Not as sublime as their first LP, but still a nice batch of modern pop sound collage. More traditional song structures are poking through the cool po-mo facade here. With "Opus 4", "Eye Of A Needle", "Backbeat", "Instruments Of Darkness", "Peter Gunn" and "Beatback". LP, Vinyl record album

The breakthrough album by Blondie! Parallel Lines is their third album overall, and having been released only 7 months after their second, you know they were hungry to break big – and they do it here with unbeatable cool. For as tight and bright as as the sound is, a trademark of producer Mike Chapman, there's still something of the raucous downtown energy here – and also some pretty great stylistic strides, such as the disco-aware smash "Heart Of Glass". Includes the equally classic "One Way Or Another" plus "Hanging On The Telephone", "Just Go Away", "I Know But I Don't Know" "Will Anything Happen", "Picture This", "11:59 and more. LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A groundbreaking meeting of musical icons – with veteran jazz greats, a couple of then-young guns, and one of the MCs who helped bring jazz into hip hop in the first place! Jazzmatazz bridges both stylistic and generational boundaries in incredible ways, not only an earnest effort by Guru to pay heartfelt tribute to heroes, but to show his own and subsequent generations its the vitality and longevity jazz music – with a lineup that includes Donald Byrd, Roy Ayers, Ronny Jordan, Lonnie Liston Smith, Carleen Anderson, N'Dea Davenport and MC Solaar. 12 tracks in all, including "Slicker Than Most", "No Time To Play", "Loungin", "Sights In The City", "Le Bien, Le Mal", "Transit Ride", "When You're Near", "Down The Backstreets", "Respectful Dedications", "Take A Look At Yourself" and "Trust Me". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A nice change in sound for Debbie Harry – thanks to Chic production from Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards – who really help the solo singer find a groove that's quite different than her work in Blondie! The style's a mixture of the funky club that Chic did so well, with elements that lean a bit more towards an early 80s rockish dancefloor – almost with a vibe that echoes some of the UK imports trickling over to these shores at the time, but with a definite New York vibe underneath! The setting gives Harry's vocals a great way to hit a more playful nature – that sound that was creeping in a bit in Blondie, but which some folks thought was wrong for the group – and Chris Stein is still on hand to bring in some street-sensitive riffing guitar. Titles include "Backfired", "Military Rap", "Oasis", "Surrender", "Chrome", "Jump Jump", and "The Jam Was Moving". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A mixture of fusion and soul – with some hard-jamming tracks that bring sometimes brings more of a focus on the groove than the vocals – and other cuts that steer it into a solid pop soul approach! There's a warmth and depth to the production and the songwriting that's a pretty big step away from some of the more synthy sounding soul efforts of the era – definitely giving this album a lift! Paul Jackson Jr plays a bit of guest guitar with the group – and Ollie E Brown drums a bit and produces a few of the tracks. Titles include "Together We Can Shine", "Intuition", "You're Lying", "Throw Away The Key", "There's Love", "Rise & Shine", and "Count On Me". LP, Vinyl record album

The never-issued full length album from Philly funk combo Nat Turner Rebellion – a group led by Joseph Jefferson, who'd later write great songs for others – but who here is standing strong at the head of a very righteous group! Nat Turner Rebellion issued a few singles on the Philly Groove label, but never got the chance to give the world it's full length message – and this set was rescued from lost tapes at the Sigma Sound Studios by some students at Drexel University – a great lost legacy in sound, with a funky power and positive message that's maybe more important now than ever before! These guys often have the sock-soul punch of Sir Joe Quarterman & Free Soul – and titles include "Tribute To A Slave", "Love Peace & Understanding, "Fruit Of The Land", "Plastic People", "Getting Higher Together", and "Laugh To Keep From Crying". LP, Vinyl record album

Procol Harum check into the Grand Hotel – and check out with one of their greatest albums ever! The set's got that majestic sound that was the group's strongest point – a strange mix of the very personal vocals of Gary Brooker and the expansive blend of piano, organ, and guitar that the group often sent soaring to the skies – augmented here with some perfect use of strings and chorus – never too heavy, but all fused perfectly with the core energy of the sextet! In fact, it's that sense of compression – of folding everything together so well – that really makes the group so great, and such an important precursor for so many acts that were beginning to blossom in the UK scene, using a similar approach in different ways. Yet it's that Gary Brooker/Keith Reid sense of songwriting that still sets these guys apart from anyone else – as you'll hear on titles that include "Grand Hotel", "Tojours L'Amour", "TV Caesar", "A Souvenir Of London", "Robert's Box", "Fires", "For Liquorice John", and "A Rum Tale". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Not quite as solid as their two tone classic Too Much Pressure, but more than satisfying first wave ska revival that still holds up after all these years! Includes "Bombscare", "Celebrate The Bullet", "Selling Out Your Future", "Red Reflections", "(Who Likes) Facing Situations", "Tell Me What's Wrong", "Washed Up And Left For Dead", "Cool Blue Lady" and "Bristol & Miami". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the greatest groups of the legendary 2 Tone records scene at the start of the 80s – and a group that's maybe got an even harder edge than their more familiar labelmates, The Specials! The groove here is revival ska, but with a lean, jagged quality that's very different than so many of the softer groups that sprang up in later years – definitely tied more to the sound of the late 70s punk years, overall – thanks in part to the urgency of the lead vocals of Pauline Black, who really seems to dominate the lyrics over the group's other singer, Arthur Hendrickson. Instrumentation is nice and spare – which keeps the sound sharp – and titles include "Missing Words", "My Collie (Not A Dog)", "Three Minute Hero", "Too Much Pressure", "Murder", "Out On The Streets" and "James Bond". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include "Aqualung", "My God", "Slipstream", "Locomotive Breath", "Wind Up", and "Mother Goose". LP, Vinyl record album