... CD

Includes "When Smokey Sings", "The Night You Murdered Love", and "Ark Angel". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

... CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

This early import 12" single presents the tune in all its 4 part glory – complete with lots of production twists and turns from Trevor Horn, as well as impeccable string arrangements from Anne Dudley! 12-inch, Vinyl record

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

... CD

... 78 RPM, Vinyl record

A seminal step forward for this legendary group – easily one of the greatest albums they ever cut! With ABC, the Jacksons are expanding their sound with the club-oriented grooves of the time – using Holland, Dozier, and Holland on many cuts, trying for a similar soaring groove as some of the trio's work on their own Invictus label. The move's actually a great one – as the maturing group has a strong adult harmony sound, the one that they would lean on more heavily during their years as The Jacksons, and which calls for much smoother arrangements than before. The record's got a surprisingly righteous, joyous sort of sound – and titles include "The Love You Save", "ABC", "One More Chance", "Never Had A Dream Come True", "I'll Bet You", "I Found That Girl", "La-La Means I Love You", "2-4-6-8", and "The You Folks". CD

A seminal step forward for this legendary group – easily one of the greatest albums they ever cut! With ABC, the Jacksons are expanding their sound with the club-oriented grooves of the time – using Holland, Dozier, and Holland on many cuts, trying for a similar soaring groove as some of the trio's work on their own Invictus label. The move's actually a great one – as the maturing group has a strong adult harmony sound, the one that they would lean on more heavily during their years as The Jacksons, and which calls for much smoother arrangements than before. The record's got a surprisingly righteous, joyous sort of sound – and titles include "The Love You Save", "ABC", "One More Chance", "Never Had A Dream Come True", "I'll Bet You", "I Found That Girl", "La-La Means I Love You", "2-4-6-8", and "The You Folks". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the first albums ever by this legendary jazz vocal group! LHR do the incredible – and create a set of vocal renditions of standards by the Basie band, putting jazzy lyrics in to replace the instrumental solos, but keeping the same vibe as the original tracks. The sound and approach is amazing – and it's no wonder this record made them instant legends. Titles include "Down For The Count", "Fiesta In Blue", "Blues Backstage", and "It's Sand, Man!" LP, Vinyl record album

The 2LP set that brought together material that was later issued on the Monk In Italy and Monk In France albums – landmark live sides from a 1961 European tour! The set features the killer 60s Monk quartet with Charlie Rouse, John Ore and Fark Dunlop. 18 tracks in all, including "Epistrophy", "Jackie-ing", "Body & Soul", "Off Minor", "Rhythm-a-ning", "Straight No Chaser", "Bemsha Swing", "Well You Needn't", and "Crepuscle With Nellie". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include "Stagger Lee", "Lawdy Miss Clawdy", "Come Into My Heart", "Lady Luck", "Never Let Me Go", and "Have You Ever Had The Blues?" – 18 tracks total. CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

28 tracks of music from the Dubs, the Floridians, Billy Champ, the Larktones, the Laurles, the Passions, the Persians, Gloria Mann, Evelyn Dell and Vibrations, the Larktones and more. CD

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

... LP, Vinyl record album

A groovy little vocal group with a swinging 50s sound – working here with some great jazzy arrangements from trombonist Kai Winding! The style of the set prefaces Winding's pop/jazz sides for Verve in the mid 60s – but has a sound that's somewhat similar – with lead vocals by the male/female Axidentals group, and some trombone-based jazzy backings that showcase Winding's horn amidst a larger brass section. There's a great poppy punch to these tunes – and the Axidentals themselves can be credited for some extremely inventive vocal arrangements at times – in styles that go way beyond those of conventional groups of the period, in a mode that reminds us of some of the work by the Kirby Stone Four or the John LaSalle Quartet. Titles include "Walkin", "Out Of This World", "You Gotta Wail", "No Moon At All", "Day In Day Out", and "Close To You". LP, Vinyl record album

Kevin Ayers is still in fine form here – maybe a bit less mad than on his early Harvest records, but not that much less! Olli Halsall provides a lot of great guitar – and titles include "Star", "Mr Cool", "The Owl", "Help Me", "Ballad Of Mr Snake", "Everyone Knows The Song", and "Falling In Love Again". LP, Vinyl record album

A heck of a great batch of blue eyed soul tracks – much harder-hitting than you'd expect from the name of the group, and done with a "live studio" feel that really makes the session kick! The group's a big one, of mixed origin – of the sort of party club type acts that used to play a lot in the south in the 60s – and alongside original tunes, they also really groove on some upbeat numbers in a soaring Sam & Dave sort of mode. Titles include "I've Been Trying", "I'm Losing You", "Hey You", "Such A Fuss About Sunday", "Soul Man", "Shake", and "I Feel Good". LP, Vinyl record album

Amazing work from Gato Barbieri's legendary exploration of Latin American sounds for Impulse Records – a set that's heavy on Cuban influences, thanks to arrangements from the mighty Chico O'Farrill! The sound is sublime – a bit fuller than some of Gato's other albums in the run, but never with any slick or commercial styles – just more of a richness from O'Farrill's backings, matched perfectly by Barbieri's amazing tones on the tenor! There's a lot of Latin percussion in the backings – courtesy of Ray Mantill, Luis Mangual, and Ray Armando – and Eddie Martinez mixes in some sweet electric piano with his acoustic lines, deepening the soul of the record in a really 70s way. Titles include "Milonga Triste", "Lluvia Azul", "La Padrida", "Viva Emiliano Zapata", and "El Sublime" – the last of which is a good description of the record! LP, Vinyl record album

With Freddie Greene on guitar, George Duvivier on bass, Eddie Shaughnessy on drums, Roy Eldridge on trumpet, Al Grey and Billy Byers on trombone, and Eddie Lockjaw Davis on tenor sax. LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include "Golden Lady", "Dreaming & Hoping", "Shed A Tear", and "Give Peace A Chance". LP, Vinyl record album

Funky rock from this all-girl group – done with lots of heavy guitars, and a really full-on and righteous style that's pretty darn soulful! The drums on the set are pretty nice overall – snapping and crackling under the tunes with a nice breaking kind of sound – and tiltes include "Work On A Dream", "Free Spirit", "Feeling Lonely", "Fine Talkng Man", "Forgotten Soul", and "Too Much Woman". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

Four fantastic albums from Bobby Bland – all brought together in a single package for the first time! First up is Come Fly With Me – great work from Bobby Blue Bland – one of the few artists to rise up at the end of the 50s, and still find a way to chart their own path forward in soul with fresh material like this! Bobby's voice is still incredible here, and he works with production from Al Bell and Monk Higgins, the latter of whom arranged – in this cool style that's a bit like some of the territory that Tyrone Davis was taking on at Columbia Records during the second half of the 70s – fuller arrangements that bring some sophisticated soul touches to the music, but in ways that never lose the core of Bobby's genius! Titles include "Lady Lonely", "Night Games", "You Can Count On Me", "Love To See You Smile", "Come Fly With Me", and "To Be Friends". The next album is I Feel Good I Feel Fine – and Bobby Bland sounds pretty good too – thanks to arrangements from the great Monk Higgins, who does a perfect job of mixing Bland's trademark vocals with some sweet late 70s arrangements! The sound is upbeat, but never in a cliched disco mode – more in the territory that you'd hear Johnnie Taylor using over at Columbia Records – maybe a good comparison, given the Memphis roots that both artists shared – as both also evolved a lot to shift their sound with the changing modes of the time. And as with Johnnie, Bobby never loses the core that makes him great – as you'll hear on titles that include "Tit For Tat", "Soon As The Weather Breaks", "In His Eyes", "Someone To Belong To", "I Feel Good I Feel Fine", and "Little Mama". Sweet Vibrations is a real gem from the start of the 80s – arranged by Monk Higgins, who co-produced the set with Al Bell – a duo who'd already given Bobby some great records before, but who really knock it out of the park with this one. There's an extra-special quality going on here – maybe a slight reintroduction of blues roots, but still with a very contemporary spirit – set up to superb backings throughout. Titles include "Soul With A Flavor", "Hollywood Woman", "You'd Be A Millionaire", "Sweet Vibrator", "Special Kind Of Fool", and "A Real Woman Is What It Takes". Try Me I'm Real is record with a title that certainly fits the bill – as the amazing voice of Bobby Bland is as real here as it ever was, and blended with superbly soulful backings that take the singer's sound forward for a whole new generation! Some of Bobby's contemporaries were content to just stick in a straight blues mode – but Bland really grew and developed a lot as an artist, thanks in part to Monk Higgins and Al Bell – who are both at the production helm of the record, and balance the bluesy roots of Bobby with some richer soul backings that really knock the whole thing out of the park! We love Bobby Blue Bland during his early Duke Records years – but we love him equally as much for music like this, on titles that include "But I Do", "What A Difference A Day Makes", "Givin Up The Streets For Love", "A Song For You My Son", "Just You Just Me", and "Love Is Where It's At". CD

Brilliant later work by Bobby Blue Bland – done with backings that are much fuller than on his earlier albums – a mixture of strings and horns that really expand the sound! That doesn't keep things from being soulful, though – as Bobby's in incredible form vocally, really rising to the occasion of the session with some of his best vocal performances of the decade. Great throughout – and one of his few true classic sessions after the early Duke years. Titles include "Today I Started Loving You Again", "I Take It On Home", "I Hate You", "If Fingerprints Showed Up On Skin", and "Too Far Gone". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Sure it's not his Duke recordings, and sure, the sound's a bit 70s-ish – but Bobby's voice is always fantastic, and he still sounds great in this smooth batch of tracks recorded in LA. Backings were arranged and conducted by Michael Omartian – but it's Bobby's vocals that really make the set shine. Titles include "Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City", "The End Of The Road", "I Ain't Gonna Be The Fist To Cry", "Dreamer", "Who's Foolin Who", "Cold Day In Hell", "Lovin On Borrowed Time", and "Yolanda". LP, Vinyl record album

A nice little record from Bobby Blue Bland – quite different from his 60s sides for Duke/Peacock, and recorded in California (as you might guess from the title!) with a smoother more soulful approach that comes off surprisingly well! The style works well for Bobby – and kind of gave him a new lease on life during the 70s, as he mixed his rougher bluesy vocals with some hipper arrangements – still quite deep in soul, but with a compressed sound that creates a new mode of expression. Titles include "Goin Down Slow", "Up & Down World", "Help Me Through The Day", "Where My Baby Went", "Friday The 13th Child", "This Time I'm Gone For Good", and "I've Got To Use My Imagination". CD

Trumpeter Ruby Braff and pianist Dave McKenna – a tremendous combination that makes for some very swinging music! The CD features the full track list from the excellent (and obscure) ABC album recorded by the pair in 1956 – a great date that draws from Braff's more traditional approach to jazz trumpet, but which also inflects it with a good dose of McKenna's well-stated and sometimes more modern lines on piano. Rhythm is by Sam Herman on guitar, Al Lucas on bass, and Buzzy Drootin on drums – and although the style is trad, there's also a lean and hoke-free quality to the work that's a lot more appealing than we expected. Titles include "Why Was I Born", "Blue Prelude", "Dancing In The Dark", "Louisiana", "It's Wonderful", "Lover Come Back To Me", and "Almost Like Being In Love". CD also features 9 more bonus tracks too – 7 from the album Braff, 1 from the album Easy Now, and 1 with Benny Goodman. All tracks feature Braff and McKenna – and titles include "As Long As I Live", "Stardust", "I'm Shooting High", "Soft Lights & Sweet Music", "How Long Has This Been Going On", and "If I Had You". CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

... 78 RPM, Vinyl record

Candido cut sooo many great Latin records over the years, spanning a wide range of styles, we have a hard time deciding which we love the best. We like to think this may be his best album from the early part of his career, specifically because it features the master conga player amidst a tight jazz lineup, who leave him plenty of room to solo and just plain get down doing his thing. Dick Hyman's on organ, Joe Puma's on guitar, and Ernie Royal's on trumpet, with George Duvivier and Charlie Persip in the rhythm section. 8 tracks in all, including "Afro Blue", "Caravan", "Softly But Blue", "Blue Lou", "Blue Prelude", "Bongo Baby", "Blue Dirge" and "Candido Cocktail". LP, Vinyl record album