A hell of a package – two key albums from Gang Of Four, plus lots of other rare material from these crucial years! At the core of the package is the classic album Entertainment – one of the greatest debut albums of all time – a record that hit the world like a comet when it was released, and which will continue to burn brightly for many decades to come! There's few groups who get things so right as Gang Of Four on this set – balancing the sharp edges of UK punk with a deeper political sense – but one that puts its message across in these short, sharp, shocks that are often given an extra punch by some surprisingly strong basslines! The mix of rawness, message, and surprising groove really sets this one apart from the pack – and that includes the work by legions of groups who've tried to imitate it over the years. Tracks include "Ether", "Natural's Not In It", "Not Great Men", "Damaged Goods", "Return The Gift", "Guns Before Butter", "Glass", and "Contract". Solid Gold is a stunning second set from the mighty Gang Of Four – and a record that's got all the power and politics of their famous Entertainment debut! The set's got some wonderfully heavy basslines amidst the scratchy guitar that makes the group so great – but nothing's too polished, certainly not as in their crossover club modes to come – and the call/response vocal style of Andy Gill and Jon King is tremendous – a very fresh way to deliver the message, and one that's still never been matched all these many years later. Titles include "Paralyzed", "What We All Want", "Why Theory", "If I Could Keep It For Myself", "Cheeseburger", "The Republic", "Outside The Trains Don't Run On Time", "In The Ditch", "A Hole In The Wallet", and "He'd Send In The Army". Next, you get an exclusive Singles album – the first-ever LP collection of all the early singles and b-sides – including tracks from the EP releases Yellow, Damaged Goods, and Another Day Another Dollar. Next is an another exclusive vinyl release – the 2LP set recorded Live At The American Indian Center 1980. Plus, the box features a 100 page full-color, hardcover book – with rare photos, contributions from group members, original artwork, and rare posters – plus essays from Greil Marcus, Michael Stipe, Jon Langford, and others. Also includes posters, flyers, and ephemera! CD

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With Morgan Agren on drums. CD

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Art Hoyle on trumpet and flugelhorn, Pat Mallinger on saxophone, Bradley Williams on piano, Dan Shapera on bass, and Robert Shy on drums. CD

The second album from The Paupers – a mix of searing guitar jams, more easygoing psychedelic pop bigger arrangements, even a little bit of a comic take on Byrdsy country rock– making for a pretty wild mix of sounds, but done with a focus on melodies and catchy grooves. The group is really stretching out and trying a lot of things on this second album, throwing caution into the wind as far as stylistic divergence goes, more often than not hitting the mark! Titles include "South Down Road", "Cairo Hotel", "Can't Go On", "Another Man's Hair On My Razor", "Ask Her Again" and more, plus the bonus tracks "If I Call You By Some Name", "Copper Penny" and "White Song". CD

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There's some pretty nice moments on Jerry Goldsmith's great score for the film A Patch of Blue (so many, in fact, that the score was later re-cast by Sun Ra and Walt Dickerson). The overall approach is orchestral – but there's a lot of moments when the instrumentation gets odd, and when the instruments fall out and recombine in interesting ways. Nice titles include "Bead Party", "Help Me", and "Selina's Walk". CD

Great great work by The Paupers – essentially a 60s folk rock combo, but one with a really groovy sound! The group come up with loads of great guitar interplay on the session – jangling acoustic and electric together in a style that comes up with some nice hippie and eastern edges – and which means that even on the vocal tracks, the album's got an instrumental charm that kind of links it to some of the hipper rock/jazz crossover projects on labels like Verve and Impulse at the time. Most tracks do have vocals, in a style that ranges from Sunshine Pop to folksy – and the whole album's pretty darn great, filled with tracks that include "Let Me Be", "Magic People", "It's Your Mind", "Black Thank You Package", "Simple Deed", and "Tudor Impressions". This edition includes 2 bonus tracks: "Like You, Like Me" and "Sooner Than Soon". CD

A great later record by The Jam – a little bit of a step back into a rawer sound than they're somewhat slick sounding Setting Sons from the year before – but it's ultimately a pretty big creative step! While the sound a little more raw than on Setting Sons, The Jam is diversely inspired here as ever – really kind of achieving a deft balance between the feral energy of their earliest records and the moody mod melodicism of their more manicured work. Includes a couple of their greatest songs, too! Titles include "Pretty Green","Monday", "But I'm Different Now", the all time greats "Start" and "That's Entertainment", "Scrape Away", "Dream Time", Man In The Corner Shop" and "Music For The Last Couple". CD

A very strong album by the one-and-only Prince – maybe the catchiest, most rewarding full length by the royal one since the Revolution days! Musicology is most notable for the undeniable exuberance and joy that vibrates from the speakers, track after track. Prince seems to be having fun on this one, and as much as we admired the freaky prog funk of his previous album The Rainbow Children (even if it was pretty damn puzzling), it's great to have these big, Revolution style funk rock party numbers back in the cannon. All praise aside, we have to admit we're just a little bit baffled by the relentless hype and fawning, over-baked love this album has gotten in mainstream publications, but our beef is with toothless entertainment "journalists" and "critics", not with Prince. Highly recommended! Tracks include "Musicology", "A Million Days", "Life O' The Party" ,"Call My Name", "Cinnamon Girl" (not the Neil Young song), "What Do U Want Me 2 Do?", "On The Couch" and more. CD

A very strong album by the one-and-only Prince – maybe the catchiest, most rewarding full length by the royal one since the Revolution days! Musicology is most notable for the undeniable exuberance and joy that vibrates from the speakers, track after track. Prince seems to be having fun on this one, and as much as we admired the freaky prog funk of his previous album The Rainbow Children (even if it was pretty damn puzzling), it's great to have these big, Revolution style funk rock party numbers back in the cannon. All praise aside, we have to admit we're just a little bit baffled by the relentless hype and fawning, over-baked love this album has gotten in mainstream publications, but our beef is with toothless entertainment "journalists" and "critics", not with Prince. Highly recommended! Tracks include "Musicology", "A Million Days", "Life O' The Party" ,"Call My Name", "Cinnamon Girl" (not the Neil Young song), "What Do U Want Me 2 Do?", "On The Couch" and more. CD

If you've ever loved these guys on record – you'll love them live! This set is brilliant – a perfect example of the way that Frank, Dean, & Sammy could interact together – singing, joking, talking, and effortlessly moving through a range of material in ways that are simply mindblowing when compared to the weak-ass kind of performance that passes for "entertainment" today! The set's got a separate batch of tracks each from Frank, Dean, and Sam – plus routines done by the singers in duo or trio format. Titles include "Via Veneto", "Please Be Kind", "Ring A Ding Ding", "The Lady Is A Tramp", "All The Way", "Guys & Dolls", and lots of tunes done in medley form, with jokes and new lyrics added in! CD

The record that really put Jurassic 5 on the map – a set that came out after some key indie fame, but with a platform that helped the group become one of the more important mainstream hip hop forces of the century! All the creative lyrical interplay of the underground is firmly in place here – as the record's a major label effort, but one that's not sacrificing quality for success – thanks in part to the wonderful production from Nu-Mark and Cut Chemist – well-schooled in the more sophisticated styles of the 90s, yet also able to keep things lean and sharp – without some of the headier bedroom hip hop modes. Rhymes are by Zaakir, Chali 2na, Akil, and Marc 7 – every bit as sharp as the production – and tracks include "How We Get Along", "Contact", "Quality Control", "World Of Entertainment", "The Influence", "Monkey Bars", "Quality Control", "Twelve", "Contribution", "The Game", "Improvise", "Swing Set", and "Jurass Finish First". CD

A very strong album by the one-and-only Prince – maybe the catchiest, most rewarding full length by the royal one since the Revolution days! Musicology is most notable for the undeniable exuberance and joy that vibrates from the speakers, track after track. Prince seems to be having fun on this one, and as much as we admired the freaky prog funk of his previous album The Rainbow Children (even if it was pretty damn puzzling), it's great to have these big, Revolution style funk rock party numbers back in the cannon. All praise aside, we have to admit we're just a little bit baffled by the relentless hype and fawning, over-baked love this album has gotten in mainstream publications, but our beef is with toothless entertainment "journalists" and "critics", not with Prince. Highly recommended! Tracks include "Musicology", "A Million Days", "Life O' The Party" ,"Call My Name", "Cinnamon Girl" (not the Neil Young song), "What Do U Want Me 2 Do?", "On The Couch" and more. CD

One of the tightest, sharpest records of the late 70s punk years in the British Isles – a set that's got all the same hook-heavy power of the Buzzcocks on Singles Going Steady – with song after song that seem almost effortless – very punky, but extremely catchy too – at a level that also has the record rivaling some of the best classics by The Ramones as well! The whole thing's a treasure – and titles include "Family Entertainment", "Male Model", "Teenage Kicks", "Jump Boys", "Here Comes The Summer", "Get Over You", "Jimmy Jimmy", "(She's A) Runaround", "I Know A Girl", and "Listening In". CD

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