One of the holy grails of the Spaced Out club music scene! Patrick Adams produced and arranged (and wrote and probably performed) this stunning set of spacey club grooves with a cool electronic feel, and a nice sense of mid to uptempo rhythms. Includes the classic "Atmospheric Strut", one of the moogiest tracks around, plus the classics "Spaced Out" and "Disco Juice". All cuts are great, though, and the album's also got a good soul sound that often gets overlooked, especially on the cut "Doin' It All Night Long". A great one, and on the rare P&P label! LP, Vinyl record album

A killer moogy club classic! Cloud One were part of the whole Patrick Adams/Peter Brown cluster of groups who used tight club grooves and spacey production styles to forge a legendary disco sound that's finally getting its due these days. This single, the obscure "Patty Duke", is one of the most compelling chapters in that legacy – as it's a strange bubbly track, with a tight hard groove, and lots of weird little moogy and keyboard bits! Very nice, and issued here in the 2-part instrumental version! 12-inch, Vinyl record

Flute man Moe Koffman was one of the strongest jazz talents on his instrument in the late 50s – an artist whose work on records like this may well have paved the ground for the success of Herbie Mann and others to come! The title's a play on Moe's earlier work on the "Swingin Shepherd" tune – a surprise instrumental hit, with a very sprightly groove – but the approach here is much more jazz overall, and really lets Koffman show off his chops – including a few points at which he blows alto sax too! The arrangements are fresh, and slightly modern – and the group features Ed Bickert on guitar, Hugh Currie on bass, and Ron Rully on drums – on titles that include "Marty's Mourge", "What Can You Do", "Doxy", "Sure It Is", "Alone Together", and "Cloud Nine". LP, Vinyl record album

Very late material from Art Tatum – recorded at a private party in LA in 1956, and featuring the piano genius working his way through spare complicated solo versions of standards. Titles include "Yesterdays", "Body & Soul", "Someone To Watch Over Me", "I'll Never Be The Same", "Tenderly", "Begin The Beguine", and "Willow Weep For Me". Great cover, too – one that was lifted by JTQ for an early album cover! LP, Vinyl record album

An amazing reissue of this now-legendary album – once a lost psych oddity, but a set that's gone onto make plenty of waves over the years! Song Of A Gypsy may well be one of the best self-issued psych sets from the American underground – a really well-written, well-recorded record that has a very dark personal vision – an approach to the music that's instantly unique, and which shows that digging for rare psych albums can really yield the occasional gem that stands head and shoulders with the bigger names of the time! Damon's voice is darkly spooky, and couched with these cool flanged-out guitar lines on the sides – creating a space that's very personal, and which seems to let the lyrics hit these qualities that go much deeper than usual. The core album's been treasured for years by the few fans who had an original copy, and by a few more who had a previous reissue – but this double-length set is the first to ever tell the true tale of the enigmatic Damon – with a huge 64 page booklet of notes, and a massive amount of rare bonus tracks too. The core album includes "Song Of A Gypsy", "Funky Funky Blues", "Don't You Feel Me", "The Night", "Feel Your Love", "Oh What A Good Boy Am I", and "Birds Fly So High". Bonus tracks include some demo and 45 versions of "Song Of A Gypsy", plus "Don't Cry", "Lonely Surfer", "Bowlin Alley Jane", "Everything Is Alright", "The Little White Cloud That Cried", "I Wonder Why", and "I've Got My Pride". LP, Vinyl record album

A legendary greatest hits collection from the Rolling Stones – one that was so popular back in the day, it was maybe the one Rolling Stones album that everyone had in their collection! The package was a great way for folks to go back and catch up after digging in deep on Exile On Main Street and Let It Bleed – and the set has work from the earliest years of The Stones all the way up to those classics – a killer set list that includes "Get Off Of My Cloud", "Gimme Shelter", "Brown Sugar", "Wild Horses", "Honky Tonk Women", "Sympathy For The Devil", "Satisfaction", "Ruby Tuesday", "Play With Fire", "Paint It Black", "Jumpin Jack Flash", "Street Fighting Man", "Midnight Rambler (live)", "You Can't Always Get What You Want", "Time Is On My Side", "Heart Of Stone", "19th Nervous Breakdown", "Let's Spend The Night Together", and "Mother's Little Helper". LP, Vinyl record album

Killer Latin soul from one of the all-time greats – a collection of greatest hits from Mongo Santamaria, but a set that's every bit as essential as his full length albums for Columbia! Most of the cuts on the album were arranged by Mongo's key right-hand man – the great Marty Sheller, who was an excellent trumpeter, a great writer, and a skilled arranger who knew how to make Mongo's whole group swing with incredible tightness! The cuts are all instrumental, with hard conga-heavy grooves, and some wonderful jazzy breakaway solos, played by folks like Hubert Laws or Ronnie Cuber. Titles include "El Pussy Cat", "The Now Generation", "Cold Sweat", "Cloud Nine", "We Got Latin Soul", and "Fat Back". LP, Vinyl record album

An album with a horse on the cover, and a sound that's maybe even more soulful than the first mighty outing by Babe Ruth – quite a lot, given the strength of that debut! Vocalist Jenny Haan seems to have an even greater presence here – working some nice currents of color through the group's great ability to riff, groove, and sometimes step into more acoustic modes – all while holding onto one of the hippest currents going in the Harvest Records scene – and one of the most unique as well! There's plenty of surprises throughout – and in addition to great cuts like "Broken Cloud", "Gimme Some Leg", "We Are Holding On", "Amar Caballo", and "Doctor Love" – the group also turn in a nicely offbeat remake of "Cool Jerk" too! LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most soulful club tracks we can remember from the mid 80s – and a cut with a hook that just won't quit! 12-inch, Vinyl record

A landmark blend of gospel spirit and 70s soul – and one of the greatest moments ever from The Mighty Clouds Of Joy! Like so many other soul artists before them, these guys have voices that are steeped in the best traditions of gospel – but rather than giving up their roots and going secular, they just cut this set with the best Philly soul help of the time – arrangements from Wade Marcus, and a smoking Sigma Sound lineup that includes work from Norman Harris, Vince Montana, Bobby Eli, Ronnie Baker, and Earl Young – all of whom give the record the vibe of the best Philly International material from the time! Dave Crawford produced, but the set almost feels more Gamble & Huff than anything else – as the quintet's vocals really soar on tracks that include "Stoned World", "Time", "Mighty Cloud Of Joy", "The Master Plan", and "Heart Full Of Love". LP, Vinyl record album

One of THE greatest experimental rock albums of the 60s – a landmark effort from a short-lived group that included avant musicians Joe Byrd and Gordon Marron! The group's got a really tremendous sound – part psyche, part electronic, and part folk rock – all put together in a freewheeling style that cares little for genre or convention – and which must have really shook the roots of Columbia Records when they submitted the tape for this set! The instrumentation on the set should be enough to pop your cork – as the group uses ring modulator, electric drums, electric harpsichord, organ, calliope, and other early electronic instruments – but their sound is topped off with some really beautiful vocals from singer Dorothy Moskowitz, adding a light touch that really makes for a strange juxtaposition! The lyrics are a bit poetic and trippy – in a good way – and titles include "The American Metaphysical Circus", "Garden Of Earthly Delights", and "Cloud Song". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the leftfield soul albums issued by John Kasandra on Stax's subsidiary Respect, though this effort appears at all levels to be purely secular! For years the Kasandra titles were hard ones for us to pin down, mining a vein in the realm of some of Lou Rawls or even Sammy Davis, Jr's soul work – very polished in a way that takes nearly all the rough edges off, but maintains an above ground, sophisticated groove that we're proud to admit we're finally beginning to "get". Titles include "Don't Cloud Up My Sky", "The Nanny", "Make Me Believe You'll Stay", "Wings On Our Minds", and "Mulatto Baby". LP, Vinyl record album

A great one from that period when Chuck Mangione was mixing his sublime flugelhorn sound with some well-crafted larger ideas – served up with a core combo that features Chuck on Fender Rhodes as well as his horn, plus Chip Jackson on bass, Joe LaBarbera on drums, and Gerry Niewood on soprano, tenor, and flutes! The great Esther Satterfield sings a bit, Kathy Moses guests on flute, and there's some nice larger arrangements at times. LP, Vinyl record album

Totally cool! This one's a 2LP set produced by the US Army Reserve – featuring 4 separate radio shows hosted by DJ Al Gee, and featuring interviews with and music by the 4 artists named above. The music on the set is lifted from records from the time by the artists, and is interspersed with the interview parts – all sounding very nice! LP, Vinyl record album

Joni Mitchell's second album, and the one where she really seemed to find her voice – quickly moving past the more folk-styled music of her roots, into that special territory that was very much her own! The album has some incredibly deep songwriting for such a young artist – tunes that are unabashedly full of love, wonder, and worry – graced with acoustic guitar and those amazing vocals – exploding into sunshine and life with a power that still holds up strongly after all these years! Stephen Stills plays bass and guitar on the record, but Joni clearly doesn't need any superstar help at all – as she shines brilliantly on titles that include "Both Sides Now", "I Don't Know Where I Stand", "Chelsea Morning", "Tin Angel", "That Song About The Midway", "Songs To Aging Children Come", and "I Think I Understand". LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include "Get Off My Cloud", "I'm Free", "As Tears Go By", "I'm Moving On", "Look What You've Done", "Talkin About You", "She Said Yeah", "Route 66", and "Blue Turns To Grey". LP, Vinyl record album

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A great early album by this famous 70s bassist – originally issued as the album Infinite Search on Embryo, but expanded here with the additional track "Cerecka". One of the greatest moments ever from bassist Miroslav Vitous – a very cool album recorded for the trippy Vortex label! The lineup here has Miroslav working with key help from the American underground – piano from Herbie Hancock, tenor from Joe Henderson, and drums from Jack DeJohnette – plus added guitar from John McLaughlin, who seems to have the same spacey sensibilities as Vitous! Henderson really opens up too – in that fluid style of his post-Blue Note work on Milestone – and obviously Herbie's a great one for a set like this too – hitting some of the spiritual modes of his Warner work. Some tracks are nice and long – and titles include "Freedom Jazz Dance", "Infinite Search", "I Will Tell Him On You", "Mountain In the Cloudes", and "Epilogue". LP, Vinyl record album

A record that's a stunning departure for reedman Tony Scott – a set that's completely different than his more straight ahead jazz on the American scene in the 50s! The set is an early step on a spiritual journey that Scott would continue overseas in years to come – an initial moment of opening up his familiar jazz clarinet to reed styles from other scenes – in this case a very Japanese-based one, as the trio here features work from Shinichi Yuize on koto and Hozan Yamamoto on shakuhachi – a very different group than Scott would have blown with in the previous decade! The album is less jazz-based than some of Tony's later projects – and also less jazz than some of Yamamoto's records to come – but there's definitely a sense of improvisation, and the whole thing is really a delight in getting to hear a musician open up whole new aspects of his instrument. Titles include "To Drift Like Clouds", "The Murmuring Sound Of The Mountain Stream", "Is All Not One", "Satori", "Sanzen", and "After The Snow The Fragrance". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the greatest moments ever from Bobby Caldwell – a special little album that occupies it's own place between genres – a touch of soul, the warmth of jazz, and a delivery that really helped Caldwell reach out to some big new audiences at the time! There's a cool, compressed feel to the record – but a quality that's still quite personal and never too slick – that rare balance that only a few of Bobby's contemporaries could ever match – and which is really hammered home here by the production and great songwriting. Instrumentation uses a warm blend of acoustic and electric elements that offset the vocals nicely – and titles include "Coming Down From Love", "Wrong Or Right", "You Promised Me", "I Don't Want To Lose Your Love", and "Open Your Eyes". LP, Vinyl record album

Soulful gospel, recorded in Nashville – with titles that include "Seven Days", "He Loves Me", "Steppin On The Clouds", "Goodbye To Tears", "One Day At A Time", and "I'll Be Satisfied". LP, Vinyl record album

Featuring Loon. 12-inch, Vinyl record

Great live versions of "Feels So Good", "Chase The Clouds Away", "Land Of Make Believe", "Hill Where The Lord Hides", and more! LP, Vinyl record album

A gorgeously and lush batch of material cut with arrangements by Peter Matz & Don Sebesky – with a surprisingly intimate feel! The strings soar, but the percussion is fairly spare and often a little bit off kilter – while Carmen emphasizes her phrasing and more earthy tendencies with any empty histrionics! Titles include "In The Love Vain", "The Music Makes Me Dance", "Too Good", "Once Upon A Summertime", "The Night Has A Thousand Eyes", "Cloudy Morning" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Early live work from The Stones – titles include "Not Fade Away", "Under My Thumb", "Get Off My Cloud", "Lady Jane", "The Last Time", "Time Is On My Side", "Satisfaction", "I'm Alright", and "19th Nervous Breakdown" – plus a nice take on the New Orleans soul tune "Fortune Teller"! LP, Vinyl record album

All the great early hits – including "Play With Fire", "Satisfaction", "19th Nervous Breakdown", "The Last Time", "As Tears Go By", "Get Off My Cloud", "Not Fade Away", "Good Times Bad Times", "Time Is On My Side", and "It's All Over Now". LP, Vinyl record album

If you need to own one album by Average White Band, this is it! The album features the band at their funky best – playing hard and chopping away with a strong crossover sound that put them firmly on the map during the early 70s. Loads of tight rolling basslines and hard drums – all produced with that polished funky sound that was the band's stock-in-trade during the big chart years! The record includes their funky classic "School Boy Crush", still a sampling favorite – plus loads of other nice moments, like "If I Ever Lose This Heaven", "Cloudy", "High Flyin Woman", and the hit title cut "Cut The Cake". LP, Vinyl record album

Their classic double live set from the mid 70s, and as tight a batch of grooves as you'll find on their studio albums! In fact, this one might even be tighter, as it's got a good set of classic tracks performed live, with a sound that's a little bit more uptight and open than the studio versions– and which is especially freewheeling on the instrumental solos. Many tracks go for a lot longer than on the original versions – and there's a version of "Pick Up The Pieces" that runs for 18 minutes, a version of "If I Ever Lose This Heaven" that grooves for 8 minutes, a version of "School Boy Crush" that jams for 7 minutes, plus nice takes on the cuts "Cut The Cake", "Love Your Life", and "Cloudy". 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

An early classic from pianist Billy Taylor featuring his classic 50s trio with bassist Earl May and drummer Percy Brice! The tracks are mostly short and simple, and done in Taylor's warmly rhythmical approach to the keys – a groove that was clearly informed by the hardbop of the time, but which laid back in a much more soulful formation. The set features dozen tracks in all, including "Blue Cloud", "It's A Grand Night For Swinging", "Purple Mood", "A Bientot", "Early Bird", "Day Dreaming", "Radioactivity", "Long Tom", and "Daddy O". LP, Vinyl record album

The great early double album from Tom Waits! This is peak Asylum era Waits, getting into that charismatic, drunken bluesy poet mode – essentially working live in the studio with a small audience , giving it a genuine sounding latenight cabaret vibe, and embracing his wit and style as brilliantly as he'd done to this point. Brilliant vintage Waits and a loose, yet nicely rhythmic backing combo. Titles include "Better Off Without A Wife", "Emotional Weather Report", "On A Foggy Night", "Eggs & Sausage", "Spare Parts", "Big Joe & Phantom 309", and "Putnam County". LP, Vinyl record album

No opera here – but a really unique early live show by The Pointer Sisters, one that shows the Bay Area quartet to be one of the most diverse soul acts of their generation! The double-length set features the girls singing a mix of older jazz tunes and a few newer tracks – scatting in vocalese one minute, and singing straighter soul the next – all with larger group backing from an orchestra directed by Tom Salisbury. There's a real "show" feeling to the album – as it was recorded even with the group's introduction on stage, as well as plenty of crowd response and an overall format that gets at the highly-entertaining mode of the Pointers in their early years. Titles include "Yes We Can Can", "Jada", "Black Coffee", "Cloudburst", "Let It Be Me", "Hands Up/Wang Dang Doodle", "Steam Heat", "Fairytale", "Shaky Flat Blues", "Love In Them There Hills", and "Salt Peanuts". LP, Vinyl record album