The second smoking Live Oblivion set from Brian Auger and crew – twice as long, and maybe even twice as funky as the first! The tunes on here all really push the ten minute mark – stretching out the original Auger conception on studio sides, and featuring plenty of room for really wicked solo work on organ and electric piano! The live setting seems to inspire the group to even greater new heights – and there's an intensity here that makes for some really great moments. Titles include the wonderful break-heavy version of "Compared To What" – plus "Second Wind", "Maiden Voyage", "Straight Ahead", "Freedom Jazz Dance", and "Inner City Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

Formative Madlib beatcraft – music made by 'Lib from 1990-2000 – crafted into a tight full length album that feels as fresh as ever! History Of The Loop Digga features funky hip hop instrumentals made at a time when he was producing underground beat tapes for himself and the Crate Diggas Palace crew of MCs. Raw Madlib hip hop beats from the early days with spackled with bits of vocals from Madlib & his Quasimoto alter ego, Declaime and others, plus mad vocal samples. At the core, it's excellent leftfield hip hop productions that aptly predicts for the unbridled genius to come, mixed in 2010 and feeling very much of the here and now. 34 shortish tracks on the 2LP version for more than an hour of modern vintage Madlib. Titles include "Static Invazion", "Stakeout", "Rapper X Radio", "Last Day's Music", "Nothing For Nothing", "Live From Outer Space", "Further Adventures Of Walkman Flavor", "Real Days" "CDP Assassins" (Pts 1-6) and a slew of untitled episodes. LP, Vinyl record album

The classic debut album by the DOC, from the glory days of Ruthless Records – one of the few records on the label to live up to the brilliance of NWA at their height! Dr Dre handles the production here – and there's a razor-sharp edge that really matches DOC's wordcraft – as powerful as the rest of the Ruthless crew, but in a different way too – almost more sophisticated, with the messaged buried a bit more in the lyrics. Titles include "The Formula", "It's Funky Enough", "Mind Blowin", "Lend Me An Ear", "Portrait Of A Master Piece", "Whirlwind Pyramid", "No One Can Do It Better", and "The DOC & The Doctor" – plus "The Grand Finale", which features guest work from Ren and Ice Cube. LP, Vinyl record album

This is about as strong as you can get from Willie Colon – he's holding a gun to some cat's head on the cover! (And hip hoppers think they invented the gangster image!) More than just a catchy picture, though, the image is really important at a symbolic level – as the guy Willie's capping is an older one, possibly a bloated bandleader from years past, being shoved out of the way by Willie's leaner, cleaner sound and style. The album more than lives up to that picture, too – as it's filled with hard-hitting salsa numbers that show Willie and crew refining their sound even more from their already-strong previous albums. Includes the long cut "Junio 73", a really wonderful number, plus loads of other great ones that include "Guajira Ven", "Vo So", and "Calle Luna Calle Sol". LP, Vinyl record album

Massive! This is probably the best-ever album of rollerskating grooves – and is the most famous entry into a short-lived funk genre that sprung up around the rollerskating craze of the late 70s and early 80s. The rollerskate sound took a tight stepping funk groove from earlier years, and mixed it with the extended instrumental style of club music – creating a sound that was a mix of funk and disco that worked perfectly for skating around a track, and which had a huge influence on the beat of early hip hop. The centerpiece of the album's the massive sample track "Bounce, Rock, Skate, Roll" – an instantly recognizable number that features tight vamping guitar and good choppy rhythms. The cut's offered up here in 2 parts – and the rest of the record's just as great, with titles that include "Roller Skate", "We're Gonna Funk You Up", and "Thinking About You Baby". LP, Vinyl record album

A really great setting for the guitar of Mary Halvorson – one that reminds us what a versatile player she's become over the years – an artist whose way of inflecting strings and reaching for new colors really continues to amaze us with each new album! There's a very rhythmic pulse to the record – as Michael Formanek provides bass and Tomas Fujiwara plays drums – with the former also bringing in a bit of electronics, while the latter handles vibes – although both rarely diverge too much from the core, which really allows Halvorson to fly throughout. Titles include "Survival Fetish", "Song For Mr Humphries", "Capsicum Annuum", "Should Be Cool", "Brutality & Beauty", and "Swirling Lives". LP, Vinyl record album

A less tense and caustic Roots than the crew that hit us on the majority of Rising Down a couple years earlier – and this one's as strong of an album as they've delivered since moving over to Def Jam. In truth, we were a little scared when we saw some of the guests credited – Monsters Of Folk, John Legend, Joanna Newsom and other headscratchers on top of more likely collaborators such as Phonte, Blu, Peedi Peedi and Dice Raw – it gets over very, very well here! How I Got Over is a Roots effort through and through, with contemplative and soulful tracks that simmer and stew in tried and true fashion. The tracks with those indie rock guests turn out to be among the Roots-iest tracks on the record. Believe that! So you can rest easy, the Roots are The Roots here, just what we wanted and just what we get! Includes "A Peace Of Light" feat Amber Coffman, Angel Deradoorian & Haley Dekle, "Walk Alone" feat Truck North, PORN & Dice Raw, "Now Or Never" with Phonte & Dice Raw, "Dear God 2.0" with Monsters Of Folk, "The Day" feat Blu, Phonte & Patty Crash, "Doin It Again", "Tunnel Vision" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

One of those great "mystery" projects from Dennis Bovell – a record that was originally designed to look like some obscure import from Kingston, but which was actually Bovell and crew working in a top shelf UK answer to righteous roots modes of the 70s! Tracks are full of righteous currents, but mostly deliver the message instrumentally – although there are lean vocals that drift through the dubby mix from time to time, augmenting the grooves! The approach is great – definitely different than some of Bovell's more polished creations – and titles include "Out A Order", "Sing A Man", "Go Deh", "Raw Kut", "Half Way To Za-Ion", "Jah Chase Dem", and "Ah Who She". LP, Vinyl record album