Timeless metal from Black Sabbath and their first album with Ronnie James Dio out front – and we'd honestly put it up there with the best work of all their careers! No disrespect to Ozzy or the early, definitive era of Black Sabbath – those first few album are among the most influential rock & roll albums of all time and Heaven & Hell doesn't reinvent the wheel – but this new phase with another veteran front man is a masterclass heavy riffs, soaring vocals and hasn't aged a day. Includes the classic title track and "Neon Knights", "Children Of The Sea", "Wishing Well", "Die Young", "Walk Away" and "Lonely Is The Word". LP, Vinyl record album

Roger Glover steps aside from Deep Purple – and delivers one of his strangest records of the 70s – an oddly glammy, hard rock interpretation of material from the children's book of the same name! The set actually scored a surprising hit with the very catchy "Love Is All" – which features Ronnie James Dio on vocals – and the set features Dio singing on a few other cuts, "Sitting In A Dream" and "Homeward" – then features Glover working with other singers who include Jimmy Helms on "Waiting", Eddie Hardin on "Sir Maximus Mouse", Tony Ashton on "Together Again", and Glenn Hughes on "Get Ready". Glover produced – and the whole thing is way cooler than you might expect! LP, Vinyl record album

One of the greatest studio talents of Europe in the 70s! Janko Nilovic may not be a household name, but he was a seminal force in the Parisian studio scene during the 60s and 70s – cutting jazz, funk, pop, and Latin sides with a nutty genius that we'd be hard pressed to beat on this side of the Atlantic! He had a mad talent for mixing unmixable elements – in the kind of way we might ascribe to some of the better MPS groovy sides, or some of the weirder European funk albums, like the classic work of Duke Of Burlington. This long-overdue 2 volume set takes a rich look at Nilovic's talent - and provides some of his best obscure work in a very handsome package. Titles on this second volume include "Mixed Grill", "Golf Open", "Soul Impressions", "Strange Dream", "Machine Gun", "Samba Dio", and "Funky Tramway". Great titles – and the music's even better! LP, Vinyl record album

Ronnie James Dio's final album fronting Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow – and one of the better albums from that 70s hard rock/proto metal behemoth! It's got 2 tracks per side, each with a shorter song and a more epic rocker – lumbering, catchy, and heavy rock that's a helluva lot of fun all these years later! Dio's at his 70s best here, too, before going all out with the sword-wielding macabre sagas, but the Rock God anthems were in full force with Rainbow. Includes "Lady Of The Lake", "Gates Of Babylon" The Shed (Subtle)" and "Rainbow Eyes". LP, Vinyl record album

The 10th album in a legendary 70s run from Roberto Roena and Apollo Sound – a set that has the group deepening their emotion and social themes a bit more than before! The core Apollo Sound is still very firmly in place here – with tight salsa-heavy horns offset by a saxophone, plus plenty of timbales, congas, and bongos at the bottom – cooking things up with an approach that's highly rhythmic, but shaded in wonderfully by the horns. Vocalists here include Tito Cruz and Carlos Santos – and titles include "Regano Al Corazon", "El Progreso", "Viva Cortijo", "Lamento De Concepion", "Necessito Llamar Su Atencion", and "Lo Que Dios Me Dio". LP, Vinyl record album

Includes selections by Queen, Dio, Katrina & The Waves, George Clinton, Helix, Jon Butcher Axis, King Kobra, Eric Martin, Urgent, and Adrenalin. LP, Vinyl record album

Although most Nonesuch Explorer sessions were ethnographic ones, recorded in the field by the label's engineers – this one's a studio session, recorded in New York by a group that's reputedly from Ghana, but which seems to be kind of a "fake" one from our perspective. Why? Well, because Charles Earland's playing tenor, for one – and although his native Philly was kind of far away from New York, we never heard it referred to as "Ghana"! Other players here are US-based jazz ones, too – like drummers Sonny Morgan and Robert Crowder, vibist Garvine Masseaux, and bassist George Brooks. The set's still got a strong High Life sound to it – but it also has jazz flourishes, too, in the way that was used some of the Art Blakey Afro-Drum experiments from the same time. Titles include "Ebony", "Bus Conductor", "Saturday Night", and "Sugar Soup". LP, Vinyl record album

Sweet funky 70s work from Cannonball Adderley – a record that has him revisiting older tunes from his early soul jazz years – but in ways that give them a whole new electric vibe overall! The album's actually Cannonball's last full studio set, but it's also one of his greatest too – a very hip little record that features arrangements that are slightly bigger than before – almost a CTI sort of mode, with a similar CTI sense of space, sound, and timing! There's some great keyboards on the set – courtesy of George Duke and Mike Wolff – and other players include Nat Adderley on cornet, Airto on percussion, Sam Jones and Walter Booker on bass, and Louis Hayes and Roy McCurdy on drums. The keyboards lead off most numbers, but they're followed strongly by Cannon and Nat – both of whom open up wonderfully in the magical setting of the record! Titles include great new takes on "Sack O Woe", "Work Song", "Jive Samba", "74 Miles Away", "Walk Tall/Mercy Mercy Mercy", "Country Preacher", "Domination", and "This Here" – plus "Hi Fly" and "Hamba Nami". LP, Vinyl record album

Don't let the title fool you, because although the cover of the record says "Many Sides Of Toshiko", the album only features one – her great approach to bop-inflected trio material – recorded here in a classic Verve session with a distinct Bud Powell influence! Not that we're complaining, though – because Toshiko's at her youthful best here, working with Eugene Cherico on bass and John Hanna on drums – in a set that's even got a few original numbers! The best of these is the 3-part suite "Tosh's Fantasy" – a trio adaptation of one of Akioshi's larger jazz orchestra works. Other titles include "Imagination", "Minor Mood", "Studio J", and "Bags Groove". LP, Vinyl record album

The Albany touch is a great one here – at once angular and modern, yet also somewhat fragile and certainly human – that great blend of modes that Joe always brought to his rare dates in the studio! Even at the start, Albany had sort of an earthy undercurrent – one that was quite different than the way that might be used in a soulful setting, more kind of a backroom sort of view of the world – slightly detached, but often all-knowing – wrapped up in experience, but tentatively stepping forth to share its own ideas. And while that may sound like a lot to tie up in just one record, it's honestly a quality we feel from a set like this – an amazing Albany approach to the piano, and a good reminder of why we're so lucky that labels like this sought him out for recording sessions like this. Titles include "AB Blues II", "Joe's Blues", "Autumn Leaves", "Time On My Hands", and "Born To Be Blue". LP, Vinyl record album

Our favorite track from the Likwidation LP. Spare beats with a staccato piano line throughout plus the sound of rolling bottles as percussion, with a great appearance by the late great ODB! 12-inch, Vinyl record

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

A landmark album from The Allman Brothers – and a set that forever set the standard for double live albums in the 70s! The expanded format really let the group open up and show the strengths they had already developed as a live act, long before they walked into the studio for their initial album – as the tracks are often quite long, and let you hear the way they approached the process of creation – using lots of jamming energy that's really let loose here on the longer tunes, which are awash in amazing guitar and organ solos! Dickey Betts and Duane Allman are fantastic together – and titles include the side-long "Whipping Post" and "You Don't Love Me" – plus "Hotlanta", "In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed", "Statesboro Blues", "Stormy Monday", and "Done Somebody Wrong". LP, Vinyl record album

A standing room ovation in the A&M Studios – certainly the kind of reception we'd imagine Herb would get during these glory years of his career! The set's one of the most no-nonsense Tijuana Brass sessions of the 60s – a tightly crafted album that has a bit more jazz than usual sneaking in on some of the tunes, but still enough of that snapping, punchy rhythmic approach that makes Herb and the group so great! As usual, the fluidity here is the strongest point – as the A&M touch takes a sound that should be hokey, and flips it into something really really groovy through warm use of compression in the studio. Titles include "Blue Sunday", "Bean Bag", "Work Song", "Our Day Will Come", "Mexican Road Race", and "Freight Train Joe". LP, Vinyl record album

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

Warm, mellow, and completely sublime – the mighty America at the height of their powers – working with a quality that nobody else can match! The trio wrap together all the best ideas that were bubbling under in the LA scene of the late 60s – vocal harmonies, studio perfection, and even touches of rootsy instrumentation – yet find a space to work all these elements together in a rich sound that's completely unique – amazingly understated at times, despite a near-perfect level of production! The whole album's great – even their original version of "Muskrat Love" – nestled in here next to "Rainbow Song", "Submarine Ladies", "Molten Love", "Green Monkey", and "Goodbye". LP, Vinyl record album

Like some of the other issues on Trip, this set brings together some great sides that sort of fell between the cracks in an artist's career. These nice rarer sides by Gene Ammons seem to be recorded by Jug during the early 60's, when he was jumping around his contractual agreements with a number of labels, and recording sessions for just about everybody. The first LP features Jug in the studio with Howard McGhee (the set was briefly issued under his name, on Argo) and a guitarist we're pretty certain is Jake Fisher (from other issues of this material), for a cool laidback soul jazz session that's probably one of Jug's most open-ended from the time. The tracks are all long, with a lot of room for solo space, and a round mellow tone. Titles include "Housewarmin", "Nothin' But Soul", "Jivin Around" and "Jug & McGhee". The second set's a hard-hitting blowing session, cut very much in the mode of Gene's late 50s sides for Prestige – and with a very accomplished group of soul jazzers that includes Nat Adderley, Frank Foster, Bennie Green, and Frank Wess. The groove has a nice raw late night sound – and tracks are pretty long and open-ended. Titles include "Litty Ditty", "Sermonette", "Juggin Around", and "Jim Dog". LP, Vinyl record album

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

Not a Fred Astaire vocal record – and instead some very groovy Latin material recorded under his name! 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

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

A very cool record – the great Burt Bacharach presented in a mix of songs and music in a special package for radio! The set was a promo-only release – and if you love the man as much as we do, it's a real treasure! LP, Vinyl record album

Featuring Nas & Slim Thug. 12-inch, Vinyl record

A heck of a great batch of blue eyed soul tracks – much harder-hitting than you'd expect from the name of the group, and done with a "live studio" feel that really makes the session kick! The group's a big one, of mixed origin – of the sort of party club type acts that used to play a lot in the south in the 60s – and alongside original tunes, they also really groove on some upbeat numbers in a soaring Sam & Dave sort of mode. Titles include "I've Been Trying", "I'm Losing You", "Hey You", "Such A Fuss About Sunday", "Soul Man", "Shake", and "I Feel Good". LP, Vinyl record album

One of a handful of late 50s albums that Chet Baker recorded for Riverside – all of which are some of his last great 50s work in the studio, before a shift in the 60s to a wider-ranging approach to his music! The style here is definitely in the "classic" Baker mode set down for Pacific Jazz – but a bit more fleshed out by the other players in the set – who seem to push a bit more personality into the tunes, and not just let Chet's trumpet dominate. The sound is soft and gentle – as you'd expect from the title – and other players include Bill Evans, Pepper Adams, Kenny Burrell, Paul Chambers, Connie Kay and Philly Joe Jones – all bringing a bit of a New York undercurrent to the west coast Baker solo style. Titles include "How High the Moon", "It Never Entered My Mind", "If You Could See Me Now", "You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To", "Time On My Hands", and "You And The Night And Music". LP, Vinyl record album