The electric lady is back again – getting great help on this set from Prince, Erykah Badu, Miguel, and Esperanza Spaulding! The set features further chapters in Janelle's Metropolis story – but apart from that overarching structure, and cool notes that situate the singer as some future cultural criminal, the overall vibe is tight funky soul – at a level that not only lives up to all of Monae's sparkling promise from before, but which also finds a great way to bring out the best elements of all the guests! There's plenty of funky numbers here that stand wonderfully well on their own, but the whole thing works even better as a unified set – with titles that include "Primetime", "Givin Em What They Love", "Queen", "Electric Lady", "Look Into My Eyes", "It's Code", "Ghetto Woman", "Victory", "Dorothy Dandrige Eyes", and "What An Experience". LP, Vinyl record album

Quite possibly THE mother of all funky soundtracks – the legendary score to Rudy Ray Moore's classic first Dolemite film! The record's been referenced for years, and all the hype is totally right – because the whole thing's overflowing with funky tracks both vocal and instrumental – cut with a sound that's as gritty and badass as the movie itself! The Soul Rebellion Orchestra provided the wicked instrumental grooves for the set – and vocalists include Mary Love and Ben Taylor – and the pacing of the whole record almost makes it come across like a mini-movie in sound! You'll find enough samples on here to cut a lifetime's worth of hip hop LPs, and the funky tracks will have you coming back to the record again and again! Tracks include "The Queen", "The Rumble", "Mayor Get Away", "The Jive Jungle", "Creeper", and "Ghetto Expressions". CD

Quite possibly THE mother of all funky soundtracks – the legendary score to Rudy Ray Moore's classic first Dolemite film! The record's been referenced for years, and all the hype is totally right – because the whole thing's overflowing with funky tracks both vocal and instrumental – cut with a sound that's as gritty and badass as the movie itself! The Soul Rebellion Orchestra provided the wicked instrumental grooves for the set – and vocalists include Mary Love and Ben Taylor – and the pacing of the whole record almost makes it come across like a mini-movie in sound! You'll find enough samples on here to cut a lifetime's worth of hip hop LPs, and the funky tracks will have you coming back to the record again and again! Tracks include "The Queen", "The Rumble", "Mayor Get Away", "The Jive Jungle", "Creeper", and "Ghetto Expressions". This expanded 2CD edition features a bonus disc with a full 28 tracks of extra material – unreleased takes, mixes, acapellas, and instumental versions of album tracks plus a slew of untitled interludes! CD

Tracks include "Moondance", "Bright Side Of The Road", "Baby Please Don't Go", "Sweet Thing", "And It Stoned Me", "Domino", "Wild Night", and "Queen Of The Slipstream" – 20 tracks total. CD

Seminal work from Ian Hunter and group – recorded in 1969, and a great harbinger for the sound of the 70s! Titles include "Rock & Roll Queen", "Half Moon Bay", "Rabbit Foot & Toby Time", "Wrath & Wroll", "Laught At Me", "Backsliding Fearlessly", and "You Really Got Me". LP, Vinyl record album

Features "Hard Times", "Never In My Life", "Spark", "Theme For An Imaginary Western", "Nantucket Sleighride", "Mississippi Queen" and more – 14 tracks in all! CD

A searing standout from Mountain – a studio album, but one that also really captures some of the freewheeling energy that made the group such a great live act at the time – especially given that the studio sessions here are mixed with a bit of improvisation from a live concert too! The double-headed team of Leslie West and Felix Pappalardi are very firmly in charge – the latter with loads of heavy bass, the former with that fuzzy guitar that mixes so well with the heavy drums of the group and titles include "Flowers Of Evil", "King's Chorale", "One Last Cold Kiss", "Crossroader", and "Pride & Passion" – plus a long improvisation that blends together "Dream Sequence Guitar Solo/Roll Over Beethoven/Dreams Of Milk & Honey/Variations/Swan Theme" – and a live take on their classic "Mississippi Queen". LP, Vinyl record album

Includes "Rat Patrol", "Surf Combat", "Gear", "Metastasis", "Leeches", "Roller Queen", "On", "I Don't Know", "Libido", "Only In America", "No Sex", "Stupid", and "Managua" CD

Includes "Rat Patrol", "Surf Combat", "Gear", "Metastasis", "Leeches", "Roller Queen", "On", "I Don't Know", "Libido", "Only In America", "No Sex", "Stupid", and "Managua" LP, Vinyl record album

Life is good, and so is Nas – and that's an understatement – as he's one of the most vital MCs of the early 90s onward! Life Is Good finds Nas in a somewhat liberated mode, though still rocking an Empire State Building-sized chip on his shoulder – and spitting charismatic vitriol at any target deemed worthy – but he's too smooth and too sharp of a lyricist for it come off as too ill-mannered. Good stuff from a legend. Includes "No Introduction", the standout "Loco-Motive" with Large Professor, "Daughters", "Reach Out" with Mary J Blige, "Back When", "The Don", "Stay", "Bye Baby", "World's An Addiction" with Anthony Hamilton, "Summer On Smash" with Miguel & Swizz Beatz, "A Queen's Story" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

An early 90s classic from Naughty By Nature – still very much at the top of their game, and representing the New Jersey scene with that new sort of vibrancy that made Garden City hip hop rival some of the best NYC material for a few short years! The album's the group's third, and features unified production throughout from Kay Gee – and key guest appearances from Queen Latifah, Heavy D, and Freddie Foxxx. Titles include the classic anthem "Hip Hop Hooray" – plus "Ready For Dem", "Written On Ya Kitten", "It's On", "The Only Ones", "The Hood Comes First", "Daddy Was A Street Corner", "Hot Potato", and "Sleepin On Jersey". Lots of great bonus tracks too – including "Hip Hop Hooray (Pete Rock rmx)", "Hip Hop Hooray (ext mix)", "Written On Ya Kitten (Q Funk mix)", "Written On Ya Kitten (Shandi's smooth mix)", "It's On (Beatnuts rmx)", and "It's On (Sunship edit)". LP, Vinyl record album

The breakthrough second album from Naughty By Nature (who recorded formerly as The New Style) – one of the key groups to emerge from the New Jersey scene at the end of the 80s, and be able to give the world of New York hip hop a run for its money! Queen Latifah championed the group right from the start, and gave them a solid footing on Tommy Boy – a perfect label for the group to balance their commercial appeal and well-penned rhymes – at a level that makes this album at least a rock-solid entry in the key canon of the true school generation! Latifah makes an appearance on the record – as do Lakim Shabazz and Apache – on cuts that include the classic "OPP", plus "Ghetto Bastard", "Guard Your Grill", "123", "Wickedest Man Alive", "Everyday All Day", "Strike A Nerve", "Let The Ho's Go", "Pin The Tail On The Donkey", "Rhyme'll Shine On", and "Thankx For Sleepwalking". CD

The album that made Billy Ocean a superstar for a little while, one that had a HUGE couple of years on the charts, even longer service as a snapshot of its era, and is now one that we can look at freshly and appreciate for all of the unstoppably catchy pop soul craft that made it so massive in the first place! Billy's earlier Caribbean inflected pop and R&B was good stuff that deserved a bigger audience and boy did it ever find him with the mid 80s hits "Caribbean Queen", the killer ballad "Suddenly" and the crazy fun "Loverboy". Other tracks include "Mystery Lady", "Lucky Man", "Dancefloor" and "If I Should Lose You". LP, Vinyl record album

The album that made Billy Ocean a superstar for a little while, one that had a HUGE couple of years on the charts, even longer service as a snapshot of its era, and is now one that we can look at freshly and appreciate for all of the unstoppably catchy pop soul craft that made it so massive in the first place! Billy's earlier Caribbean inflected pop and R&B was good stuff that deserved a bigger audience and boy did it ever find him with the mid 80s hits "Caribbean Queen", the killer ballad "Suddenly" and the crazy fun "Loverboy". Other tracks include "Mystery Lady", "Lucky Man", "Dancefloor" and "If I Should Lose You". LP, Vinyl record album

There's plenty of monkey business going on with this one and only album from Orang-Utan – as the group were actually named Hunter, from the UK – but the set was issued in the US under a different band name, and without the knowledge of the group! Yet that hardly keeps it from being a killer, though – as the record's got this raw early 70s British hard rock energy – heavy bass, searing guitar, and nicely nasty lead vocals from singer Nobby Clarke! Titles include "Love Queen", "Fly Me High", "Magic Playground", "Slipping Away", "I Can See Inside Your Head", and "Chocolate Piano". LP, Vinyl record album

A righteous roots reggae set from the great Augustus Pablo – a record that's definitely filled with the sense of spiritual guidance he brought to some of his best albums at the time! The man himself plays all sorts of cool melodica solos, and also handles piano and organ too – with backings from an all-star lineup who are perfect for the laidback, dubby groove of the sessions – which are mostly arranged by Harry Swaby. Hugh Mundell provides a guest vocal on "Rastafari Tradition" – and other cuts include "Zion Hill", "City Of David", "Musical Changes", "Jah Love Endureth", "Earth's Rightful Ruler", and "King Alpha & Queen Omega". LP, Vinyl record album

Three later albums from pianist Horace Parlan – all cut overseas, many years after his early work for Blue Note! On Joe Meets The Rhythm Section, the "Joe" is Dutch tenorist Joe Van Enkhuizen, who's a great fit with a trio that features Horace Parlan on piano, Rufus Reid on bass, and Al Harewood on drums! The album's got that subtle approach that marks Parlan's later years – a less all-out style than his start on Blue Note, but one that's maybe even more rewarding if you're willing to let yourself slide into it – something that's easy to do when you've got Joe pointing the way with his well-blown, raspy-edged tenor! Reid is mighty nice too – with those instantly-deep notes that always grab us strongly when he's recorded this well – the sort of presence that most other bassists would need to be electric to reach. Titles include "Alfie's Theme", "Bluesville", "FSR", "Wadin", and "Willow Weep For Me". Ellington Ballads is a nice little record that's very much along the lines of the duet sessions that pianist Horace Parlan cut with Archie Shepp – done with a similar open, soulful style that really brings a lot of personal energy to these tunes penned by Duke Ellington! This might be the first time we've ever heard tenorist Joe Van Enkhuizen, but he's a surprisingly great player – and one who carves out these raspy lines on his instrument that fit really well with the well-crafted lines from Parlan's piano – a lot more subtle and spacious than during his Blue Note years, but maybe even more powerful because of that. Titles include "Serenade To Sweden", "I Got It Bad", "Prelude To A Kiss", "Melancholy", "Sophisticated Lady", and "Creole Blues/Tonight I Shall Sleep". Pannonica is a tight little live set from pianist Horace Parlan – recorded with a wonderful trio that features Reggie Johnson on bass and Alvin Queen on drums – both players who seem to effortlessly match Parlan's shifts at every stage of the proceedings! The tracks are relatively long, and showcase all those changes that Horace had made on the European scene since his earlier years on Blue Note – that move towards warmer, more lyrical elements in his music – but still shaped with his ear for soulful modernism too. The titles are all familiar, but served up at the level that can make the right sort of live piano date sound so great – on selections that include "Hi Fly", "Who Cares", "No Greater Love", and "Pannonica". CD

A wonderful package – four full albums by one of the most unique groups of their time! First up is These Things Too – the first Reprise album from Pearls Before Swine – a bit more straight ahead and folksy than their work for ESP – but in a really great way, one that lets you hear the best of Tom Rapp's amazing songs and vocals! The album follows in a tradition that includes Tim Buckley, Tim Hardin, Leonard Cohen, and Fred Neil – but it's also got a really unique style that's the unique province of Tom Rapp – the main force behind the group, and the voice on all of the tunes. Rapp's vision was quite unique for the time – not nearly as revolutionary or personally preoccupied – more sad at the fading world, and granted with a unique ability to paint any subject in shades of blue. Titles include "Wizard Of Is", "Frog In The Window", "Footnote", "Look Into Her Eyes", "These Things Too", and "Mon Amour". Use Of Ashes is an incredibly beautiful album from Pearls Before Swine – one that uses light orchestrations to create a baroquely folksy sort of feel – easily elevating the album past previous efforts, into classic territory we'd rank with the best from Nick Drake or Leonard Cohen! The whole album's great – with fragile and haunting songs from Tom Rapp, all supported by sparsely arranged instrumentation that includes harpsichord, flute, oboe, cello, and dobro. Genius throughout – and a clear inspiration for music still being made 30 years later – with classic tracks that include "The Jeweler", "Rocket Man", "Song About A Rose", "The Old Man", "When The War Began", and "From The Movie Of The Same Name". Next is Beautiful Lies You Could Live In – one of the most perfectly formed albums ever recorded by Tom Rapp's enigmatic group Pearls Before Swine – a record that does an incredible job of skirting between Rapp's earthy sense of the planet's passing, and his ambitions for larger forums of expression. The core group is lightly folksy – with strong use of acoustic guitar that goes far beyond any folk rock cliches – plus some additional arrangements that feature contributions from the team of Bob Dorough and Stu Scharf, who seem to have a habit of appearing on under-discovered gems like this one, and making them sound all that more hip! The whole thing's great – filled with beautiful songs that should have been as over-recorded as the best by Tim Hardin or Leonard Cohen – with titles that are even better, too! Tracks include "Snow Queen", "A Life", "Butterflies", "Simple Things", "Freedom", "She's Gone", and "Island Lady". Last up is City Of Gold – a return to folksier forms for Tom Rapp and Pearls Before Swine – working here in territory that's very different than some of the baroque light arrangements used on previous records. Rapp's emerging as a more confident singer/songwriter – recording in an almost Dylan-like setting, but with more of the irony of Leonard Cohen, and as always, working in a timeless idiom that's still beginning to be understood more than 30 years after its inception. Beautiful work throughout – as earthy as it is majestic – and with titles that include "My Father", "The Man", "Once Upon A Time", "City Of Gold", "Nancy", and "Wedding". CD

The greatness of Gregory Porter continues to grow and grow – as the vocalist keeps moving past the straighter jazz of his roots, into a role as one of the greatest soul singers of the 21st Century! Porter's got a depth and maturity that few folks have had in recent years – especially in the realm of male vocals – very much that manner of important 70s singers like Bill Withers, Billy Paul, or Al Jarreau – who were schooled in jazz, but worked more in soulful styles that gave them a wider reach, and helped them to find a very personal voice in the process! We'd easily place Gregory in that legacy – one that he's definitely earned by this point – and he sounds arguably even better here than on his debut for Blue Note – working with arrangements from co-producer Kamau Kenyatta, who mixes in just the right current of jazz to keep things on track with the energy we first loved in Porter's first records – while still really letting his new energy open up and soar. Titles include "Holding On", "Insanity", "Don't Lose Your Steam", "Daydream", "Don't Be A Fool", "More Than A Woman", and "French African Queen". Also features different versions of two songs, with guest appearances – "Holding On" with Kem, and "Insanity" with Lalah Hathaway. CD

The greatness of Gregory Porter continues to grow and grow – as the vocalist keeps moving past the straighter jazz of his roots, into a role as one of the greatest soul singers of the 21st Century! Porter's got a depth and maturity that few folks have had in recent years – especially in the realm of male vocals – very much that manner of important 70s singers like Bill Withers, Billy Paul, or Al Jarreau – who were schooled in jazz, but worked more in soulful styles that gave them a wider reach, and helped them to find a very personal voice in the process! We'd easily place Gregory in that legacy – one that he's definitely earned by this point – and he sounds arguably even better here than on his debut for Blue Note – working with arrangements from co-producer Kamau Kenyatta, who mixes in just the right current of jazz to keep things on track with the energy we first loved in Porter's first records – while still really letting his new energy open up and soar. Titles include "Holding On", "Insanity", "Don't Lose Your Steam", "Daydream", "Don't Be A Fool", "More Than A Woman", and "French African Queen". Also features different versions of two songs, with guest appearances – "Holding On" with Kem, and "Insanity" with Lalah Hathaway. CD