A great back-to-basics solo album from the legendary David Axelrod – cut in the mid 70s for Fantasy Records, after higher-concept projects like The Auction and Messiah! This set gets right to the core – and focuses on the funk currents that were always part of Axelrod's larger arrangements, but which sometimes never got pulled to the forefront as strongly – and the approach is almost like some of the funky jazz albums that were issued by Fantasy/Prestige Records at the time – especially those that Axelrod produced for Cannonball Adderley. The whole thing has that great Axelrod sense of composition, with lots of space, and lots of spare cold bits that are nice nice nice for sample cuts – and titles include the classic track "Everything Counts", plus "Get Up Off Your Knees", "My Family", and "Mucho Chupar". LP, Vinyl record album

A beautifully baroque batch of tracks, written and arranged for the Electric Prunes by the great David Axelrod – a really groundbreaking mix of modes that had quite an impact back in the late 60s! The record shows Axelrod's perpetual fascination with the spiritual – mixed with that great modern style of funk that he was forging at Capitol during the late 60s. The record's not really preachy, nor is it proggy. It's more of a complex blueprint of rock, jazz, funk, and touches of soul – all hung together on the same sort of "mass" structure that Axelrod would later use with Cannonball and on his own. Titles include "Kyrie Eleison", "Gloria", "Benedictus", and "Sanctus". LP, Vinyl record album

With a name like Cinephonic, you can imagine some of the sound here – but that's also only the tip of the iceberg, as there's a heck of a lot going on with the record! There's definitely a cinematic vibe to the music, yet the work isn't just any retro-styled material influenced by film scores – as these guys have all sorts of wonderful instrumentation of their own, including great use of flute, tenor, trumpet, and some especially nice organ, clavinet, and vibes – all handled by Pierre Chretien, the maestro behind the whole project! Strings provide a nice backdrop, but they're used sparingly, and with a nicely sinister tone – that darkness you might find in the larger charts of David Axelrod at his best. The whole thing's great – every bit as wonderful as their previous record – and titles include "Pyramides", "L'Etoile", "Les Souterrains", "Penombre", "Douleur", "Cendres Et Poussieres", and "Le Combat". LP, Vinyl record album

An early moment of genius from The Electric Prunes – and exactly the kind of record that shows why they were a cut above their contemporaries, and why Warner really backed them strongly right from the start! There's a depth here that rivals some of the group's Sunset Strip contemporaries – and although David Axelrod's not working with them on the record, there's still lots of dark corners and sharp edges – really thoughtful sounds that are spun out wonderfully on fuzzy guitars and organ, with some nicely subtle drums in the rear. Tracks include "I Has Too Much To Dream (Last Night)", "Try Me On For Size", "Get Me To the World On Time", "About A Quarter To Nine", and "Luvin". LP, Vinyl record album

The Electric Prunes are maybe best-remembered in terms of their collaboration with David Axelrod – but here, you'll hear the young group already sounding pretty dam great on their own – working with a set of their own arrangements, to create that moody, eerie vibe that instantly made the group one of the standout acts on the American scene of the psych generation! Few acts were able to capture this sort of energy on our side of the Atlantic – and the Prunes veer between madness and magic at a level that's more typical of some of the trippiest UK groups of the period – mixing freak and fuzz, fear and awe, on titles that include "The Great Banana Hoax", "Wind Up Toys", "Dr. Do-Good", "Hideaway", and "Capt Glory". LP, Vinyl record album

Joe Harrison starts out this set with a reference to David Axelrod, and the set just keeps getting better and better after that – as Joe mixes together vibes, mellotron, guitar, organ, flute, and lots of other cool instrumentation – but all with a lean vibe that's definitely more on the hip hop instrumental side of the spectrum! A few other players add in bits too – pedal steel, violin, bass, and guitar – but Harrison keeps things lean throughout, and served up one of the more hip hop-inspired entries in this great series from Madlib Invazion – maybe one that's most in keeping with the production giant who lends his name to the label. Titles include "Shuggie", "Axelrod", "Five Point Palm", "Donuts", "Frodo", "Cochiloco", and "Mr Rogers". LP, Vinyl record album

A trippier version of Khruangbin than we're used to – but that's maybe no surprise, given that the whole album's a dub version of the Con Todo El Mundo record – with all the best funky currents of that sweet set, and some wilder modes as well! Drums and bass really get a great workout – and the production isn't the usual Jamaican-inspired dub, but a mode that's maybe partly got a David Axelrod quality – as these guys use the instrumental moments to open up into all these dark, moody corners – while still keeping things nicely funky overall. Titles include "With All The World", "Sisters & Brothers", "How I Love", "Four Of Five", "Hasta El Cielo", and "Order Of Operations". Also includes bonus Scientist mixes on a 7" single – "Rules (Scientist dub)" and "Como Te Quiero (Scientist dub)". LP, Vinyl record album

A key moment in the west coast hardbop scene – and one of the greatest early records from saxophonist Harold Land! The group's a really striking one – with the unique Dupree Bolton on trumpet, a great player that we really only know from this set – plus Herbie Lewis on bass, Frank Butler on drums, and the great Elmo Hope on piano! Hope's piano really gives the set an edgey finish that seems to bring out even more dark tones in Land's horn than usual – and another aspect of the session that's worth noting is its early production by David Axelrod – who really seems to have an ear for making all the elements gel together perfectly. There's a really free-thinking sound here that makes the album stand out from other LA work of the time – and titles include "The Fox", "Sims-A-Plenty", "One Down", and "One Second, Please". LP, Vinyl record album

A hell of a collaboration – core sounds by Madlib, which are then re-arranged by Kieran Hebden – at a level that seems to open up new dimensions in both artists! The sound is definitely Madlib's, but there's also a sense of majesty that seems to flow through the whole thing – almost as if David Axelrod was helping the beatmaker to find a new vision in the studio. And while some of Hebden's work can be a bit cold or too obtuse, there's none of that here at all – as the Madlib elements really keep things rooted to the ground, and in strongly funky territory too – all instrumental, but with voices drifting in and out of the mix as needed. Titles include "Theme De Crabtree", "Road Of The Lonely Ones", "Riddim Chant", "Hopprock", "Loose Goose", "One For Quartabe/Right Now", "Latino Negro", and "The New Normal". LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible step forward for 60s soul singer Gene McDaniels – so much so, that most folks hearing this album can't believe he's the same guy who recorded for Liberty Records a few years before! The album's incredibly righteous right from the start – and has a genre-busting quality that isn't quite soul, but isn't rock or anything else either – and instead, the kind of progressive, "years ahead of its time" sort of set that guys like David Axelrod were cutting in the same stretch. Apart from the title, the whole record's got a strong political message that's probably best embodied in the statement on the back – "Under conditions of national emergency, like now, there are only two kinds of people – those who work for freedom, and those who do not – the good guys vs the bad guys". With words like that, you can definitely bet that Eugene is on the side of the good guys – really pushing a social agenda with some wonderfully-penned tunes on the album – set to cool musical backdrops from the equally-righteous William S Fischer. Titles include "Love Letter To America", "Black Boy", "Outlaw", and "Sagittarius Red". LP, Vinyl record album

Quite a weird little record – part psychedelia, but with some really rootsy elements – and also some odd use of recorded music as well! The sound here is really mindblowing – experimental and trippy, but never too free or over the top – and the core instrumentation includes lots of fuzzy guitar, organ, and rough percussion – plus additional vocals in parts, and even a bit of sitar as well! The production abstracts some of the sounds nicely, but never too much – and at times a more traditional Japanese style of music lurks in the background, possibly as a brief nod to the Buddha in the title. Most unusually, though, is that the first track on the record features part of a David Axelrod album playing in the background! There's clearly an Axelrod influence going on – both in the structure and sound of the record – although the group also take things very much in their own direction too. Titles include "Shomyo (part 1)", "Flower Strewing", "Prologue", and "Prayer (parts 1 & 2)". LP, Vinyl record album

Moody instrumental magic from Hareton Salvanini – an artist with an Italian sounding name, and an approach that reminds us of some of the hippest composers of the sound library and film score scene in Italy during the 70s! The album's all instrumental, and is almost a soundtrack for a film that never existed – as Salvanini mixes his own piano lines with these moody strings and dark-tinged instrumentation – all with a vibe that's maybe a bit warmer than David Axelrod or Johnny Harris, but in the same sort of territory as their important albums of the time! Weird reeds color in some moments, offbeat strings some others – and there's a suppressed sense of emotion that lingers with lots of blue currents on the record – really fitting Hareton's look on the cover. Titles include "Salamandras", "Viver", "So, "Primitivo", "Irracional", "Papa Mama", "Yelris", and "Preludio Em Si Bemol Menor". LP, Vinyl record album

Funky sounds from Dan Ubick of Connie Price & The Keystones – and a killer set in this excellent sound library series from Madlib! As with the other volumes, the music has a strong nod to the classic 70s era of sound library funk, but also updates the work strongly too – in this case with the psychedelic funky elements that you'd guess from Dan's previous experience – served up in heavy drums from Connie Price that are often ready for hip hop samples – and colored with strings from Ubick at times, almost at a level that has a slight nod to David Axelrod! Other instrumentation includes guitars, bass, and keyboards – and tunes include "Snakes In The Walls", "El Escorpion", "The Return", "Antenna Up", "Flip Of A Switch", "Spanish Moss", "Black Coffee", "Gris Gris", "Hearts Of Darkness", and "Fly Swatter". LP, Vinyl record album

Spanky Wilson really takes off here – hitting some of her boldest soul modes to date – and serving up a few funk-heavy classics in the process! Production and arrangements are by HB Barnum – who draws on his own rich legacy of soul projects for the set, and finds a way to let Spanky really knock things out of the park – while still also holding tight to a mighty sweet groove! The style's almost an indie soul take on the Capitol Records groove that Barnum forged with David Axelrod for other singers – with all the strong sense of space between the grooves that would imply. The set features Spanky doing nice hard grooving versions of tracks that you've heard before – like "Loveland", "Let It Be", "Gloomy Sunday", and "Perhaps" – but there's also some nice ones like "Foolish" or "Love or Let Me Be Lonely", that are less familiar, and mighty nice too! LP, Vinyl record album

The Zodiac never sounded so spooky – and the album's one of the first in a trend that explored astrology with funky musical backings! The music for the set was put together by moogy maestro Mort Garson – then making a transition from being a straight easy arranger in the early 60s, to more of a tripped-out pop-psychedelic artist of the latter part of the decade. Garson brings a nice funky undercurrent to the set – in a style that's similar to the work of David Axelrod, but which also uses a bit more electric instrumentation. Each track features a spoken bit on a Zodiac sign – written by Jacques Wilson, and spoken by Cyrus Faryar – and the album also features some nice moog work by Paul Beaver! Titles include "Aries", "Taurus", "Cancer", "Leo", and so on! (P.S.: The label says "Must Be Played In The Dark!") LP, Vinyl record album

One of the coolest Japanese albums of the 70s to blend classic instrumentation and contemporary elements – a record that's got plenty of the koto promised in the title, but which also serves up the music with a wonderfully rich vibe throughout! The style is more in sophisticated soundtrack territory, but with an undercurrent of funk underneath the larger arrangements – ala David Axelrod – and next to the koto played on each track by Toshiko Yonekawa, you'll find some wonderful basslines, vibes, and even some occasional tenor as well – all wrapped together in these really stunning arrangements from Kiyoshi Yamaya! The whole thing's as beautiful as it is groovy – and titles include "Tanchame", "Konpira Fune Fune", "Oshima Bushi", "Kaigara Bushi", "Sado Okesa", and "Tosa No Sunayama". LP, Vinyl record album

One of Funk Inc's greatest albums – and a really tight batch of funky tunes given some stellar production by David Axelrod! The band's a bit tighter than on earlier releases – leaving behind the hard jazz-jam sound for a more together soul-oriented one, heard to best effect on the album's enduring classic, "Goodbye, So Long" – a rolling funky tune that features vocals on the chorus, and an unbelievably catchy instrumental sound that you might recognize instantly from its use as a sample over the years. The rest of the record's just as great – and the band runs through The Meters' classic "Message From The Meters", Barry White's funky "I'm Gonna Love You Just A Little More Babe", and a great rendition of the electric jazz classic "The Hill Where The Lord Hides". LP, Vinyl record album

The killer debut of a group we hope are going to be huge – as they definitely bring a whole new vibe to the world of funk – by combining lean combo instrumentation with some much larger arrangements, all at a level that's almost more in the David Axelrod side of the spectrum! There's a really majestic quality to the record – as the slow funk elements are expanded with strings in all the right ways – deepening, darkening the sound incredibly – so that there's way more going on here in terms of colors and tones than on the usual funk record! And if you're worried about things sounding too soft, don't – because the drums are heavy throughout, even when slow – and arranger Lou King really knows how to balance the elements perfectly. Titles include "The Web", "Ligurian Dream", "Shades Of Silver", "Violet Vanished", "Outlines", "West Wind", "Changing Light", and "A Return From Ashes". LP, Vinyl record album

A very lofty set from Sholto – a drummer based in London, but a producer and multi-instrumentalist too – working here as almost a one man David Axelrod production, with this great blend of funky elements amidst some much larger backdrops! The instrumentation and presentation is very 21st Century – with less of the acoustic elements of Axe – but the drums are often live, and mixed with flute, keyboards, and these spacey elements that create a surprisingly ambitious sound for the record – this gentle majesty that works very well with the gently funky rhythms, especially when topped with all these cosmic touches! Titles include "The Pleasure Principle", "Honey & Wine", "Theme For Nikki", "Stealing Moments", "Seed", "The Pearl That Glitters", "Over The Sky", and "Lucid State". LP, Vinyl record album

This one-man orchestra just keeps on getting better and better with each new record – working with the funk you'd expect from the name, but also all these cool and moody touches that mix together David Axelrod-like ambition with some of the sharper snap of hip hop production! This time around, Seth Applebaum has a fair bit of strings and horns in the mix – plus added voices, some strong lead singers – and an array of sonic touches that make for a richness that's much deeper than it is ghostly! Previous records were good, but Seth's really onto something great hear – and mixes together strands of sounds into something that's much richer than its parts – emerging as a surprising maestro for the underground, on titles that include "Stoop Talk", "Mourning", "Drop Me A Line", "Little Bird", "Fuzzy Logic", "Quiet Soul", "Tojours", "Queen Bee", and "Cost Of Living". LP, Vinyl record album

A set that's definitely funky, but which maybe has a lot more going on as well – richer production moments that move between ambitious soundscapes and fuzzier freakouts – but all without losing the groove at the core! The record's billed as "mysterious", but really seems to come from the talents of Seth Applebaum – a great producer and arranger who manages to keep all the tight elements at the core, including some great bass and drums – while also letting things freak out up top a bit more – almost as if David Axelrod were given the chance to work with some of the younger funk combos in recent years. There's a bit of trippy vocals, but most of the set is instrumental – and titles include "Seven Eight", "Spirits In The Distance", "Broken Boogaloo", "Isaac Hayes", "Slow Down", "Kaddish", and "Modern Scene". LP, Vinyl record album