A key history lesson for those who thought that pot culture in music only started with Cypress Hill – a weird sound play album originally issued by Elektra Records in the early 70s! The album's the brainchild of producer/director Ron Jacobs – who put the whole thing together with a feel that's almost like freeform FM radio from the left end of the dial at the time – little bits and sketches that are often satiric stabs at the mainstream, although delivered with a lot more wit than we'd expect from the average pothead! The whole thing's kind of like Free To Be You & Me for the stoner crowd – and titles include "Getting Hung-Up", "Creativity", "Funniness", "Physical Effects", "The History Of Marijuana", and "Eating Food". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A really unique album for Chaka Khan – one in which she teams up with a host of jazz artists to craft a classic-styled set of vocals! Given that Chaka was at the height of her 80s groove solo career at the time of this one, the move is a surprising one – but also a great chance for Chaka to show that she has a lot more to offer than just pop chops, as she sounds pretty darn great scatting on these classic jazz numbers. And as proof that the set was definitely a serious jazz effort, Chaka's got a great lineup on the album – a group that includes Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Joe Henderson on tenor, Chick Corea on piano, and Lenny White on drums. Titles include "Them There Eyes", "All Of Me", "Take The A Train", "Hire Wire", "The Aerialist", and "I Hear Music". LP, Vinyl record album

A smooth set from reedman John Klemmer, but a pretty darn soulful one too – and a great illustration of the way that Klemmer could still hold onto his roots a lot more strongly than some of his contemporaries! The backings are gentle and fusiony – often with some great keyboard work from Russell Ferrante – and Klemmer soars out wonderfully in the lead – with a depth of tone and creativity of solos that goes far beyond anything that might have been needed for the date – a real "something extra" that shows that John's still got all the deep elements of his Impulse years in place. Tracks include "Finesse", "Man & Woman", "Sometimes", "Heart", "Sun, Moon And The Stars", and "Beloved". LP, Vinyl record album

Nothing too mad from reedman John Klemmer – but a set that nicely continues that spacey sound that Klemmer first created at Impulse Records, then moved into some warmer, more soulful territory on records like this! Klemmer's still got an incredibly strong sound on tenor – rich and full, and never held back at all – nor prone to some of the more gimmicky flourishes of some of his mainstream contemporaries – and the setting is never too slick or overdone, which seems to suit John just right! Keyboards work nicely in a mellow, spaced-out groove – and Klemmer crackles these effortless lines out in space – of the soulful style we first fell in love with on his earliest work for Chess. The set features guitar from John Tropea, keyboards from Don Grusin, and drums from Harvey Mason – and Klemmer even vocalizes a bit – in a surprisingly strong style for the music. Titles include "Magnificent Madness", "Deja Vu", "Lifesong", "Adventures In Paradise", "I Can't Help It", and "Don't Take Your Love Away". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

With Michel Petrucciani on piano, Palle Danielsson on bass, and Son Ship Theus on drums. LP, Vinyl record album

A stunning second album from Love – a set that's still without the fuller orchestrations and baroque touches of Forever Changes – but which already shows the group moving in that direction! The rough, gritty edge of the group is very firmly intact – but they've already got a really fresh way of putting over a song – by complicating the rhythms a bit, going for unusual tonal colors, and furthering the really imaginative songwriting of Arthur Lee. Side one features some incredibly haunting shorter tunes that point the way towards Forever Changes – including the insanely wonderful "She Comes In Colors", the Latin-tinged "Que Vida", and the cuts "Stephanie Knows Who", "The Castle", and "Seven & Seven Is". Side two is a total freak-out – an 18 minute bluesy guitar jam, very over the top stuff – and quite unusual in length for a rock album in 1966! LP, Vinyl record album

What can we say? This is one of the greatest albums of all time! The record's got a sound that's completely unique – as crack LA garage punk rock meets Hollywood baroque production, and the result is an amazing bit of loud guitar noise backed by strings and horns, all graced by the godlike vocals of the great Arthur Lee. Forever Changes is a milestone in rock – an incredibly bleak document about insanity, escape, and the coming revolution that never happened. Think of all the best moments of Wild In The Streets, Zabriske Point, and Invocation of My Demon Brother rolled into one – and you'll only have a tiny slice of the picture! A record that will haunt us until the day we die – filled with incredible songs like "Alone Again Or", "Old Man", "Daily Planet", "Red Telephone", and "Maybe The People Would Be The Times Or Between Clark & Hilldale". LP, Vinyl record album

Love's first album – a seminal bit of Sunset Strip rock, and every bit as powerful today as it was in the 60s! The style's a bit sharper-edged than the group's classic and more familiar Forever Changes set, but it's still pretty darn great – a completely fresh batch of guitar-heavy tunes that bristle with a sound that's a lot more sinister than some of the group's contemporaries. There's a few folksy or bluesy elements in the mix, but they're almost used in a way that parodies bigger acts of the time – turning the familiar into the freaky, all with a sense of power that's simply mindblowing. Titles include the group's excellent version of Burt Bacharach's "My Little Red Book", plus "Hey Joe", "Emotions", "A Message To Pretty", "Mushroom Clouds", "And More", and "Coloured Balls Falling". LP, Vinyl record album

A classic introduction to the music of Love – put together by Elektra Records after the group's first few monumental albums! Few groups were as great at the start and changed so quickly as Love – and you can hear it all here – from the gritty, garagey Sunset Strip sounds of the start – to the sublime direction they would take on Forever Changes. Titles include "Hey Joe", "My Little Red Book", "Signed DC", "Alone Again Or", "Your Friend & Mine – Neil's Song", "You Set The Scene", "Good Times", "Andmoreagain", "Your Mind & We Belong Together", "She Comes In Colors", "7 & 7 Is", and "Orange Skies". LP, Vinyl record album

A very cool Elektra compilation – with rare non-Buddah work by the Lovin Spoonful, plus material by Al Kooper, Tom Rush, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, and Eric Clapton & The Powerhouse. LP, Vinyl record album

A comeback album of sorts for Lonnie Mack, recorded for Elektra with a really down-home sound that's almost verging on southern soul at points! In a way, the set's kind of a nod to the sorts of genres in rock that Mack's music first helped unlock in earlier years – done at a time when it was a bit more acceptable to cross boundaries and reference roots that weren't actually yours in your music! The execution here is surprisingly strong and without hoke – a few notches up from Leon Russell – and Mack's guitar is in fine fine form, supported by a good deal of organ in the backings. Titles include "Gotta Be An Answer", "Untouched By Human Love", "I Found A Love", "Baby What You Want Me To Do", "Mt Healthy Blues", "What Kind Of World Is This", and "Things Have Gone To Pieces". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

One of the bigger efforts from Material – featuring the core trio of Bill Laswell, Martin Bisi, and Michael Beinhorn – plus guest work by Nona Hendryx, Nile Rodgers, Whitney Houston, Archie Shepp, Oliver Lake, and Fred Frith. The mix of jazz and soul talents comes together more nicely than you might think, thanks to Laswell's talents for crossing cultures – and although a few numbers here sound quite dated, overall the album's worth digging out at least for a document of a unique moment. Titles include "Take A Chance", "Memories", "Don't Lose Control", "Let Me Have It All", "Time Out", "Come Down", and "I'm The One'. LP, Vinyl record album

One of the funkiest albums Sergio Mendes ever recorded – a monster of a record that's filled with enough dancefloor groovers to have had a big impact on the soul market in the US! There's still elements of the older Mendes modes – especially in the way the vocals float nicely through the mix – but the overall groove is polished 70s soul, with plenty of jazzy touches – similar to the modern soul generation coming up on labels like Capitol or Elektra at the time. The group delivers a landmark version of Stevie Wonder's "The Real Thing" – a killer stepper that's kept the album alive for years – and other tracks include "Why", "Love City", "Mozambique", "Love Me Tomorrow", "P-Ka-Boo", and "Peninsula". LP, Vinyl record album

The album that changed everything for Metallica – catapulting them from patron saints of unrelentingly heavy thrash metal to reluctant (at first, anyway) mainstream superstars! The production is glossier sounding than ever before, and whether that compromised the rawer brutality of their heaviest moments is debatable to this day – but that's countered by the slow-building, incredible songcraft (the shortest one is over 5 minutes long) and all around ambitiously structured material. Includes "Blackened", "Eye Of The Beholder", the game-changing "One", "Harvester Of Sorrow", "To Live Is To Die", "Dyers Eve" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

An unimpeachable metal masterpiece! Master Of Puppets is one of the rare cases when the critical and popular consensuses match right up and are both right on the money – there's just no arguing against this being considered one of the greatest, most influential, and surprisingly timeless metal albums of all time – and it built that reputation organically, fan by fan, without radio or music videos to hype it. All the more impressive for the few disarmingly quiet moments and borderline pretty instrumental passages before the heaviness comes walloping back in. All classic songs on this one: "Battery", "Master Of Puppets", "The Thing That Should Not Be", "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)", "Disposable Heroes", "Leper Messiah", "Orion" and "Damage, Inc.". LP, Vinyl record album

A bold statement from former members of the Charles Mingus group – working here together as a unit after the passing of Mingus, in a set that has some of the best fire and energy of Charles' later years! The tracks here are all Mingus compositions – performed in longish takes that allow for some great solo work from John Handy on alto, Joe Farrell on tenor, Jimmy Owens on trumpet, and Jimmy Knepper on trombone – and rhythm on the session is by the trio of Don Pullen on piano, Charlie Haden on bass, and Dannie Richmond on drums. Titles include "Goodbye Porkpie Hat", "Boogie Stop Shuffle", "My Jelly Roll Soul", and "Sweet Sucker Dance". LP, Vinyl record album