Beat Happening's brilliant second album – raw, beautiful and timeless indie pop at its late 80s best! It's stunning how many underground rock bands still try their damnedest to sound like Beat Happening – but Calvin, Heather and Bret make it sound easy! It's certainly more full sounding than their debut, but it's still got a perfect less is more. Raw drums, barely chiming guitars and plaintive voices elevate naive little gems to the the avant pop heavens. Includes "Indian Summer", "Bewitched", "Hangman", "Crashing Through", "Cat Walk", "Midnight A Go-Go", and "The This Many Boyfriends Club". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the crowning early moments from the young Grateful Dead – a key Warner studio album that really has the group moving from psychedelic to more roots-oriented modes – maybe a Marin vibe versus a Haight sort of happening – with loads of great guitar and pedal from Jerry Garcia, plus lots more from the rest of the crew too. Robert Hunter wrote the tunes, Mickey Hart added in lots of percussion next to the drums - and titles include the very groovy "Truckin", plus "Box Of Rain", "Candyman", "Operator", "Sugar Magnolia", "Friend Of The Devil", "Ripple", "Brokedown Palace", "Attics Of My Life", and "Till The Morning Comes". LP, Vinyl record album

1960 nightclub recordings from Lenny Bruce – done at a time when he was really opening up stylistically, and taking on a host of themes that really tell a tale of the times! The work here is plenty edgey – lots of sharp turns, offbeat ideas, and that sharp wit that makes Bruce one of the greatest sets of eyes to view the 60s from the perspective of the 21st Century. Titles include "Don's Big Dago", "Marriage, Divorce, & Motels", "Father Flotsky's Triumph", "Lima Ohio", and "How To Relax Your Colored Friends At Parties". LP, Vinyl record album

A real standout from Aretha Franklin's years on Arista – a set produced by Luther Vandross, with a soaring groove that really opens Aretha up nicely! Luther's more in the mode here of his 70s club productions than his 80s hits – that warm, midtempo vibe that's full of lush moments, but never in ways that are cloyingly commercial. Franklin's vocals light up the tunes in the way that Luther's own might do – really soaring out beautifully in this setting. Titles include "I Got Your Love", "Giving In", "Get It Right", "Pretender", "Every Girl", "I Wish It Would Rain", and "Better Friends Than Lovers". LP, Vinyl record album

A great revival of sorts for The Staple Singers – and a record that has them hitting a whole new groove to really open up their sound! Gone are the cliches of earlier albums, and in their place is a tightly-crafted approach to 80s soul – one that's clearly aimed at the dancefloor, and which takes the group into a whole new world of opportunities! This sound is probably best heard on the group's sublime cover of the Talking Heads' "Slippery People" – represented here as a skittish soul groover, and even featuring guest guitar from David Byrne! The best other tracks keep up this clubby groove – and titles include "This Is Our Night", "Bridges Instead Of Walls", "Right Decision", "HATE", "On My Own Again", and "That's What Friends Are For". LP, Vinyl record album