One of the grooviest records we've ever seen from this hip Japanese ensemble – a set that brings some great keyboards to the group's usual horn-heavy sound! There's a wonderful blend of Fender Rhodes and organ on the set – often used as the lead solo instrument over the fuller backings, in a way that's especially nice on the tunes with Rhodes! Tunes are mighty nice, too – a bit funkier than usual for Hara and the gang – and often arranged with a nice kick on the bottom, which seems to further emphasize the keys. Titles include "Nervous Breakdown", "Come Together", "Spinning Wheel", "Bouree", "Breit Kopt", and "Liberation". LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderfully ambitious project from these two legendary improvising musicians – a larger project for stage that was created by both pianist Alexander Von Schlippenbach and drummer Sven Ake Johansson – the latter of whom here is very much into his later life role as a composer! The set features a mix of voice, vocals, and music – some spoken parts by Johansson, sung passages by the great Shelly Hirsch – and work from a very hip group that includes Wolfgang Fuchs and Dietmar Diesner on saxes, Paul Lovens on drums, Tristan Honsinger on cello, Anne Le Baron on harp, and Schlippenbach on piano. There's a mixture of free jazz, structure, and voice that almost feels as if Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill had the chance to record an album for FMP – and this beautiful set presents the first-ever release of the important 1994 performance of the material. LP, Vinyl record album

The album's great cover image is an homage to the Death Wish soundtrack by Herbie Hancock, and Mantle references 70s funk group Mandrill in his name – but the sound here is very different than either of those two references might make you expect, more in a contemporary hip hop vein, but equally cool overall! The 70s sonic hints are delivered in the well-produced beats, which are peppered with great samples – all to provide a killer backdrop for a rotating cast of rappers who work in both English and Japanese – a lineup that includes BES, King104, Tetrad The Gang Of Four, Jomo, Jackson2, Vikn, A-Thug, and BD – on titles that include "Rest In Peace", "Only My Lyrics Is Real", "2Face", "Level The Vibes", "OG Theory", "Moment Of The Sexorcist", "Run the World", "Tied In A Row", and "Front Of Underground". LP, Vinyl record album

A big new chapter for Prince in the 90s – his first set with the New Power Generation, and a record that definitely has him amping up his game for the decade! There's maybe a bit more sampling here, and a groove that certainly has one ear open for the younger sound of R&B at the time – while still coming across with all that care, class, and top-shelf vibe that made Prince's work of the previous generation such an important funky influence on the younger crowd who were growing up with equal parts soul and hip hop to influence their sound. Tracks include "Daddy Pop", "Diamonds", "Cream", "Insatiable", "Live 4 Love", "Push", "Money Don't Matter 2 Night", "Jughead", "Gett Off", "Walk Don't Walk", "Strollin", and "Willing & Able". 4LP deluxe edition features lots of bonus material – the tracks "Horny Pony", "Gangster Glam", "Call The Law", and "Violet The Organ Grinder" - plus remixes that include "Gett Off (damn near 10 minutes)", "Gett Off (houstyle)", Do Your Dance (KC's rmx)", "Insatiable (edit)", "Cream (NPG mix #1)", "Thunder (DJ fade)", "Willing & Able (video version)", "Money Don't Matter 2 Night (edit)", "Things Have Gotta Change (Tony M rap)", and "Diamonds & Pearls (edit)". LP, Vinyl record album

A massive bucket of breaks from drummer Karriem Riggins – served up here in a drums-only entry to the Madlib Library Series, at a level that might well make it the funkiest of the bunch! There's definitely some slight effects used here from time to time – maybe some edits too – but the core energy of the set comes from Karriem's rock-solid work on the drum kit, which you'll no doubt recognize from his wonderful contributions to many other records – although none have ever had the lean approach as this one! Titles include "Skippy White", "Motown Sound", "Bulldog", "Afriq", "Fam In Our Lives", "Brasilian Gangsta", "To The Jungle", "Tipster", and "Tony Vibes". LP, Vinyl record album

Some of the greatest tracks ever recorded by Marlena Shaw – served up in one groovy package! The set begins with her romping 7" version of "California Soul" – totally righteous, with a mix of funky clapping rhythms and soaring strings in the best Cadet/Concept mode! "Liberation Conversation" is in the LP version – all sorts of funky guitar, and this very cool "gang gang" scatting vocal in the middle! The set also includes the storming "Wade In The Water" – an earlier soul jazz number that plays well with the Northern Soul crowd – and the whole thing ends with the 45rpm version of "Woman Of The Ghetto" – one of Marlena's most righteous tunes ever! 7-inch, Vinyl record

An overlooked gem from the German scene of the 80s – at a time when the prog and free jazz experiments of the previous decade had calmed down a bit, yet German musicians were still coming up with lots of new and amazing ideas! Here, there's definitely a bit of inspiration from Brazilian music, but mixed with some of the new generation of vocals from jazz singers like Karin Krog or Monica Zetterlund – handled by singer Beate Kynast on the record, in a way that's light years away from more traditional jazz vocals! There's a fluid, soaring sensibility to the music – modal mixed with post-bossa rhythms, on instrumentation that includes trumpet from Robert Schulte Hemming, alto and flute from Wolfgang Puschnig, keyboards and piano from Martin Kubert, drums from Peter Wirth, and bass from Rudi Engel. Instrumentation has a warm blend of acoustic and electric elements – very much like some of the best Nabel releases, or the sort of work later compiled in the Glucklich series – on titles that include "Rush Hour", "Impressions Of Autumn", "Bluze", "Number Four", Lament", and "Scarcely Had We Left The House". LP, Vinyl record album

Killer grooves from the Kenyan scene of the 70s – sounds that are very spare, and very timeless – often just percussion, a stringed instrument, and chanted vocals – all served up in a very driving, hypnotic blend! The set collects tracks from a time when the initially rural nyatiti style had moved into the cities, particularly Nairobi – and seemed to pick up an intensity along the way, so that the relatively lean and traditional mode somehow gained greater urgency, and in a way that makes for a surprising amount of power with just a few key elements! Titles include "Adele Obonyo" by James Obwanda, "Ojul Otieno" by Ochieng Ragwel, "Odola Richard" by Oganga Joginda, "Ndonji Oyang O" by Lucas Odote, "Samuel Ayany" by Ogola Opot, and "Dr Were Were" by Ogwang Lelo K'Okoth. LP, Vinyl record album

A really cool classic from this Italian combo – one of the first groups to really get the sound of vintage easy and bossa grooves just right – which they perform here in a mix of original tunes and numbers by famous soundtrack giants like Piero Umiliani and Armando Trovajoli! Rhythms are nice and lean, and not in the too-clubby remix mode that other groups in this territory might use – with plenty of percussion down next to the bass and drums – topped with some especially great work on organ and synth, plus occasional wordless vocalizations too! The whole thing is very tasty – and titles include "Psicoerotica", "Il Bellunese", "Topless Party", "La Decisione", "Madame La Mousse", "Don Peppino E Falpala", "Gonna Make It Easy", "Gangster Story", "Il Colore Degli Angeli", and "Dentro L'Atelier". Great vinyl pressing – with a bonus record that features seven unreleased tunes, and seven more from singles as well! LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most unusual albums we've ever heard on the Moserobie label – and that's saying a lot, given the groundbreaking material the Swedish imprint has given us for almost 20 years! Daniel Bingert heads up a group that's very heavy on reed interplay, on a set of tunes that are Monkish at points, but also have some surprising funky touches – not in a conventional way, but at a level that really keeps things interesting! Moussa Fadera handles some plenty heavy drums, and gets bass accompaniment from Torbjorn Zetterberg – a player we always love, but who shows off a whole new side of his talents here. The reeds soar, cross, and sparkle – work from Per Texas Johansson on tenor and bass clarinet, Jonas Kullhammar on alto, and Charlie Malberg on baritone – who also plays piano. The leader Bingert also brings in some moog at times, and Karl Olanderson provides key work on trumpet – on titles that include "Tom Of Norway", "Mobley Phone", "Ulla My Dear", "Soul Nedgangen", "Kennet Lemur", and "Latin Good Times Spela Roll". LP, Vinyl record album

A killer instrumental album of hard organ grooves and funky basslines! This was the album that broke Funk Inc out of their Indianapolis scene, and made them a force to be forever reckoned with in the history of funky jazz. The album grooves hard in the same sound as some of the classic work by Prestige jazz funk giants like Rusty Bryant, Charles Earland, or Ivan Boogaloo Jones – but it's almost even tighter than their work, because the Funk Inc combo as a tightly woven group of players who'd been together for a number of years. The record's filled with monster cuts that you'll recognize immediately, like the group's famous "Kool is Back", which has a monster sample on the intro, and hard heavy Kool & The Gang grooves throughout. Other tracks include "Sister Janie", "The Whipper", and "Bowlegs". LP, Vinyl record album

Kanye West finally dropped the full length in early '04 – and it's one of the best hip hop albums of the year. Kanye is probably the hottest beats producer of the year, too, having dug through the greatest soul hooks of the past few decades for his samples, and piled on the chunkiest, catchiest, thickest beats anywhere. And if he doesn't have the greatest vocal delivery in hop hop (if he did, he'd be Superman considering his production pedigree), he makes up for it with some masterful lines, like "I gotta apologize to Mos and Kweli/is it cool to rap about gold if I told the world I copped it from Ghana and Mali?" from "Breath In Breath Out". Hilariously, Kanye also found just about the sharpest theme for a record that we've scene in a while – the tangential connection between gang bangers and frat boys! He ain't granola, he ain't bling bling, he's just a guy from Chicago with a sometimes astoundingly strong production aesthetic, very smart rhymes and a lot of people who owe him great guest spots, and deliver. Were you looking for more than that? It's a triumph, one that Chicago couldn't be more proud of! "We Don't Care", "Graduation Day", "All Falls Down" with Syleena Johnson, "Spaceship" with GLC & Consequence, "Never Let Me Down" with Jay-Z, "Get 'Em High" with Talib Kweli & Common,"New Work Out Plan", the great single "Slow Jamz" with Twista & Jamie Foxx and more. LP, Vinyl record album

The Kay-Gees' funkiest record ever – a set that's harder and sharper than anything else they'd ever record in years to come! Grabbing this one up is like finding a lost Kool & The Gang album from the early years – which is no surprise, since Ronald Bell of the group produced, and wrote a lot of the songs with the group – maybe acting as their mentor, and definitely giving the young group a great showcase for their boundless energy, and tight skills in the groove department! The band are incredibly tight – with lots of hard drums, choppy guitar, and the rolling party feel that made Kool & The Gang so great during their best years – captured here with a similarly raw production style. There's some great horns that blast in and out, sounding very off-beat at the best moments – like the classic "Who's the Man With the Master Plan", sampled by YZ many years ago – or other funky cuts like "Ain't No Time", "Get Down", and "You've Got to Keep on Bumpin". LP, Vinyl record album

A deep look at the electronic music underground in the 60s, 70s, and 80s – not the academic theoreticians who were slaving away in university laboratories, but the more independent, freewheeling talents who were using the initial analogue moment to open up their own boundaries in time and space! The work ranges from unusual 60s instrumentals, through 70s hippie electronics, to some 80s recordings that might have been termed new age by the uninitiated – but which instead, all these years later, stand as some lost moments of cosmic expression! There's few folks we trust to lead us down a musical path as much as the guys at Soul Jazz – and this time, they've definitely taken us in the right direction – with cuts that include "Midnight" by Tim Blake, "Gang (For Rock Industry)" by JB Banfi, "To The Other Side Of The Sky" by Michael Garrison, "By Water" by Stratis, "Improvisation On A Concerto Generator" by Laurie Spiegel, "Starborn Suite (part 1)" by Steven Halpern, "Ceres Motion" by Mother Mallard's Portable Masterpiece Company, "As Above So Below" by Carl Matthews, "In The Beginning" by Michael Stearns, "Ever New" by Beverly Glenn-Copeland, "Variations VII Sur Le Theme Des Bene Gesserit" by Richard Pinhas, and "Ancient Stars" by Kevin Braheny. LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic early work from The Fall – some key singles issued by the Rough Trade label as 45s during the first few years of the group – already a great showcase for the mad wit of Mark E Smith! While we love the albums from this time, these singles are maybe the songs we go back to again and again – as they sometimes have surprisingly catchy hooks, even while maintaining an edge – and often resonate with that Smith sense of humor that sometimes takes a few listens to pick up on! Tracks include "Totally Wired", "Putta Block", "How I Wrote Elastic Man", "City Hobgoblins", "The Man Whose Head Expanded", "Ludd Gang", "Kicker Conspiracy", "Wings", "Container Drivers", and "New Puritan". LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful little album from the earliest days of the Ingram empire in soul – recorded long before any of the individual members had gone onto bigger mainstream fame, and done in a way that has lots of righteous indie touches! Sister Barbara sings lead vocals on most of the tracks – bringing a slightly spiritual quality to the ensemble funk mode of the group – in a way that reminds us a bit of the few early Kool & The Gang tracks that sport female vocals. But there's also a great New Jersey soul kind of quality to the set too – a mode that sometimes slips into gentle harmonies, then rolls into harder funk at other points. Other members of the group include Butch, Billy, Timmy, Jimmy, and Johnny Ingram – and titles include "The Funk Is In Our Music", "He's Mine", "Music Is Our Message", "Tried It And Liked It", "Put Your Troubles Behind", and "What Else Can I Say". LP, Vinyl record album

Masta Ace does his inimitable, classic era-schooled, longtime mic master thing in peak form over beats by MF Doom! Coming out at time when Masta Ace was hungry to cement his legacy – as if he had and anything to prove – and Doom was a steady figure in underground hip hop, especially on the production side – it stands up strong alongside some of the better work by either figure. It also includes vocal cameo by Doom along the legendary Big Daddy Kane – plus appearances by Reggie B and Pav Bundy. 15 tracks on the 2LPs including "Son Of Yvonne", "Me And My Gang", "Fresh Fest" feat Reggie B, "Thing I Am" with Big Daddy Kane & MF Doom, "I Did It", "Dedication", "Da' Pro", "Slow Down", "Crush Hour feat Pav Bundy, "Store Frontin'" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Funky madness from the legendary Rhythm Makers – a dancefloor combo with a really incredible groove! The group has an approach that's a lot like Kool & The Gang at their best, or like some of the best mid 70s albums by the Kay Gees or Fatback – lots of bass at the bottom, very tight vamping by the band, and a wikki-wikki funky sound that's totally great! Many of the tracks on the set make good use of moog or keyboards – never too much, but just the right dose to spook things up a bit – and although many of the cuts have vocals, the overall focus is still in the instrumentation – which always comes across pretty darn great, and which is played with incredible precision throughout! The combo later morphed into GQ, but they've got a much rawer sound here – and titles include "Can You Feel It (parts 1 & 2)", "You Better Believe It", "Soul On Your Side", "Zone", "Funk N You", and "Street Dreamin". LP, Vinyl record album

The 7" single debut of two tracks from these Oakland underground legends! The Action Packed Gangsters deliver a nice lean groove for "Takin It To The Streets" – a mix of skittish beats and spare bassline that really serves things well lyrically, and which almost has an early Philly hip hop vibe! "Daily Routine" has that classic "Think" groove kicked up more, which does plenty for the lyrical power of the tune too! Both cuts great – and well-deserving of this treatment. 7-inch, Vinyl record

A mid 70s classic from Willie Colon – continuing the progression of his "gangster" image by supposedly having him break out of prison! (Previously, Willie had been brought to justice on the Juicio album – but now on the loose, is described in a wanted poster on the cover – "Willie Colon & Hector LaVoe have been known to kill people with little provocation with their exciting rhythm without a moment's notice"!) That claim might be a bit far-fetched, but considering the strength of Willie's work at the time, it's certainly well-founded – as he and Hector cook things up nicely on this set by bringing in some even-earthier grooves to their blend of 70s salsa modes! The group's got Colon's tight twin-trombone approach firmly in the lead, and other instrumentation is merely piano, bass, and lots of percussion – all very stripped down, and with lots of room for LaVoe's wonderfully evocative vocals. Titles include "Pa' Columbia", "Ghana'E", "No Cambiare", "Barrunto", and "Sigue Feliz". LP, Vinyl record album

Freeze is a wonderful set from Junie – a record that has all the offbeat funk he was crafting with the Ohio Players during their Westbound years – and the same sort of heady sound that would make Morrison a perfect match with the P-Funk empire! The record contains the legendary track "Granny's Funky Rolls Royce", which features a meeting between the Funky Granny (a near folklorish character from the early 70s, who'd appeared on records by Kool & The Gang and Ohio Players) and an alien, who tells urges to "buy this record, buy this record, buy this record" in a very silly voice! The funky comedy of this track is nicely matched by a range of other odd numbers and straighter soul cuts – and titles include "Freeze", "Super J", "Musical Son", "Junie II", "World of Woe", and "Cookies Will Get You". LP, Vinyl record album

This is about as strong as you can get from Willie Colon – he's holding a gun to some cat's head on the cover! (And hip hoppers think they invented the gangster image!) More than just a catchy picture, though, the image is really important at a symbolic level – as the guy Willie's capping is an older one, possibly a bloated bandleader from years past, being shoved out of the way by Willie's leaner, cleaner sound and style. The album more than lives up to that picture, too – as it's filled with hard-hitting salsa numbers that show Willie and crew refining their sound even more from their already-strong previous albums. Includes the long cut "Junio 73", a really wonderful number, plus loads of other great ones that include "Guajira Ven", "Vo So", and "Calle Luna Calle Sol". LP, Vinyl record album

Tremendous early work from German saxophonist Joki Freund – a player who would go onto much greater fame in the progressive years at the end of the 60s, but who already sounds plenty darn great on this early combo side from 1963! The style of the work is incredibly hip – with a definite John Coltrane modal groove in place, but also a sense of globally conscious jazz that's very much in the spirit of classic Saba/MPS work, but which predates most of that by a number of years! Freund plays tenor and soprano sax here – in a sextet with Wolfgang Dauner on piano, Emil Mangelsdorff on flute and alto, Eberhard Weber on bass, Karl Theodor Geier on bass, and Peter Baumeister on drums – and the record is overflowing with great tunes that more than live up to the compelling title and cover image! Lots of "Eastern" styled numbers – and titles include "Aisha", "Carribean Ringo", "Yogiana", "HL 20", and "Killer Joe". LP, Vinyl record album

A mysterious bit of group soul from the 70s scene – a record that's full of original material, and delivered in a style that's very much like the best New Jersey and Philly indie sides from the start of the decade! By that, we mean that the group's a little rough around the edges – and we mean that in the best way possible, because the set eschews some of the more commercial styles that were coming up in the big disco year of 1976 – and instead goes for a stripped-down sort of vibe that really lets all the charm of the vocals come through! And although you might guess that the title track is a remake of a tune by the Chi-Lites – it's not, and that cut and most of the others are originals done for the album – titles that include "Like I Do", "Rich Man Alone", "I'm Gonna Be A Star", "When I Met You At The Circus", "Patience", "The Outsider", and "Stone Out Of Your Mind". LP, Vinyl record album

A record that's very different than you might expect from the title – not 70s crime/cop material from the Italian scene, and instead a much richer, more sophisticated soundtrack from the late 60s – one that really makes great use of the darker, moodier side of the talents of Egisto Macchi! The music at times resonates with some of Macchi's more experimental library work, and does include some collaborations with Walter Branchi of Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza – but some moments are more straightforwardly jazzy, and have elements that resonate with other Italian soundtracks of the period – all of which makes the record a really fantastic blend of styles, and a great bridge between the worlds of cinema, library, and serious experimental music! LP, Vinyl record album

A record that makes us go "Damn!" – and has us really falling in love with Secret Night Gang even more than on their debut – and we really liked that album a heck of a lot! This time around, the group have woven together this richly soulful vocal approach with laidback funk, all at a level that feels wonderfully righteous and very spiritual – as if some of the spirits of Roy Ayers in the 70s have seeped into leaner funk arrangements – all with a slightly cosmic current around the edges that seems to electrify all the core elements in a really great way! We love how the vocals flow and rise together, which is a very unique approach – and titles include "Every Nation", "Things Will Work Out", "Don't Know What Tomorrow Brings", "One & Only", "When Will The Sun Rise Again", "Do For You", "Out Of My Head", and "Never Ever". LP, Vinyl record album

A masterclass in early rap from Sugar Hill Records – touchstone classics that thumped dancefloors from the early days to today, inspired the scene's kings and queens to follow, and helped pave the way for the sounds and styles to come! Bookended by the long versions of the good-natured party rocking namesake Sugar Hill Gang's "Rapper's Delight" and Grandmaster Flash & Melle Mel equally iconic "White Lines (Don't Do It)", the rest of the tracks really find the sweet spot between always welcome familiarity and underappreciated gems – and it's great to have them all in a top notch package! Includes The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel" (single version), "That's the Joint" by Funky 4 Plus One, " Break Dance-Electric Boogie" (single) by West Street Mob, "Funk You Up (Long Version)" by The Sequence and more, LP, Vinyl record album

The mighty debut of Grand Funk Railroad – a set that has them bursting out of the box as one of the hardest-hitting power trios on the American scene! Like contemporaries ZZ Top or James Gang, these guys have clearly been influenced by the best electric blues of the previous decade or two – but are already turning that inspiration into some harder rocking modes – really prefacing all the guitar hero groups to come along in the next few years! Mark Farner's work on the guitar is fantastic, and he also adds in a bit of harmonica too – but the whole thing is definitely a group effort – thanks to heavy bass from Mel Schacher and pounding drums from Don Brewer! Titles include "Anybody's Answer", "Time Machine", "Into The Sun", "Heartbreaker", "Call Yourself A Man", "Ups & Downs", "TNUC", and "High On A Horse". LP, Vinyl record album

Snoop brings Doggy Style over to Geffen – also the home to the Neptunes' Star Trak, Snoop's partners for this seriously strong later effort – also working with a diverse roster of producers and vocal guests including Alchemist, Lil Jon, 50 Cent, Hi Tek, and others. Snoops laidback rhyme style sounds really great on the Neptune productions, with that glittery minimalist electro sound and the digital handclaps that meld perfectly with Snoop's hazy delivery. The the now classic status of the standout single "Drop It Like It's Hot" is pretty much all the evidence you need, but Snoop's on a real high (artistically, that is) here, and mainstream street hop is all the better for it! Other tracks include "Bang Out", "Can I Get A Flicc Witchu" feat Bootsy Collins, "The Bidness", "Let's Get Blown", "Step Yo Game Up" with Lil Jon, "Oh No" with 50 Cent, "Pass It Pass It" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

One of the first really important full length albums in hip hop – the set that really pushed the Sugar Hill label into the major leagues, and helped show the world that rap music was definitely way more than just a New York phenomenon! The set features the group's classic "Rapper's Delight", edited down into a shorter mix than the 15 minute 12" single – which helped the track get plenty of radio and chart play – and the set features core instrumentation from the trio of Doug Wimbush on bass, Keith LeBlanc on drums, and Skip McDonald on guitar. The Sequence also make a guest appearance, Positive Force help out on a few cuts – and titles include "Rapper's Delight", "Here I Am", "Rapper's Reprise", "Bad News", "Passion Play", and the long funky "Sugarhill Groove". LP, Vinyl record album

A really great collection of work from De-Lite Records – one that goes way way past the bigger hits on the label from Kool & The Gang and the Kay-Gees! Instead, this one really digs deep – and comes up with rare 45s for a host of artists that we didn't even know recorded for De-Lite – obscure but great material that shows just how tied to the east coast scene the label was before it starting hitting the charts and the clubs! There's lots here you'll be hard-pressed to track down otherwise – and titles include "The Story Of Our Love" and "It Really Hurts Me Girl" by The Carstairs, "Super Soul Music" and "I Got To Get Close To You" by Yvonne Daniels, "Darling Baby" and "I Wish It Would Rain" by Beverly Hammonds, "I Need You" and "I'll Always Love You" by Felton Burks, "I Smell Trouble" by Johnny De'Vigne, "Love Making" and "When A Woman Loves A Man" by Jean Battle, and "I Saw You There" and "Keep Away" by The Appointments. LP, Vinyl record album

A 90s hip hop masterpiece from Diamond D – and like some of the rest of the best of the decade, a set that was slightly slept-on at the time, but which has gone to have massive impact over the decades – still sounding completely fresh in comparison to bigger hits of the time! Diamond D comes from the same DITC underground as Showbiz & AG, Big L, and Lord Finesse – and like those others, when he got his time in the spotlight, he really took off – with beats that had an influence on so much more to come – and a very collaborative spirit that opens the door for contributions from Fat Joe, Mark The 45 King, Brand Nubian, Lakim Shabazz, and some of his old partners in DITC. Titles include the classic "Best Kept Secret" – with its fantastic Kool & The Gang sample – plus "Sally Got A One Track Mind", "I'm Outta Here," "Check One Two", "Freestyle", "Stunts Blunts & Hip Hop", "Pass Dat S**t", "What You Seek", "Confused", "A Day In The Life", "Step To Me", and "Shut The *!*! Up". LP, Vinyl record album

The first full length classic from Spice 1 – an MC who came up in the wake of Too Short on the west coast, but has definitely found his own style by the time of this set! Some tracks almost have an Ice Cube mix of biting social commentary and view from the streets – while others are maybe more in the crossover gangsta vein that would rise strongly in years to come. Samples are all obvious, but well-used – records from Funkadelic, Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye, and Isaac Hayes – and the album also features some tight mixing and production from Ant Banks. Titles include "In My Neighborhood", "187 Proof", "Peace To My Nine", "Welcome To The Ghetto", "Money Or Murder", "City Streets", and "Break Yourself". LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic work from Syn – a British group who are maybe best-remembered for giving the world future prog giants Chris Squire and Peter Banks – but who are already pretty darn great even without that later legacy of sound! The vibe here is a bit like Tomorrow – the early home of Steve Howe – in that the songs are mostly short, focused, and tuneful, but have all sorts of wonderfully new ideas and trippy touches around the edges – deeper than pop psych material coming out of the US at the time, but equally catchy in its own sort of way! Titles include "Created By Clive", "Flowerman", "14 Hour Technicolour Dream", "Merry Go Round", "The Gangster Opera", "Cadillac Dreams", "The Last Performance of The Royal Regimental Very Victorious and Valiant Band", "Mister White's White Flying Machine", "Love You", and "Sunset Boulevard Lament". LP, Vinyl record album