A 60s LP that compiles Julia's earlier sides for Capitol – a mixture of jump blues, swing, and R&B, recorded with players that include Red Norvo, Benny Carter, Vic Dickenson, and Baby Lovett – all killer work from the early years of the labgel! Titles include "Last Call For Alcohol", "After Hours Waltz", "King Size Papa", "Snatch It & Grab It", "You Ain't Got It No More", and "Crazy World". LP, Vinyl record album

Mndsgn adds an extra x to the title here, which might cause a bit of confusion with the previous Snaxx set – yet we can definitely say that he seems to have only deepened his groove since that record, opening the door for some soul-drenched elements that almost have us wishing someone would snatch him up, and have him work with some of the bigger-name soul singers of our generation! But as before, maybe it's the leanness that serves Mndsgn best – his way of finding a groove, snaking a bassline, gently nudging a keyboard, and all those understated elements that really do more with less – an approach that even extends to the vocals that visit some of the tracks on the set. Titles include "Luv Mirage", "Papercrane", "My Pleasure", "Fillsmeup", "Living Colours", "MakeU", "Finallyalone", and "Midnitesnaq". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the best full lengths by The Cramps! By the time A Date With Elvis came out in the mid 80s, The Cramps had pretty much perfected their wild mix of ghoulish innuendo and truly devoted roots rock/garage revivalism. The sex club and monster movie imagery was for show, but their love of rootsy rumbles was no joke! The record is dedicated to the memory of Ricky Nelson and the dedication is not ironic. Great, ghoulish Cramps at their mid-decade peak. Oh, and by the way. . .Elvis couldn't have handled a date with Ivy. She'd have wrecked that boy. Includes "How Far Can I Go?", "The Hot Pearl Snatch", "People Ain't No Good", "What's Inside A Girl?", "Can Your Pussy Do The Dog?", "Kizmiaz", "Aloha From Hell", "Cornfed Dames" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Buddy Boy is on all of side one – with titles that include "Snatch It & Grab It", "Raggin The Blues", "How Come Mama Blues", and "Number Three Blues". Side two features work from buddies who include Blind Percy, Will Day, Texas Alexander, and Funny Paper Smith! LP, Vinyl record album

The incredible mid 60s album from blues singer and harp blower Junior Wells and his Chicago Blues Band with Buddy Guy! This is a most pivotal set in which Junior & his players don't sound as if they're trying to imbue blues tradition with urban grit and electricity – it simply seems to happen naturally, and you can really imagine when you hear this how it blue the minds of so many Brit and American rock & blues fellows who would come the recast the style with their own life and experiences, and pretty much take over popular music with it. Titles include "Snatch It Back & Hold It", "In The Wee Wee Hours", "Hey Lawdy Mama", "Hoodoo Man Blues", "Yonder Wall", and "Chitlin Con Carne". CD

The incredible mid 60s album from blues singer and harp blower Junior Wells and his Chicago Blues Band with Buddy Guy! This is a most pivotal set in which Junior & his players don't sound as if they're trying to imbue blues tradition with urban grit and electricity – it simply seems to happen naturally, and you can really imagine when you hear this how it blue the minds of so many Brit and American rock & blues fellows who would come the recast the style with their own life and experiences, and pretty much take over popular music with it. Titles include "Snatch It Back & Hold It", "In The Wee Wee Hours", "Hey Lawdy Mama", "Hoodoo Man Blues", "Yonder Wall", and "Chitlin Con Carne". LP, Vinyl record album

Music from Jackie Wilson & Lavern Baker, Snatch & the Poontangs, Mack Vickery, Chick Willis, Boozoo Chavis, the Blenders, Dinah Washington, the Clovers, Amos Milburn, Roy Brown, and others – a great collection of really raw material! Maybe worth it alone for "The Rotten C***sucker's Ball" by The Clovers! CD

A funky sound library gem from Nick Ingman – not to be confused with the other Big Beat records from the KPM label – as this set's got an even sharper, hipper vibe overall! Keyboards are in the lead on most numbers – although they get lots of support from the beats promised in the title – as Fender Rhodes, clavinet, and other keyboards soar out in a range of modes that even includes a few moogy moments that are especially nice! Instrumentation is lean overall, although still with all that strong sense of arrangement that can make even larger groups from these golden British years so great. Lots of funky instrumentals throughout – with titles that include "Strike", "Down Home", "Thrust", "Snatch", "Trip Wire", "Overtone", "Smooth", "Long Line", "Throng", and "Orgy". CD

The incredible mid 60s album from blues singer and harp blower Junior Wells and his Chicago Blues Band with Buddy Guy! This is a most pivotal set in which Junior & his players don't sound as if they're trying to imbue blues tradition with urban grit and electricity – it simply seems to happen naturally, and you can really imagine when you hear this how it blue the minds of so many Brit and American rock & blues fellows who would come the recast the style with their own life and experiences, and pretty much take over popular music with it. Titles include "Snatch It Back & Hold It", "In The Wee Wee Hours", "Hey Lawdy Mama", "Hoodoo Man Blues", "Yonder Wall", and "Chitlin Con Carne". CD

Music from The Flamin' Groovies, The Poppees, The Rockfield Chorale, Snatch, D.M.Z., Iggy & The Stooges, The Zeros, The Weirdos, Shoes, 20/20, The Singles, The Romantics, and much more. CD

One of the best full lengths by The Cramps! By the time A Date With Elvis came out in the mid 80s, The Cramps had pretty much perfected their wild mix of ghoulish innuendo and truly devoted roots rock/garage revivalism. The sex club and monster movie imagery was for show, but their love of rootsy rumbles was no joke! The record is dedicated to the memory of Ricky Nelson and the dedication is not ironic. Great, ghoulish Cramps at their mid-decade peak. Oh, and by the way. . .Elvis couldn't have handled a date with Ivy. She'd have wrecked that boy. Includes "How Far Can I Go?", "The Hot Pearl Snatch", "People Ain't No Good", "What's Inside A Girl?", "Can Your Pussy Do The Dog?", "Kizmiaz", "Aloha From Hell", "Cornfed Dames" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

Produced by Nottz. 12-inch, Vinyl record

One of the most striking albums ever recorded by Denny Zeitlin – the dark soundtrack to this late 70s remake of the horror classic Invasion Of The Body Snatchers. There's a very minimal use of electronics on the record, combined with some wonderful orchestrations from Zeitlin – very dark and turgid, with some touches that are almost electronic sounding themselves. Titles include "The Reckoning", "Escape To Darkness", "Flight", "On The Streets", "Angel Of Death", and "Rescue". LP, Vinyl record album

A big moment for the British ska scene – and the soundtrack to a film that featured live work by nearly all of the big names at the time! The album features live work by artists who owed a lot to 2 Tone, but who'd even moved onto bigger fame by the film – but who are working here in a nice back-to-basics mode – and titles include live versions of "Concrete Jungle", "Man At C&A", and "Nite Klub" by The Specials; "Mirror In The Bathroom", "Big Shot", and "Ranking Full Stop" by The English Beat; "Inner London Violence" and "Lip Up Fatty" by Bad Manners; "Easy Life" by The Bodysnatchers; and "Razor Blade Alley" and "One Step Beyond" by Madness. LP, Vinyl record album

The definitely got the title right on this one – because the set is filled with some of the most heavenly tracks from the legendary Ethiopiques series – that legendary run of compilations that was the first introduction for most of us to the amazing music of Ethiopia! This package really zeros in on all the best bits – and has a special focus on the early 70s, with some other bits from the 60s as well – all the wonderful vintage material that captures that special time in Ethiopian music when the artists were really taking some new chances with their sound – and creating an otherworldly blend of jazz and funk with more local elements as well. The range of artists is great – a really compelling blend of singers and instrumentalists, not just a handful of tracks by Mulatu – and titles include "Presentiment" by Tsegue Maryam Guebrou, "Ene Negn Bay Manesh" by Girma Beyene, "Hedetch Alu" by Muluquen Mellesse, "Lantchi Biye" by Tlahoun Gessesse, "Tchereqa" by Menelik Wesnatchew, "Ashasha Beyew" by Abbebe Tessemma, "Ati Fettun Isani Infedhani" by Ali Birra, "Mela Mela" by Seyfou Yohannes, "Teredjew Neber" by Ayalew Mesfin, and "Hametegnaw" by Seyoum Gebreyes. LP, Vinyl record album

The first-ever full length collection of work by Calvin Arnold – a killer 60s soul singer and guitarist, and one who cut some classic funky 45s back in the day, but never got a chance to record an album! All the material here came out on the Venture label – a small label, but one that got great circulation at the time – which helped Calvin's strong style get into more record collections than you might expect! Arnold's a great singer, with a raw southern style – and the use of guitar here really underscores all the best elements in his voice, as does the lean backings, which often have nice drums! The style here kind of takes off where Otis Redding's "Hard To Handle" began – strong praise in our book – and titles include "Snatchin Back", "Funky Way", "Scoobie Doo", "Mini Skirt, "Fool Me Baby", "Lovely Way To Go", "Just A Matter Of Time", "Messin With The Old Folks Home", "Your Love Is Too Much", and "You Got To Live For Yourself". CD

Excellent early work from Clarence Carter – recording here with production and arrangements by Rick Hall – in that sweet Muscle Shoals style that never sounded better than it did with Clarence! Carter had a way of working with Hall that was really beyond some of the cliches that crept into the scene at the time – a blend of bluesier roots and leaner soul that was totally great – and which was always touched by Clarence's keen sense of wit and personality! The record's got a slightly funky sound in parts – especially on the great cut "Snatching It Back" – and the rest of the titles are all killer southern soul material, with classics that include "Making Love (At The Dark End Of The Street)", "Soul Deep", "Doin' Our Thing", "I Smell a Rat", and "I Can't Do Without You". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most unusual "best of" collections you'll ever own – given that it features material pulled together from seven different albums by Ben LaMar Gay – none of which were ever released! The package is more of a debut than anything else – and a hell of a musical statement, too – as Ben's music is almost completely without referent – and that's saying a lot, given the already genre-busting nature of other releases on the International Anthem label! We might list the music under jazz – as it does feature some jazz instrumentation – but there's also lots of electronic elements too, often used in these shape-shifting ways that criss cross with other elements – like bass clarinet, flute, viola, and voice – all kind of crashing together in waves of sonic energy that embrace multiple genres at once, but never have the hokey result of other music that might try to do such a thing. Instead, imagine Ben's voice as being this bold cut-up experiment (in the original William S Burroughs mode) – but one that might have been taken across the scope of an entire record collection, sweeping up snatches of jazz, electronica, orchestral music, folk, hip hop, and lots more – all with results that are as revolutionary as Burroughs' writing. Titles include "Muhal", "Music For 18 Hairdressers – Braids & Friends", "7th Stanza", "Gator Teeth", "Swim Swim", "Kunni", "Oh No Not Again", "Jubilee", and "A Seasoning Called Primavera". CD

Music from the Specials, the Beat, the Bodysnatchers, Rico, the Swinging Cats, the Higsons, JB's Allstars, Madness, and more – 44 tracks total! CD

The first-ever full length collection of work by Calvin Arnold – a killer 60s soul singer and guitarist, and one who cut some classic funky 45s back in the day, but never got a chance to record an album! All the material here came out on the Venture label – a small label, but one that got great circulation at the time – which helped Calvin's strong style get into more record collections than you might expect! Arnold's a great singer, with a raw southern style – and the use of guitar here really underscores all the best elements in his voice, as does the lean backings, which often have nice drums! The style here kind of takes off where Otis Redding's "Hard To Handle" began – strong praise in our book – and titles include "Snatchin Back", "Funky Way", "Scoobie Doo", "Mini Skirt, "Fool Me Baby", "Lovely Way To Go", "Just A Matter Of Time", "Messin With The Old Folks Home", "Your Love Is Too Much", and "You Got To Live For Yourself". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most awe-inspiring Nuggets sets yet – a massive ode to the late 60s San Francisco scene – a wide, wide breadth of amazing singles from a disparate selection of acts – bound by a 120-page hardcover, richly illustrated book! Love Is The Song We Sing isn't at all the lumbering box of hippie nostalgia you might be expecting – it's weighted very heavily in leftfield obscurities, out numbering the big hits by at least 10-to-1 – with harshly buzzing tunes, groovy psychedelia, and topical folk tunes alike. The book is full of great photos, in buoyant color and stately black & white, with notes on each individual track, an essay & track commentary by Alec Palao, a piece by early Rolling Stone figurehead Ben Fong Torres, and an additional piece by Gene Sculatti. This is one of the best Rhino boxes we've ever seen, and that's saying something, isn't it – with amazing songs by Dino Valente, Country Joe & The Fish, Blue Cheer, Sly Stone, Ace Of Cups, Count Five, Moby Grape, Beau Brummels, Flamin' Groovies and many more! Disc one "Seismic Rumbles" includes "Let's Get Together" by Dino Valente, "You Were On My Mind" by We Five, "Number One" by Charlatans, "Can't Come Down" by Warlocks, "She's My Baby" by Mojo Men, "Human Monkey" by Frantics and loads more. Disc 2 "Suburbia" includes "Psychotic Reaction" by Count Five, "Foolish Woman" by Oxford Circle, "Rubiyat" by Immediate Family, "Hearts To Cry" by Frumious Bandersnatch and more. Disc 3 "Summer Of Love" includes "Carl Street" by Mystery Trend, "Superbird" by Country Joe & The Fish, "White Rabbit" by Jefferson Airplane, "Summertime Blues" by Blue Cheer, "Underdog" by Sly & The Family Stone, "Loading Zone" by Bells and lots more. Disc 4 "The Man Can't Bust Our Music" includes "Evil Ways" by Santana, "Revolution" by Mother Earth, "I'm Drowning" by Flamin' Groovies, "Dark Star" (single version) by Grateful Dead, "Get Together" by The Youngbloods and more. 77 tracks on 4CDs! CD

One of a handful of amazing albums recorded by David Axelrod towards the end of the 60s – really stunning, genre-breaking music that was years ahead of its time – and which has only finally been getting its due in more recent decades! At the time of the record, Axelrod was a house producer at Capitol Records – where he'd created big hits for Lou Rawls and Cannonball Adderley – and he'd also been experimenting a bit with studio techniques for other rock groups. But here, the Axe brings all his experience into play – then sends things soaring to the skies – with music based on the work of poet William Blake, but delivered in this totally groovy west coast 60s mode. The core of the instrumentation features funky drums from Earl Palmer and bass from Carole Kaye – both of whom really keep things rock-solid amidst the larger mix of strings and instruments directed by the great Don Randi – who himself is pretty darn wonderful too. The music has nice snatches of fuzz and organ throughout – jazzy moments, funky passages, and lots more too – served up on tunes that include much-sampled song "Holy Thursday" – plus "The Smile", "A Dream", "Song Of Innocence", and "The Mental Traveler". William Blake never sounded so funky! LP, Vinyl record album

Posse track with verses from Afu Ra, QNC, Jane Blaze, Fat Cat Kareem, Starang Wondah, TEF, and Krumbsnatcha; with production by Curt Cazal. 12-inch, Vinyl record

An excellent bit of modern soul – a smooth seductive album that fits perfectly with an older mellow groove, but which also sparkles with the best recent efforts of the past decade. Maxwell's got a wonderful vocal style – reminding us a bit of classic Isley Brothers, Leon Ware, or O'Jays in a ballad mode – and it sits perfectly amidst warm jazzy arrangements by Musze, filled with all the subtle instrumental touches (keyboards, sax, and guitar) you'd find on a late album by Marvin Gaye, or some of the slow jams by the Isleys. The vibe is warm and acoustic, and the record's a wonderful return to a classic mellow midtempo soul style – and did quite well upon its initial release. Also interesting was the fact that the record was pressed up heavily on vinyl – something that was rare for a mainstream soul album at the time, and which was particularly ubiquitous in our hometown of Chicago, where DJs on the steppers scene were snatching up the record like hotcakes! Includes the titles "Ascension", "Whenever Wherever Whatever", "Lonely's The Only Company (parts 1 & 2)", "Reunion", and "Suitelady (The Proposal Jam)" – but the whole thing's great! CD

The title definitely gets it right – as this set's certainly a unique Christmas collection – one filled with original tunes in a funk and soul mode, all by artists who normally record for the Unique Records label! There's a nice retro soul vibe running through the set – a vibe that's similar to the recent deep funk direction that Unique has taken, and which makes the collection a great companion to some of the Holiday records from Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings! Titles include "Christmas Time Baby" by The Soul Snatchers, "When The Winter Comes" by Palace Fever, "Relax & Love" by Glen Anthony Henry, "These Little Things" by Al Supersonic & The Teenagers, "Blackout" by Impuls, "Beautiful" by The Sweet Vandals, and "Christmas Day With Me" by Laura Vane & The Vipertones. CD

A great recording of Steve Reich's seminal composition "Drumming" – an amazing blend of minimal percussion snatches, coming together to form a lyrical repetitive work of great beauty! Reich heads up the recording himself – working here with 9 percussionists, 2 vocalists, a piccolo, and even a bit of whistling – all to create an extremely haunting sound that's still one of the best illustrations of minimalist at its height! The sound is incredible – a slow-shifting phase of sound from the percussion players – first conceived by Reich right around the time he was moving to work on keyboards from his tape projects – but, as a percussive performance, far more difficult to handle – especially given the extended time of the piece. CD