The start of a whole new chapter – with "Shoot To Thrill", "Rock & Roll Ain't Noise Pollution", "Hells Bells", "Back In Black", and "Given The Dog A Bone". LP, Vinyl record album

Raw, rumbling outsider psych from Stephen David Heitkotter – a wild and raucous stream of rambling genius from the early 70s! There's a loose, bluesy approach at the core – with long songs and a disquieting, yet engrossing mood that makes the set one of the most compelling lost rock records of the early 70s. This amazing set of Cali bedroom psych (literally – it was recorded in a bedroom) has built up a deservedly lofty legacy in collectors circles, but it's also something of a mystery – which is what makes this Now Again issue such a treasure. The whole package has been very well researched, and long unanswered questions about Heitkotter and the recording(s) are answered at long last – in a solid booklet of of notes by Eothen Alapatt with rare photos, and an even rawer batch of bonus material. Titles include "Hangin All Night", "I Don't Mind", "Quaker Dog Got Away", "Cadillac Woman" and "Fly Over The Moon" – plus 6 more untitled tracks/demos. Amazing! LP, Vinyl record album

One of the greatest live albums ever, and probably THE best album Johnny Cash ever recorded! In 1969 Cash had more angst than you could shake a stick at – he just kicked drugs, and he hadn't had a big hit in years, so his respectful and thoughtful empathy for the audience of inmates not only cemented his persona as the real deal, but carries an air of dizzying emotion throughout the set. Appropriately filled with his darkest tunes, Folsom is one of the few cases in which a live recording of a hitmakers catalog is stronger and more vital than the studio versions. Includes "Folsom Prison Blues", "Dark As A Dungeon", "Cocaine Blues", "25 Minutes To Go", "Orange Blossom Special", "The Long Black Veil", "Dirty Old Egg-Suckin' Dog", plus "Jackson" and "Give My Love To Rose" featuring June Carter. LP, Vinyl record album

Includes the tracks "Mood Indigo", "Satin Doll", "Black And Tan Fantasy", "You Dirty Dog" and much much more. LP, Vinyl record album

One of the greatest moments ever from Psychic TV – and a really stunning surprise after the breakup of Throbbing Gristle! Genesis P Orridge and Peter Cristopherson go in a completely different direction here – a mode that still holds onto some of the noise lessons learned in TG, but which also shows this incredible love of both more complicated pop modes from the 60s, and some of the farther reaches of minimalism as well! The album sports these tremendous ballads with eerie vocals by Genesis – including "The Orchids" and "White Nights" – which are both eerie recastings of an older mode of UK pop love songs – and there's other tracks that maybe echo a bit of Meredith Monk, or some of the underground experimentalists on the Lovely Records scene – including bits that have weird phone rings, dog barks, and other great touches. A spare and subtle use of noise and darker sounds wends its way throughout – but never with the heavier handed touches of later years – and titles include "Hymn 23", "The Orchids", "Botanica", "Iron", "Glove", "Always Is Always", "White Nights", "Finale", "Eleusis", "Medmenham", "Ancient Lights", "Proof On", "Eden 1 Eden 2 Eden 3", "Clouds Without Water", "Black Moon", "Silver And Gold", "In The Nursery", and "Circle". LP, Vinyl record album

A group so great and so groovy, they ended up having a huge influence on the early sound of hip hop – thanks to a wonderfully funky sound at the core of their progressive rock groove! Babe Ruth have this rhythmic impulse that's really amazing – a way of working bass, drums, and percussion together with qualities that go way past just prog rock noodling – and have this focus that really fits the lead vocals and guitar of Alan Shacklock, who also handled all the arrangements for this mighty debut too! Titles include their classic cut "The Mexican" – a famous sample cut from way back, with nice use of acoustic guitar and a Morricone riff too – plus versions of Zappa's "King Kong" and Jesse Winchester's "Black Dog" – and the originals "Wells Fargo", "The Runaways", and "Joker". LP, Vinyl record album

Rightly rootsy work from the great Lightnin Hopkins – captured beautifully here on a rare session for the mostly-folk Tradition label! A few tracks also feature some vocal assistance from Luke "Long Gone" Miles – and titles include "Long Time", "Baby", "Gonna Pull A Party", "Backwater Blues", "Hear My Black Dog Bark", and "Bunion Stew". LP, Vinyl record album

Hard rock perfected! It's around Led Zeppelin IV that you can easily say that the group moved up from being incredibly great to flat-out legendary – really in a class by themselves, although maybe they'd already reached that point with the sublime sounds of the previous three records! There's a darkness here – and a sense of magick too – an eerie new energy that still has all the balls-out rock power of before, but which has the group moving into this heady territory that's really all their own. Every song is a classic – and tracks include "Black Dog", "Stairway To Heaven", "Rock And Roll", "Misty Mountain Hop", "When The Levee Breaks", "Going To California", "Four Sticks", and "Battle Of Evermore". LP, Vinyl record album

A seminal session from the St Louis scene of the early 70s – one that was humming nearly as much as Chicago was with the AACM at the time! As with the larger organization in the Windy City, St Louis had the Black Artists Group – of which Julius Hemphill was a key member, forming fresh new ideas in improvisatory jazz with players who went onto have an undeniable impact on the global scene as well. This album's one of the standout recordings of the Black Artists era at its best – a record produced by Hemphill, but equally balanced between his own alto and flute, the trumpet of Baikida Carroll, cello of Abdul Wadud, and drums of Phillip Wilson – plus a bit of added baritone from Haimet Bluiett. The rhythms are quite open, but there's also a nice sense of structure to the record too – a bridge between spiritual and free jazz that prefaces the impact that both Hemphill and Bluiett would have on the New York loft jazz generation. Titles include "Dogon AD", "Rites", and "The Painter". LP, Vinyl record album

Noisy Sonny from the 80s – very much in a "jazz meets black rock" mode – and featuring a group that includes Melvin Gibbs on bass, plus double drums from Abe Speller and Pheeroan Aklaff! Bill Laswell produced, and plays a bit of guest 6 string bass on the set – and titles include "My Song", "Dick Dogs", "Fourteen", "Past Adventures Of Zydeco Honeycup", and "JD Schaa". LP, Vinyl record album

Great early tenor from Buddy Tate – with piano on some tracks by Bill Doggett! LP, Vinyl record album

A great assortment of some of the great jazz recorded during the short-lived run of Vee Jay Records – titles that include "Exodus" by Eddie Harris, "Awful Mean" by Paul Chambers, "Wrinkles" by Wynton Kelly, "Bye Bye Blackbird" by Bill Henderson, "Hazing" by Louis Hayes, "I'm A Fool To Want You" by Lee Morgan, "Jim Dog" by Bennie Green, and "Sleepy" by The MJT + 3. LP, Vinyl record album

Amazing! Although Scott Walker had issued one solo album before this one, Scott 2 is the record that really has his true genius beginning to shine through! The record still features Scott singing dark moody takes on 60s pop tunes – like "Best Of Both Worlds" and "Black Sheep Boy" – plus the usual round of Brel tunes – including "Jackie" and "The Girls & The Dogs", but it's also got some of his best songwriting ever, etched out in incredible original compositions like "The Amorous Humphrey Plugg", "The Girls From The Streets", and "Plastic Palace People". Those three songs alone might have been enough if Scott had stopped there in his career – as they're perfectly realized visions that match the world of Brecht, Bergman, and Sartre he'd been steeping himself in. Orchestrations are sublime on all tracks, and the record's one we'll treasure forever! LP, Vinyl record album

The soundtrack to this hit broadway play is mostly poetry – but it's poetry with sort of a hip, black edge, in the vein of Nikki Giovanni, Camille Yarborough, or Jayne Cortez – written by Ntozake Shange and read by Seret Scott, Larie Carlos, Trazana Beverley, Janet League, Aku Kadogo, Rise Collins, and Paula Moss; with titles that include "Graduation Nite", "Abortion Cycle #1", "Dark Phrases", and "No More Love Poems". LP, Vinyl record album

Bill's got his groove on right for this set – quite possibly one of the greatest of his early King years, thanks to killer work from Billy Butler on guitar, Shep Shepherd on drums, and the great Clifford Scott on alto and tenor sax! Scott's raspy tone really makes these tunes groove – setting up a nice counterpoint with Doggett's fuller sound on organ, and cutting through the overall sound of the set with a gutsiness that we totally love. Titles include "Soft", "Ding Dong", "Chloe", "Hot Ginger", "King Bee", "Shindig", and "Hammer Head". LP, Vinyl record album

The first Babes In Toyland LP – maybe a little noisier and stranger than their major label efforts, which is a heck of a statement given how gnarly and awesome the later Fontanelle record turned out! Babes never really got the props they deserve for helping pave the way for noise rock to pummel it's way to the mainstream in the early 90s – especially for women in the scene – and Spanking Machine is the most underappreciated album in an underappreciated run all together. Includes "Swamp Pu**y", "He's My Thing", "Vomit Heart", "Dogg" "Pain In My Heart", "Lashes", "You're Right" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Early Basie material, packaged in a nicely done 50s LP format – supposedly with some remixing to improve the sound quality of the tracks. Players include Lester Young, Buck Clayton, Herschel Evans, Freddy Greene, Walter Page, and Jo Jones – and titles include "Jumpin At The Woodside", "Every Tub", "Out The Window", "Shorty George", "Doggin Around", "Texas Shuffle", "Cherokee", and "Topsy". LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful little live album from Jose Feliciano – recorded in London at the end of the 60s, with a sound that's often more stripped down than his studio work of the time! Jose's on vocals and guitar, backed by only a bit of bass and percussion – so the record's almost got the intimacy of a solo effort, which is quite astounding – given the obvious size of the concert setting! The double-length nature of the record allows Jose to stretch out a bit more than usual – and take on a nice variety of material that really show his growing talents at the time. Titles include "High Heel Sneakers", "Mama Don't Allow It", "La Entrada De Bilboa", "The Comedy Bit", "Malaguena", "No Dogs Allowed", "Day Tripper", "Black Orpheus Medley", "California Dreamin", "Light My Fire", "Day In the Life", and "El Voh". LP, Vinyl record album

Maybe one of the first-ever rock and roll full-length albums – with Bill Haley's big title cut – plus "Shake Rattle & Roll", "Two Hound Dogs", "Razzle Dazzle", "ABC Boogie", "Burn That Candle", "Rock A Beatin Boogie", "Birth Of The Boogie", "Dim Dim The Lights", and "Mambo Rock". LP, Vinyl record album

Tracks include "Dangerous MC's" featuring Snoop Dogg & Busta Rhymes, "I Really Want To Show You" featuring Nas with K-Ci & Jo-Jo, "Rap Phenomenon" featuring Redman & Method Man, "Tonight" featuring Mobb Deep, "Let Me Get Down" featuring Missy Elliott, Craig Mack, & G-Dep, "Come On" featuring Sadat X, "Big Booty Hoes" featuring Too $hort, "Dead Wrong" featuring Eminem, "Notorious B.I.G." and "Would You Die For Me" featuring Lil Kim & the artist formerly known as Puff Daddy, "Biggie" featuring Junior M.A.F.I.A., "Can I Get Witcha" featuring Lil Cease, "Who Shot Ya", and "If I Should Die Before I Wake" featuring Ice Cube, Beanie Sigel, & Black Rob. LP, Vinyl record album

One of Della Reese's greatest records – and a unique little session cut "live in the studio" before a very appreciative crowd! Bobby Bryant wrote out some very hip charts for the session, and they're made even better by organ work by Bill Doggett and piano lines by Gerald Wiggins – both of whom are in Della's group on the record. The whole thing's got a very nice groovy feel – similar to some of the best pop jazz coming out of LA at the time – and titles include "Gotta Travel On", "Girl Talk", "Driftin Blues", "Good Morning Blues", and "Detour Ahead". LP, Vinyl record album

The full orchestral version of the Sweet Smell Of Success soundtrack – but done in a style that's almost as jazzy and swinging as the small combo one! Elmer Bernstein's at the helm here – and the music's a wonderful pastiche of modes that's right up there with his sublime score for The Man With The Golden Arm – done in a similar blend of driving jazz, somber moments, and some slightly more raucous touches! As with that album, the players are all great – and soloists on the album include Pete Candoli, Ted Nash, and Shelly Manne – west coast players despite the New York setting of the film, and playing here with a fair bit of grit in their groove. Titles include "The Street", "Hot Dogs & Juice", "Toots Shor's Blues", "Nite Spot Rock", "Love Scene", and "Out Of Darkness". LP, Vinyl record album

The first solo set that Dr Dre cut after leaving NWA – and a record that not only set the tone for his solo career, but also for a huge run of albums from other folks in the years to come! Dre's as much of a production genius as he is a frontman here – really pushing forward some of the best elements he brought to the music of NWA, and also providing a great showcase for the young Snoop Dogg too! And yes, there were so many other records that tried to hit this territory right afterwards, and ended up more in the realm of parody – but the doctor really stays ahead of the pack here throughout, with a record that holds up surprisingly well over the years. Titles include the cuts "F**k Wit Dre Day", "Let Me Ride", "Nuthin' But A G Thang", "Lil Ghetto Boy", "A N***a Witta Gun", "B!tches Ain't Sh!t", "The Chronic", "Deeez Nuts", and "Stranded On Death Row". LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include "Stand Up And Fight", "Heavy Metal Maniac", "Iron Dogs", "Mistress Of Evil", "Rising Of The Dead", "Blackwitch", and more. LP, Vinyl record album

One of the coolest African collections we've seen in years – a beautiful assortment of untapped grooves from the 70s, put together with a massive booklet that sets a whole new standard in packaging! The grooves here are different from other Afro Funk collections of the time – definitely more in the raw and psychedelic territory promised by the title, and filled with hard-edged vocals that surely know how to scream! There's still plenty of funk in the rhythms, but the execution is often quite unusual – less directly influenced by American soul, and very much off in its own direction. Lots of choppy guitar, too – and the set comes with a massive 42 page booklet filled with full color images and loads of notes. Titles include "Gbeti Madjro" by Orchestre Poly-Rhythmo De Cotonou, "Mi Ma Kpe Dji" by Picoby Band D'Aborney, "Mi Kple Dogbekpo" by Lokonon Andre & Les Volcans, "Oya Ka Jojo" by Les Volcans De La Capital, "Ou C'Est Lui Ou C'Est Moi" by Vincent Ahehehinnou, "Wait For Me" by Roger Damawuzan, "Leki Santchi" by Napo De Mi Amor Et Ses Black Devils, "Ye Nan Lon An" by Orchestre Super Jheevs Des Paillotes, and "Houiou Djin Nan Zon Aklumon" by Discafric Band. LP, Vinyl record album

An excellent early album by organ player Billy Larkin, and his first version of the Delegates, which included drummer Mel Brown. As an added bonus, the great tenor player Clifford Scott joins them on most of the tracks here, and the recording is one of his best sessions away from Bill Dogget. The tracks are short, hard, and very in-the-pocket – like the tracks on the group's Pigmy album, which is also from the same time. This is the kind of stuff that was played to death over and over on south side jukeboxes in the 60's. Check out cuts like "Sticky Wicket", "Transfusion", and "The Cooker", and it's easy to see why! LP, Vinyl record album