A real turning point in the career of David Sylvian – and his first album to feature moody soundscape-type tracks! The double-length album has Sylvian really exploring sound and space in ways never imagined on his earlier work with Japan – stretching out from the album's first few vocal numbers, and eventually nodding into a realm of darkness that's completely sublime! The vocal tunes – like "River Man", "Gone To Earth", "Taking The Veil", and "Laughter And Forgetting" – are as captivating as any of the tracks on Brilliant Trees, but even better in that they're more laidback and personal. They're followed by beautiful instrumental tunes – "The Healing Place", "Answered Prayers", "The Wooden Cross", and "Where the Railroad Meets The Sea" – done in the same shamanistic/mystic mode of some of Sylvian's later more experimental work, but with more of a tuneful song-like structure. CD

One of our favorite compilations in this amazing series – a killer batch of 70s funk from Ethiopia! The instrumental grooves are very much in the style of the best American work at the time – like tracks by James Brown or Kool & The Gang – but the vocals have this amazing other-worldly feel that makes the music sound totally unique, and which pulls out some strange pitches in the instrumentation that really gives the whole thing a wild and edgey feel! The set's got 17 tracks in all – none of which you've probably heard before – and titles include "Tashamanaletch" and "Wededku Afqerkush" by Alemayehu Eshete, "Muziqawi Silt" by Wallias Band, "Gedawo" and "Gud Aderegetchegn" by Ayalew Mesafin, "Ya Djaleleto" and "Antchin Yagegnulet" by Tamrat Ferendji, and "Yemendjar Shega" by Muluqen Mellesse. CD