The Columbia debut of the Johnny Winter Band – a real classic, with cuts that include "Good Love", "Slippin & Slidin", "I Love Everybody", "Hustled Down In Texas", "Memory Pain", "I'm Not Sure", and "Miss Ann". LP, Vinyl record album

A record that begins with a question, and follows through with a sublime mix of social politics and spiritual energy! Pops Staples asserts himself a bit more than before with his songwriting here – including the title classic "Why (Am I Treated So Bad)", which went onto become one of THE anthems of the Civil Rights era! That energy follows in more original songs by Pops, and in his great reworkings of older traditional numbers – on a set that also has the group working with producer Billy Sherrill, who seems to give them even more power than before, but without commercializing their music at all. Titles include "Why", "I've Been Scorned", "I'm Gonna Tell God", "Move Along Train", "Step Aside", "King Of Kings", "What Are They Doing", and "Will The Circle Be Unbroken". LP, Vinyl record album

In the years after Charlie Parker passed away, tributes to his greatness were a very common thing in local jazz scenes across the US. This is a prime example of that tradition, but way more than that, it's also a killer Chicago jazz session from the old days – featuring trumpeter Ira Sullivan at his best, along with some great local players that include tenorist Nicky Hill, pianist Jodie Christian, and bassist (Raphael) Don Garrett. The music is what you'd expect – loving renditions of Bird standards like "Klacktoveedesesteene" and "Love Letters" – but there's also a lot more going on underneath, and the album's as much a Charlie Parker tribute as it is a batch of bop and soul jazz numbers with a good underground feel. LP, Vinyl record album

A live gem from the classic Dave Brubeck Quartet – and a great reminder that the group could almost be even more exciting in a concert setting than on their studio albums! The date is 1962, and the combo is in perfect form – sublime alto from Paul Desmond, and always-inventive rhythms from Joe Morello on drums and Eugene Wright on bass – fused perfectly with Dave's piano, but also very open and spontaneous here – with this extra sort of crackle that makes us know that although working at the level of perfection, these guys are still just mere mortals too! The set features a 12 minute take on "Brandenburg Gate" with a solo by Desmond that's simply stunning – and other cuts include "Since Love Had Its Way", "King For A Day", "Good Reviews", and "Cultural Exchange". LP, Vinyl record album

A classic bit of stretched-out spaciness from the early days of Virgin Records – two side-long tracks that are filled with lots of cool keyboards, percussion, and other hip instrumentation! The record's the brainchild of Cyrille Verdeaux – who plays piano, organ, mellotron, and even gong on the set – working with a different group on each side – guitar, vibes, bass, and percussion on side one – and on side two, tenor from Didier Malherbe, guitar from Steve Hillage, and synth from Tim Blake! The sound is a bit too relaxed to be jamming, but definitely has a nice sort of proggish vibe – never sleeping, and always nice and exploratory, even when spacey. LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic record from one of the first great female voices in Jamaican music – the completely righteous Phyllis Dillon, a singer who set a whole new standard for the genre! The tunes here are beautiful rocksteady numbers – a number of which just have bass, drums, and organ stepping along behind Dillon's powerful lead. A few others change up the rhythms a bit, but Phyllis holds the whole thing together nicely – both on original material, and transformative versions of other tunes from the time. Titles include "Don't Stay Away", "One Life To Live", "Nice Time", "Perfida", "Right Track", "Rocksteady", "Close To You", "Woman Ghetto" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

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A set that's maybe not the first record from the great John Lee Hooker – but one that definitely helped push him over the top, and forever cement his place in the legend of 20th Century blues! The vibe here is a bit different than some of Hooker's earlier, rawer material – as he gets some soulful backing from members of The Funk Brothers – an early current of Detroit punch, yet still delivered with a sound that's nice and lean – so that Hooker's vocals and raw guitar completely dominate the set! The mix of sharp rhythms and Hooker's lead is heard to great effect on the classic cut "Boom Boom" – a number that may well have set fire to a whole generation of British and American rockers – and other tracks are equally great, and every bit as gritty – with titles that include "Process", "Blues Before Sunrise", "I Got A Letter", and "What Do You Say". LP, Vinyl record album

A seminal step forward for this legendary group – easily one of the greatest albums they ever cut! With ABC, the Jacksons are expanding their sound with the club-oriented grooves of the time – using Holland, Dozier, and Holland on many cuts, trying for a similar soaring groove as some of the trio's work on their own Invictus label. The move's actually a great one – as the maturing group has a strong adult harmony sound, the one that they would lean on more heavily during their years as The Jacksons, and which calls for much smoother arrangements than before. The record's got a surprisingly righteous, joyous sort of sound – and titles include "The Love You Save", "ABC", "One More Chance", "Never Had A Dream Come True", "I'll Bet You", "I Found That Girl", "La-La Means I Love You", "2-4-6-8", and "The You Folks". LP, Vinyl record album

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One of the most sweetly jazzy albums ever recorded by Kevin Ayers – a set that almost has him moving in the more progressive direction taken by Soft Machine after his departure! As on other solo Ayers albums, David Bedford had a strong hand in the arrangements – but his approach here is more focused, and often more sophisticated than before – less in the playful collaborative style of Ayers immediate post-Soft Machine years, and more in an ambitious style that pushes the elements together with a beautifully honed sound. Players on the album include Mike Oldfield on guitar, Didier Malherbe on sax and flute, Gerry Fields on electric viola, and Bedford on keyboards – and titles include "Oh My", "Margaret", "Song From The Bottom Of A Well", "Lullaby", "Champagne Cowboy Blues", "Stranger In Blue Suede Shoes", and "There Is Loving/Among Us/There Is Loving". LP, Vinyl record album

An unmitigated blast of punk, worthy of setting the stage for the American hard core movement! While punk rock had been firmly established by the time this album came out, no one was prepared for the next level that Black Flag would take things to with this brutal, nihilistic, stripped down assault on the status quo! A classic that will stand up for ages, wit fist in the air anthems like "Rise Above", "Six Pack", "What I See", "TV Party", "Police Story", "Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie", "Thirsty & Miserable", "Depression", "Padded Cell", "Damaged I", "Damaged II", "Life Of Pain", "Room 103" and "No More". LP, Vinyl record album

The team of Paul Desmond and Jim Hall was one of the best ideas ever forged in American jazz of the 60s – and the icy pair are perfect company together on this album of bossa-inflected tracks with a very cool edge! The album allows Desmond's alto to take on a warmth and flowing quality it never had in the Dave Brubeck group – and Hall's guitar work, while a masterpiece of understatement, brings in just the right amount of ringing tone to echo out the brilliance of Desmond's ideas. Gene Wright and Connie Kay complete the group, and titles include "O Gato", "Samba Cantina", "Girl From East 9th", "Ship Without A Sail", and "Bossa Antigua". LP, Vinyl record album

The third album recorded by British jazz rockers Egg – a set done only after the group had reformed for Virgin Records, and easily their most complicated work to date! By the time of this recording, the members of the core trio – especially keyboardist Dave Stewart – had really honed their skills, and were able to work in a range of jamming, jazzy modes. Much of the focus here is on the instrumentation – especially Stewart's work on organ – and the session adds in extra oboe, bassoon, clarinet, and "germophone" – plus a trio of voices on one number. The sound is progressive without being overindulgent – and titles include "Germ Patrol", "Pielude", "Wind Quartet 1", "Wring Out The Ground Loosely Won", and "Enneagram". LP, Vinyl record album

A wild little record, and one that's got a lot more going on than the usual blues-inspired rock set of the time! Sure, Mike Bloomfield is on guitar, and Barry Goldberg handles keyboards – but the set also features some sitar from Richie Havens, plus moog from Paul Beaver, more guitar from Sivuca, and even a touch of strings – all driven strongly by the drums of Buddy Miles! LP, Vinyl record album

Super-righteous work from William S Fischer – the ultra-hip arranger who was one of the most important forces in the late 60s underground soul jazz scene! Fischer is best known for his work with Eugene McDaniels, Eddie Harris, and Les McCann – almost akin to the sorts of collaborative influence that David Axelrod had with Cannonball Adderley or Lou Rawls, but with a style that was decidedly darker, and trippier. This album's one of the few ever recorded under his own name – originally done for the tripped-out jazz imprint Embryo, and featuring a unique blend of moog, strings, funk, and soul! Billy Cobham plays drums and percussion on the set, Bill Robinson sings on a few numbers, and Walter Sear adds in some extra moog next to Fischer's own work – but the real brilliance comes from the overall concept – funky one minute, laidback and trippy the next, very much in the spirit of some of the righteous crossover funk, soul, and rock recordings coming from McDaniels and Axelrod at the time! Titles include "Patience Is Virtue", "Saigon", "Green Forever", "Chains", "Electrix", "Capsule", and "There's A Light That Shines". LP, Vinyl record album

Stunning funk from the great Dizzy Gillespie – light years away from his early bop recordings! The album's a slammin batch of 70s instrumentals – Dizzy's trumpet firmly in the lead over electric backings that have more than a bit of funk in them – a bit like his Soul Salvation record, and but slightly more open overall – with a groovy vibe throughout! The bass is the main driving factor of the tunes – played either by Phil Upchurch or Chuck Rainey – and the tracks bounce along with a fierce and righteous groove that also includes hard riffing on guitar and some sweet piano lines. Players include Mike Longo, James Moody, and Bernard Purdie – and tracks include "N'Bani", "Matrix", "Soul Kiss", "Ding A Ling", and "Alligator". Great stuff, and a crucial album in Dizzy's lost career! Damn funky, too. LP, Vinyl record album

One of Lena Horne's greatest albums of the 50s – a rock-solid effort that takes its name from her famous film appearance of the 40s, but which features some wonderfully sophisticated songs in a very postwar mode! As with other RCA dates of the time, the orchestra's handled by Lena's partner Lennie Hayton – and has a nice jazzy pitch, especially on tunes that feature trumpet solos from Charlie Shavers. Titles include "Summertime", "Mad About The Boy", "Tomorrow Mountain", "Ridin On The Moon", "I Wonder What Became Of Me", and "Just One Of Those Things". LP, Vinyl record album

One of Hank's few non-trio sets as a leader – and a great set of hardbop tunes that features work by Donald Byrd, Jerome Richardson, Herbie Mann, and Kenny Clarke. The horns add in a lot more than you get on the usual Jones album – taking Hank's piano into firey territory that shows he can groove with the best of them! Titles include "Bluebird", "Hank's Pranks", "Alpha", "Wine & Brandy". LP, Vinyl record album

An Italian installation in RCA's classic New Music series from the 60s. Bruno Maderna conducts the Soloists of the Rome Symphony Orchestra – and the record features Nono's "Y Su Sangre Ya Viene Cantando", Fukushima's "Hi-kyo", Berio's "Serenade I", and Lehmann's "Quanti". LP, Vinyl record album

The second album from Shuggie Otis – a wild and wooly batch of grooves that really stretches out the sound from the first! Shuggie's got much more of a hand in the arrangements here – and the tunes are grooving in a sweet blend of funk, rock, and soul – really drenched in the best cross-cultural influences going down on the west coast scene of the time – a kind of color-blind quest for the groove that comes across with a really righteous power! Tracks include the original version of "Strawberry Letter 23" – later made famous by the Brothers Johnson, but even trippier here in Shuggie's original – plus the cuts "Ice Cold Daydream", "Freedom Flight", "Sweet Thang", "Purple", and "Me & My Woman". LP, Vinyl record album

Easily our favorite album ever by Ann Peebles – not just for the beathead title track, but also because it seems to be the one record where she brings a bit something extra to the studio! The sound is certainly in the classic Hi Records mode here – thanks to production by Willie Mitchell – but there's also a deeper groove overall, a stronger burning bottom, and an all-soul sound to most tracks that goes way beyond simple cliches of southern soul. Ann's vocals are tremendous throughout – sometimes sweet, sometimes mean – and titles include the sublime "I Can't Stand The Rain", plus "Run Run Run", "One Way Street", "You Keep Me Hangin On", and "If We Can't Trust Each Other". LP, Vinyl record album

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Titles include "Barefoot Ballad", "Kissin Cousins", "Once Is Enough", "Tender Feeling", and "One Boy Two Little Girls". LP, Vinyl record album

The Seeds are caught in a web of sound on the cover – and the same thing will happen to the listener, too – as the power of this groundbreaking classic reaches out and grabs you right away! The album's not the group's first, but it's definitely the one where everything comes together amazingly – the sneering vocals of Sky Saxon, that hypnotic blend of thin organ and guitar in the grooves, and even the slight use of bottleneck guitar – an early example of taking the instrument to much more way-out territory! The album's got plenty to please both fans of garage and psych, and also has a power that went on to influence generations to come – which you can definitely hear on titles that include "The Farmer", "Rollin Machine", "Just Let Go", "A Faded Picture", "Tripmaker", and the 14 minute jam of "Up In Her Room". LP, Vinyl record album

The second and possibly best album ever by Gene Vincent – a hard charging firebrand signed to Capitol to, well, capitalize on the Elvis phenomenon – but Gene was a wilder character with a seedier groove! Gene Vincent & The Blue Caps was the last to feature lead guitar from Cliff Gallup – and it's some of the final sessions to feature that killer rockabilly sound – but it still falls left of center. Tracks include "Red Bluejeans & A Pony Tail", "Hold Me, Hug Me, Rock Me", "Cat Man", "Cruisin'", "Pink Thunderbird" and more! LP, Vinyl record album

A real surprise from The Weeknd – and we don't just mean that because the album was dropped on the public with no announcement beforehand! The record's also a great evolution of the sound that's gotten such wide attention in a surprisingly short span of time – a bit of a concept album, in that the set's conceived as some alternate-universe sort of radio listen, complete with spoken bits from Jim Carrey at certain points – all helped out with production work from Max Martin and Oneohtrix Point Never! Tyler The Creator makes one wonderful guest appearance, but the set's definitely guided by The Weeknd's maturing genius throughout – on titles that include "Don't Break My Heart", "How Do I Make You Love Me", "Every Angel Is Terrifying", "Take My Breath", "Gasoline", "I Heard You're Married", "Less Than Zero", and "Best Friends". LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible record from Mary Wells – one that really captures the rawness of her vocal range, in a setting that's about as "live" as you could get for a soul recording of the time! Berry Gordy put this one together with a brilliant sense of space and place – allowing for a fair bit of crowd noise and cheering alongside Mary's vocals – in a mode that shows that the singer was every bit as great working a crowd as she was in the Motown studios. Tracks are a bit longish, and feature some nice spare backings on the best numbers – and titles include "Old Love", "Operator", "The One Who Really Loves You", "You Beat Me To The Punch", and "Two Lovers". LP, Vinyl record album

Dion does folk rock – bits of blues, tender balladry, and some sweeping arrangements, too – although folk purists would take a torch to it, of course, the mix of grandly arranged pop with songs from the folk and blues canon is a actually quite his a lot of unselfconscious fun! It's a heck of a fascinating left turn in Dion's career, a decade after his late 50s stardom. The material was recorded in the mid 60s – which makes more sense, given that the 1969 release date was a good few years after the folk rock crossover boom. The folkier numbers were indeed produced by early Dylan producer Tom Wilson, but the grander numbers were arranged by Robert Mersey. Titles include "I Can't Help But Wonder Where I'm Bound", "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue", "Southern Train", "The Seventh Son", "Farewell', "Baby, Please Don't Go" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Wonderful work from The Hollies – from a time when the group was moving way past simple Brit Invasion pop – as you 'can probably guess from the cover and title! The Hollies hit a really special sort of sound here – slightly trippy, but still razor-sharp – making great use of the voice of Graham Nash, and also getting some perfect assistance on arrangements from Mike Vickers – who knows how to be ambitious with arrangements, but still keep things very focused! The tunes are overflowing with new ideas, but are still super-catchy too – and titles include "Water On The Brain", "Then The Heartaches Begin", "Rain On The Window", "Games We Play", "Lullaby To Tim", and "When Your Light Turned On". LP, Vinyl record album

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One of the few great sides cut for Okeh by the legendary Vibrations – and one of the hardest! The group has a nice strong Northern sound on most of the cuts, with storming vocals that alternate harmony parts and raw hard solos. Uptempo groovers include "End Up Crying", "Talkin 'Bout Love", "Watusi Time", "Ain't Love That Way", and "Sloop Dance". LP, Vinyl record album