... LP, Vinyl record album

Excellent funky work from Lou Donaldson – and a groundbreaking record that was the first to feature him playing on Blue Note with drummer Idris Muhammad – who is listed on the session under his birth name, Leo Morris! Muhammad gives the album that crackling funky bottom sound that instantly defined Lou's later years at Blue Note – a hard and heavy approach to soul jazz that's had incredible repercussions in the world of hip hop, as well as soul and funk. The rest of the group features soul jazz burners Lonnie Smith on organ, Melvin Lastie on trumpet, and George Benson on guitar – and the album includes the highly successful "Alligator Boogaloo", plus hard groovers "The Thang", "Aw Shucks!", and "One Cylinder". LP, Vinyl record album

... 78 RPM, Vinyl record

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include "Two Headed Man", "One More Shot", "Trading Post", "In The Dark", and "Eyeballin". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Features Jimmy Johnson on guitar and vocals – on titles that include "Heap See", "Missing Link", "Happy Home", "Chicken Heads", "Little By Little", and "When My First Wife Quit Me". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

An Alligator Records classic, and a great showcase for Chicago guitarist Son Seals – who also serves up some great vocals too! Titles include "Cold Blood", "Friday Again", "Don't Pick Me For Your Fool", "Out Of My Way", "Person To Person", and "Just About To Lose Your Clown". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include "She's Gone", "Wild About You Baby", "Walking The Ceiling", "Phillips Theme", "55th Street Boogie", and "It's Alright". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

An overlooked gem from The Holy Modal Rounders – the group's fifth album, and a set that shows them moving into a slightly more subtle style than before – but still with plenty of their trademark touches intact! The work often has a sweetly folksy feel – one that conjures up the city-to-country modes of some of the Marin County bands of the time – with some sensitive lyrics and instrumentation, all produced beautifully down in Nashville by the legendary Bob Dorough – who was doing some surprising rock projects around this time. Despite the joke of the title, there actually is a timeless quality to this set – one that might almost make the record a good place to start if you've always been curious about the Rounders, but a bit intimidated by the fame of their earlier classics. Titles include "Black Bottom", "Spring OF 65", "Boobs A Lot", "Alligator Man", "City Blues", "The Whole World Oughta Go On Vacation", and "Melinda". LP, Vinyl record album

Sublime 70s work from pianist Fumio Itabashi, easily one of our favorite Japanese talents of the time – a pianist with a wonderful sense of rhythm and freedom at the same time – very much on display on this beautiful record! The tracks are long and flowing – full of feeling, and as lyrical at times as they are rhythmic – set up with perfect trio accompaniment that features Tsutomu Okada on bass and Takuji Kusimoto on drums – working with Fumio in this special sort of magic that's a bit hard to put in words, but which really demonstrates on record why this moment in Japanese jazz was such a special time! Ties include "TOH", "Alligator Dance", and "Goodbye". LP, Vinyl record album

Hammering stuff! This is one of the hardest of the Goldmine compilations – with a heavy-duty garagey mix of soul, R&B, and beat-heavy tunes that fit perfectly together. The overall sound is super-mod, with the kind of grooves you'd expect to find at some wonderful underground party in London during the late 60s – where original soulboys are dancing all night long to a color-blind mix of storming chunes. Titles include "The Snake" by Al Wilson, "Jump & Dance" by Carnaby, "Exus Trek" by Luther Ingram, "Alligator Boogaloo" by Sandy Nelson, "These Boots Were Made For Walkin" by The Happy Cats, "Charley" by The Soul Runners, "Coffee Pot 2" by Bo Junior, "Crawling Up A Hill" by John Mayall, "Wobble Legs" by Tommy Dark, "Chain Gang" by The Powerhouse, and "Baby You Got It" by The Truth. 20 cuts in all – and all hardcore! LP, Vinyl record album

Features both Lonesome Sundown and Phillip Walker on guitars – with Nat Dove and Bill Murray on keyboards! LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include "Potato Head Blues", "Wild Man Blues", "SOL Blues", "Gully Low Blues", "Melancholy Blues", "Weary Blues", "Twelfth Street Rag", "Willie The Weeper", "That's When I'll Come Back To You", "Alligator Crawl", and "Chicago Breakdown". LP, Vinyl record album

Stunning funk from the great Dizzy Gillespie – light years away from his early bop recordings! The album's a slammin batch of 70s instrumentals – Dizzy's trumpet firmly in the lead over electric backings that have more than a bit of funk in them – a bit like his Soul Salvation record, and but slightly more open overall – with a groovy vibe throughout! The bass is the main driving factor of the tunes – played either by Phil Upchurch or Chuck Rainey – and the tracks bounce along with a fierce and righteous groove that also includes hard riffing on guitar and some sweet piano lines. Players include Mike Longo, James Moody, and Bernard Purdie – and tracks include "N'Bani", "Matrix", "Soul Kiss", "Ding A Ling", and "Alligator". Great stuff, and a crucial album in Dizzy's lost career! Damn funky, too. LP, Vinyl record album

A classic set from the Grateful Dead – and one that features the group mixing studio tracks with their rising fame as a must-see live act! The package features both concert and studio recordings, and there's a wonderfully optimistic, late 60s vibe to the whole thing – the group still looking forward strongly, almost playing with a sense of surprise as they make their way through new musical discoveries – mixing catchiness and complexity together in ways that few of their contemporaries could match. Titles include "That's It For The Other One", "New Potato Caboose", "Born Cross Eyed", "Alligator", and "Caution Do Not Stop On The Tracks". LP, Vinyl record album

Prime Grateful Dead from their early years on the San Francisco scene – performing in the very friendly confines of The Fillmore – and spinning out long tracks that already show the group embracing their talent for improvisation! The set features an 18 minute "Jam" track – plus a 23 minute blend of "That's It For The Other One/Cryptical Envelopment", a 21 minute take of "Dark Star", and more long tracks that include "Caution/Feedback/And We Bid You Goodnight", "St Stephen/The Eleven", "Turn On Your Lovelight", and "Alligator/Drums/Jam". LP, Vinyl record album

A killer album from Pucho – and the best one he's done since the early 70s! Unlike some of his weaker recent ones, which try to hard for a "fake funk" feel that just ends up going nowhere, this one plays on Pucho's strong Latin jazz sensibility, and it lets the band get nice and jazzy, with a stone groove that's right in keeping with the excellent Latin work on the Cubop label. The band still includes sax work by the great Eddie Pazant, a masterful player who made Pucho's classic albums work so well – and Pucho himself's wailing away on timbales, while John Spruill delivers some tasty piano lines to keep the rhythm section rolling along. It's great to have Pucho and the group back at a level where they belong – but we wouldn't expect anything less from an artist on the Cubop label! Includes a cover of Lou Donaldson's "Alligator Boogaloo", plus Eddie Harris' "Cold Duck Time", and originals like "Happy Feet Mambo", "Lena's Moods", and "Descarga On Las Palmas". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A rare soundtrack from the mighty Cerrone – recorded right at the height of his electro disco fame, and with a very similar groove! The film was also titled Vice Squad in the US market – and the music here definitely echoes the sleaze of its subject matter – with loads of sweet clubby lines that are heavy in the keyboard styles you'll know from "Supernature" – but maybe even leaner and meaner here – with a stripped-down punch that makes for plenty of funky disco moments! The tracks are mostly groovers, but even the few mellow moments are great – and titles include "Phonic", "Give Me Love", "Make Up", "The Loft", "Strip Tease", "Experience", and "Deauville". LP, Vinyl record album