... 7-inch, Vinyl record

... CD

With Harry Breuer on Vibraharp. 78 RPM, Vinyl record

With Harry Breuer on Vibraharp. 78 RPM, Vinyl record

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

... LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible album from Amy Winehouse – even way better than her fantastic debut! Although a contemporary soul album, this one's steeped in tradition – soul styles that run the gamut from Detroit down to Kingston, and which are carried off here with a rougher, sharper-edged sound than before! The instrumentation on here is really mindblowing – almost at a Motown level, with isolated instruments really crackling out from the fuller backings – all set to rhythms that snap and bounce, and are almost a bit funky at times. Credit is definitely due to producers Mark Ronson and Salaam Remi – but Amy's vocals are really tremendous too – classic, but really personal and fresh! Titles include "Rehab", "Just Friends", "Back To Black", "Love Is A Losing Game", "He Can Only Hold Her", "Some Unholy War", and "Me & Mr Jones". LP, Vinyl record album

A pretty great little record from Phil Woods – a return to straighter playing after the freer sounds of some of his early 70s European work, done in a mode that has lots of nice boppish touches, and which also shows a more deeply soulful side of Phil's blowing. Titles include "Change Partners", "Nuages", "Monking Business", "Summer Afternoon", and "Shaw Nuff" – and the group's a quintet with guitar, piano, bass, and drums. LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most essential discographies we've ever seen – mostly because we own almost none of the records in the book, which makes it an essential volume to use for digging in the crates! This time around, the folks at Rittor – who've given us other great record books over the years – turn their talents to the world of Japanese groove, particularly from the 70s and early 80s – a time when so many Japanese artists were picking up on the best styles in American soul, and using the music to come up with some great grooves of their own! The book is filled with hundreds of full color images of rare Japanese records by a variety of artists – soulful, funky, even a bit of fusion and AOR groove too – and each record is listed with a label and date of release, plus a lot more information in Japanese. Unlike other books of this nature, which focus on American or European artists, and feature information in alphabetic characters, this one has a lot more Japanese overall – but the covers and other English text are more than enough to point you in the right direction to dig – for hundreds of great records you never even knew existed! Book

One of the coolest sets the Numero Group has ever released – and that's saying a heck of a lot, given their already-mighty catalog! Although the label issued a previous dip into the enigmatic Boddie Recording company of Cleveland, this massive package brings together a whopping 57 tracks from the Boddie studios and related labels – many of which have never been reissued before, even by Numero – and all of which offer up a mindblowing microcosm of the American scene in the 60s and 70s – a wealth of rare funk, soul, psych, gospel, and more – all of it the kind of gritty material that 45 collectors die for! But just as cool as the music is the box itself – a slipcover that fits around a hardcover book, which contains individual pockets with CDs that focus on the core labels from Boddie – then other pull outs that include a big booklet on the studios, another on the artists, and a third set of bonus inserts! Musically, the whole thing's right on par with other Numero releases – maybe even above them, given the wide range and depth of the collection – and artists include Bo & The Metros, Inter Circle, King James Version, Ricky Hodges, Jackie Russell, Angela Alexander, Frankie Pighee, Chantells, AC Jones, Harvey Hall, Headlines, Modern Detergents, Penny North, JC Akins, Little Anthony Mitchell, Gospel Fabulators, Royal Kings, Corinthian Singers, Brother Bill, Victory 5, and many more. This version includes a fourth "Boddie Bonus Disc" with 22 additional tracks! CD

Caribbean disco, funk and dancefloor grooves from a range of sources – spacey grooves and tropical dancefloor sounds from Billie Cole, Tappa Zukie, El Cid, Casual T and many more! A number of tunes have more of a pronounced late 70s club soul groove with spacey touches, others have more pronounced Caribbean flavors, but it's all nicely grooving and geared to get the club floor shaking! Includes "Extra Carefully" by Billie Cole, "Freak" by Tappa Zukie, "Nassua's Disco" by Mucho Plus, "Sail On" by Wabine, "Soca Fusion" by Bobby Raven, "NY To Georgetown" by El Cid, "Hands Off" by Casual T, "Praise Jah" by Oluko Umo and more. CD

A key moment from the late sixties – includes music by the Animals, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Lou Rawls, and Johnny Rivers. CD

A compilation of Motown tunes with a strong focus on the dancefloor – still mostly soul cuts, but also with a groove that's bound to move a few feet. There's a lot of older Motown numbers, and the feel of the set is hardly disco – as you'd guess by titles like "Function At The Junction" by Shorty Long, "ABC" by The Jackson 5, "It's A Shame" by The Spinners, "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" by The Temptations, "Dancing In The Street" by Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, "Girl You Need A Change Of Mind" by Eddie Kendricks, and "Going To A Go Go" by The Miracles. LP, Vinyl record album

Second volume in this series of Motown compilations aimed at the dancefloor – and in spite of the tile, the material here is more soul than disco, but definitely more in the dance vein than the get your groove on side of things. Includes some sublime numbers like "Date With The Rain" by Eddie Kendricks and "Dancing Machine" by The Jackson 5 – plus "You Sure Know How To Love Your Man" by Willie Hutch, "No Matter Where" by GC Cameron, "Bad Weather" by The Supremes, "What Is A Heart Good For" by The Miracles, "I'm A Fool For You" by Undisputed Truth, "Chained" by Rare Earth, and "Law Of The Land" by The Temptations. LP, Vinyl record album

Features Judy Garland with Victor Young and The Ken Darby Singers on Wizard Of Oz; and Cliff Edwards, Ken Darby Singers, The King's Men, and Julietta Nobis with the Victor Young Orchestra on Pinocchio. LP, Vinyl record album

Music from Bill Frisell, Devo, Sugar Minott, George Thorogood & the Destroyers, Schoolly D, Jimi Hendrix, the Residents, and others. CD

... CD

David Grisman and Andy Statman on mandolin. CD

... CD

A story of "spaceship earth" – created and performed by electronics genius Bruce Haack, ostensibly for children, but a really tripped-out set! The album's got a stark, spare feel – one that uses Haack's echoey voice alongside homemade electronics and rhythms – all in a style that's vaguely educational, but which also has a madly frenetic electric feel. The topics here are a bit deeper, and somehow darker than some of Haack's other albums – and the whole thing's a beautifully spacey set that we'd rank as one of Haack's best! Titles include "Army Ants In Your Pants", "Mallangong", "The Universal Unicycle Show", "Metric Conversion", "American Eagle", and "Catfish". LP, Vinyl record album

... 78 RPM, Vinyl record

... CD

The second meeting between Kaze and Ikue Mori – with Mori on electronics, Satoko Fujii on piano, Natsuki Tamura and Christian Pruvost on trumpets, Peter Orins on drums. CD

Satoko Fujii on piano, Natsuki Tamura and Christian Pruvost on trumpet, and Peter Orins returning on drums for their fifth album as Kaze – this time with electronics from Ikue Mori! CD

A rather rare and quite burning side from reedman Kenyatta, leading his Free State Band, which he'd formed in Europe in the late 60s. There's a super heavy afro-funk groove grounding this set, based around the Congolese guitar player Francois Nyombo and congo player Keino Spellar. Kenyatta's playing alto and flute, with a righteous soulful vibe floating over the grooves, at times heavy and driving, others nicely spacious. Includes "Angela", "Zulu Princess", "Gun The Honeydripper" and "If She Can't Do It (parts 1 & 2)". CD

One of the greatest records on the early Shimmy Disc label – with the hilarious tune "Take Stuff From Work"! LP, Vinyl record album

A set that might come as no surprise if you love the music of Laraaji, but one that will definitely stun folks who only know Kramer from his early Shockabilly years, or his early days at Shimmy Disc! Yet in recent years, Kramer has become quite a talent in the world of ambient music – and here, he uses all of his studio strengths and instrumental creativity to really make a fresh setting for the cosmic tones and meditative lines of Laraaji – one that maybe has a larger sonic palette overall, and some wider sense of space – all still very much in the longform layers of peace you'd expect from Laraaji, but with a different flavor too. The set is billed as an "Ambient Symphony In 3 Movements" – "Submersion", "Immersion", and "Ascension". LP, Vinyl record album

... 78 RPM, Vinyl record

... 78 RPM, Vinyl record

... CD

Tiny Moore on and Jethro Burns on mandolin – with Eldon Shamblin on guitar, Ray Brown on bass, and Shelly Manne on drums – plus special guest David Grisman on 3 tracks! CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Rollicking country-tinged blues from Jimmy Reed and an incredible group of backing musicians – actually not captured in the opulent grandeur of Carnegie Hall – and probably all the better for it! Prior to the original double LP release of Jimmy Reed At Carnegie Hall, Reed headlined a Blues At Carnegie Hall event, and though the performance was not recorded for a live album release he went on the cut a similar set list with varying players that included Lonnie Brooks, Phil Upchurch and Eddie Tayor on guitar, Willie Dixon on bass, Earl Phillips and Albert King on tracks. It's really wonderful stuff, obvious epiphany material for loads of rockers and young players on both the US and British blues scenes to come! 23 tracks in all: "Bright Lights Big City", "I'm Mr Luck", "Found Joy", "Kind Of Lonesome", "Tell Me You Love Me", "Hold Me Close", "Baby What You Want Me To Do", "Blue Blue Water", "Hush Hush", "Found Love", "Honest I Do", "You Got Me Dizzy", "Boogie In The Dark", "Take Out Some Insurance", "The Sun Is Shining" and lots more! CD

Freaky keyboards and fuzzy saxophone – played by the team of Dieter Seelow and Peter Mayer, working here in a rare bit of funk from the early 70s German scene! The record's got a sound that's very much in the madder side of the MPS spectrum at the time – jazz influenced by a bit of fuzzier rock elements – heard to good effect on Seelow's amplified, processed saxophone lines – and on some of the heavier organ moments from Mayer. The sound is wide-open, but never too free or jamming – clearly inspired by the hipper American soul jazz of the late 60s – the side of the scene that started with electric Eddie Harris, and moved into weirder Melvin Jackson moments – both players who are a good comparison here, as the groove definitely shows a love of the electrified music that Harris and Jackson made together. Remaining instrumentation includes electric bass and drums – so the overall sound is quite spare – and titles include the massive three-part "Mr Dynamite", plus "Masquerade","Danny's Walk", "The Swinger From Rio", and "With A Little Help From My Friends". CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

With selections by Half Japanese, Fred Frith, Shaved Pigs, Artless, Bongwater, No Safety, The Spongehead Experience, Allen Ginsberg and Steve Taylor, and others. LP, Vinyl record album

Music from JB Hutto, Hound Dog Taylor, George Thorogood & the Destroyers, Hop Wilsonop, Elmore James, Lil' Ed & the Blues Imperials, Earl Hooker, Hop Wilson, Smokin' Joe Kubek, Ron Levy's Wild Kingdom with Ronnie Earl & Wayne Bennett. CD

Music from Carlo Aonzo, Martin Taylor, Mike Marshall, Bob Brozman, Mike Compton, Jerry Douglas, Radim Zenkl, Frank Vignola, Frank Wakefield, Jim Hurst, and more. CD