One of the greatest records to ever come out of the west coast punk scene at the end of the 70s and start of the 80s – incredibly well-penned and well-played – at a level that instantly leaves behind so many of its contemporaries! The themes of the tunes are fantastic – sung by Exene Cervenka and John Doe – as little tales of lust, greed, compromise, and decay – all set to the fantastic drums of DJ Bonebrake and the searing guitar of the great Billy Zoom! The quartet are amazing together – never missing a beat as they rip through classics that include "Your Phone's Off The Hook But You're Not", "Johnny Hit & Run Pauline", "Soul Kitchen", "Nausea", "Los Angeles", and "Sex & Dying In High Society". This CD reissue continues Rhino's tradition of recent years of loading things up with bonus tracks, demos, odds & ends – and the five bonus tracks here, including an early version of "Adult Books", are a welcome bit of history. Other tracks include "Your Phone's Off The Hook, But You're Not", "Johnny Hit And Run Pauline", "Soul Kitchen", "Nausea", "Los Angeles", and "Sex And Dying In High Society". CD

A mindblowing album – and one that we'd never part with, ever! X may have sprung from the LA punk scene of the late 70s – but this second album from the group is one that pushes way past every one of their contemporaries – a set that's always urgent, never dated – and which is filled with well-written, well-penned songs that should all be in the pantheon of rock and roll! Every aspect of the group is perfect at this point – the amazing drums of DJ Bonebrake, the searing guitars of Billy Zoom, and the fantastic vocal interplay between John Doe and Exene – working here at a level that's way different than any male/female duo in rock, pop, or soul from previous decades – as they set fire to the brilliant words of tunes that include "The Once Over Twice", "We're Desperate", "Adult Books", "I'm Coming Over", "In This House That I Call Home", "White Girl", "Some Other Time", and "Year 1". There's not a single mis-step on this album – and we should know, as we've listened to it thousands of times over the years! This crisp remaster also includes seven previously unreleased demos, alternate versions, and live recordings. CD

Never-issued work from Jamaican singer Al Brown – tapes that were thought to be lost for years, then were recently rediscovered and brought back to life by the talents of Paolo "Dub Files" Baldini! The work has a righteous quality at the core – very soulful vocals from Al, resonating with a sense of message and power, while Inner Force provide gently-stepping rhythms which are then expanded and amplified in the dubs by Baldini! The music is never too forced, and everything flows together wonderfully – with a very vintage approach from the early days of the digital age, so that the whole thing really seems to come across like a dub version of the original album issued back in the day. Titles include "Dub Me Again", "Ghetto Situation", "Liquid Dub (part 1)", "Poor & Simple Version)", "Family Version", "Ghetto Love (part 1)", and "Dub Of Books". CD features bonus tracks – "Liquid Dream", "New Family", "Dub On The Land", "Tribulation Dub (part 1)", and "Dub Me Again (part 2)". CD

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A pair of New York soul gems back to back – the third and fourth albums from the legendary Chuck Jackson! First up is Encore – fantastic work from the great Chuck Jackson – a singer who was really at the height of his powers during these early years of his career! Chuck's maybe best known for heartbreaking material – and the notes on the album actually refer, oddly, to these songs as "the crying towel variety" – but what Jackson brings to his music is this strong sense of pride and power – this depth of reserve that makes you feel like he'll never give up, no matter how hard the going might be – a quality that southern soul singers would soon poach from Jackson and other singers up north, and make their own style of music. Yet back at the start, few folks did it better than Jackson – as you'll Hear on cuts that include the wonderful hit "Tell Him I'm Not Home", plus "Lonely Am I", "Blue Holiday", "Getting Ready for the Heartbreak", "Don't Believe Him Donna", "Tomorrow", "Two Stupid Feet", "Another Day", and "Invisible". Next up is Mr Everything – rock-solid set of heartbreaking soul – the sort that few others could touch at the time! Jackson often doesn't get his due in the history books these days – but records like these were landmark moments of pride, power, and open male emotion – of the sort that went onto inform generations of soul music to come – and help future artists find their way, guided by the emotional frankness of Jackson's approach! Backings are carefully balanced – tight, but never too polished to overwhelm Chuck's vocals – which soar out with a raw power that blows away Sam Cooke or some of Jackson's other contemporaries. Titles include "D-5", "I Need You", "Human", "I'm Your Man", "Tears Of Joy", and "Somebody New". CD

You probably know the name of Jonathan Coe as a writer – for books that include What A Carve Up and The Rotters Club – but he's also had plenty of ties to music, including projects with Louis Philippe and High Llamas – and this new set of jazz-based works done with Artchipel Orchestra! The songs are all penned by Coe, and handled by the group with a great mix of larger charts and individual voices – all at a level that hearkens back to vintage work like this on the UK scene from artists like Mike Westbrook or Michael Gibbs – both of whom would be great comparisons to the vibe of this project! Ferdinando Farao arranged and conducted the group – which features a variety of saxes, flute, trumpet, trombone, and even some mighty nice vibes – on titles that include "Spring In My Step", "Erbalunga", "Looking For Cicely", and "Suspended Moment". CD

Tracks include "Slow Drag", "Mustang", "Jellyroll", "Books Bossa", "West Of Pecos", "The Weasil", "The Dude", and "Blackjack" – 9 tracks in all. CD

A stunning side project from Albert Toodie Heath of the Heath Brothers – a musician who was sometimes a bit staid in the past, but who was really feeling the vibe of the spiritual scene in the post-Coltrane years! The set resonates with a vibe that's very similar to the rare Heath Brother's album on Strata East, Marchin On – and the lineup here is incredible, with reeds from Jimmy Heath, trumpet from Don Cherry, piano from Herbie Hancock, bass from Buster Williams, percussion from Mtume, and drums from Ed Blackwell – all coming together for a session that's nearly lost to the history books, but which is one of the strongest spiritual jazz sessions of the late 60s! Herbie plays all acoustic piano throughout, and the tracks are long, leaping, and loping – with stretched-out spiritual solos from Jimmy Heath and Don Cherry – and a proud and righteous sound that's extremely free-spirited without going too far out. Titles include "Baraka", "Maulana", "Dunia", and "Kamili". CD

The near-complete work of one of the all-time great but overlooked groups of the UK scene of the late 60s – a group who jumped between a few different labels, mostly issued a handful of singles, yet managed to create a huge amount of magic at the time! You'll not find The Mirage in the history books, but they definitely gave the UK scene a few great singles, enough to get them onto the BBC – where a few of these tracks were recorded – and somehow managed to keep on working on great music, despite record label politics that would have buried most other acts of the generation. There's a tuneful approach to psych that begins some of the material, with maybe the odd freakbeat moment too – a quality that comes out even more strongly as the group morphs through a few later identities, including Yellow Pages, Portebello Explosion, and the really great Jawbone – the last of whom finally got a chance to record a full length album! The 3CD package divides up nicely – CD1 features singles and BBC tracks by The Mirage, plus a few by Portebello Explosion and Yellow Pages; CD2 features some stunning unheard outtakes that are maybe even more amazing than some Mirage singles; and CD3 features the full Jawbone album from 1970, a set that echoes some of the earlier moments, but with even sharper instrumentation and a nicely compressed sense of production. 3CD set features 60 tracks in all, and very detailed notes on the group and their music! CD

Rare funk doesn't get any better than this – massive music, all of it unreleased – recorded by Charles Wright & The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band at the tail end of their classic years for Warner Brothers! This is the kind of stuff you read about in history books, but hardly ever get to hear on record – the full, unedited studio work of a hard-jamming funk group in all its glory – no edits, no overdubs, just live funky energy! Some of the key cuts here run for over 20 minutes in length – showing the Rhythm Band to be every bit as creative in long form format as the JBs were at the time – and the shorter tracks have a nicely gritty edge that takes us back to the best early 45 years of the group. The vocals are secondary here to the instrumentation, but that's ok with us, given the grooves! Titles include "Puckey Puckey", "Jam #3", "Watts Towers", "Brothers & Sisters", "Hard To Handle", "Sagittarius", "I Love You Girl", "Wine (early version)", "Gemini", "Jam #2", "Express Yourself (alt version)", "Till You Get Enough/Do Your Thing (alt)", and "Jam #1". CD

A real lost treasure from Art Farmer – a tremendous album that hardly ever shows up in the history books, and which, to our knowledge, appears here on CD for the first time ever – plus a bonus album of earlier Farmer work with the Mundell Lowe Septet! Many Faces is a rare 1964 jazz side for the mostly-pop Scepter label – featuring Farmer at the head of a small group working with Tommy Flanagan on piano, Charles McPherson on alto, and Steve Swallow or Ron Carter alternating on bass. The album was done under the direction of Tom McIntosh – the brilliant young composer who had a magical talent for blending together modern and lyrical modes while still keeping a strong degree of soul. McIntosh contributed a few tunes to the set, as did Dennis Sandole – the nearly-forgotten trumpeter from the Philly scene of the 50s. There's a dark beauty to this session that surpasses even many other Farmer sides from the time – and titles include "Hyacinth", "Ally", "Happy Feet", "Minuet In G", and "Saucer Eyes". 1958's Porgy & Bess finds Farmer playing trumpet for guitarist Mundell Lowe's Septet on a nice set of material from Gershwin – including lesser known numbers from the original play. Players include Tony Scott on clarinet and baritone, Ben Webster on tenor and either George Duvivier or Osie Johnson on the kit. Titles include "Summertime", "Bess, You Is My Woman", "I Love You Porgy", "Redhead Woman", "There's A Boat That's Leaving Soon For New York", "It Ain't Necessarily So" and more. CD

A modest classic from the British scene of the mid 70s – and an album that may loom large in the history books, but which has found its way into plenty of record collections over the years! Metro features lead vocals from Peter Godwin and plenty of support from Duncan Browne – the latter of whom had some great solo work in the late 60s, the former who'd bloom more as a solo act after the breakup of this group! Sean Lyons is part of the trio, providing plenty of support on guitar – and there's a post-glam mix of cool compression and class that's very much in the Roxy Music generation – on titles that include "Precious", "Momo Messiah", "Black Lace Shoulder", "Paris", "Jade", "One Way Night", and "Criminal World" CD