Maybe the funkiest album ever cut for the legendary Westbound label in Detroit – and that's saying a lot, given that the company was the initial home to Funkadelic! Yet on this stunning full length set, The Counts maybe do that famous group one better – pushing aside their vocals for some incredible instrumental interplay that comes from bumping Hammond lines, wickedly sharp drums, and non-stop riffing guitars – all of which take center stage, while the vocals only seem to be part of the mix to urge the instruments onward! Tracks are long and jamming – ala the early Westbound work from George Clinton – and although The Counts recorded before and after the space of this album, this set is definitely the group's masterpiece. Titles include "What's Up Front That Counts", "Rhythm Changes", "Thinking Single", "Why Not Start All Over Again", "Bills", and "Pack Of Lies" – plus the bonus tracks "Shortsville", "I Know Why" and "Rhythm Changes Reprise". LP, Vinyl record album

The Drawbars definitely work here with more than just one finger – and they deliver a really great groove, with a style that's a nice change from some of their contemporaries! Part of the trio's uniqueness lies in the vintage keyboards handled by Chris Haertel – who has a way of going for tones that are nicely less familiar, and sometimes delivered with a spacious approach that's a cool change from just jamming work on organ or piano! The rhythms are often equally laidback, yet still tight and funky – served up with bass from David Nesselhauf and drums from Julian Gutjahr – on titles that include "Art Form", "Shout", "Two Face", "Cat Call", "One Finger Only", "Let's Do It Again", "Skyline", and "One Twenty Five". LP, Vinyl record album

Killer early work by the Fania All Stars – caught live at the legendary Cheetah club, which was the heart of the New York salsa scene at the start of the 70s! The album is easily one of the best by the group – and features long tracks that really capture the jamming intensity that occurred on stage when this many great artists were brought together in one space – kind of the "next step" for the older descarga mode put fort at the start of the 60s, pushed forward into the prouder, more unified Latin scene of the 70s! All Stars on this date include Ray Barretto, Larry Harlow, Bobby Valentin, Willie Colon, Johnny Pacheco, and others – and titles on this second volume include "Ponte Duro", "Estrellas De Fania", and "Ahora Vengo Yo". LP, Vinyl record album

Yum Yum indeed – because the groove on here is pretty darn tasty! Fatback are definitely shaking off the rougher edges of their funkiest years on this set, but the sound is still plenty great – a jamming dancefloor groove that's still filled with plenty of tight live instrumentation, all in a mode that's a lot more harder-hitting than most of the groups of the disco years! There's a bit more horns than before – showing a bit of a BT Express influence, it seems – but the rhythms are very firmly at the core, and have plenty of those rumbling basslines that first put the Fatback name on the map. Drums get nice and tight on some tracks too – making for some nicely breaking tracks on the record, almost in a street funk mode – and titles include "Put The Funk On You", "Let The Drums Speak", "Feed Me Your Love", "Trompin", "Boogie With Fatback", and "Gotta Learn How To Dance". LP, Vinyl record album

Raw funk from 70s Singapore – but a bunch of cats who really get their sound right! The album's got a surprisingly sharp edge – thanks to raspy guitars that work perfectly with the group's English language vocals – themselves sung with a nice sort of sharpness that makes the whole thing feel a bit more sinister and urgent than most of the US funk that clearly inspires these guys! Some of the guitar interplay is especially nice on more jamming tracks – never overdone, but more than you'd expect on an album with such strong rhythmic impulses. Titles include "Man With A Gun", "Once Upon A Time", "Memphis Soul Stew", "Everyday People", "I'll Take You There", and "Spill The Wine". LP, Vinyl record album

The Grateful Dead in the early 80s – still going strong in a live setting, and with a vibe that's maybe even closer to their roots than some of their Arista studio material at the time! The set is a massive ten-sided representation of a show that has the group soaring and stretching out on nearly every track – with jamming versions of "Ramble On Rose/El Paso", "Althea", "Feel Like A Stranger", "Stella Blue/Good Lovin", "Space/The Other One", "Uncle John's Band/Drums", "Ship Of Fools", "Estimated Prophet", "China Cat Sunflower/I Know You Rider/Samson & Delilah", "Deep Elem Blues", "New Minglewood Blues", "Beat It On Down The Line", "US Blues", and "Bird Song". LP, Vinyl record album

A funky nugget from the second Blue Note chapter of guitarist Grant Green – that wonderful point when he shifted into more funk-based styles from his hardbop work at the start – and found a way to unlock a whole new side of his talents! The approach here is similar to some of the funky Lou Donaldson albums from the time – like Hot Dog or Say It Loud – in that tracks are nice and long, and have some great funky currents at the bottom from the drums of Idris Muhammad – who kicks up lots of those chunky funky breaks that we always love so much! Green's work on guitar is especially nice – stretched out, but never trippy, with a tight single note style that really gets the most out of the grooves – in a great lineup that features Blue Mitchell on trumpet, Claude Bartee on tenor, Emanuel Riggins on Hammond, Jimmy Lewis on bass, and Candido on congas. Neal Creque contributed two great tracks to the set – "Windjammer" and "Dracula" – and the album also sports a great long version of James Brown's "Ain't It Funky Now", and a sweet cover of "A Day In The Life"! LP, Vinyl record album

Mindblowing music from Hapshash & The Coloured Coat – a group with a sound that's every bit as freewheeling as their name! The set's a unique collaboration between DJ/producer Guy Stevens and psych poster designers Michael English and Nigel Weymouth – and has this loose, unfettered feel that's almost more like a "happening" in the studio instead of some road-jamming band cutting its music to vinyl – a really hair-down party with instrumentation on trippy percussion, jangly guitar, and other odd sounds that step in and out of the mix – showing a larger studio sense of manipulation for the whole record. There's an odd groove to the record at parts – almost a chaos theory return of the eternal – and titles include "H-O-P-P Why?", "A Mind Blown Is A Mind Shown", "The New Messiah Coming 1985", "Aoum", and the epic side two jam "Empires Of The Sun". LP, Vinyl record album

Heavenly soul from the start of the 80s – a sweet little indie set that's done as a tribute to Minnie Riperton and Kenneth Armstrong! The overall format doesn't have that much to do with Minnie, but the record's still pretty darn great – and the style is a mix of modern, mellow, and boogie – all served up with a real sense of earnestness that matches the cover of the album, and which makes the record stand strongly next to some of the bigger releases of the time. A number of tracks feature vocals by the lovely Pamela Morrison, and the group hails from the Oakland scene of the time – working here under the direction of Barbara J Trotter, who also wrote a good number of the titles on the set too. Titles include the dancefloor jammer "Sho Nuf Funky Beat", plus "We're Together Again", "I See Heaven", "Satisfaction To The Bone Nitty Gritty Naked Bone", "I'm A Lady", "Rapping With My Subconscious Mind", and "We're Together Again". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the coolest records we've ever heard from Japanese drummer Akira Ishikawa – even wilder than some of his famous funk sessions of the time! The set definitely lives up to its African Rock promise – as it features lots of sparely percussive tracks that build beautifully – clearly drawing from African inspiration, in the same way that other albums by Akira drew from American funk – then also adding in some cool production and hip effects that help further some of the "rock" side of the agenda! At points, the record almost feels like a solo percussion jam – but at others, the guitars really get heavy, with a jamming intensity that's simply mindblowing. There's lots of psychedelic overtones when the guitars come in – and they make for a wicked contrast with some of the more organic, percussion-oriented moments. All tunes are nice and long, and titles include the extended break cut "Pigmy", plus "Vita", "Na Tu Penda Sana", and "Wanyamana Mapambazuko". LP, Vinyl record album

One of our favorite-ever keyboard albums – a rare lost session from pianist Pete Jolly – one of his only electric dates, and a completely improvised set of grooves! Pete plays electric piano, organ, and even a bit of musette – jamming in the studio with help from Chuck Berghofer on bass, Paul Humphrey on drums , John Pisano on guitar, and Milt Holland and Emil Richards on percussion – all of whom bring in some sly, subtle touches to the grooves that are totally great! The album's much more open than other keyboard dates from the time – almost in the territory of some of Herbie Hancock's most experimental work, but a fair bit more groove-based too – given that the album's filled with short, funky tracks all the way through. There's some echoes of Bob James work to come – and given the 1970 date of the record, it could almost be said that Jolly predates a whole host of 70s keyboard talents – setting his mark with this uniquely laidback set of tracks. Titles include the classic "Plummer Park", plus "Rainbow", "Seasons", "Indian's Summer", "Pete Jolly", "Leaves", "Springs", "Bees", and "Sand Storm". LP, Vinyl record album

Never-heard live work from the legendary Junie Morrison – a funky legend who worked both in the Ohio Players and in the P-Funk empire of George Clinton – heard here in a smoking live setting in Michigan, right around the time of his classic solo records for Westbound! The format is great – really open and freewheeling, and nicely different than some of Junie's records in the studio – as Junie works with the Crowd Pleasers group, in a blistering blend of funk, soul, and jazz – with solos that evoke some of the latter, and which remind us of the unearthed Lyman Woodard concerts from around the same time! Tracks are mostly nice and long, very jamming – and the small combo vibe is a really different change from some of the arena funk of the period. Titles include a great version of Junie's classic "Granny's Funky Rolls Royce" – plus "Super J", "Tight Rope/Super Groupie", "Shakey Ground", "Fopp", "Musical Son", "Oh Me Oh My", "Surrender", and an Ohio Players medley of "Pain/Cookies Will Get You/Pleasure/Ecstasy". LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic work from Khruangbin – a group with a name that's hard to pronounce, but who just keep getting better and better with each new release – to the point where on this record, they're definitely in a genre by themselves! Khruangbin blend together lean funky instrumentation with some slightly more progressive elements – never too jamming to get in the way of the groove, but with a complexity that shows us that these guys are really amazing musicians – steeped in the best influences from the past, but never copycats at all – and always with a very original sound! The core trio is expanded just slightly here on a few tracks – with the spare addition of elements like vibes, percussion, or pedal steel – each used sparingly, but to create some great sonic colors in the mix. Titles include "First Class", "Pelota", "Dearest Alfred", "If There Is No Question", "One To Remember", "So We Won't Forget", "Shida", and "Father Bird Mother Bird". LP, Vinyl record album

A really great follow-up to the first collaboration between Khruangbin and Leon Bridges – one with a title that's similar to the first, but a sound that's nicely different too! It's almost as if the group take the "moon" in the title seriously – and go for a more laidback, dark-tinged version of the territory covered on Texas Sun – grooves that are a bit more mellow, and somewhat more introspective – at a level that really works well for the vocals of Leon Bridges, which themselves are sometimes spaced out in these really cool ways with the production! This isn't the hard-jamming side of Khruangbin, but instead that maturing quality of the trio that has them doing more with less – bringing a slow funk majesty to Bridges' vocals, on titles that include "Doris", "B-Side", "Chocolate Hills", "Father Father", and "Mariella". LP, Vinyl record album

BB King live in Japan – really cooking here on a concert performance that's quite different from his other live records of the time! The set's a double-length one – originally a 2LP set – and most tracks are nice and long, with lots more room for solos from BB – stretching out wonderfully in front of a crowd that's clearly going out of their minds – almost as enthusiastic, at least in the way they're recorded, as the Apollo crowd at a James Brown performance! Although not issued in the US at the time, the material is essential BB King – really great tracks that are some of the best he recorded in the 70s. Titles include "Jamming At Sankei Hall", "Hikari", "Chains & Things", "You Are Still My Woman", "Niji Baby", "How Blue Can You Get", and "Eyesight To The Blind". LP, Vinyl record album

A double-length set – and one that's got plenty of space for wide-ranging power from guitarist Volker Kriegel! The set builds beautifully off the energy that Volker had in the Dave Pike Set – with a similar blend of funk and psychedelic influences, all filtered down beautifully in wicked MPS vibe – lots of space between the notes, and a balance that never gets too jamming or rocking – which is plenty pleasing to our ears! Volker's got an amazing tone on some of these tunes – and other hip players include John Taylor on electric piano, Cees See on flute and percussion, soprano and tenor sax from Alan Skidmore, tenor from Heinz Sauer, trombone from Albert Mangelsdorff, and bass from Eberhard Weber. Tunes really run a nice range of styles – some getting trippy, some a bit exotic, and plenty nice and funky, too! Titles include "Slums On Wheels", "The E Again", "Zanzibar", "Missing Link", and "Lastic Plemon". LP, Vinyl record album

An artist with a sound that's as wild as his look on the cover – a definite individual from the Australian underground of the 70s – serving up some incredibly offbeat vocals alongside a range of his own instrumentation on guitar, alto, tenor, and flute! The album's got some nice heavy bass at points, which creates a raw funky edge that's a real surprise – not straight funk, but kind of a psych-funk groove that really fits with the rawer bluesy energy that Leong brings to the way he put the whole thing together. A very compelling fusion of sounds from many different corners – with titles that include the long jammer "Deep In The Jungle", the funky flute workout "Dragon Man", and the tracks "Soul Baby", "The Atlas Revolution", and "Rhythm Pounding". LP, Vinyl record album

A trio of early 70s LPs from Klaus Weiss & Niagara – in a massive 3LP wood box set! First up is the 1971 self-titled debut – a pretty astonishing set of heavy, hypnotic drums and percussion. It features just 2 long jams, "Sangandongo" and "Malanga" and it's pretty much an all percussion affair! Sub is a legendary bit of heavy funk. The lineup here includes fuzzy guitar, electric piano, and of course, lots of heavy percussion – all served up in a way that's jamming, but a lot more straightforwardly funky than some of the group's contemporaries on the European scene! Ack Van Rooyen plays trumpet, Ferdinand Povel plays tenor and flute, and the production is often very tripped-out – abstracting the jazz roots a bit with some really cool touches. A great bridge between the MPS scene and the more progressive German groups – with titles that include "SUB", "Bones", "Niagara", "Terra Incognita", "Gibili", and "Kikiriti". Afire is another seminal percussion effort – and an album with a very strong focus on the rhythms – but the groove is still somewhat melodic too, thanks to inventive use of some of the smaller, more tuned percussion instruments by other members of the group. There's almost a funky batucada groove going on here – a rich, round sound that comes from a very tight small combo! Titles include "City Walk", "What For", "Terpischore", "Carnival", "Rhythm Go", "Dance In Seven", "Rolling", "Malanga Two", and "The Third One". LP, Vinyl record album

We've been following the music of Carlos Nino for many years, and during that time he's never failed to take us on an amazing journey – yet despite that legacy, this set may well be his most visionary record in years – a tremendous summation of ideas that have been brimming around the edges of some of his more subtle projects, really given focus, and set off into some great new directions! Make no mistake, this is no all-out jamming session – Carlos is hardly "on fire" – yet his creativity burns with a new sensibility that's wonderful, as he opens the door for a lineup of guests that includes heavyweights like Kamasi Washington, Jamael Dean, Andre 3000, and Laraaji – while still acting very strongly as the spiritual leader of the whole proceedings! The music is seeded with wisdom and knowlege throughout – and titles include "One For Derf", "Woo Acknowledgement", "Spacial", "Am I Dreaming", "Mighty Stillness", "Flutestargate", and "Maha Rose North". LP, Vinyl record album

We've been following the music of Carlos Nino for many years, and during that time he's never failed to take us on an amazing journey – yet despite that legacy, this set may well be his most visionary record in years – a tremendous summation of ideas that have been brimming around the edges of some of his more subtle projects, really given focus, and set off into some great new directions! Make no mistake, this is no all-out jamming session – Carlos is hardly "on fire" – yet his creativity burns with a new sensibility that's wonderful, as he opens the door for a lineup of guests that includes heavyweights like Kamasi Washington, Jamael Dean, Andre 3000, and Laraaji – while still acting very strongly as the spiritual leader of the whole proceedings! The music is seeded with wisdom and knowlege throughout – and titles include "One For Derf", "Woo Acknowledgement", "Spacial", "Am I Dreaming", "Mighty Stillness", "Flutestargate", and "Maha Rose North". LP, Vinyl record album

Mindblowing funk from The Ohio Players – the group's debut album for Westbound Records, and a landmark batch of tracks that never gets old! The sound here really has the group stretching out a lot – working on tunes that are extended, but never as overindulgent as their labelmates Funkadelic – always keeping to a groove that's focused, yet also free to explore its bad self in the new freedoms of the 70s. There's a strong undercurrent of funky jazz running through the set – mixing great riffing alongside the tight rhythms and tripped-out vocals – all brought together with that deep deep deep production sound that Westbound gave the world as its own legacy in the wake of Norman Whitfield's experiments at Motown. Titles include the wonderfully jamming "Players Balling", and the funky numbers "Reds" and "Singing In The Morning" – plus more soulful tracks "I Wanna Hear From You" and "Never Had A Dream". LP, Vinyl record album

George Clinton and the P-Funk army in all their 70s glory – presented here in a live performance that was originally done for radio in Detroit! There's not much in the way of notes or personnel listed for the set, but there's definitely some long jamming passages on the set, which are likely served up by some of the more important musicians in the group – mixed with vocal numbers that hone in strongly on classics that include "Flashlight", "Maggot Brain", "Cosmic Slop", "Funkentelechy", and "Mothership Connection". LP, Vinyl record album

A rare early moment from the legendary Austrian group Paternoster – sounds that predate their one and only cult-status album – originally created for the equally legendary film, Die Ersten Tage! The music here was never issued commercially at the time – and the release of these sounds adds a much-needed page to the slim book of Paternoster – especially since the creative flair of these songs really fleshes out our understanding of the group! As with their vocal music, most of the style here is slow, but jamming – kind of mellow prog, almost – but lighter, too – and with a moodier vibe, given the absence of lyrics – which lets the offbeat guitar parts do most of the speaking for the group. The whole thing's fragile, yet jagged – earthy, but cosmic – and the set features 30 tracks in all, appearing here on record for the first time ever! LP, Vinyl record album

Some of the tightest funky 70s jamming ever – a lost gem from Ray & His Musical Court, a group that perfectly fuses JB/Horny Horns funk with beat-heavy Afro-Cuban groove! Ray and the group are one of the more obscure funky combos of the era, and it's a damn shame, because the group's tight-as-can-be amalgam of JB's style horn riffing and thumping Afro-Cuban percussion is some of the absolute best of its kind. This group seriously smokes any of the current funk bands on the road! On these sessions Ray wrote, produced, played "organ flute" and provided some vocals in a large group that includes three trumpets, bass clarinet, sax, two drummers, congas, electric bass, and a line of mostly Spanish vocalists. Amazing 70s super funk with a very proud Latin edge – and featuring tracks that include "Sunny", "Soul Freedom", "Cookie Crumbs", "De Eso Nada Monada", "Lo Sabia", "Venimos Acabando", "La Pena", and "La Senorita Lola". LP, Vinyl record album

Seminal quality dub by the mighty Revolutionairies! Raw, fat dubs of Jah Lloyd productions cut at Channel One and mixed at Tubby's by Prince Jammy, featuring the Rhythm Twins on drum & bass, with the rest of the band filled out with an all star cast of top notch shots, so what more do you need to know? 10 tracks in all, including "Calico Jack", "Big Foot", "Bitter Blood", "Goldmine", "Red River Dub", "Heartburn", "Sore Mouth", "Jamintel", "Musketeer Dub" and "Pepper Dub". LP, Vinyl record album

The mighty Lonnie Liston Smith live – sounding every bit as great as he did on his famous studio sessions from the 70s – and maybe even more freewheeling too! The feel of the record is really tremendous – extremely soulful, with Lonnie jamming away on keyboards as the band grooves up these cool spacey rhythms – stepping out in territory that's definitely the more cosmic side of jazz funk, with those righteous currents that always made Lonnie so great. The whole thing's wonderful – with loads of great electric work, and an overall spiritual vibe that's every bit as great as his albums for Flying Dutchman – and players include Donald Smith on flute and a bit of vocals, Dave Hubbard on tenor and soprano sax, and Lonnie himself on Fender Rhodes, clavinet, and Arp. The set includes a nice extended take on "Visions of A New World", plus the tracks "Watercolors", "Sorceress" – which isn't on any of his studio albums, "Prelude", and the classic "Expansions". LP, Vinyl record album

Pure genius from this hardly-heard group – a really wonderful little record that mixes soul and funk with some slight Latin touches as well – all in a blend that's as incredible as the record is rare! The group have this really warm vibe on the vocal numbers – a mix of female lead and chorus bits that's not unlike Voices Of East Harlem, and equally righteous too. But there's also some instrumental bits that are even harder and heavier – almost funky descarga numbers with some really jamming instrumentation, including some fuzzy vibes at one point that almost recall Stark Reality. Titles include "Getting It Down", "Through No Fault Of Our Own", "It's Wonderful Baby/Gina", "Come On And Stay With Me", "Stuff N' Thing", 'Keep On Keepin' On", "Babylon", "Reality", "Judgement Day", and "My People". LP, Vinyl record album

A hell of a record from a Japanese band who answered to nobody else – a combo who could come on with the ferocity of James Gang or some of their contemporaries, but also hit some even wilder, more experimental moments too – something they definitely do here in the space of the double-length of the album – which mixes full-on jammers full of fuzz and bluesy riffs with some of the weirder moments you might find on the farther reaches of The Beatles' White Album! Vocals are all in English, and given that the album was issued on Atlantic, we're not sure why they never tried to push these guys bigger in the states – as they're better than most of the rest of the period. Titles include "Sniffin & Snortin", "Run And Hide", "Bad Woman", "Red Doll", "Flat Fret Swing", "Calm Down", "Search For Love", "Wanna Take You You", and "Song For An Angel". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the few solo albums ever cut by organist Chester Thompson – a player who's known to most as the keyboardist in Tower Of Power, but one who's also remembered by a select funky few for this killer record for the Black Jazz label! The album's a stripped-down quartet session – with labelmate Rudolph Johnson on tenor, blowing some beautiful lines alongside long, drawn-out Hammond solos from Thompson! The overall feel is similar to some of the great late 60s Prestige sessions – especially Don Patterson dates – with the group free swinging away in a very live format, just like you might have heard if you caught them in some hip southside club. Other players include Al Hall Jr on trombone and Ray Pounds on drums – and the album features four long jamming tracks, with titles that include "Mr T", "Trip One", "Weird Harold", and "Powerhouse". LP, Vinyl record album

There's plenty of funky steps here, thanks to a lean 70s fusion groove – served up by a Japanese combo who are heavy on keyboards and guitar! There's almost a CTI-like vibe to the record at times, especially as the rhythms are nice and spacious, and avoid any of the full-on fusion modes that can come from a record that's too jamming – and instead really lets the elements of the instrumentation really find their best place in the groove! There's a horn section on the record, but used in ways that are nicely punctuated – just to augment the sound at all the right moments, yet never overwhelm. Titles include "Morning", "Moderato", "Largo", "Dream Of Love", and "Dance Ritual Of Fire" – all themes from classical, but really transformed via funky jazz – again another influence from CTI! LP, Vinyl record album

A seminal jazz rock statement from drummer Tony Williams – one that has him stepping out quite far from his original "new thing" recordings of the mid 60s! The album's got a genre-forming sound that's incredibly fierce – a power trio churning of Williams drums, John McLaughlin's guitar, and Larry Young's free-thinking work on organ. The tunes are long and jamming, but also have a tight rhythmic focus that never gets too sloppy – and which virtually set the stage for a whole generation of 70s fusion players in years to come! Young and McLaughlin are especially great – working here with Williams to pound out sheets of sound in a cosmic trippy maze of riffs and grooves, certainly enough to inspire the most addled rocker to head over to the jazz section! Though this set was released as two separate volumes, this double LP version has both albums, and features 8 tracks in all "Emergency", "Beyond Games", "Where", "Vashkar", "Sangria For Three", "Something Spiritual", "Spectrum", and "Via The Spectrum Road". LP, Vinyl record album

A set that's not entirely funky, but maybe not that far off either – as the whole thing features unreleased material that was recorded by Zappa in the studio after Hot Rats – including some nicely jamming cuts that really have the group letting loose in maybe a more spontaneous, organic sort of way! All that Zappa sharpness is still present in the instrumentation, but things are maybe a bit more soulful – which seems a strange word to use, but definitely fits at times – as the hip group features performances from Sugarcane Harris, as well as drums from Aynsley Dunbar! Titles include "Basement Jam", "I'm A Rollin Stone", "Tommy/Vincent Duo 1", "Funky Nothingness", "Work With Me Annie/Annie Had A Baby", "Khaki Sack", "Twinkle Tits", "Chunga's Revenge (basement version)", and "Tommy/Vincent Duo 2". LP, Vinyl record album

Our favorite album by this Brit jazz rock combo from the mid 70s! The groove on this one is the most straightforward of any of the band's albums – and there's a number of nice cuts that have a strong funk sound with plenty of Afro soul influences – a great straightforward sound that gets past some of the more jamming modes of other work. The band's almost got a style that recalls Mandrill or Cymande, but with a bit more fusion overall – on titles that include "Mr J", "Mah Jong", "Spanish Fly", "Amuso Fi", and "Cobra Woman". LP, Vinyl record album

A key showcase of some of the fantastic groups who were starting to shape the sound of jazz on the Japanese jazz scene at the start of the 60s –a set that's a nice contrast to the first volume in this series, which featured all of the different musicians jamming together! Here, leadership is the focus – as each number has the musicians showing of the way that they were moving Japanese instrumental music past some of the more mood-based styles that were still pretty dominant in the mainstream, and instead taking very strong lessons from the 50s American wave of players who revolutionized the sound of jazz with hardbop! Nearly every player here is at the start of their career, but about to unfurl music that would shape Japanese jazz for decades to come – and titles include "Late At Night" played by the combo of pianist Masao Yagi, "With A Feeling Of Love" played by tenorist Akira Miyazawa, "Four On Six" by guitarist Shungo Sawada, "For Singers Only" by pianist Norio Maeda, "What's Now" by pianist Keitaro Miho, and "Alone Together" by altoist Sadao Watanabe. LP, Vinyl record album

By this point in his career, Ray Barretto certainly was Indestructible – one of the biggest Latin leaders of his day, working at the forefront of new trends and new sounds! This fact is wonderfully displayed by the front cover, which shows Ray unbuttoning his shirt and taking off his Clark Kent-styled glasses to reveal a Superman costume underneath – and apart from this easy gimmick, the album itself is a straight ahead Latin jammer, with no tricks, no silliness – just a perfect early 70s salsa sound! Arrangements are by Eddie Martinez, Louie Cruz, and Louie Ramirez – and titles include "Ay No", "La Orquesta", "El Hijo Do Obatala", "Indestructible", "La Familia", and "El Diablo". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the coolest records we've ever heard from Japanese drummer Akira Ishikawa – even wilder than some of his famous funk sessions of the time! The set definitely lives up to its African Rock promise – as it features lots of sparely percussive tracks that build beautifully – clearly drawing from African inspiration, in the same way that other albums by Akira drew from American funk – then also adding in some cool production and hip effects that help further some of the "rock" side of the agenda! At points, the record almost feels like a solo percussion jam – but at others, the guitars really get heavy, with a jamming intensity that's simply mindblowing. There's lots of psychedelic overtones when the guitars come in – and they make for a wicked contrast with some of the more organic, percussion-oriented moments. All tunes are nice and long, and titles include the extended break cut "Pigmy", plus "Vita", "Na Tu Penda Sana", and "Wanyamana Mapambazuko". LP, Vinyl record album

One of our favorite-ever keyboard albums – a rare lost session from pianist Pete Jolly – one of his only electric dates, and a completely improvised set of grooves! Pete plays electric piano, organ, and even a bit of musette – jamming in the studio with help from Chuck Berghofer on bass, Paul Humphrey on drums , John Pisano on guitar, and Milt Holland and Emil Richards on percussion – all of whom bring in some sly, subtle touches to the grooves that are totally great! The album's much more open than other keyboard dates from the time – almost in the territory of some of Herbie Hancock's most experimental work, but a fair bit more groove-based too – given that the album's filled with short, funky tracks all the way through. There's some echoes of Bob James work to come – and given the 1970 date of the record, it could almost be said that Jolly predates a whole host of 70s keyboard talents – setting his mark with this uniquely laidback set of tracks. Titles include the classic "Plummer Park", plus "Rainbow", "Seasons", "Indian's Summer", "Pete Jolly", "Leaves", "Springs", "Bees", and "Sand Storm". LP, Vinyl record album

A killer set of electric keyboards – with a groove that stretches from wigged-out Herbie Hancock to the laidback style of Bob James on CTI! Mikio Masuda plays a range of different instruments – from Fender Rhodes to Clavinet, Yamaha organ, ARP, and mini-Korg – and the group behind him includes guitar, bass, drums, soprano sax, and lots of percussion – all jamming together on the fiercest tracks like a full-on version of The Headhunters! Tracks are all long, and the album's proof that Japan was turning out some amazing electric jazz albums in the 70s – real classics that stand with the best from America at the time. Titles include "Hello Jess", "What's Happening", "I Saw The Light", and "Airplane". LP, Vinyl record album

Excellent work by Lonnie Smith – a free-flowing album of long jazzy grooves that's kind of an extension of his Blue Note albums, touched with more of the electricity of his 70s playing! There's some killer rhythms on the album – courtesy of drummers Jamey Hudad and Ben Riley, and electric bassists Ron Carter and Ralphe Armstrong – and Lonnie's on organ grooving alongside a young Joe Lovano, who plays some killer tenor and soprano sax – and the album's got these really long, open cuts that definitely hint at the more spiritual look of the cover. Titles include the 15 minute jammer "Spirits Free", plus "Afrodesia", "Favors", "Straight To The Point", and "The Awakening". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the greatest rock albums to come out of Detroit in the 60s – even if these guys aren't as well known as The Stooges or MC5! There's a similar brilliance here, though – a heady brew of ripping guitars, burning Hammond, and massively pounding drums – all recorded with a slightly garagey edge and expansively searching quality that stretches things out without overindulging in too much jamming. There's also a really dark feel to the record too – one that has the same sense of danger and urgency as SRC's bigger contemporaries, yet never sounds forced. Titles include "Onesimpletask", "Daystar", "Exile", "Marionette", "Black Sheep", and "Refugeve". LP, Vinyl record album

A brilliant batch of grooves from this early 70s Swedish ensemble – a group who mix together spiritual jazz and fusion styles, and have a sound that's a lot deeper than most of their contemporaries on the European scene at the time! A few tracks have lyrics in English, but sung in a roughly soulful style that's much more jazz than the rock that could sometimes show up on European fusion albums – and the band's overall style is freely exploratory in a post-Coltrane way – never too out or too jamming, and mostly spiritual overall. Instrumentation includes some great electric piano and soprano sax – and titles include "Space Trip", "Long Distance Call", "Little Patrik's Tale", "Thetan", "Almost Gone", and "Where Does It Lead". LP, Vinyl record album

A classic 70s salsa jammer from Willie Colon – working here with his one of his greatest vocalists – the young Ruben Blades, back before he'd crossed over to super-huge success! The album really marks a departure for Willie – moving past the bad boy style of earlier records, that kind of "tough guy in the hood" look – into a mode that was more open to other Latin scenes, and which marked an even greater rise to Latin stardom – really warm, open-handed, and a push forward with a new level of power and maturity. Titles include "Dime", "Plastico", "Buscando Guyaba", "Maria Lionza", "Ojos", and "Siembra". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic first chapter from this legendary funk group – material recorded during their early years on the Phoenix scene, at a time when Dyke & The Blazers must have been the hottest act going down in Arizona! The group here begin with their Funky Broadway roots – taking on that track in their classic version, turning out some great original material of their own, and also jamming nice and long on some tracks here that really show that the group had a lot more energy than just the usual funky 45 combo – maybe more of the intensity of the James Brown Band! Dyke is great in the lead, but the overall sound is wonderful – and titles include "Funky Broadway (parts 1 & 2)", "Triple Funk", "Extra Funk", "Uhh (full length)", "City Dump", "She Knows It", "Tramp (parts 1 & 2)", "Funky Broadway Time (parts 1 & 2)", and previously unissued tracks "Why Am I Treated So Funky Bad (orig mix)", "Extra Funk (alt)", "So Sharp (alt)", "Call My Name", and "Broadway Combination (alt)". LP, Vinyl record album

Never-heard live work from the legendary Junie Morrison – a funky legend who worked both in the Ohio Players and in the P-Funk empire of George Clinton – heard here in a smoking live setting in Michigan, right around the time of his classic solo records for Westbound! The format is great – really open and freewheeling, and nicely different than some of Junie's records in the studio – as Junie works with the Crowd Pleasers group, in a blistering blend of funk, soul, and jazz – with solos that evoke some of the latter, and which remind us of the unearthed Lyman Woodard concerts from around the same time! Tracks are mostly nice and long, very jamming – and the small combo vibe is a really different change from some of the arena funk of the period. Titles include a great version of Junie's classic "Granny's Funky Rolls Royce" – plus "Super J", "Tight Rope/Super Groupie", "Shakey Ground", "Fopp", "Musical Son", "Junie II", "Surrender", and an Ohio Players medley of "Pain/Cookies Will Get You/Pleasure/Ecstasy". LP, Vinyl record album

A great jammer from the 60s years on Fonseca Records – and like most of the other work on the label, a set with a slightly different feel that a lot of combos coming out of New York scene! There's definitely some of the boogaloo promised in the title, but the album also seems less strictly tied to conventions – and has no trouble stepping around a bit in style, working with some of those rougher edges and hard-driven lines that can really make Fonseca sessions great. The album's filled with great little groovers like "Descarga Novel", "Muchacha", "Do The Boogaloo", "Mambo For Naguabo", "Wish You Love", "Nocturno", and "Apetitosa". LP, Vinyl record album

Funky guitar from Kiyoshi Sugimoto – a Japanese player who really hits his groove on this rare album from the 70s! The set's got a perfect balance between some of the earlier Japanese guitar modes, which were often a bit more jamming – and some of the smoother styles of the late 70s – particularly those Japanese fusion albums that hit bigger on the global scale. Things here are still nice and open – almost spacey at points, but still tight enough to be funky – and Sugimoto himself handled most of the arrangements, which really work well for his long, stretched-out guitar lines. Titles include "Quiet Pulse", "Marmalade Sky", "Our Time", and "Jones Street". LP, Vinyl record album

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

Bootsy's still keeping the P-Funk flag flying high at the end of the 70s – arguably stepping out here with a sound that's got more of the Parliafunkadelicment elements intact than some of George Clinton's other spinoff groups! The tracks are long, and plenty jamming – still with plenty of star power from Bootsy upfront – but also some wonderfully tight rhythms from the rest of the players too, all in that mix of hard-rolling, and light-tripping funk modes that still set the P-Funk groups apart from the pack of imitators who'd cropped up in their wake! Titles include "Jam Fan (Hot)", "Bootsy Get Live", "Under The Influence Of A Groove", "Chug-A-Lug", "Oh Boy", and "Shejam". LP, Vinyl record album

A great addition to the 70s catalog of the legendary Can – a set of live recordings made in Stuttgart in 1975, all of which have the group working in this wonderfully long-jamming style! Tracks are long, and maybe even more proggy than the group's studio work of the time – an all-instrumental onslaught driven by the incredible drums of Jaki Leibezeit, with guitars from Michael Karoli, bass from Holger Czukay, and keyboards and electronics from Irmin Schmidt! Schmidt himself oversaw the entire release – and the way the tracks are put together is revelatory – a long-overdue look at the power the group had to offer in a concert setting – every bit as wonderful as their classic albums, but in a completely different way. LP, Vinyl record album

Heady work from Cluster – a record that really helped set the tone for a whole generation of German experimentation! The sound here is incredibly dense – guitar and keyboard parts that are processed heavily, looped back on themselves, and sometimes supported by a bit of electronics – all at a level that's still quite fresh and free – never too jamming, nor too experimental for experiment's sake! There's an intrinsically rhythmic feel to the whole record – a cosmic pulse that ebbs and flows beautifully – and the whole thing still has a lot more of an edge than most of the later work from the team of Dieter Moebius and Hans-Joachim Roedelius. The album was co-produced with Conny Plank – and titles include "Plas", "Im Suden", "Fur Dir Katz", "Georgel", "Live In Der Fabrik", and "Nabitte". LP, Vinyl record album

Killer early work by the Fania All Stars – caught live at the legendary Cheetah club, which was the heart of the New York salsa scene at the start of the 70s! The album is easily one of the best by the group – and features long tracks that really capture the jamming intensity that occurred on stage when this many great artists were brought together in one space – kind of the "next step" for the older descarga mode put forth at the start of the 60s, pushed forward into the prouder, more unified Latin scene of the 70s! All Stars on this date include Ray Barretto, Larry Harlow, Bobby Valentin, Willie Colon, Johnny Pacheco, and others – and titles on this first volume include "Quitate Tu", "Descarga Fania", and "Anaconda". LP, Vinyl record album

An insane classic from one of the wildest funk bands ever! According to reports, George Clinton and the band cut this set in a marathon 48-hour stretch in the studio – working like mad all night and day long, after dropping a motherlode of some mighty fine acid! We don't know if that story's entirely true, but the music on the album certainly backs it up – as it's some of the band's freest, most open-ended, most heavy-jamming work ever recorded! Guitars dominate over funky bass and drums – and the whole thing's an amazing blend of music, swirled together into a non-stop psychedelic party that includes P-Funk gems like "Funky Dollar Bill", "Free Your Mind", "Eulogy and Light", and "I Wanna Know If It's Good To You". LP, Vinyl record album

Deep deep sounds from this hip Japanese drummer – a set that features a fusion-styled mix of keyboards and sax, but one that comes across with a gentle feel that's light years from conventional fusion! The balance is perfect throughout – kind of a spacey, soulful vibe – stretching out beautifully, yet never getting overindulgent – no jamming modes at all, and really a great ear for the space between the notes that keeps the whole thing on a open-handed level. One track goes slightly out, but in a way that balances the others nicely – and players include Tomoki Takahasi on tenor and soprano sax and Toshiyuki Daitoku on keyboards. Titles include "June Rain", "Burning Cloud", "Moki", "Racco", and "Cum Cum". LP, Vinyl record album

Wonderfully sensitive sounds from this really unique group – an instrumental combo, but one who don't really play jazz – and who also avoid some of the more jamming indulgences of some of their prog contemporaries too! Part of the special blend in their sound is the way they can work with higher ideas, but not huge egos – really bringing their concepts down to a more personal level, with instrumentation that includes flutes, saxes, and pianos from Alain Bergeron – plus guitar and piano from Jerome Langlois, piano and percussion from Vincent Langlois, bass from Yves Leonard, and drums and percussion from Gilles Schetagne. The group also add in a few extra elements at times – vibes, trumpet, and even a bit of strings – and the set features the long suites "Les Aventures De Saxinette Et Clarophone" and "Les Porches De Notre Dame" – and the shorter "La Grosse Torche" and "Chromo". LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible blend of jazz and traditional Japanese instrumentation – done in a style that even has some nice funky touches from time to time! The work's a really ambitious one – taking simple musical patterns at its core, but then building them up and jamming over the top as the tracks progress – using unusual elements like koto, electric harpsichord, Fender Rhodes, and wordless vocals to make for some wonderful moments that seem to pop out of nowhere and really light up the tracks! Most of the record has a jazzy approach overall, but the sound is also far from the ordinary – making for an extremely unique session that really seems to define itself on its own terms! LP, Vinyl record album

It's a good thing the Rockers All-Stars met King Tubby in a firehouse – as the record's so burning, somebody almost had to put out the fire! The album's a classic from that moment when Agustus Pablo was crafting some of his best lines on melodica, and helping out with the arrangements too – with instrumentation from a group that includes Earl Chinna Smith on guitar, Robbie Shakespeare on bass, and the great Deadly Headly on horns – all given some cool combinations of keys from Pablo, who also handles organ, piano, and the cool "strings assemble" too! Mixed by Prince Jammy and King Tubby – with titles that include "Zion Is A Home", "Jah Say Dub", "Dub In Matthews Lane Arena", and "Simeon Tradition". LP, Vinyl record album

A really raw set from 70s Africa – one that's more rock than Afro Funk, but which has a pretty hypnotic groove overall! The group's heavy on guitars, which are often played in a fuzzy, jamming sort of way – but with different tones and phrasing than American or Anglo psyche groups – even though they're clearly an inspiration to the sound! Most tunes are strongly rhythmic – guitars grooving away over muddy drums and a bit of rumbling bass – all produced in very basic, stripped-down ways – but that makes for a big part of the charm of the set. Vocals are mostly in English, and often more chanted than sung – and titles include "I Need Mercy", "I Don't Know", "Peaceful Man", "Get On The Way", "This Is The Time Now", and "Black Power". LP, Vinyl record album

A brilliant bit of psychedelia – still as fresh today as it was many decades back – and the crowning achievement of Pink Floyd during the early Syd Barrett years! The album's got all the best elements of the group firmly in place – the penchant for long-jamming tracks that still manage to always maintain a sharp edge – mixed with some of the wittier, more playful lyrics that Barrett brought to the group – all wrapped up with a sense of depth and darkness that goes way beyond most of their contemporaries. The record's a masterpiece through and through – from its first guitar-heavy jam on "Astronomy Domine", through the strutting, vamping madness of "Bike" – all up and down other gems that include "Lucifer Sam", "The Gnome", "Take Up Thy Stethoscope & Walk", "Interstellar Overdrive", "Chapter 24", and "The Scarecrow". LP, Vinyl record album