... 7-inch, Vinyl record

Fantastic sounds from Tim Blake – an artist who previously worked with Gong, and sometimes worked with Hawkwind – but who really came into his own on this legendary album of electronics! Tim works here on a self-constructed "crystal machine" – a bank of electronics that was often played in performance to front some trippy film installations (as shown on the cover) – which perfectly suited the stretched-out spacey style of his music! The vibe is maybe a bit like early Tangerine Dream, but with some of the warmer modes of the French electronic scene of the time – and titles include "Midnight", "Last Ride Of The Boogie Child", "Synthese Intemporal", and "Crystal Presence". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the proudest moments of the New York Latin underground – a time when some of its best players wound up playing for Columbia, through a brief affiliation between Fania and the larger label! And although you might think that the album would totally sell out the group's best points, it's actually a great batch of cuts that mixes the All-Stars' strong salsa and jazz grooves with some nice club-oriented rhythms – a blend that was perfect to show the growing sophistication of the Nuyorican scene in the late 70s! All the right touches are still strongly in place – and the record features work from Pacheco, Roberto Roena, Mongo Santamaria, and Louie Ramirez, as well as guests Bob James and Eric Gale. Titles include "En Orbita", "Awake", "Juan Pachanga", "Steady", "Jubileo", and "Ella Fue". LP, Vinyl record album

A killer album from Soft Machine – one that's maybe a bit tighter and more rock oriented at times than the jazz workouts of their previous numbered albums – although still all instrumental, and with the kind of top-shelf instrumentation that we've always loved from the group! This time around, the guitar of Allan Holdsworth gets plenty of well-deserved time in the spotlight, and the keyboards of Mike Ratledge are too – while Karl Jenkins serves up some wonderfully sharp lines on reeds – as the group are driven by the heady bass of Roy Babbington, and monstrous drums of John Marshall! The set begins with the blistering five part "Hazard" – followed by other cuts that include "Gone Sailing", "Bundles", "The Floating World", "Four Gongs Two Drums", and "Peff". LP, Vinyl record album

Easily the best album we've heard from Homer Dennison and his Night Strings – a slinky, sexy set of grooves that has some of the best touches of the European soundtrack scene of the time! As you'd guess from the name of the group, the strings are in the lead – but there's lots of nice electric bass grooving at the bottom, and some heavier piano over the top – creating the kind of soulful juxtaposition that we love in the best MPS easy/Snowflakes mode! The album sports a few original tunes that are worth the price of the album alone – and titles include "Black Sand & White Stars", "Blue Stoned Eyes", "Sagittarius", "On The Road To The Blues", and "On Days Like These". LP, Vinyl record album

Incredible jazz rock from Soft Machine – recorded after Robert Wyatt left the group, and for some reason, a bit overlooked because of that fact – but still a pretty darn great album, awash in long tracks with plenty of jazzy touches – still finely crafted in the sublime crossover mode that was coming out of the UK at the time, and of which Soft Machine was one of the strongest proponents! There's loads of strong fusiony moments built around keyboards and guitar – almost funky at times, and stretching forth with a freely exploratory sound! 12 cuts in all – with titles that include "Day's Eye", "Down The Road", "The German Lesson", "The French Lesson", "Nettle Bed", "Bone Fire", and "Snodland". LP, Vinyl record album

Acid rocky moogy stuff! The record's one of those "let's do a lot of pop covers on the moog" – and it features moogy updates of 60's tunes like "Get Back", "Jumpin' Jack Flash", "Feelin' Groovy", "Yummy Yummy Yummy", and "Time of the Season", which sounds the best of all the tracks. Russ Barnard put the whole thing together, and it's got a very groovy sound! LP, Vinyl record album

A British art rock jam session, more or less, pulled together by Soft Machine bassist Kevin Ayers, who recruited Eno, John Cale and Nico, former bandmate Robert Wyatt, the enigmatic Rabbit (John Bundrick) on keyboards – more well known for his work with the Who – plus Mike Oldfield on guitar and a number of other guests and co-conspirators. A nice document of the scene a the time, with concise performances and a much tighter feel than you might imagine given the circumstances of the recording. 9 numbers in all, including "Driving Me Backwards", "Baby's On Fire", "Heartbreak Hotel", "The End", "May I?", "Shouting IN A Bucket Blues", "Stranger In Blue Suede Shoes", "Everybody's Sometime And Some People's All The Time Blues" and "Two Goes Into Four". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the greatest jazz soundtracks of all time! Elmer Bernstein wrote the score to Otto Preminger's chilling film version of Nelson Algren's book The Man With The Golden Arm – a sad tale of jazz, gambling, and heroin addiction on the streets of Chicago (not far from Dusty Groove, in fact!) – and in doing so, he came up with one of the first jazz soundtracks to really work strongly with a dramatic narrative. The film's striking theme is played in a number of variations, either with orchestral backing, or in small combo format by Shorty Rogers & His Giants, a crack west coast group that features work by Bud Shank, Shelly Manne, Bob Cooper, and Pete Candoli. The tracks work perfectly together as a suite of tracks, even without the images of the film – telling a tale of temptation, sadness, tragedy, and rebirth. Titles include "Clark Street", "Breakup", "The Fix", "Zosh", "Frankie Machine", and "Audition". Worth the price for the Saul Bass cover alone! LP, Vinyl record album

Sure, it's a greatest hits set – but it's a damn good one! This 2LP set was always an essential part of our crates back in the 80s, because it includes an excellent range of James Brown work from the 60s and 70s – including a number of strong funky cuts, presented here in the original single versions. Titles include "Give It Up Or Turn It Loose", "There Was A Time", "I Got The Feelin", "Mother Popcorn", "Sex Machine", "Make It Funky", "Talkin Loud & Sayin Nothin", "Payback", "Get On The Good Foot", "My Thang", "Papa Don't Take No Mess", and "Funky President". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the hippest 70s albums by the Isley Brothers – a set that has them playing live with a stripped-down group, in a manner that's similar to other live albums of the time by Curtis Mayfield, Donny Hathaway, and Bill Withers. The format is great, and really gets to the core of the Isley's unique soul style – a blend of funk, soul, and rock that comes off perfect on tracks that include "Work to Do", "Pop That Thang", "It's Your Thing", "It's Too Late", "Love the One You're With", "Machine Gun", "Ohio", and "Lay Lady Lay". Very lively, and with a good raw feel! LP, Vinyl record album

Although he's always best remembered as Freddy "Boom Boom" Washington from Welcome Back Kotter, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs was pretty darn ubiquitous during the mid-70s! He was in more than a few movies (Youngblood, Cooley High, etc), and he even recorded a few soul albums – like this one, which features some nice production work by Lamont Dozier that more than makes up for Freddie's lack of conviction as a soul singer. At the best moments, the record reminds us of some of Lamont's strident grooving soul work for ABC – and titles include "Time Machine", "Larry's Theme", "Mister DJ", "Holdin On", and "Fly Away". LP, Vinyl record album

The fourth Prince soundtrack in less than a decade – and a record that follows nicely after Purple Rain, Batman, and Parade, but with a slightly different spirit too – thanks to an ever-expanding Paisley Park family that included George Clinton, Morris Day, and Mavis Staples! The older funk acts are fine, and add to the spice – but it's clear that the main attraction here is Prince, although The Time are pretty darn welcome too! The set features vocal performances from Tevin Campbell, George Clinton, Mavis Staples, TC Ellis, and Robin Power – and titles include "New Power Generation", "Can't Stop This Feeling I Got", "Love Machine", "Tick Tick Bang", "Shake", "Thieves In The Temple", "Still Would Stand All Time", "Graffiti Bridge", and "The Latest Fashion". LP, Vinyl record album

Maybe the first-ever album to be issued under the name of the great Charles Stepney – even though the artist/musician/producer/songwriter had a huge role in the careers of Chicago contemporaries like Minnie Riperton, Ramsey Lewis, and Earth Wind & Fire! This set brings together recordings that Stepney made on his own, often in his home studio – many of which are songs that never saw the light of day on some of his bigger-name projects, next to others that feature melodies you might recognize, but done in these sweet jazzy instrumentals that are totally great! Most of the set features Charles on a variety of keyboards Rhodes, piano, and even some cool moogy bits – plus some vibes from time to time – often set to spare early electric drum machine rhythms – in a style that makes you feel like you've stumbled upon Timmy Thomas doing an all instrumental jam session in the early 70s. Given that Stepney first got his start as a jazz musician – playing piano and vibes on some great early 60s sessions – the keyboard work is superb, and the record stands as a completely different testament to his genius – with titles that include "Funky Sci Fi", "Gotta Dig It To Dig It", "Daddy's Diddies", "Rubie Charles", "Notes From Dad", "Black Bold", "Gimme Some Sugar", "No Credit For This", "Imagination", "Look B4U Leap", "Mini Mugg", "Denim Groove", and "That's The Way Of The World". LP, Vinyl record album

Includes selections by The Rock Shop, His Majesty's Coachmen, Trojans Of Evol, Primates, Canterbury Fair, Soultans, Veil, Apperson Jackrabbit, Blues Company, What's New, Joey Welz & The Time Machine, Epics, American Way, Sonny Villegas, and The Menaces. LP, Vinyl record album

It takes a record like this one to remind us just what a magical crossover time the post-disco, post-punk days of the early 80s could be! Take two white guys from Denmark – Tim Stahl and John Guldberg – give them a drum machine and some funky beats, and out comes the breakdance classic "White Horse", which was one of the more sinister dancefloor numbers of its time. Sure, it's super-kitschy, but it hit pop-and-break crowd bigtime, and had kids from The Bronx to Bed-Stuy ripping up linoleum everywhere, and dragging it out into busy sidewalks where they could block off traffic! The other tracks on the album aren't as great, but ok electro pop – and titles include "Sunshine Reggae", "Elevator Boy", "Slowmotion Girl", and "Walking In The Sunshine". LP, Vinyl record album

Nick Ingman's the arranger on Close Encounters – and helps give the record a disco vibe that's quite different than the usual sci fi set – a groove that clearly stems from Ingman's great sound library work of the 70s – touched here with plenty of clubby rhythms and some especially great keyboards at times. The whole thing's funkier than you might expect – and titles include "Close Encounters", "Flight Fantastic", "Space Patrol", "Solar Sailor", "The Omega Man", "Star Wars", "Time Machine", and "Blake's 7". LP, Vinyl record album

Shankar was one of the few flying the flag of jazz/Indian music crossovers in the 80s – pushing the genre a bit farther forward at a time when most other players had abandoned it! Given that his instrumentation here is violin and drum machine, the sound's a bit different than some of the sitar/tabla-based sessions of the past – but there's a similar sensibility going on, one that stretches out the sound with inspirations drawn from Indian music, executed by a quartet that also includes Jan Garbarek on soprano and tenor sax, Zakir Hussain on tabla and congas, and Trilok Gurtu on additional percussion. Titles include "Paper Nut", "I Know", "Watching You", "Conversation", "Song For Everyone", and "Let's Go Home". LP, Vinyl record album

Two classic hard funky slammers from Andre Williams! "Do the Popcorn" is an unbelievable non-stop cut, with jangling guitars in chorus all the way through – and Andre speaking in a raspy sexy voice, while a funky female chorus chimes in from time to time. Oh, and did we mention the drums? At some points, they break out in a rat-tat-tat blast that sounds like a machine gun in an elevator shaft! "Gonna Be Fine" is pretty nice, too – and has a tight Chicago groove! 7-inch, Vinyl record

A wonderful departure for Kevin Ayers – an album that's a lot lighter and more whimsical than his original fame with Soft Machine! The tunes are extremely playful, and often quite catchy – almost a Donovan-esque blend of folksy roots and jazz inflections – but tuned a bit more towards trippier ends, thanks to instrumentation that includes celeste, electronics, flute, oboe, kazoo, cello, organ, and a wide range of different guitars! David Bedford handled arrangements, and other players on the session include some ex-Soft Machine comrades – like Hugh Hopper and Robert Wyatt! Ayers' vocals are produced with a nicely compressed quality that squeezes them in alongside the instrumentation – and titles include "Joy Of A Toy Continued", "The Lady Rachel", "All This Crazy Gift Of Time", "Eleanor's Cake", and "Girl On A Swing". LP, Vinyl record album

Tim Blake looks like he's sitting at the helm of a spaceship on the cover – and in a way, that's what his music was at the time – a way of taking off to the skies on waves of electronics, in the kinds of sounds that Blake first created in his Crystal Machine project, but which have an even sharper focus here! The album's got more vocals than Tim's previous effort, and in a way that's what really sets it apart from the rest – as Blake's got this warmly positive approach that would be at home in progressive folk, but which here comes across with a very unique style – given the mostly electronic setting of the album! All the banks of knobs, slides, and keys pictured on the cover are used to strongly skillful effect – on titles that include "Generator", "Passage Sur La Cite", "New Jerusalem", "Song For A New Age", and "Lighthouse". LP, Vinyl record album

Man and machine – a perfect summation of the Kraftwerk genius, delivered perfectly on this classic late 70s set! The album's got a bit more punch than some of their previous efforts – almost a not towards the dancefloor at times, yet hardly the disco you'd get from other groups of the period – and more a prefiguring of the sounds of the future from various UK and European sources! There's some great electro moments that made the record a favorite for the New York scene in the early 70s – including some wicked vocoder bits, and tight beats on a few numbers. Titles include the excellent "The Model" – plus "The Man Machine", "Neon Lights", "The Robots", "Spacelab", and "Metropolis". LP, Vinyl record album

With Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Cyril Davies, Jeff Beck, Santa Barbera Machine Head, and Stuff Smith. LP, Vinyl record album

A stunner of an album – light years ahead of Phil's earlier work in America – a bit funky at times, with some really open-ended modern sounds! The album features Phil with his incredible European Rhythm Machine – a group that includes Gordon Beck on electric piano, Henri Texier on bass, and Daniel Humair on drums – and the fat basslines of Texier are a wonderful match for the keyboards of Beck – both perfectly balancing things out on the groove! Tracks are long, and a mix of hard out soloing with some nice rhythmic grooving – almost in a modal fusion mode, but not quite – and titles include "Josua", "The Meeting", "Freedom Jazz Dance", and "Ode A Jean-Louis". LP, Vinyl record album

A well-timed Greatest Hits set for The Commodores – because it came out in 1978, and captures the group at their best early prime! This is the stuff that made the group great long before they lapsed into cliches and soft adult contemporary pap – and a number of tracks here have a fair bit of funk in the mix, something that will come as a surprise if you only know the group's later hits. Titles include "Brick House", "Fancy Dancer", "Slippery When Wet", "Machine Gun", "Just To Be Close To You", "Too Hot Ta Trot" – and yes, ok, the record does include "Three Times A Lady". LP, Vinyl record album

A late masterpiece from the Flaming Lips – one of their most unique and uncompromising records since they became leftfield hitmakers – and a record that works best as a whole! Embryonic is a grower, and the first record since The Soft Bulletin which, to our ears anyway, doesn't seem to have any illusions of a crossover ready single in the lineup. It's really a space rock record with fuzzy guitars and echoing noisiness, and a confident step out of "Do You Realize?" style speaks-to-everyone art pop, and into more of a dissonant, messy sound. It's a real thrill for us to see a longtime favorite not only get over into the mainstream consciousness and stay there for years, but to continue to challenge and innovate while they're hanging out there. Titles include "Convinced Of The Hex", "The Sparrow Looks Up At The Machine", "Evil", "Aquarius Sabotage", "See The Leaves", "Your Bats", "Powerless", "Scorpio Sword", "Watching The Planets" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

A well-chosen batch of rare garage rock gems from the 60s – rare work from labels that include Stax, Fantasy, Original Sound, and Vanguard – including three never-issued tracks! The choice of material is great, and the whole thing features notes from producer Alec Palao – a name we've really come to trust for sets like this, which go way past the hits and obvious choices. Titles include "Can't Get Enough" by The Pullice, "Attention" by Lonnie Duvall, "Harmonica Man" by The Torquays, "Psychotic Reaction (unedited version)" by Count Five, "She's Gone" by Group B, "Double Whammy" by Jack Bedient & The Chessmen, "In The Night" by The Bittersweets, "Short Haired Fathers" by Circus Maximus, "Anytime Anywhere" by The Squires, "This Calls For A Celebration" by The Fantastic Zoo, "Rat Race" by The Tears, "I Can't Make A Friend" by The Vagrants, "The Animal In Me" by The Orfuns, and "The People In Me (full length version)" by The Music Machine. LP, Vinyl record album

Don't be put off by the "twist" in the title – as this is a killer collection of R&B work from Atlantic Records – with some rare soul singles too! The cover claims that this album contains "the 16 best twist numbers by the world's most authentic performers" – and titles include "How Many Times" by Solomon Burke, "Rock & Roll Machine" by Tee Tucker, "Jam Up Twist" by Tommy Ridgely, "Mr Lee" by The Bobbettes, "I Want To Know" by Lloyd Sims, "Twist & Shout" by the Top Notes, "Do The Hully Gully" by King Coleman, "Bootie Green" by the Clovers, and "Jim Dandy" by LaVern Baker. LP, Vinyl record album

Includes "Oh No", "Sail On", "Lady", "Machine Gun", "Easy", "Riding High", "Three Times A Lady", "Painted Picture", and "Brick House". LP, Vinyl record album

The Hurley machine keeps heaving forward – stepping out here in a set of contemporary recordings, but with sounds that are as timeless as anything else we've heard from him before! The album begins with a haunting number that features just vocals and electric piano – but played in ways that are almost like hammered dulcimer – and two more cuts feature wonderfully spooky pump organ, pulsating in ways that make the music sound even moodier than ever. Other tracks feature acoustic guitar, but still mighty nice, with all the Hurley charm in the vocals – and titles include "The Corridor", "In The Morning", "Tea", "Meara O'Reilly", and "Shockoe Bottom". LP, Vinyl record album