A strong debut effort from one of the finer British roots acts – the mighty Aswad, a group who were big on the UK shores, but never got the same sort of international circulation as their peers Steel Pulse! Like many UK groups of the time, Aswad are nicely self-contained, different than the ... (Reggae) read moreLP, Vinyl record album
The biggest-label release ever cut by 70s funk legend Betty Davis – but a set that's every bit as hard and heavy as the indie dates that preceded it! Davis is at the top of her form here – bad-stepping amidst the heavy drums and freaked-out guitars that easily made her one of the ... (Soul) read moreLP, Vinyl record album
The second album from the legendary Nick Drake – one of those records we could never ever live without – and a true piece of genius that's been turning on generations of listeners since Nick first recorded it back at the start of the 70s! The format is folksy, but the execution is ... (Rock) read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Beautiful pressing – 180 gram vinyl, with textured cover like the original, and a bonus download in multiple formats!)
Godlike work from the legendary Nick Drake – and exactly the kind of record that's made him a continuing legend over the years! The style is completely its own – not really folk or rock, but not really jazz either – yet served up with plenty of jazzy phrasing that's helped keep ... (Rock) read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Great heavy vinyl in the original gatefold-style cover – and includes bonus download for the album, too!)
A sweet UK compilation of some of Nick's best work – and covering the stylistic breadth of it – from the somewhat underappreciated studio band backed gems, to the stripped down and rawly intimate songcraft that cemented his incredible legacy. With the exception of a couple tracks from ... (Rock) read moreLP, Vinyl record album
A beautiful treasure from the legendary Nick Drake – the last album he ever recorded – and a set that may well be his most personal as well! The sound here is even more stripped-down than before – often just vocals and acoustic guitar, but used together in ways that are really ... (Rock) read moreLP, Vinyl record album
The record where it all really came together for Fairport Convention – the point at which the already-great group really stepped forward to become something totally unique! By this point all the key elements are firmly in place – sublime vocals from the great Sandy Denny, amazing ... (Folk/Country) read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Philadelphia Freedom from Elton John – a trio of tracks recorded with legendary Philly Soul producer Thom Bell, all with a Sigma Sound vibe that's quite different than most of John's other work at the time! In fact, although these tracks were recorded right at the height of the disco era, ... (Rock) read moreLP, Vinyl record album
A record that really helped push guitarist Ronny Jordan over the top – a set that took that sharp, clean sound that made him the 90s heir to the funky Grant Green sound – and updated it nicely with some help from DJ Krush! The record is one of the most successful blends of jazz and hip ... (Jazz) read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(On limited edition color vinyl!)
Remi Kabaka —
Son Of Africa ... LP Island/BBE (UK), 1976. New Copy 2LP Gatefold (reissue)...
$24.9939.99
A really funky set from the UK scene of the 70s – an album that mixes West African roots with some of the hipper elements going on in London at the time – a city where Remi Kabaka had been lending his talents to a variety of different records over the years! The set was issued by ... (Global Grooves) read moreLP, Vinyl record album
The second album from Kid Creole & The Coconuts – a mad mix of grooves with a very unique style! The album follows August Darnell's pattern of blending 20s retro styles with early 80s dancefloor trends, touched with elements of the exotic – in keeping with the record's title – ... (Soul) read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Bob Marley dubs from the Island vaults – most of which were never released in the album format before this set! It's very well done, with a tight collection of numbers that feature spaced out, tripped up and otherwise echoey, dubby versions of the iconic Marley songbook! The original ... (Reggae) read moreLP, Vinyl record album
One of the best-selling albums ever from Bob Marley – a classic collection of work from his all-too-short career – and one that's gone onto become as famous as Marley's individual records themselves! The collection really allows all the classics to resonate strongly, in a track order ... (Reggae) read moreLP, Vinyl record album
The first Bob Marley album on Island Records – and the start of a really legendary run that would not only transform reggae in the 70s, but the rest of popular music as well! Chris Blackwell's partially at the helm on production, but the album was mostly recorded in classic Kingston studios ... (Reggae) read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(50th Anniversary edition, includes 24 page booklet, bonus tracks, and features a cool etching on one of the LPs!)
Max Romeo & The Upsetters —
War Ina Babylon ... LP Island/4 Men With Beards, 1976. New Copy (reissue)...
Out Of Stock
A stone 70s classic in the Island Records catalog – proof that although the label was scoring big with some of their superstar acts, they still had a great ear out for groundbreaking reggae material! The mighty Max Romeo works here with Lee Scratch Perry in the studio – who gives him ... (Reggae) read moreLP, Vinyl record album
The great Michael Smith departed this planet all too soon, yet managed to leave behind this righteous gem from the early 80s – a set that's got superb production from Dennis Bovell and Linton Kwesi Johnson, and a vibe that's very much like the best work of the latter! Smith's as much a poet ... (Reggae) read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Lewis Taylor —
Damn Rest ... LP Island/Be With (UK), Mid 90s. New Copy ...
Out Of Stock
An album that never existed back in the day, but which features all the rare singles and b-sides from the early years of Lewis Taylor – recordings from around the time of his classic album Damn, hence the title – plus some other great surprises as well! If anything, the music here is ... (Neo Soul) read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Lewis Taylor —
Lewis II ... LP Island/Be With (UK), 2000. New Copy (reissue)...
Out Of Stock
It's been four years since Lewis Taylor's stunning debut album – but it's been worth the wait! Few recent singers have grabbed our attention so much – and we'd put Lewis into an "instant classic" soul category that would include the elite group of Omar, Monday Michiru, ... (Neo Soul) read moreLP, Vinyl record album
A great overview of the early years of Richard Thompson – a set that brings together some rare material and classics, all at a level that really shows the multi-faceted genius he had right from the start! In later years, Thompson continued to be known as a skillful singer/songwriter – ... (Rock) read moreLP, Vinyl record album
The incredible first album from Traffic – a record that was already way ahead of the pack, and would set the tone for so many other sounds and modes from others in years to come! At some level, the group were just coming off the big beat group years in the UK – that time of strong ... (Rock) read moreLP, Vinyl record album
A creative left turn for Waits – written for an ambitious theatrical project, which to a certain degree takes him into surprising new territory and is all the more exciting for it – but still comes through as great late Island-era Tom Waits album in its own light! The Black Rider stage ... (Rock) read moreLP, Vinyl record album
One of the last couple of great records Waits made for Island, and a defining moment in his career! Leave it to Waits to cut a bunch of songs that wrestle with mortality and the fleeting nature of life head on, but have as much fun with it as he does worry or mourn. It's got some rumbling raw ... (Rock) read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Tom Waits's follow-up to Rain Dogs – and a batch of songs that do double duty as a straight-up, stand alone record from his wild years at Island Records – and also as the musical accompaniment to a play he co-wrote with wife Kathleen Brennan! (As Chicagoans, we have a special fondness ... (Rock) read moreLP, Vinyl record album
One of the greatest albums from Tom Waits's peak years at Island – carrying on with the clattering, defiantly vintage-sounding instrumentation – especially given the obsessively modern production aesthetic on most major label albums in the mid 80s. This album also just so happens to ... (Rock) read moreLP, Vinyl record album
One of best ever albums by Tom Waits – the beginning of his gutbuckety, Americana Carnivalesque era of dreamlike sinister romance and lovelorn surrealism! The tin pan piano ballads and get pushed a bit to the wayside for Tom's more mysterious and poetic side, and this begins one of the great ... (Rock) read moreLP, Vinyl record album
An overlooked gem from the glory days of Virgin's Frontline series – a homegrown effort from UK singer Vivian Weathers – a really unique talent with a style that's very much his own! At some level, Vivian's got the warmth of the lover's rock generation, but mixes it with some of the ... (Reggae) read moreLP, Vinyl record album