual, and the tracks include "What Time Is It", "Sound Museum", "Down The Drain", and "Faces In The Jazzamatazz". Like taking drugs without the hassle! CD