A tremendous first outing as a leader for Japanese saxophonist Kosuke Mine – one of our favorite players of the 70s, already sounding wonderful here right at the start! The album's got a freewheeling vibe – not entirely avant, and maybe more in the modal territory unlocked by Miles Davis a few years before – although with a very different vibe, given the Mine's in the lead on alto! Yet the group also features some very Miles-like use of electric piano – handled here by Masabumi Kikuchi, a key young contemporary of Mine, and one who'd gotten a bit more of a head start in the world of recording – really adding a lot to the record here, next to the very forward-thinking rhythm duo of American players Larry Ridley on bass and Lenny McBrowne on drums! All tracks are nice and long, and most are originals – the kind of open, long-spun cuts that really herald all the great changes taking place on the Japanese jazz scene at the time. Titles include "Little Abbi", "McPhee", "Love Taken", "Morning Tide", and "Bar L'Len". CD

A tremendous first outing as a leader for Japanese saxophonist Kosuke Mine – one of our favorite players of the 70s, already sounding wonderful here right at the start! The album's got a freewheeling vibe – not entirely avant, and maybe more in the modal territory unlocked by Miles Davis a few years before – although with a very different vibe, given the Mine's in the lead on alto! Yet the group also features some very Miles-like use of electric piano – handled here by Masabumi Kikuchi, a key young contemporary of Mine, and one who'd gotten a bit more of a head start in the world of recording – really adding a lot to the record here, next to the very forward-thinking rhythm duo of American players Larry Ridley on bass and Lenny McBrowne on drums! All tracks are nice and long, and most are originals – the kind of open, long-spun cuts that really herald all the great changes taking place on the Japanese jazz scene at the time. Titles include "Little Abbi", "McPhee", "Love Taken", "Morning Tide", and "Bar L'Len". LP, Vinyl record album

A set of incredible records from Charles Mingus – all presented together in one mighty nice package! First up is Mingus Moves – a fantastic fresh new chapter in the career of Charles Mingus – a set that features the addition of two key players who would really shape his sound in the 70s – Don Pullen on piano and George Adams on tenor, both completely wonderful here! The group also features excellent trumpet from Roland Hampton, a player we don't know from many other settings – and the set also features some really nice vocal work from Honi Gordon and Doug Hammond. Titles include "Canon", "Moves", "Wee", "Flowers For A Lady", "Opus 3", and "Newcomer". CD also features bonus tracks – "Big Alice" and "The Call". Changes is key 70s work from Charles Mingus – an album that was recorded over the course of three days of creative activity at the end of 1974, but somehow split into two different albums under the Changes name! The lineup here is prime 70s Mingus – George Adams on tenor, Jack Walrath on trumpet, and Don Pullen on piano – young players who really give a fresh voice to Mingus' musical ideas, and help him find this beautiful late life sense of color, tone, and timing that's completely sublime! Titles on this second volume include "Sue's Changes", "Devil Blues", "Remember Rockefeller At Attica", "Free Cell Block F Tis Nazi USA", "Black Bats & Poles", "For Harry Carney", and "Duke Ellington's Sound Of Love" – which features a guest appearance by Marcus Belgrave on trumpet and Jackie Paris on vocals. On 3 Or 4 Shades Of Blues, Charles Mingus is returning to the soulful gospel-influenced mode he swung big in the early 60s! The record's something of a later predecessor of the classics Blues & Roots for Atlantic and Mingus (x5) for Impulse – and the style is slightly less dramatic, but still quite steeped in soulful explorations that feature plenty of notes from the bluer side of the spectrum! Players include George Coleman and Ricky Ford on tenor, Jack Walrath on trumpet, and Larry Coryell on guitar – and titles include new takes on "Better Git Hit In Your Soul" and "Goodbye Porkpie Hat" – plus"Nobody Knows", "Noddin Ya Head Blues", and "Three Or Four Shades Of Blues". Next is Cumbia & Jazz Fusion – one of the most enigmatic albums that Charles Mingus ever recorded – especially in his later years! The set features two very long tracks done by Mingus for use in a film about cocaine traffic between New York and Columbia – but considering the nature of the music, and the freely exploratory style, both numbers here stand very well on their own! Although touched with some of the Latin influences you might expect from the title, the sounds are often darker and more brooding than, say, the Mingus style on the classic Tijuana Moods set. And instead, there's a very serious soundtrack-like vibe going on through most of the set – larger jazz orchestrations used to beautifully underscore subtle themes, and breakout solo moments from players who include Mauricio Smith on flute, Paul Jeffrey on tenor sax, Jack Walrath on trumpet, and Jimmy Knepper on trombone. The album also features a fair bit of added percussion – and features two long tracks, "Cumbia & Jazz Fusion" and "Music For Todo Modo". Me Myself An Eye is complicated later work from Charles Mingus – a great illustration of the way his power to command a large ensemble never wavered as the years went on! The album features two different large groups of players – filled with modernists young and old – including Ricky Ford, George Coleman, and Michael Brecker on tenors; Ronni Cuber and Pepper Adams on baritone; Randy Brecker and Jack Walrath on trumpets; Lee Konitz on alto, Larry Coryell on guitar, Slide Hampton on trombone, and Eddie Gomez on bass. Side one features the 30 minute track "Three Worlds Of Drums", and side two contains a remake of "Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting", plus "Devil Woman" and "Carolyn Keki Mingus". Something Like A Bird is one of the last albums Charles Mingus ever gave us – before departing this planet way way too soon! The set shows the increasing sophistication of Mingus' music in these later years – a mode that almost echoes the path that Duke Ellington would take in his final decade – a move towards some larger-form material that still holds onto all the raw energy of the early days, but finds a way to not only bridge larger musical ideas – but musical generations as well! As part of this, the set's got a wonderful lineup – with Lee Konitz on alto, Pepper Adams on baritone sax, George Coleman on tenor, Eddie Gomez on bass, and Joe Chambers on drums – and titles include the long title track, "Something Like A Bird", split up over 2 sides of the LP, plus "Farewell Farwell". CD

A great counterpart to the two famous Charles Mingus albums for the Candid label – really a third "lost" Candid album, recorded at the time of those sets, but never issued until many years later! As with those great dates, the work here is filled with righteous anger, unbridled emotion, and some of the most passionate jazz work of the 20th Century – directed by Mingus with unfailing energy on the bass, and featuring solo work from players who include Eric Dolphy on alto and bass clarinet, Booker Ervin on tenor, Charles McPherson on alto, Ted Curson and Lonnie Hillyer on trumpets, Jimmy Knepper on trombone, and Paul Bley on piano – all giants in their own right, most of whom gave the world some fantastic records under their own leadership too! Tracks are all nice and long, mostly from the November 11, 1960 date that featured two different groups – titles that include "Bugs", "R&R", "Reincarnation Of A Lovebird (2nd version)", "Body & Soul", and "All The Things You Are (all)". CD

A great counterpart to the two famous Charles Mingus albums for the Candid label – really a third "lost" Candid album, recorded at the time of those sets, but never issued until many years later! As with those great dates, the work here is filled with righteous anger, unbridled emotion, and some of the most passionate jazz work of the 20th Century – directed by Mingus with unfailing energy on the bass, and featuring solo work from players who include Eric Dolphy on alto and bass clarinet, Booker Ervin on tenor, Charles McPherson on alto, Ted Curson and Lonnie Hillyer on trumpets, Jimmy Knepper on trombone, and Paul Bley on piano – all giants in their own right, most of whom gave the world some fantastic records under their own leadership too! Tracks are all nice and long, mostly from the November 11, 1960 date that featured two different groups – titles that include "Bugs", "R&R", "Reincarnation Of A Lovebird (2nd version)", "Body & Soul", and "All The Things You Are (all)". LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic lost work from Charles Mingus, from a very under-recorded time in his life – the same period in which he gave the world the seminal album Let My Children Hear Music! The setting's a live one – and as on some of Mingus' superb 60s concert sessions, there's a force and fire here that really surpasses the group's energy in the studio – long tracks that are filled with brilliant solo work, and handled by a sextet that includes Bobby Jones on tenor, Charles McPherson on alto, Jon Faddis on trumpet, John Foster on piano, and Roy Brooks on drums – a group with just the kind of young, imaginative horn players that Mingus always used to create a special sort of fire. Titles include the 19 minute "The Man Who Never Sleeps", the 30 minute "Mind Readers Convention In Milano", a 25 minute version of "Orange Was The Color Of Her Dress", and a 20 minute take on "Noddin Ya Head Blue" – plus a 35 minute jam on "Fables Of Faubus" and the shorter "Pops". CD

Great work from this blue-eyed soul group of the 70s – one who've been picked and kept alive by some key underground scenes over the years – like the Northern Soul world of the UK, and the beach music scene in the Carolinas! The group here have some key jazz contributions from Mike Melvoin on piano, Dennis Budimir on guitar, and Tom Scott on tenor – and as with their first record, there's a nice current of soul running through the music – a way of using soulful elements in subtle ways, which is really the appeal of these guys – as they really know how to slide in with a compelling style and a warm vocal approach! Titles include "Get It Up For Love", "I Can't Stop This Love Song", "When You Get Right Down To It", "Who's Foolin' Who", and "Magical Lady". CD features four bonus tracks, all singles – "Skysurf", "Can't Let You Down", "Gemini Lady", and "Love Connection". CD

Moby Grape's self-conscious, but hardly less groovy late 60s excursion into loose, free form and largely instrumental psychedelia – the sweet and therefore appropriately titled Grape Jam! GJ is really a world away from their earlier rock regalia – with superstar special guests Al "How Does It Feel" Cooper and Mike Bloomfield brought in the flesh out the open-ended sounds. The sounds roll from walloping instrumental rock, to bluesier jams, to some driving nearly funky bits! Titles include "Never", "Boysenberry Jam", "Black Currant Jam", "Marmalade" and "The Lake". LP, Vinyl record album

A searing album of Tuareg guitar from Mdou Moctar – coming across here with even more power and intensity than ever before! For years, African guitar styles have been gaining plenty of attention in the larger world of rock – and here, the sound is almost as of Mdou Moctar is trying to bridge that gap – turning in tracks that almost defy the boundaries of nation and language, with an appeal to just about anyone with an ear for amazing guitar work, psychedelic elements, and music that really knocks it out of the park! The drums of Souleymane Ibrahim push the whole thing tremendously – with a driving power different from other Tuareg albums – and Moctar's guitar can only respond with really frenzied solo work throughout. Titles include "Takoba", "Sousome Tamacheq", "Modern Slaves", "Oh France", "Funeral For Justice", and "Djallo #1". CD

A searing album of Tuareg guitar from Mdou Moctar – coming across here with even more power and intensity than ever before! For years, African guitar styles have been gaining plenty of attention in the larger world of rock – and here, the sound is almost as of Mdou Moctar is trying to bridge that gap – turning in tracks that almost defy the boundaries of nation and language, with an appeal to just about anyone with an ear for amazing guitar work, psychedelic elements, and music that really knocks it out of the park! The drums of Souleymane Ibrahim push the whole thing tremendously – with a driving power different from other Tuareg albums – and Moctar's guitar can only respond with really frenzied solo work throughout. Titles include "Takoba", "Sousome Tamacheq", "Modern Slaves", "Oh France", "Funeral For Justice", and "Djallo #1". LP, Vinyl record album

Landmark material from the farther reaches of jazz in the mid 60s – one of two albums that trombonist Grachan Moncur recorded for Blue Note – and a session that ranks as one of the best examples of the "new thing" moment in 60s jazz! Grachan's leading a sextet here that includes a number of players that he cut his teeth with in Jackie McLean's great mid 60's group, including McLean himself on alto, Bobby Hutcherson on vibes, and Tony Williams on drums – all players who were opening up their own doors in the avant jazz world of the time – joined by trumpeter Lee Morgan, who really rises to the occasion, and opens up with a modern tone that's different than some of his own albums! The set features four stunning Moncur compositions – "Air Raid", "Evolution", "The Coaster", and "Monk In Wonderland". It's hard to describe the power of these recordings – but thankfully, we don't have to, as one listen to the album will blow you away! CD

Landmark material from the farther reaches of jazz in the mid 60s – one of two albums that trombonist Grachan Moncur recorded for Blue Note – and a session that ranks as one of the best examples of the "new thing" moment in 60s jazz! Grachan's leading a sextet here that includes a number of players that he cut his teeth with in Jackie McLean's great mid 60's group, including McLean himself on alto, Bobby Hutcherson on vibes, and Tony Williams on drums – all players who were opening up their own doors in the avant jazz world of the time – joined by trumpeter Lee Morgan, who really rises to the occasion, and opens up with a modern tone that's different than some of his own albums! The set features four stunning Moncur compositions – "Air Raid", "Evolution", "The Coaster", and "Monk In Wonderland". It's hard to describe the power of these recordings – but thankfully, we don't have to, as one listen to the album will blow you away! CD

Rare live material by Monk – recorded in Tokyo in 1963, and for many years a set that was unavailable to the rest of the world on record! The date's a great one – and features the classic Columbia quartet with Charlie Rouse on tenor, Butch Warren on bass, and Frankie Dunlop on drums – that impeccable group that provided Monk with such a strong platform for a number of years, and really helped focus and advance his ideas. Rouse is especially wonderful, and he gets a lot of freedom on the record to work out these complicated solos that differ from some of his tighter work on some of the Monk studio albums of the time The set covers 2 LPs – and titles include "Panonica", "Evidence", "Bemsha Swing", "Epistrophy", "Hackensack", and "Blue Monk". CD

A classic from Wes Montgomery – and exactly the kind of record that made him a legend in the 60s! The set's one of Wes' collaborations with arranger Claus Ogerman – a key talent who was really on the rise at the time, and who understood how to perfectly balance Montgomery's unique sound on the guitar with larger arrangements in the back. There's a slightly Latin feel to some of the rhythms, as you might guess from the title – but it's very slight, and more there just to give the tracks a bit of a slink, in the classic full-on production way that Wes was using for his best Verve and A&M work in the late 60s. Titles include the classic groover "Bumpin On Sunset", plus the cuts "The Big Hurt", "Midnight Mood", "The Thumb", and "What The World Needs Now". LP, Vinyl record album

A magnificent little album – one of James Moody's first collaborations with arranger Tom McIntosh – one of the most sensitive jazz voices of his time. McIntosh works in a world of many tones and colors – and he really pushes Moody past straighter solo approaches, into a mode where he's shaping sound into complex emotion – hitting a level of soulfulness that might never been expected in earlier years! Moody plays both tenor and flute on the session, and rhythm is by a piano-less trio that features John Gray on guitar, Eldee Young on bass, and Clarence Johnston on drums. And if that's not enough, Eddie Jefferson joins in on vocals on 2 tracks – lending his own lyrics to Moody's great original "Last Train From Overbrook", and doing a great reading of "Summertime". Other tracks include "Stella By Starlight", "Indian Summer", "Please Say Yes", and "Blue Jubilee". LP, Vinyl record album

One of our favorite albums ever from the legendary trumpeter Lee Morgan – a set that Blue Note recorded in the mid 60s, but didn't show the world until almost two decades later! The album's got Lee as his lyrical best – working almost with a sense of exoticism, especially on the wonderful leadoff track – which is this loping take on Cal Massey's lesser-known composition "Pilgrim's Funny Farm" – blocked out into bold solos from Lee, plus Hank Mobley on tenor and Cedar Walton on piano! You can really hear Walton's influence on the record – that mix of flow and lyricism that he was hitting at the time – and drummer Billy Higgins also brings a lot to the record, too – creating these shifting rhythms that really move past the standard hardbop modes of a few years before. In addition to "Pilgrim's Funny Farm", the album also includes the tracks "The Rajah" and "Is That So" – and the whole thing's wonderful all the way through! LP, Vinyl record album

A pair of wonderful records – reissued here together as a single CD set! The core album Let's Make A Record is a starkly beautiful album from New Orleans street evangelist Sister Gertrude Morgan – recorded in 1968 with only voice and tambourine, but in a way that's got a highly rhythmic groove! Gertrude's been rediscovered of late, due to interest in her artwork – and this record itself is coming back strongly into the spotlight, thanks to King Britt's own brilliant reinterpretation of most of the tunes! But honestly, even if Britt hadn't picked up on this one, we'd still find it extremely compelling – because with only a tambourine to set the groove, Gertrude manages to shake out some tightly snapping little tunes that crackle with an earthy electricity that's pretty darn unique. Titles include "Let Us Make A Record" – which should be chanted at the start of every recording session from now on – plus "Way In The Middle Of The Air", "Power", "I Am The Living Bread", "He Wrote The Revelation", "I Got The New World IN My View", and "I Was Healed By The Wound In His Side". For the other LP, the cosmic talents of King Britt takes older acapella vocals and tambourine rhythms from New Orleans evangelist Sister Gertrude Morgan – originally recorded in 1969, but expanded tremendously here through use of additional keyboards, percussion, and a surprising amount of acoustic instrumentation! Britt's got his usual drum patterns and electronics in the mix, but there's also a fair bit of slide guitar, harmonica, acoustic guitar, and even a bit of lap steel on the set – all of which makes for a sound that's as folksy as it is modern – really opening up a whole new chapter in Britt's career! Titles include "Let's Make A Record", "Living Bread", "Devil's Music", "Power", "New World In My View", "Unceremonious", and "I Was Healed By The Wounds". CD

We love the work of saxophonist Willie Morris – one of the freshest talents to hit the Posi-Tone label in recent years, and an artist who really seems to take off with this album! Willie blows tenor throughout, and the set's got this unexpected depth, especially on his original compositions – while also sharing some of the solid swing that we love from the label's other releases – thanks to rhythm work from Jon Davis on piano, Boris Kozlov on bass, and Rudy Royston on drums and percussion. There's a mix of fresh ideas, solid soul, and modern currents that almost echoes some of the late 60s work of Jackie McLean – maybe underscored by the excellent alto work of Patrick Cornelius, whose horn is a perfect counterpart for Morris' tenor. Titles include "Delusion Of Understanding", "Terminal Lucidity", "To Worlds Unknown", "Leaving Paradise", and "The Imitation Game". CD

An incredible record from funky drummer Idris Muhammad! Idris is probably known for his funky break work on Blue Note and Prestige records sessions of the late 60s and early 70s – but by the time of this 1974 album, he was really expanding his style, hitting a laidback groove that went way beyond the simple drum break, into a world of complicated fills and riffs that forever changed the face of funk. The best example of this is the album's standout groove – the massive cut "Loran's Dance", which has a mellow jazzy vibe that you'll recognize from its popular use as a sample cut over the years (by the Beastie Boys, DJ Shadow, and others.) All cuts are long and mellow, and other titles include "Power Of Soul", "Saddest Thing" and "Piece of Mind". CD

An incredible record from funky drummer Idris Muhammad! Idris is probably known for his funky break work on Blue Note and Prestige records sessions of the late 60s and early 70s – but by the time of this 1974 album, he was really expanding his style, hitting a laidback groove that went way beyond the simple drum break, into a world of complicated fills and riffs that forever changed the face of funk. The best example of this is the album's standout groove – the massive cut "Loran's Dance", which has a mellow jazzy vibe that you'll recognize from its popular use as a sample cut over the years (by the Beastie Boys, DJ Shadow, and others.) All cuts are long and mellow, and other titles include "Power Of Soul", "Saddest Thing" and "Piece of Mind". CD

Rare work from a very unique chapter in the career of baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan – his larger Concert Jazz Band – an ensemble that really helped flesh out some of the ideas he'd explored previously with smaller combos! The group recorded a few albums for Verve in the early 60s, but this 3CD package presents never-heard performances recorded in Paris during the same time – very fitting, given that the "concert" in the group's name was a reference to their ability to improvise amidst structure – of which you'll hear plenty here, with a lineup that includes Zoot Sims on tenor and Bob Brookmeyer on valve trombone. The tracks are very well-recorded, and many are quite long – with titles that include "Blueport", "Utter Chaos", "Spring Is Sprung", "Five Brothers", "Black Nightgown", "Eighteen Carrots For Rabbit", "Out Of This World", "I'm Gonna Go Fishin", "Apple Core", and "Barbara's Theme". CD

A really strange side of an equally strange author – the legendary Haruku Murakami, the Japanese writer whose work has helped redefine the world of fiction in the past few decades! Murakami's known for being an enthusiast whose love for certain things shows up in his work – most notably jazz and other styles of music – but here, he gives the world a look at his love of specific t-shirts in his closet – presented with full color images, and some great Murakami prose alongside the photographs. Given the extensive writing in the book, the volume is maybe a bit like some of Haruki's other non-fiction books and essays – although this one is maybe a bit more personal and down to earth, as it also touches on his every day life and choices. The book is hardcover, 178 pages, with full color images throughout. Book

"Skyscrapers" is a classic 70s cut by legendary Brazilian keyboardist Deodato – and here, Nautilus remake the tune for a new generation – using their crackling groove to really invent a piano trio approach to the song! "Another World" is one of their own – a track with this fantastic piano line at the start – really setting the tone with a joyous, upbeat vibe – before cascading over the nicely crackling drums and bass at the core! 7-inch, Vinyl record

Nautilus sound every bit as great here as on previous albums, but they've also added a difference too – the use of vocals on many tracks, in a way that really helps expand and open up their sound! The singers vary, as do their approaches – one track has a vocoder filtering the vocals – but they all add plenty to the record when they make an appearance, which then seems to have us loving the core trio even more when they step out on their own! There's plenty of Fender Rhodes and other keyboards next to the bass and drums – and singers include Keyco and Mizuki Mamata, plus members of the group – and titles include great remakes of "Sweet Power Your Embrace", "World Is A Ghetto", "Virtual Insanity", and "Let's Stay Together" – plus "A Story About You", "Jean De Fleur", and "Cathedral". CD

The New Mastersounds hardly need to go back to school – unless it's to become the teachers, which is a role they'd fit well – given how many years they've been giving the world funky music! The great Eddie Roberts is very much at the top of his game here on guitar – and there also seems to be even more force from the organ work of Joe Tatton – who's got this way of throwing out fast notes and clipping them in all the right ways to stay lean and funky, and really jounce along with the rhythms at he core! The quartet are nice and lean, with no added elements at all – on titles that include "Boogaloo Is Dead", "Breakfast T", "Down On The Farm", "Scrappy Doo", "Do The Sausage Roll", and "In Da Club". LP, Vinyl record album

Definitely a special space from Carlos Nino – a record that seems to even deepen the sound of some of his recent cosmic explorations – to take Nino into territory that's far beyond jazz or much of his other modes too! The set features a bit of guest work from Iasos – an artist you'll know from his homegrown 70s meditative explorations – and that music really seems to inspire both Nino and Farmer Dave Scher, who work together here in a mix of percussion, lap steel, pedals, keyboards, and effects – to weave these very complex sonic tapestries, but with a quality that feels very organic, and every bit as at peace with the world as the image of the cover. The CD features a full album's worth of material, plus 6 more reworked remixes of the core tunes – and titles include "FriendshiptribeFire", "Cascaderience", "Espacio Especial", "Enterthadreeeam", "In theWoodsbytheOcean", and "Trippppp" – the last of which really sums up the spirit of the album! CD

Sweet reeds and lots of Fender Rhodes – a lost 70s album from the Detroit underground, and one of the best-ever sets from saxophonist Larry Nozero! Larry's working here in close collaboration with keyboardist Dennis Tini – whose Rhodes and Clavinet work really make the album sparkle, giving the whole thing a spacey sound that really suits Larry's long-spun lines on flute, tenor, and soprano sax! The style is mellow, yet never sleepy – a vibe that's even deeper than the CTI sound at its best, and served up here with an underground style that really keeps a sharp edge throughout. Added strings seep into the mix at times, almost giving the record a soundtrack vibe at points – but most of the best action is from the interplay of Nozero and Tini, who dominate nearly every tune. Tini uses overdubs to create these scatting voices at a few points – and titles include "Tony", "Chronicle Of The Murdered House", "Tune For LN", "Two Worlds", "All The Things You Are", and "Impressions Of My Lady". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic trio set from pianist Takeshi Obayashi – a player you might know from work with Jose James and Takuya Kuroda, but one who really steps out here strongly in a trio setting! Part of the record's strength is the rhythm help – as Ben Williams plays bass and Nate Smith plays drums – both musicians who have a round, chunky sort of groove that works perfectly with Obayashi's piano as he spins out strongly soulful tunes that offer up a vision of jazz piano trio energy in the post-Robert Glasper world! All players contribute equally to the sound – and Williams is especially great – on titles that include "Konbini Confessions", "Black Label", "The Big News", "Ngroove", "Beyond Affinity", and "Bop Boom". CD

An overlooked treasure from Anita O'Day – easily one of her best records of the 70s, and a record that seems to bring together both of the best aspects of her sound! At one level, there's a tightly swinging groove to the set – that great small combo jazz approach that seemed to work best for Anita back in the 50s – but at another level, there's also that more mature, slightly world-weary quality that really helped deepen her sound in later years – giving O'Day's vocals a fleshed-out feeling that she never would have hit back in the day! There's a richness to the record right from the start – and titles include "Opus One", "Gone With The Wind", "It Had To Be You", "When Sunny Gets Blue", "Exactly Like You", and "A Song For You". CD

An overlooked 60s pop gem from Kenny O'Dell – a great mix of twangy vocals and Sunshine Pop production – all served up with a really unique sort of sparkle! In another world, Kenny might have been a country singer – but here, he's working with some cool Cali backings that push O'Dell far from his Bakersfield roots – into the sound of sunny late 60s LA, with some great guitar, organ, and vibes in the backings. Titles include "Beautiful People", "Kentucky Woman", "Sunshine Dreamin", "Massachusetts", "You'll Break Me Yet", and "Next Plane To London". LP, Vinyl record album

A really unusual album from the mighty Ohio Players – material from their first full length set, and a record that's very different than their better-known work on Westbound and Mercury – but every bit as great! The band is tight and funky, but in a sort of deep soul 60s way – with arrangements and playing that have a hard edge, and with nice guitar rhythm tracks – a bit trippy and fuzzy at times, but also with a style that's got more of a 60s vintage than the headier styles they hit at Westbound. The group are great in this format – and the album includes lots of great original tracks – like "Bad Bargain", "Lonely Street", and "Street Party" – plus very cool covers of "Summertime" and "Mother In Law". Other titles include "Here Today & Gone Tomorrow", "Stop Lying To Yourself", "Over The Rainbow", "Find Someone To Love", "Cold Cold World", and "The Man That I Am". This great CD version is brimming over with great bonus tracks from 45s and other recordings – a total of 24 tracks in all, with bonus material that includes "Alabama Soupbone (parts 1 & 2)", "It's A Crying Shame", "A Little Soul Party", "Love Slips Thru My Fingers", "Trespassin", "You Don't Mean It", "A Thing Called Love", and "Neighbors". CD

Mindblowing funk from The Ohio Players – the group's debut album for Westbound Records, and a landmark batch of tracks that never gets old! The sound here really has the group stretching out a lot – working on tunes that are extended, but never as overindulgent as their labelmates Funkadelic – always keeping to a groove that's focused, yet also free to explore its bad self in the new freedoms of the 70s. There's a strong undercurrent of funky jazz running through the set – mixing great riffing alongside the tight rhythms and tripped-out vocals – all brought together with that deep deep deep production sound that Westbound gave the world as its own legacy in the wake of Norman Whitfield's experiments at Motown. Titles include the wonderfully jamming "Players Balling", and the funky numbers "Reds" and "Singing In The Morning" – plus more soulful tracks "I Wanna Hear From You" and "Never Had A Dream". LP, Vinyl record album

A landmark album for the O'Jays – a set that moved them from the indie ranks to 70s megasoulstatus! After years of bumping around on a variety of labels, and in a variety of styles, the group really exploded with this wonderful set – an album that has them soaring along in the righteous Philly groove of the early 70s – a sound that turned out to be a perfect foil for the trio's sublime, yet earthy harmonies. Arrangements are by some fo the best of the core Philly scene – Thom Bell, Norman Harris, Ronnie Baker, and Bobby Martin – and the album's overflowing with great tunes that completely redefine the sound of group soul in the 70s! Includes megahits "Back Stabbers" and "Love Train" – plus "Shiftless, Shady, Jealous Kind of People", "When The World's At Peace", "Time To Get Down", "Who Am I" and more! CD

Really haunting solo work from pianist Roberto Olzer – a player who's already got this incredibly sensitive command of the keyboard on his trio records, which only comes through even more strongly here! Olzer seems trained in the best modes of the romantic composers, especially Chopin – yet he's also a jazz musician too – and blends a sense of improvisation with an impeccable understanding of the piano, with a balance of notes, sounds, and silence that's completely sublime! The set does reference another world in its use of a few compositions by Puccini, mixed with others by Pat Metheny, Antonio Carlos Jobim, and Bill Evans – in a set list that includes "We Will Meet Again", "Pezzo In La", "Luiza", "In Her Family", "Straight To Dream", "Torre Del Lago", "Remembering Pramila", and "Coro A Bocca Chiusa". LP, Vinyl record album

Grooves unlike anything else you've ever heard before – the rightly legendary musical legacy of William Onyeabor, one of the most enigmatic talents to come from the African scene of the 70s! The work here is all plenty darn funky, but it's also very different from familiar Afro Funk too – as the instrumentation is heavy on keyboards, handled by William with incredible dexterity – and spun out in these soaring lines that bristle with righteous touches that really support the message of his tunes! The vibe mixes in some electro elements with long-drawn rhythms – and the vocals often step aside for lots of keyboard and rhythm interplay, then come in to send things home at just the right moment. Onyeabor's been a pretty elusive cat over the years, and it's taken Luaka Bop quite some time to put this collection together – amazing work that may well make the album one of the most important to ever come from the label – and the first introduction to the non-African world of Onyeabor's incredible sounds. Titles include "Body & Soul", "Atomic Bomb", "Something You'll Never Forget", "Why Go To War", "Love Is Blind", "Fantastic Man", and "Let's Fall In Love". 3LP set features four bonus tracks not on the CD! LP, Vinyl record album

The best album to date from Orange Pekoe – a lovely blend of light rhythms, acoustic instrumentation, and sweet female vocals! The instrumentation here has a more jazz-based sound than before – with lots of light percussion, guitar, and keyboard bits – creating an almost bossa-like sense of intimacy, one that really lets the breezy vocals of Tomoko Nagashima dominate the set. Most of the lyrics are in Japanese, and titles include "Story", "Heavenly Summer", "Cradle", "Songbird", and "Niwaka-ame". LP, Vinyl record album

A pivotal album for Jeffrey Osborne – and a record that showed the world that he could stand proudly on his own away from his old group LTD! The album was actually his second solo outing, but the first to really gel together in that hit-making blend of ballads and catchy mid-tempo pop tunes – a crossover sound that put Osborne firmly on top at the time. As with Osborne's previous set, George Duke is at the production helm, keeping things in a lightly jazzy 80s soul mode. Titles include "Don't You Get So Mad", "We're Going All The Way", "Stay With Me Tonight", "Plane Love", "Greatest Love Affair", "Other Side Of The Coin", "When Are You Comin Back", and "Forever Mine". CD

A genius pairing of these two legendary improvisers – two artists who really had an amazing sense of tone and timing on their instruments! By the time of the recording, Evan Parker had lept far ahead most of his improvising contemporaries on tenor and soprano sax – using the horns in ways that were very far from their roots, as he opens up all sorts of sonic possibilities – at a level that is also echoed by George Lewis, who'd already given the world some amazing moments on his solo trombone record, yet pushes even farther here! The set features five different improvisations, each numbered variations on the title – all great. LP, Vinyl record album

A gritty little gem in the Gram Parsons/Burritos catalog – mostly covers of classic honky tonk tunes! Many of the tracks were recorded for what would have been an honest, earnest, hard country album that was never fully realized – eventually paired with a few other tracks of similar vintage and some outtakes with Emmylou, then released as a posthumous Gram Parsons/Flying Burrito Bros LP. Gram is hardly acknowledged by the country music establishment to this day, but this set shows that he loved and respected the songs of Merle Haggard (Gram's supposed cultural opposite at the time, so little did the world actually know), Buck Owens, The Louvin Brothers and the endless lost highway of roadhouse jukebox classics – played here with a boozy after hours swagger! Tracks include "Brand New Heartache", "Tonight The Bottle Let Me Down", "Sing Me Back Home", "Crazy Arms", "Close Up The Honky Tonks", "Honky Tonk Women", "Dim Lights" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Think you know hip hop records? Think again – because if you only know the commercially released and vocal versions of the material, then you only know half the story – because among true collectors, the instrumental wax can be even more in-demand! This book opens up that secret world of hip hop – by detailing rare instrumental versions of hip hop albums – some issued only as promotional items, some only as record club or online releases, and some as dodgy bootlegs from the underground! The book has page after page of these releases – with label scans of the original records, alongside other release information, and a very well-done review for each item – a brilliant book that will really open you up to a greater range of hip hop vinyl to collect. There's listings for about 200 different instrumental records, plus more images and other details in the book – and the whole thing even features a bonus CD of instrumental mixes! Book

A very cool combo from the LA scene of the 70s – a tight funky group, topped with two female soul singers – all working together in a style that's got a wonderful mixture of warmer edges and grittier sounds at the core! The two female singers really give the set a unique vibe – as they help bring focus to the instrumentation of the group, with a lot more presence than the usual throw-in female vocals of the time – hardly the backing chorus mode of a disco record, and instead a great balance to the sharp guitar lines and keyboards from the musicians! We've not heard of any of the players in any other setting, but they're very good – clearly able to handle jazz if they want, but aimed here towards a sophisticated funk style that's equally great on the mellow steppers as it is on the more upbeat tracks. Titles include "Heavenly Feeling", "World Full Of People", "Do You Hear Me Talking To You", "Dreaming Our Lives Away", "A Thank You Song", "Fantasies & Dreams", and "I'd Like To Stay". CD features a bonus 7" mix of "I'd Like To Stay". CD

A very cool combo from the LA scene of the 70s – a tight funky group, topped with two female soul singers – all working together in a style that's got a wonderful mixture of warmer edges and grittier sounds at the core! The two female singers really give the set a unique vibe – as they help bring focus to the instrumentation of the group, with a lot more presence than the usual throw-in female vocals of the time – hardly the backing chorus mode of a disco record, and instead a great balance to the sharp guitar lines and keyboards from the musicians! We've not heard of any of the players in any other setting, but they're very good – clearly able to handle jazz if they want, but aimed here towards a sophisticated funk style that's equally great on the mellow steppers as it is on the more upbeat tracks. Titles include "Heavenly Feeling", "World Full Of People", "Do You Hear Me Talking To You", "Dreaming Our Lives Away", "A Thank You Song", "Fantasies & Dreams", and "I'd Like To Stay". LP, Vinyl record album

A really great British group – one who are mostly acoustic, but hardly sound folksy at all – and who are only a trio, yet manage to come across with a much fuller sound than you might expect! It would be easy enough to link these guys with the acid folk scene of the time, but their phrasing is different and their vocals, even while harmonized, have a sense of darkness that sets them apart from the warmer tones of the Cali scene when in similar territory. The record almost feels more like some lost indie set from a decade later – touched with some of the melancholy of a Nikki Sudden album, but again with a different sort of phrasing – in ways that only further make it a standout set. Titles include "Clock Watcher", "Hard World", "People & Places", "Red Sun", "Lazy Day", "Newspaper Seller", "Brief Encounter", and "Songs Of Mine". CD

A trio of key albums from the Pink Fairies – served up with lots of bonus tracks too! First up is Never Never Land – the fantastic debut of the Pink Fairies – easily one of the shaggiest, headiest bands on the UK scene at the start of the 70s – and a group who rose from the ashes of the equally important Deviants! The record's an unusual mishmash of modes – a set that confidently swaggers between psych, hard rock, and maybe even a bit of proto-punk – very confident in its approach, and coolly compressed in the production, but never in the slick style that would dominate British rock more strongly in the mid 70s. The Fairies aren't afraid to let their freak flag fly, but they're also clearly moving past hippiedom too – on titles that include "War Girl", "Do It", "Say You Love Me", "Tack One Side Two", "Thor", "Uncle Harry's Last Freakout", and "The Dream Is Just Beginning". What A Bunch Of Sweeties is filled with freaky fuzz from the Pink Fairies – a seminal UK group who were maybe trapped in a space between late psych and early glam – and somehow equally important to both! There's lots going on in the set – modes that are as offbeat as styles put forth by The Fugs in the late 60s, but a lot sharper overall from a musical perspective – especially in the way the group uses great guitar work and a few catchy numbers to sew the whole thing together – on titles that include "Portobello Shuffle", "Marilyn", "Pigs Of Uranus", "Walk Don't Run", "X-Ray", "I Went Up I Went Down", and "I Saw Her Standing There". Kings Of Oblivion is maybe the most fully-formed album from the legendary Pink Fairies – and a set that's got some really searing guitar from Larry Wallis – a melodic genius whose sound really holds things together, and gives the group a stronger focus than ever before! The guitar lines seem to bring out and amplify all the ideas the group were going for before – and maybe give the group a sense of darkness that they never fully reached – not hard rock cliche, but this tightness that's also completely individual – maybe like early Thin Lizzy at their best, yet in a completely different way. Titles include "I Wish I Was A Girl", "City Kids", "When's The Fun Begin", "Chromium Plating", "Street Urchin", and "Chamber Maid". Bonus tracks include "Going Down", "Walk Don't Run (first version)", "War Girl (alt mix)", "The Snake", "Do It (single mix)", "Uncle Harry's Last Freakout (alt mix)", "Well Well Well (alt mix)", "City Kids (alt)", and "Hold On (single)". CD

Pink Floyd rose out of the same London scene that gave the world a huge amount of psychedelic records in the late 60s – but with a set like this, they're clearly head and shoulders above most of their contemporaries – already working with a boundless sense of imagination and impeccable instrumentation, on a record that's full of delight and surprise at every single twist and turn! The group still sport Syd Barrett vocals and lyrics here, but are also really opening up their guitar spaceship too – soaring to the heavens on the tremendous "Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun" – and sending the whole thing home with the cuts "Let There Be More Light", "Corporal Clegg", "Jugband Blues", "See Saw", and "A Saucerful Of Secrets". LP, Vinyl record album

Wonderful work from Gregory Porter – easily one of the best new jazz singers to emerge in the past decade or so, and one whose approach is soulful enough to rival the greats of the 70s! There's echoes here of Bill Withers, Gil Scott-Heron, and Al Jarreau – and like all those artists, Gregory's a singer who really moves past simple styles and generic conventions – into a mode that's vivid and rich right from the start, and defiitely his own territory – a world of sound that's a delight to experience! Most backings are straight jazzy, but inflected with some soul modes – and the album's even better and more incredible than Porter's debut for Motema. Titles include "On My Way To Harlem", "When Did You Learn", "Mother's Song", "Imitation Of Life", "Our Love", "Be Good", and "Painted On Canvas". CD

The last album ever recorded by funky drummer Roy Porter – and a really unique set that seeks to combine his older grooves from the 70s with contemporary elements from the 90s hip hop scene! The approach is a lot better than you might expect, and has lots of the best true school elements firmly in place – no surprise, given that most of the tracks are built from Porter's complicated rhythms and sophisticated electric grooves, pulled almost straight from his original albums – with rhymes added by Houston Blue, Ded To The World, and Big Born. Plus, the set's also got some instrumental numbers that hold very strongly in the old Roy Porter mode – killer cuts "Slaughterhouse", "Wave", "Dopetifvity", and "Mr RP & Me" – next to vocal cuts that include "Generation", "Slaughterhouse", and "Mysticali Fix". LP, Vinyl record album

A long-overdue look at the short but rich career of Sandy Posey on MGM Records – presented here in a set of four full albums, plus bonus non-LP singles too! Posey has a very unique approach, music that's a little bit country and a little bit pop – and which carries a distinct sound that really sets Sandy apart from so many other of her 60s contemporaries! Posey's approach is always a bit hard to peg, and that's what makes it great – a southern singer, working in Tennessee – but with soulful production from Chips Moman that pushes things both past the poppier side of Nashville, and some of the lighter girl singer modes of the east coast too – really on the cusp of something wonderful, and cresting nicely in all sorts of really wonderful ways – as distinct for Sandy maybe as Roy Orbison's special blend was for him. Chips Moman produced almost all the work here, although he gets a bit of help from Joe South near the end – and the 2CD set features 55 tracks in all, including "Born A Woman", "What A Woman In Love Won't Do", "All Hung Up In Your Green Eyes", "Deep In Kentucky", "Handy", "The Big Hurt", "Sunglasses", "Miss Lonely", "Single Girl", "Shattered", "Ways Of The World", "Take Me With You Baby", "I Take It Back", and "Bread & Butter". CD

Really great work from Positive Force – a group who gave the world a rare groove classic back in the 80s, and who return here with fresh material that's every bit as great! The last time around, their lead singer was Denise Vallin – and here, the lovely Leslie Page steps up to the microphone with a vocal style that's a great fit for the warm, Cali-styled grooves that the group does so well – a mixture of soulful inclinations with jazzier flourishes – all given a production style that's nicely down to earth, like some lost west coast jazz vocal album from back in the day! Disregard the 2022 date, as the whole thing feels a lot more like the kind of Free Soul material folks overseas were digging years ago – with titles that include "Gone Are The Days", "One Heart", "I Know", "Manti", "Dawn Breaks", and "I'll Be What I Wanna Be". LP, Vinyl record album

A vocal group classic from back in the day – the one and only full length set issued by The Presidents – one of those east coast groups who really knew how to knock it out of the park! Van McCoy handles the production, and wrote and arranged most of the tracks too – and the record's got that careful approach he brought to all of his best late 60s indie work, but touched with some great 70s currents that really echo nicely with the generation of the Stylistics, Moments, and Delfonics! The set includes the big title cut "Years Of Love" – plus "Gotta Keep Movin", "For You", "Sweet Magic", "This Is My Dream World", and "How Can You Say You're Leavin". LP, Vinyl record album

If you've ever doubted that Vincent Price was a creepy guy, you've got to hear this album! The 2LP set is a mad exploration into the world of the supernatural – with Vincent speaking on topics that include "Witch Tortures", "How To Communicate With The Spirits", "The Magic Bloodstone", "Instruments Of Magic", "Witch Burning", and "How To Make A Pact With The Devil". The script was written by Terry D'Oberoff, with electronics by Douglas Leedy – but it's Price who makes the whole thing really work, reading in a dark, spooky tone, set in a really echoey space – really making us believe that he knows all about this weird stuff! LP, Vinyl record album

A mad bit of psychedelic soul from Prince – a record that sounds better and better over the years, and which stands out from most of his 80s work thanks to some really unique production and songwriting! After Purple Rain, Prince did anything but freeze up in the face of living up to such a massive crossover smash – and instead stepped sideways nicely with a fresh approach to his sound – on a record that puts the "Paisley" in Paisley Park! The album mixes core Prince funk with some nicely playful touches – hardly classic psych, but that refined version that was floating around in the mid 80s – maybe mis-named, but used to great effect here. The album's a gem through and through – and titles include"Raspberry Beret", "Paisley Park","Around The World In A Day", "America", "Temptation", "Pop Life", and "Condition Of The Heart". CD

A mad bit of psychedelic soul from Prince – a record that sounds better and better over the years, and which stands out from most of his 80s work thanks to some really unique production and songwriting! After Purple Rain, Prince did anything but freeze up in the face of living up to such a massive crossover smash – and instead stepped sideways nicely with a fresh approach to his sound – on a record that puts the "Paisley" in Paisley Park! The album mixes core Prince funk with some nicely playful touches – hardly classic psych, but that refined version that was floating around in the mid 80s – maybe mis-named, but used to great effect here. The album's a gem through and through – and titles include"Raspberry Beret", "Paisley Park","Around The World In A Day", "America", "Temptation", "Pop Life", and "Condition Of The Heart". LP, Vinyl record album

A great return to form for Prince – even though at the time, we all had to refer to him with an unpronounceable symbol! There's a lean, funky vibe to most of the record – almost a step back to the unified group approach of his mid 80s classics – and even though a few sonic elements have been updated, they changes have been done in the best way possible – partly by absorbing some of the new pop psychedelic touches that Prince himself had unlocked back in the 80s, filtered into the work of others, and which are taken back here with great modifications that really sound great next to the grooves! Titles include "The Most Beautiful Girl In The World", "We March", "Now", "319", "Billy Jack Bitch", "Eye Hate U", "P Control", and "Shy" – plus a number of short "NPG Operator" tracks. CD

A great return to form for Prince – even though at the time, we all had to refer to him with an unpronounceable symbol! There's a lean, funky vibe to most of the record – almost a step back to the unified group approach of his mid 80s classics – and even though a few sonic elements have been updated, they changes have been done in the best way possible – partly by absorbing some of the new pop psychedelic touches that Prince himself had unlocked back in the 80s, filtered into the work of others, and which are taken back here with great modifications that really sound great next to the grooves! Titles include "The Most Beautiful Girl In The World", "We March", "Now", "319", "Billy Jack Bitch", "Eye Hate U", "P Control", and "Shy" – plus a number of short "NPG Operator" tracks. Promo-only vinyl pressing features a full side of bonus material – five different mixes of "Eye Hate U". LP, Vinyl record album

A really fantastic album from Prince – recorded in 2010, and unreleased at the time – but clearly one of the greatest things he gave us in the final decade of his life! This isn't uncooked demo material, or under-thought studio tracks – and instead, the whole thing is a fully-formed record with a message that really comes through in the title – more political Prince than usual, with an eye for our nation that rivals Sign O The Times! It may be that back when Prince recorded the set, the time wasn't right for the message – but these tracks definitely hit home now – and are often delivered in this sinister slow funk mode that really fits the lyrics – almost as if Prince were trying to give the world his version of a righteous 70s album on Curtom Records. Titles include "Running Game", "Born 2 Die", "Welcome 2 America", "Check The Record", "Hot Summer", "Stand Up & B Strong", "Same Page Different Book", and "One Day We Will All B Free". LP, Vinyl record album

A very clubby set from the Johannesburg scene at the start of the 90s – four longer tracks that really showcase that moment when house music influences were running through more mainstream R&B – all at a level that's richer and more soulful than some of the synth-heavy work of the decade before! The basslines are great – really grooving in that garage style that was big in the NYC clubs at the time – warming up the tunes in mighty nice ways, and making for some very seductive rhythms! Titles include the super-catchy title cut "Big World", plus "Unity", "Rebatla Muzik", and "Qinisela". LP, Vinyl record album

A landmark album from Queen – a set conceived when the group were already at the top of their game, and willing to not only lean into their strengths, but also take a few chances by slimming things down, and really bringing the focus onto the guitar work, vocals, and heavy rhythms that continue to make the quartet the stuff of legend! Those qualities come through right away on the album's first two tracks – the instant classics "We Will Rock You" and "We Are The Champions" – followed by plenty more greatness on titles that include the ultimate take on "Sheer Heart Attack", and the cuts "My Melancholy Blues", "It's Late", "Who Needs You", Fight From The Inside", "Spread Your Wings", "All Dead All Dead", and "Get Down Make Love". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the best non-Saturn Sun Ra albums of the 60s – material recorded live on a tour of New York colleges in 1966, and very much in a spirit that captures the Arkestra at their best! Longer tracks are juxtaposed nicely with shorter ones – in a way that has the group running very outside one minute, yet stepping soulfully back to the center the next – never schizophrenicly, but in a mode that really displays the full range of energy pulsing in the group. Interesting instrumentation on the set includes Ra on clavoline, plus Carl Nimrod on the beautiful-sounding "sun horn" – and other players include Marshall Allen on alto, John Gilmore on tenor, Pat Patrick on baritone, and James Jacson on log drum and flute. Titles include "Dancing Shadows", "Next Stop Mars", "Outerspaceways", "Shadow World", and "Sun Ra and His Band From Outer Space". CD

A really wonderfully-done collection of work from the legendary Sun Ra – put together by longtime musical partner Marshall Allen, and way way different than the typical mish-mash of tracks you'd find on some of the budget or public domain titles on the market! First off, the track selection is really thoughtful – music that definitely defines the Arkestra in the 60s and 70s, but which also highlights some of its overlooked corners too – pulled together from recordings that appeared on the Saturn, Impulse, and other labels – all curated and remastered by Art Yard, who've done their share of great Ra reissues over the years. Plus, the package features a few unreleased performances as well – and although it would serve as a great introduction to the music of Sun Ra, it's also really perfectly put together for longtime Ra fans as well – given the focus, track selection, and overall quality of the whole thing. The sounds are sublime – maybe one of the best summations of the righteous, cosmic genius of the Arkestra at its best – and titles include "Reflects Motion", "Island In The Sun (extended)", "Somewhere In Space", "The Lady With The Golden Stockings", "Somebody Else's World", "Ancient Aethiopia", "Astro Black", "Have You Heard The Latest News From Neptune", "We Travel The Spaceways", and "Plutonian Nights". LP, Vinyl record album

Some of the most unusual Sun Ra material of the 80s – a series of performances done with the Outer Space Visual Communicator – a unique instrument that mixed light and music together, and created a very trippy experience for both the Arkestra and the audience! Most of these tracks have never been heard before – only two have appeared on a video – and together, they showcase a really unique experiment for Ra – which is really saying something, given how experimental Sun Ra could be with his music! The package was put together in collaboration with the inventor of the OVC, and titles include "Calling Planet Earth", "Sunset On The Nile", "Love In Outer Space", "Theme Of The Stargazers", "East Of The Sun", "Saturn Rings", and "El Is A Sound Of Joy" – plus a very long take of "Discipline 27-II". CD

Some of the most unusual Sun Ra material of the 80s – a series of performances done with the Outer Space Visual Communicator – a unique instrument that mixed light and music together, and created a very trippy experience for both the Arkestra and the audience! Most of these tracks have never been heard before – only two have appeared on a video – and together, they showcase a really unique experiment for Ra – which is really saying something, given how experimental Sun Ra could be with his music! The package was put together in collaboration with the inventor of the OVC, and titles include "Calling Planet Earth", "Sunset On The Nile", "Love In Outer Space", "Theme Of The Stargazers", "East Of The Sun", "Saturn Rings", and "El Is A Sound Of Joy" – plus a very long take of "Discipline 27-II". LP, Vinyl record album

Sun Ra's really moving forward with this classic set – refining the sound of his Chicago-based Arkestra, and reaching for new territory that moves him way past familiar jazz modes! The cover bills the group as playing "music from tomorrow's world" – and you can definitely hear that on some titles here, including one number that features Ra on some really haunting celeste, and another that features Marshall Allen making weird noises with his mouthpiece! The group is all greats from the old days – John Gilmore on tenor, Marshall Allen on flute, Pat Patrick on baritone and flute, James Spaulding on alto and flute, Hobart Dotson on trumpet, Charles Davis on baritone, and Ronnie Boykins on bass – and titles include "Hours After", "Saturn", "Ancient Ethiopia", and "Blues At Midnight". CD

Sun Ra's really moving forward with this classic set – refining the sound of his Chicago-based Arkestra, and reaching for new territory that moves him way past familiar jazz modes! The cover bills the group as playing "music from tomorrow's world" – and you can definitely hear that on some titles here, including one number that features Ra on some really haunting celeste, and another that features Marshall Allen making weird noises with his mouthpiece! The group is all greats from the old days – John Gilmore on tenor, Marshall Allen on flute, Pat Patrick on baritone and flute, James Spaulding on alto and flute, Hobart Dotson on trumpet, Charles Davis on baritone, and Ronnie Boykins on bass – and titles include "Hours After", "Saturn", "Ancient Ethiopia", and "Blues At Midnight". This fantastic expanded reissue includes bonus material – some tracks that appeared on the album Sun Sound Pleasure, and other recordings too – titles that include "Hour Of Parting", "Round Midnight", "Hours After", "Velvet", "Enlightenment", "Hours After (single version)", "Great Balls Of Fire (single version)", "Back In Your Own Backyard", and the unreleased tunes "Blues For Saturn", "State Street (alternate)", and "Horoscope (incomplete)". CD

Sun Ra's really moving forward with this classic set – refining the sound of his Chicago-based Arkestra, and reaching for new territory that moves him way past familiar jazz modes! The cover bills the group as playing "music from tomorrow's world" – and you can definitely hear that on some titles here, including one number that features Ra on some really haunting celeste, and another that features Marshall Allen making weird noises with his mouthpiece! The group is all greats from the old days – John Gilmore on tenor, Marshall Allen on flute, Pat Patrick on baritone and flute, James Spaulding on alto and flute, Hobart Dotson on trumpet, Charles Davis on baritone, and Ronnie Boykins on bass – and titles include "Hours After", "Saturn", "Ancient Ethiopia", and "Blues At Midnight". This fantastic expanded reissue includes bonus material – some tracks that appeared on the album Sun Sound Pleasure, and other recordings too – titles that include "Hour Of Parting", "Round Midnight", "Hours After", "Velvet", "Enlightenment", "Hours After (single version)", "Great Balls Of Fire (single version)", "Back In Your Own Backyard", and the unreleased tunes "Blues For Saturn", "State Street (alternate)", and "Horoscope (incomplete)". LP, Vinyl record album

An amazing album from Sun Ra – a set that's got some of the same soulful focus as Space Is The Place, and a really surprising sense of groove on many moments! The record's actually a bit funky – if you can believe it – and was recorded with electric keyboards, bass, and guitar (played by the mysterious Disco Kid) – at the studios of Bob Blank, at a time when he was really able to capture the many strands of music that would come together in a performance, then find just the right way to put them over on record! The album was originally dismissed by many Sun Ra fans for being a funk sell-out album – but over the years, it's become a prized album for its cosmic sense of soul and great focus of the group's more far-reaching ideas – and at some level, it's probably the sound that most people imagine the Arkestra to have when they're first starting out, rather than the more avant material that dominates most of their catalog. The whole thing is wonderful – and titles include "That's How I Feel", "Where Pathways Meet", "Twin Stars of Thence", and "There Are Other Worlds (They Have Not Told You Of)". Fantastic 2CD version – which includes both the commercial release, and the other mix of the record that Ra issued on Saturn – plus a great booklet of notes. CD

One of the most important Sun Ra albums from the early years of Saturn Records – a set that got a bit more circulation than some of his other records, and which shows the group really expanding their sonic range in a wonderful way! The title track takes up all of side one – and is this mystic workout that features Sun Ra on clavioline and piano – an acoustic/electric combination that creates really mindblowing results – and which is echoed by some very inventive reed work from Marshal Allen and Danny Davis on alto and flute, Pat Patrick on baritone, and John Gilmore on tenor. The tune has a brooding intensity that's amazing – very spacey at times, and free, but not in an aggressive way. Other tunes follow in their own rich pattern – and also feature Ra on Sun Harp, celeste, dragon drum, and marimba – on titles that include "The Shadow World", "Abstract Eye", and "Abstract I". CD

One of the most mysterious, elusive Sun Ra albums in the legendary Saturn Records catalog – a set that was only ever pressed in small quantities back in the 80s, and often with different tracks for different pressings too! The material here is from a range of different performances, and really showcase the continued sense of majesty the Arkestra carried forth from the 70s, even when they were working farther from the limelight – often with the lovely June Tyson in the lead on vocals, and a bit of vocalizations from Ra as well – and different lineups depending on the tracks – but with mindblowing material from John Gilmore on tenor and Marshall Allen on alto throughout the recordings. Ra plays a bit of electronics, but most of the sounds here are acoustic – although still as other-worldly as ever – and this package finally brings together all the tracks that have appeared on variations – with one unissued number too. Titles include "When Spaceships Appear/Ra To The Rescue Ch 1", "Back Alley Blues", "Drummerlistics", "Children Of The Sun", "Mystery Mr Ra", "Space Shuttle/Ra To The Rescue Ch 2", and "Cosmo Party Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

Really unique material from Sun Ra – a pair of recordings that were initially circulated much more strongly than some of his Saturn Records material, thanks to the power of the BYG/Actuel label in the early 70s – but tracks that actually come from a variety of different sessions that Ra himself did with the Arkestra in the late 60s! Tracks are shortish, but very inventive – a well-chosen snapshot of all the new ideas that the group were cooking up during the end of the 60s in New York, with an increased mission to explore the outer reaches of space, and use more electronics than ever before! Ra plays some killer keyboards – moog, spacemaster, and acoustic piano – often with these really eerie tones – and other players include Kwame Hadi on trumpet, Akh Tal Ebah on space dimension mellophone, Ali Hassan on trombone, Marshal Allen and Danny Davis on alto and flute, John Gilmore on tenor, and Pat Patrick on baritone – and the whole group vocalizes at points, joined by other singers who include June Tyson and Art Jenkins. There's also some great use of "strange strings" on the sessions, not to mention a bit of reverb – and tracks on this second volume include "The Utter Nots", "Outer Spaceways Inc", "Scene 1 Take 1", "Strange Worlds", "Ancient Ethiopia", "Pyramids", and "Interpretation". CD

Really unique material from Sun Ra – a pair of recordings that were initially circulated much more strongly than some of his Saturn Records material, thanks to the power of the BYG/Actuel label in the early 70s – but tracks that actually come from a variety of different sessions that Ra himself did with the Arkestra in the late 60s! Tracks are shortish, but very inventive – a well-chosen snapshot of all the new ideas that the group were cooking up during the end of the 60s in New York, with an increased mission to explore the outer reaches of space, and use more electronics than ever before! Ra plays some killer keyboards – moog, spacemaster, and acoustic piano – often with these really eerie tones – and other players include Kwame Hadi on trumpet, Akh Tal Ebah on space dimension mellophone, Ali Hassan on trombone, Marshal Allen and Danny Davis on alto and flute, John Gilmore on tenor, and Pat Patrick on baritone – and the whole group vocalizes at points, joined by other singers who include June Tyson and Art Jenkins. There's also some great use of "strange strings" on the sessions, not to mention a bit of reverb – and tracks titles include "Spectrum", "The Satellites Are Spinning", "Seen III Took 4", "Adventures Of Bugs Hunter", "Legend", "The Realm Of Lightning", "The Utter Nots", "Outer Spaceways Inc", "Scene 1 Take 1", "Strange Worlds", "Ancient Ethiopia", "Pyramids", and "Interpretation". CD

Really unique material from Sun Ra – a pair of recordings that were initially circulated much more strongly than some of his Saturn Records material, thanks to the power of the BYG/Actuel label in the early 70s – but tracks that actually come from a variety of different sessions that Ra himself did with the Arkestra in the late 60s! Tracks are shortish, but very inventive – a well-chosen snapshot of all the new ideas that the group were cooking up during the end of the 60s in New York, with an increased mission to explore the outer reaches of space, and use more electronics than ever before! Ra plays some killer keyboards – moog, spacemaster, and acoustic piano – often with these really eerie tones – and other players include Kwame Hadi on trumpet, Akh Tal Ebah on space dimension mellophone, Ali Hassan on trombone, Marshal Allen and Danny Davis on alto and flute, John Gilmore on tenor, and Pat Patrick on baritone – and the whole group vocalizes at points, joined by other singers who include June Tyson and Art Jenkins. There's also some great use of "strange strings" on the sessions, not to mention a bit of reverb – and tracks titles include "Spectrum", "The Satellites Are Spinning", "Seen III Took 4", "Adventures Of Bugs Hunter", "Legend", "The Realm Of Lightning", "The Utter Nots", "Outer Spaceways Inc", "Scene 1 Take 1", "Strange Worlds", "Ancient Ethiopia", "Pyramids", and "Interpretation". CD

The birth of punk rock as a bonafide genre, and not only that, a record that changed the rules – stripping rock and roll back down raw essentials – and unwittingly appearing as one of the greatest rock albums ever made. Given the stripped, buzzing simplicity, it's impossible to describe this record without sounding like a blow hard, but you really can't overstate what these four goony guys from Queens accomplished. 30-odd years of the most visceral pop music concentrated into 2 minute, 3 chord blasts of beautiful sonic catharsis – and they could barely even play! It's astonishing. Thanks boys! Tracks include "Blitzkrieg Bop", "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend", "Beat On The Brat", "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue", "I Don't Wanna Around With You", "Loudmouth", and "Today Your Love Tomorrow The World". LP, Vinyl record album

As great of a rock & roll album as there's ever been! It's impossible to describe this record without sounding like a blow hard, but you really can't overstate what these four goony guys from Queens accomplished. 30-odd years of the most visceral pop music concentrated into 2 minute, 3 chord blasts of beautiful sonic catharsis – and they could barely even play. Thanks boys. Tracks include "Blitzkreig Bop", "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend", "Beat On The Brat", "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue", "I Don't Wanna Around With You", "Loudmouth", and "Today Your Love", Tomorrow The World". 8 bonus tracks include original demo versions of many of the album tracks – plus never officially released outtakes from the sessions including "I Can't Be" and "I Don't Wanna Be Learned/I Don't Wanna Be Tamed". CD

An excellent "comeback" LP for Ernest Ranglin, though astute observers realize he never really went away in the first place! Ranglin was always able to move back and forth easily between the worlds of groovy jazz, playing alongside Monty Alexander on some of his finest 70s sides, and Jamaican studio work, serving guitar duties at Studio One, cutting some of the rhythms that would serve as the foundation for much of the Jamaican music throughout the years! This set finds him in fine form, rendering excellent jazzy versions of numerous classic rhythms with a crack band that includes old mates Monty Alexander on piano, Roland Alphonso on saxes, and funky drummer Idris Muhammad! 11 tracks in all: "Congo Man", "Surfin'", "King Tubby MeetsThe Rockers", "Satta Massagana", "54-46 (Was My Number)", "None Shall Escape The Judgement", "Ball Of Fire", and "Black Disciples" CD

Nothing too peaceful here – at least not in a sleepy sort of way – as The Rascals are really hitting on all burners, and starting to mix a bit of funk in with their groove! The record's a great extension of the group's last work on Atlantic – and it takes that already-righteous territory, and furthers it a bit more with some heavy rhythms on the bottom, and nicely jamming guitar work on the top! There's a great sense of soul that informs the whole album – even at some of the more rockish points – and titles include the excellent side-long cut "Peaceful World", a long instrumental workout with a nice slow bubbling funky sound that's almost in the style of Chicano rock. The albumf eatures guest work from jazz players like Hubert Laws on flute, Alice Coltrane on harp, Garnett Brown on trombone, Joe Garrell on tenor sax, and Joe Newman on trumpet – and other titles include "Little Dove", "Visit To Mother Nature Land", "Happy Song", "Icy Water", "Sky Trane", and "In & Out Of Love". LP, Vinyl record album

Quite possibly the first truly great Lou Rawls album for Capitol – an all-out swinging jazz session done with arrangements by Onzy Matthews, in a mode that firmly helped put the Lou Rawls sound on the map! The tracks are mostly older numbers from a long lineage of blues and R&B – but with hipper 60s touches by Matthews in the backings, Lou really swings the work into a whole new territory – moving older, clunky compositions into more adult, more mature modes that aren't nearly as sad or downtrodden as their roots! Titles include "I'd Rather Drink Muddy Water", "Roll Em Pete", "Kansas City", "World Of Trouble", "Trouble In Mind", "Strange Fruit", and "Six Cold Feet Of Ground". LP, Vinyl record album

One of those funk records that was even pretty darn obscure back in the day – at a time when so many other funk records weren't so obscure! But obscurity aside, the record also quickly grew into the stuff of legend – thanks to a groove that's totally great, and which has all this chugging guitar over popping basslines that really set up the groove – topped with vocals from Ray Alexander that easily move between sweet and raw, and which give the whole thing an earnest, honest sound that's quite different than the bigger mainstream soul of 1973! The whole thing's great – and features two versions, one instrumental one vocal, of the great "Let's Talk" – plus loads more great cuts that include "Taking The Long Way Home", "My World", "My Special One", and "Wiser & Deeper". This version also features two bonus tracks not on the original album – both with vocals from Philly soul singer Chris Bartley – "I'm In Love With You" and "I Wonder Why". LP, Vinyl record album

Maybe the coolest album so far in the Red Hot series – even amidst the unique Sun Ra subgroup – as the album's the brainchild of Meshell Ndegeocello, and comes together with all the complex soulfulness of her own recent albums! Back in the 90s, Meshell was a great but more mainstream soul artist – and over the years, she's developed into a really fascinating talent – one able to reach out with a complex blend of jazz, funk, and soul elements – woven into patterns that are always very much her own – a musical legacy that the great Sun Ra might have appreciated! Ndegeocello leads a very diverse lineup here – playing bass and keyboards, and singing a bit – next to other players who include longtime Arkestra giant Marshall Allen on alto and EWI, plus Immanuel Wilkins on alto, Christopher Bruce on guitar, Darius Jones on saxes, Daniel Mintseris on keyboards, and Justin Hicks, Pink Siifu, Kenita Miller, Nio Levon, and Hanna Benn on vocals. The album channels Ra's spirit through territory that's very much Meshell's own – and titles include "Yet Differently Not Mars Hall", "El Soul The Companion Traveler", "The World Of Shadow", "Reproductive Manatees/Sunny Said Up", "Bedlam Blues", "#9 Venus The Living Myth", and "Departure Guide Of The 7 Sisters". LP, Vinyl record album

Three classic albums from Redbone – served up in a single set! First up is Potlatch – a killer album from Redbone – one that has the group really hitting on all burners – using that strongly solid groove that Pat and Lolly Vegas first forged through years on the west coast club scene, and turning it into a more powerful message that made the group such a top-shelf act at the time! And sure, most folks remember Redbone as being a crucial first nation group – but there's a quality to the music here that instantly pushes them into competition with the best of the mainstream too – a sharp, soulful sound that comes on strong right from the start – on tunes that include "Without Reservation", "Maggie", "Light As A Feather", "Drinkin & Blo", "Bad News Ain't No News At All", and "Alcatraz". Message From A Drum is great – a record that has Redbone opening the door to a bit more elements from their roots than before, but also while expanding their sound in all these ways that are completely unexpected too! The approach is great – and almost as if Pat and Lolly Vegas had shown to the rest of the world that they could conquer mainstream rock at the start of the 70s, then felt free to experiment a bit more with the overall shape of their sound – using some rootsy elements that echo the drum in the title, but also tripping things out a bit too – often with a heady vibe that makes the album one of their best. Titles include "The Witch Queen Of New Orleans", "The Sun Never Shines On The Lonely", "One Monkey", "Chant 13th Hour", "Jericho", "Niji Trance", "Message From A Drum", and "Fate". Cycles is a bit later, from 1977 – and is a record that's maybe a bit more soulful than usual for Pat and Lolly Vegas – thanks to production from Linda Creed – who gives the pair a groove that's a nice change from their early 70s records, and underscores some of the more soul-based modes that were always lurking in their music! There's some warm keyboards on the record, and some very nice grooves that never try to change up the group at all – but instead open these currents of funk and mellower soul that turn out to be a great showcase for the vocals of the Vegas brothers! Titles include "Cycles", "Open", "Gamble", "Dancing Bones", "Funky Silk", "Don't Say No", and "Give Your Our Love Another Try". CD

The last-ever album from the legendary Lou Reed – and a set that's completely different from the sounds he gave the world in the Velvet Underground, and on most of his solo work in recent decades too! The music is spare and ambient, and very much lives up to the "meditations" in the title – inspired strongly by Lou's love of Tai Chi, but also delivered with a quality that echoes a lot of the ambient work of Brian Eno too! There's a great sense of texture and tone here – really slow-building, quiet-shifting sound that has this really subtle, almost earthy power – definitely music that is designed to alter the body and mind, but in very peaceful ways. Titles include "Move Your Heart", "Find Your Note", "Wind Coda", and "Hudson River Wind". CD