Horace Andy is one of the few cats who can sing in the higher end of the vocal register, yet still come across with a totally badass vibe – thanks partly to the righteous message in his lyrics, and the hip-tripping grooves on the tracks – which could make just about any element sound great, and only reinforce the greatness of the Horace Andy style! The album's a stone classic, and for good reason – and titles include "Leave Rasta", "Do You Love My Music", "Hey There Woman", "Government Land", "Problems", "In The Light", and "Collie Herb". This set also includes the seminal In The Light Dub – one of those cases where a dub album contains all the brilliance of the original set around which it was based – yet comes across with a completely different sound altogether! The original record was focused strongly on the soulful currents of Horace Andy's voice – but the dub set is predominantly instrumental, which buries a bit of the political message in the lyrics – yet seems to paint the same sort of social pictures with the power of its sounds – a rich palette of rhythms, electronics, and effects – often with a darkness that's unspeakable in words, but incredibly powerful at a sonic level. Titles include "Dub There", "Government Dub", "Rasta Dub", "Fever Dub", "Dub The Light", "Dub Down Rome", and "I & I". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic blend of spiritual jazz styles and electronic elements – served up here by the trio of drummer Betamax, keyboardist Danalogue, and saxophonist King Shabaka – the last of whom you might recognize as Shabaka Hutchings from a host of other hip projects on the contemporary London scene! Shabaka's work on tenor and bass clarinet really gives the record an earthy, organic core – which seems to let the keyboards really soar off into space, often with the sort of vibe that you'd guess from the group's name and the cover image on the record – in a wide flurry of live and amplified performance elements! At some level, the trio is almost London's answer to some of the jazz-meets-studio work from Chicago's International Anthem label – and like some of the groups who record for that imprint, these guys are all strong jazz musicians at the core – but performing at a level that's very beyond the ordinary. Titles include "Birth Of Creation", "Summon The Fire", "Blood Of The Past", "Astral Flying", "Super Zodiac", "The Universe Wakes Up", and "Timewave Zero". LP, Vinyl record album

A searing set of west coast psych from a very mysterious group – served up here on a record that was done as a bit of exploitation vinyl at the time, but which has gone on to achieve legendary status over the years! The set's got a raw, ragged energy right from the start – every bit as great as most of the work by labelmates The Seeds – with a similar sense of urgency and intensity that goes way beyond most garagey work of the time! Production is stark and simple, but really makes the best use of the fuzz in the mix – on titles that include "The Trip", "Love Special Delivery", "Talk Talk", "Journey's End", "Blood Beat", "Trip Maker" and "Pictures & Designs" – plus a really wild version of the New Orleans soul classic "Fortune Teller". LP, Vinyl record album

30 essential dubs, from the golden age of reggae. King Tubby works his echoplex magic on a set culled half from Niney the Observer productions, and half from Striker Lee. You could waste your time on the 4 or 5 dozen other collections out there that are just capitalizing on Tubby's name, or stick with the cream, like this one (or one of the other sets put together by Blood & Fire that we offer). This is the real isht, thunderclap reverb drops and fat, churning bass; includes "Casanova Dub", "Corn Man", "Mr. D Brown Skank", " Rema Dub", "King Tubby's Special", "Gorgon Speaks Version", "I Trim The Barber", "Straight To Babylon Boy's Head" & "Cool Down Version". LP, Vinyl record album

Excellent work by John Klemmer – filled with the kind of fire and emotion that you don't get on many of his other records! The set was recorded live at two different venues – and it's a choppy slightly-funky batch of modal soul jazz tunes, with an approach that makes it feel like a lost album on Strata East. On side one, Mike Nock is on Fender Rhodes, Wilton Felder plays bass, and Eddie Marshall is on drums. Titles on that set include "Blood Of The Sun" and "How Cum Ya Got Ta Rip Off Your Brothers?". Side two was recorded live at Montreux, and features more Fender Rhodes, plus backing by Cecil McBee and Alphonze Mouzon. Klemmer plays tenor with echoplex processing, and titles include "Free Love" and "Tree Of Forbidden Fruit". LP, Vinyl record album

Amazing early work from Ricardo Ray – material that's got a lot more fire than some of his better-known sides from the 70s! The album's a stone cooker all the way through – played by a tight young group with lots of descarga energy in their blood, and some of the pre-Latin Soul styles that were creeping around the New York scene – that cool combo sound that Joe Cuba was getting with his own group. Bobby Cruz is already with Ray at this point, and he does a great job on the vocal numbers on the album – but the real treat is Ricardo's group – who play with a hard jazzy intensity on the best tracks. These include the descarga "Here Comes Richie Ray", the jazz mambo "Jango", the jazz descarga "Theme", and the storming "Mi Guaguanco". Other cuts include "Summer Love", "The Shadow Of Your Smile", and "El Montuno De Hoy". LP, Vinyl record album

Leslie West is a mountain of a man – and although his greatest fame may have been in the group Mountain, this initial solo set has all the power of that famous group – and maybe a leaner, meaner sound overall! West is clearly working in the power trio style that was emerging from the British rock scene of the time – using his raw vocals and heavy guitar next to the drums of ND Smart, and the bass and keyboards of the great Felix Pappalardi – who produced and put the whole thing together in the studio! Titles include the funky rock classic "Long Red", which has great organ and drums – plus "Southbound Train", "Blood Of The Sun", "Blind Man", "Baby I'm Down", "This Whee's On Fire", "Storyteller Man", and "Because You Are My Friend". LP, Vinyl record album

Classic black rock funk from Stax, by the second version of the Bar-Kays (the first went down in the plane with Otis) with a nice hard sound all the way through! There's plenty of guitars in the mix, ripping away like a buzzsaw over the top of bass-heavy funk rhythms – ready to bite with the same sting of the rattlesnake that's pictured on the cover! Cuts include "Coldblooded", "Fightin' Fire With Fire", "Frame of Mind", and "Waiting and Hating". LP, Vinyl record album

Two nice Prestige blowing sessions from the 50s – featuring Donald Byrd right up front. The first LP of the set was issued as Two Trumpets with Art Farmer joining Byrd, set in a sextet with Jackie McLean, Doug Watkins, Barry Harris, and Art Taylor. The harder sound of Byrd is a nice mix with the lyricism of Farmer, and the open-ended nature of the set lets them get a bit more open in their solos than usual. 5 numbers are included: "Contour", "Round Midnight", "The Third", "When Your Lover Has Gone" and "Dig". The second set was issued as The Young Bloods, with Byrd accompanied by sidemen he's not often heard with, Phil Woods, Al Haig, Teddy Kotick and Charlie Persip. Like the first side, it's a rousing set of bop, played with a great deal of fire. 6 numbers make up that set, including "Dewey Square", "Dupeltook", "Once Moore", "House Of Chain", "In Walked George" and "Lover Man". LP, Vinyl record album