That's "gone" – as in the way June Christy really sends us – vocals that take us to a place that few other 50s singers could ever hope to reach! June's work here is a masterpiece of melancholic understatement – far less overblown than some of her pop contemporaries, but also filled with feeling in a way that's different from some of the other icy singers of the time. A big part of the album's strength lies with arranger Pete Rugolo – who gives June here some of the same dark corners and modern elements you'd find in her classic Something Cool album – which really hits the right sort of emotion for Christy. Titles include "When The Sun Comes Out", "It's So Peaceful In the Country", "When You Awake", "Lazy Mood", and "Interlude". LP, Vinyl record album

Another pretty great set from Dobie, and actually with a bit less of a country soul feel and a bigger, more freewheeling sound overall – some big horn section- backed tunes, to grittier soul, to more laidback numbers. Includes "Hey Dixie", "How Can You Live All Alone", "Watch Out For Lucy", "Roll On Sweet Mississippi", Allen Toussaint's "Performance" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

A stunning document of culture in and around the Texas scene of the postwar years – never-heard recordings done by blues enthusiast Robert Mack McCormick, who also photographed most of his subjects as well – a lost legacy that finally gets exposure to the world at large here in a big box set that includes both music and a big book that includes 128 pages of rare photos and other blues artifacts! The whole thing is like discovering a lost side room in the world of postwar field recordings of blues – material from the generation of similar projects by Alan Lomax, Chris Strachwitz, and George Mitchell, but which has never been tapped until now – brought out with a great level of care by the Smithsonian, who currently house McCormick's life's work. The package is almost worth it alone for the book – but you also get 6LPs with 68 tracks in all – music by Bongo Joe Coleman, Lightnin Hopkins, Hop Wilson, Jimmy Womack, Walter Britten, Buster Pickens, Andrew Everett, James Tisdom, Doc Webster, Mance Lipscomb, Leroy Country Johnson, RC Forest, Billy Bizor, and many others. LP, Vinyl record album

An excellent lost batch of pop arrangements from 60s Brazil! Erlon Chavez was one of the country's more unusual musical talents – and although he did straighter work for big singers like Elis Regina, his own albums are filled with nicely off-kilter jazz and bossa tunes, and plenty of nice grooves that make his rare vinyl worth digging for! This gem from the mid 60s features Chavez leading a crack group of Brazilian jazz players – including trombonist Raulzinho and alto player Hector Costita – through a groovy set of tunes that includes "Balanca Zona Sul", "Batucada", "Sabadabada", "Bafafa", "Primavera", and "Opiniao". Very nice, and with a cool cover! LP, Vinyl record album

Killer trucker country from the great Dick Curless! The set includes his classic "Tombstone Every Mile" – plus "Six Days On The Road", "Big Wheel Cannonball", "Hard Hard Traveling Man", "Long Lonesome Highway", "Drag Em Off The Interstate Sock It To Em JP Blues", and "Winter's Comin On Again". LP, Vinyl record album

Great 60s country exotica and tales of the American West from actor Lorne Greene – with arrangements that combine stripped down, echoey guitar with the big & glossy RCA sound of the era, and even more brash bigness from Hollywood – all done with endearingly poker-faced vocals by Lorne that fall somewhere between Tennessee Ernie Ford and Lee Hazlewood! The record features folklore tales and story songs by Merle Travis, Merle Kilgore and other lesser known and less often recorded gems. All of it would be pure canned ham by an inferior breed of cat than Lorne Greene, but Lorne pulls it off masterfully – highly recommended western folklore – Hollywood style! LP, Vinyl record album

The great Marty Robbins did plenty of things in his many years with Columbia Records – music from straight country, to Hawaiian tunes, to crossover pop – yet the singer will forever be known for his western-themed songs – and in particular, this classic collection of tracks! Robbins has a voice that's amazing – deep and rich, and instantly able to open up your ears – a quality that makes him instantly narrative, which really suits the spirit of this material wonderfully – as Marty delivers these tunes that evoke the old west, but in the style of a postwar western – more Gunsmoke than the real thing – but that's the charm of the whole record too! The set's one of the key classics in the run of Columbia Records material from the time – not hard country, certainly – but an undeniably influential record – thanks in part to the huge crossover hit "El Paso", nestled here next to other gems that include "Big Iron", "Cold Water", "Running Gun", and "In The Valley". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the very best rock albums of the late 60s from overlooked genius Doug Sahm and his Sir Douglas Quartet – a brilliant hybrid of the laconic country and rural rock ragged glory that was piping through so many under appreciated groups at the time (and went on to be bastardized by crap factories like The Eagles) and classical Spanish and Mexican folk guitar playing. Sahm plays fiddle, guitar, pedal steel and just about anything with strings, along with the amazing Augie Meyers (who you may remember from the beautiful organ work he contributed to Bob Dylan's late masterpieces Time Out Of Mind and Love And Theft) and others. Beautiful stuff! Includes "Mendocino", "I Don't Want", "I Wanna Be Your Mama Again", "At The Crossroads", "Lawd, I'm Just A Country Boy In This Great Big Freaky City", "She's About A Mover" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

A soul fusion set from David Spinozza – a player who managed to cross over nicely, but never without losing the depth in his sound! The set features Spinozza in the lead on guitar, working in a soulful setting that's often laidback – rhythms stepping along gently, allowing for some glide in the instrumentation – sometimes hitting a bit hard, yet never in the jamming side of the fusion spectrum. The arrangements are a big part of the success of the album – nice and lean, and handled by Mike Mainieri, Leon Pendarvis, and Spinozza himself – who seems to have a good ear for vocals, using them sparingly, with just the right blend. Luther Vandross sings a bit on the record, and titles include "Country Bumpkin", "Superstar", "On My Way To The Liquor Store", "Prelude To The Ballerina", "Airborne", and "Doesn't She Know By Now". LP, Vinyl record album

With selections by Phil Collins, Stevie Nicks, Peter Gabriel, Big Country, Mike Rutherford, Kid Creole and The Coconuts, Larry Carlton, and Michel Colombier. LP, Vinyl record album

A killer collection – sounds spanning western swing, early bluegrass, and classic Capitol country – with tracks by Rose Maddox, Red Simpson, The Louvin Brothers, Faron Young, The Farmer Boys, Big Bill Lister, The Milo Twins, Gene O'Quin, Jimmy Bryant & Speedy West, Hank Thompson, Merle Travis, Skeets McDonald, and others! LP, Vinyl record album

A really great testament to the wide warmth and many talents of Cannonball Adderley – as well as a portrait of just how much he'd touched the world of jazz in the short time he was on the planet! The set brings together collaborations between Cannon and a variety of artists – pulled from both his Capitol and Riverside years – with a lineup that includes Sergio Mendes, Nancy Wilson, Ernie Andrews, Charles Lloyd, Yusef Lateef, Eddie Vinson, and Bobby Timmons – all working with Adderley in a mix of modes that include vocal jazz, soul jazz, and even a bit of bossa nova! Titles include "Clouds", "Hold It", "Big City", "O Amor Em Paz", "Old Country", "Primitivo", "Dat Dere", and "Minha Saudade". LP, Vinyl record album

Four incredible albums from Hammond legend Brian Auger – a key link between jazz and the headier sounds of the UK scene at the end of the 60s! First up is Open – one of the amazing early albums from the team of Julie Driscoll and Brian Auger – kind of a next-generation to the Brit beat group sound of the mid 60s – one that moves beyond simple R&B modes, to bring in more sophisticated soul and jazz touches! Driscoll's vocals are amazing – some of the boldest belted out in the British scene at the time – and Auger's Hammond work really cooks throughout – at a level that easily makes him one of the best UK organists to hit the scene, amidst some very heady company in the 60s. There's a few bluesy moments, but our favorites are the funky ones – especially the group's reading of "Season Of The Witch", which is tremendous. Other cuts include "In & Out", "Black Cat", "Goodbye Jungle Telegraph", and "Break It Up". Definitely What is a landmark batch of funky organ work that made big waves in both the rock and jazz worlds at the time! Auger's really stretching out here – getting past the simple R&B of his roots, and going into a bubbling funky style that's clearly touched by chromatic inspirations from Wes Montgomery and Jimmy Smith – both of whom are referenced by some of the song structures on the set. The album's filled with killer organ-based instrumentals – some lean and stripped down, others full and rich – and all of them coming across with a richly soulful sound that you'd hardly expect from a member of the British rock scene! Titles include "Day In The Life", "Red Beans", "Definitely What!", and his classic "Bumpin' On Sunset". Streetwise is filled great funky grooves by the legendary Trinity group – featuring excellent keyboard work by Brian Auger, recorded during the period when he was really beginning to stretch out a bit, and hit a much more open-ended kind of sound. Julie Driscoll is still on vocals, singing in her raw sound, but Brian's Trinity group gets a fair number of nice instrumental moments on the set – which are greatly appreciated! Titles include the classic and sample laden "Light My Fire", "Czechoslovakia", "Finally Found You Out", "In Search Of The Sun", "Ellis Island", "I've Got Life", and "Save The Country". Befour is the third album from Brian Auger & The Trinity – and the first to feature the group recording without vocals from Julie Driscoll! The sound here is just as soulful as before – a tight take on American soul jazz and funky soul of the 60s – pushed along by Auger's mighty work on the Hammond organ, and featuring (this time around) some male lead vocals, which seem to give the album an even deeper feel than earlier work! Auger's included some great covers of American tunes like "I Want To Take You Higher", "Listen Here", and "Maiden Voyage" – all redone with some great Brit beat group touches – and the album also features a great take on Faure's "Pavane", and Auger's own "Just You Just Me". LP, Vinyl record album

Cee-Lo Green gits up and gets out on his own – without the heavy burden of too many guest appearances – and the result may be the best album to come out of the Dirty South in quite a while! Cee-Lo's raspy, cotton-mouthed speak & sing style has always been one of the strongest attributes of the Goodie crew, and it's great to hear it stretched out over a fully-realized LP that is worthy of his unique talents. Sweaty, deeply funky, and a bit similar to the kind of material we used to expect from the Native Tongues at their strongest, but with Cee-Lo's unmistakable Cameo inspired croon out front. Includes "Bad Mutha", "Big Ole Words (Damn), "Closet Freak", "Live (Right Now)", "El Dorado Sunrise", "A Thug's Concern", "One For The Road", "Let Him Sing If He Wants To (Break)", "Suga Baby" featuring Big Gipp and Backbone, "Gettin' Grown", "Bass Head Jazz", "Microhard" featuring Jahalla and Kirland Underwater, "Under The Influence", "(Follow Me)", "Medieval Times (Great Pretender)", "Country Love", "Awful Thing", "Maintenance Man (Break)" "Young Man (Sierra's Song)", and "Well Damn, Lo (Break)". LP, Vinyl record album

Includes orchestral performances of themes from Windjammer, Star Wars, Airport, The Big Country, and more. LP, Vinyl record album