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 ... (Rock) read moreLP, Vinyl record album
A killer from James Brown – and one of his best instrumental albums of the King years! The record has James working with the pre-JBs James Brown Band – a tight assemblage of players who really know how to craft an off-kilter groove. The guitar's popping on the beat here as much as the ... (Soul) read moreCD
A definite mother from James Brown – the kind of all-funky album that few of his contemporaries could ever hope to match! If you've ever doubted the sheer raw power of James at the end of the 60s, the first few notes of this one will definitely make you a convert – and the stretched-out ... (Soul) read moreCD
A tremendous turning point in the career of James Brown – and an album that points the way strongly to the even deeper funk of the 70s! The album's a hard-wailing batch of instrumental tracks played by the legendary James Brown Band of the late 60s – the pre-JBs ensemble that's gone ... (Soul) read moreCD
A plenty funky record, despite a cheesy cover – which shows James Brown as a disco-era player – kicking back on a couch with an unbuttoned shirt, while two topless girls dance in front of him – showing him their "cakes"! The groove's definitely different than the ... (Soul) read moreCD
One of the best solo albums ever from John Cale – a set that has the singer playing a lot of piano alongside his vocals, which creates this moody, evocative quality that's really wonderful! Cale's songwriting is always pretty compelling, but the heavy use of piano really brings out a depth ... (Rock) read moreCD
One of John Cale's greatest moments as a solo artist – a wonderfully dark record that also features lots of great guitar from Chris Spedding, plus electronics from Brian Eno too! There's a stark, flat tone to Cale's lyrics here – a quality that almost echoes some of Eno's albums from ... (Rock) read moreCD
A classic bit of stretched-out spaciness from the early days of Virgin Records – two side-long tracks that are filled with lots of cool keyboards, percussion, and other hip instrumentation! The record's the brainchild of Cyrille Verdeaux – who plays piano, organ, mellotron, and even ... (Rock) read moreLP, Vinyl record album
One of our favorite albums ever from The Crusaders – a set that really sums up all the tightness they'd forged in the 70s, while still showing a new sense of soul and funk as well – expertly balanced with flawless LA production! The album may well be the group's equivalent of a Steely ... (Jazz) read moreCD
A wonderful double-length live set from Gong – working here with a crucial lineup that features Daevid Allen on vocals and guitar – with added voice (including "space whisper") from Gilli Smyth, saxes and flute from Didier Malherbe, electronics from Tim Blake, guitar from ... (Rock) read moreLP, Vinyl record album
A totally excellent bit of funk from Chico Hamilton – working with a great group that more than helps their leader live up to the album's title! The record's a real lost gem – and it's got Chico working in much funkier territory than before, grooving with complicated rhythms, and a ... (Jazz) read moreCD
The first-ever solo album from Hugh Hopper – best known as the bassist for Soft Machine, but an equally creative artist on his own! The album is a bit more experimental, and sometimes more jazz-based, than Hugh's work in the bigger group – a blend of odd acoustic sounds with slight ... (Rock) read moreLP, Vinyl record album
A young Jackie McLean at the height of his powers – really stretching out here, but never going too far out – a perfect balance between his modern bop of previous records, and his groundbreaking "new thing" jazz to come! The group is a relatively straight ahead one – ... (Jazz) read moreCD
(Collectors edition in a LP sleeve – limited to 1000!)
Early bossa jazz from Sergio Mendes – recorded with his famous Bossa Rio combo, in the years before he moved to America! The album's a classic in Brazilian jazz – a tight album of bossa-inflected jazz tunes played with razor-sharp precision, handled with a style that went on to ... (Brazil) read moreLP, Vinyl record album
A key document of how strong the Star Wars pull was in late 70s merchandising – an album of Star Wars-related Holiday tunes – put together by Meco, with guest voices by C3PO and R2D2! The overall feel is kind of a Christmas take on Meco's take on Star Wars – groovy and with a ... read moreCD
An irresistible solo album from the great Tammi Terrell – the Motown singer who's best remembered for her duets with Marvin Gaye, and who hardly ever got a chance to work on her own! Despite that lack, though, this album's a standout classic – a slightly different take on the female ... (Soul) read moreCD
One of the last Ike Turner albums to contain lead vocals by Tina – a set from the start of the 80s, issued right before Tina hit that huge solo career on her own! Tina's vocals come in early and are in very much in fine form – more in the mode she'd use on records to come than her ... (Soul) read moreCD
Quite possibly the rarest of all Johnny Guitar Watson albums – and his first from the 70s – a mindblowing batch of trippy soul tunes that sounds far different than much of his later work! Johnny's not yet in the funky mode here – and he's working in a very cool flanged-out ... (Soul) read moreCD
An excellent album by this lusty tenor player – and one of the rarest Blue Notes ever! Brother Don plays lean and mean, in a nice tight group that features Grant Green on guitar, Sonny Clark on piano, and Billy Higgins on drums – all of whom give Wilkerson a freer setting than he ever ... (Jazz) read moreCD
(Collectors edition in a LP sleeve – limited to 1000!)