... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

A second album of sorts from Suicide – but one that came out a long four years after their seminal debut, at a time when all of the groups that Suicide had influenced had grown up on their own to fill up the underground! Yet the duo of Martin Rev and Alan Vega are still way ahead of the pack here – and even production by Ric Ocasek can't smooth their edges or dampen their madness, or bog them down in any sort of new wave cliches! Instead, it just feels like they've upgraded their electronics a bit, and maybe put a slight bit of care into the recording of Vega's vocals – without messing with the mix too much. Titles include "Harlem", "Be Bop Kid", "Diamonds Fur Coat Champagne", "Fast Money Music", "Sweetheart", "Mr Ray", and "Shadazz". LP, Vinyl record album

Featuring Mike Jones on "I'm N Luv", plus Trick Daddy and Youngbloodz on "I'm Sprung 2", with Beenie Man on the dancehall remix. 12-inch, Vinyl record

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Sublime work by a singer who should have dominated the 60s – had he not left this planet in an auto accident early in his short career! Jesse is wonderful here – getting even more coolness and class on RCA than he did in an indie setting – with help from the groups of Shorty Rogers and Dennis Farnon! Most numbers are standards, but done in a nicely soulful style – with titles that include "Witchcraft", "Guess Who", "Alright OK You Win", "Secret Love", "Love Is Here To Stay", "Now You Know", "Take Me Back To The Island", and "Funny". LP, Vinyl record album

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

Brazilian diva Elizeth Cardoso lays down a number of tracks recorded either with the Zimbo Trio, or with Jacob Do Bandolim. The Zimbo tracks have a nice bossa feel, and the titles include "Cidade Vazia", "Abertura", "E Louxo So", "Tem Do", and "Derradeira Primavera". The cuts with Jacob Do Bandolim are a little more samba oriented, but have a nice groove. Those cuts include "Barracao", "Jamais", and "Mulata Assanhada". LP, Vinyl record album

Prime Elvis Costello work from his early run with The Attractions – a set that's overflowing with tunes that are catchy yet biting, and which get superb production from Nick Lowe! Titles include "Oliver's Army", "Green Shirt", "Party Girl", "Good Squad", "Moods For Moderns", "Two Little Hitlers", "Accidents Will Happen", "Senior Service", and "What's So Funny Bout Peace Love & Understanding". LP, Vinyl record album

Bob Dylan's fourth record, and close runner up to Freewheelin' as the masterpiece of this early stage of his career. While the overly arch Times They Are A Changin' pretty much stood as the cornerstone of classifiable folk rock at the time, Another Side is just that. Dense, elliptical, and downright surreal at times, with some of the protesty stuff that made the media so happy & hungry, but much more layered and poetic. Another side is also much more reverent of and indebted to the Harry Smith field recordings that Bob studied so hard, the stuff that finally caught on with the general public in the early 90s. Titles include "Spanish Harlem Incident", "It Ain't Me Babe", "Ballad In Plain D", "Black Crow Blues", "I Don't Believe You", "Motorpsycho Nitemare", "To Ramona", "Chimes Of Freedom", "My Back Pages", and "I Shall Be Free No 10". LP, Vinyl record album

A rare early Blue Note album by guitarist Tal Farlow – pre-Verve material that's really wonderful, and which shows that Farlow was already one of the freshest jazz guitar talents of his generation! The record has a cool 2-guitar frontline, played by Farlow and the obscure Don Arnone – with a sound that's very different from Farlow's other work, decidedly more modernist and edgey – almost in the territory of some of the Gil Melle Blue Note recordings, filled with rich colors and tones. The only other instrumentation is bass from Clyde Lombardi and drums from Joe Morello – the latter of whom sounds great here in a pre-Brubeck appearance. Titles include "Tina", "All Through The Night", and "Splash" – and the cool original cover will make your eyes pop out with delight! LP, Vinyl record album

Rare early work for Savoy Records – originally 78rpm material, compiled here into a full album! Titles include "I Cover The Waterfront", "Love Walked In", "Indiana", "Somebody Loves Me", "Penthouse Serenade", "Undecided", "Red Sails In The Sunset", and "More Than You Know". LP, Vinyl record album

Hard-swinging work arranged and conducted by a young Neal Hefti – already showing a great flair here for a bouncy tune and the kind of "punch" that later made him a huge hit with Count Basie! Tracks include "Sure Thing", "Uncle Jim", "It's a Happy Holiday", "Lake Placid", "Why Not", and "Two For a Nickel Three For a Dime". LP, Vinyl record album

Banging acid house tracks from Mike Hitman Wilson. 12-inch, Vinyl record

A wonderfully expansive album from The Incredible String Band – initially performed as a stage project with the Stone Monkey dance troupe, and featuring the ISB at their most evocative and creative! Some tunes have a darker, sinister undercurrent – that link between the band and the acid folk underground – but others are more hippy dippy, with playful touches that still seem to have this undercurrent of evil somehow – an offbeat quality that really marks the special way that British groups like this were taking folk in very odd directions at the time – never losing sight of roots, but still never having the sense of optimism or indulgence of American acts. The double-length set has loads of especially nice instrumental moments – both acoustic and electric – and titles include "Bridge Song", "El Wool Suite", "The Juggler's Song", "Bad Sadie Lee", "Partial Belated Overture", "Walking Along With You", "Invocation", and "Robot Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

George Lewis on clarinet, Louis "Kid Shots" Madison on trumpet, Baby Dodds on drums, Lawrence Marrero on banjo, Jim Robinson on trombone, and Alcide "Slow Drag" Pavageau on bass. LP, Vinyl record album

One of the biggest jazz albums of the 60s – and a crucial crossover set from the legendary Ramsey Lewis trio! The record's a live one, which gives the group a perfect chance to show off their special genius – not just soulful grooves from Ramsey on piano, but wickedly sharp and playful basslines from the great Eldee Young, and equally inventive work on drums from Redd Holt – both fantastic players who would soon break out on their own as Young Holt Unlimited! There's a surprising mix of modes on the record, too – as Ramsey begins with the group's classic reading of "The In Crowd" – formerly a soul tune, but maybe more of a hit here in their instrumental reading – then runs through material that really showcases the creative depth of the group, on titles that include "Love Theme From Spartacus", "Felicidade", "Come Sunday", and "You Been Talkin Bout Me Baby". CD features 2 non-LP bonus tracks! LP, Vinyl record album

Youthful cumbia from Los Golden Boys – a combo with a spirit that really lives up to their name – and which is served up here with some very cool use of organ next to more familiar cumbia rhythms! The instrument is lean and spacey – almost otherworldly – and the quality makes for a record that's very unique, almost as if Saturn Records had decided to do a co-release with Discos Fuentes! In addition to the "boys" in the group, the lineup also features some vocals from female singer Amparo Muniz – on titles that include "Cumbia Y Beso", "Cumbia De Juventud", "Cumbia De La Mariguana", "El Buena Vida", "Si Me Quieres", "A Volar Moscas", "El Ano Viejo", and "Vengan A Baila". LP, Vinyl record album

John Mayall's definitely getting back to his roots here – and he's also getting help from an all-star cast as well! Mayall's vocals and piano are in fine form – almost with a rough-edged Blues Breakers sort of vibe, but sometimes a bit funkier too – in ways that strongly show the evolution of the older Brit blues groove into some hipper, more soul-drenched territory. Players on the record are a range of familiar names – including Eric Clapton on guitar, Johnny Amond on sax and flute, Harvey Mandel on guitar, Sugarcane Harris on violin, and Keef Hartley on some especially nice drums. Titles include "Prisons On The Road", "Groupie Girl", "My Children", "Home Again", "Blue Fox", "Boogie Albert", "Unanswered Questions", "Goodbye December", "Force Of Nature", and "Dream With Me". CD also features bonus tracks too – including "Accidental Suicide (1988 rmx)", "Force Of Nature (1988 rmx)", "Boogie Albert (1988 rmx)", "Television Eye (1988 rmx)", "Looking At Tomorrow (1988 rmx)", "Mr Censor Man (1988 rmx)", and "Home Again (1988 rmx)". LP, Vinyl record album

An unlikely pair, but a great one here – and the record's one of those few magical moments where bringing together unusual partners actually works! Mulligan's cool hardly seems a match for Monk's angular modernism, but together the players seem to strike a middle ground that resonates with the strength of both – a sound that cuts a bit more edge on Gerry's normally smooth baritone, and which still lets Monk's keys flow into wonderful twists and turns. Rhythm is by the great bassist Wilbur Ware and drummer Shadow Wilson – and titles include the Monk classics "Straight No Chaser", "Rhythm A Ning", "Round Midnight", and "I Mean You" – plus a version of Mulligan's "Decidedly". LP, Vinyl record album

A rare session by Vinicius – featuring a 1970 recording in Buenos Aires – with Maria Creuza and Toquinho. Creuzza was at her best during the early 70s – and working here with the classic bossa team of poet Vinicius De Moraes and guitarist Toquinho, she really sparkles with a sound that's some of her best singing on record. The trio sing separately or together from track to track – and the set includes a lot of great work that's in the Black Orpheus or Afro Sambas mode. Titles include "Canto De Osshana", "A Felicidade", "Tomara", "Canto De Osshana", "Minha Namorada", "Valsa Da Tunisia", "Lamento No Morro", and a great version of Caetano Veloso's "Irene"! LP, Vinyl record album

The jury is sometimes out on the Mick Jagger on-screen performance in the Nicolas Roeg film Performance – but the soundtrack is something pretty separate entirely, and really says a lot more about the spirit of late 60s Warner Brothers Records in LA than it does the arthouse cinema scene in England! The great Jack Nitzsche composed a number of instrumental tracks for the score – maybe his first time in this mode, and prefacing some later 70s successes to come – with titles that include "Rolls Royce & Acid", "Harry Flowers", and "Natural Magic". Other Warner talents get a hand in the music too – as Randy Newman conducted all of Nitzsche's charts, and also sings "Gone Dead Train" – while Ry Cooder delivers bottleneck solos on "Get Away" and "Powis Square". There's also some nice soul-based moments – the cut "Wake Up N*ggers" by The Last Poets, and "Poor White Hound Dog" and "Performance" by Merry Clayton. And yes, Mick does get to sing on one tune – the album's "Memo From Turner" – and the set is completed by Buffy St Marie work on "The Hashishin" and "Dead Dead Red". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the best-remembered albums from the mighty Originals – thanks to a surprisingly strong step into club and disco rhythms! The group were always great on the harmony tip – and earlier music often had them really shining on the ballads – but here they work with arrangers Frank Wilson, Dale Warren, and Art Wright on a set of grooves that rival the best group soul club work coming out of Philly and New York at the time! The vocals are never overwhelmed by the grooves – and instead seem to really be set loose with the lively arrangements – finding a soaring space they might never have hit this well before. Titles include the clubby classic "Down To Love Town" – plus "You Are A Blessing", "Call On Your Six Million Dollar Man", "Hurry Up & Wait", "Been Decided", and "Sunrise". LP, Vinyl record album

Featuring Placido Domingo. LP, Vinyl record album

Features early production by Dante Carfagna! Includes "Assassination Attempt", "Kaos II *7* Dome", "Mental Genocide", "Jail Sale", "Crucified", "In-Cog-Negrow", "Bro Kemit Splitting Atoms In The Corporate War Zone", "My Ideology" and "The Late Great Black Man". LP, Vinyl record album

Blistering raunch 'n' roll from Pussy Galore! They had pretty much perfected their mess by the time Right Now came out. The group still bring as much shrapnel-y noise and with all of the barbed ferocity of the meanests MFs in the darkest corners of late 80s indie rock – but unlike your Big Blacks, Scratch Acids and Butthole Surfers, Pussy Galore seems to genuinely love old school rock 'n' roll – even while they stomp it to death! A true anti-classic. Includes "Pig Sweat", "White Noise", "Uptight", "Biker Rock Loser", "Rope Legend", "Alright", "New Breed", "Knock Up", "Punch Out", "Pussy Stomp", "Trashcan Oil Drum", "Fix It", "Rancid", "Hell Spawn". LP, Vinyl record album

Terrible! But pretty darn wonderful, too – at least if you dig The Odd Couple! Considering their roots in Broadway, Randall and Klugman should be pretty decent singers – but instead, they decide to camp it up for this one, as they spend a lot of time arguing about and during sweet old-fashioned tunes like "The Inch Worm", "Johnny One Note", "Brush Up Your Shakespeare", and "Together Wherever We Go" – plus a very groovy version of "You're So Vain". The record also features the extended "Odd Couple Opera", the track "Friendship', and "Applause, Applause". Arrangements by Brit Roland Shaw – probably because nobody in America would touch the record, and an Englishman like Shaw hadn't heard of the show yet! In a great gatefold cover, too. LP, Vinyl record album

Redman, where hath thee been? One of the most reliable and unique voices of 90s hip hop finally drops a long delayed second official record in the 00s – after getting killed by Chucky in one of those killer doll movies and a failed sitcom – thankfully picking up his day job right where he left off and easily bettering '01's Malpractice LP. More of a return to form than a rehash, this reminds us how inimitable the man truly is. Production by Pete Rock, Timbaland, Scott Storch and others. Welcome back! Titles include "Bak Inda Buildin", "Put It Down", "Gimmie One", the gem "Walk In Gutta" feat Keith Murray, Erick Sermon & Biz Markie, "Dis Iz Brick City", "Get 'Em" feat Saukrates & Icadon, "Merry Jane" feat Snoop & Nate Dogg, "Gilla House Check", "Hold Dis Blaow", "Suicide" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Martha Reeves' first solo album for MCA – an all-out studio affair that's quite different from her classic 60s work for Motown! The album's done in a way that really focuses on the deepest side of Martha's vocals – in a way that goes for the sort of "rootsy" soul that was cropping up heavily on majors at the start of the 70s – well-recorded in LA studio sessions, but featuring styles that were decidedly down-homey. Players on the album include Billy Preston, Dennis Doffey, Joe Sample, and Arthur Adams – all of whom bring a tightly professional focus to the backings – and Martha's helped on backup vocals by both Clydie King and Jim Gilstrap. Titles include "Power Of Love", "My Man", "Sweet Misery", "Wild Night", "You've Got Me For Company", "Storm In My Woul", "Facsimilie", and "Many Rivers To Cross". CD also features bonus tracks "Stand By Me", "Our Day Will Come", and "I Sure Do Love You" LP, Vinyl record album

Smooth jazzy fusion from Lee Ritenour – a classic set that was originally only released in Japan, part of the underground Japanese Fusion movement of the late 70s, famous for groove hounds for that added level of soul that often wasn't showing up in American releases at the time! The album was recorded in both Rio and LA – with work by a mixture of Brazilian and American fusion players, including Chico Batera, Oscar Castro Neves, Alex Acuna, Don Grusin, Dave Grusin, Steve Forman, and Marcus Miller. Includes the smooth funk classic "A Little Bit Of This & A Little Bit Of That", plus the cuts "Simplicidad", "Rainbow", "Rio Funk", "San Juan Sunset", and "Ipanema Sol". LP, Vinyl record album

Proof that Max Roach was always experimenting with his music – even in the later years! The album's one of a few 80s efforts to feature Roach's Double Quartet – a group that takes his regular four-piece jazz group and augments it with a string quartet – all in a sound that's almost an extension of modes first begun by Roland Kirk in the 60s! The Kirk reference isn't accidental – as the title track here is a great version of Kirk's "Bright Moments" – one that uses the strings to offset the core jazz work of Roach on drums, Odeon Pope on tenor, Cecil Bridgewater on trumpet, and Tyrone Brown on electric bass – all in ways that are as creative as they are playful, definitely in a Kirk-styled spirit. Other tunes follow suit – and use the strings to echo Kirk's dream of a black classical music, but also one that's always firmly jazz-based at all times. Titles include "Double Delight", "Hi Fly", "Bright Moments", "Elixir Suite", and "A Tribute To Duke & Mingus". LP, Vinyl record album

A nice dose of jazz – as usual for Jimmy – thanks to some arrangements by Oliver Nelson, plus piano from Dave Frishberg and tenor from Buddy Tate! Titles include "You Can't Run Around", "Blues In The Dark", "Tell Me I'm Not To Late", "Berkely Campus Blues", and "Undecided Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

These sides feature Charlie Shavers working with an octet that includes Billy Byers, Jerome Richardson, Budd Johnson, and George Barnes. The tunes on these sides have a more tightly arranged approach than Shavers' other recordings from this period – still with a strong focus on his fluid solo lines. Titles include "Period Of Adjustment", "Bossa Nova Petite", "Undecided", "Opus 5", "School Days", and "Big Time Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

Very cool early work from the young Grace Slick – material done with her own Great Society group in the years before she joined Jefferson Airplane – but already sounding pretty darn trippy overall! That shocking, thrilling quality of Grace's voice is already firmly in place – some weird extrapolation from folk modes a few years before, infused with acid trip anxiety, and served up in a way that makes even familiar songs sound very weird and wonderful! The approach here is somewhere between acid folk and Jefferson Airplane – and it's clear that Grace and the group are already very much in the San Francisco mode, even before the Summer Of Love. LP, Vinyl record album

There's a slight shift here from the first album by Steeleye Span – a bit of a shift to just a touch of electric guitar and organ next to the bass guitar lines of Ashley Hutchings – which makes for an even more sinister sound than before! In keeping with their approach, most songs are from older British sources – but they really get transformed by the presentation, which creates an acid folk vibe that really sets the stage for the Wicker Man scene – including some of the strange folk experiments of Current 93 many years later! Most of the rest of the instrumentation is acoustic, used in a way that creates this time-tripping approach that's really amazing – on titles that include "Boys Of Bedlam", "Cold Haily Windy Night", "The Blacksmith", "Female Drummer", "The King", "Lovely On The Water", and "The Lark In The Morning". LP, Vinyl record album

The debut album of Trapeze – a great little group that's maybe best known as the early home of Glenn Hughes, but who have plenty to offer on their own! Production is by John Lodge, of the Moody Blues – a strong supporter of the group at their start – but the sound is very different than his own work – sometimes with harmonies that almost have the group coming across in heavier territory than the earlier Bee Gees, sometimes with hints of the hard rock elements that Hughes would bring to later music. Drummer Dave Holland provides excellent work on the set – and titles include "The Giant's Dead Hoorah", "Over", "Nancy Gray", "It's Only A Dream", "Suicide", "Send Me No Letters", and "It's My Life". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the real standouts in the late 70s run of records from The Tubes – a set that's not only got the tunes united by a concept, but which also features some impeccable production from Todd Rundgren! The group's fuzz on the guitars is turned up nice – almost like they're trying to give a nod to the new wave generation, while Rundgren ups the catchiness of their tunes, and finds a way to make the whole thing not get bogged down in the larger concept of the record – which is a commentary about television in the modern age. Titles include "TV Is King", "Prime Time", "Getoverture", "I Want It All Now", "No Way Out", "Only The Strong Survive", and "Telecide". LP, Vinyl record album

An amazing moment from The Who – and from the UK rock scene in general – as Tommy is one of the most fully-conceived concept albums ever recorded – a masterful effort that's still pretty hard to match all these many years later! Pete Townshend really knocked it out of the park with this one – and pushed the group way way past the simpler songs the were recording just a year before – into this deeply introspective territory, spun out both in the album's words and music. The Tommy tale's been well told many times over the years – so we won't bother with the full narrative – but just let us say that it's hard to go wrong with this one, an essential item in any collection of adventurous rock – classic or otherwise. Titles include "The Acid Queen", "It's A Boy", "Sally Simpson", "Miracle Cure", "Pinball Wizard", "Do You Think It's Alright", "Cousin Kevin", "Christmas", "Tommy's Holiday Camp", "I'm Free", and "We're Not Gonna Take It". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the nice records made by Joe during his funky comeback of the late 60s/early 70s. He's singing here in a setting that's decidedly hipper than on earlier albums – with the early 70s Nat/Cannonball Adderley collective that includes George Duke on piano, Carol Kaye on bass, and production work by David Axelrod. Titles include "Heritage", "Sad Song", "Yesterday, Today, & Tomorrow", and "Who She Do". LP, Vinyl record album

Rare Brazilian funk from the early 80s – served up here on a range of tracks that originally appeared on Brazil's unique 7" compacto format at the time! The smaller records were the nation's equivalent to 12" singles up north – and most spun at 33rpm, which allowed more space for the sorts of boogie rhythms and funky flow taking place here! There's plenty of elements that echo the sound of 80s soul in the US – with the beats, keyboards, and electro elements you might expect – but as with Brazilian soul from the decade before, there's also plenty of cool homegrown touches too. Titles include "Estou Livre" by Tony Bizarro, "Velho Guerreiro" by Rubao Sabino, "Break Mandrake" by Electric Boogies, "Ve Se Me Esquese" by Tony Blue, "Ta Dando Mole Ze" by Cassiano, "Dance Com A Gente" by Let's Dance, "Ve Se Decide" by Tim Maia, "Macaco Pesado" by Newton Drinckwater, and "Super Amor" by Gaby Do Whiskadao. LP, Vinyl record album

An undeniable acid house classic with enough bouncing 303 bassline and 808 handclaps to keep you moving all night long! One of the essential mid 80s Trax releases. 12-inch, Vinyl record

A truly underappreciated later album from The Band, made after they decided to hang it up as a touring act – one that holds up SO much better than it's given credit for, by thier die hard fans and even The Band itself – but it works for us! The Band's most legendary first couple of records were the product of a longtime road tested group of deeply invested craftsmen, working together in a beautifully intuitive way. By this point, they are well known to have been looking for an exit strategy – and while Islands is a strong batch of songs, masterfully played and soulfully sung – it's genuine charms get lost in the lore. It's a breezier, easier going affair than their more rawly passionate records, but it's an overlooked gem. Includes "Right As Rain", "Street Walker", "Ain't That A Lot Of Love", "Islands", "The Saga Of Pepote Rouge", "Knockin' Lost John", "Living In A Dream" and their sweet little take on "Georgia On My Mind", with Richard Manuel on lead vocals for a change, given this beauty of a pop standard a gruff edge that works wonderfully well. LP, Vinyl record album

Easily one of Donovan's most successful albums – but also a brilliant blend of folk and jazz that forged a bold new sound in the 60s! Part of the strength of the set comes from arranger John Cameron – an artist that we love for his jazz and easy work of the late 60s, and who's working here with players that include British jazzmen Phil Seamen, Tony Carr, Ronnie Ross, and Harold McNair! The instrumental component of the album alone is worth the price of admission – as Cameron gently blends together moddish and trippy styles, alongside some folksier vocals and guitar from Donovan. But it's also Donovan's own extrapolation of styles of the time that really makes the album a masterpiece – a strange post-folk mode of expression that's almost a British counterpart to the genius of Simon & Garfunkel, but which is arguably darker and more intellectual. Apart from classic hits like "Museum" and "Mellow Yellow", the album also features some moodier brilliance on tracks that include "The Observation", "Hampstead Incident", "Sunny South Kensington", "Writer In The Sun", "Sand & Foam", and "House Of Jansch". LP, Vinyl record album

A great funky group with a hell of a lead singer – so much so, they decided to put her name on the title of this album! Precious Wilson's got a voice that might have been suited to deep soul, had she sung in the 60s – but here, she works with Eruption on a set of cuts that have kind of a funky club vibe – less disco, and more ensemble funk – with a lean, clean groove that almost points the way more towards soul styles of the 80s. Basslines and keyboards are at the core of most numbers, even though there's some added horns and larger arrangements – and there's a great sense of pacing to the album, as evidenced by Wilson's great covers of the Ann Peeble's classic "I Can't Stand The Rain", and a nice remake of The Staple Singers' "I'll Take You There". Other tracks include "Do You Know What It Feels Like", "Be Yourself", "Wayward Love", "Party Party", and "Computer Love". LP, Vinyl record album

A great snapshot of jazzy London in the years before the acid jazz explosion of the late 80s – and a surprisingly great soundtrack that's stood the test of time much more than the actual film! The music here represents a jazz-based undercurrent of the London scene that was already turning its ears back in time – to a pre-mod era of the late 50s, which is the setting for Colin McInnes original novel used for the film – portrayed here in a pastiche of vocal and instrumental songs that often have a fair bit of classic touches! Gil Evans was brought in for most of the instrumentals, and turns out some really sparkling charts that have all the charm of his best work of the 50s – and other contemporary artists do a pretty great job themselves – at least on the more jazz-based numbers. Evans numbers include "Va Va Voom" – and the better jazzy tunes includes the excellent "Killer Blow" by Sade, plus "Have You Ever Had It Blue" by The Style Council, "That's Motivation" and "Absolute Beginners" by David Bowie, "Rodrigo Bay" by Working Week, "Selling Out" by Slim Gallard, and "Riot City" by Jerry Dammers. LP, Vinyl record album

A record that really has Fairport Convention knocking it out of the park – making a bold turn towards British traditional music, but in a way that imbues these relics with a whole new life of their own! The album came at a key turning point – after an accident that took one of their members, and which almost saw the group disband – but instead turn towards the past for even deeper inspiration than some of their contemporaries, whom they'd covered on other records – at a level that seems to set Sandy Denny free into this sublime territory of her own! Denny's vocals are incredible – like a thing unlocked from some ancient vault – and they're given this wonderful focus through the growing complexity of Richard Thompson's guitar work, and the understated brilliance of Ashley Hutchings' bass – both of which bring in these modal inflections that are very 60s, and hardly conceived of as accompaniment with the original tunes. The result is tremendous – tunes that are completely transformed, as a touchstone for generations. Titles include "Matty Groves", "Reynardine", "Come All Ye", "The Deserter", "Tam Lin", and "Crazy Man Michael". LP, Vinyl record album

A stunning start to the 80s from Fela Kuti – and a record that has the Egypt 80 band cooking every bit as strongly as Africa 70! The album's got this massively cooking vibe right from the start – fast-running, fast-riffing rhythms that are peppered with horns at the beginning of "Original Sufferhead", which then lay back for a nicely weird tenor solo, and some great keyboards too! "Power Show" is great too – with more other-worldly energy, and a vibe that almost makes it feel like Sun Ra has joined the band – and decided to deliver a solo on one of those weird keyboards of his! The arrangements are amazingly tight, and a bit more sophisticated than usual – and the whole thing grooves wonderfully. LP, Vinyl record album

One of the hippest records to ever come out of the Newport series of recordings! Side one of the set features some groundbreaking early work from Cecil Taylor – in a quartet that includes Steve Lacy on soprano sax, Buell Neidlinger on bass, and Dennis Charles on drums – one of the most modern lineups that must have played at Newport at the time! The tracks – "Johnny Come Lately" and "Nona's Blues" – must have really shook up the Newport audiences, so much so that the remainder of the record, on side two, must have seemed traditional by comparison. Yet that side is decidedly modern too – and features work by the Gigi Gryce-Donald Byrd Jazz Lab – with Byrd on trumpet, Gryce on alto, and Hank Jones on piano. Tracks are tightly arranged, but with strong soulful soloing – perhaps some of the best the group ever recorded. Titles include "Batland" and "Splittin". LP, Vinyl record album

Lydia Lunch's solo follow up to the great Queen Of Siam – we're not sure if the underground classic status of the predecessor is the reason this one's been so comparably underappreciated, but for whatever the reason, it's time to wake up! Stark, unnerving, bleak and sexy all at the same time. It's one of those records that didn't make a huge dent in its time, but sounds pretty amazing way too many years later! Includes "Stares To Nowhere", "3 X 3", "The Side Of Nowhere", "Suicide Ocean", "Lock Your Door" and "Afraid Of Your Company". LP, Vinyl record album

A killer, and one of three live sides that Hammond organ genius Brother Jack McDuff cut for Prestige during the 60s – a monster session of stretched-out jazzy grooves, with many fine little dancers, and a raw soulful feel throughout! The group's one of Jack's best – as Red Holloway's tenor blows and hollers over the fingerpoppin' grooves delivered by a young George Benson on his first major guitar gig – and the soulful drums of Joe Dukes scatter across the place, taking the whole band into some incredible rhythms! Titles include cookin' live versions of "Rock Candy", "Sanctified Samba", "Undecided", and "A Real Goodun'". LP, Vinyl record album

One of their biggest LPs, this one hardly needs any introduction from us, with the massive hit "Another One Bites The Dust", that appeals to beat diggers and mullet-headed rockers alike! Also includes "Dragon Attack", "Play The Game", "Need Your Loving Tonight", "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", "Rock It (prime jive)", "Don't Try Suicide" and "Sail Away Sweet Sister". LP, Vinyl record album

A return to basics after Sonny Stitt's late 60s Varitone and funk experiments – all-bop and all soul all the way through, and recorded with a tight quartet that features Barry Harris on piano, Sam Jones on bass, and Roy Brooks on drums! The style's a bit like Sonny's work of the late 50s, but there's also a fluidity to the rhythm section that makes it a bit different too – a sound that's warm, open, and soulful – creating a space into which Stitt settles nicely and blows like mad. There's no gimmicks at all, just solid classic jazz skills – and titles include "Casbah", "Constellation", "By Accident", "Webb City", and "Topsy". LP, Vinyl record album

Great live material from 1974, recorded in Bahia, and featuring Caetano, Gal, and Gilberto Gil – each performing tracks on their own! The quality's better than a lot of other Brazilian live albums from the early 70s, and the album's a strong one in Caetano's early 70s catalog – showing his keenly collaborative presence at the time, and offering up one of the few important documents of work with Tropicalia contemporaries Gal Costa and Gilberto Gil! Caetano sings "Felicidade", "De Noite Na Cama", and "O Conteudo"; Gal performs "Acontece" and "Quem Nasceu"; and Gil rounds out the set with "Terremoto", "O Relogio Quebrou", "O Sonho Acabou", and "Cantigo Do Sapo". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the wildest albums ever recorded by French tenorist Barney Wilen – a mix of avant jazz and sound effects, set to wax in tribute to Lorenzo Bandini – a famous Italian racer who died tragically during the 1967 Monaco Grand Prix! Wilen was an automobile enthusiast in the late 60s, and happened to be recording the race on a Nagra for himself – but, after witnessing the death of Bandini, Wilen decided to incorporate his tape of the race into an extended performance dedicated to the late driver. The sound is quite unusual – much farther out than any of Barney's other albums – and the tapes of the race are joined with free-flowing tenor, and piano – plus bits of organ and prepared piano as well – all played by by Francois Tusques along with Wilen, with support from Beb Guerin on bass and Eddy Gaumont on drums. The real star, though, is Bandini's Ferrari, which races in and out of the jazz playing, coming to a mournful end with the termination of the piece. The album's a totally unique recording – and stands as one of the most unusual moments in the history of Wilen's career, and the legendary MPS label! Titles include "Start", "Tribune Princiere", "Hair Pin", and "Canyon Sound & Destiny". LP, Vinyl record album

A later album by the Zimbo boys, but which still has the Trio playing in their classic bossa style, and in a tribute to Jobim that's got them doing some of his best compositions, like "Wave", "Garota de Ipanema", "So Danco Samba", "Felicidade", and "Chega De Saudade". The sound is still acoustic – although the production's sweetened things up a bit – and the band hasn't lost any of their bossa flair over the years! LP, Vinyl record album

A great lineup – with sax and flute from Mauricio Smith, who also directed the group! Arrangements by Smith, Marty Sheller, and Oscar Hernandez – and titles include "Quiero Paz", "Colombia Quiero Saber La Verdad", "Felicidad", "Los Cantos Del Monte", and "Dalida Tiene Salsa". LP, Vinyl record album

With Don Davis and Tim Moran on saxophones, Tom Schmidt on bow harp, synthesizer, and bass, Karma Sonam Targee on trumpet, and Stephen Walt on bassoon. LP, Vinyl record album

The first album by Eddie Daniels – and loads better than most of his later work! About half the tracks feature Daniels playing clarinet, which is OK – but the best ones have him on tenor, working away in a lyrical modal mode that's really great. The rhythm's by a trio that includes Roland Hanna, Richard Davis, and Mel Lewis – and the album has that oddball soul jazz sound you'll find on other Prestige titles at the time by players like Jaki Byard or Eric Kloss. Titles include "Felicidad", "That Waltz", "Love's Long Journey", and "The Spanish Flee". LP, Vinyl record album

A great live set from the early years of Bob Dylan's long recording career. Titles include "Spanish Harlem Incident", "Hard Rain's Gonna Fall", "Silver Dagger", "With God On Our Side", "Talkin World War III Blues", "Don't Think Twice", "Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll", and lots more! LP, Vinyl record album

The Powerlight is burning bright – Maurice White, Philip Bailey, and the rest of the group still very much in classic formation! Even on a post-70s set like this, Earth Wind & Fire still manage to come up with tracks that beat the rest of the ensemble funk groups that grew up in their wake – groovers that still set a new level for the boogie generation, and mellow tracks that cross over beautifully without ever getting to soppy or adult contemporary. The balance is a tricky one, but the group always manage to pull it off – and guide the whole presentation of work here with enough class and care to show that the whole thing's the result of genius planning, and not just some happy accident! Titles include "Something Special", "Miracles", "Fall In Love With Me", "Straight From The Heart", and "Spread Your Love". LP, Vinyl record album

A posthumous collection of work from The Faces – a set of some of their best material from the early 70s, served up as a swan song to the great group who was bound to implode at some point in their career! Rod Stewart is amazing here – even more ferocious than on his own early solo work – and the Ronnies, Wood and Laine, are both superb – at a level that always has us trading our old Rolling Stones records for Faces albums – even at a ratio of three to one. Titles include "Cindy Incidentally", "Pineapple & The Monkey", "Flying", "Sweet Lady Mary", "You Can Make Me Dance Sing Or Anything", "Stay With Me", "Had Me A Real Good Time", "Silicone Grown", "Around The Plynth", "Miss Judy's Farm", and "Ooh La La". LP, Vinyl record album

If this is reality, lead us onward – as the set is a mindblowing batch of trippy psych-funk from The Heliocentrics – even more offbeat and experimental than before, in ways that make the combo the true heirs to the legacy first begun by Stark Reality! The album's definitely funky at the core, but it's also filled with loads of amazing sounds – instruments tuned weirdly, played weirdly, and produced weirdly – so that over the heavy drums, there's often lots of freaky, fuzzy bits and tripped-out sounds – in ways that make the record feel like some lost acid trip outtakes from the Westbound studios of the early 70s – or like some obscure funk band that dropped acid at Andy Warhol's loft! The packaging offers up a visual example of what your ears will be going through when you tune into the music – and titles include "Mysterious Ways", "Collateral Damage", "Black Sky", "Calabash", "Path Of The Black Sun", "Mr Owusu I Presume", "Eastern Begena", and loads of cool interlude tracks too. LP, Vinyl record album

Early solo work – with titles that include "The Man Who Invented Himself", "Brenda's Iron Sledge", "Do Policemen Sing", "The Lizard", "Acid Bird", "Meat", "Out Of The Picture", "Love", "City Of Shame", and "I Watch The Cars". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the greatest soundtracks ever – a record that set a whole new standard for audio representation of a film! The mad music for the set was composed by Antonio Carlos Jobim, with lyrics by Vincius De Moraes – and performed by Luiz Bonfa on guitar – but despite such prime bossa pedigree, the whole thing's got a sound that goes way beyond the familiar – a crazy mix of batucada percussion, samba rhythms, bossa guitar, and loads of sound effects from the film – so much so that the first half of the record is almost a sound-for-sound replication of the first 20 minutes of the movie! The sound collage is amazing – an extremely unique approach to soundtrack representation, and one that's never been done so beautifully since. A truly breathtaking record, filled with mindblowing sounds – and an early example of the genius that would explode in 60s music in Brazil. Some key bossa classics are represented here in early versions – including "Felicidade", "O Nosso Amor", and "Manha De Carnaval" – but they're wrapped up in odd sounds and rhythms that really make them sound different! LP, Vinyl record album

The amazing debut of Kris Kristofferson as a singer – long overdue, given that his songs had been championed by others as some of the hippest in Nashville at the end of the 60s! Every track is a gem – and the record starts with the biting, decidedly non-country "Blame It On The Stones" – then rolls through classics that include "The Best Of All Possible Worlds", "To Beat The Devil", "The Law Is For The Protection Of The People", "For The Good Times", "Darby's Castle", and "Duvalier's Dream" – plus Kris' impeccable readings of "Me & Bobby McGee" and "Sunday Mornin Comin Down". LP, Vinyl record album

Given that a busty babe is leaning into the left side of the piano keyboard on the cover, we'd almost expect Lou Levy to focus mostly on the lighter notes on the right – but instead, he really opens up with some great deep notes on the cover, and takes the album far past anything you might expect! Levy's a really subtle player, one who never overstates his obvious ear for modern tones and musical elements – but he's really got a way of bringing them into his music in ways you wouldn't expect – either in the way he shapes a note on the mellower cuts, or comes up with a groove on the more lively ones. There's none of the flowery sounds you might expect from the "baby grand" title – and instead, Lou is in very comfortable territory – working in trio format with the great Max Bennett on bass, and drummer Gus Johnson – on titles that include "Little Girl", "Undecided", "The Gypsy", "Sunday Kind Of Love", "I've Found A New Baby", and "You Don't Know What Love Is". LP, Vinyl record album

A rare acid folk-styled gem from the Bay Area scene at the end of the 60s – served up by Rusty Evans from the famous Freak Scene group, stepping out here in a completely different style overall! The music is mostly acoustic, at a level that has the raspy lead vocals coming across with a nice current of darkness – really moody singing to fit the equally moody themes – almost darker than Tim Hardin at the time, as if Marcus were coming down from a bad trip with all these realizations about the world! There's a bit of electric guitar snaking through the record too – and overall the more gentle instrumentation really emphasizes the haunting power of the music. Titles include "Royal Maze", "The Coming", "Grains Of Sand", "Time Of Our Time", "We'll All Go Together", and "Color Song". LP, Vinyl record album

Curtis Mayfield's still very firmly on track with this set – recording in his new hometown of Atlanta, but also working with Chicago talents like Rich Tufo and Morris Jennings – all in a warm mellow groove that's totally great! The style's a bit more contemporary than the Curtom years, but never too much so – and there's more than enough warmth in the instrumentation to match Mayfield's still-great vocals on the lyrics. The tunes are decidedly less political – more about love and romance – but that's ok with us, because they're the sort of themes that Curtis first started with back in the early years of his career. Titles include "Summer Hot", "Still Within Your Heart", "Hey Baby", "Nobody But You", and "If You Need Me". LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderfully trippy record by The Monkees, and the soundtrack to their equally trippy film from the late 60s. The music's like nothing else they ever did, and the record's a post-Sgt. Pepper's collage of sounds from the movie, weird little spoken bits, and delightfully psychedelic songs. Incidental music's by Ken Thorne, but the bulk of the tracks are by Jones, Tork, Nesmith, and Dolenz. Titles include "Porpoise Song", "Circle Sky", "Can You Dig It", "Gravy", and "Dandruff?" LP, Vinyl record album

One of our favorite Lee Morgan albums, and one of his least known – a set recorded in the crucial last five years of his life, and a sparkling mix of hard bop, soul jazz, and slight bits of modernism – that magical mix that Lee was hitting as he reached farther and farther with his music – an amazing legacy in jazz that has us loving every Morgan session from 1965 onward! Lee's playing in very comfortable territory, with a group that includes Bennie Maupin on tenor, Cedar Walton on piano, Reggie Workman on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums – but that doesn't mean that the proceedings are relaxed at all, because the interplay between the players is flawless, and they use their familiarity as a great springboard to soar off into rich new territory. Lee wrote all the tunes on the record – like "Caramba", "Suicide City", and "Soulita". An excellent record throughout, and one that we'd never part with! LP, Vinyl record album

Classic solo Ozzy with Randy Rhoads! Includes "Crazy Train", "I Don't Know", "Suicide Solution", "Goodbye To Romance", "Mr. Crowley", and more! LP, Vinyl record album

The amazing debut of Prince – a record that virtually snuck onto the market at the time of its release, but which has gone on to become the launching pad for one of the greatest recorded legacies in soul music! The whole thing has a really lean, stripped-down sort of sound – one that testifies to the fact that the man himself produced and performed the whole thing – almost as if Prince were up there in Minneapolis, looking at all the overblown funk ensemble and disco records of the time, and decided to throw his own hat in the ring with a great variation of the funk sound of the 70s! The lean quality puts the record in a legacy that also includes 70s work by Shuggie Otis and Timmy Thomas – but that star quality that was about to make Prince huge is already firmly in place – on titles that include "For You", "Soft & Wet", "Crazy You", "Just As Long As We're Together", "My Love Is Forever", "I'm Yours", "So Blue", "In Love", and "Baby". LP, Vinyl record album

A real stunner from Lalo – filled with tight jazzy soundtrack grooves, most of which sound even better than the work on the original Mission Impossible soundtrack! The groove is very much in the pocket, and perfectly captures Schifrin's classic mix of bossa, jazz, and crime themes. Titles include "Self-Destruct", "Mission Blues", "More Mission", "Foul Play", and the sample classic "The Danube Incident". LP, Vinyl record album

Dramatic, orchestral, dramatic-orchestral, and dramatic-exotic tunes – all scorred for this Indian-themed adventure film that starred Yul Brynner and Trevor Howard. There's a bit of sitar on a few tracks, mixed in with the orchestrations, and titles include "The Leopard", "Jail Break", "The Wrecked Bhanta Camp", "Strutting At Gynkhana", "Fire At The Fort", "Freddy & Jane", "The Train", and "Hanging Bridge Incident". Also includes a slight vocal performance on "The World Is Ready", by Vince Hill. LP, Vinyl record album

The mid 90s debut of San Diego MC Jayo Felony – with gritty street centric rhymes and a flow that falls comfortably between the laidback and more manic styles of period west coast gangsta rap of the period. Take A Ride is extra notable for a prominent behind the scenes figure – the legendary Jam Master Jay – working here as a producer in a style that's far removed from the vibe he pioneered in Run-DMC's a decade + earlier! Includes "Lock Down", "The Loc Is On His Own", "I'ma Keep Bangin'", "Homicide", ":Love Boat", "Sherm Stick", "Day 1", "Can't Keep A Gee Down", "Penitentiary Bound", "They Got Me On Medication", "Funk 2 Da Head", "Take A Ride". LP, Vinyl record album

An early moment of genius from Warren Zevon – the kind of record that really set his talents part from the singer/songwriter generation that came before – and made Zevon a key part of a new era of much darker songsmiths! Zevon manages to weave in all these strange moody elements while still delivering songs that are tuneful – often with studio talent that goes back to an earlier generation of LA polish, but which manages to have a bit more edge here in Warren's company. The lasting highlight of the record is probably the oft-played "Werewolves Of London" – but the whole thig is filled with gems – titles that include "Accidentally Like A Martyr", "Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner", "Nighttime In The Switching Yard", "Tenderness On The Block", "Veracruz", and "Lawyers Guns & Money". LP, Vinyl record album