A brilliant album of Latiny grooves from Diz! The record takes off from the soulful/modal mood of the early 60s groups with Lalo Schifrin and Kenny Barron – and features a young Mike Longo crafting some fantastic lines on piano, stretched out over tight rhythms on electric bass and drums, with Dizzy soloing on trumpet, and James Moody adding in washes of color and emotion on alto, tenor, and flute. The best tracks are long groovers that really show the group stretching out – especially on the album's 16 minute reading of Dizzy's classic "Kush", the title track "Swing Low Sweet Chariot", and a great version of "Mas Que Nada"! LP, Vinyl record album

Forget the hokey pun in the title, as the album's a sharp-edged set that has way more going on than that bad wit might imply – a brilliant record that has the same sort of post-loft vibe as some of the best Black Saint/Soul Note sessions from the time! The group here features players who worked on many of those records too – the mighty Billy Bang on violin, sounding incredible, and so different than generations of others touching that instrument in jazz – sharp, soulful, and almost "blown" more like a saxophone! Frank Lowe's tenor follows with a similarly bold voice – and the group features very urgent work on bass from Rafael Garrett and drums from Dennis Charles. Titles include great readings of Jackie McLean's "Little Melonae" and Ornette Coleman's "Lonely Woman" – plus the tracks "Loweology", "Ballad With One L", and "Blood On The Cross". LP, Vinyl record album

A really wonderful overview of sounds from the contemporary jazz scene in Finland – put together with a fantastic ear for the heady grooves and really fresh solo modes that have been bristling up on the scene of late – all of which really come together in the impeccable track selection on the set! Most of these tracks have a highly rhythmic pulse, but at a level that's very different from more familiar jazz funk or fusion – with percussion and basslines that are often nice and earthy, and a very different sense of timing that further makes the tracks stand out! Groups and instrumentation vary in a nice way throughout the collection, and the whole thing is the sort of set that will have you soon digging deeper to unlock some of the best sounds from this overlooked scene. Titles include "Dark Sparkle" by JAF Trio, "En Ut" by UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra, "Bilawal" by Superposition, "Imprologue" by Kari Ikonen, "Zigenerskan" by Emma Salokoski Ilmiliekki, "Niin On Kehto Tyhjilaan" by Hot Heroes & Iro Haarla, and "Garag" by Riitta Paakki. LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic lost slice of work by one of the greatest modern jazz forces on the British jazz scene of the 60s – Jamaican-born saxophonist Joe Harriott, known for his groundbreaking avant jazz sessions and his experiments with Indian classical music! The sound here is quite different than those two better-known aspects of Harriott's career – and represents a return to the hardbop style he was using in the late 50s, when first making waves on the London scene. However, that's not a bad thing at all – as the album's overflowing with modern jazz undercurrents, and almost has a fresh post-Mingus approach to the horn parts and rhythm progressions. The quintet includes trumpeter Stu Hamer, drummer Phil Seaman, bassist Coleridge Goode, and pianist Pat Smythe – all well-suited players for Harriott in such a mode, and working here in a style that recalls the first great moments of British jazz from the late 50s. Titles include "Strollin South", "Just Goofin", "Time For Love", "The Rake", "Blues In C", and "Tuesday Morning Swing". LP, Vinyl record album

An album that really lives up to its title – as the set bristles with upbeat, joyous energy throughout – in a fantastic criss-crossing of players from different global scenes, all cooking together in the cultural hotbed of 70s London! The record's got some echoes of the Brotherhood Of Breath work by Chris McGregor also issued by the Cadillac label – and also features ties to some of the musicians from the South African scene – but the group's also got a youthful energy that really makes the whole thing soar – fantastic bass from Ernest Mothle, killer piano from Frank Roberts, and tight drums from Keith Bailey – topped with trumpet from Jim Dvorak and alto from Chris Francis – both mighty nice players! Some tracks have a great pulsating groove – and titles include "PM", "Tribute", "Hidden Spirits", "Martini Suite", and "Spirals". LP, Vinyl record album

A sweet little record that's bristling over with that future past sort of vibe that makes the Star Creature label so great – 80s electronic elements coming into play with a more contemporary sort of groove – lean, mean, and right on the money all the way through! E Live is definitely a master on the keys – able to bring some jazzier elements into his lines here – as he steps out strongly in a mostly instrumental setting over some bassy beats and heady basslines – on titles that include "Mood Swing", "I Feel It", "Friday Night Flight", "Cadillac Breeze", "Traffic Jam", "Stranger Dayz", "You Got Me", "City Girl", "Slapadelic", and "Wise Up Rise Up". LP, Vinyl record album

Not the famous Verve Records pairing of Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker – but instead a more obscure live date from 1947, but one that really lets you hear the genius that happens when both players take the stage! The tunes have this approach that really hits at the most creative side of bop at the time – maybe even more open, expressive, and filled with larger ideas than some of the early singles that were coming out in 1947 – in a way that makes the whole thing a really important document of the complexity that was in the music, right from the start. The pair really stretch out on a fantastic two part reading of "Night In Tunisia (parts 1 & 2)", then soar through "Groovin High (parts 1 & 2)", "Confirmation", and "Dizzy Atmosphere". The second half of the set features some more live material, but just with Dizzy Gillespie in the lead, from 1953 – with Bill Graham on alto and baritone, plus a bit of vocals from Joe Carroll. Titles include "School Days", "Swing Low Sweet Cadillac", and "Tin Tin Deo". LP, Vinyl record album

Mixed compilation featuring tracks by Andrea True Connection, Salsoul Orchestra, Ritchie Family, Gwen McCrae, Kool & The Gang, Walter Murphy, KC & The Sunshine Band, George McCrae, Crown Heights Affair, Flash Cadillac & The Continental Kids, and Ecstasy Passion & Pain. LP, Vinyl record album

A much-needed look at the funky Miami scene of the late 60s and early 70s – the new powerhouse of southern soul, after the slowdown in the scenes in Memphis and Muscle Shoals! The Miami sound was harder, tighter, rawer, and faster than that of other southern outlets – based around a really strong ability to pick up a little riff, cook it up nicely, and create the perfect backdrop for sock-soul vocals. By the mid 70s, Miami was topping the charts with disco tunes that sprung out of this energy – but the tracks on this set are all heavy-hitters from the pre-disco years – kickass funky tunes that burn like a box full of rare funky 45s! The set's overflowing with gems – and titles include "You Got To Be A Man" by Helene Smith, "Cramp Your Style" by All The People, "Funky Cat" by James Knight & The Butler, "90% Of Me Is You" by Gwen McCrae, "Funky Me" by Timmy Thomas, "Funkadelic Sound" by Little Beaver, "Spanish Flyer" by Frank Williams & The Rocketeers, "Do It To Me One More Time" by Joey Gilmore, "A Woman Will Do Wrong" by Helene Smith, "You Got To Be A Man" by Frank Williams & The Rocketeers, "Fantasy World" by James Knight & The Butlers, "Cadillac Annie" by Clarence Reid, "Somebody Done Took My Baby & Gone" by Frank Williams & The Rocketeers, "I Get Lifted" by George McCrae, and "Don't Make The Good Girls Go Bad" by Della Humphrey. LP, Vinyl record album

One of the all-time classic Italian film scores – a groundbreaking soundtrack from Nino Rota, and one of the first Italian works of this nature to hit the record racks in the US! The music is a beautiful blend of whimsy and sadness – penned by Rota with a variety of light themes that dance together with a dreamy sort of quality – romantic one minute, dramatic the next – always handled with Nino's inventive sense of musical play! Larger orchestrations come into play with smaller combo elements that evoke the new world of jazz and rock on the scene in Rome – and the whole thing is a musical delight throughout – with titles that include "La Dolce Vita", "Cadillac", "Via Veneto", "Titoli Di Testa", and "Valzer". LP, Vinyl record album

Forget the silly cowboy costume on the front cover – because this is a heck of a great album! Bo might have gotten saddled (no pun intended!) with a silly gimmick for the title and image of the set – but the album's one of his best from the early Chess years, and features a rip-roaring batch of tracks that really cut it up in his classic scratchy guitar mode of the time! Lyrics are great – nearly all originals by Bo himself, with that hip swinging, and hard-wailing approach that was always a lot of fun – and cuts include "Gunslinger", "Diddling", "Cheyenne", "Cadillac", and "Doing The Craw-Daddy". 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

Strutting guitars, stomping rhythms, and a great mix of glam and soul – the trademark groove of the UK's classic Hot Chocolate! The album's filled with great tunes that resonate with their trademark compressed sound – vocals wrapped on guitars and set to sweetly stepping rhythms – all produced to perfection by the mighty Mickie Most, with a sound that so many other current groups try to go for, but can never reach this right! Errol Brown's on lead vocals, and wrote a good deal of the tunes – and titles include "Heaven Is In The Back Seat Of My Cadillac", "Living On A Shoe String", "Sugar Daddy", "Man To Man", "You Could've Been A Lady", "Seventeen Years Of Age", and "Sex Appeal". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic package of work – material that not only helped kick off the career of the legendary Howlin Wolf, but also the Memphis powerhouse Sun Records too! The material here was all cut in the Sun Studios right at the start of its famous run – material recorded by Sam Phillips long before Elvis, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee Lewis – at a time when he was deeply interested in the shifts taking place in southern blues at the time, and was willing to take a chance on the mighty talents of Howlin Wolf! Wolf was no newcomer to the scene, but hadn't gotten recorded much before – especially not at this level, which brings out qualities that really ignited a long stretch of important 50s sessions after Sun licensed a few key tracks to other labels before they got their own imprint up and running. This very cool 10" package features titles not issued at the time – ten great tracks that were in the Sun Records vaults for years – presented here in a very cool vintage-styled LP. Titles on this second volume include "Color & Kind", "My Baby Walked Off", "Baby Ride With Me", "Smile At Me", "California Blues", "Well That's All Right", "Mr Highway Man/Cadillac Daddy", "Decoration Day Blues", "Dorothy Mae #2", and "CV Wine Blues/Drinkin CV Wine". LP, Vinyl record album

A landmark album – both for Outkast and the Atlanta scene too – as the set soars forward from the territory of their debut Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik – with crazy, free flowing, inventive rhymes and soulful outer space grooves that still manage to stay grounded enough to aptly reflect the darker realities of the ATL scene! While some of that city's work would soon lapse into cliche, that's definitely not the case here – as Dre and Big Boi rhyme over these wonderfully laidback grooves that have a wicked southern fried vibe. Titles include "ATLiens", "Two Dope Boyz (In A Cadillac)", "Wheelz Of Steel", "Jazzy Belle", "Babylon", "Millennium", and "13th Floor/Growing Old". LP, Vinyl record album

A nicely laidback album from Pugs Atomz – not at a level that feels lazy or thrown together at all – but which befits the confidence that Pugs can bring to his music after so many years – all with a quality that makes the whole thing seem as effortless as it is well-grounded! Tusk 57 handled much of the production – alongside Waffle King and Hexsagon – and the easygoing flow of the set is great, still holding strong even through guest appearances from the likes of Killah Priest, Rockie Fresh, Awdazcate, and Hexsagon himself. Titles include "Cash Ap At The Toll Road", "Malcolm 64", "Test Drive", "Green Means Go", "Cadillac On Michigan Ave", and "Sunsets In The US". LP also features added bonus tracks – "Testdrive (DJ Vadim mix)", "Green Means Go (Ed Seven rmx)", and "This Life Time (Inkswel)". LP, Vinyl record album

A really unusual document of the legendary scene around CBGB's on the lower east side – one that gets at the great range of music that passed through the doors of the clubs, in addition to some of the better known punk acts who helped form its legend! The music here runs the gamut from seminal new wave to bar rock – and the choice of cuts is interesting, most likely culled together from acts who didn't have any sort of record label contract at the time. Titles include "Head Over Heels", "Slash" and "All For The Love Of Rock And Roll" by the Tuff Darts; "Operetico", "AVM" and "Poe" by the Shirts; "Cadillac Moon", "Change It Comes" and "Let Me Dream If I Want To" by Mink Deville; "Over, Under, Sideways, Down" and "I'm Really Not this Way" by Manster, "We Deliver" by the Miamis, "I Need A Million" and "It Feels Alright Tonight" by the Laughing Dogs, "Romance" by Sun, and "Everybody's Depraved" by Stuart's Hammer. LP, Vinyl record album

A much-needed look at the funky Miami scene of the late 60s and early 70s – the new powerhouse of southern soul, after the slowdown in the scenes in Memphis and Muscle Shoals! The Miami sound was harder, tighter, rawer, and faster than that of other southern outlets – based around a really strong ability to pick up a little riff, cook it up nicely, and create the perfect backdrop for sock-soul vocals. By the mid 70s, Miami was topping the charts with disco tunes that sprung out of this energy – but the tracks on this set are all heavy-hitters from the pre-disco years – kickass funky tunes that burn like a box full of rare funky 45s! The set's overflowing with gems – and titles include "You Got To Be A Man" by Helene Smith, "Cramp Your Style" by All The People, "Funky Cat" by James Knight & The Butler, "90% Of Me Is You" by Gwen McCrae, "Funky Me" by Timmy Thomas, "Funkadelic Sound" by Little Beaver, "Spanish Flyer" by Frank Williams & The Rocketeers, "Do It To Me One More Time" by Joey Gilmore, "A Woman Will Do Wrong" by Helene Smith, "You Got To Be A Man" by Frank Williams & The Rocketeers, "Fantasy World" by James Knight & The Butlers, "Cadillac Annie" by Clarence Reid, "Somebody Done Took My Baby & Gone" by Frank Williams & The Rocketeers, "I Get Lifted" by George McCrae, and "Don't Make The Good Girls Go Bad" by Della Humphrey. LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic work from Syn – a British group who are maybe best-remembered for giving the world future prog giants Chris Squire and Peter Banks – but who are already pretty darn great even without that later legacy of sound! The vibe here is a bit like Tomorrow – the early home of Steve Howe – in that the songs are mostly short, focused, and tuneful, but have all sorts of wonderfully new ideas and trippy touches around the edges – deeper than pop psych material coming out of the US at the time, but equally catchy in its own sort of way! Titles include "Created By Clive", "Flowerman", "14 Hour Technicolour Dream", "Merry Go Round", "The Gangster Opera", "Cadillac Dreams", "The Last Performance of The Royal Regimental Very Victorious and Valiant Band", "Mister White's White Flying Machine", "Love You", and "Sunset Boulevard Lament". LP, Vinyl record album

The mid 90s instant classic! Outkast's debut set hem up as one of the most distinctive hip hop duos ever, right out of the gate, but it also helped to established the freewheeling, funky dirty south sound, thanks to genius Organized Noize production! The Outkast sound would get bigger and more wildly eclectic on the records to follow Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, but the consistent, funky southern swagger on this one holds up incredibly well. It sounds fresh to this day! Includes breakout hit "Player's Ball", "Crumblin Erb", "Git Up, Git Out", "Claimin' True", "Funky Ride", "Soouthernplayalisticadillacmuzik", "Ain't No Thang", "CallOf Da Wild", "Hootie Hoo" and a couple of interludes. LP, Vinyl record album

The legendary debut of Dwight Yoakam – a honky tonk classic delivered with inimitable swagger! It's not only one of the finest country albums of its decade, we'd honestly rank Guitars Cadillacs Etc Etc up there with best country albums ever. Really! The mid 80s isn't one of the best remembered eras in country music – even hardscrabble heroes like Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson were fumbling around for the right balance of traditionalism and modernism at the dawn of the CD era – so there's no overstating what a huge breath of fresh air Yoakam was at time. He pays heartfelt homage to roots rock and honky tonk tradition, but he honed his craft in the LA club scene of the early 80s, giving his way with a classic sound an edge like no others at the time. A masterpiece. Titles include "South Of Cincinnati", "Bury Me", "Guitars Cadillacs", his killer version of Cash's "Ring Of Fire", "I'll Be Gone", "Miner's Prayer" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

With selections by The Drifters, The Moonglows, The Flamingos, The Eldorados, The Chantels, Lee Andrews & The Hearts, The Temptations, The Bobettes, The Crests, and The Cadillacs. LP, Vinyl record album

With selections by The Monotones, The Nutmegs, The Dells, The Spaniels, Dion & The Belmonts, The Moonglows, The Pastels, The Cadillacs, The Chanels, The Fiestas, and The Heartbeats. LP, Vinyl record album

Just a slight step down from the monumental Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc., but still a near masterpiece of neo-traditional Bakersfield country. Producer-guitarist Pete Anderson is a wizard for this kind of stuff, and that sharp lap steel sound he captures really needs to be heard on vinyl to be fully appreciated. And lest we forget, Dwight's minimal range and infinite emotion carries that voice further than the best country vocalists out there right now, and he's got the swagger and tight pants to pull it all off even if he wasn't such a pure spirit! Includes Lefty Frizell's immortal "Always Late With Your Kisses", "Smoke Along The Track", "1,000 Miles", "Little Sister", "This Drinkin' Will Kill Me", and more. Great! LP, Vinyl record album

A whole host of classic rock and roll Christmas tunes – plus a few great doo wop numbers as well – all brought together in a single package with a great sort of late 50s vibe! Titles include "I'm Gonna Lasso Santa Claus" and "Rockin Around The Christmas Tree" by Brenda Lee, "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" by Pat Boone, "Merry Christmas Baby" and "Run Rudolph Run" by Chuck Berry, "Hey Santa Claus" by The Moonglows, "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" by Jimmy Charles, "Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer" by The Cadillacs, "Jingle Bell Rock" by Bobby Helms, "Frosty The Snowman" by Jan & Dean, "Boogie Woogie Santa Claus" by Patti Page, and "White Christmas" by The Drifters. LP, Vinyl record album

Valid and Stretch show that the Detroit scene is alive and well when it comes to hip hop – and can deliver a record like this, with a vibe that's gritty, but never too overplayed or postured! The set uses media snippets between tracks to link the cuts nicely, and almost create a sense of historicity to the music – as does the strong use of 80s elements from time to time – bits of retro pop that make the whole thing bristle with this playfully fresh quality that really fits the rhymes! Production is by Pig Pen, J Mac, Chuck Cross, Eddie Logix, and others – and titles include "Game Film", "89 Cadillacs", "You Know I Like It", "Revenge", "Eastern Conference Finals", "Drink With Me", "Sentimental", "The Girls", and "Commentate". LP, Vinyl record album