A set that has Sid Ramin working with a large group, but getting a really tight sound out of them throughout – a mode that's more soundtrack-styled than any sort of jazz big band – but which still has lots of jazzy flourishes from the horns in the group! Arrangements are plenty playful throughout – like some of Ramin's great soundtrack scoring – and titles include "Nola", "In The Mood", "Never On Sunday", "Ruby", and "And The Angels Sing". LP, Vinyl record album

Phillip Frazier on tuba, Keith Frazier on bass drums, Derrick Tabb on snare drum, Stafford Agee and Gregory Veals on trombone, Derrick Shezbie and Chadwick Honore on trumpet, and Vincent Broussard on saxophone. CD

Joshua Redman continues the wonderful groove he first began on his Elastic album – a well-named sound that's filled with lots of modal rhythms and a very soulful spirit! The style's a bit like that growing, more open-ended style of organ jazz at the end of the 60s – especially the sort that was showing up on some of John Patton's later albums, or the looser recordings of Groove Holmes and Lonnie Smith. Redman's working here on a variety of saxes, alongside great organ and keyboards from Sam Yahel, and exceptional work on drums from Brian Blade and Jeff Ballard. The album features guest work by Stefon Harris, Jeff Parker, Nicholas Payton, ?uestlove, and Meshell Ndegocello – and titles include "Soundcheck", "Sweet Nasty", "Just A Moment", "Shut Your Mouth", "The Crunge", "Riverwide", "Greasy G", "Lonely Woman", "Swunk", and "Put It In Your Pocket". CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

A hard and heavy side from Buddy, and true to his reputation and the title of the LP, he comes out swinging! The set features a top notch mid 60s group, and from the sound of the numbers on this set, ol' Buddy did need to hand out any of his famous lectures on the bus afterwards, with some crisp soloing and great ensemble playing. Includes "Basically Blues", "The Critics Choice", "My Man's Gone Now", "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" and "Sister Sadie". CD

The important first album by singer Judy Roberts – an excellent jazz talent with a sound that's up there with the best jazz fusion vocalists of the 70s! Judy comes at the end of a decade that scored big recordings for singers like Flora Purim and Urzula Dudziak – and she's easily as great as any of those three, and often sadly lost to time because of the later years in which she recorded, and the Chicago scene in which she made her home! This first self-produced album is a rare groovehound's gem – filled with soaring numbers that feature Roberts on both vocals and keyboards – including electric piano, Arp, clavinet, and other keyboards. Titles include "Fantasy", "Thumbs", "Never Was Love", "Dandelion", "Yes Indeed", and "Watercolors". LP, Vinyl record album

The important first album by singer Judy Roberts – an excellent jazz talent with a sound that's up there with the best jazz fusion vocalists of the 70s! Judy comes at the end of a decade that scored big recordings for singers like Flora Purim and Urzula Dudziak – and she's easily as great as any of those three, and often sadly lost to time because of the later years in which she recorded, and the Chicago scene in which she made her home! This first self-produced album is a rare groovehound's gem – filled with soaring numbers that feature Roberts on both vocals and keyboards – including electric piano, Arp, clavinet, and other keyboards. Titles include "Fantasy", "Thumbs", "Never Was Love", "Dandelion", "Yes Indeed", and "Watercolors". CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

Breezy electric vocals from 70s Sweden – a great little record that's heavy on electric piano and organ, and which features some sublime vocals from singer Meta Roos! The record does a great job of blending influences from bossa nova and sophisticated American soul – in a style that manages to draw on some of the bigger songwriters of the time, but which makes the work come across with a fresh sound of its own – thanks to creatively grooving arrangements from keyboardist Nippe Sylwen! Sylwen's keys dominate the music almost as much as Meta's warm vocals – and titles include great versions of "Zazueira", "Feel Like Makin Love", "For Peace & Love", "Oh Lori", "Here We Are Falling In Love Again", "You've Got A Friend", and "Street Walking Women". LP, Vinyl record album

Breezy electric vocals from 70s Sweden – a great little record that's heavy on electric piano and organ, and which features some sublime vocals from singer Meta Roos! The record does a great job of blending influences from bossa nova and sophisticated American soul – in a style that manages to draw on some of the bigger songwriters of the time, but which makes the work come across with a fresh sound of its own – thanks to creatively grooving arrangements from keyboardist Nippe Sylwen! Sylwen's keys dominate the music almost as much as Meta's warm vocals – and titles include great versions of "Zazueira", "Feel Like Makin Love", "For Peace & Love", "Oh Lori", "Here We Are Falling In Love Again", "You've Got A Friend", and "Street Walking Women". CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

One of the great "songbook" albums by the Rubber Band – and a very different set than their better-known Hendrix record! As you'd guess by the title, this session has the group taking on Cream – performing instrumental versions of some of the group's most groove-heavy tunes, but doing so in a way that avoids the risk of falling short of Eric Clapton's guitar work – by just not using much guitar at all! Instead, the versions of the tunes are funkily baroque – still with heavy Ginger Baker-styled drums on the bottom, but often using strings and woodwinds in weird ways to carry the rest of the tune. The approach is almost like some of the best Brit Easy records from the time – with a full orchestral sound thinned into a tight rock funk groove! The set's got an especially great version of "Strange Brew", with organ that sounds like it could be played by Alan Hawkshaw – plus the tracks "White Room", "Deserted Cities Of The Heart", "Toad", "We're Going Wrong", "Those Were The Days", "Sunshine Of Your Love", and "Sweet Wine". LP, Vinyl record album

A very wild record – maybe more free jazz than you'd guess from the image on the cover, and the Guatemala in the title! These guys are a brass band, but the way they mix their horns together often feels more like some Lester Bowie experiment, or some other AACM-related project – as folkloric modes really get changed up in a blend of cornet, baritone horn, and c melody sax – all combined with spare percussion, and an occasional touch of violin! Given the cultural currents, we might also link this one slightly to some of Charlie Haden's Liberation Music records – even though the group themselves are the authentic real deal, a funeral band from a remote mountain village. Titles include "Las Tres Botellas", "Marcha Numero Cuatro", "Chufa", "El Son De Los Altos", "Noches Eternas", and "Marcha Numero Seis". LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

With Darwin Noguera on piano. CD

A surprisingly strong project from guitarist John Scofield – one that we'll admit we were a bit skeptical about, but which really delivers strongly overall! The set features Scofield and group taking on some tunes from a variety of sources – including the Grateful Dead, who are namechecked in the title – and the lineup features the bass of Vicente Archer and drums of Bill Stewart next to Scofield on electric guitar – all recorded at a level that's a bit warmer than you might expect from ECM, which really makes the music come alive – spacious, yet up-close and personal too, with hollow-body guitar work that resonates almost in an acoustic way at times, even as Scofield shows a few of his funkier currents on a few tunes. Titles include "How Deep", "TV Band", "Old Man", "Nothing Is Forever", "Budo", "The Girlfriend Chord", "Stairway To The Stars", "Mask", "Ray's Idea", and "Uncle John's Band". CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Insanely wonderful work from Shango Dance Band – a group headed by onetime Fela Kuti bandmate Ojo Okeji – whose bass work here is worth the price of admission alone! Okeji was a key part of Fela's Koola Lobitos, until leaving the group in 1968 – and taking some of the best players with him – to form the amazing Shango Dance Band, which is this incredible bridge between older Afro jazz modes and the new funk styles to explode in the 70s! At some level, the groove's a bit like that which Fela was percolating at the start of the 70s – but there's also some jazzier currents on the horn solos, especially the trumpet – and Okeji's bass is very far up in the mix – dipping, turning, and crafting these amazing grooves throughout – with a snakey vibe that's completely sublime – as is the entire record. And sure, there have been plenty of Afro Funk reissued on the market in the past decade or so – but few as essential as this one – or as enjoyable! Titles include "Position Pass Power", "Women Are Great", "Son Of Thunder", "Alupandu Gbe", and "I Need Your Love". CD

... CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A smoking little set from George Harmonica Smith – an album recorded in late 60s LA, but done with plenty of Chicago blues touches! The players here are all top-shelf – and include Muddy Waters on guitar and Otis Spann on piano – who definitely help keep a Windy City vibe going on the record – that spare, raw, but electrified approach to the music that was still wonderfully fresh at the time of the sessions. And Smith's vocals alone are totally great – very deeply soulful – but also alternate strongly with sharp lines on harmonica too. Titles include "Mellow Down Easy", "Key To The Highway", "You Better Watch Yourself", "Last Night", "West Helena Woman", "Tell Me Mama", "Juke", and "Everything Gonna Be Alright". CD features 3 bonus tracks – "Love With A Feelin", with vocals by Lucille Spann – plus "Just A Feelin" and "Goin Down Slow". CD

(Note: This item is not for sale online until 7:00am on Sunday, April 21. It is in limited supply – and by nature of the Record Store Day rules it will be offered for sale first to customers who visit the Dusty Groove retail outlet in Chicago the morning of Saturday, April 20. It will not be pre-sold or reserved in any way. However, after 7:00am on April 21 we will offer up whatever we have left for sale online.) LP, Vinyl record album

Sweet sweet grooves from the SOS Band – definitely on the rise at the time, but still sounding great, with all the best elements of their early work firmly intact! The core group are very much at home in the studio – and have this cohesive sound that really comes through right away – leading off with some big numbers produced and arranged by the team of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis – a few of which really pushed up the charts – then stepping into some of their own production work with help from Gene Dozier, who definitely brings more of a funky feel to the proceedings! Lead vocals are mostly handled by Mary Davis, but a few tracks feature Abdul Ra'oof up front – and titles include "Just Be Good To Me", "Tell Me If You Still Care", "For Your Love", "If You Want My Love", "On The Rise", and "Steppin The Stones" – plus "Just Be Good To Me (vocal rmx)", "For Your Love (expanded rmx)", and "Tell Me If You Still Care (inst)". CD

The mighty SOS Band, still grooving hard well into the 80s – and still showing the world that their sound is way tighter than any of their many imitators! The style here is updated a bit from the group's first few records – given a sharper punch and polish by the Jimmy Jam/Terry Lewis team – yet the record's still got a depth that goes way past some of the more commercial soul the duo had been working on at the time – a great evolution of an older funk style into a sweet, lean sound for the latter half of the 80s! Keyboards soar over bouncy basslines – and the trademark mix of male and female vocals really works well on the album's hook-heavy cuts. Tracks include "Borrowed Love", "The Finest", "Do You Still Want To", "Sands Of Time", "Even When You Sleep", "Nothing But The Best", "No Lies", and "Two Time Lover". Includes 4 bonus tracks "Even When You Sleep (extended)", "Borrowed Love (extended)", "No Lies (12 inch mix)" and "The Finest (extended)". CD

The seminal first album from the SOS Band – a record that really showcases the new sound of soul for the 80s, yet still holds onto all the best elements of the previous decade too! These guys have a great ear for groovers – well-demonstrated by the play they got on the dancefloor – yet they've also got a deeper sense of soul than some of their club contemporaries as well – heard not just on the ensemble vocals for the upbeat tracks, but especially on some of the album's great mellow steppers too! It's these laidback cuts that have always kept the album strong for us – showing that SOS are way more than just another fast funk band, and can really go deep, and stay with it for the long haul. Fred Wesley helped a bit on the arrangements – and titles include "Take Your Time", "Love Won't Wait For Love", "SOS (Dit Dit Dit Dash Dash Dash Dit Dit Dit)", "Take Love Where You Find It", and "Open Letter". LP, Vinyl record album

A solid smoker from the SOS Band – maybe one of the group's best-remembered albums, and for good reason too! The set's got a groove that's beautiful right from the start – 80s funk that's really a cut above, and touched with just the right mix of jazzy elements and warmer moments too – giving the whole record a much more balanced feel than similar efforts of the time! Production is from Ricky Sylvers and Gene Dozier – the latter of whom we especially love, and who no doubt helps bring his years of soulful experience into the great sound of the set. Titles include "You Shake Me Up", "Have It Your Way", "Your Love", "High Hopes", "Good & Plenty", and "Groovin". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the rarest albums issued on the Crazy Cajun label – and a set that definitely doesn't have any cajun in the music at all! Instead, the South Funk Boulevard Band do a wonderful job of blending southern deep soul roots with some tighter funk ensemble modes – still nice and raw on the vocals, but with a sharpness of presentation that really holds the whole thing together! The album feels like the kind of funky soul that a label like Stax or Hi might have cut in the late 70s, had the Memphis scene still been going strong – and the whole thing's a further testament to producer Huey P Meux – sometimes shady, but always willing to let a hip group like this open up and get a chance to record something great! Allison provides vocals on a few tracks, the group's male singer is on the others – and titles include "It's Love", "You're All That Matters To Me", "I'm Gonna Love You Till I Die", "Mind Somewhere Else", "Blanket Of Love", "Pay Before You Lay", "Want You Back In My Arms", and "It's Love". LP, Vinyl record album

A key record in the post-Byrds legacy of the 70s – the famous pairing of JD Souther, Chris Hillman, and Richie Furay – all united in a mode that takes the country rock experiments of the late 60s into tighter territory for the new decade! There's definitely some focused, harmonic moments on the record that echo sounds that the Eagles and Poco were giving the world – but the record's also got plenty more moments that are more open, honest, and really show the way that the trio could put aside egos, and work as a whole. All three sing and play guitar, and Hillman adds some especially nice mandolin – on titles that include "The Heartbreaker", "Fallin In Love", "The Flight Of The Dove", "Rise & Fall", "Deep Dark & Dreamless", "Safe At Home", and "Border Town". CD

A sweet little set from the Jeremy Spencer Band – a record that might have had more of a singer/songwriter vibe, or an AOR approach, had it been recorded a few years before, but which instead comes off here in a really unique blend of rock and disco! There's plenty of guitar leads on the tracks, and catchy lyrics that almost feel like they'd be equally at home in some other style of music – but which are especially nice here in the upbeat, disco-influenced rhythms of the set – which also include plenty of keyboards from Michael Fogarty, Spencer's co-producer, songwriter, and partner in crime for the set! Titles include "Love Our Way Outta Here", "Flee", "Cool Breeze", "Travellin", "You've Got The Right", "Sunshine", and "Deeper". CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

One of the greatest of the AIP late 60s rock and roll soundtracks – featuring some killer tracks by The Standells, plus a few more by The Chocolate Watch Band, and other odd psyche rock bands of the time! This one's got a feel that's a lot more real rock and roll than some of the other Tower soundtracks of the time – and the overall intensity of the film is stronger than the usual schlock biker movie. Titles include "Get Away From Here" and "Riot On Sunset Strip" by The Standells, "Don't Need Your Lovin" and "Sitting There Standing" by The Chocolate Watch Band, "The Sunset Theme" and "Make The Music Pretty" by The Sidewalk Sounds, "Children In The Night" by The Mom's Boys, "Sunset Sally" by The Mugwumps, and "Like My Baby" by Drew. LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... Cassette

... CD

Quite possibly the greatest soul band ever to come out of Milwaukee – and a tight little ensemble who've got a really great sound! The overall feel of their work is a bit hard to peg – as the group are equally great at mellow midtempo group numbers as they are at tighter, clubbier tunes that snap with a bit more of a horn-heavy sound – and throughout the record there's a really playful feel that shows that whatever the sound, whatever the setting, these guys just had a heck of a great time working with each other! That quality can be heard especially well on the title track "I Always Wanted To Be In The Band" – a great little number that's almost an updating of the TSU Tornadoes sound for the 70s – but the whole set's great, and other tracks move into some great super-dope production that we really love! Titles include "I Am A Lonely Man", "People", "Cool Days Are Out Of Style", "I Ain't Never Gonna Let You Go", and "Cash Money". LP, Vinyl record album

Dave Stryker on guitar, Steve Slagle on alto and soprano saxophone, Ed Howard on bass, and Victor Lewis on drums. CD

... 78 RPM, Vinyl record

A brilliant debut from Sylvester – quite different than his later disco and club work – although still pretty upbeat and groovy overall! The album's a really unique sort of effort – one that's unabashedly gender-bending, but also wonderfully solid from a musical perspective – funky at points, rootsy at others – with an odd blend of 70s soul and older R&B elements, all filtered through the genre-bending sound of the Bay Area scene of the time! Arrangements are by Sylvester and The Hot Band, but Ben Sidran produced, and we're sure that the record's offbeat qualities are partly due to his own great style of the time – that weird, slightly messed-up groove you'd find on Ben's Blue Thumb album. The set features wild covers of "Southern Man" and "My Country Tis Of Thee" – plus "Whiter Shade Of Pale", "Gimme A Pigfoot", "God Bless The Child", "I'm A Steam Roller", "That Is Rock n Roll", and "Come Back Baby". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

A very unusual work from the Territory Band – one of the more avant-oriented projects of Chicago's sax powerhouse Ken Vandermark. The group's much more spatially and compositionally oriented than any of Ken's other projects, and the feel of the set is in an ambitious mode – almost like some of the work of the London Jazz Composer's Orchestra from the 80s. The group on the set is much larger than on the first Territory Band album – with a mixture of Chicago and European players that include Kevin Drumm, Paul Lytton, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Kent Kessler, Tim Mulvenna, Jim Baker, Jeb Bishop, and Axel Doerner. Tracks are all tributes, in the Vandermark mode – and titles include "Now", "Add & Subtract", "Neiger", and "Catalog". CD

The fantastic first record from Chicago's Territory Band – a project headed up by saxophonist Ken Vandermark, and one that definitely builds the Transatlantic Bridge that's promised by the title! During the second half of the 90s, the Chicago avant scene really exploded with some great younger players – and also drew a lot of guests from other global scenes too – creating a lively cross-breeding of sounds, styles, and ideas – all of which are represented strongly by this group! The lineup features Jim Baker on piano, Jeb Bishop on trombone, Axel Dorner on trumpet, Dave Rempis on alto and tenor, Kent Kessler on bass, Fred Lonberg-Holm on cello, and both Paul Lytton and Tim Mulvenna play drums – which makes for a super heavy sense of energy throughout. Vandermark blows tenor, bass clarinet, and b flat clarinet – on titles that include "Collage (for Kurt Schwitters)", "RM (for Marcel Duchamp)", "Mobile (for Alexander Calder)", and "Stabile (for Hans Hoffmann)". CD

With arrangements by Phil Woods and Frank Wess – on titles that include "Dirty Old Man", "Big Bad Band", "Rock Skipping At Blue Note", and "Shell Game". LP, Vinyl record album

Featuring Clark Terryon trumpet and flugelhorn, and Frank Wess on flute and tenor sax – with Bob Lark and the DePaul University Jazz Ensemble. CD

... CD

With Satoshi Arai and Kenji Hirose on guitar. CD

With Herb Ohta on ukulele. CD

With Sadao Ohya on violin. CD

A whole new side of Charles Tolliver's talents – a majestic big band album, with Charles' trumpet right out front in the lead! At some level, the album's an extension of Tolliver's larger group projects with Music Inc back in the 70s – but at another level, the feel here is totally different – much more complex and dynamic, with a rich array of colors and tones we'd never heard before in his work! The group's definitely a big band – with a full brace of trumpets, trombones, and saxes – all working together in very tight formation to realize Tolliver's musical vision. Solos are by Charles on trumpet on most tracks, plus Bill Saxton and Billy Harper on tenor, Staffort Hunter on trombone, Todd Bashore on alto sax, and Robert Glasper and Stanley Cowell on piano. Titles include "With Love", "Rejoicin", "Mournin Variations", "Right Now", "Suspicion", and "Hit The Spot". CD

Consciousness-stretching grooves from Tonto's Expanding Head Band – one of the earliest avant electronic rock records we can think of – and certainly one of coolest of the early 70s! Zero Time is way ahead of the curve when it comes to instrumental electronics – with a sort of pulsing progressive sound that's like the best stuff by Tangerine Dream – and with a cool bubbling feel to it. Tracks include "Cybernaut", "Jetsex", "Timewhys", "Riversong", and "Aurora". Very groovy, very moogy, and a nice bit of tripped out electronic atmosphere! LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

The first album by this funky fusion quartet – done in a mix of vocal styles that has a nice crossover appeal! The group features work by Hiram Bullock on guitars, Clifford Carter on keyboards, Steve Jordan on drums, and Will Lee on bass – and vocals are handled mostly by Bullock and Carter, in a compressed studio mode that fits in nicely with the electric grooves of the set. Tunes are catchy and somewhat poppy – but the record also features a decent amount of jazz playing as well – and the group's more of a "fusion with vocals" outfit than the other way around. Titles include "Quack", "Turn Your Heart To Stone", "Pleasure Before Business", "Shoppin Round Again", "Full Time Love", and "Down To The Waterfall". LP, Vinyl record album

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

A Chicago group who never hit the big time during their short run at the start of the 80s – but one who definitely know how to groove! There's a vibe here that really lives up to the "togetherness" in the group's name – a way of coming together with a tight, sharp sound throughout – but one that's never too slick, just surprisingly strong for such an underground funk group from the Windy City! And although the music is upbeat, the style is less disco than it is the kind of faster funk that percolated strongly in the underground scene in the pre-house years – almost more akin to some of the best indie club work coming out of the east coast, but with a very unique vibe too. As usual with Numero, the set does way more than just bring this lost music to light – it also tells the tale of the Universal Togetherness Band, and their never-flagging sense of energy and inspiration during their short but important run. Titles include "Ain't Gonna Cry", "Try Try Try", "My Sentiment", "Real Thrill", "Once In A Lifetime", "Call For Love", "I Want You", and "Taken By Love". CD

A fantastic 500th release by the BBE label – one that looks back at the past, and soars to the future! This special extended single package is a fantastic return to form for everyone involved – as underground club legends Patrick Adams and Leroy Burgess get a whole new groove from Louie Vega – but with a warmly soaring vibe that's a great update of their classic approach! "Barely Breaking Even" is a classic from the Universal Robot Band – but this new take has both vocals and production that are a lot warmer than the original P&P Records version – and a groove that's even catchier too! All four mixes are over eight minutes long – served up here beautifully on a double 12" package! 12-inch, Vinyl record

A perfect example of why the Charlie Ventura group was one of the most popular live acts on the west coast scene of it's day! Producer Gene Norman really manages to capture the charm of the group in all its glory – recorded live in a lineup that features Conte Candoli on trumpet, Bennie Green on trombone, and Boots Mussulli on alto – plus some great scatted vocals from the team of Jackie & Roy! The recording's got a natural, flowing quality that really gets at the liveness of the set – and the horns come together beautifully throughout – in that wonderful mix of bop and swing that was the Ventura trademark! Titles include "Boptura", "Flamingo", "Birdland", "Dark Eyes", "High On An Open Mike", and "Lullaby In Rhythm". LP, Vinyl record album

These guys definitely live up to the "jam" in the name of their band – but not in the same way as 21st Century groups using the jam band name! Instead, the sound here is bass-heavy funk – a mode that's probably a bit inspired by P-Funk, but often faster and more frenetic – kind of a rougher-edged version of some of the Ohio funk acts that really rose to prominence at the end of the 70s. Charles Davis is the maestro on bass – and he never pushes things too far, nor pops the strings too much – and instead just uses his strings to really vamp the whole group from the bottom on up, setting the scene for lots of tasty interplay on horns, guitar, and keyboards – amidst a flurry of vocals by members of the group. Titles include "Chazz Jazz", "Midnight Stroker", "Instrument Soul", "Bolo", "Living In Style", "The Funky Get Down", "Can't Hide The Funk", and "Who Want To Fall In Love". CD features 2 bonus tracks – "Can't You Ride The Western Funk" and "Whip That Mini Skirt". LP, Vinyl record album

Mad mad funk, and the fantastic second LP by the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band – the group that proved to everyone that LA could be just as funky as any other city in the 60s! The record draws strongly from the group's indie roots in the funky 45 scene – and the album's filled with short tracks that bump along in jagged rhythms, offbeat arrangements, and some slight touches of sweeter soul. Charles Wright is leading the group on vocals, and taking a stronger presence on these soul-based cuts – but as before, it's the strength of the overall group that really makes the album great – especially the bass work of Melvin Dunlap and the funky drums of James Gadson! Titles include some killer original tracks by the band – like "Do Your Thing", "Giggin' Down 103rd", "Phuncky Bill", "65 Bars & A Taste Of Soul", and "A Dance, A Kiss, & A Song" – plus great covers of "Something You Got", "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag", and "Knock On Wood". LP, Vinyl record album

Killer funky stoner soul from LA! This album is one of the best by Charles Wright and his legendary funky group – and it features some straighter soul material, like the big hit "Loveland", or their mellow take on "Light My Fire" – plus some great heavy funk numbers, like "Till You Get Enough", "Everyday People", and "Must Be Your Thing". The record's a huge testament to the strength of the group – as they handle the soul material just as well as they do the funky stuff that they're more famous for – and we really dig this one for its tightness and straight ahead positive soul! CD

Fantastic funk from the 60s LA scene – and the first-ever album by a group who would dominate the west coast groove of the time! This first outing by the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band takes off nicely from the group's funky 45 years – using larger arrangements to expand upon their hard and heavy groove, in a style that almost has some funky soundtrack touches at times! Fred Smith produced and is directing the group – and tracks are short, sweet, and filled with groovy touches! Titles include "Spreadin Honey", "Fried Okra", "Soul Concerto", "Watts Happening", "103rd Street Theme", "Whole Hog Or Nothing At All", "Brown Sugar", and "A Little Class & A Little Trash". Great trippy cover too – and an endorsement from Bill Cosby on the back! LP, Vinyl record album

With Adam O'Farrill, Jake Henry, John Lake, Kenny Warren on trumpet and flugelhorn. CD

A huge run of music from this legendary psychedelic band – all served up here in a single set! First up is their Part 1 album – the initial uttering from the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band – a group with a heady sound that definitely lives up to their name! There's less "pop art" going on here than just trippy psych – served up at a level that makes the group one of the best bigger label examples of the style at the time – and definitely a lot more edgey than some of their labelmates on Warner. Jimmy Bowen produced, but really keeps all the edges intact – and titles include the completely insane "Help I'm A Rock" (actually about a rock calling for help!) – plus "Shifting Sands", "1906", "Transparent Day", "Here's Where You Belong", and "If You Want This Love". Next is Volume 2 – the amazing second album from this ultra-cool group – a set that's even weirder and wilder than their debut! The trio are maybe one of the few who really live up to the farthest expectations of the psych generation – as they're really open to let their minds fly in their choice of lyrics, instrumentation, and overall presentation of the record – which hardly seems the sort to yield any sort of singles at all, even though a few of the tunes are downright catchy! Instead, the whole thing's put forth as a dark statement on late 60s society – with a sound that's as heavy as the subject matter, and not afraid to really pus all the freak and fuzz as far as it can go! Quite surprising, even for the Reprise label – and tracks include "Queen Nymphet", "Tracy Had a Hard Day Sunday", "In the Arena", "Smell of Incense", "Suppose They Gave A War & No One Comes", "Overture Wcpaeb (part 2)", and "Carte Blanche" – which supposedly they were given in recording the album! Next is Child's Guide To Good & Evil, the third album in the continuing genius of the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band – a group who are certainly as experimental as their name would imply, but who can also come across with some warmer Sunshine Pop touches too! And it's that which makes the group so wonderful – the blend of freak and sweet, of fuzz and fun – all given a special shape in the studio through the genius of producer Jimmy Bowen, whose work here with Bob Markley is superb – and very much open to the best freedoms that Warner was offering its creative talents at the time! The song titles are equally superb – and titles include "A Child's Guide To Good & Evil", "Ritual #1", "Anniversary of World War III", "Eighteen Is Over The Hill", "As Kind As Summer", and "Our Drummer Always Plays In the Nude". CD 4 features 18 more bonus tracks – rare takes and alternate mixes of titles that include "Watch Yourself", "Ritual #1", "As Kind As Summer", "Eighteen Is Over The Hill", and "Until The Poorest People Have Money To Spend" – plus other tracks too. And all the other three albums are presented in both mono and stereo mixes – which makes for 84 tracks in the full set! CD

The initial uttering from the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band – a group with a heady sound that definitely lives up to their name! There's less "pop art" going on here than just trippy psych – served up at a level that makes the group one of the best bigger label examples of the style at the time – and definitely a lot more edgey than some of their labelmates on Warner. Jimmy Bowen produced, but really keeps all the edges intact – and titles include the completely insane "Help I'm A Rock" (actually about a rock calling for help!) – plus "Shifting Sands", "1906", "Transparent Day", "Here's Where You Belong", and "If You Want This Love". CD features bonus single mixes of "Help, I'm A Rock" and "Transparent Day". CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

One of the cool large group recordings of pianist Mike Westbrook – with a lineup that includes Phil Minton on trumpet, Kate Westbrook on tenor horn and piccolo, Brian Godding on guitar, Peter Whyman on alto, and Alan Wakeman on baritone and soprano sax! CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

Well-crafted mainstream disco from Michael Zager – really hitting his stride in the late 70s era. The album's got a core group of studio musicians that features lots of nice keyboards from Zager, plus a chorus of female singers that handle all of the lyrics. The sound's nothing fancy, but it comes across better than you might think – and titles include "Love Love Love", "Still Not Over", "On & On", "Using You", and "Life's A Party". CD

A key record in showcasing Frank Zappa's blend of complicated compositions and all-out jamming – that mix of hard rock and serious songwriting that would direct his energy for most of the 70s – yet still pretty darn raw at this point! The album's a live one – with some of the same great spontaneous energy of the Fillmore set, but even less silliness – even amidst the album's longer songs and weirdass lyrics! The set begins with the extended "Billy The Mountain" – definitely a journey in music – then rolls into "Call Any Vegetable", "Eddie Are You Kidding", "Magdalena", and "Dog Breath". LP, Vinyl record album

Recorded live with Alex Acuna, Nathaniel Townsley, and Victor Bailey. Tracks include "Black Market", "Night Passage", "March Of The Lost Children", "In A Silent Way", and "Fast City". CD

... CD

A really heady set of tracks from the American scene – music that effortlessly bridges the 60s sounds of garage, blues rock, and psych – and prefaces some of the metal and more guitar-heavy modes to emerge later on in the 70s! The work here definitely shares more with the sounds of the 60s, but also really captures the music at a moment when things were really transforming – groups were getting past a slavish presentation of their influences, finding bold new modes of expression, and really letting their freak flag fly with fuzzy brilliance throughout – all at levels that were also different than some of the longer-spun modes of the European progressive world. As with other Grapefruit packages, the distillation of a sound and scene here is wonderful – and supported with very detailed notes too – in a package that includes 62 tracks in all - with work from Bang, Sudden Death, Dust, Arthur Lee, Boomerang, Cactus, Grand Funk, The Flow, Head Over Heels, Sir Lord Baltimore, ZZ Top, Brigade, Fuse, Conception, Morgen, Coven, Alice Cooper, Nazz, Stack, Spirit, Kim Fowley, SRC, Mass Confusion Rock Band, Society's Children, Omnibus, Wildwood, Human Beinz, The Sound Barrier, Fever Tree, and many others! CD