A huge package of material from The Sorrows – one full album, a wealth of rare singles, and even some solo material by group member Don Fardon too! The set begins with the album Take A Heart – a searing set from the mid 60s wave of the British scene – delivered with this mix of tunefulness and raw guitars that's totally great, echoed most strongly in the vocals, which really have an edge, even when delivering familiar themes on the lyrics – moodier than most, and in a really great way! The set then moves into a massive 28 more tracks that make up the a-sides and b-sides of the group's singles for Pye Records at the time – titles that include "Baby", "Gonna Find A Cave", "We Should Get Along Fine", "Pink Purple Yellow & Red", "My Gal", "Don't Sing No Sad Songs For Me", "Hooky", "Vivi", "Armchair King", and "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes". The set then concludes with 10 more solo tracks from Don Fardon – some of the hardest to find material in the collection, and some of the most interesting too. Titles include "Lament Of The Cherokee Reservation Indian", "Daytripper", "Coming On Strong", "Ruby's Picture On My Wall", "We Can Make It Together", "Dreamin Room", and "I Need Somebody". 50 tracks in all! CD

Most folks know The Foundations for one big crossover hit that still gets a lot of oldies radio play – but the group have a heck of a lot more to offer than that, as you'll hear in this wonderful collection that not only features all their 7" single releases from the UK, but also includes later solo material from the group's lead singer, Clem Curtis! The group were initially a bunch of British lads inspired by the sound of Motown, and they hooked up with Curtis, a singer from Trinidad – who really gave them the sound they wanted in the lead, and helped further the important identity of the group as a mixed-race act. Their sound is wonderfully tight – kind of a small group take on the larger studio majesty of Detroit soul – but with some nice British touches too, and a great sense of songwriting that gave the group plenty of original material along the way – a good deal of which you'll hear on this set. The 2CD package features 39 single tracks by The Foundations – including "Back On My Feet Again", "Come On Back To Me", "I Can Take Or Leave Your Loving", "Am I Grooving You", "New Direction", "Jerking The Dog", "Baby Now That I've Found You", "In The Bad Bad Old Days", "Born To Live Born To Die", "Solomon Grundy", "Till Night Brought Day", "Waiting On The Shores Of Nowhere", and "Build Me Up Buttercup". Also includes mid 70s solo work by Clem Curtis – five more tracks that include "Point Of No Return", "Time Alone Will Tell", "Mountain Over The Hill", and "I've Never Found A Girl". CD

That's a sweet Roger Dean cover image on the front, and a definite indication that you're in for something special – a killer set as a leader from bassist Billy Cox, done after famous work in the company of Jimi Hendrix! There's a sonic influence here that definitely shows Jimi's influence – lots of fuzz and freak – but the songs are tighter, and there's a tuneful focus that's really great – vocals bubbling up from the headier brew of Billy's bass, the drums of Robert Tarrant, and guitar of Char Vinnerdge – who's got a great way of mixing of fuzz and wah wah action! Titles include "Touch Me", "Portrait", "Powerhouse", "You Got A Hold On Me", "Let Me Do What I Want To Do", and "Not My Time". CD

Not a group from the Cali scene of the 60s, as their name might make you expect – but instead a very cool UK group, and one who've picked up some of the best sunshine pop inspirations of the period, then mixed them with trippier touches as well! The set begins early, at a time when the group were maybe more slavish to American inspirations – but then really stretches out near the end of the 60s and start of the 70s, when West Coast Consortium were also taking more chances with their music, and really experimenting with the way that production played with their vocals! And while they had a big single back in the day, West Coast Consortium never issued that much material – certainly not here in the US – which makes this huge 3CD set a real discovery, especially as it also include later recordings for the Trend label, material done as The Consortium, and even some unissued albums! There's a massive 76 tracks on the set, along with very detailed notes – and titles include "Philadelphia", "Money Matters", "Rings & Things", "Mr Umbrella Man", "Whatever Became Of Emily Jane", "Live & Let Live", "This Poor Man", "Scarlet Rider", "One Six Two", "Willow Wood", "The Elastic Band", "Beggar Man", "Cynthia Serenity", "I Don't Want Her Any More", and "When The Day Breaks". CD

Four classic albums from this hip British soul group – issued here in a single set, with bonus tracks too! First up is New Religion – a record that was also released in America by Atlantic Records. Although they were a UK soul act, Jimmy James and The Vagabonds were a perfect match for the Atlantic soul stable of the 60s. The group had a smooth group style that was partly uptown, partly northern soul – as clearly illustrated in this album, which is divided up into a "mood red: you feel like leaping" side, and a "mood blue: you feel like digging deeper" side. The band chose some good material that really helps them maintain a solid socking soul sound – including "The Entertainer" and "Ain't Love Good, Ain't Love Proud" by Tony Clarke, "Ain't No Big Thing" and "I'm Just A Fool For You Girl" by Gerald Sims, and "Little Boy Blue" and "People Get Ready" by Curtis Mayfield. Also features "Come To Me Softly", a sweet dreamy ballad by Jimmy, and kind of a bit crossover hit for the boys. London Swings is two-sided monster – as the album was originally split with work from the Alan Bown Set too! Here, the CD features just the live material from the soul group – a smoking performance from Jimmy James & The Vagabonds – one that goes way past the sweetness of their hits, and which has a crowd-pleasing, party-hearty approach to soul that's really great! Jimmy and the group serve up versions of "Sock It To Em JB", "That Driving Beat", "Ain't Too Proud To Beg", "You Don't Know Like I Know", and "Don't Know What I'm Gonna Do". This Is Jimmy James & The Vagabonds is a record that featured some crossover tracks with New Religion – but the set here just features the exclusive cuts – including "I Feel Alright", "I Can't Get Back Home To My Baby", "Never Like This Before", "I Don't Wanna Cry", and "You Showed Me The Way". Open Up Your Soul is a record with a really wonderful sound – the deeply soulful vocals of Jimmy James & The Vagabonds, mixed with rich arrangements handled by Nicky Welsh, and produced to perfection by Brit maestro John Schroeder! The record's got the sophistication of some of the Richard Evans productions over at Chess/Cadet at the same time – and, no surprise, the group lead off with a great cover of The Dells "Wear It On Our Face" – then roll into cuts that include "Cry Like A Baby", "Good Day Sunshine", "Four Walls", "Everybody Loves A Winner", "If You're Gonna Love Me", and "Open Up Your Soul". CD also features 7 more bonus tracks from singles – including "Why", "Bumper To Bumper", "Close The Door", "Give Us A Light", "I Wanna Be your Everything", "Hungry For Love", and "Don't Know What I'm Gonna Do". CD

An album that maybe marked the close of one chapter of The Kinks, and the start of another – music that still holds on to some of the best elements of their late 60s Village Green era, but which also moves the group into some of the headier territory of their Muswell Hill/RCA years too! Ray Davies has never sounded more earnest – still able to pull off wit when needed, but also more down to earth – and because of the massive title hit, the set was also one that put the group in front of the ears or more folks than had been hearing them in previous years. Titles include, of course, the mega-hit "Lola" – plus "This Time Tomorrow", "Apeman", "Strangers", "The Contenders", "Long Way From Home", "Rats", and "Top Of The Pops". CD

A full helping of work from Claudine Clark – a killer 60s soul singer, and one with a really great ear for upbeat, romping tunes! Claudine originally hails from Georgia, but the work here is much more in Detroit, Chicago, or New York styles of the time – nicely moving numbers with a Motor City blend of tight instrumentation and bold lead vocals – sometimes a bit sweet, but always with enough power to keep up with the grooves in the tunes! The package does a great job of bringing together work from Claudine's varied recording career in the 60s – material done for labels that include Chancellor, Jamie, Fayette, Swan, Herald, and Match – under Clark's name, and the names of Joy Dawn and Sherry Pye as well. CD features full notes on Claudine's music and recording history at the time – plus 24 tracks that include "Party Lights (alt take)", "Gimme A Break", "A Sometimes Thing", "Easy To Love", "The Strength To Be Strong", "The Telephone Game", "Goodbye Mama", "Hang It Up", "Standing On Tip Toe", "Moon Madness", "My Turn To Laugh", "Who Will You Hurt", "Angel Of Happiness", "What Kind Of Party", and "Teenage Blues". CD

A stunner of a set from Caravan – and a record that we'd stand right next to some of the bigger albums of the early 70s prog generation in the UK! The instrumentation is fantastic –schooled in an earlier mod era, but turned towards more ambitious ends – yet still with a sense of groove that comes through in the basslines and drums, and which keeps things from ever sounding too indulgent – all while the band seeks to top Yes or King Crimson at their own game! The keyboards are especially great – fantastic work from David Sinclair – but the whole group is wonderful – with Richard Coughlan on drums, Richard Sinclair on bass, Jimmy Hastings on sax and flute, and Pye Hastings on some amazing guitar. Titles include "As I Feel I Die", "If I Could Do It All Over Again I'd Do It All Over You", "Hello Hello", "Limits", "Asforteri", and "With An Ear To The Ground You Can Make It/Martinian/Only Cox/Reprise". CD features the unreleased bonus tracks "Why (demo)", "As I Feel I Die (demo)", and "Clipping the 8th (demo)" – plus "A Day In The Life Of Maurice Haylett". CD

An amazing package – and a dream come true for all of us at Dusty Groove – as the set features a ton of never-issued material from one of our favorite albums ever, by one of our favorite trumpet players of all time! Lee Morgan was really on a run when he stepped into the Lighthouse club in July of 1970 – soaring with a new sense of spirit that was captured on his final records before his too-early death – set loose here in a live setting that has Morgan and the group bristling with a new sort imagination on all sorts of extended performances! The Lighthouse was the home of cool jazz performances back in the 50s – but here, the locale is completely transformed – thanks to work from Lee on trumpet, Harold Mabern on piano, Jymie Merritt on electric bass, Mickey Roker on drums, and the great Bennie Maupin on tenor, flute, and bass clarinet – all rolling out with energy that's a lot more Strata East than Blue Note! The original 2LP set was expanded to a 3CD version in the 90s – but this massive collection brings together all the tremendous work from the performances – all of it completely essential, thanks to the sense of variety and inventiveness on the long solos that make up the tracks. Titles include versions of "Speedball", "Yunjana", "I Remember Britt", "Absolutions", "Something Like This", "The Beehive", "Neophilia", "Pyeote", "Aon", "416 East 10th Street", "Nommo", and the coolest version of "Sidewinder" you'll ever hope to hear. Newly remastered – with over four hours of never-heard music! CD