An album that brings together unissued tracks from the Arhoolie catalog by each of the three blues artists on the cover! CD

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Includes 24 tracks from Buddy Guy, Larry Johnson, India Arie, Keb Mo, Mavis Staples, Solomon Burke, Mos Def, Gregg Allman, Natalie Cole and Odetta. CD

One of the true innovators of Jamaican DeeJaying, Big Youth not only turned the genre on it's head by bringing conscious roots style lyrics to the forefront, but also took control of the producer duties on many of his own sessions, and was no slouch at it either. This 2CD set is a nice collection of some his best tracks, with rhythms cut by many of the greatest in reggae. Total of 41 tracks, including "Cool Breeze", "Foreman vs. Frazier", "Chucky No Lucky", "Screaming Target", "Concrete Jungle", "Reggae Phenomenon", "Natty Cultural Dread", "Dread High Ranking", "Wolf In Sheep's Clothing" & "Every N*gger Is A Star". CD

Titles include "Two Headed Man", "One More Shot", "Trading Post", "In The Dark", and "Eyeballin". CD

Tremendous early work from George Jones – the full White Lightning album for Mercury Records, stacked here with a huge amount of bonus tracks too! George is wonderful throughout – already a standout in the shifting country scene of the 50s – with one ear that understands the sharper edges of the rock generation, but another that brings out all the sentiment in the tunes he touches – material that's delivered with this magical approach that few other singers could touch. If you only know George as a blue-tinged singer of ballads from his later years, you'll really be stunned here – as lots of the tracks have a sound that's quite different, and a lot more vibrant. Titles include "White Lighning", "Give Away Girl", "Wandering Soul", "Life To Go", "Flame In My Heart", "What Am I Worth", "I Take The Chance", "Settle Down", "I'm A One Woman Man", "Revenooer Man", "Sparkling Brown Eyes", and "Color Of The Blues". CD

One of the greatest heavy metal albums of all time – a pioneering blast of mid 80s thrash from Metallica at an early peak! Say what you will about Metallica's later career triumphs and failures, there's no overstating how huge their impact was on metal and hard rock early on, and their best few records are incredible to this day. This may well be they're very best album – the culmination of a couple years of slow-building word-of-mouth reputation-building for genre work that can't be praised highly enough. One metal classic after another: "Fight Fire With Fire", "Ride The Lightning", "For Whom The Bell Tolls", "Fade To Black", "Trapped Under Ice", "Escape", "Creeping Death" and "The Call Of Ktulu". CD

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A range of older jazz, swing, and novelty tunes from the 20s and 30s – mostly obscure British numbers, of the sort that either inspired, or were covered by the Bonzo Dog Band in later years! The "Pre-History" title is an apt one – as the set shows the older sounds referenced by the Bonzos in their late 60s rise to fame – a musical moment that seemed quite fresh at the time, but which, as you'll hear in this set, also had some pretty hip roots! The package does a great job of digging through a wealth of older 78s – and features 27 tracks in all, complete with tune-by-tune notes in the booklet. Titles include "On Her Doorstep Last Night" by Percival Mackey & His Band, "Ali Baba's Camel" by The Rhythmic Troubadours, I'm Gonna Bring A Watermelon To My Girl Tonight" by The Savoy Havana Band, "Jollity Farm" by Leslie Sarony, "Little Sir Echo" by Bebe Daniels, "Laughing Waltz" by Jack Hylton, "Hunting Tigers Out In India" by Hal Swain & His Band, and "My Brother Makes The Noises For The Talkies" by Albert Whelan. CD

Titles include "Aching, Breaking Heart", "Just One More", "Why, Baby, Why", "Love Bug", "White Lightning", "She Still Thinks I Care", and more – 18 tracks total. CD

Really unique material from Sun Ra – a pair of recordings that were initially circulated much more strongly than some of his Saturn Records material, thanks to the power of the BYG/Actuel label in the early 70s – but tracks that actually come from a variety of different sessions that Ra himself did with the Arkestra in the late 60s! Tracks are shortish, but very inventive – a well-chosen snapshot of all the new ideas that the group were cooking up during the end of the 60s in New York, with an increased mission to explore the outer reaches of space, and use more electronics than ever before! Ra plays some killer keyboards – moog, spacemaster, and acoustic piano – often with these really eerie tones – and other players include Kwame Hadi on trumpet, Akh Tal Ebah on space dimension mellophone, Ali Hassan on trombone, Marshal Allen and Danny Davis on alto and flute, John Gilmore on tenor, and Pat Patrick on baritone – and the whole group vocalizes at points, joined by other singers who include June Tyson and Art Jenkins. There's also some great use of "strange strings" on the sessions, not to mention a bit of reverb – and tracks titles include "Spectrum", "The Satellites Are Spinning", "Seen III Took 4", "Adventures Of Bugs Hunter", "Legend", "The Realm Of Lightning", "The Utter Nots", "Outer Spaceways Inc", "Scene 1 Take 1", "Strange Worlds", "Ancient Ethiopia", "Pyramids", and "Interpretation". CD

Really unique material from Sun Ra – a pair of recordings that were initially circulated much more strongly than some of his Saturn Records material, thanks to the power of the BYG/Actuel label in the early 70s – but tracks that actually come from a variety of different sessions that Ra himself did with the Arkestra in the late 60s! Tracks are shortish, but very inventive – a well-chosen snapshot of all the new ideas that the group were cooking up during the end of the 60s in New York, with an increased mission to explore the outer reaches of space, and use more electronics than ever before! Ra plays some killer keyboards – moog, spacemaster, and acoustic piano – often with these really eerie tones – and other players include Kwame Hadi on trumpet, Akh Tal Ebah on space dimension mellophone, Ali Hassan on trombone, Marshal Allen and Danny Davis on alto and flute, John Gilmore on tenor, and Pat Patrick on baritone – and the whole group vocalizes at points, joined by other singers who include June Tyson and Art Jenkins. There's also some great use of "strange strings" on the sessions, not to mention a bit of reverb – and tracks titles include "Spectrum", "The Satellites Are Spinning", "Seen III Took 4", "Adventures Of Bugs Hunter", "Legend", "The Realm Of Lightning", "The Utter Nots", "Outer Spaceways Inc", "Scene 1 Take 1", "Strange Worlds", "Ancient Ethiopia", "Pyramids", and "Interpretation". CD

Maybe the grooviest collection of work we've ever seen from the lovely Nancy Sinatra – a set that features some of her hits, but also includes a lot more material that's much more obscure – and which shows that Nancy was a hell of a song stylist, far from the charts! The core of the work features Sinatra's fantastic collaborations with Lee Hazlewood – the producer who created a darkness in her sound that moved her far from simple pop – and who sometimes joined her in duets, with a mature, adult quality that was dripping with sensuality! The set also features some post-Hazlewood material, too – still very cool, and very groovy – a sublime blend of Cali 60s elements and slight country touches. Titles include "So Long Babe", "Sugar Town", "Kind Of Woman", "Machine Gun Kelly", "Arkansas Coal", "Down From Dover", "How Are Things In California", "Some Velvet Morning", "Hello LA Bye Bye Birmingham", "Hook & Ladder", "Happy", "You Only Live Twice", "Sand", "Lightning's Girl", "How Does That Grab You", "Paris Summer", "Jackson", "Lady Bird", and, of course, "These Boots Are Made For Walking". CD

The crowning achievement of ELO at their best – a double-length set in which the genius of Jeff Lynne gets extra space to fully flower – and his mighty talents don't let up for a minute! The record's given us some classics over the years – standout tracks like "Mr Blue Sky", "Turn To Stone", and "Sweet Talkin Woman" – but the whole thing works perfectly together – as a sublime sonic treat that has all the Lynne studio genius coming into full focus, moving between different textures of electricity and light, through a set of songs that sound infinitely different than the group just a few years before. Other tracks include "It's Over", "Night In The City", "Starlight", "Jungle", "Believe Me Now", "Steppin Out", "Sweet Is The Night", "Standing In The Rain", "Summer & Lightning", "Wild West Hero", "The Whale", and "Birmingham Blues" – plus three previously unreleased bonus tracks. CD

A legendary live performance – recorded at the Isle Of Wight Festival in 1970, with long takes of "Freedom", "All Along The Watchtower", "In From The Storm", "Foxy Lady", and "Midnight Lightning". CD

Lightning Hopkins gets accompanied by Leonard Gaskin and Herbie Lovelle. 8 tracks in all, including "Wake Up Old Lady", "Don't Embarrass Me, Baby", "Stranger Here", "Little Sister's Boogie", "Goin Away", "You Better Stop Her", "Business You're Doin'" and "I'm Wit It". CD

An incredible record from Sun Ra! The session was recorded in New York in the late 60s – and it features Ra playing the "solar sound instrument", which is actually a modified Hohner Clavinet, used here with some really spooky sounds! The setting of the album is spare and moody – with Ra striking out first on the "solar sound instrument" – laying down a groove that's filled in by John Gilmore on tenor, plus additional percussion by Robert Barry (who plays a bit of the "lightning drum"), Clifford Jarvis, Marshall Allen, and Pat Patrick. Titles include "Mu", "Lemuria", "Atlantis", "Bimini", and "Yucatan". CD features 2 versions of "Yucatan" – one from the original Saturn record, and one from the later Impulse album. CD

Music from Homesick James, John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, Sonny Terry, Otis Spann, Lightning Hopkins, Big Bill Broonzy, James Cotton, Skip James, and more – 21 tracks total. CD

Essential late 80s thrash from one the genres linchpin bands! State Of Euphoria draws the short straw when it comes to critical recognition of the band's 80s output, thanks in no small part to the fact that it's the full length follow up to Among The Living. It's hard to live up to the legacy of the one of the greatest American heavy metal albums of all time, but we're feeling pretty euphoric revisiting this one after all these years! Anthrax always leaned more on trudging riffs than lightning speed or showy guitar solos, arguably making them the most fun of thrash's vaunted "Big 4" and this one holds up better than it's given credit for. Includes their classic cover of Trust's "Antisocial", "Be All, End All", "Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind", "Schism", "Misery Loves Company", "13" and more. CD

The first truly great David Bowie electric guitar album – an all-out, power-driven set of tracks played by a group that included Mick Ronson and Tony Visconti! Bowie's in prime pre-Ziggy mode here – ripping into tunes that blister with dark energy that are some of the first truly dangerous songs he ever recorded – with this strong undercurrent of mania that follows some of the darker whimsy of his earliest records – set to searing sounds that would forever help Bowie cross over to audiences who might previously have thought him an arty wimp. The set includes classics like "Saviour Machine", "The Width Of The Circle", "All The Madmen", "Black Country Rock", "The Supermen", and the title track, "The Man Who Sold The World". Great Ryko pressing – with bonus tracks "Moonage Daydream", "Hang Onto Yourself", "Holy Holy", and "Lightning Frightening". CD

Larry Carlton looks a little cheesy on the cover of this one, but the album's a classic set of mainstream fusion from the start of the 80s – exactly the kind of record that made Carlton one of the standouts of the time! Larry actually sings a bit on the set, but the main focus is on his guitar work – often as sharp-edged as the lightning lines on the cover image – but with a warmer, soulful undercurrent too – one that bubbles along nicely, thanks to keyboards from Greg Mathieson and Don Freeman, and cool percussion from the great Paulinho Da Costa. The best tunes here have that warmly melodic feel you'd find in some of Pat Metheny's work, although with a bit more soul overall – and titles include "Springville", "Strikes Twice", "Ain't Nothin For A Heartache", "For Love Alone", "Mulberry Street", and "In My Blood". CD

A legendary set of live performances from Jimi Hendrix – both sets recorded in Maui in July of 1970, presented here officially for the first time ever – along with a bonus documentary on the performances too! The set is kind of the true counterpart to the botched Rainbow Bridge project – and features Jimi with Billy Cox on bass and Mitch Mitchell on drums – really stepping out on some extended tracks that are filled with searing solos, and that undeniable charisma of Hendrix on stage – still wonderful, even near the end. Titles include "Hear My Train A Comin", "Fire", "Dolly Dagger", "Ezy Rider", "Message To Love", "Lover Man", "Spanish Castle Magic", "Purple Haze", "Red House", "Hey Baby/Midnight Lightning", "Straight Ahead", "Stone Free", "Jam Back At The House", and "Freedom". Also features a great DVD – with the documentary Music Money Madness – about the group's trip to Maui and the ill-fated Rainbow Bridge project – plus all of the existing 16mm footage of the two performances that day! Comes with a 32 page booklet, too – lots of never-published photos. CD

A set that's one of the more obscure Lightning Hopkins albums of the 60s – as it was issued on the short-lived label Candid, an imprint that was mostly known for modern jazz! Yet the approach here is wonderfully faithful to the music that Hopkins does best – a well-recorded solo date that's handled in ways that are similar to some of the Prestige Records blues albums of the time – maybe in part because as things went mainstream and more commercial, it was up to some of the jazz labels to preserve a more stripped-down sound! Hopkins sings and plays guitar – and even handles a bit of piano too – on titles that include "Take It Easy", "Mighty Crazy", "Trouble Blues", "Wonder Why", "Mister Charlie", and "I've Had My Fun If I Don't Get Well No More". CD

One of the rarest Sun Ra albums ever – and one of the most enigmatic, too! Strange Strings is a very unique session recorded with an otherworldly sound – heavily steeped in the use of "electronic strings", amplified string instruments recorded with crazy echo and other effects, almost sounding like analogue electronics at times. The set also uses a variety of percussion instruments – including "log drum" and "lightning drum" – and Ra plays a bit of electronic piano on it as well as a variety of interesting percussion instruments. And if that's not enough, the whole album ends with the spooky sound of Thlan Aldridge on "space voice"! Incredibly cosmic, and quite out at most moments – with tracks that include "Strange Strange", "Worlds Approaching", and "Strings Strange". CD also features the bonus track "Door Squeak"! CD

A collision of generations – as giants of the world of 70s and 80s AOR come together to pay tribute to the soulful styles of the years before! At the time, the album was the sort that really made us cringe – since we were such soul purists back in the 90s – but over the years, we've really come to accept the whole thing both as a well-meaning effort, and more importantly, as a lost chapter of the Donald Fagan/Steely Dan genius – as Fagan produced the set, and really brings a lot of his older music into play! Other artists include Boz Scaggs, Phoebe Snow, and Michael McDonald – but the set also features work from older bluesman Charles Brown – and titles include remakes of "Madison Time", "Knock On Wood", "Shakey Ground", "Lonely Teardrops", "Downing In The Sea Of Love", "Groovin", and "People Got To Be Free" – plus nice takes on "Chain Lightning", "Pretzel Logic", and "Green Flower Street". CD