Sweet sounds from a real golden age in Japanese music – a time when the scene had picked up plenty of influences from the US scene, but was carefully crafting some great styles of their own! The music here has touches of jazz, fusion, soul, and AOR – but there's a special balance that's a bit different than American chartbound material of the time – tight, but never too slick – and with a great ear for allowing the more interesting sides of the music to come forth in all the best ways – so that although catchy, the tunes aren't just going slavishly for a hook or a hit! There's a lot of resonance in the instrumentation with some of the scene that had Japanese jazz musicians working with American fusion players – but the overall approach is maybe more soul-based overall. An even deeper set than the first volume – with titles that include "Kanpoo" by Yumi Murata, "Hidari Mune No Seiza" by Tetsuji Hayashi, "Yubikiri" by Eiichi Ohtaki, "Vibration" by Kimiko Kasai, "Pink Shadow" by Bread & Butter, "The Tokyo Taste" by The Sadistics, "Blind Curve" by Momoko Kikuchi, "Skyfire" by Eri Ohno, and "Rainy Saturday & Coffee Break" by Junko Ohashi & Minoya Central Station. CD

A really amazing package – not just for fans of John Lee Hooker, but for anyone who loves postwar blues in general! The work here is all from the tiny Sensation Records label in Detroit – the label to first record John Lee Hooker in the late 40s, and who continued to do sessions with Hooker even after they were getting some of their recordings placed on bigger labels for wider distribution. The massive 3CD set is the first to ever fully plumb the depths of these years – and brings together all the recordings made by Sensation, including some unusual alternates, related dates, and more – all with fantastic sound that really gets at the raspy brilliance of Hooker, and the way he effortlessly mixed up urban and rural modes on the Detroit scene. 71 tracks in all – and titles include "Hoogie Boogie", "Hastings Street Boogie (ext take)", "Hobo Blues (alt take)", "Henry's Swing Club", "Sailing Blues", "Build Myself A Cave (take 3)", "Alberta (alt take)", "Wednesday Evening", "John L's House Rent Boogie (alt take)", "Moon Is Rising (alt take)", "Story Of A Married Woman (alt take)", "Strike Blues (ext)", "I'm In The Mood (humming overdub)", "It Hurts Me So (alt take)", "That's All Right Boogie (underdub)", and lots more! CD

A mighty tribute to the music of John Lee Hooker – a set that's got a nice batch of work from his important early years, and is especially heavy on Vee Jay Records material – and one that also includes tracks from his later recordings too! The first three CDs here are the meat of the package – as they feature studio work from the early Detroit years onwards, including some tracks recorded with Texas Slim and Delta John, and many more under Hooker's own name too. CD 4 is all live material, and includes a number of unissued tracks – and the final CD features collaborations with The Groundhogs, Canned Heat, Eddie Kirkland, BB King, and others. The whole thing's packaged in a beautiful book-style design – with 54 pages of rare photos and new liner notes – and even if you've got other John Lee Hooker material in your collection, there's still plenty here to love! 100 tracks in all – 8 previously unissued. CD

A great little set, even if it's not what you might expect – not the kind of cuts that heralded the early years of country soul – and instead an even cooler batch of tracks from those years when R&B and hillbilly records often crossed paths on the postwar scene! Many of the small indie labels of the 50s recorded both country and blues, sometimes even having different artists take on the same songs, but in different ways – which meant that there was often a lot of cross-pollination going on in the farther reaches of the music business! The cuts here definitely show that approach – as a good many of them were originally country hits for other singers, but sound great and very different in the hands of R&B artists – and are mixed with a few others that follow similar themes, and really fit into the set in a great way. As always with Bear Family, the whole thing is presented with great notes and details on the music – in a set list of 29 tracks that include "Steel Guitar Rag" by Earl Hooker, "Sixteen Tons" by BB King, "Lovesick Blues" by Sonny Knight, "Big Mamou" by Smiley Lewis, "Ghost Riders In The Sky" by Scatman Crothers, "It'd Surprise You" by The Griffin Brothers with Margie Day, "Indian Love Call" by Hal Singer, "No Help Wanted" by Bob Gaddy & His Alley cats, "Cherokee Boogie" by Moose Jackson, "It Makes No Difference Now" by Piano Red, and "You Can't Stay Here" by Pearl Reaves & The Concords. CD

A fantastic collection of work by The Arrows – a glam-era UK power pop trio with a really great sound! The Arrow sound is sort of a leaner version of grooves laid down by Gary Glitter or Sweet – a fuzzy, hook-heavy approach to rock – one that uses lots of heavy drums on straightforward rhythms, full guitar lines that are clean and straightforward, and compressed production that pushes the guitars and vocals together nicely! There's a real power to these tunes that's simply amazing – an unabashed love of catchy pop mixed with heady guitars – best summed up in the group's original version of "I Love Rock & Roll", issued years before Joan Jett scored with her cover version. This 2CD package features everything the short-lived group recorded – their full First Hit album, 7" singles, and bonus Mickie Most and Arrowsvision tracks – 29 titles in all, including "I Love Rock & Roll", "We Can Make It Together", "Diesel Locomotive Dancer", "Love Child", "Boogiest Band In Town", "First Hit", "Once Upon A Time", "My World Is Turning On To Love", "Movin Next Door To You", "Broken Down Heart", "My Last Night With You", "Dreamin", "Bam Bam Battering Ram", "Wake Up", "Love Is Easy", "Gotta Be Next To You", "Love Rider", and "Dare You Not To Dance". CD

Oliver Cheatham sounds wonderful here – in that best bouncy style that made him a big favorite on the dancefloors in the early 80s – a groove that's still pretty darn great all these years later! The set features key songwriting help from Al Hudson and Kevin McCord, both of whom help enforce the One Way style of grooving here – nicely punched-up club tracks filled with plenty of hooks, mixed with the odd mellower number to show that the album's a solid soul effort all the way through – and not just some dance tracks cooked up in the studio! Cheatham's vocals are great – better than we remember – and titles include "Everybody Wants To Be The Boss", "I Want Your Love I Need Your Love", "Boogie Stomp", "Don't Take Your Love Away", and "I Gave Myself To You". CD