A second great serving of grooves from the French scene of the late 60s and early 70s – a package that also includes some rare sound library material too, and which shows that if you know where to look, French records can be a real treasure trove of funky cuts! We loved the first volume, but this second one may well dig even deeper – as much of the work here is new to our ears, and the cuts work together in a really great blend of funky instrumental modes – familiar elements from the time, but lots of great twists and turns too! Titles include "Mr Buzz" by The Flying Dutchman, "Soul Car" by Pierre Alain Dahan & Slim Pezin, "Riviera Express" by Bernard Estardy, "Ten Et Medor" by Alain Goraguer, "Belle Gueuse" by Claude Engel, "Lewis & Clark" by Raymond Guiot, "Red Medium" by Tonio Rubio, "Aubergine Time" by Bernard Lubat, "Bass Session" by Guy Pedersen, "Jelly Roll Dance" by Jean Pierre Martin, "Bass Duettino" by Raymond Guiot, "Nage Libre" by Hervey Roy, "Patio Bass" by Guy Pedersen, and "Bahia Bossa Nova" by Bernard Lubat. LP, Vinyl record album

Tracks include "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)", "Ride Or Die", "Can I Get A..." with Amil & Ja Rule, "Money, Cash, Hoes" with DMX, "It's Alright" and "Coming Of Age (The Sequel)" with Memphis Bleek, 'Money Ain't A Thing", "It's Like That", and more. 14 tracks in all. LP, Vinyl record album

After Shock comes Panic – the sequel to Creed Taylor's previous album for ABC, and like that one, a very weird mix of jazzy backings, odd sound effects, and cool production techniques! The record begins with a familiar core – jazzy instrumentals, of the sort that Taylor was already producing for other artists, and would go on to do even more famously for Verve. But here, the music's really played with too – changed up in the middle of a song, as the rhythms get weird, sound effects come in, and the whole thing gets turned into a batch of spooky little scenes that more than live up to the title of the record – and the titles of the songs, which include "Alpine Honeymoon", "Wreck Of Old 97", "A Shot In The Dark", "The Fastest Gun", "No Smoking", "The Operation", and "The Prison Break". LP, Vinyl record album

A heavy duty set of rare rock and funk tracks from around the globe – very much the sort of work we've grown to love through the many years of reissues from the Now Again label – the reissue-based arm of the legendary Stones Throw imprint! Now Again has turned us on to more bands than we can count – and they expand that tradition by adding in some obscure groups here with other well-chosen material – including some of the African funk and psych they've really helped introduce to the world in the 21st Century! Titles include "The Out Station" by Image, "Down By The Ocean" by Heaven, "Know Yourself" by Ed Whiting & Joe Lano, "I Am Selfish" by Eye Q, "I Know" by Groep 1850, "Digging" by Trevor McNamara, "December Sequel" by Pat's People, "Let Me Try" by Kaleidoscope, and "Io Prego E Preghero" by Christophe. LP, Vinyl record album

Tracks include "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)", "Ride Or Die", "Can I Get A..." with Amil & Ja Rule, "Money, Cash, Hoes" with DMX, "It's Alright" and "Coming Of Age (The Sequel)" with Memphis Bleek, "Money Ain't A Thing", "It's Like That", and more. 14 tracks in all. LP, Vinyl record album

The last true masterpiece by the greatest rock band to ever come out of the late 70s and early 80s L.A. scene. More Fun In The New World serves in a lot of ways as X's upright middle finger to the early years of the Reagan era, with the anthemic opener "The New World", and the ballad "I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts", perfectly encapsulating the fear and loathing brought about by the ridiculous politics that infected the entire decade. The album is very much a sequel to the amazing Under The Big Black Sun, full of razor pop anthems, Billy Zoom's punkabilly guitar acrobatics, and amazing depth thanks to John and Exene's sensitive and perceptive song writing. Awesome! Other tracks include "True Love", "We're Having Much More Fun", "Poor Girl", "Make The Music Go Bang", "Devil Doll", "Painting The Town Blue", "Hot House", "Drunk In My Past", "I See Red", and "True Love Part 2". LP, Vinyl record album

A very unusual soundtrack from the Italian team of Guido & Maurizio De Angelis – best known for their crime work of the 70s, but here working on the music for an "unofficial" sequel to the Alien film, done as a low-budget production overseas! In this movie, the Alien has come to earth – and the sounds are very different from what you might hear in space – an unusual mix of electronics and acoustic guitar, the latter of which is clearly used to give the music a sense of place – with echoes, maybe, of some of the earlier western modes the brothers might have done. The best tracks are the ones that achieve a great balance between the electronics and guitar – which comes off with a very unique vibe. LP, Vinyl record album

Maybe the crowning moment on record of the mighty McSolaar – certainly the first French MC to conquer the global world of hip hop, and also maybe one of the first non-American artists to show that other languages could work equally well with the music! The production here is every bit as great as Solaar's lyrics – handled by Jimmy Jay and La Funk Mob, the latter of whom you might know from albums of their own – definitely pioneering European talents in taking the best US modes of the early 90s, and mixing them with a fresher array of beats and samples! Titles include "Obsolete", "Dix De Mes Disciples", "La Fin Justifie Les Moyens", "Sequelles", "Prose Combat", "Nouveau Western", "Superstarr", and "Temps Mort". LP, Vinyl record album