... LP, Vinyl record album

Loads of classics – including "Calling Dr Love", "Love Gun", "Hotter Than Hell", "God Of Thunder", "Deuce", "Detroit Rock City", "Beth", "Black Diamond", "Rock & Roll All Nite", and "Rock Bottom". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

... 78 RPM, Vinyl record

... CD

One of the most treasured albums ever by The Cure! Includes "Why Can't I Be You", "Just Like Heaven", "Catch", "Hot Hot Hot" and more. CD

... 78 RPM, Vinyl record

... CD

... 78 RPM, Vinyl record

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

Classic! Although folks had been saying for years that Prince was funky, "Kiss" was the first tune to really have him going to town on the instruments – in a way that we always expect from a true funk act, but not so much for the pop charts – reason alone to adore this one! The track snaps along with an intensity that makes it an instant classic groover – and flip side "Love Or Money" is a pretty nice track too! 12-inch, Vinyl record

Something of a concept album from Jeri Southern – a record of familiar tunes, but all strung together as "the story of a love affair", and set to backings by Gus Levene! The approach here is a bit like some of the Sinatra Capitol sides of the mid 50s – with a really unified sort of mood overall, one that's mostly that of sadness and longing – thanks to Levene's darkly gentle string arrangements. Jeri's breathy vocals sound great in the setting, and the album's got a solidity that we really love. Titles include "Close To You", "Close As Pages In A Book", "The Touch Of Your Lips", "Please Be Kind", "Cross My Heart", and "Prelude To A Kiss". LP, Vinyl record album

"Do Your Thing" is a great one from Charles Wright and the group! The cut's got that messed-up funky groove they hit so well – with lots of tight funky playing, some great shouted lyrics, and a hook that drives the whole thing home. "A Dance" is more conventional soul – but still pretty nice! 7-inch, Vinyl record

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

... LP, Vinyl record album

Production from the Neptunes, Premier, Swizz Beats & Timbaland on tracks like "We Gonna Make It","Knock Yourself Out", "Cruisin" & "Show Discipline". LP, Vinyl record album

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

... CD

The "sleazy" in the title is definitely well-put – as the music here has a vamping, slinking sound that's pure sex – circa 1960 – pulled from a cool array of rare soul, blues, and R&B singles from the time! We love this series, and it never fails to turn us onto something we've never heard before – and the tunes sometimes mix in some exotic touches that are very nice, the kind of vibe you'd expect from the "popcorn noir" promise on the front. Titles include "Hard Head (part 1)" by Jon Thomas, "Voodoo Drums" by Aki, "Wild Child" by Donnie Elbert, "Medicine Man" by Jeanette B Washington, "Backwoods" by Bill Doggett, "Voodoo Kiss" by Don Sargent & The Buddies, "Tie Me Tight" by Bob Kayli, "Laugh My Heart" by Malcolm Dodds, "Comin Home" by Eddie Jacobs, and "Sinners" by Freddie & The Hitchhikers. LP, Vinyl record album

A 70s soul treasure chest! This excellent CD sorts through some incredible lost sides on the Atlantic catalog of the 70s – and it features an amazing selection of work by artists who only ever cut singles or one-off LPs for the label and its subsidiaries. The overall groove is sweet, mellow, and very soulful – and titles include "Just My Way Of Loving You" by Garland Green, "Let Me Show You" by Larry Wu, "I'm So Happy" by Prince Phillip Mitchell, "Come On, Let Me Love You" by Moses Smith, "Save Your Love For Me" by Vivian Reed, "Kiss My Love Goodbye" by Bettye Swann, "The Rising Cost Of Love" by Darrow Fletcher, "Baby Don't Hold Your Love Back" by Bridge, "You're Too Hot To Hold" by Barbara Lynn, "You Got The Best Of Me" by Ronn Matlock, "Love Bandit" by Patti & The Lovelites, and "Got To Get You Back" by Sons Of Robin Stone. 24 cuts in all – with loads of rare stuff! CD

Where the girls are is right here – served up in a beautiful blend of rare tracks from the mid 60s – almost all of them in a female group mode, at a time when that style was really hitting new heights in American popular music! The work here is a mixture of rock and soul, and almost all of it features female harmonies set to sublime pop production – modes that range from west coast dreamy to Brill Building groovy – all laid out in an extended track list that also includes a few never-issued tracks as well! This series has been running for quite some time, but it's always a great one – and we're amazed at how the folks at Ace keep turning up nuggets we never would have heard otherwise – all presented with wonderful sound, and full notes to support the whole collection – a lot more than you can say for dodgier sets on the market. Titles include "Billy Sunshine" by Evie Sands, "With A Kiss" by The Bluezettes, "Don't Forget" by The Murmaids, "That's The Way It Is" by The Sweet Three, "Moon Walking" by The Blossoms, "More Than A Friend" by The Wooden Nickels, "On A Rainy Night" by The Flowers, "What Did You Do Last Night" by The Drake Sisters, "I Can Tell I'm Losing Your Love" by Lena Calhoun & The Emotions, "You Better Stop It" by The Lovelites, "Ballyhoo" by Ramona King, "Bad Boy" by Christine Cooper, and "Baby I Miss You" by The Popsicles. CD

A fantastic collection of work from those years when singer Ann-Margret first popped up on the American market – young, fresh, and sexy – and willing to do whatever it took to make her music stand out from the pack! Ann-Margret's got a vocal range that's maybe deeper than most of her contemporaries – a lusty growl that makes you feel like she's singing from way down in her toes – with odd bluesy currents mixed with jazzier backings – all in a mode that has really blows away the sultry tones of previous singers like Peggy Lee or Julie London. This 30 track package is a very well-chosen array of tunes from the early RCA years – and includes lots of solo numbers, plus work with Elvis Presley and Al Hirt – on titles that include "Man's Favorite Sport", "Next Time", "Madrid/The Pleasure Seekers", "Mack The Knife", "My Baby Just Cares For Me", "Teach Me Tonight", "The Lady Loves Me", "You're The Boss", "Mr Wonderful", "That Old Black Magic", "Everything Makes Music When You're In Love", "Let Me Entertain You", "Take All The Kisses", "Something To Think About", and "Mister Kiss Kiss Bang Bang". CD

A key album in the career of Louis Armstrong – one that helped him forge the fourth or fifth great comeback in his career! As you'd guess by the title, the album's built around Louis' hit version of "Hello Dolly" – sung in a mode that at one level stretches back to his roots in trad jazz, but at another kind of peps the whole thing up with a mod 60s/20s retro sort of swing – more syncopated than before, with a choppy little groove that pushed Louis right back onto the charts. Backing is by a small group that includes Billy Kyle on piano, Arvell Shaw on bass, and Joe Darensbourg on clarinet – and the album's filled with other great numbers that include "A Kiss To Build A Dream On", "Moon River", "You Are Woman I Am Man", "Blueberry Hill", and "Be My Life's Companion". CD

Some of the last recordings ever made by Louis Armstrong – and some of the best-known as well! The set brings together three great albums from the 60s, plus bonus tracks as well – all in a really lovely Hip-O Select package! First up is Hello Dolly – a key album in the career of Louis Armstrong – one that helped him forge the fourth or fifth great comeback in his career! As you'd guess by the title, the album's built around Louis' hit version of "Hello Dolly" – sung in a mode that at one level stretches back to his roots in trad jazz, but at another kind of peps the whole thing up with a mod 60s/20s retro sort of swing – more syncopated than before, with a choppy little groove that pushed Louis right back onto the charts. Backing is by a small group that includes Billy Kyle on piano, Arvell Shaw on bass, and Joe Darensbourg on clarinet – and the album's filled with other great numbers that include "A Kiss To Build A Dream On", "Moon River", "You Are Woman I Am Man", "Blueberry Hill", and "Be My Life's Companion". Mame is another great record that kind of updates the Armstrong sound of the 20s for the groovier scene of the 60s – still recorded very much in a trad jazz basis, but with some leaner arrangements overall, and a mix of material that keeps things nice and swinging! Armstrong's at his charming later vocal best – and titles include "Short But Sweet", "Mame", "So Long Dearie", "Tin Roof Blues", "I Like This Kind Of Party", "Cheesecake", "Tyree's Blues", and "Faith". What A Wonderful World is a surprising gem from Louis' later years – most famous for the title hit, but a great album all the way through! Louis is more of a singer than a musician on the set – and he's working with arrangements steeped in warmth and nostalgia – going for an instantly-ancient sound that brings out the best in Armstrong's sentimental tone. Next to the album's wonderful title track "What A Wonderful World", there's also lots of great obscure material – including "The Home Fire", "Hello Brother", "There Must Be A Way", "Fantastic That's You", and "The Sunshine Of Love". CD also features 4 bonus tracks – "Life Of The Party", "The Kinda Love Song", "We Have All The Time IN The World", and "The Three Of Us". CD

Pure magic from the height of Roy Ayers' classic 70s run on Polydor – a record that's filled with warm, jazzy grooves – all served up in that unique style that Roy was forging at the time! The album perfectly balances dancefloor tracks with mellower numbers – stepping out one minute with a funky groove on the bottom, then sliding into some slinkier laidback styles that are equally great. William Allen handles the arrangements with Roy, and does the strings himself – and also plays some monstrous bass on most numbers, which really brings up the rhythms from the bottom! Titles include the killer groovers "Sweet Tears", "When Is Real Real", "Let's Do It", and "Freaky Deaky" – and the warm mellow cuts "You Came Into My Life", "Kiss", and "Melody Maker". LP, Vinyl record album

One of our favorite Ray Barretto albums of the 60s – a real gem from the pre-Latin Soul years! The album's a clear attempt to cash in on the cash in on the James Bond craze of the time – issued by United Artists, who were releasing the Bond films, but also had Ray under contract during the period too. But despite that simple gimmick, it's a great little set – with a quality level that goes way beyond Bond soundtracks, or the usual from Barretto at the time! The tracks are all hard and groovy, with an excellent jazz feel – and some killer arranging from Ray that's right up there with the work he did for his legendary Charanga Moderna album! You may recognize the song titles – but their versions here are superb, and the album's filled with many many wonderful moments that step out with mad rhythms and great jazzy touches. Titles include "Mister Kiss Kiss Bang Bang", "OO7", "Search For Vulcan", "Thunderball", and "Goldfinger". Nice "spy" shot of Ray on the cover, too! LP, Vinyl record album

Sweet slices of work from a hell of a jazz festival – the 1963 Antibes performances, served up here in some incredibly hip material! The set begins with early work from pianist Dollar Brand – whose trio sounds moody and amazing on "Antibes Jam", then gets joined the great vocalist Sathima Bea Benjamin on a version of "Prelude To A Kiss". Next up is the soulful sound of tenorist Klaus Doldinger, whose group includes Ingfried Hoffmann on piano – on a sensitive reading of "Like Someone In Love", which really shows off Klaus' under-recorded ballad style. The great trombonist Eje Thelin follows – leading a quintet with Ulf Andersson on tenor and Lars Joesten on piano – on the very long "Antibes Jam". A Polish group follows with another long track – a sharp-edged take on "Well You Needn't", led by tenorist Jan Wroblewski in a quartet with Wojciech Karolak on piano. Last up is singer Sarah Vaughan – working with the Kirk Stewart Trio – on the titles "I Can't Give You Anything But Love", "Tenderly", "A Taste Of Honey", and "Bill Bailey". CD

A disco double-header! First up is Love Shook – classic disco from Pattie Brooks, and a soaring 70s set that's right up there with the best Casablanca Records grooves of the time! The rhythms here are upbeat and lively – strings mixed in with quick-stepping rhythms, all set to the vocals of Pattie, which have just the right sort of flow to take off nicely in the setting! Titles include "Love Shook", "Let's Make Love To The Music", "Girl Don't Make Me Wait", and a totally cool "Pop Collage Medley", which features bits of "Popcorn" and "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye". Next is Our Ms Brooks – a record that has Pattie reunited with the Soul Galore production team – working with backdrops that are full, but never too overblown – right in that perfect Casablanca mode! Titles include "Heartbreak In Disguise", "After Dark", "This Is The House Where Love Died", and "The Back-up Singer". CD

Tracks include "The Little Girl In Me", "Kiss Me Baby", "Suspicious Mind", "Mellow Lovin", and "Livin Easy In The City". LP, Vinyl record album

One of Vic's best albums! Drunk isn't quite as sparely furnished, production wise as his first couple albums, but it's still on the right side of spare – often with voice and guitar, so Vic's one-of-a-kind vocals and storytelling are front-and-center. There's almost stream of consciousness structure to the songs, but when you really listen it's easy to tell that he's not just strumming and breathing words, there's some serious soul searching, as well as keen insight into rural American human nature, even in the most fragmentary observations. He's not for everybody, but once you open up to his distinctive sound, you might come to think of him as one of the true and rare originals. Includes "Sleeping Man", Bourgeois And Biblical", "One Of Many", "Super Tuesday", "Naughty Fatalist", "Kiss My A**, "Dodge", "Gluefoot" and more. This beautiful 2017 2LP version on New West as bunch of bonus tracks, too – nearly a full LPs worth! LP, Vinyl record album

A very different album than usual for June Christy – one of her last for Capitol, and a very swinging, upbeat affair! As the title implies, June's singing a set of tunes made famous during the glory days of the big bands – tracks associated with Duke Ellington, Tommy Dorsey, Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman, and others – all given a nice reworking here by June, in a style that's got a hipper, swinging California kind of groove! Arrangers on the set are Bill Holman, Bob Cooper, and Shorty Rogers – and they all keep things light and above board – shaking away the bluer tones and quieter moods of some of June's other records, taking her vocals back to the highly swinging style that first brought her fame in the 40s. Titles include "Frenesi", "Time Was", "Good Bye", "Night In Tunisia", "Stompin At the Savoy", "Prelude To A Kiss", and "Skyliner". LP, Vinyl record album

Heavy drums, and some great grooves throughout – a wonderful album from percussionist Wilson Das Neves, and maybe his best record ever! The album's more funk than the samba in the title – although the best numbers have a little bit of both – almost an instrumental take on the same territory as Jorge Ben at the end of the 60s, with wickedly riffing guitar and some nicely heavy drums. The lineup is an all-star one – Dom Salvador on piano, Ze Roberto on organ, and trombone from Ed Maciel – and the arrangements are handled by Erlon Chaves, with the same funky approach as his own great music! There's loads of great originals on the record – including "Essa Moca Ta Diferente", "Sarro", "Repouso", and "Bebete Vao Bora" – plus versions of cuts like "Venus", "Evil Ways", and "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye", all done as groovy instrumentals. CD

Fantastic work from Doctors Of Madness – a group who have this amazing sound that not only prefaces punk and later dark 80s modes, but which also seems to link their sound back to some of the early 70s experiments of the David Bowie generation! The group can move loud and fast in ways that seem years ahead of their time – especially given that the first album here came out in March of 1976 – but they also have a slightly-creepy vibe at times – not goth, but pre-goth – like some of the early 80s groups who had a strong inspiration from Bowie and some of the glams. The whole thing is a real revelation – especially if you've only heard some of their music, but not that much at once – and the box set features three full albums, plus lots of bonus tracks – including demos and rare recordings – and a live concert too. Titles include "50s Kids", "Waiting", "Mitiz's Cure", "Mainlines", "B Movie Bedtime", "Brothers", "Suicide City", "Out", "Cool", "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye", and "Into The Strange". CD

A really great album by Billy Eckstine – much more swinging and upbeat than some of his other 50s sessions, and with a strongly pronounced jazz flair overall! The album's supposedly recorded live in Vegas in the wee hours of the morning, and features Billy blowing a bit of trumpet as well as singing – all set to some nicely thumping orchestrations by Bobby Tucker, who really knows how to hit the right groove for this sort of a set. Titles include "Lady Luck", "Have A Song On Me", "Deed I Do", "Without A Song", "Moonlight In Vermont", and "Lush Life". CD features a huge amount of previously unissued bonus tracks – titles that include "Prelude To A Kiss", "Fools Rush In", "I Apologize", "Little Mama", "Prisoner Of Love", "Alright Okay You Win", and "In The Still Of The Night". CD

Duke's Big 4 here are a quartet of jazz legends – Joe Pass, Ray Brown, and Louie Bellson – all working with Duke himself to serve up unique small combo versions of older Ellington full band classics! The mix of piano, guitar, bass, and drums is a bit unusual for Ellington – and Pass especially has this sharply ringing tone that really brings a different flavor to many of the numbers – a kind of stepping, pulsating quality that's even in contrast to his other work from this period. Duke's piano augments the angularity, and titles include "Love You Madly", "Cottontail", "The Blues", "Prelude To A Kiss", "Everything But You", and "Just Squeeze Me". LP, Vinyl record album

Tight 80s grooving from Fatback – kicking it large with the bass-heavy dancefloor sound they virtually invented! There's a really solid feel to the whole set – as brother Bill Curtis and crew go for an uptempo style of funk that never sells out for cheap gimmicks, and which knows just when to lay back for a mellower soul cut. It's that well-rounded sound that really makes the group great at this point – a refreshing change from some of the too-bassy combos that sprung up in their wake over the years! Titles include "Oh Girl", "Gigolo", "Rockin To The Beat", "Rub Down", "Higher", and "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Her Goodbye". LP, Vinyl record album

The title's a long one, but the music here is short and peppy – a set of really lovely little melodies from the great Nico Fidenco – pulled from a film score in the time before he'd moved over to completely sex-drenched soundtracks! There's some nice whimsy at times – melodies that recall an earlier generation of Italian comedy, but which come across here in groovier 70s modes – sometimes a bit jazzy, sometimes with some of the mod styles of the previous few years of Italian scoring, and at other times more just in a playful mode. The CD adds in a huge amount of music to the original stereo album – by coming up with an additional 19 mono tracks from the film – for over 70 minutes of sound! Titles include "Il Vedovo Fugge", "A Sweet Goodnight Kiss", "Katia", "Vertigine Shake", and "Non Me Ne Va Bena Una". CD

Redd Foxx unfiltered, uncensored and in his live prime! You know, we can never get enough of just about any kind of party record, and the early 70s blue records from Redd Foxx have always been some of our favorites. While he was pretty darn funny doing "straight" comedy on network TV as Fred Sanford, even the most outlandish skits on the show never measured up against this raw material. Redd keeps it raw and dirty for the very live crowd with bits like "Black Brains", "Makin' Sandwiches", "Sniffing Pepper", "Raffle Ticket", "Rat Trap", "Door Knob", "Get Tight", "Say Hamburger" and "Kiss Urass Goodbye". LP, Vinyl record album