Really cool cuts from the second generation of Bollywood funk – that 80s moment when things were still ever bit as groovy as during the heyday of 70s soundtracks, but served up with some slightly different instrumentation in the mix! There's maybe a bit more keyboards here at times – but not the cold kind that were dominating European films, especially horror – as they're mixed with plenty of percussion, basslines, and other elements – then topped with vocals by some of the greats who made the music so wonderful back in the previous decade! As you'll guess from the title, all the cuts here are from the vaults of CBS – beautifully remastered, and with great notes and design – in a set of tracks that include "Prem Ashram" by Asha Bhosle, "Aage Bhi Dushman" by Suresh Wadkar & Sadhana Sargam, "Baahon Me Leke Mujhe" by Kishore Kumar & Asha Bhosle, "Mere Jaisi Mehbooba" by Sharon Prabhakar & Bappi Lahiri, "Hero" by Amit Kumar, "Meri Akhon Mein Zara Jhanto To" by Asha Bhosle, and "Becho Becho" by Amit Kumar & Mahendra Kapoor – plus some cool instrumental tracks too! LP, Vinyl record album

An incredibly ambitious record – despite the fact that it was recorded in a tiny home studio! Ithaca are basically the same group who recorded the Agincourt album a few years before – and like that one, this set is awash in some of the best elements from bigger progressive groups of the time – filtered down into much leaner, more personal levels of presentation. The tunes are all longish, and build with a gently layered blend of guitars, piano, organ, mandolin, flute, and recorder – plus some especially cool tape effects, which are used to electrify a few moments, and create some subtle sonic intensity. There's also a beautiful female voice on the record – floating through the tunes with an eerie feel – and the overall sound is almost a folksy take on Pink Floyd – with great acoustic and electric elements slowly simmering together. Titles include "Journey", "Feelings", "Dreams", "Times", and "Questions". CD also features 3 bonus tracks – and a well-done set of notes! CD

... 78 RPM, Vinyl record

A bit of hard rock, a bit of freakbeat, and a plenty darn great album from Bulldog Breed – one that's got a lot more edge than you might expect from the slightly corny cover! The album's an obscure Decca release from the tail end of the 60s – and like some of the other more revolutionary Decca sides of the time, it's got a really free approach to the structure of the music – unexpected twists and turns that keep things interesting, as the album unravels through a tapestry of shorter tunes that mix sweet moments with much harder ones! Some tracks are heavy in fuzz, both on guitars and vocals – while others are far gentler, but with a really dark undercurrent. Titles include "Paper Man", "Broomstick Ride", "When The Sun Stands Still", "Friday Hill", "Reborn", "Dougal", "Austin Osmanspare", and "Top O The Pops Cock". CD features 2 bonus tracks – "Halo In My Hair" and "Porticullis Gate". CD

Vocal refrain by Jane Chacun. 78 RPM, Vinyl record

The last album to some from the brilliant team of Peter Howell and John Ferdinando – the partners behind the Ithaca and Agincourt albums – coming across here with one of their greatest sets ever! The music here is a bit more focused and polished than before – taking the best folk and psychedelic elements, and folding them together in a sweet sound that's almost Sunshine Pop – but which is obviously a few years later than the rest of the genre! The vocals often have a slight harmony approach, and there's a strong rhythmic undercurrent to many numbers – not really funky, but a lot more grooving than you might expect – again, a quality that we really appreciate in Sunshine Pop! Titles include "Memories", "Lonely Road", "You Need Friends", "Tale Of Your Life", "In The Morning", "Come Inside", "Take A Walk", and "Once In A Winter Town". CD

Laidback psychedelia from this hip British trio – a group that was something of a placeholder in between Peter Dunton's work in The Flies and Please – but which are plenty darn great on their own! Most of the tunes here have a style that's spare and melodic amidst the fuzz – a quality that almost reminds us of Spacemen 3 at times, especially given that the group's a trio. There's some vocals on the record, but they always seem to take second seat next to the guitar bits and keyboards – possibly because no singing could ever match the subtle sonic genius of these more electric elements. Titles include "What You See", "Dream Scream", "Out Of Sight", "Just Another Day", "Forever", "Going With The Flow", "Urban Ways", "Going Back", and "Dream". CD

The unreleased third album from T2 – tracks recorded at the start of the 70s, but never issued at the time – and every bit as great as previous rare work from the British trio! There's a really open feel to these tracks – a style that's got heavy bass that you'd find in the growing hard rock scene of the period, but a languid quality to the vocals and some of the guitars – almost a hanging trace of psych that's a nice contrast to the boldness on the bottom – and which gives the record a feel that's a lot more personal than you might expect. These guys are totally great – no posturing, no overdone noodling, and really just all the right energy in all the right places – a record that really should have gone places, had it been released. Titles include "And Time", "Seventy Two", "The Clown", "The Gambler", "Into The Red", "Questions & Answers", "Looking Back", and "Closing Your Eyes". CD

Brij Bhushan Kabra is handling his guitar on the cover in a very unusual way – and he gets some very unusual sounds out of the instrument too – on an incredible record that's almost a bridge between 60s Indian sitar recordings and some of the acoustic American experiments on Takoma Records! Kabra's handling of the instrument allows for all sorts of unusual inflections – sound shaping as he plucks these notes with a speed that increases greatly as the set moves on – often with the same sort of long-spun format as ragas on sitar, including some work at points on tablas next to the guitar. Titles include "Raaga Bihag", "Raaga Joygiya", and "Raaga Bhaiarvi". LP, Vinyl record album

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Music from the films Awaara, Dil Hi To Hai, Barsaat, Main nashe Men Hoon, Chori Chori, Mera Naam Joker, and more! CD

Swing, Gramophone, and Ultraphone recordings done in Paris with Django Reinhardt, Herman Chittison, Stephane Grappelly, Eddie Brunner, and others – 23 tracks total. CD

A compelling group – with Nicky Hopkins on keyboards, and both Jon Mark and Alun Davies on vocals and guitar! LP, Vinyl record album

Raw, stripped down hip hop sample blues from Kid Koala – done on his trusty SP1200! It's unlike anything Koala's done to date, and unlike any of the more famous examples of a producer-DJ mining old school blues records. It's cool stuff – grainy, gritty and respectful of root materials – but creative enough to add some scratches and other head-nodding hip hop touches. 12 tracks in all: "1 Bit Blues" through "11 Bit Blues" – plus "Denouement". CD

One of the most sweetly jazzy albums ever recorded by Kevin Ayers – a set that almost has him moving in the more progressive direction taken by Soft Machine after his departure! As on other solo Ayers albums, David Bedford had a strong hand in the arrangements – but his approach here is more focused, and often more sophisticated than before – less in the playful collaborative style of Ayers immediate post-Soft Machine years, and more in an ambitious style that pushes the elements together with a beautifully honed sound. Players on the album include Mike Oldfield on guitar, Didier Malherbe on sax and flute, Gerry Fields on electric viola, and Bedford on keyboards – and titles include "Oh My", "Margaret", "Song From The Bottom Of A Well", "Lullaby", "Champagne Cowboy Blues", "Stranger In Blue Suede Shoes", and "There Is Loving/Among Us/There Is Loving". LP, Vinyl record album

A great collection of wonderful gramophone recordings from as early as 1916 up to the first half of the 60s – all from the 78s collection of Frank Fairfield – a folk guitarist profoundly influenced by such amazing old crackling records! It's music from all over the world, with a much farther reach than Americana – with recordings from around the US, Japan, Scotland and other points global. Excellent! 16 in all: "Poor Convict Blues" buy Slim Barton & James Moore, "Cambells Are Coming" by Tommy Dandurand & Ed Goodreau, "Makwatu" by Kakapti, "The Pool Of Siloam" by Rev. Frank Cotton, "Ama Ama" by Tautu Archer, "Kongshoung Niaoyu" by Professor Liu Tianhua. CD