An amazing collection – and one that really helped completely revise our understanding of Caribbean music! The collection features a fair bit of artists with roots in the West Indies, but who made a huge impact on London's postwar immigrant population – the new rise of non-native residents who were swelling the ranks of the city in the years after the way – bringing with them new cultures, new sounds, and new traditions – with all the requisite ideas and politics that might imply! The work here often has a subtle social agenda – working through themes important to these new Londoners, yet still echoing modes of the homeland as well – often with great musical backings that's heavy on percussion, jazzy instrumentation, and very upbeat rhythms. Titles include "London Is The Place For Me" by Lord Kitchener, "I Was There" by Young Tiger, "Some Girl Something" by The Lion, "No Carnival In Britain" by Mighty Terror, "Jamaica Hurricane" by Lord Beginner, "Birth Of Ghana" by Lord Kitchener, "Victory Test Match" by Lord Beginner, "Spanish Calypso" by The Lion, "Bulldog Don't Bite Me" by Timothy, "My Landlady" by Lord Kitchener, "If You're Not White You're Black" by Lord Kitchener, and "Aguiti" by Lord Invader. LP, Vinyl record album

London's always been one of the hippest cities in the world – but back during the postwar years, there was an especially wonderful outpouring of music on the scene – a rich array of new sounds and styles pulled from around the globe – as so many residents from crumbling British empire came to live in the UK! Musicians and listeners arrived in London with plenty of cultural baggage on hand – influences from the Caribbean, West Africa, and India too – plus other smaller scenes that once fell under the British banner, all now the fuel for the cultural fire that was happening in England! The title here tells plenty about the music being made in this newly-formed scene – bits of African highlife, Jamaican calypso, American jazz, Cuban Latin, and more – all filtered into the modernism of the 50s, and given a new twist that was decidedly urban as well. The package may well be the most impressive so far in this legendary series – and is certainly the one that moves the farthest past any sort of easy expectations or cultural conventions. Titles include "Women Police In England" by Mighty Terror, "My Sorrow" by West African Swing Stars, "Cricket Umpires" by Lord Kitchener, "Jordhu" by Caribbean Swing Band, "Trumpet Highlife" by Shake Keane, "Calypso Mambo" by George Browne, "Cuban Nightingale" by Buddy Pipp's Highlifers, "Kitch" by The Quavers, "Tabu" by Mona Baptiste, and "King Jimmy Foo Foo" by Tejan Sie with The West African Rhythm Brothers. LP, Vinyl record album

A fascinating look at musical modes in London during the big years of postwar immigration – a time when former residents of the crumbling British Empire were flooding to London for jobs and a better way of life – often bringing along a huge amount of cultural experience in the process! This set follows wonderfully in the spirit of previous volumes of the series – bringing together a range of different sonic styles that were originally recorded in London as 78rpm singles – where a new wave of Caribbean and West African immigrants were fusing older styles with a newly modern sensibility, and often a fair bit of jazz as well! The set list is wonderful – a great array of well-chosen material – and titles include "Wa Sise" by Willie Payne & The Starlite Tempos, "The Emperor Of Africa" by The Mighty Terror, "Royal Wedding" by The Lion, "Modern Telephone" by Dai Dai Simba, "Sons & Daughters Of Africa" by Lord Beginner, "Caroline" by Trinidad Steel Band, "Ema Foju Ana Woku" by West African Rhythm Brothers, "Kana Kana" by Billy Sholanke, "Boul Ve Se" by Calypso Rhythm Kings, and "My Handy Man" by Marie Bryant. LP, Vinyl record album

Rare funk from one of the greatest labels in the business! King Records is known to many for its classic work with singers like James Brown, Hank Ballard, and Wynonie Harris – but during the later years of the label, they also pressed up a great amount of excellent funky 45s, including many that are some of the rarest you'll ever try to find. This 24 track set is the first to really try to document King's rich funk legacy – and it's got some amazing tracks that blend together raw southern soul, hard northern rhythms, and sweet James Brown-produced grooves. Any one of these tunes would set you back at least $50 on a single – not just because they're rare, but because they're some of the best funk cuts ever recorded. Titles include "Mr Tuff Stuff" by Toby King, "Gold Walk" by The Presidents, "Butter Your Popcorn" by Hank Ballard, "Your Thing Ain't No Good Without My Thing" by Marie Queenie Lyons, "Down Home Girl" by The Coasters, "Don't Get Funky" by Gloria Walker, "Funky Lady (parts 1 & 2)" by Soul East, "From The Back Side (parts 1 & 2)" by The Sons Of Funk, "Camelot Time" by J Hines & The Fellows, and "Papa's Got The Wagon" by Gloria Walker. LP, Vinyl record album