Creepy sounds from this legendary 80s horror composer! Features some cool electronics too! LP, Vinyl record album

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With Paul McCartney, Nicky Hopkins, Richard Thompson, Boz Scaggs, and more! LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic classic from The Band – a set that's hardly got them cowering in the corner the way the "stage fright" title might imply – and which instead seems to have the group at their most confident during the early years, effortlessly spinning impeccable musicianship and some surprisingly biting lyrics! The young Robbie Robertson is on guitar, Garth Hudson warms things up with organ lines, and vocals are handled by the shifting array of other players in the lead – Rick Danko, Levon Helm, and Richard Manuel. Titles include "The Shape I'm In", "Sleeping", "Strawberry Wine", "Just Another Whistle Stop", "Daniel & The Sacred Harp", "Stage Fright", and "Time To Kill". LP, Vinyl record album

The second full album from Richard Hell & The Voidoids – issued with a bit less fanfare than the first, but still every bit as essential! Five years have passed since Blank Generation, but Hell's wit and energy are as sharp as ever – and if anything, The Voidoids have really fused into a really cohesive unit – not a slicker band, but one that has a powerful sense of instrumentation to match Richard's vocals – especially in the great guitar work of Robert Quine! Judging from the grainy cover image, Hell is keeping things as real as ever – which definitely comes through in titles that include "Time", "The Kid With The Replaceable Head", "You Gotta Move", "Downtown At Dawn", "Lowest Common Denominator", "I Can Only Give You Everything", and "Ignore The Door". LP, Vinyl record album

A pretty wild set from Elephants Memory – one that's as trippy as you'd guess from the group's image on the cover – and equally collaborative too! There's a strong mix of male and female vocals here – over guitar and rhythms that move effortlessly between blues rock and psych – all with a pretty loose, freewheeling sense of production – but enough tightness to make some of the chorus moments snap out nicely! Wes Farrell produced, but seems to really let the band do their thing – and in addition to songs written by group members Stan Bronstein, Michal Shapiro, and Richard Sussman – there also seems to be some song contributions from Tony Visconti too. Titles include "Hot Dog Man", "Talkin A Walk", "RIP", "Jungle Gym At The Zoo", "Don't Put Me On Trial No More", "Crossroads Of The Stepping Stones", "Band Of Love", and "Brief Encounter". LP, Vinyl record album

Band includes Randy and Michael Brecker, Joe Farrell, Joe Beck, and Richard Davis. LP, Vinyl record album

Massive work from one of the funkiest drummers of all time – the legendary Bernard Pretty Purdie, stepping out here in a batch of instrumentals that may well be his greatest album ever! Bernard's drums are right up front in the mix – leading off all tunes with a full, funky, echoey sort of approach that's unlike anything else we can think of – and certainly different from any other late 60s albums of this type! The production is totally great – and has a way of pulling out some of the weirdest aspects of the music – which itself features guitar from Billy Butler and Eric Gale, bass from Bob Bushnell, tenor and flute from Seldon Powell, and organ and piano from Richard Tee – who also handled all the arrangements on the set! The centerpiece is the hit single "Funky Donkey", but just about every track's a groover in its own way – and titles include "Soul Drums", "Bill's Groove", "Jimmy's Back", "Testifyin", "Modern Jive", "Blow Your Lid", "Bee N Tee", and "Soul Bossa Nova". This new edition includes 8 bonus tracks, with a couple rare 45 tracks and more that have never been released – all soulful & funky – well paired with the Soul Drums album! Bonus tracks are in stereo, and include "Alexander's Rag Time Band", "Genuine John", "Soul Clappin", "If You Never Cried", "Stop" and "Time Is Tight". Also comes with a nice booklet with new liner notes, and choice quotes from Purdie's peers and those he influenced, from Galt MacDermot to Large Professor. LP, Vinyl record album

Killer work from one of the smokinest soul labels of the west coast scene of the 60s – mighty Mirwood Records, a company that's kept the Northern Soul scene humming for decades! Mirwood wasn't one of the biggest, or most chart-topping labels – but the company came up with some incredible work in the uptempo mode that's really held strongly over the years. The label boasted some great singers with a straightforward, no-nonsense approach – often working with tight rhythms and rolling piano lines to send the tunes home with a solid sort of punch! This special vinyl-only set features some of the most crackling cuts from the Mirwood catalog – 14 titles that include "Do The Temptation Walk" by Jackie Lee, "That Beatin Rhythm" by Richard Temple, "My Little Girl" by The Bob & Earl Band, "I Wanna Do Everything For You Baby" by The Mirettes, "I Can't Get Away" by Bobby Garrett, "Is She In Your Town" by Curtis Lee, "Mine Exclusively" by The Olympics, "Where There's A Will" by Jimmy Thomas, "I Can't Stop You" by The Performers, "Stubborn Heart" by The Sheppards, and "Don't Pretend" by The Belles. LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful collection of work from one of the greatest soul labels ever – a tiny Alabama imprint that helped bring the Muscle Shoals sound to the masses – thanks to the work of producer Rick Hall, and his crack band of session players! The music here set a whole new standard for soul in the south – and really helped bridge older 50s modes and the new wave of more expressive, more sophisticated singers – served up here in a special vinyl-only package that mixes big Fame classics with some real gems that never got their due back in the day – and even come cuts that appear here on vinyl for the first time ever! Titles include "She Ain't Gonna Do Right" by Clarence Carter, "Fortune Teller" by The Del-Rays, "That Kind Of Lovin" by Otis Clay, "Back In Your Arms" by George Jackson, "Feed The Flame" by Billy Young, "Almost Persuaded" by June Conquest, "A Piece of My Heart" by Art Freeman, "I Worship The Ground You Walk On" by Jimmy Hughes, "Blind Can't See" by Richard Earl & The Corvettes, "Come On Home" by Hrman Moore, "I'm Gonna Forget About You" by Arthur Conley, "Long Ago" by Ben & Spence, "Take Me Just As I Am" by Dan Penn, and "Don't Make Me Hate Loving You" by Jeanie Greene. LP, Vinyl record album

A really great album from Billy Taylor – way fresher than most of his other records of the time, especially his trio work! The main reason for this is Oliver Nelson – who crafts some incredibly soulful backings for Billy on the album's tracks, twisting through soul jazz big band numbers, easily grooving mellow tracks, all in the style of some of his best backing work for other players of the time. Billy's freed up to let himself groove around the tracks with an easy floating tone – almost like Ahmad Jamal or Ramsey Lewis on some of their sessions with Richard Evans. Titles include "You Tempt Me", "Don't Ever Say We're Through", "Love For Sale", "Miss Fine", "A Secret", "My Romance", and "Midnight Piano". LP, Vinyl record album

One of Sammy D's best albums of the late 60s – and a beautiful mix of modes that he explored on the Reprise label! The title track is Sammy's big hit "I've Gotta Be Me", but that tune's followed up with some nice groovers – like Sammy's versions of "My Personal Property" and "I'm a Brass Band" – both pulled from Sweet Charity, a film in which he had a part. Arrangements are by HB Barnum, JJ Johnson, and Richard Wess – and get very nicely jazzy in parts, an aspect that's further emphasized by Jimmy Bowen's great production. Other tracks include "She Believes In Me", "Sweet November", "Here I'll Stay", "I'm Glad There Is You", and "I've Got You Under My Skin". LP, Vinyl record album

One of Slide Hampton's first albums – and a massively hard-wailing set that will make any doubters sit up and take notice! The set really packs a punch – as Slide leads a hip group that features Freddie Hubbard, Richard Williams, Bernard McKinney, and George Coleman through some tightly woven arrangements that manage to swing with the grace of small combo work, yet wail with the intensity of a big band. Great solos pop out all over the set – and there's a soul jazz groove that makes the album sound like a classic Prestige session. Titles include "Asseveration", "Hi Fly", "Sister Salvation", and "A Little Night Music". LP, Vinyl record album

We love Joe Henderson's 70s sides, and though this is reaching the end of the decade, it still smokes. Joe sounds great, with his raw edge still intact, playing nice far reaching solos that never leave the pocket. The set opens with "Y Todavia La Quiero", a nice groover with a feel like an uptempo "Love Supreme" set to cook rather than open you up spiritually. Chick Corea, Tony Dumas and Peter Erskine are the band, though Richard Davis and Tony Williams guest on two cuts. The set also includes one of our favorite Corea compositions, 'Yes, My Dear", plus the title track, "Crimson Lake" and "My One And Only Love". LP, Vinyl record album

Excellent stuff – a record that we love it to death, and listen to all the time! Woody Herman's band meets the soulful arrangements of Richard Evans, and the whole thing cooks nicely in the Chess studios in Chicago. The result is a tasty blend of soulful big band tracks, with a strident groove that Woody never duplicated, and with the kind of baroque arrangements that Evans was bringing to some of the best soul work on Cadet at the time. Donny Hathaway plays organ, and the group does a killer version of his own "Flying Easy". Other titles include "The Hut", "Sex Machine", and "It's Your Thing" – but it's all great! LP, Vinyl record album

An early 90s contemporary hip hop-steeped street soul gem from Intro! Intro deftly introduce themselves with a style that was as timely as could be circa '93, and holds up with classic swagger today. While 90s hip hop soul styled beats and production finesse has a timeless shelf life in the best hands, some of the pop soul crossover efforts of the day didn't stay quite as fresh as Intro, whose affinity for their era with inspiration from groups like the Gap Band and the Isleys keeps it as fresh as ever. Includes the classic "Love Thang", "Let Me Be The One", "Anything For You", "Why Don't You Love Me", "It's All About You", "Ribbon In The Sky", "Don't Leave Me", "Come Inside", "One Of A Kind Love", and "So Many Reasons" – plus the New Life bonus tracks "My Love's The Way", "Feels Like The First Time" and "New Life". Production by Eddie "DJ Eddie F" Ferrell, Richard Nash and Kevin Woodley. LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most obscure albums from vocalist Grady Tate – and one of the hippest too, thanks to a jazzy vibe that really makes the whole thing groove differently than Grady's other albums! Richard Tee plays electric piano, and the band includes Billy Butler on guitar, George Coleman on tenor, and Ron Carter on bass – all of whom help make things a lot groovier than on some of Grady's earlier albums! The big track on here is Grady's jazzy cover of "Moondance" – which is a great jazzy dancer – and the LP also includes "Movin Day", "You're A Lady", and "Love Has No Pride". LP, Vinyl record album

With selections by Wynona Carr, Little Richard, Teen Queens, Daddy Cleanhead & The Chuck Higgins Band, Diz & The Doormen, Buddy Milton & The Twilighters, Ann Cole, The Cliques, The Skyliners, Jesse Belvin, Donna Hightower, Jimmy Clanton, and The Chanters. LP, Vinyl record album

A weird batch of groovy tracks from Diz – more of a pop soul jazz instrumental set than a straight jazz one, recorded in 1969 with arrangements by Jimmy Mundy, who conducts a group with Paul Griffin, Billy Butler, and Jerome Richardson. As usual, Dizzy rises to any occasion – and brings out some great work for the album, grooving in a number of different modes as the moods of the tracks change with the backing colors of the band. Titles include a medley of "Aquarius" and "Let The Sun Shine In", plus "Exotica", "Besame Mucho", "Magic Tree", "This Girl's In Love With You", and "Galveston". Not all great – but with some really nice moments! LP, Vinyl record album

This great series just keeps on getting better and better – serving up the rare disco and club tracks that we can never seem to find, and doing so in a way that's a heck of a lot hipper than the usual disco set! The groove here isn't really straight disco – it's more a mix of funky club, modern soul, and some of the better rhythms that bubbled around in the underground club scene years back – grooves that were way ahead of their time, and which have still continued to sound fresh over the years! The 2LP set features a total of a dozen tracks – nearly all of which would break your bank if you found them on the original vinyl – and titles include "We Want To Play" by Brief Encounter, "Rebel On The Run (rmx)" by Selection, "Let's Get It On (inst)" by Marini, "Remember To Remember" by Rick Holmes, "Never Gonna Let You Go" by Savana, "Feel So Good" by Mac Thornhill, "Slide Into Your Heart" by Time Spectrum, "Summer Groove" by The Joneses, "City Lights (rasta funk)" by Onyx, "Get It On The Ground" by Joe Coleman, "Ooh Wee Baby" by Ron Richardson, and "I Still Feel Like Dancing" by Newstar Band. LP, Vinyl record album

A record that really has Fairport Convention knocking it out of the park – making a bold turn towards British traditional music, but in a way that imbues these relics with a whole new life of their own! The album came at a key turning point – after an accident that took one of their members, and which almost saw the group disband – but instead turn towards the past for even deeper inspiration than some of their contemporaries, whom they'd covered on other records – at a level that seems to set Sandy Denny free into this sublime territory of her own! Denny's vocals are incredible – like a thing unlocked from some ancient vault – and they're given this wonderful focus through the growing complexity of Richard Thompson's guitar work, and the understated brilliance of Ashley Hutchings' bass – both of which bring in these modal inflections that are very 60s, and hardly conceived of as accompaniment with the original tunes. The result is tremendous – tunes that are completely transformed, as a touchstone for generations. Titles include "Matty Groves", "Reynardine", "Come All Ye", "The Deserter", "Tam Lin", and "Crazy Man Michael". LP, Vinyl record album

Call it a love of dancers or just plain Quincy Jones groove – this album's filled with tight tracks that are a perfect showcase for the ways in which Quincy had such a huge influence on jazz in the 60s! The tunes are often old standards, but done here in a style that's nicely syncopated – taking on that Jones love of space and sound, and working it through some big band tracks at a level that creates grooves that are a lot hipper than you'd hear on albums like this from most of his contemporaries! Players are all top-notch – and include Benny Bailey and Freddie Hubbard on trumpets, Melba Liston and Curtis Fuller on trombones, Jerome Richardson and Oliver Nelson on tenor, Sahib Shihab on baritone sax, Patti Brown on piano, and Les Spann on guitar and flute. Heck, even liner notes from Dorothy Kilgallen can't keep this one from being nice – and titles include "Chinese Checkers", "Tone Poem", "G'Wan Train", "Pleasingly Plump", and "A Sunday Kind Of Love". LP, Vinyl record album

Minnie Riperton's first album for Epic – and the record that broke her from a hip Chicago underground artist into one of the seventies' biggest female soul stars! The record moves past the baroque soul of Minnie's early years with Rotary Connection and Charles Stepney – and hits a mix of mellow compressed LA styles and slicker funkier numbers that do the same thing for her Chicago-trained vocals that Rufus' backing did for that of Chaka Khan. Of course, it helps that she's got some superbly sensitive writing and arranging help by husband Richard Rudolph – and Stevie Wonder's definitely lurking in the background, too – not credited with production, due to contractual reasons, although he helped put most of the album together. Includes Minnie's huge crossover hit "Loving You", a perfect showcase for her beautiful 5 octave voice, plus the tracks "Our Lives", "Every Time He Comes Around", "Perfect Angel", and "Reasons". LP, Vinyl record album

A further chapter in the big band years of JJ Johnson – heard here at a point when JJ was pushing his ensemble even more than before, with a fluid groove that almost matches the energy of similar groups on MPS at the time! There's a real undercurrent of hipness going on in the record – a quality that's not content to ape bigger band modes of earlier years, and instead finds a whole new space in sound – a relatively lean quality, but one that still uses the added players to create some magnificent qualities in sound – all to support the well-blown lead solo work by Johnson. There's a nice groove on most numbers, and the album features some especially nice reeds from Jerome Richardson and Frank Wess. Johnson handled arrangements, and titles include "Short Cake", "Space Walk", "Little Dave", and "Euro #1". LP, Vinyl record album

One of Quincy Jones' best for Mercury Records in the 60s – a very groovy record that was done with a feel that's somewhere in between his Big Band Bossa album and his best 60s soundtrack work! The format is simple – Quincy picks a sweet batch of jazz semi-hits from the early 60s, plays them with a nice mix of soul jazz arrangements, and works with a great ensemble filled with wonderful players – including Roland Kirk, Budd Johnson, Seldon Powell, James Moody, and Jerome Richardson on reeds; Lalo Schifrin and Patti Brown on piano, Jim Hall on guitar, Clark Terry on trumpet, and Melba Liston on trombone – plus lots of great percussion at the bottom, helping bring some Latin energy to the grooves at points. Tunes are familiar, but all given a great Quincy Jones twist – and titles include "Gravy Waltz", "Jive Samba", "Walk On The Wild Side", "Bossa Nova USA", and "Watermelon Man". LP, Vinyl record album

A great little album from Teena Marie – one that's dedicated to the late Minnie Riperton (who'd passed during the previous year), and which is produced by Riperton's husband/collaborator Richard Rudolph. Teena's got more than a few of Minnie's tricks up her sleeve on the best cuts, singing in a smooth sweet soulful style that makes for some of her best vocals on record at the time. Lovely, soulful work from Teena – one of her best! Titles include "Behind The Groove", "Aladdin's Lamp", "Now That I Have You", "Can It Be Love", "Too Many Colors", and "Young Girl In Love". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the greatest albums ever from pianist Duke Pearson – recorded at a time when the musician was taking a bigger role at the Blue Note label, and started exploring some great musical territory in the process! The tracks here were all recorded in the late 60s – but not issued by the label until decades later, when they were pulled together in this fantastic double-length set – a record that comes as a real revelation. The work's quite different than Pearson's big band recordings, or his earlier soul jazz ones – and is a brilliant mix of Brazilian styles, electric instrumentation, complicated arrangements, and some of the more head-oriented jazz that was cropping up on Blue Note at the time – particularly some of the United States Of The Mind albums by Horace Silver! Silver's musical partner Andy Bey sings on the album's title cut – and other musicians include Frank Foster on tenor, Bobby Hutcherson on vibes, Wally Richardson on guitar, Jerry Dodgion on flute, Ralph Towner on acoustic guitar, and a young Airto on percussion. Titles include the fantastic "I Don't Care Who Knows It", a great version of "Canto De Ossanha", and the tracks "Bloos", "I Don't Know", "Captain Bacardi", "Rosemary's Baby", "Dialogo", "Upa Neguinho", and "Xibaba". LP, Vinyl record album

A very soulful set of big band material from Quincy Jones – recorded during that tight early 60s period when his arrangements just couldn't fail! The album's his only session for Impulse, and it's got a slightly deeper style than his work from the time for Mercury – a bit more sophisticated, with nice modern touches that take the tunes in surprising directions. Part of the greatness of the set lies in the players – as the album features work by Curtis Fuller, Thad Jones, Stu Martin, Freddie Hubbard, Patty Brown, Phil Woods, and Jerome Richardson – and titles include "Robot Portrait", "Hard Sock Dance", "The Twitch", and "For Lena & Lennie". LP, Vinyl record album