A really heady set of tracks from the American scene – music that effortlessly bridges the 60s sounds of garage, blues rock, and psych – and prefaces some of the metal and more guitar-heavy modes to emerge later on in the 70s! The work here definitely shares more with the sounds of the 60s, but also really captures the music at a moment when things were really transforming – groups were getting past a slavish presentation of their influences, finding bold new modes of expression, and really letting their freak flag fly with fuzzy brilliance throughout – all at levels that were also different than some of the longer-spun modes of the European progressive world. As with other Grapefruit packages, the distillation of a sound and scene here is wonderful – and supported with very detailed notes too – in a package that includes 62 tracks in all - with work from Bang, Sudden Death, Dust, Arthur Lee, Boomerang, Cactus, Grand Funk, The Flow, Head Over Heels, Sir Lord Baltimore, ZZ Top, Brigade, Fuse, Conception, Morgen, Coven, Alice Cooper, Nazz, Stack, Spirit, Kim Fowley, SRC, Mass Confusion Rock Band, Society's Children, Omnibus, Wildwood, Human Beinz, The Sound Barrier, Fever Tree, and many others! CD

A really unusual slice of work from pianist Elsie Bianchi – not just because the tracks here have never been heard before, but also because they feature Elsie playing some Hammond, in addition to her usual piano – and the recording was also made in Atlanta, and not some of the European locales that Bianchi normally played! The tunes are often in a soulfully swinging vibe – so that even when they're numbers from an older generation, they get a cool small club combo treatment – very late 60s, with Elsie at the keys, Peter Brunner on drums – and Siro Bianchi on both bass, and some great tenor and flute! When Elsie plays the organ, she handles the bass – so Siro steps in on those tunes with very groovy work on reeds – and as usual for Bianchi, she also sings a bit too – although a good part of the set is instrumental. The material here was recorded in a Georgia nightclub in 1968, and the tapes sat in storage for years – but this late side of Bianchi's 60s career really comes to light strongly – on titles that include "Canalla", "Take Five", "Now's The Time", "Swingin Shepherd Blues", "Things Ain't What They Used To Be", and "Alice In Wonderland". CD