Really wonderful later work from the great Matt Monro – one of the greatest voices in British music during the 60s, still going very strong here through a range of fantastic albums in the 70s! At some level, maybe Matt was waiting for this decade to really take off – as he had a mature style, even when young – one that's really well suited for the more sophisticated arrangements of the tunes, which also have the same sort of themes and sentiments that Frank Sinatra was hitting during his later years at Reprise – material that's carried off beautifully by Monro with his impeccable phrasing, and the sort of timing that has Matt's version of any tune really standing out from the rest! The package features a whopping 91 tracks in all – the albums From The Present, The Other Side Of The Stars, The Long & Winding Road, and If I Never Sing Another Song – plus loads of singles and rare tracks too – all bundled with a huge set of notes. CD

Features 25 tracks over 2 discs. CD

... CD

Benchmark 80s electro – and also part of the blueprint for the sound of west coast hip hop – the groundbreaking work of Arabian Prince! Perhaps one of the most overlooked innovators of the west coast scene, Arabian Prince played an integral role in shaping the LA hip-hop sound, from the early electro days of Uncle Jam's Army to the gangster rap explosion of the late 80s. With the current electro resurgence in full swing, now is prime time to look back at his contributions, which sound just as fresh today as the day it was made. 10 tracks total spanning from '84 to '89, including solo tracks "Strange Life" & "It Ain't Tough", a few tracks with The Shieks including "Innovator" & "Situation Hot", and production work for others like Professor X, plus the NWA classic "Panic Zone". 2 bonus tracks for the CD: "Simple Planet" and "Beatdabeat". CD

Includes six albums – plus b-sides, singles mixes, and live tracks! CD

Loads of greatness from Marvin's years at Motown – including some rare singles and a few unreleased tracks! This is the first time the world heard the funky "Checking Out (Double Clutch)" – alongside other rare cuts that icnlude "I Can't Help Falling For You", "What Do You Want With Him", "Couldn't Ask For More", "Without You", "Together We Stand", "Piece Of Clay", and "It's Got To Be Love". Also includes "You're The Man (parts 1 & 2)" – which was never on an album! CD

... CD

... CD

Anthony Braxton's reeds are matched here by some wonderful piano here from Marilyn Crispell – who certainly brings lots of her own voice into play with the Braxton compositions on the set! Crispell's piano gives the album a slightly different feel than some of Anthony's other work of the period – almost more fragile in some passages, but more forceful in others – still sharply modern throughout, but a bit less cerebral too. Other quartet members include John Lindberg on bass and Gerry Hemmingway on percussion – and Braxton plays flute, clarinet, alto, soprano, and C melody sax. Titles are all those weird drawings done to illustrate Braxton's music – with tracks that include "Composition No 110D", "Composition No 116", "Composition No 115", "Composition No 114 (+108A)", and "Composition No 110C". CD

... CD

... CD

A key style in Jamaican music during the 70s – the mode of the DJ, which often featured a toaster speaking over more familiar tunes – adding spoken bits and new lyrics in the process, in a mode that many claim was a key influence on the birth of hip hop! The relationship between the two forms isn't exactly a straight line – but the approach is somewhat similar – a way sharing enthusiasm about the music and grooves, by adding in new verbal aspects that take things in a whole new direction. And given that toasting tracks were often not as played as straighter vocal numbers, there's plenty here that's new and fresh – a very specific and unusual take on the 70s years of reggae, and one that takes you way past the hits. Titles include "Mava" by Dennis Alcapone, "Monkey Spanner" by Dave & Ansel Collins, "Fire Corner" by King Stitt, "Sunday Dish" by Early B, "We Hot" by Charlie Chaplin, "Tighten Up Skank" by Dillinger, "Blackman's Time" by I Roy, "Buttercup" by Winston Scotland, and "Home Guard" by Mikey Campbell. CD

... CD

Includes the albums I Remember You, Milestone, and A Tribute To Chet Baker. CD

Joe Beck on electric guitar, Michael Brecker on tenor saxophone, Don Grolnick on piano and Fender Rhodes, Jay Leonhart on acoustic bass, Mark Egan on four and eight-string fretted and fretless basses, and Steve Gadd on drums. CD

A classic double live set from David Bowie – recorded during his years as The Thin White Duke (as you might guess from the cover!), but featuring a fair bit of material from the Ziggy Stardust years! The music is pretty straightforward, and pretty rocking – lots of fuzzy guitar in the Diamond Dogs/Aladdin Sane mode – played by a group with Earl Slick on guitar and Michael Kamen on electric piano and moog. Titles include "Rebel Rebel", "1984", "Knock On Wood", "Here Today Gone Tomorrow", "Watch That Man", "Cracked Actor", "All The Young Dudes", "Width Of A Circle", "Jean Genie", "Rock N Roll Suicide", "Big Brother", and "Panic In Detroit". CD

... CD

Features Kenny Barron on piano! CD

... CD

The raw, mesmerizing debut of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds! On From Her To Eternity, Cave stalks and staggers right along the line between the aggro caterwaul of The Birthday Party and the haunting moodiness of later records with the Bad Seeds – and it's as distinct and exciting as ever after all these years! The looseness of the Bad Seeds sound is big part of what makes it so amazing, with spare backdrops that always carry the promise of noisy menace to come, and it's all the more exciting with it does – and Cave's mournful, angry testifying is in near peak form here. Includes "Avalanche", "Cabin Fever!", "Well Of Misery", "From Here To Eternity", "Saint Huck", "Wings Off Flies" and "A Box For Black Paul". DVD features 5.1 DVD-audio surround mix and bonus videos! CD

... 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

Hard to go wrong with a set like this – because in our opinion, just about every track recorded by Fela is a "best" – which makes the collection a massive batch of goodness all the way through! Every track here is presented in its original extended version – a dozen massive slices of Afro Funk, which packaged together equal the equivalent of at least 5 or 6 separate albums by Fela – another factor that makes the collection a great one! The 2CD set is filled with gems that helped redefine the sound of funk, soul, and world music back in the 70s – titles that include "Monkey Banana", "Everything Scatter", "Expensive Sh*t", "Trouble Sleep Yanga Wake Am", "Underground System (part 2)", "Sorry Tears & Blood", "Colonial Mentality", "Yellow Fever", "He Miss Road", "Black Man's Cry", "Mr Follow Follow", and "Na Poi". Also features a bonus DVD – with Fela's 1984 performance at the Glastonbury Festival, and an interview too! CD

The last of the "revival" King Crimson from the early 80s – featuring the lineup that included Robert Fripp, Adrian Belew, Bill Bruford, and Tony Levin. The style is fairly academic, but Belew's presence still gives the record a bit of heart – something that Fripp had trouble doing on his own, even after all these years. Titles include "Dig Me", "Industry", "Lark's Tongue In Aspic Part 3", "Three Of a Perfect Pair", and "Sleepless". CD

The first album by the second group to call themselves the Last Poets – and as fierce a document of their rich talents as you'll ever find – bursting forth with anger and righteousness at a level as tight as Gil Scott-Heron's first album! The group here is the key second lineup of the ensemble of wordsmiths – comprised of Abiodun Oyewole, Alafia Pudim, and Omar Ben Hassan, plus the percussionist Nilaja – and most cuts feature only spare percussion backing over the spoken protest poetry – delivered with a brutal edge that really sums up the righteous politics of the time. Titles include "Run, N****r", "On The Subway", "When The Revolution Comes", "Jones Comin' Down", "Black Thighs", "N*****s Are Scared Of Revolution", and "Wake Up, N*****s" – all of which should give you a good picture of what's going on with the record! CD

... CD

... CD

With Mosher on alto and flute, Mick Goodrick on guitar, Tom Ranier on piano, Joel Dibartolo on bass, and Peter Donald on drums. CD

... CD

Beautiful sounds from this instrumental group – with the sublime "Music For A Found Harmonium", plus "In The Back Of A Taxi", "More Milk", "Isle Of View", and "Another One From The Colonies". CD

... CD

One of the greatest crossover albums of the 80s – and the record that catapulted Prince very firmly into the mainstream! There's a tightness here that surpasses even that of Prince's early classics for Warner Brothers – an unabashed love of a pop hook that makes for some incredibly catchy tunes that are still delivered with a nice funky undercurrent. The whole Prince family is at the top of their game at this point – and titles include "Darling Nikki", "Let's Go Crazy", "I Would Die 4 U", "When Doves Cry", "Baby I'm A Star", and "Purple Rain". This fantastic 3CD/DVD version features a completely new 2015 Paisley Park remaster of the album, done by Prince – plus a full CD that features unreleased songs and tracks from the vaults – with titles that include "Katrina's Paper Dolls", "We Can F**k", "Father's Song", "Possessed", "Computer Blue (hallway speech version)", "Love & Sex", "The Dance Electric", "Our Destiny/Roadhouse Garden", "Wonderful Ass", "Velvet Kitty Cat", and "Electric Intercourse (studio version)". CD3 features lots of rare single edits and non-LP b-sides – with tracks that include "Erotic City", "Let's Go Crazy (special dance mix)", "17 Days (edit)", "Baby I'm A Star (edit)", "I Would Die 4 U (extended)", "Another Lonely Christmas (extended)", "Take Me With U (edit)", "God (edit)", "When Doves Cry (7" edit)", and "God (inst)". DVD features a never-issued concert performance, recorded at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse in March of 1985 – with 19 songs in all! CD

... CD