A really great collection of work from the ultra-rare Links label – a short-lived imprint from the ska/rocksteady years of the scene in Kingston – and one that only issued a handful of records, all of which were pretty darn great! The label was founded by BB Seton of The Gaylads, and all the cuts here have a similarly soulful vibe as work from that great group – the growing emphasis on strong lead vocals over instrumentation on the Jamaican scene – sometimes with harmonies that were almost strong enough to blow away American soul groups of the time! Titles include "Looking For A Girl" and "Let's Fall In Love" by The Gaylads, "Can't You See" and "I Remember Someone" by Ken Boothe, "Give Love A Try" by Delroy Wilson, "Hog In A Minty" by Prince Glen, "Sweet Melody" by Big Joe, "It Comes & Goes" by The Melodians, "Small World" by Randall Thaxter, and "Something New" by Conscious Minds. LP, Vinyl record album

Not what you might expect when shopping for African music – unique electronic sounds from Cameroon musician Francis Bebey – as heavy on keyboards as other 70s work is on guitar! There's still plenty of acoustic elements in the mix though, too – lots of earthy percussion at the bottom, which links some of these tracks to other styles of the time – even though some of the more unusual tunes here have these great electronic sounds that almost feel like they came from the late 70s German underground! The mix of modes is breathtaking – as if Moebius and Roedelius recorded with musicians from Lagos – shaking off the colder sounds of the Conny Plank side of the spectrum, to come up with a warm new style that's really unique! Titles include "La Condition Masculine", "Sahle", "The Coffee Cola Song", "Super Jingle", "Pygmy Love Song", "Agatha", "Catching Up", and "Divorce Pygmee". LP, Vinyl record album

Maybe the most ambitious album ever recorded by Blu – a cool collaboration with Nottz that takes the duo's work into even more righteous territory than before – as you might guess from the album's cover and title! The title's reference to the homeland is very well-pointed – as the songs have a thematic unity that links past greatness with contemporary struggles, all delivered with a sense of focus and cohesion that almost makes the whole record feel like a lost nugget from the glory days of the early 90s scene! Guests include G Kidd, Scienze, Ayun Bassa, Black Shakespeare, and many others – on titles that include "Mama", "Marcus Garvey", "Mungu", "Jina Langu", "Kuwakaribisha", "Baba", and "Matunda Marufuku". LP, Vinyl record album

Possibly the greatest album ever from Angel Canales – a 70s salsa classic through and through, and one with great links between the New York scene and Canales' Puerto Rican roots! The tunes are wonderfully heartfelt throughout – sung with a youthful sense of soul that's far different than some of the more emotive modes of previous generations of Latin singers – in a way that really scored big with the younger generation at the time, and which makes Canales one of the key forces helping to change the sound of the music in the 70s. Instrumentation is nice and tight – acoustic small combo work with two trombones, trumpet, baritone sax, flute, piano, bass, and percussion – under musical direction by Juan Torres. Titles include "Lejos De Ti", "Perico Macona", "La Hiedra", "Sol De Mi Vida", "Sabor Los Rumberos Nuevos", and "El Cantante Y La Orquesta". LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful return to acoustic jazz for Wendell Harrison – after a string of more electrified albums in the 80s! Wendell's working here on tenor sax and clarinet – the latter of which he plays in these spiraling long lines that use the instrument in a searching, soprano sax-like manner – getting a sound that's really fantastic, and a depth of soul that really links the record back to the tradition of Wendell's work of the 70s. The group is great too – with players that include Kirk Lightsey and Pamela Wise on piano, Cecil McBee and Jaribu Shahid on bass, Doug Hammond on drums, and Robert Pipho on vibes – all working with Harrison on some creatively inventive tunes that sparkle with soulful energy! Titles include "Changing The Scene", "Merciful", "Fly By Night", "In Your Own Sweet Way", "Spank", and "Tons & Tons Of BS". LP, Vinyl record album

Never-issued late work from the mighty Sun Ra – a single that features an extended solo piano piece on "Hello Mr Schimmel" – a track that's a really great reminder of how much we love Ra in this format! For anyone who's ever thought of Ra as a trickster, or as an avant musician with no understanding of jazz – we present this wonderful track – a fantastic bit of piano work that links the musician back to the generations of Art Tatum and Erroll Garner, while also demonstrating the kind of personal ideas that always made his own recordings so great. The performance was done for the UK's Jazz FM radio in 1990 – and the flipside features a 12 minute interview with the show's host, Jez Nelson. 7-inch, Vinyl record

Never-issued work from the Sun Ra Arkestra – and two tracks that really show just how much the initial wave of their sound tied together with other strands of postwar music! Both cuts here feature vocals from singer Ricky Murray – and as you can tell from the titles, there's a slightly exotic feel to the tunes – almost a space take on Eden Ahbez territory, handled by Murray in a rich baritone, while the Arkestra provides backing with some nicely rhythmic touches! The sound is straighter than some of the group's more avant material, but in a way that also really links them towards the more out-there side of mainstream music – that blend of exotic modes and wistful longing that Ra first explored in Chicago as the house band at the Club DeLisa! 7-inch, Vinyl record

You gotta love a hip hop album that begins with an Alice Coltrane sample – and The Specifics follow suit with plenty more other jazzy bits too – almost evoking an old Tribe Called Quest generation with they way they use key samples, but also doing so at a level that's very understated too – light years from some of the earliest "jazz meets hip hop" experiments that now sound a bit embarrassing! This is definitely a hip hop album first, but one that has a great ear for jazz – used at a level that both links the old school and more contemporary efforts that sometimes tend to bury the lead, a mistake these guys avoid in a great way. Titles include "Lampin", "Look Alive", "L City", "My Tunes", "Life's Work", "Let's Get", and "You". LP, Vinyl record album

Funky jazz for the hip hop generation – a set that features warm instrumental solos over some well-crafted beats – all with a vibe that effortlessly links the 70s with the 21st Century! Pat Van Dyke plays a host of instruments – including vibes and Fender Rhodes – in a lineup that also features tenor and flute from Zac Colwell, and some guest tenor from Dayna Stephens too – both players who help enforce the jazz side of the spectrum here, amidst the spacious funky beats from the leader. Titles include "Slow Shimmer", "Vibrate Higher", "Falls To Pieces", "Rising Tide", "Say It Again", and "A Faded Dream". LP, Vinyl record album

Gary, Indiana is maybe best known as the hometown of the Jackson 5 – but the city also had plenty of other soul singers back in the day – as you'll discover on this really well-done collection of tracks! The set's titled after the Chicago Skyway, a huge industrial structure that links the south side of the Windy City with Gary – and that link is a key one, as many of the artists here have a resonance with Chicago soul too – working with qualities that are often a bit more sophisticated than usual, and not as directly aimed at the charts or the dancefloor – a really special breed of soul music that makes for a wonderfully rich collection! As usual with Numero, the package is as great as the track list – and titles include "Trouble" by General Lee & Lost Weekend, "Sweet Jo-Ann" by El Anthony, "Main Squeeze" by Nate Evans, "So I Can Make This Change" by The Krash Band, "Bridge Of Love" by Lost Weekend, "Give Your Love To Me" by Wilton Crump, "Don't Be Afraid" by Sky's The Limit, "Let's Ride" by Junei, "You Just Be You" by Into New Dimensions, "I Need Your Love" by Billy Foster, "Pleasure" by General Lee, "Night Music" by Billy Foster, "The Look On Your Face" by Nate Evans & Mean Green, and "We've Been In Love Too Long" by El Anthony. LP, Vinyl record album

Gary, Indiana is maybe best known as the hometown of the Jackson 5 – but the city also had plenty of other soul singers back in the day – as you'll discover on this really well-done collection of tracks! The set's titled after the Chicago Skyway, a huge industrial structure that links the south side of the Windy City with Gary – and that link is a key one, as many of the artists here have a resonance with Chicago soul too – working with qualities that are often a bit more sophisticated than usual, and not as directly aimed at the charts or the dancefloor – a really special breed of soul music that makes for a wonderfully rich collection! As usual with Numero, the package is as great as the track list – and titles include "Trouble" by General Lee & Lost Weekend, "Sweet Jo-Ann" by El Anthony, "Main Squeeze" by Nate Evans, "So I Can Make This Change" by The Krash Band, "Bridge Of Love" by Lost Weekend, "Give Your Love To Me" by Wilton Crump, "Don't Be Afraid" by Sky's The Limit, "Let's Ride" by Junei, "You Just Be You" by Into New Dimensions, "I Need Your Love" by Billy Foster, "Pleasure" by General Lee, "Night Music" by Billy Foster, "The Look On Your Face" by Nate Evans & Mean Green, and "We've Been In Love Too Long" by El Anthony. LP, Vinyl record album

A tremendous score from Ennio Morricone – one that has a number of links to earlier Italian soundtrack modes, but which still has some undeniable touches of the maestro! There's passages here that evoke the warmer, sometimes more romantic styles used in Italian films in the earlier part of the 60s – but these are offset by mellower passages with a really subdued sense of darkness – which are then again mixed with a few tunes that get bolder and more mod-sounding – a really complicated array of themes that may lack the subtlety of other Morricone work, but which more than makes up for that lack with a really dynamic energy! LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful album of spacey jazz funk! Eddie Russ was a 70s keyboard genius – right up there with Lonnie Liston Smith and Herbie Hancock in our book, although he never reached the fame of either of those players. This album's one of Eddie's best – and it's got a smoothly produced soul jazz sound that's almost a takeoff on the style of Smith's excellent records for Flying Dutchman – but a bit cooler overall, and with a great feel that links back to Russ' years in the Detroit scene. Tracks are uptempo and jazzy, with a strongly soulful vibe that features lots of electric keyboard work over the top of fast dancing rhythms. A few cuts have sweet female soul backup vocals, and additional instrumentation includes trumpet, sax, and guitar. Tracks include "Zaius", "Salem Avenue", "Poko Nose", and "See The Light". LP, Vinyl record album

Really cool material from the sessions for one of our favorite Joni Mitchell albums ever – a set that marked a new embrace of jazz in her music, and created some very groovy tunes! The music here is different than the final cuts that appeared on Court & Spark – more stripped-down and personal, in a way that links this new material back to the sparer sound of Joni at the end of the 60s. The format's a great one, and makes us love the songs even more – and the package features a very cool "Piano Suite", with snippets of other songs – plus demo takes on "People's Parties", "Help Me", "Trouble Child", "Raised On Robbery", and "Just Like This Train". LP, Vinyl record album

A brilliant testament to the songwriting genius of Scott Walker – and an incredibly haunting batch of original tunes, filled with images of lonely madness and unactualized emotion, all sung by one of the greatest voices of the century! The album's not a record to be taken lightly – as the Scott Walker approach to music is really over the top here – almost mini-movies in sound, pasted from scenes both epic and private – all held together by an impeccable set of arrangements! The style beautifully links Walker's older pop persona with the growing sophistication in European pop – especially from the French – and with a record like this, Scott easily matches the genius of Brel, Brassens, and Gainsbourg. All titles are originals – and titles include "Rhymes Of Goodbye", "The Old Man's Back Again", "Hero Of The War", "Boy Child", "Seventh Seal", and "On Your Own Again". LP, Vinyl record album

A pretty fierce and fantastic album from Golden Earring – one that's very different than you might think if you only know the group from their later hits on radio! The sound here is completely full-on – heavy drums, rumbling bass, and stunning guitar work from George Kooymans – touched with some jazzier elements at times on flute and organ, which links the record a bit to that moment when the UK scene had turned blues inspirations to prog explorations – yet served up by Golden Earring with a much more hard rock approach throughout! Titles include a side-long workout on "Eight Miles High", which takes up all of side two – plus "One Huge Road", "Everyday's Torture", "Landing", and "Song Of A Devil's Servant". LP, Vinyl record album

The amazing full length debut of Hypnotic Brass Ensemble – a cool combo from the Chicago scene who've been making some big waves around the world over the past few years! The brass-heavy group have a family legacy that links them to the Artistic Heritage Ensemble of Phil Cohran – and an approach to their music that mixes spiritual jazz, deep funk, and elements of New Orleans music too – a really unique style that has earned the group's rare singles some tremendous praise – and which is finally ready to step out fully in this wonderful album! The horns are even harder and heavier than before – honed through some touring around the globe, and brought into focus here beautifully – bristling with energy from the very first note. The set features guest appearances from Malcolm Catto, Tony Allen, Flea, and Damon Albarn – but the real strength of the record lies in the group's amazing horns and rhythms – on titles that include "War", "Gibbous", "Alyo", "Ballicki Bone", "Jupiter", "Marcus Garvey", "Party Started", "Sankofa", "Satin Sheets", "Hypnotic", and 2 versions of "Rabbit Hop". LP, Vinyl record album

The jazzy genius of Tatsuo Sunaga gets turned in a cool direction here – as the set's an imagined soundtrack for the voyage of Crouka – the dog who disappeared from the launch of the Soviet rocket Soyuz2! That story hardly needs to be part of the description, though – as the record is overflowing with music that more than stands on its own – that wonderfully jazzy take on Japanese club that Sunaga served up so well during his glory days – live instrumentation mixed with clubby rhythms – in a lineup that includes vocals from Vince Andrews, Aaron Blackmon, Kirsty Hawkshaw, and even the great jazz singer Sheila Landis – who does a fantastic job on one number! There's light strings at a few points, fleshing out the sound wonderfully – and the set also features a few cool spoken bits and links – on titles that include "It's You", "Kid", "Welcome", "C'Est Vous Sur Le Pont", "Theme From Sunaga T Experience", and "Istonichoff". LP, Vinyl record album

A stunning presentation of the legendary Wattstax concert – that huge moment of pride and power when the folks at Stax Records filled up the Los Angeles Coliseum with one of the most memorable shows of the 70s! The meeting of talents here is the stuff of legend – and this great package brings together the complete show in running order – really building up excitement as the concert progresses – with different acts each bringing their own sort of fire to the stage, culminating in a fantastic long finale by Isaac Hayes! The presentation is different than the two double albums that Stax issued back in the 70s – and this expanded package features a number of unreleased tracks in place of material the label later added – such as work from Richard Pryor and The Emotions. There's a whole instrumental section at the start, and more spoken links between some parts – and new material includes unissued work from Kim Weston, Freddie Robinson, Ernie Hines, Eric Mercury, Tommy Tate, Billy Eckstine, and Isaac Hayes – in addition to famous performances by The Soul Children, Jesse Jackson, Rufus Thomas, Albert King, Carla Thomas, William Bell, The Bar Kays, David Porter, The Temprees, Eddie Floyd, and David Porter – plus plenty more from Isaac Hayes too! Great package – with a full color book with new notes and essays, and plenty more too. LP, Vinyl record album

A very groovy set of jazz vocals – recorded in the mid 60s by Lisa Marne, who was once a TV variety show personality – but never issued at the time! The "combo" on the title really gives a great indication of the feel of the record – small group backing with a very jazzy vibe, in a lineup that includes a nice tenor that slinks alongside Lisa's vocals – as she moves through a very groovy set of tunes that have a hiply swinging vibe – very much in the territory of mid 60s work by Peggy Lee or Marion Montgomery! Titles include her great reading of the vocal version of the "Bewitched" theme song – plus "Like Young", "Wives & Lovers", "Hey Pussycat", "Night Train", "Moment Of Truth", and "Boy From Ipanema". LP, Vinyl record album