The first-ever full length set of work from Howard Bomar – a singer who only issued a few rare 45s back in the 60s, yet kept on making music for years! From the very first tune, you'll hear that Bomar has a fantastic voice – that sort of searching, searing style that you'd hear from some of the best of the 60s – almost with a Stax Records level of production at times, but also varied a bit more over the course of the record, especially on some of the few later tracks! Howard's definitely in the deepest side of the deep soul spectrum – even as the instrumentation gets a bit more modern – and titles include "Let It Be Me", "I'll Be There", "Best Of Luck To You", "I'm Gonna Love You", "Set Down Fo I Fall Down", "She's A 911", "What Love Has Joined Together", and a remake of "Purple Rain". CD features bonus tracks – "Down Home Georgia Girl", "Something Beautiful", "I'd Like To Be", "Crazy Bout You Baby", and "Just Let Me Love You". CD

... CD

A diverse batch of rare soul singles by singer and guitar player Barbara Lynn – the complete Tribe, Jet Stream, Copywrite and Starflight singles – wonderful stuff cut from the mid 60s to late 70s! All of these labels are parts of the empire South Texas musical force Huey P Meaux – and Barbara delivers beautiful throughout the years with material the evolved with the times. It ranges from classic level mid 60s stripped-down guitar, bass, drums & handclap- backed soul tunes, to more horn heavy uptempo numbers, to mellow funk, bluesier soul and a bit of disco as the years went by. This set focuses on the Meaux material, but Barbara also cut some incredible material for Atlantic during this period – and a couple of stellar singles from that run are included, too. Includes "I'm A Good Woman", "Running Back", "Until I'm Free", "Club A Go-Go", "Movin' On A Groove", "Disco Music", "Take Your Time", "Sugar Coating Love", "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry", "Call My Bluff Baby", "Takin' His Love Away (Ain't Gonna Be Easy)", "You Better Quit It", "You Finally Got Your Good Thing Back" and more. 24 tracks in all. CD

The short but brilliant career of The Runaways, served up here in a really great box set – one that features all four of their studio albums (including one not released in the US at the time), and their more obscure live album from Japan! Together, the five records tell the tale of a group who forever transformed the sound of female rock and roll – a searing hard rock outfit who were almost punk, and certainly did a great job of playing with emotions and expectations, while also having a hell of a lot of fun in the process! And sure, Joan Jett went on to become a superstar in the following decade, but here alongside the young Cherie Currie and Lita Ford, she's part of a well-formed, super-tight group who brought a much harder edge to female rock than anyone might have expected in the generation of girl groups and singer/songwriters! The box set features the full albums The Runaways, Queens Of Noise, Live In Japan, Waitin For The Night, and And Now The Runaways – all with original cover art, and a nice booklet of notes. CD

Cool cuts from around the globe – all brought together in one wonderfully funky set! The music here all draws heavily from American funk and psych styles – and often uses some slightly different instrumentation, or more regional inflection – to make the usual psych funk styles sound even more groovy and exotic – in a mindblowing way that makes the entire set a real musical delight! Most tracks are instrumental – heavy on drums and fuzzy guitar – but there's a few vocal moments, too – and the funk current is super-strong, way more so than on other collections that promise a heavy bottom, but usually just present offbeat psych. Titles include "Jet Pop" by Bana Pop Band, "Foxy Lady" by 49th Blue Streak, "Karate Chop" by The Tijuana Brats, "Stari Dvorac" by Pro Arte, "Nie Przejziemy Do Historii" by Krzysztof Klenczon, "Louis Louis" by Friar Tuck, "Time Of Machines" by Sergio Ferraresi, and "The Shaman's Dance" by Alexandr Sergeyevich. CD

Music from Richard Berry, Preston Love And His Band, The Native Boys, The Hollywood Blue Jays, The Victorians, Wynona Carr, The Jet Aces, George Zimmeran, The Thrills, Jesse Belvin, The Starlighters, Billy Stafford, The Five Hollywood Blue Jays, and more - 28 tracks in all. CD

A trio of fantastic duet albums from this legendary team – all presented in a single set! Me & The First Lady is the second record to pair the incredible vocals of George Jones and Tammy Wynette – and it also marks a real shift in the careers of both musicians – a rise to the more introspective, mature style that Jones would explore very strongly on his Columbia sides to come! Both singers were more upbeat in the 60s, and maybe had some more gimmicks to some of their songs – yet here, they come together in this very sophisticated style that's mindblowing – all put together with superb Billy Sherrill production. Titles include "A Lovely Place To Cry", "We Believe In Each Other", "The Great Divide", "The Ceremony", "We're Gonna Try To Get Along", "Lovin You Is Worth It", and "It's Been A Beautiful Life". We're Gonna Hold On is a set that's maybe marking some of the personal rift between George Jones and Tammy Wynette in its title – yet a record that still has a wonderfully unified feel between two of the most amazing voices in country music! The match of styles, moods, and moments is superb – way different than just the sort of playful male/female country that was forged in years past – and a real standard-setting performance that includes "The Jet Set", "We're Gonna Hold On", "Roll In My Sweet Baby's Arms", "That Man Of Mine", "If Loving You Starts Hurting Me", and "The Woman Loves Me Right". Golden Ring is a stunning record from the duo of George Jones and Tammy Wynette – a set that could be easily written off as a reflection of their shaky relationship – yet instead the kind of material that has the pair continuing to plumb emotive and vocal depths that few other country singers could ever hope to touch! The album works wonderfully as a unified whole – a testament to the strengths and struggles of human relationships, delivered by two singers who had plenty of life under their belts by the time of the session – and who still know how to come together on their vocals in a way that's unlike anyone else before, then, or since. Titles include "Golden Ring", "Keep The Change", "Near You", "Even The Bad Times Are Good", "Did You Ever", "Tattletale Eyes", "Cryin Time", and "If You Don't Somebody Else Will". CD

Features Chet Atkins, Homer & Jethro, George Barnes, and others. CD

The one where The Black Crowes really started expanding their creative reach beyond being a hell of a solid torch carrier of the swaggery soul rock sound of The Faces and Stones! They're still not reinventing the wheel (nor trying to), but they do begin to jettison the classic rock radio approach of earlier records for a hard grooving, album-oriented sound that's a LOT stronger than we credited them for back in the day! They wear their influences on their sleeves as proudly as ever, but there's so many of them, and it all sounds so good...damn! Respect long overdue, and proudly paid. Titles include "Gone", "A Conspiracy", "She Gave Good Sunflower", "Ballad In Urgency", "Wiser Time", "Descending" and more. CD

2 exotica classics on one CD! Quiet Village is an undisputed classic in the exotica field, and the record that yielded Denny his biggest hit – the title reworking of "Quiet Village", written by Les Baxter a few years earlier. The rest of the record's pretty darn nice, too – with Denny's trademark piano/percussion style firmly in place – and we can't think of a better way to start off a collection of exotic 50s tunes. Titles include "Sake Rock", "Martinique", "Tune From Rangoon", and "Pagan Love Song". Enchanted Sea is another great classic by Denny – with a nice approach that has sort of a drifting South Seas feel! The record is one of his last good ones for Liberty, and has lots of nice tracks like "My Isle Of Golden Dreams", "Beyond The Reef", "Flotsam & Jetsam", and "Cross Current". Nice sexy cover, too! CD

An amazing little group – one that starts with the ensemble improvisation energy of John Coltrane's Ascension, but then takes off into a whole new electrified direction of its own! Crimetime Orchestra boast a heady rhythm section in the form of Bugge Wesseltoft on keyboards, Ingebrigt Haker Flaten on electric bass, and Paal Nilssen-Love on drums – all players schooled in free jazz ways, but working here with an electrified sort of force – almost a rockish fusion undercurrent, which is mixed beautifully with the complicated horn lines of the other members of the group. Bassist Bjornar Andressen brings in a double-heavy bottom to the record – and other players include Vidar Johansen on tenor, Jon Klette on alto, Djetil Moster on tenor, Oyvind Brakke on trombone, Sjur Miljeteig on trumpet, and Anders Hana on guitar. Bugge recorded the whole thing, with some additional electric effects – and titles include "Rest In Piece" and the seven-part "Live Is A Beautiful Monster" suite. CD

A lasting classic from Digable Planets, and a record that really helped push the bar forward for hip hop at the time – at a level that's still kept this one strong all these many years later! Digable Planets weren't the first group to bring in some influence from jazz to their work – but they definitely found the right balance here, and a way of setting things up that was real and organic, instead of maybe just a nodding reference to the past that always felt a bit out of place. The use of live instrumentation next to samples is also key to the record's sound – common now, but pretty important at the time, especially in a world of declining sample access. The trio of Butterfly, Ladybug, and Doodlebug have a wonderful way of tripping through the lyrics – and titles include "The May 4th Movement Starring Doodlebug", "Black Ego", "Dog It", "Jettin", "Borough Check", "Highing Fly", "Dial 7", "The Art Of Easing", "KBs Alley", "Graffiti", "Blowing Down", "9th Wonder", and "For Corners". CD

Missy and Timbaland (and the usual cast of guest stars) are back and hotter than ever before on Missy's fourth full length, much more of a hip hop record this time, with tons of old school party shouts and new school neo-electro production! Under Construction is kind of a concept album (don't worry, not in the Jethro Tull kind of way) with a theme that celebrates the hip hop golden age of the mid-to-late 80s but with a modern, probably timeless flavor. The status quo R&B that Missy can't seem to get out of her system is here only at a minimum – this is a hip hop record! Past guests like Method Man (turning in a great remake of "Bring The Pain"), Ludacris, and Jay Z show up as well as 50 Cent, Ms. Jade, Beyonce Knowles, and TLC – but as usual, no one steals the show from Mis and Tim. No one would claim Missy is the most scholarly of lyricists, but as a conduit for attitude and a spicy groove she can't be beat, plus her topical and scatological rhymes and choruses fit these hip hop party bumpers like a Kangol & a gold chain. Tons of shout outs to and samples of the old schoolers that are just way too true to be nostalgic, plus strong production from Timbaland that isn't afraid to risk his reputation as an innovator by referencing his influences. The duo may have produced more astoundingly great singles in the recent past, but this is Missy and Timbaland's magnum opus, as far as full lengths go. 13 tracks including "Work It", "Go To The Floor", "Bring The Pain" featuring Method Man, "Funky Fresh Dressed" featuring Ms Jade, "Slide", "Play That Beat", "Ain't That Funny", and more. CD